The next morning came too soon for all of Team 7, each for different reasons, but sharing the same general sense of anxiousness…
~xxx
Naruto awoke earliest of all, as was his habit, and went about his usual routine with acute unease. He showed nothing externally, or so he thought.
He was alone as he ran, but for the first time ever, he was conscious of it. He felt as if his feet were lead, and the air in front of him seemed to push back against him. The whole run through Konoha seemed to drag, no matter hard he went, how fast he tried to go. The strange melancholy oppressed him with unnerving consistency, taking his focus away from more relevant things, dragging his mind to remember past alienations, desertions, betrayals…
The boy cooked breakfast, and then threw breakfast away, only then recalling the specific order his sensei had given the team as the first bite was in his mouth. Naruto didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was distracted today.
He then stretched, exercised vigorously, and then showered just as vigorously, urgently concentrating on his task as though he could scrub away this unsettling emotional state with the sweat and the dirt. To no avail, but he at least felt better about having tried.
He stretched again, making sure to make the ordeal an extended holistic experience, unknotting all the tension built up within him, body and mind. It worked remarkably well for his sinewy person, and somewhat for his cerebral person.
As an additional measure of labor in metaphor and procedural wellbeing, the blond scrubbed his home from top to bottom, going so far as to scrub the molding around the ceiling until it positively sparkled. Wiping his brow, he stretched again to kill any tension he built up during the cleaning. He immediately followed up with another shower to get the stink of cleaning products off of him, only being satisfied once all he could smell of himself was hot water and clean sweat.
For simple emotional gratification, Naruto decided to track down the Weasel, which was splayed under the couch ( it had taken refuge early on from what was an erroneous tool of destruction and torture in its odd critter mind – but was, in fact, just Naruto's mop). Plucking the little handful up with casual disregard for its spiny legs, the boy sat down, laying the creature in his lap, proceeding to pet it. This was a new experience for the both of them, but was an oddly sensate, fulfilling ritual. Perhaps Naruto could do this more often?
After that, the Weasel slipped into Naruto's arm, leaving the boy to tend to the rest of his preparations in quiet solitude. He threw together an outfit from his slightly expanded wardrobe- this consisted of a grey tank top, a darker wind jacket, simple black junker's trousers, reinforced tabi-boots, and a number of thighstrap belts. The thighstraps came with easy-retrieval pockets for shuriken, caltrops, and a number of simple knives, perfect for most situations, likely to prove invaluable during this survival test Hatake-sensei had planned for the team.
Completely disregarding the slip of paper that the Jōnin had seen fit to hand out, detailing what equipment to bring and other, simply mindless suggestions, the blond saw fit to stock his bulk equipment back with some extra shurikens and kunai, skipping things like wire and minor explosive materials in favor of more exotic devices like throwing saps and rope darts. After quick consideration of the heavier tools in his small arsenal, Naruto tucked a shinobi billhook into his jacket, in case he needed to clear foliage or disarm a trap or two. Considering it was "survival training", after all, it suited to be prepared for feasible wilderness operation contingencies.
Naruto checked himself over one more time, adjusting his goggles over his "eyes" and his hitai-ate around his bicep. Satisfied after his extensive preparations, the boy set out for the designated training grounds, at peace with his situation, armed with steel in his soul and a song in his heart.
~xxx
Kakashi was next to arise, despite having trouble sleeping once again last night. The thought of going through this tooth-pullingly excruciating process yet again had lost the shock value and daunting air after the nth attempt ages ago, now replaced by a dull, aching apprehension.
Maybe it was just the times, the man thought, blearily stumbling over dead soldiers strewn across the room, some dumping the dregs of their leftover spirit from their mouths*. Maybe…
Maybe it was him, though. There were a few others who'd been through about as much as he had who dealt with the burdensome memories just fine. Then again…perhaps they just had their more wholesome coping mechanisms. Whatever works for them...
Kakashi preferred solitude and alcohol, though. Escapism, too, when he could afford to flip through his careworn romance novels. Of course, he'd be kidding himself if he thought that he was making himself any more functional by dealing with his skeletons like this.
Whatever. A long, hot soak and the usual walk to the cenotaph would clear his head. If not that, perhaps toying with this latest batch of flunkies could get his mind off the inevitable return to pain.
Ready and willing to just drown himself, the Jōnin lurched into the shower and fumbled to turn on just the hot tap. The water came out blisteringly hot, scalding his sleep-sensitized skin within an inch of its life, shocking him into full alertness in near an instant. Yelling in pseudomasochistic agony, Kakashi stayed in the shower as long as he could take. After a while he felt like his flesh was just ready to burst apart, succumbing to weakness and quickly falling to the floor in a pathetic heap.
Groaning, he groped for the tap clumsily, turning it all the way off after a couple of tries.
Kakashi climbed to his feet in spite of how he was tempted to act: just lying on the floor, like he did on countless nights, sobbing like a tender little bitch. Seemed fitting, considering what he had done on equally countless missions, taking out his rage and pain on enemies and not-quite-enemies. Even some foolish young graduates had gotten a taste of some of his bile, that darkness.
The bunch this time was lucky, especially whilst being so soft. Years ago, when times hadn't been so lax, when Kakashi was more raw, less dulled by time and distance from his memories, some kids had really suffered.
The impossible ringer he'd put them through, the unsympathetic invective that he'd let spill from his lips, and the things he'd had some do…yes, these "potential" genin were very lucky to have missed him at his worst.
Shakily making his way around his apartment, careful not to step and slip on any of the rolling bottles or puddles of wasted booze, the mercurial man plucked up his various bits of clothing, slipping them all on in a confused order, only really caring about covering up his scars as thoroughly as possible. As if that would do anything, a small part of him remarked.
But Kakashi didn't care. The largest part of himself wanted to escape from all that pain, to censor the evidence of those accursed unforgettable days, however he could.
Unfortunately, he couldn't believe the lies even he told- and the man only really ever trusted himself, of anyone he knew or didn't know. In short, his life was a viciously cyclical example of an exercise in futility.
He couldn't fight it, so what good were his skills as a killer? He couldn't reason it away, so what good was his wit, his supposedly genius intellect? He couldn't escape from it, so what good were his body and mind, which he had trained so rigorously? He couldn't even ignore it, so what did that make him? He couldn't even be a proper coward. Kakashi's life seemed to be a succession of failures, one after the other, continuing on and on until he eventually died alone, unwanted and unloved.
Almost done, Kakashi walked over to pluck up his pack, filled with various implements that would come in handy today, and his hitai-ate, essential to his functioning in public. It was essential to his functioning in general, come to think of it. Either way, the man slipped the headband over his cursed eye, sighing with relief as the world slowed down enough to make sense.
Finally covered up completely, the depressive Jōnin made his way to the door without too much trouble, punting bottles of various kinds this way and that, long since giving up wincing even in his extremely hungover state. The mercilessly bright sun, though, stabbed Kakashi right in the eye just as soon as he opened the door. Cursing darkly, the man managed to lock the door, in spite of his half-blind state.
It was an arduous, blackly comical journey to street level, down all those stairs and random, useless stretches of corridor, accompanied by much tripping, stumbling, and outright tumbling downward. Nothing short of a miracle kept Kakashi from being seen like this, try as he wouldn't to keep face in public today.
Once with his feet firmly planted on pavement, the Jōnin ambled his way over to the market, formulating some sort of plan as he went.
He stopped by a droll little family run food store, picking up two bentos and otemoto, tucking them under his arm. Having not much to do for awhile, seeing as it was still so early before the "training", Kakashi didn't rush getting to his destination- the Leaf Memorial.
Why he kept choosing the training ground nearest this place, he had some idea. And that idea…wasn't important.
The Jōnin reached into one of the pockets of his vest, producing two little bells on string. They were old, but looked so new…so untainted…guarded so…well…
He clenched his hand over them, tears welling up with the memories. So innocent, those days. So young. So promising. Would that he could take part in them again…
Kakashi had an idea about what he was going to do today.
Sasuke awoke in a cold sweat, grimacing.
No time to think, time to move.
He threw together his tools, everything second nature to him.
The boy set out at a firm march, steel in his eye.
One step more toward his goal.
He would be an avenger. He would do it- one step at a time.
Sakura had spent most of the night crying, but she wasn't going to let idiocy be an excuse for being late.
Throwing her alarm clock across the room, she got up and got herself together, ready to put her game face on. No stupid Naruto was gonna get the better of her today.
First things first- a nice, long bath.
She enjoyed taking her time with the whole thing, relishing the scent of the bath oils and the warmth of the water. How relaxing~
As a Haruno, she was no slouch with her appearance, cleaning her hair thoroughly, setting it up to condition, tending to her complexion with a scrub, then a mask, shaving her legs, tweezing her eyebrows, rinsing her hair, moisturizing her skin, blowdrying her hair, and then getting to the choosy stuff.
The same dress she'd gotten for graduation would suit, seeing as it didn't restrain much, with simple black biker shorts added in for decency at any angle. Although she was tempted to break out something cuter, she couldn't contest the comfort or reliability of the chunky blue sandals she'd gotten from the official nin supplies warehouse with anything else in her wardrobe. With the added feature of her headband tying back her hair, showing her to be a real kunoichi, she was ready for anything.
Oh, and her bag! Can't forget all that!
Sakura bustled to throw all her weapons in her tote bag, followed by a couple scrolls and guidebooks, just to be safe.
After a short moment admiring herself in the mirror, she set of for war!
~xxx
Wiping his face clean of any sign of emotion, Kakashi turned away from the heroes' cenotaph, casually strolling into the main clearing, where the genin were waiting impatiently.
"Hey guys, good morning!"
Automatically he got a chorus of one from the girl of the team.
"You're late!" she yelled, pointing her finger. This one was already showing herself to be a real performer…Kakashi wondered if this plan of his was the right one for these…kids…
But no matter. Everybody started out with rough edges.
The Jōnin simply whipped out the clock in his pack, wound the thing meticulously, and set it, placing it on the stump he stood by and giving the hammer a pat to start it up.
"Okay, it's set for noon," Kakashi announced, fishing out the bells from his from the worn pocket on his vest.
He dangled them by their strings, saying "Here are two bells. Your task is to take these from me before noon. Those who cannot get a bell by noon…get no lunch; I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps, but I'll eat right in front of you."
"You only need to get one bell," the Jōnin said, the bells chiming softly as he jostled them, "There are only two, so one of you will definitely get tied to a stump.
"And…the person who doesn't take a bell fails. So, at least one of you will be sent back to the Academy."
Kakashi flipped the bells into his palm, concealing them in his fist, adding "You can even use your shurikens. You won't succeed unless you come at me intending to kill."
"But-" the girl began, worry written on her face, "-you'll be in danger!"
The man of the group sighed, shaking his head. "As glad as I am that you're worried for your sensei, I doubt any one of you will do much damage to me."
"I think we'd do enough…" the specs of the team said, a small, cocky grin appearing on his face.
The Jōnin sighed, obviously nonplussed by the boy's statement. "Yeah yeah…Ignore Mister Dead Last and start when I say-"
Predictably, Specs reacted, but in a more subtle fashion than Kakashi had yet given him credit for- nearly getting nailed between the eyes with a rather nasty looking thumb-dart. Kakashi quickly maneuvered behind the boy, putting him in an armlock with clean, laidback efficiency.
The Jōnin was definitely impressed- if not for the genin's amateurish throwing style, he'd probably have been blinded for several minutes. But no matter- the intent was all that was necessary.
"Slow down," Kakashi said, startling the other two genin, although the one he had a hold on seemed pretty calm, which was creepy.
"I haven't said 'start' yet," he added, sending a glance either way to the students.
"Seems like you're prepared to come at me with the intent to kill. So you've finally acknowledged me."
Kakashi's expression softened, he himself chuckling a bit, "Seems like I'm beginning to really like you guys."
The three genin under Kakashi's auspices smiled, the blond shifting a little in his grip.
"Okay," Kakashi said, readying himself for the main event, "let's get going. Ready…"
Together the team tensed, ready to act.
"Start!"
And then it was on.
"The basics of being a ninja start with to hiding yourself well," Kakashi said aloud, walking slowly about the rather large clearing of the training area. The place offered a very spacious view of its surroundings, being bordered by a river on one side and sparsely vegetated foothills parallel to it- so, in short, it was a fairly defensible spot, if not a particular vantage point for either side.
Kakashi looked either way into the forests, giving the foliage a quick swipe with an appraising eye. He scratched the back of his neck, as if considering possible plans of action.
Naruto strolled out of the bushes well away from the Jōnin, casually striding into the open, watching his sensei with a guarded aloofness.
"Morning~ sensei~," he drawled, smiling in as innocuous way as he seemed able to manage, "Mind if I fight you?"
The man opposing him sighed, his shoulders sinking a little in comic exasperation. "Um…You're a little bit off…"
Shrugging, the boy shrugged in a noncommittal way, changing course toward Kakashi, a slight bounce in his step. "Hm~ or maybe I've my own interests at play here."
Naruto broke into a small run, leaning forward a little with arms posed in a rendition of simple Academy martial forms. The man blinked, obviously surprised anybody would think to actually use any of that kiddy stuff.
Kakashi dug into his belt-pouch, but whether it was a weapon or a tool or some kind of humiliating prop was unable to be determined, as the boy charging him put on the gas in a murderous sprint. It was a second, maybe two, before Naruto was upon him, sending a punch with the momentum of his whole body behind it.
As intimidating as this was, the target was still a jōnin- and an eminently experienced one, at that; he grappled his attacker with speed more than comparable to the boy's, sending Naruto harmlessly past him by a grab of his fist and a push of his shoulder. The harmlessness came into serious question when the boy planted his foot at the tail end of the throw, using his diffusing momentum to power a definitely not Academy-regulated move- a spinning pseudo-axekick aimed at Kakashi's face.
The man ducked in time, lest his nose get kicked in. Although he was in not a large amount of danger, the commitment and intent of the boy were enough to put any thought of playing with this genin out of his mind. Coupled with that speed and the adaptability of his fighting form…the kid would easily put the hurt on the average chunin if it came down to taijutsu.
Naruto did not let up, following through with a tight jab sent from the waist to force Kakashi to move, keeping a solid bead on the man as he, too, moved, strafing briskly to keep apace with the seasoned veteran.
"You know," Kakashi began, "If you don't get a bell by noon, no lunch."
The blond chuckled, the smile never leaving his face. "I'm watching my figure, anyways."
Forming the hand seals to summon his Bunshins- Hitsuji, Mi, Tora- Naruto called out "Here I come, sensei~!"
All around the Jōnin appeared a plethora of Narutos, all with the same grin on their faces, circling him, calling out various playful threats and challenges. Doing a quick head count, the man came up with nearly 20 Bunshin- and all created with little smoke or sound. This kid was seeming to be more and more of a threat as this fight went on…
"Sensei~"
"Hey sensei~"
"What's up, sensei?"
"Come on and fight, sensei~"
"I'm gonna get you, sensei~"
"Gonna go for your eye, sensei~"
Kakashi sighed with real exasperation this time, eying the laughing gang of dark-clothed genin. "Kid's got a bit of a twisted sense of humor…"
One Naruto came running at him aiming a wild kick to his chin. Kakashi immediately jumped back, just in time for another clone to come in from his blind spot to punch at his face. The Jōnin moved to dodge it, but as he tried to throw this Naruto, his hands just phased through.
"Bunshin!" he gasped, immediately punctuated with a rough kick to the back of his supporting leg, forcing him into an improvised crouch as the real genin disappeared into the intangible fray, laughing puckishly.
"Very good, sensei!"
"Would you like a reward, sensei?"
"Sensei, why are you taking so long to find me?"
"Do I have to come find you, sensei?"
"Sensei~~" the Narutos chimed together, speeding up their dizzying dance around the man.
Kakashi sighed. "What a bothersome nin you are, Specs."
"It's Naruto!"
"Believe it!"
"And don't you forget it-"
"Sen~sei~"
As a Naruto leapt at him from behind to deliver a kick, Kakashi spun, grappling Naruto again and sending him flying overhead, nearer to the edge of the forest.
"Very good~ sensei~," Naruto said, dispelling clones with a simple cancellation seal, "How'd you figure me out from the rest?"
"Sound," Kakashi said, "Your clones had no audible footsteps. Clever using their illusory voices to try and cover that up, though. You're still just a genin, though; you won't trick me good for a long while to come."
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," the real Naruto said, grinning wide and bashfully putting his hands behind his back, looking down at his feet as he traced the ground a little with his foot.
The boy looked up after a small pause, looking up with a different look on his face, the sunlight hitting his lenses just right so it seemed like they had a maniacal glint in them. "But I think I can trick you pretty good."
Kakashi readied himself for whatever his strange charge was going to spring next when a powerful force slammed into the back of his head, putting the Jōnin on his knees for a split second. Looking up, he saw a copy of his genin land, joining the other one to grin at him, watching the man as he got back to his feet, ears ringing a little.
"Shadow Clones?!" Kakashi said, shaking his head as it threatened to explode.
The twin blonds laughed in unison briefly, before falling into silence. One opened his mouth, saying "Oh? What's that?"
"You mean you don't know, even after you pulled it off?"
One of the pair stepped forward, seemingly the real one, chuckling some more. "No, no, no…just simple, silly old Kawarimi no Jutsu"
Kakashi's eye widened as he realized how Naruto had managed- "When you put your hands behind your back!"
The Narutos nodded, chuckling in unnerving unison. Both turned and lept over the brush, heading into the forest, laughing as they went. Kakashi thought to follow Naruto, but thought better of it when the laughter abruptly stopped, a dead silence setting in across the clearing.
"Naruto…what a scary kid…"
~xxx
Sasuke let out a breath he dimly realized he'd been holding. Naruto had seemed to be pushing Sensei toward him, intentionally or not, and then changed tactics, running into his side of the grounds. Weird kid, but…
Using simple Academy techniques and his own strength, that dead last had landed a solid hit on a Jōnin, somebody who had a good two ranks on the rest of the team. A completely lazy, neutral student like that…
…turned into this. For a genin, his teammate seemed to be a little bit of a monster.
Perhaps he'd be some use in the fights to come…
~xxx
"N-Naruto?!"
From what she knew of the Academy jutsu and techniques, Naruto had pulled off something unheard of for a genin- smokeless jutsus. Granted, they were really simple techniques using small amounts of energy - that is, chakra – but the amount of control one had to have over one's own energy, right out of the gate and able to trick a field-tested expert on chakra usage…crazy, just completely insane.
Even more important, he was totally messing up her plans. How was she ever going to get noticed by Sasuke if there was some silly boy rivalry between the two. She was supposed to rise to his level. She was supposed to be his equal, in war and love! A strong, proud warrior ninja and his sensuous kunoichi partner!
…messed up so now that fantasy seemed to feature a fricking wingless tengu wearing goggles instead of a sexy kunoichi. This would not stand!
…then again, there was always the change of a three-way- No. NO! Never~~~!
And yet the images were already in Sakura's head, her active imagination hard at work making her forget what kind of position she was in.
Fortunately, to some extent, Sakura was snapped out of it when Kakashi-sensei turned just enough away from the other side of the clearing for a flurry of shuriken to erupt from there, hitting him dead on- or so it seemed until in a puff of smoke it turned out that a log was hit in his stead, and that the Jōnin was well on his way to seeking out what would likely turn out to be Sasuke.
At least, this is what Sakura feared, spurring her to take to the trees, rushing to aid Sasuke in his time of need.
~xxx
It wasn't long before he heard a girlish wail not too far away, and he knew what was up.
"That scream…Sakura…"
"Shinobi Fighting, lesson number two-" came Kakashi-sensei's voice, "Gen-Jutsu; Sakura was easily tricked by it."
Gen-Jutsu…a form of hallucinatory hypnotism…She'd fall for that, but…
"I'm not the same as them," Sasuke replied, sensing that the Jōnin was behind him.
"Say that after you get the bell…Sasuke-kun."
Kakashi stood away from the tree had been leaning on as the boy turned to face him, grimly stern in the face of his better.
"The strength of the village's number one, the Uchiha Clan…" the man trailed off, one hand firmly at his side, the other propping up some book or another as he read. "This should be interesting…"
They shared a look before Sasuke dropped low, pulling a handful of shuriken and throwing them with unerring efficiency at his opponent.
Kakashi dodged easily, jumping to the side.
"Such obvious attacks are pointless!" he called, leaping back again.
The sound of rope cutting and Sasuke's sudden smile were the only warning before a flurry of knives came flying out of the brush, a hidden trap Kakashi managed to barely avoid.
Sasuke quickly closed the gap, coming from behind to attack the man, but Kakashi was already alert, and spun to block
He caught Sasuke's leg, who then aimed a punch. He caught that, too, before Sasuke aimed another kick, forcing Kakashi to release his caught leg in favor of snaring the dangerous one.
Now in such a position, Sasuke shared a defiant look with his teacher, reaching for the bells hung at Kakashi's waist. Noticing this in the nick of time, Kakashi released the boy, quickly jumping away.
The both stood, panting for a moment, as they considered their next moves and those of their opponent.
~xxx
Sakura, holding her head stumbled over to the stumps, fresh from some horrorish illusion. If not for the thought of Naruto coming upon her and...doing…she'd be down for the count. Poor Sasuke-kun…even if he was only like that in that nightmare…
She looked to the odd stone just beyond the stumps, espying two bentos on it.
"Strange…I guess Kakashi had meant these for those that got the bells."
A series of thoughts ran through her head as she approached the stone, noting that it had a series of names engraved upon it. Most were meaningless, but some had members of Sasuke's family on it. Obviously it was a monument to greatness…wasn't that what this lone monument was for- a symbol of the singular elites in the village of the leaf? Why was it here and not where more people could see it, though? Strange…
As for the bentos…it was already obvious who'd be getting them. Naruto had already fled, defeating himself by blowing his one chance to get a bell or two for himself in favor of running of for some theatrical stunt. Might as well take them now before Kakashi did something sneaky with them.
A pause. Sakura peeked in both of the boxes, giving them both a long stare and a sniff. They seemed to not be poisoned or engorged with explosives. Maybe this sensei wasn't as dodgy as he'd first seemed.
Content with her plan and her examination, Sakura trotted off to find Sasuke and get the bells with him. The girl smiled, things making sense since this crazy exercise started.
~xxx
"Well," Kakashi began, standing a little away from his opponent, not even out of breath, "I'll acknowledge that you are different from most genin I've met."
"Bah." was all Sasuke said in return, flying through a complex series of hand seals- Uma, Tora, Hitsuji, Saru, I, Uma, Tora- holding Tiger as he inhaled deeply, his cheeks puffing.
"What?!" the Jōnin exclaimed, surprise clear on his face. This was going to complicate things.
In the next instance, a giant, raging fireball filled the clearing, roasting everything caught in its wake. The supranatural blaze continued for a few moments before shrinking.
As the stream of fire petered out from his breath, Sasuke eyed the spot where Kakashi had stood. What was there when the smoke cleared took a moment to process.
Nothing.
Surprised, Sasuke looked around, beginning to panic.
"Below you" came Kakashi's voice, before a powerful shove from behind sent him skipping forward a few steps. The sound of something like crumbling dirt issued behind him.
"Augh! Dammit!"
Sasuke spun, turning to find nothing but a lone pebble out of place.
It wasn't long before Sasuke eyed the ground around him, nervous. He'd better get to-
A hand grabbed his ankle, followed by the declaration "Doton: Inner Decapitation Technique!"
With a cry, Sasuke was pulled under the earth- well, save for his head.
Before long, he heard footsteps near him, turning out to be Kakashi, as expected, squatting to look at him.
"Ninja Fighting lesson number three: Nin-Jutsu
"Well, you're in the lead in this area, although certainly not by virtue of application."
Kakashi walked over to the spot a little away from Sasuke, where the genin had originally been. "Hadn't expected to net somebody else right then- he outweighed you, by the way, which is why instead of a proper phony decapitation-" Kakashi made a few simple signs, too fast for Sasuke to follow.
The man then reached down, the soil giving before his fingers, reaching in and grabbing a fistful of something and pulling it up. As the whatsit surfaced, Sasuke was at a loss. "-I completely buried him."
Naruto shook his head, managing a cough. His goggles were a little askew, but, rather than seem ashamed, he looked annoyed. "Well, that didn't turn out like planned."
"While I'm a little underwhelmed by how I got you, you put up a fair enough fight."
Kakashi sighed, dusting off his pants. "Okay, well you boys stay put as I go find the absentee…"
With that, the man made a hand seal and disappeared in an instant, a strange wind sweeping through the area.
"…our sensei's an asshole, isn't he?"
Sasuke grunted as a reply, the feeling mutual.
Just then, the missing teammate came crashing through the foliage, only to spot Sasuke's head.
"Auuugh," Sakura screamed, "His severed head!"
And, with that, she swooned, fainting dead away.
It was Sasuke's turn to comment, sufficing with "Wh-…what?"
~xxx
After a brief struggle, and some help from Naruto, which he accepted with some chagrin, Sasuke was able to free himself. Thus enabled, they waited for Sakura to come to.
"I think," Naruto began, crossing his arms, "we need to work more as a team here, less like we're alone in this fight."
Sasuke grunted, shaking his head. "I don't suppose we're including Sakura in this, are we?"
The blond shook his head, chuckling, "Sasuke, I know she acts stupid around you, but she's still a pretty useful girl, even if it's just book-smarts right now."
"No," Sasuke shook his head, "That wouldn't make sense."
"Look, Uchiha…" Naruto began, tapping his foot, "I dunno exactly what's going on here, but it would be better for all of us if we pull together. I'm not special flower, but the climb back up to this point made me much stronger than I was before."
Sasuke looked at Naruto, surprise very evident in his eyes. "So you did become a genin back then!"
"What, you think this is my lying face, Sasuke?" Naruto said, grinning toothily, "I've done a whole lot more than most people have given me credit, I'll tell you right now."
A moment passed, both silent as they eyed each other.
"Naruto…" Sasuke said, breaking the silence, "I may need you, whether we win or lose here."
"Really?" the blond asked, eyebrows visibly creasing his forehead, "I honestly didn't think of you in that way…"
Sasuke, caught offguard, bit his cheek, snorting. "No, nothing like that…"
Quickly regaining his composure, Sasuke looked away from Naruto. "There's a man that only I can kill.
"That time…crying..."
His teammate remained silent, having a feeling where this was headed and respectful of Sasuke's obviously heartfelt confession. After another pause, Sasuke huffed, resuming his monologue.
"I am an avenger.
"I have to become stronger than that man- so I can't just linger here…"
Not too far away, a bell went off, Sasuke cursing. "Damn! I wasted too much time."
Chuckling, Naruto walked toward the prone form of his other teammate. "It's only wasted time if you learn nothing from it…Would you help me carry our little sleeping blossom?"
Making a rude noise, Sasuke didn't seem to like the idea, but he helped all the same, carrying Sakura over to the clearing, where the stumps were.
"Oh look!- bentos."
Sasuke paused as Naruto picked the two boxes up, smacking his lips as he picked up his share of Sakura, and they continued on, the Uchiha's stomach growling wretchedly at the promise of food.
~xxx
Nobody was surprised that somebody ended up tied to a stump, save Sakura, who woke up tied to one.
Kakashi stood before the three, watching them for a moment.
"Oh…You guys look really hungry," he said, ending the torturous wait, "By the way- something about the training…"
The Jōnin stuffed his hands in his pockets, sighing before saying "Well, there's no need for you guys to go back to the Academy."
"Then- then all three of us…" Sakura began, confused.
"Yup, all three of you…should quit as Ninjas!"
That's where silence set in, heavy and deep.
"Um…" Sakura began, uncertainty pervading her tone, "We couldn't get the bells, but…but why do we have to quit?"
"Because," Kakashi said, "all of you are just punks who don't deserve to be ninjas."
At that, Sasuke flew to his feet, charging the Jōnin.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled, watching helplessly as the boy of her dreams charged their teacher turned insurmountable enemy.
Naruto had no comment, preferring to just look on as the inevitable happened.
In a blur of body parts, Kakashi had the Rookie of the Year pinned to the ground, sitting on the boy's back with one arm pinned and a foot keeping Sasuke's face just shy of pressed into the dirt.
"No! Don't step on Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried in outrage, tearing up, unable to do anything but flail her legs.
A grim cast fell over the true shinobi's face, glaring at the two still sitting there "Are you guys underestimating ninjas? Huh?
"Why do you think you were divided into teams and are doing this training?"
Sakura blinked, confused further.
"Huh? What does that mean?" she said, a bead of sweat trickling down her expansive brow.
"Basically…" Kakashi said, "You guys are not understanding the answer to this test."
"An answer, huh?" Naruto half-stated, obviously unsurprised by anything thus far.
"Yes; the answer that helps you pass this test."
"so…" Sakura began, pausing to strain against the ropes, whether it was for comfort or to escape was anyone's guess.
"When are you going to tell us?" she asked, sighing impotently, working up a pretty heavy glow.
A short, pregnant pause set in.
"Geez…" Kakashi said, at a complete loss for any cogent reply, looking away to keep from saying something he shouldn't.
The man looked back at the two genin not under his proverbial or literal boot "It's teamwork."
This came as a surprise to two, the remaining one throwing up his hands as if this was all he was waiting for.
Seemingly indifferent, Kakashi continued on with his explanation. "The three of you working together may have gotten the bells."
"What do you mean by teamwork?" Sakura cried out with righteous indignation, "Even if we work together and get the bells, one of us would still fail.
"What teamwork? That just makes us fight each other."
Kakashi gave the most vocal protester of any of his charges a pointedly apathetic look. "Of course! This test is purposely set up to make you fight amongst yourselves."
"Huh?!"
"The purpose is to see whether you can forget about your own interests and successfully work together under these designed circumstances.
"Yet...you guys…"
Kakashi looked at Sakura, saying "Sakura, instead of Naruto, who was where you could see him, and close enough to assist, you were only thinking about Sasuke, whose whereabouts and situation were unknown to you."
"Naruto!" the Jōnin stared right at the boy, in the specs he kept pushing as Naruto's namesake up until this point. "You were running around by yourself, and when it came time for you to assist a teammate, you rushed head on in, compromising yourself and only prolonging your teammate's optimal success by a handful of seconds."
Kakashi tapped his foot on Sasuke's head, addressing him. "Sasuke! You just assumed the others would get in your way and tried to do everything yourself."
He looked up, speaking plainly. "The duties are done by the team.
"Of course superior individual ability is important to a ninja – but what's even more important is 'teamwork'.
"Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger
"And even get you killed. For example…"
Kakashi produced a kunai, holding it to Sasuke's neck threateningly. "Naruto! Kill Sakura- or Sasuke dies!"
"What?!" the girl screamed, flailing in panic.
Naruto spoiled the mood by scratching his nose as if nothing was happening.
Nonetheless, the Jōnin carried on as if everything was going as expected. "You see?
"If a hostage is taken, you will have tough choices and then die. You will be risking your lives in these duties."
With that, Kakashi got off of Sasuke's back, figuratively and literally, and walked toward the cenotaph everybody present but he misunderstood. Sasuke righted himself, quickly joining Naruto in case the man tried anything else funny.
"Look at this," Hatake Kakashi said, placing his hand on it, "The numerous names carved on this stone. These are ninjas who are recognized as heroes of the village."
"Well, cha, it's got a whole lot of Uchihas on there!" Sakura said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Kakashi noticeably winced at that, but continued on, giving the trio a look from the corner of his eye "But…they aren't just normal heroes."
"Really? What kind were they?" Naruto asked, visibly interested.
The Jōnin sighed, all the tiredness from years of living a soldier's life evident in that one breath. "They were all heroes who died while on duty."
A look of sadness fell over the faces of the genin, Sakura's shoulders sagging under the weight of the implications.
"This is a memorial," Kakashi said, "My best friend's name is carved here."
Seeing that the kids were getting it, Kakashi turned back, saying "You guys…
"I'll give you one more chance- but after lunch I'll make it even tougher to get the bells.
"Those who still wish to challenge can eat lunch- but don't give any to Sakura."
"Huh?"
"It's punishment for trying to eat by yourself," Kakashi replied.
"But-!"
"If anyone gives him any food, they will fail immediately.
"I am the rules here," the Jōnin stated dryly, "Got it?"
And with that, he disappeared again, leaving the three alone with each other.
~xxx
The boys sat down beside the stumps, opening up their bentos to avail themselves of some food after all that exertion.
Sakura looks dejected, her stomach growling terribly. Naruto looked over at her, raising his eyebrow.
"Hey, Sasuke…"
"Yeah, Naruto?"
The blond scratched his nose. "Wanna give Sakura some of your food?"
Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. "The idea crossed my mind…why?"
"But…but you guys-"
Naruto raised a finger to Sakura "Shut up.
"Why would sensei read us the riot act on teamwork, then turn around and tell us to neglect our teammate? I mean, sure, she did allow bias and her stomach to get in the way of accomplishing anything but-"
"Naruto! Why you-"
The blond stood up, shoving chopsticks with a wad of rice in them in her face, bento in his other hand. "Just eat, you silly."
Blushing, half out of self-consciousness, half out of the feelings not quite killed last evening, Sakura obeyed, daintily nibbling at the food Naruto was so thoughtfully sharing with her.
"Say 'ah', silly."
Sakura blinked, breaking into a short giggle fit.
Then ripped a ridiculously huge explosion centimeters away from the genin, startling all three.
"YOU GENIN!" Kakashi roared, anger clear in his eyes.
This was it. Their doom was sealed.
"Pass~."
The man chuckled, straightening up.
"Pass," Sakura said, Naruto producing his billhook and cutting her free in one go, "But why?" The girl rubbed her wrists, puzzlement as clear on her face as it wasn't on Naruto's.
"You guys are the first – everyone else would just do whatever I told them. They were all just…"
A few, rather vivid images flashed through the man's mind. "…morons."
Kakashi sighed, putting his hands back in his pockets. "A ninja must see underneath the underneath,
"Those that break the rules and codes of the ninja world are called trash…"
The Jōnin looked at each of the three, every one promising as ever he saw in a Leaf genin "But you know what?
Those who don't take care of their comrades…they're lower than trash."
Allowing a moment for all that to sink in, Kakashi gives his genin a thumb's up, saying "That ends the training – all of you pass! Starting tomorrow, Team Seven will begin its duties!"
"Alright~," said Naruto closing up his bento box, turning to Sakura and pushing it on her.
"A symbol of the memories we hope to share," he comically half-whispered.
Sakura responded by punching the blond boy in the arm, taking the box all the same.
"Ouch~," Naruto said, rubbing his arm, "Is this how our relationship will always turn out~?"
The fledgling kunoichi punched him again, this time in the side. "Keep pushing it, Naruto."
"Mmhm~," Naruto said, walking in front of the girl, spinning to face her as he walked in front of her, "Whatever you say, Sa- Ku- Ra- chaaaaaaan."
Blushing hard in little to no time at all, the girl aimed at Naruto's taunting face, but the boy danced out of reach. Huffing with frustration, Sakura turned toward Sasuke, who was walking with them, as was Kakashi.
"Sa-Sasuke-kun…would you like to-"
"I've got my own bento, Sakura," he said, cutting her off, shaking the box as proof.
"But we could still…"
"Sakura, I'm going home. Alone."
"B- bu- but—"
"No."
"Careful, Sasuke," Naruto said, coming a little closer, "If you keep saying no like that, she's gonna stop taking that as an answer~"
Once again, Sakura aimed a swipe at Naruto, who dodged out of reach. She didn't stop there, though, chasing the newly mischievous blond around, roaring even as he laughed.
~xxx
"So Naruto…"
"Yes, Sensei?"
The two were all that were left, the rest having broken off toward their own neighborhoods already.
"I've been wondering..." the man began, scratching his cheek, "how come you seemed to know what was going on the whole time?"
"Oh that…yeah, I had the dubious pleasure of working E Missions for two years…"
"Oh…" Kakashi said, ducking under a low-hanging clothesline. "Yeah, ninja's community service bites pretty hard…"
"Worked with a few chunin out of the loop- one wind affinity support guy by the name of Tenzo, said he'd flunked out of one of your tests before-"
"…Oh."
"Mmhm."
"Yeah…" Kakashi said, kicking a can out of the way, "I remember that pain in the ass."
"How come he failed?"
"Kept blowing up his teammates' hiding places."
"What for? He mistake them for yours?"
"No, he was assigned on a team with his brothers."
"Jeez…"
"So…how come you got saddled with doing E Missions before you graduated? Only ninjas can-"
"Here's where my flat is, sensei- catch you later."
Naruto quickly retreated from the Jōnin, leaving the man with a head full of questions.
Questions that could be easily answered with a stroll by the Leaf Shinobi public records…
~~xxx
Holy fuckballs that took some time.
I was hoping to do something like 10 K words here, but expected to get something like just under 5
In any case, I'm happy with the results, as late as they are for this story.
Broke the three chapter limit. Broke the 20K word limit. The world of writing is now my oyster.
Expect more updates. Expect them soon!
In the mean time, I will direct your attention toward the review box, finely crafted for your ease of use by the lovely programmers of this site. Leave me your most useful commentary, however droll or offbeat, as it will assist me in bringing you a sufficiently thoughtful literary experience.
I would also like to direct your attention to my profile page- or, rather, my other stories, as well as my current poll.
In the Now, I'd like to know how powerful Naruto is- from your point of view. I may have overstated some of his pros, but I'm trying to keep him balanced.
For instance, no Dragon Ball Z level landscape-destroying techniques or retardedly non-ninja-like techniques like "Futon: Wind Hammer Explosion of DOOOOOOM"
Thus how I've arranged him currently- a fledgling user of the natural force of misdirection. He's obviously not gonna be beating down the gates of Hell any time soon or assassinating daimyos, but he's gonna be at least competent.
In any case, leave your interesting or creative comments in the review section below
Or PM me with your pithy opinions or brilliant suggestions
Believe me, I listen to all
I hope you've all had a lovely Independence Day, you Americans out celebrating yesterday, and I hope the rest of my readers had an equally brilliant regular old day, because, hey, every day you're alive and enjoying the gift of life ROCKS
In any case, good night and good luck!