Ayakashi's eyes widened as Kakashi was surrounded by a cloud of smoke, causing her to look around as she darted forward, towards Naruto's tree while keeping an eye out for him.
Her ears perked as she landed on the branch next to the rope. Naruto glanced up at her as he mumbled to himself, cutting the rope with a kunai as he flipped his body so his feet were towards the ground. Landing, Ayakashi glanced away as she heard a faint scream, straightening as she tried to find the source.
Naruto let out a frustrated yell as another rope tightened around his ankles, lifting him back into the air. "I fell for it again!"
Ayakashi took out one of her kunais, grabbing the rope with one hand and slicing it with the other. She caught the rope as it unwrapped itself from the branch, shakily lowering Naruto to the ground. She jumped down, helping him undo the rope as he sighed.
"Are you alright?" she said quietly as she helped him to his feet. He rubbed the back of his head, nodding.
"I'll be fine." he groaned. "Come on, let's go before they come back."
Ayakashi nodded as they jumped into the trees, trying to find someone, if anyone. They arrived back at the main point as Naruto hung from the trees, locking his legs over the branch as Ayakashi kept an eye out. The blond-haired boy spotted three boxes sitting on the flat stone.
"Look! It's the lunches!" Naruto swung himself up, grinning as he got to his feet. He went to take off before stopping, a knowing look overcoming him, "A ninja must see through deception!"
Ayakashi watched as he took off, following shortly after. "Naruto! Wait!"
He snatched up one the boxes as they reached the stone, He laughed as he sat against the raised piece, laying one of the boxes in front of him as he raised his hands. Ayakashi stood next to him, back facing the forest as she watched worriedly.
"Kakashi-sensei said if we don't get a bell, we don't get any lunch. But if I eat my lunch now then there's nothing he can do!" Naruto grinned as he picked up his chopsticks. "It's chow time!"
"Hi there."
Ayakashi and Naruto jumped as Kakashi stood on top of the raised stone. Ayakashi moved away, dropping into a defensive stance as Naruto was frozen to the spot.
"I was just joking, sensei." Naruto said defeatedly.
"Nice try." Kakashi said quietly. Ayakashi narrowed her eyes, staring up at Kakashi. He glanced at her, smiling.
"Why didn't you stop him?" he asked. Ayakashi's face fell before she retained her original look. Kakashi didn't wait for an answer as he picked up Naruto, dashing over to the pole and tying him up just as Sasuke and Sakura walked into view. Ayakashi took her spot close to Naruto as the other two sat down. Her tail swished gently as she heard his stomach growl.
"Uh oh. Stomach's are growling. Well, that's too bad." Kakashi held up a finger, staring at his students. "Oh, about this exercise? Well, I've decided. I won't send any of you back to the academy."
"What? We passed? All I did was faint and fall over. Do you get points for that?" Sakura said, confused. Naruto grinned happily as he leaned forward as much as he could. Ayakashi's ears perked up as she stared at her teacher.
"Then, then! That means all four of us, all four of us!" Naruto exclaimed, too excited to finish his sentences.
"Yes. All four of you are being dropped from the program. Permenantly."
Everyone stopped celebrating, horror-struck looks crossing their faces. Ayakashi pinned her ears as Naruto started freaking out.
"Drop us from the program? That means we can never become ninja! You said we couldn't take the bells so we'd be sent back to the academy! You can't just change your mind and kick us out! Why would you do that?" Naruto exclaimed.
"Because you don't think like ninja. You think like little kids. Like brats." Kakashi said. Sasuke grunted, taking off towards Kakashi, poised to strike. Kakashi moved quickly, pushing Sasuke onto the ground as he sighed. "You think it's all about you."
"Let go of Sasuke! You can't step on him like he's some kind of bug!" Sakura yelled, starting to panic.
"You don't know what it means to be a ninja! You think it's a game, huh?" Kakashi said, his tone becoming dark. Ayakashi narrowed her eyes as she watched Sasuke struggle against him. "Why do you think we put you on squads? Have you considered that question for one moment?"
"I-I don't understand." Ayakashi said quietly as Sakura nodded, agreeing.
"I mean, you never realized what this exercise was about. Not even close!"
"What it's about?" Naruto repeated.
"Yes. That's what determines whether you pass or fail." Kakashi answered.
"But that's… I wanted to ask you about that from the beginning." Sakura said, a sullen look crossing her face.
"Use your head!" Kakashi scoffed. "Three - in this case, four - people on a squad. Why do you think we would do that?"
"How are we supposed to know why you picked four people? We didn't make the rules!" Naruto groaned.
"It's so basic." Kakashi said quietly. "Teamwork!"
"Us working together, is that what you mean?" Sakura asked.
"That's what I mean." Kakashi replied. "It's too late now. But if all four of you had come at me, you might have been able to take them. Well, anyway, it's over."
Sakura's face had a look of realization as she glanced over at Kakashi. "You set it up with four people but only three bells! If we work together and got the bells, only three of us could keep them and that would cause group conflict and the squad would break up!"
"Exactly. I purposely pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could overcome that and put the squad ahead of yourselves." Kakashi looked down at Sasuke. "A Genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. But you. It never even crossed your mind. Sakura!"
She let out a noise of surprise, staring at her teacher.
"You obsessed about Sasuke who was gone! While Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn't lift a finger to help him! Naruto!"
Naruto's eyes widened as he called his name.
"You did everything on your own. Everything! And you, Sasuke, thought the others were so far beneath you that they're worthless. Arrogance. The only one who did anything related to teamwork was Ayakashi, and even then all you did was focus on Naruto!"
Ayakashi flattened her ears, staring down at the ground as her tail swished angrily.
"Ninja missions are carried out in squads! 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." Kakashi pulled out a kunai. "Sakura! Ayakashi! Kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies!"
The other three started to panic as he pressed the kunai to Sasuke's neck. "That's what happens on a mission. The enemy takes a hostage and you have an impossible choice. And someone ends up dead."
Kakashi stood up, allowing Sasuke to get up as well. Ayakashi pressed close to Naruto, watching.
"On every mission, your life is on the line. Did you look at this stone?" Kakashi walked over to the smooth stone that Ayakashi and Naruto had spotted earlier. "The names engraved on it? They are all ninja who are honoured as heroes in our village."
"That's it, that's it, that's it!" Naruto exclaimed. "I've decided 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!"
Sasuke walked back over to his teammates, quiet. Kakashi looked back, his expression blank. "They are… A special kind of hero."
"What kind of heroes are they? Come on, tell us!" Naruto said excitedly. "Well, well?"
"They're all KIA."
"That sounds awesome!" Naruto said, a smile on his face.
"That means killed in action. They all died." Sakura said, turning to him. His smile faltered as he realized what she said. Ayakashi pinned her ears as she lowered her head.
"This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here." Kakashi said, growing quiet for a moment 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 will have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up your strength. But! Do not give Naruto anything. 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?"
Ayakashi frowned angrily as she sat down with the others, pressed against the pole Naruto was still tied up to. She ate her food in silence, as well as the others. Naruto's stomach made a loud rumbling sound, signalling his level of hunger as Ayakashi's ears twitched, causing her to look up at him.
"This is no big deal! I can go without eating for days! For weeks! Believe it! This is no big deal!" Naruto exclaimed, his stomach growling again. "No problem."
Ayakashi chuckled quietly. "It sounds like your stomach doesn't agree with you, Naruto."
His face turned red in embarrassment as he turned his head away from her. Sasuke glanced up at Naruto, whose face was twisted, hunger laced into his expression. Sighing, he held his food up to him. "Here."
"What? No, Sasuke! You can't do that. You heard what the sensei said!" Sakura exclaimed, glancing around. Ayakashi turned towards her friend, staring down at her food before lifting it to Naruto, causing a smile to spread on his face.
"Kakashi's gone. We need to get those bells as a team. If Naruto's hungry, he'll be weak and ineffective. That hurts the team and jeopardizes the mission."
Sakura glanced at her food, holding it out to Naruto. He stared at her with a smile on his face as she stared up at him, returning the smile shortly after.
"Okay, thanks." Naruto said as Ayakashi stepped back, frowning.
"Don't thank me, just eat!" Sakura said.
Naruto stared down at her. "But isn't that your lunch?"
"I-I'm on a diet. I mean, I don't eat as much as Sasuke so… Just take it, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed.
"I can't take it!" he replied, clenching his fists. "I can't move my hands, you have to feed me!"
"Hurry up. He could come back any minute." Sasuke said quietly. Ayakashi set her food down, watching the exchange before her with a small pang of anger in her heart.
"This is one time only! That's it! I'll never do this again, is that clear?" Sakura exclaimed.
"Clear as a bell, Sakura!" Naruto smiled as Sakura extended her chopsticks, a small ball of rice between them. Naruto took it into his mouth, smiling as he chewed.
A huge smoke cloud appeared behind them, startling everyone as Ayakashi scrambled to her feet, her first instinct to protect Naruto. Kakashi appeared through the cloud, an angry look on his face. "You!"
Ayakashi growled quietly as Sakura and Naruto freaked out. Sasuke and her held her ground as they stared at their teacher.
"You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for the punishment!" Kakashi said, creating hand-signs. Dark clouds covered the sky as thunder rumbled through the air, lightning following it shortly after. "Any last words?"
"But you said…" Naruto started, his voice shaky.
"Yes?" Kakashi said, tilting his head slightly.
"You said that there were four of us! That's what you said and that's why…" he stopped, glancing at his teammates, his eyes landing on the one who was protecting him. "Sakura… Kashi… And…"
"We're all on this squad and we're all in this together!" Sasuke said, glancing at his teammates as well.
Sakura opened her eyes before jumping to her feet after falling from the shock of the oncoming attack. "Yeah, that's right! We gave our lunch to him because the four of us are one!"
"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed as Ayakashi stepped away from Kakashi. "Believe it! That's right!"
"The four of you are one? That's your excuse?" Kakashi said before smiling, chuckling softly. "You pass."
The four students stared at him with confused looks on their faces.
"You. Pass." Kakashi repeated.
"What do you mean? How did we pass?" Sakura asked.
"You're the first squad that ever succeeded. The others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap." Kakashi said as the sky cleared. "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."
Naruto teared up as Ayakashi lifted her stance, grinning. "You know, he's kind of cool."
"The exercise is over, everyone passes! Squad Seven has its first mission tomorrow!" Kakashi said, giving his team a thumbs up. The others started rejoicing as Kakashi smiled. "Let's go home."
Sasuke and Sakura started walking away with Kakashi as Ayakashi undid Naruto's ropes. He took her into his arms, squeezing her as he hugged her happily. After he released her, he took her hand, pulling her along as they caught up with their team.