Chapter TWELVE

Contrary to what most people may think, Kakashi did not spend his time being purposely late. He hung out with his best friend, Obito, who had no problem whatsoever with his tardiness, for they were late for the same reasons. He wandered around the ANBU office, where people had learnt to not question why he was there when he was no longer an ANBU. He also ran from Gai, another of the people who had the bravery to claim to be his friend, though once the man had gotten a Genin team there were less occasions of bumping into him on the streets.

He also spent a lot of time in front of the Memorial stone, where the names of half the people he had ever cared for were engraved.

Among the carved names of what people called heroes but to Kakashi, was only a memory of a haunting nightmare, was the characters spelling out Nohara Rin.

"Shouldn't you be going now?" Obito asks. This time, it is his turn to nag him for the sake of pretending to have actually tried to arrive on time, because it is Kakashi who has somewhere to be.

"Hm." Kakashi plays along and makes a sound like he is considering the idea.

Here, messing around feels as wrong as it feels right. If he loses himself just a little more, it feels as though he would be able to hear Rin's voice demanding why he was late.

But he doesn't, because he is the anchor holding Obito back from drowning in loss, just like he is his.

"If you're too late, Rin will be angry."

This is their way of telling them perhaps they really should go. Kakashi pauses in his musing and glances up at the sky. It is almost noon.

"We can't have that happening." Kakashi straightens from his crouch and takes his time straightening his legs. "I guess I'll be going now."

Obito hums and stands up too. "You should. I hope you pass this team. They seem pretty interesting." He grins. "Good luck."

"Kakashi rolls his eyes.


Just as Sasuke is about to suggest they move on from katas, Kakashi appears as suddenly as he had left the previous day, in a puff of smoke.

Naruto is the first to react. The blond pounces on the Jounin with a loud "You're late!".

Kakashi smoothly steps to the side in a way that makes Sasuke sure the man is more that how he presents himself. "Hello to you too, Naruto."

"Why are you late, huh?" Naruto demands. "Where were you?"

Kakashi shrugs casually and Sasuke wonders how someone like his brother had put up with someone like Kakashi. "Well, a black cat crossed my path and naturally, I had to take a different path." Ignoring the skeptical looks he receives, the Jounin walks over to the wooden stumps located in the grounds and places an alarm clock on one of them. "Now," Kakashi pulls out two bells from his flak jacket. "Here's your task." He waves the bells around and Sasuke leans in just a little, to make sure he does not miss anything. "I set the alarms to ring at noon. You are to get one of these bells from me by then. Fail to do so and you will be tied to a stump while I eat lunch in front of you."

Naruto glares in disbelief. "Wait! You tricked us-"

Sasuke cuts off the blond with a sharp elbow to the stomach. Ignoring his pained protest, he turns to Kakashi. "Why are there only two bells?" He demands, because there is a bad feeling welling up within his stomach.

"Because only two of you will pass." Kakashi says. "Those who fail to retrieve a hell will be sent back to the Academy, be it one person, or the whole team."

Sasuke stares at the man in shock. He hears Naruto gasp and while he does not turn to look, he is sure Sakura is not completely indifferent as well.

"It's a way of weeding out the weak from the strong." Kakashi says, still smiling. "And the only way you'll succeed is to come at me with the intent to kill."

He goes quite, clearly done with the explanation, leaving them to take it in.

And Sasuke glances over at Sakura and he feels Naruto doing the same.

Two at most will pass.

One at least would fail.

And while Sasuke feels bad, the emotion isn't enough to risk his own place as a shinobi.


While having claimed otherwise, Kakashi will be lying if he says he is completely disinterested. Before him is a team that is more or less the definition of Konoha pride.

The Hyuuga and the Uchiha were two of the most renowned clans in all the Shinobi Nations while the Byakugan and the Sharingan were two of Konoha's most prized commodities. Sasuke was not only the second son of the Uchiha clan head but he wore his clan name with pride and his features could be recognized from a mile away. Sakura may not have the status Sasuke has, but she too released the air of a clan born. She was graceful and smooth in everything she did, just like any other proud Hyuuga and Kakashi had heard that being a Branch House member did not weaken the Byakugan in anyway.

The Fourth Hokage of Konoha, the Yellow Flash, was a shinobi known throughout all the lands and Kakashi doubted there was anyone who hadn't at least heard of him.

While unwilling to admit it, he is more than willing to be the one to lead this team to the glory it is promised, but there is one thing he is unwilling to do and that is take part in another destined disaster.

This particular team already started off with a crack down the middle.

Naruto was held back by his father's overpowering presence and the need to step out to be seen as who he was. He would keep pushing him until he was over the edge and his bright persona would keep everyone from noticing until it was too late.

Sasuke was crushed by the obligation to be better and his belief that he would forever be below his brother in everything he did. The need to prove himself would one day cause him to make a decision which would endanger the whole team.

Sakura was held together by chains of hatred from a chasm not even she knew the depth of and her engraved mentality that she was inferior compared to everyone. Her disregard for herself and her willingness to think everyone else though the same would lead her to believe that she was expendable .

Kakashi knows that those who were emotionally broken were driven the hardest by their dreams and that that was the aim of her higher ups when this particular team was put together under him. However, he also knows that some teams are just fated to break apart and he is unwilling to be a part of another cruel separation of those who had finally managed to find a stable place.


The moment Kakashi reveals the intentions of the bell test, Sakura knows that it will be her against everyone else.

She can tell from the way Sasuke and Naruto glance over at each other that they have already made an alliance. Gai had said that Kakashi had refused to pass any of the previous teams, so there is nothing really that would cause him to do any different.

However, she does not let any of this show on her face and she pretends not to notice the looks Naruto and Sasuke and her way.

She has stood for herself for as long as she had stood for her brother, because she has to be able to protect herself in order to protect Neji and not hold him back, and this is just like any other moment. No matter what, people are influenced by emotional relations and links when they pick their priorities and she is used to being on the sacrificed end of the deal.

The memory of Naruto holding out his hand and the two of them looking at her in acceptance seems to be nothing but a dream.

The world was an unfair pace. It found pleasure in pitting people against others. However, unfortunately for it, Sakura was used to it.

She had stopped breaking over every small thing ages ago because, if she hadn't, she would have shattered long ago.


Hanakotoba

Gladiolus

Pleasant Memory/Personal Strength/Sincerity/Untiring Effort/Forgetting/Victory


There was a little issue with formatting, so there might be random codes and " symbols in places for absolutely no reason. We checked, but please do tell us if you see any.


So...chapter twelve here...yeah.

Darque: Next chapter will probably be the bell test.

Raven: Unless Darque decides to have another one of her 'Neji and Sakura through the eyes of other characters' thing, which always seem to last longer than they probably are.

Darque: I like writing them.

Raven: I can see that.

Darque: Then why did you question why I wrote them?

Raven: I did not.

Darque: You didn't?

Raven: I didn't.

Darque:...

Raven:...

Darque: Oh.

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