THE CHERRY BLOSSOM FIELD
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The characters belong to their respective owners.
CHAPTER 2: THE BELL TEST
"Hey! Whatcha doing Naruto?" Sakura asked curiously. In the last few hours, this was the first time the chatterbox had stopped talking. She found him fumbling near the door with a stool at his disposal.
Instead of replying, the boy just turned to look at her with a huge, mischievous smile that threatened to fall right off his face. As her gaze travelled above him, she saw that the sliding door of the room was opened a crack and a chalkboard duster was sneakily hinged between the door and the doorframe, undoubtedly placed to fall on the unaware person who walked through at any moment.
"Serves him right for being so late!" Naruto yelled excitedly while jumping from the stool. He was very aptly named as the 'Prankster of Konoha', she mused.
The supposed 'sensei' had been a few hours later. All the teams had already left with their teachers and even the academy instructors were deserting the building.
Sakura shook her head, but a small smirk was playing on her lips. After all, who doesn't like a good ol' prank? Well, as long as you're not on the receiving end of it.
But what had Iruka sensei said? That their sensei was supposed to be a jounin. If he, or she, was even slightly competent, there's no way they'd be trapped in something so juvenile. Sakura opened her mouth to express her thoughts but someone else beat her to it.
"Pfft. Like a jounin would ever fall for such a stupid trick." Sasuke said in an unimpressed tone, making no movement except his black-grey eyes shifting lazily to Naruto.
"I agree. Dodging things will be like a second nature for him, or her." The rosette voiced when she saw the blonde's sky-blue eyes turned towards her, no doubt asking for support.
Not masking his disappointment at being shot down, he burst out at the raven-haired boy, his voice riding up more than quite a few notches. "Shut up, teme(bastard)! It's not like you can do any better!"
Oh Kami…Sakura involuntarily raised her hands to massage her temples, crinkling her eyebrows and closing her eyes in the process. At first it wasn't so bad, but now, Naruto's screeching with his already high-pitched voice was like sounding more and more like scratching long nails on a wall. And don't even get me started on what happened earlier!
"Iruka sensei! Why does an outstanding shinobi like me have to be on the same team as that prick over there?!" The blonde yelled, pointing an accusing finger to the supposed 'prick'.
"Sasuke's grades were the best out of all twenty-seven graduates." Iruka shot back in a frustrated voice. "And yours, Naruto, were the dead-last."
Sakura turned her head a little and could almost see the air (along with confidence) being knocked out of the knucklehead, who, for the first time apparently, was at a lack for words. His mouth kept opening and closing, resembling a flopping fish.
"You do understand," the spiky haired instructor continued in a softer tone. "We have to do this to balance the teams, right?"
"Just don't get in my way, dead last." Sakura heard the low, but clear words of the onyx-eyed boy. She craned her neck further towards her other supposed 'teammate. He was still sitting in that trademark position; elbows propped up, fingers intertwined and chin resting on them. His emotionless eyes met her emerald ones for a fleeting moment before he turned his head in the other direction.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU BASTARD!" Naruto's unmistakable (especially at this distance) bellow pierced her eardrums and she quickly turned back in her seat.
As she continued hearing profanities being hurled right and left in the blonde's pitchy voice, she covered her ears and fell back in her seat, shrinking until only the very top of her pink head was visible. This was definitely going to be a long, long time…
A very soft squeak broke her out of her reverie and her glossed-over eyes regained focus to see a gloved hand on the door, no doubt to slide it open. She looked over to see Naruto watch silently, eyes peeled. Even Sasuke turned his head towards the door, obviously invested in the result.
All three waited with baited breaths in complete silence. The door flew open and a head donning silver, perfectly spiked hair inclined towards the left side came into view. Blinking, Sakura could make out that his face below his eyes was hidden by a dark blue mask. Even his left eye was covered by his lop-sided hitai-ate, leaving a lone eye to plain view.
This was all the information all three of them could collect, because not seconds later, the duster earlier secured between the door and the frame came loose, only to land directly on his head. White chalk particles scattered all over his silver locks, like his head was the only place a snowfall had been blessed, and a small cloud of dust formed.
In swift moments, the man rose to his full height, took the duster off his head and dusted his hair. He was wearing dark blue, long-sleeved shirt and pants along with a dark green flak jacket, typical Konoha's standard infantry clothing. His hitai-ate glistened in the sunlight refuging in through the wide windows of the room, confirming that he was indeed a shinobi. So, was he their sensei then?
"HAHAHA! You fell for it! You fell for it!" Naruto guffawed loudly, holding his stomach as his loud voice filled the entire room. He doubled up in laughter, very much relishing in the excellent results of his latest prank.
Meanwhile, Sakura was barely controlling her own laughter inside. It had worked better than she imagined, no doubt. But she was conflicted. Would this man brush it off or punish them for it?
She looked up at his face, trying to gauge any kind of reaction, but his face was completely impassive. The fact that most of it was covered wasn't helping either.
By the way his lone eye jumped between the three of them, it appeared to her that he was doing his own scrutiny of them. Not once did his expression change.
Sasuke, meanwhile, was regarding this man with suspicious, narrowed eyes. If he couldn't even dodge a simple duster, there is no guarantee that he would be able to dodge a kunai in a battle. Getting an incompetent sensei was equivalent to a nightmare for the young Uchiha. Is this really a jounin? He doesn't seem very reliable...
"Hmm, how can I say this?" The silver-haired man started in an awfully superficial cheerful tone; his hand positioned under his chin while the lone eye was crinkled in what could be assumed a smile. "My first impression is…"
Sakura's eyebrows shot up in anticipation. Naruto stopped laughing. Sasuke turned towards him with slightly narrowed eyes.
"...I don't like you guys."
-oOo-
"Well, let's begin by introducing ourselves." The masked jounin said lazily, running a quick eye on the three children seated in front of him.
They had deserted the classroom and were now up on the roof. The three had followed him without questions, albeit a bit suspiciously, which made him sigh. Was he just going to get another bunch of strictly, rule-abiding, opinion-lacking doofuses?
"What do you want to know?" The shortest, a blonde, asked in a slightly loud voice.
"How about your likes, dislike, your dreams for the future…" The silver-haired man listed, shrugging his shoulders. "…You know, stuff like that."
He stopped for a moment to once again scrutinize his 'students' and made his mental notes.
On the right was the blonde. Obnoxious, loud, not very smart either, apparently.
In the middle, a dark-haired boy with a blank expression. Apparently calm, aloof, maybe even arrogant. He hadn't heard the boy utter more than a 'hn' in the short time they had been affiliated.
To the left, a pinkette. Observant, on the quiet side, a genius by the book with moderately above average skills in her academy report.
"Hey hey! Why don't you introduce yourself to us first, 'ttebayo?!" The loudmouth uttered with slight suspicion and confusion.
"Yeah, you do look kinda suspicious…" The girl chimed in, her pink eyebrow scrunched up a little.
A flicker of surprise crossed the jounin's face, and he masked it just as quickly.
"Oh me? My name is Kakashi Hatake." 'Kakashi' stated in a bored voice. "I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. My dreams for the future…hmm. And I have lots of hobbies." He finished, the end of his eye crinkling.
The three kids scrutinized him warily before proceeding to share a look amongst them. So, all he told us…is his name?
"Now it's your turn." Kakashi crossed his arms in front of his chest and made himself comfortable on the roof railing. "Let's start from the right."
"Yosh! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! What I like is…cup ramen!" The boy chattered excitedly, face flushed with pride and his left hand cradling the hitai-ate on his forehead. "What I like even more is when Iruka sensei pays for my ramen at Ichiraku's. What I dislike is waiting for three minutes for the ramen to cook."
Does he only think about ramen? Kakashi sighed.
"And my dream…" A determined glint in the sky-blue eyes replaced the goofy grin as both his hands held the metal plate of the hitai-ate with pride; the boy itself exuded confidence. "…Is to surpass all the hokages and then have the people of this village acknowledge my existence."
The jounin's eye just slightly widened with the unexpected answer. He's certainly grown up in an interesting way…
"My hobbies…pranks, I guess." He finished, clasping his hands behind his head in a careless manner.
"Next." Kakashi called, batting an eyelid.
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are a lot of things I dislike and I don't really like anything." The onyx-eyed boy drawled in a monotonous tone, before he steeled his gaze and his shoulders tensed. "What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality; the restoration of my clan…and to kill a certain someone."
A pin-drop silence. All the three spectators were having their own thoughts on this…rather unusual introduction.
Talk about being dark, huh…
He better not mean me…that bastard…*gulp*
Just as I thought…this is going to be hard.
"Okay." The silver-haired jounin said at last, elevating some of the tension that had suddenly descended in the area. His eyebrow still remained a little furrowed. "Lastly, the girl."
"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like training, learning new things and spending time with my dad and friends. What I dislike…missed opportunities and entitled and arrogant people." The rosette said with a scrunch of her eyebrow, in apparent distaste. "I don't really have a long-shot dream for the future, I just want to protect my d-" she stopped mid-way, pausing for a second before continuing. "I want to become strong to protect the people I love, and live a life free of regrets and what-ifs."
Interesting…Kakashi noted.
"And my hobbies…well…cooking, swimming and reading, I guess." She finished with a small nod of her head.
Three different children. Three different personalities. Three different goals.
"Now that introductions are done and dusted, I guess it is time for my instructions. Tomorrow, we'll start our duties as shinobi…" The masked ninja took on a slightly serious tone. "But first, we are going to do something, just the four of us."
"What is it? What? What?" Naruto chirped excitedly, bobbing up and down on his seat. Sakura seemed pleasantly surprised and even Sasuke raised his eyebrow in curiosity.
"Survival training." Kakashi quipped with a half-open eye.
The atmosphere grew a little more solemn, a little less cheerful.
"Survival training?" The knucklehead parroted, eyes squinting in confusion.
"Why is our first duty a training?" Sakura asked in a mixture of confusion and wary. "We've had enough training at the academy."
The sensei laughed a dry chuckle before responding. "It isn't a normal training. This time, I am your opponent."
Another chuckle escaped his throat as he registered their shocked, suspicious and outright confused faces. What cute, little children!
"Why are you laughing?" The rosette raised an eyebrow in barely masked frustration and confusion. Her green eyes glinted with just a tinge of irritation.
"Well, it's just that…" He chirped with empty cheerfulness. "When I tell you this, you guys are totally going to freak out."
"Freak out? Hah! As if!" The blonde yelled, holding his fist in the air.
Kakashi remained in his impassive position, putting his left hand across his chest and supporting his right one, the fingers brushing his right temple and a few strands of spiky, silver hair. His lips formed an evil smirk, maybe he should tell them just to see their expressions.
"Out of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen to become genin." He drawled, sadistic amusement growing as he saw the shock descend upon the three. "The rest will be sent back to the academy. This training is an extremely difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66%." He added as a salt to their wounds. Their shock only multiplied. Poor cute, little children.
Three…
Two…
One…
"WHAT! No way!" A loud yell immediately displaced the silence as the blonde turned to rage on the silver-haired jounin. "We worked so hard for it and…and…what even was the point of graduating then?!"
"Oh, that?" Kakashi held his chin in a pretence of thinking. "That was just to select those who have a chance of becoming genin."
Silence enveloped Sakura as she tried to take it all in. So, she had tried and trained and worked hard. She graduated. She memorised every single textbook. She aced every single examination. Only to end up being sent back to the academy? All of her hard work would then boil down to zero. It can't happen. I won't let it happen!
Failing tomorrow is not an option.
"Anyway, you'll have to show your real skills in the training ground tomorrow. Bring all the shinobi tools you have." The masked jounin stated in a serious tone, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Oh…and skip breakfast, or you might throw up."
Naruto was so engrossed in his own thoughts, that his mind didn't even pay attention to the last sentence. The knucklehead had graduated for the first time in three years. There's no way he wanted to end up back there. I can't fail here! I'll show Kakashi-sensei all I've got and make him acknowledge my strength!
"Further details are in this paper." Kakashi mumbled in a finishing tone, extending his hand towards the three. "Don't be late tomorrow."
Before one could blink, he was gone in a swirl of leaves.
As the young Uchiha skimmed through the paper, his mind became more and more clouded and his grip got tighter, crushing the sheet in the process. The instructions were the same as the jounin had told them, which meant there was indeed twice of a chance he could lose, as opposed to the chance he would win. However, Uchihas don't lose. He won't lose.
-oOo-
"Good morning!" Kakashi greeted with a wave of his hand.
"You're late!" Naruto hollered, pumping his fists in the air.
"You were supposed to be here four hours ago!" Sakura chimed in angrily, pointing an accusing finger in his direction. "Why even ask us to be on time when you're gonna show up late anyway?!"
Sasuke didn't speak a word, but his death-glare and the way his eyebrow was twitching was enough to convey that he shared the anger and frustration of his teammates.
The silver-haired jounin brushed them off and reached into his flak jacket. Pulling out an alarm clock, he winded it and placed it on a freshly-chopped tree stump. He turned to see the three watching him with intrigue, following his every moment.
"It is set to go off at noon." He gestured towards the clock and pulled out a small object from his pocket. He held up two shiny, silver bells suspended by a thread held between his fingers. "Your task is to take these bells from me before the time is up. This test will determine if you all become genin or not."
"Those who don't have a bell by noon, will get no lunch." He continued in an apathetic tone and pointed to the multiple tree stumps, on one of which the clock was ticking away. "I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps, but I'll also eat your lunch right in front of you."
Naruto's audible gulp could be heard by everyone.
"But there's three of us and only two bells…" The rosette pointed out, her voice trailing off. Just what twisted thing her sensei was planning here?
Kakashi's visible eye closed and crinkled, apparently in a smile. "Exactly, Sakura. Which means that at least one of you will definitely be tied to the stump."
"And if the stakes aren't high enough for you yet…" He piped up, lazy eye glancing pointedly over Sasuke, who had been relatively calm compared to others. "The person who fails this test…will be sent back to the academy."
The tension between the four of them could be cut with a knife.
Naruto looked like he had seen a ghost. Little beads of perspiration could be seen on his temples running down his chin. Sakura looked positively taken aback, her eyes wide and lips parted in visible shock. Sasuke's entire being stiffened; his head lowered but eyes narrowed. His onyx-eyes were etched with defiance, frustration and just a little nervous.
"If you want, you can use your shuriken and kunai." Kakashi plainly offered, as if he just hadn't dropped a bomb on the three. "You won't succeed unless you come at me with the intent to kill."
Kill?
She was supposed to come at her sensei with the intent to kill? Sakura's mind went blank for a second as she tried to wrap her head around the fact. She knew a shinobi's hand was ridden with red, but…
"You'll be in danger…" She muttered half-heartedly, secretly surprised with herself to speak the words out loud.
"Yeah, you're so slow you couldn't even dodge a blackboard duster." Naruto announced in a loud voice, putting his hands behind his head, albeit a little uneasily. "We'll definitely kill you, dattebayo!"
"In the real world, those with no talent often bark the loudest." The jounin chastised. "Well…ignore the dead-last here and start when I say…"
Sakura turned her head just in time to see the usually happy-go-lucky blonde charge at Kakashi, kunai in hand. His eyes were filled with rage and frustration and his movements were brash. Once the knucklehead deemed himself close enough, he thrust the kunai forward at the man.
In a split second, the entire scene shifted. A gloved hand firmly clasped the top of Naruto's head, halting his movements completely. Kakashi towered over him, his other gloved hand wrapped around Naruto's kunai-holding hand and twisted it in such a way that the sharp point of the kunai was just millimetres away from the back of the blonde's own neck. All of this happened so quickly that it left a stunned silence behind. A small bead of sweat ran form Naruto's temple down to his chin.
No way, I didn't see him at all…Sakura took a few tentative steps back, hand automatically going for her kunai holster. That speed!
So, this is a jounin…Sasuke's eyes steeled as his mouth formed a hard line.
"Mou, easy there. I didn't say start yet." Kakashi whispered, letting go. "But that's okay. At least you came at me with the intent to kill. So, you've acknowledged me, huh."
A small chuckle escaped him as his posture relaxed and visible eye closed and crinkled.
"How can I put this? I feel like I'm finally starting…" He drawled in an easy-going tone. "…To like you guys!"
Naruto offered a grin; Sakura managed an upward twitch of her lips nervously; Sasuke's face remained impassive.
"Alright! We're going to begin." Kakashi took on a more authoritative tone, raising his hand in the air. "Ready…start!"
-oOo-
Fundamentally, the most important thing for a shinobi is to be able to hide themselves…Kakashi skimmed his eye over the training field. Nice, they're all hidden pretty well.
"Alright! Let's face off fair and square!" Naruto's loud voice cut in the thin silence of the surroundings. From his crossed arms to his heinous orange jumpsuit, nothing about him said 'stealth'. "Come and fight me!"
What a baka(idiot)…Sasuke's disapproval was practically radiating from his place in the trees as he saw the scene unfold.
"Oh? You're a little bit off." Kakashi visibly sweat-dropped. Did they not teach about stealth and subtlety in the academy or had this boy simply not paid attention?
"The only thing that is off is your hair, dattebayo!" The knucklehead screeched before charging forward. However, his feet faltered as he saw the silver-haired jounin's hand go into his strapped-on pouch.
"Shinobi fighting lesson number one: taijutsu." Kakashi spoke lazily. "I shall teach you about it."
Taijustu is sole hand-to-hand combat but…The rosette was watching the battle while hidden in a thick bunch of bushes, trying to gauge her sensei's abilities. Him rustling inside his pouch was unnerving her. Is he going to use a weapon? That's not fair.
Apparently, Naruto was sharing her thoughts as his face audibly hardened to brace himself.
'Icha Icha (make-out) Paradise' was the title of the book that came to be visible in Kakashi's hand. The silver-haired jounin started reading it without a care in the world, as if he wasn't conducting a test deciding the trio's future at all. Naruto's face visibly scrunched up in confusion. He froze in place trying to understand the situation.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Kakashi looked up from his book. "Hurry up and attack me."
"Hey, hey! Whats with the book?!" The blonde pointed at him incredulously.
"I just want to know what happens next." He replied, eye darting back. "But don't worry, it won't make a difference against you guys."
A moment of silence.
"I'LL TOTALLY KICK YOUR ASS, DATTEBAYO!"
-oOo-
"What's the matter?" Kakashi questioned. "If you don't get a bell by noon, you won't get lunch."
"I know! I know, 'ttebayo!" Naruto spluttered out, running his hands through his wet hair. He was soaked head to toe, appropriate considering he had just fallen into a river.
"You sure are weak for someone who is going to surpass the hokage." The silver-haired jounin taunted, eye still fixated on his rather questionable book.
"Shut up! I was just a little careless!" The blonde shouted in embarrassment.
"Carelessness can get you killed, you know?"
Turning, the jounin slowly walked away, as if this debacle has wasted his precious time. To Naruto, it was like a slap to the face that his sensei didn't even consider him worthy of his time of the day.
I'll make him acknowledge me! I…will become a shinobi!...Naruto's mind swirled and he jumped up, flared with determination. Not a second later, eight more Narutos emerged from the river, all charging towards Kakashi.
"Huh?" Kakashi's head turned slightly at the various splashes and dripping noises. His eyes widened a little at the ambush he was being subjected to.
"My favourite jutsu! Kage bunshin no jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)!" Naruto declared haughtily. "Don't you become careless now that there's more of me!"
One, two, three…eight! What kind of technique is this? Sasuke's mind raced. This wasn't a technique taught at the academy, he was sure of it.
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise from her position in the bushes. These aren't just clones! Their moves, attacks, positions and expressions are all different! Could it be…yes, they are shadow clones! A skill that multiplies your body into actual clones, not just illusions.
"Kage bunshin huh…" The spiky-haired sensei mused. "Knowing you, I'd say there is a one-minute limit for those clones. You still cannot defeat me with that jutsu."
The moment these words left his mouth, his visible eye widened dramatically when he felt something press on his back and leech itself upon his limbs. Whipping his head to the side, he could make out a flash of yellow and orange. "What? Behind me?!"
Naruto was running towards him, fists ready at charge. Deeming himself close enough, he threw what he thought was a strong punch right at the jounin's indifferent face. Immediately, his fist was enclosed by a bigger one. Not deterring one bit, he threw a roundhouse kick aimed at his head, which Kakashi avoided by ducking sharply. Once Naruto's feet touched the ground, he once again attempted to attack. Just when he thought his outstretched fist will finally make contact, his sensei essentially disappeared.
Taken aback, Naruto blinked a couple of times. Huh?
"A shinobi isn't supposed to get caught from behind, baka(idiot)." Kakashi scoffed. He had poofed just behind Naruto, still in a crouched position. Immediately, his hands flew into a tiger seal, which essentially consisted of index and middle fingers pressed flat against each other while the thumbs and other fingers weaved on each other. "Hidden Leaf ancient ultimate taijutsu technique: A thousand years of death!"
The last thing Naruto felt was a searing pain shot up from his behind before he jumped quite a few feet and landed in the river.
"Shinobi are not supposed to be caught from behind." The shadow clone sneered, hold never loosening. "Right, Kakashi-sensei?"
"I sent a shadow clone out of the water to sneak up behind you." The real Naruto jumped in front of Kakashi while all of the other clones pinned the jounin down, right hand tightly enclosed in a fist. "My butt still hurts! Here's payback!"
Damn, way to go Naruto!...Sakura cheered in her head.
Nice plan…Even Sasuke smirked from the hidden cove of the branches.
A fist was thrown, hard. But instead of seeing spiky, white hair and a masked face, all three children in their respective positions were shocked to find blonde hair and a hideous orange jumpsuit. Naruto hit…himself?
The blonde, however, recovered quickly and pointed accusingly at the…whatever he had hit. "You're Kakashi sensei, aren't you? You used henge no jutsu (transformation jutsu) to mislead me!"
"I'm you!" The apparent clone yelled, massaging his cheek. Immediately, a fight broke out amongst the real Naruto and his clones. There was a lot of fist-throwing, accusing, profanities, kicks, yells before the blonde had enough mind to reverse the jutsu. All the clones poofed out of existence, and a blue-and-black knucklehead ninja was the only one standing. An involuntary tear rolled down Naruto's left cheek. The sensei had escaped.
Kawirami no jutsu (substitution no jutsu)…Sasuke mused. Generally used to substitute one's body with an animal or an object to confuse the opponent or open a chance for attack. Except in this case, Kakashi switched his body with one of Narutos's clone. Not only did it confuse the idiot, but also caused him to dealt damage onto himself.
"A bell!" A loud, obnoxious yell broke the onyx-eyed boy's reverie. Narrowing his eyes, he could make out Naruto bending over to pick up something shiny on the ground.
"He must have been so desperate to escape that he dropped a bell! Hehe…" The blonde trilled. Just before his outstretched hand could clasp the small bell, he felt his foot being roughly yanked backwards. Before he even got a chance to protest, he was hanging upside down on the tree by a rope, firmly bound around his ankles.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"
-oOo-
"Sakura…"
Soft, but distinctive cries erupted the small clearing Sakura was in. She was slouched on the ground, her posture pitiful. Her hands were covering her face and one could only discern she was crying by the shuddering of her shoulders and muffled sobs.
Kakashi was growing increasingly uncomfortable. He had fought uncountable enemies, completed innumerable assassinations and pulled off life-threatening missions, but this? He wasn't sure how to handle a crying girl.
Should he comfort her? That seemed like a good choice, but comfort her…from what? He wasn't even aware what she was crying about, for kami's sake! And why the heck was she even crying?! It was a rule that shinobi were not allowed to show their emotions. But then again, they had just been out of the academy, they weren't even full-fledged genin yet. The spiky-haired man sighed.
But what if it was a trap? His paranoid mind supplied, and for a moment he let that thought cross him. For a second, he let his lone eye wander over her small figure. She was still crouched, her knees touching the ground and back bent, hands clasped on her face and muffled cries continued. On the surface, nothing really indicated anything otherwise. Sighing again, he walked towards his student.
Towering over her, Kakashi was about to put his hand on her shoulder before a slight shift in air alerted him. In his peripheral vision, he saw Sakura dash her outstretched hand towards the bell and immediately jumped away. So, it was a trap after all. Good thing he had kept his guard up.
However, the determined glint in her emerald orbs was proof that she was not done. Without wasting a second, she fished out five kunai, throwing them in quick succession at the jounin, who flash-stepped. She took out a few more kunai, but this time explosive tags were attached at the handle. She once again aimed for her sensei, careful to throw in a couple to his left and right for her plan to her. This would leave room only for ducking or jumping, she had assumed.
As anticipated, Kakashi jumped away from the attack, cornering into the nearest row of trees. An evil smile broke on her face as she saw her sensei's head whip downwards, eyes slightly widening. Plan A in action!
The silver-haired shinobi had triggered a ninja wire, and immediately he felt strong threads constricting his movement. Ninja wire.
A smirking rosette cracking her knuckles was the last thing he saw before he was distracted by a couple of small objects dropping in front of him. They looked suspiciously like…
"Smoke bombs…" He breathed, just as the said bombs exploded and covered the area in thick, vision-impairing smoke. The wires wrapped around him were strong, but loose and messily done. Cutting them with ease, it was due to his ingrained shinobi-reflexes that he dodged the explosive-tagged kunai hurling at him from right and left.
With a quick spike of his chakra, he was high up in the air and away from the smoke-y part of the clearing. Just as his feet made contact with the ground, his hand blocked the incoming kick from the jade-eyed girl.
The kick was immediately followed with a punch aimed for his gut and Kakashi jumped back with ease. Sakura once again charged towards him. The jounin dodged effortlessly and caught her wrist. Without wasting a second, the determined girl jumped, hand still caught, and attempted to twist her body in mid-air. The bells were in her sight, closer than ever. But she knew that one of Kakashi's hand was free as well. There's no way, he'd let her get those bells so easily. Wait…
"You won't succeed unless you come at me with the intent to kill"…he had said.
If that's what will get her passed, so be it.
In a split second, a kunai was in her hand. Thrusting it at the jounin's side, she almost felt the sharp point make contact with his vest before a blinding pain shot up in her left wrist. "Damn it!"
Instantaneously, Kakashi jumped away for a second time. His eyes widened a little at the girl nursing her left wrist using her right hand. The kunai was dropped in the moment. As much as he sneered at the thought of probably another sympathy-trap, as he liked to put it, he was impressed. She had implemented a good strategy, cornering him, followed by restriction and almost continued assault.
The twist wasn't that bad…she noted. At rustling of leaves, she looked up with a jolt just to realise she was the only one in the clearing. He had escaped.
"Damn it!" she cursed through gritted teeth, punching the nearby tree trunk with her good hand in anger. It left quite an impression, the shape of her knuckles imbedded in the formed crater and cracks spreading in all directions, which she was too distracted to notice.
The movement jerked another series of small, pointed pain shooting in her twisted wrist. She closed her eyes tightly and grit her teeth, seemingly trying to endure. However, when she next opened her eyes, the scene in front of her changed. The sky was riddled with black clouds which shrouded the clearing in darkness. Sakura's mind glazed over for some reason as she felt herself lose sense of any happenings around her. A soft breeze swirled around her, carrying withered and fallen leaves with it, furthering her apparent detachment from the world. She remained numb for a few moments, before her senses picked the pace and she blinked a few times to regain full awareness.
The sky was still cloudy and the scene still dark which make her skin tingle. There was something about the whole atmosphere of the clearing that was unnerving her to no end. A certain heaviness was hanging in the air as Sakura tried to walk away from the clearing. After all, she still had a bell to secure and complete this stupid test.
She had only taken a few steps in a daze when she felt her foot strike against something hard and cold. Whipping her head, she immediately made out two gravestones. Her eyes widened dramatically.
One of them was so familiar it made her heart ache. Crouching down, she lightly ran her fingers over the old and crumbling stone, indicative that it had been quite a few years old. The engraved letters pricked Sakura's insides as she felt a familiar pang run through her entire body. Mebuki Haruno.
But what made her heart completely stop as she looked at the other stone, which relatively appeared was new and freshly installed. A gasp escaped her quivering lips and her right hand trembled visibly as she tried to touch the clearly engraved name on the stone plate. Kizashi Haruno.
"No no no! NO!" The rosette shrieked desperately, dragging her body away with monumental effort. She blinked her eyes rapidly ad she tried to supress incoming tears at the back of her head. Her mind kept jumping from thought to thought, place to place. How did it happen? There was no possible explanation! She had been in the middle of the bell test. There was no way her dad was dead! And her mom's grave was supposed to be at the memorial ground, not here!
She clutched her head, pulling her short locks in distress. Her pink bangs curtained her already dazed view and short tresses escaped from behind her ear. But none of this was able to distract her from her muddled head. Her father's gravestone, the apparent shift in her mom's gravestone from the memorial ground. None of it made any sense. It had to be a….
"Shinobi fighting lesson number two: genjutsu." A voice rang all around the clearing, making it hard to pinpoint the exact location it was coming from.
Of course…she thought bitterly, chastising herself for not realising it sooner. Genjutsu, an illusionary mind-controlling technique…
Quickly flying through the single hand-seal, she closed her eyes and focused her chakra, dispelling whatever technique she was sure her sensei had used on her. "Kai(release)!"
Immediately, the clouds lifted, once again bestowing sunshine upon the area she was in. She slowly opened her jade eyes to see that the graves, obviously a part of the illusion, had disappeared as well.
Focusing, she tried to locate any chakra signs in the vicinity. Finding one alone and two others, she assumed the two together would be Kakashi and Sasuke, seeing as how he was the last on her team who hadn't made his move yet.
Sakura wasn't sure how good the young Uchiha would fare in his battle against Kakashi. He may be 'rookie of the year', but this was a jounin they were dealing with, and a skilled one at that. Even if it was them three who had charged at him first, it was looking more and more like he was nit-picking and defeating them one by one.
Sakura blinked rapidly. Wait, he's defeating us one-by-one…separately…could it be?
As a rather far-fetched theory quickly formulated in her mind, she disappeared into the foliage in urgent strides. A lone, visible eye of the masked jounin scrutinized the part of the tree trunk the rosette had assaulted for a long second before the clone poofed out of existence.
-oOo-
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto screeched, still hanging upside-down by a rope encircled on his right ankle. "What happened to your hand?!"
She motioned her index finger to her lip, quickly checking her surroundings once. "Shh, Naruto. Not so loud. And to answer your question, I just twisted my wrist a little."
Immediately taking a kunai, the blonde cut the rope in one swift motion, landing on his feet. He quickly ran towards his teammate, a small frown on his face. "Does it hurt?"
"Just a little. I'll get it checked later." The rosette shrugged. "Right now, I want to talk to you about something very important. It may seem a little too far-fetched…but then..."
"Something…very important?" He parroted, in a slight sombre tone.
Sakura nodded, gesturing him to come closer. In hushed tone, she started. "So you know, this test…"
-oOo-
Uchiha was one of the most important clans in Konoha. They were powerful, smart and calculative. They were well above the average, and they knew that. It wouldn't hurt to assume they were also proud, very proud; on the verge of being arrogant. Not in a screaming-I'll-beat-your-ass kind of way, but more of a i-am-better-than-you-and-i-know-it-so-don't-even-bother-silent-glare kind. And the pinkette had the fortune (or misfortune) of having one of that kind on her team.
So, the last thing she expected to see was the Sasuke Uchiha buried neck-deep in the ground. The only visible part of his body was his head and that raven-hair. And judging by the scowl on his face, he was most definitely, not happy to be there.
A sudden roaring laughter jolted her head to the side, as she saw her other blonde teammate on the floor, clutching his stomach as he continued to guffaw loudly even with small tears running down his face. Glancing back at the Uchiha, she saw his scowl deepen and his eyes narrowed to slits. His eyes flashed dangerously, and she knew if eyes had the power to swallow someone whole, Naruto would be long gone.
Still, a few giggles escaped her lips and she tried her best to maintain an impassive face as she saw Sasuke's head whip to her, expression not deadly but definitely irritated to the deepest core. The scene was pretty comical. She bit her lip in an attempt to not burst out laughing, which seemed like a really bad idea as she saw herself being subjected to the 'ultimate death glare: Uchiha special'.
Elbowing the obnoxious, still-laughing blonde in the ribs swiftly, she walked towards her almost-buried teammate, bending so that her hands rested on her knees lightly to meet his eyes at a lesser angle. "So, he got you too, huh."
Sasuke didn't reply, onyx eyes merely flitting between Sakura and Naruto.
Not surprised at the lack of a response, the rosette sighed. She crouched, using her right hand to start digging the soft earth around the Uchiha prodigy, careful not to scratch him in the process.
"Sakura-chan, what are you doing?" She turned to see Naruto pointing at her incredulously as if she had grown a second head.
"Helping him." She replied, hand not stopping for a second.
"I don't need your help." Sasuke snapped, eyes glowering as he tried to squirm out of the earth, but to no avail.
"Oi teme(bastard), why are you so rude?" Naruto reprimanded, yelling at stoic boy. He then turned pleading eyes to the rosette. "See Sakura-chan, he isn't even grateful!"
Sakura shook her head slightly. "He's a teammate, Naruto. Now come on, we'll be done with this faster if we both work together."
Naruto narrowed his cerulean blue eyes at the raven-haired boy, who glared back in equal intensity. What a bastard!
At last, he mumbled a few profanities under his breath before joining the jade-eyed girl. He was only doing this because Sakura asked him to, yes. The earth was soft, which was good for them because hell be damned if he had to work so much for an ungrateful, arrogant bastard.
His eyes widened in sudden realisation as he heard a slight hiss beside him. "Sakura-chan, your hand!"
"I-it's fine" she replied through slightly gritted teeth. "Besides, we're almost done."
Naruto caught her hand, and looked into her emerald eyes with determination. "Let me do it then, Sakura-chan." He interrupted her when she saw him opening her mouth to retort. "Besides, you already said so, the teme(bastard) is almost out."
Nodding, she stood to her full height before taking a few steps back and nursing her wrist, the pain was now shooting in an erratic motion. It wasn't life-threatening, but it really was irritating the Sakura to no end that she wasn't able to fight to her fullest.
Making his hands into a familiar hand seal, Naruto shrieked and patted himself on the back for such a good idea. "Kage bunshin no jutsu(Shadow clone jutsu)! Let's get this bastard out!"
-oOo-
"Mou, where are the cute, little kids?" Kakashi drawled, focusing and finding the three chakra signatures with ease. In a few moments, he perched himself on top of a branch shrouded with thick leaves; well within the hearing distance but far enough to hopefully not get located.
His eyes widened slightly and something positive blossomed in his chest for a fleeting second as he saw the three shinobi-in-training in front of him. The spot where he had used 'doton: shinjuu zanshu no jutsu' (earth style: headhunter jutsu) to bury Sasuke in the ground was now surrounded by uneven crater, indicative of the earth being dug up. Naruto had just dismissed a few of his clones, sweat dropping down from his temples to his chin. Sakura, smiling slightly, took out a handkerchief out of her pocket and gestured it to the sweating blonde who accepted it with a slight blush, scratching the back of his head. She then offered her right hand towards the Uchiha. So, he concluded, they had helped him get out.
Maybe there was hope after all.
Sasuke looked at the extended hand for a second, before jumping out of the hole formed on his own. Just short of glaring at his teammates who had just helped him, he turned his back and started to walk away.
Or not.
"Wait, Sasuke." The rosette called after him. The boy stopped in his tracks, indicating that he was listening. "You didn't get a bell, did you?"
"No." He spoke with his back facing the duo. "I was able to touch the bells. Next time I'll take them."
"You won't."
Without thinking, he turned his head back. She was about to say something, but he cut her off. "What would you know about it!" he barked.
"We just saved you, teme." Naruto chided in his pitchy voice. "The least you can do is hear her out."
Sakura shot a grateful smile towards the blonde before starting. "What I meant is…I think we can't get the bells by ourselves; we're not supposed to."
Kakashi's ears perked up.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes marginally, as if expecting her to continue.
She sighed. "Just think about it. This test, the whole graduation exam. It is all for being a genin, right? And what do genin do?"
"Super-duper awesome missions, dattebayo!" The knucklehead squealed, holding the metal plate of his forehead protector.
"Right." Sakura nodded. "But what's interesting here is that they do it as a team, not individually."
"What are you saying?" The onyx-eyed boy asked skeptically.
"That we need to work together." She stated as a matter-of-fact. "I'm sure Kakashi sensei already went through our file from the academy and he knows our individual skills. This isn't an individual examination; I think it is supposed to be a simulation for missions."
"This isn't a mission, it's a survival training." Sasuke interjected in a haughty tone.
"A survival training…to become genin." She completed, her eyes showing slight irritation. She looked towards the blonde, nodding.
Naruto nodded back. "Kakashi-sensei said that a shinobi is supposed to look underneath the underneath, 'ttebayo. Whatever that means."
A long silence descended upon the three of them. Nothing except the faint rustling of leaves and their own breaths could be heard. Sakura glanced up at the sky, the sun was almost overhead. They didn't have much time. After a few minutes, Sasuke spoke up.
"What if you're wrong about this? There are only two bells after all, which means one of us will fail anyway."
"Honestly, I haven't concluded an answer for that part yet." She shrugged sheepishly. "But we can cross that bridge when we come to it. There's no point discussing about the bells when we don't even have them in possession."
Another long pause. The look on the raven-haired boy's face was unreadable, as always. Hope bloomed in the rosette's chest as she saw him open his mouth to speak, seemingly almost convinced.
But before he could speak, a dark look flashed on his face. He closed his mouth, forming a hard line. His eyes were obstructed from view by his bangs. "I don't need your help." he sneered.
"What?!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed in unison.
"I said I don't need your help." He repeated in irritation. "Besides, you will only get in the way."
Anger started bubbling in the girl. Her eyes flashed and she tightly clenched her hands into fists, wincing slightly when a sharp pain jolted in her left hand. Right, the wrist. Shaking her head slightly, she met the Uchiha with a determined and furious stare. "Are you deaf? We need to work together to get the bells. I don't know what sort of mighty high you are on, but I doubt you can take on Kakashi-sensei, a jounin, by yourself."
She sighed at the scowl thrown her way.
"Neither can we." She gestured to herself the blonde, shutting down any sort of protest from the latter. "Even if I'm wrong about the mission simulation, we three together have a better chance at getting the bells. He has already overpowered us individually."
"Just take the stick out of your ass for once, teme." Naruto bellowed, pointing a finger at Sasuke. With nothing as a response except a glare, he stuck his tongue at the Uchiha and turned to the rosette. "Sakura-chan, let's leave Sasuke-bastard. We don't need him anyways, 'ttebayo."
Sakura turned to look at the said Uchiha, her mind in a conflict. Recruiting the boys and all three of them working together was her best bet at the moment. Convincing Naruto had been fairly easy. However, the stubbornness of her arrogant raven-haired teammate was driving her mad. Taking a deep breath, she tried one last time. "Naruto almost got Kakashi-sensei with his shadow-clone technique, I almost landed a fatal wound on him and you yourself almost got the bells. He got away each time because he saw an opening. If all three of us attack him at the same time, I think we actually have a pretty good chance."
A few more seconds passed without a word. She watched with exasperated eyes as the young Uchiha walked away from them in quick strides, not bothering to even give an answer.
"Bastard!" Naruto yelled after him with a raised fist and the rosette couldn't help but agree, mirroring his angry expression. "Just don't get in the way then, you ass!"
Somewhere in the thick branches, Kakashi's lone eye glinted with amusement. Interesting…
-oOo-
"Now, Naruto!" Sakura shrieked urgently in mid-air, diving towards the trapped silver-haired jounin with an outstretched hand, more precisely to the belt around his waist from where the chiming, silver bells hung. From the corner of her eye, she saw the said blonde mirror her posture, a determined glint in his sky-blue eyes. They were so close!
The plan had been fairly simple: set traps all around the clearing, get Kakashi-sensei to fall in one of those traps, cause a commotion, and use that commotion to use of Naruto's shadow clones as diversions while Sakura and Naruto dove for the bells.
However, smoke-effects were not a part of the plan by any means. Sakura's eyes widened dramatically at the unexpected turn of events as her vision clouded over. She felt her outstretched right-hand reach for something before she flipped and landed on her feet. The smoke was completely obstructing her field of vision and the only thing that led her to her blonde teammate was a loud yell of 'Sakura-chan'.
With their back towards each other, the two shinobi-in-training tried to abandon the smoke-effect area while still looking out for their sensei. Slowly, they could feel the smoke lifting and their vision return. The rosette felt they had been doing a pretty good job until she felt her leg hit against something. A bad feeling erupted in her insides as she lowered her head to see just what had been struck. Ninja wire. Shit…
Everything that happened next felt like a blur to Sakura as her mind tried to catch up with the events occurring. Kunai and shuriken, probably dozens of them were heading straight for her and Naruto at a blinding speed. And if that wasn't enough, from another direction, a barrage of kunai came bearing explosive tags. Without a doubt, they had triggered at least two of their own traps. Shoving Naruto away from the targeted area, she jumped away as well, barely managing to avoid the explosive kunai assault. She tried to shield her eyes as the area once again descended in a wedlock of smoke, before clearing completely. Whipping her head around, she could see Naruto crumpled on the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the metal of the incoming weapons glint in the sunshine. She closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the attack.
"Katon: goukakyuu no jutsu (fire style: fireball jutsu)!" She heard a familiar voice yell.
When Sakura next opened her eyes, four things greeted her. First, Sasuke was standing between the crouched and crumpled bodies of herself and Naruto, respectively, with his back towards them. Second, he was breathing heavily and the corners of his mouth was singed, burnt. Third, all the attacking weapons were on the ground, on fire. Fourth, a small object was tightly gripped in her right hand. Slowly opening the clenched fist, her eyes widened to the size of saucers before she raised her head to speak. Her words died in her throat as she found Naruto look at her with a similar expression of disbelief. His hand nestled something very small and it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was the same object she was holding in her palm: a shining, chiming, silver bell.
-oOo-
Sakura couldn't ignore a weird feeling dominating her gut as eyes glassed over in an unsure fashion. She was seated precariously on the grass, legs crossed to one side with her hands on her lap. A lunchbox with unsplit chopsticks was right in front of her, but she made no move to touch it.
Naruto was sitting a few feet away from her, leg's crossed and arms folded. His eyes were closed, as if in deep thought.
As for the third member, Sasuke Uchiha was firmly tied to a tree stump between the blonde and the rosette, his dark aura practically rolling right off him and carried by the surrounding air. His eyes were hidden by a curtain of pitch-black bangs but one could easily astute that he was outright seething.
A loud rumble cut through the quiet and stillness of the area. A small blush tinged up Naruto's face as three heads turned in his direction.
"You do look really hungry, huh." Kakashi chirped in a cheerful voice. "Well, you did get the bells, Naruto, Sakura. Have your lunch, you've earned it."
A long pause hung like a dagger between the four of them. Naruto reached out towards the box in front of him but stopped when his eyes travelled to the girl, who hadn't made a single move. He retraced his hand after a second. Kakashi smirked under his mask before putting on a surprised facade. "What's wrong?"
"Ne, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura started hesitantly. "What's gonna happen to…." She didn't finish her sentence, but the small gesture of her head to the left already told the jounin who she was referring to.
"As I said before, those who fail to get a bell will be sent back to the academy."
His words stood hanging in the air for another couple of seconds. Naruto mumbled something incoherent the rosette couldn't make out as she was in a conflict of her own. This…wasn't how things were supposed to go. Sure, she and Naruto had planned and strategized and worked together and even completed the test but…having Sasuke save their asses wasn't in any of the contingency plans she had created. Naruto, fortunately, also sensed the complexity of the predicament they were in. Part of her was very happy, indeed, but she couldn't really feel any joy with something akin to gratitude and guilt wallowing in the pits of her stomach.
Dammit…she cursed mentally. Why did the arrogant jerk had to save them and make things complicated? He already made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with them! Why help them then? As much as the rosette didn't want to admit, she knew that they wouldn't been seriously injured, if not dead, had he not stopped the onslaught of weapons.
A sudden brainwave caused Sakura to jolt her head upwards. Her eyes widened as all the pieces started falling into places. The supposed graduation exam. Survival training. The bell test. Only two bells. The bells. The bells. Team work?
"It was never about the bells, was it, sensei?" She smirked, challenging eyes glinting with defiance and something close to confidence.
She saw a sharp look of surprise flit on the jounin's face, before it was carefully masked with impassivity.
"Huh? What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" She turned her head, expression softening a little at the blonde's confused face, eyebrows furrowed. Her eyes darted back to Kakashi, who had raised his visible eyebrow expectantly.
"Our skills were already tested at the academy, so that couldn't be the aim for this test, right? You wanted to see how we would do together, as a team." She continued, determination never fading. "The number of bells being two against the three of us was the create conflict. A shinobi is supposed to look underneath the underneath."
She allowed herself to fall back, her hands spread on the grass supporting her back, ignoring the slight wince, satisfied with herself for cracking the mystery surrounding the bell test. She felt she saw something like approval on the jounin's face, who stilled completely, then slowly nodded, confirming her theory.
Naruto's eyes widened to the size of saucers, turning his head quickly to her, then Kakashi, then her, and back to Kakashi. Slowly, his eyes dawned with realisation as well. Pumping his fists in the air, he cheered. "We did it, dattebayo!"
Sakura let a genuine smile rest on her lips, as her insides filled with excitement. She turned to her other teammate still tied to the pole. His dark aura had somewhat dissipated and an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes were still partially hidden by the pitch-black bangs, but it appeared as if he was in deep thought.
Kakashi seemed to share their happiness and relief as he chuckled a little. "Impressive. You two are the first ones who have passed this test."
The jade-eyed girl's smile faltered and her lips parted in confusion. "Two…?"
Kakashi nodded, lone eye crinkling at the corner. "Yeah. Sakura, Naruto…you pass!"
Apparently, the blonde and the rosette didn't share in the amusement and cheerful of the masked jounin by the way they just stared at him in shock. Simultaneously, they whipped their heads at the Uchiha prodigy, who was staring at the sensei with a deadly stare.
"So te-Sasuke will go back to the academy?" Naruto uttered slowly, renouncing each syllable.
Kakashi nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. He could make out a small second of satisfaction and smugness cross the blonde's face before he toned it down, eyes glazing over in contemplation.
"No!" Sakura's yell turned all the three heads towards herself.
"No?" Kakashi parroted, raising his eyebrow.
"It…it doesn't make sense. The point was teamwork, and Sasuke…I admit he was…reluctant at the starting, but he helped us when it counted. We wouldn't be standing here in one piece if it wasn't for him. You have to pass him too!"
"I specifically said that you have to get the bells. Sasuke didn't get one, you both did." He replied in a bored fashion, lone eye showing no emotion.
"Only because you let us, sensei!" She exclaimed in fury at the injustice of it all. She couldn't really exclaim this urge to defend the arrogant Uchiha and snap at the jounin, but what she did know was that Sasuke had saved them both, she owed him this much. "There's no way such a basic plan should've worked. You held back against us."
"What?!" Naruto's bellow cut her train of rant. "You mean the reason we won wasn't that we are the greatest ninjas of all time?!"
She scoffed before shaking her head dismissively. Anger passed through his cerulean blue eyes before Naruto got up on his feet, pointing a finger at Kakashi, yelling various profanities at him, including how he was going to pay for not taking the upcoming hokage seriously.
When she saw no change of expression on her sensei's face, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists only to be distracted by the small object enclosed. She narrowed her eyes.
"Honestly, if this is what is separating us…" She said in a contemplative manner, letting the shiny bell fall from her fingertips for emphasis. "You can have it back."
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto immediately stopped chattering, voice faltering. His eyes fell down at his own bell resting in his palm. A flurry of thoughts, not particularly happy ones, flitted before him before a warmth on his shoulder interrupted them. He looked up to meet lively emerald eyes, and a genuine grin on a porcelain face.
Kakashi watched in amusement as he saw the rosette step closer to the blonde before whispering something in his ear, pink strands brushing the side of the knucklehead's tanned skin. With each passing whisper, he saw the knucklehead's face turn from shocked, to sad, to contemplative, to relief, to surprise and stopped at happiness. A toothy grin concentrated on his face as the rosette stepped back, smirking slightly.
"She's right, 'ttebayo!" Naruto said easily, throwing the bell at the jounin who caught it. "Take it, we can do this again anytime if-"
"Shut up." Sasuke, who had been rather quiet until right now, interrupted in a cold tone. Glaring at Kakashi, he gritted his teeth. "Let them pass."
"Oi teme! You're a teammate, we're not leaving you behind, 'ttebayo!" Naruto chided, shouting to emphasis his point.
"Usuratonkachi(loser), the team hasn't even been formed yet." The onyx-eyed boy snapped back.
"Then why the hell are you giving up?!"
"I'm not giving up! I…I failed. I couldn't get the bells." He croaked out. Sakura noted the ragged tone of his voice, indicating just how difficult it was for the prideful boy to admit what he was unable to do.
"Baka(idiot)..." She quipped in a firm tone. "We either win as a team or fall as a team."
The spiky silver-haired man watched the whole scene unfold in front of him for a few minutes with much amusement. All three kept up their verbal banter, calling each other bastard and stupid and whatnot.
"Win or fall as a team huh? And you can't even make a simple, ambiguous decision?" Kakashi taunted, making the trio freeze momentarily. "Fine then, if you three can't agree on an amicable decision, I'll do it for you." He continued in a monotonous and sightly irritated tone. "You three…pass!"
Kakashi snickered to himself on seeing the trio's expressions. Sasuke's eyes widened while Naruto cheered and Sakura gasped before letting a bright smile encase on her face.
"I have to say I'm impressed, you guys. You understood the concept of the test: teamwork. You three were supposed to work together against me, a common opponent." He spoke in a neutral tone, but one could not miss the approving glance he sent the rosette's way. "As our cherry-blossom rightly ascertained, it was also designed to see if you could keep aside your personal interests and do what is right for the team as a whole."
"Naruto, Sakura, you understood the need to work together and tried to loop in Sasuke as well. You functioned with each other very well, and put your teammate before the mission." The jounin's visible eye crinkled while he ruffled their hair. "Good work."
"Sasuke, you assumed they'd be a hindrance to your plans and decided to do everything alone…" Kakashi began in a stern tone, but his eye softened the next second as he ran a hand through the Uchiha's hair as well. "But you jumped in for them at the nick of time. It's admirable."
"In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are considered scum." He turned around so that his back was facing the three freshly-minted genin. His voice hardened, enough to send chills down their backs. "But those who abandon their own comrades…are worse than scum."
Three pairs of curious eyes were leeched onto his back as they saw their sensei walk away, towards a black, glazed stone which probably contained millions of engravings. Kakashi looked back, an unreadable emotion flitting on his face. "Look at the numerous names carved on this stone. These people are recognized as the heroes of this village."
"Hey hey! I've decided to get my name carved on this stone too! A hero! That's what I'll become!" Naruto suddenly cheered, his head bobbing up and down in excitement.
"These are not ordinary heroes." Kakashi smiled bitterly. "These all are heroes who died on the line of duty."
The blonde promptly shut up, the weight and shallowness of his own statement descending on him. A solemn silence washed over the three of them, who looked towards their sensei and the stone with sombre expressions and respectful eyes.
"My best friend's name is carved here as well." The jounin cleared his throat in an attempt to get his words across, but trailed off towards the end. "Naruto…don't end up on here."
The knucklehead nodded absently. A few more seconds was spent in contemplative and companionable silence.
"That ends the training. You all passed with flying colors, my cute, little genin." Kakashi flashed a thumbs up. "Starting tomorrow, team 7 will begin its duties."
"Yay! I did it! I did it!" Naruto openly cheered, dancing around the clearing without a damn.
"Also, Sakura, get your wrist checked out at the hospital. And try to avoid any more of such accidents, okay?" The jounin whispered in an easy-going tone, crouching slightly to meet the girl's eye level.
"Hai, sensei." She responded, a sheepish blush tinge on her face out of embarrassment.
He gave a satisfied nod before making quick hand-signs. In a split second, hee poofed out of existence.
Before Sasuke could free himself, he felt a swift tug and the ropes immediately came lose and fell down. Sakura pocketed her kunai and gave him a toothy grin.
The onyx-eyed boy turned to look at the knucklehead blonde for a spilt second before turning back to the rosette. He let his eyes linger on her for a few moments before turning on his heel.
He stopped after a few steps, something was holding him back, he felt, as his teammates gazed with curious eyes. Slowly, he raised his right hand and gave a small, hesitant wave as a sign of departure before jumping to the nearest roof. Withing seconds, he was out of sight.
"Bah, that teme!"
"Naruto, language!" Sakura reprimanded half-heartedly, her lips twitching and falling into a smile every few seconds. The two looked at each other seriously before a toothy grin formed on both their faces.
"We passed!" The duo cheered giddily, linking hands and jumping like three-year olds. Too elated by how the day had turned out, they didn't give two shits about the odd and hateful looks aimed at Sakura and Naruto respectively.
"Sasuke left before I could even ask, I would've preferred to do this as a team with Kakashi-sensei but…" Sakura started, a hand under her chin in a thoughtful expression but quickly smiled when she caught the slight confused and crestfallen expression of the blonde. "Naruto, wanna celebrate? My treat!"
Immediately, his face lit up like a thousand-watt bulb, eyes glistening as he rapidly nodded and grasped Sakura's right hand before making a beeline for 'ichiraku ramen' all the while promising he'll accompany her to the hospital while the rosette let herself be dragged along, laughing freely at his antics.
"Welcome!" The man behind the counter said in a warm voice, grin growing wider as he eyed the blonde. "Naruto!" He smiled widely. "And you've brought a friend!"
A pink tinge dusted the knucklehead ninja's cheeks for a second before he excitedly sat on a counter, introducing Sakura and the friendly man to each other. She bowed and greeted the man before taking a stool next to her teammate. Teuchi nodded at her and returned the greeting, pointing to the menu. "What would you both like to have?"
"I'll have whatever the ramen-specialist baka is having." She teased good-naturedly, earning a hearty laugh from the ramen-store owner. Naruto pouted before he cheekily laughed as well, shining his teeth.
"The usual, Naruto?" Teuchi confirmed, already putting the noodles in boiling hot water. Naruto excitedly nodded and the man smiled as he saw the two children chat and laugh and joke around. The rosette seated beside his most loyal (and favourite) customer has this ability to make Naruto laugh more than he'd ever seen before, he noted. Between the nudges, the joking and the chatting, the blonde was practically glowing. "Alright, two miso ramen coming right up!"
He saw the pink-haired girl reach out for something inside her pouch, and after catching a glimpse of what it was, he waved it off and smiled. "It's on the house."
"Today really is the best day ever, dattebayo!"
-END OF CHAPTER-
Author's notes:
Hope you enjoyed the next installation chapter. I quite like how this turned out. I know I took my sweet time writing this but in my defense, even I hadn't anticipated it would stretch out for so long. I just knew I had to complete the bell test in this chapter itself, irrespective of word count. And I think the length makes up for it.
The next chapter will most probably be the transition to the waves of land arc, unless I decide otherwise, so it may end up being short (but then it'll be out faster). I am NOT focusing on the word count, so the length of chapters may remain erratic throughout. Just wanted to put it out there. Anyway, I'm off to write chapter three.
Thank you so much, jackieredfield, Lazyname, toxiccherryblossom and Lone apple for reviewing :)
Do review and lemme know your thoughts. Peace out.