I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. All I own is my own character Koei X, and the original plot that has been inserted in.

Naruto

Number 3: Just Plain Naruto

Saga: Darkness is All I Can See

"Give it up. Not one of the three of you will even be a Ninja!" Kakashi said, as his eyes got narrower. He had an angry and disappointed look on his face as he stared at his four students.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN GIVE UP!" Naruto screamed as he tried to retch himself away from the log he was tied too. "GIVE ME A BREAK! Okay, so maybe none of us got our hands on one of your stupid bells… But why the Hell should be quite over that!"

"Because not one of you…" Kakashi paused, glaring at Naruto. "HAS WHAT IT TAKES!"

Koei flinched at his sudden statement and then got up on her feet from her crouching position. She twisted hands around behind her back and then opened her mouth to speak. "I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep trying until I become the worlds greatest Shinobi! I have to! I'll do what ever it takes!"

Kakashi just stared at her. He made no sigh that he even heard her speak.

"What you are is a bunch of spoiled brats…" Kakashi let his words sink in before he continued again. The four of them glared. "Are you trying to make fun of the Shinobi with you behavior? Well, are you? Did you even stop to wonder for a minute… Why you were divided into teams!"

"Uhh… Excuse me?" Sakura said looking at him.

Naruto stared at her, wondering what exactly she was asking to be excused for.

"Obviously not. So you missed the entire point of the exercise."

"It had a point…?" Naruto asked looking at him.

"Of course. And the point determines whether or not you would succeed."

"But… You haven't explained what it is!" Sakura shouted, now a little angry.

"… I don't believe this," Kakashi breathed out not rubbing his temple with his fingers.

"Teamwork…" Koei breathed as she sunk back down to her knees and sat on the ground. Hr eyes now glazing at her hands. "We needed to use teamwork…"

Kakashi smiled at her, but only for a second before it turned back into a frown. "She knows it. Why don't the rest of you! If the four of you have come at me… together. You might have been able to take the bells!"

"Wait am minute," Sakura said angrily. "If we were expected to function as a team, why did you only have three bells? Even if we'd worked together one of us still would have had to go without lunch. You're preaching teamwork, but you played us against each other!"

"Of course. This task was designed to cause dissension in your ranks…"

Sasuke glared.

"The situation was set up to reveal which of you… would set aside your individual interests and propose to the others that you work together for the good of all," Kakashi said now starring around at the four of them. "Instead of which, you Sakura, ignored Naruto, who was right in front of you… while you focused your attention of Sasuke, though you didn't know where he was. Naruto tried to do single handedly what should have been the world of all four! Sasuke had already decided that the other three just got in his way, and he was better off playing solo…"

More anger showed on Sasuke's face as he heard Kakashi tell him, of all people, what he was doing wrong.

"Koei decided she was above the rest of you and wouldn't make the same mistakes and attacked my by herself. But what I don't understand if you know you were missing teamwork why didn't you suggest it before!"

Koei didn't even bother to lift her head up as she leaned against the log behind her. Hair flowing in front of her face as her voice spoke out, sounding extremely disappointed. "Cause I was to caught up in myself. I had all my concentration on how good my own abilities were, even though I could have used the rest of my teammates help. But then again… How can you blame me? I've never worked in a team before, let alone had friends to do teamwork with… But still, I shouldn't have just focused on my own goals… I take full responsibility for what just happened, I didn't work as a team or even act like I was in one…"

"You are a team! Learn to act as one! Yes, it's necessary for a Ninja to have individual skills, but… what is even more important now it teamwork!" Kakashi shouted as he reached into his pouch handing around his waist. He put his hand inside and reached around. "Making a play as an individual is bad for the team and exposes your comrades to unnecessary danger. You might as well kill them yourself. Here's an example…"

Kakashi flashed out of sight in a blink of an eye. Sasuke flipped his attention around looking for where Kakashi might have gone. He then spotted Koei now stand up. Kakashi was right behind her with a kunai at her throat. Her arms were twisted around her back and her head titled down at her own free will. She didn't even look as though the situation she was in bothered her.

"Sasuke! Kill Naruto! Or Koei dies!" Kakashi shouted out giving more pressure to the weapon at Koei's neck.

"WHAT!" Naruto shouted.

Kakashi released the weapon at her neck and then stepped away, Koei didn't even budge from where she was standing. "The day may come… when one of you may be taken hostage, and you're forced to make such a choice. When you are on a mission, you're lives will always be on the line.

Koei stared down at her feet. Tears were starting to form in her eyes and, they slowly ran down her face. Would anyone have even tried to save me if I was taken hostage like this? Sure Sasuke doesn't like Naruto, but I'm sure he wouldn't have taken his life jus to save mine. After all I'm not friends with any of them, and I'm positive they will just think I'm some sort of stuck pup know it all jerk… They must hate me so much now…

"Look at the marker… All the names carved in the stone," Kakashi said walking in the directed of the stone that Naruto had claimed to be a boulder. "Heroes of our village. Ninja."

Naruto twitched a little when he heard this and then snapped his attention all over to the marker. "That's it! I just made up my mind! There's where I want my name to go! I'm not going to throw my life away! I want to be like them-a hero!"

Sasuke shot him a nasty look.

"But the ones listed there aren't just any heroes…" Kakashi replied.

"Really? What kind of heroes are they!" Naruto shouted. He waited for Kakashi to answer but he never did. "Come on! Come on!"

"The dead kind. They died in the line of duty," Kakashi said, the smile vanished from Naruto's face. "This is a memorial. It includes the names of my best friends."

Tears came down faster on Koei's face as she mouthed the word mother. She than sat down and leaned back against the log again. Now moving her legs up to her face as she wrapped her arms around them.

"Pay attention! I'm giving you all one last chance. One that will be far more difficult than out last little game with the bells. If you're prepared to continue, you may eat one of the bento boxes. But no sharing with Naruto. He goes hungry," Kakashi said, his voice ringing loud and clear.

"Why?" Naruto hissed.

"You brought it on yourself when you tried to sneak lunch for yourself. If either of you feeds him, you fail the test right here. My world is law. Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded his or her heads besides Koei.

Kakashi gave them all one last look and then disappeared from where he was standing.

"Hey this'll be a breeze! I can go without lunch… No problem!" Naruto screamed just as his stomach growled.

Koei shifted from where she was sitting so she now had her back turned to the three of them. She sniffed a little and then jumped when she felt someone put her hand on her shoulder.

Looking up she saw Sakura holding her lunch out for her. "Here. You should eat… Okay?"

Koei dried her eyes and then stood up. Taking the lunch from Sakura she gave her a weak smile. "Thanks. But no thanks. Someone else needs this a lot more…" She walked over to Naruto and untied him from the log.

Naruto stood on his feet and stretched out his arm a little and then looked at Koei confused as she thrust her lunch in front of him.

"But Master Kakashi told us-!" Naruto shouted and then Koei cut him short.

"I'm not worried much. I'm not hungry and you are okay? So eat my lunch. We all are going to need our strength when we go to work together on getting those bells right? You're not going to be in a very good condition if you're hungry!" Just a big liability!" Koei smiled at him as much as her sadness would let her.

Sakura gulped and then thrust her lunch in Naruto's direction. "I'm not hungry either!"

Sasuke look in Koei's direction and held out his lunch to her instead of Naruto. "You're making this a huge effort to cover up how drained you are at the moment. You didn't' think anyone saw that technique you used against Kakashi? That must have drained a lot of your Chakra. You'd better eat this or you're going to just be a sitting duck out there…"

"Heh," Koei looked at Sasuke, her smile grew a little more. "Thanks."

Maybe… Just maybe they don't hate me as much as I thought they did.

"But I want you to have half of it okay!" Koei breathed happily. But before Sasuke had a change to reply a huge gust of wind and dust appeared in front of them all, causing screams and shouts of 'What the Hell!'

"YOU…" Kakashi shouted charging at his four students as they all looked at him with utter fear. He had found them all out. "PASS!" He then winked at them with his only eye showing. He had the look of pure joy on his face.

"Eh!" Sakura shouted looking at him taken back. "We pass? But… Why!"

"You four have just taken a giant step forward!" Kakashi said happily.

"How?" Naruto asked, just as confused as Sakura.

"Up until now, all any of you have done is listen unquestioningly to everything I say… Like mindless little drones. A true Shinobi seeks the hidden meanings within meanings. In a Ninja's world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are lower than garbage. However… Those who do not care for and support their fellows are even lower then that!"

"Oh…" Naruto said.

That's…Kind of cool…? Koei looked at him and then blushed a little.

"This exercise is now concluded. You all pass! That's all for today, team seven. You're duties will commence tomorrow!" Kakashi shouted giving them all a thumbs up.

"I… I did it! I did it! I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!" Naruto shouted happily as he pranced around but then let out a horrible scream as he dropped the two lunches Koei and Sakura had given him. "NOOO!"

"Let's go home…" Kakashi said, ignoring him as Sasuke and Sakura followed.

Naruto sank to his knees as he tried to pick up the remains of the food that hadn't touched the ground.

"Hey…" Koei said standing in front of Naruto. "Don't eat it… It's been on the ground. I'll take you out for ramen or something… You did say it was your favorite food right?"

Naruto looked up at her with a big smile on his face.

"This is the same place Master Iruka took me for ramen!" Naruto said between stuffing his face with the food she had gotten him.

"Really?" Koei asked. "So then you and Master Iruka must be good friends right? Or related maybe?"

"Related!" Naruto shouted, laughing. "No! I guess you could say we are sort of friends though? He took me here after I defaced the four Lord Hokage monuments on the mountain side!"

"That was you?" Koei asked, laughing. "I should have guessed!"

"So…" Naruto looked at her a little sheepishly. "Why'd you ask me to come here with you? You don't exactly seem like a very social or people person."

"I guess I could say you're right," Koei answered, staring down at her own bowl of ramen. "I don't have very many people skills because I've never actually had friends. My fault really. I just try and keep myself away from everyone. But since you're in the seam with Sasuke, Sakura, and me I sort of wanted to get to know the rest of you better. So I can try and not make anymore mistakes and everything." She then looked t him and gave him a small smile for reassurance. "Besides! You looked half starved back there! I mean come on! You were trying to eat food off of the ground!" She laughed and Naruto just looked at her a little taken back.

"I have to say though, you're a lot different than what I had taken you to be when I first met you," Naruto added. "You didn't really seem like the type of person who would laugh and act like this around others…"

"You're right," Koei replied. "I'm trying to get out of the habit. I want to stop any of my weaknesses before they start!"

"Oh…" Naruto said looking at her confused. "Alright then…"

"How come you're so built up on becoming the next Lord Hokage anyway?" Koei asked. "I remember you mentioning that you wanted to be the next when Kakashi had us introduce ourselves and everything a few days ago."

"So then… You don't know?" Naruto asked, even more taken back. "About me and everything?"

"No clue what you're talking about," Koei answered.

"I've got the nine tailed fox demon trapped inside of me…" Naruto said softly. His words rang in Koei's ears for a few seconds before she was able to get away from the thoughts of him having the demon trapped inside of him. "You're not going to fear or hate me now are you?"

"It doesn't make a difference," Koei said sternly. "You are Naruto and nothing more. Even if you do have that fox demon inside of you that still doesn't change who you are. To me you are just Naruto!"

Naruto smiled. Was she really the first person who didn't hate him for being the fox or fear him because of it? Was she really the first person who actually saw him as just plain old Naruto?

"It's getting late, I think we should go," Koei laughed nervously as she stood up after she paid the bill for the both of them. "Come on!"

She waved her hand over her shoulder at Naruto since her back was turned and begun to walk away. She stopped when she felt someone throw his or hers arms around her. Her eyes got a little big and then flipped her head around to see Naruto hugging her around the neck.

"Uh…?" Koei blushed.

"Thanks. Thanks for seeing me as just plain Naruto," Naruto whispered smiling.

"You're welcome, I guess…" Koei smiled back at him.