Naruto screamed. It was a natural response after watching your instructor be impaled right in front of you.
Rin leaned backwards against the pointed pillar of sand that ripped through her back and came out between her breasts, her arms dangling listlessly at her sides and her head lolling sideways; a thin river of blood spilled out of the corner of her parted lips. A few feet from her, Gaara crawled his way to the surface from his underground hiding spot, leering at the motionless body of his sensei.
"Goddamn it, Gaara!" Naruto shrieked, flailing his arms. "What the hell is wrong with you? You took it was too far!"
Gaara ignored him. Something seemed off about this scenario. It was way easier to kill her than he had been led to believe. Gaara raised his hand and closed it into a fist, commanding the sand pillar to create several spears that ripped through Rin's body like paper. (Naruto screamed again, but Gaara tuned him out.) Just as he suspected, Rin's body was torn apart and collapsed on the ground, forming a large puddle of water.
Gaara berated himself for taking the obvious bait as he pulled himself fully from the ground, searching the ground for any hint of the tattooed jonin's location.
"Damn it! Another water clone," said Gaara. "She lowers her guard intentionally to lure me into attacking, no doubt to assess my abilities. She's always three steps ahead."
"H-Hey, Gaara, mind helping me down here?" asked Naruto hopefully.
"Help yourself," said Gaara rudely before leaping into the forest.
"Aw, what the hell, you jerk!" yelled Naruto, waving his fist furiously at Gaara's fleeing backside. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna kick your ass! "He slowly turned by the motion of the rope when he saw his only remaining salvation poking her head out of a bush near the edge of the forest. "Fu! Fu! Hey! C'mon, let me down from here! The blood is starting to rush to my head!"
"Okay! I'll be right over in a min – " Fu started to step out of the bushes, when she suddenly stopped, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "…You know, now that I think about it…."
"Um, Fu, what're you thinking about?" Naruto asked worriedly.
"With you out of the way, Gaara is my only competition," said Fu, rubbing her chin. "That increases my odds of getting a bell by like…sixty percent of something. I don't know, I suck at math. But either way, as long as you're stuck here, my chances just got better. Hang in there, Naruto – Hah! See what I did there? Ah, classic…"
"Wait, Fu!" cried Naruto, but she was already gone. "Ugh! Damn it! Fine! I'll get myself down!"
It took a bit of struggling considering he was upside down, but Naruto managed to reach for his pouch and grab a kunai, with which he reached up and cut the snare around his ankles. He flipped in an overdramatic fashion and landed in a crouched position. Naruto grinned at his own personal victory…until another rope trap sprung up around his ankles, putting him right back where he started.
"I fell for it again!" cried Naruto.
You Fail! Rin's Final Decision
Fu was racing through the forest at blinding speeds, blasting through the shrubs and trees like they weren't even there; twigs and leaves brushed off her skin without leaving so much as a scratch. The girl from the Hidden Waterfall knew she didn't have the talent for ninjutsu like teammates, but when it came to physical capabilities, she was leagues ahead of both of them. And from watching her fight with Naruto, Fu could see through her sensei's skills.
"She understands a basic set of Taijutsu, but nothing too spectacular," Fu said to herself. "If it were to come down to a one-on-one fight, I would definitely win. Now the only thing I have to worry about is her ninjutsu."
As she was running, she saw something straight ahead and ducked down behind the nearest bush. Cautiously poking her head around, she had correctly guessed that Rin was only a few feet away, her back turned towards Fu, appearing to be distracted by something in the opposite direction.
"Phew, I'm safe," whispered Fu. "It doesn't look like she's noticed me. This could be my best chance. While she's not looking, I'll sneak up behind her and snatch the bell. You are such a genius, Fu."
"I think there might be a slight flaw in your plan."
"What're you talking about? It's fool – "
Fu stopped mid-sentence as she turned and realized that the very person she was trying to hide from was crouched directly behind her.
The Waterfall Genin screamed in surprise and, brought on by natural reflexes, planted her hands on the ground and lifted her legs for a sweeping kick aimed at Rin's head. The Jonin instructor raised her arms to deflect the blow, but realized her mistake too late when Fu's foot made contact with her forearm and sent her sliding across the forest by several yards, barely staying on her feet, until her back hit a tree. Rin hissed and winced as she looked at her arm; an ugly purplish-blue bruise was starting to swell under her skin. She looked at Fu as the mint-haired Genin flipped back to her feet, taking a stance most common to Hidden Water Taijutsu.
"I read the reports that you were strong," said Rin, sounding impressed. "But they clearly undersold your talents. I'll have to be careful from now on."
As she said this, Rin's right hand became enveloped in a minty-green glow and rested her palm on the bruise. When she pulled back a moment later, the swelling had completely vanished.
'She knows medical ninjutsu on top of everything else,' thought Fu. 'Seriously, how many jutsus does she have? She's totally overpowered!'
"So what was you plan again?" asked Rin in a taunting manner. "Sneak up behind me and snatch the bells while I wasn't looking? Don't tell me you're afraid to fight me head-on?"
"Like hell I am!" said Fu, cracking her knuckles. "I gonna kick your ass and then I'm gonna take those bells off your battered, broken body."
"Big talk from a flat chested tomboy," said Rin, smirking.
"You bitch!" roared Fu.
She didn't even have a plan in mind when Fu charged straight at her instructor, her fist pulled back with an outrageous war cry. Before the Waterfall Genin came close, however, Rin weaved a quick hand sign. Fu couldn't tell what it was used for, but that didn't matter much to her at this point.
Once she reached within striking range, Fu threw her fist in a spiraling motion and slammed her knuckles into the bridge of Rin's nose…before she exploded into a cloud of leaves.
Fu stood there rooted to her spot, fist held aloft and her wide eyes.
"Huh?" Fu stammered, snapping her head back and forth like a confused doe. "What was that? Huh? Hold on! Where's sensei?! Huh? What's going on? Huh? What's what?"
"You look a little lost there." Fu flipped around; she spotted Rin leaning against a tree in the opposite direction. "Are you sure you can handle this on your own? There's no shame I asking for help?"
"I can kick your ass by myself!" shouted Fu. She rushed forward and performed a flying kick. Rin once again exploded in a cloud of leaves and the tree she was leaning on toppled over by the strength of Fu's kick. "Ugh! Will you stop running away? How am I supposed to kick your butt if you keep moving?"
"Sure, I'll just stand right here," said Rin, sitting lazily against a tree root.
Fu bounced forward and slammed the ground with her fist, but the tattooed Jonin exploded into leaves yet again.
"No, I'm over here," called Rin, sitting on a tree branch. Fu threw an explosive tag at it, but yielded the same result.
"No, over here!"
"No, here!"
"Hey, over here!"
Fu stepped back and stumbled around in a full circle, taking in the sight of literally a hundred Rins suddenly popping up out of nowhere. They were sitting in the trees, leaning against bushes, standing on the trunks, crouching on the ground, and generally covering the entore forest greenery with a sea of chestnut hair. They were all calling out to Fu simultaneously, their voices overlapping each other like a never-ending echo. Fu held her head in her hands, her eyes screwed up and her teeth gritting, trying to block out the sounds of her Jonin sensei to no avail. The Rin clone army was moving in on her; they were surrounding her from all sides; their voices chattering in her ears.
Fu enraged screams echoed throughout the forest, carried by the wind.
Meanwhile, Rin stood on a tree branch high above the scene, looking down at Fu stumbling like a drunk in the middle of an empty clearing, throwing her fists at an invisible enemy.
"Maybe I went a little overboard on this one," said Rin thoughtfully. "Oh well, this is just another lesson she needs to learn if she wants to be a kunoichi…."
Gaara, who had been wandering the forest aimlessly, suddenly turned when he heard a rage-fueled screams comin rom somewhere on the other side of the training grounds.
'That voice just now,' thought Gaara. 'Was that Fu?'
"Shinobi battle techniques number two: Genjutsu - the art of illusions," said Rin, suddenly appearing behind the Sand Genin; he wouldn't have even noticed if not for the jingling of the bells on her waist. "Both Naruto and Fu rely heavily on ninjutsu and taijustu respectively that they leave themselves vulnerable to the effects. It will be a while before she realizes she's been tricked."
"I'm not surprised in the least," said Gaara coldly. "Naruto is an idiot and Fu is a blind fool. But me…I'm different from those imbeciles."
"Yes, it's true that when it comes to raw talent, you stand above both of them," said Rin, nodded. "But that won't mean anything if you can't take the bell from me…Gaara-kun."
The Genin of the Hidden Sand turned around slowly, staring down his instructor with a look of contempt.
They just stood there, silently staring and judging. In days past, Gaara would have just killed his target and be done with it, but this woman was different – she had always thought ahead and had a plan prepared to everything they threw at her. It was the first time in Gaara's life that he didn't feel like victory was an absolute certainty, and that unsettled him more than Rin herself.
His hand moved cautiously to the neck of his gourd, pausing when his fingers brushed the cork. Rin did not move. Humming with uncertainty, he pulled the cork off….
A steady stream of pale grains shot out from the opening like a raging whirlwind and circled him like a shield. Sand, Rin was able to assess. Without even a word, the sand rolled towards the Jonin, blasting at the ground with enough force to make the nearby trees tremble, but Rin flipped backwards away to safety.
"So that's the infamous sand technique I've heard so much about," said Rin with a cunning smirk. "Able to manipulate billions of tiny grains with only your thoughts all the while not using any of your chakra. It's a pretty handy skill, but it's useless if all you're using it for is straightforward attacks."
Just as she was about to touch the ground, Gaara clenched his fist and raised it to the sky. A spear of sand ripped through the ground and shot skywards to impale the Jonin much like it had done earlier. Rin frowned; she quickly reached out to touch the side of the spear with her palm, using it as leverage to pull herself out of the projectile's path. She landed safely on the ground in a crouched position and pulled out a handful of shuriken from her pouch. She threw the shuriken and watched them curve around so that it would fly into Gaara's back. But just as she had expected, the sand curled behind him and swallowed her weapons instantly.
"And there is the infamous Sand Shield," said Rin, standing up straight. "Said to be the ultimate defense in the Shinobi world. Is it true that the shield activates regardless of your will?"
"If you already know the answer, then what is the point in asking?" said Gaara, narrowing his eyes.
"It's called being polite," said Rin; Gaara made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. "My, my, so serious. What is your father teaching you?"
"I couldn't give a damn about my father," said Gaara.
"I imagine you wouldn't; he's not exactly the world's best dad," said Rin. "If he was a better father, he would have told you about your shield's biggest weakness."
"What are you talking about?" growled Gaara. "The Sand Shield has no weakness."
"Oh, but it does," said Rin confidently. "One huge, glaring weakness that would make your Sand Shield vulnerable to a lot of enemies who are smart enough to figure it out…. Wanna know what it is?"
Naruto was still hanging from the tree branch where Rin and his teammates left him, but surprisingly enough, the orange-clad boy looked composed. He had his arms crossed and his head down (or up, rather) as he hummed in thought. Rin had already whooped his ass properly – he wasn't going to deny it – and it was unlikely that Gaara and Fu were ever going to come back for him. He needed to start thinking of a plan….
Something caught Naruto's eye just then, something he hadn't noticed before.
Even though they were in the middle of a dense forest, there was a large polished stone on top of a concrete pedestal surrounded by a brick footpath and a flagpole behind it. It looked like some kind of monument.
"Kind of a weird place to be putting something like that here…," Naruto mumbled until he spotted something sitting underneath the monument. "Oh! There are lunch boxes on that stone! Okay, Rin-sensei, you want a plan? Well, I got one for ya."
"I'll acknowledge that you're different from Naruto and Fu," said Rin, "but you still can't win a bell off of me, especially now that I know your weakness."
"What nonsense do you keep spouting?" asked Gaara, leering. "What weakness are you talking about?"
With a confident smirk, Rin raised her hands to where Gaara could see them and performed a quick series of hand signs.
"Dragon – Tiger – Hare!" shouted Rin. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Rin puffed up her cheeks and immediately expelled a powerful stream of compressed water toward Gaara. The Sand Shield naturally came to his defense, compressing into a strong wall between him and the water blast. When the water technique makes contact with the Sand Shield, it hits the grains with enough force to make it cave inward slightly, but still hold together.
Rin does not relent in the face of the Sand Shield; if anything, she seemed to make the stream thinner, increasing the pressure by several times. Gaara grunted as the water pounded against his shield mercilessly, giving him no chance to form a counterattack. He figured that Rin would eventually run out of chakra and he would strike the moment she let her guard down when he noticed something he had never seen before: the was a huge wet spot swelling up on his side of the Sand Shield. Gaara leaned in close to examine it, which ultimately proved to be a mistake.
Before Gaara could realize what happened, the water blast finally ripped through his shield and nailed him directly in the face. The Sand Genin was thrown to the ground on his side; the Sand Shield crumbled away pathetically. Once her student was down, Rin cancelled out her technique. She walked slowly over to him as Gaara sat up on his knees, his hand reaching to the spot where the water struck him, eyes wide and trembling.
"And that is Shinobi battle techniques number three: Ninjutsu," said Rin. "But I don't really need to explain that one."
"I've…been hit," said Gaara slowly. "But how…?"
"Your technique is powerful, but sand is still sand," said Rin knowingly. "When sand becomes exposed to water or any other liquid-based materials like oil, it becomes adhesive and crumbles away much easier."
Not wanting to believe her, Gaara threw up his hand and commanded the sand to strike her. However, the wet sand only reached halfway towards its target before it fell apart and clumped uselessly on the grass.
"You've never been exposed to this type of vulnerability before, having lived in the desert your whole life," said Rin. "You may think you're invincible, but the fact of the matter is that anyone with a strong water jutsu could easily destroy your so-called ultimate defense. It'll be a couple of hours before you're able to use your sand again. And without it…you're just as useless as Naruto.
Gaara gritted his teeth, somehow angrier about being compared to Naruto than losing to his instructor. In his angered state, Gaara acted desperately and grabbed a fist full of dirt before throwing it at Rin's face. The tattooed woman threw up her arms to protect herself and when she lowered them, Gaara was gone. Rin laughed amusingly.
"Huh, I think this is the first time anyone has ever seen that kid in such a dire state," said Rin. "I must be fortunate. Now…I wonder what the others are up to…."
It took a lot of doing, but Naruto finally figured out his way out of the rope snare (after being strung up two more times.) He had taken shelter behind the monument and had the lunchboxes sitting right in front of him, just waiting to be eaten.
"Now I don't have to go running around chasing those dumb bells," said Naruto proudly. "I'll just eat in secret right now. I'm a genius!"
"Genius might be a little much."
Naruto stiffened in fear; Rin was crouched directly above him.
"Uh…I was joking?" Naruto laughed nervously.
"Nice try."
Half a mile south of the starting point, Gaara's head breached the ground. The recent scuffle was still fresh in his mind. Even after observing her fights with Naruto and Fu, Rin still managed to outsmart him, even pointing out a vulnerability in his Sand Shield that even he wasn't aware of. He didn't go into the fight believing that it would be easy, but he didn't think there was a possibility of him ever losing, not when he had been killing Jonin since he was six.
'Damn it!' thought Gaara. "I never thought there would be someone more powerful than myself.'
Gaara started to wiggling himself out of the ground when he heard an irritated voice nearby accompanied by a series of snaps and creaks; someone was literally ripping through the forest.
"I can't believe she tricked me with a genjutsu! When I find Rin-sensei, I'm kick my foot so far up her – "
Fu entered the clearing where Gaara was and paused in her tracks. She and Gaara exchanged looks; the boy's body was still buried underneath the ground.
"…Fu?" said Gaara slowly.
"Oh, I get it, this is another one of your tricks, huh, Rin-sensei!" yelled Fu, marching heavy-footed over to him. "Well, I'm not gonna fall for your stupid illusions again – "
She tried to kick Gaara's face, but his Sand Shield exploded from the ground underneath her, flinging Fu into the air several meters before she came crashing down on top of her head. Gaara watched with a blank stare as the mint-haired girl fell over into a fetal position, holding her head where the swelling was forming.
"This is my teammate…?" said Gaara drearily, pulling the rest of himself out of the ground. "Get up, you idiot, I'm not a genjutsu."
"Oh, I guess it is you," said Fu, wincing as she held her head and rose to her feet. "I guess I should have figured as much. Rin-sensei probably would have given you eyebrows if you were an illusion.
"What is with your obsession with my eyebrows?" Gaara questioned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know what? I don't care. I've already had enough bad experiences for one day."
"Let me guess," said Fu. "Rin-sensei kicked your ass."
"As much as I hate to admit it…yes," said Gaara, clutching the fabric of his sleeve. "She knows everything about us and we know nothing about her. She always manages to stay three steps ahead and we can't even touch her. And on top of that, it's getting closer to noon. We don't have a whole lot of time before we fail."
"Ugh, dammit, I hate this!" Fu whined, stomping her feet childishly. "She can't just send us back to school. I don't wanna go back home!"
"Did you say you love your village yesterday?" said Gaara. "What's the problem if you go back?"
"If I go back to the Hidden Waterfall, I'll never get to leave again," said Fu, frowning. "You see, my big brother is the leader of our village and he's way overprotective. He never lets me leave the boarder of the village, and if I do leave, I always have guards with me, so I don't get to go whenever I want. So when our village was invited to join the Selection, I begged my big brother for weeks to let me go. He gave up eventually – I can be pretty annoying when I want to be."
"You really wanted to leave your village that badly?" asked Gaara.
"Don't get me wrong, I love my village," said Fu with a small, almost watery smile. "But I've been cooped up for so long that it's starting to feel like a prison. I want to stay on this team so I can explore new places and make tons of friends. And…I want to prove to my big brother that I can take care of myself."
Gaara's expression betrayed no emotion, but you could tell that he was in deep thought as he stared at his teammate.
"What about you, Gaara?" asked Fu, spinning around suddenly. "Don't you have something you want to do while you're here? Something you can't do at home?"
Gaara remained silent. Whether it was a way of ignoring her or if he genuinely didn't have an answer was unknown. But he was spared any chance of answering when a shrill noise echoed through the trees, making their hearts drop.
It was noon – time was up.
No one was truly surprised when they returned to the starting point of the survival exercise and found Naruto tied to the middle post. If anything, they had all been expecting the outcome. Gaara and Fu had taken seats on the ground, their exhaustion showing as they carelessly discarded their carrying items. And to make matters worse, their stomach made painful growling noises as one.
"Wow, your stomach sure are noisy today," said Rin jokingly. "By the way, about this exercise…. Well, I've decided that there's no need to for any of your to be sent back to the academy."
"Wha…really?" asked Naruto hopefully. Rin nodded and he cheered, waving his legs. "All right! I'm not going to be sent back! I knew I had what it took to be a shinobi!"
"As to be expected," said Fu, crossing her arms and nodding her head like she had known all along. "Obviously what happened was that sensei saw my amazing skills and knew I was too good to be sent back."
'I highly doubt that's the case,' thought Gaara suspiciously. 'None of us could touch her and she's suddenly letting us pass? There must be a catch.'
"So then this means the three of us are…?" said Naruto excitedly.
"Yep," said Rin with a wide smile. "It means you three…are being dropped as shinobi!"
It was as if someone had inflated a balloon in their stomach, only to pop it a moment later. Naruto and Fu's revelry came to a crashing halt, their faces stricken with horror and Gaara's fist clenched in his lap. And all they could ask themselves now was: How could it have ended like this?"
"N-No way," Iruka stuttered as Kakashi poured himself another cup of tea. "If what you said is true, then is it really safe to let her teach as a Jonin. Never mind the fact that her students are – "
"Rin has a dark and murky past, but so do many shinobi," Kakashi interrupted him. "What's important is that she was able to pull herself out of the darkness that threatened to swallow her and is working towards a better path. She enlisted as an instructor because she truly believes that the International Selection is the key to establishing peaceful relationships between nations. That way no one else will have to experience what she went through. She's a good woman, Iruka – the Five Kage have complete faith in her judgment."
"But with something like this…"
"Iruka…," said Kakashi in a low voice. "You are focusing on the wrong thing here. We chose Rin to be this specific team's instructor because she could restrain them if necessary, but it is not the only reason. With Rin, she isn't looking for strong shinobi. She's looking for something more worthwhile…"
"What do you mean we're being dropped as shinobi?!" cried Naruto. "I mean, yeah, it's true we couldn't get the bells from you, but why does that mean we have to be dropped?!"
"That's because you're all children who don't have the qualifications necessary to become shinobi," said Rin. "You three are nothing but brats playing pretend." – Gaara sneered, but made no move against her, so Rin pressed on – "Did you really think that being a shinobi would be so easy? Well, did you? Then tell me, what do you think is the purpose of bringing Genin from nations so different in ethics and culture together as part of teams?"
"Um…because of international cooperation?" said Fu uncertainly.
"Exactly," said Rin, nodding. "The Fourth Hokage created the International Selection as a way of creating unity among the nations. He drew the idea when he underwent this specific test as a Genin himself. I know this because the Fourth Hokage taught me this very same method. If you had figured that out for yourself, you might have come up with the answer that would have allowed you to pass."
"You wanted us to work together as a team," said Gaara, earning everyone's attention. "It makes sense when you say it so clearly. Each of us possesses unique talents that have both strengths and weaknesses. Naruto has his shadow clones to create an instant army useful for distraction, but he lacks both strength and proper planning. Fu, on the other hand, has physical superiority over the rest of us, but she was easily defeated by a Genjutsu when she went in alone. And as for me, my sand can attack from long range, but you've already proven it has a vulnerability and without it, I'm fairly helpless on my own. We all make up each other's flaws."
"That's right, but it's too late even if you realize it now," said Rin. "If all three of you had come at me as a unit, you might have been able to take one of the bells. Well, it's unfortunate that things turned out this way…."
"Hey…wait a minute," said Fu slowly. "Why would you have us work together if you only had two bells? If the three of us were to desperately go take the bells with one having to hold back, then there's no way we would have worked together. All that would do is have us fighting over who would be the one drawing the short straw."
"Of course!" said Rin. "The whole purpose of the test was to see if you could put aside your own petty differences for the sake of your teammates. If you become shinobi, you will be pressed into a number of situations where your own interests aren't the issue. Similarly, the intention of the International Selection was to see if the nations could put aside decades of war to form stable relations that will benefit the many over the few. But despite this, you fools….
"Fu!" She flinched at the harsh mention of her name. "You were so focused on your own personal gain that you were willing to leave a teammate in trouble!
"Naruto!" He cringed, biting the insides of his cheeks. "You are always going about things your own way, not even considering that your rash actions were interfering with your teammate's progress!
"And Gaara!" He narrowed his eyes. "You considered the other two a hindrance and acted on your own, not even running to them when you knew that you were incapable of fighting any further!"
"Missions are carried out in squads!" Rin continued harshly. "There's no mistake that shinobi require strong individual skills, but teamwork is considered much more important than that. Individual actions that disrupt teamwork throw the teams into crisis and lead to death."
"But what's the point of even working together?" asked Gaara. "We're not from the same village, and we're barely acquaintances. The last time the villages attempted the International Selection, it fell apart because one man died. The five Great Shinobi Villages have always been at war with one another, whether it's for land or resources. We all know it's only a matter of time before war breaks out again, so why bother with it?"
"That's a problem that every team in this program is forced to face," said Rin with a sullen look. "As I said, the International Selection was created to prevent war, but there is some truth to your words. Shinobi villages have been at war since the establishment of shinobi itself. And the risk is even greater with the International Selection allowing shinobi from many nations to cross boarders into other villages, exposing them to espionage and sabotage. But there are also people who believe in a world where children no longer have to worry about the threat of war. People who have fought and died for the future…. People like those whose name are written on this memorial…."
She walked to the polished rock that Naruto had attempted to hide under, her gaze sadly roaming over the countless names that Naruto had not realized was etched into the surface.
"I'm not sure if you know this, Naruto," said Rin in a soft voice, "You might not know this, Naruto, but that memorial is a testament to the thousands of men and women who died giving their lives to protect this village. People who were willing to sacrifice everything so that kids like you wouldn't have to suffer the same tragedies that they have."
""I…I never knew that," murmured Naruto.
Rin ran a hand over the stone, and muttered, "You know, one of my closest friends is written on this stone. She was like a mother to me after my parents were killed in the war…. She died years ago. Killed by an enemy the same night she gave birth to her only child. But she wasn't scared of death. She was scared about her child. About his future. Whether it would be happy and peaceful. And wrought with war and strife like her own. Maybe that's the reason why I decided to join this program…. To ease her soul just a little…."
"Sensei…" said Fu softly.
None of the Genin spoke after that. Fu rubbed her arm uncomfortably, Naruto hanged his head with a furrowed brow, and Gaara close his eyes respectfully. Even if they weren't from the same village, they felt solidarity in that moment; they had memorials in their own villages, after all. Though none of them could comprehend what it must have been like for their sensei, growing up in a time of war and watching those close to you die….
"…. You know what?" said Rin suddenly. "I'm going to give you three another chance. However, after noon, it'll be a harsher battle to take the bells. Those who want to take on the challenge can eat lunch. However, Naruto is not allowed to eat."
"What? Why?" whined Naruto.
"Consider it punishment for breaking the rules and attempting to eat lunch on your own," said Rin severely, casting a menacing look over the Genin. "If anyone gives Naruto even the tiniest bite of rice, that person will be disqualified on the spot."
"But you just told us we needed teamwork to win," said Fu.
"And now I'm saying if you help Naruto, you're out," said Rin in a low voice. "I'm the one making the rules here, got it?
"I must be going," said Iruka, standing up from his seat.
"Listen to me, Iruka," said Kakashi, causing the scarred man pause. "I know you care about Naruto, but he's not your students any more. Have faith in Rin and her judgment."
"…Yes, sir," Iruka conceded, bowing respectfully.
It was a lot more difficult to eat when Naruto's stomach was constantly growling in your ear, as Gaara and Fu quickly discovered.
Their Jonin instructor had left them alone ten minutes ago, promising to restart the survival exercise again when she returned in half an hour. The lunch that Rin had bought for them was a simple rice and vegetable one – not much in the way of energy building, but it was enough to quell the uncomfortable pains in their stomachs. They had hoped they would be able to eat peacefully while they thought up a plan to work together on defeating Rin, but….
"So, if Naruto goes in first with his shadow clones – " Fu was cut off by yet another squeak of Naruto's stomach. "Goddamn it, Naruto, we trying to have a strategy meeting here!"
"Hey, it's not my fault!" Naruto retorted. "I'm super hungry! It's not fair that you get to eat and not me!"
"That's what you get for breaking the rules," said Fu, pointing her chopsticks at him.
Naruto opened his mouth to complain, but his stomach growled and found himself too weak to say anything more. Gaara, who had been silent for most of the conversation while only adding it one of two ideas, closed his eyes and sighed exasperatedly. He then raised the lunch box to Naruto's face. The orange-clad boy stared at the lunch in disbelief; Fu silently wondered if there were any pigs flying over the Hidden Leaf.
"Here, take it," said Gaara nonchalantly.
"H-Hey, Gaara!" said Fu, looking around wildly. "We can't. Rin-sensei said – "
"It's fine; I stopped detecting her presence five minutes ago," said Gaara in a monotonous drone. "Don't mistake my intentions as an act of friendship. Rin-sensei is too powerful for any of us to take on alone, so the best option is to work together as a team. But all our efforts will be useless if one of us is too weak from starvation. So…hurry up and eat already."
"Gaara…," said Naruto softly.
"Don't get all emotional," said Gaara, turning his head away. "Just eat so we can plan without your stomach interrupting us."
"I mean, I'd like to, but…," said Naruto hesitantly, "my hands are kinda tied up. I can't move."
"Geez, the things I do for you boys," said Fu lightly.
The Genin from the Hidden Waterfall stood up and picked up a piece of the rice from Gaara's box with her chopsticks. She held it up to Naruto for him to eat, but the Leaf Genin was too stunned by the sight to respond properly.
"What? What's wrong?" asked Fu curiously. "You don't like it?"
"N-no, that's not it," stammered Naruto. "It's just…you're feeding me…."
"You should feel very lucky that a pretty girl is willing to feed you," said Fu proudly. "You'll probably never get another chance like this in your life."
"Would you quit fooling around," said Gaara in annoyance. "We don't know how long until sensei comes back."
Naruto felt like he was on cloud nine. He had never had any friends growing up hated by the village, now he had two (maybe) friends and a girl feeding him (granted she looked closer to a boy, but he wasn't going to say anything at the risk of being pummeled to death). He happily opened his mouth as Fu held out the tiny piece of rice…
But someone else ate it before him.
"Mmm, if there's one thing I miss about the Hidden Leaf," said Rin delightfully, "it's their quality rice. The rice in the Hidden Mist is too soggy for my taste."
Gaara jumped to his feet, then he and Fu leapt away, dropping their lunch boxes on the ground while Naruto flailed on the post, screaming in surprise. Without any of them realizing it, Rin had somehow managed to plant herself directly between them, leaning against Naruto's post as she savored the rice she so rudely took from her student. Once she gulped it down, she cast her gaze over Gaara and Fu, both looking incredibly guilty now.
"So…," said Rin. "You decided to disobey my clear instructions and broke the rules. You know what's coming next, don't you…?"
The training grounds suddenly felt very heavy; the air seemed to thin and it became hard to breath. Fu started coughing as her lungs seemed to lose breath and Gaara felt weak at the knees, holding his chest as he dropped into a kneeling stance. Naruto didn't seem affected by whatever jutsu Rin was casting on them. He trembled in fear from being so close to Rin, but when Fu dropped to her knees holding her throat and Gaara fell on all fours, he didn't seem as concerned for himself any more.
"Hey, leave them alone!" Naruto yelled, kicking his legs furiously. "I'm the one who begged them to feed me! Leave them alone and punish me instead!"
"D-don't you dare take the blame…Naruto," Fu wheezed, managing a weak glare up at Rin. "I'm the one who fed him…. If anyone's going to be punished…it's going to be me…."
"They're both wrong…," said Gaara, struggling to raise his head. "It was my idea…to feed Naruto in the first place. They were just…going along with what I said. I deserve whatever punishment you have."
"Do you realize what you all are saying," said Rin in a low voice. "You're risking your future's defending a worthless brat. Why?"
"Because…it's the right thing to do…," said Fu weakly.
"Because…he's our teammates…," said Gaara, grimacing.
"Because they don't deserve to have their dreams crushed because of me," said Naruto determinedly.
"Well…if that's the case," said Rin, looking them over with a careful eye. "Then the only thing I have left to say is…. Congratulations. You three pass."
Whatever jutsu that Rin had cast disappeared in an instantly and Gaara and Fu found themselves able to breath normally again. Although this probably didn't register in their minds as they and Naruto were staring wide-eyed at Rin, who had the biggest smile plastered across her face.
"…. Huh?" said Naruto with uncertainty.
"You pass," Rin repeated happily.
"But-but-but," Fu sputtered. "What do you mean? We passed? Why?"
"For a moment there, I was worried you wouldn't get it," said Rin. "Anyone else would have done what I said and sold out their teammate to save themselves. That would have been the wrong thing to do?"
"You were trying to test us again," Gaara realized. "You made up more rules that would have tested our teamwork. If we hadn't fed Naruto…."
"Then you would have failed the exercise twice," said Rin. "A shinobi should never fall for the obvious traps. The rules I gave you contradicted my speech about teamwork and unity. No matter what happens, a team always needs to stick together. Every ninja who had followed the rules before failed because they only thought of themselves. But you three didn't – you chose to risk your futures for the sake of a friend."
"Friend might be going a little too far – " said Gaara.
"Oh, shut up, Gaara!" snapped Fu.
"I can't truly say if your intentions were selfless or not," said Rin, "but the fact of the matter is you put yourselves on the line for the sake of another. In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are branded as garbage, but a good man once said that those who don't cherish their friends are worse than garbage. And I promise you, as long as I am your sensei, I will devote my life to each of you. Because you're not just my students – you're my precious friends."
"You know…," said Naruto, looking ready to cry at any moment, "she's actually…kinda cool."
"That's it for the exercise; you all pass," said Rin proudly. "We'll start our first mission tomorrow!"
"Yes, sensei!" Fu cheered.
"I did it!" Naruto cried happily. "I'm a shinobi! I really did it!"
"This calls for a celebration," said Rin. "I found this amazing barbecue restaurant in town. Lunch is on me!"
Fu bounced up to her feet, pumping her fists into the air in celebration. Gaara grunted with a little effort as he stood up; if one looked close enough, they could see the smallest hint of a smile starting to form.
Together, the team of Rin, Gaara, and Fu left the training grounds in higher spirits…not even realizing they had left Naruto tied to the post until after they had paid the check.
"God dammit! I knew this was how it was gonna end!" screamed Naruto, kicking his legs in a pointless struggle. "Someone come back and untie meeeeee!"
And that properly concludes the Introduction Arc for the series. Since Rin is an underused character from the series, I obviously took liberties when it came to her skill set. I'm mostly basing her abilities on her 'tenant', but I'll probably expand on that as we head further along.
Next: The Land of Snow Arc