Chapter 8

The First Test

"So the first test is to retrieve these silver bells from me. There normally would be two but since the slight change of people in this cell there are now four bells. If any of you do not get a bell then you will be tied to this stump without lunch. Remember this is a timed event. GO!" Naruto waited for the five genin shinobi to make their first move.

"This exercise is obviously about teamwork. Since we're all genin it would be foolish to try to single handedly take down Naruto sensei, who is an elite Jounin ninja. So Midori, Akari, Akira, and Kouji attack sensei from different directions. I'll try to get him from overhead." Aisha said with newly found leadership skills.

They all nodded understanding this logic. Akira lunged at Naruto from the behind, Akari from the right, Kouji from the left, And Midori from the front. When Naruto tried to fend off everyone at once was when Aisha jumped from the tree and sliced at the bells with a kunai. She tossed one to everybody not remembering that there was only four.

"You are my first students ever. You five have shown the most remarkable teamwork than I've ever seen. I don't know about anyone else but, heck you guys were better than my old team. Ah let's see who has a silver bell." After a quick survey. "It seems that Aisha-san does not have a bell. So it seems that we have to tie Aisha to a stump and deny lunch to her while everyone else eats." Naruto smiled. "Or I can pass you right now and everyone can eat lunch."

"You know sensei I prefer the latter of the two." Aisha said.

"Just as I thought." Naruto grinned.

Akari and Aisha were walking with Naruto home but Akari was acting weirdly all the way. It seemed that every time Akari looked at Naruto and he looked back they both looked away blushing. 'Don't tell me they're falling in love!' Aisha almost gagged at the thought. Once they got to Naruto's apartment and ate. Aisha was the first on to get to sleep. She said she was tired but really she wanted to get away from the two lovebirds and this was the only way she knew how.

Several Days Later…

Aisha awoke at dawn as usual. Today Naruto and Akari were curled up in each other's arms asleep. So she quietly got dressed in newly bought clothes, wrote a note and grabbed an apple on her way out. After exploring the village for awhile she came across a dilapidated little hut-type building with a 'for sale' sign on the door. That certainly caught her eye. She looked for the contact info, found it and struck a deal with the owner. All before Naruto and Akari woke up! Aisha was so happy to have a place to herself she decided to celebrate by training. She went to the closest forest to train. After many well placed shuriken and kicks the training doll was nothing more than shreds. She put her hitai-ate back on for it had slipped from its potion on her forehead one too many times and she had gotten annoyed by it. Realizing that her hitai-ate could slip off in a crucial battle, Aisha yanked it down, so now it hung around her neck. By noon Aisha realized that she had better get going before she was late to meet Team 7X.

"Where were you Aisha? You left a note saying that you were going to take a walk but you didn't come back!" Akari questioned.

"I decided to train and lost track of the time." Aisha explained quickly rubbing the back of her head.

(This part is now in Aisha's perspective.)

'What am I her kid! I'm 22 for Christ's sake! I'm pretty sure that I'm old enough to take a walk on my own without anybody interrogating me when I come back!'

I was seriously pissed at Akari but at least the previous owner of the hut said that he would have it ready by the end of next week. Apparently we're going on a mission today. I hope there's gonna be some action.

The mission was successful but the only person that got really beat up was me. It seems like everyone has a special skill except for me. Akari is really fast, Midori is really strong, Akira is really smart, and Kouji is really good at chakra control and what am I? Average. Just a plain old washed up average.

A Week and a Half Later…

Finally! The hut is finished and ready to move into! Huzzah! The only problem is how to tell Naruto and Akari. Easy: I don't. It's a good thing I have like no luggage.