Disclaimer. I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 2: In Field Eight
"Ah, wait, at least tell me what this clue is about. Can't I get an easier one? Look, it doesn't even make sense. How is this even an obj-" Naruto tried to protest. However, the only response he got was the closing and locking of the gates as the ninja who was assigned to his start walked away.
"Aw, come on, this makes no sense. What is this, poetry?" Naruto cried and threw himself on the grass. "The one I got last time was easier to understand," Naruto said and stared at his paper for a while longer before letting his arms fall to the side to enjoy the breeze and the sun for a while. Eventually, he sighed and got up to head towards the forest. "Forget it, maybe someone else got an easier clue."
Naruto raised his arms up and yawned after a while of walking among the trees. It's around the time I bump into one of my teammates. Wonder who I get this time... Naruto rubbed his eyes in tiredness before coming to a clearing to see, low and behold, a figure of one of his classmates, who upon seeing him immediately gave out a "tsk".
Naruto squinted to get a clearer vision of who from his class he had bumped into, he caught sight of a black-haired boy wearing blue shirt with a symbol of...
"Ah! Sasuke! You!" Naruto screamed when he recognized who is was in the clearing stand with an annoyed look on his face.
"Took you long enough, idiot," Sasuke said.
"What! Say that again, you piece of-"
"Very well, slow-headed, idiot," Sasuke said.
"What, say that again!" Naruto said in indignation.
"I just did, you idiot," Sasuke replied.
In another part of the field, Sakura Haruno stared at her piece of paper as she walked under the trees. Reaching to brush a piece of hair behind her ears, she paused as she heard two voices fighting up ahead just as she reached a clearing. On closer inspection, she found that they were Naruto and Sasuke, two boys who were always at each other's throats. In fact, she wasn't sure if she had ever seen them not fight in each other's presence. Their personalities were like oil and water, inseparable in a bowl without intervention, but never mixed enough to see eye-to-eye. However, if it weren't for Sasuke though, she was sure Naruto would be the rowdiest guy in the class. The two boys butted up against each other more fiercely than Naruto's fights with any of the other boys, but the fights the two had with each other were always cleaner and less one sided. Sakura suspected it took Naruto more energy to exchange blows with Sasuke who could always expertly avoid Naruto's punches. Although more intense, the fights between the two boys always finished with less injuries. Naruto's fights with the other boys usually ended with Sakura bandaging Naruto and everyone up and becoming the class's first-aid. Sakura had silently wondered at one point why Naruto always got more injuries fighting the other boys than when he fought Sasuke. When the two fought, they were on equal enough standing, despite Naruto's poor standing in the class.
"You!" Naruto cried. "Why should I have to pair up with you?!"
"How should I know?" Sasuke replied.
"I'll never get anything done with you around," Naruto said.
"That's what I should say," Sasuke replied in a head-knuckle. "Though instead of fighting me, we should find the third person already so we can get all the clues." Sasuke grabbed Naruto from behind and pushed him away at the same time.
"Why should I have to listen to you? You're just going to get all the credit," Naruto said and went in for another punch. "And who cares about the third person. They're just going to slow us down."
"That doesn't make any sense," Sasuke said parrying Naruto's punch.
Sakura watched from the side and sighed. She suppose it was about time to break the two apart and make herself know.
She raised her hand to try to get their attention. When that didn't work, she said quietly, "Ano..."
Naruto punched at Sasuke one more time and looked up. There was a pause as Naruto caught sight of Sakura and blinked a few times while back-tracking his thoughts.
"Ah! Sakura!" Naruto said, already standing in front of her. "Sorry, I didn't know-eh." Naruto looked to the side of Sakura and then behind her. "Don't tell me, you're the third person!"
"Ah," Sakura said in affirmation.
For a moment, Naruto didn't say anything and then, "Awesome! You're the third person!"
Sasuke sighed from behind him. "Took you long enough."
For once, Naruto seemed to not mind Sasuke's comment. Instead, he looked particularly happy and content and slightly nodded to himself in thought. "Hm," Naruto said and crossed his arms in approval as his head went up and down several times, each nod more enthusiastic than the next until he was all smiles and fully nodding.
"Idiot," Sasuke said.
"What?!" Naruto cried. And before long the two were headbutt against each other again.
Sakura watched as the fight continued and sighed.
It took a while before the two settled, but they eventually did and sat in the grass to talk.
"So, what clues did the two of you get?" Sasuke asked, taking the lead straight to the point of discussion. Beside him, Naruto frowned in upset that turned from slightly contained to full on outburst.
"Teme! What kind of way to ask is that?!" Naruto cried.
Sasuke sighed. "Then in what way do you suggest I ask?"
"Anyway is fine, but not like that! Knowing you, you plan to solve everything yourself!" Naruto said, for some reason visibly more upset than normal.
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched at that. "So then, how do you suggest I ask?" Sasuke said, trying to keep his composure but failing.
"Anyway," Naruto replied. "Just not like that!"
"You just said that!" Sasuke said, fed up.
Arguing ensued between the two before they somehow settled down once again.
"In any case," Sasuke said. "I'm sure you've both figured out the pattern of the clues."
"Hm-mm," Naruto nodded and crossed his arms happily in affirmation.
Sasuke caught Sakura's nod from the corner of his eyes.
"The clues," Sasuke said. "For whatever reason, seem to be of three types, a clue about what the object is, a clue about it's location, and a clue about the object's description. Now as we all know, simply finding the clue isn't enough. There's also the rule about how the object is found."
Naruto nodded in satisfaction as he listened.
"The object, however easy or hard to find, must be found in such a way that the effort we each pull must equal the weight of our clue," Sasuke explained.
Naruto nodded enthusiastically again.
"Now, in my experience, what the object is is usually the most basic information. As well as giving a center for what to search for, it's also a necessary clue to begin. The location adds to the clue to guide us to where we need to go to find the clue. And lastly, the description clue. From the past few times, it seems as if this clue is the most difficult to understand on its own. However, with this clue, it is possible to get information about all the other clues. So you can say the person with this clue is the person who has to pull in the most effort or weight in order for this mission to succeed," Sasuke said to place it all on the table.
"Hm-mm. Exactly," Naruto said.
"So," Sasuke said. "Who has the description clue?"
"Hm-mm. Exactly, who has the description clue?" Naruto asked.
"I have the location clue," Sakura said.
"I have the object clue," Sasuke said.
"Hm- What!" Naruto said in a panic and pulled out his clue to stare at it. "Don't tell me, the reason I didn't get it..."
Sasuke sighed in exasperation. "Don't tell me you read it and had no idea how it was a clue and didn't know why until now."
"Eh..." Naruto replied and only continue to stare at the piece of paper.
Bingo, Sakura thought as she looked at Naruto's expression. Straight on the dot.
"Of course, if we don't pull out of this with Naruto pulling the most weight, we'll fail like the rest of the times," Sasuke stated.
"Eh! No way!" Naruto said, suddenly in all out panic. And then, he seemed extremely disappointed and sad, and then panicky all at once.
"So," Sasuke said. "What are going to do then?"
"Maybe we can debug the code for Naruto and then have Naruto do all the work?" Sakura suggested.
"Tsk, I doubt he could keep his side of the bargain. Besides, they'll be looking for teamwork as well. If we make it too obvious, they'll disqualify us," Sasuke said.
"What!?" Naruto screeched. And then Naruto looked down dejectedly.
"But," Sasuke said. "It's not like we have a choice now that we've been put together."
At that, Naruto looked angry. "Can't you say anything better than that?"
Sasuke's eyes twitched, and he glared at Naruto. "Got any better ideas?!" he snapped.
"No! But can't you be more supportive?" Naruto said.
Sasuke sighed and then did his best to contain himself.
"Anyway, we have two options," Sasuke said. "Since the location clue is a cabin, that means there's a cabin at least somewhere. So if we keep walking and cover the area, we're bound to find a cabin, which is easy enough to spot. That shouldn't be a problem."
"Hm," Naruto said. "Wait, how is that two options?"
"You tell me, dumb head. I hate to say it, but by the looks of it, the shape of the field is more long than short, and since we bumped into each other like this we're likely somewhere in the middle. Well, that works in our favor while we're covering one side, but that means we'll have to pick. It's either east or west to scout first."
"Eh," Naruto said. "Isn't there a more educated guess?"
"Depends on what we're aiming for," Sasuke said.
"What we're... aiming for?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke nodded. "From the looks of it, there's more ground to cover westward. So the chances of finding the cabin is higher westward. However, if it's not anywhere westward, there will be a longer route back east. However, if we take east, there won't be as much ground to cover, but the changes of us finding the cabin later when we're tired and close to the end will be higher. If we take east though, we'll have covered the entire area."
"In other words," Sakura said, looking upward with her finger on her chin. "West is a riskier route for success but easier route, but east is more of a guarantee but harder route."
"Correct," Sasuke said.
"Eh," Naruto said and then smiled happily. "Then it's-"
"Of course," Sasuke said. "With those choices, it's a better choice to go west."
"-east!" Naruto said.
Sasuke and Naruto stared at each other. Sasuke's eyes twitched.
"Eh! Why west!" Naruto screamed.
Sakura looked between the two.
There chapter two. What do you think?