DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Kishimoto does. I don't own Hikari Aino.

A/C: Constructive criticism is warmly welcomed and appreciated, as well as readers' suggestions/ideas. (Particularly when it comes to Lemons – I really suck at those! :S) Flames and mean comments are not welcome – saying 'no offence' means squat. If you don't like what you're reading don't leave a comment!

THE MEMORIAL STONE

"If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever." ~Alfred Tennyson

I sighed in defeat and sat down on a nearby stump as Kakashi grabbed Naruto and tied him securely to another stump. Naruto lowered his head – believing that he was going to be sent back to the Academy. Well, if that were true, he wasn't going to be the only one. None of us had managed to successfully obtain one of the stupid bells. Suddenly, Naruto's stomach started growling and he groaned in discomfort.

"Uh oh. Someone's hungry. Well, that's just too bad."

Kakashi then turned to face the rest of us. Our heads (or at least Sakura's, Naruto's and mine did. Sasuke just continued looking stoic) hung in shame and disappointment.

"Oh, yeah. By the way, about this exercise – I've decided not to send any of you back to the Academy."

All four heads snapped up in surprise.

"Haha, YES!" Naruto grinned in triumph, while Sakura looked confused.

"What I passed? But all I did was faint and fall over."

I snorted with amusement.

You serious?

But I didn't smile and neither did Sasuke. I knew there was a catch somewhere that Kakashi was yet to reveal, while both Naruto and Sakura cheered oblivious to our tense moods.

"Yep. You're all being dropped from the program. Permanently."

Naruto and Sakura stopped dead in their tracks, horror plain on their faces, Sasuke reacted in outrage while my face twisted in dismay.

And there it is...

Naruto squirmed violently.

"Dropped from the program?! But, but that means we can never become Ninja!"

Kakashi nodded in confirmation.

"Exactly."

Naruto looked anguished.

"But, but that's not fair! You said that if we didn't get the bells we'd be sent back to the Academy. Who said you could change the rules?"

Sakura looked like she was about to burst into tears. "Why would you do that?"

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest, giving us a level stare.

"Simple. None of you think like Ninja. You think like little children. Brats."

Sasuke charged at Kakashi, looking beyond pissed. I instantly reached out and caught Sasuke before he could do something he could regret. He tried to buck me off.

"Sasuke, stop!" I hissed into his ear.

Sasuke froze when he heard my voice and calmed down a little, but he still looked royally pissed off. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, trying to calm him down and felt myself smile when Sasuke leaned into me - confirming my suspicions.

Sasuke definitely liked me.

Sakura noticed this gesture and was immediately at my side, trying to pry my arm away from Sasuke's shoulders.

"Let go of him!" Sakura wailed right in my ear and I flinched into Sasuke.

He stumbled and narrowed his eyes at me before realising why I had done so and turned his gaze on Sakura who backed off slightly. He straightened up and gave Kakashi his reluctant attention while wrapping his arm possessively around my waist, much to Sakura's chagrin.

"You don't know what it means to be Ninja." Kakashi continued beating down our spirits.

"Do you think it's just a game, huh? Why do think we put you on squads? Did you ever question that for once?"

His words stung.

"I-I don't know what you mean." Sakura tried to reason with Kakashi.

I wanted to prove that I was more than capable of being a Ninja, so I gently pulled away from Sasuke and stepped away from him, advancing towards Kakashi who raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I practise and study everyday and night to become a Kunoichi, only to treat it as though it were a game? The only reason why I'm becoming a Kunoichi is so I can prove myself just as strong as my Mother, Father and Grandfather and discover why my Father and Grandfather were murdered." I stated dryly - looking at Kakashi with a hardened, serious look, which didn't faze Kakashi at all.

If he understood what I said, he didn't show it.

"Well, from what I've seen of what you're capable of just now, you're showing a pretty poor example of how much you've actually attained." He retorted.

I saw red. How dare he?

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" I snarled and like Sasuke, launched myself at Kakashi - only this time, I was too fast for Sasuke to even reach out his hand to stop me.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu!" [1] I yelled, and instantly the area was blanketed in thick mist that put everybody on alert - trying to find me.

"What's going on? Where is Hikari?" asked Naruto nervously.

"I dunno, dobe. Just be quiet for once in your life." growled Sasuke.

Kakashi paused for a moment, reaching out with his instincts and then at the last minute, sidestepped to the left just as I aimed a kick at him, creating a small dint in the Earth. Angrily, I spun 'round and made hand signs.

"Hyourou no Jutsu!" [2] I hollered and a spray of ice shards appeared and surrounded my teacher who slammed his hands together and yelled 'KAI!', disspelling the Jutsu, before disappearing and reappearing behind me and pinning my arms to my sides.

I bucked and twisted trying to free myself.

"That's enough!" He demanded as I thrashed wildly.

"Get off me!" I glared at him, but suddenly felt... strange.

What's going on? I feel...calm.

I slumped weakly into Kakashi's arms, causing everyone to gasp in surprise (Sakura) and concern (Sasuke and Naruto). Kakashi gently lowered me to the ground and sat me up, making sure I was steady before walking off again.

I felt tears in my eyes.

"Why did you insult me?" I murmured softly and suddenly felt somebody letting me rest against them.

I recognised the white and blue arm guards holding my arms supportively: Sasuke, and I was surprised at how oddly comforted I felt leaning into his toned chest, feeling his steady heartbeat on my back, and inhaling an attractive woody and earthy scent that he had. I looked up at Sasuke's face but saw that he wasn't looking at me, he was glaring territorially at Kakashi.

So much for the stories I heard about Sasuke being a moody little bastard who cared only about himself and his 'dream'.

This wasn't expected at all.

"You kids really don't know what this exercise was all about. What it meant." Kakashi explained, getting frustrated that we were taking so long to finally understand what he was getting at.

"What it means?" Naruto queried.

"Yeah. It is about whether or you pass or fail. C'mon, use your head and think about it. Why do we put three people, or in this case, four, on a squad?"

"How should we know? We didn't make these rules!" Naruto snarled in frustration, still struggling to get free.

Kakashi face-palmed.

"It's so basic. It's teamwork!"

We stared at him in confusion and shock, then realisation.

"Teamwork? It's as simple as that?" Sakura asked weakly.

Kakashi nodded mockingly.

"It's exactly that. It's too late now, but if you were to try again and come at me at once, at least one of you could've gotten a bell."

The four of us sweat-dropped - realising our mistake.

"Well, anyway it's over." He said with a finality.

Sakura suddenly got angry.

"But you set up this test for four people, but only had three bells-"

Kakashi paused and looked at her indicating for her to continue her rant.

"If we had've worked together and claimed the three bells, only three of us would be able to keep one and that would've led to group conflict and we would've broken up anyway!" Sakura accused Kakashi for the unfairness of the exercise.

Kakashi nodded, his mood improving when he realised she finally got what he was trying to tell us.

"Exactly. That was done on purpose to pit you four against each other. It was to test whether or not you could get over that problem and work together as a team. Genins should have a natural instinct for teamwork, but for some reason this never crossed any of your minds."

He started pointing at each of us telling us our flaws.

"Sakura – you were too busy obsessing over Sasuke, who was gone, and you completely ignored Naruto, who needed your help."

Sakura looked guilty.

"Naruto – you do everything on your own. EVERYTHING!"

Naruto lowered his head feeling ashamed.

"Hikari - while your determination to become stronger in order to become a great ninja and avenge your father and grandfather is admirable, you still have a lot to learn about honing your instincts."

I flushed.

"And you, Sasuke, were blinded by your own arrogance, and refused to help your team mates because you believed them to be beneath you."

Sasuke dug his fingernails into my arms and I yelled out in pain, glaring at him.

"Ow! That hurt!"

I bit back my anger when Sasuke absently rubbed my arm, trying to soothe the stinging pain he inflicted.

"Hn."

I translated that as 'I'm sorry' and I flushed in surprise. Kakashi stared us down gravely.

"Ninja missions are carried out in squads. Of course, you need individual skills, but teamwork is required because it's an essential element. All shinobi understand this. Working individually can lead to failure and ultimately death."

We took his all in with an uneasy feeling in our guts.

"For example-"

Kakashi pulled a kunai from his pouch and poofed behind Sasuke, dragging him away from me without warning – which caused me to fall backwards with a grunt – and brandished the kunai at his throat.

"-Sakura, kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies."

There was panic. Kakashi released Sasuke and swiftly replaced the kunai back into his pouch.

"That's what happens in a mission."

"Oh boy, that was scary." Sakura whispered to herself. I gulped down my fear.

That's not playing fair...

"The enemy takes a hostage and makes you an impossible choice. Somebody dies. In every mission, your life is ALWAYS on the line."

Kakashi abruptly sauntered over to a nearby stone where our lunches were currently sitting next to.

"See this stone? See all the names that have been engraved on it?"

We nodded.

"Those are the names of Ninjas who have been honoured as heroes within our village."

Naruto brightened.

"That's it! I'm gonna have my name engraved on that stone! I'm not going to live and die for nothing like some stupid dog. I'm gonna prove myself as a hero! Believe it!"

Kakashi almost smiled.

"They are a special type of hero, Naruto."

"Really? What type? Tell me, tell me!"

Kakashi said nothing, looking kind of upset.

"Well?"

Sakura approached the stone and examined it. Instantly, she blanched.

"They were all K.I.A"

My eyes widened. I finally understood what Kakashi was getting at.

"Hey! That sounds cool." Naruto grinned enthusiastically.

Clearly, he had no idea what K.I.A meant. Sakura looked like she wanted to roll her eyes but showed surprising restraint.

"It means-" She explained.

"-Killed in Action. They all died to become heroes."

Naruto's grin faded. "Oh."

I got to my feet to examine the stone for myself. As I looked down at the row of names beneath my fingers, I couldn't help but wonder if it would be a possibility I could be on this list someday. Sakura looked at my thoughtful face and smiled slightly. Kakashi's hand descended onto my shoulder and I looked up at him, all traces of anger I had directed towards him fading away.

"That is a memorial stone. I have close friends who have all died in battle and had their names engraved here."

We looked up at him in shock and sympathy. Well, nearly everyone. Sasuke was still looking stubbornly resistant. Kakashi sighed when he realised that he could see a new determination on our faces.

"Alright. I'm going to give you guys one more chance. But I'm going to make it a lot harder on you than last time. This time, you'll get three hours to retrieve the bells. Eat up now to gather some strength."

Sasuke, Sakura and I grabbed our bentos and sat down to consume. I paused and looked at Naruto.

"What about Naruto?" I asked.

My friend smiled at me gratefully, knowing that I wouldn't let him starve. Kakashi glanced at Naruto and shook his head.

"Naruto doesn't get any. It's a punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat by himself."

Naruto deflated and his stomach growled again. Kakashi turned to walk away, and Sasuke and Sakura continued to eat. I made no move to join them – I was going to share my lunch with Naruto. I didn't agree with Kakashi and his instructions.

But apparently, Kakashi must've read my mind because he turned around again.

"One more thing. Any of you feed him and you'll fail. I make the rules, you need to follow them. Understood?"

Sasuke, Sakura and I nodded. He disappeared quickly. Naruto brooded and I sighed and started to eat my meal.

"Hey, it's no big deal. I can handle not eating for days. I'm cool with it." He bragged, not fooling anyone.

His stomach growled again and he groaned miserably. I itched to feed him some of my food, but I wanted to pass this test so I resisted. But Naruto's moaning was distracting. Eventually, Sasuke took one look at Naruto's pitiful face and handed his bento to him.

"Here."

Sakura and Naruto's eyes widened.

"What? Sasuke, you can't do that." Sakura protested.

"You heard what sensai said."

Sasuke eyed her with irritation and threw Naruto a 'sympathetic' look.

"Kakashi's not here. And we need to get those bells as a team. We can't do that if he's hungry. It'll jeopardise the team and ruin our plans to complete the mission. What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

He promptly got to his feet and placed the bento on Naruto's lap. He retreated back and sat down again, watching Sakura and I. I smiled radiantly at Sasuke who blushed slightly and looked away. But I swore that I saw him smile a little.

I followed his example.

"Eat up, Naruto. I'll get Mom to make me something when I get home." I reassured him when he hesitated.

He brightened again.

"Can I come too? Please, please, please?" He begged. I grinned and looked at Sasuke with a significant look in my eyes. He rolled his eyes but nodded and just barely cracked a small smile on his face.

"Sure. Idon't think Mom won't mind." I agreed.

Sakura looked at her bento, then at Naruto and I and at Sasuke. She sighed and forked over her lunch.
Naruto beamed at us, happily.

"Oh, thanks!" He gushed.

He beamed more particularly at Sakura who cringed unpleasantly.

"Don't thank me, just eat it!"

Naruto frowned in confusion.

"But isn't it your lunch?"

Sakura pulled a face.

"Uh, I'm on a diet at the moment. I mean, I don't eat as much as Sasuke does..."

Naruto still looked confused. Sakura lost her patience.

"Look, just shut up and eat it, Naruto!"

Naruto looked apologetic.

"I can't. I'm tied up you see and so you'll have to feed me."

He looked awkward and both Sasuke and Sakura both rolled their eyes in irritation. I smiled.

"Sure." I shuffled over to Naruto and loaded up my chopsticks with food.

"Open wide." I mocked him teasingly like a mother would do to a child and Naruto half-glared, half-chuckled and obeyed my commands. I looked at the others out of my peripheral vision.

Sheesh. They don't have a lot of patience...

"Hurry, he could come back at any moment." Sasuke ordered and I brought the chopsticks closer to Naruto's mouth, where he was trying to grab at it like a baby bird. Sakura decided to help me out, so she reluctantly scooped up some brown rice onto her chopsticks and sat on Naruto's other side.

"God, this is the only time I'm gonna do this for you, Naruto. Get it?"

Naruto grinned.

"Loud and clear."

The moment Naruto took a bite, there was a loud explosion that nearly caused Sakura and I to drop our chopsticks and Kakashi was at our side in seconds.

"YOU!" He bellowed and we all cowered in fright.

"You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for the punishment."

He cracked his knuckles threateningly and against my better judgement I started backing away from our obviously angry sensai, valuing my skin. I saw Sakura copying my movements and rushing over to shield herself behind Sasuke who only looked mildly concerned for his safety (and groaning in frustration when he felt Sakura touch him again).

"Any last words you'd like to say?"

"But-but you said..." Naruto stammered with fright.

Kakashi towered over him.

"Yes?"

"You said that there was four of us! That's why Sakura... and..."

He was starting to lose his nerve. Then the unexpected happened.

"We're a team and we're in it together."

Sasuke defended Naruto.

"Till the bitter end." I added for emphasis.

Sakura looked at us and decided to add her two cents.

"Y-yeah, that's it. The four of us are equal and therefore we need to stick together. That's why we gave Naruto our lunches."

Naruto looked relieved.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the truth. Believe it!"

Kakashi stared at us sternly, placing his hands on his hips. We stood our ground and glared back defiantly.

"The four of you are in it together? Is that your excuse?"

Vehement nods. Nervous glances and death glares.

Kakashi straightened up and prepared himself to deliver the final blow.

"Well in that case... you pass!"

"Huh?" Everyone asked.

"You. Pass."

"W-what do you mean, how did we pass?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi beamed down at us like a proud father.

"You're the first squad that ever succeed. The others did exactly what I said, and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves." Kakashi explained.

We all made an 'ahh' face before turning back in to listen to Kakashi continue to explain it to us.

" A ninja must be able to see through deception. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true, but those who abandon their friends are even worse then scum." Kakashi stated with a deadly serious expression on his masked face.

"Oh!" Sakura said getting it. Naruto got teary eyed and smiled.

Sasuke nodded and said, "Hn."

"He's, uh, you know, kinda cool!" Naruto said, unable to hold back his tears. The sun shone brightly once again.

"The exercise is over." Kakashi announced. "Everyone passes! Squad 7 starts its first mission tomorrow!" He held a thumbs up. Everybody cheered loudly and Naruto thrashed around again, STILL trying to loosen the ropes binding him to the stump.

"I did it, I did it, I'm a ninja now, believe it! Ninja, ninja, ninja!" He chanted childishly. Sasuke and I high-fived each other, but Sasuke knotted his fingers through mine after we slapped hands. Surprisingly, nobody noticed this.

"Let's go home," Kakashi said. Suddenly a loud voice rang out.

"You guys forgot to untie meeeeeeeee!" Naruto yelled.

[1] - Hiding in Mist Technique.

[2] - Ice Prison Technique.