Finally, the 13th chapter has arrived. R&R guys!
-Chii-chan
Dedicated to YourInnerBiju
Kakashi strolled towards the poles with Ron and Harry hurrying along in his wake. Ron gasped when he saw who were tied at the poles.
Hermione, Seamus, Neville, Malfoy and a couple more others were tied tightly to the posts. Hermione was struggling and cursing and shouting angrily, whilst the others did almost the same.
"I swear I'll have your head on a plate for this!" Malfoy almost spitted with rage as he tried and tried to get free. Kakashi chuckled. "I don't think you normally would speak like this to your other teachers, hmm?" He asked Malfoy. "To hell I wouldn't!" Malfoy roared. "You aren't even a qualified teacher! You're just another crackhead the old geezer hired to pass the year!"
Kakashi ignored him. "All of you stand next to your tied up teammate." His students obeyed, and looked at him wearily.
"You guys fail this class." Kakashi told them, his one visible eye narrowing in dislike.
"WHAT?!" Hermione screamed. Other people gasped, and began whispering and complaining.
"Shut up!" Kakashi said. "You think fighting is just a game, huh?!" Everyone went quiet. "Shinobi like me, live their days in peril." Kakashi explained. "Killing, hurting, and stealing are part of a shinobi's life. Teamwork is essential to everything we do. But you guys don't think as much." He glared at them.
"You aren't cut out to be wizards."
Hermione went wild. "YOU…YOU!" She screamed. "Be quiet." Kakashi advised her coldly. "You all are weak, and don't realize what's most important in this world. It isn't all studying and passing grades, you know, not with that dark lord thing hovering above your heads!"
Harry lost control and dove forward. Nobody can call him weak! Didn't Kakashi know what he had to go through at every end of the year?
In less then a second, Kakashi was on top of Harry, pinning him down by sitting on his back, holding both of his hands behind his back and pointing a kunai at Harry's neck.
"What are you doing?!" Ron shouted, jumping up. "Ron, kill Hermione or Harry dies!" Kakashi commanded. Everyone gasped, and some girls screamed. Ron froze. "Are you a lunatic?" He rasped in horror.
"Do it, Weasley! Don't you care if Potter croaks?" Kakashi said, nearing the kunai to Harry's neck. For a moment, Ron looked confused, standing there with his mouth gaping.
Suddenly, Kakashi sighed. "This might happen in the near future, while battling with you-know-who. You might lose loved ones, friends."
"What would you know?!" Harry shouted from underneath him. "How would you like it if I killed all your loved ones?"
"You couldn't even if you tried." Kakashi said coolly. "Why the heck not?" Harry spat. "Because they're already all dead." Kakashi said, this time softly. "O-Oh…" Harry fell silent.
Kakashi tossed the standing students boxed lunches. "These are your lunches. Do not, I repeat, do not share them with your tied up teammates. I'll be back in ten minutes." With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Harry grabbed his lunch, and sat next to a pale Hermione. Ron did very much the same. Everyone ate only a little bit until all the tied up teammates' stomachs started growling.
Everyone was silent, until Ron spoke up. "Hermione, here, have a little. Kakashi won't know." He spooned up some rice and held it near Hermione's mouth. Hermione ate it eagerly.
Everybody else mumbled and gave some food to the trussed up students. After all the tied up students ate their share, the sky darkened and lightning crashed across the sky.
"WHAT DID YOU DOOOOOOO?!" Kakashi hollered as he appeared in a whirlwind of leaves, debris and smoke. All the girls screamed.
For a moment, nobody spoke. Then, Kakashi said something completely nuts. "You all….pass!" He shouted gleefully.
"H-how?" Harry asked. "But everyone broke the rules!" Hermione complained.
"Any blockhead can follow rules." Kakashi reasoned. "People who break rules are scum, but people who abandon their friends are worse then scum!"
Suddenly, it was as if everyone saw the light. Students began laughing, and started to cut through the ropes with their kunais.
"I understand now." Hermione said quietly. "Understand what, Hermione?" Ron asked as he dug his kunai through the knots.
"He meant us to work together to get the bells, and he expected us to get the bells, and surrender them to each other, each of us offering it to the other teammate. That way, he knows that we care more about our friends then ourselves."
Harry nodded, a smile on his face. "Yeah, and we pretty much messed up. But I understand now as well."
Kakashi smiled at them. "I'm glad you all do." He said softly.