Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter Four
The first day back at the Academy for the graduation exams was rather nostalgic; the end of one era, the beginning of the next. The second day back for the formal graduation ceremony was a novelty, although it was starting to wear thin. The third day back to have their official picture taken was bothersome, and the line was so long, but Sasuke had handled it.
The fourth day back was pure torture. Their sensei was late. Years of living with Shisui had taught Sasuke that even experienced ninja were capable of utterly disregarding time schedules; however, that had not decreased his wishes that his sensei would obey said time schedules. His empathizing ability did not lessen his impatience.
His squabbling teammates were not helping matters. He had kept an impassive mask for the past two hours. To all outwardly appearances he was calm, cool, and collected. In his mind, Sasuke was throwing Naruto out the window and gagging Sakura to shut her up. Normally Sasuke's mask was a much harder shell to crack, but he would have dared anyone outside of Konoha's interrogation unit to survive a few hours with Uzumaki and Haruno in this capacity.
Sasuke allowed his mind to wander. By all appearances the jonin had no intention of arriving anytime soon. Shisui had told him once that jonin instructors often tested their new genin; perhaps this was part of the test, some sort of psychological warfare meant to wear them down. If it was, it was having the desired effect.
Or perhaps he's just late, Sasuke thought. That was the more likely situation.
Movement to Sasuke's right distracted him. Naruto was creating some clumsy facsimile of a trap by propping an eraser above the door. Sakura was desperately trying to dissuade him. "Don't do it, Naruto! Stop being such an idiot and take it down!" Sakura ordered loudly. "You're going to get us all in trouble!"
Sasuke wondered what was worse; his sensei's tardiness or his teammates' antics. Both were a contributing factor to his disintegrating mood. Sasuke exhaled heavily. Should he speak up? Throw his weight around a little to stop them? No, the dobe will just do it anyway. Besides, he's not going to fall for it. He is a jonin, after all.
The door slid open, and the chalk laden eraser fell on a bed of messy silver hair. Then again, I have been wrong on occasion. Sasuke watched in a detached manner as Sakura stammered out half-witted excuses and Naruto laughed hysterically. Hatake Kakashi stood for a minute, rubbing his mane of hair and observing the scene, responding to neither Sakura's words nor Naruto's laughter. His headband was pulled low, covering his left eye, and he had a mask tied around most of his face. The only exposed part was his right eye. Its iris was a steely gray color, several shades darker than his hair.
"Well," he said finally. "My first impression of this group: you're a bunch of idiots." Good; the feeling's mutual. Establishing a shared dislike of their fellow members and/or leader was certainly the best way to start a team. "Now, the three of you, let's go outside. We won't be needing this building anymore today."
Hatake ushered them outside the room and away from the main hall of classrooms on the bottom floor of the Academy. They ascended the stairs, stopping at the second level. Directing the group, Hatake led them to a small stone balcony overlooking the rest of Konoha. Sasuke had only been there once or twice before, and he found it was just as unimpressive as it had been when he was younger. Hatake motioned for them to sit; they complied without protest. As soon as they were comfortably seated, Kakashi spoke. "Now," he said, uncannily comfortable for a man sitting on hard rock, "tell me a little bit about yourselves."
Sasuke stared at him incredulously. They were ninja waiting to begin training to become lethal weapons, not four year olds having circle time in preschool. Also, there was nothing Kakashi needed to know. He had their files; he had surely read them before their meeting. Anything and everything of even the tiniest fragment of importance was recorded in those files anything worth knowing was in there.
"Like what?" Naruto asked.
"Your names, things you like, think you don't like, dreams for the future, hobbies, that type of thing," Kakashi replied. Personal little bastard, isn't he? Sasuke had no idea what game he was playing, and that unnerved him incredibly.
Naruto piped up again. "Well, why don't you go first? That way we can see how it's done."
"Me?" Kakashi asked. Do you see another sensei around here? Of course you. "Well, let's see. My name is Hatake Kakashi." He blinked his exposed eye once or twice. "Likes and dislikes: you don't need to know that. Dreams for the future: never really thought about that. As for hobbies; well, I have many hobbies." Sasuke had an overwhelming urge to roll his eyes. That speech was possibly the most ambiguous and frustrating speech he had ever heard. Hatake was asking them for information he himself refused to offer. Sasuke could not quite figure him out; that disturbed him.
"Why don't we start with you, Naruto?" Kakashi began. Sasuke half listened as the idiot droned on and on about ramen. Aside from his name, every answer incorporated ramen in some way. When Naruto reached the final question, his dreams for his future, Sasuke focused a little more, if only to hear what a future in ramen could possibly entail.
"I'm gonna be the greatest Hokage! Then all the villagers will have to stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm somebody! Believe it!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke winced at his loud tone, but he couldn't help but feel some sympathy towards him. The boy had been ignored and despised for years; it was natural that he would desperately want recognition and power. Sasuke understood; he knew what it was to feel ignored and disrespected.
"Okay, who's next?" Kakashi turned to Sakura.
Sakura stared at her feet for a moment before speaking. "My name is Haruno Sakura." She bit her lip; Sasuke presumed that she was trying to pick a question to answer. "I like…I like…um," she cut herself off before answering. "I don't like rude people," Sakura said decisively, chancing a peek at Kakashi, although Sasuke thought her anger was directed more at Ino than Kakshi. He had seen the two girls fighting earlier in the day, truly tearing into each other. The pair had never been friends, and Sakura's placement on Team Seven with Sasuke had not ameliorated the situation. Sakura opened her mouth to say more, but she only allowed herself an "I" or two before she stopped herself once again.
"Just say it, Sakura-chan! Spit it out!" Naruto had a habit of pursuing topics that should have been dropped.
If looks could kill, Naruto would have been six feet under. "I don't like Naruto!" Sakura yelled. The boy's face fell. "Sometimes," she finished. He brightened visibly. "My plans for the future are, um," Sakura smiled suddenly. "I haven't really thought about it before," she repeated Hatake's words, even adapting his tone in a fair imitation of the older man. In spite of himself Sasuke grinned.
"Alright," Kakashi nodded. Did he look intrigued, or was that a figment of his imagination? Sasuke couldn't tell. "And we have the Uchiha."
Sasuke bristled slightly at the obvious oversight of his given name. Glaring at Hatake, Sasuke weighed his options. For once, he decided to follow another's lead. Hatake would not get more than he had given. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke." He could not pick just two dislikes, and he wasn't one to air his personal thoughts in front of others even if he could pick them out. "I dislike many things. I like very few things. You don't need to know the rest." Sakura giggled. Kakashi appeared nonplussed, but Sasuke was sure he was at least a little irked at his answers.
"Well," Hatake said, taking control of the conversation. "Now that we all know and clearly love each other, let's move on to the specifics of tomorrow's test."
Sasuke had been hoping that they would be missing that particular little torment. "Test?" Naruto questioned, confused.
"Yes," Hatake answered. "I want you three at the training grounds at seven. Don't be late." Wouldn't dream of it. "Oh, and one more thing: don't eat breakfast." Hatake's eye twinkled with an evil humor. "You'll only throw it up."
Naruto turned an odd shade of green, and a look of uneasiness passed over Sakura's face.
Sasuke leaned back on the soft bed of grass. He had arrived early; the sun was still rising, casting brilliant colors across the sky, and the village was still silent. Sakura and Naruto had not arrived yet, which was fine with Sasuke. Other days he might have waited, but today there had been no reason to postpone his departure; Shisui had an overnight shift at the Police Force headquarters, and Mikoto had left for work for her early shift before Sasuke had even woken up. If he was going to spend a morning by himself, he might as well spend it outside, familiarizing himself with his surroundings.
It was a fairly simple training ground; cleared grassy plain, several intentionally placed training stumps, grove of trees nearby. Sasuke had not detected any traps or other apparatuses, so whatever test Hatake had planned would start when he arrived.
"Is Kakashi-sensei late again?" Sasuke did not even have to turn his head to know the voice was Sakura's.
"Hn, yes, he is," he responded. Sakura sighed as she sat down beside him. A slight wind tugged at her loose hair, swishing it around her shoulders and face. Distractedly she pushed it behind her ears, vainly attempting to clear her face. Self-consciously she smoothed out her short sleeved red dress.
Sasuke shifted. The sun had fully risen, and the sky was a clear blue. Good enough weather for a test. While Sasuke would have preferred more of a "heads-up", he was confident that he could pass this test, whatever it was.
Sasuke had a sudden feeling that Sakura might initiate a conversation. He tensed, ready to shut it down, his body language communicating a clear message. He enjoyed the quiet, and he did not want it to end prematurely. Moving to a sitting position, he plucked the grass near his feet, waiting for the inevitable jabbering to begin.
Nothing. Sasuke waited a bit, even turning slightly to look at the girl. She was leaning back, eyes closed, face tilted up to meet the sun. Satisfied, Sasuke returned to his former, more comfortable position.
"Whoa! I'm totally late! He's not here yet, right?" There goes the quiet.
"No, Naruto, he's not here yet," Sakura said with a long suffering sigh. Sasuke almost laughed at her tone.
"But it's after seven!" Naruto complained. "He said to be here at seven!"
"Yeah, he told us to be here," Sakura retorted. "He didn't say he'd be here!"
"But! Oh," Naruto said. "I guess that makes sense, Sakura-chan. When do you think he's gonna be here."
Sakura shook her head, pink hair rustling. "I have no idea."
The morning dragged on slowly. Naruto kept up small talk with Sakura. Once or twice Naruto and Sakura tried to drag him into conversation, but after a few monosyllabic answers they both gave up. Although he would never have admitted it to anyone, Sasuke was nervous. He had heard about Hatake. The man had never passed a team before. He doesn't have to pass all of us, just me. Sasuke had to pass; failure was not an option or a possibility. He had to.
After what seemed like ages, Kakashi showed up. "Good morning, guys," he greeted them casually.
"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto screamed in unison.
"Hm?" Kakashi inquired. "Oh, well, you see, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to find another way here." Sasuke raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He could have at least thought up a better excuse than that.
"Well," Kakashi cleared his throat. "Let's get started, shall we?" Kakashi pulled an alarm clock out of his pack and sit it on one of the nearby stumps. "Your assignment is simple," Kakashi said. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved two silver bells. "Get these bells. The clock is set for noun. Each of you without a bell at that time will be tied to the training post by me and will be forced to watch me eat my lunch in front of you."
So that's why he told us not to eat breakfast. He wanted to make it harder on us, Sasuke realized. He could appreciate the conniving nature of his sensei's trick; he hated it all the same.
"Hey, wait a second," Sakura interjected. "There are only two bells."
"Exactly," Kakashi responded. "That way at least one of you will have to skip lunch and ultimately get sent back to the Academy. Then again, all three of you may fail and get sent back." Well, it's good to know you have high expectations. "It will all depend on you. During this test you may use any weapon, including shuriken and kunai. If you don't come at me with an intent to kill you won't pass this test."
"But sensei," argued Sakura, "aren't those weapons a little dangerous for a simple test?"
"Yeah, especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser," Naruto put in. Sasuke did not agree. He wasn't buying Kakashi's incompetent act. A shinobi could not reach jonin level without a good deal of skill.
"Class clowns," Kakashi said, "are generally the weakest links. You can safely ignore them; weakest skills, lowest scores," Kakashi stared directly at Naruto. "Losers!" Sasuke drew in a quick breath. That was a bit harsh.
Sakura apparently agreed. "Kakashi-sensei," she protested. "That's not-"
Kakashi interrupted her mid-sentence. "I did not ask for your opinion, Sakura. Now, when I say start, you may begin."
Enraged at Kakashi's treatment of Sakura and of himself, Naruto scowled and dropped into a fighting stance. Pulling out a kunai, he twirled it on his finger twice before locking it within the clasp of his hand. Without reservation he charged at Kakashi. "I'm going to crush you!"
A/N: Because the next chapter will be significantly longer, I'm probably not going to update until next Saturday. I'm sorry, but I'm a slow writer (you've probably already guessed that ;) and it takes me a while. After that, updates will be posted every Saturday. Thanks for your patience and reviews!