A/N: Many, many, many, many, many thanks to all those who reviewed! Thank you for sticking with this story! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter Five
Sasuke sucked in a quick breath as Naruto charged at Kakashi. Nonplussed, Kakashi easily evaded the boy's attack. Grabbing Naruto's arm, Kakashi twisted the genin's hand backwards and around his body until Naruto was holding a kunai to his own neck.
"Don't be in such a hurry," Kakashi scolded. "I didn't say start yet." Naruto scowled fiercely. "Although, you came at me with full intent of destroying me," he paused long enough to release Naruto, who angrily rubbed the red marks on his wrist, "so, how can I put this: I'm actually starting to like you guys." Am I supposed to feel honored? "Alright, get ready and start."
Sasuke scrambled for the woods. Obviously, a frontal attack would not work on Kakashi. He needed the element of surprise if he wished to retrieve the bells. A distraction could work, but it would have to be entirely believable to fool the jonin. Crouching on the branches of a nearby tree, Sasuke searched the grounds for his teammates. Sakura was flattened on her stomach underneath some bushes; she was fairly well hidden.
Naruto hadn't moved. "I'm going to get your stupid bells!" Naruto yelled. Dobe! Sasuke thought. Kakashi would defeat him effortlessly. Don't you realize that? Forget your pride for a minute and use common sense! This had crossed the line from impulsive into idiotic. Sasuke waited for Kakashi to knock Naruto out.
Kakashi reached into his back pocket. Is he getting a weapon of some sort? Perhaps he's going to taunt Naruto with the bells. Sasuke couldn't see the advantage of such a move; Naruto was irate enough as it was and needed no further encouragement. A book with a bright orange cover appeared in the jonin's hands. Nonchalantly he flipped towards the middle of the book and proceeded to read.
He's reading…he's reading porn! Sasuke had not expected that. Of all the possible courses of action Kakashi could have taken at that point, reading pornographic material was the most shocking. Sasuke recognized the book; it was one of the Icha Icha books, a series that had been written by Jiraiya. Shisui had two of them that he had once shown to Sasuke when the younger boy was seven; Mikoto had threatened Shisui with bodily harm if he ever dared to do it again. Sasuke had no interest in them, anyway.
A grunt drew his attention back to the fight. Naruto was running at Kakashi again. Sasuke had to give him points for persistence, although his attacks were pitiful. Kakashi effortlessly blocked each maneuver; he never looked up from the book he was reading. Disappearing suddenly, Kakashi materialized behind Naruto and formed a tiger seal.
Is he making a fire jutsu? Horrified, Sasuke could only stare as Kakashi enacted a lethal jutsu. Sakura's jaw slackened in disbelief.
"Konoha Style Secret Finger Jutsu!" Kakashi yelled, poking Naruto and sending him flying into the nearby river, "a thousand years of pain and agony!"
Any respect Sasuke had held for Kakashi instantly evaporated. He's just as immature as Naruto.
Naruto pulled himself out of the water and onto the dry land. Without hesitation he rushed as Kakashi again, screaming, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A horde of clones surrounded him.
Sasuke was significantly impressed at Naruto's advanced Shadow Clone Technique. Naruto had been one of the weakest at creating clones. Now he was creating an army of material clones, not the intangible ones that they had learned at the academy. These were the real thing. He's better than I thought.
Kakashi didn't appear quite as impressed by Naruto's display. Just as he turned to face the oncoming clones, an extra clone grabbed him from behind and started reaching for the precious bells. Another clone launched himself at Kakashi, aiming a blow at the gray haired man's head. Seconds before it connected Kakashi disappeared. The punch aimed for him hit another shadow clone. Within seconds the Naruto clone army dissolved into chaos; clones attacked and pummeled each other trying to find Kakashi. They failed miserably.
Dobe, he's got you with a substitution jutsu. He used on of your clones as the stand in while the real him escaped into the trees somewhere. How long would it take him to figure it out? Sasuke didn't normally bet on anything, but he would have bet a great deal of money that Naruto would never capture a bell.
Finally, all of the other clones vanished, leaving behind one badly bruised Naruto. "Huh? Where'd he go?" Naruto asked, jerking his head around.
Sasuke noticed the bells on the grass at the same time as Naruto. "Hey! You left in such a hurry you dropped your precious bells!" Naruto yelled gleefully.
No! Don't pick them up! It was much too obvious; Kakashi would not have made such a mistake. It's a trap, idiot! Sasuke groaned noiselessly as Naruto was caught by his foot in a snare. Kakashi stepped out triumphantly from his hiding place to lecture the now upside-down Naruto. Taking advantage of the situation, Sasuke carefully withdrew his shuriken. He finally had an opening. He threw them flawlessly at his target. They hit Kakashi-
Damn it! Another substitution! And now he knows where I am! Sasuke cursed his luck. He had to move quickly, before Kakashi caught him. Sakura looked as though she was about to move against their sensei, a completely unwise strategic move. Sasuke was too concerned with his own welfare to entertain any thoughts of aiding her.
As he ran, he thought he heard Sakura scream something. The noise was followed by a loud thud. For a moment Sasuke was tempted to run back and check on the pink haired girl, but he decided against it. If she had been knocked out, there was nothing he could do about it. If she hadn't, she would have recovered by the time he reached her anyway.
Sasuke reached the next clearing at the same time as Kakashi. He closed the space between them immediately using body flicker and engaged the jonin. I'm not going to let him have time to read those perverted books. A taijutsu combo came to mind, and Sasuke flew into a flurry of moves. Block, block, twist- I have to keep his arms back! Strategically positioning his attacks, Sasuke blocked Kakashi's hands and stretched for the bells. He managed to brush the bells with his finger tips before Kakashi knocked him off. The jonin was sufficiently on his guard.
Sasuke thought fast. A ninjutsu is definitely in order. Forming the hand signs rapidly, he attacked with a fireball jutsu. He noted Kakashi's surprise with satisfaction. The fireball hit him dead on. Success!
Something caught his leg. Startled, Sasuke attempted to pull away, but it was too late. The unseen appendage yanked him underground. Damn!
"Excuse me, Sasuke," Kakashi said politely. He left without further preamble.
Footsteps approached. A slightly pale Sakura stepped towards him. "AGH!" Sakura screeched. Her pale face lightened even more, and Sasuke saw her eyes start to roll back.
"Don't!" Sasuke ordered sternly. If you pass out, Sakura, I swear I'll kill you. She must have read the danger on his face. Somehow she controlled herself.
"What happened?" Sakura asked, shocked.
"That doesn't matter!" Sasuke hissed. "Dig me out!"
"Oh, right!" Sakura dropped to her knees and started to work at the compacted dirt around him. She was too late.
I can't believe he actually tried to eat lunch. Out of all the ridiculous thing to be disqualified for, he chose food. Kakashi had securely tied the Dobe to the center of the three stumps. Said Dobe was currently struggling, eying the nearby boxed lunches intently. Sasuke turned his attention back towards Kakashi, who looked like he was about to go into full blown lecture mode. He might as well listen; there could be something important amid the useless talk.
"Alright, you three," he began. "Time's up, and I've come to a decision. I won't be sending any of you back to the academy."
Naruto began cheering wildly. Sakura's jaw grew slack. Sasuke watched Kakashi suspiciously. It didn't make sense. Hatake put a lot of emphasis on this test. I don't believe he would just throw out the results like that. It was possible that the test had just been for them to display their talents. Even so, none of us did that remarkably well. Naruto had been disqualified, he hadn't gotten a bell, and Sakura had fainted. Hardly an impressive track record.
"But…why?" Sakura questioned. "Do I still pass? I mean, all I really did was faint." She seemed appropriately embarrassed.
"Who cares, Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted. "He's not sending us back! That means all three of us-"
"That's right," Kakashi interrupted. "I'm not sending any of you back, because I'm having all of you dropped form the program."
"Dropped from the program?" Naruto yelled. Sasuke echoed his sentiment. "You said that if we failed, we'd get sent back to the Academy! Why would you do something like that?"
"Because," Kakashi answered coolly, "you don't think like ninja. You think like small children, like brats."
Sasuke could not rationally explain his reaction. It was completely illogical and utterly stupid. He didn't care. He charged at Kakashi, infuriated. Within seconds he was pinned down with Kakashi sitting on top of him, the jonin's right foot on his head. Kakashi used his left arm to restrain Sasuke as he sat on top of him. "You think it's all about you."
"Let go of Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled in her shrill manner. "You can't just step on him like he's a bug! Let him go!"
"You don't know what it means to be ninja," Kakashi said. What the hell do you mean? Sasuke thought. If anyone knows what it means, I do. I've been surrounded by it since infancy. I know what it means. "Why did we put you on squads? Did any of you even consider that for a moment? You never even came close to realizing what this exercise was about."
"Well, what was it about?" Sakura questioned. Sasuke supposed he would have been in a more of a critical thinking mood had he not been trapped underneath Kakashi.
"Yes," Kakashi responded. "That's what determines if you pass or fail."
"Well, then, what was it about?" Sasuke felt nearly as desperate as Sakura sounded. After all, he had to pass, and right now Kakashi was confusing him more than he had ever thought possible.
Tch," Kakashi shook his head. "Use your head. Three ninja are put on one squad. Why do you think that is?" Because some village elders have a sadistic sense of humor, Sasuke thought sarcastically.
"Well, how should we know why they are put on three man squads?" Naruto demanded. "We didn't make the stupid rules!"
Kakashi sighed. "It's too basic." Blank stares from all around. He sighed again. "Teamwork!"
Sakura looked incredulous. "That's it? Teamwork? Just working together?"
"That's it," Kakashi confirmed. "It's too late now, of course, but if you had come at me all together, you might have been able to take them."
"Hey, wait a minute," Sakura interjected. "You set this up with three of us and only two bells, which would lead to group conflict, ultimately causing the team to disintegrate." Sasuke couldn't fault her logic.
"Exactly," Kakashi said. "I purposefully pitted you against each other to see if you could put the squad ahead of yourselves."
How does that make sense? Sasuke thought. You're not putting the squad ahead of yourself; you're putting your teammate ahead of yourself. You have to decide whether you want to pass or whether you want your teammate to pass. Even Sakura would choose herself over me.
"Genin," Kakashi continued, "are supposed to have a natural feel for teamwork, but you three do not. Sakura, you obsessed over Sasuke, who was gone, but did nothing to help Naruto, who was right in front of you. You attempted to attack me," Kakashi said. She did? Sasuke hadn't guessed. "However, your attack was pathetic and useless. It would not have defeated a genin, much less a jonin like me. Naruto, you do everything on your own, and it got you nowhere.
"And you, Sasuke." Sasuke straightened slightly at the sound of his name. He would admit (albeit it grudgingly) that he was interested in Kakashi's analysis. "Sasuke, you though the others were so far beneath you they were worthless. Ninja missions are carried out in squads. Sure, individual skills are important, but when an individual puts himself ahead of the squad it can head to failure and death.
"For instance," Sasuke saw Kakashi reach into his equipment pouch. What is he doing? Suddenly Kakashi whipped out a kunai. Sasuke felt the cold, hard metal press against his throat. Why am I the teaching example? "Sakura, kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies!"
A bit melodramatic, aren't we? Naruto, still tied to the post, jerked his head around, switching from Kakashi to Sakura and back again.
"What?" Sakura squealed. She backed away. "You can't ask me that!" Sakura panicked.
"That's what happens on a mission." Kakashi pulled the kunai away from Sasuke's throat and proceeded to twirl it. Sasuke pretended not to be relieved. "The enemy takes a hostage and you are stuck with an impossible choice, and someone ends up dead." Kakashi returned his kunai to his equipment pouch and slid off Sasuke. Grumpily the raven haired boy rose.
"Come with me," Kakashi ordered. They didn't have any choice but to follow. It took a few minutes of walking before Sasuke remembered the terrain. Why is he bringing us here? What could he possibly be playing at?
"Have any of you ever looked at this stone, at the names engraved on it?" Kakashi inquired. Sasuke did not want to look. There was something dishonorable about facing it, about facing them, after his failure. "These are the names of men and women honored as heroes in our village."
"Really?" Naruto yelled. "I'm gonna get my name on that stone! Believe it!"
"Idiot," Sasuke hissed. Are you brain dead? How can you possibly not recognize what this is? It really was disrespectful that Naruto didn't know what hallowed ground this was.
"They are…a special kind of hero." Kakashi responded somberly. That's one way of looking at it.
"What kind? Naruto asked with great anticipation.
"They're all KIA."
"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed, still completely oblivious. "That sounds cool! So, uh, what does KIA mean?"
"It's not cool, you idiot." Sasuke's voice was harsh and dark. Naruto blinked, surprised at his anger. "And if you're smart, Dobe, you'll pray to whatever god your idiotic mind believes in that you never end up on it."
"It means Killed in Action, Naruto," Sakura elucidated softly.
"Oh." Naruto looked down, clearly embarrassed. The team indulged in a moment of silence to respect them.
"This is a memorial stone," Kakashi explained, his voice distant. "The names of my closest friends are written here." Sasuke stared at the stone, wondering who Kakashi had known, who he had lost. His eyes sought out his father's name, his other relatives' names; the people he had never known but always mourned. Kakashi had names that haunted him too. So he is human.
"Alright," Kakashi said. The scene was broken as they came back to the original topic of conversation. "I'll give you one more chance, but I'm going to make it harder this time. Eat lunch now to regain your strength, but Naruto doesn't get any."
"Hey!" Naruto interjected.
"It's what you get for breaking the rules. Anyone who tries to feed him will automatically fail. I'll be back in half an hour." Kakashi left immediately, disappearing into surrounding area.
Sasuke opened his lunch and started eating. He could feel Naruto staring at his lunch, and Sasuke knew that the twelve year old was starving. Maybe he could sneak him a little food. After all, what good was the whole teamwork idea if one of them was so hungry that he could barely concentrate-
Idiot! Sasuke yelled at himself. Of course; it was so obvious. THIS was part of the test. How could he have been so blind? "Here," he said in a monotone voice, moving his lunch towards Naruto.
Naruto stared at him like he'd gone insane. "Are you sure, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, worried. "If he catches us-"
"He won't." And even if he does, it won't matter. Sasuke decided that Sakura could figure that part out by herself.
Sakura stood and walked to the other end of the clearing. "Hey, what are you doing?" Naruto questioned loudly.
"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura whispered as she peered through the trees. "I'm checking for Kakashi-sensei!" After a moment she came back. "I don't see him. I think we're safe."
Good. Sasuke picked up his lunch to give to Naruto, but Sakura grabbed his arm. "Naruto can have mine," she offered. "I'm on a diet anyway."
She's lying. Sasuke was surprised at her willingness to go without. Ignoring her last comment, Sasuke scooped a little extra into her tray.
"Umm," Naruto said, wiggling his bound hands. "Sakura-chan," he intoned, wiggling a little more. The message was obvious. Sakura looked like she wanted to punch him. She grimaced and picked up her chopsticks.
"I am never doing this again, got it, Naruto?" Sakura said firmly as she starting moving the bite to the boy's lips.
Thunder roared across the clearing. The rice dropped to the ground as the three genin jumped. Plagued with uncertainty, Sasuke doubted himself. What if I'm wrong? What if I just disqualified myself for no reason? Sakura and Naruto were the only ones who appeared to be doing anything wrong. It would be easy to lie and say he had nothing to do with it. I can't do that. He had some sense of decency, after all. But to be kicked out of the program…It was a tough choice, and one he did not want to have to make.
"You broke the rules," Kakashi's voice roared loudly. "Are you ready for your punishment?"
"But, but, we're a team!" Sakura stammered nervously. "We're in this together!" Her ability to speak died in the face of Kakashi's anger.
"We're a team," Sasuke picked up for her. "We fight as one. We can't do that if Naruto's starving," Sasuke said confidently.
"That's it? You fight as one? That's your excuse?" Kakashi seemed properly outraged.
"Yeah!" Sakura agreed, nodding.
"Yeah, believe it!" Naruto concurred. Sasuke bit his tongue, hoping he was right. He had to be right.
Sasuke swore Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Alright, then," he started. The team watched him, anxious. "You all pass!"
Sakura and Naruto gaped. Sasuke smirked. "But how?" Even extreme shock could not silence Sakura.
"You're the first squad to ever get the point. The other squads did exactly as I told them and fell into every trap." Is the moral of this lesson that we shouldn't listen to you? Sasuke had already absorbed that lesson. "They couldn't think for themselves. In the ninja world, those who don't follow orders are scum. While this is true, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."
"He's, you know, kind of cool." Naruto said, slightly teary eyed in admiration. Sakura was smiling, and Sasuke gave Kakashi a few more respect points.
"The Exercise is over. Everyone passes," Kakashi proclaimed. "Squad Seven begins its first mission tomorrow."
Sasuke stood, gathered his things, and began the journey home. It was a testament to his uncommon pride that he didn't noticed the person behind him, following his path.
"Hey, wait a second," the voice called. Instinctively, Sasuke stopped.
"What do you want?" Sasuke asked without so much as turning around.
A/N: I know right now it's pretty similar to the series, but don't worry; as we progress, it'll change ;) Please review! I hate to beg, but I really need reviews. Reviews are an elixir of life to my muse (they also feed my plot bunny; as you can see, he's been looking awful skinny lately…)
Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!