"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruko and Sakura yelled simultaneously at Kakashi as he walked up along the pond's shore. Sasuke said nothing, but scowled all the same.
"Sorry," he said, surveying the training grounds, "Anyway, shall we begin?" There was no need to tell them where he'd been. It would only make them that much more reluctant to step forward as genin.
He pulled out the two small bells, watching as they chimed in the breeze before hooking them on his belt. "The test is straightforward. You have to take one of these bells from me before lunch to pass. You will not be allowed to eat until you do," Kakashi paused, letting that sink in, before continuing, "You probably should come at me with the intent to kill, or you will not succeed. We begin on my mark."
The three young genin crouched. Kakashi noted Naruko started to reach for her belt pouch, but stopped. Eager, isn't she?
"Go!" he yelled, and the three scattered.
Naruko's stomach grumbled as she darted up a nearby tree. Now she knew why Kakashi had told them not to eat. Great, sensei is trying to starve us into defeat.
She turned and watched Kakashi from her hiding place. He hadn't moved...and then he reached around into one of his pouches. She readied a kunai, prepared to attack if he was going to do the same.
To her complete surprise, he pulled out a book and began to read. So, he's that confident...and probably that good. Naruko shook her head, and began to form handsigns. If this were going to work, she'd need all the help she could get.
Sasuke crawled underneath a bush, studying Kakashi. He'd decided to wait for the right opportunity, when the man was distracted, before striking.
He readied his shuriken and kunai, deciding a ranged attack would be best. But first, someone had to attack.
A rustling of leaves alerted him, and he turned to see Naruko leap down, charging straight at Kakashi. While the frontal attack was stupid, this could be my chance, he thought, waiting patiently.
Kakashi blinked as Naruko jumped forward, landing in a crouch before launching a kick at Kakashi's waist. Faster than Naruko could see, he sprang around behind her, readying that technique. He hated having to use it, but it seemed necessary.
"Thousand Years of-" he started, then barely leaped out of the way as Naruko - or a clone thereof - just missed kicking him from behind. Shadow clones, huh? Apparently Naruko had a few tricks up her sleeve.
Grabbing the clone's arm, he tossed her into the pond, just in time to catch a punch thrown by the original Naruko. Without missing a beat, he tossed her in the pond too.
Looking out over the pond, Kakashi mentally counted. 3...2...1...now. He quickly performed the substitution jutsu, switching places with a log just before a barrage of shuriken hit him.
From his new position, he could see Sasuke briefly gaping with surprise, before he fled. It was surprising, he thought, that Sakura immediately emerged from her hiding spot to follow him.
Standing up, he turned to follow them...only to hear a splashing sound and Naruko yelling. Several Narukos yelling.
Jumping forward, Naruko and her two clones flung kunai. Kakashi ducked to dodge them, exactly as she had expected. Without stopping they all ran towards the jonin, all readying their fists.
Before they even got close, Kakashi threw his foot around in a roundhouse kick, dispelling the clones and knocking her back. Again, that was basically what she had planned.
Suddenly, one of the kunai she had thrown turned into Naruko. She grinned as she watched the clone close with the off-balance Kakashi. If this worked...
Sakura had lost sight of Sasuke. It frustrated her to no end, but he had gone to ground.
It didn't help that Kakashi still seemed to be following her, despite her best efforts to hide herself. At least he was not making any real effort to hide that fact, being clearly audible as he moved through the trees.
Maybe I need to hide myself, she considered, then nodded. Dropping into the bush, she lay still as Kakashi passed overhead, apparently missing her completely.
Waiting until the sound died down, she crawled out and resumed her search.
Kakashi widened his eyes. While he'd known Naruko had done fairly well when in came to tactical training, it seemed she was a little better than the academy scores had indicated.
Instinctively, he moved his free hand to cover the bells. The clone was already reaching for them. Grabbing her wrist, he was just able to deflect her hand from getting them. Sighing, he tossed the clone away.
Straightening up, he looked over at Naruko, who was grinning. Kakashi looked down, and then realized what had happened.
The clone had grabbed his book with her other hand. He hadn't even seen it coming.
Naruko could hardly believed that had worked. She had honestly expected him to see it coming. She guessed he had assumed that no one would even have thought of going for the book. Of course, a lot of people hadn't thought of her pranks ahead of time, so it probably was the same case.
"Why take my book?" Kakashi asked.
"Why not?" Naruko answered, "After all, if you love it so much to read it while fighting, it must be good." She looked down at it. Apparently the book was something called Icha Icha Paradise. She shrugged, opened it, and began to read as her clones kept watch.
A minute later her voice was raised louder than she had ever sounded before.
"WHAT KIND OF PERVERT ARE YOU?"
Kakashi felt his face grow hot. He didn't like talking about his reading habits (except with one person, but that man was the one who wrote the books in the first place). This was really embarrassing, having to deal with this.
"Uh...sorry?" he asked.
"I should throw this book in the pond!" Naruko declared, raising her arm to do just that.
"Wait! Uh..." Kakashi stammered. That's a signed copy! There was no telling when or if he could get another one.
"You want it back?" Naruko suddenly smiled wickedly, "Well then...give me a bell."
Sasuke wondered why Naruko had been yelling. If he had to guess, she'd likely just failed somehow.
One down, he thought, satisfied. This would make his work much easier.
Since he knew Kakashi would likely come for him soon, it would probably be best if he set a trap. A vine trap, well hidden, would probably do the trick. Once that was finished, all he would have to do would be to wait.
Naruko watched as Kakashi glanced around, clearly upset. Wow, he really seems ashamed to be caught being a pervert. Well, it serves him right.
"Fine," he said suddenly, unhooking a bell and tossing it to her. She blinked, as that had been the last thing she had expected. She hadn't even been counting on him giving up so easily.
"Wait...huh?" she blurted. The sound of splashing drew her attention, as the clone she had left hidden in the lake rose to the surface, looking just as confused as she felt.
"If you'll excuse me, I have two other genin to test," Kakashi said, appearing to calm down. In a blur, he darted off into the woods.
I did it, Naruko thought, I actually did it! "All right!" she and other clones yelled, jumping up and down. She didn't know exactly how it had it worked out...but she could figure that out later.
It had taken Kakashi a minute to figure out Naruko's real plan, but once he saw it, he knew there was no way he could fail her with a good conscience. Either she understood the actual point of the test, or she was open to learning that lesson. Since he knew he'd probably have to teach the other two the harder way, it didn't matter which.
He could tell she'd probably been confused, which made sense. After all, she hadn't actually been trying to get a bell. He snorted, reminding himself to never mention this to Guy. He'd never live it down if he did.
For now, Kakashi had to focus on finding Sasuke and Sakura. Fortunately, it didn't take him long before he spotted Sakura. Red was not the best color to wear when trying to hide in a forest, after all.
He turned, and began to follow her.
Sasuke finished setting up the vine traps, satisfied. There were a ring of them, scattered around the edges of the clearing. Kakashi was sure to be caught by them. He smirked, then settled in to wait. He himself would be the perfect bait.
A sudden twang behind him alerted him one of the traps being triggered. He turned to see...Naruko being caught in one of them. What the...?
Naruko suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke. A clone? He didn't have time to ponder this, as the sound of another of his traps going off made him spin again...to see Sakura hanging from that tree. What in the world was going on here?
"Sasuke!" she yelled, "Did...you do this?"
"Hold on," he called out, not happy about catching his teammates - or the clone of one - instead of the intended target. He started forward when he sensed something behind him. He whirled.
It was too late.
Sakura had never felt so embarrassed in her life.
Not only had she fallen straight into a trap Sasuke had set, but now Kakashi was leading both of them, tied up, back to where the test had begun. How could I have been so stupid? Now Sasuke would think she was absolutely pathetic.
As they walked out of the forest, she looked up to see Naruko, sitting under a tree smiling and tossing something up and down with one hand. Sakura gasped as she realized what it was.
It was one of the two bells.
Sakura looked over at Kakashi, realizing that the side he'd hung the bells on was opposite where she was standing. It was no wonder she hadn't noticed, and no wonder that Sasuke did not look surprised. He'd already known.
She felt so stupid...
Looking up, Naruko wondered how in the world she had succeeded where Sasuke had failed. She knew Sakura wasn't all that good, but Sasuke?
"Alright, you two," Kakashi told them, having finished tying Sasuke and Sakura to a pair of posts, "I've made a decision. I don't think I'll have to send anyone here back to the Academy."
"Really?" Sakura blurted out.
"Correct," Kakashi nodded, "Simply because neither of you two are fit to be ninja at all."
"What?" Sakura shrieked. Sasuke scowled so deeply that Naruko wondered if his face would freeze like that.
"Look, part of being a ninja is learning to see underneath the underneath," Kakashi said, "Why do you think you were assigned to teams and given this training exam?"
"Huh?" Sakura asked, confused. Naruko herself admitted she wasn't sure what Kakashi was talking about.
"I'm saying there's a point to this test that you are not getting. Naruko got it, so she passed." Kakashi sighed, "If you want to know what it is, you'll have to ask her. Now, Naruko, you can go ahead and eat. After lunch, I'll give you two another chance, but it will be even harder. And Naruko...don't try to feed them, or I'll have to reconsider passing you."
Naruko nodded, not really wanting to fail. At least she thought she got the point that their new sensei was trying to make.
Kakashi walked off, leaving the three of them behind.
Sakura grumbled, not liking the way this was going. Listen to Naruko? Not going to happen.
"How'd you succeed?" Sasuke suddenly asked, startling Naruko, who was busy eating. Sakura herself was surprised. She couldn't believe Sasuke was actually trying to get advice from Naruko.
"It's teamwork," Naruko said, swallowing.
"Teamwork?" Sasuke blinked.
"I was trying to divert his attention while I sent-" Naruko began, only to be interrupted by a rustling noise. Sakura looked over to see what it was; it was...Naruko? Some kind of clone?
"Uh, sorry, I couldn't find them and..." The clone's voice trailed off when she saw Sasuke and Sakura tied up. "Wait, what happened?" she asked a rising Naruko, who was gritting her teeth. Naruko suddenly threw a kunai at it, and it vanished in a puff, looking confused the whole time.
"As I was saying," Naruko sighed, "I sent clones off to find you two so we could come up with a plan to take down Kakashi together."
"But that would mean only two of us could pass!" Sakura protested. Sasuke ignored her, thinking hard.
It made sense to pit the three of them against Kakashi. Most genin could not take on a veteran jonin one-on-one. While Sasuke thought that he might could have if he had the element of surprise, not accounting for his teammate's behavior had cost him that.
While he hated to admit it, he needed their help. "Fine then." He said, interrupting Sakura as she ranted at Naruko, "So then, how do we beat Kakashi?"
Naruko smirked, "I have an idea..."
Sakura grumbled something, but Sasuke ignored her again. "So, what's your plan?"
Kakashi returned to see Naruko standing near Sasuke and Sakura. On seeing him, the young kunoichi began to untie her teammates. Kakashi decided to ignore this minor issue. After all, he technically hadn't told her she couldn't.
"Ready to begin?" he asked. The two nodded as Naruko stepped back out of the way. "Go!" he called out, and the two launched themselves at him.
Sasuke began to form handsigns as he ran forward. Kakashi's eyes widened. Wait, he shouldn't have the chakra to use that jutsu!
"Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke roared, blasting out a huge fireball. Kakashi jumped up, readying his own kunai. If what he'd seen was correct...
It was. Sakura sprang at him, kunai at the ready. He easily countered and kicked her down and away...only to realize Sasuke had jumped up in her shadow, hidden from his sight. He readied himself to counter, only to stop as Sasuke threw a single kunai.
Kakashi twisted away from it...only to realize that he wasn't the real target.
Sasuke watched as the kunai flew. This had better work...
It did. The kunai neatly severed the string holding the bell in place, causing it to drop...right into the hands of Sakura. She grinned, and even Sasuke couldn't resist smiling. What do you know, Naruko's plan worked.
Kakashi landed, looking them over. "Not bad, but remember, only one of you has the bell. So, it seems that Sasuke..."
His voice trailed off as he saw that Sasuke had pulled out a bell from a pouch. "Looks like we both have a bell. So, do we pass?"
Looking back and forth between Sasuke and Sakura, who were both holding bells, Kakashi was very confused. Wait a second...
Kakashi looked over at Naruko, who was leaning against a tree. Seeing Kakashi staring, she shrugged with a smile on her face. Of course, she had given Sasuke her bell, which means the three of them had planned all along for Sakura to grab the bell off him. It was a pretty cunning plan, and Kakashi knew Naruko had to have had some role in making it.
"Congratulations," Kakashi told them, "You all pass." He paused, letting joy appear on their faces, before adding, "Even if Naruko kind of cheated by helping you."
"Hey!" Naruko protested.
"Those who break the rules are indeed scum," Kakashi said, watching the three pale. He then nodded, "However, those who don't stand up for their teammates are worse than scum. Never forget that."
"Right, sensei!" the three all said simultaneously.
"Now, I suggest you two...go eat. We meet up first thing in the morning. The real work will begin." He walked off, knowing had three strong genin ready to be trained.
Right, Obito?
Sakura walked up to Naruko. She wasn't certain how to say this, but she knew she had to say it.
"I'm...sorry. I really should have been so stupid."
Naruko shrugged, "No problem. We're teammates now, so we've got to stick together."
"It's just..." Sakura blushed, not wanting to tell what she was thinking.
"Yeah, you like Sasuke," Naruko said, "Big deal. I never understood what was so cool about him anyway!"
"You..." Sakura paused, realizing what Naruko had said, "You think Sasuke's not cool? You jerk!" She stormed off, not wanting to admit that she was actually secretly happy, just a little, that Naruko felt that way.
"So you passed your exam too?" Naruko asked Hinata. The two had met up for ramen, which tasted much better than that lunch Kakashi had prepared.
"Uh...yes," Hinata said, "Sensei had us chasing her while she cast genjutsu and set traps. We finally caught her, though."
"Yeah, mine was about snatching bells from Kakashi," Naruko grinned, "I actually did better than either Sasuke or Sakura!"
"Good job!" Hinata said, finishing off the last of her ramen. Naruko had already eaten her share, which was twice as much as Hinata had.
"Want me to walk you home?" Naruko asked. She knew Hinata tended to get a little nervous walking on her own, especially after dark. Naruko wasn't sure why. It wasn't like the boogeyman was going to come out and kidnap her.
"No," Hinata murmured, "It's that, well...Neji..."
"Oh, he's there," Naruko grumbled. She knew Neji disliked her, and the feeling was mutual. While she would love to punch him in the face, she agreed that would not be a good idea. "Well, guess I'll see you later. Good luck!"
"Thanks, you too." Hinata paid their bill, and left. A minute later, after thanking the shop owner, Naruko left too.
Author's Note: The changes to Naruko's characterization from canon Naruto seem pretty natural to me. Lack of confidence does lead to more planning, or vice versa.
I had to come up with a training scenario that Kurenai would come up with. Since the whole theme of Team 8 is tracking, I made up an idea based around testing that. I know it's not actually canon, but it makes enough sense for me. And that's what should count, right?
Also, yes, Naruko does know Neji already in this story. This will become important later, and you'll see how.
I really need to go back to the first chapter and italicize all the thoughts of people. A project for another time, I guess.
Enjoy!