Did I say next week? I mean next next week.
king & lionheart
If only things had been different.
(for Xero and impromptumelody)
"No one can go back and make a new beginning, but we can start here and make our own end."
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They'll make a good team, they said. Perfect balance, they said. The knucklehead who could never sit still, a prodigy who would most definitely go places, and the brainiac who could still learn a thing or two from the both of them—what more could they want?
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A good team, they said.
They'll make a good team...
A good team.
"Your goal is to take these bells away from me. You won't win unless you come at me with the intent to kill. I will know who takes that statement seriously, because the person who does not have a bell in their hand will be punished. " Kakashi Hatake, appointed sensei of the new Team 7 said. He held the two peals in his right hand, they swayed softly in the wind. His lone gray eye scanned the three Genin in his presence, already sensing that the one in blue, Sasuke, was going to take this the most seriously. He transferred his gaze to the only girl, fittingly named Sakura. She was the quieter of the three, biting nervously on the pad of her thumb and making no move to reposition her feathery bangs away from her eyes—Kakashi couldn't tell if it was a slight fear or anxiety in those spring green orbs. But at the sound of loud Naruto's declaration of victory, she perked up, dealing him a slap to the head.
He continued his instruction. "You are allowed to use whatever weapons you have on hand. This means kunai, shuriken, senbon and even explosive tags are acceptable." The bells were clipped to Kakashi's belt. "You may begin."
The three young ninja leapt into the trees, already attempting to conceal their presence, although it was no match for Kakashi's years of experience. The Jonin knew where each and every one of those kids were, and continued to read his brand-new copy of Icha Icha. He expected to remain in this spot for a while, until those three figured out separate plans to "ambush" him—Ha! As if they could get one over him at their current level. What he didn't expect, however, was an orange blur hurtling at him within seconds of the start of the exercise.
Caught off guard for a second, Kakashi recovered, effectively dodging each of Naruto's desultory attacks. The book never left his hand.
"You go, Naruto!" came the yell, to Kakashi's right. He suddenly felt a weight of about ninety pounds drop onto his back. It was the kunoichi, Kakashi realized immediately. It was Sakura. Her arms locked around Kakashi's neck as she tried to jerk his head back while Naruto continued to throw punches and Sasuke discreetly reached out to pluck the bells off Kakashi's belt. The soft chime of the bells once they came off alerted Naruto and Sakura to detach themselves from their silver-haired teacher.
Kakashi, slightly overwhelmed from what had just happened, stared at his Genin with the slightest indication of surprise. He hadn't had children climb on him in such a way since his D-rank mission days with his old squad. Kakashi took a deep breath and nonchalantly wiped his flak jacket of nonexistent dust. Hey, even in "defeat," he still had to look cool. And speaking of being cool...
"You do realize that one of you fails this test, right?" he told the three kids, almost amused at the sudden down turn of their smiles. "After all, there's only two bells and three of you. Decide now who's the dead last, and they will return to the Academy starting tomorrow."
"What?" cried Naruto, his voice almost painfully shrieking. "You can't fail one of us, old man! The three of us beat you together!"
"A team that works together, stays together." said Sasuke, crossing his arms in front of his chest, smirk set at the corner of his mouth.
"Sasuke-kun and Naruto are right!" Sakura's green eyes were suddenly shiny with a strong confidence that hadn't been there before. She hated the mere thought of being alone again. "We're a team!"
At their protests, Kakashi's gaze softened, his mouth slowly molding into a smile. They are the first team in years to understand the purpose of the entire exercise—figuring it out unintentionally, probably, but it'll do. And so, Kakashi tucked his orange book into his back pocket, eye shut in defeat.
A good team.
This is a bit more third person omniscient, than the third person limited I've been using. We are actually reaching the end of what is Part I, after the (superduper brief) Land of Waves and Chuunin Exams arcs. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully the next one will pick things up a bit more ;) Thanks for reading!
Review!