Chapter 3! And Naruto's really feeling the burn...Ouch! Hope everyone likes this and many thanks for the reviews.
(I don't own any part of Naruto)
Naruto saw Sakura and Sasuke dart into the trees to either side of him. He stayed right where he was as his mind worked over what Kakashi had said. "Intent to kill..." The words echoed in his mind and he thought, "Yeah...I can do that."
Kakashi turned around and saw him standing there. His eye went wide.
The jonin was struck with the look that had come over Naruto. He looked...coiled. Like a spring ready to snap to extension. There was a quality to his intense gaze, something like bloodlust. Kakashi sank into a crouch, wary of the boy. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this..." Naruto grinned...it wasn't exactly a nice grin. Then he charged.
Flashed would have been a better description. He blazed towards Kakashi hand outstretched...for his throat...not his bells. He barely managed to twist out of the way as Naruto wet sailing past. Kakashi felt a tearing sensation around his chest. Naruto's other hand had swung out wide to catch him across the belly with his kunai.
Kakaski jumped back and crouched low. He didn't know what had just happened. Naruto shouldn't have been able to move anywhere near that fast. And that look... Naruto whirled and landed in a crouch of his own.
Naruto smelled the air. Something sweet...like what you might imagine a metric ton of chocolate might smell like. The smell permeated the air. Naruto drank it in. This scent was too much. Like a perfume that he wanted to drink.
He brought up his kunai. He had missed his target. He had meant to go lower and cut through Kakashi's belt. Making it rather hard for him to move while his pants were falling down. But he had jumped out of the way and the blade had caught his stomach instead. Naruto's eyes fixed on the red dripping from Kakashi. It was making him dizzy just looking at it. He was incredibly tempted to taste his kunai's edge.
Naruto bent down and switched the kunai to his other hand before attacking again.
Kakashi was unsurprised this time by Naruto's attack, but the result wasn't as different as he would have liked. As Naruto dived past him he actually threw his kunai right at his chest. Twisting again he managed to get out of the way of the weapon again. He pulled out his own kunai and took the opportunity to put away his book. There was a jingle behind him and he felt something breeze past him. "Damn their working together?!" Sasuke darted past him, one bell in hand.
Momentarily distracted by the sneaky Uchiha, Kakashi took his attention away from Naruto. He had ricocheted off a tree in his path, sending himself back at his target. Kakashi made hand signs as quickly as he could. He smacked his hand on the ground, "Earth style, Mobile Core!" A square patch of earth in front of Naruto shot into the air. Naruto slammed into it. Kakashi then made the hand signs for a fireball, but then he saw something out of the corner of his eye. "I'm not falling for that twice."
Kakashi jumped in the air as Sakura flashed under him, her face turned upward. He smiled as she went sprawling. His feet touch down on top of the earth pillar he had created a moment before. He looked around quickly. He sweat-dropped as he saw Naruto lining up a punch with the base of the earth pillar. Then the pillar disintegrated under him under Naruto's strike. Kakashi jumped off the falling column and landed a few feet away.
Sakura was already on top of him. He easily sidestepped her kunai and chopped down on the top of her head with his hand. She didn't quite drop, but she stopped moving for a second. Sakura jumped out of the way of his next attack and stood twenty feet away panting and holding her head. Kakashi turned just in time to block Naruto's punch, but it still sent him back a foot, his feet sliding over the damp grass. Next Naruto kicked for his crotch, "Not so fast Naruto." Kakashi raised a knee to block the kick as he punched out at Naruto's face.
Naruto took the punch like a brick wall and grabbed his wrist. Kakashi noted that Naruto's fighting style was rough and brutish, but effective. Then Naruto slammed his head forward. His forehead rammed home in Kakashi's chest. It knocked his breath out and sent him backwards. Naruto sacrificed any balance by bringing up his other leg to kick his side with enough force to break bone.
Then gravity asserted it's self again and Naruto fell backward, still holding onto his wrist. Kakashi brought his hand down across Naruto's fingers, but he didn't let go. He was being pulled forward on top of Naruto. Kakashi did a front flip over Naruto. He dodged Sakura's second sneak attack in the process and forced Naruto to his feet behind him. Kakashi kicked out and broke Naruto's hold on him.
pain snapped into Naruto's spine as Kakashi buried his foot in his lower back. He let go of Kakashi's wrist, mainly because he already had three shuriken in his other hand. As he let go of Kakashi he used the momentum to spin his body around, launching the sharp throwing stars right at Kakashi.
At the point blank range, the jonin had little room to dodge. Kakashi still managed to deflect two of them, but the third grazed past his head. The razor edge of the projectile cut through the band on his forehead protector. The metal plate hiding his other eye fell away.
Naruto lost his balance after that and tumbled right into Sakura who was getting up from her failed attack. They both sprawled in the grass. The two of them roll, Sakura coming up on top. Naruto grimaced as his back twinged in pain. He looked up at Sakura who was busy trying not to stab him with her kunai which was between them.
Sasuke watched the three of them fighting. Naruto's almost random attack strategy was surprisingly effective against Kakashi. Sasuke kept that in mind for the time when he might have to fight Kakashi alone. Then he saw Naruto whirl, flinging a handful of shuriken in Kakashi's face. The experienced jonin managed to deflect two even at that close range. The third severed his eye patch/forehead protector. Then his momentum pushed him into Sakura who quickly turned her kunai vertical to avoid impaling him. They tumbled in the grass as Kakashi regained his balance.
Sakura hurriedly got off Naruto who sat up, obviously in pain. From where he was hiding it looked like Naruto had taken a bad hit. Something occurred to him as he watched the two struggle to take down Kakashi. "Something is strange about this whole test. Two bells...three students. There would be no chance that the three students would work together. Sakura is only helping Naruto right now because she might get a chance at the remaining bell again...Wait. This test must be designed to test our instinct to go it alone. We only really stand a chance of getting a bell at all...if we work together. I might have had a small chance of taking Kakashi on by myself as long as I was fast and didn't give him the chance to get serious...DAMN! This is a test of team work. That's why he said we would all fail. If we can't work as a team now then he won't bother training us...
Kakashi watched Naruto and Sakura catch their bearing. They sure were making trouble for him. If they actually coordinated their attacks he might have to use his sharengan. Sakura got off Naruto and they stood up. He didn't bother brushing himself off. He glared at his sensei...the look wasn't a nice one. Naruto glanced at Sakura. He seemed to be thinking hard. Then he took a step towards her and whispered in her ear.
Sakura went still to listen. Then slowly she nodded her head. Naruto looked back at him and Kakashi got an uneasy feeling in his gut...which as it happened , was still bleeding profusely. Sakura put away her kunai and drew out a small stack of shuriken from her tool bag. Then Naruto dashed at him again.
He activated his sharengan and held his ground. Naruto was almost on top of him when he used his Shadow Clone jutsu. Two clones appeared on either side of him and dived past Kakashi. At the same time Sakura began launching shuriken at him. Kakashi realized that something was wrong. Naruto had just stopped in his tracks and was standing there at the ready.
Kakashi's sharengan showed him Naruto's eye was looking over his shoulder. And the way Sakura was aiming her shuriken...they would go right past him. Kakashi whirled in time to dodge the first two shuriken that had been redirected by the clones behind him. The next two buried themselves in his chest. Not very deep wounds but painful. He quickly dashed at the clones. A second later they poofed out of existence and he turned back around, just in the nick of time too. Naruto's fingers were centimeters from the remaining bell. He turned, keeping the bell out of reach as he brought his hand down to chop at his unprotected neck.
A shuriken whizzed past his face, cleanly slicing the very tip of his nose. Kakashi missed Naruto's neck. Instead his blow landed across his shoulder. He blocked the next incoming shuriken, catching the last one and flinging it back. Sakura dodged it, but it seemed she was out of throwing weapons now. Kakashi turned his attention back to Naruto, but discovered that he had dodged out of reach. Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Naruto was grinning again.
Suddenly Kakashi felt an enormous heat at his back. He made a move to escape to his left.
He made it, just enough to avoid being blasted by Sasuke's fireball jutsu. He didn't know where that had come from. Kakashi belatedly realized that all three were now working against him together. "Well, they passed at least."
Kakashi shouted, "Enough you guys! Everybody stop!" Sakura who had been darting forward to attack halted. Naruto stopped mid jutsu and Sasuke relaxed his muscles. Sakura asked, "What is it sensei?" Kakashi smiled, thought they couldn't see it, "All three of you passed...with flying colors I might add." Naruto's jaw fell open, "WHAT!? We passed, but neither me or Sakura got a bell!" He looked dumbstruck. Kakashi said, "Listen Naruto. This whole test was designed to test how well you work together...right Sasuke."
The Uchiha nodded, "I figured it out just a few moments ago. Otherwise I would have stayed out of the fight." Kakashi said, "See he figured out that if he didn't work towards the common goal with you then he would fail even though he got the bell. It's not the perfect solution. Ideally he would have wanted to help his team mates out regardless, but it's the fact that you can work as a team that counts." Naruto sighed and dropped on his butt. He growled, "Thanks a lot sensei. I already wasn't feeling good. Now I feel stupid on top of awful."
Sakura slumped too. She thought, "I can't believe I didn't think of that...I was fooled just like Naruto..." There was silence as the three kids digested the information. Sakura asked, "So if we passed the test...then can we officially call ourselves squad 7?" Kakashi said, "Of course. That's obvious. This was your last test. Most of the other team leaders had their own tests for their squads. Mine is just not as obvious."
Sakura asked, "So...can we eat now? I worked up an appetite." Kakashi nodded and he said, "Just this way for lunch." Sasuke and Sakura followed Kakashi and after a moment so did Naruto.
Kakashi watched his three fellow squad members. They had certainly given him a beating...not a serious one, but more than any genin...or three genin had ever given him. Currently Sasuke and Sakura were eating. Both of them silent, but Sakura would glance at Sasuke every now and then. Kakashi looked to Naruto..."He hasn't even touched his food...and I know that isn't like him. Iruka told me that he's a ravenous eater. A bottomless pit, but he hasn't eaten a bite? What's up with him?"
He asked, "Naruto, Is something actually wrong? You haven't so much as moved since you sat down, much less start eating." Naruto sighed painfully, "It's just...I haven't been able to eat anything since I woke up...tried eating this morning before I came, but...I don't know. Maybe I'm getting sick." That worried Kakashi. Most shinobi rarely got sick unless it somehow affected their chakra network as well. And Naruto was, at least as far as he knew, healthier than most genin. For Naruto not to be eating...he must have been feeling bad.
Kakashi moved over to sit next to him. He asked, "What exactly are you feeling? Tell me so I can take you by the hospital...can't have you sick before the first mission." Naruto said, "I don't know everything feels bad. Mt stomach hurts, my eyes hurt, I'm all itchy from the light. He moved his hands to rub at his face. "And my ears are messed up. I keep hearing things...and it the same with my nose."
From where she was sitting Sakura asked, "What do you mean by hearing things?" Naruto looked pointedly away from her. He gulped, "Its...kinda like a...beat...like a heartbeat. And it's been off and on since I left the apartment. Kakashi asked, "So where is this heartbeat sound coming from?"
He immediately regretted asking that. Naruto pointed at each one of them in turn. Sakura's eyes were wide. She said, "That's creepy Naruto...no way you could hear my heartbeat. I'm ten feet from you." Kakashi asked, "What about your nose?" Naruto wiped his nose with one gloved hand. then wrinkled it. He said, "I smell something sweet...but...I don't know what it is. And I can't get the smell out even with this lunch."
Kakashi said, "About that...are you not eating because your nauseous?" Naruto shook his head, "I don't know! ok...I tried eating this morning. Ramen. The same thing I eat every morning, but it tasted awful. And I know that I won't be able to eat this...I just...I'm hungry, but I can't eat." To Kakashi it sounded like the symptoms were all jumbled together. He had never heard of any sickness like that...it sure wasn't a fever or the common cold.
Naruto felt horrible, but at the same time his mind was screaming at him. He couldn't think straight and it was giving him a head ache. Kakashi said something to him, but he didn't catch it. He moved his hands to his head. The pressure was getting worse. And his teeth...they felt like they were...pulsing. like a toothache but different. The pressure in his head was starting to feel like a migraine. Naruto felt like...his head was splitting open. And it was getting worse still. Worse than that his skin was starting to burn.
Kakashi saw him bring his hands to his head and grit his teeth in pain. He asked, "Naruto? Naruto!? Are you alright?! Naruto?" Naruto pressed his hands to his temple as his eyes squeezed shut. Sakura and Sasuke both looked on, concerned for their team mate. Sasuke asked, "Kakashi. What's happening to him?!" The silver haired jonin didn't know. He had no clue what was happening. He grabbed Naruto and threw him over his shoulder. He said, "You two come on. I'm taking him to the hospital."
Ok So...how was it...Don't answer that. I know I'm awesome... How was that? My best Sasuke impression! Any way please review.
I have a question for my readers though. I originally planed on making this a single match Fanfic. But with vampire plot, harems become really easy to write...I'm not doing a full harem fic, however I'm undecided as to whether or not to write a pseudo harem... I leave it up to you to figure out what I mean by that. But if you have an opinion please message me.