Aki 06
*Sasuke is definitely out of character for the first half of this chapter. I'm sorry, I had no ideas on how to fix it, hopefully the second half of the chapter makes up for it~
Soma and Fuyu rushed over to Sasuke till they finally reached their destination behind him.
Soma looked over at Fuyu and gave her the sign to be as quiet as possible before creeping branch to branch closer to Sasuke.
Just before he was about to poke his shoulder, Sasuke disappeared from in front of Soma only to reappear behind Fuyu, holding up a kunai not too far off from her neck.
"What, you guys thought it would be that easy to get me?" Sasuke growled.
Fuyu completely froze, only being able to look at the kunai threatening her life, and back at Soma's relaxed expression. Kunai. Soma. Kunai. Soma.
"Soma." she mouth, not being able to find her voice. "Sasuke." she gasped out, finally reaching her right hand to the arm he had around her chest.
"Let's not get too eager here Sasuke." Soma reasoned.
"Why not?"
"Because we weren't going to try what you were thinking."
"And how am I supposed to know that. This is a contest after all." Sasuke paused looking down at Fuyu. "There's no other reason to believe that you guys wouldn't try to come against me."
"We weren't-"
"You of all people should know that I'd never do that." Fuyu finally said. "It wouldn't make any sense t6 even try…Sasuke."
Sasuke tightened the grip around the kunai handle slightly. "That was so long ago though, Fuyu. How do I know that you haven't changed your mind?"
"Because I haven't changed." she responded almost inaudibly.
Soma maintained his gaze on Sasuke, watching as he went through a mental debate. "Sasuke." he whispered. "Let her go."
Sasuke shot his gaze up to Soma, then back down to Fuyu. "Promise Fuyu." he whispered into her ear "Promise that you haven't changed." he added even quieter.
"I promise." Fuyu complied.
As soon as the last letter rolled off her tongue, Sasuke let her go, dropping the kunai completely.
Instinctively, Fuyu jumped over to the branch Soma was on before fixing her saddened gaze on Sasuke.
Soma looked over at Fuyu, looking her square in the eyes. "Are you alright?" he whispered, resting a hand lightly on her back.
"…yeah." she responded quietly, nodding her head slightly.
"So." Soma began looking back over to Sasuke. "Do you want to hear our offer? Or just attack us again?"
Sasuke huffed loudly. "Go ahead." he responded looking back down at the clearing.
"Work with us." Soma said simply.
"Why should I?" Sasuke growled back.
"Just makes more sense, doesn't it? 1 Genin vs. 2 Jonin compared to 3 Genin vs. 2 Jonin. It'll still be hard, but it won't be as hard if it were just 1 of us."
Sasuke veered his gaze over to Fuyu, who still remained silent. I'm sorry. Sasuke thought to himself sincerely. I should've known.
"Alright." he finally agreed.
A light smile formed on Soma's face. "We have 10 minutes. C'mere so I can explain it to you both." he ordered, with Sasuke shortly after complying.
:-:-:
"Alright, all of you ready?" Soma asked, briefly looking over his shoulder at his two temporary teammates.
Sasuke and Fuyu nodded their heads lightly in response.
"Sasuke." Fuyu whispered quietly, gaining his attention. "I…What happened…earlier?"
Sasuke maintain his gaze at Soma's backside, waiting for his signal. "I'm not exactly sure." he finally responded. "I just thought you guys took this contest thing seriously."
"If anyone took it seriously, it was you." she responded, anger building up little by little. "What made you think that in first place? What made you think it would be okay to act like that either way?"
"You know I don't have time to be held back, Fuyu." he retorted shooting his gaze to her.
"That doesn't make a difference." she responded, raising her voice slightly. "You shouldn't be biting the hands that are offering help to you Sasuke."
Don't get into it here you two, just wait till we get the bells. Soma sighed to himself as he watched Ritsu and Naruto get caught in an obvious trap.
Sasuke's onyx eyes battled with Fuyu golden brown ones. Hurt vs. sad. Friend vs. friend.
After what seemed to be an eternity, Fuyu finally tore her gaze away from Sasuke's. "It's not fair how you punish everyone because of someone else's mistake." she whispered.
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean-"
"Get ready." Soma warned, preparing to through a series of kunai at his two sensei.
Fuyu. Sasuke called mentally.
"Now!" Soma whispered/yelled before shooting his series of kunai at Kakashi and Nagare.
Fuyu followed suit, sending her share of kunai and shuriken at the two.
Some missed, others reached their target. Nagare looked up at where the kunai and shuriken came from, clutching his arm.
"Alright, Sasuke, now!" Soma commanded, waiting for Sasuke to unleash his fireball jutsu.
Eyes quivering slightly, Sasuke maintained his gaze on Fuyu.
"Sasuke?" Soma questioned, noticing his state. "Are you alright?"
Fuyu looked back at Sasuke, noticing the small tears that gathered at his tear ducts carefully.
All the anger she previously had immediately melted away, only to be replaced with worry. "Sasuke?" she called quietly.
Soma looked back down at the clearing, noticing that Nagare was no longer down there with Kakashi. Crap! He thought to himself as he looked around frantically. Where is he?
"Sasuke. Please." Fuyu begged holding onto his pale hand lightly. "At least make a noise."
"I'm sorry." he mouthed silently. "I'm sorry." he repeated.
A sad contagious smile formed on Fuyu's lips. "I forgive you." she whispered.
"Both of you, keep your eyes peeled for Nagare Sensei!" Soma commanded, still concerned with their first problem.
Sasuke lightly shook the tears out his eyes, before looking around him quietly.
Almost immediately, his eyes caught onto a dark figure that moved slightly just a few feet away from him. "He's over there." he whispered, causing Fuyu and Soma to look in the same direction.
A small glint of light reflected off a small bell that dangled freely from his jacket.
"There's the bell." Soma whispered "I say we go for it you guys."
Fuyu looked over at Soma with a worried expression. "Really?"
"Why not?" Sasuke responded, weaving signs to perform: "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" he exclaimed just before emitting several fireballs towards Nagare.
Nagare nonchalantly gazed at the series of fireballs as they approached him with great speed. How talented, just not the right time for them though, Sasuke. he thought to himself, quickly evading the attack.
"Tsk. I didn't get him." Sasuke whispered, trying to relocate the Jonin.
"I'll try." Soma offered, weaving a few signs as fast as he could "Wind Release: Violent Wind Wall!" Soma summoned, causing a few trees that surrounded them to be cleared out.
After shielding her eyes from the flying debris, Fuyu looked over at Soma, slightly surprised at the power he just emitted. Who would've know, Soma?
Nagare barely escaped, holding onto a strong branch of a large oak tree. These three…they're feisty. He thought to himself as he waited for the large gust of wind to dissipate.
Once the jutsu finally wore off, Fuyu, Soma and Sasuke looked around them, trying to once again locate their sensei.
"He's right there!" Fuyu announced, pointing towards a figure that rested on a branch ahead of them.
"Alright, let's try this one more time." Sasuke smirked, preparing to weave more signs.
A high pitched ring stopped him mid-sign though, signaling the end of the short 30 minutes they had to complete their exercise.
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly. I ran out of time. He thought to himself, still keeping an eye on Nagare's figure.
"You three, go down to the clearing will you?" Nagare requested, jumping closer to the Genin.
Each nodded their head sadly, worried about what the final outcome would be to their not completing their exercise.
The 3 Genin sprinted down to the clearing, meeting up with an unscathed Sakura, and a captured Naruto and Ritsu.
Kakashi and Nagare closed in on their 6 students, lazily looking over each of them.
"That was terrible." Kakashi scolded. "Sakura, you didn't even try. All you could worry about was Sasuke, and not even your own well being. Naruto, Ritsu, you two…whatever you two tried to pull obviously didn't work. You didn't put to use all the advantages you had, for instance, the element of surprise. You both are the ones who almost automatically failed." he paused. "As for you three" he began, looking over at Soma, Fuyu and Sasuke. "You three tried, but let your personal feelings get in the way. As a shinobi you must learn to leave those feelings behind, especially during missions. Failure to do so could result in either your death or those of your teammates."
"All in all, all 6 of you failed, although the three of you attempted to work as a team, you completely disregarded your other 3 teammates. In order to be successful shinobi, you all need to work together." Nagare summed up "But, we're going to give you all another chance after lunch." he added, picking up the pack of 4 lunches that previously rested of the lush green grass.
"Enjoy it, you'll need the energy." Kakashi advised. "But, do not, and I mean do not share with Ritsu and Naruto." he ordered as Nagare gave the other four Genin their lunch.
"Ne?" Naruto exclaimed, while Ritsu plopped over in defeat. "How are we supposed to get our energy if we don't eat!"
"You two should've thought about that before you acted without carelessly." Kakashi retorted. "Hurry up, you have 20 minutes to eat." he added before he and Nagare disappeared in a puff of smoke.
The 4 Genin looked down at the lunches they held in their hands before lifting the lid off and eagerly chowing down on their first meal of the day.
Naruto and Ritsu looked down at their 4 teammates with tears building up in their eyes just at the sight of the lunches right in their faces.
Soma looked over at Ritsu who was hungrily eyeballing his lunch. Quickly, he checked his surroundings for any sign of their sensei, before handing him the lunch.
Ritsu's eyes instantly lit up at the sight of food being offered to him. "Are you…are you giving that to me Soma?" he asked, crying tears of joy.
"Just hurry up and eat it." he responded, looking around him frantically.
"But sensei told us not to share with them." Sakura reasoned.
"I don't think they're anywhere near here, just as long as they don't catch us, it'll be fine." Fuyu answered as she walked over to Naruto.
"Fuyu, is that for me!" Naruto asked happily as he watched her hold the lunch in front of him.
She nodded happily. "Can you eat it yourself?"
Naruto looked down at his hands, which were tightly tied up, then back up at Fuyu's golden brown eyes. "Looks like I can't." he responded bashfully."
A light blush formed on Fuyu's face, catching on to what she'll have to do. "ready?" she asked as she prepared a small cluster of rice between her chopsticks.
"You bet!" Naruto responded happily.
Fuyu carefully placed the cluster of rice into his mouth. Repeating the same step over and over.
"Sakura, come feed Ritsu." Soma requested, refusing to do so.
She sighed loudly, but nonetheless complied, walking over to Ritsu and Soma.
After handing her the lunch, Soma looked over at Sasuke. "Let's keep a look out for them." he suggested.
Sasuke nodded slightly, placing his lunch on the ground. "If either of you need anymore, take mine." he explained before looking around him thoroughly.
As soon as Sasuke was about to sit down, deeming the two Sensei no where in sight, a large puff of smoke formed before them slowly revealing Kakashi and Nagare.
"What are you doing?" Nagare asked the 4 Genin, as they froze in their current positions.
Fuyu's hand just about to place another cluster of rice into Naruto's mouth.
Sakura's hand just about to reach for Sasuke's lunch.
Soma looking around a large tree.
And Sasuke sitting, simply looking up at the two angered sensei.
"We ordered you to not share with Naruto or Ritsu." Nagare added. "So why the hell would you?"
The 6 remained silent, waiting for someone to answer.
"Earlier you told us that we need to work together as a team in order to be successful." Fuyu finally spoke up "Our chances of succeeding wouldn't be as high if Naruto and Ritsu didn't have energy."
"That's right!" Ritsu agreed loudly. "You're the ones that told us that we need to work together. How could you be mad at us for following your orders."
"I just didn't want either of them to be hindrances to me." Sasuke reasoned.
"And I agree with Fuyu." Sakura added.
"So what you're saying is that you'd go against a command in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your teammate?" Kakashi asked.
The 6 Genin looked amongst themselves before looking back at their sensei, nodding confidently.
"Well, Kakashi. What should we do?" Nagare asked him.
"In this case they all…PASS!" He concluded happily.
At first, the 6 Genin remained silent. Not knowing if what they just heard was correct or not, they maintained their gazes on their two sensei.
Nagare sighed quietly, while pinching the skin between his eyes.
"You guys pass." Kakashi repeated. "You should all be happy."
"I don't get it then." Ritsu began "What you really wanted to teach us was to work as a team?"
Kakashi and Nagare nodded their heads slowly. "You did learn, didn't you?"
"Well duh! I'm starving here!"
Nagare chuckled lightly. "Alright alright. Soma, Sasuke, get Ritsu and Naruto down. We'll go get something to eat."
"So that's it?" Sakura asked, getting up from the ground.
"Yep. Unless you want more to do, Saukra?" Kakashi offered mischievously.
Sakura rose her hands in front of her. "No thank you Sensei!" she responded.
Nagare and Kakashi laughed. "Let's go then." Nagare said as he began walking towards the restaurant district with his 6 students following suit.
I passed. Each of the six Genin thought to themselves triumphantly. I'm finally on my way.
:-:-:
"Bye everyone!" Sakura bided before starting her journey home.
"See you guys!" Ritsu exclaimed before running off.
"Thanks for the food Kakashi Sensei, Nagare Sensei!" Naruto thanked before running off in the same direction.
"You guys going to be alright on your own? Kakashi and I have to go report some things to the hokage." Nagare said.
"We'll be fine sensei." Fuyu responded confidently.
Nagare nodded his head before walking out the restaurant with Kakashi following suit.
Soma looked at his two teammates, who remained mostly quiet for the span of their little meal. "You two." he began pointing at both Fuyu and Sasuke. "What's going on between you both?"
Fuyu looked over at Sasuke, who maintained his stoic glare at Soma.
"What do you mean, Soma?" she asked, bringing her gaze back to him.
"Well, what happened during the exercise? Both of you basically forgot about it, and began arguing about something completely different."
Fuyu sighed quietly as she looked down at her hands.
"It was nothing." Sasuke finally answered, looking out a window to his right, staring at the dancing tree's shadows under the street lights.
It was nothing? Fuyu asked herself, looking at Sasuke from the corner of her eye.
"Nothing that you should be worried about at least." Sasuke explained.
Soma shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just worried about both of you." he whispered, looking out the same window.
Fuyu looked between Soma and Sasuke. "Thank you for worrying Soma." she finally said quietly.
Soma looked over at her and smiled slightly. "No need to thank me, just looking after my two teammates." he responded before getting up from his seat "I think I'm going to call it a night. It was fun, working with both of you. I'll see you tomorrow I guess." he concluded before walking out the restaurant.
Fuyu looked back over at Sasuke, who already had his gaze fixated on her.
A light blush formed, as she looked away in the opposite direction.
"You were mad." he whispered, maintaining his gaze.
"When?" she asked, looking back down at her tan hands.
"During the exercise."
Fuyu shrugged her shoulders lightly. "I guess I was."
"I'm sorry."
Fuyu looked over at her close friend, before smiling lightly. "You've already said that Sasuke." she said jokingly, playfully shoving him with her right shoulder.
A small smile tugged at Sasuke lips. "There's no harm in repeating it."
"I guess not." she agreed happily "But let's not dwell on it either."
Sasuke looked over at her before nodding his head. "Deal."
A contagious smile graced Fuyu's lips. "I think I should be going, papa wanted me back before nightfall." she explained, getting up from her seat.
Sasuke followed suit, following her out the small restaurant.
Before she walked away, Fuyu took in a deep breath of the cool air that surround the pair. "I'm so glad winter's coming." she said, mostly to herself.
"You remember what happened during the winter? 4 years ago?"
Fuyu looked over at Sasuke, although not having a specific expression, his eyes clearly showed sadness.
"Of course, how could I forget?"
Sasuke nodded his head lightly. "The best time of my life." he whispered.
Fuyu cocked her head questionably to the right. "How?" she asked slightly panicked.
"That's when we became close friends." he replied simply, smiling at her.
Fuyu smiled brightly before pulling Sasuke into a tight hug. "I'm glad that's what winter reminds you of." she whispered into his shoulder.
Sasuke slowly snaked his arms around her, pulling her closer if at all possible. "I'm glad too."
She reluctantly pulled away, only to plant a light kiss on his right cheek while holding onto his hands lightly. "I'll see tomorrow for our next mission." she whispered, before letting go of his cool hands, preparing to walk away.
Sasuke took hold of her right hand again, savoring the warmth that emitted from it. He momentarily gazed into her golden brown eyes. Ones that showed sadness, love and hope.
"See you." he murmured before letting go of her hand.
She held her hand in the other, before turning around to walk home.
I can't wait till winter. They both thought to themselves simultaneously.
Thank you so much for reading! Every read that my story gets means a lot to me. :)
Please leave a review/comment about what you think about this chapter, and what I can/should work on. I'd really appreciate it!
-EZ