Guardian Angel
"Speech"
'Thought'
"Summon/Bijuu/Inner Speech"
'Summon/Bijuu/inner thought'
A/N: O.K! Let's get to work shall we? And please folks… GIVE ME SOME REVIEWS! I crave them! Also, there is a time skip this chapter, so don't be surprised!
Echo sighed as he guarded the still form of Naruto. The boy was currently sitting in a hospital bed, hooked to an I.V drip and blood pack with bandages all over his body. The boy had lost a lot of blood in that beating, and had a lot of blunt trauma dealt to his body and internal organs. Not to mention the broken bones. Even with his heritage and Kyuubi, Naruto would not be alive if Echo hadn't rushed him to the hospital.
Shifting his gaze from Naruto's face, he allowed a brief smile to flit across his visage before it vanished and was replaced with a frown. Kiki had been the least wounded, the worst being the stab wound on her back, which had been deep, but thankfully benign. Currently, the girl had fallen asleep in a chair, which had been seated as close as possible to Naruto's bed. Her left hand was covering Naruto's left hand while the other was resting on his left shoulder. As it were, the girl was using Naruto's chest as a pillow.
When the girl had come to, the doctors had already treated her, but the first thing she asked was what had happened to Naruto. When told he'd just got out of surgery and what room he was in, the red head had flown out of her room and gone straight to Naruto's. She hadn't even noticed Echo sitting in the corner when she had burst into the room.
No sooner had she seen Naruto's body in bandages did she rush over and grab his hand. She had cried then, desperately begging him to wake up, praying that he'd be fine, telling him that he couldn't leave her and all manner of things. When the doctors came to push her out, she had nearly ripped their throats out. It was only when Echo promised to keep an eye on both of them did the doctors let her stay.
Sighing once more, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out his gun. For a while, he just stared at it, rubbing his thumb along the barrel. Clicking the release button, he deftly caught the magazine clip before slamming it gently back into place. For a while, that's all he did, releasing the magazine then replacing it.
As he kept repeating the action, Echo missed the sound of someone entering the room.
"How are they doing?" Echo looked up and saw Goza staring silently at the sleeping children.
The weary man merely sighed and replied in a monotone, "Naruto's ribs are either cracked or broken, left lung pierced by one. Lacerations and puncture wounds on his legs, arms, back and stomach, teeth were cracked and some fell out, along with trauma to the liver, kidneys and intestines. Spine is nearly fractured and there are bruises all over his body. Trauma to some of the muscles and of course there were broken bones. That, and substantial blood loss," he paused, "Kyuubi already grew him some new teeth with, don't really know how though, but he'll be back in shape soon enough,"
"To think, he'd be dead if not for his burden," Goza muttered, "What about Kiki-chan?" asked the goblin while taking out a cigar and placing it in his mouth, unlit.
"Puncture wound in the back, between the shoulder blades. Missed the vertebrae by three centimeters to the left. There'll be a scar there, but other than that, she's fine,"
Goza mulled it over before asking, "What about psychologically? What's their mental state?"
Echo rolled a shoulder and put his gun away before replying, "I don't know, but we'll have just have to deal with whatever emerges. Be glad that it didn't manifest,"
Goza frowned slightly, "So you know?"
"It's hard not to when you have my abilities, though I had thought they were all slaughtered in the Kiri bloodline purge," Echo commented.
"They were, she's the last one," Goza sighed as he walked over to the bed.
"How did you find her then?" asked Echo, though his face said he had a good idea how already.
Goza chuckled mirthlessly as he rubbed Kiki's head, "I couldn't let those items be destroyed or forgotten, so I went to collect them, her kind has always been frequent customers so I decided to preserve their memory by adding what I could find to my personal collection," he paused, "I found her huddled in a corner and decided to take her in,"
"You sure that's wise?" asked Echo.
Goza scowled lightly at the dirty blonde, "And why would you say that?"
Echo didn't reply immediately, instead he reached under his shirt and pulled out a necklace.
It was a simple black chord; nothing special, but the charm on it was something Goza easily recognized. It was a silver disk with two overlapping triangles, one pointing down, and the other pointing up. However overlapping those were two united circles.
To many, it would not mean much, but to one such as Goza, he recognized it as a wedding necklace. "You were married to one?" asked the goblin in surprise.
"Yes, and she betrayed me for the sake of power. When the old world started to crumble, she and her kind saw the moment to take power and recreate the world, but that world had no room for someone like me, at least that's what she told me before she tried killing me," Echo replied evenly, "I know that there were changes, but I'm wary to be around her kind, I fear what will happen when she 'awakens'"
Goza smiled slightly, "Don't worry, she won't 'awaken' any time soon,"
"How would you know?" asked Echo, eyeing Kiki with caution.
"You forget I have an oracle in my employ, a mystic who can help Kiki," Goza responded as he walked towards the door, "Tetsol has told me that when she awakens, it will be on a land surrounded by water, half connected to the burning lands by a construct of hope. Surrounded by mirrors who only reflect one, she will believe that what she holds most dear to be gone and only then, will she awaken and unlock her true potential,"
Echo silently contemplated the words, frowning as he did. "So she will awaken on an island, surrounded by mirrors, and it will happen when what she holds most dear, is believed to be gone," concluded the man. "Any ideas on what she holds most dear?" he asked as he got up and followed the goblin to the exit of the room.
Goza sighed and opened the door, "Not sure," he said as they filed out, "Kiki doesn't really put a lot of value into objects, not unless given by someone very close to her,"
"Like you?" Echo guessed.
Goza nodded, "Like me," he paused, "The only thing I can think of is someone close to her, but I can't think of anyone she would hold most dear to her heart,"
Echo stopped a moment, his face blank. 'I think I know' thought the blonde as he caught up with him, "Let's just hope it doesn't happen for some time,"
Goza nodded as they both left the hospital, each wondering what would happen now.
Three years Later
"Congratulations to everyone who passed their ninja exams! From today on, you are now shinobi of the hidden leaf, a title you should carry with pride," Iruka announced as he smiled at the graduating students. 'Shame only some of them will actually be shinobi' thought the chuunin sadly. "You will now be divided into three man teams, however, due to your odd number there will be one team of four genin instead of the regular three," Iruka spoke proudly.
As Iruka began listing off the teams, a certain blonde was only half listening to him. Naruto sighed as his teacher continued talking. The boy hadn't gone through much of a wardrobe change, he still wore the same jacket and, shirt- the shirts colors were inverted though, now a black background and a white skull- and prayer beads, but he had traded his goggles in for a different pair given to him by his world-weary sensei.
Echo had told him they were 'steampunk styled', whatever that meant. Point was they were made of copper and had orange tints while the strap was made of brown leather. They also had different functions, such as night vision, zoom, camera, and thermal vision.
For pants, the boy had switched to black cargo pants while on his feet he put on a strange pair of foot wear that Goza had given to him. They seemed like regular black and grey sneakers except Goza had given them some upgrades. For one, they were extremely durable and adjusted to perfectly fit on who ever wore them. Next, they were fireproof, you could walk on the hottest of flames and these things would only get soot on them. While also being waterproof, it was insulated so that Naruto didn't have to worry about being electrocuted through his feet. Naruto loved em but the thing strapped to his back he loved more.
Just this year, the boy had finally earned his scythe! The blade was a black and stretched out for three feet before curving into a wicked point. The pole was made of a dull gray metal that stretched to be a solid six feet tall, which was about four inches taller than the blonde himself. However, what made this scythe special was that it had some surprises hidden in it. Only the people Naruto trusted knew about these attachments. That included Kikioko Atezuiryo.
Naruto grew sad as he thought of his friend and crush. Glancing, he smiled a bit as he saw her sitting next to him like always. Naruto wasn't the only one to go through a wardrobe change.
Kiki wore a black dress that stopped just above her shins and revealed her shoulders to the world, with only two black straps keeping it in place. It also had long red and black striped sleeves that easily hid her hands and any knives that might have been hidden there. She wore long striped stockings that were colored green and black and stopped mid thigh along with long, lace up black boots that stopped just below the knee. Around her neck was a black collar with a small disk on it that had a pentagram etched into it. She wore crescent moon earrings and had two large red dots on each corner of her mouth, though only the one on the left side of her mouth was usually seen since she still had her hair swept to the right so it covered her other eye and the other corner of her mouth. On her head was, oddly enough, a green and red jester's cap, with three prongs, one going left, one going right, and the last going back. The seam on each prong separated the colors so that red was on top and green was on bottom. Each prong ended in a point with a small black ball hanging on it. Finishing her look was a brown leather belt that was filled with throwing knives, while a black kunai pouch was strapped to each of her thighs.
Now because Naruto was a teenager, he also took note of Kiki's rather… generous chest. While not large like the legendary Tsunade's, they were still something that had men drooling. Not to mention her curves and fit pale body. If one word could be used to describe Kiki, it would be sexy.
As it were, the girl was about an inch shorter than Naruto and she was currently humming to herself as she waited for her name to be called. Naruto sighed through his nose before letting his mind wander; unfortunately, they didn't wander to happy topics.
"Oh come now Naruto-kun, it's for the best," purred a feminine voice. Naruto merely nodded in reply. That night, Naruto had me the Kyuubi, and that night, Naruto had made a vow.
Flashback
Shuddering, Naruto slowly sat up knowing that after that beating, he'd be sore for a couple days. That, and the drugs the hospital gave him usually made him nauseous. Imagine his surprise when he didn't feel sore, or sick.
Now imagine that pleasant experience being robbed because he found himself in a strange black and twisted forest. The sky was a bloody red with a shining full yellow moon.
Gulping, the child got up and began walking. What compelled him to do so, Naruto didn't know. As he passed the trees, the boy heard the sound of rushing water. Curious, the blonde followed it and was once more surprised to find a wide stream of glowing blue water. Blinking, he decided to follow the stream to the source.
As Naruto walked along the black banks, he began wondering where he was. 'The last thing I remember is Echo-sensei walking out of the fog… Could it be that I'm dead?' wondered Naruto. He frowned when he thought that. Quickly the blonde went over all he knew about afterlife realms taught to him by Fredrick. 'This obviously isn't heaven, nor is it Limbo… Maybe this is Hell? No, there would be others and if this was the Forest of Suicide then there would be people hanging from the trees!' dismissed the blonde. If this isn't an afterlife realm, maybe it's a Divine realm? Or, maybe it's a demon's personal realm?'
Before the blonde could think any further, he found the source of the water, and his jaw dropped in surprise.
It was a lake, no, a veritable ocean of that strange water! It was so large, that Naruto could barely make out the other side of the lake. He noted that seemingly all the streams branched off from this one source, and he knew there were more because he could see others near the one he had followed. He also noted that the moon was directly above this single location, and it seemed close enough that Naruto felt he could pluck it from the sky.
However, his attention soon swapped to the bubbling red mass that began rising from seemingly the bottom of the lake. Naruto watched and nearly fell back in shock as a giant beast emerged from the lake. One Naruto recognized from history books and legends.
It was the nine tailed demon fox, the Kyuubi no Youko!
The beast stood, half it's body in the lake, nine tails waving behind it, churning the water and sending red and blue waves crashing across the surface. Lowering its head, the Giant fox stared at Naruto, who did nothing due to shock. For a time there was silence.
Gulping Naruto gave a shaky smile, raising a hand the boy greeted the giant fox, "Yo, whats up Kyuubi-san?"
The giant red fox stared before rearing back then letting loose a mighty roar in front of Naruto. Naruto just kept up his shaky smile he was assaulted by the roar. However the roar becme a hack, then a gurgle, then…
"Konichiwa, Naruto-kun," greeted a beautiful female as she stepped out of the fox's mouth and stood upon the lake surface. Behind her, the fox stood, frozen in mid roar but it's eyes were now empty and blank. However, Naruto was a little too preoccupied by the beautiful woman in front of him.
She was a curvaceous woman, the seeming epitome of female perfection. Lightly tanned skin, long slender legs, lean flat stomach, delicate and slender hands, a beautiful face with the most amazing ruby red eyes with a slit pupil that only made her seem exotic. Luscious red lips and long flowing red hair that ended in black tips. Add the cute fox ears on the top of her head and the tail sprouting from her back and her perfect…assets… yeah you had one hell of a woman.
She was also naked, and Naruto was desperately trying not to pass out from a nosebleed.
Shaking his head Naruto shouted, "Would you please put some clothes on?"
Kyuubi frowned slightly, "Do you not like this form Naru-kun? My understanding was that-"
"That's not the problem!" Naruto replied, "Just put on some clothes!"
After Kyuubi had finally put some clothes on, a simple black kimono, Naruto sighed. "Ok, so if you're here then that means I'm somewhere in my body right?" asked Naruto.
"Correct, you're in your mindscape," Kyuubi said with pride.
"Any reason why it looks like something out of some gothic painting?" asked Naruto.
"Originally this place was a sewer," Kyuubi answered, her voice taking a slightly disgusted tone. "So I used what powers I could to change this place to my likings," she smiled as she observed the forest, "Isn't it just breathtaking?"
'In the 'it scares the living hell out of people way' then yes' Naruto thought wryly. "I suppose… So why am I here?" asked Naruto, now sitting on the banks of the lake. Kyuubi merely smiled before sitting next to the blonde, rather closely actually.
"Well I think it's time I talked with you Naru-kun," Kyuubi said softly, "You see, the reason I wanted to repent was because I have caused not just you, but so many people so much strife. I thought it best that I take this sealing as a form of repentance," she sighed, "I expected you to receive the same treatment as my last container did, but you have been treated so much crueler,"
She turned her eyes to look into Naruto's curious blue ones. Slowly she let her right hand grasp Naruto's left and began speaking again "I didn't think you would be treated so horribly so imagine my grief when I realized my container was being hurt because of me! I did all I could to keep you alive, but I knew that if you were to use my power, you'd only become more hated," she paused and looked away in apparent shame, then, "So I began to think how I could help you, and the answer came in the form of a Bijuu law,"
"You mean Fredrick-jiji, right?" asked Naruto slowly and softly. Kyuubi nodded her head.
"I was happy that you were finally being protected, finally being loved and accepted," she smiled as she turned to face him again, "Finally I had done something right, you were becoming strong, but then, my hopes are dashed by that girl," Kyuubi said with a scowl.
Naruto frowned at that, "What girl? You mean Kiki-chan?" he asked.
Kyuubi nodded, "I honestly have nothing against her but it's because of her that you were nearly killed!" Kyuubi said in frustration, "If she hadn't been there, or if she had done something then the both of you could have escaped!"
Naruto scowled at that, "Oi! Kiki-chan couldn't do anything about it! Mizuki was holding her hostage!" he said a little heatedly.
Kyuubi shook her head "She has more power than you know, but she did nothing, and because she was there, you refused to fight," she said. Before he could speak, Kyuubi silenced him by placing a hand on his cheek and looking at him with those emotional red eyes. "I know you did it so she wouldn't get hurt, but despite it she still did, and you were nearly killed! I know she said that she'd never leave you and that's what makes this so hard," she whispered.
"What do you mean?" he replied softly.
Kyuubi looked down then back at Naruto. "Naruto, do you truly care for Kiki, for all your friends? I mean, do you treasure them more than anything else in the world?"
Naruto didn't even need to think, "Yes,"
Kyuubi sighed, "I had hoped I wouldn't have to say this but," here her eyes grew hard and her voice serious, "You need to push your loved ones away, you can't let them become close,"
Naruto blinked, not quite understanding at first. Then, "What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto shouted as he got to his feet, "Why would I push them away! That doesn't make sense, ttebayo!" he shouted, angry and confused.
Before he could go on a rant the fox demon stopped him.
"Do you want them to die?" she asked quietly. That stopped him cold. He turned to face her, his face asking the question. "People hate jinchuuriki and anyone who associates with them, Kiki is a prime example," she spoke, slowly approaching the stunned blonde, "Jinchuuriki also go into a berserker rage when they use too much of their tenant's youki, it causes them to attack both friend and enemy,"
"I'd never attack Kiki," Naruto denied.
"You wouldn't, but you're not the one in control when the rage comes into play," Kyuubi explained, now in front of Naruto. Gently she grabbed his hand and held it between both of hers, "When she sees you in that form, she'll try to stop you, and you will hurt her, so the only way to stop that from happening is to push her away," Kyuubi told him gently.
"But… I…" Naruto didn't know what to say, how to respond. His mind was in turmoil, on one hand he knew Kiki was strong, that she could easily defend herself, hell, she was top kunoichi in his class! Yet on the other hand, she had already been hurt because of him.
For the first two years it was only Kiki and Naruto. The other girls just teased and isolated her, started rumors about her and her family being a group of freaks and circus rejects. Some of the more vicious girls tried attacking her, but Kiki's knives kept them at bay. Still didn't stop them from trying to pound her into the dirt during spars.
She said it didn't bother her, but Naruto still felt guilty and more so because of the villagers.
They refused to shop at Goza's store when Naruto was there. They glared at both him and Kiki when he walked down the streets with her. Some shops and restaurants would even deny her service if Naruto was with her.
Despite her reassurances, Naruto felt like a burden to her at times, more so because of the events that had occurred not even hours ago.
That attack now gnawed at his mind. What was to stop that from happening again? What if the villagers started attacking her now, started defacing and blacklisting her family's shop?
Then there was Kyuubi's words. Could he stop himself from hurting her while using Kyuubi's chakra? 'I just won't use it then' thought Naruto, but that was impossible. Both Fredrick and Echo had told him that he would have to learn how to control her chakra, because one day, he would have to use it. Intentionally or not, he would have to use it.
Kyuubi watched with concern on her face as Naruto struggled to come to terms with these thoughts and revelations. He dropped his head, looking at the ground as he spoke, his voice heavy and soft. "I'll do it, to protect them, I'll do it,"
Kyuubi pulled him into a hug and stroked his hair as his shoulders shook with restrained sobs. "Shh, it's ok Naru-kun, I'll be here, I'll take care of you," whispered the vixen, "I'll never leave you," she promised while holding the boy tightly to her.
End Flashback
Coming out of his flashback, the boy noticed that Iruka was almost through with announcing the teams. "Team 7 will consist of Sasuke Uchiha," the last Uchiha looked up at that, interested on who would be on his team.
"Sakura Haruno," "YES! Eat that Ino-pig!" Sakura shouted. "Cha! Sasuke-kun is ours now!" cheered her inner persona. Sakura may have passed, but she was still a fan girl.
Iruka sighed before speaking again, "Kikioko Atezuiryo," Kiki groaned under her breath. She did not want to be on a team with Sakura, the pink haired girl hated her. Sasuke was just too broody for her liking, sure his clan was slaughtered but that was two years ago, and he was cold before they died.
"And Naruto Uzumaki," finished Iruka. Naruto smiled at this. While he didn't like the idea of being on a team with Sasuke or Sakura, he was delighted to know that he was with his best friend, despite the fact he kept her at a distance.
Try as he might, he just could and would not completely push his best friend away. Instead, he just hung out with her less, and kept conversations simple and superficial. He even declined a majority of her requests to hang out, spar and the like.
"Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake," Iruka finished. The man then went on to list the other teams, which was Hinata, Shino, and Kiba under the tutelage of Kurenai, while Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru would be under the guidance of Asuma Sarutobi. Now all everyone had to do was wait for their respective sensei.
Soon, three jounin came into the room, all of which Naruto and Kiki recognized. However they did not see their sensei.
"Must be running a little late," Kiki stated as the last student left the room. The four sat down and waited, wondering what their sensei would be like. As time passed, the new team became a little disgruntle that after thirty minutes, their sensei was still late.
"Ok… this is getting annoying," muttered Naruto, shifting in his seat.
"Relax Naruto-baka, he'll be here soon enough," Sakura stated as she stared at Sasuke. Sasuke made no movement, but Naruto could feel the irritation in his soul's wavelengths.
The group waited some more and both Kiki and Naruto were becoming antsy, neither pleased at being kept waiting for TWO HOURS! The two had taken to messing with their weapons. Kiki was flipping her knives through her fingers, a murderous look in her eye. Naruto on the other hand was swinging his scythe in front of him a crazed grin and demented light in his eyes. Sasuke and Sakura were a little freaked, especially with what the two were muttering.
"Gonna stab him, stab him and cut him up real slow," whispered Kikioko, spinning the blade in her hand. "Make him bleed, torture him then heal him then cut him up again!"
"Chop, chop, chop," whispered Naruto, "Chop, chop, chop! Choppity, choppity, chop, chop!" he finished with a demented cackle.
"Hold me Sasuke-kun," Sakura mumbled as she huddled closer to the brooding teen. Sasuke said and did nothing; he was too busy making sure he kept quiet so his crazed teammates didn't attack him.
Soon the door opened and everyone froze as a silver haired man with gravity defying silver hair stepped into the room. He wore standard jounin garb and fingerless black glove with metal on the backs. However his right eye was covered by his headband and he wore a facemask that covered his mouth and nose.
He looked at the students then asked, "Team 7?" no sooner ad he finished then he had to dodge a scythe and several knives.
"DIE YOU BASTARD!"
"CHOOOOP! CHOP! CHOP!"
Jumping out of the way, he watched as the knives embedded in the wall while Naruto sliced the door in half vertically. Jumping again, he dodged the red head trying to stab him in the back. While in mid air, he twisted to avoid Naruto's scythe and landed on the ceiling in a crouch, out of reach of Naruto's scythe.
"My first impression is, I hate you guys," Kakashi stated lazily.
Sasuke and Sakura sweatdropped at him 'We're not the ones who tried to kill you'
"Meet me on the roof," Kakashi stated, disappearing in a poof of smoke just as several knives and Naruto's thrown scythe embedded themselves in the ceiling.
"dammit, he got away," muttered Kiki.
"Chooop," Naruto said dejectedly. Soon, the two gathered up their equipment and walked up with their teammates to the roof.
Once on the roof, they spotted their sensei leaning against the railing, his nose buried in an orange book. "Right then, why don't you guys have a seat so we can introduce ourselves?" he asked, snapping his book shut and tucking it away.
"How about you go first sensei? So we know what to say," Sakura suggested.
Kakashi sighed, "Fine, my name is Kakashi Hatake, I have no desire to tell you about my likes or dislikes, I have hobbies, and I have dreams for the future," he finished with an eye smile.
'All we learned was his name' Sakura thought annoyed. Kikioko and Naruto barely restrained themselves from another attempt at killing him.
"You're up pinky," Kakashi said to Sakura who was not fond of the new nickname.
Smiling she began speaking, "My name is Sakura Haruno, I like…" here she paused and looked at Sasuke with a blush, "I like a certain someone, and trivia games, my hobbies include…" here she glanced at Sasuke and giggled, "As for dreams for the future…" she looked at Sasuke and squealed.
"Any dislikes?" Kakashi asked, resisting the urge to face palm. 'Damn it, I hate fan girls'
"KIKIOKO AND NARUTO-BAKA!" Sakura declared loudly. Kiki sighed while Naruto winced at the volume.
"Riiight," Kakashi drawled while internally slamming his head against a wall, "How about you go next Miss Red," Kakashi asked while pointing at Kiki.
She smiled at the man, "My name is Kikioko Atezuiryo, I like my family, friends, Whiskers-kun," here she poked Naruto seated next to her who just chuckled in response, "I also like knife throwing, acrobatics and reading," she paused for a moment, "I don't have a lot of dislikes, except for ignorant people and those who don't think for themselves," here she sent a glance at Sakura, who was glaring at her, she wasn't oblivious to Kiki's jabs. "For hobbies? I suppose practicing with my knives," she shrugged, "as for my dream…" here she glanced at Naruto, a light pink dusting her cheeks, "Have a family with my true love and learn about my own heritage," she finished with a grin.
'Huh, a little odd but not a fangirl, but I bet she has a crush on Naruto' Kakashi mused.'Speaking of the orange devil' "So how about you go next Whiskers?" Kakashi asked with an eye smile.
Naruto rolled his eyes but smiled, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen, my friends, sensei and," he stopped himself. He was about to say Kiki-chan, but he remembered his deal with Kyuubi. "and training," he said with a smile. He missed the disappointed and hurt look that flashed across Kiki's face, but Kakashi didn't.
"I dislike how long it takes to cook ramen and ignorant people. My dream for the future is to be recognized as me," he said with conviction, "As for hobbies… pranks I guess, but I don't really do them anymore," he finished with a sad sigh.
Kakashi frowned, 'Something is eating at him, this could interfere with the team' he nodded before pointing to Sasuke. "Now you," he chirped.
Sasuke grunted at that, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I like very few things and dislike too many things to list, my only hobby is training and I don't have a dream but an ambition, to revive my clan," here his eyes narrowed, "and to kill a certain man,"
His words were met with various reactions from his new team. Naruto gave him a wary glance, mostly because he could feel the brooder's wavelength practically bursting with hatred and turmoil. It disturbed him. Kiki merely glanced at him before shifting closer to Naruto. While she would never admit it, Sasuke unsettled her ever since the massacre. Sakura looked at him with adoration of course while Kakashi had an unreadable expression.
"Right well, then I want all of you to meet me at training ground 7 at 6 a.m tomorrow, we're going to have our first mission as a team," stated the one eyed man.
"Really? What mission?" asked Naruto in excitement.
"Survival training!" Kakashi announced happily, this caused all four members to faceplant.
"Survival training? But sensei, we did that back in the academy!" Sakura protested.
"Ah, but this time I'll be your opponent, and this mission will determine if you stay genin," Kakashi replied, delighting in the shocked looks that came over their faces.
"What do you mean by that? Didn't we already pass the exam?" asked Kiki, head tilted to the side and finger on her chin.
Kakashi merely eye smiled, "What you passed was a test to see who had the potential to become genin, this one decides whether you stay genin or not and it's fail rate is pretty high," he replied lazily.
"How high?" asked Naruto, curious as to what their chances were.
Kakashi's eye smile seemed to grow even bigger as he replied, "you have a thirty three percent chance of passing, the rest is being sent back to the academy for more training," Kakashi nearly cackled. The children all had gob smacked expressions on their faces, too stunned to reply.
Kakashi laughed to himself, "Anyway, meet tomorrow at 6 a.m and you might not want to eat breakfast,"
"Eh? Why wouldn't we eat breakfast?" Naruto demanded.
"Because you might puke," Kakashi replied before disappearing in a poof of smoke. The genin sat there in silence, not exactly sure what to do or say as a stray wind blew a leaf through the air.
Grunting, Sasuke got up and began walking away, soon followed by Sakura who pestered him for dates. Naruto and Kiki watched them go, both wondering when Sasuke would give her the slip.
"Twenty ryo says he does it as soon as he leaves the building," Kiki stated, breaking the silence.
"I bet he ditches her before they even leave the building," Naruto replied with a grin. The two had taken to making bets on when Sasuke would finally ditch his fangirls. Most of the time Naruto won, the blonde had some damn good luck when it came to gambling.
Laughing the girl looked at Naruto, "So, you want to go grab some Ichiraku's? I hear they have a new flavor." Kiki suggested, adding the new flavor to tempt the boy into coming.
Naruto chuckled nervously at that, "Well I'd love to but I got to get home and prepare you know? This test promises to be har and I figure if I eat a big enough dinner, I won't be hungry in the morning! Later Kiki!" Without another word the blonde took off over the rooftops. As he left, Kikioko let the hurt feeling show on her face as sadness slowly clenched her heart.
Sighing, the young woman reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a photo, slightly worn from age. It showed her and Naruto, both at the age of eight. The both of them had fallen asleep against one of the petrified trees of the Boneyard after a hard lesson from Echo. Naruto was slumped against the tree, head forward and his arms wrapped around the waist of a sleeping Kiki, who was using his body as a makeshift pillow, her hands tightly gripping the fabric of Naruto's shirt as she was curled up in the blonde's lap. There was a heart shape going around the two, drawn by Kiki herself.
Tears slowly fell rom her eyes as she looked at the photo. 'What happened between us?' she wondered. 'Did I do something wrong? Why haveyou pulled away from me?' she asked. The girl merely sighed and slowly walked towards her home, wondering why her best friend, and crush, refused to interact with her like they used to.
Next morning, Training ground 7
Sakura slowly stumbled into the clearing that was training ground seven. She barely registered the three posts near a black stone as she walked, with zombie like movement to where Sasuke was seated in the shade of a tree. Eventually, the pink haired girl made it and slammed into the ground, too exhausted and hungry to move. Sasuke was little better off.
'Why did he have us come at this hour? This training will kill us! I can only wonder how Kiki and Naruto are taking it' thought the Haruno. That was when she heard a strange sound and she could ofsworn she was going crazy, but Sasuke's question confirmed it.
"Is that singing?" he asked in disbelief.
Sure enpugh, walking into the clearing singing happily was Kikioko Atezuiryo, though the song she sang was nothing that Sasuke or Sakura had heard before.
"Walk with me into the nether
Twist and turn with me forever
All you know is no more
All is gone, but do not fear
For I shall always be here
To twist and turn through the nether
Twist with me, forever and ever"
Sakura and Sasuke were a little creeped out by it, but they were entranced with it nonetheless. Especially since Kiki had quite a beautiful voice. Imagine their surprise when she walked into the clearing, singing and looking bright and cheery as ever.
"Ohayo!" she sang as she approached the two tired teens. "Whats up you guys?" she asked, stopping in front of them.
They stared at her before Sakura yelled, "HOW ARE YO SO BRIGHT AND CHEERY? IT'S 6 A.M!"
Kiki just shrugged. "Peggy cooked a big feast last night and I went to bed early," she replied happily. The two teens sat there, before hanging their heads in shame. The two smartest kids in their grade didn't think of that, but Kiki did? At least she was pretty smart, it's not like Naruto thought of it.
Speaking of Naruto, "Oi, where's the dobe?" Sasuke asked. Before Kiki could reply, Naruto appeared hanging upside down from the tree the three were at. He was gripping his scythe pole while the blade was wedged into the branch.
"BOO!" he shouted, causing Sakura to scream while Sasuke nearly jumped into the tree himself if he hadn't recognized the blonde. Kiki merely smiled and laughed with the blonde at their teammate's reactions.
When Sakura got a hold of herself, she got angry, "You BAKA!" she screamed, slamming a fist into his face. The blonde was launched from his post, scythe and branch going with him and landing in a heap.
"Ow…" moaned the blonde before jumping up and laughing, "Glad to see you guys are awake," he grinned, just as bright and happy as Kikioko. Seeing their haggard looks and hearing the faint gurgle of a hungry stomach the blonde frowned, "How come you guys are so hungry and tired?"
"Because it's early and we didn't eat anything for breakfast! Why aren't you?" Sakura demanded. The blonde blinked then grinned.
"I pigged out on a ton of food last night! Then Fredrick-jiji got mad at me for making a mess and knocked me out with a frying pan, it hurt but now I'm prepared and alert enough to ace this test, ttebayo!"
Sasuke and Sakura stared at the two before sighing and dropping to the ground in defeat. Even the supposed dead last of their class had thought of this?
Naruto looked at Kiki questioningly, but she just shrugged and the two trudged over to the training posts to wait for their sensei, conversing about this and that as they went.
Sakura watched with a little envy at how easily the two got along, but she also noticed how they didn't act as close as they used to. If this had been the Naruto and Kiki from three years ago, before that stormy day, where their sensei Mizuki had gone missing and Naruto and Kiki admitted to the hospital. Kiki came back two days later, Naruto three days later. She didn't know what changed but Sakura knew that if this was the old Naruto and Kiki, they'd be laughing much louder and Naruto would have slung an arm around her shoulder or Kiki would have hugged the boy as soon as she saw him.
She'd have to talk to Ino about this. If anyone would know anything, it would be her, the Mistress of Gossip.
9:00 A.M
It had been three hours since Kakashi was supposed to arrive and the entire team was thoroughly annoyed, none more so than Kiki and Naruto. At the moment, Naruto had taken to sharpening his scythe, chanting under his breath.
"Sharpen, sharpen, sharpen my blade," he muttered, "Deeper, deeper, deeper it will cut!" He cackled, repeating the mantra as he sharpened it.
Kikioko had taken to tying a Kakashi dummy to the middle post and was throwing knives at it, all while muttering on how she was going to punish her sensei, "Cut his tendons then drag him across broken glass? No, make him Seamore's new chewtoy? No, maybe take a curling iron and…" Sasuke and Sakura were trying not to listen to them.
A poof of smoke appeared in the middle of the clearing, and when it cleared there stood a happily smiling Kakashi, "Yo!" he greeted
"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura screamed in fury. Kiki and Naruto were just staring at him intently, barely restraining from attacking him.
"Sorry, but I got lost on the road of life and a little old lady needed help crossing the street," he replied.
"LIES!" Sakura screeched. Before she could chew him out, Kakashi had set a timer on the middle stump, not seeming to notice the pincushion plushie of himself tied to it. Placing the timer down, he also put two bento boxes on the stump. As his students watched, the man pulled two bells from his pocket and jingled tem in front of his students.
"Right then, your mission is to get these two bells from me," Kakashi stated, "Whoever doesn't get a bell will be tied to one of these stumps and forced to watch as I eat my lunch in front of you," he said happily.
'So that's why he told us not to eat' thought the four students, two of them more negatively than the others. Sakura then narrowed her eyes and said, "But sensei, there are only two bells!" she exclaimed.
Kakashi nodded, "Very observant Sakura, this means that at least two of you will fail and be forced to watch me eat lunch and," here his tone became serious, "At least two of you will be sent back to the academy," this caused the students to tense up. None of them wanted to turn back, each for their own reasons, be it in pursuit of a dream, love, revenge or simply not wanting to.
"You must get a bell before the timer goes off, and if you want one, you'll have to come at me with the intent to kill," he said seriously. "Your test begins… now!" commanded the man, immediately, Sakura and Sasuke leapt out of sight and into the surrounding trees and bushes. Kikioko and Naruto however, remained where they were. Kakashi raised a brow, "You two realize the test has started right?" he asked.
Naruto and Kiki just gave vicious grins and said in perfect unison, "Oh we know,"
Kakashi stared at them, "Compared to the other two, you guys are a little…odd," he finished.
"Being normal is boring," Kiki stated.
"Besides, if you're anywhere near as good as Echo-sensei, then hiding from you is a waste of time," Naruto added, holding his scythe in front of him while Kiki drew two kunai.
Kakashi shrugged and reached for his weapon pouch. Thinking he was reaching for a weapon, Naruto and Kiki, readied to dodge or deflect. However, Kakashi simply drew his orange book and began reading. Naruto and Kiki glared at the man.
"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto demanded.
"Reading," he answered.
"He means why are you reading you jackass!" Kikioko spat, now thoroughly annoyed with the white haired man.
"Ma, ma, no need for hurtful words," Kakashi reprimanded lightly, "I'm reading to find out what happens next, besides, it's not like it'll change anything if I'm reading or not," declared the man, giggling as he read a certain paragraph.
Killing intent flooded the area as Kiki and Naruto screamed, "Don't underestimate us!" with that the two rushed the man, Naruto raising his scythe, to cut through the man's book while Kiki threw her kunai at the man, aiming for his head. Kakashi merely caught the weapon by the pole before it could do any damage and leaned his body out of the way of the weapons.
"Lesson one, taijutsu," Kakashi stated calmly before kicking Naruto away. "The art of hand to hand combat, or in this case, close quarters combat,"
Naruto growled and swung his scythe again, making full use of his long weapon. Kakashi merely jumped over it, but while in the air, Kiki attempted to strike him down with her throwing knives. The jounin merely drew a kunai and blocked the weapons.
However when he landed, Naruto was there, attempting to cut him down, slashing diagonally. Kakashi merely raised his kunai to block the blade, but had to quickly jump away when the kunai did nothing to stop the razor sharp black blade. He had little time to recover because Kiki was once again on him, this time in close range trying to slash him across the chest. When he simply leaned back, she used her momentum to bring her leg up in a round kick to his face.
Kakashi grabbed it but had to release when Naruto appeared from above.
Kakashi jumped back and saw that Naruto's weapon had changed. Somehow, the blade was now coming straight out of the top, like a spear.
"Ha! You lose sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi raised a brow and stared at him.
"You do realize you still don't have a bell, right?" Kakashi pointed out.
"True, but look at your hands," Kiki grinned. Glancing down, the jounin was confused.
'What is she talking about, there's nothing wrong with my hands' he thought staring at his empty gloved palms. Wait… EMPTY? Franticly the man looked up and to his horror saw his precious Icha Icha, speared through the spine by Naruto's scythe.
"We win sensei, you said you could beat us just as easily with the book, as without. Seems you were wrong, dattebayo," Naruto said smugly as Kiki grinned behind him. Yanking the book free, the blonde read a few pages before his face turned red and he quickly threw it to Kiki. Curious she read it.
There were a few seconds of silence, then, she screamed in fury and horror, "HENTAI!" With fury, the girl shredded the book with her knives before stomping it into the dirt and setting fire to it with a low-level fire jutsu.
Kakashi stared in horror for a few seconds before he saw red. Releasing killing intent of unimaginable levels, the man pointed at the now scared genin, "You…" he ground out, "You'll pay for destroying my precious!" with that he flew at them with speed neither genin could follow.
"Shit!" Naruto exclaimed, before either could do anything, Kiki was kicked harshly in the side and sent crashing into a tree. Eyes widening the blonde roared and swung his scythe at the man. "BASTARD!"
However the man was already gone and appeared behind Naruto, crouched and his hands clasped in the tora handsign.
From her hiding place, Sakura gasped as she saw it, 'That handsign is used for powerful fire jutsu!' "Naruto! Watch out!" she screamed.
"Huh?" Naruto asked stupidly. Unfortunately it was too late.
"Sennen Goroshi!" yelled Kakashi, and with that declaration, the jounin shoved both of his fingers up Naruto's ass. There was a pause then…
"AAAGGGG!" Naruto screamed and flew through the air, his hands clasping his bottom as he landed in the nearby river.
"That's for my Icha! Now stay down!" Kakashi yelled as he vanished into the surrounding foliage.
After witnessing that attack, Sakura didn't know if she should be terrified, disgusted or embarrassed, but she did know that she had to find Sasuke. If Naruto and Kikioko couldn't take him on, then she had no chance on her own and neither did Sasuke. 'Maybe I should go and see if Kikioko and Naruto-baka are ok' she mused as she quietly crept through the forest in search of her crush. "Are you kidding? Those two are either dead or out cold! Best bet is to find Sasuke-kun and team up against that bastard! Let the baka and freak get sent back to the academy, we have to get those bells so we can finally win over Sasuke! Shannaro!" declared her inner. She nodded to herself.
Hearing a twig snap, the girl whirled around, kunai raised and in a defensive position. "Come out! I know you're there Kakashi-sensei!" she called. Out from the bushes ran a squirrel and Sakura sighed in relief. "Just a squirrel," she muttered before frowning, "But I could of sworn I felt sensei's chakra," she muttered.
"And you would be right," said a voice behind her. Whirling around, Sakura came face to face with Kakashi. "Yo," he greeted before making a snake then rat handseal, "Magen: Narakumi no jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)"
Leaves swirled around Sakura as her sensei disappeared. At first, she was confused, but thanks to the extra years in the academy, she was able to tell she was caught in a genjutsu. Frowning, she shut her eyes and closed off her senses so the illusion wouldn't affect her, "KAI!" she yelled, spiking her chakra and dispelling the illusion.
Slowly she opened her eyes, and smiled at seeing she was in the same clearing, and her sensei gone. "Wha? Where did Kakashi go?" she muttered to herself.
"Here!" before she could react, Kakashi had chopped the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious.
"Well, at least she has some talent," Kakashi mused as he jumped away in search of Sasuke, "I honestly expected her to be crashing through the forest and screaming out Sasuke's name, then falling for the genjutsu like any other fangirl," he shrugged, "Guess the extra years help, wonder how the rookie of the year does,"
With that, the man landed in a clearing to see Sasuke already waiting for him, "You do realize Kiki-chan and Naruto-kun already tried this right?"
"I'm not like them," Sasuke stated. Immediately, he threw several shuriken at the man, Kakashi dodged easily but was surprised when one of the stars sliced through a hidden wire, causing a veritable wall of kunai to be thrown at him. He dodged once more, but had little time to recover as Sasuke tried to jump kick him from the left with his family taijutsu.
The white haired man grabbed his ankle with his right hand. Twisting, Sasuke launched a punch with his left which again Kakashi blocked. However he pushed him away when he heard the jingle of a bell. 'So he was just trying to grab a bell, not land a hit, very nice' Kakashi thought before widening his one visible eye at the hand signs Sasuke was doing. 'No way! He already learned that jutsu?'
Inhaling, Sasuke put his right thumb and index finger in front of his mouth in the shape of a ring, "Katon! Gokakyu no Jutsu!(Fire release! Great Fireball Jutsu!)" Sasuke yelled before exhaling a large fireball at his teacher. When it cleared, the last Uchiha was not surprised to find his sensei had vanished. "Damn it! Where will he attack from next? Behind? From the side? Above?"
"Below!" came Kakashi's muffled response as two hands emerged from the earth, latching onto Sasuke's ankles, "Doton: Shnju Zanshu no Jutsu!(Earth release: Headhunter Jutsu!)" declared Kakashi's voice as Sasuke was dragged into the ground, only leaving his head visible. Growling, the self-proclaimed avenger tried to get out but found it impossible to break free.
"Not bad Sasuke," Kakashi stated as he crouched in front of the teenager, "But you still don't have a bell, and Naruto and Kiki could have gotten one if that had been their focus," Kakashi sighed before standing up, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to go, ja ne!" with that, the man shushined back to the clearing where he had started the test.
Sasuke seethed as he tried to break out, but found out he was well and truly stuck. Sighing, the boy closed his eyes and began to think when a certain voice broke him out of his thoughts.
"Oi! Teme, you alive?"
Sasuke opened his eyes to see his teammates surrounding him. Naruto was crouched in front of him with a grin, while Kiki smiled cutely at him and gave him a tiny wave. Sakura was behind her and seconds from a panic attack it seemed.
"What do you want dobe?" Sasuke asked in annoyance.
"Hey! That's no way to be talking to someone who is trying to help you ya jerk!" Naruto shot back with a frown.
"Sasuke-kun's not a jerk you baka! Just get him out of there!" Sakura shouted. Grumbling, the blonde began digging and soon had the brooder free of the earth. Grunting his thanks the boy made to leap off, but was stopped when Naruto grabbed his arm.
"Where the heck are you going?" he asked.
"What do you think? I need that bell to pass so I'm going to get one," huffed the black haired boy.
Kiki raised a brow, "And you expect to that yourself? Not uh, Scarecrow-sensei is way too strong to take on alone, me and Naruto had a tough time just trying to destroy his book,"
"The jerk nearly drowned me for it too! Who the hell shoves their fingers up another person's ass anyway? It's just gross, ttebayo!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I don't care," Sasuke deadpanned, "I touched the bell last time, I'll get it for sure this time," he stated.
Kiki rolled her eyes, "Well how about we help anyway? You know, just in case?" she suggested.
"And have you take the bells for yourselves? I don't think so," Sasuke stated. Naruto face palmed at that.
"Oh just shut up! Look, you can have a bell if you want one so damn bad! I just want that scarecrow to lose to at least one of us!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke just grunted.
Kiki sighed, "Look I'm of the same opinion as Whiskers-kun is, you and Sakura can have the bells if it makes you feel better," she stated.
"Please Sasuke-kun? You're guaranteed a bell!" Sakura pleaded.
Sasuke stared at them with narrowed eyes, before he could reply though, a loud ringing sound was heard from the main clearing. In a poof of smoke, Kakashi appeared behind his students, "Well, times up and nobody has a bell, why don't we go back to the clearing and find out why we all failed, hm?"
Back at the clearing
"Ok, I can kind of understand why Sakura is tied to the stump, but why is Kiki also tied to one?" Naruto asked in confusion as he and Sasuke sat at the base of them, bento boxes in their hands.
"She destroyed my Icha Icha," Kakashi said simply.
"That book is nothing but smut! You're just a one eyed pervert, you stupid scarecrow!" Kiki shot back, not at all liking being tied up. 'Well, maybe if it was Naruto-kun and- NO! Bad Kiki! Bad!' she shook her head furiously, the prongs of her jester hat whipping furiously through the air.
"Either way, I've decided not to fail you guys," Kakashi smiled. The genin looked hopeful, "In fact, you guys should just give up being shinobi all together," he said harshly.
"What?" they cried, disbelief and anger on their faces.
Kakashi merely shook his head, "All of you missed the point of this exercise except for Naruto and Kikioko," he began calmly.
"What? Neither of them even came close to a bell!" Sasuke stated in anger.
"Because neither of them were going for one," Kakashi said, "All of you failed for your own reasons,"
"Naruto and Kikioko," he began, catching their attention, "You let your anger and annoyance get the best of you and therefore lost sight of the mission objective, if you had gone after the bells from the start, you'd have gotten one," he stated seriously. The two merely looked away in embarrassment. Echo had constantly told them to think before acting and to control and channel their emotions in battle.
"Sakura," Kakashi spoke, catching her attention, "You did nothing to help Naruto or Kiki when they attacked, nor when they got injured. Both of them could have died or been seriously wounded, yet you left in search of Sasuke," Sakura looked ashamed and even her inner had nothing to say because the cold truth hurt.
"And Sasuke," the brooder merely narrowed his eyes, "You did nothing to help any of your teammates and went off on your own from the very start," he stated, "while your individual skill is impressive, you would have been killed had this been a real mission and I a real enemy," the Uchiha's scowl deepend, "You also rushed in already thinking your allies would be nothing but burdens and even when they came to help, you still thought them useless," Kakashi frowned, "You completely missed the point of this exercise," he finished.
Sasuke growled and lunged at his sensei, kunai in hand, before he could do anything however, Kakashi had him pinned on the ground, his arm that was wielding the kunai held behind his back and the weapon at the back of his skull.
"This is what I mean," Kakashi said frowning, "If you don't think before rushing into things, you will surely fail, and your teammates lives may be in danger as well, for example, Naruto!" the blonde looked up with wide eyes, "Kill Kiki and Sakura or Sasuke dies!" he ordered, The blonde just sat there, stunned at the order.
"Now, who can tell me why you were split into teams? Ask yourself why would they split you into teams, only to have a portion of it fail? Why would there only be two bells, when at least three of you would have to work together to beat me?" he asked.
Sakura immediately knew the answer, "This was a test of teamwork," she said slowly. "This was to test if we had what it took to work together, even if it meant one of us dying," she finished. Realization soon shone in both Kiki's and Narto's eyes as well as Sasuke's.
Getting off him, the jounin walked over to the black stone and said, "This stone is dedicated to the heroes of this village, the men and women who gave their lives to protect their home, friends, and family," he paused and rested a hand on the black marble surface, "Many of my dearest friends are on this stone, and one of them taught me a rule I'll never forget,"
He turned to face his students, his one visible eye brimming with seriousness, "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends, are worse than scum," he said sagely. His words struck deep, none more deeper then Naruto.
'He's right… Am I worse than scum for pushing my friends away? Goza, Echo, Hinata, Shikamaru, Jiji… Kiki-chan?' thought Naruto.
"You're not scum Naru-kun, you're not abandoning them, just making it so they won't get hurt because of you," Kyuubi whispered softly to her container.
She was met with silence as Naruto contemplated his vow. He didn't notice when Kakashi walked up to them again, but he did snap out of his internal conflict when he heard him sigh and speak again, "Ok, I'll give you guys one more chance," he stated, much to the joy and delight of his students, "BUT!" here he held up a finger, "Neither of you are to feed Sakura or Kiki, if you do, I'll kick you out of the program for good! Got it?" he asked. The boys nodded and soon their teacher was gone.
Sasuke started eating his lunch, ignoring the gurgled cries of hunger that emitted from both girls' bellies. Naruto however, was staring hard at his food, then, he stood up, bento in hand and walked up to the starving red head.
"Hm? Naruto-kun what are you doing?" asked the black dressed girl. Se was surprised when the blonde merely held up a chopstick full of rice.
"Eat up Kiki-chan, I know you're starving," he said brightly. Kiki looked at him, not believing her ears. After three long years, he was calling her chan again! And he was offering to feed her! The girl's heart filled with joy as a red blush overcame her face.
"Dobe, what the hell are you doing?" Sasuke demanded. Sakura was also looking at him as if he was crazy.
"We'll fail if you feed us!" Sakura hissed.
Naruto merely frowned, "I don't care, I'm not about to stuff my face while you and Kiki-chan starve! Besides, you'll guys be tired and unfit for the retest if you're starving!" he explained. He turned his head back to Kikioko and smiled brightly, "Open up Kiki-chan!" he ordered happily.
The girl, blushed an even deeper red, but opened her mouth and happily accepted the food offered to her. Sasuke stared at them before sighing and standing in front of Sakura, his chopsticks full of rice, "Come on, lets get this over with," he sighed. Sakura just stared before a giant grin came over her face nd she eagerly opened her mouth, enjoying the fact that Sasuke was feeding her.
'Sasuke-kun is feeding me!' she thought joyously 'Ino-pig and the others will be sooo jealous!' "Hell yeah! The power of true love prevails!" shouted her inner.
However, they were interrupted when Kakashi appeared in a poof of smoke, followed by a darkening sky and the boom of thunder. His lone eye was filled with fury as he pointed a finger at the genin, "You broke the rules!" he thundered, lightning flashing across the sky behind him as howling winds stirred the air, "Do you know what this means for you?" he asked in a rage.
Naruto merely stood in front of Kiki protectively while Sasuke took out a kunai and quickly freed the two girls, ready to fight if they had to. The group tensed as their sensei seemed to summon the power of nature itself to destroy them. "YOU ALL!" he yelled.
Sakura closed her eyes and hid behind Sasuke as he looked with fear at his sensei. Kiki quickly grabbed Naruto, who held her protectively and lifted his scythe in preparation.
"Pass," Kakashi said happily, the terrifying weather disappearing.
They looked at him blankly and Sakura shakily asked, "W-What?"
"You, all of you, pass," he said simply. They stared at him and once again Sakura spoke up, "But we broke the rules," she said in confusion.
Kakashi nodded, "True, you did, but don't you remember what I said?" asked Kakashi.
Naruto slowly spoke, "Those who break the rules are scum, but, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum?'' he asked warily. He smiled when his sensei nodded in response.
"Correct, in Konoha, while the mission is important, your comrades are much more important," he stated. "So, starting tomorrow, Team 7 is on active duty!" he exclaimed, giving a thumbs up to the group who exploded into cheers.
Later at the hokage tower
"Right then," Sarutobi said loudly over the milling group of jounin sensei who had come to report their team's as passing or failing. In attendance was all the jounin sensei, wthe council plus the hokage, and Echo. They were in the council room since it was the only place big enough to house this many people. "Jounin, please report," the hokage stated. Fredrick held up a scroll, ready to record the results.
"Team 1 fails, they're good, but not ready," stated a jounin.
"Team 2 needs more training," said another.
"Team 3, fail," said a kunoichi.
"Team 4 missed the point entirely, too much brawn, no brain," commented another shinobi.
"Team 5 fails as well,"
"Team 6, fail,"
Sarutobi looked up when he didn't hear Kakashi and sighed, "Since Kakashi isn't here yet, Team 8?"
Kurenai smiled, "They pass with flying colors," she stated. Hiashi merely inclined his head while Shibiclapped politely along with the others. Tsume gave a loud congratulation.
"Team 9 is still in circulation, so team 10?" Fredrick asked politely.
Asuma smiled lazily, "The newest generation of Ino-Shik-Cho pass with flying colors," he said. The last generation merely smiled in pride, knowing their children would do well. Not seconds after the announcement, a poof of smoke heralded the arrival of Kakashi Hatake.
"Yo," he greeted, "Sorry I was late but I had to buy a new copy of Icha Icha," he stated happily. The gathered people stared at him. New Icha Icha? There weren't any new novels.
"And why would you need a new one Hatake-kun?" Goza asked. They'd met when Goza revealed he sold every copy of the series along with other similar products. Kakashi was a bit of regular customer in both weapons and literary smut at his shop.
"Because your daughter and Naruto destroyed my old one," he said mournfully. No one would have believed him if it weren't for his sad tone.
Goza just laughed at that while Echo merely raised a brow and scratched his head. ""Riiight, I know I'm not really part of the council, but could you just tell us Team 7's results?" he asked. Kakashi nodded.
"Team 7" he paused then eye smiled, "Passed," he declared, shocking many of the people in the room. Kakashi never passed anyone! This Team 7 must be good!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said a jounin, "Kakashi actually passed a team? Who the hell is on that team?" he demanded, murmurs of agreement spreading through the group.
Hiruzen merely smiled and waved his hand for silence, "Team 7 consists of Naruto Uzumaki, Kikioko Atezuiryo, and Sakura Haruno," he declared proudly. There were more murmurs. A four man team? Composed of the last loyal Uchiha, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, the only passing civilian child and the mysterious daughter of Goza?
Team 7 promised to be quite the interesting group!
A/N: Done! Wow this one is 42 pages and over 11,000 words! Jeez… Huh you ever notice how I always post these at like 2 A.M? Oh well, be sure to review! Till next time!