3. Survival Training: Part 2!
Akane let out a sigh of annoyances when she felt Sakura chakra moving away from the clearing meaning that she was looking for Sasuke.
…...
'Sasuke where are you?' Sakura thought was she moved through the forest. 'Don't tell me that Kakashi-sensei found. No! He can't capture my Sasuke. I won't let him.' Sakura dropped to her knees when she saw Kakashi standing there reading his book. 'He didn't hear me. I'm safe.'
"Sakura behind you," Kakashi whispered in her ear.
Sakura looked behind her before screaming.
…...
Akane let out a sigh as she tried to think about what she knew when it come to the bell test so she could remember the hidden meaning behind it.
…...
Kakashi sat in a tree reading his book. "I think I over did it a bit, but she's got to see through these things."
'That sound like Sakura,' Sasuke thought as he looked where the scream came from.
"Shinobi battle technique #2": Genjutsu; the illusion jutsu," Kakashi said as he turned a page. "Sakura studied it in class and yet she didn't see it coming."
'Genjutsu; It's just a simple mind control,' Sasuke thought, 'I'm not surprised he got, Sakura, with it, but…' "I'm not like, Sakura or Naruto."
"Say that after you get one of these bells," Kakashi told him as he pushed off a tree. "My Sasuke. *Laugh*" Kakashi dodged kunai and shuriken that Sasuke threw at him. "There's no point in using normal attacks." Sasuke smirked before throwing a kunai at a robe. "A trap?" Kakashi dodged it to only block Sasuke's punched with his hand then he blocked a kick followed by an another kick. "What?" Kakashi's eyes widen when Sasuke reached for a bell just barely touching one when Kakashi jumped back. 'This kid. He's fierce. I won't be able to read make out paradise now.'
…...
Akane ran up to Sakura who was out cold making look at her with a raised eyebrow, but she bended down and gently shook Sakura awake.
"Sakura," Akane called, "get up."
"Wh…What happened?" Sakura asked.
"I was hopping you would tell me," Akane said.
Sakura eyes widen when she remember seeing Sasuke on the verge of death. 'Huh? Sasuke…I saw him. He was on the verge…No!' She stood up. "Sasuke no! You got to survive! Please! Where are you?"
"Um…Sakura," Akane said a little bit unsure if she was ok or not.
Sakura looked over at her surprised to see her. "Where did you come from?"
"I've been here for awhile now," Akane said with annoyances.
"Well, I got to find Sasuke," Sakura stated before she ran away from Akane.
'I well never understand that girl,' Akane thought before she let out a sigh.
…...
Kakashi looked at Sasuke, "Well you are different from the other two I'll grant you that."
Sasuke smirked as he started to do hands sighs, 'Horse, Tiger.' Sasuke lend back. 'Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!'
"What?" Kakashi said in surprise as Sasuke lend back. "Genin can't do fire jutsu! It takes to mush charka! There's just no way!"
Sasuke proved Kakashi wrong with he blew a fireball at him. When the fire died down Sasuke was surprised to see that Kakashi wasn't there.
'Where did he go?' Sasuke thought was he looked around. 'Behind me, above.'
"Where?" Kakashi asked as his hand shot out of the ground and grabbed Sasuke around his ankle. "Where you least expect me."
Sasuke screamed out in surprise as Kakashi pulled him into the ground to where only his head was sticking out.
"Right under your feet," Kakashi told him, "Earth style: Head hunter jutsu." Sasuke tried move to only be unable to. "Can't move uh…? That was the third shinobi battle technique. You have talent and your right…you are different from the others, but different isn't always better." Kakashi turned around opening up his book. "They say the nail that sticks up is the one that get's hammered down."
…...
Sasuke looked around trying to look for a way out. 'He's stronger then I am. I can't around that."
Sasuke looked when Sakura ran out of the bushes and stopped to see Sasuke looking at her from the ground. Sakura stares then almost falls back, but was able to catch herself and stares again.
"Sakura?" Sasuke asked.
That did it for Sakura because she freaked out, "AH! SASUKE A HEAD WITHOUT A BODY AND HE'S TAKING"
Sakura for a second time that day faints.
"And that's my partner," Sasuke said with disbelief.
Akane then walked out of the woods to see Sakura out cold again and Sasuke sticking out of the ground that stared at her as she stared at him when a big ass grin spread across her face.
"Your not going to faint as well are you?" Sasuke asked her.
To answer his question Akane busted out laughing catching Sasuke off guard because he had never heard her laugh as long as he knew her and now that he has he thought that her laugh sounded like wind chimes making him blush. Once Akane finally calmed down she walked over to Sasuke with a smile and a hand on her hip. Akane stopped a few feet from him and started to do hand sighs before slamming her hand down on the ground.
"EARTH STYLE: EARTH RELEASE!" she yelled.
Sasuke felt the ground around him loosen making it easy for him to get out of it. Once Sasuke was no longer in the ground Akane stood up and looked at him.
"Oh by the way thanks," Sasuke thanked as he walked over to Sakura.
Akane watched him walk over to Sakura as an anger mark popped on her forehead, but she then let out a sigh before walking off.
…...
Akane ran through the forest looking for Kakashi when she heard a sound above her and without looking she moved out of the way when kunais landed right where she was not to long ago. Akane looked around and when looked to her left she saw Kakashi walking towards reading his book.
"I see you decided to come out of hiding, Akane," he told her.
"Kakashi-baka, you should know me by now," Akane stated.
Akane jumped up and threw the kunais at Kakashi who dodge and the fight went on fore a bit longer, but before Akane could get a bell the alarm went off in the distance making Kakashi to smile at her.
"Better luck next time," Kakashi told her before he take off.
Akane let out a growl before she head for the meeting spot.
…...
When Akane walked up she saw Naruto tied to a tree stump while Sakura and Sasuke sat on either side. Once she reached them everyone looked over at her. Akane stuck out her tongue with an eye closed before she sat next to Sasuke when her team's stomachs growled.
"Stomachs growling uh?" Kakashi asked, "that's too bad. Oh by the way about this exercise, well, I've decided no the send any of you back to academy."
"What I passed?" Sakura asked, "all I did was faint and fall over. Do you get points for that?"
'He's up to something,' Kitsune thought as she looked at Kakashi.
Sakura to dance with joy while Sasuke smirked and Naruto looked happy though Akane was anything, but happy.
"Then that mean us four…"
"Yes you four are being dropped from the program," Kakashi stated, "permanently."
"Drop us from the program?!" Naruto yelled, "that means that we can never become ninjas?! You said that if we couldn't take that bells we would be sent back to the academy. You can't just change you mind and kick us out!"
"You four think like kids…like brats." This made Sasuke run at him, but Kakashi ended up sitting on top of him. "You think it's all about you."
"Let go of Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, "you can't step on him like he's some bug!"
"You don't know what it means to be a ninja," Kakashi told them ignoring Sakura, "you think it's a game, uh? Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you even consider that for one moment?"
"I-I don't know what you mean," Sakura answered.
"I mean you never once realized what this exercise was all about," Kakashi stated, "not even close."
"What it's about?" Naruto asked, "I thought this was just about getting the bells?"
"Yes," Kakashi answered, "that's what determined whether you pass or fail."
"But that…I mean I wanted to ask you about that from the beginning," Sakura said. "Use your head," Kakashi told them, "why did we put 3 or in this case 4 people on a squad. Why do you think we would do that?"
"Ah!" Naruto yelled, "how are we suppose to know why you pick three or four people?! We didn't make the rules!"
"It's the most basic thing," Kakashi told them, "teamwork!"
Akane groaned before she smacked her face in disbelief of this. Kakashi looked over at her with a disappointed look that she forget the meaning.
"Just working together is that what you mean?" Sakura asked.
"That's what I mean," Kakashi answered, "it's too late now, but if all four of you had come at me then you might have been able to take a bell. Well anyway it's over."
"But you sit it up with four people and only three bells," Sakura pointed out, "if we worked together and got the bells then only three of us could keep them and that would lead to group conflict and the squad will break up."
"Exactly," Kakashi agreed with her, "I purposely pitted you against each other."
"What?!" Naruto yelled in shock.
"I wanted to see if you could overcome that and put the squad ahead of yourselves," Kakashi continued, "a Genin should have a natural feel for teamwork, but you…it never even crossed you minds. Sakura, you obsessed about Sasuke who was gone while Naruto was right in front of you and you didn't even lift a finger to help him. Naruto, you do everything on your own…everything, and you, Sasuke, you felt that Naruto and Sakura were so far beneath you, you thought that they were worthless. And Akane, you should have known the meaning for this excise after how many times your Mother all, but drilled it into your mind plus you're already at Chunin level if you wanted you could be a Chunin by now. Arrogance. A Ninja mission are carried out in squads, of course you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi understand this. When individuals put themselves above the squad this can lead to failure and death. For example…" Kakashi pulled out a kunai and put to Sasuke's neck. "Sakura kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies!" Sakura freaked out though she looked like she would do it while Naruto looked back and forth while Akane tensed up getting ready to run over and keep it from happening, but Kakashi put the kunai way. "That's what happens on a mission."
"That was a close one," Sakura said in relief.
"If the enemy takes a hostage and you've got an impossible choice which will end up with someone dying," Kakashi told them as he stood up letting Sasuke go back to his place. "On every mission you life is on the line." He walked up to a stone that Akane knew what it was at once. "Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it? They are all ninjas who are honored in our village."
"That's it!" Naruto yelled, "that's it! I decided I will have my name engraved on that stone! I'm not gonna live and die like a dog. I'm gonna be a hero! Believe it!"
"Their a special kind of hero," Kakashi told him, "their are all KIA."
"Ohhh, that sounds real cool."
"Uh…Naruto…It means killed in action," Akane told him, "they all died."
"Oh," Naruto said sadly.
"This is a memorial stone," Kakashi went on, "the names of my closest friends are engraved here. Alright I'm going to give you one more chance, but I'm gonna make it harder on you." He turned to face the others. "You have 3 more hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up strength, but Naruto doesn't get any." Naruto looked at him in disbelief. "It's your punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat lunch by yourself and if anyone tries to feed him that person will immediately fail. I make the rules you follow them. Got it."
Kakashi soon left after that letting Akane get up and get the lunches for Sasuke, Sakura, and her and walked back over them. They took their lunches, opened them, and started to eat while Akane just looked at hers not feeling hunger at all, so she got up and walked over to Naruto whose stomach was growling loudly.
"Here Naruto," Akane said making everyone look at her as she bend down and picked up some rice with her chomp sticks. "Eat." She held the rice to Naruto's mouth. "You'll need your strength."
"But what about you?" Naruto asked.
"Kakashi-baka's right," Akane answered, "I could already be a Chunin by now if I wanted to, so it doesn't matter if I fail."
"No you..."
When Naruto opened his mouth to protest Akane had shoved the rice into his mouth. Sakura looked at Akane surprised when out of no where Sasuke also shoved rice into Naruto's mouth.
"Sasuke, Akane," Sakura said while looking around for Kakashi. "You heard what sensei said."
"Don't worry," Sasuke told her, "I don't feel his charka."
Sakura looked at her lunch before swallowing and then held it out to Naruto.
"Here Naruto," she told him. Naruto looked at her with a teary eyes.
'Sakura,' he thought, "alright thank you."
"Don't think me," she told him, "just eat."
"But I can't move my hands," Naruto told her, "you're going to have to feed me."
"WHAT!" Sakura yelled.
"Hurry up," Sasuke told them while he and Akane looked around for Kakashi.
"This is the last time," Sakura stated as she held rice out to him. "Are we clear?"
"As clear as a bell Sakura," Naruto told her before eating.
Akane looked up at the sky that had started to get cloudy with thunder in the background before looking ahead when there was a puff of smoke and Kakashi showed up.
"You broke the rules," Kakashi told them, "I hope your ready for your punishment."
He started to do hand sighs. "Any last words."
"We're a team and if Naruto's hungry he's useless," Sasuke said.
"We have to work together," Akane put in.
"That's right," Sakura agreed, "we're a team."
"You're a team?" Kakashi asked, "that your excuse?" Akane nodded. "You…pass."
"What?" Sakura asked in surprise.
"You pass," Kakashi repeated with a smile, "you're the first squad that have ever succeeded." Akane sweat dropped. "All the others did exactly what I told them to for and fall into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are lower then scum." Kakashi stood up straight given them a thumbs up. "So squad 7 will begin our first mission tomorrow."
"I did it!" Naruto yelled. "I did it! I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!"
"Lets' go home," Kakashi told them as he walked off with Akane right next to him.
Sakura and Sasuke followed them forgetting about Naruto.
"I knew they'll do that!" Naruto yelled. "Hey! You forgot to untie me!"