Chapter 2
Power of Three! Kakashi's Infamous Bell Test!
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The morning of September 16th, much like that of the previous day, dawned in a blaze of flame. It also found Sasuke, wrapping the long, silk bandages around his calves. Buckling said bandages into place with the leather bindings just beneath his knees, Sasuke quickly slid his zori on over the bottoms of the wound cloth strips, holding them in place as he fastened the series of straps that held the durable ninja sandals on. Pushing himself from his position, Sasuke looked to the right, examining his reflection in the floor-length mirror that, for some reason, came with the apartment.
Maybe the previous owner was a model?
He shuddered at the very thought. Then looked at the clock. And screamed (as much as a stoic Uchiha can scream).
He had ten minutes to reach the Academy for their team assignments. And it took ten minutes to get there on a good day.
After quickly tying on his headband, Sasuke threw open the door, locking the traps into place with a deft flare of his chakra (fangirls had a very nasty habit of breaking in to steal his clothes, claiming they 'liked his scent'), and pushed more of the energy into the soles of his feet. The surge powered the immense leap from the ground and to the nearest terra-cotta rooftop. The reddish tiles clattered beneath his sandals as he leapt again, soaring over the streets at a fast clip, covering between twenty and thirty feet per jump. Cool gray concrete, rusty red clay, thin black wire, all seemed to fade away beneath Sasuke's toes as he pushed himself to fly even faster, bouncing off of awnings, walls, and roofing, swinging on wires, and twirling around poles.
He didn't think, couldn't think, wouldn't think as his body moved in perfect harmony with itself. As if he was made for the sky, meant never to touch the ground. He was aware of the stares his displays attracted from the civilians, so easily awed in their world of mundane peace and conformity. To them, Sasuke was a diving hawk, fast, sleek, born between sky and ground and raised with the wind and rain itself. He was a beautiful dancer, leaping and twisting to a beat only he could hear.
And then he was gone.
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A slightly-panting Sasuke let a grin past his impassive façade as the air whipped his bangs away from his angular face, enjoying the feeling of wind streaking through his spiky hair. He arrived at the Academy in record time (seven minutes wasn't too bad, considering how he'd been forced to travel) and took a moment to compose himself (read: make sure his face wasn't flushed, he wasn't panting, and that he did NOT look as if he'd run all the way from home) before sliding through the doorway and into a seat in the center row of the classroom, about three desks from the front.
Almost immediately, Sasuke received a face-full of glaring Naruto. The blonde squatted on the desk, cerulean eyes almost completely closing as he narrowed them at the raven. Sasuke rolled his eyes inwardly, choosing to level the infamous Uchiha stare, which had been known to make seasoned Jounin cry. Onyx clashed with azure, and bolts of white-hot lightning seemed to burst from the boys' eyes as they stared each other down.
Then, some random ninja-wannabe (we'll call him Taki for the purposes of the story, since he will never appear again) decided to have a little fun. Taki elbowed Naruto in the back, pitching the blonde forward and into Sasuke. What none of them counted on was the extremely bad luck centered around the two (a black cat had crossed Naruto's path on his way to the last day of school, and Sasuke broke his mirror after accidently losing control of his chakra and loosing a huge blast towards the innocent bathroom fixture), and so, instead of just plowing into the black-haired boy, Naruto ended up pinning him to the desk behind them, mouths joined in a completely accidental kiss.
The screams of five fangirls would echo throughout Konoha forevermore.
Sasuke reacted first, shaking off the shock and disgust to shove Naruto away from his, rolling to the side and spitting violently, the other boy mirroring him. Meanwhile, the five aforementioned fangirls lay on the ground, having fainted from the short moment of yaoi that had been so cruelly shoveled down their throats. Sakura walked in and sat down, wondering what she'd missed.
Then, Iruka took the teacher's podium, and in a massive wave of scrambling thirteen-year-olds, peace and order was restored. Except for four of the five fangirls, but no one cares about them. The platinum-blonde Ino awoke and scampered to her seat, leaving her comrades to face the scarred teacher's wrath later. Soon, everyone that mattered was seated.
Sasuke only had time to notice Sakura to his right and Naruto to his left before Iruka began his final speech to them as their Academy sensei.
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"Now, students, listen to me; all twenty-one of you have passed your Academy Graduation Exam, which makes you official ninja in the eyes of the village. However, there is one more trial you must face before you can take shinobi missions and rise further in rank. You will be split into teams of three, each under a Jounin sensei. Your teams have been selected based on strengths and weaknesses, and so you will have no say as to your teammates. Each Jounin sensei is required to test their team in their own, unique way. If you pass, you are allowed to become a true ninja. If you don't…I'll see you in my class for another year. Now, Team One, under Matsuuda Toushiro, is…"
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"Team Seven, under Hatake Kakashi, is Uchiha Sasuke…"
Sasuke instantly began listening again as he heard his name. He leaned forward, lacing his thin fingers in front of his face so that Iruka could only see the upper half, resting his elbows on the desk.
"Haruno Sakura…"
His eyes flicked to the right, where the pinkette gave a small smile and flip of her fingers. Green eyes glittered with hypnotic light, and Sasuke found himself left with a sense of curiosity. He wanted to know why she wasn't attracted to him, and just what combination of genetics had left her with bubblegum hair and springtime eyes.
"…and Uzumaki Naruto."
Sasuke almost face-faulted. Key word: almost. Naruto seemed torn between the fact that he was on Sasuke's team and the fact that he was on Sakura's team. He eventually decided to go with the former, groaning and letting his head fall into his hands as he moaned about how unfair life was. And so their fate was sealed.
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"Where is he, dattebayo? Does he even know we're HERE?!"
Naruto was pacing in circles, as he had been for the past three hours. Sakura sighed, and looked over. She smiled slightly (shinobi rule number 25 decreed that ninja were never to show emotion, but no one paid attention to that one anyway) at their other new teammate. Sasuke dozed lightly, head bowed, hands still lacing in front of himself. She knew because she could sense his chakra's calm, rhythmic movements, and hear the slow, relaxed breathing.
"That's it, 'ttebayo!"
She looked over to find the Leaf's prankster setting up a simple rig; a chalk-dust-loaded eraser perched precariously over the slightly-open door. Sakura shook her head, long pink locks swirling like tongues of flame around her.
"He's a Jounin, Naruto. He'll never fall for that."
As if on cue, the door opened and a silver-haired head popped in, only to be thwacked with the eraser. The dust sent up a white cloud that settled on their new sensei's navy face-mask, which covered the bottom half of said face. In fact, they could only see his charcoal gray right eye, the other being obscured by his tilted forehead protector. A gravity-defying mane of hoarfrost hair topped his head, spiking up in an angular fashion. He wore standard sweatpants, bandages, zori, and a three-quarter sleeved shirt that connected to the mask. His olive-green Jounin flak jacket was zipped up the front, and he wore his weapons pouch in easy reach at his hip.
Sasuke chose that moment to wake up, raising his head as if he'd never even thought of sleeping. The man spoke in a lazy drawl, dragging out some of his words as his singular eye scanned the room.
"My first impression of you three…is that I hate you all. Meet me on the roof in five minutes; don't be late. I don't like to be kept waiting."
The man disappeared in a poof of smoke, to Naruto's exclamations.
"He doesn't like to be kept waiting? HE DOESN'T LIKE TO BE KEPT WAITING?!"
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Exactly five minutes later found the silver-haired man lounging on the rusted railing before them, silhouetted against Konoha's skyline. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura sat on the concrete steps before him, making themselves comfortable. Then, he spoke again in the drawling tones they'd heard in the classroom.
"Now…how about we introduce ourselves?"
"Ne, ne, sensei, what do you want us to say?"
"Hm…likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future…I'll go first."
"My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes and dislikes…are nothing for you to be concerned with. My hobbies…I don't feel like telling you about. Dreams for the future…I have none. Now, blondie, your turn."
Sasuke sweatdropped.
All we found out was his name! Seriously, why is this guy teaching children?
Naruto and Sakura seemed to follow his line of thought, since the whiskered boy spoke with slight hesitation while fiddling with the plate on his headband.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! I like ramen, Sakura-chan, ramen, pranking, Ichiraku ramen, orange, and ramen! I dislike the amount of time it takes for ramen to cook and Sasuke-teme! My hobbies are eating ramen and pranking people! My dream is to become the greatest Hokage, DATTEBAYO~!
Apparently it was impossible for Naruto to lower his voice. Sasuke nearly had his sensitive eardrums blasted out by the force of the shout.
Son of Kami, he'd be a natural at the Fireball Jutsu with those lungs.
It was Sakura's turn next. She was calmer than Naruto had been, but her voice bellied the excitement running through her.
"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like reading, studying, the spring, and learning new jutsu. I dislike people who judge others based on appearance. My hobbies are training, reading, and interning at the hospital. My dream is to prove that kunoichi are just as powerful as shinobi!"
Sasuke looked up, only his eyes visible behind his hands and low-hanging bangs that cast deep shadows over his face. In the coldest, most indifferent tone he could muster (he didn't want anyone thinking he was weak), he spoke. The words sounded like they'd been wrapped in pitch-black velvet and soaked in honeyed wine.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have no likes, and many dislikes. I don't have a dream, but an ambition: to restore my clan to its glory and kill a certain someone."
Judging by how Naruto swallowed nervously, he probably thought that he was the one who Sasuke wanted to kill. Even Kakashi looked slightly put off by the grim statement, though he hid it well. Sasuke smirked slightly behind his hands, releasing a small spike of Killing Intent to drive his point home.
I have a goal to meet, and none of you are going to hold me back.
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Kakashi sighed to himself as he walked home, one hand in his pocket and the other holding the small orange book before him. He flipped a page every few steps, but he wasn't really reading. He was thinking.
So…this time I get the overconfident, reckless idiot, the antithesis of inconspicuous, and the half-crazed avenger? Real nice, Hokage-sama, REAL NICE.
The Hatake was infamous for being assigned team after team, and failing them all after the first day. This squad, Team Seven, was his sixth in as many years. After retiring from the ANBU on the grounds that he couldn't work efficiently as an emotionless tool, Kakashi had been attempting to attain a Genin team of his own. However, not one of the eighteen he'd tested had met his standards, and had been dropped permanently from the shinobi program.
But after seeing this latest batch, Kakashi couldn't help but remember…they reminded him of his own three-man-squad. And he found himself sincerely hoping, as he strode down the long, dirt-paved road, that they would be the first to pass his test.
Because they brought back memories of the days when he'd been truly happy.
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"We meet at Training Ground 07 at seven in the morning…Training Ground 07…Training Ground 07…"
The last Uchiha puzzled over a huge, wall-sized map of Konoha and its surrounding forests as he attempted to figure out just where the hell he had to be for Kakashi's exam. A sharp pain in his chest, however, interrupted his train of thought, centered just over his heart.
Black eyes widened, and Sasuke jumped lightly off of the couch, trying to quell the sudden surges of chakra beating in time with his heart. Hissing softly in quiet agony, Sasuke snatched the glass liter bottle from his fridge, shoving it violently into the microwave oven and setting the timer with a practiced hand. With his other hand, the black-haired teen opened the cupboard to grasp a wineglass just as the timer beeped and the microwave shut down.
Sasuke popped the cork on the bottle, releasing the scent that, over the years, he'd come to relish. Pouring some of the viscous red liquid into the fluted glass, Sasuke took a long draft, letting the sweet-and-salty flavor wash over his tongue. With that, he strode back into his living room, glass in one hand and bottle in the other. He settled himself on the couch again, daintily lifting the wineglass to his lips once more as he went back to studying the map.
The blood seemed to gleam in the light, coating the sides of the glass as Sasuke swirled it to prevent the separation of plasma from red blood cells.
Vampiric urges quelled for the moment, he could relax. Though it would be a challenge to get blood on missions. He'd have to talk to the Hokage about it, but the conversation would need to wait. The warm, fresh blood was making him drowsy, and without another word, Sasuke dropped the now-empty glass on the couch and laid back against the cushions, falling into a deep sleep.
He didn't notice the mismatched pair of eyes watching him, nor the flare of a familiar chakra as the figure at his window turned away and leapt off into the moonless night.
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The morning of September 17th dawned just like its predecessors; allowing the Land of Fire to live up to its name by setting the countryside aflame. Sasuke cracked his neck as he sat up, the vertebrae sliding into place with muted pops like the sound of a soda can's pop-top. He caught sight of the glass bottle, filled with cerise solution, and frowned. He'd fallen asleep and forgotten to put the thing back in the refrigerator. Hopefully the blood inside hadn't spoiled.
Thank Kami I had to feed before Kakashi's test…my reflexes are always better just after I've eaten.
It was true; Sasuke had noticed, over the years, that he was faster, stronger, and smarter after drinking his weekly dose of blood. It stimulated his vampiric side, forcing some of the attributes he was familiar with from Transformation onto his human persona. The effect was rather startling; for up to a day after he fed, Sasuke saw the world in prismatic, jewel-toned colors. Every detail was enhanced until it was so blatantly obvious that he wondered why no one else seemed to see it. His muscles seemed to function better, his heart pumping more efficiently, his every breath like a cyclone whirling in his ears. But would it help him against a seasoned Jounin?
He mulled over the thought as he tugged his wide-collared T-shirt over his head, pausing slightly to examine the insides of his forearms before his arm-warmers covered them.
The black ink stood out startlingly against pale skin, each and every swirling line of the runes bold and deliberate. Runes for silence, strength, speed, accuracy, dexterity, all forming tattooed gauntlets that swirled up from his wrists to his elbows in ripples of onyx ribbon, twisting around his very bones.
Sasuke shook his bangs out of his eyes, briefly considering buying a headband or hairclip to keep them from obscuring his vision. He then imagined himself wearing a set of oh-so-pretty pink barrettes and banished the idea.
Uchiha men didn't wear barrettes. They dealt with their bangs the manly way—by brushing them away in a bad-boy fashion, looking epic (not to mention fa-bu-lous!) all the while.
And with that thought in mind, Sasuke strapped on his weapons pouch, set the traps outside his front door, windows, and vents (the fangirls were really desperate), and made his way to Training Ground 007.
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By analyzing the position of the sun over the horizon and calculating the angle of the three stumps' shadows, Sasuke was able to determine that he didn't know what the hell he was doing. All he knew was that he'd left his east-side apartment at around 6:45, and it took ten minutes to roof-hop to where he stood now.
The area in question was beautiful. A clearing of soft grass, trodden on so many times it had become a flat green carpet. Tall oaks and cherries ringed the area, their leaves beginning to brown around the edges. A large, sparkling, sapphire lake lay to his right, the rippling patterns shining silver in the new sunlight. Three stumps, each the height of his midsection, stood equidistantly spaced, about a yard apart, facing the center of the clearing, which was covered in fine sand.
In all, it was somewhere Sasuke wouldn't mind meditating. The rustle of the wind in the drying leaves, the quiet lapping of tiny waves at the lake's sandy shore, the grass whispering around his ankles…
Kakashi didn't seem to be showing up anytime soon, and he was alone. Positioning himself between the lake and stumps, Sasuke crossed his legs into the lotus position and closed his eyes, gently letting go of his consciousness, listening to the water and leaves and wind. He could hear the shrill cries of messenger hawks Konoha was famous for using, echoing throughout the wide-open skies and vibrating in his chest. Every one of his heartbeats was a gong strike, slowing and syncing with the rhythm of the waves. The wind gently stroked his hair, blowing it softly away from his face, the uneven ends of his bangs tickling his chin ever-so-slightly. And he listened.
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Sakura tiptoed quietly through the underbrush, feet not making a sound as they dodged crinkling leaves and fallen twigs in a bid for silence. Peering around a tree, she could make out the silhouette of a certain, duck-butt-haired ninja, sitting stock-still in the center of the clearing they were supposed to meet in.
He looked almost otherworldly when he straightened; back still turned to her, clothes wavering slightly in the breeze, hair fluttering about his face. The Uchiha fan, red over white, stood out proudly along his spine. Sakura fought down and conquered the faint blush rising to her cheeks; Sasuke was her teammate, for Kami's sake, she couldn't look at him like that!
It would make her no better than the girls she disgusted, who cared for nothing but clothes and makeup. They would never know the true joy of being a kunoichi; the joy that comes with every bull's-eye shot of a kunai, with every successful jutsu, every flicker and flare of chakra. It was what she lived for, what she loved more than anything.
She wasn't about to let some male teammate ruin it for her. Even if he was attractive.
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Good. She doesn't seem to be having an aneurism due to my incredible level of extreme attractiveness. She may actually have a use!
Sasuke cheered in his mind, sensing Sakura behind him. He turned around, blinking; she was leaning against the thick middle stump, dressed the same as she had been the day before. Belatedly, Sasuke wondered if she just wore the same dress day after day, or if she had a wardrobe full of the same outfits. He himself had five 'uniforms' to wear. She probably had the same, if not more; Sakura was still a girl, no matter how much training she did. The smooth voice of said girl interrupted his train of thought.
"Oi, Sasuke…I was doing some research on Kakashi, since we're gonna be fighting him. And…well, I'm getting a little nervous. All three of us will have to work together to even have a chance of taking him down."
"Hn?"
Correctly deciphering his grunt, Sakura elaborated.
"Hatake Kakashi, also known as Kopi Nin no Kakashi, is famous for copying over a thousand jutsu with his left eye. He fought in the Third Great Ninja War as a Genin, and became a Jounin sensei six years ago. Since then, he's tested five teams; not one has passed."
Son of Kami. If none of his previous teams passed…he must go all-out on us. And they probably worked separately.
"So, basically, what I'm trying to say is…"
"If we want to become ninja, we'll have to set aside our differences and work as a cohesive whole."
"I don't forsee a problem between me and you. I mean, I respect you as a ninja, and I'm fairly sure you respect me. The only real kink in the machinery is…"
"Naruto."
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"Nandattebayo~?! I have to work with that…that…stuck-up prodigy?!"
"Believe me, dead-last, I'm not too thrilled either."
"Naruto, Sasuke, please, let's just get along for the time being. You two can go back to hating one another after the test, alright?"
"…Fine. But only for you, Sakura-chan!"
"…Aa."
Sakura sighed. Honestly, the two teens could be just like toddlers when they wanted to be!
"Alright. If we're to do this, we need to know one another's strengths. Naruto, you go first…"
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Kakashi smiled beneath his mask as he observed the trio, whispering to one another. He caught snatches of their conversation; apparently, in his tardiness, they'd decided to form a plan based on Sakura's research through the old Bingo Books. Without knowing it, they'd passed his test.
Now all he had to do was get a sense of their ability.
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"Yo!"
In a poof of smoke, Kakashi appeared, eye crinkling in a grin. He saluted them with two fingers of his right hand, then let said hand fall back to his side. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto sprang apart, the last vestiges of their conversation mere whispers in the wind. He noticed Sasuke's eyes darting from side to side, as if he was hiding something. Considering the fact that he was over three hours later than he said he'd be and Naruto had arrived only thirty minutes late, Kakashi supposed that the kids really were keeping secrets.
"Yosh. Let's begin your test, ne? In my hand, I have two bells."
Kakashi let the twin silver bells fall, their jingles echoing throughout the clearing as the thin red threads holding them snapped straight.
"Your objective is to get the bells. Whoever gets a bell passes. The one who doesn't goes back to the Academy. You have until noon. Got it?"
Showtime.
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Sasuke met Sakura's gaze and nodded once. They'd guessed that Kakashi's test would have some sort of twist to it. This was the twist. They knew his game, and they'd told Naruto about it as well. Kakashi tied the bells onto his waistband, just in front of his weapons pouch. Closing his eyes, the Uchiha ran through their plan once more, as Kakashi brought down his hand and yelled,
"HAJIME!"
Naruto screamed a battle cry, crossing the index and middle fingers of each hand in front of him.
"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"
In a flurry of white clouds, hundreds of clones appeared, coating the landscape in a carpet of orange, navy, and bright yellow. Yelling various phrases, the clones launched their suicidal attacks. Kakashi smirked.
"Oh, joy. I'm surrounded by idiots."
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, OLD MAN!"
"Make me."
"RRRAAAAAAAH~!"
The silver-haired man whirled through the crowd, gloved hands snapping out, feet tracing vaguely circular patterns in the dirt. One by one, the clones dissipated as fatal blows to the throat, chest, and spine were sustained. From his perch high in the trees, Sasuke smirked. Just as planned.
The last Naruto grappled with Kakashi, jumping onto his back and holding on with all the strength in his body. Sasuke somersaulted from the trees, withdrawing two huge, folded shuriken that snapped open as he twisted in the air, flipping so that he was almost standing in midair, then using the energy from his core to hurl the immense four-point blades at his sensei. The twin stars swirled through the air, whirring discs of metal that would cause serious damage when their arcing paths led them past each other. Their point of intersection just so happened to be Kakashi's chest.
Come on. Come on. Come on. I just need one hit. Just a scratch. Come on.
The moment of truth—Kakashi leapt backward to avoid the shuriken, which spun back into Sasuke's waiting hands, their momentum folding them once more as the teen touched down on the earth before the Jounin. Sasuke looked up and smirked.
A small trickle of blood dripped from a shallow scratch on the man's chest. Sasuke could smell its scent, sweet with a tang of almost floral odor that set pure Konohan blood apart from the rest. The teen was thankful he'd drank almost a full liter yesterday; otherwise, the enticing smell would've sent him into uncontrollable, unexplainable blood madness.
The scratch was barely there, and wouldn't even slow the more experienced ninja down, but it was enough for their purposes. Sasuke back-flipped across the clearing and into the trees, avoiding volley after volley of kunai and shuriken, all thrown with deadly speed and precision. Hissing in pain as one of the diamond-bladed knives nicked the outer edge of his right ear, Sasuke jumped back onto his branch.
Your move, Sakura.
The pinkette in question padded quietly behind Kakashi, a kusarigama held in her hands. The sickle end stayed steady in her right, a long chain connecting it to the weighted piece swinging about her left. Sasuke saw her grin, saw the mild paralytic poison he'd soaked his shuriken with take effect, saw Kakashi freeze, saw the weighted chain swirl expertly about him and tie down his arms and legs. The man fell to the earth, bound in the long chain, just as the timer rang.
He smirked as Naruto let out a whoop and jumped down. They'd done it. They'd bested a Jounin. Delirious with triumph, the two joined their female companion, who was busy tightening the bindings. She tugged at them, and with a sudden jerk, they passed completely through the Jounin's body.
They barely had time to comprehend, let alone react, to what happened next.
The captured clone burst into a cloud of white smoke as the real Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's hair, pulling him to the ground so that he rested on his stomach with the crouching ninja hovering over the small of his back. A kunai, sharp and deadly, rested against the raven's throat.
Sasuke could feel the blade move as he breathed. Sakura and Naruto were frozen, wide gem-like eyes staring at the scene before them.
"You three fail. You were supposed to get the bells, but instead fooled about until the last possible moment. You let your chance slip."
The two who could hung their heads in shame. Sasuke tried, but almost impaled himself on the knife for his trouble. Kakashi hummed slightly.
"Well…I supposed I could give you three another chance after lunch…but this one doesn't eat."
He pulled at Sasuke to emphasize his point.
"Why?"
"He used poisoned shuriken. Genin are not permitted to own poison, as they are too irresponsible."
"But—"
"You're lucky I won't tell the Hokage about it…this time. So, as punishment, Uchiha doesn't get food. If either of you two feeds him, I'll have all three of you dropped from the shinobi roster. Got it?"
"…Hai, Kakashi-sensei."
"Good."
In a flash of silver, Sasuke was tied to the center stump with a length of thick, strong rope. Bristling at the sheer unfairness of it all, he could only watch as his two teammates were given their bento and Kakashi disappeared in still more smoke.
Sasuke was the first to speak, struggling against the ropes around his wrists to try and form the hand seals needed for Kanishibari no Jutsu.
"Hn."
"Heh…teme isn't such a golden boy now, is he?"
"Urusai, dobe."
"TEMEEE~!"
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Kakashi chuckled as he watched his students from his treetop perch. Sasuke and Naruto had descended into arguments once more, with Sakura attempting to get a word or three in edgewise but finding it impossible with all the yelling. Finally, she seemed to snap. The silver-haired man leaned in; he wanted to see what she'd do.
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"Both of you! STOP ARGUING! It doesn't accomplish anything! Now, Sasuke, eat some of my food."
Sasuke looked at the pinkette in question with an incredulous expression.
"Do you want us all to fail? If you feed me, you'll get us all dropped from the shinobi program. I'm not hungry anyway—"
Sasuke's stomach growled rather loudly. He glanced away in embarrassment. He hadn't eaten anything since the previous day's lunch, and blood does nothing to satisfy normal nutritional requirements.
Screw not being hungry, I think my stomach's trying to eat itself.
"Well, okay, maybe I'm a little—MMPH!"
Sakura smirked, grabbed her rice-loaded chopsticks, and shoved them into Sasuke's mouth, forcing him to accept the food by covering his nose. He had no choice but to swallow; otherwise, he'd suffocate and die. The moment the rice went down his throat, however, a huge matrix of dark storm clouds began to swirl into being before them. Lightning flashed, and Kakashi appeared from the mist, looking the part of a great and terrible god come to wreak vengeance upon three disobedient children.
Sasuke's mouth dropped open, Sakura dropped her bento, and Naruto fell over backwards. Such was the shock of Team Seven.
"WHAT DID I TELL YOU?! WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!"
Sakura answered in a meek tone of voice, Kakashi's roaring tenor frightening her.
"Not to feed the Sasuke."
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"…We fed the Sasuke."
"THAT'S IT! TEAM SEVEN, YOU DISOBEYED MY ORDERS TO HELP YOUR TEAMMATE! IS THIS CORRECT?!"
All three of the Genin answered as one, united in the face of this new danger.
"Hai."
Naruto added on to the one-worded response.
"The teme was starving! He would've inconvenienced us, and made us all fail, so we had to feed him!"
Sasuke, feeling the sudden need to put in his two cents, said,
"We're a team, Kakashi-sensei. We are one being, one person, one life. Everything we do, we do for the good of us all. If Konoha can't see that, if they can't accept that fact, then I'm not sure I even want to be a ninja here."
Kakashi's rage suddenly turned to sparkling sunshine and rainbows and general happiness. He eye-smiled at the shell-shocked trio.
"Very well. You pass! You worked together to defeat me, and teamwork is one of Konoha's main ideals. Those who don't follow the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. You've proven that you understand that concept. Welcome to the ninja world!"
Those words took a while to process in three Genin's heads. But once their implications registered…
"YATTA~! I'M A NINJA, DATTEBAYO—"
"Oh my Kami, oh my Kami, oh my Kami—"
"—THIS IS THE GREATEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE, NO, WAIT, SECOND-GREATEST, THE GREASTEST WAS WHEN ICHIRAKU'S HAD A FREE RAMEN BUFFET—"
"Oh my Kami, oh my Kami, oh my Kami, oh my Kami—"
"—NOW THAT WAS A GREAT DAY, BUT THIS IS PRETTY AWESOME TOO, NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT—"
"Oh my Kami, oh my Kami, oh my Kami, oh my Kami~! Oh my Kami—"
"—BECAUSE THE TEME'S TIED TO A STUMP 'CUZ HE'S TOO MUCH OF A TEME TO BE FREE—"
"Oh. My. Kami! OH MY KAMI~! OH MY KAAAAAMI~! OH MY KAMI—"
"—STUPID TEME, TEME, TEME, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A TEME? I DON'T KNOW 'CUZ I'M NOT A TEME, BUT YOU'RE A TEME SO YOU SHOULD KNOW REALLY WELL—"
"OH MY KAMI! OH MY KAMI! OH MY KAMI! OH MY KAMI—"
"Should we stop them?"
"…Nah. This is kinda entertaining."
"Hn. Whatever, sensei."
"Hehe…moo."
"Stupid old teachers with weird senses of humor."
"…I heard that."
"I'm surprised. Don't old men usually have bad hearing?"
"…I'm 29."
"Like I said…old man."
全
"Oi…Sakura…would you…em…"
"Oh! Gomenasai, Sasuke!"
"…Hn!"
"Could you have made the ropes just a little tighter, Kakashi-sensei? Honestly!"
"…I didn't want him to get free."
"…HN!"
"I'm sorry, Sasuke! I have to tighten the ropes first in order to undo the knots!"
"…Ugh…Hah…hah…UN!"
"These knots won't come undone!"
"Use…a…KUNAI!"
"…Oh. Sorry. On it."
"Hehe…Teme's turning blue~! I need a camera!"
"Wha…OH MY KAMI SASUKE! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THE ROPES WERE TOO TIGHT?!"
"…Maybe because he's unconscious?"
"Really helpful, Kakashi-sensei. I'm not blind."
"Just checking. Can't have unobservant shinobi in the field."
"…Naruto shouldn't be here, then."
"…Ah, he'll be fine. The idiots always get the crazy stamina and insane luck o' the Irish."
"…Just help me with Sasuke."
"Fine."
"WAIT! WAIT! I JUST NEED ONE PICTURE! JUST ONE!"
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"Would you PLEASE sit still long enough to take the team picture?!"
"Sorry, photographer-san, demo…these idiots can't stop arguing. Like, ever."
"TEME~!"
"Hn. Dobe."
"Stuck-up snotnose!"
"Usuratonkachi."
"Brat!"
"Dead-last."
"Sickly white weirdo!"
"Whiskered freak."
"Goody-two—HEY! Kakashi-sensei, that was my HAIR!"
"HN!"
"Both of you, turn to face the camera before I make you."
"On three…ready…one! Two! THREE!"
"AAAH~! THE LIGHT! IT BURNS~!"
"Dobe."
"BOYS! What did I say?!"
"Sit still long enough to take the picture."
"Hn. What the baka said."
"TE—Hey, Sakura-chan, what are you—ARGH~!"
"STOP FIGHTING OR I'LL PUNCH YOU AGAIN!"
"WAAH~! GOMENASAI, SAKURA-CHAN~!"
"…Hn."
"Interesting bunch you have here, Kakashi-sempai."
"…You have no idea, Hiroku-san."
全
Sasuke sighed, heavy steps echoing throughout the narrow side street he was forced to use (stupid fangirls and their shrieking), and mulled over the events of the day. He could hear the kunai clicking together in his thigh holster, yet another reminder that he was, in fact, a legal ninja. An adult in the eyes of the law. He was…free. A small, quiet smile curved across his face, a genuine expression of happiness. Sticking his hands in his pockets, the raven's fingers gently traced the edge of the picture the photographer had given them. Kakashi had one hand on his hand, the other on Naruto's. Sakura stood, smiling, between the two boys who were glaring at each other as if there was no tomorrow. Kakashi leaned over them, singular eye arcing in an indication of a grin.
His teammates. His sensei.
The smile vanished.
He couldn't stand to keep it there.
Sasuke could sense a new beginning forming, rising from the ashes of his shattered life. The deaths of his entire clan at the hands and blade of his brother had utterly annihilated his heart, soul, and former being. Now, a new personality was manifesting itself, one that had been steeped in blood, hate, and darkness. And Sasuke welcomed it, for it would bring his brother to justice. Snarling, he crushed the photo in his fist.
He didn't have room for bonds. Bonds caused pain. He'd allowed himself to open up far too much to the three people he'd be working with from now on. Sasuke would have to sever any and all residual, personal connections to them.
Because he was an avenger, and avengers didn't feel.
Shaking his head, Sasuke walked faster, biting his lip, bangs shading his eyes.
He never noticed the small movements in the shadows, nor the slight gleam of eyes in the lowlight.
全
~ Tsuzuku ~
A/N: *is running around screaming her head off* Oh my Kami, I'm so sorry this is so late! ToT
To reward you all, my faithful readers, I've made this one a double-chappie—that's why it took so long! I realized midway through that I'd already hit my 3000-word-per-chapter mark, and I wasn't even at the bell test (which is what the chapter was named for!), so I decided to be an awesomesauce authoress and do this. So, that's my excuse. Plus, I would've had this updated two days ago had FF not decided to put a temporary ban on my account for having lyrics in one of my oneshots (lolwat?!) so I couldn't update yesterday or the day before. Add to that the ten chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird that I have to read and annotate by Friday while attending track club sessions and I barely have time for my homework! So…yeah. I got like 4 hours of sleep, so forgive me if the last bit sounds a little crackish.
Sasuke: Your writing always sounds crackish.
KBA: *sniffle* Do you really think so?
Itachi: Foolish otouto's opinion doesn't matter. You are better than this.
KBA: *eyes watering* Arigatou gozaimasu, Itachi-kun~! Anyway, I think our newest announcer has arrived!
*everyone looks towards door*
*awkward silence*
~3 HOURS LATER~
*door opens*
Kakashi: Yo! Sorry I'm late, I got—
KBA: LIAR! Do your intro before my Uchiha servants kill you DEAD!
Itachi and Sasuke: *growl menacingly*
Kakashi: Yare, yare, don't be mean…*cue voice change* Our young hero takes on his first mission, but why won't he speak?! Tune in next time for: Let's Go, Team! Mission: Catch Tora!
This chapter's page break is zen, or complete.