key:

"talking"

'jutsu'

thinking

"flashback"

nonhuman

Wait a Second, I Passed?

All three young shinobi did nothing, but look up at their sensei anxiously in anticipation to his answer. We are so going to fail… Sakura knew what was coming, but she wasn't sure if she could handle defeat as easily as she did when she was a weak little girl in body and in mind. "Hm… you guys look really hungry and about the survival training… well… there is no need for you guys to go back to the academy", Kakashi spoke diligently to his students. "Hey!" Naruto cheered in excitement. "Hn", Sasuke just mumbled pleased. Sakura however said nothing and clutched her knees tightly to her body as if to brace for impact. Sasuke just stared at the girl's strange reaction feeling confused. "Then! Then! All three of us…!" Naruto's excitement didn't falter, knowing he was finally a true genine. A fake smile steadily spread across Kakashi's face. Oh no…. Sakura withdrew into herself more with every passing second, Here it comes… She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Yup, all, but one of you… should give up on being shinobi!" Kakashi finished. The two boys instantly deflated at the sound of the man's words. Sakura was stunned, "Wait, what? Don't all of us fail? Who passed?" In the back of her mind she knew exactly who passed. "All of you should quit, except Sakura", Kakashi answered the girl. "Wha-What?" She could not believe what she was hearing and her three teammates couldn't believe how unhappy and shocked she looked, especially her sensei who had just given her good news. "Quit being ninjas! What does that mean?" Naruto shouted angrily at his teacher. "Okay, so we couldn't get the bells, but why do we have to quit?" Naruto continued. "You punks don't deserve to be ninjas", Kakashi spoke matter-of-factly. With this, Sasuke exploded with anger and rushed at his sensei with the intent to kill. However, the boy was blinded by rage, allowing Kakashi to easily restrain the boy and pin the Uchiha under him like it was nothing. "Why do you think we are divided into teams and are doing this training? Don't you know the answer?" Kakashi practically growled at the two boys. "What's the answer then?" Naruto barked from the stump he was tied to. "Sakura, care to enlighten us?" Kakashi knew she had figured out the answer immediately, she was too clever not to. "It's… it's teamwork." She keep her eyes fixed on the ground still dazed about actually passing. "Exactly, teamwork. Naruto just ran around by himself, while Sasuke assumed the others would just get in his way, Sakura is the only one who went out of her way to help a teammate." Kakashi lectured them. Naruto and Sakura instantly remember the occasion when the pink haired girl helped Naruto by cutting him down from his trap and the two shared a shy glance with one another. Sasuke couldn't help but be annoyed feeling left out.

Kakashi moved from he position on top of Sasuke and he released the boy. He walked over to the giant stone he had previously placed the two large lunches on and peacefully rested his hand on it. "Look at this, the names craved on this stone are the names of ninja who were recognized as heroes of the village", Kakashi slid his hand across the cool rock. Naruto's eyes lit up at the word 'heroes', "Cool! I've decided I'm going to get my name craved on that stone too! Hero, that's what I'll become!" Kakashi just sighed at the clueless blonde, "They aren't just any normal heroes…" Kakashi's words only made Naruto more excited, "Oh yeah! What kind are they?" The silver haired ninja paused and spoke once more, "They are all heroes that died in the line of duty". That certainly shut Naruto up and the atmosphere quickly became tense. "This is a memorial, My best friend's name is also craved here", Kakashi's tragic note only laced the already tense atmosphere with despair. "Okay you guys, I'll give you one last chance, but this time it will be far more difficult than our last little game with the bells." Kakashi spoke darkly to the boys. "Sasuke, if you are prepared to continue, you may eat one of the bento boxes", He paused and stared down at the boy till he nodded, then continued, "Naruto goes hungry, for trying to cheat… If you give him any food you'll fail immediately." Naruto just whined at his sensei's words. "My word is law, got it?" Kakashi stared down at them intimidatingly. "Sakura, this is yours", the kunoichi could feel the man pressing a bento box into her hands. Before she could react, Kakashi had pulled her up from where she was sitting and soon she was on her feet once more. "As an official genin, I need to have a word with you in private", He pulled the still stunned girl into the forest behind him.

When they were far enough away, Kakashi just smiled at the girl and press his index finger to his masked lips. "Stay here, and be quite." He said and turned to head back to the boys, but she had grabbed his wrist before he could leave. He turned to face the pink haired girl whose confused look had transformed into a mischievous one. "Your waiting to see if Sasuke will share his food Naruto, in order to see if they really pass or not, right?" She hit the nail right on the head. Kakashi just frowned at the girl who still continued to surprise him, "You know… maybe you're a little too intuitive and observant". Without another word he bounded away into the trees back to his male students leaving the girl with an unusually wide grin on her face. She did what she was told and did not move from her spot, but she did perform a jutsu that allowed her to see farther than usual so she could watch the scene play out.

When the two had disappeared into the forest, Sasuke leaned down and grabbed the only bento box left and then walked over to sit beside Naruto. By now Naruto's stomach was complaining loudly. "Hey, this'll be a breeze. I can go without lunch… no problem!" Naruto shouted, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself that he wasn't hungry rather than the dark haired boy next to him. Sasuke took two more bites before he heard another loud growl come from Naruto's stomach. He sighed and looked down at his half eaten meal, then with out a seconds delay he shoved his bento box so it was directly under Naruto's face, "Here". "Sasuke…" Naruto was surprised by how caring the usually emotionless boy was. "You're no good to me on an empty stomach", Sasuke tried to hide his act of kindness behind a cool facade. Naruto just stared down at the delicious half eaten bento, "Um… can you feed me?" He tried to move his restrained arms from emphasis. "What?" Sasuke became quickly embarrassed by the thought of having to hand feed Naruto like a baby. "Urgh", Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh as he held his chopsticks pinching food up to Naruto's mouth. Naruto was about to eat happily, when a large cloud of white smoke exploded in front of the boys and a very angry looking sensei sprung forth. "YOU…" Kakashi practically roared at the overwhelmed boys who looked like they were about to pee their pants. Sakura could only laugh at their priceless faces from where she stood, a good distance from them. "Pass!" Kakashi winked at his two students. Thank goodness, Sakura let a wide smile escape her lips before she instantly felt completely drained and everything went black.

"Huh?" Naruto had shock plastered all over his face, while Sasuke quickly hid his surprise with an annoyed glare. "You two have taken a giant step forward, a true shinobi looks for the hidden meaning within hidden meanings." He smiled and continued ," Ninja's who fail to follow the rules are lower than garbage, but ninja's who do not care and support their friends… are even lower than that!" Kakashi turned around expecting to see his female student, but was surprised when he found no one standing behind he. "Sakura you can come out now", Kakashi beckoned the girl to come and the two boys looked up eagerly in hopes of seeing their pink haired teammate. There was a long silence with no answer, Something is wrong, Kakashi thought. The silver haired man moved quickly to the spot where he had left the young girl, and Sasuke followed close behind knowing something was up. Naruto whined and tugged at the ropes, "Hey, wait for me!" He managed, with great effort to pull a kunai out of his pack and cut himself lose.

When Kakashi and Sasuke arrived at the girl's location to find the girl's unconscious and unusually pale body laying sprawled out on the grass, fear started to take over. Kakashi was quick and efficient in checking his student's vitals for any abnormalities. He was happy to find that her breathing and heart beat were steady, but he quickly became distressed when he noticed that her chakra had completely depleted. "Chakra Depletion", He guessed instantly and was unsettled by that thought of his young student pushing her limits too far. Sasuke was also taken aback by his sensei diagnosis of the girl's condition, why didn't she say anything? Terror filled the men's eyes. Naruto arrived just in time to rush to the hospital with his teammates.

"Is she going to be alright?" Naruto asked anxiously as he shifted in his seat in the waiting room. "The doctor said she will be fine as long as she has a nice filling meal and a good night's rest", Naruto let go of the breath he didn't know he'd been holding immediately upon hearing Kakashi's words. "But the doctor also said that if her chakra depletion had be coupled with fatigue or another other type of physical stress then her life might have been in danger." Kaskashi spoke grimly, and he couldn't help but feel guilt for telling his students not to eat breakfast the other day. He was just glad Sakura had been the one not to follow her teacher's instructions. The three remained silent for the next five minutes, until a nurse enter the room. "She's awake now so you can take her home, make sure she gets a big dinner and lots of rest", the young woman smiled at them and lead the three to the hospital room their ally had been placed in.

They quickly walked up to the bed that their smiling pinked haired teammate was sitting up in. Kakashi had a strong urge to slap the girl for her unwise decisions, but decided against it noticing how fragile the pale young girl looked covered by the white hospital bed sheets and in her light blue hospital gown. Sakura broke the silent tension by speaking first. "Sorry for not noticing how low my chakra levels were…" She smiled at the boys apologetically. "You should be sorry, your stupidity almost cost you life!" Kakashi spoke harshly at the girl. "Your right", She looked down as sadness crept into her eyes. Her saddened expression almost made Kakashi regret his cruel words, almost. "You not allowed to make us worry like that ever again, Sakura-chan!" Naruto reprimanded his teammate and Sasuke just agreed with a small "Hn". She looked at the three concerned men standing before her and let a huge smile escape her lips. The three men could do nothing to stop their own smiles from spreading across their faces at the sight of the cheerful girl who seemed to emit rays of light that light up the room and everyone in it. "How about we get out of here and get some celebratory ramen!" Sakura chimed at her teammates with sheer joy. Naruto's eyes lit up reflexively, "Yeah! Let's get some ramen!"