Before you all beat me up for not updating sooner... I'M SORRY! Listening to a lecture right now so I may get kinda sidetracked. Been rather sidetracked lately and I totally forgot about this story! Main reason I got back to it was my sister has really gotten into it and demanded I continued. Seriously, she was just short of tying me to a chair and torturing me until I got to it, so in the interest of my health and safety, I deliver a chapter. On the bright side, it's the longest chapter I've written so far! Hopefully its good enough you'll forgive me and I'm planning on updating really, really, REALLY soon. (for fear of my sister's wrath) Anyway, enjoy!
P.S. Like to thank TheDragonSage for all of the writing tips they've been giving me! Helped me sooooo much! One of the reasons why I have been able to up my word count so much ^^
Naruto was bored. He sat in his tree, waiting for something to happen. Hours had gone by and nothing had happened. Well nothing interesting. Sakura was still running around in circles searching for her precious Sasuke. Kakashi was leaning against a tree reading a book that Naruto had a strong suspicion was totally inappropriate for such a time, but then again anything written by the pervy-sage was inappropriate at ANY time. A small smile of fondness appeared on Naruto's face as he thought of the deeply perverse old man. He remembered Jiraiya had decided to stay with him and Tsunade after their first meeting to help train him.
Flashback
"WAKEY WAKEY BRAT!" and overly enthusiastic voice yelled, bringing Naruto out of the sweet clutches of the dream realm. The pet fox next to his pillow stretched and yawned, before curling up and promptly falling asleep again. Naruto opened his eyes blearily and glared at the offender who had ruined a perfect dream of his. Three simple words; Pool, Of, Ramen. Jiraiya grinned at the look he received from his new (but as of yet uninformed) pupil. If looks could kill he would be feeling the effects of that glare in the next life. Must be something Tsunade taught him, that women had a natural charm that screamed 'touch me and I'll slaughter you'. In which he had personal experience as he had attempted to touch her, numerous times, only to end up in hospital, the only people that seemed to be able to handle her were him, the brat and Shizune. Speaking of which he hadn't seen her yet, must be on some errand for Tsunade. Clearing his head from his musings he looked back at his new charge and noticed he had rolled over and gone asleep again. Jiraiya had to admire the fact he wasn't clutching his ears from the force of his yell. He had been more than once told he had, let's just say, an extremely loud voice. Deciding this task was going to need more effort he formulated a plan in his head and quickly pulled out some wire. At the sound of wire being pulled, the fox raised its head and observed what the toad man was doing. Quicker than a heartbeat it was off the bed and well out of the way.
"Lesson no. 1, brat: Listen when I talk to you" he stated with an evil grin. The fox grinned as well. Looks like this morning was going to be entertaining, at least, for him it will.
...
"Cannonball!" Naruto yelled taking a running leap before jumping into the Olympic size pool. As he broke the surface, it wasn't water that surged and splashed around him, it was ramen. Ramen, it was the food of the gods. In Naruto's personal opinion there should be a shine dedicated to the inventor of such a delicious food, but he had no idea exactly who invented the treat so he settled of praising the food itself. At the end of the pool, a colossal fox lay, basking in the sun. Its nine tails swaying contentedly as he relaxed.
'You realise you were woken for a reason a few minutes ago' the fox stated casually. Naruto looked up from slurping the world's longest ramen noodle to look at the fox. Swallowing quickly he answered.
"I don't care. This is the best dream ever! No way is some pervy-sage going to ruin it for me. Plus you're happy in this too! It's been ages since my mind has been this calm for you to be out of the cage. I know you can run around in that baby fox I found a while ago but it's not really you. You just watch what happens from its view. You can't say this is a nice change. How long has it been since you've been able to move all of your tails?"
"True, this is a good stretch, but the man who woke you will be useful. You should have woken when he told you too. But at least I will have some entertainment this morning," he finished in a very evil and very fox-like grin. Naruto looked clueless.
"Huh?"
"Enjoy your trip," was all Kyuubi said before a very sharp tugging on his ankle literally pulled him from his dream. The last thing he saw before he dream completely dissolved was Kyuubi laughing his head off.
...
Naruto gave a strangled yell as he was wrenched from the warm comfort of his bed. The force around his ankle didn't cease though as it dragged him out of his room and along the corridor. A door ahead of him opened and he saw Tsunade look out to see what all the commotion was. Seeing Naruto being pulled down the hallway, she smirked.
"Morning Naruto. Just some advice; when he tells you to wake up, I recommend waking up," she said as he zoomed past her. Naruto just stared at her in disbelief as he continued on his morning journey. The speed of the force pulling him increased as he was dragged along. He managed to wrench the top half of his body up to see there was a wire wrapped around his ankle. Following the wire he saw it lead into the kitchen. He twisted his body and tried to free his ankle before the very sharp turn in the wire's course. As if sensing Naruto's attempts at freedom the force pulling the wire quickened. With growing dread Naruto eyed the quickly approaching corner, finger's fumbling in his desperation. He didn't make it. As the wire pulled him into the kitchen, his momentum was too much and he swung out wide, head banging against the frame of the door. Shaking the dizziness from his head he looked up at the course the wire had been plotted out for him, and instantly wished he didn't.
Out in the front yard of the house Jiraiya leaned against a tree with a book in his hand, cheerfully listening to the bangs and yells from, the baby fox sitting at his side. Hearing his charge coming to the end of his course he started reciting from the book in his hand.
"Ninja wire: One of a ninja's basic yet essential tools. Favoured for setting traps or basic perimeter alarm systems. It is incredibly sturdy and strong being able to hold the weight of at least three average sized ninja. Very versatile and can be used in an almost infinite number of situations." He closed the book and watched as his pupil came careening out of the front door and straight at him.
"In this case, used as an alarm system to wake a very heavy sleeper." He grinned, "and also give a warning about what will happen next time he doesn't wake up," at his feet the fox was rolling on his back making what appeared to be laughing sounds. Naruto suddenly felt himself being jerked upward as the force pulling the wire stopped. He hung upside down from the tree Jiraiya was leaning against and was still rocking back and forth from his momentum. Clearing the sight of little foxes running around his head he assessed the state he was in after his morning adventure. He was covered in flour, honey, feathers, eggs and he was pretty sure he could see the remainder of some tomatoes on him as well; his entire back was covered in purple paint and was fairly certain his hair was no longer the blonde locks he had inherited from his father.
The trip had brought him into the kitchen in which the wire was wrapped around the table numerous times. Each time he was dragged around it set off a trap that covered him in some sort of substance that left him feeling sticky, dusty, dry, itchy, gooey and slimy all at the same time. It then took him into the foyer in which it seemed to enjoy dragging him over a strip of bright purple paint. He could see the door and was relieved when he thought the end was near, but the worst had yet to come. As the wire pulled he was forced through the legs of many tables that had some funny smelling liquid in bowls on them and as he was pulled through they all fell on his head.
As he dangled from the tree he could see the liquid dripping of him and making bright pink splotches that clashed horribly with the pristine green grass. Bright pink...
"You didn't!" he half accused, half begged. The sight of Jiraiya's triumphant grin was all the confirmation he needed to determine he was now the owner of a head of bright pink spiky hair. The fox was having trouble breathing it was laughing so hard. From the depths of his mind Naruto heard the Kyuubi barely make out,
"Told... you... so..." before he couldn't even sustain a mind link with him he was laughing so hard. Oh it was SO on. He would get the perv back, even if it killed him! Leaving plans of revenge for a later time he returned to the problem at hand.
"And why did you need to wake me up in this welcoming manner this morning?" he demanded. Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed. Jiraiya lost the evil grin and got serious, although there was still a slight twitch to his mouth.
"From today onwards you're gonna be learning from me. Tsunade will still teach you what she can but it will mostly be me," He declared to the dangling boy. Naruto just stared at him, doubtful. He crossed his arms and tried to look indifferent but the effect was lost when he was hanging upside down from a tree and being covered in god knows what.
"Thanks, but no thanks. Don't need it. I don't wanna be a ninja and kaa-san is gonna teach me medic jutsu. Plus I don't need you anyway." Jiraiya raised his brow at this.
"And, pray tell, how are you going to get down from that tree without any serious ninja skills?" the fox sweat dropped at the reference to ninja skills again. "Your mum won't interfere because I told her not to, so come on tough guy. Show me how you are going to do it by yourself." Jiraiya smirked, thinking he had the boy cornered. Naruto just looked at him like he was insane. Putting his fingers to his lips he blew a quick short whistle. In a blur of red fur, the fox had leaped and used its sharp claws to cut the wire. Feeling gravity taking its hold on him, Naruto quickly somersaulted and landed on his feet facing Jiraiya and caught the fox as it landed in his arms. Looking up at his incredulous face he stated quite clearly,
"You forget that I'm not alone," he grinned. Jiraiya had to hand it to the kid, he was resourceful. Ignoring the fact he had just been outwitted, by a seven year old, Jiraiya continued his morning lesson.
"Anyway," he said acting as if he hadn't just dragged the boy through the entire house and he wasn't covered in various substances that made him look like a very sticky, slimy chicken with a purple steak and outrageously bright pink hair, "From now on I'm gonna be travelling with you and the old woman and training you to be stronger." This made Naruto's interest perk up.
"But kaa-san already trains me. I can out run you," he reminded with a smirk. Jiraiya cringed at the memory. "And who's the old woman you're talking about?"
The white haired man smirked. "Tsunade of course. Although she may not look it, she's about my age." Naruto had to pick his jaw off the floor.
"But you're like ancient! Wait, you're more than ancient! You're fossilized!" protested the boy.
"Hey, hey, I'm not that old," muttered Jiraiya, nursing his wounded ego. "I can still attract the ladies," he said with a very perverted grin. Naruto snorted.
"Yeah, right. And where do you get them from? Retirement homes? The Sunday bingo game? Oh I know! You stake out a knitting club!" he declared before cracking up with laughter. Jiraiya frowned and almost pouted.
'And I chose to spend a couple of years with this brat training him... why?' he asked himself. He seriously started to question his sanity at this moment. His depressing thoughts were brightened considerably however when he heard Tsunade yell from the front door of the house.
"Just remember Naruto, be nice! He's the one training you from now on. It's up to you how Spartan he decides it's going to be!" Naruto froze, instantly regretting his previous comments at the pure evil glint in his new sensei's eyes.
"If it's going to be anything like this morning, I think I'm going to enjoy myself..."
End Flashback
Naruto frowned when he remembered the detail of their first lesson. It had taken him weeks to get that stuff out of his hair. Needless to say, when was told to wake up, he woke up... still it didn't stop him from getting back at the perverted man. Oh yes, that was the beginning of an all out war of pranks between the two of them. On more than one occasion Tsunade had to step in before they both destroyed the house or village or scarred some kids for life...Beside him he could hear Kyuubi laughing silently as he remembered the various incidents too. But Jiraiya had an unfair advantage to the war, he was his sensei... Oh yes, his training was beyond Spartan, it was bordering on homicidal. He may act like a complete idiot some of the time, oh who was he kidding, all of the time, but he wasn't called one of the Sannin for nothing. Then when he was halfway through training him, Tsunade had decided to participate as well. Naruto shuddered at her version of evading training. Getting very heavy, very hard objects thrown at you when you're defenceless is not good for your health. But hey, at least he got medical ninjutsu training done at the same time. It was like killing two birds with one stone... still hurt a hell of a lot though...
A scream brought him back to his surroundings. Cursing himself for getting lost in his thoughts and memories, he identified the scream coming from his female companion, Sakura her name was, although Pinky suited her just fine. Leaping from his tree he dashed toward the sound, leaving Fang to look over his other team mate. She may be useless but he needed her to pass this test right now.
...
Sakura was having a horrible time. First she skipped breakfast and dinner last night to save herself the embarrassment of throwing up in front of her Sasuke. That's right all you other harpies out there! Her Sasuke! Getting onto the same team as him just proved they were meant to be together! Her thoughts started to turn dreamy when she thought of their future together. The way Sasuke would stand in front of her to protect her on a future mission, and then when she would question him about it and he would like away as if embarrassed, a light blush covering his cheeks. He would mumble something that she wouldn't be able to quite catch and she would ask him to repeat himself. He would take a deep breath and turn to face her with determination in his eyes and say,
"I couldn't stand it if you were hurt and I wasn't there to protect you. I love you Sakura." And she would stare at him with warmth blossoming in her chest, unable to say anything due the choking happiness that surged through her veins. He would take her silence as a rejection and start to turn away from her, his stoic mask back in place, but his eyes. His eyes would reflect the love he held for her and the depth of the pain he felt when he thought she didn't love him, but as he would turn away she would grab his arm. He would stare at her, mask still in place, but hope shining from his eyes and she would speak lowly and clearly,
"What was that last part again?" sounding disbelieving but hoping in every cell of her body he would say it again. He would turn to face her and stare deep into her eyes,
"I love you Sakura," he would breathe as if that one sentence made him whole. Happy tears would come to her eyes as she would smile up at him.
"I love you too, Sasuke," and then he would smile for the first time since she had met him and it would be the most dazzling smile ever because it would be because she made it happen. He would then bring his face to hers and gently, almost hesitantly touch his lips to hers. A mere brush, as if testing the waters. But she would allow none of that as she would wind her hands through his hair and bring his lips crashing down onto hers, all restraints gone. His arms would go around her as he would kiss her with such depth, such passion that set her body on fire.
Sakura moaned slightly as her fantasy started to turn more graphic. Yes, she would pass this test and her and Sasuke's future would be secure.
She already knew that the blonde kid had passed; he had somehow gotten a bell right of the bat. She didn't bother to learn his name because the only boy that mattered in her mind was Sasuke. Sakura thought it may have been set up, him having one right off the bat, but then seeing the waistband of their sensei only have one bell when seconds ago it had two quelled her doubts somewhat and she had run off hoping to find Sasuke so they could work together. She almost hoped they would then she would sacrifice the bell so he could go on to become a gennin and he would be touched by her sacrifice then declare that if she wasn't going to become one the he wasn't either and then she would hug him and he would hug her and the feel of her body against his would snap his control and then he would...
She shook herself from her pleasant but distracting thoughts. Yep she definitely needed to make this work. Running passed an oddly shaped bush she paused. Haven't I been here before? She asked herself. Looking around she noted several familiar sights. I'VE BEEN GOING ROUND IN CIRCLES! She mentally screamed! Her inner voice going crazy at the thought of losing Sasuke. She heard a rustling sound from the bushed to her right. Drawing a kunai she got in a defensive passion. When nothing came out and attacked her she relaxed.
"Sakuraaaa," a sing song voice said. "Turn around...," ignoring every instinct that told her to run she turned towards the voice that was behind her. Her heart froze in her chest when she saw her sensei's face mere inches from hers and his hands already in a sign that she did not recognize. She let out an ear-piercing scream before her vision was blurred by many leaves cascading around her. She grew drowsy for a moment before the leaves subsided and Kakashi's face disappeared. Shaking the drowsiness from her head she looked around frantically wondering what was going on.
"S-Sa... ku... r-ra," a weak voice sounded behind her. Recognising the voice of her beloved she whirled around quickly with a smile.
'Sasuke!" she greeted enthusiastically. Her happiness was short lived as she stared at her raven in horror. His clothes were bloodied and torn. Numerous kunai and shuriken pierced his body and in the places where flesh was visible was mutilated brutally. His right leg was twisted into an unnatural position and she swore she could see the white of bone underneath the gore. His left arm was missing from the forearm down, with blood oozing steadily from the wound. His right eye was closed but due to the blood running down his face or from some unseen injury she couldn't tell. He was on his knees and clutching a tree as though it was the only way for him to keep up. From his bloodied lips he struggled to say her name again.
"S-sak...ura... h-elp... help me..." he managed before falling face first into the dirt. Darkness on the edges of her vision closed around her and the last thing she saw was the look of frustration and annoyance on a blonde haired boy's face as he walked through the body of her Sasuke.
...
Sasuke looked up from setting his trap. He could have sworn he heard Sakura screaming in the distance. Shrugging his shoulders slightly he dismissed the distraction and continued what he was doing. He didn't need her and there was only one bell left. He will pass this test and he will kill him. It was his goal in life and nothing would stop him. He would get that bell and continue on the path to power. Thinking of the test and power brought his thoughts round to the blonde haired enigma that had recently entered his life.
"Naruto," he said under his breath. Although he would never admit it out loud, he held a decent amount of respect for the boy; he even liked him a little bit. He was the only person his age that didn't suck up to him because he was an Uchiha, or because of his money and looks. Plus from what he had observed so far, he was just as alone as him (excluding the fox), maybe even more so. He had experience the pain of being lonely and isolated. The pain of existing in a world with no one to turn to. Also he beat Kenji which was a feat in its own. Since he was a chuunin and Naruto was just an academy student for just a day. He must have had some training done somewhere else. Maybe he would tell it to him so he could get stronger. Then there was his acquisition of the bell. He had been watching the interaction between the jounin and to-be gennin. He saw the bell there one second and when he blinked it was gone. Then he watched as the blonde pulled it from his pocket grinning. He hadn't seen him move at all! Obviously his sensei hadn't either because his face showed just as much shock as his. From then on he knew he had to step up and plan ahead if he even wanted to get close to that last bell. So he promptly left the scene and missed the last part of the conversation. Yes, the blonde could be helpful in his quest for revenge. Concentrating on the task at hand he got back to work.
Fang/ Kyuubi was watching the raven haired boy carefully. He had seen the child raise his head at the sound of the scream before dismissing it entirely. He had to admire his self-reliance but he was slightly disturbed by his lack of caring towards one of his somewhat teammate. He saw the child frown and barely caught the murmured "Naruto." Now Fang's interest was piqued. He didn't say anything else but the emotions that flashed across his face were fascinating. First there was respect that look very strange on the boy's face, as though it had never been there before. Then there was sadness as it looked like he was remembering his past, pain from his own experience or someone else's he couldn't tell. Dark amusement came next, Kyuubi could only think of someone suffering at this look, then that respect look again, almost boarding on awe this time. Must be thinking of Naruto's confrontation with Kenji. Then confusion and admiration. Must be thinking of the bell.
Fang grunted; it was him that had gotten the bell, although only two people noticed it. He was summoned on the opposite side of the field and had watched and waited for a signal, which was Naruto getting up off the tree, then he had smothered his chakra and grabbed the bell, making sure his speed was enough to keep him hidden but not enough that it caused any wind disturbance in the area, alerting others to another presence. That had been the tricky part. To be on the safe side he has to run along the crease caused by opposing wind currents, which made his trip rather long and swervy. He then had to grab the bell without it chiming or the masked man feeling it being removed, and then he had to follow the currents again and get away without him feeling him there, which is kinda hard when he was standing in the middle of the crease. Naruto must have noticed because he started talking again at this point, distracting the man. He vaguely noticed him reciting one of the lessons Tsunade beat into him... literally... he held back his laughter though and deposited the bell in one of his pockets, which was already opened as much as it could be without being suspicious. Being careful to make sure it didn't chime and there was no noticeable change in content of his pockets he quickly retreated. From the shadows he had watched Naruto pull out the bell casually, as if it didn't take all that work on Kyuubi's part. He sighed; he deserved so much more credit. Maybe he could guilt Naruto in allowing him to hunt in the forest; from here he could smell several rabbit holes. He was sure they didn't need that many around...
He managed to catch the ambitious and plotting look in the Uchiha's eyes before he put his attention back on his trap. Fang sighed, seemed like he had nothing to do until Naruto or the masked man appeared.
...
Kakashi was fretting, although his mask wouldn't show it. But still... how could he loose a student? He remembered leaving Sakura passed out in the middle of the clearing, then he returned to his book, waiting to see if she would get out of the genjutsu by herself or not. Thinking back he might have gone a bit over the top but hey, ninja's need to expect the unexpected right? And all she was doing was running around in circles. He'd been watching her for a while, even when he face turned many different shades of red that had him wondering at what she was thinking or imagining. But that's not what the problem was now. For when he looked up after a while seeing as she had made no noise or sign at all of waking up, she was simply gone. Kakashi thought there was something wrong with his eye so he blinked a couple of times and rubbed it but the clearing was still empty. He thought he heard suppressed chuckling from somewhere but he put it out of his mind as he thought of ways he could have missed her waking up and running away. She couldn't have run; she wasn't quite enough. The sound of her running around in circles could have matched a stampede! He tried releasing himself of a genjutsu thinking she might have placed him in one for revenge, but no. He wasn't in a genjutsu. He checked himself over for any pinpricks that would have suggested he had been infected with some hallucinogen, but there was none. He thought back to the food he had eaten and tried to think if any of it might have caused him some sort of reaction, but no. He'd been eating the same for the past week.
Ok, now he was starting to panic. She must be here somewhere! He tried searching for her chakra signature, he spotted Sasuke's. Seem like he was waiting for him to come to him. That ought to be interesting, but unimportant right now. Sakura's wasn't anywhere! The only people in the training field where him and Sasuke! He thought about using his Sharingan to look and was about to reveal it when the whistling of a kunai coming at him caught his attention. Predicting the path of its trajectory, he caught it in his fingers. Attached to it was a note.
To our caring and attentive sensei,
Due to the fact that one of my fellow students was under a genjutsu and fearing for her sanity I have taken it upon myself to remove her from this area to heal her and make her ready again for this 'test'. You should not bother looking for you shall not find her for another few minutes and may as well go to the Uchiha who is waiting patiently for you.
Regards
Your adoring student
Naruto NSU
P.S. This letter will self destruct. Have a nice day.
He could feel the sarcasm and contempt coming from the note. He sighed; he was probably never going to get his forgiveness. But he was incredibly impressed and wary at the amount of skill he has been displaying. It was easily chuunin, no, it was jounin or higher. He must have received outside training from a very skilled teacher. He must be sure to include this in his report to the Hokage. The NSU especially had him confused. He knew the U was for Uzumaki, his mother's maiden name, and the N... could he know about his true heritage? If he did then the grudge against the village must be immense as the Fourth was barely recognised as the hero that saved it nowadays. It was mostly put down as the village that destroyed the fox, not the Fourth. The fox... Kakashi's eyes widened. If he knew about his father then... his thoughts were interrupted however by a crackling sound coming from the kunai. Focusing his gaze on the handle his eyes widened in realisation as he reread the last line of the note before flinging the kunai as far away from him as possible. It had barely cleared the tree-line of the clearing before a small explosion shook the earth and caused birds to take flight. Kakashi just stared. If he hadn't thrown that in time he would severely maimed, not dead but severely maimed. It seems it had enough power to injure but not to kill, one that was favoured for capture and torture over kill. He shuddered. Yep, he wasn't getting any forgiveness anytime soon. Getting his book back out he started his way towards the one student he could find.
...
Naruto smirked when he heard and felt the explosion. Wondering whether or not his sensei had gotten away in time to avoid injury he brought his attention back to the unconscious female he had in his arms. She was no longer in a genjutsu but had opted to stay in the realm of unconsciousness and sleep rather than become alert to the threats around her, such as Naruto and Kakashi. Although he had to admit, he was impressed she came out of the jutsu by herself, even if it was to go to sleep. She must be a very strong genjutsu type if she was able to do this much without training or trying. She must have done it subconsciously. He decided not to wake her just yet; he wanted to save his ears from the almost guaranteed screech of her voice when she woke. Keeping an eye on Kakashi's and Sasuke's chakra signatures he made his way back to the tree he left Kyuubi in, Sakura still unconscious in his arms.
Kyuubi was getting rather bored. The Uchiha had finished his trap and seemed content to wait around until his new sensei showed up, which wouldn't be long because he could sense that the masked man was making his way here slowly. He grinned when he remembered the explosion he had heard a short time ago. Had all the signs of Naruto's handiwork. A grunt distracted him from observing the stuck up brat in front of him to the base of the tree he was perched in. Gazing down he saw Naruto had unceremoniously dumped the pink haired female on the ground and was currently scaling the tree.
"and do I want to know why you were carrying an unconscious female in your arms?" he questioned, with a playful grin on his face. Naruto looked at him in disgust.
"You're not seriously thinking I did anything with that!" he exclaimed, careful to keep his voice down to not alert the boy in the field or the stirring female at the bottom of the tree.
"True, you're too much of a prude to take advantage of such an easy target, Now if she was a few years older kit..." he licked his chops in a very suggestive way that made Naruto shiver.
"Now I know you've been hanging around the pervy-sage way too much," he commented dryly. To which the fox just chuckled and decided not to answer. They sat there in companionable silence for awhile, the only sound heard was the birds chirping and the occasional groan as Sakura was slowly returning to consciousness. It wasn't long however before Kakashi made an appearance in the clearing leaning against a tree, facing the back of the Uchiha.
"You know, if you don't try something soon you're not going to get a bell before lunch," he stated calmly. Sasuke continued to face forwards, the only sign that he had surprised was the stiffening of his shoulders.
"I'm not like Sakura. I can do this on my own." He said frostily. From up in his tree branch Naruto murmured to Fang,
"You know, if they turn out to be related or he stole his girlfriend or something, this would be way up there with some soap operas!" Fang snorted before returning his attention to the soon to be battle.
"well we'll just have to see about that, won't we?" Kakashi said again, still in that bored tone he seemed to permanently employ.
"Just don't regret those words,' Sasuke said under his breath before whirling about and throwing a kunai straight at the jounin's face. Kakashi tilted his head to the side to avoid the projectile and almost failed to notice the second one coming straight towards where he had just moved his head. Only the slight widening of his eyes portrayed his shock at the knowledge of this kid knowing the shadow shuriken jutsu. Snatching the second kunai from the air he immediately flicked his wrist and sent it soaring straight back to Sasuke who had to leap out of the way to avoid the sharp weapon. Kakashi sighed.
'Looks like I won't be able to read my book this time." His tone holding a tinge of regret. Sasuke frowned in irritation, offended that he wasn't being taken seriously. He eyes Kakashi, imagining many descriptive ways on which that book could be shoved up a certain part of his anatomy. Kakashi must have seen the speculative look in his eyes, as his assumed a fighting position rather hurriedly. "Now, come."
Sasuke wasted no time. Throwing a barrage of kunai and shuriken, he chased the masked man until he was cornered in front of a tree. Marking his position carefully he threw another knife off to the side. "You know, those are kunai, not boomerangs. They won't come back to you, you have to actually aim.' Stated Kakashi in his bored tone. His superior attitude was cut short however when he heard the distinct sound of metal cutting through air. Coming from both sides were numerous weapons all aimed at various vital points. Showing a disturbing advanced flexibility for someone his age, ninja or not, he managed to avoid them all, not realizing he had just fallen into Sasuke's trap. Ninja wire was attached to each of the weapons and had successfully trapped him against the tree.
Naruto watched on highly entertained, although visions of disgustingly bright pink hair kept flashing over his vision at the sight of the ninja wire. The Uchiha kid was as good as he thought he would be. He might be able to help him in the coming battles and possible war. Wait, he wasn't here to recruit people! He had a mission and that was all. No point in getting attached, when they learn they will resent him like they should. He didn't need more pain or any roots here. He sighed, the things he did for his mother... Naruto felt a slight vibration to his side and he looked down to see Kyuubi shivering in excitement. Looking back at the clearing and ongoing skirmish he found out why. Sasuke had used a fire jutsu to attempt to fry their sensei. The thing this fox had for fire was beyond him. Naruto grinned ferally, wishing the pale skinned boy all the luck in the world in burning the lightning wielding jounin. But alas it was not meant to be as the skilled senior ninja appeared behind the young prodigy using a simple substitution and shushin jutsu.
"Wow, that was actually impressive for someone your age." He stated, still in that bored tone that came naturally to him. Sasuke whirled and faced the man. Sweat had started to gather on his brow and his breaths were coming in pants. He was wearing down. That fire jutsu had taken a lot out of him. He may know the jutsu, but he still only had the chakra reserves of a gennin. He calmed his breathing and rushed at the man. Naruto raised an eyebrow. That was just plain stupid. Kakashi seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He had actually had some hope for this kid, but now it seems like he's thrown away all commonsense, what a waste.
He deftly blocked the first punched and twisted his grip so now he was holding onto Sasuke's arm, preventing him from further attacking with that arm. Sasuke twisted and aimed a kick at his head; Kakashi blocked it with his other hand. Turning his body so hid head was now below his body he kicked his other leg out forcing Kakashi to block it with Sasuke's already imprisoned limbs.
Either this kid wanted to show off his incredible stupidity or he just liked getting pinned by older men, thought Naruto amused and disappointed at the Uchiha child. He was about to intervene in the very one sided match, but stopped short when he saw Sasuke's arrogant smirk. The sweat had disappeared from his forehead and his breathing was even, before was just an act to get the enemy to fall into his trap... and he had fallen straight into it. Kakashi did not see the smirk, but he did feel when Sasuke's free hand wrapped around the last bell and tried to tug it free. Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized the trap he had walked straight into.
Naruto decided now was the time to – assist – the raven haired boy. Showing his plan to Kyuubi, they both leaped from the tree and ran into the field. Once again running along the crease in the wind currents, Kyuubi ran right u to the bell and cut the tie holding it, allowing it to fall into Sasuke's hand. Naruto, using the same technique, ran behind Kakashi, and placed a small stone just behind his foot to offset his balance. As quickly as they came, they retreated back to their tree, just as Sakura woke. Hiding in the foliage they watched events unfold, trying desperately to hold in their chuckles.
Kakashi tried to throw himself away from the Uchiha, but had miscalculated the terrain and tripped on a stone. He could have sworn it wasn't there before, but either way, he fell backwards and knocked himself out on another conveniently placed rock. Kyuubi gave Naruto a look; he shrugged in response, an evil grin on his face. Sasuke had yet to right himself from his previous position and landed heavily, arms and legs tangled but bell in held tightly in his hand. Sakura had rounded the tree and seen Sasuke lying on the ground and had started screaming, running to him. Sasuke righted his limbs and stared at the bell in his hand, almost as if he couldn't believe he actually got it. Sakura saw the bell and started fawning over him, saying how great he is and how she wishes him luck for the future. He didn't notice the hopeful look in her eyes, and if he did he ignored it. He was one step closer to his goal. A groan brought their attention to their fallen sensei. Kakashi got up slowly, hand on his head, holding the headache that was pounding at his temples. Looking over to Sasuke he saw the bell he had in his hand. Looking at him in disbelief, then at his waist to confirm it, he sighed. He looked calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside his thoughts were a mess.
'No way was a gennin able to do get the bell!' – 'I was sure there were no rocks in this clearing when I mapped it out.' – 'I'm actually gonna have to teach this year,' – 'I never got to read the end of my book,' – 'he missed the point of the test,' – 'What am I going to do about the pink-haired one,' – 'The council will be happy, I wasn't planning on passing the Uchiha but he did, so I won't need to make an excuse on why I didn't pass him,' – 'I wonder if Naruto will ever forgive me?' – 'think this'll be the first time theres a team with only two kids, is it even allowed?'
Naruto could almost hear his thoughts as they flashed across his face. He sighed, looks like it'll be up to him to make Team 7 come together. Jumping down from the tree, he made as much noise as he could to announce his presence before stepping into the clearing.
"Hey guys, how did the test go?"
Sakura jumped and shrieked, Sasuke flinched but otherwise showed no surprise. Naruto frowned; he thought he made enough noise for a stampede. Kakashi looked shocked, not from surprising them – he heard him coming – but from Naruto still hanging around. Suddenly he knew where the stones had come from, now he just wanted to know how he had done it. There was no flare of chakra to suggest a jutsu, and his Sharingan – even hidden – would have alerted him to activated chakra in the area. There was no-one who could hide their chakra to a level where even the Sharingan couldn't see it, that's why he was so shocked Naruto was still around. The others must have distracted him more than he thought if he missed Naruto's chakra signature. Then all that was left was him physically putting them there, but Kakashi was one of the fastest in the village and could trace each water droplet falling down from waterfalls and rain in detail, even whilst he was moving. There was no way he was fast enough that he couldn't see it, even he was that quick, there would have been some sort of disturbance along the ground or wind. He would have created his own wind that he could've picked up on. Leaves would have rustled; the air would have the sound of splitting, like it did when a kunai was thrown. How did he do it?
Naruto ignored the looks of suspicion, awe and disbelief coming from Kakashi and spoke to Sasuke.
"I see you got the other bell, congrats. Guess we're team-mates now, huh?" Sasuke eyed him, trying to see if he was joking or being serious, sensing no deception he nodded his head in acknowledgment. Sakura was in the background, thinking her fantasy was about to be played out and was hyperventilating with excitement.
'Maybe that Naruto kid will feel bad with me being left out and do the gentlemanly thing and give me his bell, then me and Sasuke could be on a team together and alone.' Her mind started working in overdrive thinking of all the new possibilities and chances she would have with her Sasuke. Naruto noticed her breathing hard, and the strong blush that tinged her cheeks and raised an eyebrow. That chick was worse than the Pervy-sage! At least he could hide when he was having an erotic fantasy; well he did when around Tsunade or suffer her fearsome wrath. He smirked at pleasant memories where he had failed... some with a little encouragement from yours truly buy hey, they were in constant competition. You could never let your guard down for an instant.
Kakashi cleared his throat and instantly four pairs of eyes were on him. Fang sat beside Naruto.
"Well, congratulations to Sasuke and Naruto. You are the first kids ever to get the bells, so as I said before, you are now officially gennin. Meet me tomorrow at the bridge at dawn. Sakura unfortunately you didn't get a bell or get the hidden message in the test so you fail. Report to the academy first thing tomorrow." Naruto and Fang grinned, Sasuke's face remained emotionless but you could sense the aura of smugness and satisfaction coming from him. Sakura was looking at the boys with hope and what seemed desperation in her eyes. Sasuke eyes her and snorted.
"What do you want?" he demanded harshly. She faltered for a moment, and then blushed.
"W-well I was hoping you would want to stay back with me, so we can pass together next time." She stammered. Sasuke looked at her like she was crazy.
"Why would I do that?" shocked that she would assume he would do anything that would deter his quest for power. She looked at him stunned. She opened her mouth to say something but he interrupted her. "First: I need power, I have a goal to accomplish. Second: You would be a burden to any team your assigned to. You depend on others to much and you have no special skills. You spend your time flirting and socializing when you should be spending it training. You're a ninja for Kami's sake! That means you're a soldier! So act like it!" turning abruptly on the spot he walked out of the clearing. Before he left however he turned. "It will be an honour to work with you; I hope we'll get along in the future." Naruto snorted. He's every bit of the nobleman his clan raised him to be! Instead of shutting Sakura down like he sounded like he was doing, in actual fact he was telling her what was wrong with her so she could improve and become a part of the team. She doesn't seem to get it though. He thought looking at her. She looked like she'd been punched in the stomach. Her eyes were wide and disbelieving, mouth slightly open and a very painful expression was on her face. Emitting a strangled sob she raced from the clearing, tears in her eyes. Naruto looked at the spot where she vanished before turning and leaving himself, with Fang at his heels.
Kakashi sighed. Oh what wonderful teamwork already...