The next morning, Sasuke met the others at the training ground Kakashi-sensei had specified. Narumi was more than half-asleep on her feet, scrubbing blearily at her eyes, while Saburo was leaning heavily against a nearby tree, his eyes drooping and his head nodding dangerously. The three of them stood together in the half light of the breaking dawn as it strengthened, and slowly the half dawn turned to full daylight. Hours passed, and Saburo and Narumi had both sat down and were grumbling about the lateness of their sensei.
When the man finally showed up, Narumi and Saburo leapt up to shout indignantly at him in unison. Sasuke eyed the jounin with extreme irritation, silently seconding the screeching of his imbecile teammates. Kakashi airily waved off the cries of his students, giving them a rambling excuse about getting lost on the path of life, before finally getting around to telling them about the exercise.
The object of the exercise was to get a bell from Kakashi-sensei. If they didn't get one by noon, they wouldn't get any lunch. They would be tied to the posts in the center of the training ground, and forced to watch Kakashi eat his lunch. Sasuke glared at the man for a moment, feeling his stomach rumble. Then Saburo cocked his head. "Wait a minute, there's three of us. How come there's only two bells?" Kakashi smiled, his lone visible eye crinkling shut above his mask. "Well, that way at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the academy. Then again, all three of you could flunk out too." Narumi growled, and Sasuke glared, his muscles tensing. "You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells." So saying, he tossed the bells up, and then caught them in his clenched fist. Sasuke narrowed his eyes angrily at the man. He hated that smug confidence, the calm strength that boldly stated that Sasuke had no chance against him.
Saburo exclaimed, horrified "Those weapons are way too dangerous! What if you get hurt?" Saburo had always been a bookish type. He might have topped Sasuke's scores in the written exams, but he'd never come close to his weapons and combat scores. Narumi, on the other hand, put her hands behind her head and laughed. "Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser." Kakashi's dark eyes cut to Narumi and when he spoke, his tone was harsh, and scornful. "Class clowns are usually the weakest links. You can safely ignore them. Always have the lowest scores. Losers." Narumi growled unhappily in her throat, dropping her hands and shifting to a more steady stance. Sasuke mentally snorted. She'd set herself up for that, the fool. However, it was odd that their sensei would goad her like that... Kakashi looked away from her, and continued. "When I say start, you can begin."
Before he could say anything else, Narumi yanked out a shuriken, and charged him with a growling snarl. Sasuke's eyes flicked towards her for an instant, not expecting the sudden attack. However, before he could take any action whatsoever, the silver haired jounin suddenly appeared directly behind Narumi, halting her advance by reaching out and grabbing her as she charged.
Sasuke and Saburo both yanked back and stared in horror. Kakashi was standing still as a stone behind their kunoichi teammate, positioned between the two of them. One hand roughly gripped her golden head, holding it in place, while the other was wrapped around her small fist on the hilt of her shuriken, holding the razor tip at the base of her skull as he twisted her arm up behind her. When he spoke, his voice was deceptively mild despite the deadly hold he had her in. "Don't be in such a hurry. I didn't say go yet." Narumi didn't even falter, grunting angrily, apparently un-phased by the deadly grip her sensei had on her. Sasuke nervously backed up a pace, Saburo mirroring him. Then Kakashi let go of Narumi, allowing her to step forward and out of his hold. A bright red hand shaped mark wrapped around her wrist, and her free hand came over to rub at it as she moved forward. Sasuke's eyebrows came down, and his eyes flicked back to Kakashi. So, this IS a jounin. As Narumi moved away from her attacker, Saburo shifted half a step closer to her, his expression uncertain and his eyes still fixed on the man in front of him. Kakashi ignored both Sasuke and Saburo, his eyes fixed on Narumi. "But... you came at me with the full intent of destroying me. So, how can I say this?" Sasuke and Saburo glared at him suspiciously as he searched for words, Narumi fixing him with a nervous grin, though her eyes were sharp and wary. "I'm actually starting to like you guys." Then he looked squarely at all three of them, and said "Get ready." Sasuke tensed, bending his knees in preparation to spring away, his entire body quivering. His teammates were in a similar state. "And...start!" With that, Sasuke sprang up and to the right. The other two both went in different directions, and the test had begun.
Sasuke hid in the tree branches at the edge of the clearing, carefully observing Kakashi. He knew Saburo and Narumi must be somewhere nearby as well. This was a basic ninja skill, hiding yourself and observing your target, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. It was only natural that the three academy graduates would be in hiding. Which was, of course, why he really shouldn't have been surprised when the dead last decided to through common sense out the window and do something stupid. The blonde dobe marched out into the center of the clearing behind Kakashi, and planted herself there, arms crossed, legs set in a wide stance, and a cocky grin on her face. "Come on, I'll fight ya right now!" Sasuke stared blankly. He couldn't believe this. That dobe couldn't possibly be serious.
Kakashi cocked his head, and after a minute he said. "You know...you're a little weird..." The girl squinted at him with a half frown. "Huh. The only thing weird here is your haircut!" Then she ran at him. Kakashi looked at her calmly, then slid one hand into his shuriken pouch. Narumi checked her charge and jumped back, eyeing him suspiciously but not giving so much as an inch. Sasuke focused intently on the fight, holding his breath. This girl had to be insane! Then Kakashi pulled out a perverted looking book. Narumi's eyes about bugged out of her head. "What the-?" Sasuke stiffened in shock, and nearly lost his grip on the branch he had perched himself on. What sort of a sensei had he gotten? Kakashi looked at her evenly, his voice unchanged. "What are you waiting for? Go on and attack." Narumi blushed a brilliant red, and her mouth worked a bit before she managed to get what she was trying to say out. "But...but...I mean...why are you reading that book?" Kakashi didn't even look up from the thing. "Why? To find out what happens in the story of course. Don't let it bother you, I'll still be able to handle you easily." Narumi's eyebrows snapped down, a vein pulsing angrily in her temple as her entire being vibrating with rage. Reaching over, she shoved up one of her sleeves, and charged him. "I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU, DAMN HENTAI!" Pulling back her fist, she threw herself into a back fist that Kakashi caught with ease. Then she used the momentum of the strike to swing around into a kick. Kakashi released her and ducked, allowing her to sail over his head. As soon as she hit the ground, she swiveled, and sprang up, her fist flying forward in a straight jab. However, her fist came to a halt in empty air. Narumi blinked uncertainly. "Wh-what?" Kakashi had vanished, only to reappear behind her. His book was tucked under his arm, and he'd brought his hands together in a tiger chakra seal. "Don't let your enemy get behind you all the time."
Sasuke frowned at the scene in front of him with growing concern as he recognized the seal. That's used in fire jutsu. He's not just toying with her...he's actually going to destroy her... He tensed, wondering if he should try to intervene. As he did, he heard Saburo shoot to his feet somewhere below him and cry out, voice horrified. "Narumi! Get out of there! He's going to-" Narumi half turned in the direction of Saburo's voice, but before she could act, or either of the boys could move to help her, Kakashi spoke. "Too late." Then he shot forward, and planted his fingers in her lower back, shoving viciously out and up, throwing her high into the air. Narumi yelped in pain as her spine arched, clenching her eyes shut and twisting her body as she sailed through the air, and splashed noisily into the river. Sasuke winced but relaxed, letting out his breath in a combination of relief and annoyance. It had been nothing more than a weird, if painful looking, taijutsu move, not a fire style jutsu. As the tension eased from his shoulders, he murmured quietly to himself. "Nothing but a couple of idiots."
Kakashi pulled his book back out, and leafed back to his spot. Sasuke waited a minute, then his hand twitched towards his shuriken pouch, wondering if this might be his perfect opportunity to attack. Before he could do anything though, two shuriken burst out of the river, speeding towards Kakashi. Sasuke reared bak in shock. Of course, the Jounin caught them easily. As he did, Narumi broke the surface of the water, and slowly hauled herself out of the river, soaked and gasping for air as she pulled herself up onto the bank. Kakashi looked down at her with boredom. "What are you doing now? You know you won't get lunch if you can't take a bell by noon." She glared up at him. "I know, I know. But you told us not to eat breakfast. How can I fight when I'm starving to death?" Sasuke's own stomach chose that moment to remind him of his own hunger, and he grimaced. He wouldn't say no to some food himself.
Kakashi looked upwards as if asking for patience, and turned to walk away. As he did, Narumi glared at him. "I'm gonna pass this test. No matter what." The surface of the river behind her rippled, undulated, and suddenly eight clones erupted from the water. Kakashi looked over his shoulder in mild surprise as they soared towards him, golden braids flying and scattering droplets of water through the air, orange jackets snapping wetly in the wind. Sasuke's eyes widened as he eyed them. Those weren't images, they were...real? He leaned forward a bit, fascinated. Kakashi sighed. "You talk like you're the best Narumi, but you're still the dead-last student. You can't beat me with this justsu..." Suddenly a clone seized Kakashi from behind. Kakashi started, and looked back over his shoulder at the fiercely grinning girl, his lone eye widening in surprise. Sasuke thought for a moment that she had him, his mouth sliding open in astonishment. As the clones leapt in to attack, a slight smile quirked at Sasuke's lips. A diversionary tactic followed by a pincer maneuver...nice.
Suddenly Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the Narumi's surrounding a clone clutching a log. Narumi looked around wildly, indignantly protesting that this was cheating. The smile slid from Sasuke's face and he heaved a sigh, settling back, his expression returning to normal. "He got you with kawamari, loser." Of course the dead last dobe wouldn't be able to lay a hand on a jounin, however odd he might be. Narumi had dispelled her clones by now, and was standing uneasily in the center of the clearing. Suddenly, a ray of sunlight glinted of of something not far from her, lying a the base of a tree. A bell. Narumi crowed excitedly, thinking that their sensei had dropped one in his escape. Sasuke's eyes widened. Surely the jounin wouldn't be dumb enough to... Narumi went right over to the thing. In the next instant, a rope loop tightened around her ankles, and she was yanked into the air to dangle upside down above the bell. Or should he say, the bait for the trap. Sasuke's expression tightened. That jounin doesn't let down his guard, even when he's fighting a fool like Narumi. Kakashi stepped out of hiding, reached down, and plucked the bell from underneath Narumi. He sighed and glanced up at her. "A word of advice? If the bait is obvious...don't take it. A ninja must see through deception." Narumi glared and thrashed. "I. Get. It." Kakashi shook his head slightly. "No, you don't get it. You only think you get it. Get it?"
As he lectured Narumi, Sasuke sensed an opening in his guard. His dark eyes shot open, his hand dipped quickly into his shuriken pouch. This is my chance! With a quick gesture, he flung a handful of the deadly, razor sharp weapons into the air. They hurtled towards the Jounin, curving around to hide their point of origin, and struck him full in the side, throwing him away from Narumi. The girl cried out in shock, and immediately twisted her head to look directly at Sasuke's hiding place. "Hey! Sasuke-teme, you went too far!" Sasuke looked back at her for an instant in shock. How did she know I was here? Then his eyes snapped back to Kakashi, just in time to see...a blast of smoke that left behind a shuriken riddled log. Sasuke swore and darted away from his former hiding spot, moving deeper into the forest. He had to move and fast, or that jounin was going to find him. He had managed to get some distance between him and the clearing when he heard it. A horrified cry, coming from somewhere off to the side of him in the forest "NO!" Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly as he recognized the voice. Saburo. Stopping in a smaller clearing, Sasuke half-turned to look over his shoulder in the direction of the noise, wondering what could have happened.
Kakashi's voice came floating out of the trees, with the same mild tone he had used this whole time. "Genjutsu. Saburo fell for it easily, despite having studied it in class." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, turning fully into a fighting stance. Illusions, huh? I'm not surprised he caught Saburo like that. But- "I'm not like those two." Kakashi chuckled slightly, and his voice came to rest behind the genin. "Say that after you get the bells, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke whirled to face him as the man walked towards him. Then he launched shuriken at the man, forcing him sideways as he cut the rope that released his previously set up trap and sent yet more shuriken flying at the jounin. Kakashi leaped away, and as he landed, Sasuke attacked him with a kick. Kakashi blocked it and caught his ankle in one hand. Sasuke grunted, and swung his body around to punch. Kakashi caught that too. Once both hands were occupied, Sasuke used the last of his momentum to swing himself around, and use his free leg to kick towards Kakashi's head. The jounin raised his arm, and blocked that as well. As he did, Sasuke smirked and reached out, fingers barely brushing the silver surface of a single bell. And then Kakashi was shooting backwards, and the bells were out of reach once again. As they both landed, Kakashi gave him a long look. "Well, you are different from the other two, I'll give you that." Sasuke ignored him and launched a fireball jutsu, one of the Uchiha clan's signature moves. He heard Kakashi curse quietly, before the jutsu hit. But once it dissipated...the silver haired jounin had vanished as well. Sasuke looked around wildly, trying to locate him. Then a hand shot out of the earth below him, gripping his ankle. Sasuke jumped and looked down in shock. With a single, savage yank, he was buried up to his neck in the ground.
Kakashi shot out of the ground and crouched over the dark haired boy, the bells temptingly close, but completely beyond him. "You were right, you are different from the others...but different isn't always better." He stood and dusted himself off, pulling out his book and turning to walk away. "They say the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down." Sasuke gritted his teeth, trying to struggle but finding himself completely immobilized. "Oh great!" He spent a while trying to free himself, but eventually had to give up. Quite some time had passed while he was frantically trying to think his way out of the situation, when Saburo suddenly burst out of the bushes. And froze, his eyes locked on Sasuke. Sasuke stared back, and when he spoke it came out a question. "Saburo?" He was confused, he'd admit. He was sure he'd heard Saburo scream just before he'd run into Kakashi, and he was sure that the jounin would have incapacitated him. He'd expected the rosette to be down for the count...but here he was, perfectly fine. The other boy clenched his eyes shut, and opened them again, staring hard at Sasuke. The Uchiha blinked back at him, still surprised at his teammates sudden appearance, and for a crazy moment, inanely wondered if there was something on his face. Then Saburo turned faintly green. "Sasuke's...a talking head..." Turning, he staggered over to the tree line, and leaned his forehead against one of the trunks. "Well, I always knew Sasuke was amazing but...to not die even when his head's cut off..." Sasuke's brows snapped together, and a vein in his forehead began visibly pulsing. "Ahou! Who ever said my head was cut off! The damned jounin used a doton jutsu to bury me! Now hurry up and help me out of this!"
By the time Saburo had managed to dig Sasuke out, it was noon. Both boys could hear the alarm their sensei had set at the beginning of the exercise go off back in the open space outside the forest where they had started. Sasuke cursed and struck out violently at a nearby tree. "Damn it! I wasted too much time!" Saburo jumped and eyed him nervously, but didn't say anything as the two of them walked silently back towards the starting point of the exercise. When they finally cleared the last of the trees and walked into the open area of the clearing, they found an interesting sight indeed. Kakashi-sensei was lounging indolently against the post closest to them. Behind him, Narumi was tightly bound to the middle post. Her messy blonde braid spilled over one shoulder, it's brightly shining color a strange contrast to her irritated expression and ruffled state. Her blue eyes flashed at them over Sensei's shoulder, and she struggled silently against the rope. Kakashi looked up as the two boys came into view. "Ah there you are. Come over here won't you?" Standing up, he moved away from the posts, and turned so that he was facing them. Sasuke snorted, and belligerently walked over to stand on the far side of the blonde dobe. Saburo mirrored him, taking up a position on her other side.
The two of them sat down, eyeing the two lunch boxes set out in front of the posts with ravenous eyes. Kakashi looked down at them dispassionately "Uh oh, hungry are you? That's too bad. Oh, by the way, about this exercise?" They all looked away from the food, focusing on him. "Well, I've decided. I won't send any of you back to the academy." Narumi instantly lunged forward against the ropes, a relieved grin on her face. "So we pass?" Saburo leaned back, staring blankly up at the jounin. "What? I passed? All I did was run around and get caught in that genjutsu. Do you get points for that?" Sasuke just scoffed, his eyes suspiciously fixed on the jounin, ignoring his teammates apparent happiness. Kakashi smiled at them. "Yes, there's no need for you to go back to the academy. Because all three of you...are being dropped from the program." Sasuke's head snapped up, and he ground his teeth as he glared at the man, red tinting his vision as rage began to bubble up in him. The damn jounin couldn't be serious! Drop him from the program?
Nearby, Saburo and Narumi stared, identical looks of horror spreading across their faces. Narumi spoke, thrashing in her agitation. "Drop us from the program? But that means we can never be ninja! I mean I know we didn't get the bells but still! You said we'd be sent back to the academy! You can't just change the rules like that! Why would you do that?" Kakashi braced his hands on his hips, voice as bored as ever. "Because you don't think like ninja, you think like little kids. Like brats. You don't deserve to be ninja." Sasuke grunted, his anger boiling over. With a single savage thrust of his leg, he pushed off and dashed towards the jounin as fast as he could, intent on destroying that damn arrogant face. He vaguely heard Narumi's intake of air as she strained against her bonds, and Saburo calling his name in agitation. Then he was on the ground, his dominant arm twisted up behind his back, the jounin sitting easily on top of him, with one foot planted on his head, his face turned so that he was looking back towards his teammates by the posts. The rage was gone as suddenly as it had come, replaced by shock and resentment.
When Kakashi addressed him, his voice was tinted with scorn and disgust. "You think it's all about you." Sasuke grunted and tried to struggle, but the movement only sent a burning pain shooting up his arm. Saburo surged forward, a few steps beyond the posts, and snarled, his eyes snapping indignantly. "Let go of Sasuke! You can't just step on him like he's some sort of insect!" Narumi snarled angrily in support of Saburo's cry, eyes fixed angrily on Kakashi as she struggled violently against the ropes holding her/Sasuke closed one eye against the ground, and squinted, trying to twist his head to get a look at his tormentor, but he didn't say a word. Kakashi ignored Saburo, and spoke to all of them, his voice harsh. "You don't know what it means to be a ninja! You think it's a game, huh?" Sasuke saw Saburo's eyes widen, his shoulders lifting slightly, and his expression faltering. "Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you consider that question for one moment?" Narumi frowned, and Saburo looked and sounded confused. "I...I don't know what you mean..." Kakashi definitely sounded angry. "I mean what this exercise is all about! But you three didn't think about that. Not even close!" Saburo looked even more confused. "What it's about?" Kakashi shifted ever so slightly atop Sasuke's back, and the dark eyed boy tensed, eyes fixed on his two teammates. "Yes. That's what determines whether you pass or fail." Saburo hunched his shoulders, his bookish side showing through. "But that's...I mean I've been wondering about that from the beginning."
Kakashi scoffed. "Use your head. Three people on a squad, why do you think we would do that?" Narumi finally snapped. "Ugh! How are we supposed to know the reason? We didn't make the rules!" Kakashi tightened his grip ever so slightly on Sasuke's wrist. "It's so basic. Teamwork!" Sasuke went still, shocked. His eyes widened and he could see similar astonishment on the faces of his teammates. Saburo's voice was faltering. "Just working together, is that what you mean?" Kakashi's voice was irritated and deceptively sweet. "That's what I mean. It's too late now, but if all three of you had come at me together, you might have had a chance." Saburo looked suspicious. "Wait a minute. You set this up with only two bells for three people. Even if we did work together, only two of us could keep them and pass. That would lead to in-fighting and the squad would break up. There wouldn't be any teamwork in the end either way!" Kakashi sighed. "Exactly. I purposely pitted you against each other, to see if you could put the needs of the squad ahead of yourselves. A genin should have a natural feel for teamwork." As he said that last bit, he shifted again, and Sasuke could tell he was glaring down at the back of his head. "Yet it never even crossed your mind. Saburo!" The other boy stiffened. "You were so eager to work with Sasuke, who was gone, while Narumi was right in front of you, and you didn't lift a finger to help her!" The green eyed boy flushed slightly, his eyes darting guiltily towards their female teammate as he hunched his shoulders. "Narumi!" The girl widened her eyes, which were fixed on Kakashi and Sasuke. "You do everything on your own. Everything!" Narumi dropped her eyes, making a small noise of discomfort as she did. Then the foot on the back of Sasuke's head applied a bit more pressure, grinding his face further into the dirt, and turning his head slightly so that he could catch a glimpse of the cold black eye watching him from above his sensei's mask. "And you, Sasuke, thought the others were so far beneath you they were worthless!" Kakashi's head tilted backwards, and Sasuke felt a special heat in his words as he hissed angrily down at him. "Arrogance! Ninja missions are carried out in squads. Of course individual skills are necessary, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this! When individuals put themselves above the squad, it leads to failure, and death! For example..."
Suddenly Sasuke felt him shift, and heard a rustling and clinking as he saw the jounin's free hand reach into his shuriken pouch. Suddenly a kunai flew past Saburo in a bright flash of steel, embedding itself into the wood of the post beside Narumi's neck. Sasuke jerked in surprise, eyes fixed on the gleaming blade quivering slightly just inches from the tanned throat. Saburo had half spun to follow the path of the thing, and his jade green eyes were shocked, his mouth hanging open. Then Sasuke felt the touch of a steel blade against his own throat, and froze, his eyes still on the other two. They both saw the movement, and turned back towards him as Kakashi snapped out. "Saburo! Kill Narumi NOW or Sasuke dies!" Sasuke stared at them, horrified. Saburo took half a step backward, his hand coming up and his mouth opening slightly in shock, eyes flashing back and forth between the helpless kunoichi and Sasuke. Narumi's eyes flicked between the two boys in fear, clenching her teeth and leaning away from the shuriken blade as her breath came faster.
This time when Kakashi spoke, his voice was softer. "That's what happens on a mission." As the kunai withdrew from his throat, Sasuke glanced away from his teammates, and closed his eyes in shame. Kakashi was right. If this had been an actual mission, he would have gotten both himself, and Narumi killed. He heard Saburo's voice, relieved and nervous all at once. "Oh boy, I thought you were serious for a minute." Narumi let out her breath in a sigh of relief. Kakashi frowned over at Saburo, twirling his kunai on one finger. "The performance of your duties as a ninja will risk lives, both yours and your comrades, as a matter of course. The enemy takes a hostage, and suddenly you're faced with an impossible choice...and someone ends up dead." Standing, he walked over to Narumi reaching past her to yank his other kunai free, ignoring the way she set herself, watching him nervously, a single drop of sweat trailing down her temple as he reached past her head to retrieve the thing. With a smooth move, he put away both weapons, turning and walking over to the strange stone where he'd left the alarm and the lunches during the exercise. "On every mission, your life is on the line." Sasuke opened his eyes, and sat up slowly, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth harshly, before moving over to sit beside Narumi as he listened to the man.
"Did you look at this stone? It's engraved with the names of heroes of our village. Heroes who all have one thing in common." Narumi's voice was admiring as she asked. "What? What do they have in common?" Kakashi's voice was quiet when he answered. "They're all...KIA. The names of some of my closest friends are engraved here." Narumi pulled back, her expression shocked. "KI...you mean...killed in action?" Her eyes were large as she looked between their sensei and the stone. Sasuke watched the jounin's back, and felt oddly sympathetic as he listened to the man's matter of fact statement. He knew what it was like to lose someone. After a moment of silence, Kakashi shifted to glare over his shoulder at them, though his voice had lost most of it's heat, and was now merely grave. "Alright. I'm going to give you all one more chance. But this time I'm going to be much harder on you." He turned fully to face them. "You'll have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up strength...BUT! Narumi doesn't get any!" Narumi yelped indignantly. Kakashi eyed her flatly. "It's your punishment for being stupid enough to get caught." Then he glanced at the boys. "And if anyone tries to feed her, that person will instantly fail this exercise."
Narumi stared at him in astonishment for a minute, then set her jaw and looked away. Sasuke glared up at the jounin, real anger in his gaze. This man had just been threatening his teammate not a moment ago, and now he was refusing her food. Food she needed since she'd skipped breakfast, on Kakashi's orders. It wasn't fair. Kakashi's eye slid back and forth between him and the stunned looking Saburo. "I make the rules. You follow them. Got it?" Then he left, vanishing without another sound. After a minute, Sasuke, and Saburo reached out and picked up the lunch boxes, opening them and starting hungrily in on the food. Sasuke was starving. He scooped rice into his mouth at a steady pace, his eyes focused on his chopsticks. However, his other senses were alert, trying to sense the jounin. But all he could sense was his two teammates. Suddenly Narumi's stomach growled loudly. He and Saburo both looked up at the girl, listening to the drawn out rumble. She flushed. "This is no big deal, I'm not hungry at all! I-I'm on a diet!" Her stomach immediately disproved that lie by grumbling again. Sasuke stared at her. Everyone knew that Narumi could care less about clothes, make up, diets, or any of the other things the normal girls concerned themselves with. As far as he knew, the only thing besides her body that proved she was actually female was her crush on Saburo. And considering the dobe's love of ramen, going on a diet was the most transparent lie he'd ever heard her tell.
Sasuke sighed, and then held out his lunchbox towards her. "Here." Narumi jumped and looked at him in surprise. "What?" Saburo also seemed surprised. "Sasuke, you can't do that..." He took a minute to glance around the clearing furtively, "You heard what the sensei said." Sasuke didn't look at either of them, "Kakashi's gone. We need to get those bells as a team. If Narumi's hungry, she'll be weak, and get in the way. That'll hurt the squad, and decrease our chance of succeeding in our mission." Saburo looked slightly guilty, and Narumi just stared back and forth between the two of them. Then Saburo sighed, and thrust his lunch towards her. Narumi looked down at him, and blushed brightly, and mumbled a thank you under her breath. Saburo looked away, obviously embarrassed. "Don't thank me, just hurry up and eat!" Sasuke rolled his eyes once, huffing quietly, and glanced sideways at the other boy. "How can she eat when she's tied up, ahou?" This time it was Saburo's turn to blush, and he stammered. "Well what do you want me to do about it?" Sasuke looked heavenward as if pleading for patience, before he returned to watching the tree line. "Well, you'll obviously have to feed her." Saburo jerked back, eyebrow twitching, and his face flushed even redder. "I have to what?" Sasuke didn't look back at him, but his voice took on an urgent tone. "Hurry up. Kakashi could come back at any minute." Saburo groaned, picking up some rice with the chopsticks, and glaring up at the girl, his cheeks still quite pink. "This is one time only, you got that? I'll never do this again, hear?" Narumi nodded once, still looking just as embarrassed about the whole thing as Saburo. Looking more than a little uneasy, Saburo extended the chopsticks towards her, until she could lean her head forward, and take the food. She closed her eyes tightly as she took the bite, but chewed and swallowed quickly, obviously hungry.
The moment she swallowed, there was a sudden explosion of smoke and wind right in front of the three of them. The force of the blast forced Sasuke back half a pace, and he used the movement to fall into a defensive stance next to the post. Narumi was pinned even more tightly to the post by the blast, and her golden braid whipped back and forth in the wind, thudding against the post and her shoulder periodically. Saburo took a half step forward and to the side, placing his body slightly in front of Narumi as he threw up his arms into a quick high block, ducking his head and squinting his eyes against the wind and smoke. The chopsticks and lunch box had tumbled from his hands, and now spilled across the ground at his feet. Kakashi lunged at them out of the smoke, his face a mask of rage as he roared. "YOU!" Sasuke heard Narumi cry out in surprise and fear, her exclamation quickly joined by Saburo's own yelp. Sasuke merely grunted. Setting himself against the wind, he raised his hand and wondered if he dared attempt a katon jutsu with so much wind present to whip it into a deadly forest fire.
Kakashi's voice was rough as he spoke, the wind and smoke fading away as he stood. "You broke the rules, I hope you're ready for the punishment!" His hands flashed through a series of hand signs, and dark clouds gathered above them, lightning flashing and crackling through them in a violent promise. The very ground beneath them seemed to tremble as Kakashi looked ominously down at them. "Any last words?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, his mind too sluggish to comprehend the situation or make a quick decision. Saburo had reached back to brace one hand against the post next to Narumi's shoulder, and the other was held up in front of his face, as if he were trying to shield himself. Narumi's teeth were practically chattering, and her voice, when she spoke, had a bit of a quaver in it, despite the defiant words. "It's not their fault! You said that there were three of us, and that's why...Saburo and..." Her voice faded away, and she looked down at the ground in front of her. Sasuke looked at her for a moment, before glaring up at the silver haired jounin and mentally cursing himself for a fool. "We're all part of this squad, rules or no rules!" Saburo looked over at Sasuke for a minute nervously, and his eyes flicked briefly to Narumi before meeting Sasuke's again. Then he suddenly turned back to Kakashi, his jaw stubbornly set despite his obvious nerves. "Yeah, that's right! We gave her our lunch because she's our teammate!" Narumi was clearly surprised by this sudden outpouring of team spirit, and looked back and forth between the two boys with wide eyes. Then she gritted her teeth and glared up at the man. "Y-yeah! That's right! We're a squad!" Kakashi took three measured steps forward, until he was directly in front of Narumi, towering over them. Saburo's eyes widened, and he was obviously terrified, but he determinedly raised his arm defensively in front of the blonde kunoichi. "The three of you are a squad, huh? That's your excuse?" He leaned over, his hands planted on his waist, like a disgusted parent talking to a child beyond redemption. The three of them held their silence, and Sasuke shifted so that if necessary, he'd be in position to launch one of his clan's signature katon to cover their escape.
As quickly as the sun breaking out from behind the clouds, Kakashi smiled, his lone visible eye crinkling up with laugh lines, and his voice was mild again. Only this time, there was a pleased warmth to it that was utterly new. "You pass." Saburo blinked, and the arm he'd held out in front of Narumi faltered. "Huh?" Narumi's mouth dropped open, and Sasuke's felt his confusion seep into his own expression, though he remained wary of the jounin's movements. "You. Pass." Saburo stared at him. "Wha-? How'd we pass?" As the dark clouds cleared away, Kakashi smiled. "You're the first squad to ever succeed. The others did exactly what I said, and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true. But. Those who betray or abandon their comrades, are worse than scum." Sasuke dropped his head and allowed a quiet smirk to tug the corners of his lips upwards. So that was that. They had made it, and were officially genin. Narumi was silent for a moment. Then "He's uh...you know he's...kinda cool..."
Kakashi nodded once. "The exercise is now over, with the entire squad passing. Squad seven starts it's first mission tomorrow!" Saburo pumped his fist into the air. "Yes!" Sasuke's smirk grew just a bit, and Narumi whooped exuberantly. Kakashi shook his head at their antics, though smile lines still crinkled the corner of his eye. "Alright, alright. You three are dismissed." As Kakashi moved to untie Narumi, Sasuke stooped to gather up his lunchbox and chopsticks. Finally, he was on the path to accomplishing his vengeance!
A/N: Hello! It's me again. This chapter came out quite a bit longer than I thought it would, but I hope you guys enjoy it. I rather like how it came out myself. And yes, the team comes together a bit more solidly at the end than it did in the actual series, but let's remember that Narumi is a girl. The boys naturally feel a bit more protective of her.
Please do review. It warms my heart, truly.