Chapter five: Kakashi's test: Race for the bells!

This chapter I completely rewrote, turning two chapters into one. Took forever.

Enjoy?

Disclaimer: If I owned it, then I wouldn't need to write fanfiction.

...

"Of course, they just had to put me on Sasuke's team. And Haruno, too?

Oh well, I'll make do.

Anyway, we ended up with the strangest Jonin teacher of all; the guy is a total head case!

He wants us to meet him at the training field. We've already been through this, haven't we? And what's with this no eating rule?

Guess we'll find out tomorrow."

Akina put her pen and book back in the drawer and turned the light off.

...

The next morning

Akina's alarm clock went off for the millionth time; she slammed her hand down on the snooze button and rolled over. The time said 9:35 am.

"Ugh…it's way too early."

"Akina! Are you still in bed?" Mai called up the stairs. "Didn't you have to go somewhere with your team today?"

She shot up like a rocket. "CRAP!"

Minutes later she flew down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Mai looked up from the breakfast she was making. "Akina, are you-?"

The girl grabbed a muffin and her bento before running past. "Sorry, no time to explain!" Akina said as she ran out the door.

"…Late again?" the dark-haired woman sighed.

"Jeez, I shouldn't have stayed out so long at Shikamaru's last night. I sure hope I'm not too late!"

Ten minutes later Akina finally arrived at the training field. Sakura and Naruto were both sitting on the ground. Naruto was sleeping.

"Hey, guys!" She waved to them when she approached.

"You're late." Sakura mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry…"

Sakura watched as Sasuke walked over to the violet haired girl intently.

"I guess Sensei's not here yet, huh?" Akina asked nervously.

"No…" the dark haired boy stared at her. "Why are you so late?"

She smiled and scratched the back of her head. "You know me…always late for something."

The boy merely snorted and scoffed away without reply.

"Akina! When did you get here?" Naruto asked in a sleepy tone.

She glanced to him and held up two fingers. "Um…about two minutes ago!"

The boy nodded. "Sensei's not here yet?"

Akina shook her head. "Nope, not yet. How long have you guys been waiting?"

"A long time." Sakura answered in exasperation.

Akina sighed.

...

It was quite some time before Kakashi showed his face. He strolled into the clearing like everything was rainbows and gumdrops, waving and smiling - or at least it looked like he was smiling.

"Good morning, class!"

Sakura and Naruto shouted that Kakashi was late while Akina and Sasuke remained quiet. Akina because she had been late as well and Sasuke... well, because he's Sasuke.

Kakashi led team seven to a part of the clearing where three stumps stood. he walked over and set an alarm clock atop the middle one. He explained that the alarm would go off at noon and pulled out two bells, which they were to steal from him before the alarm sounded or else they would not eat lunch. Instead they would be tied to a stump and Kakashi would eat it in front of them.

Oops... Good thing I ate that muffin on the way here. Akina was internally relieved for her mental lapse.

Kakashi explained further that failing to get a bell meant failing the test altogether and that those who fail would be sent back to school. None of the Genin were comfortable with that idea.

Crap. If we can't work as a team and get those bells we are pretty much screwed. Going back to school at this point would be so embarrassing. Akina bit her lip, not even paying attention when Kakashi continued to talk, as she contemplated the impending doom of being held back.

Suddenly Naruto moved and Akina turned to See Kakashi holding Naruto's head with one hand and his arm with the other, forcing the boy to hold a kunai to his own neck.

The girl blinked. I didn't even sense him move until he was already there... Maybe this guy isn't as useless as he acts.

"I didn't say go." Kakashi chuckled. "But at least you struck to kill."

Is that what happened? I should really be paying attention. Akina shook her head.

"Ready. Set. GO!"

Akina took off, hiding in a tree to gather her thoughts while keeping an eye on their sensei. "Okay, so clearly there is no way any of us could take him on our own. We will definitely need to work together... I just have to convince the others of that." she sighed, hanging her head. "I think that will be easier said than done."

Suddenly she heard shouting and saw Naruto down fighting with Kakashi in the clearing. The Jonin had a book in his hand. "Jeez, hasn't that boy learned his lesson yet? And what's with the book?"

She watched Naruto attack and Kakashi dodge like he didn't have a care in the world, just reading his book. Suddenly Kakashi was behind the boy with his hands in a sign.

"Wait... what is he do-"

And then shoved his fingers right up Naruto's...

"I really didn't need to see that..."

Naruto ended up in the lake and Akina took the opportunity to find Sasuke. Naruto was already a lost cause; her cousin was her best chance.

Sasuke was in a nearby tree, watching Naruto. Akina appeared beside him with barely a sound.

"What do you want?" The boy muttered without looking at her.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but…I think we should work together. Kakashi is a Jonin and we're just barely Genin; if we go against him as a team we stand a chance!" She whispered.

Sasuke snickered. "I didn't think you were so weak, Akina."

She growled back. "Look, I-"

Suddenly there was more shouting and a group of Naruto clones surrounded Kakashi.

"That stubborn idiot sure is holding his own down there." Akina smiled a bit. "Not hiding up here like us."

Sasuke turned to send her a glare. And again the two were distracted by the sounds of Naruto shouting. Down below there was a Naruto on Naruto brawl; no Kakashi in sight.

"Idiot." Sasuke sighed.

"At least he tried." Akina shrugged.

Sasuke then turned to face her fully, glaring venomously. "Look, I will admit that out of the four of us you and I are the only ones who stand a chance against him, so I will get my own bell and you can get yours."

"That is not the point here-" Akina started, but was interrupted by Naruto screaming again. "Oh, what now?" She huffed, turning to look.

Naruto was hanging upside down from a tree.

"Like I said: he's an idiot." Sasuke snickered.

"I can't argue..." She sighed.

Kakashi appeared again and picked up a bell from the ground.

"Obviously that was a trap..." The violet haired girl shook her head.

Sasuke glanced at her, looking annoyed. Then he suddenly threw kunai and shuriken towards Kakashi, hitting his face with perfect precision.

"Sasuke, what are you thinking?!" Akina whispered harshly, grabbing his arm.

But it wasn't Kakashi Sasuke had hit, it was a log.

"Substitution." The girl mumbled.

Sasuke stood suddenly, yanking his arm from her hold. "He deliberately acted like he was off guard…and I fell for it like an amateur!" With that, Sasuke jumped away, leaving the girl behind.

"That's nice, Sasuke! Leave a girl alone to fend for herself! Where's the chivalry?!"She shouted then looked around. "Kakashi's gone…" …For now, anyway.

The girl jumped down to where Naruto was hanging from the tree. "Hey, Naruto! You need help?"

Naruto didn't seem to hear her as he took out one of his kunai to cut through the rope, muttering to himself. But as soon as he touched the ground another rope pulled him back up. "Not again!"Naruto flailed about. "Crap! He set a second trap right under the first one!"

"Oh, Naruto…" Akina sighed and shook her head.

"Huh? Akina? What are you doing down there?" Naruto questioned, having just noticed her.

She looked up and smiled. "You looked like you could use some help."

Naruto crossed his arms. "No, I'm fine. What about you? Shouldn't you try to get a bell?"

She started to open her mouth when suddenly she heard an ear-piercing scream. "Was that Sakura?"

"Hey, Akina! You can go help Sakura, I'll get myself down." Naruto said.

She looked up at him. "You sure?"

He nodded.

"Okay." She left Naruto and went toward where the scream came from.

Akina found Sakura passed out on the ground with foam bubbling out of her mouth. "Jeez, I know I refer to her as rabid all the time, but I never meant it literally." she knelt down next to the girl and looked her over.

"The second Ninjutsu skill – Genjutsu-the art of illusion. And Sakura fell for it." Kakashi said from behind her.

Akina didn't even bother to glance at him. "A bit much, Sensei."

He chuckled. "Well, maybe just a bit."

"It won't work on me." she turned then, smirking.

He seemed to give her a curious glance. "Is that so?"

She stood and turned around, her smirk growing into a slight grin. The girl then threw two kunai at his head, and he deflected them away with one of his own Kunai. Then six more flew at him from all directions, and he deflected them as well.

"I see Naruto's not the only one who's learned the multi shadow clone Jutsu." Kakashi mused as her three clones surrounded him.

"Don't worry, unlike Naruto, I know how to use more than one Jutsu at a time." she made lighting-fast hand signs and all three of her clones took hold of Kakashi's legs and arms. All three of the clones suddenly exploded into flames, engulfing Kakashi. A minute later the smoke cleared and Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.

Akina closed her eyes. "Bellow." she whispered.

A hand came up from the ground but she jumped up into a nearby tree before it could grab her.

"You won't get me that way, Sensei." she called down.

"Is that so?"

Kakashi was behind her. She turned instinctively. Damn. He's quick!

"To late." He chuckled and poked her headband with one finger making her lose balance and fall off the tree branch.

After a moment she stood up, rubbing her butt. "Ow. That was embarrassing."

Kakashi stepped up from behind her and sighed. "Well, it seems as if I've won."

Akina turned around. "Yeah, I guess. Oh! By the way…here!" she tossed something to Kakashi. He caught it and held it up in front of his face.

It was one of the bells.

Kakashi looked shocked, or at least as shocked as was possible for someone so emotionless. "When did you-?"

Akina smiled and winked. "That's only for me to know." She then stuck her tongue out. "You should've been paying better attention instead of reading your weird book!"

Kakashi ignored the comment as he tied the bell back with the other one. "But why give it back?"

She stepped back over near Sakura. "Wouldn't do me any good to keep it, would it, Sensei?"

Kakashi chuckled and walked away. "Well, I guess I'm off to find Sasuke then."

Akina pointed. "Sasuke's Chakra is that way, not too far off."

"I know." Kakashi smiled, or at least he seemed to, and disappeared.

She turned back to Sakura. "Genjutsu, huh?" she then made a few hand signs and placed two fingers on the girl's forehead.

Sakura's eyes opened slowly and she groggily sat up. "…I…" She stayed quiet a moment.

"Hey, there. You okay?" Akina asked with mild concern.

"Sa-suke! Don't die…don't leave me! Where are you?!" She shouted and looked around franticly.

Akina covered her ears "Sakura, calm down! Sasuke's fine!" For now…

"No! I have to find him! He's hurt!" Sakura said before running off.

The purple haired girl sighed. "I really gotta stop helping people." she ran to catch up with Sakura. And when she finally found her she was passed out on the ground again.

"What is she, a habitual fainter?"

"I believe she thought I was dead."

Akina turned to see Sasuke buried neck-deep in the ground. She suddenly burst out laughing. "The decapitated look really works for you, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared. "Very funny, now how about helping me out of here?"

"Hmmm? I didn't think you were so weak, Uchiha." she repeated his earlier words mockingly, hands on her hips.

Sasuke snorted and looked away. "Sorry…"

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you from all the way down there." Akina spoke in a sickly sweet voice, holding a hand to her ear.

Sasuke glared. "I'm sorry I said that earlier, okay?!"

She smiled and walked over to him, crouching down to meet his gaze. "That's better! Okay, I'll help you."

After she dug Sasuke out he walked over to Sakura and tried to wake her. "Hey…Sakura."

"Oh! Thank you, Akina! You are so very kind for helping me, Akina! Jeez, where's the gratitude?" the Mizuto girl muttered. Sasuke ignored her.

Sakura woke slowly, blinking as she registered the face in front of her. "Sasuke! You're alive!" She then leaped onto the boy, wrapping her arms around him.

"Yeah… Fine… Okay… You can let go now!" Sasuke said as he tried to pry her off.

"Are you planning to make out in front of me?" Akina asked in a bored tone.

Sakura looked up and blushed, previously unaware that the other girl had been standing there.

After Sasuke got Sakura to let go he stood and began to walk off. "Time's running out. It's almost noon. I'm off."

Sakura stood as well. "Sasuke- do you honestly believe you can get one of those bells?"

"I got close enough to touch them…this time I'll take them."

"What?!" the two girls asked at once.

"Really! Wow… You're so amazing…" Sakura cooed nervously.

Guess it's a good thing I gave the bell I snatched back to Kakashi-sensei. Akina thought.

The pinkette continued to stutter, telling Sasuke that there wasn't enough time left and that they could try again later.

Sasuke glared, making Sakura shut up. He turned back and she looked down sadly.

"Only I can kill him." Sasuke mumbled.

Akina looked up "Sasuke!"

"Who?" Sakura asked, ignoring the other girl. "You mean…Kakashi sensei?!"

"He made me…cry…" Sasuke went on.

Sakura looked at him sadly "You cried…?"

Sasuke was just staring off into space "My…"

"What…what are you talking about…!?" Sakura looked to Akina for answers, but the Mizuto girl only turned away.

"My only goal is to have my revenge. I have to become stronger than he is…now." Sasuke said in a determined voice.

Sasuke…

Just then the alarm sounded.

"…Crap! I should have saved my breath." The boy muttered angrily.

...

Ten minutes later

The four Genin had returned to the stumps with Kakashi. And speaking of stumps, Naruto was tied to the middle one. Sakura was sitting to Naruto's left, Sasuke was on his right, and Akina was to Sasuke's right. Everyone's stomachs grumbled.

Kakashi stood in front of them, arms crossed. "Oh, my. Listen to all the little stomachs growl! By the way, you four… I have an announcement about this exercise." He stepped forward a bit "None of you need worry any more about being sent back to the ninja academy."

Naruto grinned "Yeah!" He and Sakura both started jumping around excitedly, though it was a little more difficult for Naruto, being tied to a stump and all.

"This rocks! It means all four of us…"

Kakashi smiled "…Are hopeless. More schooling would be pointless. None of you will ever be Shinobi!"

"Whaaat?!" Naruto shouted.

"Well, to the exception of Akina, that is." Kakashi motioned towards the violet haired girl.

Sakura and Naruto looked crushed as where Sasuke just sent said girl a death glare.

"But, Sensei. Why is it that Akina passed and the rest of us didn't?" Sakura asked. "She doesn't even have a bell!"

"As a matter of fact, Sakura, Akina did get a bell from me. Though, that is not the reason for her passing." Kakashi explained.

I didn't want everyone to know about it, Sensei… The Mizuto girl felt like sinking into the ground.

The other three genin looked at her in disbelief. Sakura turned back to Kakashi. "Then why?!"

"Because, unlike you three, she figured out the answer." Kakashi mocked.

Sasuke glared and suddenly ran to attack the Jonin. The two girls yelled after him.

In a matter of seconds Kakashi had Sasuke on the ground. Holding Sasuke's arm behind his back Kakashi stepped on his head and sat on his back. "What you are is a trio of spoiled brats…"

Sakura suddenly shouted at Kakashi, telling him to get off of Sasuke. Kakashi glared at her. "Are you trying to make fun of the Shinobi with your behavior? Well, are you? Did you even stop to wonder for one minute…why you were divided into teams?"

Sakura looked completely confused. "Uhh…excuse me?"

"Obviously not." Kakashi pressed Sasuke's face further toward the ground. "So you missed the entire point of the exercise."

"It had a point…!?" Naruto asked in obvious confusion.

"Of course. And that point determines whether or not you would succeed."

"But…you haven't explained what it is!" Sakura argued.

Kakashi looked annoyed. "…I don't believe this."

"Aw, come on already! Tell us!" Naruto shouted.

"…It's teamwork…" Akina muttered, sending the two a sideways glance. The other three genin all looked at her with shocked expressions.

"Exactly. If the four of you had come at me, together, you might have been able to take the bells." Kakashi confirmed.

Sakura suddenly had a look of realization. "If we were expected to function as a team, why did you only have two bells? Even if we'd worked together, two of us still would have had to go without lunch. You're preaching teamwork, but you played us against each other!"

"Of course. This task was designed to cause dissension in your ranks." He explained.

"Whaaat?!" Naruto shouted in outrage again.

"The situation was set up to reveal which of you would set aside your individual interests and propose to the others that you work together for the good of all."

Sasuke glanced up at Akina, finally understanding.

"Instead of which…You, Sakura, ignored Naruto and Akina, who were right in front of you, while you focused on Sasuke, though you didn't know where he was." Kakashi scolded.

Sakura seemed as though she'd been slapped in the face... again.

"Naruto tried to do single-handedly what should have been the work of all four!" Kakashi continued.

Naruto was very unhappy with this.

"And Sasuke…" Kakashi pushed Sasuke's face even further into the ground, making him wince in pain. "…Had already decided that the other three just got in his way and he was better off playing solo. You are a team! Learn to act as one! Yes, it's necessary for a ninja to have individual skills, but…what is even more important now is teamwork!" Kakashi reached into his bag. "Making a play as an individual is bad for the team and exposes your comrades to unnecessary danger. You might as well kill them yourself. …Here's an example…" Kakashi pulled out a kunai and held it to Sasuke's neck. "Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies."

Sakura looked distressed.

"What!?" Naruto glanced back and forth between the two, horrified.

Kakashi stood up, releasing Sasuke. "The day could come when one of you may be taken hostage, and you're forced to make such a choice. When you are on a mission, your lives will always be on the line." Kakashi walked away toward a large square stone that was nearby and placed his hand on top of it. "Look at the marker…all the names carved in the stone. Heroes of our village. Ninja."

"That's it! I just made up my mind! There's where I want my name to go! I'm not gonna throw my life away! I want to be like them-a hero!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

Sasuke walked back over next to Akina, grunting at Naruto.

"Ahem! …But the ones listed there aren't just any heroes…" Kakashi said.

"Really? What kind are they?" Naruto asked, still excited.

Kakashi didn't answer.

"Come on! Come on!" Naruto insisted.

Akina looked at Naruto sadly. "Naruto…the ninja on the stone are K.I.A-Killed in action. They all died in battle."

Naruto's grin faded into a frown.

"This is a memorial. It includes the names of my best friends." After a moment of silence Kakashi turned to look at the four of them. "…Pay attention…! I'm giving you all one last chance. One that will be far more difficult than our last little game with the bells. If you're prepared to continue, you may eat one of the bento boxes. But no sharing with Naruto. He goes hungry."

"Why?"

"He brought it on himself when he tried to sneak lunch for himself. If either of you feeds him, you fail the test right there. And that includes you, Akina." Kakashi glared. "My word is law. Do you understand?"

With that said, Kakashi disappeared.

"Hey, this'll be a breeze. I can go without lunch…no problem." Naruto shouted, but was soon betrayed by his growling stomach.

Sakura and Sasuke sat down to eat, but Akina just looked down at her bento.

Naruto's stomach rumbled. Sasuke looked up at him with his chopsticks in his mouth. "Here." Sasuke said as he held his lunch out to Naruto, surprising him.

Sakura looked like her eyes were about to pop out of her head as she practically choked on her rice "Bu…but Sasuke, Kakashi Sensei told us-"

"I'm not worried. He's probably miles away by now. And we'll all need our strength if we're going to work together to get those bells." Sasuke then looked at Akina and her full box. "You too, Akina. You're no good to me if you're just going to be a liability."

Her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. "…Sasuke…"

Sakura gulped down her mouth-full of rice before she stood and held her own lunch out to Naruto.

Naruto was even more surprised. "S-Sakura?"

The pink haired girl smiled and nodded.

Naruto was teary-eyed. "Okay, thanks."

"Don't thank me, just hurry up and eat." Sakura said.

"But isn't that your lunch?" Naruto asked.

"I'm on a diet anyway…Ah-I mean. I don't eat as much as Sasuke. So, just take it, Naruto!"

Naruto squinted. "I can't take it! Because I can't move my hands, you gotta feed me!"

Sakura's eye twitched. Akina rolled her eyes.

"Hurry up. He could come back any minute." Sasuke rushed.

Sakura grimaced. "This is one time only, that's it! I'm never going to do this again, is that clear?!" She shouted.

Naruto grinned. "Clear as a bell, Sakura!"

Sakura held the chop sticks full of rice up and Naruto ate it.

Just then there was a boom and a cloud of smoke swirled before them.

"What the!?"

Kakashi burst from the smoke. "YOU…"

Sakura and Naruto yelled in fear while Akina and Sasuke prepared to fight.

Kakashi glared. "You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for your punishment." he made many hand signs and the clouds turned dark and lighting flashed. "Any last words?"

Sasuke glared and Sakura was crumpled in fear. Naruto was shaking. "But you said…"

"Yes?" Kakashi asked.

"You said that there were four of us; that's what you said! And that's why Sakura and…" Naruto stopped.

Sasuke looked at him and nodded. "We're all in this squad, and we're all in it together!"

Akina nodded as well, smiling. "We're a team!"

Then Sakura sat up with a more confident look on her face. "Yeah, that's right! We gave our lunch to him because the four of us are one!"

Naruto still looked a little nervous. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Believe it! That's right!" He kicked about.

Kakashi stepped forward. "The four of you are one. That's your excuse?" After a minute he smiled. "Heh. You pass!"

"Huh?!"

They were all a little shocked.

"Ah…what'd you say?" Akina asked.

Kakashi was still smiling. "You…pass!"

"What do you mean? How'd we pass?" Sakura asked in shock.

"You're the first squad that ever succeeded. 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 abandon their friends, are worse than scum." Kakashi said.

Sakura smiled.

Naruto got all teary eyed, "He's…he's, um…Kinda cool."

Akina smiled and laughed a little. "Maybe!"

Even Sasuke smiled.

"The exercise is now over. Everyone passes! Squad seven starts its first mission tomorrow!" Kakashi said while giving everyone the thumbs up.

"Yes!" Sakura cheered.

"I did it! I did it! Believe it! I'm a Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!" Naruto shouted happily.

Kakashi turned away. "Let's go home."

Akina, Sasuke and Sakura followed behind their new sensei.

Naruto started kicking and screaming. "Argh! You guys forgot to untie me!"

"You said 'believe it' again….twice!" Akina shouted back.

"Aww, come on! That's not fair!" the blond cried out, struggling even more.

The girl laughed as she ran back. "Just kidding~! H-hey, Naruto! Hold still!"