"He's late"

Naruto, as usual was being impatient. Although I will give it to him, we'd been waiting for hours at this point. Nobody decided to take the ration bars I'd brought just in case. Stubborn fools, but hey, their choice.

It was near mid morning by the time Kakashi sensei decided to turn up. "Morning everyone, ready for your first day?"

The audacity

Although I will admit, it was a little funny.

Sakura and Naruto were not having it, started scolding him immediately. Although he seemed to just brush it off. From what I'd heard and seen so far, he was pretty laid back.

"Well a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way"

Of all the things he was… superstitious? Well I wouldn't have called that.

"Your assignment is very simple, you just have to take these bells from me."

Simple huh.

"If you can't get them by noon you go without lunch. You'll be tied up to these posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch"

Incredible. Give an impossible task then punish us for not beating a Jonin. I knew this test was gonna be difficult but this? This was bordering impossible, suspiciously so.

So I got to planning, something here was off… for starters, there's only two bells. But before I could finish that thought, the other kunoichi in the group piped up.

"Wait a minute there's four of us, how come there's only two bells." Sakura was pretty sharp, by stating the obvious she pointed out the flaw in this test, it's clearly designed to pit us against each other. Maybe she wouldn't be so annoying to have in the group after all, if only she didn't have an infatuation with Sasuke. Then again I suppose I couldn't be too hard on her, most girls had a thing for him. But I will admit, she was starting to grow on me, just a little.

"Well… this way at least two of you fail, and will be sent back to the academy."

At first, I thought maybe its because there's four of us, typically the leaf operates three man squads, well, in addition to a Jonin leader. Missions can have more but its not standard. Especially when it's a brand new squad of Genin. So why only two, why not have three bells?

Yeah I call foul.

Think Mika, imagine what you would do as the enemy. Everyone has something they want, every mission has a goal. In order to complete the mission you need to know what obstacles you face, and that includes the enemy, and anything they might be willing to throw at you to get what they want. So I ask you again, what's my next move.

I glazed over Ibiki's lesson. What was the goal here, what was sensei trying to achieve.

"I didn't say start yet"

As I was pondering over my daydream it seems Naruto had already attacked. Not surprising, he's the kind of guy to act first think later.

"Although, you did come at me with the intent to kill. How can I put this… I'm actually starting to like you guys"

I was left standing there, admittedly zoning out was becoming somewhat of a problem, because I didn't even pay attention when he said start.

Well, even if I was in a sticky situation, I could still fight and zone out. somewhat. Regardless, he was up to something.

Why only two bells?

Was I such a late addition to the group that this team was originally meant to be a three man squad? That seemed unlikely. Still possible I guess but this felt like he was purposefully taunting us, choosing an object that made noise, was out in the open, I mean they were just sitting there.

Taunting me

"um…are you actually going to do anything Mika?"

Kakashi sensei stood there, patiently waiting to see if I would respond. The others had all darted off in three different directions while I was still gathering my thoughts.

Okay sensei. Two can play at that game.

"That depends." I folded my arms, tilting my head like a curious puppy pondering over my predicament "Is it worth it?"

That seemed to surprise him. The man stiffened a little, his eye widened.

"What do you mean is it worth it. Do you really want to go back to the academy, I thought you wanted to become a ninja… to protect the village." He leant forward, eye narrowing, piercing gaze almost shooting right through me, trying to figure me out "Or have you changed your mind?"

There it was again. The taunting. The veiled threat. The 'You're not gonna graduate unless I say so'.

"well.." Swallowing the nerves, why was I getting nervous.

Because I couldn't figure this out? Because he had the upper hand? Because I am definitely not good enough to fight to take those bells.

I couldn't let this guy get to me. What would Ibiki say. I mean come on he's put me through far worse than this. He virtually interrogated me for hours the first time I snuck into the division, convinced I was a spy, that a child couldn't possibly sneak into one of the most secret places in the village.

This was the same feeling. A heaviness filling the air, it getting harder to breathe, cold sweat starting to form on my brow, heartbeat starting to pick up. It was almost as if I'm back in that room. Chair too big for me, barely seeing over the desk into those dark, harsh accusing eyes.

Interrogated again.

Wait.

Wait, I already knew this. I was already taught this. These were tactics I was taught dammit. Classic T intimidation.

How the fuck could I miss this.

I threw a wave of chakra up, enveloping me like a second skin. My breathing almost immediately returned to normal, I could begin to relax, I could think clearer.

"Nice try sensei. Maybe you should have tried genjustu"

My dry response seemed to have amused him. He folded his arms taking a relaxed stance, and I took the opportunity to do a quick scan around. Sakura and Sasuke were hidden, which would have been a good idea but given the layer of chakra I just threw around myself trying to hide would have been pointless.

I could see Naruto out of the corner of my eye, dangling from a tree, a clone of Kakashi lecturing him. "Oh and if the bait is obvious… don't take it"

Interesting, how many clones does sensei have, one for each of us? Maybe more.

"Well, would that have worked any better? That was almost a form of genjustu, in a way"

Not quite, it worked similarly but there was no illusion to this, it was basically chakra manipulation. Use your own chakra and essentially shove it into someone else's chakra field. Almost like chakra poisoning it causes the body to freak out, crushing ones own field. Not lethal but still, hard to shake if you don't spot what is happening.

"Eh thats debatable, but thats besides the point. Question for ya"

He raised an inquisitive eyebrow, clearly amused that I wasn't fighting back, my guess is he was trying to figure out where I was going with this.

A scream echoed from the other side of the clearing. Sakura?

Damn, guess he really does have a clone for each of us. Closing my eyes, focusing on my now steady heartbeat, I listened, and felt. She seemed okay, her chakra spiked then lulled. Genjustu.

"Oh don't worry, she'll be fine. You should be more concerned about yourself right now"

I ignored him, spreading my focus on the entire training ground. Something was off here, if he wanted to knock us out, see which of us would last the longest he could have attacked me right now. But he didn't, he wasn't. I was still standing here, wide open yet completely fine.

He was letting me check on the others, even though he said otherwise.

wait…

He was letting me check on the others.

Huh.

Why let me check on the others but try to sew separation throughout the group. He'd managed to split us up pretty well so far. Naruto was once again, dangling from the tree, Sakura was knocked out by the genjustu and Saskue was in the ground… wait, he caught Saskue already.

This clearly wasn't just a test of our abilities. Couldn't be. Which meant, it was something else.

"Well. You have a question for me, What is it?"

I reopened my eyes, my focus now on the man.

Do you know why we use intimidation tactics Mika, it forces our enemy into a corner, until they feel they have no other choice than to give up.

To give up. Was that really what this was?

The goal is to make them feel isolated, when you separate them, they're far weaker alone than as part of a team. A team can rely on each other, encourage each other, pick each other up when one is hurt or needs help. Alone it is easy to break someone.

Its easier to give up if you're alone…

Thats it

I smirked at sensei, and I totally could be wrong here, but all signs point to this being the case.

"If your goal was to test us as a team why not just say so, why separate us?"

His eye widened once again, though more this time. I don't know what he was expecting, but I don't think it was that.

"Wha- I uh, don't know what you mean. I'm trying to separate you guys? You all went off in different directions, well… most of you. If I wanted to test you together I could have just fought you to begin with."

"Exactly and you didn't. We're all in different parts of the grounds, the other three are essentially stuck and now I'm here arguing with you over semantics. Besides, there's only two bells. So, your little test was off, new squads in the Leaf are always three man teams. But with two bells you'd have an odd number. Not only that, it's incredibly unlikely we would succeed. Not with your skills anyway, even if we did work together."

Kakashi stood there, taking the conversation in.

"So Mika, what are you going to do about it now?"

Good question. My team is down, all three of them. Even if I did get Sasuke, would he listen? Would any of them listen… I looked at the clock, had that much time gone already?

Sakura was knocked out by the genjustu, so she would probably be the last port of call, Saskue had got himself stuck. Naruto was currently untying himself, but he was the closest.

He'd probably just make a bunch of clones and attack sensei again.

Now there's an idea.

I formed the hand signs for the clone jutsu, I could only manage two but thats all I needed, sending one off to help Saskue, the other Naruto. I felt the tiniest spike in Sakura's chakra, so chances are she'd be waking up soon.

"Well. Teamwork makes the dream work, question is, are you the real Kakashi sensei, or are you a clone?"

Thats not the question, the real question is wether or not I could keep him here long enough to get to the others. I was getting pretty low on chakra, soon I'd have to take some from my surroundings which is not ideal.

He snickered, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

"You're asking the wrong question Mika~"

Uh-oh I really didn't like the sing song tone of that.

"The question is, are you gonna last before you get to your classmates?"

Shit.

It was odd, I wasn't used to the clone jutsu, and maybe because Naruto was so.. uncoordinated in chakra manipulation he wasn't really aware of how the shadow clone felt? Maybe it was that weird energy inside him that protected him from this. Either way it felt weird.

Like splitting a piece of yourself off, it returns back of course, when the jutsu is cancelled. But it was just weird. Like staring at a reflection of yourself but the reflection is alive, moving of its own accord. Weird.

Is this how the twins always felt? Staring back at each other. Mika, well other Mika. The clone darted through the clearing. This one headed for Sasuke. She was nearly there, could see that he escaped from the jutsu he got caught up in.

"Hey"

The boy turned, uninterested. Apparently Sakura had woken up from her genjustu whilst she was making her way to the two. 'Clone Mika' couldn't really feel the original, though there was a flare up from the direction she just left.

"Dammit we've got to get going. Look I… I know we don't really all get along just yet but there's no way we're gonna get those bells. At least not on our own. Maybe if we work together we stand a chance."

"So what happens if we get them, who gets the bells." Saskue as usual, got to the point.

"Look Im pretty sure thats a setup, Genin squads always have three Genin and a Jonin teacher, so why have only two bells, if not only to pin us against each other. If I'm right, no harm no foul. If Im wrong, you three can fight amongst yourselves on who gets to keep them. But I know one thing, we aren't gonna get them on our own"

A silence fell over the clearing, clearly they were debating the idea. I thought I'd convinced them, until Saskue turned away.

"No, I am an avenger, sorry but I have to test my strength. This is the only way to do that"

"You really think you stand a chance against a Jonin, really, you really really are so stubborn"

"Saskue" Sakura seemed at a loss for words, but there was a concern to her voice, more so than usual. Just how much of this conversation did I miss…

A shrill ringing echoed through the field. That was it, time was up. We failed.

Shit.

Sensei was the first to act, he sprung forwards, kunai in hand. Guess the time for chit-chat was over.

Instinctually I flung my chakra forward, creating a wall between us, although it was wavy, paper thin. Almost embarrassing. Dammit, I didn't have enough gathered, this was beginning to become a problem.

"Wha- how are you doing that"

Sensei seemed confused, naturally. Usually chakra wasn't particularly visible let alone turned into a solid wall. I'd learned how to manipulate my chakra pretty well already, I had to. My taijutsu was pretty lousy and in order to keep up with Lee, I'd had to learn to use my chakra to boost speed and strength. Although I will admit, it wasn't always effective, it took a lotta effort and I couldn't keep it up for very long.

"Eh, chakra manipulation"

I shrugged it off, turning my other options over in my head.

I could run, but I wouldn't be able to outrun him. Same with hiding I probably wouldn't be able to even run quick enough to find a decent hiding spot. Dammit where are those clones, my chakras spread so thin all over the place, I lost the connection… I just had to hope they got to the boys already.

Stay and fight, that was my only feasible option. Keep him here until the others arrive. Which left me with the shadow possession.

Naturally being part of the Nara clan meant I was able to manipulate shadows. But I only had enough chakra left for one attempt, and time was running out.

With him distracted with the barrier, I made the sign and hoped it would be enough. If I could just hold him long enough to gather a little nature energy then we'd be back in business.

My shadow spiked from underneath, shooting directly at him, there was no dancing around him, no hiding it. I wasn't Shikamaru. I couldn't outsmart him. I could only hope that I buy enough time for the others.

"Bold move. You're gonna have to do better than that to catch me with that jutsu though"

Kakashi sensei darted back into the shade. Dammit this was not my day.

Though even if I caught him, it wouldn't have made a difference. The shrill sound of the bell echoed throughout the clearing.

"Well. I guess that's that. Still, you did understand the point of this exercise. Somewhat"

"Doesn't matter I couldn't get to the others in time."

"Sometimes thats how it is, we just have to accept that and keep moving forward"

Thats just the way things are Mika, we just have to accept this and you have to keep moving forward.

The vision washed over me, a waking nightmare. Talim. Dammit all.

It got cold.

It got dark.

No good, not good not good enough not enough no no no no more….notenoughnotgoodnotenoughnomorenomorenomore

The sky got dark, I was alone. Her body right in front of me, but it was useless. She was gone, and I was alone. And the blood, the blood was everywhere.

I couldn't speak. Couldn't move. I was just, there.

Its okay. Move forward Mika

No

Come back

Come back

Sensei…

"Mika!"

Kakashi sensei squeezed my shoulder. "Mika breathe"

"S-sensei?"

I was back in the clearing, lungs ached, gasping for breath,

It was cold, but… there was no blood. Where was the blood. Why can't I breathe dammit.

"Easy, easy you're ok, just breathe"

His voice was calming, another small squeeze on my shoulder. It was good, gave me something to focus on. Dammit I thought I was past this. Dammit all. It took me a second to even notice the tears streaming down my own face.

"Where-where's the blood."
"what Mika there's no blood, you're okay"

Look around, focus. Small things first. One step at a time. What can you feel?

Wind, I feel the wind.

Good, now, what can you hear?

birds. There's… there's a nest. Baby birds. Hungry?

And what do you see?

Sensei. I see… "sensei."

He sighed. "Come on, let's get the others."

It took me a moment, but the vision started to fade. Although I still felt so cold, and empty.

Sensei got to work, tying Naruto up on the middle post.

"Uh-oh, stomachs growling huh? Thats too bad. Ive decided i'm not sending any of you back to the academy"

The wave of shock and then relief was obvious, but I felt nothing. Nothing but cold.

"All four of you are being dropped from the program. Permanently"

I felt cold.

"You can't just kick us out why would you do that!"

Nartuo was kicking about and flailing. Making so much noise.

"Because you don't think like ninja you think like little brats… you think its all about you"

Saskue charged forward, fuelled by rage. Sensei pinned him down quickly enough. I felt anger and… cold.

"LET GO OF SASKUE YOU CANT STEP ON HIM LIKE HE'S SOME BUG"

Loud. Cold.

"You don't know what it means to be a ninja, you think it's a game huh? Why do you think we put you on a squad? Teamwork its so basic. Sakura, you were so focused on Saskue when Naruto was right there in front of you, Naruto you do everything alone, Mika, you realised the point of the mission and froze when it mattered most, putting yourself and worse, the others in danger. And you Saskue, you think the others are so far beneath you, you weren't willing to lift a finger to help, even when they needed it, they were asking for it. Arrogance."

Cold. Sorry.

"Teamwork is a basic skill needed of any Genin. When individuals put themselves above the squad it leads to failure. And death"

Sensei released Saskue, turning towards the memorial stone… "some of my closest friends are engraved here….heroes… "

Sadness washed over their faces, even a little embarrassment for Naruto. It seems I zoned out again.

Still cold.

"Alright I'm going to give you one last chance, but it will be much harder this time. Eat and gain some strength but Naruto doesn't get any, thats what you get for breaking the rules. If anyone tries to feed him, they get disqualified."

He poofed away.

"This is no big deal, I can go for days without eating, believe it!"

His stomach growled. How can I sit here and eat in front of him.

Warmth, a little warmth returned to me with the sound of his voice. Naruto's sunshine. He's hungry.

Sensei's chakra was over in the forest, just outside of the clearing. Watching. Waiting. Another test?

I picked at the bento box, and fed him.

"Mika no- you'll fail!"

Even though he protested, the kid still ate the food, poor kid was starving he just didn't want to admit it.

A smile, and a bit more warmth returned. "I'll be okay I already ate this morning. You need it more than I do. Eat"

I shoved another piece of food in front of him.

He… didn't quite know what to do, looking at Saskue and then Sakura. I followed his wide eyes, what was that look?

Saskue had his arm out with the bento "Here. We're a team. You need your strength" the boy blushed a little.

A little wave of warmth, sent a shiver of cold away.

I looked to my right, Sakura both arms stretched holding her lunch toward Naruto "ye-yea we're a team eat up"

A smile, more warmth, then thunder.

"YOU. You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for your punishment…"

But the warmth was still there, mixed with a little fear even.

"We broke the rules because were a team"

"Exactly"

"Yeah the four of us are one!"

"The four of you are one. Thats your answer…You pass."

There was a moment of silence, letting it sink in. We passed the test. Finally.

"In the Ninja world those who break the rules are scum, thats true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum"

Apparently, we were the first team Kakashi had ever passed. I glanced over our little group. A new team huh. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

The cold was gone.

Saskue knew something was off with Mika, something happened in the training exercise, but what exactly?

She dragged everyone as promised to Ichiraku's, even our new Jonin leader came along. But her energy shifted, she hardly spoke. The others noticed, Naruto practically shoving a bowl of steaming ramen in her face, but maybe that was because she was the first to offer him food earlier. Even Sakura picked up on the shift, making an effort at conversation, even including Naruto. It's been a long time since Mika was like that, maybe a year?

All of a sudden she didn't show up at the academy, nobody knew where she was. A couple weeks went by and she reappeared, a shell of her old self. Why?

It reminded him of his own dark past, and she was there for him when it happened. When everyone in his clan was… she was there, sneaking into his house. Cooking meals, cleaning, making sure he wasn't alone.

At first he found it annoying, why was she butting in on business that had nothing to do with her.

"Because you shouldn't be alone Sasuke"

Those words rung through his ears almost as if she were speaking them now.

He looked down at her, curled up on the couch of his home, It's been a while since she snuck in like this, by pure coincidence he even noticed her in the first place.

He smiled at the irony, how many times has she done this before, but every single time, she made herself known, made her presence felt. If she needed to not be alone, then it was fine, she could stay.

He grabbed a blanket, left a glass of water on the table next to her and headed back to bed. They could talk about this tomorrow, or, whenever she's ready. After all, they're a team now.

Note: as annoying as this chapter was to finish, I'm actually pleasantly surprised with the direction it took (if you couldn't tell by now, I make this up as I go along :P) Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading!