chapter | ten

     YOU WALKED THROUGH the foliage, your determined eyes scanning the area for Sakura, or Naruto— hell, even Sasuke. It had been about ten minutes since you had last seen one of your team members, and you were wondering where they had fled off to. If you were to attack in a team, it'd be more likely for one of you to retrieve a bell from Kakashi. You're called team seven after all. Pushing past the greenery, you made your way through the brushes and into a large clearing, letting out a sigh of relief. Walking toward the center of the clearing, you went to return your kunai back into it's holster, when your finger suddenly brushed against a familiar soft fabric— the Konoha headband.

     Your brow furrowed, "Huh, I forgot I had this. . ." Pulling your headband from it's safe-keeping, you ran your fingers over the engraving of the leaf symbol. You stared blankly at it, unsure of what you should do with the object.

"Why don't you wear it?"

Startled, you spun around and found Kakashi crouching on a branch that hung above your figure, staring down at you curiously. Holding the headband protectively against your chest, you stared back at the jounin.

". . . I'm not from Konoha, so what's the point in wearing it. . . ?" Slowly, you stuffed the metal object back into your pocket "I don't really belong here. . ."

     Kakashi frowned. "That's not true at all, [Name]. You're one of us now, and it's your job to protect the people of Konohagakure. They'll need you, [Name]." Your face went red, and you averted your eyes to the ground. He couldn't really mean that. . . could he? Looking back up to respond, you blinked, finding the branch that Kakashi was crouched on to be completely empty.

     There was a spike of chakra from behind you, and your eyes widened, your body quickly spinning around. "You must keep your guard up at all times," Kakashi lectured, simultaneously swiping a kunai at you. Quickly, you jumped backwards, avoiding his direct attack while retrieving your own kunai from your holster.

"Your reflexes are quick," Kakashi praised, smirking through his mask. ". . . But is it quick enough?" Slashing at him using your kunai, you gasped, watching as his body transformed into a giant cloud of dust, revealing an old tree log.

     "Damn it," you muttered, scanning the surrounding area for any sign of Kakashi— but there was no sign of him, the only presence being your own surprised figure. Interrupting the silence was a sudden scream that echoed from across the forest, making your heart drop. That sounded like Sakura— is she okay?! Hesitating, you searched the surrounding area once more for any sign of life, before heading toward your teammates cries.

. . .

Hopping your way through the trees, you came to an abrupt stop when you spotted a familiar pink-ette, who was sprawled across the dirt unconsciously. ". . . Sakura?!"

Bursting through the leaves, you dropped down from the branch and to the ground, but not before you locked eyes with the Uchiha himself— who was buried-neck deep within the dirt. You paused, staring at the raven-ette, who stared back, blinking. The silence seemed to drag on, before the Uchiha cleared his throat.

"[Name]," He said, snapping you our of your trance. "Help me out of here." Nodding, you dropped to your knees, digging away at the dirt that was packed around his neck. In ten minutes tops, Sasuke's upper-body was freed from the dirt prison, and used his arms to pull the rest of his body from the ground.

     Sasuke closed his eyes, and sighed lightly, dusting off the dirt from his attire, ". . .thanks," he muttered, before approaching Sakura's unconscious form. You stared in surprise, watching as the Uchiha threw her arm across his shoulder, and began his trek through the trees and back toward the main clearing. As stubborn as Sasuke is, he. . . thanked you?!

     "[Name]," You flinched, your attention snapping back toward Sasuke, who was staring at you from over his shoulder. "Hurry up, what're you waiting for?!" Laughing awkwardly, you sheepishly rubbed the nape of your neck, before heading to Sasuke's side, making your way through the woods.

. . .

     Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and yourself sat side by side— well, Naruto was against a stump— but you get the picture. Your lunch was displayed out in front of you, yet you weren't allowed to touch it.

     "You're hungry, eh?" Kakashi chuckled, crossing his arms. "By the way, the results of this training. . . none of you need to return to the Ninja Academy." Naruto, who was surprisingly quiet, lit up in surprise.

     "Are you serious?" Sakura questioned in disbelief, "But— all I did was faint. . . Does that mean the four of us. . !" Turning toward Sasuke, you notice his lips curl into a small smile. Wait. . . did we seriously pass?!

     "—should quit being ninjas." Kakashi finished for Sakura, taking the four of you by surprise. Struggling against his restraints, Naruto let out a cry of anger.

     "Quit being ninjas?! What do you mean?! We couldn't get a bell, but why're you saying we should quit?!" Staring directly at the blonde, Kakashi placed his hands against his hips.

     "It's because the four of you are just kids, who don't deserve to be ninjas." In a split second, Sasuke rose up from his seated position, and rushed at Kakashi, blinded by anger. With ease, Kakashi pinned the Uchiha's arm behind his back, pinning his head with the strength of his foot.

     Sakura stood up in anger, "Hey, don't step on Sasuke!!" Turning his attention toward her, Kakashi furrowed his brows, sending a shiver through the pink-ettes spine.

     "Do you think it's easy being a ninja? Why do you think we're trained by breaking up into groups?" Exchanging a confused look with Naruto, Sakura spoke again.

"Sensei. . . what're you talking about?"

     Kakashi scoffed, "In other words, you three don't understand the answer of this test. The answer to determine whether you pass or fail."

     "B-But Sensei, we've been trying to ask you what that answer was this entire time!" Sakura's emerald-green eyes began to well up with tears, and you began to feel bad for her.

     "Jeez, are all of your brains empty? You don't understand why you're all placed into a group?" Your eyes widened, and you finally began to understand what Kakashi was hinting at all along. It was like you said before.

     "Teamwork. . ." You stood, earning the attention of the group— and an approving smile from Kakashi, "the answer was teamwork. . ." He nodded.

     "Yes, [Name],  the answer was teamwork. If the four of you would have came at me as a group from the beginning, maybe you could have gotten a bell." At this, Sakura shook her head.

     "That doesn't make sense," She explained, "There's four of us, and only three bells! One of us would have to bite the bullet, and then a team conflict would have occurred!"

     "This test tries to put you against one-another. In this case, we prioritize those who teamwork before themselves. That was the purpose— yet you all were clueless." Shifting his gaze toward Sakura, Kakashi pointed.

     "Sakura, you cared more for Sasuke, than the rest of your teammates, though they were right in front of you, and you had no clue where Sasuke was."

     "Naruto, all you did was work on your own, and didn't bother to join up with a teammate." Ashamed, the blonde averted his gaze toward the ground.

     "Sasuke, you assumed the rest of the group was going to burden you, so you did everything on your own." You flinched once Kakashi turned his attention toward you.

". . . and [Name]," he began "you don't even believe you're a part of this team, and didn't bother to think twice about working with one of your teammates. You are one of us." His gaze lingered on you for a moment longer, before he shook his head in disappointment. "An individual action that disrupts the teamwork can result in danger, or even death. For example. . ."

     Retrieving a kunai from it's holster, Kakashi held the cold, metal blade against Sasuke's neck, "Sakura, kill Naruto and [Name], or Sasuke's going to die!" Sakura let out a yelp, along with Naruto, who struggled against his restraints even harder.

     "That's what will happen; someone will be taken hostage, and someone will die." Rising to his feet, Kakashi put away his kunai, approaching large stones, with carvings decorating it's surface. "In every mission, your life is on the line." Following closely behind Kakashi, you and Sakura stared down at the stone. You leaned forward slightly, your eyes glancing over as many names as you could find.

     "These are all of the names of heroes that are praised in this village. There are the names of some of my friends carved on this stone— but they're not normal heroes." Naruto grinned in excitement.

     "That's where I want my name carved!! I wanna be remembered as a hero!! Tell me, what kind of heroes were they!!"

     "Those who were K.I.A," Kakashi spoke softly, running his gloved hand across the stone. "Those who were killed in action" Naruto blinked, before the smile on his face twisted into a sad frown. It was silent, before Kakashi turned to face you all.

     "I'll give you one more chance," He began, catching the four of you by surprise. "But— the battle for the bells will be much harsher after lunch. Eat lunch only if you are up to the challenge."

     He then held up his index finger, "Don't let Naruto eat." At this, the blue-eyed ninja groaned in anger— along with hunger. "This is punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat lunch early. If anyone feeds him, the person will immediately fail."

"I'm the rule here, got it?"