"I think she broke," said Naruto.
Abruptly Sakura moved, her hands coming together in a seal. "kai?"
"What?" asked Naruto, having jumped back at the sudden movement.
"She squeaked," noted Sasuke, thinking this was not behavior that really fit into the whole ninja-thing.
"Kai!" said Sakura, quite a bit more certainly and focussing.
"I think she's trying to dispel a genjutsu," said Naruto, scratching his head.
"KAI!" tried Sakura.
"Hnnn," hnnned Sasuke, shaking his head.
"KAI, damnit!"
"Haruno-san," said Kakashi, making a beckoning gesture with one hand. "You're not in a genjutsu."
"Kai, damnit, kai," tried Sakura before slumping in place.
"You done?" asked Kakashi as gently as possible.
"Y-yeah. So the 'Dread Avenger' and 'White Fox' are actually real," said Sakura, not looking up. "Not idle talk or urban legend."
"Right," said Naruto.
"Actually, I prefer 'Nightslayer'," said Sasuke.
"KAI!"
"I thought you were done with that," noted Naruto.
"Wasn't ready for that," admitted Sakura. She stiffened abruptly and looked up, glancing between Sasuke and Naruto. "Wait a minute. You were trying to get me to go with you."
"Because Owl Girl couldn't make it a whole lot," said Naruto. "Her father caught her, grounded her. He's a real stick-in-the-mud."
"Right," said Sakura, throwing most of that out because she didn't understand or even want to understand. Right now there was one thing she understood that was taking most of her attention. "So I could have been out spending time with Sasuke."
"Well, yeah," said Naruto pleasantly.
Sakura twitched, brought one fist up... and slugged herself in the jaw. "BAKA!"
Naruto turned towards Sasuke. "You know. I don't know how you do it. Girls are literally beating themselves up over you."
Sasuke shrugged, as if that matter were not even worthy of a comment.
"BAKA BAKA BAKA!"
"Uhm, you're gonna concuss yourself or something if you keep that up," pointed out Naruto after the third hit.
"If she does, can we get her transferred off and Hinata Hyuga on the team?" asked Sasuke. "We've worked with her before and her Byakugan can come in handy."
"Ah," said Kakashi, thinking the identity of Owl Girl had just been confirmed. "No. You might have the chance to work with her in the future though. Temporary teams do form for mission-specific purposes."
Sakura twitched some more at the thought. "Okay."
"Well, amusing as this all has been, you're still not genin yet," said Kakashi. "There's a second test you have to pass for me to actually accept you as a team."
"Ah, that," said Naruto.
"Hnnn," hnned Sasuke, nodding his head.
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Sakura. "What second test?"
"Should we tell her?" asked Naruto.
"No. It would defeat the purpose of the test if the would-be genin knew about it before I gave it," said Kakashi.
"Well, we're ninja," said Naruto, pointing at his headband. "Spying, working out of the shadows, misleading other people while ferreting out secrets? All part of the job description, wouldn't you say?"
"I prefer the phrase 'looking underneath the underneath' but yes that IS generally the case." Kakashi sighed. "Why do I have a feeling that if 'Owl Girl' had been part of this team - the test would go completely FUBAR?"
"Just proves that you're fairly preceptive, despite keeping one eye covered," said Naruto.
Sasuke snorted slightly, managing to convey his opinion that even without Hinata they'd manage to take this test and skew the results.
"Well, we'll see about that," said Kakashi.
Sakura twitched, getting more and more nervous.
Sasuke was laying out supplies and checking the points of kunai, but also had a couple of odd devices she wasn't familiar with.
Naruto had started out by checking various scrolls, then had begun working on a long and involved fuuinjutsu. Also checking various pieces of his own equipment. Also working on some new outfit. Plus he was constructing something involving a number of wires, gears, sliders, and levers. This was because there were currently six Naruto there with them. Oh, and one was meditating over there while another was keeping watch. So make that eight Naruto. Not counting the various Naruto who had been ducking in and out of the shrubbery, trees, etcetera.
"I thought you couldn't do the clone technique," said Sakura when one of the Naruto were nearby.
"Can't. I have too much chakra to do anything delicate," said the Naruto nearest here.
"Yeah, we're shadow clones. Kage bunshin, that is," said the Naruto who'd been putting together the weird gadget as he stood up and started inspecting it.
"Oh," said Sakura. "Uhm. What other techniques do you know?"
"Oh a few," said the sentry Naruto. "Heads up guys. Kakashi-sensei just used a shadow clone to check up on us."
"Hnnn," answered Sasuke without looking up.
"Man of few words, Sasuke is," said the gadget-making Naruto. "Maybe that's why so many girls are after him. He hardly talks - therefore they can chat away to fill the available silence?"
"Nah," said another Naruto. "The chatty ones wouldn't hang around in groups if they were only attracted to silence."
"Might as well put everything back in scrolls," said the Naruto who had been meditating. "If he's checking on us, most likely he'll be showing up soon."
"You realize you're having a conversation with yourself," pointed out Sakura.
"Yeah? Your point?" asked three Naruto at the same time.
"My point is... I'm getting a headache," said Sakura, slumping at the end of that statement.
Poof! went a puff of smoke as their jonin-sensei appeared. "Okay. Is everyone ready for their... what are those?"
"What are what?" asked Naruto.
"Those bars you're putting in your pockets," indicated Kakashi. "The ones in the paper wrappers."
"Trailmix bars," said Naruto. "Never know when you've got to get a quick burst of energy and stuff ya know."
"You weren't supposed to eat breakfast, you know," said Kakashi, sounding a bit resigned for some reason.
"Yeah, but you didn't exactly forbid it either - just said we shouldn't do it," replied Naruto. "And this stuff - we haven't eaten any. I just try to keep some on hand as a 'just in case' - dattebayo!"
"I suppose," said Kakashi.
"A shinobi should always prepare for the unexpected, look beneath the surfaces, and keep an ace in the hole," said Naruto, sounding as if he was quoting something.
"Well, I can't exactly argue with that," admitted Kakashi. "Considering that one of the Hokage said something very similar to that a few years back."
"Why is everyone surprised that someone who wants to be Hokage would spend time learning about the Hokage?" asked Naruto of another Naruto.
That Naruto shrugged and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Because your public persona is an idiot to keep the people who already fear and hate you from fearing and hating you more?" asked Sasuke.
"Unusually verbose for you," noted Kakashi.
"We all wear masks, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto, stretching out and rewarded with a loud popping noise from one shoulder. "Only some are physical."
Sasuke snorted.
"Well, that and I've been working on trying to get him to loosen up some," said Naruto.
Sasuke merely rolled his eyes as he finished putting tools away.
"Okay, well, I can see that," said Kakashi. "In any case, today you face the second genin test."
"You mentioned that yesterday," noted Sakura.
"Well, the test is this," said Kakashi, holding two bells up.
"Ah, that one," said Naruto.
"Hnnn," hnnned Sasuke.
"Well, it IS a classic," noted Naruto.
Sasuke gave Naruto a flat look.
"Well it IS," said Naruto, crossing his arms. "It was given to the Third Hokage when HE was a genin. He gave it to his genin team when they were just starting out."
"Uhm, guys," said Kakashi.
"Right, no details," said Naruto. "Understood. Classified mission kinda thing, sorta."
"What?" asked Sakura.
Kakashi sighed before just going ahead with the script. Just ignore how off-the-rails it already was. "I have these two bells. In order to become a genin and not be sent back to the Academy, you have to steal one from me. Stop making faces, Naruto. You have to use any means necessary to get one, and if you don't come after me with the intent to kill - you definitely will fail. You'll have until the alarm clock goes off - and stop rolling your eyes Sasuke or your face will get stuck like that."
"But if there are two bells and three of us..." began Sakura.
"Yes, one of you will definitely go back to the Academy," agreed Kakashi.
"Hmmm?" asked Naruto, looking towards Sasuke and holding up three fingers.
"Mph," considered Sasuke, shaking his head and holding up four fingers.
Naruto seemed to consider that briefly, then held up four fingers and nodded.
"If you two are done?" asked Kakashi. Hand signals. They've already worked out team-specific hand signals. And if they'd managed to recruit and work with Haruno during the Academy it would be all three of them at this point.
"You going to give a signal as to when the mission has started?" asked Naruto.
"Yes," said Kakashi.
thunkity thunkity thunkity thunk went a lot of kunai into Kakashi.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Sakura predictably screamed as their sensei was hit by a cloud of kunai coming from the brush.
"Sakura?" asked Naruto. "You're showing a lot of concern for a log."
"Eh?" asked Sakura, uncovering her eyes and discovering that yes - there was a log there that hadn't been there earlier and it had seven kunai and three shuriken imbedded in it.
"By the way," said Kakashi from a position up in one tree. "That was NOT the signal."
"Do I get points for initiative and enthusiasm?" asked Naruto, studying the pattern of weapons in the log.
"Uhm, let me think. No. Absolutely not." Kakashi managed to sound slightly amused though.
"So what IS the signal?" asked Naruto.
"That would be when I say 'start'," began Kakashi.
Naruto ran his thumb over something that had been in his hand. A tree exploded for no adequately explored reason.
There was brief silence marred by the pitter patter of little bits of wood landing.
"That didn't count either," said Kakashi's voice from somewhere nearby.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" asked Sakura of Naruto.
"There's a possibility," said Naruto to Sasuke. "She can be the sane one and voice of reason and moderation."
Sasuke considered that for a second, then nodded once.
"You know," said Kakashi's voice somewhere nearby, "for the first time since administering this test - I'm experiencing some doubt about the whole 'come at me as if you're trying to kill me' portion of the instructions."
"Oh?" asked Naruto.
"You may, with some reservations on my part, start," said Kakashi's voice.
Naruto pulled out his mask, fitted it into place, and transformed into the White Fox of Konoha. He gave a nod to the Avenger and vanished.
Sakura stared as Sasuke put the mask on, seemed to grow two inches in height as shadows formed into dark spiky armor. Then his own shadow deepened and he slowly sank into it.
Sakura blinked and looked around, apparently completely alone. "Guys? Sasuke? Naruto?"
After a moment of that, she leapt for the cover of the underbrush.
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sun, 21 Apr 2013 01:05)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.