Team Harmony

TK20: The Bell Test

By the time Hinata went outside, Sasuke was waiting for her. Hinata smiled at him and bowed her head politely. He returned the gesture.

"Good morning, Sasuke. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," she greeted him.

He shook his head. "I got here a couple of minutes ago. How did you sleep?" He asked as they began walking towards the training ground with their backpacks.

"I could barely sleep, so I ended up studying. And you?"

Sasuke shrugged. "It took a moment, but I eventually slept. So, did you get any at all?"

She nodded. "Nearly four hours." He smiled and reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. "Are you ready for this test?" She asked, smiling down at their joined hands.

"Definitely. We went over the plan quite a bit yesterday, and I'm sure we'll get it down." He released her hand and they continued on in silence until they heard Naruto calling for them.

"Hey! You guys ready?!" He called out.

Hinata put a finger to her lips. "Naruto, there are still people sleeping, so please refrain from being loud, okay?"

Naruto blushed, covering his mouth. "Whoops, sorry," he said, the words muffled from behind his hand. Sasuke sighed and nodded his head toward the direction of the training ground. "Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'." With a sigh, Naruto followed after his two friends.

They arrived at the training grounds a few minutes ahead of time and looked over their surroundings slowly as they didn't expect their sensei to show up on time. They worked to set up some seals to access different weapons—should they need them—as well as explosive tags gathered in a certain area. Sasuke and Naruto kept Hinata's warning in mind.

'Kakashi-sensei somehow just...knows. He's clever and intuitive. Don't think these traps are going to work.'

Once they finished canvassing the area, they sat on the grass to rest up before their test—a few moments were spent admiring Hinata's doujutsu when she revealed it to them. She was thankful they didn't seem disturbed by it. There was nothing to do but wait and meditate. Six hours later, their sensei strolled in with a casual wave.

"Morning, everyone! Ready to start the day?"

Naruto shot up. "You're late again!"

"Yes. I was on my way over here when—"

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke interrupted. "At least you're here. Let's just start this test."

"Quite the charmer, huh?" Kakashi tilted his head.

"About as charming as you," the Uchiha shot back.

Kakashi pulled a clock from his bag and set it on one of the three tree posts. "Alrighty, then. It is now eleven and you three will have until noon—one hour—to take these two bells from me," the jonin explained as he held up two silver bells attached to red strings. "If you can't get them by noon then you go without lunch, but not only that... you'll be tied to those posts and will have to watch me eat in front of you."

Hinata blanched. "He's not bluffing," she said immediately, remembering those times a few years ago when he did the same to her.

"No, I am not. To make it more interesting, Hinata's lunch is included with a cinnamon roll; Naruto's lunch is ramen from Ichiraku; Sasuke's lunch is, according to his mother, his favorite dish of hers," Kakashi stated, smirking from beneath his mask.

"My mother helped with this?" Sasuke asked. "Tricky."

"She was more than happy to. Now, is everyone ready?"