Art of Genjutsu

Kakashi Hatake

Clocks are stupid. When when you want them to slow down, they speed up. When you want them to speed up, they slow down. They must really enjoy tormenting people. That clock on the wall in particular has always had it out for me. Even back when Iruka-sensei first started teaching me, it hated me. And I hated it right back. Seriously, who gave clocks the power over time? He must have been an idiot.

I sigh as I stare up at the Clock of Doom. Me and my new squad are sitting in our old classroom, waiting for our captain to show up. We weren't the only ones to show up, but all the other teams left with their new captains hours ago. Since I'm one of the lucky ones, I guess that I get to wait longer for the Jonin to show up. Yay.

"Where is he?" I take my eyes of the Bringer of Darkness on the wall. Naruto is half out the door, looking back and forth down the hall. "All the other Jonin showed up long time ago. Even Iruka-sensei's gone!"

I climb on top of the desk I'm sitting at and lay on it, curling up in a little ball on my side. I spend way too much time with Shikamaru. I watch Naruto and Sakura argue with each other.

"We get it, okay?" Sakura says annoyed.

"How come all the others get to leave and go on adventures, and we're stuck here, waiting for our stupid Jonin to show up?" Naruto paces the room. As he passes by, his eyes fall on the chalk eraser on the board. He laughs to himself as he grabs it, moving a stool over to the door.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Sakura asks him, curious.

Naruto sticks the eraser in the jam, and closes the door on it. When someone opens the door, they will get a hair full of chalk dust. A simple prank.

"Naruto!" Sakura marches over to him. "You're asking for trouble. You shouldn't be doing stuff like this."

"He's an elite ninja," Sasuke says. "He's not going to fall for that."
So he speaks now. Is he trying to show how great he is, or how stupid Naruto is? Either way, I want to punch him in the face right now.

"Let's consider it a test," I pull my head off the desk. "If he can avoid Naruto's prank, than we know that he's at least a competent ninja."

"Yeah!" Naruto yells. "Besides, that's what he gets for being so late!"

We hear footsteps coming down the hall towards us. "Here he comes!" Sakura and Naruto race away from the door and try to look 'natural.' Sit up on top of the desk so I can see better.

We watch as a hand takes a hold of the door. The Jonin pulls the door open. We all watch the eraser as it begins to fall. Then, we are all taken by surprise as it hits him on the head and lands on the floor.

Oh, my team is just so awesome. We've got Naruto, Sakura I-can't-think-of-anything-but-Sasuke Haruno, Sasuke the Snob, and now him. And we are supposed to be the specialized squad that revolutionizes the Leaf Village? This is going to be so great.

Naruto starts laughing. "I got him! He totally fell for it."

"I'm so sorry," Sakura apologizes. Of course you are. You always have to obey the rules. "I tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen to me."

Sasuke stares into his hands. I hate to admit it, but I know what he's thinking, and I agree with him. How could this guy possibly be a Jonin? He couldn't even avoid a simple prank.

Our new captain picks up the eraser and looks at it for a few moments. He's slow, and reminds me of Shikamaru a little. His silvery hair magicly defies the laws of gravity, and floats above his head. A cloth mask covers his face from the nose down, and his headband falls down in front of his left eye. Right eye? No, his left, my right. Got it.