The four Genin stared in shock as Kakashi sensei fell to the ground.
Poof!
Huh? Another substitution jutsu? Yukana gaped at the scene. That means he could be anywhere right now! And I called out earlier, I've got to move. The white haired girl burst from her spot to a new hiding place farther out in the woods. It's too bad we can't work together, but if we tried then one of us will have to sacrifice the title of Genin. Naruto's clones were a good idea. I should make my own team.
"KYAAA!" Yukana stopped at the sound of Sakura's scream.
So, he's not near me then. I'm safe, for now. Yukana came by another clearing. It was too close to the lake for comfort, but it was the best ambush spot if Kakashi passes by.
Sasuke certainly has the most talent, Kakashi read his book while he walked. I wonder when the last one will decide to make her move.
Yukana saw a figure through the trees. That's him! Ok, come at him like you're gonna kill him. I can do that, I think, but he's human I can't hurt another one of my kind. But hey, this is training after all and besides, he could be a demon for all I know since he keeps hiding behind that mask. I don't like it. All right, here he comes. I'll do the Hell Hound strategy. Yukana got her blood pumping as she pictured Kakashi as an invading demon so she'll go all out. She bared her teeth with hate in her eyes. "Multi-Phantom clone jutsu," the pale girl whispered and many images of herself scattered around the clearing, waiting for Kakashi to reach the center.
"Owooooo!"
What was that? Kakashi looked in the direction of the howl. Are there wolves around here?
"Owooooo!" Another howl from a different direction sounded.
"Owooooo!"
"Owooooo!" Howls from every direction sounded, causing him to look in the direction of each one. Suddenly, Yukana came running at Kakashi with a kunai in her hand. The Jonin gave her a weird look.
"A little slow if you're trying to get the jump on me." Kakashi kept reading. As soon as Yukana got close enough, she leaped at him. Kakashi put up an arm to block her attack, but she went right through him! Huh? The ninja looked to the other side, but there was no trace of her. Two more Yukana's charged at him and even more jumped out of the trees. Clones huh? Kakashi went to block each one, but just like the first, they all went through him. It eventually became an entire sea of Yukana's, blinding him.
"Hyaa!" One punch suddenly landed right on his cheek. When he looked, he couldn't determine which Yukana did it and before he could think about it any more, a kick landed in his side. Kakashi quickly put his book away.
The real Yukana's in here, she'll go for the bells next. Kakashi kept an eye on his belt and saw a single hand reach out. That's her! He grabbed her wrist and swung her away from him. As soon as she hit the ground, all of her clones flew back into her body.
I couldn't hold the clones for much longer. I'm gonna have to fight him one on one. Yukana stood up with a loud hiss with bared teeth and nails. She growled as she got down on all fours, ready to pounce.
I guess she hasn't changed much. She's going to raise a lot of questions if she keeps up this animalistic behavior. Yukana charged at him like a bolt of lightning. She's fast! Yukana clung to his shoulder and swung herself behind him. Before she could stab her fingers into his neck, he grabbed her wrist and swung her off and pinned her to the ground.
"Raaaawr!" The young Genin sounded in anger. She swung her leg up to kick him which he dodged, causing him to let go. She leaped to her feet again and charged. I'm going to eat you. Yukana repeated in her thoughts. She clawed with lightning quick speed, and every punch was a hard blow even when Kakashi blocked them.
She's strong too. She keeps going for critical strikes, I think she's forgotten about the bells altogether. She just wants to kill. Yukana got close to Kakashi once more with her mouth wide open. Kakashi dodged just in time to hear her teeth snap right by his neck. She's completely out of control! That's it, I'm ending this. Kakashi grappled her on her next strike and held her off the ground so she couldn't move. She continued her roaring screams and he threw her into the lake.
"Raaw-eeeeeek!" Yukana's roar turned into a genuine scream of surprise as she fell into the water. She splashed and splashed while screaming at the top of her lungs as if she fell into a bonfire. Her eyes were wide with fear as she tried to scramble to shore.
Oh yeah, didn't she say something about hating water? Kakashi scratched the back of his head.
Father, where are you? I can't sense you Father, I need your help. Yukana tried to call out to the Reaper who would have been here by now if she was close to death. Yukana continued to flail her limbs until her toe touched solid ground beneath the lake. She reached it and eventually was close enough to shore to stand and she ran out of the water as if it was burning acid. Panting and tired, she moved away as fast as she could, which wasn't much faster than a slow jog. Something grabbed her from behind and she let out another scream.
"Yukana! Calm down." Kakashi said in her ear as he bear hugged her to stay still. The girl continued to hyperventilate and shake from fear. The terrified look on her face didn't fade as tears pricked her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how much you were scared of water. I won't do that again."
Yukana buried her face into his chest, shaking. "I hate it, I hate it!" She cried out. "I've never felt fear before coming here. He would always get me out of certain death, but he's not here!" Yukana started to cry. Kakashi got the gist of her story from the Hokage, but didn't know any of the details of what she had to go through.
Yukana heard the sound of a squirrel in a nearby tree. Longing for something familiar, she pushed out of her sensei's grasp and bolted up the trunk.
Kakashi watched the girl curiously as she launched herself to a branch where a squirrel was. Yukana grabbed at the small creature before it could run away and landed back on the ground. The helpless squirrel screeched and suddenly, Yukana ripped open the living squirrel's hide and sunk her teeth into its hot flesh. Kakashi would have stopped her, but he was glued to his spot. He didn't know how to react to the scene that played out in front of him. Yukana ate up the living squirrel until there was only skin and bones left. The Jonin's eye widened in disbelief as she merely wiped her mouth on her white sleeve and sat down in front of her kill and was finally calm.
Yukana smiled at the familiarity of eating what you kill. Off in the distance, the sound of the alarm clock rang.
Kakashi didn't move for a second, not sure weather to leave Yukana to return on her own, or bring her with. "Let's go, Yukana. Time's up." the bloodied girl stood up, but her legs started to wobble from lack of energy. Kakashi quickly helped steady her and lifted the still drenched Genin up onto his back and carried her back to the rendezvous point.
The three other Genin were already there with none other than Naruto, tied to a post. They watched as their sensei came back, carrying a wet and bloody Yukana. They all looked with curious eyes as he set her down in front of Naruto, between the Uchiha and Haruno. They stared at the strange condition she was in. Water dripped off her hair and blood spotted her hands and neck. It looked like she tried to wipe most of it off on her sleeve and the girl's eyes were blank and void of emotion.
What happened? Sakura thought with wide eyes.
What did she and Kakashi sensei get into?" Sasuke wondered. Suddenly, three of the four stomachs growled, catching Kakashi's attention.
"Uh-oh, stomachs growling huh? That's too bad-oh by the way, about this exercise well, I've decided I won't send any of you back to the academy."
"What, I passed? All I did was faint and fall over. Do I get points for that?" Sakura questioned causing Yukana to show the first signs of emotion by a single raised eyebrow. Both the pinkete and blonde started to cheer and Yukana gave a slight smile while Sasuke just looked indifferent.
"All four of us, you mean all four of us!?" Naruto cheered.
"Yes, all four of you are dropped from the program." The cheers immediately stopped. "Permanently!"
"Kakashi sensei!" Yukana spoke up, "if it's any reconciliation, that squirrel was asking for it."
Naruto started to yell furiously at Kakashi how he went back on his word about sending them back to the academy. "How could you do that!?"
"Because, you don't think like ninja, you think like little kids. Like brats." The Jonin stated, flatly. Sasuke bolted from his spot and charged at Kakashi, only to be pinned to the ground. "You think it's all about you."
"LET GO OF SASUKE! YOU CAN'T STEP ON HIM LIKE SOME BUG!" Sakura screamed.
"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 squads, did you consider that question for one moment?"
"I don't know what you mean," Sakura admitted.
"I mean, you never realized what this exercise was all about. Not even close."
"What it's about?" Naruto commented.
"Yes, that's what determines whether you pass, or fail. Use your head. There are four people on this squad. Why do you think we would do that?"
"How are we supposed to know that? We didn't pick the rules!"
"It's so basic. Teamwork! To see if you could put the squad ahead of yourselves."
"Put the squad ahead of ourselves?" Yukana asked in confusion. "What kind of concept is that?" The other three looked at her in disbelief. Even they understood what Kakashi was saying, but Yukana was completely clueless about caring for others.
Kakashi paused, not sure how to respond to that. That is something she would have to learn through experience. "For example, Sakura! You obsessed about Sasuke who was gone, while Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn't lift a finger to help him. Naruto, you do everything on your own, everything. Then you, Sasuke, you thought the others were so far beneath you they were worthless, arrogance. And Yukana, you clearly don't know what I'm even talking about and I will see you after this. Ninja missions are carried out in squads. Of course, you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this. When individuals put themselves above the squad, this can lead to failure and death. For example," Kakashi pulled out a kunai. "Sakura! Kill Naruto now, or Sasuke dies." Yukana jumped to her feet and stood in front of Naruto and hissed at Sakura earning freaked out looks from everyone. "Yukana, you may not realize it, but that right there is putting yourself before another." Now she just needs that attitude towards the rest of her squad besides Naruto. "Now, that's what happens on a mission. The enemy takes a hostage and you've got an impossible choice and someone ends up dead. On every mission, your life is on the line." Kakashi got off of Sasuke and walked away from them. "Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it. They are all ninja who are honored as heroes in our village."
"That's it, that's it, that's it!" Naruto called happily. "Now I know, I decided that I'm gonna have my name engraved on that stone. I'm not gonna live and die for nothing like a dog, I'm gonna be a hero! A hero!"
"They are a special kind of hero." Kakashi started.
"Huh? What kind of heroes are they? Come on, tell us! . . . Well, well?"
"They're all KIA."
"KIA? What's that?" Yukana asked before Naruto could.
"It means, killed in action. They all died." Sakura informed. Naruto looked down in shame.
"This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here." Kakashi explained.
Yukana thought back to how she misses her father and he might as well be dead to her now. Kakashi is no demon, Yukana concluded. Creatures like that don't mourn over anything. I remember learning about the last ninja war. Maybe that's why Kakashi wears a mask, to hide the scars. She placed a hand on her stomach where the eight trigrams scar was. There must have been many demon possessions back then, cuz there's no way humans would kill each other like that.
"Alright, I'm going to give you one more chance." Kakashi stated with utmost seriousness. "But, I'm going to make it much harder on you. You have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch to build up strength, but Naruto doesn't get any. It's your punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat by yourself and if anyone tries to feed him, that person would immediately fail. . . . I make the rules. You follow them. Got it?" His tone was intimidating.
Kakashi had left and the three, untied, Genin opened their lunch boxes.
Yukana paused at the sight of the food, guilty that she had eaten again and Naruto couldn't have any food. Maybe I can hide this somewhere and when he gets untied, he can eat real quick and join us to get the bells. Naruto tried to sound tough and claimed he didn't need any food. He's trying to not make us feel bad. But, his growling stomach said otherwise.
"Here." Sasuke held up his lunch to him before Yukana could carry out her plan.
"What? No Sasuke, you can't do that. You heard what the sensei said." Sakura protested and looked around for any sign of the silver haired Jonin.
"Kakashi's gone. We need to get those bells as a team. If Naruto's hungry, he'll be weak and ineffective. That hurts the team and jeopardizes the mission."
He's right, and besides, if this is going to be harder, he might not even have time to eat after he's untied.
Sakura held up the rest of her lunch next. "I'm on a diet-I mean, I don't need as much as Sasuke, so. . . Just take it Naruto!"
"I can't take it, cuz I can't move my hands. You've gotta feed me-" Plop. "Hmm?" Naruto's mouth was already full. Yukana had stuffed some rice into his mouth already.
"You can have all of mine if you want Naruto, I found something to eat out in the woods already." Yukana said with a smile.
"YOU!!!!" An angry Kakashi roared out and a huge cloud of smoke encircled them. The Genin stood in their spot with their jaws on the floor at them getting caught red handed. Yukana's case being literal, since her hands were still stained in blood. "You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for the punishment." Kakashi did a few hand signs and storm clouds rose above them. "Any last words?"
"But you said," Naruto's voice shook.
"Yes?"
"But you said there were four of us! That's why they. . ."
"We're all on this squad so we're all in together." Sasuke didn't back down.
"Yeah, that's right. We gave our lunch to him because the four of us are one!" Sakura followed suit.
"What they said." Yukana choked out in fear of the bright lightning blinding her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, believe it! That's right!" Naruto struggled in his ropes.
"The four of you are one? That's your excuse?" the Jonin came closer and stared them all down. All of them, except Yukana, had their fight faces on. Hers still had a terrified expression with eyes as big a saucers, but she held out her arms defensively. Kakashi cracked a closed eyed smile. "You pass." He stated, throwing them all off guard.
"Huh?"
"You, pass."
"What do you mean, how'd we pass?" Sakura questioned.
"You're the first squad that ever succeeded. The others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true. But those who abandon their friends, are worse than scum."
Yukana gazed in admiration at her sensei, she felt like she realized something, but she didn't know how to put it into words.
"The exercise is over, everyone passes. Squad 7 starts its first mission tomorrow." The four all cheered in their own ways. "Let's go home." The, untied, Genin followed their sensei out of the training ground.
"I knew it, I knew it, this always happens. You guys forgot to untie me!!" Naruto yelled.
------------
Yukana walked beside Kakashi, after she remembered to free Naruto. "So did you learn anything, Yukana?"
"Yes I think so, but I don't know how to put it into words. I'm gonna have to get used to this teamwork thing. I mean, I've kinda seen it happen before, but the individuals were still out for themselves over the whole pack."
"Well, you already did experience it a few times today. Do you remember you called out Naruto's name when he fell into the lake?"
"Yeah."
"What were you planning to do?"
"I dunno, I wanted to get him out of there. I was going to do whatever it took."
"Were you aware that you would have had to go into the water to save him?"
"Honestly, I wasn't even thinking about it. I just wanted to get him out."
"That right there, is putting others before yourself." Kakashi explained. "But remember, you have two more people on your squad now, not just Naruto. If you put that determination into protecting the rest, you will understand the true meaning of teamwork and caring for others." Yukana looked at her sensei with shining eyes.
"I'd like to do that."