As I walked around aimlessly, trying to come up with a plan, the alarm of the clock rang, meaning it was already noon. I cursed under my breath and walked back to where my teammates were. When I got there, Naruto was tied up to a post while Sasuke and Sakura sat on the ground with their stomachs rumblings.
Oh right, I forgot. They didn't eat breakfast so they must be starving. Thankfully, I ate, but I am getting a little hungry...
I sat down next to Sakura and Kakashi nodded.
"Alright, now that we're all here, I have some news for you all. I decided I wouldn't send any of you back to the Academy," Kakashi announced and Naruto grinned from ear to ear.
"I passed? All I did was faint and fall over. Do you get points for that?" Sakura asked, but started cheering and jumping up and down.
I smiled brightly. I couldn't help but be happy. This was the beginning of my dream, and I couldn't be more excited. Sasuke gave a minuscule smile and made his famous "hm" sound.
"So that means all four of us-" Naruto began but Kakashi interrupted.
"Yes. All of you are being dropped from the program. Permanently," Kakashi informed us with a closed eyed smile. This made everyone quite down and out smiles fade. I looked down feeling genuinely confused.
"What do you mean, kick us out? That means we can never become ninja! You said if we didn't get the bells, we'd be sent back to the Academy. You can't just change your mind and kick us out! Why would you do that?!" Naruto yelled, kicking his feet back and forth like a kid throwing a tantrum.
"You don't think like ninja. You think like little kids- like brats," Kakashi replied coldly. With that, Sasuke growled in anger and charged at Kakashi with the intention of hurting him.
"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled dramatically.
"Don't! He's no match for us, or you either!" I yelled and shook my head when Kakashi had Sasuke below is feet.
"You think it's all about you," Kakashi sneered towards Sasuke.
"Let go of Sasuke! You can't step on him like he's a bug!" Sakura screamed. I sighed heavily, a lot of negative emotions flooding through me.
"You don't know what it means to be a ninja. You think this is just a game. Why do you think you're put on squads? Did you consider that question for one moment?" Kakashi asked. I opened my mouth to respond, but Sakura beat me to it.
"Uh, I don't know what you mean?"
"I mean, you never realized what this exercise is all about. Not even close," Kakashi continued. Again, I tried speaking, but Naruto did first.
"What it's about?" he asked.
"Yes, that's what determines whether you pass or fail."
"Well, that's what I've been trying to ask you from the beginning," Sakura countered. I started getting aggravated as I knew the answer, but no one would let me speak.
"Use your head. Four people on a squad. Why do you think we would do that?" Kakashi asked. I opened my mouth, again, but Naruto yelled.
"Ahh!! How are we supposed to know why you put four people on a squad?! We didn't make the rules!" Naruto screamed, but before Kakashi could continue, I finally spoke.
"Will you let me speak?!" I yelled, which made everyone stare at me. With everyone staring at me because of my outburst, I wasn't so loud and mad this time. "Teamwork. We are put on squads to work together," I mumbled and Kakashi sighed.
"Thank you, finally! It's too late now, but if all three of you had tried to take them, maybe you would've been able to get one," Kakashi said and everyone stared at me.
"And that's what I was trying to say from the beginning," I whispered to myself, but loud enough so Sakura and Naruto heard me. They looked down in disappointment. Suddenly, Sakura's head shot up in realization.
"Wait. You set it up with four people and three bells. That would lead to group conflict and the squad would split up," Sakura said all brainy like. I rolled my eyes slightly.
Of course they'd do that. If there were four bells, there would be a higher chance of working together and it wouldn't be much of a challenge.
"Exactly. I purposely pitted you against each other. I was trying to see if you could get past that and put the squad over yourselves. A Genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. But you- it didn't even cross your mind. Well...one of you did, but the rest refused to cooperate.
"Sakura- you obsessed over Sasuke who was gone, but 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. And Sasuke- you thought everyone was so far below you they were worthless. Arrogance. And worst of all, Hotaru offered to help and work with all of you, but all of you refused. And Hotaru- you gave up before even trying.
"Ninja missions are carried out in squads. Of course, you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this. If individuals put them selves before their squads, this can lead to death. For example..." Kakashi stopped to take a kunai out of his weapon pouch and hold it to Sasuke's neck.
"Sakura, kill Naruto and Hotaru now or Sasuke dies!" Naruto and Sakura started freaking out while I nodded in understanding. Stuff like this happens, but hopefully we can learn to work together and avoid that. Kakashi put the kunai back in his pouch.
"That's what happens on a mission. Someone is taken hostage, you have an impossible choice, and someone dies. On every mission, your life is on the line," Kakashi said, stood up (getting off of Sasuke) and walked towards a large, kunai shaped stone. When I saw it, I looked down in sadness and grief.
"Did you look at this stone and the names engraved on it? These are all ninja who are honored as heroes in our village," Kakashi continued, and tears fogged my vision.
"I know, I know, I know! I've decided! I'm gonna have my name engraved on that stone! I'm not gonna die like a dog, I'm gonna be a hero!" Naruto shouted, a grin on his face. I shook my head.
"No. You don't want your name on that stone..." I mumbled.
"Ahh why not, Hotaru? They're heroes!"
"They're a...special kind of hero," Kakashi tried to explain.
"What kind of heroes? Tell us!" Naruto asked.
"Dead ones," I replied in a cold voice, stood up and walked over to the stone. I crouched down and traced my fingers over my father's name. Naruto blushed in embarrassment and looked down.
"This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here," Kakashi told us. I let the tears trickle silently down my cheeks.
"Haruto Hamasaki," I whispered, making everyone look at me in curiosity. I wiped the tears from my cheeks and faced them.
"That was my father's name. Haruto Hamasaki. He was killed while on a mission 5 years ago. His name is on this stone," I announced, making everyone look more guilty. Kakashi turned to face the others while I walked back next to them.
"Fine. I'm going to give you another chance, but I'm going to make it a lot harder on you. You'll have three hours to get a bell. You can eat lunch now to build up strength, except Naruto. It's his punishment for breaking the rules. If anyone tries to feed him, they will be failed immediately. I make the rules, you follow them. Got it?" he threatened and teleported away.
I grabbed my lunch, opened it, and took out my chopsticks. I grabbed a little ball of rice and started eating. Naruto's stomach growled loudly.
"This is no big deal. I can go without eating for days, even weeks! Believe it! This is no big deal!" Naruto shouted, but his face fell when his stomach continued growling. "No problem..." he mumbled.
At the same time, Sasuke and I shoved our bento boxes towards Naruto. "Here," we both said. Naruto's eyes widened.
"What? Sasuke-kun, Hotaru, you can't do that. You heard what sensei said," Sakura protested.
"Kakashi's not here right now. We need to get these bells as a team. If Naruto's hungry, he'll be weak and ineffective. That'll jeopardize the team and mission," Sasuke explained.
"I just feel bad and don't want you to be hungry," I said with a sheepish grin. "Plus, I ate breakfast this morning."
Naruto stared at us in awe while Sakura looked down at her box for a few seconds until finally holding it towards our blonde teammate.
"Okay, thanks," Naruto said staring dreamily at the pinkette.
"Don't thank me, just hurry up and eat," she insisted.
"But isn't that your lunch?" he asked her worryingly.
"Well, um, I'm on a diet. And I don't eat as much as Sasuke, so just take it!" she cried out. I nodded.
"If it makes you feel any better, I'll give you some of mine too," I told him with a closed eyed smile.
"B-but I can't take it, my hands are tied up!" Naruto whined. "You guys have to feed me!"
We stared at him, my eyebrow twitching slightly.
"Hurry up, he could be here any minute," Sasuke scolded, and I blushed. I had to feed a guy? I looked to the side, grabbed some rice and meat with my chopsticks, and stuffed it in Naruto's mouth. Sakura did the same, making it easier to feed him.
As soon as Naruto ate a few bites, a cloud of smoke appeared. Acting on my own instincts, my hair let itself out of its bun to act any moment. Kakashi's head poked out of the smoke.
"You!" he shouted menacingly, which startled me half to death. "You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for the punishment." He weaved hand signs and the sky filled with gray storm clouds.
"Any last words?" The ground was shaking and Sakura trembled in fear. I whimpered slightly at his words, but didn't show how scared I was.
"But you said..." Naruto began and Kakashi stopped the shaking.
"But I said what?" he asked.
"You said we were a squad and we work together! That's why Sakura, Hotaru and..." Naruto trailed off.
"We're a squad and we're all in it together," Sasuke continued. This made Sakura less scared.
"Yeah, that's right! We gave him our lunch because the four of us are one!" Sakura retaliated. I nodded firmly at her statement.
"Right, we care about our other teammates and make sure they're alright because we're one!" I shouted.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Believe it! That's right!" Naruto screamed. Kakashi walked towards us.
"The four of you are one? That's your excuse?" Kakashi asked angrily. I glared at him, determination in my eyes. He gave us a closed eyed smile. "Hm. You pass."
My jaw dropped to the ground, and so did Naruto and Sakura's. "w-what?" I asked in disbelief.
"You pass," he repeated and the sky started clearing up.
"What do you mean? How did we pass?" Sakura asked. I myself was clueless this time. Did breaking the rules and feeding Naruto actually lead us to passing?
"You're the first squad that ever succeeded. The others did everything I said and fell into the trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are considered scum. That's true. However...those who abandon their friends are worse than scum," Kakashi told us.
This made me smile slightly, Naruto tear up, Sakura grin, and Sasuke smirk slightly. "Y-you know, he's kinda cool?" Naruto whimpered and sniffled.
"The exercise is over. Everyone passes. Team 7 starts it's first mission tomorrow!" Kakashi congratulated with a thumbs up.
"Yes!" Sakura cheered.
We started walking back, until I heard screeching. I turned around to hear Naruto yelling and kicking around. "You forgot to untie me!" he shouted. I lightly giggled, threw a kunai that sliced through the ropes, and continued walking.