Everyone was silent except for the sound of the wind blowing that was ruffling our hairs as we all understood what Kakashi sensei meant.
That is, everyone except Naruto....
"In action?" he asked innocently.
Sakura answered him before I could, "Naruto..... it means they died while carrying out their mission." her tone was hinting him to not speak so carelessly.
Naruto's eyes widened upon understanding what it really meant, he slowly looked away and towards the ground as another silence filled the air.
It was as if we were all silently paying our respects to those who gave up their lives for our village.
"This is a memorial. The names of my friends are also engraved here, including my best friend...." Kakashi told us, there wasn't a hint of sadness in his tone, he sounded like he was stating a fact, but I could tell that this man has been through a lot.
We all shared a look among ourselves, unsure on how we should respond. Luckily, Kakashi sensei turned around with a stern look, ending the silence.
"I'll give you guys one more chance! However, after noon it'll be a harsher battle to take the bell. Those who want to take on the challenge can eat your lunch. Akiko is free to go home as she has passed. However, do not let Naruto have any." he instructed.
"Huh???!!!!" Naruto exclaimed, how was he going to fight if he didn't eat??
"That's your punishment for breaking the rules and attempting to eat on your own. If someone lets him eat, that person will be disqualified on the spot, that includes Akiko. Take your lunch and go home or stay and watch if you wish, but do not give it to Naruto." he gave me a stern look as if he read my thoughts cause that was exactly what I had in mind.
"I make the rules here, got it??" he stated, giving us one last look before leaving.
Sasuke and Sakura sat down and opened their bento as they started to eat, while i looked back and forth at Naruto wondering if I should just give it to him.
If I go home, then i might as well give it to him, i could grab something to eat on the way back anyways. If i wanted to stay and watch, i could still give him most of my portion as i wont be fighting anyways.
I was interrupted from my thoughts by a loud, grumbling sound. Naruto. The poor guy must be hungry, I looked over at him to see him being really frustrated.
"I'm okay with not eating lunch! No sweat at all!" he declared, trying to act tough.
But the grumbling from his stomach says that he's not fine at all.
I noticed Sasuke look up from his food and glanced at Naruto who was in despair, before turning to look at me.
I decided that I was going to share my food with Naruto, how is he going to fight if he doesn't have the energy? He'll be dragging the team down, forget about teamwork, he'll probably collapse immediately and it would be like back in the beginning. If I'm going to get disqualified, then...... fine! I'll just retake the graduation test! But my conscience won't let me walk away from this knowing that I could help Naruto.
So I opened my bento and stuffed some rice and a few slices of meat into my mouth as I walked towards Naruto, wondering if Sasuke understood my intentions, hoping he would join me.
Naruto looked up as I approached him, clearly confused with what I was doing. I swallowed my food before holding out my bento and chopsticks towards him, "You can have the rest, Naruto."
"W-what?" Naruto was dumbfounded, but before he could say anything else, Sasuke too had held out his bento towards Naruto, "Here."
I gave Sasuke a small smile, glad that he understood, but his actions surprised both Naruto and Sakura.
"H-hey Sasuke, Akiko! Sensei just said!" Sakura panicked, looking around for any signs of Kakashi sensei.
"It's okay, there's no sign of him now. The 3 of us are going to take the bells together. It'll be trouble for me if he becomes a hindrance, so....." Aha, he did had the same thought as me.
"But, Akiko, you passed! If you do this you would get disqualified!" Naruto turned back to me, trying to get me to change my mind.
I merely gave him a smile "It's alright Naruto, if it happens then it happens. I'll just retake the graduation exam, although.... I might get placed on another team..... Just, don't worry about me, you guys have to work together and pass this test!" I tried my best to reassure Naruto that I know what I'm doing.
Sakura seemed to muse about what the both of us said before even she held out her bento for Naruto.
I think Sakura's actions touched him the most because the kid looked like he could cry right then and there.
"Arigatou, minna......." (Thanks, you guys....) Naruto said softly.
"Don't thank me, just hurry up and eat. I'm on a diet... I mean, I eat less than Sasuke so... you don't have to worry......" she comforted him.
But Naruto still seems to be troubled, then I realized why, he obviously can't eat as his arms were tied. "We don't know when Kakashi sensei will be back, so eat fast okay." I told Naruto as i grabbed some rice with the chopsticks and fed him.
Just then, there was a blast of wind and smoke behind me.
Oh shit, that must be Kakashi sensei!
"YOU GUYS!!!!!" Kakashi sensei lunged out of the smoke towards us, he was veeeery angry.
"UWAAHHHH!!!" Naruto and Sakura screamed while Sasuke and I poised to defend ourselves.
"The 4 of you defied the rules, so you know what's coming....." he then made some hand signs which caused the sky to be covered by dark clouds, feels kinda dramatic honestly.
"Do you have anything to say?"
Sasuke and I kept quiet as Sakura and Naruto trembled in fear.
"Datte..." (But....) Naruto started.
"What?"
"But, but, but! You said sensei! These guys....." Naruto didn't know what else to say to defend us.
"We're a 4 man squad, right?" Sasuke continued.
"That's right! The four of us are one, so!" Sakura chimed in.
"It's either you fail all 4 of us, or you pass all 4 of us, sensei." I stated calmly.
"The four of you are one, eh....." Kakashi sensei repeated to himself as he walked over to us and bent down.
"Goukaku!" (You pass!) He smiled at us, which left us all confused. Is he joking or is that a real smile?
"What???!" we asked in unison.
"You pass!" he repeated.
"We passed? Why??" Sakura asked timidly as the dark rainclouds began to disappear and sunlight began to fall on us again.
"You guys are the first. Up until now, it was always idiots who would just listen to what i say. A ninja must see through deception..... in the world of the ninja, those who break rules and codes are branded as scum.... But.... those who don't cherish their friends are worse than scum."
All 4 of us started to smile and look at one another, except Sasuke, he smirked not smiled, and Naruto was about to cry instead.
"That's it for the exercise! Everyone passes! Group 7 starts their mission tomorrow!"
The air was filled with Naruto and Sakura's cheers, clearly relieved that they passed and get to be ninjas. Even Kakashi sensei smiled at them, a real genuine smile this time.
I looked over at Sasuke and said loud enough for him to hear me over the cheers "So we passed, guess that we're teammates now huh?"
He responded with a smirk "Of course we did, I guess so. Thank god too, I doubt I would've been able to stay sane being in a group with those 2 without you." That last line made me laugh.
"Let's go home." Kakashi turned to leave and we followed him, well not all of us, cause Naruto was still tied to the stump.
Don't worry, I remembered and quickly ran back to untie him.