You decide to ignore the person. Naruto was much more important and it frightened you to no end that you could not predict what was going to happen next. You were positive that you watched this episode – so your memory must be failing you. What rotten timing. You got up from your hiding spot and made your way into the open clearing.
"Hey, [Name]-chan!" Naruto called when he noticed you, his face brightening considerably. "Hey, I have an idea!"
"What?" you asked cautiously, wanting to avoid Kakashi's Thousand Years of Death jutsu at all costs.
"Maybe we can work together-ttebayo," he said, grinning. "Then we'll each get a bell and leave the last one for either Sakura-chan or the teme."
You could almost feel Sakura's malicious glare boring into your back and you couldn't help but grin. "Sure, that sounds like a good idea. What's the plan?"
But Naruto had stopped listening to you. He seemed to have spotted something silver glistening in the distance.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei dropped a bell!" he called, trotting over to the object with a triumphant gleam in his eyes. No way…you've seen firsthand just how powerful your sensei was without breaking a sweat. He could never have been so careless.
"Naruto, it could be a trap, be careful –"
Your warning was drowned out by a startled yelp. As Naruto's fingers reached eagerly for the bell, he was suddenly hoisted into the air upside down by a length of thick rope.
"Hey sensei, put me down!"
Kakashi emerged from the dense foliage, his eyes still glued to his book. "A ninja must see through deception."
This was your chance. Your sensei was really and truly distracted for the first time since you began the bell test. You drew out a handful of shuriken as Kakashi continued lecturing Naruto, knowing that he was not paying attention to your minimal movements. You aimed for the back of Kakashi's left hand, which was protected by a metal-reinforced glove, and tossed one at the rope that bound Naruto's leg. The blade of the shuriken sliced easily through the thick filaments, embedding itself into a tree trunk. Naruto collapsed to the ground with a loud thump.
Kakashi turned just as your shuriken bounced harmlessly off the metal plates of his gloves. One sliced his book in half and the pages detached from the orange cover, scattering in the wind. A second later, a second set of unidentified shuriken lodged in his chest. You gasped, realizing that either Sasuke or Sakura had had the same idea, but with the intent to kill or maim rather than distract.
Kakashi's face was strangely blank, frozen with mild surprise as he toppled sideways in slow motion. He didn't seem to mind or notice that his book was damaged beyond repair and that there were pages clinging to his face.
"Sasuke, [Name], are you crazy!?" Naruto called weakly from his spot on the ground. "You guys went too far!"
"I aimed for his hands, which were shielded by metal," you protested, unable to believe your eyes. Did Kakashi-sensei really just let down his guard, or was it all to ruse?
Your half-fearful hopes were dashed when Kakashi promptly turned into a log before your eyes. Of course, a body replacement jutsu! You heard the rustle of branches nearby and you guessed Sasuke was on the move. Kakashi-sensei, wherever he was hiding, had now discovered the Uchiha's position.
"Sasuke-kun, wait!" you heard Sakura's plaintive cry in the distance. You barely stifled a sigh of exasperation and went over to examine Naruto, who was still lying flat on the ground.
"You okay?" you asked anxiously, hoping the fall didn't hurt him too badly.
"Yeah I'm fine, believe it!" he declared importantly, staggering to his feet. "I'm gonna be the next Hokage someday, so I'm not letting sensei beat me that easily!"
"That's the spirit." Kakashi had materialized again, reclining against a nearby tree with his intact orange book in one hand. In the other, he was twirling a kunai idly with his fingertips. "But say that after you get the bell, hmm?"
"Now what?" Naruto was surprisingly composed, choosing to ignore Kakashi's remark. "I say we attack again, head on."
"But we'll lose the element of surprise," you reasoned, glancing at your sensei's motionless form with slight apprehension.
"Ah, fine," he said grudgingly, following you as you ambled into the forest to get as far away from Kakashi-sensei as possible. "What should we do now?"
"I'm not sure yet," you admitted, running through the possible tactics to get Kakashi-sensei to lower his guard. His constant vigilance was problematic; you would need to address that concern first.
"I'm hungry…" Naruto whimpered.
"Don't worry, we'll get those bells in no time!" you said, trying to sound upbeat. Your stomach growled treacherously, as if to contradict your words. You glared at the ground, fighting your hunger with thoughts of the prospect of lunch once you got a bell…
"Decoys," you finally said, when nothing else came to mind. Your stomach growled again and you grimaced. "We could, say, send a pair of shadow clones to distract Kakashi-sensei, and sneak up on him from behind…" you shrugged your shoulders helplessly, running out of inspiration.
Naruto suddenly went rigid and you stared at him in concern. "What's wrong?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. It's a good idea…and I think we should split up."
"Split up?"
"We could cover more ground that way," he insisted.
"Okay," you agreed easily, swiftly dispatching a shadow clone to search for Kakashi. Naruto did the same, and set off in the other direction, bouncing on his toes the entire way.
You paused for a moment, then sent a second kage bunshin after the first, devising a backup strategy on the spot. You were sure Kakashi-sensei would defeat you and Naruto's clones without breaking a sweat. Hopefully, he would be fooled into thinking that the second one to approach would be the real you. By then, you hoped, Kakashi would drop his guard, even if just for an instant.
With that in mind, you focused your chakra into the soles of your feet and quickly scaled a conveniently located tree. Narrowly escaping falling to your death due to a lapse in concentration, you hurried to conceal yourself among the thick leaves, waiting. You heard a loud, high-pitched scream of terror and guessed that Kakashi had gotten to Sakura…unless Sasuke was capable of making such a sound.
-:-
Kakashi sighed and deactivated the henge no jutsu. The enthusiastic orange-clad genin vanished mid-stride, replaced by Kakashi's normal form. By the unquestioning look in your eye, he knew that you were completely fooled by his disguise. Not for one moment did you even think that the Naruto you were talking to could possibly be Kakashi. Yet, he thought in satisfaction, you were very prepared, despite your limited skills. Unlike Sasuke who he had fought and defeated earlier, you didn't have a plethora of clan-inherited techniques at your disposal. You made the best of it, however. Kakashi was impressed.
Still, your actions made him suspicious that you didn't entirely put your faith in your teammates, even if you did choose to work with Naruto. If you couldn't even trust your own friends, you were ultimately unqualified to being a shinobi. If left to fester, this attitude of yours could lead to your downfall, like it did him.
Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash…
The way you acted, it reminded Kakashi of himself. He balled up his fists and returned to the memorial stone where Naruto was currently tied up to. He was blowing things out of proportion. He forcefully shoved these thoughts out of his mind for the moment. He would deal with them later.
"Hey, hey sensei!" Naruto squirmed, still trying to wriggle his way out of the ropes that restrained his body. "Can you untie me now? And what did you do to [Name]-chan? She should've been here by now!"
Kakashi's eyes closed briefly. His speculations were confirmed. Of the four, Naruto showed the most promise, by genuinely caring about his friends. His visible eye drifted over the shuriken-embedded logs scattered about the clearing, and guess that all his replacement jutsu were foiled by [Name] and Naruto bunshin.
"Oh, she's trapped in a genjutsu of mine," he said brightly, feigning a smug sort of superiority. It wasn't strictly true, but he figured a lie wouldn't hurt. He immediately received the reaction that he predicted and wanted to draw out of the kid.
"Oy, what are you saying?!" Naruto asked furiously, tugging at the ropes with his teeth in his desperation.
"You heard me."
"[NAME]-CHAN!" Naruto yelled, redoubling his efforts to free himself from the bindings.
Kakashi smiled to himself, sure that you wouldn't come to his rescue. Before he could taunt Naruto further, he sensed a projectile approaching and dropped to the ground instinctively. The kunai whizzed past his head and implanted itself harmlessly into the ground. Kakashi's gaze flickered upwards and he spotted you crouching on a branch several metres above his head. In your hands was a wire strung with a dozen kunai which you hurled towards him as he lifted his head.
Impressive, he thought. He had miscalculated; you were less like his old self than he originally assumed. No matter, you would still sacrifice Naruto in the end. Pairing up with a deadlast like him was only for mere convenience, he was sure of it. Kakashi dodged the kunai easily, and as you tugged the wire strings back to launch a second attack, he pinched one of your kunai between his fingers and seized it in a vicelike grip.
You gave a startled gasp and the wires slipped from your fingers. All of your kunai clattered harmlessly to the ground around Kakashi-sensei's feet. Your eyes flickered to Naruto's bound form again, worry clouding your thoughts.
"Naruto, are you alright?"
He grinned sheepishly and attempted a small wave. "Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about me, [Name]-chan."
"Can you move your hands at all?" you pulled out your last kunai as Naruto gave you a thumbs-up. "Here, catch!"
Kakashi smiled under his mask and intercepted the kunai in midair with one of yours that he picked up from the ground. You blinked, then mentally reprimanded yourself for not considering the jounin's raw speed and quick reflexes. Your (e/c) eyes shifted to where Naruto was still pinned to the memorial stone, trying to think up a strategy.
Kakashi flicked the bells with his fingers, diverting your attention to the silver objects for a moment. He then cocked his head attentively, as if he heard something in the distance. In the instant he was distracted, you decided to make your move. Would you have a chance to seize the bells on your own, or was saving Naruto more important to you?
Naruto was in no immediate danger. This was the bell test after all, so you go for the bells. Go to Chapter 44.
Naruto was more important. Besides, you were friends, and friends don't leave each other behind. Go to Chapter 45.