Edited 25/06/2015

Kakashi's POV

I watch Ashley as she drops down from the tree she'd been sitting in, walking towards us and studying me with a scrutinising look. If she's wondering how I knew she was over there, it really wasn't that difficult. I've been a Ninja for a lot longer than her, so I've got a few tricks up my sleeve.

"Nice of you to join us" I greet Ashley cheekily, to which she merely rolls her eyes. Turning around, I pull a small alarm clock from my weapons pouch and wind it up, with Naruto and Sakura watching me curiously. Sasuke stands with his hands in his pockets, releasing a bored sigh and glancing at Ashley as she blows some hair from her face, only for it to fall back into the exact same place.

"This clock is set for twelve in the afternoon" I explain, reaching into my pocket and producing three small bells, dangling from pieces of red string. "Your task today is very simple. All you have to do is get one of these bells from me before the alarm clock rings."

This earns me a few incredulous looks, though Ashley tilts her head to the side, looking more dubious than anything.

"For those of you who haven't managed to get a bell by twelve o'clock" I continue with a cheery smile, though I'm not sure if my students can tell, "You will be tied to a tree stump, you will miss out on lunch and I will eat mine in front of you as punishment."

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all groan, dark clouds appearing above each of their heads as they realise why I really instructed them not to eat any breakfast. I catch Ashley smirking at her teammates in dark amusement, making me wonder if she did eat anything today.

Judging by the attitude I've observed from her already, I wouldn't be surprised if she'd disobeyed me like a brat. I can see that she's going to be the one to try and test me, see what my limits are before I get angry. Too bad for Ashley that I don't get angry.

"Excuse me Kakashi Sensei" Sakura speaks up, raising her hand, "But there are four of us and you're only holding three bells. Did you forget to bring a fourth one?"

"Good spot Sakura" I reply lightly, jingling the three bells side to side, "But no, I didn't forget one. As you said, there are only three bells, which means that at least one of you won't be getting one and will be tied to the stump. Oh, and if you don't mange to get a bell, you will fail this test. Failure will result in you being sent back to the Academy."

"What?!" Naruto cries in disbelief, his blue eyes widening. Sakura lets out a gasp and covers her mouth her with hands, while Sasuke scowls determinedly.

"I never attended that Academy though" Ashley informs me smartly, to which I send her a closed eye smile.

"Then I'll just enroll you" I reply. "There's no way around it Ashley. If you fail, you go to the Academy."

I internally smirk, seeing the way Ashley's face drops, clearly not happy with my answer. Well, that's what she gets for trying to be a little smart mouth.

"You may use any weapons you like for this test" I tell my Genin, "Just as long as you come at me with the intent to kill. If you don't, you will not pass."

"Won't you be in danger though Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura inquires worriedly, almost making me laugh. I'd hardly be in danger while fighting against four rookie Genin.

"No Sakura, I'll be just fi-"

"Yeah!" Naruto interrupts with a yell. "I mean, when we first met you Sensei, you couldn't even dodge a blackboard eraser! We're gonna destroy you!"

I sigh quietly as Naruto begins laughing, with Ashley blinking a few times and sending the blonde male a quizzical look. She probably has no idea about Naruto's stupid prank, and I'm hardly going to be the one to explain it....

"Class clowns are usually the weakest links" I taunt Naruto, his laughter ceasing immediately, "And you can ignore them because they have the lowest scores. So, let's all just ignore this loser here and begin when I say-"

I am once again interrupted, as an angry Naruto launches himself towards me, a kunai brandished in his fist. Chuckling to myself, I easily grab onto the boy's wrist and flip around, bending his arm behind his back.

"Huh?" Naruto asks in surprise, eyes wide, as he feels me push against his hand, kunai now aimed right at the back of his own head.

"Don't be in such a hurry Naruto" I advise, rolling my eyes. "I haven't even said to begin yet."

Ashley's POV

I see my teammate's eyes shining, Sakura and Sasuke clearly impressed by Kakashi's reaction time and speed. I fold my arms over my chest, not about to outwardly show my own intrigue. While I'm absolutely positive Kakashi won't be making full use of his skills to fight against a bunch of Genin, I can still see that he's fast. I'll be interested to see what he can actually do one day.

"It seems as if you're ready to come at me with the intent to kill" Kakashi muses, raising one silver brow. "Does that mean you've acknowledged me? I might be beginning to like you. Alright then, let's really get this started. Go!"

Sakura and Sasuke immediately dart away, vanishing into the surrounding forest to hide from Kakashi. I do a few back hand springs and then leap up into a tree, perching on a low hanging branch. I'm not about to leave the area, because I want to watch Naruto get beat up. It could be funny.

"You and me Kakashi Sensei, right now!" Naruto bellows, struggling to free himself from the Jonin's grip. "Fair and square, let's go!"

"You know" Kakashi comments, tilting his head, "Compared to the others, you're a little bit weird."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto challenges, frowning. "The only weird thing around here is your haircut!"

Finally managing to break himself free, Naruto charges away, only to skid to a halt and spin around, glaring at Kakashi with determination. The blonde grits his teeth and races back towards the Jonin, when Kakashi reaches for the weapon's pouch strapped to his waist.

Naruto immediately stops running and jumps backwards, expecting an attack. He sweat drops however, as Kakashi whips out a small, orange book, with me almost falling right out of the tree I'm sitting in. Is he serious? I get that Naruto may be no match for him, but to pull out a book and read it during a fight? Kakashi must be pretty sure he's not going to have any trouble whatsoever....

"Part one of Shinobi battle techniques" Kakashi announces, tilting his head down to read his book, "Taijutsu, the physical part."

"Wh-What are you doing?" Naruto queries, looking perplexed.

"What are you waiting for?" Kakashi asks calmly, free hand shoved in his pocket. "Make your move already Naruto."

"Yeah but......" Naruto trails off, waving a hand towards his strange Sensei. "Why are you reading a book? We're in the middle of a fight!"

"Why?" Kakashi repeats, sounding highly amused. "To find out what happens in the story of course. Don't worry about me though, with your weak attacks, it really won't matter if I'm reading my book."

I can't help smirking to myself as Naruto scowls irritably, hands clenching into fists down by his sides. I didn't think Kakashi had it in him to be a smart ass. Maybe he won't be so bad after all....

"I'm gonna crush you Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto proclaims, rushing towards the silver haired Jonin again. Not bothering to look up from his book, Kakashi easily blocks Naruto's punch with one arm, before ducking as the blonde swings a knee towards his face.

"Now you're mine!" Naruto grins, throwing a second punch for Kakashi's mouth. He stumbles forwards however, his fist only connecting with air. The blonde blinks a few times, looking around in confusion.

"Too slow" I mumble under my breath, peering over at Kakashi, who had vanished and reappeared right behind Naruto. He really is quick. I hardly even saw him move just then.

"Don't let your enemy get behind you" Kakashi warns, to which Naruto jumps with fright and whirls around, staring at his Sensei in wonder.

"Get out of there Naruto!" a female voice calls, making Kakashi turn his head slightly, no doubt figuring out where it's coming from. "He's gonna destroy you!"

'Way to give away your hiding place Sakura....' I think sarcastically, shaking my head. When you're hiding from the enemy, the last thing you want to do is make any noise.....Let alone start yelling.

"Too late!" Kakashi cries, sounding somewhat gleeful. "Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!"

My eyes widen and I can't help sweat dropping, as Kakashi places his hands together in a hand sign and viciously jabs Naruto in the butt, sending him shooting up into the air, shouting in pain.

"What a stupid attack" I complain, face palming. "It seems to be effective, but still. Ew."

Lifting my head, I see Naruto plummet down from the sky and land in a nearby lake with a loud splash, an unconcerned Kakashi fiddling with his book.

"Okay, now where was I?" the Jonin asks himself, only to look in my direction and suddenly disappear from view.

Eyes widening a little, I hastily climb to my feet, only to pause and glance back over my shoulder. Now standing directly behind me, Kakashi sends me an innocent smile and jabs me in the back, sending me falling towards the ground.

I manage to flip around in mid air and land in a crouched position, glaring up at Kakashi in annoyance. I can't be bothered trying to fight against him, I just wanted to watch him beat Naruto up and shut his loud mouth.

"You could at least try and hide, like the others" Kakashi suggests, leaning his shoulder against the tree trunk and watching me casually.

"I wanted to watch Naruto lose" I reply, to which Kakashi's shoulders droop a little.

"That's hardly the point of the exercise" he sighs, waving a hand towards the river. "However lame his attempts may be, at least Naruto is trying to get a bell. Maybe you wanna do the same and actually join in?"

"Not particularly" I state flatly, hooding my eyes.

"I guess I'll just have to force you to participate then" Kakashi says with a shrug, making me scowl. I don't really feel like trying to fight against a Jonin, but if he's going to attack me, I guess I have no choice....

Before Kakashi can make a move however, two shuriken slice through the air towards him, aimed right at the Jonin's throat. Raising his free hand, Kakashi easily catches the two weapons on his finger and spins them around, still focused on his book.

I turn my head as Naruto climbs up out of the lake, leaning on the embankment on his hands and knees. He glares up at Kakashi, climbing to his feet and trying to shake off some of the water.

"What are you doing now?" Kakashi asks teasingly, turning a page in his book. "You know you won't get any lunch unless you can get a bell by noon."

"Yeah, yeah" Naruto replies in a whining voice, stumbling up the embankment, "You already told us that!"

"You seem pretty unsteady for someone who claims he'll be the Hokage one day" Kakashi continues taunting, as Naruto's stomach lets out a loud growl.

"Well, you told us not to eat breakfast!" Naruto shouts in frustration, one hand on his stomach. "How do you expect me to fight when I'm starving to death?! You just caught me off guard, that's all! Believe it!"

I cringe at those words. I won't be held responsible for my actions if he continues to shout them. I don't think I've ever heard something so annoying before.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto suddenly cries, performing a hand sign. I nearly pull a muscle in my neck with how quickly I turn my head, only to see a small number of perfect Naruto copies leap out of the lake and charge towards Kakashi.

"Wh-What?" I asks myself incredulously, now staring at Naruto in disbelief. "How can.....How can he perform such a high level Jutsu?!"

Rising to my feet, I can't help narrowing my eyes at Naruto in annoyance, hands balling into tight fists. How is it that someone like Naruto can perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu, yet I can't? How did he even learn that attack anyway?

"Ha, you were over confident Sensei!" Naruto barks arrogantly. "That's why you weren't ready for my best attack, the Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Great technique there Naruto" Kakashi compliments, though he still doesn't look bothered, "But I doubt you can maintain it for very long, considering how much chakra it requires. You talk like you're the best student, but you're really the worst. You can't beat me with this-"

Kakashi's eyes widen as one of Naruto's clones suddenly tackles him from behind, wrapping it's arms around the Jonin and pinning his own arms to his side.

"He got me from behind?!" Kakashi exclaims, shocked, as he falls down towards the earth. The real Naruto chuckles evilly, proud of his efforts.

"I thought you said to never let your enemy get behind you Sensei" the blonde taunts, throwing Kakashi's earlier words back at him. "It was good advice, believe it! But you and those bells are mine now!"

Just as Naruto's clone is about to crush Kakashi into the dirt, he vanishes in a cloud of smoke, revealing another Naruto copy in his place. It grunts in pain as it is slammed heavily into the ground, with Naruto's other clone quickly releasing it and backing away, a question mark appearing above its head.

"What just happened?" the clone inquires, looking to Naruto as he runs over to inspect the confusing situation. "Is that Kakashi Sensei, or is that me? Uh.....I mean, you?"

"No way, that's still Kakashi Sensei!" the real Naruto decides, jabbing a hand towards the new clone as it rises to its feet. "You just transformed into me using a Jutsu or something!"

"I'm not Kakashi you idiot!" the clone shouts back indignantly, throwing up an arm as Naruto swings his leg out in a kick. Soon, all of the Naruto clones disappear in a large dust cloud, shouting insults and trying to beat each other up.

I raise an eyebrow, unsure as to what exactly is happening right now, only to turn my head and see Kakashi bending down in front of a nearby tree. He straightens up and bends his knees, disappearing off into the forest.

Maybe he's tired of Naruto now and wants to go after one of the others? Whatever he's doing, I'm just glad he's not coming after me.

Naruto suddenly decides to undo his Shadow Clone Jutsu, causing all of his copies to disappear in small puffs of white smoke. He remains in the middle of the field, panting heavily and looking quite dishevelled. He soon perks up however, having spotted something by the tree Kakashi had just been standing in front of.

"Oh boy!" the blonde cheers, running over. "He must have dropped a bell when I attacked him before, heheh!"

A flat expression crosses my face as the still grinning Naruto squats down and reaches out, only for a hidden rope to tighten around the boy's ankle and roughly tug him up into the air. Not having expected the trap, Naruto accidentally drops his bell and dangles helplessly from the tree, upside down.

Okay, so I didn't realise a bell was over there, but surely Naruto couldn't have really expected Kakashi to just drop it so uncaringly like that......

Seeming to appear out of thin air, as per usual, Kakashi strolls over to Naruto and bends down to pick up the bell, sighing loudly.

"Naruto, think before you use a Jutsu" the silver haired man advises, flicking his bell into the air and catching it, "Or else your opponent will use it against you."

As Kakashi turns to leave the scowling Naruto behind, he pauses, glancing back over his shoulder at the blonde.

"Oh and another thing" he adds sweetly. "If the bait is obvious, don't take it. A Ninja must be able to see through deception."

"I get it!" Naruto chokes out, struggling furiously and waving his arms around, to which Kakashi tuts and shakes his head.

"No, I'm telling you this because you don't get it" the Jonin explains smartly. "You might think that you get it, but that's not the same as actually getting it. Get it?"

Before a highly unamused Naruto can retort, Kakashi is suddenly hit with a barrage of shuriken, sending him lurching to the side.

"Arrghhhh!" Naruto cries, eyes bulging, before he frowns and looks up into the trees. "Are you out of your mind Sasuke?! You went way too far just now!"

I release a sigh at that, leaning my back against the tree closest to me and placing my hands on my hips, watching as Kakashi is suddenly replaced by a small log. If only it were so easy to kill a Jonin, but I think Kakashi has already displayed that he is not easy to catch off guard.

'Good use of the Substitution Jutsu' I think to myself, not wanting to express it out loud. Just in case Kakashi is around. I don't want him to hear me.

"That chicken" Naruto murmurs to himself, pulling out a kunai and hurriedly slashing at the rope around his ankle, "He ran off after he thought he got Kakashi Sensei....."

Grinning as he finally manages to free himself, Naruto flips around and lands on the ground, hands on his hips and chest pushed forwards.

"I'm free!" he announces happily, only for another hidden rope to tighten around the boy's ankle and yank him right back up into the tree. "Dammit! I fell for it again!"

Growing bored with Naruto's stupidity and not knowing how many more times this will happen, I push away from the tree I'm leaning on and run into the forest, looking for the others. I pause when I hear Sakura scream, her voice cutting through the air like a knife. What just happened to her?

"I think I overdid it" a voice says from behind me, causing me to whirl around, brows furrowed, "But she's got to learn to see through these things."

Standing on the branch of a tree, Kakashi lowers his book, focusing his visible eye on me. Though I can't really see his mouth, I can just tell that Kakashi is smirking, and that irritates me. He knows he surprised me just then.

"Part two of Shinobi battle skills" the silver haired Jonin states coolly, "Genjutsu, the illusion part. Sakura studied it in school, yet she still couldn't see through it. How about you?"

I almost sigh with relief when Sasuke suddenly slides into view, his onyx eyes focused intently on Kakashi. I'd never tell any of them this, but Genjutsu isn't exactly my strong point. I personally don't know any Genjutsu at the moment and while I can usually recognise one if I'm caught, I struggle to escape from very strong ones.....

"I'm not like the others" Sasuke boasts, his arrogance making me pull a face. He thinks he's better than me huh? I'd like to show him a thing or two....

"Say that after you get one of these bells" Kakashi replies boredly, surprising both Sasuke and myself when he disappears and reappears on the ground behind the Uchiha, casually leaning against a tree.

The two male Shinobi stare at each other in silence, when Sasuke crouches down and whips two handfuls of shuriken at Kakashi, who easily doges every single one of them. They sink into the bark of the tree Kakashi had been standing near, each hitting with a thunk sound.

"There's no point using normal attacks like that Sasuke" Kakashi reminds the Uchiha, shaking his head. Sasuke merely smirks in response, pulling out a kunai and flinging it at another tree.

It slashes through a well hidden rope, releasing a trap and sending a spray of kunai straight towards Kakashi. The Jonin darts out of the way however, with Sasuke appearing behind him and swinging his leg out in a kick. Kakashi whirls around and blocks the hit with ease, grabbing onto Sasuke's ankle to stop him from trying to kick again.

Not perturbed by this, Sasuke twists his torso around, throwing a punch for his Sensei's face. Kakashi uses his free hand to block the punch, only for Sasuke to then bring up the knee of his other leg.

'He's not bad for a rookie' I admit to myself, 'Though Kakashi keeps blocking everything so easily.'

Taking advantage of Kakashi's hands being incapacitated, Sasuke tries to spin his body around and reaches down for one of the bells tied to the Jonin's waist. Eyes widening with realisation, Kakashi swiftly shoves Sasuke away from him, darting backwards as a faint jingle rings through the air, the Uchiha's fingers having brushed against one of the bells.

"Well, you are different from Sakura and Naruto" Kakashi admits, knees bent, "I'll give you that much."

"Fire Style" Sasuke calls out, performing a set of hand seals, "Fireball Jutsu!"

Placing one hand in front of his mouth, Sasuke exhales a small, chakra enhanced fireball right at Kakashi, who seems surprised by the young Genin's Jutsu. He dodges around the fireball however, the flames dissipating as Sasuke drops his hand, catching his breath.

Both Sasuke and I look around to see where Kakashi has gone, with the Uchiha looking a lot more frantic than me. Before he can react, a hand suddenly breaks through the ground below Sasuke and grabs at his ankle, the Genin's eyes widening. He is then abruptly pulled underneath the earth, only his head visible.

I blink a few times as Kakashi bursts out of the ground, dusting himself off and leaning over the aggravated Sasuke.

"I was right under your feet" Kakashi states brightly. "That was my Earth Style: Head Hunter Jutsu."

Sasuke doesn't respond, instead gritting his teeth and straining to free himself, though it doesn't look like he's having any luck.

"Can't move huh?" Kakashi teases. "Well, that was Ninjutsu, the third Shinobi battle technique. You were right Sasuke, you do have talent and you are different, but different isn't always better. Besides, we haven't seen what your fourth teammate can do yet......"

I slide one foot backwards and take up a defensive stance as Kakashi turns around to look at me, taking in the wary expression on my face. While I don't particularly want to engage an experienced Jonin in battle, I'm hardly going to back down if he challenges me. My pride won't allow me to do that.

Sasuke grows still, watching on with interest. I mean, it's not like he's got much of a choice anyway, seeing as he's sort of stuck there at the moment.

Kakashi and I both remain still for a few moments, only for the Jonin to suddenly vanish as I blink. I quickly jump up into the air, just as a leg slides underneath me, Kakashi trying to trip me up. Spinning around in mid air, I throw out my leg in a kick, aiming for Kakashi's neck. His eye focused on my face, the Jonin brings up one hand, not so much as flinching when my shin collides with his palm.

Dropping back to the ground, I do a number of back hand springs to distance myself from the older silver haired Ninja, brows furrowing as he begins performing hand signs so quickly, my eyes can barely keep up. Vaguely recognising the sequence however, I also press my hands together, planning to meet Kakashi's Jutsu head on.

"Fire Style" we both shout, "Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Mimicking Sasuke's earlier stance, Kakashi and I place our hands in front of our mouths and breath out two streams of fire, fuelled by our chakra. The flames rapidly grow in size, the two large fireballs colliding with each other.

I stubbornly continue to exhale the flames, my Jutsu pushing against Kakashi's, until I feel myself needing to take a breath. Dropping my hand from my mouth, I hurriedly dart to the side, just as Kakashi's fireball blasts right past me.

The silver haired man straightens up and turns to look over his shoulder, spotting me crouching on a tree branch on all fours, hooded eyes focused on him.

"I wasn't expecting a Fire Style Jutsu from you" Kakashi says, turning all the way around and placing his hands on his hips. "Sasuke yes, but not you Ashley."

"I could say the same" I reply blandly. It's true. I really had no clue Kakashi could use Fire Style Jutsu. I'm not really sure what I expected him to be able to do.

"How did you learn the Great Fireball Jutsu?" the Jonin inquires, clearly curious. "That's pretty impressive for a Genin."

"Same way I assume you did" I state smartly, teeth bared in an unfriendly smirk, "Someone taught it to me."

Kakashi raises one eyebrow at that, but says no more about it, probably wanting to continue on with our fight.

"......Aren't you going to attack?" he questions after a full minute of silence.

"Doubtful" I say, shrugging one shoulder as Kakashi sighs heavily, shaking his head. I can hear him muttering under his breath and while I can't exactly hear what he's saying, I'm pretty sure I hear the word lazy mentioned.

I'm not lazy, I just don't see the point in this stupid exercise. Besides, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all seem so eager to get a bell, I wouldn't want to get one first and crush their little dreams.

Actually. That sounds fun.....

"I think I sense a cheating Genin" Kakashi suddenly states, looking back towards the starting point and vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Tilting my head to the side, I lean back on my hands, glancing down at Sasuke, only to see that he is already staring up at me, frowning deeply.

"What's your problem?" I ask.

"Get me out of here" the Uchiha demands, to which my smirk comes back, though an anime vein appears on the side of my head. This jerk thinks he can just order me around? I don't know who he thinks died and made him King, but I'm not about to listen to someone who managed to get their whole body stuck underground.

"No" I retort, pulling a face at Sasuke and dropping down from the tree I'm in, strolling away. To my relief, I hear the sound of Kakashi's alarm clock ring, its shrill sound just about making me wince.

At least this dumb test is over now.

Naruto pouts unhappily, currently tied to one of three large posts in the middle of the training field, being punished for his earlier cheating. Sakura and Sasuke are both sitting at the base of the middle post, one on each side, staring at the ground with disappointed expressions. I perch on top of the post on the right, sitting with my legs crossed and my elbows resting on my knees, chin in my hands.

"Uh oh" Kakashi says sarcastically, "I can hear stomachs growling. Well, that's just too ba-"

"Why am I the only one tied to a post?!" Naruto interjects madly, kicking his legs. "No one else got a bell either ya know!"

"Yeah, but you're the only one who cheated" Kakashi fires back. "While everyone else was trying to get a bell, you were trying to sneakily eat some lunch. That aside, I've decided that none of you are going back to the Academy."

"Yes!" Naruto cheers, while I just sigh boredly. Big deal. I never went there in the first place.

"But all I did was faint and fall over" Sakura reminds Kakashi, looking shocked. "Do you get points for that?"

"Yeah" I scoff rudely, rolling my eyes. "You should definitely try doing that in a real fight. Do us all a favour."

Sakura tosses me a faintly irritated look, though she looks away and quickly begins to smile, remembering what Kakashi had just said. She pumps both fists in the air victoriously, with Sasuke closing his eyes and smirking, probably the closest thing he'll get to a real smile.

"Th-Then, does that mean that a-all four of us....." Naruto trails off, stuttering with joy at the thought of passing Kakashi's test.

"Yes, that means that all four of you" Kakashi smiles kindly, when his face suddenly clouds over, "Are being dropped from the program. Permanently!"

"Wh-What?" Sakura whispers, her eyes wavering. Sasuke and Naruto stare at Kakashi in disbelief, with the Uchiha's face slowly darkening. Clearly he's not very happy with this decision.

I can't say that I particularly care that much, seeing as I've never had an official Ninja rank before and it's been many years since I've lived in a Village. I can just leave this place if I want anyway, it's not like I have any ties to it.

No one can tell me whether I'm a Ninja or not.

"You can't drop us from the program!" Naruto objects desperately, flailing his legs again. "That means we won't ever become Ninja! You just said that if we didn't get a bell we'd be sent back to the Academy! You can't just change your mind and drop us!"

"It's hardly my fault that you guys think like little kids and not Shinobi" Kakashi replies uncaringly, hands on his hips. "You're just little brats!"

Chin still in my hands, I frown at Kakashi, when Sasuke suddenly decides to dive at him, angry about the Jonin's decision. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes upwards, Kakashi easily grabs on to Sasuke and shoves him to the ground, incapacitating him in a mere second.

"You just think it's all about you" the Jonin admonishes, sitting on top of his furious looking, raven haired student.

"Hey, get off of Sasuke!" Sakura commands, jumping to her feet and pointing. "He's not a bug, so you can't just squash him like that!"

"Would you shut up?" I growl, my tone and the irritated look on my face causing Sakura to cower away from me. "You give me such a headache, and I've barely even known you for two days."

"None of you even know what it really means to be a Ninja" Kakashi states coldly, sending me a warning look. "You think this is all just a game huh? Did you even consider why we place you on squads?"

We all stare at Kakashi in silence for a few moments, no one having any answers for him. He hangs his head and shakes it, sighing wearily.

"Not one of you even realised what this while exercise was really about" he mutters. "It's what determines whether you pass or fail."

"Well, I kind of wanted to ask you about that in the beginning" Sakura mentions timidly, only for Kakashi to cut her off.

"Use your heads!" he admonishes seriously. "At least three people to a squad. Why do you think we would do that?!"

"Arrghhhh!" Naruto finally explodes, his eyes just about spinning with the effort of having to use his brain. "I don't know!"

"It's so simple" Kakashi laughs exasperatedly, looking at us all like we're stupid. "It's all about teamwork!"

Realisation seems to dawn on Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto and while I have to admit that I didn't get the point of this test either, I don't care. Teamwork? Who cares about that? The only person you can truly rely on is yourself. With teammates like these ones, I definitely won't be relying on them either. Only I can get myself through situations, as I've been doing all my life.

"It's too late now" Kakashi continues, shrugging, "But if you had've all come at me together, you might have been able to take the bells. Oh well. It's over now anyway."

"Hang on a sec Sensei!" Sakura cries, pink brows creased in confusion. "There were four of us and only three bells. Even if we did work together, one person still wouldn't have gotten a bell!"

"Exactly" Kakashi agrees, looking somewhat annoyed. "I purposely pitted you against each other, to see if you'd be able to put your teammates ahead of yourselves. Genin like you should have a natural feel for team work, but it never even crossed your minds!"

"Even if they teamed up" I chime in, smirking meanly, "They'd never be able to get a bell from you."

"That's just your problem Ashley" Kakashi tells me sharply, my smirk fading into an unimpressed scowl, "You think you're so great and the others are so weak. You're the only one who purposely avoided engaging me in battle, so really, the weakest one here is you."

"What'd you just say?" I growl, my pride hurt. Nobody calls me weak!

"Sakura" Kakashi addresses harshly, turning his attention away from me, "You were so obsessed with following Sasuke, even though he was gone. Naruto was right in front of you, yet you did nothing to help him!"

Sakura hangs her head in shame and blushes bright red, embarrassed by Kakashi calling her out on her mistakes. The Jonin isn't done with his vocal slaughter though, visible eye zeroing in on a nervous looking Naruto.

"Naruto, you tried to do everything on your own!" Kakashi reprimands. "Why not just wise up and ask your teammates to help you?"

As Naruto lowers his gaze to the ground, biting his lip, Kakashi tilts his head down and narrows his visible eye at Sasuke.

"You've got the same problem as Ashley" the Jonin states, "Arrogance. Sasuke, you thought you were so much better than the others, as if they were worthless. Ninja go on missions in squads and while individual skills are important, teamwork is key! When a Shinobi puts themselves above the rest of the team, it can lead to a mission failure or even death!"

Sakura lets out a frighted gasp as Kakashi whips out a kunai and presses it against Sasuke's neck, threatening to slice it open.

"For example" the Jonin says lowly, "Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke here will die!"

"Wh-What?!" the pinkette cries, looking between her two male teammates fearfully, unsure of what to do.

"I'll do it" I volunteer darkly, dropping my gaze to a now sweating Naruto's face. "He's annoying."

"Don't be so stupid Ashley" Kakashi sighs heavily, withdrawing his kunai, much to Sakura's relief. "You're just as annoying, if not more."

I deadpan at that, wondering how on earth I could possibly be considered more annoying than a loud mouth like Naruto. I may not be filled with sunshine and rainbows, but I'd hardly consider myself that bad to be around.

"Anyway" Kakashi continues, skilfully spinning the kunai around his finger, "That's the kind of decision you could be faced with on a mission. The enemy will take a hostage, you've got an impossible choice to make and someone ends up being killed."

Standing up, Kakashi allows Sasuke to climb to his feet, the Jonin turning and walking towards a large stone at the edge of the field.

"On every mission, your life is on the line" he informs us quietly, hands in his pockets as he looks down at the rock. "Have you looked at this stone and seen all of the names engraved on it? They are all the names of Ninja who are honoured as heroes in our Village.

"I want my name to be put on that stone too then!" Naruto decides, his eyes lighting up at the idea of being hailed as a hero.

"No you don't you idiot" Sakura discourages, turning and giving the blonde a condescending look.

"Why not?!"

"Because all of those people were killed in action" the pinkette explains, her nasty look fading into a troubled expression, green eyes flicking back over to the stone.

"Yes, this is a memorial stone" Kakashi confirms, nodding wisely. "The names of all of my closest friends are engraved here..................."

While Sakura and Naruto look at Kakashi sympathetically, I tilt my head to the side, feeling curious. I wonder exactly what Kakashi's been through. He basically told us that all of his friends have been killed at one point or another, yet I wouldn't have ever guessed such a thing if he'd never told us.

I guess some of us are just very good at hiding the pain we feel.

"Okay, I'm going to give you guys one more chance" Kakashi speaks up again, brows creasing as he scowls at us, "But I'm going to make it much harder than before. You'll have three hours to get a bell from me. So, eat your lunch now to build up your strength. Do not let Naruto have any food though. That's what he gets for cheating earlier."

"If any of you even try to feed him, you will fail immediately" the Jonin warns, placing his hands together in a hand sign. "I make the rules and you follow them. Got it?"

That said, Kakashi disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving us to eat without him.

Sasuke, Sakura and I all help ourselves to the lunch boxes that Kakashi left with us, though the chopsticks we were given are beginning to annoy me a bit. In my homeland, we never used chopsticks. We used forks, which I thought was what normal people did. Apparently not though.

As I finally manage to stick some rice into my mouth, I hear Naruto's stomach let out a loud growl, to which I pause and glance down at him. Still seated on the ground, Sakura and Sasuke look up at the blonde, a conflicted expression on the pinkette's face.

"Th-This is no big deal" Naruto assures us, smiling weakly. "I can....I can go for ages without food. Believe it!"

Almost snapping my chopsticks in half as I clench my hands into fists, I glare down at Naruto and raise my lunch box into the air, eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"Will you stop saying that?!" I snap, throwing my food right at Naruto's face. "It's driving me insane!"

Sakura and Sasuke both sweat drop as the lunch box slowly slides down Naruto's face and drops to the ground, pieces of rice sticking to the blonde's cheeks. I recoil a little, confused and disturbed when I see tears pouring from Naruto's eyes.

"Th-Thank you Ashley" he blubbers, surprising me.

"Huh?" I ask, pulling a face when Naruto hiccups, still snivelling. "What for?"

"For feeding me" the boy explains, now smiling despite his tears, "Even though Kakashi Sensei said you'd fail if you gave me any food!"

"That's.....That's not what I was doing!" I disagree vehemently, almost falling right off the top of the post as I jump to my feet. "I wasn't trying to help you out!"

"....You're going to need all of your strength if we're going to beat Kakashi Sensei as a team" Sasuke speaks up lowly, raising his lunch box towards Naruto. Watching the ravenette for a few moments, Sakura lets out a sigh and rises to her feet, offering to help feed Naruto.

"Awww, you guys...." Naruto sniffs, touched by our generosity, despite however accidental it may have been.

"This is only happening once!" Sakura screeches, making sure Naruto is aware. "I'll never, ever feed you again! Do you hear me Naruto?! Never!"

As Naruto nods, mouth too filled with food to reply, dark clouds fill the sky above us, a wave of smoke appearing directly in front of us. Sakura and Sasuke both jump when Kakashi's furious face looms out of the smoke, the Jonin crossing his arms.

"You guys broke the rules!" Kakashi thunders. "I hope you're ready for your punishment! Any last words?"

"You said that we were a team" Naruto says confidently, "And that we should look out for each other! Sakura, Sasuke and Ashley were feeding me becau-"

"We're a team you idiot" Sasuke sighs wryly, "So we'll all take the blame."

"Y-Yeah!" Sakura agrees, nodding vigorously. "We fed him because the four of us have become a team!"

I can't help rolling my eyes, dumping myself back down into a sitting position and leaning my chin in my palm. How cheesy could these Leaf Ninja get? I don't care about becoming a team with them. In fact, I'd rather be anywhere but near them. I don't understand why they think that by throwing my food at Naruto like that, I was trying to help him. How stupid.

"The four of your have become a team?" Kakashi repeats, taunting us as he steps closer. "That's your excuse?!"

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all nod, with the pinkette swallowing nervously, unsure of what the angry Jonin is going to do with them.

"Then, you pass!" Kakashi informs us all sweetly, the dark clouds in the sky immediately clearing up. I sigh raggedly and run my hand down my face, feeling suddenly very weary. This is just too much. I'm ready to leave now.

"Huh?" Sakura and Naruto both asks, bewildered by Kakashi's sudden change in his decision to fail us all.

"You pass" the Jonin reiterates, giving the two a closed eye smile.

"How'd we pass?" Sakura questions dumbly, still not understanding. "I thought we were gonna have another go at getting a bell from you Sensei...."

"You're the first squad I've ever had that passed this test" Kakashi informs us, opening his eye, "Because all of the others just followed my orders and didn't think for themselves. A Ninja must see through deception. Always remember, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

Here, Kakashi gives us a thumbs up.

"So anyway, you've all passed" the silver haired man feels the need to repeat. "Team Seven will receive its first mission tomorrow morning, so rest up!"

"Yes!" Sakura squeals enthusiastically, while Sasuke turns away and smirks, no doubt inwardly excited.

"Yeah!" Naruto cheers loudly. "I did it, I did it, I did it! I'm a Ninja now!"

"Okay, time to head home now you guys" Kakashi advises, waving over his shoulder as he begins to walk off. Sakura and Sasuke hurriedly follow after him, forgetting all about Naruto.

"I knew they'd do this!" the blonde shouts in frustration. "Guys! You forgot to untie me!"

"They probably didn't forget" I inform Naruto, watching him intently as he pauses, not having realised I am still on the post beside him. "I'd say they did it on purpose."

"Please untie me Ashley?" Naruto asks miserably, blue eyes wavering. Placing one hand to my chin, I pretend to think really hard about it, before swinging myself down to the ground.

"Nah" I decide, smirking at Naruto and whirling around, hands on my hips as I walk away. Naruto flails around wildly behind me, shouting and pleading for me to untie him as he is still hungry.

Yeah right. I already unintentionally helped him once today. I'm hardly going to purposely do it. He won't die if he stays there all night, and even if he does, who's really going to miss him?

Okay, so I'm just going to put this little rant here, to speak to all of you who have whinged since this story was put up in 2011 and to those of you who will whinge in the future :)

Yes. Ashley is incredibly arrogant and unlikeable at the moment, as she was intended to be.

Yes. There are valid reasons for every negative and positive thing about Ashley.

Yes. She has flaws. Many of them, just like every single human being on the planet.

Yes. They will be explained, but not straight away. How boring if I introduced Ashley and straight away you knew EVERY SINGLE THING about her.

If I did that, you'd complain that she's too simple of a character. Some of you just complain for the sake of it I think, and I'm over it. I am not a child, I have been a huge fan of Naruto for years, I have very carefully researched many things about the Naruto universe in depth and I am adapting my story to suit it, as well as adding to the storyline as well.

This is MY fanfiction. I have written this story the way I want it, and I'm not going to change anything because YOU don't agree with it. If you are really so offended by my personal retelling of the Naruto story, stop reading, go write your own damn Naruto fanfiction and watch as people tear THAT down because they don't agree with your retelling.

Now, you can think I'm a bitch if you like, I don't care. I am writing this note here in 2015, and you'd be AMAZED at the amount of stupid messages I have gotten over the years demanding me to change things/ saying things aren't canon/that would never happen/ not realistic.

It's a FANFICTION of an ANIME/MANGA. Of course it's not friggin realistic!! If you not liking my character or story is the biggest problem in your life, you have an extremely blessed life. Go away and enjoy it.

To those of you who realise all of these things and are patiently reading for the first time, or re reading for the tenth time as so many of you say you do, thank you. You make writing stories incredibly enjoyable :)