Kakanaru: The pain behind Naruto's mask

5

I woke up at about 5:00. I disregarded what Kakashi told us and ate breakfast. Getting dressed in the same style as yesterday, I called Kurama and we left. I figured Kakashi would be late again, so I used the chakra tracking jutsu to find him. I went to his house and knocked on the window. He wouldn't get up so I knocked a little harder. I got fed up and opened the window. Slipping inside, I tipped him off his mattress. He crashed onto the floor. Stuttering a bit due to shock, Kakashi asked, "How are you here?" I rolled my eyes. "Well I went through the window obviously." Kakashi shook his head."That's not what I meant. I meant how did you find me?" I started walking to the window."If you're late again next time I'll demolish your collection of perverted books." Kakashi grimaced in horror. "And I don't give out secrets for free. I always demand a secret of equal value." Smirking at Kakashi's shocked face I leapt out the window and arrived at the training grounds about 5 minutes before Kakashi.

*Kakashi P.O.V.*

I opened my eyes to find myself on the floor and the blonde brat standing over me. I couldn't help but be surprised. The security seals I asked the Hokage to put up looked undisturbed, and there was no sign of any of the traps I set up going off. "How are you here?" I asked. The little smart-alec said, "Well I went through the window obviously." I swear, if he wasn't so cute I'd strangle him. "That's not what I meant. I meant how did you find me?" I was genuinely confused. I took his suggestion and asked for an updated file, but they gave me a damn fill in the blank. They said I should figure it out. As if that weren't shocking enough, they said they didn't know much about him either. Then I heard something horrible. "If your late again next time I'll demolish your collection of perverted books." What kind of monster would do that?! Then I heard something that made my blood run cold. "And I don't give out secrets for free. I always demand a secret of equal value." With that he left. I hurriedly got dressed and set out. On the way I thought about what he said to me. I came to the conclusion that he hoards secrets. He would make a good information broker.
Arriving at the training field, I looked over the three. Sasuke was sitting under a tree looking bored, Sakura was near him trying to flirt, and Naruto was in a tree sharpening his kunai. The only one actually taking this seriously was the should-be idiot. I sighed. "Alright you three, we're going to do a basic survival exercise." Before I could continue Sakura piped up. "But we did that at the academy." I looked at her. "This is different from an ordinary survival exercise. Only 9 will pass and be made genin. The rest will fail and be sent back to the academy." I could hear choruses of not fair echoing from the two on the ground. Naruto was silent, but I was starting to expect this. I could read his expression though. It seemed like he was telling me to get on with it. "The object of this test is to get these," Here I held up two bells, "away from me. Each person who gets a bell before lunch passes. Failure to get a bell means being tied to a post while I eat my lunch in front of you. As well as the obvious, failing the test. Any questions?" Sakura raised her hand. "But there are only two bells. How does that work?" I smiled. "Obviously at least one of you will fail." I almost laughed at Sakura and Sasuke's looks of outrage. "When I say start you will try to get the bells from me by any means necessary. Come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise you will never win." I wondered how long this was going to take. "Start." Upon hearing me, Sakura hid in the bushes to the northwest, clearly not masking her chakra, and Sasuke hid in the bushes to the south, struggling to conceal all of his chakra and almost succeeding. I couldn't sense Naruto's chakra at all, nor could I smell his scent so I assumed he was downwind, or to the east. I thought a bit about Naruto. The file that I originally had said he was a prankster, last in all subjects, and incapable of taking anything seriously. This Naruto seemed quiet, intelligent, and collected. I would soon judge his fighting prowess for myself, but at this point it wouldn't surprise me if he was exceptionally strong. I thought that he would be annoying, but he's the only one who isn't. On top of that, he's cute, has such adorable fox ears it makes me want to pet him, and he has a rippling 8-pack. I'm a good 10 years older than him, but ninja more than any other know the true value of life, love, and death. It isn't uncommon to marry someone much younger. I vaguely wondered if he might be interested in a date. Shaking off my thoughts, I pulled out my book and got ready to read.

*Kakashi P.O.V. End*