The Red Maelstrom

[4] Teamwork

Just because she felt like it, Kohana devoured a cup of instant ramen on her way to the training grounds where she and the rest of the team were supposed to meet. The second she arrived, Naruto was about to yell at her for being late, but he immediately stopped as his big blue eyes dilated at the delightful cup of goodness in his sister's hand. Kohana just minded her own business and slurped the noodles noisily while she stood next to Sasuke. She greeted him with a nod and stared blankly at the seething Sakura who soon said:

"Kakashi-sensei told us not to eat!" But Kohana was waving a piece of narutomaki in front of her brother's face. She didn't so much as spare the other girl a glance. "He's not here yet, so he's obviously going to be late—which gives me time to digest. Either way I'm the one eating at my own risk here, so it doesn't matter to you whether I puke or not," she flippantly stated and made shooing gestures at Sakura with a hand. "Get off my case, stalker."

Sakura was speechless to say the least, but since she was unable to speak, she turned away just as Kohana dropped the piece of fish in Naruto's mouth. "That's the only thing I'm givin' ya," she said, "It's your fault that you listened to Kakashi-sensei."

"That's mean, Hana-chan!" Naruto pouted rather cutely and rubbed at his poor empty stomach.

Kohana smiled at him sweetly, but simply continued to finish her ramen.

A few hours passed and Kakashi finally arrived.

"Hey, guys, good morning!"

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto both screamed while Kohana stared at the man in complete and utter disbelief. She knew he was going to be late, but... to make them wait for hours? His rudeness was beyond absurd! All they could do to pass the time was throw rocks at each other and run around. Even Sakura was forced to play along when Kohana chased her down. 

At the very least, she was able to digest the food she ate. It's too bad the others were probably starving already. 

Kakashi produced a little clock from his green vest. He pressed down on the top button and the timer set with a click.

"Okay, it's set for noon," he declared.

The genins' curiosity heightened at the sight of the three bells Kakashi held between his fingers. They were tiny, silver, and hung from red threads. Behind that hand, Kakashi's face still appeared as bored as always. "Here are three bells. Your task is to take these from me before the time is up. Those who don't have a bell by noon don't get to eat. As punishment, I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps, but I'll also eat in front of you." Kohana innocently glanced at the three lined stumps with interested eyes.

Kohana's three teammates all looked resigned before they all snuck one big, collective glare at her.

Kakashi jingled all three bells. "You only have to get one bell. There are only two, so one of you will definitely be tied to the stump, and the person who doesn't take a bell fails. So at least one of you will be sent back to the Academy."

He resumed to his bored state as he hid the bells in his fist. "If you want, you can use shuriken and kunai. You won't succeed unless you come at me intending to kill."

I guess that makes sense, Kohana thought with a nod of approval.

"But, you'll be in danger!" 

"He's a jōnin, Naruto..."

"But Hana-chan, he couldn't even dodge an eraser! We'll definitely kill him!" Naruto laughed mockingly, to which Kakashi reacted to in a rather calm manner.