We sat outside in the bright sunlight as our Sensei began to speak, "Alright guys, let's begin with some introductions," said Kakashi happily.
"What do you want to know?" Sakura asked nervously.
"How about your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that," he suggested, shrugging.
"Why don't you introduce yourself first?" asked Naruto.
"Yeah," agreed Sakura, "You look suspicious," she said warily.
"Me? Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I don't feel like telling you guys my likes and dislikes or my dreams for the future though I do have a lot of hobbies..." he concluded his introduction.
Sakura looked at him expectantly, "So... all we learned is your name?"
He ignored the comment and continued, "Now it's your turn from the right, please."
"Oh! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like Cup Ramen and Ichiraku Ramen! What I dislike is waiting the three minutes for the Cup Ramen to cook and my dream is to surpass the Hokage so that everyone in the village will acknowledge my existence!" he shouted as his introduction came tumbling out of his mouth, "And... my hobbies are... pranks," he added simply.
I looked at Naruto, trying to delve into his thoughts, but I just couldn't get in, a barrier as strong as one thousand powerful shinobi could make stood in my way. There were absolutely no weaknesses.
"Okay then, next."
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are a ton of things I dislike and I don't really like anything. I don't have a dream but I do have an ambition... it is the resurrection of my clan and to kill a certain man," he ended on a dark tone.
I looked at him curiously, Who could a pampered twelve year old boy like him want to kill at this age?
"Okay then, now you," continued Kakashi.
"I'm Haruno Sakura, the thing I like is... or the person I like is..." she glanced furtively at Sasuke and continued, "Should I say my dream for the future?" at that instant she let out a high-pitched squeal that made everyone but me cringe as she looked at Sasuke yet again, "The thing I dislike is Naruto," she said bluntly, "And my hobby is..." she trailed off, staring dreamily at Sasuke.
Kakashi raised his eyebrows and turned his one-eyed stare on me, "Now for you," he said, sighing.
I hesitated at first but finally began to speak, "My name is Elvira May, I do not have any likes or dislikes, any dreams or any hobbies," I spoke steadily but as I thought about what I had said a sharp pain ripped across my mind, tearing my thoughts to pieces.
I clenched my teeth and my hands gripped my head firmly as if trying to physically remove the pain. My temples throbbed painfully as I held in the urge to scream. Kakashi reacted with whiplash speed, immediately coming to my aid. He hit a few pressure points on my back and one on my head that suddenly made me go slack. After a few moments I sat back up, wiping the sweat from my brow.
"Are you sure you're okay? You've been having a lot of these fits, are you sure you aren't sick?" questioned Naruto.
Kakashi was about to speak but I interrupted him, "I'm fine, it is a problem that I had to deal with at a young age, it is normal for me."
Kakashi frowned, unconvinced but he let it slip, "That's okay, Elvira, we will be starting our duties tomorrow, you can rest for today."
This brightened Naruto up, "Yay! What kinds of duties?" he shouted, incapable of hiding his excitement.
"First, we are going to do something with just the five of us," he announced.
"What is it?!" Naruto urged.
"Survival training," answered Kakashi simply.
Naruto repeated the two words to himself, confused while Sakura proposed a question, "Why is our duty training? We've done enough training back in the Academy."
Kakashi smirked, "I'm going to be your opponent but this won't be normal training."
"Then what is it?" questioned Naruto, absolutely entranced.
All Kakashi did was laugh. There was a hint of mischief in his tone.
"What's so funny, Sensei?" Sakura interrogated, raising one of her eyebrows in a high arc.
"Nothing, it's just that, what I'm about to tell you guys is going to make you flip."
Naruto had a clueless expression painted across his face, "Flip?"
Kakashi finally decided to tell us, "Of the twenty-nine graduates, only nine will be chosen as Genin and the rest will be sent back to the Academy. This training is an incredibly difficult exam with a failure rate of over sixty-six percent."
Everyone, except for Sasuke had a look of horror implanted on their faces but Sasuke did look quite uncomfortable.
Kakashi laughed merrily, "I told you you'd flip."
Just then Naruto exploded, "What the hell?! But we worked so hard! What was the point of graduating?!"
"Just to select those who had a chance of becoming Genin," Kakashi replied simply.
"What?!" exclaimed Naruto, he was already trembling.
"So, tomorrow, you will be graded on the training field. Bring all of your shinobi tools and skip breakfast, you'll throw up," Kakashi smiled pleasantly, letting us ponder his words.
I looked at my three teammates, Naruto was shivering from shock, Sakura was wide-eyed and paralyzed, Sasuke was the only one besides me who had retained composure.
"The details are on this printout," he said as he handed out a sheet of paper containing directions for each of us, "Don't be late tomorrow."
"T-throw up? Is it really that tough?" asked a shaky Sakura.
Kakashi ignored the question and bade us farewell. The four of us read over the printout in silence.
Naruto gulped noisily and Sakura whimpered. Sasuke crinkled up his paper and tossed it into a nearby trash can neatly.
"T-this i-is a l-little h-hardcore d-don't you t-think, Sasuke?" asked a timid Sakura.
Sasuke grunted, not really stating a yes or a no. Just as we were about to leave the Hokage came up to steps to the plateau where we were sitting.
"Oh, there you are, Elvira! I've been looking all over for you!" cried the Hokage.
"I apologize, Lord Hokage, I did not mean to evade you," I answered in a monotone while bowing my head over.
"No, no! There is no need to apologize! If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me!"
I cocked my head at him, "Why so, Lord Hokage?"
The third Hokage looked down at his feet shamefully, "It seems that I can not find an empty residence for you within our village at the current time, I'm sure someone will move out eventually but that could take a few years!" he had an apologetic look on his face as he returned his gaze onto me, "I'll have to put you with some of our own single residents," he announced with a sigh.
Team Seven was still standing behind me and Naruto perked up instantly, "Oh! Oh! Lord Hokage! She can stay with me! I'm a single resident!" then he blushed at his last sentence.
"Idiot! How could a girl like her stay in the same house as you! Alone!" cried Sakura, "But, um, my house is kind of full with my family and all," she looked down, she was clearly unwilling to accept me into her household.
"Lord Hokage, I don't mind sharing a residence, I don't take up too much space. If Naruto is willing, then I will share a home with him," I answered steadily.
Sasuke stared at me with disbelieving eyes but then quickly covered it up with a frown.
"Well, if you don't mind then, go ahead," he said with his eyebrows raised.
Naruto punched his fist into the air ecstatically, "Yes!"
I thanked the Hokage and followed Naruto to his home, earning a few wide-eyed stares from the villagers that we had passed.
"So this is your new home!" shouted Naruto as he unlocked the door and swung it open to reveal the insides.
I stepped in and took in my surroundings. It was a dump, there were empty Cup Ramen bowls everywhere and clothes strewn all across the floor.
"How often do you clean your house up?" I asked casually.
"Never," he smiled.
Unsure of what kind of a reaction I should take up, I forced back a smile that made Naruto melt to the ground, literally.
"So... what do you want to do?" asked Naruto, his words slurred.
"... I want to train," I said and turned sharply to walk outside.
I left Naruto in my dust as he struggled to catch up but in my haste I bumped into someone.
"Ouch!" a male voice cried.
My hand immediately flashed out to catch the falling figure. It was Uchiha Sasuke. After he righted himself he shook my hand away and dusted off his pants.
"Are you okay?" I asked with sincere concern.
He turned his head away arrogantly, "It'll take a lot more than that to take me down."
"Okay..." there was a silence, then, "Do you live here too?" I asked curiously.
"No!" he said, louder than necessary and he turned back around and walked briskly away.
Naruto finally caught up with me and gave Sasuke a perplexed look.
"Would you like to train with us, Sasuke?" I invited politely.
He stopped in his tracks and hesitated for a few moments but then turned back and followed us to the training grounds.
"Wow, that must've really hurt his dignity," pointed out Naruto.