The Dueling Trio [Flashback Open]

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Yet another day arrived as the loner Uchiha stood on the training field waiting for his squad. He had no intention of staying with them for long, but needed Naruto to test out his new found strength. Sasuke leaned up against a tree, facing the sky, the wind blew through his raven colored hair. He looked around with an expression of boredom on his face, knowing that those two always took forever when it was time to meet up and were utter failures when it came down to mission. He decided to look through his ninja tools in his pouch and grabbed onto some kunai's. He decided to entertain himself to some point while he awaited their arrival.

Sasuke set up some markers along the field and remembered how his brother use to hit each marker in the center. He closed his eye, leaped into the air, head facing the ground and threw the kunai simultaneously. They flew hitting one another and then landing on the markers. When he fell back to the ground he landed gracefully, he looked at the markers and noticed only two of the eight kunai didn't connect. He went to fetch his tools and was a little ticked off that his brother could do it with such ease but for him to still miss two was a disgrace. After collecting them he sat on the ground and with his hands under his chin supporting his head and closing his eyes he waited. "Slowpokes."

As the time drifted by he sat their still awaiting his comrades, whom he started to show some feelings of caring for them.

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[Haruno Sakura]

[[Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. It's been busy time trying to catch up... ^^; You'll have to poke Kisame and see if he'll come post with Naruto.]]

"Hmm hmm hmm~"

Those were the only noises that came from the lips of the Haruno girl as she stood in front of her full-length mirror, still in her bedroom, making absolutely sure she looked perfect for today. Her long, rose locks cascaded down her back, reaching halfway down by now, while her long bangs framed her face and utterly large forehead. It was the one aspect of her body she still hated... Her forehead. The most disgusting thing ever. Maybe that's why Sasuke-kun never pays attention to me, Sakura mused with a small whine as she tied her headband on top of her head, the comfortable position she always liked. It seemed feasable...

Straightening her red attire once more and making sure her thigh holster was perfectly set and comfortable, Sakura took one last glance at the mirror, straightened a stray strand of hair, and walked out with a smile on her face. She was greeted by her sleepy-looking mother, who looked as if she'd just woken up. With a giggle and a wave, Sakura grabbed a rice ball that was sitting on the table - for her, of course, because she didn't quite have time to eat this morning - and dashed out the door, slipping her shinobi sandals on with perfect ease.

The morning was bright, dawning well, and the sun cast golden rays on her light, peach skin, the skin that contrasted with her light rose hair and made her look like a porcelain doll. As she walked, she nibbled on the rice ball, taking her time to savour it and waving to people she knew with her free hand. She didn't want to finish eating it after she saw Sasuke-kun today; that wouldn't turn out well. Him having to watch her eat might dampen her chances! But then again, at the same time, she didn't want to have to suffer a growling stomach for whatever gruelling hours of training they would be forced through today. Perhaps they would do tree climbing again... That way Sakura could show off a little and beat them to the top tree branch, again.

Thinking about that single thought made her giggle... She had beat Uchiha Sasuke, the prodigy of their class, as well as the doofus Naruto, to something. She'd done something better than the both of them. The looks on their faces was rather interesting as they'd both asked where she was... Only to see her sticking her tongue out childishly and swinging her feet from the branch she was comfortably perched on. Knowing Sasuke-kun, he'd probably been working on his own ability... But Sakura wouldn't let him beat her to it that easily. Na, it was too early for that. But then again, he was a prodigy, after all...

Swallowing the last of her onigiri rice ball, she walked into the training area they usually used to see Sasuke sitting down, looking ethereal yet bored as usual. Oh, she still couldn't get over how amazing he looked; those spiked raven locks that fell every so nicely around his face, the deep onyx eyes that glowed with passion and power, and that absolutely gorgeous figure he pulled off so well. Giggling a little, Sakura waved a small 'hi' with her hand, looking around.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" she chimed, her voice bright and enthusiastic. "Where's the doofus?" she added flatly, looking around for the annoyance that always seemed to want to cling to her... She would swear he had a crush on her or something! Of course, that would never happen, not ever; Naruto was too stupid, rash, and didn't have any form of skill whatsoever. Pfft, the world will end if that's the case, Sakura thought, glancing around to make sure there wasn't a particular kid with spiky blonde hair lurking around anywhere. "Kakashi-sensei isn't coming?" The silver-haired Jounin would be a welcome presence... At least he wasn't irritating. A little lazy and always immersed in whatever disgusting fiction he read, but he was skilled, and he could be humorous when he wanted to be... Like the time he'd used Sennen Goroshi on Naruto. Sakura couldn't help but laugh at that thought; it was just too funny to remember and not be able to laugh about. Ah, lovely memories...

[Naruto Uzumaki]

It was almost the middle of the day. Everyone was bustling and rushing in Konoha trying to do their jobs. Completely every single person in the leaf village had a job to do and they showed no hesitation in doing so. Everyone was busy with their own things a few were doing missions and others just completing their daily chores. Everyone except one particular individual, his name of course was Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchuuriki of the nine tailed beast and the most hyper active and knuckle headed ninja in the leaf village. He, unlike everyone else, was still sleeping in his bed. Since the orphan lived alone he didn’t have anyone to wake him up and he had no one to teach him discipline like that. Iruka tried, but failed. Naruto didn’t even remember he had a training session with his fellow team-mates today so he completely thought he was free to slack off the whole day. Of course that was not true, his team mates were waiting for him to come.

There was trace of him trying to get up. Actually there were many, clothes were at the ready placed on the table (the food of course was on thrown on the floor) a broken alarm clock laid on the floor obviously punched into the wall by the sleeping blonde idiot. He was sleeping on his stomach, face pushed into the white pillow and he was muttering something stupid in his sleep “Sure, Sakura I’ll go out with you…” He rolled over to his side; the piece of white cloth that was covering him fell off onto the floor as he opened his eyes slowly. The piercing light hit his eyes from the window, which coincidently wasn’t very clean so that gave Naruto the idea that its midday and the sun were high in the sky and shinning very bright. Of course he didn’t over think it very much. He was dressed in a white shirt with a swirling red sphere on the gut and black underwear. As he stood up from his bed he scratched his yellow bright hair and slowly sulked over to a chair placed at his table.

His eyes were barely open; he looked at his table only to see his orange jumpsuit and weapon pouch. He rubbed his right eye with his right hand staring at his clothes blankly. He wanted something to eat but didn’t see anything edible placed on the table in front of him. He turned to his side to see a pile of food leftovers on the floor. He crouched down and started to search for some food; finally he found an unfinished bowl of Ramen and quickly heated it up in the microwave. He sat down again in front of the round wooden table sipping the ramen bowl thinking about the clothes. His mind wandered ”Why did I put these here again? I feel like I’m forgetting something? yum ramen” after finishing the bowl he made a heavy sigh, the bowl was pretty spicy and since it was leftovers it wasn’t that delicious as freshly made ramen but still tasty. After he threw the bowl into the sink which was pilled with bowls and cups all of them dirty. He sat back down into the chair and placed his legs on the round wooden table relaxing again. His eyes finally fully opened and he yawned loudly “Boy I’m still tired, better go back to sleep” As he stood up from that chair he saw it.

The alarm clock! He now fully remembered where he needed to be and that he was late by an incredible amount of time. He came to a stop and glared at the clock, scared and slightly annoyed. He quickly dashed through the door heading towards the training grounds but before he even reached the stairway he remembered that he wasn’t dressed. He ran back inside happy that nobody noticed him and quickly reached for his orange attire on the table. He quickly dressed himself and tied his forehead protector onto his head and ran out the door. After he looked the door he quickly leaped from his balcony onto a rooftop and started running over them. From one rooftop to another he leaped heading towards the training grounds and muttering loudly to himself “I’m late, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!” His blue eyes beamed with fear thinking that both of his team mates both Uchiha Sasuke and Sakura Haruno will punch him over the head, he disliked that.

As he continued to rush through the town he finally reached the forest and jumped onto a branch heading towards the training grounds. Now he was moving much faster he was sprinting in full speed through the branches leaping from one to another. Hoping to get there before Kakashi arrives. As he rushed through the tree tops he saw his team mates and decided to leap at them. But his jump was badly coordinated as he tripped over one branched and fell straight onto a bush, and a spiky one at that THUD. From the bush a quiet and yet painful sound emitted “…Ouch” his he came out of the green bush with an apologetic smile to both of his comrades.

[Uchiha Sasuke]

As Sasuke continued looking at the ground he heard the voice of an annoying girl, whom he thought was useless for this team. He just looked up at Sakura and nodded his head. "Shouldn't you worry more about your own training, than where that idiot is?" He knew it sounded crude of him but he just couldn't stand the fact that she was so weak and she talked trash to Naruto, who can be reliable in a fight, sometimes anyway. As she brought up Kakashi-sensei he wondered as well. Where could this Jonin be? Would he try an ambush us? Will he make me stronger?

As a kid his mind was one tracked, the killing of his brother, the Uchiha who went rogue. He would've like to think his brother had a reason, but to see him in action was a terrifying experience. Sasuke thought how long will it be before he can kill him. Why is it he was still so weak? Most people thought he was highly skilled a true genius, Sasuke thought so too til he saw how Kakashi toyed with him even if it was a training session.

While he was in midst thought, he heard the thud from Naruto falling. Sasuke had a perculiar face of disgust when Naruto grinned at them. "What are you doing idiot?" He turned his head back to the ground, and the seriousness appeared back on his face. He was placed on a team with an idiot, a girl who's too much to handle, and a sensei who can't get down to business. Being with them wouldn't get them stronger, but he does have fun with them, even if he would die before admitting it. He couldn't help but snicker.

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[Haruno Sakura]

Sakura frowned ever so lightly as Sasuke told her to worry about her training. Her face was a bit of a pout for the span of a second, but soon it returned to its bubble-gum-sweet state as she skipped around. "But Naruto-baka distracts me when I train! That's why I don't want him here," she said flatly. Of course, the day just had to go against her as the spoken-of blonde idiot came barrelling through the trees.

"What are you doing, idiot?" A gentle growl escaped from Sakura... She heard the small 'ouch' from the bushes. Psh! Like she cared. A little angered, she stomped over to the bushes and grabbed Naruto by the collar, dragging him rather unceremoniously through the brush. Without warning, she grabbed his collar with both hands and basically went into her... 'Psycho-b*tch' mode. Naruto was taller than her, as always, meaning that his feet were dragging on the ground even as she held him - by the collar, still - at eye-level and basically screamed at him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, IDIOT?!" She roared, shaking him as if he were a ragdoll. "God, can't you be on TIME for ONCE?! Or if you're going to be late, JUST DON'T COME!" For anyone, this would have been quite an amusing scene. Sakura was smaller, shorter, and a lot more dainty than the blonde, but she could be a raging thunderstorm when she wanted. Scary as hell, wasn't it? "You... Bumbling... BAKA!! SHANNARO!" With that, she set him roughly on his feet, cocked back a fist, and clobbered him in the side of the face. Inner Sakura was in control then, as Sakura bent over, huffing and puffing, her fist seeming to smoke and smoulder from the impact. She stood up, brushed both hands off nicely, and with a smiling face again, took a leap at the tree and clung by the bottoms of her feet with her chakra.

"Sasuke-kun~ should we start training?" She could change personalities like the gears on a car... Sometimes, it could be rather frightening.

[[ooc: Sorry for the godmod, but, well, it's classic. T.T;; and sorry for the crappy post, too. o.o;;]]

[Naruto Uzumaki]

[OOC: It's Okay]
Naruto continued to smile innocently to his comrades and scratching the side of his head even when Sasuke called the blonde young ninja an idiot he didn’t mind much, he had gotten used to it, he actually knew that Sasuke didn’t mean it whatever he said, after fighting Haku, Naruto saw his true colors. Seeing a person in a state where he believes he is going to die is a moment when that person feels such a rush of adrenaline that he actually expresses his true feelings about everything, now… to catch Sakura in a such state. Naruto’s incredibly smile soon disappeared though as he saw his pink haired partner stomp towards his position. He immediately made a jaw drop and fell on all fours back into the bush trying to escape, but Sakura caught his collar. She pulled the blonde knucklehead out of the bush and pulled him like a twig against the ground. Naruto didn’t fight back, he knew that he couldn’t punch a girl especially Sakura.

But could he fight back? He never tried it and wouldn’t dare but even Naruto had doubts he could overpower the pink haired kunoichi. Of course he and Sasuke did all the work when fighting Haku, actually Naruto didn’t say anything but he would just love to rub it in their face that if he hadn’t arrived when he did Sasuke would be dead. And technically he was the one who took care of haku, Kakashi finished him yes, but Naruto was the one who beat him up so hard he gave up. It didn’t matter to Naruto he knew that the Chuunin exams will be his real test and he will kick Sasuke’s butt and then boast to everyone. As soon as Sakura started shaking the fit and slightly taller boy he started whining out of pain, she shook him very hard and it kind of hurt. Naruto started begging “Sakura-chan Please let go it hurts” through her roaring and screaming she probably didn’t hear him.

When she stood him up back on his feet a slight smile of relief appeared on his face, but then a punch connected with the blonde’s face and it sent him slamming into a tree side. Another loud gasp of pain emitted from his mouth “…Ouch” as he fell to the ground with a stupefied expression on his face, his eyebrow twitching. The personality change was miraculous, in one second the monster that just slammed Naruto face first into a tree turned back into the cute girl. Naruto got up slowly as Sakura leaped into a tree and with her cute tone asked Sasuke to train. What will Sasuke say? Of course he will just ignore her, he always does, Naruto never got it why Sakura liked him, he was so… blunt. Naruto looked with an annoyed expression at both Sakura and later Sasuke “Why am I late?... Kakashi-sensei is even here yet, how do you plan on beginning the training without Kakashi?” he rubbed his face at the part where Sakura punched him and sighed looking at Sasuke with an irritated face.

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Sasuke stood as he walked over to them, with an emotionless expression as usual, even if Naruto getting socked in the face was funny. When he reached them his eyes narrowed down, a little pissed that Kakashi wasn't here. He was suppose to train him and he wanted to become much stronger, so that another incident with Haku never happened again. But, then again Kakashi never really cared for time, seeing as he was always late. So instead he was stuck with these two for a while. He would rather be on his own since Sakura might have just clung to him, and Naruto being an ass and saying the same thing over and over, 'believe it'.

He heard his name and looked at Sakura, to his surprise at what she asked. He had doubts on her question, since she was so obsessed with trying to flirt with him. Even if he showed no emotion towards girls he had feelings for them, but his objective took first priority. He didn't want to waste his time being distracted by anyone, even though it happens, due to a certain ninja who's more of a pest than friend . . . so to speak. "Are you serious about training, Sakura? If you weren't you could just play with Naruto, because I don't want to be annoyed by someone of your caliber." Harsh much? Yet what he said was partially true, she should just messing with Naruto's head, and he needed to stop being so gullible. Then again that's what made up his team.

Sasuke started to stretch as he looked at the ground, one hand on his leg. He decided to practice his fire techniques, and perfect his kunai/shuriken throwing. He stood upright and looked at the two of them. "As much as I hate to say it . . . We need to work on our teamwork. Who knows when another situation like the great bridge incident will happen again. Who knows if we will fight stronger opponents like Zabuza and Haku....." His voice threaded off as he mentioned Haku, since he was defeated by the cross dresser. It sickened him to admit as well. How did Naruto beat him though? Only if he wasn't near death and passed out. Naruto probably had a new jutsu he thought, but he couldn't bring himself to ask him, due to the fact he would gloat.

He went back to speaking of teamwork, and they really needed to work with Sakura more. Him and Naruto has some sort of understanding in tight conditions, which made them nearly untouchable. So far with Sakura, we only heard she is adept in genjutsu, but what about her taijutsu and ninjutsu. How was her skills in that? He intended to ask her first though, so she would ignore his previous comment. "Sakura, what are your suggestions on teamwork exercises? We might as well get some done before Kakashi-sensei arrives. This was also a chance for Sasuke to try and become closer with them. But instead he remembered his number one priority and decided to focus only on teamwork. He was a boy of few words, but this was important at the moment.