Life Means Nothing Without You

Morning, the day of the graduation test. I got up out of bed earlier than planned with no intention of falling back asleep. Actually, I couldn't sleep well last night with the thought of failing the test floating around in my mind. I yawned as I got ready for what was in store for me.

Before leaving my room, I took a look at myself in the mirror. The reflection before me showed a short, petite girl with pale skin and wild bed hair. I didn't look like a twelve year old girl, more like a kid just starting in the Ninja Academy. Come to think of it, I was often mistaken for being younger than my age. Hesitantly, I lifted my long bangs. My eyes didn't show; I closed them at the last minute.

I sighed as I picked up my headband and tied it around my neck.

"I'm off." I called as usual as I left for the meeting place without any breakfast. I normally don't eat breakfast, but now I have a reason not to.

The birds chirped as I found the place Kakashi-sensei wanted us to be. The sun had barely risen into the sky. Thinking I'd be the first one there, I made my way to a tree stump without any hesitation, until I saw that I wasn't the only one there. I quickly hid behind the nearest tree.

Why did it have to be him? I peeked from my hiding place to see Sasuke standing next to the tree stump. Hopefully he was unaware of my presence.

He has an bad habit of appearing when I least expect him. I though to myself. But, I couldn't stay hidden like this forever. I couldn't let him intimidate me. Slowly, I made my way towards the tree stump trying to be as calm and steady as possible. It was going along well...until my foot hit a small rock on the ground, causing me to trip and fall flat on my face.

"Oww~" I muttered as I sat up. I then felt something warm trickling down my face. I touched it to see that there was blood on my hands.

Ahh~ A nosebleed. I must've fell on my nose. This was embarrassing. A hand was stretched out to me. I looked to see that within it held a handkerchief (and that it was Sasuke's hand). He intended for me to take it, so I did and wiped my nose.

"Umm...thank you." I stood up and bowed politely.

"No need to thank me. I didn't want them thinking something happened and have it blamed on me." he said and walked back to the tree stump.

I pouted a little. He's nice...in a way.

I stared at him, then the handkerchief with my blood stains on it.

I'll have to return this to him once I wash it. I sounded a little excited.

--

Naruto and Sakura arrived soon after, along with Kakashi-sensei, though he was very late.

He explained the conditions of our test. We were to retrieve two bells from him by noon. If we were able, we'd pass the test. If not, we wouldn't pass. I found it odd how he only had two bells and there were four of us, but I didn't question it.

After Naruto's little interruption of trying to capture one of the bells before Kakashi could give us the signal to begin, I hid in the nearest hiding place I could find to plan out a strategy.

Let's see...there are two bells and only four of us. I couldn't possibly fight Kakashi-sensei by myself, so it'd be useless to attack him alone. I wouldn't want to fight him anyway; I have my reasons for not fighting unless necessary.

Maybe if I team up with another teammate, we could divert his attention and one of us could get one of the bells. I didn't know how I'd do that, but it was worth a try.

But, wouldn’t that mean only one of us would get the bells? I decided I'd be the one distracting so the other teammate would get a bell. I didn't know how I'd do that either...

Well, might as well search for one of my teammates. While walking around, I found Naruto hanging upside down from a tree. It seemed like some kind of trap. I guess I'd better watch where I walk.

"Hey! Could you get me down from here?" Naruto called out to me.

I walked over and cut the rope with a kunai, causing him to fall on his head. I apologized for it.

"No problem. I can't believe I fell for it though."

"Umm...Uzumaki-san." my voice was quiet, but I'm sure he heard me.

"Hmm? What is it?" He looked straight at me, causing me to feel uncomfortable.

"Umm...it's about...our test, and I..."

"Hold that thought!" Naruto exclaimed. "I have an idea! I'll get one of those bells for sure this time! Can we talk later Yuri-chan?" Before I could even get a word out, he ran off.

My spirits became low, but I shook it off. Besides, there's still Sakura and...well, just Sakura.

--

It was almost easy finding Sakura amidst the forest. She seemed to be looking for someone too. (I can already guess who it is...)

"S-Sakura-san!" I called out to her. She noticed and walked up to me.

"Hey Yuri. Have you seen Sasuke? I'm looking for him. I was hoping we could get the bells together."

A sweatdrop appeared on my forehead. "Ahh~ I see. I...haven't seen him, sorry."

Sakura looked a little disappointed. "You know, I really like him. I love the fact that he's in our team, so I can't screw up! I'd do anything to be with him!"

Sakura's words held an emotion that made me feel a little bad for her. To really adore someone that much...what's it like? I've often questioned this, but the answers are hard to find.

"Umm...Sakura, about the bells-"

I was interrupted by a rustling in the bushes. Sakura grew excited.

"That had to be Sasuke! We'll talk later Yuri, I have to go find him!" She ran off, just like Naruto.

Well, Sakura and Naruto are out. The only other teammate left is...

I felt a little nauseous. But, I had to find him too, for the sake of the team!

--

Finding Sasuke was not an easy task. In fact, it was easier when I'd randomly run into him. I sat down to rest a little. Judging by how high the sun was in the sky, I doubted I had much time.

From afar, I heard the sound of weapons being thrown. I decided to follow the noise to find Sasuke and Kakashi battling. I couldn't help but watch. For a genin, Sasuke was quite talented. He was even close to snatching one of the bells away.

I turned away feeling a little down. Just what kind of skill could I have as a genin? What use would I be, especially since I hardly use my byakugan. A loud crash broke me out of my mood. When I looked back, I didn't see Kakashi or Sasuke. I walked towards the area, scanning for any sign of them.

Wait, that wasn't smart. I should've been hiding.

I heard a grunt and looked over to my side to see Sasuke's head poking from under the ground. I froze right then and there.

No Yuri, don't faint! I managed to regain myself, but the fact that he was still staring at me made it harder to keep it that way.

"Umm...do you need help?"

"No. I can get out just fine."

"O-okay." Feeling a little dizzy, I sat down and tried to calm my beating heart. Shortly after, Sakura came rushing past us, and after seeing the strange sight, she passed out like I would have. Sasuke had gotten out of the trap and checked on her. When she became conscious, I decided to bring up the teammate issue, but Sakura beat me to it.

"Sasuke, maybe we should work together to get the bells!"

"No thanks. I work alone." He stated.

That got me feeling a little worthless. I walked off, only to hear an interesting conversation between Sakura and Sasuke. I began to understand a bit of what he was like as he mentioned a guy who had made him cry in the past, a man he wanted to kill.

Sadness began to tower over me, but it soon faded at the sound of the alarm. Our test had ended, and our results were soon to come.