"Steal these bells," Bolo announced, twirling two silver bells between his fingers with a smug grin. "Or no lunch. And you fail. Straight back to the Ninja Academy."
'…Seriously?' Sabuko deadpanned. 'I had a near mental breakdown last night, and spent hours training a new technique—just for this knockoff mob of an instructor to rip off Kakashi's test?'
Sabuko sighed, resting his hand on the kunai at his belt. A handle wrap wrapped around its hilt.
He kept his fingers there for roughly ten seconds.
'Besides, this clown forgot to tell us not to eat breakfast—kind of ruins the whole "no lunch" punishment…'
It was morning. The sky stretched clear above the wide grassy field where Sabuko, Koko, and Takos stood, all facing their Jonin instructor.
"I should mention," Bolo went on, "this test was inspired by my genius senpai, Hatake Kakashi—a true master of weeding out the weak. Your objective: take these two bells from me before noon. Fail to do so, and one of you goes crawling back to the Academy. Each one of you that manages to steal a bell for themselves, passes the test!"
"…Wait," Takos blinked. "P-putting aside the fact that you're a Jonin and we're just Genin, Bolo-sensei… there's only two bells!"
"Exactly." Bolo's chuckle came low and dark. "One of you is guaranteed to fail. Perhaps you should decide who right now?"
"Oh no...!" Koko gasped, hands flying to her mouth as her eyes widened in horror.
'But… he's a Jonin!' she panicked. 'How are we supposed to steal anything from someone like that?! And no matter what happens… one of us is getting cut?!'
Koko glanced at Sabuko and Takos.
'Are we really going to... Have to decide who fails?!'
Bolo's smirk deepened. Takos was already sizing up the others, eyes narrowing.
'Should I team up with Sabuko?' he thought. '…Would be useless. He doesn't know even a little bit of Taijutsu right now. Damn it… Should I just bolt and take my chances alone? Or maybe work with Koko?'
'Let's face it—if Sabuko never recovers from that amnesia, it might be better if I team up with Koko…' He shook the thought off. 'But then he loses his spot at my house. Ugh. Screw it. I'll do my own thing. Let them figure it out.'
Koko subtly took a step back. Just like clockwork.
'Same thing, every time,' Bolo thought with a sigh. 'You'll never take those bells from me. And then, you'll turn on each other. No teamwork. No trust. That's how this ends...' He closed his eyes solemnly, looking down.
"So, since my Taijutsu's garbage, I'll help you two steal the bells. Have fun being ninjas, I'll try again some other time. You've got my full emotional support." Sabuko said as he patted both Koko's and Takos' shoulders.
Bolo's eye twitched.
'Wait—'
"D... Dude!?" Takos stuttered, "W... What? But... You know my family won't let you stay if you fail, right? You'll have to find somewhere else!"
Both of them looked at Sabuko, stunned.
'He's... Giving up... For us?' Koko thought.
"I know, I know," Sabuko rubbed his shoulder, "So..." His eyes seemed to glitter,
"Become the greatest Ninja you can be for the both of us, Takos."
Takos' eyes widened in disbelief. His lips shivering.
"N.... W... N... Du... I... I was... Mean to... Why...?"
"What are you talking about?" He said with a smile, "You let me crash at your place when I was kicked out. What more could I've asked? You've made me feel belonging more than anyone in this world. It's only natural I'mma help you."
"What are you saying... I... Didn't do anything..." Takos' voice lowered. He looked down, almost in defeat.
Koko looked at Sabuko in admiration.
He turned to her, making her flinch slightly.
"Koko, right? I'll come clean. I really have no talent in Taijutsu. I'm... not cut out to be a ninja. So, at the very least, I can push you two—those who are worthy of it. I'll just try again some other time." He smiled, deliberately forcing a bittersweet expression.
She gasped.
Takos clenched his fist so hard it began to bleed.
'And I just... treated him like crap... at every turn... Damn it…! Damn it…!' Takos swallowed his tears.
Sabuko looked down, his face solemn.
"Even if it's just for today... all of us... are a team, right?" he said with a gentle smile.
Koko's heart skipped a beat.
A tear slid from Takos' eye...
...And Bolo watched the exchange, spellbound.
Then Sabuko looked up at him.
"Now, at the very least... let me help think of a plan to steal those bells!"
Takos wiped his eyes. So did Koko. Both of them nodded, their gazes alive again, doubt gone. All three turned to face Bolo, resolve burning in their eyes.
'Marvelous...' Bolo thought, his mouth slightly agape. 'To think a student like him actually exists... I can tell, this isn't a trick. He means all of it.'
'Someone who can calm his teammates... focus them... drive them...'
'It would be a waste not to make him a ninja.'
But then his lips pressed together.
'But...'
"You passed. All of you. You passed," Bolo said at last.
Koko, Takos, and Sabuko all stared in disbelief.
'How's my shocked face, spaghetti?' Sabuko mocked internally.
"We did...?" Koko murmured, "But, we were supposed to steal the bells, right?"
Bolo shook his head slowly.
"You kids have no idea how far ahead a Jonin is from a Genin. You never had a chance at stealing those bells from me to begin with. The point of this test... was teamwork, despite the odds."
They blinked, dumbfounded... All but Sabuko, who tried his best to maintain a straight face.
The Jonin straightened himself as he folded his arms.
"Listen, you lot!" He yelled. They all stiffened.
"A scumbag who obeys the rules is—"
Bolo started, then stopped himself.
A gust of wind.
"...?"
"Rules are followed blindly by scumbags. But only a true friend—..."
Another pause.
"..."
"What is he saying?" Koko murmured quietly.
"B-...beats me..." Takos replied, looking in confusion.
A crow quaked, passing them by.
"In the Ninja world, a scumbag is someone who obeys the rules..," he muttered, rubbing his chin.
"???????????????" All three shared a collective wave of confusion.
'Dude it was NOT that complicated.' Sabuko commented internally.
"Tch, what was it Kakashi-senpai said again...? I never thought I'd have to actually say it..." Bolo murmured to himself.
"In the ninja world, you're scum if you obey the rules..."
"... But if it means abandoning your friends—then you're even worse! Yep! Close enough!" Bolo declared with a proud nod.
The three of them looked at each other.
Still confused.
"... So... We should ignore the rules? Since it makes us scummy?" Sabuko said, holding his laughter.
"FORGET ABOUT THAT!" Bolo barked, "The real point was teamwork against adversity! And you passed! You're all now officially my Genin! From now on, we're known as Team 9!"
Koko clasped her arms together with a wide, glowing smile.
Takos buckled at the knees and collapsed to the ground.
'To think…' he glanced at Sabuko, 'I passed thanks to him…'
He let out a tired sigh.
'Well… I'll give him this one.'
"Now," Bolo said, turning serious, "you two, head back to the Academy. Sabuko—come with me. The Hokage wants to speak with you about your family."
"…?" Sabuko tilted his head.
'That shitty father of mine made another move?'
"R-right… Let's go… uhm… K-Koko-chan," Takos murmured, suddenly meek.
Koko looked away, flustered.
"Uhm… okay. I… I have to use the toilet, so… I'll go the other way," she mumbled, just as awkward.
Sabuko sighed at the scene playing out behind him.
'I guess they still haven't made up… I wonder what happened.'
He followed Bolo in silence as the trees thickened.
"…?" Sabuko squinted, something nagging at him.
'This isn't the way to the Hokage…' he realized, his eyes narrowing.
"Sabuko," Bolo spoke without looking back, "what you told them—was it true?"
"What part, sir? About me resigning so they'd succeed?"
"No," Bolo said, voice firm. "I no longer question your resolve."
He paused. "I'm talking about what you said regarding your Taijutsu."
"…"
"You wouldn't have graduated if you didn't meet the minimum Taijutsu requirements," Bolo said flatly—then suddenly spun and launched a kick.
Sabuko didn't even react.
The blow struck his abdomen full-on, sending him flying.
"GAAAHK—!"He crumpled, gasping, arms around his stomach.
'I… I didn't even see that coming… Shit… That's the first time I've been hit in this world… Agh… it hurts… can't… breathe…'
He wheezed and writhed in the dirt, clutching his core.
Bolo stood still, observing coldly.
"I didn't kick you that hard," he said. "And it wasn't too fast for a Genin. I slowed myself down."
"…"
"Once you can stand, do so. I'll strike two more times. Your only task—block or dodge just once."
He turned his back, hands clasped behind him.
"They'll be straight-on. You have my word as a Jonin… and your team leader. And as a man under the Hokage."
Sabuko trembled, breathing hard. Then slowly looked up.
"If you can't block even one attack…"
"…I will disqualify you from becoming a Genin."
"..!!"