Kana [ Kakashi Hatake / Naruto ]

I.II

° I.II °
"Kakashi's 'Oopsie'"

"We're gettin' pretty close, I'd say at this rate maybe another two hours, max, before we reach the village."

A collective sigh of reliefs came from his students, "finally!"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Kana voiced, her words causing them to look at her and Kakashi was the only one who didn't seem off-put. Sensing their stares, the Kitsune's usual lax expression actually seemed somewhat aloof and it put the ninjas-in-training on edge.

While both Sukura and Sasuke were thinking it, Naruto of course was the only one to voice it, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Kana hummed, eyes dancing along the endless array of trees with a look of mistrust, "we still have about 8 miles between us and The Land of Waves..."

Nodding in silent agreement, Kakashi's visible eye scanned their surroundings just as she was doing, "a lot can happen in those 8 miles. Remember, don't let your guard down and keep yourself alert, ready for anything, a ninja never loses focus of their surroundings."

It also doesn't help that these woods are notorious for thieves. Kana of course didn't voice that thought aloud, not wanting to put the kids even more on edge... but maybe she should have.

"Man, you guys are just trying to scare us," Naruto scoffed, waving off their warnings and concern as if swatting a fly, "we made it this far, I doubt we'll run into anymore trouble after that last creep and he's dead so.."

Oh, little Sunflower... you shouldn't have said that.

If Kana was weary of trouble before, now she was virtually expecting someone or something to pop out. As someone who's lived a long, eventful life, the Kitsune had witnessed her fair share of what people today liked to call, 'irony'. Kana called it Susanoo's typical Sunday shenanigans. The trickster God harbored a love for making people eat their words and she could practically feel him smirking down at them. Nice going, kid.

Sakura was obviously having similar thoughts but she had no issue voicing hers, "shut up, Naruto! You just jinxed us!"

"Oh, come on," he groaned, "don't tell me you actually buy into that crap! Sakura, it's just a bunch of-

It happened inhumanly fast. So fast, in fact, that Kakashi-Sensei despite having sensed it, hadn't been the first to react... Kana was.

One second the woman was between Sasuke and his Sensei, and the next thing they know, she's at Naruto's side. Not only had she managed to surprise them with her movement, again, but when they noticed what she was holding in her hand, a feeling of dread encompassed the group.

"You were saying?"

Naruto gulped as he eyed the kunai she had somehow caught right before it could hit him between the eyes, "uhhhh."