Akari Uchiha

Ch. 24 Cliff Climbing

"Master... I know I haven't been the most angel-ous apprentice... but... you can't kill me off!"

"Chibi, you won't die as long as you don't fall," Kakashi eye-smiled.

"B-But what if I do fall!?" the ten-year-old asked frantically.

Kakashi shrugged, before casually swinging himself on the cliff, with one hand tied behind his back. He was climbing it with one arm...

"Come on. Or quit," Kakashi offered unhelpfully.

"If I don't do this you'll consider it quitting!?" she exclaimed annoyed.

"Exactly," Kakashi chirped. Akari's eye twitched in annoyance. "I did say you need to keep up with my training for a week for me to accept you as my apprentice," he shrugged from the cliff.

"But... but... ugh!" Akari groaned frustratedly. "I can't climb it!"

"Welp, too bad," Kakashi shrugged indifferently, casually continuing his climb.

Akari kicked the bottom of the cliff in frustration, looking up at Kakashi's disappearing figure.

There was no way she was climbing that thing all the way up, when she had never done it before, and was sure her stamina would run out half-way.

But she could just... try a few meters and then climb back down, safely.

------

Kakashi casually plopped down beside the ten year old who was now half-way through the climb.

Not bad... he would he really hadn't expected her to have be brave enough to climb it.

"Don't look down," he advised when he heard her whimper, clinging to the rocks. "So, what changed your mind about climbing the cliff?"

"Nothing," she groaned. "I was about to get down after climbing a few steps, just to know how climbing it feels like, but then I forgot how high I was going and I just realized it's high enough to be unsafe even if I do start climbing down now!" she exclaimed frantically.

Kakashi mentally erased the brave comment and rewrote it as my apprentice being a fool again.

"So now I guess there's no point in climbing back down," she added grumbling, before starting to climb carefully again, her face scrunched up in concentration.

"Wait a second! I caught up to you even when I started the climb after you!" she exclaimed happily, pausing her ascent.

"Chibi, this is my second time climbing this cliff," he explained patiently.

Akari planted her face on the rock in front of her, a depressed aura surrounding her. "You climbed all the way up, then down, and then halfway up again by the time it took me to reach here?" she muttered.

Kakashi chuckled sheepishly, before starting his climb beside her, at a slower pace. He suddenly spotted a familiar duo. Gai and Tenten. They seemed to be doing strength training too.

"Hang in there," he sang appearing beside Tenten, gaining their attention.

"Kakashi sensei?"

"Kakashi! Why is your arm tied behind your back?" Gai blinked.

"Oh, it's a little habit of mine," he said casually, ignoring the 'showoff' from his student from a little way below him. "Well, see you later~" he started climbing the cliff again.

"Scarecrow sensei! Wait!"

"'See you later'!? Wait up! This is a contest!" Gai declared, pinning an arm behind his back and beginning to climb the hill at a faster pace. "I'm finishing first!"