Unfurling Bud

Chapter Five

'...' - Eliza talking to Inner Sakura.

... - Inner Sakura speaking.

Heads up: many, many P.O.V. shifts.

The  clearing is silent as can be. A lone man stands in the center,  seemingly relaxed, though the way his single eye occasionally flickers  says otherwise.

This was unlike the team, Kakashi thought. He had  expected them to launch one attack after another, not for them to be so  still. Something... was up. Hmm, they were really starting to gain his  respect.

"I'm going to get you now!" shouts a blonde. Ah, he was wondering when they would start again.

Naruto's  shadow clones come flying at him, except in way that was strangely  organized. How perturbing. While dodging the blonde's slopping kicks and  punches, he loses himself in his thoughts. Who was the cause of this  change? He would expect either Sakura or Sasuke to take the lead, but  that didn't feel quite- He was interrupted out of his musings by a hand  diving down to firmly grab his leg.

Not bad...but not good enough either.

As  he substituted for a log a distance away, he felt yet another hand pin  him down. It seems as if he had underestimated the loud-mouthed boy  after all. Looking down, he saw a clone. Just as he suspected.

What  he didn't expect was a multitude of wires looping around his legs,  making it almost impossible to move. Keyword: almost. Within a few  seconds, he had maneuvered his way out and prepared to pop the clone.  Though he was secretly impressed. Who knew the boy could be so crafty?

He  was surprised once again by someone else coming to the rescue; Sasuke,  to be exact. That was...odd, he supposed. Who would expect the prideful  brat to save his 'rival'? A kunai came too near the bells for his  liking, so he quickly shifted his leg. A muttered curse came immediately  afterwards.

He jabbed the Uchiha swiftly in the stomach,  succeeding in knocking the air out of him. Oh? It seems like he has very  high pain tolerance. A smirk curled up behind his mask. Potential.

But  while he was fighting the dark-haired boy, the masked man failed to  notice the countless sneakily thrown stink-bombs in his direction.  Pungent fumes immediately spread into the air after the three second  countdown and fanned around him like a cage.

With his keen sense  of smell, he was cringing and using every ounce of his will power to not  cover his nose. His eyes turned glassy as the fumes continued to grow  more and more strong.

This was not going to bode well.

0o0o0

I  stifled a laugh. Naruto was a little genius in disguise! At first, I  had been skeptical of his stink-bombs, but Kakashi's highly-developed  sense of smell had suddenly popped up.(thanks to Inner's secret 'hot guy  portfolio') So I had agreed to use them, shooting one of my personal  burning glares to stop any further comments from a scowling Sasuke.

And it had worked. The stinky fumes had muddled his senses and caused an opening, just as we expected.

I  was currently creeping up to the bells, kunai in hand. Just a little  more... A little more... One second there wasn't any pressure, and  another it was there. A hand had my wrist gripped roughly the same  moment I managed to slash a bell.

Shit. Luckily, Naruto was the one to bail me out. Without his usual bravado, he aimed a packed punch to Kakashi's side.

With  a slight irritation shown in his single visible eye, he was forced to  let go of my arm to block the incoming punch. Taking advantage of the  momentary release, I quickly stuffed the bell into one of my numerous  pockets and formed the hand signs for the substitution jutsu.