A Kunoichi At Heart

Chapter 32: Perpendicular

You stiffened at the contact, you ninja instincts kicking in. In a flash, you had executed the body replacement jutsu and leapt straight up into the air. Concealing yourself within the dense foliage of a nearby tree, you peered through the gap between the leaves, trying to catch a glimpse of the person that had poked you. You recognized the black hair and the prominent Uchiha crest set against dark blue fabric, and you gasped.

"…Sasuke?" you whispered, hardly daring to believe your eyes. His dark eyes snapped up at the sound of your voice and you noticed that his cheeks were slightly pink. Whoa, since when did the Uchiha blush?!

"You're jumpy," he remarked, gazing up at you.

You shrugged. "I thought you were Kakashi-sensei."

"And I clearly am not," he replied, looking disgruntled. "Why don't you come down here?"

You eyed him suspiciously and stayed put.

"What?" he demanded.

"You still could potentially be Kakashi-sensei," you reasoned. He shot you a dirty glare. "I have to be careful, you know. You could have easily henged into Sasuke, to trick me."

It was his turn to shrug. "Oh well, your loss."

"What do you mean?" you called down.

"I was planning to ask you if you wanted to plan an attack strategy with me, but forget it."

"What?! What happened to working solo?"

A small smile played over Sasuke's lips as you digested his words. "So?"

You tore a small piece off of a branch of the tree you were perched on and lobbed it experimentally at Sasuke's head. If it was indeed Kakashi using henge no jutsu, this simple test would do the trick. He looked up, and the twig hit him squarely in the eye.

"Hey!" he yelped, vanishing in a puff of smoke, replaced by a very irritated looking Kakashi.

"S-sorry Kakashi-sensei!" you cried, waving your arms in front of you protectively, hoping he wouldn't disintegrate you on the spot. "I just had to check…"

Kakashi rubbed his visible eye exasperatedly, wishing the twig had hit the other one instead. "I'm not saying it was a bad idea, [Name]. It was just…unexpected, that's all. Next time try not to aim for the eye, ne?"

You nodded, too stunned to say anything as he carefully picked his way out of the bush. He paused.

"And [Name]?"

"Yeah?" you asked warily, wondering if he was going to reprimand you.

"Sasuke actually does want to work with you, don't make it so hard for him like you just demonstrated to me. It's remarkable that he's even considering teamwork, bear that in mind."

You gaped at his retreating back, wondering if your sensei had gone completely insane. Sasuke…and teamwork? Back at the Academy all he cared about was working alone, resulting in horrid marks when assessed on his ability to cooperate with other students. According to your shadow clone memories, you had worked with him a couple times, and it had been a nightmare.

No doubt Kakashi was just playing with you, trying to get you to lower your guard.

"Right, like that's going to happen," you muttered to yourself, wrenching a kunai out of your pouch and preparing to defend yourself if your sensei decided to make another uninvited appearance. Now how to get those bells? You closed your eyes, thinking. Would a direct assault, like Naruto's futile attempts work better? Or should you keep staying in the shadows? And how about Sasuke…if what Kakashi-sensei claimed was true, it would be good to have an ally. It would double your success rate, or at the very least, increase it. You had nothing to lose, after all. With those thoughts racing through your head, you opened your eyes, settling on what you believed was the best option.

If you go and directly challenge Kakashi in the open, go to Chapter 49.

If you remain where you are, thinking of a plan, go to Chapter 50.

If you believe Kakashi's words and go search for Sasuke, go to Chapter 51.