Unfurling Bud

Chapter Twelve

We said our goodbyes and left the Land of the Waves...but not without Naruto and Inari bawling their eyes out and clutching each other like they would never see each other again. "T-this is called manly crying!" Naruto had yelled whenever someone would poke fun at him, face beet red and arms flailing this way and that. I smothered my snickers.

However, not everyone shared Naruto's cheerful mood. I only noticed the tense atmosphere once we walked further away from Waves. Sasuke was quiet and moody- even more withdrawn than usual. And Kakashi? Well, he was his... crinkly-eyed self, though more than a little guarded. The air he emitted seemed somehow darker than usual, if that made any sense.

Throughout the whole trip, no one succeeded in breaking the ice. I felt more than a little uncomfortable. Even Naruto's attempt at a conversation didn't work. Sasuke refused every provocation that came from Naruto's mouth with either a glare toward the ground or a disdainful turn of the head. If not for the situation, it would almost be impressive. I sighed mentally. Really, I wished he would just snap out of this funk already. Even if he wasn't my favorite person in the world, he  still was my teammate. And I was stuck with him... until further notice.

Kakashi had even had the nerve to pull out his precious little book sometime after the unsuccessful ice-breaking and started leisurely scanning the pages- how typical. Gah! I wish I had something to do other than twiddle my thumbs!

By the time Naruto had moved onto bugging me instead of Sasuke, I was long gone into my thoughts. The topic of my strength, or lack of strength, had always bugged me. I had tried fixing that by going to Guy for help, but I knew that I would have to move on soon. Guy had his own team to take of, and their schedule was gradually becoming more team orientated. I would only get in the way. Besides, I was already grateful enough for the help that he had given me.

Well, I guess it's time to review what my strengths and weaknesses are- again. The Chuunin exams were coming up, and I had to know enough to keep myself alive. This time, there was no Kakashi to save my sorry butt.

Traps: Like I said before, I knew the basics, but I doubt that I'd get good enough within this short time frame. Besides, it really isn't my thing.

Ninjutsu: I might want to invest my time in one or two basic jutsus.

You might want to buy some chakra paper to test your affinity too! You didn't forget that one episode did ya? I saw that scene while I was looking through your memories.

'Hmm... Good idea. But digging through my memories again?"

Oh hush.

Genjutsu: I dismissed this before but on second thought, maybe I should learn at least one to get me out of pinch.

Damn right! You don't want to be unable to break out of that sleep genjutsu! That'd be lamer than lame! Who in fanfiction ever fails to break out of that genjutsu?

'Yeah, that would be beyond embarrassing... And if I couldn't wake up, I'd probably die by a stray kunai or something.'

Taijustsu: Thanks to Guy, my stamina was pretty decent. I wouldn't say I was superwoman or something, but it was much better than before. I also had that new form I was working on, but I didn't know if it would be effective in battle. It flowed well and didn't focus primarily on strength, so I had high hopes. Instead, the form made it possible for a physically weaker person(a.k.a. me)to turn an opponent's greater strength against them.

Maybe I should have a spar with Naruto or Sasuke sometime? I'd place my bet on Naruto though, since I bet Sasuke still sees me as this weak fangirl. Oh well, I guess I'll just prove him wrong someday. Someday... Ahem.