Innocent Ignorance

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - And so it all begins

Naruto isn't mine...yet... ;)

 '...' Inner

'...' Outer

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I arrived at the training grounds with a yawn. Rubbing my eyes, I looked towards to sky to see that it was already about noon. 

"Perfect," I sighed, a satisfactory smirk adorning my face. If Kakabaka was going be late, then I sure as hell wasn't going to wait hours for him to arrive. 

Swinging my arms and humming a cheery tune, I skipped towards the two frazzled figures on the bridge. 

"SAKURA-CHAN!!!" Naruto whined, rushing towards me and shaking me by the shoulders. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU AND OUR WEIRD-HAIRED TEACHER FOR THREE HOURS, DATTEBAYO!"

Sasuke harrumphed. 

I sighed and shook my head with an amused smile. "Honestly, you two," I said, "after yesterday, you guys should've known that he would be late. I didn't see the point in waiting for him to arrive, so I came late too."

"Aw man," Naruto groaned. "She does have a point," Sasuke said, gloomy. 

"Come on guys, cheer up!!" I said brightly, "I brought food for all of us. And you guys know how good my mom's cooking is." 

The boys perked up, but had confused looks on their faces. "But Sakura, Kakashi told us not to eat anything before the bell test," Sasuke said. 

I hit them on the heads gently. "Again," I chastised, "how do you boys expect to fight properly on an empty stomach? I think Kakashi was just trying to trick us. Now, eat up!" 

Placing an orange box into Naruto's hands and a navy one into Sasuke's, I exclaimed, "Here. Your favorite ramen, Naru, and your favorite tomato sandwich, you emo duck." 

"THANKS SAKURA-CHAN!! YOU'RE THE BEST!"

"Hn. Thanks." 

While the boys ate, I took the opportunity to do some stretches and warm up with my katana, a present from Kakashi for my 8th birthday. I sighed fondly, thinking back to that happy day. 

It involved a cake explosion. 

At the end of the sword's handle, I had attached two bells that I had received for my 7th birthday from my beloved Uchiha duo, Itachi and Shisui. The bells had seals on them that allowed me to cast genjutsu with them when needed. The level of genjutsu would rise in accordance with my own skills. So far, I could only cast one high-level genjutsus with it—the Hell Viewing technique.

I smiled to myself. Can't wait to use it on a certain gravity-defying haired man later, I sang in my head.

'HEY!'

'What.'

'You're forgetting that I'm the genjutsu savant here,' Inner huffed, crossing her arms. 'Uh huh,' I replied, rolling my eyes. 'Make sure to help me out later, yeah?'

'You bet!'

Our inner dialogue was interrupted by the arrival of, lo and behold—

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto screamed, waving his fists in the air angrily. Sasuke just sighed and swallowed the last of his beloved tomatoes.

Kakashi gave his one-eyed smile and waved his hands in a dismissive manner. "Maa, maa," he droned, "I got lost on the path of life."

"LIAR!"

Before he could recover from Naru's shouting, I ran up to him and gave him a good ol' glomp. "KAKABAKA, I MISSED YOU!!" I crooned, nuzzling into his side.