Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Girl Named Yama ❯ Chapter 3 - We Meet Again ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A Girl Named Yama

Author: XoXSilverDragonXoX

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from `Naruto'. The only thing I own is my main character, Umari Yama, and maybe some unrecognizable characters that you may see.

Brief Summary: A girl finds herself dumped into Hatake's bed one day in a different world to deal with an emotional Sasuke, a hyperactive Naruto, a flirty Genma and lazy Kakashi. And of course, to deal with all the glory of life in Konoha to boot.

Last Chapter:

So Yama's woken up to an unknown place beside an unknown man, thrown a few fits and finally calmed down long enough to figure out that she really isn't in a place she can call home anymore. What's next? Armageddon?

Warnings: Seeing as this story is rated `M' be expecting a bit of language now and then.

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

Chapter 3 - We meet Again

I stalked out of his room, only to find that this place wasn't an inn or something of the like at all. I blatantly ignored the man's protests spewing out from inside the room and pulled the door shut firmly. I held the door knob tightly as I looked around the house.

Yes, a house. A two story house. So the lunatic guy was pretty well off. The house was pretty well furnished too.

I had to get away from here... and this… lunatic. I had to find the police or someone to come arrest this guy. He should be in an asylum! Or maybe he just needed to lay off on the pills or something.

To my left was another door, marked with the words: `Maito Gai.' My eyes widened slightly and I couldn't help but feel a nagging feeling from inside. I knew that name from somewhere... but where? Not bothering to reminisce, I then realized something. He had roommates. Fruitlessly hoping that no one was around, I peered to my left and right cautiously, still holding the door knob tightly. I could feel it shaking underneath my grip - he was trying to get out. Now I knew the guy was a lunatic. If he was really a ninja he wouldn't have to use doors! Maybe I was just seeing things from before... Some sort of drug in the air maybe! Yeah, that was it!

To my right were a flight of stairs. The hallway was quite bare, except for another room by the stairs, a picture on the wall, and a lone chair. But it had hardwood floors.

I snatched the chair that had been conveniently placed by the room I had just exited, and propped the back of it against the doorknob. That should buy me some time.

If it wasn't something in the air, then he was a lunatic that knew magic tricks! Yes! That was it... he was a lunatic that knew how to work illusions and got a kick out of playing around with people's minds. Don't all illusionists/magicians play with peoples' minds?

I barreled down the stairs, and took a sharp left to find myself in a kitchen. There was a door to my right, a refrigerator to my left, a sink and cabinets in front of me and a table in the middle of the room.

I snatched an apple and an orange from the bowl of fruit on table, mentally thanking the guy who lived here. Well… for the food that is. Speaking of which… I glanced back again, relieved to find that he hadn't got out of his room yet.

Bolting out the door, I found myself outside. So this was the front door. Grinning to myself, I looked back one last time and surged forwards, only to run full tilt into something solid. 'Huh?'

I looked up, only to see an annoyed `Kakashi.' If that was his real name, that is.

“Er... hi?” I said innocently, trying to edge slowly around him. Fast movements tend to make the insane anxious and edgy - I had learnt that from my psychology class.

“What did you do to my door?” he demanded. I shrugged.

“Nothing.” I answered innocently. Quitting with the subtle movements, I brushed past him, none too softly, and he caught my wrist.

“Hey!” I protested. I should've stuck with subtle movements... now I've gone and worked him up.

“Where do you think you're going?” Kakashi asked wryly, tightening his grip as I tried to wrench my wrist out of his grasp. 'Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow....'

“None of your business.” I growled. I winced as his fingers dug into my skin. I flinched and I felt him loosen his grip slightly.

Kakashi's one eye narrowed at me. “I believe that since I told you my side of the story; you should tell me yours. Besides, that was the agreement.”

"An agreement that I don't have to carry out." I retorted. “And you didn't give me any reason to believe that what you had told me was the truth.”

His eye twitched. 'He doesn't seem crazy.'

“Now,” I continued, “Let me go.” I used my other hand, trying to pry his iron vice-like grip off me.

“No.” So he was going to be difficult.

“Please let go?”

“You are not going until you tell me.”

“Let me go!”

“No.” he said firmly. I scowled. 'I take that back... he's one hundred times and more - insane!!'

`Stupid, stubborn Kakashi person.' I glanced around, trying to see if something else could aid me. Woods straight ahead... a street that went left and right, lined with houses. My heart sank. This wasn't home... this wasn't home at all... was it possible? Was it possible that I was actually in that Naruto world?

Well, never mind that; I had to get away from this guy first.

I glanced to the left and spotted a large group of people by some stands. An idea popped into my head. An absurd idea, but still, it was an idea.

I grinned, “So... Kakashi-san. Ever... commit any crimes around here?” I asked innocently.

Kakashi frowned. “Well, no. Unless you count the time Gai was working up a ruckus…” he mused.. `…Well, you're about to commit one.'

My grin widened and before he could utter another peep, I had raised my free hand in a flash and was yelling and screaming for help.

“What are you doing?” he hissed.

“Help! This man... thing... is trying to molest me! Ahhh! Help me! Rape! ” I shouted. I saw Kakashi visibly flinch at the last word, and smirked. 'Gotcha!'

Yama = 2, Mr. Pretender = 0

Almost immediately, the people turned their attention on me and after a few moments of grasping the meaning behind my words, five of them had started running in my direction. My eyebrows rose. That was quite a quick reaction. Truth to be told; I wasn't sure if my plan would even work. If I had actually yelled like that back in Japan… I wasn't even sure if I would get help. Apparently it was a different society here. That put me even more on edge. Where on earth had I ended up?

I turned to face the silver haired man. His eye had widened and he turned his accusing gaze onto me. It sharpened into a glare. 'You snooze, you lose!' Well... it wasn't really that kind of situation, but you catch my drift, ne?

I only gave him a wry glanced in return.

“Hatake Kakashi, I knew that you were a pervert, despite your reasoning!” A blur shot by me and I found that Kakashi was no longer holding me.

I blinked in confusion and turned right, to see a man in a green suit, pinning Kakashi down.

“Are you all right, miss? The beautiful green beast of Konoha has come to your rescue!” he turned his face towards me. How could he move that fast? He wasn't even breathing hard! Eh... I blinked.

I noted the fuzzy eyebrows and mushroom hair cut. Mm... eh, heh, heh. I nervously rubbed my side. Strange hairstyle... In a way, it was pretty creepy. Creepier than Kakashi, that was for sure.

“Gai,” I heard Kakashi grunt.

I nodded vigorously, keeping my act as the `damsel in distress,' and replied, “I'm... f-fine,” I stuttered. Muahahaha!

He only nodded in reply and glared down at Kakashi, who was on his stomach and thrumming his fingers against the ground, his other hand propping up his head.

Seeing that a huge group was now gathered at the scene, I uttered a strangled sob and pointed at Kakashi, who desperately tried to explain.

“No! It's not what it looks like! I was -”

“We've heard enough, Hatake,” Gai growled. I frowned. This mushroom dude seemed a bit too cheery. I saw Kakashi roll his eyes at Gai's next comment, “This now makes our score 47-46 in my favor! I will best you yet, Kakashi!”

My eyebrows rose. They were... rivals? Despite that fact the Kakashi seemed to be an `enemy' of mine, I couldn't help but cheer for him. The green-suit guy just didn't look cut out to beat Kakashi.

The attention turned from the pair towards me, but I only managed another fake sob, wiping tears (of laughter) from my face and pointing back towards them. The crowd turned back to the pair.

I could tell this town didn't get many scenes in public... like this kind of situation, anyhow.

Taking advantage of their attention no longer being on me, I sidestepped slowly and slipped out. However, a few of the kids noticed me, and were tugging on their parents' trying to get their attention. I was lucky that they were only ignored.

I made a pretty clean getaway, in my opinion (if you didn't count those kids) and I casually walked down the street, ignoring other people who were now running in the direction of all the commotion.

Then I paused, snickering to myself.

Then I sighed. Okay, now I had completed phase one of my motto (First get out, then analyze and realize the consequences). Now I had to analyze... mainly, how in the world did all of this happen? Besides…

Why was I running? I mean, that guy was probably just playing some joke and I was in it. I could always tie him down and torture him into answering me. Maybe they were shooting some sort of movie... related to the Naruto movie topic and I just happened to... end up in the middle of it.

Huh, you mean end you being the star of it. It's not everyday that you end up in bed with Hatake Kakashi.

But if it was that, where were the cameras? The crew? The lights? The stage lights and all? I mean... I don't know anymore.

So. That was it. Or... this was it. No games. This was actually... real? As I surveyed my surroundings, I found it hard not to believe anything now. It was just how Konoha was portrayed in the anime.

A group of laughing children darted past me, one of them holding a head protector. There were even the Konoha Leaf insignia on buildings and on booths. Either someone spent millions just playing a joke on me, or this was all real.

My excitement faded. It sunk in fully. I was alone, in an entirely different world. What the hell was I suppose to do? I brushed back my loose drawn hair and exhaled slowly, only to feel my hair being held up by something. I frowned. Funny... I hadn't noticed it from before.

I reached up, touching my neck and feeling a band there. I narrowed my eyes and tried to glance down. I saw a metal plate. Running my fingers thoughtfully through it, I could distinctly feel carvings in the plate. The cloth was soft... and felt somewhat familiar...

My hand froze on the spot.

The forehead protector... I paled. Was that how I had arrived here? I untied it and stopped walking altogether.

I studied it closely. This was the same one my neighbor had given me, I was sure of it. There were the very same sewn-on characters I had noticed before. It was a very small mark on the edge of the cloth, in black, the characters of my Japanese name: U-ma-ri Ya-ma.

Forcing my feet to move, I stumbled down the walk, falling against a bench. I abruptly sat down.

I stared, unblinkingly and unfocused at the band in my hand. How did I get here? Why was I here? More importantly, how was I going to get home?

I knew it wasn't a dream or anything. This was too real. Without realizing it a lone tear made its way down my face. I wiped it away hastily.

What would happen when my mother discovered I was gone? Was I even gone? Or was I in a coma and was lying, unconscious; at home? All this was unknown to me. How would my mother react if something bad happened to me? I was the only family to her left!

I really didn't know what she would do…

I closed my eyes. What to do now? Sitting here feeling sorry for myself and being depressed wasn't going to help the situation at hand any.

I opened my eyes. Maybe there was something on this band... I turned it around in my hands.

Nothing.

Maybe... maybe this thing could send me back... somehow? Since it sent me here, anyway.

I mentally raised a fist. 'Okay! Let's try this!!'

'Forehead protector! Send me back!" I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting to feel light weighted… You know... that feeling you get every time you go up or down an elevator? I had to have travelled here somehow, right? Maybe it was by dimension warping.

But to my disappointment, I was still sitting on the bench when I opened my eyes. Sigh. Wow did I ever feel stupid.

I closed my eyes, concentrating. What had I done last night before I went to bed? What did I do?

Mmmmmm....

I briefly wondered how the head protector had ended up on my head, when I had clearly tossed it on my night stand, before I exited the house to buy... milk. Then... there was that dust.

My eyes widened. That was how I got here! That creepy, floating dust! But... did this head protector have anything to do with it?

My eyes snapped open. Shit!

`… Well isn't this unlucky.' a voice spoke. It wasn't my own. It was a male's voice. And unless I had somehow acquired a male inner voice… it wasn't mine. I glanced around, searching fruitlessly. Who was talking to me?

“Oh yeah... now... who the hell are you?” I asked in confusion.

A few people walking by gave me a strange look.

`Don't talk out loud, baka.' it snorted. `I'm in your head,'

What?

"Don't hide from me! I... I..." I stuttered, jumping to my feet and staring nervously underneath the bench. "I have a black belt in karate! And I'm trained in kendo!" I got onto my knees carefully, peering under the bench. I frowned. No one.

I stood up again and the voice was gone. What was that?

`Are you really? I don't remember anything like that thought…'

Huh? I paled. Where was that coming-

`I'm in your head! Just get over it!' it cried in exasperation. It clicked. Head... okay...

`Oh...' I thought. `Who the hell are you?' Not too bright, was I?

`My name is not for you to know right now. For the time being, you may call me Taka,' it answered, `Yama - no, you are not very bright.' it added. I blinked.

`How did you know my name?' I slapped myself upside the head. He's in your head; of course he would know your name! A young man walking by stared at me strangely, before making his way quickly past me. I rubbed my forehead sheepishly. Er... opps.. I sat down again.

But then again…

`Okay...' I thought. `I'm going crazy,'

`No, you are not.'

`I'm the one who's talking to a `voice' in her head right now,' I grumbled sarcastically. 'Am I schizophrenic?'

`But I am real, you're not schizophrenic! Whatever gave you that idea?' Taka replied, `I'm just contacting you from somewhere else. I'm… a source. Although you weren't supposed to arrive this way… you do belong here. Here, in Konoha, I mean.”

`…Fine then, I'll go along with your little scheme. I belong here. Care to elaborate on that?' I demanded. Let's see where he's going with this.

`You belong here.'

`I already caught that part, you know.' I snarled.

`Good, then you are smarter than you let on.' Taka replied.

`Why the hell would I belong here?' I grounded my teeth together, stomping down the annoyance that had been building up. I cannot express how I feel in words. It felt like a bunch of emotions had just bundled together and decided to have a soccer match inside of me. Not a very fun experience. I felt tired, moody, and pissed off all at once.

`You just do!' he snapped. I backed off.

'Gomen.. I j-just find this 'very' hard to believe,' I muttered. It really was. Just how would you handle it if you woke up one day in the world of a show that you used to watch when you were younger?

'That is very understandable.'

`How is this all possible?' I asked finally, rubbing furiously at my temples. I was starting to get a headache. That was one question that needed to be answered very badly among all the other questions floating around.

How is this all possible? Were there different dimensions? Was this just a fantasy world that my brain cooked up while I was in a coma, lying in the hospital? That was a possibility. In fact, anything could be a possibility.

`Well actually, I'm a little unsure of that myself. I need to hunt around for that answer… so I'll tell you when I find it.”

I groaned, leaning back against the bench, staring up at the clouds. Clouds just drifting by... Carefree. Without a care in the world. Why couldn't I be a cloud? And this Taka dude wasn't making it any easier. He wouldn't answer anything!!

`Taka?' I spoke up.

`Nani?'

`What the hell do I do right now?' I might as well go along with this. At least until I get some more answers.

`Well, it's about time we get to that. Since you are in this world now -'

`What if -' I started.

`There is no known way to get back right now -' he continued, as if sensing my question.

`Damn,' I mumbled. I really wanted to go home. Even if this was a once in a lifetime chance, I would rather be at home. Mmf. I had never thought of myself as one who would get homesick so easily…

`-Then you have to make a living here, just like you would have done in your world.' he finished, 'Find a job or something. Right now you're vitually useless. You can't fight, you can't read—'

`Hey! I resent that! It's not my fault I can't—'

`- and you don't know the area well. Humans are wonderfully capable of adaptation, so you go and do that.' Oh, thanks Taka. Go out and adapt? What kind of advice is that? I have like… nothing on me! Not even one yen. Oh crap - do they even use the same currency here? Are they're customs the same? What all is different?

`Mm... Looks my time's up. I have to go now. Good luck!'

`Wait! What the hell do I do?'

Silence answered. He was gone. I paused. How the hell did he talk to me, anyway? Things just get weirder and weirder. But damn! He should've at least thrown me a bone or something. Where do I even start?

I stood up. But I guess I should get moving. It wouldn't do any good if Kakashi found me right now. Who knows what he would do to me after that stunt I pulled. I scratched the bridge of my noise in annoyance. The stunt that was entirely my fault - I'll probably have to apologize later.

“Damn.” I mumbled. I looked around. I had no clue where I was, nor did I know where to go, “Mmm?” I raised my nose up into the air. What was that smell?

Ramen!!

I looked around. It wafted through my nose again. I brightened. I WAS kind of hungry. I glanced down at the apple I had in my hand. This probably wouldn't be enough...

I followed the scent, dodging people along the way. This place wasn't too bad, now that I had actually looked at it. It was a lively place.

Several shops were set up and were around. It reminded me a lot of home. Of Japan. Each street was lined with shops and stalls. There were bright colors; blue, green, red, and yellow.

I stopped. In front of me was an Ichiraku Ramen shop. My mouth watered slightly at the delicious smells drifting out slowly. It was a small but very lively place. There were stools lined up against the counters where people could eat and sit. The counters gleamed red and there were kitchen utensils behind the counter.

But I had no money. Damn. I glanced at my apple. I guess this would have to do for the time being. Somehow, I had lost my orange somewhere- probably during that tussle with Kakashi.

My thoughts darkened as I thought of him.

I took a big bite out of the apple, savoring the sweet taste. I started to wander, and to my disappointment, away from the ramen stand. It wasn't like I had any money anyway. I had tried to read the sign, but all I recognized was the number 450. If I would have to guess, that was probably the price for a bowl of basic ramen. I couldn't read the rest. And since I don't even have 450 whatever currency it is (I know, I shook my borrowed clothes but no change noises), staying there wouldn't do any good.

I wandered quite a bit of ways from the center of town. I had to find a way to earn some money.

I glanced around. I had wandered into one of the quieter streets. I paused. This street was lined with big and rich looking houses. I walked down the street, admiring the houses. Each was quite large in size and looked very well furnished.

Maybe I could find something to do here. I mean, big houses meant a lot of work, right? It was possible that I could find some sort of job here.

I made my way up the walk to the first house to my right. I reached the rich red mahogany door and took a deep breath, before knocking thrice times.

The door creaked open slowly, revealing a woman that looked like she was in her 30's? 40's maybe. Well, she looked kind…

She gave me an expectant, yet impatient look.

“Uh... hi! I just moved here and I would like to know if you might have a job? That I could do? It could be a cleaning job... Or weeding (I winced as I mentioned weeding) your garden or something like that. Maybe if I could get paid a—”

She shook her head, before closing the door.

In my face. With my mouth still open.

I closed my mouth.

Sweat drop. Well, looks can be deceiving. Never judge a book by its cover.

I walked down the path, heading towards the next house.

`Knock, knock, knock!'

Creak...

“Hi, I would like to -”

SLAM!

I flinched as the old man slammed the door in my face. This was going to be harder than I thought it would be. Maybe I was wrong about rich people needing help...

So I tried again... (Can'tjust give up you know!!) And besides, not all rich people were like that... right?

“Hello, I was -”

BANG!

And again.....

`Knock, knock, knock,'

No answer.

I looked around and spotted a face appear in the window beside the door. I waved, but the face disappeared and no one answered.

My eyes narrowed. Turning briskly, I headed for the next house.

And of course... again…I feel like an idiot.

Ding, dong!

Snap.

`Huh?' I thought, looking around in confusion. Where had the snap come from? I spotted a glint in the sunlight and looked down. The mail slot was opened and someone was peering through it.

Heh.

I knelt down.

"Hi, I was just -"

It closed with a snap.

Okay... let's try this one more time! And I domean one more time! I'm giving up after this one...

One hour later...

“Hi...” I said breathlessly, “I was wondering if you might have a job... (Pant, pant), any kind of job that I could work for a bit of... (pant) money?” I asked hopefully.

It was an old lady. She offered me a kind smile. Score! A smile meant good right? Or... maybe not. I frowned when I remembered the last smile I had gotten from that other lady. The one who had slammed the door in my face.

“Are you with Team 7?” she asked. I frowned. Team 7?

“Team... 7?” I asked hesitantly. Why did that sound so familiar?

She chuckled quietly. “I guess that means you are not. Well, I guess I COULD offer you a job, weeding in my garden. I have two gardens. The team that is here is already weeding my first one. I suppose you could weed my second one, although it has more weeds. I could pay you for that. And, it looks like you haven't got any more offers, have you?”

I shook my head.

“All right then. Follow me,”

I did, all the while thinking, `Team 7?'

It figures that when I say I'll try 'ONE MORE TIME,' it's actually the time that the situation is resolved. Maybe next time when something like this happens... I'll say 'I'll try one more time' at the very beginning...

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

The old lady, whom I now knew was called Kobayashi Saki, ushered me through the back door.

“You didn't have to -” I protested.

“Nonsense!” Saki interrupted, “I can only imagine what you've been through, going through all those houses, looking for a job,” I saw her wink.

So she knew what those people were like too.

She had given me a brief lunch, before allowing me to freshen up in her washroom. She had then led me through her large house until we ended up at the back door.

Saki handed me a small tool and pushed me gently out the door and into the sunlight. She pointed towards the right. “It is the one right over there.” Shielding my eyes from the sunlight, I spotted a garden down further. I could see another one to the left, which had fewer weeds.

`Drat.' I thought. More weeds to pull.

I turned to thank her, but found her gone. I blinked stupidly for a second, before a voice dragged me out of my dazed session.

“She's damn hot!” Pause. "But she looks like Sasuke-bastard!" I didn't think my eyebrows could go any higher. But voila! They did.

“Naruto! Don't be so rude!”

I whirled around, to see a boy with short blonde hair and a girl with long pink hair. He was gawking at me whereas she was scowling at him.

The boy had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was dressed in an orange jumpsuit. The top had long sleeves, with a white collar and a blue strip that went around the orange right underneath the collar and at the end of the top. His pants were orange with no particular design marked on them.

The girl had long pink hair and expressive green eyes. In a way, she did have an exceptionally large forehead... She wore a red kimono, which was outlined white at the end of her short sleeves and at the edges of the kimono as well. The red kimono had white circles as designs on the shoulder and at the end of the dress. Underneath the kimono she wore darkly colored tight fitting shorts. This was understandable, since the kimono was slit all the way up to the thighs on both sides.

Both adorned brown hip pouches and Konoha Leaf head protectors.

“Who are you?” the blonde bobbed right up to me, standing smack in front of me.

`Naruto,' I realized with a start. There wasn't any way that I could forget the star of the show.

`You are correct.' a voice spoke up. I groaned inwardly.

`So you're back?' I questioned. It was Taka again.

`Yes. I had to deal with something... So, I see you've found a job,' Taka said, `And maybe a few friends,'

`No thanks to you.' I thought wryly, `The situation you had to deal with… it didn't perchance have anything to do with me and how I got here now, did it?'

`The guy in front of you is Uzumaki Naruto and the girl behind him is Haruno Sakura,' Taka supplied. The asshole had ignored my question! `I don't need to answer something I don't have an answer to.' He retorted.

I grumbled in protest, but relented. `I already figured that out.'

`You didn't even recognize who the girl was!' he replied sarcastically. 'You only noticed Naruto,'

`Shut up. Besides, so what?' I grumbled. So what if my memory was failing me?

'That's a pretty big 'what.' Right now you have to depend on your knowledge to survive in this place.'

'I know!' I cried in desperation. 'You think I don't know that? How would you feel if you were tossed into a whole new dimension within the span of one night?'

No answer. I felt like crying. Why wasn't he answering any of my questions? Why wasn't anyone helping me? What the hell did I do in my last life to deserve this?

I blinked, only to see the two staring at me.

“What?” I asked blankly.

The two exchanged a glance. “Who are you?” Naruto repeated. I stared at him for a second, before brushing by him.

“Someone.” I muttered. I didn't have time to deal with this right now. I had to finish my job and finish it fast. Because if Team 7 was here... it usually meant that their sensei was soon to come. Which was Hatake Kakashi. And after what happened this morning... I had a distinct feeling he wouldn't be… so courteous... especially after that little stunt.

Naruto followed me, opening his mouth again.

"I know who you are!" I froze. "You're a foreign ninja here to spy on us! Right? That's right! I know you are. And you're going to betray Konoha and then-" I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I never thought that this kid could get that obnoxious. Naruto managed a grin. “Gotcha! I was just kidding… geez. Can't anyone here take a joke anymore?” He mumbled, walking away.

When I didn't hear anything more come out, I turned around in confusion. I saw him rubbing his head and looking at Sakura.

“.. Eh. Sakura-chan, what was that for?” he whined. His eyes shimmered and I could see the slightest sheen of water over his eyes. Puppy dog eyes. I winced, looking away. I was always a sucker for that look - from anyone. Sakura didn't answer him, instead she turned to me.

“Forgive him. He was dropped on the head when he was a baby.” she offered me a bright smile, “So, who are you and why are you here?”

“Wahh! That's mean, Sakura-chan!”

I decided to ignore the first question and answered her second question. “Weeding,” I replied promptly. I turned my attention to the garden… and almost fainted from sheer shock. The garden was littered with weeds of all kinds. Thistles, chickweed, dandelions, you name it. This was worse than the garden I had to weed before!

I twitched when I heard Naruto's harsh whisper. "Pah! She's just like Sasuke-bastard too..."

I would bet that this place hadn't been weeded in centuries! Okay... maybe not centuries... but a decade at the very least?

“Crap,” I grumbled, after giving the garden a once over. I held up the tool Saki had handed me. It was an oversized fork. The prongs on the end were bent forwards, making it look more like a weeding rake. I wrinkled up my nose. Well, it wasn't like the ones I used to use, but they would have to do. Better than nothing.

I heard a whispering behind me. "...why are the good-looking ones just like Sasuke-bastard? Cold hearted piece of-" My ears perked up in interest.

"Naruto!" Another voice scolded. "... maybe she's related to him..." My eyebrows furrowed. Who was I related to? Some... Sasuke? Who was that? I dug through my memory box, trying to fit a picture with the name.

Oh! Did they mean Uchiha Sasuke? The boy who's family was murdered when he was very young?

I snorted. That chance that I was related to him was less than nothing. I was from anther dimension.

I heard someone behind me and I turned around. Naruto and Sakura were behind another boy. I frowned. Why didn't I see this guy before?

He had a dark black hair, which tinged blue whenever he moved. He wore a dark navy short sleeved shirt with a high collar and white shorts that went down to his lower thighs. On both wrists were white wrist bands. On his right leg, was the same holster and hip pouch Naruto and Sakura had.

His face showed no expression, but his eyes told it all.

Naruto's eyes were filled with curiosity and mirth.

Sakura's eyes were filled with excitement.

This guy's eyes were filled with coldness and suspicion.

Was he… yes, he was. Uchiha Sasuke.

I didn't say anything, only raising my eyebrow in a questioning manner.

His cold eyes were studying me up and down. “What is a Jounin doing here? Even more so, what is a Jounin doing a D-rank mission when they should be completing A or B-rank missions?”

I furrowed my eyes in confusion. “Jou-nin?”

Jou-nin?

It sounded so familiar... What the hell was that?

`A high ranked ninja.' a voice whispered softly. Taka, `Don't tell me you don't remember any of this? Geez. Okay, there are different ranks in the ninja hierarchy. There's a scholar at the Academy, which technically means you aren't even a ninja yet. Once you pass the Academy, you become a Genin and are eligible to D-rank missions, and possible C-rank missions -'

'So D-rank missions are the lowest...'

'- You sure you don't remember any of this? Because this stuff is pretty basic...'

I scowled. 'Well then I'm sorry for having such a bad memory! It was only... well... 10 years ago!'

'All right, all right, I get your drift. Anyway, once you've passed that, you can take the Chuunin exam to become a 'Chuunin.' After that is the 'Jounin.' That's one of the highest ninja ranks. After that you could go into the Anbu... but I won't get into that. The Uchiha thinks you're a Jounin because of the outfit you are wearing. Incidentally, the outfit is a Jounin outfit.'

'Oh,'

I glanced down briefly. It was a long sleeved black shirt, accompanied by a green vest, which had pouches on the left and right side. The vest's neckline, collar, whatever, was really high and I was also wearing a long pair of black pants. These were too long and I had had to roll them up. On the edge of the shoulder was a red circular symbol.

Well, I hadn't noticed all of this when I had gotten dressed. I had only acknowledged what each article of clothing was before slipping them on.

I looked back at the impatient Uchiha. “I'm not a Jounin,” I protested lamely. Not possible. Even Taka had said it himself— I couldn't fight.

Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”

I blanched. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. I turned away from him. “None of your business,” I grumbled. Bad choice.

“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura's voice rang out in a warning cry. I turned back, confused and was blown back several feet. I winced, clutching my middle, where the Uchiha had delivered a blow to. That really, really hurt! Was this guy always like this?! I would've thought the Uchiha Sasuke would mind his own business.

“Crap!” I muttered. I groaned, and shakily got up, only to be taken down again. This time I didn't get up. Instead, I looked up at him.... only to see that he had a weapon out.

`A kunai.' Taka informed me. You're not helping Taka...

'Pffftt!' he answered. I could see his pouting face now.

'I'm not pouting!' Whatever.

Shit!

I raised myself off of the ground and dived into the overgrown weeds. I heard a zing and knew he had thrown the weapon. To where? Straight at me, of course. My eyes grew wide with horror. He was trying to kill me! Okay... probably not kill, but at least severely injure me.

It was well aimed. Right after I plopped down into the dirt in sheer exhaustion, despite the fact that I had barely done anything; a kunai flew past my face. I turned my head quickly, but it still sliced my cheek and embedded itself deeply into a weed beside me.

My eyes wide in fright, I raised a hand to my cheek and stared at the blood now on my fingers.

Blood! Damn you! There had better not been any poison on that thing, you bastard!

I scooted backwards immediately, ignoring the weeds, which were painfully digging into my hands and back. I also snatched up the kunai he had thrown - I might need that. I stood up when I was no longer in the weeds, spotting Sasuke. He now had star like weapons out. Shuriken! Just like the one I had found before I landed here!

Letting out a strangled noise, I stumbled backwards and stumbled over a rock, before tumbling backwards. And just my luck too, it happened to be a small slope. Small, good! Slope, no good!!

So there I went, tumbling and rolling downhill, wincing and letting out curses as I landed on roots, rocks and the such. Yipes! People, cover your ears!

I don't think those kids had ever heard a more colorful language than what I was spewing out.

I slammed into a tree trunk, bringing to me to stop. A painful stop, but nonetheless, it was a stop. Hands shaking, the kunai in my grasp dropped to the ground.

I groaned as Sasuke appeared in front of me. I felt bruised and cut all over.

`Damn!' Today just is not my day...

Sasuke raised the shurikens in hand, and Naruto appeared was in front of me. Thank god! I didn't think anyone could stop the crazed Uchiha in time...

"Oi! Sasuke-bastard! What are you doing? If you wanted someone to spar, I'm right here and ready to kick your ass!"

Sasuke scowled and lowered his weapons slightly. “Dobe. Move,”

"Iie. You're just trying to take advantage of a poor woman aren't you?!" Naruto scowled and rolled up his sleeves. "You're going to deserve the pummeling I'm going to give you right no-"

“She might be a spy.”

“Spy my ass!” I retorted, rubbing my sore back. Sasuke glowered at me and I tried to hide behind Naruto.

"Pfft! I happen to have very good instincts!! And I don't sense any bad vibes coming of her so you can go stuff that arrogant head of yours in-" Naruto boasted, crossing his arms and nodding his head.

Sasuke hesitated.

"..Or at least wait until your sensei gets here..." I mumbled.

“He's late.” Sasuke grumbled. “And I never asked for you to talk." he glared at me.

I smirked, knowing exactly why he was late. My smirk wavered, before fading. Oh no! He's coming? Oh crap! I had to get out of here? But how? The Uchiha would probably skin me alive...

Using the tree as support, I stood and began the weary process of dragging myself back uphill.

Sasuke watched me for a few more minutes before turning away, putting his shurikens away, much to my relief.

“You could at least apologize, you damn bastard!” Naruto protested, glaring at his rival. He turned towards me. “Are you all right?” I managed a nod. Hmmm. Naruto was slightly different than I had imagined. I had thought he was more… immature.

“Shut up, dunce.”

“…” To my surprise, Naruto had ignored him and continued up the hill. I think he was putting himself between Sasuke and me. I like the kid already.

I winced as my back smarted. I could only imagine what kind of bruise was forming there.

I settled in a spot by the weeds, as we had finally got up the hill. I might as well get the weeding done. I winced as I placed my hand on the cut on my face and checked. It was bleeding. It wasn't that deep, thank god, but was still bleeding. Ripping a piece of the black long sleeved shirt I wore, I gently dabbed the cut blindly, since I didn't have a mirror or anything. I glanced down at the torn shirt. Oh well, it wasn't like I was going to return it anytime soon. I would probably get it repaired before I returned it. If I even returned it at all.

'Well, another injury, that made it three...' I thought in misery. I glanced at my hand, realizing for the first time that the bandage was still on my palm. However... I slid the bandage that on my finger off and was relieved to find that the red welt from the thistles had faded.

I didn't bother untying the bandage wrapped around my palm. I could see a tint of red on the cloth - indicating that it was still bleeding.

I looked to my side, only to find Sasuke's dark eyes on me, glaring and cold. Whistling something off-tune, I settled down onto my bottom, focusing my attention onto the weeds, and trying to ignore his gaze. Mm... Glancing once more at my healed finger, I reached out, and pulled out a particularly unyielding weed.

I would try and escape later... I had to get away, somehow.

By the way. What happened to Sakura?

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

10 minutes later...

I crept towards the fence, intending to escape over it. Naruto was mumbling to himself about something and Sasuke was sitting in the same spot in the tree, eyes closed. They hadn't started weeding yet because they had decided to wait for their sensei. Sakura... well, she had been missing for the past little while.

Naruto had proposed to go look for her, but Sasuke had blandly pointed out that she probably had some 'girl' business to take care of. At that, Naruto had blushed profusely and refused to talk to the 'bastard.'

Well, I didn't have that kind of time. I had finished about a quarter of the weeds before I had finally found a chance to escape. I would have to finish it sometime later... in the week maybe. That is, if I can get out of this alive.

Apologizing mentally to Saki, the kind lady who offered me a job, I took another step and jerked back in surprise.

Zing!

I froze as a kunai darted in front of me, landing in the grass by my foot, cutting off my path. I turned slowly...

Only to see Sasuke on the ground, holding another kunai and glaring at me.

I managed a sheepish grin. “Heh.. hehe..” I uttered softly.

“Where do you think you're going?”

My gaze lowered to the ground, eyes slitting up.

Now both of them were looking at me.

“I told you she was a spy.” Sasuke hissed. “She was trying to get away!” Naruto frowned.

".. I wasn't trying to get away... I... uh… left something over there... on the other side of the fence! Yeah... that's it." I protested lamely.

Uh oh... I backed up as Sasuke took a step forward. Well, my excuse didn't work.

Poof!

I saw a puff of smoke beside Sasuke, who averted his gaze from me to the smoke. I sighed in relief. Saved by a puffball.

That's when I saw a flash of silver hair as the smoke started to clear. Uttering a muffled squeal, I leapt forwards, diving headfirst into the non weeded part of the garden, out of view.

“Kakashi-sensei!”

Ha! Hid right in time!

Yama = 3, Mr- well... okay, KAKASHI = 0

“Yo!” I heard the familiar voice reply. “I'm sorry I'm late. I got convicted of a crime that I did not commit and it just got cleared up now.”

“Liar!” Naruto declared, “That's probably another one of your lame excuses!”

I heard the ninja sigh. “Don't say that. It's not a lie.” I could only imagine how many times he had made up excuses before… until now.

“Kakashi-sensei.” Sasuke's solemn voice spoke up, “We have a situation here. We found a suspected spy-" Pfft! Trying to be all professional-like… "-Hey! Where did she go?” I heard him snarl in annoyance. I heard them shuffling around, obviously searching for me.

I suppressed a snicker and smirked slightly... feeling rather pleased with myself.

... Until I saw Kakashi's face - right in front of mine, staring at me intensely.

“Ahhhh!” I jumped to my feet and out of the weeds, falling flat on my behind and staring at him in shock. Kakashi narrowed his eye at me.

Yama = 3, Kakashi = 1

He's starting to catch up...

“Did you have fun earlier this morning?” he asked wryly. I stood up slowly, hands held up; afraid he was going to attack me or something.

“Heh... um... well… ah...” I stuttered, "So... you don't like talking to the Hokage... then?" Since Gai had been so rapt in getting Kakashi convicted, the whole incident was probably brought to the Hokage's attention.

“I had to explain the whole incident to the Hokage,” Kakashi said sourly, “And my reputation has probably dropped quite a few notches,”

“Well… I'm sorry to hear that…” I still had nothing to say/ "Heh... maybe your reputation wasn't too good before... so maybe it isn't that much worse?" I heard two snickers behind me.

I backed up slowly as he started to advance.

That's when Saki's gate slammed open and Sakura burst in, panting and sweating. She keeled over, "I... can't... find...” That was when she stood up straight, to find all of us staring in amazement at her. "...Kakashi-sensei?!" She had noticed her sensei, too.

Kakashi gave a small grin, saluting her with two fingers. "Yo,"

Sakura was practically seething in her sandals. It was pretty evident from the steam that was coming out of her ears and from the glare she was shooting at her teacher.

"..." I'm pretty sure she had gone out to look for him the moment Sasuke tried to decapitate me.

I glanced over at Kakashi's students. Sasuke wore a solemn face, studying me with cold eyes.

“Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked in confusion, “What's going on?”

“Oh, nothing,” Kakashi replied. “She's just an old acquaintance,”

“So she's not a spy.” Sasuke asked.

“No,”

Sasuke nodded. “Why then is a jounin working in some lady's backyard?” he asked.

“Jounin?” Kakashi repeated wryly. He turned to me. “You told him you were a jounin?”

I glared at him, “I did not! He assumed I was one and decided to kill me.” I protested.

Kakashi turned his gaze back to Sasuke. “Eh? Sasuke? You tried to kill her?” he asked incredulously. I glared at him. I bet that he was secretly disappointed that Sasuke had failed.

“She looked suspicious. Her pants were too long and everyone should realize that when a jounin gets their outfit, it should fit. So it was all right to assume that she had stolen it! And besides, she didn't fight back either. She even tried to sneak away from us!” Sasuke protested.

“Well, I can't fight back!” I retorted, “What do you expect a person who has never used any kind of justsu's or anything to do? Hit you over the head with a stick?! And now I know I can call you paranoid because maybe the clothes don't fit because I lost a lot of weight!”

I saw Sakura cough lightly; I could tell she was trying to cover up her laughing. Sasuke merely glared at me.

Naruto didn't even try to hide his laughter, or hold it in. Soon, the yard was filled with his guffaws.

“Baka.” I heard Sasuke grumble. Naruto didn't answer, he only laughed harder.

I said nothing and only glared at the boy. At least someone here thought that this situation was funny. I didn't know how much longer I could last here. I wanted to go home.

Suddenly Naruto popped up in front of me, startling me to no end. "So! Why don't your clothes fit?" He had a huge grin on his face and was bouncing around in excitement. "It's almost lunch time! I wonder if Iruka-sensei will buy me ramen today... Mmmm... ramen."

Wait… almost lunch time? Right on cue, my stomach growled. I flinched. Oh yea... no breakfast yet.

"Her clothes don't fit because I had to lend them to her because... um... " Kakashi hesitated, ".. Because of the black cat that crossed my path this morning! It was obviously bad luck when I found the damsel in distress soaked from head to toe in river water!! So, being the kind gentlemen I am, I lent her some clothing!"

Naruto glared at Kakashi, "Right... Are you sure you weren't taking advantage of her, you pervert?" I rolled my eyes. He could've said it simply as him seeing me in the river. Scrap all that 'damsel and black cat' stuff. No wonder Naruto made that comment. Kakashi managed to whack Naruto upside the head.

“Ow! I was only telling the truth!”

Kakashi managed a stern look. “No one likes to hear the truth.” I stared blankly at him. What the hell?

“Oh...” Sakura had a strange look on her face and turned to me. “So where are you from? I mean... I know you are from Konoha, but which part?”

“Uh…” I hesitated. Where should I say I was from? “His part.” I jerked my thumb in Kakashi's direction. It was the only part of Konoha I knew... so far. I offered a bright smile.

Sakura's face brightened. “Then you live near Sasuke-kun!” she exclaimed. I groaned inwardly.

`Great.' My smile wavered slightly.

“I don't believe we know your name yet,” Kakashi said suddenly, raising his eyebrow.

I hesitated. “Umari Yama.” I answered finally. It's not like telling then ny real name is going to kill me I guess. Only Kakashi seemed to hear me. I could hear Naruto in the background...

"Oi, Sasuke-bastard! Guess you were wrong, were you? Ha!”

"Dobe..."

"...arrogant jackass!"

"…baka..."

"... Shut up!!"

"Hn..."

Kakashi grinned. “The Hokage wishes to speak with you,”

I narrowed my eyes slightly. “What for?”

Kakashi replied. “You know what for.” It sunk in.

The incident. The incident.

“Oh. Don't tell me you told the... Hokage... what happened this morning and how I got in your... you know... room.” Kakashi gave me an amused but bored look.

“Hai.”

I wrinkled my nose slightly. I didn't really want to go... It meant I had to explain where I came from and what happened and all...

"Uh, fine. But after I finish up here.”

“Doing what?” he asked in confusion. I rolled my eyes.

“Weeding, duh. What else does it look like?” I replied. Sakura had now edged up beside Kakashi, nudging him repeatedly.

Kakashi rubbed his side, “Yes, Sakura?”

Sakura frowned, her expression stating that all guys except for Sasuke were so stupid, “...Introduce me!” she hissed. I smirked. Sometimes Kakashi could be so clueless, even with the influence from all his books and stuff. Shouldn't those books that he reads show him a little something called romance and understanding a girl's heart?

“Oh, hai, hai. This is Haruno Sakura. The boy that attacked you is Uchiha Sasuke...” Sasuke now stepped up beside Sakura, nodding slightly at me, “... and the boy by the tree is Uzumaki Naruto.” Kakashi introduced. “Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto; this is Umari Yama.” I glanced over at Naruto, who was now ambling through the garden in frenzy, tearing apart the weeds.

I raised an eyebrow. He certainly wanted to get out of here fast.

I saw Sasuke how stiffened at the name. I frowned in confusion. “Are you all right?” Sasuke nodded slowly.

“Hn,” he mumbled. Was my name that scary?

I turned back towards the garden and groaned. The weeds... seemed like giants. Giants that loomed over your head and closed in on all sides, “Crap...”

“Sensei?” Sakura's curious voice took my attention once again, “What's the real reason you lent Yama-san clothing?” Sakura asked deviously. I groaned. Teenage girls and their curious minds.

My shoulders slumped.

“Well… She woke up -” I leapt at Kakashi, throwing him to the ground and covering his mouth with my hand. Or, the best I could with that mask on his face.

“Mmmph! Mrf!”

“I woke up on the floor of his bedroom.” I received curious raised eyebrows. There was no point sticking to the 'damsel in distress' thing, it wouldn't work.

“Completely clothed of course. But with a bad hangover, since I drank a bit too much last night. Since my clothing reeked of alcohol, I had to borrow some of Hatake's clothing.” I said quickly. Inwardly I gave myself a pat on the back. Quick thinking! I uttered a short, sheepish laugh.

I leaned down, whispering to Kakashi, “Don't say a thing to anyone about this morning!” I hissed. His eye twinkled with mirth and he slowly nodded his head. I could almost see that sly smirk on his covered face. Sheesh. I didn't need anyone else misunderstanding anything. One thing would lead to another and then the problem would be multiplied ten-fold.

I made a chopping motion with my hand against his neck, subtle enough for the others not to notice, but enough so that he saw it.

"She's as bad as Kakashi-sensei when making excuses..." I heard someone whisper.

I looked back up. Sakura and Sasuke, who were staring at me with agape expressions and Naruto was now standing still and seemed to be debating about something in his head. Two seconds later, he started to mumble something under his breath and started to pull at the weeds again. Mmm... just what was he thinking?

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

`Ha! Stupid Sasuke was wrong for once. Turns out he's not as perfect as everyone thinks he is, is he?' Naruto stopped pulling at the weeds. He peeked over at his eternal rival.

Sasuke just happened to be staring at him and they both immediately looked away from each other, a blush adorning both of their faces.

`Oh well. Forget about that. I just want to get rid of these weeds and go to Ichiraku's for lunch. And at the same time I can show everyone that I'm a hell of a lot better than Sasuke!' Smirking to himself, he managed a small snicker before he focused on his current task.

Mmmf.

Naruto scowled. I'll show him that he can't beat me! The Great Uzumaki Naruto will beat Uchiha Sasuke by 10 kilometers in anything!!

He began pulling weeds in frenzy, determined to better his rival.

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

Sasuke and Sakura didn't seem like they believed me, but had accepted my answer. I plastered a bright smile on my face. “Heh... thought I saw a bee on him.” I said lamely.

“Uh huh.” Sakura replied, smirking at me. Now I knew she was the one who commented about my excuse before...

Cough. I looked down, “Oops,” I removed my hands from over Kakashi's face and stood up, “Sorry,” I blushed slightly, looking down at my hands. He stood up, brushing himself off.

Kakashi gave me a withering look. “Speaking of clothing... I believe you have something of mine?” He gestured to my vest pocket.

Confused, I looked down, patting the vest's side pockets. Finding that something was in the right one, I reached in and pulled out...

... A copy of Come Come Paradise.

Silence.

2 seconds later...

I let out a resounding shriek, causing Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura to wince, and Naruto stopped in mid-pull, staring at me.

Taking their distraction, as they had their eyes closed and hands over their ears, as an advantage, I spotted a bird bath to my right and darted over, holding the book over the still water. Man, this was the last time that pervert was going to get an upper hand on me. What if someone else had found me holding that book? Poof, there's goes my first impression of this place! Besides, we still had a score to settle.

When their eyes opened, cautiously, mind you, Kakashi's went wide with fear and Sasuke and Sakura's crinkled in confusion.

Naruto managed to amble over, rubbing his head. “Eh? What's going on?”

“Shut up,” Sasuke grumbled, rubbing his temples.

“Nani?!” Naruto cried, glowering at his rival. “Jerk.”

“Dead-last.” Sasuke retorted.

“Moron.”

“Dope.”

“Will you two shut up for once?!!” Sakura exploded. They both went silent. Naruto was staring at her with a wide eyed look.

"Uh... gomen." Sakura apologized sheepishly.

After a few seconds of silence, they all simultaneously looked towards us; Kakashi and me.

Kakashi had a pleading look on his face, as he slowly advanced.

“Why is one of your books in this... one... pocket!?” I demanded.

Kakashi cringed. “Quiet down! Do you want the entire village to hear us?” Even though I couldn't see his face, I was positive that he had a pout on it.

He had a point.

“Well?” I hissed, lowering my voice a couple of notches.

“Because it is my clothes.” he retorted.

“Well, shouldn't you think a book would get ruined if it was in a jacket pocket as the jacket was washed?” I asked in confusion.

Kakashi stopped advancing and didn't answer. He suddenly seemed to find something on the ground very interesting.

Silence.

“What makes you think that those clothes were washed?” a voice asked wryly. I looked to my left, only to see the three students watching us with renowned interest.

Sasuke had been the one who had spoken up.

It sunk in.

“Are you meaning to tell me...?” I swallowed hard, “…that these clothes.. Aren't washed?” My voice was dangerously low. Ugh... I think I'm going to throw up. What if he went on one of his missions… and killed… other ninjas? Eww!

Sakura wrinkled up her nose in disgust. “Kakashi-sensei! Ewww...”

Naruto gaped in confusion, “Nani? What's going on?” he peered at my hand. “Isn't that Kakashi-sensei's?” Hadn't the blonde been paying attention at all? Or was he so enraptured in pulling weeds he had completely been void of everything that had been going on?

“Yes, Naruto,” I grounded, narrowing my eyes at the Jounin. Why the nerve of that guy-!

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding my gaze.

“Hey! How'd you know my name?” Naruto demanded, “And who are you, anyhow?” I frowned, taking my gaze briefly off of Kakashi. Oh, right. He had been... weeding… so he didn't hear any of our introductions.

“Well?” Naruto was flailing his arms around, “Is anyone listening to me?! Or am I talking to myself? Why aren't my questions being answered? What the hell is going-!” Naruto's flailing arms stopped.

Whump.

We all stared at Naruto, who dropped to the ground, unconscious. Kakashi and I stared stupidly at him.

“I like him better when he's sleeping,” Sasuke stated flatly. My gaze drifted up. Sasuke stood, above of Naruto, hand posed in a striking position. Sakura was looking at him with a look of absolute adoration in her eyes.

“Well, then technically you should wake him up and let him fall asleep,” I commented, “Not smack him over the head. He's actually unconscious right now.” I added. Sasuke glared at me.

I grinned and turned back to Kakashi. Only to find him gone.

I adopted a `huh?' expression.

`Step to the righ.,'

`Why?' I asked myself, `And who just said that?'

`It's me! Taka! Now STEP TO THE RIGHT!'

`Huh?'

`STEP TO THE RIG-!'

I was knocked out of my breath when someone tackled me, “Omf!” I gasped out. Luckily I kept a firm hold on the book. I glanced up to see that Kakashi had pinned me.

`I told you to step to the right.' Taka said smugly.

`Shut up.'

“Now, give me that book...” Kakashi grumbled. His eyes were on the book and unconsciously, he was lying right on top of me... He started to reach forwards, since I held the book in my hand, which was high above my head.

I braced my arm that wasn't holding the book against his chest and gave a firm shove. Nothing.

“Crap,” I mumbled. Slapping his hand away, I found Kakashi suddenly off of me. Huh? I looked to the left, to see Sasuke breathing hard and Kakashi lying flat on his face.

I scrambled to my feet, staring at the two in confusion.

“Eh, Sasuke,” Kakashi grumbled. “What did you do that for?”

"And you say you're a Jounin?" I asked incredulously, scrambling to my feet. Kakashi glared at me, before gazing back at his charge.

Sasuke didn't answer, only stared at me intensely, still breathing hard. I wonder how much energy he took to take out Kakashi... Combing weight and momentum… actually maybe it doesn't actually take that much work.

Suddenly he was gone again. I blinked. Shit.

`Step to the left.'

This time, I listened. Kakashi went barreling past me. He stumbled in his steps, looking back at me in surprise. I shrugged.

`Duck.' Taka advised. I dropped to the ground, barely missing a lunge the Jounin had taken at me.

`How the hell do you know what he's going to do?' I demanded. Breathing hard, I stood back up and was knocked back down again.

This time, Sasuke was the one who had knocked me down. I blinked at him.

“Sasuke -?”

I saw Kakashi, staring at Sasuke, as if he had grown another head. That was when I realized that Sasuke had saved me from another tackle from Kakashi.

With that, I leapt up and took a step, backwards, relieved that I was close to the bird bath.

Everything froze...

Then…

"How about a trade? I give you something of yours... and you give me that book back, okay?" Something of mine? How could he have something of mine? Nevermind that, what could he have of mine? Kakashi suddenly held up a small bag. My eyes widened. I recognized that! That was the bag I used to hold all sort of trinkets that I had...

"It was on the floor of my room." he remarked. I gave him a wry smile. Sadly - for him that is - I didn't think that I had anything valuable in that anyway.

Kakashi took a small step forwards.

“One more move and the book will get it,” I murmured. Kakashi froze, staring at me, with a wide eye.

“Does that mean you're not going to throw it in?” He asked hopefully, "Or... you're going to trade?"

“No... No to both...” I said slowly. I smirked at him, before letting go of the book. It was held only a centimeter away from the waters edge.

Kakashi lunged, but only got a mouthful of water... err well... face full of water. No ninja could move fast enough to stop something from falling a mere centimeter. Or maybe one can, but one is not present at the moment.

SPLASH!

“Oops.” I commented.

Sasuke and Sakura were staring at me with wide eyes; Naruto just sat on the ground, looking more confused than ever. Kakashi stared at his book, floating around in the bird bath. He turned an accusing gaze onto me. I gave him a sheepish grin.

“It slipped.”

Yama = 4, Kakashi = 1

To be continued…

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

XoXSilverDragonXoX

Revised August 06, 2008