Harry looked nervously at his two companions. "Do you think he means it?" Ron asked, fingering one of his long and sharp kunai.
"I don't really think so, but we have to listen to him." Hermione said impatiently. She gripped her kunai and led the group off to find their teacher.
They passed by Hagrid's empty hut. Harry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach; he had expected Hagrid every day.
"You guys sure are dull-headed, aren't you?"
Ron gave a yell of alarm and toppled over onto Harry, knocking him down. Hermione glared at Kakashi, who smirked under his mask.
"I thought you all would get the message through the lecture I gave you; hide, and sneak attack. You three don't stand a chance if you charge forward and attack." Kakashi shook his head.
Hermione couldn't hold back any further. "Then you should have told us that instead of the stupid lecture!" She screeched.
"My, my. Is that how you talk to a teacher?" Kakashi said, pocketing his book. Hermione flushed a deep shade of crimson.
"I'll give you time to figure it out. I guess I see you later." Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"He did it again!" Hermione said, waving her kunai around her head like a lasso. "You guys are idiots! Why didn't you back me up?" She turned on Harry and Ron. Hermione's hair seemed to be getting bushier by the second.
"Oh come off it, Hermione! You're just angry because he humiliated you in front of us! I think the bloke's right. We don't stand a chance against him." Ron snapped.
Hermione gritted her teeth hard. Harry gulped a bit. He didn't like it when Ron riled her up like that.
"Fine! Be that way then!" Hermione snarled at Ron. She turned to Harry. "What about you? Are you going to find Kakashi with me, or chicken out like Ron?"
Harry stared at her. "I-I think we should hide ourselves, like Professor Hatake said." Harry said, trying very hard to maintain the smallness of his voice.
Hermione glared as she could glare at the both of them. "FINE!" She roared so loudly, Ron nearly dropped his wand.
"I GIVE UP! I HATE YOU, RON! YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME!" After saying this, Hermione ran off in the direction of the forbidden forest.
"She's always like this! I can't stand her anymore!" Ron clutched his head.
"I think we should go after Hermione." Harry said quite reasonably, helping Ron up to sit on a nearby rock.
"Forget it! I don't want to hear her stupid name!" Ron growled.
"You guys are always arguing! Sometimes it's just that Hemione's ideas can't get through your thick skull-"
Harry felt something hard hit the side of his head, and collapsed. He blinked hard to clear his head of stars, and looked up to see a trembling Ronald Weasley with a livid, flushed face. His ears were the reddest. To make it worst, it seemed that Ron had rammed Harry on the head , because Ron's hand was clutched in a fist and raised.
"Why'd you hit me for?" Harry yelled, getting up and glaring at Ron. "You're always siding with that bushy-haired, buck-teethed wench! I'm your friend!" Ron bellowed, his fist shaking.
"I'm not siding with anyone! And you've gone too far on the name-calling, Ron! Take it back, now!" Harry shouted.
"NO I WON'T TAKE IT BACK! THAT'S IT! I'M LEAVING!" Ron roared even loudly. Without waiting for Harry to reply, Ron rushed off in the same manner of Hermione's, but only in the opposite direction.
Harry watched Ron until Ron's shadow disappeared, and then kicked a rock hard, cursing both of them in his mind.
After a while, Harry sighed, grabbed his kunai and ran off into the thicket of trees.
He dodged branch after branch as he made his way through the forest. He had to find his professor.
Harry skidded to a stop when he saw his professor suddenly walk into a clearing a couple of feet away. He slowly crouched down behind a bush, trying hard not to make the slightest bit of noise.
Harry peered through the leaves, watching his professor. Kakashi seemed to be completely focused on his orange book; he was constantly muttering in Japanese about somebody named Junko.
A sudden tiny rustling came from a bush to Harry's opposite. Harry saw a flash of red through the bush. Harry grinned to himself; it was Ron.
Remember, sneak attack, Ron!, Harry thought as he flattened himself against the ground.
"YAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Harry looked up, shocked. To his surprise a very angry and red-faced Hermione leapt from a tree to his right.
Hermione landed and stumbled; not very frightening despite her loud battle cry. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the loud-mouthed know-it-all." Kakashi drawled, not looking up from his book. Harry heard a small and sharp intake of breath from Hermione.
Hermione bared her teeth and charged; Harry blinked as he watched. Surely this wasn't the smart and rule-following Hermione he knew.
Suddenly, a flash of grey hair and dust flew up, and a second later Kakashi was behind Hermione, holding her kunai-holding hand against the back of her head. His other hand was gripping Hermione tightly on the shoulder, preventing her from moving.
Harry gave a small "wow" and tried to clear away some leaves so he could have a better view.
"Other teachers told me you were the best of the best. It seems that your redheaded friend knows better." Kakashi said calmly. Hermione struggled and struggled, but none of her efforts made any difference.
"You really need to listen to your teacher's orders."
Kakashi released Hermione. Hermione gasped and fell to the ground. "You're…you're insane!" She whispered as she massaged her shoulder. Kakashi grinned under his mask.
"I don't want to say it again; is that how you talk to your teacher?" He asked. Hermione blinked and flushed a deeper shade of puce as she began to sweat.
"I'll let you go this time. The clock is ticking. It's almost time for lunch, and if you don't get a bell by then, you'll be tied to a pole. Surely you don't have enough energy to last the day without your precious meal, so be better prepared next time. You three have ten minutes to start off again, Harry, Ron, and Hermione." Kakashi called.
Harry flinched. So he knew where they were all along!
Kakashi slowly walked away while reading his orange book.
Hermione got up and picked up her kunai. She glanced uneasily around her, and ran off.
Harry stayed until she was out of sight, and saw Ron climb out of the brush. Ron looked shell-shocked and pale, but his ears still burned a brilliant shade of blood-red. He ran off after Hermione.
Harry hurriedly scrambled through his bush, and ran off too. Now what was he going to do?
Harry neared the clearing around the lake. He looked around and saw his teacher several yards away. Whether his professor noticed him or not, Harry didn't know. He crept back as quietly as possible and crawled again into a bush.
A sudden movement caught his eye; Harry turned and saw Ron clamber up a tree to his left. After that, all was quiet except for Kakashi's constant muttering in Japanese.
Harry began to stick leaves in his hair, partly out of boredom, but also to camouflage himself. He glanced up at Ron several times, but Ron wasn't moving up in his tree.
Harry started to doze off after several minutes sprawled in the bush. Ron was trying very hard not to fall asleep.
"You're going to face me, right here and right now!" Harry jerked awake and fell out of his comfortable position in his bush. Harry heard a tree branch snap, and figured that Ron was also startled too.
"Huh?" Kakashi looked around lazily. Hermione growled and raised her kunai at eye level with her professor.
"Don't joke with me! Let's go!" Hermione shouted fiercely and ran towards Kakashi. She swiped weakly at his chest, but Kakashi stepped back a second before she swung her kunai and Hermione missed. Hermione squealed and lost her balance.
Kakashi smirked as Hermione hurriedly picked herself up from the ground. Hermione glared a death glare at her professor and lunged.
"Hmmm…" Kakashi hummed as he dodged and dodged Hermione's lunges and swipes with her kunai without even looking up from his book.
Hermione yelled exasperatedly at him and kept swinging her kunai until she forced Kakashi to back into a tree. "I've got you now!" Hermione screamed and thrust her kunai forward.
Kakashi ducked.
Hermione's kunai swiped at the tree with such force it cut off a long section of bark.
"Ooh, strong for a girl like my former student!" Kakashi said happily.
Only after 5 minutes Hermione did give up. "Not so smart now, are you?" taunted Kakashi.
Hermione did not reply, but continued to huff and puff as if she ran a mile.
"Now, that's enough attacks from you. The other two brats should attack by now." Kakashi said lazily, turning away from her.
Ron snarled inwardly; brats? He was so bruised by this comment he let out a stream of shuriken, which he tried his best to throw without hitting Hermione.
They zoomed towards Kakashi. 3 out of 5 speeding in the right direction. 1 nearly hit Hermione and the other lodged itself into a tree.
Kakashi did not look up, but less then a fraction of a second he caught the three throwing stars with his fingers.
Harry stared with amazement, but did not hang around for long. "Shoot, stupid idiot Ron, he gave away our hiding place!" Harry yelled in his mind as he dashed through the brush.
Kakashi disappeared, and Ron hurriedly leapt off his tree and ran, too.
Hermione got up, looked around and scanned the area for her powerful and annoying professor, and her sharp eyes caught the gleam of silver.
She got up and ran towards it. Hermione skidded to a stop in front of the tree where she cornered Kakashi.
Hermione's face lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw a small, silver bell with a red string attached. It was identical to the bell fastened to Kakashi's waist.
"Hurray! Now I can get a lunch, and get full marks for this class!" Hermione thought as she reached down.
Suddenly, Hermione felt something fix itself around her ankle. She screamed with terror when she felt it lurch herself upward.
"It's a trap!" Hermione realized when she saw rope dangling her upside down from a thick branch.
Ron finally found a hole big enough for him to fit in inside a huge pine tree. He grinned gleefully when he saw his teacher amble through the bushes past the tree.
"Ron!" Ron suddenly heard someone whisper his name next to him. Ron turned his head around to see Kakashi staring at him with his one visible creepy eye. Ron screamed.
Kakashi smirked and made a sign with his fingers. Ron's eyesight immediately blurred with what seemed like leaves waving like a tornado in front of him. Ron lurched forward. "Why do I suddenly feel…so…drowsy…."
Ron hit the ground.
When Ron finally got up, Kakashi had left the area.
"Where did professor go?" Ron stupidly mumbled as he got up, still slightly dazed.
A rustling noise made Ron's head turn around. Ron's eyes widened when he saw a blood-covered dead Harry being dragged into sight by a badly injured Hermione with kunai and shuriken stuck all over her body. "H-help…m-me…R-Ron…" The Hermione said, dripping blood everywhere when she struggled to inch forward.
Ron choked and gasped at the same time; not a pretty sight. Then he began to sweat and tremble; not a pretty sight either.
Finally, Ron did the thing most suitable for the situation.
He screamed again and fainted.
Harry's hair stood on end when he heard a horrible, fear-filled scream of terror. "That was…Ron's scream?" Harry wondered, looking around for the source.
"Genjutsu. The Japanese word for Illusionary techniques."
Harry saw Kakashi come out from behind a tree in a corner of his eye. "What did you do to Ron?" Harry asked, not moving.
"Ah…that's something you'll see later. I didn't mean to go so far though." Kakashi shrugged.
Without warning, Harry yanked out a kunai from his robe pocket and charged like a bull; Kakashi's eye widened just a bit, but Kakashi never loses his cool.
Kakashi dodged a thrown kunai and stopped a punch from Harry; but Harry took the chance to kick, but that was also stopped.
Kakashi dangled Harry like a caught cat, but Harry thrust his hand forward, and touched a bell. Kakashi flinched and threw Harry away.
"Geez…You don't give up, do you? I remember when one of my former students did the very same things. Gosh this is so nostalgic." Kakashi's eye crinkled up to a half moon shape.
Harry blinked, digesting what his professor just said. "Well, I don't know who they are, sir." Harry said politely.
An alarm rang in the distance. Kakashi glanced upward, and said "Ok, time for lunch. Follow me, Harry, and we'll go fetch Ron. I know where Hermione is, so don't worry." Kakashi added, catching Harry's eye.