The bridge had finally been finished, and we were almost home.
In my opinion, it could have been done at least two days earlier with better management, but Kakashi wouldn't let me take over. Irritating old man. Speaking of irritating, he kept giving me that same look: a mix of sadness, loss, sympathy, fear, shock, and pity. Pity, for me!
I didn't understand it, despite the fact that I had confronted him at the graves of Zabuza and Haku. He had tried to explain himself; it just made no logical sense.
***...*.*.
The team and I stood before two graves, Zabuza's sword adorning one of them. I shifted my weight, hiding my impatience. Why were we bothering to bury two enemies? Finally, the team turned to leave, and I breathed a sigh of relief and attempted to follow.
"Cashile."
I paused, growling under my breath. What could Kakashi possibly want to talk about now? The team continued on, leaving Kakashi and I behind.
"I trusted you on that bridge," Kakashi began, "I decided to work as a team with you."
"And it payed off, didn't it?" I smirked, seeing the pieces snap into place.
"Yeah," Kakashi admitted with a slight grimace, "And it concerns me."
I stopped short. Concerned him? Shouldn't he be glad? I did exactly as he said, supported him, let him support me. I'd helped the team. What had I done wrong to make him concerned about my actions? "I did exactly what you would have done," I said slowly, trying to figure out where he was coming from without revealing my ignorance.
"Exactly," Kakashi sighed. "You... Cashile, you killed that boy."
"Your point is?" I asked. "He was a threat to our mission. I did what any ninja would have done."
"My point—Cashile! You killed him! You killed him and felt nothing afterward. You felt nothing when even Zabuza was shedding tears. And you're just a child—"
"Kakashi."
Kakashi stopped short and stared as I turned my back to him. "I am a ninja. This is what we do. Why are you upset with me for doing my duty?" I asked the question as though laying out a fact, as though pointing out a flaw, not like a child who didn't understand why an adult was upset with them.
"No, Cashile. No, I'm not upset at you," Kakashi shook his head, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. "It's just...Cashile, do you care about anything?"
The question stopped me short. What a strange thing to ask; what answer could he possibly be searching for?. "I care about my life, surviving," I answered, turning back to him slightly, hiding my furrowed brows.
"But... Do you care about anything else?"
"Is that a rhetorical question?" I asked, slightly dumbfounded.
"No. I want you to answer the question truthfully. Do you, Cashile, care about anything? Anything at all?"
"I understand your question, you can quit being repetitive," I bit out, irritated, before cutting myself off. Irritation and impatience were one of the thousands of factors which could perhaps lead to an outcome unfavorable to me. Finally, I answered, "Yes, I do care about some things."
"Like what?"
Now I could give him the truth, or I could make up a sob story to soften his heart toward me and give me the advantage. I smiled slightly and told him what he wanted to hear. "Team Seven."
"Bullshit," he snapped, just as I predicted. If he knew that I'd lie to protect myself, then I had to pretend that he caught me and got the truth out of me after breaking my facade.
Step 1: check.
Step 2: I smirked. "You're right, I don't really care much for Team Seven." I laughed a little at the thought and turned my back to Kakashi once more, taking only a few steps before adding my finishing touch. After a brief hesitation, just enough to be noticed by Kakashi, I suddenly blurted, "Aiden. And Aisa. I care about them." As predicted, he let me slowly walk away. Just before I was out of hearing range I turned my head slightly and whispered, "I do care."
I walked back proudly, knowing that I had deceived Kakashi.
After all, the best lies had truth in them. And in all honesty, I did care.
About my survival.
***...*.*.
Ibiki was waiting for me at the gate.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the flashing of a mirror, signaling me over to where he was hiding from my team in the trees. At least he was respecting the fact that my teammates weren't supposed to know about our training. Too bad he wasn't respecting that I'd probably want to rest after a long mission. Ah, well. I'd take what I could get. I glanced at Kakashi, and he nodded with a sigh. He had obviously been hoping that Ibiki wouldn't force me to train on my first day back. Tough.
"Well," I stretched my arms above my head casually, "See ya guys later!"
"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked suspiciously, glaring at me.
Anyone could see that he didn't like me. But I could also see his envy towards my abilities, and jealousy that I could get away with falling out of the 'norm'. Also, strangely, anger, as he expected to be the 'cool' one on the team. He hadn't expected there to be any rivalry from another genin. That was, before I showed up and showed him up.
The mirror flashed again and I suppressed a groan. As much as this training would help me gain power, my shoulders and calves caught a phantom soreness at the thought of more training with Ibiki. He was smart enough to read me, to get a play on my mental games and strategies. With Ibiki, I wasn't only challenging myself physically, but mentally as well. Not many could claim to challenge me that way.
I smirked. Perhaps I did miss his crazy training.
Ha. Or not.
I didn't bother answering Sasuke, laughing inside my head at how frustrated he was. Ignoring the look from Kakashi, I took my cue to disappear in the wind, reappearing next to Ibiki. "So? What is it today?" I asked in a mocking tone, "Run until I drop? Fight ten ANBU off at once? Should I give you a chance to kick open my head again? Or do you have some other impossible task in mind?"
Ibiki didn't rise to my taunts. "I'll read the mission report to see how you did on this mission as soon as it's turned in," he replied. I winced slightly, wondering if Kakashi would include everything. According to my calculations, he wouldn't add my little drug problem and subsequent running off to the written report, but would communicate it verbally to those who needed to know... Including Ibiki.
"Alright. Now what do you want me to do?" I asked.
"The chunin exams are coming up," he stated.
"Yeah, I know."
"You think you're ready to become a chunin?" He raised his eyebrows and I snorted in response..
"Of course."
"You think you can prove that?"
I smirked. "What do you think?"
"Arrogant," he muttered. "You want to know what I think? I think you won't pass this test without your team backing you up 100%. I also believe that you have a lot more work to do before your test. You're lucky I'm training you before the examination, brat."
I accepted his criticism without a word, knowing that if I argued with him there was a 76% possibility that I'd lose my chance at an effective training session with him and instead sign up for another pulverization and torture session.
"Nothing to say?" He mocked, glaring through me.
"Just listening, sensei," I replied, just a touch too sweetly.
"How did your mission go?"
"Can't you just look at the report?" I deflected, "We should start training if you think I'm that poorly prepared for the chunin exams."
That earned me a smack to the back of my head. "I want your personal report on the mission, idiot."
I raised my eyebrows. Why did he want to know that? The mission was successful. The bridge completed and the builder safe. That's what mattered, right? "The mission was successful," I stated, emotionless.
"That, I can infer, seeing as you're standing in front of me with minimal injuries. Do you not understand what 'personal perspective' is?"
"I killed a demon brother and a young boy, Zabuza Momochi's apprentice. The mission was very eventful, happy?" I finally revealed, exasperated. I stuck to the basics, not including my little escapade.
"Any regrets?" Ibiki asked, continuing to question me despite my clear explanations.
"None." I replied without hesitation.
He sighed. "You're hopeless, you know that?" He asked rudely.
"I answered your questions. What more could you possibly expect from me?" I said coldly. He didn't reply. Instead, he beckoned silently for me to follow him through the woods. I followed, muttering, "Regrets are useless."
***...*.*.
Training sucked.
I jumped from tree to tree, trying to find my team. Pausing at the top of a tree, I scanned the street, absentmindedly rubbing my cheekbone where a dark bruise decorated my face. Ibiki certainly hadn't taken it easy on me, despite the fact that I had just come back from a mission. But then again, I hadn't been knocked out once, so I had that going for me. Finally, I located my team, and began jumping through the trees again towards them. I paused when I arrived, hidden in the trees.
Ohh... This was interesting.
A cat-like grin spread across my face as I flipped upside down on the branch, knees flung over the tree limb as I swung lightly back and forth, observing the scene. A presence suddenly appeared next to me, and I turned my head to peer around the trunk. I found myself face to face with a redhead, blue eyes staring into mine. Neither of us broke the undeclared staring contest until I blinked, and casually greeted him.
"Hello."
In response, he turned to sand, shaking the limb enough to cause my legs to slip. I fell to the ground, flipping midair and landing catlike on my feet, one hand touching the ground to balance myself.
"Meeeean!" I whined slightly, standing up and brushing myself off, snickering in amusement at Sasuke's shocked look. He hadn't sensed the redhead or I.
"Kankuro." I was stopped short by the redhead's emotionless voice, before the smirk returned to my face. Interesting. The chunin exams certainly were going to bring a wide variety of shinobi to me. "Shut up. Or I'll kill you."
Straight to the point huh? I decide not to immediately hate the redhead.
"H-hey! We need to see ID!" Sakura spouted nervously."
I ignored her; her stupidity was not worth my time to mull over. The village had gatekeepers and strict boundaries. Did she really think these three genin entered Konoha without permission?
The blonde haired girl laughed. "Are genin here really that stupid?"
I wanted to turn around and walk away, not giving a second thought to these morons.
But my wants wouldn't benefit me. My needs on the other hand... I briefly recalled Ibiki telling me that I needed my team to back me up 100% in the upcoming exams. Of course, I didn't need them, but my survival chances were significantly higher with my teammates by my side. Not only that, but I would further gain Kakashi's trust. So, with a sigh, I flicked my aerodynamically cut Kunai at the blonde-haired girl as a sinister smile spreads evenly across my face, giving off malicious intent.
My kunai successfully grazed the side of her cheek, and I watched the blood drip for a second before speaking. "What was that you were saying about my teammate?"
Sakura gasped in surprise and I rolled my eyes at her display of emotions. Fear crept into the blonde girl's eyes before she hid it, setting her face into an arrogant expression, looking me up and down, unintimidated. I wielded a spinning Kunai on one finger, bored. Not that I particularly wanted to intimidate this chick...
Okay, maybe Ibiki had rubbed off on me a little.
"I'd get out of here if I were you.," I snarled. "Exams are coming up, we'll see each other soon enough..."
She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the redhead who was staring at me. "We're leaving," he commanded. His teammates listened to him without a word or second of hesitation.
Interesting. If I could study the relationship between them more closely...
"Hey, you! Identify yourself!" I snorted slightly as Sasuke jumped from the tree, trying to remain dignified.
"Gaara... Of the Sand... I'm curious about you as well," Gaara murmured emotionlessly.
"Sasuke Uchiha."
Gaara nodded and turned away, but not before locking eyes with me. We said nothing out loud, but the weight of our gazes communicated more than words ever could, glaring, burning hatred in his and a challenge in mine.
Then the moment was broken as he turned his back and walked away. Interesting. All three of them were. The redhead was the most interesting by far, but you couldn't underestimate his teammates, and, if I was correct, his siblings, either.
My thought process was interrupted by Sakura. "Cashile, you..."
"Yeah, whatever" I muttered, glaring at my three teammates who were eyeballing me. "What?" I asked, not as coldly as usual. My icy demeanor still caused them to turn away.
"Sasuke! Do you want to—" Sakura was cut off.
"No." Sasuke replied, lacking any hesitance, well-practiced in this routine by now.
I didn't bother wasting anymore of my time with them, instead turning in the direction of my apartment.
Maybe these exams would truly be interesting after all.
***...*.*.
I appeared in front of team seven the next morning, two hours later than I was supposed to.
"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto shouted at me.
"I don't see Sensei here," I pointed out lazily, swinging my legs over the side of the bridge. "I don't understand why you guys still show up at the time he tells us to."
Sasuke glared while Sakura growled, and Naruto pouted quietly. "I get here on time and what do I get for it? Not being able to blow dry my hair!" Sakura complained. I rolled my eyes: she truly was an idiot.
"Yeah, and I wasn't able to change my underwear!"
Thankfully, Kakashi arrived just then, saving us from that conversation. As soon as Kakashi appeared I held out my hand. "Hand it over without the lecture, Kakashi. I have training to get back to."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I have something to say that applies to all of you," he replied.
I rolled my eyes, and he narrowed his own slightly, conveying the message that sailed over the other genin's heads clearly to me. I had to play along with this, not give away the game. I crossed my arms and sat down on the railing of the bridge in response, irritation clear in my sharp movements.
Kakashi explained how we didn't have to apply as a team, and it took all my self control not to laugh at the idiot genin. But Kakashi's sharp eyes kept me in line. It didn't matter; I would make sure that these three would apply. Naruto and Sasuke would take no convincing, though I would have to make sure Sakura felt as though she was prepared.
"Alright! You're dismissed for now!" Kakashi ordered, but he sent me a look that made it clear I was supposed to stay behind.
"What do you want, Kakashi?" I asked, keeping the irritation carefully out of my voice. "I told you, I have training to get back to."
"Well, you see, there's a slight problem: a four man team—"
"Will be absolutely no problem, seeing as having more people puts you at a greater disadvantage than it would help you," I finished. "Now what's the real reason you want to keep me from these exams?"
"Sharp as ever," Kakashi mumbled. I smirk. "The reason I asked you to stay behind is I don't feel as though you're ready for these exams."
It clicked into place. Those looks, how he was concerned about my lack of caring, everything. I scowled to myself. "What do you mean I'm not ready? I'm more developed than any of your genin!" I protested, waiting to see his explanation, gather more data.
"We judge genin on several different criteria: nin, gen, and tai jutsu...strategy...working as a team... Emotional stability..."
The data organized itself in my mind, and I sighed at the last one. Emotional stability, what a joke. We were ninja, ninja who killed, who died, who survived. Emotional stability was never truly reached when you were a ninja. "You seem to have forgotten something, Kakashi," I waved the application form in the air, "You've already recommended me."
"And I can pull that recommendation at any time," he countered.
I scowled. Even I knew when I was cornered. I mean, I could easily surpass Kakashi's authority, go straight to Ibiki or even the Hokage... But at the same time, this would be an opportunity to "prove" myself to Kakashi, make him feel as though he's won.
"Fine, Kakashi," I sighed, pretending to admit defeat. "What do you want me to do?"