It was a normal day for Squad 7 they had just gotten back from the Land of the Waves, except that Kenji and Sasuke were alone together on a bridge. They both were glaring at each other with hate. "Why are you here? You pansy!" Kenji spat.
"I could say the same to you, tomboy!" Sasuke said back. They both growled at each other.
"Good morning!" Kakashi dropped in.
"Late again, huh?" Kenji crossed her arms.
"Where are Naruto and Sakura? They should be here." Sasuke asked.
"Well, they couldn't make it." Kakashi told them.
"Huh!?" Sasuke and Kenji exclaimed.
Kenji sighed in disappointment, "I was looking forward to seeing Naruto-kun too. . ."
"Now now." Kakashi said. "We're going to train today. We'll work specifically on your teamwork."
"You two have the potential to do very well together, you could get along if you wanted to." Kakashi said.
"What makes you say that?" Sasuke asked.
"Well for starters, you guys are obviously close." Kakashi said and grossed them both out. They both moved away from each other in disgust.
"Ew no you have Sakura." Kenji said.
Kakashi sighed, "You two will have to work together. I'll make things a little challenging too."
"How?" Sasuke asked.
"I'm glad you asked." Kakashi beamed under his mask and dug into his pocket. He held out two bracelet like items. "Alright, now put these on. They go around your wrists."
They both had on their strange wristbands. "So what do these do?" Sasuke asked.
"Well since you're so curious," Kakashi said with a buzzer in his right hand. "If you do anything I don't like I shock you like so." he pressed the button and Sasuke was zapped.
"Ow!" he shouted feeling the pulse in his wrist.
"Hai! So the right buzzer shocks you!" Kakashi chirped.
Kenji giggled at Sasuke as he was in pain. "And the left one's for Kenji." Kakashi went and pressed his left buzzer.
"Ouch!" she got zapped instantly bringing a smirk to Sasuke's face.
Next thing they knew they were on a mission. The two were looking up at a tree where a little hostile kitty was hissing down at them. "Ugh! This stupid cat again!" Kenji groaned.
"Remember work together, like a team!" Kakashi said sitting in a folding chair and reading his book.
"So wanna go get her?" Sasuke asked.
"No! The little hairball scratched my face off last time!" Kenji replied. "You go get her!"
"No way! I'm not touching that thing!" Sasuke said stubbornly.
"Neither am I."
"Ow!" they both shrieked. They turned to Kakashi.
"Work together!" Kakashi reminded them with the buzzers in his hands.
They sighed turned back to each other. "Janken?" Kenji offered.
"Yeah." Sasuke accepted and held out his fist. They both shook their fists and recited the words, "Saisho wa guu! Janken pon!"
Sasuke landed on paper, Kenji got rock. Kenji was immediately disappointed surrounded by her own dark and heavy despair. "Heh. . Heheheh. . ." she laughed nervously and Sasuke smirked at her as she turned around miserably. Kenji started running up the tree.
When she was near the cat it started hissing at her only irritating her. "Yeah remember me? Here kitty kitty." she said as she reached out her hand. "Come here you stupid furball."
"Don't worry Kenji! It can't make you any uglier!" Sasuke taunted making an extra vein appear on her head.
"Thanks, man." she said through her teeth. Kakashi groaned out in disappointment, he pressed his right buzzer.
! A shock came to Kenji's outreached hand. "Ite!" she shouted and provoked the cat for the last time. It jumped off the tree branch and latched onto Kenji's face. She started struggling with the feline stuck on her face.
"Wow. What a numbskull." Sasuke said happily watching the chaos.
? "What happened?" Kakashi wondered and tried the right buzzer again.
"Oww!" Kenji screamed in pain. "Kakashi teme!" then the chakra in her feet become imbalanced. Her foot slipped and she started falling.
Sasuke stepped back and Kenji landed in front of him. "Get it off! Get it off!" she still struggled with the raging animal on her face. Kakashi helped her and pulled the cat off her face. She took deep breathes.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I think I accidentally got the buzzers mixed up. My bad." Kakashi told her.
"You did what?! That jeopardized my mission!" she got up scratched all over and dusty.
"I apologize." Kakashi said. "Before we discuss this more let's return the cat ok?"
After they returned the cat they all sat down outdoors. Kakashi had Sasuke and Kenji sitting on a fallen tree in front of him. Kenji was patched up from the cat attack and she and Sasuke were free of the electric shock bracelets. Kakashi had his arms crossed and sighed. "I take partial responsibility for that mission gone wrong. But you two, I thought that punishment would motivate you guys to work together."
"But it seems that Kenji had to suffer your consequences." he said facing Sasuke.
"Well it was pretty funny. Besides Kenji just got unlucky." Sasuke didn't even have his eyes open.
"Unlucky?" Kenji turned towards him. "Why is it that every time you get a break I have to try harder? That can't be just bad luck."
"Sasuke, you are Konoha's Number One Rookie. If anyone should go above and beyond it's you." Kakashi reminded him.
"If he's Konoha's Number One Rookie then what am I?" Kenji asked.
"Hmm. . ." Kakashi started thinking. "I wonder, Sasuke's the Number One Rookie, Naruto's the Show-off, Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja. . . Senju Kenji the Wicked, Konoha's Number One Spooky Kunoichi!"
"Hey!" she exclaimed.
"I like it! It suits you." Sasuke said.
"That's not cool! Please don't use that for me!"
"Sorry Kenji it's already been decided." Kakashi told her.
"Ugh!" Kenji complained. "Well, as long as Naruto-kun doesn't hear it." she thought.
"And just so you know, Sakura and Naruto are going to hear this too." Kakashi said and Kenji started moping again.
"Now getting to the important stuff," Kakashi started. "Have you guys ever worked as a unit together?"
Kenji who wasn't in her down mood anymore, recalled their recent mission from the Land of the Waves. "Well, when we were trapped in the ice mirrors. At first we still thought about ourselves but when things got really bad, it was only then when we started helping each other." she recalled.
"I see." Kakashi said. He stood up and Sasuke and Kenji both saw a change of expression. "Follow me." his face was dead serious.
Kakashi stood in the middle of a field, "So why are we here?" Sasuke asked. He and Kenji were in the Third Training ground with Kakashi's back to them. For the first time today they felt like they really should be prepared for something.
Kakashi pushed up his forehead protector. "We're here to test your skills."
! His statement made the two of them tense.
Then Kakashi unleashed a wave of shuriken and kunai knives. Sasuke flipped out a kunai knife and started deflecting the flying weapons. Kenji caught one the knives in the air and used that to defend herself. Then one knife landed in the ground between them.
! They both saw the paper bomb attached to it. It exploded and Sasuke and Kenji landed far from the smoke. Kakashi appeared from the smoke, "You both have to defeat me. But neither of you can beat me on your own. Get it?"
But neither of them listened. Sasuke took out his own shurikens and hurled them at Kakashi. Kenji performed the rat, tiger, dog, ox, rabbit, tiger hand seals. "Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!" a bunch of small fireballs came Kakashi's way.
"Mattaku!" Kakashi easily dodged Kenji's jutsu and Sasuke's throwing stars.
! ! Kenji and Sasuke were both frustrated by Kakashi's skills. Then they both panicked, Kenji got spiked with a throwing star and Sasuke tried doding fireballs but got hit in the gut and sent back a distance.
Kakashi stared at them. Sasuke who was charred and on the ground and Kenji who was wounded and bleeding. He sighed, "These kids really are only kids. . ." he said.
Kenji stared at him, "If weapons or jutsu won't work-!" she thought.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, "Then!"
They both ran at him. "It's got to be hand to hand!"
The two both let out a scream while running for Kakashi on both sides. He just stood there with arms crossed looking at them with his Sharingan. He took out a long string.
Kenji and Sasuke got close and got their punches ready. Then Kakashi vanished.
? ? They both looked each other in the eyes for a moment and couldn't stop. A long string wrapped around their bodies.
Kakashi gave a tug and they both slammed together. They fell to the ground. Sasuke growled at Kenji, "You tomboy! If it weren't for you we wouldn't be in this tangle. . .!"
"Excuse you! You're the one with the half baked Sharingan! Pesky Uchiha!" she sneered back.
"Well! At least I'm not the Number One Spooky Kunoichi."
"What was that!?" Kenji shouted.
"That's enough!" Kakashi scolded. He pulled his hitaite down over his Sharingan. "Both of you were no good! I told you to work together! And Kenji's not even at full strength, so you needed to work as a team!"
"What do you mean not at full strength?" Sasuke said.
"Kenji what'd you have for breakfast today?" Kakashi asked.
"Umm, well. . ." Kenji hesitated.
"You didn't have breakfast. . ." Kakashi said.
Kenji chuckled nervously, "Yeah well, I can still fight without food."
"Don't tell me. You're trying to watch your weight. . ." Sasuke taunted snidely.
"Stop! It's not like that!" Kenji said.
"Stop!" Kakashi said and shut them up. "As punishment, you will sit there while Squad 10 walks by." he said and vanished.
? ! "No." Kenji said. "No! Nononononono!" she started struggling more with Sasuke on top of her.
"What?" Sasuke asked.
"Didn't you hear him, you idiot?! Squad 10 is going to see us!" Kenji told him with her cheeks flushed.
"So what?"
"So what? You little-! Shikamaru and Choji are going to see us! But worst of all-"
"AIIEEEEHHHHHHHHH!" a high pitched screech pierced their ears.
Kenji and Sasuke both turned their heads slowly and saw Asuma, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino. . . They both lay there wordlessly and Kenji was sweating bullets. "H-Hey guys. . . Ino, you look beautiful today. Aha! Ahahaha. . .!" she laughed nervously. "I'm screwed!" she mumbled in despair.
"Wow." Shikamaru said. "This is a surprise to me, Kenji. You got the boy of every girl's dreams. . ."
Then Sasuke realized it. "No it's not what it looks like!" Kenji said.
"You caught us!" Sasuke said.
"Huh!? What the hell are you say-" she was headbutted by Sasuke and lay helplessly on the grass.
"We do stuff like this all the time so can you guys leave us alone?" Sasuke asked them.
"Kenji!" Ino roared and cracked her knuckles.
"Ite!" Kenji flinched as Sasuke put on a stick on bandaid over one of her bruises.
"I apologize but Ino always annoys me with her 'deep romantic feelings'. I had a chance to make her think I was taken and I took it." Sasuke said.
"Sure sucks to be a bad boy huh?" she said and a vein popped up on Sasuke's head. He pressed one of the bruises on her face hard. "Itetetetete! Stop!"
Sasuke cut it out and sat down next to her. "Hn."
"You sure enjoy causing me pain." Kenji said. "Just like so many other people in this village. . ." she said.
Sasuke reached into his pouch. "I do feel a little bad. Sometimes I don't even have to do anything you know? But you still get thrown under the bus somehow."
"Is that so?" Kenji said.
"Here." he said holding out a plastic baggy.
"What's this?" she asked.
"It's a bun you dimwit." he said.
Kenji swiped it, "I know it's a bun ok?" she exclaimed. "Sheesh!" she held it on the bench beside her.
"You're not gonna eat it?" Sasuke said.
? "Huh?"
"You haven't eaten anything all day so why don't you start with that?"
"Well technically uh, I didn't really eat yesterday either." she said.
"What? How's that possible? You went two days without eating?!" Sasuke asked.
"Tch! I could go a week without food!" she said.
Sasuke stood up, snatched the baggy, and ripped it open. "You're a shinobi right?" he pulled the bun out. "How do you expect to have any strength if you don't eat a single thing?" he growled as he pressed the bun on her closed teeth.
"Your figure shouldn't mean more to a shinobi than your strength!" he said.
"I told you it's not like that!" she said through her teeth.
Kenji ended up munching on the bread. Sasuke sat cross armed watching her intently. "What?" she asked.
"You better finish that." he said.
"Ok fine! Man you sound like Itachi!" she said and Sasuke clenched his fists.
"Grrrrgh-!" he raged under his breath.
"Ah! Sorry sorry!" she apologized right away knowing she went too far. "But he was always nagging me about my eating habits as a kid.
"Even your precious Naruto-kun eats more than enough." Sasuke said.
"What did you just say?" Kenji asked.
"What? You mean about Naruto? I thought he was your, you know." he held up his thumb.
! "No! Not at all!" her face turned red and hot.
"Oh~" Sasuke said. "So it's all one sided. . ."
"You jerk! How long have you known!?" Kenji asked.
"Uh, I think everyone knows except him." Sasuke said.
"Oh my gosh. . ." Kenji almost felt faint.
"You know back in the Land of the Waves when Haku kind of killed you, Naruto was really hurt. I just assumed you two were. . . A thing." he said to her.
"We'll never be 'a thing.' He has his eyes on Sakura. You know, the pink hair, pretty face, perfect skin, normal eyes. I can't compete with that." she said.
"It shouldn't be about that."
She stared at her half eaten bun. "It's true that I don't exactly have an appealing figure like Sakura or Ino but, that's never been why my eating has gotten like this. When I was young I didn't have anyone to cook a bento for me to bring to the Academy. I got my meals after the Academy. But one day I skipped a meal to spend more time learning how to use my Rinnegan. And I would skip again and again and again. And it became a habit. . ."
"I desperately wanted to graduate from the Academy. Getting stronger to me was more important than food."
"I remember you said something like that when we were kids. You ever think you take your training a little too far?" Sasuke asked her.
"Well maybe you just don't take your training seriously!" Kenji ripped off a piece of her bun with her teeth.
"That's cold." Sasuke said and laid down on the bench. "If you don't put on some weight your breasts will never grow out."
"Argh!" Sasuke really started to irk her. "Are you this chatty with people other than me? You never tell Sakura that she needs to gain weight or Naruto that he's training too hard."
"I like taking your heartless attitude through the dirt." he answered.
"So that's why huh?" Kenji looked out into the distance.
"Chigau." Sasuke said in his mind. "When you're around me I have a small feeling of having someone precious left. And in some ways you're a greater shinobi than me. Sometimes I look up to you in those ways." he thought looking at her.
"Well anyway thanks for the bun." she said to him.
"Pay me back!"
"Hah, in your dreams."
"That's so unfair."
"I don't care."
"If only our days continued like that. . . Even if I never admitted it, you were my friend. No matter how much you got under my skin, Sasuke."
