"I shouldn't be here," I grumbled as I stood by Kakashi on the third training ground. "I have missions to complete, a team to train and-"
"An evil organization, that brainwashed you into forgetting the life you've known so they could use you as a mere tool, to destroy?" Kakashi interrupted.
"Precisely," I murmured, annoyed. "And their late! I have better things to do than to be here,"
"I thought patience was your speciality," Kakashi mused.
"So it mutilating strangers in exchange for information," I muttered.
Kakashi ignored what he heard. "It doesn't matter how late they are, I'm setting a time limit on your test. Dawn tomorrow, it will end. Let's see just how far you guys have progressed."
I snorted. "Right. One fled the village to avenge his clan. One was taken to be turned into a tool used only for pure destruction. One abandoned the village for two years to train, and it probably was a useless quest. And the last one trained under a psychotic maniac whilst dealing with a broken heart and a broken team. Great job you did with us," I replied sarcastically.
Kakashi sighed, "you always see the worst in everything, don't you?"
"Here! Kakashi sensei, is that you?" Naruto yelled, a vast distance of a whole 5 yards away.
I scowled at his loud, annoying voice.
"You're not late," Sakura stated, wide eyed.
"Nope," I said, popping the 'P', "but you guys are. Let's just get this thing over with,"
"Cashile! You weren't with us when we talked strategies!" Sakura exclaimed. Naruto narrowed his eyes, clearly untrusting of me.
I simply shrugged. "No need, just stay out of my way."
"Actually, Cashile," Sakura stepped up, eyes flashing. I reevaluate her. She was stronger, in mind, spirit, and body. "I think you'll be needing to stay out of our way."
I blinked. "Alright," I agreed easily. "Go at 'im. And don't forget to grab my bell as well."
Naruto glared at me- still didn't know the full story behind my disappearance- and turned his back on me. "Let's go, Sakura," he ordered.
Despite her aggressiveness, Sakura still threw me a worried glance over her shoulder. For herself and Naruto, no doubt. She, unlike him, knew what I was capable of.
"By dawn tomorrow," Kakashi announced, holding up the bells. "You three know the drill. You must have one of these three bells each by dawn tomorrow, or else you'll fail this test."
Then the most absurd thing happened.
Naruto charged straight towards Kakashi, not even waiting for his signaled "start".
I grimaced, and despite our differences Sakura and I both exchanged long-suffering looks.
"He hasn't change at all, has he?"
"I'm afraid not," she sighed in reply.
I sat down on the ground, cross-legged. "Have fun," I waved towards Kakashi invitingly. She narrowed her eyes at me, a gesture that I expertly ignore. As they began their fight I closed my eyes, trusting that I would be able to avoid getting caught in the middle of the fight if it happened to turn in my direction.
I took a deep breath and let it out, centering myself and my thoughts. Two years ago I would never have been able to do this-be alone with my thoughts. No distractions, nothing to hide me from myself, nothing to keep my mind from spiraling away.
But The Rising Phoenix had trained me well and ruthlessly.
I continued to take deep breaths, and allowed my mind to settle out.
I bring my main goals to the forefront of my mind:
The Rising Phoenix.
Dismantling the Rising Phoenix.
Taking the organization out piece by piece.
Exacting my complete and total revenge...
My thoughts were disrupted as the earth trembled and cracked apart. I jumped from my place on the ground to a nearby tree with an irritated sigh, as I escaped the chasm that had opened where I had been sitting moments earlier.
This is why I wanted to brainstorm and scheme in my own apartment. Not some fighting ground that I could win over in milliseconds.
Okay, against Kakashi, that may be a slight overstatement.
"Careful, Sakura!" I taunted purposely. "Control that monster strength of yours!"
Sakura growled and I couldn't help but laugh at how easily I could manipulate her. The monster comment was well placed, I thought approvingly.
Just try and succeed without me, I thought, turning my attention away from the worthless fight.
I sat on the tree branch and allowed my eyes to close again as I reviewed all I knew about the Rising Phoenix.
Their habits, their patterns, their chosen claws, likely predictions I could make based on their -
"RASENGAN!"
I threw myself backwards, avoiding the massive ball of chakra that Naruto had aimed at me.
Least to say, the branch was utterly destroyed.
"Watch where you're aiming that thing," I snapped.
"You're either a friend or a foe . Choose you're side, Cashile." Naruto responded in an unfriendly manner.
I leaned down in a catlike manner and rested my elbow on my knee, narrowing my eyes at this goofball.
"If that's how you want to play..." I warned.
"Naruto!" Sakura squealed, "how could you attack our own team ma-"
My body was gone with the wind. In the blink of an eye I had placed myself behind Naruto, holding a kunai to his throat. I pressed the tip in, cutting him slightly.
Just enough to draw blood.
"Cashile, please," Sakura pleaded.
"Why are you scared of this bitch, Sakura?" Naruto yelled bitterly across the field. He was frozen in place, aware that my kunai could split his throat in a quick second.
"You don't believe I'll do it, Naruto? You don't believe, for a moment, that I'll actually slit your throat, and let your blood pour from your neck. You don't doubt for a moment that I would care if I were to watch the life drain from your eyes? Do you sincerely believe, in that monster heart of yours, that I wouldn't do it?" I whispered coldly in his ear.
There was no soul in my voice.
For dramatic affect I dug the kunai a little deeper into his neck.
My threatening words had produced results. Naruto's body was stiffened completely.
I too stiffened slightly for a moment. Then I leaned over and whispered in his ear.
"You don't fool me for even a second. How pathetic," I kicked him forward and turned around. Just in time to evade the kunai aimed at me by Naruto's shadow clone.
I pierced my blade into the pit of the shadow clone's stomach and watched as it puffed into a cloud of smoke and disappeared.
I smirked upward where I sensed Kakashi's presence. He didn't seem to mind watching my little show.
In fact, it may have even entertained him a little.
But I wanted to keep him on edge.
I was in front of Naruto again. I grabbed his wrist and threw him onto the ground. He broke his fall smartly and rebounded towards me in more cunning matter than usual.
Perhaps he has grown some, but it was factual that I had grown much more.
Naruto had been treated with popsicles, most likely. I was rewarded with silence which I was so grateful for, for achieving progress. I didn't get beaten, battered and thrown out into the cold cage, as all the trainees called it.
Two shadow clones appeared. I saw through his plan immediately. I saw the sequence of many events and possible patterns, outcomes. All of which I would win, of course.
But it wouldn't hurt to play a bit. Let Naruto think he had a chance against me.
Duly noted was Sakura at the edge of the open field, near the opening of the woods. Also noted was Kakashi's lingering presence.
One shadow clone charged at me. I defended against his lame attacks, not going so extreme as to destroy it. I was going to let Naruto show me his 'big move'. His big success. And then I was going to crush it, along with his spirit.
The massive ball of chakra was prepared. Naruto seemed to be analyzing the situation, apparently unaware that I was playing with him.
"Ahhh!" He charged at me.
His shadow clone was out of the equation immediately.
I could appear behind him, snap both of his arms and dislocate his shoulders. Or I could slide underneath the mass ball of chakra and fracture his left femur. Then I could further handicap him by pressing a pressure point inside his Achilles heel therefore paralyzing his other leg.
Too bad I had decided to play with him. This would have been an easy fight to win.
I decided my course of action. It would have its drawbacks, but I would prove a point, and test his power at the same time. This was a good opportunity for that.
I prepared myself for the drawbacks and tucked my kunai safely into my combat boot.
"Naruto!" Sakura screeched, thoroughly astounded, I presume, that Naruto shoved the mass ball of chakra into my abdominal region.
It took a moment to process before my thoughts were localized to one point.
Pain.
Within seconds I accepted the pain and pushed my thoughts to run through the course of the fight, just as I had been trained to do. I ignored the pain of multiple organ system failure, of muscle threads snapping and tearing in my stomach. This was nothing. I almost laughed. Of course it hurt, of course I was in pain.
Of course it meant nothing. Of course I could fight through it. I shall not flinch, I shall not feel, I shall not scream. I showed no signs of weakness. No signs of pain, not even the slightest grimace. Now that I'd let Naruto have his show, it was time to turn the tables.
To everyone else, I was mid air being thrown back by the force of the blow.
Then I was gone. I stood in front of Naruto, clutching his neck with my right hand. I kneed him in the stomach and brought my elbow down hard across his face.
I pressed down a pressure point along his spine and tossed him like a rag doll.
He struggled to move, only managing to bob his head slightly.
"Paralyzed from the neck down," I said. "Don't bother. It should wear off in a couple of minutes."
"Cashile, how did you do that?!" Sakura yelled, running towards me. "You should be injured! Your muscles, your chakra system!" Ah, yes. She had been working under Lady Tsunade for two years. She would know.
I ignored the pain in my abdominal region and forced my body to work without all of its necessary functions. I had done more with worse injuries. It was by no means pleasant, and by no means impossible.
I jumped into the trees before Sakura could reach me.
"You took the hit," Kakashi stated, observing my currently shredded abdominal region.
"Great," I said. "He burnt my clothes," My shirt was severely burned and barely holding in place. I was using a rather common defensive tactic: focus on something completely minor in favor of something major.
"How's your stomach?"
And Kakashi had seen right through.
"Fine," I lied. "You didn't intercept his hit though. I thought you might."
Kakashi shrugged. "You wouldn't let yourself get hit," he eyed my injury for a moment, a split second of confused concern flashing through his eyes. "Unless there was a specific purpose for it." I watched him for a long moment, re-calibrating. He had allowed me to be hit by a crippling blow- from a supposed teammate no less. I watched him as my calibrations shifted him a little closer towards The Rising Phoenix and away from the overly happy, hopeful Konoha. I nodded once, respect an wariness of Kakashi creeping in.
"He was annoying me. I made a point,"I mumbled, shifting my clothes slightly as I remain as normal as possible despite my new regard of him. I casually allowed my hand to drift closer to the bells. "The hit had a lot more... oomph to it than I expected," I admitted. "I didn't think he would have perfected it quite so well as of yet." Blood welled in my throat as a testament to that statement, but I swallowed it back down determinedly.
"He has grown," Kakashi acknowledged, then easily bat my hand away from the bells, springing off of the branch. "Nice try." I sighed. I didn't actually think it would work, but you never know.
"So Cashile?" Kakashi called back tauntingly, mimicking my earlier tone with Sakura. "Friend or foe? Choose your side," he echoed Naruto's words.
"Ah, you know me, Kakashi," I mocked. "I play both sides until I know who's going to win. That way it's always me who ends up on top."
"Not this time, Cashile. This time you choose." Naruto growled, standing slowly.
I feel my stomach give an odd sensations, the pain merely bouncing off of the wall I'd placed in my mind. "Fine. I choose myself," I declared, turning away. Sure, I could continue fighting. Sure, I'd fought with worse injuries. Sure, the Rising Phoenix would never have allowed me to stop in the middle of a mission for a simple injury.
But Konoha wasn't the Rising Phoenix. It was far too kind for that. And so I turned and left, hiding my pain as I began the long trudge to the hospital.
It was about time I visited the nurse I was on a name to name basis with.
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