Ch. 6: Payback Time!

Morning found most of us up. Kaida was off, probably training by chopping down trees and pretending they were victims. Kazu was trying, and failing, to help me get breakfast together, and Deki was attempting to get up and attack something or someone for revenge while Kazu and I yelled at him to stop moving. I even had to go so far as to use tree roots to restrain him so he wouldn't reopen his wound.

Yet even through all this, Yumi and Washi were still sleeping soundly.

"What the fuck?" Deki exclaimed, earning a glare from me. "Yumi and that idiot Warami haven't waken up yet!"

I smiled darkly at Kazu and Deki. "Make sure the acorn pancakes don't burn, got it? I've got some revenge to exact," I said, motioning towards the hideout. I snickered mischievously as I crept into the larger-than-it-seemed space that was our shelter during the night, where Yumi and Washi were dreaming away on opposite ends of the 'room'. I drew a deep breath, then,

"ARE YOU SLEEPING? ARE YOU SLEEPING, YUMI AND WASHI! YUMI AND WASHI! THERE ARE NO BELLS TO RING HERE, THERE ARE NO BELLS TO RING HERE, BUT I CAN YELL! I CAN YELL!"

I shouted the rhyme, singing it tunelessly and very loudly. It had the desired effect.

"DAMN!" Washi swore, "Talk about the gayest of lesbos!"

"We're up now. And we're not likely to forget you any time soon," Yumi grumbled, rubbing the top of her head where she had banged it on the ceiling.

I smiled evilly, then shouted yet again, saying, "MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! I have triumphed yet again!"

"And you're not likely to live for more than five more seconds," Washi threatened.

"Oh, and you're one to speak about lesbianism," I teased. "It's a known fact that you're a girl, and I've seen how you've been eyeing Y—" I was unable to finish as Washi charged toward me with a malicious roar. Yumi started laughing as I nimbly sidestepped Washi, shouting after him, "I was just going to say yarrow!" as he barreled through the opening.

"Wait, yarrow's a plant, right?" Yumi asked. I nodded, and she looked confused.

"Yarrow's everywhere here—he'd be looking at it everywhere!" Yumi barked out laughter as soon as she understood.

Yumi and I followed after Washi, giggling, and our laughter only increased when we saw Washi in a heap on what was our campfire and covered in acorn pancake batter. "Hey Washi, your hair's on fire!" I called out.

He grabbed his hair fearfully, while Yumi and I doubled over in laughter. Kazu stood looking amused, and Deki sat, as indifferent as always. "Just kidding."

Washi growled at me, and I caught Kazu suddenly shaking with laughter out of the corner of my eye. Kaida entered the scene, saying calmly, "I could hear the laughing from a mile away. What happened?"

One look towards the figure in the middle of the clearing, and Kaida started chuckling too. Washi sat grumpily until he saw just how ridiculous he looked when Yumi conjured up a sheet of reflective ice, then even he started laughing.

"C'mon," I said, still laughing. "Why don't you wash up in the stream over there? We should all take turns. We reek." As I 'escorted' Washi to the small brook I had found, I heard Kaida laughing even louder when she heard how Washi's sandals squelched, damp with batter.

I left Washi at the stream with the constant reminder to send out a burst of chakra if trouble came along. As I came back to the clearing, I found Kazu, Yumi, and Kaida trying to hold in their laughter while Deki was missing. An immediate burst of Washi's chakra confirmed my suspicions. Kazu, Yumi, and Kaida felt it too and reacted with more laughter, and I felt a smile stretch across my face.

"What does Deki have against Washi?" I said to no one in particular. "He just can't stop bugging poor Washi, can he." A nod from Kazu confirmed that. "What did he do this time?"

Following Yumi's gaze behind me, I found Washi storming in, but the effect was ruined by the fact that he had nothing on but a towel wrapped around his waist.

"A f-cking snake attacked me, then SOMEONE stole my f-cking clothes," he mumbled spitefully, glaring significantly at Deki, who had just silently slipped behind us. I handed Washi's clothes to him when I found them in the hand I had had behind my back.

After he stormed back off, Deki grumbled, "You spoil all my fun."

I shook my head at him, my lips threatening to stretch into a wide smile, especially when I heard Washi yelping that he hurt his ankle.

"Well Deki, since you obviously have completely recuperated, and can move easily, we're packing up and moving on bright and extremely early tomorrow morning! And if his ankle doesn't heal by then, you get to carry Washi," I said sweetly, before dashing into a clump of trees behind me, intending to go see what happened to our curly-haired teammate.

The following burst of colorful language and even more laughter reassured me that payback was oh-so-sweet.