𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 | 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨 [HEAVY EDITING]

𝟒𝟏 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 "𝐊"

"Guess again!"

"Guess again"?! What happened to making a plan?! I glare metaphorical kunai into Sasuke's back as he runs out from behind our hiding spot, teeth grit in an impossible-to-measure level of frustration. From his pocket, he yanks out a handful of actual kunai and whips them at Gaara, who simply absorbs them into his demon arm and laughs.

"Here!" he shouts. "You can have them back!" But instead of regular kunai, they're flaming?! Flaming, for Chūnin's sake!

Sasuke raises his arm to protect his face, and by some miracle, they all miss him, anyway. I sigh heavily in relief, the only thought in my head in this same moment being of how badly I wish I could become one with this tree. Being a tree can't be that bad. No matter how many times you're cut down, you can always just keep growing.

I hug the tree and groan into the bark. "Life would be so much better if I were a tree!" I shout.

A few minutes later, "This guy's a freak," Sasuke says, winding around the trunk of the tree. This time, I get to glare kunai at his dumb, stupid face. He glares right back. "What?"

"'What?'" I repeat, mocking his voice before voicing my earlier thought to him. "We were supposed to strategize! This is a lot more than just a silly match now, Sasuke—this demon of his is no joke! But you're obviously thinking it is since you keep putting yourself in harms' way without a plan!!"

"We don't have the time to make a plan," he hisses back at me. "This guy isn't right in the head."

"Oh, thanks, Mister Obvious," I snap. Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Sasuke, I'm being serious; if you aren't careful, then—""I'm always careful," he interrupts. I gape at him.

"No – you – are – not!" I insist with emphasis. "In case you've already forgotten, you nearly died in the Land of Waves! And who was there to make sure you stayed alive? Me."

"Don't remind me," he mutters, lips suddenly pursing together. I flush, accidentally recalling the memory, myself.

"R-Right... M-My point is, you have a really bad habit of doing stupid things. You were even late for your match today!"

"I'm not trying to get myself killed on purpose if that's what you're saying."

"I bet if you were on time today, Gaara wouldn't have started freaking out during your match," I say pointedly, and I untie my headband from my waist. "Not to mention, his chakra is insanely high right now. What chance do we have, really?" I pull back the fabric and flash the metal of it in Gaara's direction. He's looking frantic, desperate, even.

"If you're going to be so negative about this, then just stay here and keep hiding," he says.

"I'm not being negative, I am being realistic," I argue through my teeth. I sigh deeply at him, before looking back into the reflection of my headband. "Listen, Sasuke, we've gotta think this through. Anything can happen, and we have to—" I gasp sharply "—get down!!"