Sanako's Grass Village Adventures! (Spin-off of A Ninja's Worth)

Chapter 5

His hand slams the front of his desk, startling the lilac eyed girl that had approached me earlier.

I let out a small sigh of relief, completely ignoring the speech that's coming from his annoying mouth. What's with him drawing such attention to himself? A fool with no brain seems to be the impression I'm getting from him. But still, there's something about him that bothers me. Something so familiar that I just can't seem to grasp. It's not that important anyways, I suppose.

If he had gotten Sasuke eliminated already, I would've blown my cover just to beat his ass. Swapping a small glance with Kenshi, I tune back in to the talk going on below.

"You all pass!" Our gruff proctor shouts. "A true ninja must be able to persevere even if the situation gets risky. So by deciding not to give up and run away, you all passed."

So the test was pointless? Thank heavens. I relax my muscles, finally feeling the ache from them being tensed. I hardly even noticed because of how deep I was in thought. How foolish I was, concentrating on my own personal life instead of today's task. I could've failed and ruined this whole thing for my teammates because of my negligence.

We are finally granted permission to leave and I'm the first one out, despite Kenshi being closer to the door than me. My back is pressed against the wall by the door as Kenshi comes out. "Are you alright?"

His arms are extended like he's ready to catch me if I fall. Why does he show so much care for me? Maybe that's just his personality and I'm simply overlooking it. "I'm fine. Where's Tanko?"

"Right here. Don't worry, princess." Speak of the devil. Tanko's face, as usual, is composed, no sign of stress or any emotion for that matter.

"So I see that you did fine," I say, slightly annoyed by his presence.

"Better than you. One question wonder." He winks at me.

Was he sitting right behind me? God, he's so irritating! My face gets hot and I'm at a loss for words. "Well, I-I just. Y-You see..The thing is.." I stammer, "That's not important!"

Tanko's eyes narrow. "Actually, it is. If there wasn't that twist at the end, you could've screwed us all over." He says, "Are you honestly that stupid, Sanako?"

Before I have the chance to cuss him out, Kenshi intervenes. "Now, Tanko," He scolds, sounding almost like a father. "Calling Sanako childish names is ridiculous. Whether you like it or not, we're your teammates. I'm sure Sanako, as cunning as she is, was probably distracted."

Tanko and I are too busy glowering at each other to even pay close attention to Kenshi. Why does Tanko hate me so much anyways? What had I done? Ah, right, I breathed air.

Tanko scoffs roughly, seeming just as pissed off as I am, but there's something there in his eyes. Sadness, depression, angst. He turns away from us. "I'm going back to the campsite to let Nagashi know the first part is over."

My hand reaches slightly then falls to my side. That look in his eyes...

Kenshi lets out an exasperated sigh, interrupting my thoughts. "Don't worry about him, Sanako. Eventually, he'll warm up to us. Tanko's just not good at making friends."

Clearly.

But there seems to be else. What was with those eyes? I grip my heart. What is really wrong with Tanko?

Kenshi and I headed back to the tents that Nagashi had set up just outside of the Leaf Village. By the time we got there, the sun was sinking beneath the earth and Nagashi was getting a fire started.

Tanko was nowhere in sight but I could see a figure in his tent so I assume that's where he is. Nagashi sets a large log on the ground close to the fire followed by a longer one, set next to the first one. Nagashi took a seat and pulled out a flask, took a swig, then looked at Kenshi and I. Who knew our sensei was an alcoholic of all things?

"Team meeting. Now," He looks over his shoulder at Tanko's tent, "That means you too, pretty boy."

With a grunt of dissatisfaction, Tanko leaves his tent swiftly, taking a seat on the far side of the log. I take a seat in the middle, with Kenshi to my right.

"Today seems to have gone okay, but tomorrow is when it gets serious. The next section is the Forest of Death, where you must get the Heaven and Earth scrolls to pass the second part." Nagashi turns to look at me, the scars marking his face illuminated in the fire's light. "You can't just lose your focus this time, Sanako. If you do, you and your teammates could possibly lose their life."

A chill creeps down my spine and I shudder. "Are you cold?" Kenshi asks warily.

Before I get the chance to say anything, he puts an arm around me. It wasn't that cold out, it wasn't that warm out either. I can hear Tanko snort with irritation, which makes me force my way off of Kenshi's arm. "I'm okay," I say, refusing to show even the slightest bit of weakness to Tanko. "Thank you, Kenshi."

Tanko tries to change the atmosphere. "Any advice? Anything we should know?"

Nagashi takes another swig from his flask and nods. "Stay away from Sasuke's team as much as possible. It'd be best to limit interaction as much as possible. Sanako, try not to let a lot of the ninja see your face. As her teammates," He eyes the boys. "It's your guys' job to help her with that."

"Why should I have to protect the poor princess?" Tanko shouts. "She's old enough to do things for herself and she shouldn't have to rely on us protecting and saving her all the time!"

Nagashi is about to attempt to keep the peace but my rage is too fast working. Instantly, I jump to my feet. "You know what? I don't know what the hell I did to make you hate me so much, but maybe instead of being a stuck up ass about it, you could just say it!"

He's about to fire back at me but I don't allow it. "You don't have to worry about protecting me, I can take care of myself without the help of some priss of a boy slowing me down!" Tears threaten to fall, so I rush to finish my big speech. "Or maybe I'll just let myself get killed, captured, or what the hell ever, maybe then you'll stop hating me so much for no damn reason!!"

I don't understand where any of it came from, all I really knew was that I had had enough of his senseless verbal battery. Without allowing anyone else to say a word, I take off, zip myself up in my tent, covering my ears so I don't have to hear them talking about me, and I just let the black abyss help me forget about this awful day.