Sehnsucht [Naruto Fanfiction]

Chapter 13 - Shadows

Chapter 13 - Shadows

Hitori was walking toward the training grounds where Itachi would be meeting her. It surprised her that he didn't want to meet at dawn, but when she arrived and saw scorch marks, kunai targets and other signs of his own training, she figured he wanted to warm up a bit first. Not that he needed to. He would be able to beat her with his eyes shut and the use of one hand. She didn't exactly want to think about how badly he would wipe the floor with her, but she also supposed she should resign herself to her fate nice and early.

She couldn't see him anywhere but could feel his encroaching presence and dropped her backpack near a tree. Considering she wasn't even expecting to get a hit on him, she didn't really need to bring medical supplies, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Instead of trying to look for him, since she knew it was fruitless, she walked out into the middle of the training ground and just stood there. There weren't any shadows for her to hide in, and he would know that. She was just leaving herself at his mercy and hoping that he didn't embarrass her straight off the bat.

She felt him creep through a shadow from the right behind her, but she couldn't react fast enough, and he was upon her with a kunai at her throat.

"You could sense me coming?" he asked, not removing the blade from her skin. He had just enough pressure to stop her from moving, or it would cut her.

"You went through a shadow. I could sense you, but you were too fast," she said with a soft chuckle, and she heard him huff from behind her.

He removed the kunai and dropped his arm, and she turned on one foot to face him. As she expected, he appeared to be slightly amused, and she sighed and shook her head. Obviously, he was going to enjoy this, and she decided not to worry or be embarrassed by him destroying her, considering he was one of the most powerful shinobi to walk the earth. In the world, there was only a handful that could contest or beat him. She was definitely not one of these people.

"I'm sure you are enjoying yourself, but can you not embarrass me too terribly, please? I am more sensitive than I appear," she said with a smirk, placing a hand over her heart, and laughed when he merely raised an eyebrow to call her on her bullshit.

"May I suggest we work on your ability to remain and escape undetected?" he was clearly making fun of her in reference to her walking out in the open before, but it was a good idea.

"Sure. Sounds good." Hitori shrugged and nodded. "Shinobi hide and seek, hmm?" she added with a smirk, and he nodded with a slight smirk of his own.

"I'll give you a fifteen-second head start." He crossed his arms, and closed his eyes, signalling that he was starting the count.

She swore at his abruptness and leapt away into the trees. She knew it would be near impossible to escape him, especially when he wouldn't even need Sharingan to find her, but this was her chance to push her jutsu to its limits and figure out how best to use it. Once she had found the best spot within the short time constraints, she focused and enveloped herself in the shadow surrounding her. Conveniently, the tree cover gave her more of an advantage from the amount of shadow it created. She wasn't sure if the Sharingan would allow him to see her even if she was hidden, but she supposed she would find out.

Carefully as she could, she breathed silently while waiting for him to find her. It wouldn't be too long since he had started the count roughly thirty seconds ago. Abruptly, there was a kunai next to her head, embedded in the tree and she saw him step out from his hiding place. He was about 10 metres from her and crossed his arms, looking quite pleased with himself, with a faint smirk on his stupidly handsome face.

Stepping out from the shadows, she shrugged and he closed his eyes again.

Swearing again at his lack of warning, she dashed off once more and found a new spot. After concealing herself the best she could, she groaned mentally now that she realised she shouldn't have told him she could sense him if he passed through shadow. That was how he had snuck up on her so quickly before. But to her knowledge, she would be invisible to the naked eye, and she hadn't seen him using the Sharingan earlier.