The Frailty of Genius (A Naruto Fan Fiction)

Chapter Four ~ The Test

I was an artist, and I was painting a picture. A masterpiece, to be precise.

I replayed the picture I was painting in my mind. My teammates were idiots. They'd be painted white soon enough. Sensei would see my talent, and no matter how much she disliked me, she would be forced to recommend me to continue. I wouldn't have a team because of my idiot teammates, so I'd be transferred to a different team.

Which team, I was unsure of. I hadn't seen the Sensei and all I knew was who was in which team. I knew whose teams would pass and whose would fail, which narrowed down my options, but after that it was questionable. An educated guessing game. So I blocked the thought from my mind entirely. It was pointless to dwell on unsure thoughts. I would find out soon enough.

The clock ticked, chiming every hour or so. I allowed my mind to wander, something that rarely happened. My mind was machine. It was my weapon.

Weapons rust and machines break down when left idle too long.

It's 7 o'clock already. My mind knew the time instinctively. It was like a switch was thrown in my brain and I simply knew it was time to get up.

Standing, I outfitted myself in ninja attire. I peered inside the round dish on top of the kitchen table. There was one slice of chocolate cake left... Mine! I munched on the last of the delicious chocolate treat for breakfast, and walked to the training grounds, satisfyingly licking the remaining chocolate on the edges of my mouth. At exactly 7:30, I arrived. I was always exactly on time if I could help it, no earlier, no later, unless something indicated I should be. And right now, I felt as though I should be at least half an hour early. So I was.

I sensed the Jounin's presence. Should I play it out or should I let her know that I know she's here? She probably expected me to be able to sense her after my demonstration in the academy. I saw no need to hide my knowledge... This time.

"Good morning, Sensei," I said politely to the thin air.

She appeared behind me. "Good morning Cashile. Observant as always, I see. You're early."

I ignored the slight irritation I felt, hiding deftly behind a polite mask. It irked me when someone pointed out the obvious. Yes, I'm early. We both realize that. Let's move on to the next topic.

"I'm setting up your test right now. Would you mind helping me?" She asked.

Her tone, carefully innocent. Her slightly tense body, the way her eyes flicked to the upper right and how she twirled her long hair that framed her face gave her away. It was so painfully obvious that this was a trap of test of some sort. I didn't even need all my supporting evidence because of one glaring fact: she asked for my help.

So what do I do?

A thousand possibilities flashed through my mind in an instant, several that were rather tempting. But each I discarded in preference to one in particular. I smiled sweetly at her and fell right into her trap. "Of course sensei, what would you like me to do?" I asked.

She handed me a brown paper package. "Place this over there, Cashile," she said, pointing to a spot behind me, about 30 yards away.

I tread across the ground, already knowing where the trap is thanks to my sensei. She couldn't have told me better if she screamed it into my ear. A smirk spread across my face as I approached it. Three yards ahead, a hunting trap disguised by the grass lay. At least try, I thought in exasperation. I wasn't going to be captured if she was going to be obvious about it. She would have to actually try before I allowed myself to be captured.

"Butterfly!" I exclaimed, jumping after it into the air and easily clearing the trap. I heard the distinct sound of sensei face palming as she realized I'd avoided the trap by complete accident. I smirked to myself. She had no idea I knew the trap was there.