Dragonfly

Chapter Nine: Something Buggy

To be perfectly honest, training with Satoshi was boring. And the promised month wasn't even halfway over! Even taijutsu sparring with Kou was uneventful-but mainly because I got my ass handed to me each and every time and there wasn't much variation to look forward to there.

Bastard knocked one of my teeth out once.

I mean, I was learning, granted, but all of the effort it took to climb up that slippery slope to ninjahood was beyond worth it. Beyond in the negative direction, as in, totally not.

I grew to have a great deal more respect for both Itachi and Shisui after enduring all of the muscle soreness, bone aches and bruises, at least. My tolerance for pain was severely lacking-compared to them, I was a total weenie. A total sad failure of a kunoichi-to-be.

Well, the life wasn't for everyone. But that didn't mean I was ready to give it up just yet. Sure, I was weak, but call me stubborn.

Whenever I had down time, though, I made sure to make the most of it. I wouldn't let my reputation fall into disrepair even if I ended up becoming a ninja. No one would forget the trouble I caused.

It really helped to have Sasuke as a cover. Because he was a kid, there were things he could do that he would get away with, which would seem totally bizarre and suspicious if I did them on my own-that was one of the upsides to being his babysitter. And he never suspected me of anything; he usually went right along with my plans because he'd finally come to appreciate my presence and stopped comparing me to Itachi.

Today, that thing I couldn't do by myself was beetle hunting, and Sasuke brought the nets and storage containers.

"Alright then, I'll be watching from here. Don't go too far!" Mikoto smiled at us as she settled down beneath a shady tree and pulled out a book to read. She'd accompanied us to the park this time because it was such a nice day and all of her daily duties had been completed, leaving her with spare time. There was a picnic basket at her side, too, filled with our lunch-we'd all helped make it some way or another so of course it had tons of tomato-based dishes thanks to the little brat.

"We won't!" I waved at her with my free hand before returning it to the pole of the net. I wondered if Sasuke had ever actually been bug hunting before, since he had all the gear but no advice or bragging to offer up. "Are you ready, Sasuke? We're lookin' for the really big, horned ones. Stag beetles. Rhinoceros beetles and, uh... those kinds." I wasn't completely sure what they were all called, and I'd only ever seen them in two-dimensional form in games and anime, but...that's kind of where I was at the moment. They should exist.

"Like Hercules beetles, Rika-nee?"

"Yep!" Trust little Sasuke to confirm my worries.

He pumped his little arms into the air and grinned. "Yeah! I'll find all the best ones! Then I'll give the bestest best one to Itachi."

"Sure, sure. Just keep in mind we're collecting them for a specific purpose." If I didn't stop him now, he'd try to bury Itachi in all of the beetles he caught.

"What was it again?"

I scanned the tree trunks and treetops, shrugging. "Well, I'll tell you when we catch enough of them. A dozen or so should do. At least half a dozen. Consider it the end prize."

"Alright! Hey, there's one!" Hyperactive as ever, he was the first to take off.

The kid was a pro.

Only about half an hour after we started our hunt, he'd already captured three decently-sized stag beetles, while I didn't have any luck at all.

Did genius Uchihas suck at anything?

Well, maybe socializing and showing their emotions. And painting. Yeah, let's leave it at that.