It nearly took the entire conversation with the jackass, but it finally clicked.

I immediately burst out laughing, interrupting whatever the boy was saying and entering the conversation for the first time.

"Oh my God," I choke out, tears of true mirth streaming down my face, "Oh my God. This is priceless!" The four stare at me, confused.

"Does this happen... Often?" Idate asked Sakura out of the corner of his mouth.

"All the time," she sighs, "Cashile is always a step ahead of us, it seems like. Half the time I don't even know what she's talking about."

"Care to share with the class, Cashile?" Sasuke asks sarcastically, clearly irritated.

I consider it for half a second. "Nope!" I decide brightly, "I think I'll keep this one to myself."

Besides, who would believe me if I said that this was top interrogator of Konoha, Ibiki Morino's brother?

"Well, like I was saying, I won't allow you to go around the Land of Tea unharmed!" Idate exclaimed.

"If it's a fight you want, you're on!" Naruto shouted, glaring.

"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura scolds.

"Trifling. We don't have time for hooligans," Sasuke turned up his nose.

"Hey, Sasuke, you stay quiet! I won't stand for anyone who makes fun of ninja!" Naruto shot back. I smirk as I watch the guy slink out the door and immediately begin running, giving a lazy salute to let him know I saw him leave. "I'll teach this guy a lesson and-- huh?"

"He's gone," Sakura whispered.

Sasuke glances around, looking shocked. I nod to myself, mildly impressed as I take another sip of tea. I might not have sensed him leaving if I hadn't been paying attention.

"Thank you for waiting. And here ya go," the woman sets down two receipts.

"Huh? Two?" Sakura asks.

"Mmhm, the boy over there said you had it covered," she said.

"Bastard!" Naruto grinds his teeth in anger as Sakura seethes. Sasuke rests his head against the ground and I glance at him, eyebrow raised. He shakes his head. Damn, the kid must be far away already.

"Now that he's mocked us so much I won't let him get away with it!" Naruto declared.

Naruto runs out the door, Sakura tossing down the money and following after. Sasuke glances at me expectantly as I take a deep draught of the tea.

"The tea here is good," I say thoughtfully.

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "We'll get tea somewhere else," he promises, "C'mon!"

I smirk, standing. I'd be holding him to that.

We sprint out the door, trying to catch up with the quick boy. "Alright guys, if we're gonna catch up with him, might as well shock him in the process. Let's add some chakra to this chase," I order.

Sasuke narrows his eyes at my orders while Naruto smirks. Sakura glanced at me, a worried look in her eyes. I wonder, at what point did she stop viewing me as a "friend"?

But all the same they follow my orders, increasing speed with chakra and taking to the trees. Slowly the boy draws into sight. Then suddenly he disappeared. I face palm.

"Did he just trip... Off a cliff?" I asked.

"He's fine, landed on a tree," Sasuke reported.

"I don't care if he's fine," I roll my eyes, "You can loot a dead body just as easily as you can mug an alive person." All three stare at me in shock. "Joking," I reassure them.

"Ha! Serves you right!" Naruto shouts at the boy. Idate backed up, looking scared.

"You have guts, trying to outwit us," Sasuke intoned, glaring down.

Idate swiveled his head, clearly calculating the best course of action. Then he arrived at a conclusion, and threw himself to the ground. "I'm sorry!" He cried out, "My wallet was stolen and just when I was in a bind, you three came along so I took advantage."

I roll my eyes at his obvious ploy, but the others seem to trust him, jumping down to join him on the ground. I hesitate but follow. "Really Sasuke?" I mutter, "Think this guy isn't just playing us?"

"Hn," he responds.

"Now that I hear your story, I feel kinda bad," Sakura admits. I roll my eyes again as Sasuke stares at Idate untrustingly.

"Well you should have just told us in the first place!" Naruto complained. Then something dropped down and slammed into Naruto's head before hitting the ground. "What's this?"

"Don't touch that!" Idate snapped, snatching up the item and jumping away. "This is mine!"

"Ooh, touchy touchy," I mock. I stare in interest as he lowers his leg warmers and raises them by his side. Huh, very Lee like.

"On your mark," Idate smirks. Oh, I see where this is going. "Ready, set, go!"

He drops the weighed leg warmers, creating a cloud of dust. My eyes widen. I've never seen someone run like that without chakra.

"Ah, he escaped!" Sakura shrieked.

"The bastard!" Naruto shouted. We chased after him, but it soon became clear that we would be unable to catch him.

"What speed!" Sakura exclaimed.

"He got away!" Naruto growled.

"Meh," I reply, "I would've liked to teach him more of a lesson, but I guess stealing his wallet will have to be enough."

"Cashile!" Sakura exclaimed, "That is completely unethical!"

"He made insulted us, made us pay for his meal and lied to us," I pointed out, "I think this is a fairly just punishment." I can clearly see that she's not convinced. "Anyways, there's a 83% chance this isn't even his real wallet. He certainly didn't seem like a complete idiot, yeah?"

"I guess not," Sakura conceded.

"Then, supposing that he's not a complete idiot, he wouldn't have his real wallet dangling from his waist. This was probably just a decoy, filled with a couple of coins just in case he was robbed or pickpocketed. I'm sure he still has plenty of money," I reassure her.

"Heh," Sasuke smirks.

"Serves him right!" Naruto exclaims, but he still doesn't look directly at me. Ever since the fight with Gaara he'd been treating me like this. Even more distant then usual. It was strange: I would bully him, pick on him, out him down and he wouldn't bat an eye. But in that moment with Gaara, I suddenly turned into a monster in his eyes. Maybe even beyond "saving".

Whatever. It didn't bother me any.

***

"Listen up! I am a ninja from the land of fire! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and people call me--"

"A dumbass," Sasuke cut him off.

"A dumbass-- hey!" Naruto repeated mindlessly before realizing.

The man laughed. "You're as cheerful as ever."

"You seem well too, Boss Jirochou," Naruto grinned, hands thrown behind his head.

"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura reprimanded.

"It's alright, boys should be this energetic," Jirochou waves it off.

"And girls shouldn't?" I ask boredly, inserting myself into the conversation with ease.

"It's not that, it's just--"

"Well, now that greetings are over," Sasuke stepped in, saving the Boss from the awkward moment while shooting me a glare, "Let's get down to business. We were told by the fifth to gather additional details from you."

I nod at Sasuke approvingly. Sasuke made a good team leader, keeping priorities straight and staying in task. Of course, I would make a great team leader as well, but... Well, leaders tend to get targeted by enemy ninja.

"Do you three know of the Todoroki Taisha dedication ceremony?" The Boss asked.

"Of course," I answer.

"To-todo what?" Naruto asks at the same time.

"Well, everyone relax," the Boss allows us to sit down. Despite how it could be seen as rude, I pull out my puzzle book and begin working in a puzzle. I already knew about this ceremony. There was no need to hear about it again.