"SHANAROOOO!" Haruno Sakura belted out as she slammed her fist into the rocky terrain beneath her, sending her enemy flying back miles. The fierce pinkette had grown into quite the kunoichi since her genin days. Her green eyes glistened in the sun, glaring down at the wreckage she had caused.
Hatake Kakashi watched his former pupil stand up tall, scanning the horizon for signs of her enemy. He took great pleasure in the momentary shock in her face when she found none.
You'd think by now she'd be used to Harune, he thought to himself, sitting in the shadows of the forest, safe from any attacks either Sakura or his girlfriend could throw.
"You think she'll find me here?" a woman's voice whispered in Kakashi's ear, startling him, though he made no sign of his surprise.
"Che, if she does, she'll beat the hell out of me too," the silver-haired jonin replied, turning his head ever so slightly to the right to look at dark-skinned woman beside him.
Kamineko Harune grinned.
"She's getting pretty good," she remarked, observing Sakura, who had now taken to listening closely for her enemy. Kakashi looked from Harune to Sakura and back.
"You better get out there before she thinks you ran away," he chuckled. Harune shot him a challenging look.
"You try fighting her. You wouldn't last a minute," she retorted, crossing her arms indignantly. With a loving hum, Kakashi removed his mask and planted a kiss right on the Kamineko's tattooed face. She was warm and flushed from having sparred with the young chunnin, though she still emanated the lovely sweet and simultaneously metallic scent the Hatake loved so much.
"That's why Tsunade-sama asked for your help, not mine," he smiled, and Harune's expression softened. "Now go, she's gonna find us," he added, a hint of fear in his voice. With a quick nod and a mischievous glint in her eye, Harune darted back out into the clearing.
"Oi! Sakura-channn!" the 27 year old sing-songed, circling her 15 year old opponent. Sakura's eyes widened as she watched Harune, trying desperately to analyze and determine her next move. Tsunade, though an undeniably skilled kunoichi strong enough to hold the title of Godaime Hokage, was incapable of remaining as unreadable and unpredictable as her subordinate, Kamineko Harune. She could train both Harune and Sakura invaluable skills in the school of medicine, and while the Legendary Sannin could also teach the pinkette the basic rules of hand-to-hand combat, Konoha's deadliest kenjutsu specialist was a much more fitting sensei when it came to in-battle fighting techniques.
"I'm not feeling any of that killing intent," Harune taunted, smirking as Sakura clenched her fists. "How do you expect to get me if you don't intend to kill me?"
"Shanaro!" Sakura cried out once more, throwing another punch into the ground.
Kakashi sighed. Every sparring session between Harune and Sakura held an important lesson that the former aimed to teach the latter. Sakura, though an exceptionally bright kunoichi, had a short temper, and often had a difficult time decoding what her sensei was trying to convey to her.
Kakashi had to chuckle at the irony. The Sakura of now reminded the experienced jonin of the younger Harune. Impatient, impulsive, and destructive.
"Sakura! Come on, kuso, brute force isn't gonna defeat me!" Harune shouted, trying to force her student to understand the lesson of the day.
With a loud cry of frustration, Sakura sent punch after punch into the ground, causing debris to go flying this way and that, while Harune darted in and out through the obstacles with agility and ease.
Come on, Sakura. Stop, target, and then attack. Stop throwing blind punches around, Kakashi thought. It hadn't taken very long for the young kunoichi to master her chakra control, however, she seemed to have a more difficult time understanding the fundamentals of battle strategy.
"Kusoo!" Harune cried out this time, emerging from the dust clouds and attacking Sakura on her own part. The exchange was quite the sight to be seen; Kakashi was impressed by how quick the pinkette blocked her sensei's onslaught of punches and kicks, and Harune, though she looked serious, had an undoubtedly proud look in her eye that only Kakashi could detect.
"I'm. Still. Not. Feeling. That. Killing. Intent!" the Kamineko hissed between attacks, trying to get Sakura to focus and counter.
Sakura panted as she protected herself from her sensei's endless strikes, frustrated by her ruthlessness. The jonin 12 years her senior was much too agile to knock out with any amount of her punches; the pinkette recognized that she was just much too slow on the offense.
How do I get her? She's never been this quick, Sakura racked her brain desperately for ways to defeat her opponent. Harune adjusted her skill level to meet those of her pupil depending on the lesson she was trying to teach, but today, she wasn't holding back in the slightest. Sakura was nearing the end of her training; Naruto and Jiraiya were going to return to Konoha within the next few months, and it was the Kamineko's job to get Sakura prepared for the formation of the new team Kakashi.
Think, Sakura. I know you can do this, Harune thought, though she was beginning to tire of throwing punch after punch.
Throughout her training, the pinkette had found that her sensei really had only one weak spot in close-range fighting; her right leg. The 27 year old jonin had suffered a major trauma to it in her younger days, and it had never fully healed, thus limiting her mobility. It was hardly noticeable, and even Sakura had only realized it just now, but because of her past injury, Harune never kicked with her right. Moreover, her near-unbeatable sensei was left momentarily vulnerable whenever she kicked with her left leg, leaving her right unsteady and open for attack.
Kakashi's exposed eye widened when he noticed his former pupil lock onto Harune's right leg, and sighed internally. If Sakura decided to send a chakra-enhanced blow to Harune's weak spot, he'd be the one stuck taking the 27 year old to the hospital. Then again, he had to give the chunin credit for finally having learned the lesson his girlfriend was trying so desperately to teach her.
Kakashi, however, wasn't the only one who noticed Sakura's revelation.
"Che," Harune said, retreating just in time to avoid Sakura's counter-attack. "Don't make your intentions so obvious with your eyes," she reprimanded. Kakashi huffed. Like Harune was one to talk. Her eyes gave her away all the time. He had to grin at how similar the two women were.
"Not bad though," Harune praised, impressed that Sakura had in fact picked up on her weakness.
"I have to target, and then attack," Sakura said knowingly, with a determined smile on her face, the same dangerous glint in her green eyes that Kakashi had seen all too often in Harune's.
"Let's see you do it, then," Harune smiled, proud of her student.
"Shanaroooo!" Sakura cried out one last time, charging at Harune with full force. The two kunoichi battled for quite some time, refusing to give the other the upper hand. Kakashi watched in awe as powerful punches were sent back and forth, impressed by each woman's raw strength.
He tried to keep his perverted thoughts at bay as he watched Harune, her muscular thighs tensing just before she lept up in the air, and toned arms blocking incoming blows. The things he was going to do to her when they got home…
"Kuso!" Harune's fierce cry took the jonin out of his Icha-Icha infected mind, and he saw that Sakura was coming down with full force from the air, landing a forceful kick on his girlfriend. Luckily, Harune's capacity to control even the most fearsome amounts of chakra saved her from being shattered by the blow, however the impact had created a crater that swallowed her up until her waist.
With a satisfied look, Sakura looked straight at Harune from where she had landed after her attack.
Harune beamed with pride at her student.
The next generation will always surpass the precious one. It's one of the never-ending cycles in life.