Your POV

"Arigato, Shizune-san. Sayonara."

You looked around you. Shizune had shown you to a small, dusty room in the center of Konoha. And that's precisely what it was. A one room apartment where you bed was fully exposed to a stove less than 15 feet away. I hope I don't burn the place down.

It was a bit old, but it would work for now. You weren't really complaining, since it had a great location.

The furniture sitting there was a plus too, since all you had brought was a small knapsack of clothes, weapons, medicines, and nourishment as well as your beloved katana, all hidden under your cloak. At least you had a bed to sleep in and a table to eat on.

When I left, Tsunade said I had an hour. It must've taken at least 15 minutes to get here. So 45 minutes. That should be enough time to at least make this place habitable.

You unceremoniously dropped your sack onto the floor. You took off your cloak to wet it, and proceeded to wipe all the surfaces clear of dust.

After what seemed to have been an interminably long time (you hated cleaning), there was a knocking sound. Slightly dirty and mussed up from your earnest endeavor to de-soil the living quarters, you apprehensively opened the door, bringing four shinobi into your field of vision.

"Are you…Sugiura Ayumi?" asked a silver-haired jounin in a disinterested voice.

You nodded. You didn't ask how they knew that. They were probably the shinobi that Tsunade said she would send. They should know all the details, then.

He tilted his head in acknowledgment. "Hatake Kakashi. Welco-"

"AND I AM MAITO GAI! THE UNSTOPPABLE GREEN WHIRLWIND OF KONOHA!"

You raised an eyebrow at the interruption, before looking at its perpetrator. It was an odd man in a disgustingly tight green jumpsuit giving you an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Creep.

You could tell the rest of the group was silently apologizing for their comrade's loud behavior.

The other two ninja, you learned, were Yamato, a man who seemed to never blink, and Hyuuga Neji, a male who seemed close to your age, but whose pale, lilac eyes conveyed a mind that far surpassed your respective years.

"Introductions made, why don't we continue with this task…"

You bowed to show your consent, and grabbed nothing but your katana before you locked the apartment door behind you. "Shall we go?"

"Hai. Training ground three."

The training ground had a nice, large clearing in the center, but it was unavoidable that there would be trees surrounding it. It was the leaf village, after all. You had already received your instructions. Neji and Yamato were to act as observatory figures as well as restrainers, if the situation deemed it necessary. Kakashi was to battle you with weapons, ninjutsu and genjutsu, while Gai would use solely taijutsu.

It was going to be an interesting afternoon.

"Ready…START!"

Your two opponents sprung back quickly and eased into fighting stance, both waiting for you to make the first move.

The breeze blew against your face, wafting their scents in your direction. Closing your eyes, you inhaled deeply, memorizing the chemical signals for ease of tracking later on. During your prolonged exhale, your right hand drew up and behind your head to grasp the hilt of your katana and slowly removed it from its sheath.

By the next inhale, you vanished.

The air was hot and stuffy, even though the sun was hidden by large white clouds. It was late afternoon, and you three were still going at it. However, you didn't think you could last much longer.

Gai had proven quite skillful. You weren't exceptionally skilled in taijutsu, so merely defending yourself had been a challenge. Frustrated and exasperated with his energetic attacks, you created a shadow clone to lead him away so you could avoid directly fighting him. Though, considering the amount of time that had passed, he must've realized the fake long ago.

You thought of Gai in his atrociously mismatched outfit and hideous haircut, a large sweat drop forming on your forehead. Then again…maybe he hasn't.

Kakashi, on the other hand, had been the toughest opponent you had ever faced. Far stronger than Jinpachi.

Earlier, you had emerged from a hiding spot, katana in hand, ready to ambush an unsuspecting (or so you thought) Kakashi when he abruptly spun around and…that was it. You were trapped.

You were frozen. The nerves in your limbs were not responding at all to the synaptic pulses you brain was rapidly issuing. And you eyes…could not look away from his.

Kakashi had raised his headband, exposing his previously hidden eye. It was scarred, but the functioned fine. In fact, it was powerful, the black marks circling the crimson iris made your head spin.

What…what is that eye?

You had never seen anything like it before. But you had studied Konoha, and learned about all of its kekkei genkai. It could be…no…but…impossible…ah…

"Sh-sharingan?" You managed to stutter out.

Kakashi chuckled in reply.

Impossible…how? He said his name is Hatake, not Uchiha! And how come he only has one?

Ah…kuso…genjutsu.

"So you've figured it out, eh?" He began to advance toward you slowly, a menacing look in his eye.

No!

You bit your tongue sharply, drawing rivers of blood. But the intense pain brought you whirling back to reality.

You were now crouching on the soft earth, with a large rock at your back. With your heavy panting, you knew you had to end the battle soon, favorably or not. You hadn't expected it to last so long, and you concluded that Kakashi must be weary too.

Think

Kakashi had copied all your jutsu flawlessly and at the speed of light, that bastard.

Think

You couldn't get caught in his genjutsu again, or you were finished.

Think

Gai would be back any minute now.

Sigh. Guess I'll have to use my jutsu.

Drawing your hands together, you distributed your remaining chakra into your feet and katana. You took the hilt between your teeth, and immediately sped out towards Kakashi, the chakra in your feet speeding you up considerably. You completed your hand seals rapidly, and leapt straight for Kakashi's surprised face.

Kage Kyouran! [ Shadow Frenzy] You shouted, despite having a katana in your mouth, as the turbulent shadows jumped around in your hands, ready to devour. You swung your head around at the same time to slash Kakashi open from head to toe.

It's over…

Shikamaru POV

I was woken up by a loud boom coming from my 11 o'clock direction. I sat up, stretching, and was slightly anxious as to what all the commotion was about. Is Konoha under attack? It was a pretty loud noise.

I had decided to come by my favorite spot by the lake to watch the clouds drift by in the early afternoon. What better thing was there to do on a relaxing day like today? But I guess I was a little tired from all those missions so, naturally, I drifted off…It was a nice nap, until I was rudely woken.

I shook my head and returned to the present. I'd better go see what that noise was. I hope it's nothing troublesome…

When I arrived at the scene, I was a bit surprised at what I saw. My first impression was that there had been a massive earthquake.

"The hell…?"

There was a huge cluster of roots on the surface of the earth!

But then I noticed Neji and Yamato standing fairly close to the mass of wood. Oh, it must've been Yamato using his wood jutsu…

But for what reason?

"Oi, Neji, Yamato, what's the idea? This loud boom woke me up. I thought Konoha was being attacked."

Yamato shook his head. "No invasion. I just had to resort to a very drastic measure to help senpai."

I blinked. "Kakashi?" He was the only one who Yamato called senpai.

Yamato nodded, but said nothing else, instead turning towards the large mass of wood. It was still quite dusty down here from his jutsu, though it was finally starting to clear up.

I turned to Neji instead, hoping he'd give me some answers, but I should've known better. Neji was analyzing the situation too, and suddenly, his byakugan picked up something that Yamato and I couldn't.

"Yamato!" Neji's voice carried anxious uncertainty. "I can't see her chakra!"

Whose chakra? Damn…not good.

Without another word the three of us darted forward, pushing through the debris as we saw a clearer and clearer picture.

Geez…what the hell happened here?

Kakashi was on the ground trembling. He was covering his scarred eye with his left hand, but his exposed eye obviously conveyed shock. Hanging limply above him, only inches away from his face. Was a head of straight brown hair connected to a neck, and a torso. The rest of the body was tightly wrapped within Yamato's giant tangle of wood. Two arms draped loosely towards the ground, and the faintest trace of a dark jutsu faded from her hands. A katana clinked to the ground.

"Hurry Neji! You have to push your chakra in to resuscitate her!

Neji was instantly at her side, chakra leaping wildly in his palms. With a quick 'Hmph' he slammed his hands into her back and let more chakra flow down his arms and into the body.

I was rather unaware of the details, but I could tell by the numerous injuries that both Kakashi and the girl sustained and the broken ground that it had been a bloody mess out here.

"Yamato…was all this really necessary?" I questioned, indicating the enormous sphere of tangled wood.

He shot me a glare at my poor timing. That wasn't good question to be asking right now.

Instead of dawdling on the mystery, I turned my thoughts to the wilted body. It was definitely a girl. She had really long hair. Long brown hair. No, long chestnut hair.

Wait a minute. Really long chestnut hair, girl…Is she the one I met today?

No, no. I thought hurriedly to myself. It couldn't be. That girl was wearing a cloak, this girl isn't. She didn't seem liked the fighting type anyway.

Cloaks are meant to be taken off you know.

Shut up! I scowled at my own contradiction.

She doesn't have a headband, anyway. So she isn't a ninja.

Doesn't mean girl can't fight.

I grumbled, and a small breeze blew the girl's hair away from her face.

Oh shit, it is her! I flinched at the familiarity of her features. Those dark eyes, that warm skin…the evidence was irrefutable.

The light faded from Neji's hands. He was panting lightly, but he looked exhausted. He must've used a lot of chakra.

I stood there waiting, waiting for any sign that would indicate she was alive. A twitch, a cough, anything. I was about to turn away from the miserable scene before me when the body suddenly came back to life.

"BLECHHH!" The girl's head jerked up, and she promptly vomited in Kakashi's face.

Ahaha…I'm not quite sure Kakashi deserved that…he's going to have a hard time washing that out.

I chuckled, happy that I was able to be here for this moment. Kakashi didn't seem too pleased though. He was sulking, and there was a huge sweat drop at the back of his head. "I wonder what she was trying to tell me with that…" he muttered as he slowly stood up and wiped some of the regurgitation from his face.

The girl didn't stick around to admire her work though, because immediately after she fell unconscious again.

All laughing aside, the situation was pretty serious. Neji beckoned me over. "Shikamaru, hold on to her, we're going to break her out. Kakashi, Yamato-"

"AYUMIII-CHANNN! I WILL SAVE YOU!"

Gai-sensei? Ayumi-chan? Hmm…well this is certainly an interesting group of people.

Gai came charging out of the woods, branches and leaves still attached to his body. With a loud cry he jumped up and swiftly chopped at the timber, freeing Ayumi's body from it

"NEJI, WHAT HAPPENED? WHY IS AYUMI-CHAN-"

"Gai, we don't have time to explain right now, she's in critical condition. You take Kakashi to the hospital, Yamato and I need to report to Lady Tsunade. Shikamaru-"

Neji looked at me. I gulped, knowing what was coming. "Take Ayumi to the hospital as well. But quickly!"

And with that he and Yamato were gone.

I groaned inwardly. So…troublesome. That's what you get for being curious, Shikamaru! I should have just gone back to watching the clouds after I woke up…

Well, can't avoid it now.

I gingerly shifted Ayumi so that she was lying on her back, and cradled her in my arms.

Aw man…she's kind of heavy!

Still grumbling, I took off for Konoha Hospital, leaving an emotional Gai and nauseous Kakashi behind.

As I jumped over the rooftops, I involuntarily looked down at my "extra baggage." My annoyed expression softened into a smile, and I stopped complaining about what a drag this was. In this quiet state, Ayumi was kind of…pleasant. Her previously hard and cold expressions had given way to a sleepy, relaxed smile. Tresses of her hair swept around her fluttering eyes, and it was then that I noticed how long her eyelashes were. I brought her closer to my chest, not wanting to let go.

I sighed. I knew that as soon as she regained consciousness, I'd never see this side of her again. How troublesome.

Is Shikamaru having a change of heart? What was that jutsu that Ayumi used, exactly? Hmm...

A/N: That was my first fight scene...and i think it was terrible. I'm sorry to have put you through that, but now i think i know what i should do for the next fight scene. I promise it will be much better! And who will the fight be between? HMMM read to find out!

Reviews please! It lets me know that there are people reading my stories C: