Bridge Between Time : Photos Chapter 2: Your Strongest Student, a naruto fanfic

"Photos are a gateway through Time for the Retrieval of lost Memories"

"Photos"

A Naruto Fanfiction

Rating: T/PG-13 for Violence and Suggestive Themes

Acknowledgements/Dedications: My best friends, voices10 and DayinTynSane for their all-around support and help with this entire series. If not for them, my fanfiction would have been doomed, without a doubt.

Chapter One: Your Strongest Student

'It's really not normal for me to sneak off like this. Usually, Akamori-san is the troublemaker. But then again, this shouldn't be considered such a trouble. Ichihashi-sensei is a strong believer in "true calling". "Whenever you feel the wind calling you: go. When the fire wishes for you to dance with it: do so. When the mountain desires to be climbed, when the waves call you to follow: go and do so," she had told us. And this is a calling. A calling at one in the morning, but a calling nonetheless.'

Kuroinsei forced herself to be convinced by these thoughts as she clutched her kunai until her knuckles were visible in the charcoal-like darkness of the forest at one o' clock in the morning. Vast and immobile shadows were cast about, causing the extreme darkness.

She scanned the area that was seemingly vacant in the obscurity, but she was able to use her sense of hearing to heed the flipping of a book. Kuroinsei pinned the location of the sound in a heartbeat and whispered something under her breath.

'ICHA ICHA PARADAISU?!?!'

She about fell over from reading the cover. 'Ichihashi-sensei wouldn't care if this were a calling or not with that book.' She considered her options for a moment. '… I'd better make this quick.'

Kuroinsei jumped in front of the one reading the book and demanded in a menacing tone that she had no control over using, "Where is your best fighter?"

The man dropped his book to hold onto the tree out of total shock. "What?" he questioned as he struggled with his grip, growing only a little annoyed that he couldn't continue his reading.

"Your best student. I wish to fight them," Kuroinsei demanded again with a clarification.

He stared into the blackness, spotting two silver eyes that held a single red ring within each of them looking back at him. "Who are you?" he asked, now secure on the branch.

"If I speak my name, will you fetch him or her?"

The man straightened himself up. "Yes."

"I am Kuroinsei."

The man was silent for a moment, but then he jumped down from the tree, picked up his book, and looked back up at the girl, even though he still could not see her. "Come on then."

Kuroinsei quickly followed, and the man led her to a boy. She stopped as the man walked to his student and woke him up. The boy stood up, grabbing his weapons after the sensei whispered to him, and the man led the two to a clearing where a lake provided reflection by the small speck of moon that could only now be seen.

"Kakashi," the boy began to ask the man as he saw the girl. "Are you-"

"She wishes to fight my best, and that is you, Sasuke," the man answered frankly, sitting down a distance away with his book.

Sasuke looked over his opponent. She was short – shorter than Naruto –and she was not developed like other girls. "How old are you?" he asked her in bewilderment.

She clenched her teeth. "Thirteen," she answered. "Whenever you're ready…"

Sasuke didn't believe it. She barely looked it. She had long, flaming red hair, and her right set of bangs that flipped out to the side covered her eye partly. She wore a navy blue tank-top shirt with gray shoulder pads that curved into a tip at her biceps. Her pants were dark brown, and two dark blue shuriken holsters were positioned upon each thigh. Her sandaru were gray like her shoulder pads, two identically colored wristbands were worn, and a matching bandana was wrapped around her neck with the hitai-ate plate of Konoha located on it in front.

The one thing that stood out about her most, though, was her expression. Sasuke couldn't put his finger on it, but it was different than what he was used to. Then it hit him; no girl had ever looked at him as an opponent. She wasn't normal; he could feel that as though some intimidating aura struck his spine as he looked her in the eye. Silver with red rings. Cold silver and dark red. He was sure that if he looked hard enough, he'd see the essence of death itself, hidden beneath its captivating glare that he would have stared into for hours had he the choice and the chance.

She reached for the kunai she'd placed away momentarily to not scare off the sensei in thinking she wished to kill him or his students. "If you're ready," Kuroinsei said to him impatiently.

Sasuke shot one last glance at Kakashi as the girl broke the eye contact for a split second. "Right," he said hoarsely; he didn't realize his throat had gone so dry, so he gulped to moisten it. Taking his stance, he looked back at the girl, though he avoided her eyes directly.

No matter… He'd make it quick and less humiliating for her. He definitely would not go easy on her or waste his time.

· · ·

A skilled ninja should know how to deceive those around him, and that was precisely what Hatake Kakashi was doing at the moment. Despite the fact that he would rather be reading, he did have a mission to work on at hand, so he knew it would have to wait. Holding his book as if his attention had returned to it, he withdrew a pen and began to scribble down a few notes on the girl.

Kuroinsei

Age: 13

Genin?

Silver eyes with red rings inside

Flaming red hair

He read over his observations and then returned his attention to the two. Sasuke was staring at the girl with wide eyes. Kuroinsei was grinding her teeth impatiently as he stared. It seemed as though Sasuke had lost track of time, because he wouldn't stop staring, but despite her irritation, she was letting the time pass.

Kakashi took the time to think over a few more things. He could clearly remember her voice. It was dark, deep within her throat. It wasn't exactly common for a girl of her stature and age. Listening to the memory of it, he realized something else about her voice. The depth of it – the darkness within it – wasn't at all normal. Hidden deep inside it, one would find themselves fearing her.

He looked back to the two, who were still at a standstill. Now he saw why Sasuke continued to stare and why she said nothing for the longest time. She was letting the fear wash over him as much as she could so that when they began to fight, he wouldn't be as distracted by it. She was trying to get it over with.

Looking at Sasuke, though, Kakashi could tell the fear would not disappear so quickly. It would take a while before he could hide it enough for her to hardly sense it.

Kakashi closed his eyes in thought. The moment she'd spoken to him, he remembered the chill that struck his spine for that one split second, but it had disappeared soon enough. Her lust to fight, however, had been so strong that she wasn't paying attention.

He also remembered her eyes clearly and how he was able to see them, even though she was soaked within the shadows. They were cold and dark, and looking into them while hearing her voice would only double the fear in a person. He then understood why she held the gaze, since Sasuke was unable to move away from it. She was truly desperate to lessen the fear.

'She must have known of the fear she instilled within others for a long time,' he concluded. 'For her to know that for so long, it's no wonder she's so desperate to lessen it.'

· · ·

How had he ended up on the ground so fast?

Sasuke stood up with a mixture of emotions – anger, surprise, and a sensation of impression on the new opponent. The girl had ran at him as he ran at her and slammed her fist to his face with such speed, Sasuke thought he'd been struck by lightning.

"Never judge your opponent before a fight, Sasuke," Kakashi was heard saying as he turned a page in his book.

'Thanks for the advice now,' Sasuke thought sarcastically.

The girl jumped in the air as Sasuke's kunai shot at her. Kakashi hadn't distracted her as he'd hoped he would. A handful of kunai shot in reply at him from the air, and he dodged effortlessly. Sasuke jumped into the air and barrages of punches and kicks were sent at each other, but not one hit their target. The two dropped to the ground, breathed once, and began attacking again.

The girl was the first to stop. Using the tree she'd backed into purposefully, she arched her arms back, taking a kick in the abdomen as though it were nothing, and then she pushed off the tree to kick Sasuke in the face. He rolled to the side of the lake, and the girl dropped to the ground, now sensing the splitting pain in her abdomen. "Speak your name," she told him croakily, standing up with a struggle. Her eyes were closed.

"Uchiha Sasuke. And you?" he asked in return with a smirk.

"Kuroinsei, only that," she answered with narrowed eyes, avoiding direct eye contact with him.

Within a second, the two shot at each other yet again. Sasuke continued to make a strike for her abdomen. Due to the blow she'd received earlier, he learned it was a weak point, but Kuroinsei had figured he would attempt such a daring move. Because of this, she went for every weak spot revealed as he attempted to hit her. When he realized that he would fail if he continued, he returned to assaulting her from every point to any point.

She was impressed with his line of thinking, but that didn't cause her moves to falter anymore than his. As he sent a blow to her exposed shoulder, she reached for his thigh, forgetting all dignity, and upon grabbing it, snatched his wrist in the process. She twirled around and swung him off into the lake. She drew out three shuriken for each hand and sent them hurtling towards him in the water.

Sasuke choked on the lake water that instantly entered his body, and he looked through its radiance only to see it disturbed by shuriken coming his way. The water slowed his movement, and he managed to dodge only two as the other four pierced his knees. He felt the stinging pain and saw the blood accumulate from his skin into the aqua. She was not natural. Or at least, her techniques weren't. Normal shuriken wouldn't have penetrated the water's impeding effects that easily, but those shuriken had.

He drew out two kunai, acting on sheer hope that his theory was right. Twirling them on his middle fingers he shot them out of the water, aiming for the Chakra he could see after activating the Sharingan for a short moment. As he desperately swam to the top in order to circulate air back in his lungs, he learned it had worked. The kunai had hit her dead-on in the shins.

Kuroinsei recoiled in pain and drew out his two kunai angrily. She was furious, but her anger could not overpower how awed she was with him. He'd figured out her shuriken had cut through the water with a special Jutsu that was sealed in them and that if he sent his own throwing weapons at her, they'd come at her with the same force as if they hadn't been hindered by the water.

Gasping for breath, he watched Kuroinsei tear the kunai from her shins with wide eyes. He couldn't believe how she so relentlessly went on, even when she was bleeding and injured. Of course – he managed a smirk - he did the same thing.

He jumped out of the water and ran towards her, thinking she was distracted, but he was dead wrong. Just as he sent his foot towards her face, she sent a fist to his gut. He slammed his elbow at the back of her head, and her upper body pelted the short distance to the ground.

She just managed to avoid any breaks in her neck from the force by throwing her arms out in front of her to break the fall, and then she threw her legs into Sasuke's face. She felt blood from his nose run through her toes as he backed away to regain his composure. He then remembered the shuriken, and upon that thought, he drew them from his knees without her noticing.

Upon what she thought was him trying to regain his composure from the blow, she ran towards him again. At the last second, he threw his fists out to claw into her sides with her shuriken. She felt her body shrink back in pain, but she quickly ignored it. She knocked up her knee and hit his chin, forcing him off of her.

He let go of the shuriken as he skid backwards, his face looking heavenward as his nose bled and his jaw ached. He had to catch her off guard again, and so he came to a halt and threw his hands together. His hands signed furious hand seals, and then he screamed, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

His fireball was sent hurtling towards her, and she only had seconds to dodge it. She managed by an inch, and she stared at him from above. It was time for her to crack down, and she knew it.

Using the shadows to her advantage, she soaked into them, leaving Sasuke to look into every direction for her. Within the confines of shadows, she preformed a set of hand seals. "Kage Tsurukusa no Jutsu!" A large shadow arose behind him and shaped into a vine. In a snap, it had elongated and wrapped around the boy.

He was taken by surprise, but not for long. He preformed his own set of hand seals best he could within the shadow-vine's grasp. The giant fireball he'd blown out attacked the shadow-vine's roots, and he was released.

Kuroinsei cringed; she had hoped he would have been held a little longer. She was going to have to be more careful with her Jutsu if she were going to beat him.

Sasuke carefully scanned the premises; she was still hidden in the shadows. He could only hope that she would use another Jutsu so he could pin her location.

'Any Jutsu I use will reveal my location now. He's really skilled; more so than I'd expected… There has to be something I can do. There's just got to be something…' Suddenly, she learned of an advantage.

Sasuke began to grow impatient, even though he knew he shouldn't. She was taking too long, so she must have thought of a plan.

His head turned at the slightest sound. It had come from the lake. 'Of course!' He jumped into the air and performed a set of hand seals again. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

As he concentrated his Chakra into his Jutsu, Kuroinsei took her action. She exited the shadows and slammed the heel of her foot into his face. The fire dispersed as he plummeted in a series of twirls to the ground. Keeping up the assault, she followed, and before he hit the earth beneath him, she kicked him into the air again. With him vulnerably flying through mid-air, she struck him with crushing punches.

Sasuke struggled to regain the upper hand. The moment he ceased spinning nauseatingly, he had been an inches' length away from a tree. He focused his Chakra to his feet so he could grab and touch it, and then he hurled around and replied to her strikes with his very own. She was sent to the ground, and he pulled off his fireball technique once again. She quickly rolled out of the way, just barely missing the singing fire. Then she jumped back up to meet him the instant his Jutsu ended. Before they realized it, they'd completely reverted to nothing but physical combat once more to preserve their energy.

For five long and persistent hours, the two fought, scarcely making any progress. It had gotten so intense, that even Kakashi closed his book just to watch.

It was when Naruto and Sakura found their sensei when the fighting was interrupted…

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed in horror. "What's going on, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Morning," he greeted, standing up. "This girl's been fighting with Sasuke for…about…" He took a moment to think. "…five hours."

"But why?" Sakura cried. 'Oooh, if she hurts Sasuke-kun…' thought the Inner-Sakura.

"I don't know," he answered wistfully; he obviously hadn't really thought about that at all. "She just came up to me this morning and asked to fight my strongest fighter."

"What?" Naruto screamed resentfully.

Finally, Sasuke and Kuroinsei slid to a halt after the long series of blows that did not hit their preferred targets. Kuroinsei snarled, dropping her kunai into her holster. "Hey, girl! Why don't you fight me?" Naruto demanded, pointing a finger at her and his opposite thumb at himself.

She looked not at Naruto, but at Sasuke. "I'll return, and when I do, I will have much honor in fighting you," she said to him in her dark voice, which caused Sakura to become eerily silent and look utterly terrified for a moment. Sasuke didn't say anything in return, keeping his face impassive, though his eyes gave away the fear he'd received from hearing her voice clearly. He nodded firmly.

Within seconds, she'd disappeared into the trees. "What an interesting young girl," Kakashi mused.

"Interesting! She didn't even look at me! Why does she want to fight Sasuke? I'm going to be the Hokage!" Naruto whined loudly.

Recovering from the sudden chill of terror she'd had, Sakura hurried over to Sasuke and asked, "Sasuke-kun, are you okay?"

Sasuke turned and walked away, not paying any attention to Sakura – like always…

· · ·

"Hey Kuroinsei-chan," a childish voice called from a tree. "Where have you been?"

"Akamori-san. Where is Ichihashi-sensei?" she asked the girl hidden by the tree, avoiding the question.

A girl with short and spiky flaming red hair hung upside-down in the tree. Her right set of bangs were just like Kuroinsei's, though they curled in, but hanging upside-down didn't show the difference that well. She wore a yellow tank-top shirt with a scroll pouch sewn in on each side and one on the back, and across her right shoulder was a black sash with the Konoha hitai-ate plate. She wore black pants, a brown scroll pouch was worn like a shuriken holster on her each leg, and her sandaru were a matching brown.

"She's still training. Either she's not found the pellet or she's still burning off the steam from yesterday," the girl answered, a devious smirk dancing across her face.

"Probably both," Kuroinsei told her twin as she started towards the shadows and lifted off her shirt.

"So where have you been?" she asked again.

Kuroinsei rolled her eyes but continued to change her bloodstained clothes. "That's none of your business."

"All right." She shrugged carelessly. "Well, with you back, I can go about my business, so…" Akamori jumped out of the tree and rubbed her hands together artfully, "farewell." The girl leaped off into the denser parts of the forest.

"You do that," Kuroinsei said to no one, and she began to warm-up for more training directly after she slipped into her second pair of clothes.

For those of you who do not know the Jutsu (Techniques) used, a guide will be released at the end of every chapter with the direct translations and a brief explanation. It will also help with the Jutsu I have created. If it does not say Canon at the end, it belongs to me, unless otherwise stated.

Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu – Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique – A Fire Ninjutsu that requires a lot of Chakra that Genin are not supposed to be capable of. This technique is a specialty of the Uchiha clan, which Sasuke is from. – [Canon

Kage Tsurukusa no Jutsu – Shadow Vine Technique – A Shadow Ninjutsu used frequently by Kuroinsei. This Jutsu requires a decent amount of shadows in order to work efficiently.