Yo sahisburi da na :D Sorry for the long absence, summer has been really hectic, moving and travelling are only a small part of how hectic this summer has been. Without further ado i leave you chapter 9. Title means 'The power of the Seishin'
Fav and review pretty please ;)
~Seishin no Chikara~
She'd been staring up at the ceiling for a while now, relishing in the feeling of absolute relaxation that was currently invading her body. Mustering enough strength to turn her head to look at the clock that was perched high up on the right hand side wall, she grimaced at the fact that it was nearly 11 o clock. She hadn't lain in this late for a long time. Deciding enough was enough, she tipped her legs over the side of the bed and stretched, enjoying the feeling of her back bones popping before something on the floor caught her attention. Her sandals, back pouch and kunai holster were all stacked neatly by her bedside table and it was then that she realized she was still wearing her shinobi attire and had used it as a pair of pyjamas. Yep the bed sheets were definitely going into the wash along with the rest of her clothes. Picking up her bathrobes she made quick work of ridding herself of her grimy attire before jumping into a warm shower, washing away a weeks' worth of dirt and sweat.
Fifteen minutes later she emerged from the steamy bathroom, drying her hair as best as she could with a towel before getting dressed. For some reason she had a strange feeling nagging her. It was almost as if she was forgetting something, something important. Pulling out a set of clothes she shuffled into them before doing her hair up in its usual pigtails. Grabbing a spare back pouch from her cupboard she then proceeded into the kitchen for a late breakfast. Or an early lunch, it depended on your point of view. She was forgoing her kunai holster and usual short top, preferring commodity over practicality for the day, although even then her uniform had barely changed. Her hooded sweater was the same rich blue as her top except for the sleeves which were the same colour lilac as her kunai holster and her shorts had been changed from their usual black to a dark brown.
Entering the kitchen she opened up the pantry and fridge before sighing heavily. It seemed that in her week absence the place had been raided of every morsel of food in existence. Her stomach gave a very load unladylike rumble as if to rub in the fact that she was starving which was weird because she normally had to force herself to eat breakfast. And once again there was that nagging feeling in the back of her head that something was off. Shutting the fridge door a piece of paper stuck to the metallic door by a magnet caught her attention. Pulling it out from under its confines she realized Kakashi had left her a message and the only reason she realized it was from him was because it was completely illegible.
"Scribbles like a two year old," she grumbled under her breath as she flipped the paper around. It baffled her how the man was capable of writing the neatest looking kanji for sealing techniques and summoning scrolls and yet he seemed incapable of writing properly when he had to fill in mission reports and other messages. More than once it had crossed her mind that he did it on purpose just for the fun of it. Two load puffs in the living room alerted the girl that she was no longer alone in the house although it did little to deter her concentration.
"Something uke? Sauce-kay? Something Sasuke!" she said slowly unravelling the mystery message just as two canines rounded the corner into the room.
"Yo!" said the small pug lifting up his right paw in salute. The dog sitting next to Pakkun went by the name of Akino, his tan brown fur and glasses making him stand out from the rest of the ninken pack. He sniffed the air before nodding lightly.
"When was this written?" asked Akari sounding exasperated as she rounded on the dogs.
If either of them were taken aback by her abruptness they didn't show it. Instead Pakkun drawled back in his usual lazy manner; "Yesterday." No wonder it was said dogs were just like their owners.
"Yesterday as in after the exam?" said the girl fumbling for a clear timeline.
"No yesterday as in the day after the exam and you've slept a full 24 hours," replied Akino sounding bored.
Eyes widening slightly for a second at the newly received piece of information her shoulders slumped in a manner that said she had been caught by surprise. No wonder she was feeling weird. Her internal clock was telling her it was Monday when her head kept telling her it was Sunday. "So, why are you here?" she asked, straitening up.
"We were hoping to get a bite to eat," said Pakkun nonchalantly, his back foot scratching at his neck fiercely.
"Yeah well join the club, there's nothing edible around here" replied the girl.
Both dogs shrugged as if it was no big deal before looking at each other and nodding. "Don't matter we'll just go scrounging around the dumpsters for a while," said the smallest of the two dogs. With that said and a final wave the two dogs disappeared in clouds of white smoke.
Sighing Akari looked down at the small note again. It seemed she was just going to have to go out for lunch. A small knock on the front door had her steering in the general direction of the noise her eyes not leaving the piece of paper clutched in her hand. Was that an 'f'?
'F-ing Sasuke?' Hmmm, somehow that didn't sound quite right. Reaching the door she unlocked the security bolt just as realization dawned on her. "Oh, training Sasuke" she chuckled, highly pleased with that fact that she had unravelled the meaning of Kakashi's pathetic excuse of handwriting. Finally unlocking the door, she swung it open and came face to face with a smiling Sakura. Akari blinked a couple of times in confusion.
"So you really do live here" she chirped apparently highly amused.
"Naruto shot off at the mouth didn't he?" replied Akari, shoulders slumping forward in exasperation for the second time that morning.
It was Sakura's turn to blink in surprise; "No actually you did… when you were talking to Orochimaru… wait Naruto knew?" she asked in disbelief.
Smiling she sighed before stepping aside to allow the younger girl in. It had been obvious from the start that her teammates would eventually learn of her strange roommate agreement situation with Kakashi. She just hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Walking down the hall and back into the kitchen she turned the kettle on as she offered her teammate a seat. "So what did you want to talk about? I'd offer you something to eat but I've only got tea," she said.
"It's okay, I've already eaten. I thought I'd drop by before going to see Sasuke-kun at the hospital. I've got the third part of the exam match ups," she explained retrieving a folded piece of paper from her pocket.
"Sasuke's hospitalized?" asked Akari genuinely concerned just as the kettle let out a shrill whistle alerting her of the boiling water. She must have read Kakashi's note wrongly them. He wouldn't be able to train Sasuke if said boy was currently hospital-
'He wouldn't…' she thought to herself her mouth pressing into a grime line as the mental image of Kakashi and Sasuke fleeing the hospital to go training while one was severely injured invaded her thoughts.
"Yes he kind of collapsed after his preliminary match. Visits are only opening up today, wanna come?" said the rosy haired girl, oblivious to her teammates discomfort as she unfolded the paper in her hands and slid it across the table towards her partner.
"No, I think I'll pass today," she replied setting two mugs of steaming tea on the table before studying the paper. "Both Naruto and Sasuke passed," she said smiling before looking over at her teammate and raising an eyebrow.
"I got paired against Ino and we both lost," she shrugged guiltily before looking into her cup at the swirling contents to distract herself.
Akari's eyebrows rose to her hairline in surprise, "double K.O, that's extremely rare," she commented surprised before looking back at the list. "Who's Dosu?"
"One of those Sound Nin that attacked me back in the forest, and the only Sound nin to have made it through to the third round. You're paired up against him aren't you?" said Sakura her voice shaking slightly.
Akari nodded staring down at the name on the paper engraving it into her mind. She wasn't one to swear vengeance, but he would definitively hear her out when they fought. "Any tactical information I may need to know about him?"
Sakura shrugged slightly before admitting that his match against Choji hadn't revealed more than what they already knew of him from his fight against Lee.
"Oh well, I've got a month to dwell on it I suppose, and once I defeat him I'm teamed up against either Shikamaru or Temari depending on which of them passes the first round," she commented, a flurry of possibilities and calculations passing through her mind.
Sakura smiled slightly at her teammate's confidence. 'It's good to have confidence in your abilities, but that cocky attitude will get you killed someday' is what she had told Sasuke way back in their really green days. It was funny how the older girl always seemed to have just the right amount of confidence in herself. Twirling a finger around the top of her mug waiting for the warm liquid to cool a bit she stared up at the girl sitting opposite her shyly. "Ne, Akari-san, how did you come to live here? With Kakashi-Sensei I mean?"
Akari looked up from the paper in her hands slightly taken aback from the question. "Hmmm how indeed," she said a slight smile playing about her lips. "It's a long story."
Sakura shrugged and sat up straight, a sign that gave away how badly she wanted to hear the reason.
Sighing, she took a deep breath before beginning. "When I was ten, my teammates and I made it to the second part of the Chunnin exam. I can't really remember what we were supposed to do but I remember we got separated. When I found them they were both dead," she explained unravelling the fragments of memory she could see clearly from the blurs. "I ended up running back home, overwhelmed by a sense of panic and insecurity, actually it was more like I didn't know what else to do…" she paused to drink before continuing, "both my parents were dead too and with nowhere else to go, I ran to the abandoned lab I constantly trained in to become stronger and prove myself to my team. Turns out it was one of Orochimaru's labs, the whole place was wired with cameras and microphones, although the ANBU disabled them when they sealed the place off, someone went in there and fixed them again."
"But if the ANBU sealed the place off how did you get in there?" inquired Sakura.
To answer her question Akari tapped her temple lightly with her finger. "Genjutsu immunity; I saw right through it and being the naïve ten year old I was, nothing was more tempting than a sealed off area" she shrugged before continuing. "Orochimaru was probably spying on me the whole time I trained there and when that creep sees something he wants he'll go to any length to get it. His spy probably did all the dirty work and all he had to do was feed me stories of being targeted and how he would help me catch my teammates and parents killer to have me wrapped around his finger," she explained sounding highly ashamed of herself.
Sakura couldn't really see why she should feel ashamed. A ten year old who had run away to the only place she figured safe after finding her friends and family murdered and then leaning on the only person that seemed trustworthy in her frail and confused state wasn't something to be ashamed about. "You said something about a spy?" she said pulling her teammate out of her mourning.
Akari nodded before proceeding. "At the time Orochimaru was already a Missing Nin although I knew nothing of it, he couldn't really come waltzing right in to Konoha to kill a couple of people, and even if he could, he wouldn't bother himself with something so trivial. Besides it wasn't him who killed them. At least not my parents. After a week in the forest my teammate's bodies had been mauled by so many animals they were lucky their bodies even turned up."
"How can you be so sure? That he didn't personally kill your parents. He could have been lying to you back in the forest."
Akari shook her head solemnly. "No it wasn't him. The autopsy revealed that my parents were probably killed by someone they knew personally. They wouldn't have been caught off guard if it were Orochimaru, at least not my dad, as rusty as he may have been at the time. My best guess is it was a spy, someone who looks and acts like a Konoha Nin but recollects Intel for Orochimaru, and if I'm not mistaken, whoever it is, is probably in Konoha now keeping an eye on Sasuke."
Sakura's eyes widened in horror at the thought of their teammate being Orochimaru's next target. "B-but then we should get to Sasuke-kun and-"
"Sakura," said Akari, cutting her companion off abruptly, "Kakashi and the Hokage are already on to it. They'll both do whatever they can to keep him safe. The best we can do for Sasuke right now is put our faith in them." She said. She hadn't promised her companion they would keep him safe. She wasn't stupid enough to do so. It was pointless to promise things you weren't sure you could keep, and in the ninja world so many things could go wrong in a matter of seconds.
"You believe Kakashi-sensei, can protect Sasuke-kun from Orochimaru?" asked Sakura weakly.
"I trust him," she replied with a small shrug, "that's enough for me."
Silence reined the room for a while as both girls sipped quietly at their tea until Sakura decided to break the spell. "You didn't finish explaining how you ended up here."
"Well once Orochimaru found out I was useless to him and let me leave I battled my way back to Konoha. Kakashi and his team found me on their way back from a mission and a year after interrogations, medical exams and what not I ended up here by order of the Hokage. Kakashi was supposed to keep an eye on me to make sure I didn't get into any more trouble or my seal didn't go haywire and by the time I'm fifteen if all is well I'm free to leave," she explained.
"That's it? You're not giving me any details," asked Sakura clearly let down.
Akari shrugged. "What kind of details did you expect to hear?"
"I dunno! What was it like when you first got here? What did Kakashi think? How did you adapt? Why you stopped using those abilities passed down to you from your mother, that sort of thing, you know?"
Akari looked down into the slowly twirling contents in her mug, which by now was only half full as she remembered when she first walked through the front door, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Well, it all started off…"
Key turning in the lock he swung the door open and walked in, a smaller girl following suit as they walked down the hallway before coming to a stop at a door on the right hand side wall.
"This is your room," said Kakashi gruffly as he watched her dump her small suitcase by the door. The room was small, although it was bigger than his. That was the main reason he had changed it into a training room although now it seemed that was going to have to change. "Sorry about the exercise machines and weights, I'll get round to clearing them out soon," he sighed.
Akari gave the room a quick once over before shrugging and walking back into the hallway.
"This is the living room and through there is the kitchen, help yourself to anything in the fridge. Bathroom and washroom are those two doors there," he said pointing down the hall, "and at the far end is my bedroom. Under no circumstances that aren't life threatening are you to go into my room, whether I'm at home or not is irrelevant, understood?"
Akari nodded before turning and looking over at the bookshelves which took up most of the space in the living room. They were crammed from top to bottom with books all different sizes and colours. Kakashi hadn't missed this small interaction between the girl and his books although it was short lived as he watched her turn, walk into her room and shut the door behind her.
Two days passed like this in which he barely saw her and when he did he always caught her eying the numerous volumes on the shelves in the living room before locking herself up in her bedroom again. On the third day of absolute silence after arranging an array of takeaway leftovers on the table he frowned as he stared at the closed door of her bedroom. Had she eaten anything since she had been here? If she was waiting for him to tell her dinner was ready she was in for a disappointment. He was her guardian not her mother and she was practically twelve and a former Genin. She should be perfectly capable of looking after herself. At least that's what he told himself as he strode across the hall towards her door. Truth was having someone in his house was unsettling his nerves and seeing as he was supposed to be keeping an eye on her, her constant retreats were starting to wear down his patience. Opening the door and peering in he found the girl sat cross-legged at the far end of the room meditating. Her chakra level was rather low; he had noted that the minute he had met her which had also intrigued him as to why her former Sensei thought her ready for the Chunnin exams two years ago, however now it was excessively low due to the fact that she was constantly increasing and decreasing the flow running through her making the energy rebound through her whole system almost like a wave. However years of experience had taught Kakashi that no matter how much one meditated, their chakra levels wouldn't increase if they didn't train their body. It was a wall most weak ninja bumped into. The same happened to strong ninja who only trained their body though. They eventually reached a dead end mentally and instead of picking up a book and exercising their minds they gave excuses for all their failures.
"There are some leftovers in the kitchen," he said before he could stop himself. 'So much for not mothering her' he thought to himself glumly.
Akari opened her eyes and stopped the flow of chakra within her and nodded. Getting up she walked out into the corridor heading towards the kitchen area. She hadn't really expected him to tell her to eat anything, hoping if she stuck to herself he'd just let her be. Apparently she had misjudged him. Sitting down at the table she served some food on her plate and picked up a set of chopsticks. She heard rather than saw Kakashi sit down opposite her.
"So why were you meditating?" he asked attempting small talk.
Akari shrugged while poking the chicken on her plate, "It's a form of training right?"
"Yeah but you're not really a ninja anymore are you? You haven't been on any active duty for almost a year now."
"Doesn't mean I've officially resigned. Once a ninja always a ninja right?"
"You're going to be off duty until you're fifteen and you expect to just hop back like nothing's happened?" he asked pushing his empty plate away. He watched her eye it before looking up at his masked covered face, gave him a look that read something along the lines of 'I couldn't really give a damn' before going back to poking her own meal. Okay so she was going to act broody. He could deal with that. He'd been an egotistic dick at her age and he had a great amount of patience. He'd find a way of cracking her into feeling something soon enough.
"Never said anything about it being easy," she commented lightly with another light shrug.
"And when you do get back on duty then what? Rise in the ranks to try and gain some sense of fulfilment? Take on as many missions as possible hoping to find some sort of objective in life? Go on a vengeance spree?" he asked. Not that he had any interest in her actual answers. He was just a man on a mission really. Keep her watched closely.
"And what would the point in that be? It's not going to bring any of them back," she muttered.
That answer was one he hadn't really been expecting although he didn't let it show. There was absolutely nothing in her eyes. No emotion what so ever and it was really starting to bother him. The lack of tears he was grateful for. He didn't think he could handle a girl her age breaking down into a fit of tears in front of him. But there was no anger either, no blood thirst, fear, happiness or enthusiasm. Nothing.
"Thanks for the meal," she muttered before placing her dirty plate in the sink and walking away.
Following her he watched her once again eyeing his bookshelves fingering the spine of one of the oldest volumes he had.
"You constantly look at my books, d'you ever read?" he asked this time out of curiosity mainly because of the book she was staring at. To his surprise though, a small smile played about the corners of her mouth as she retrieved the book off of the shelf and admired the cover in its old withered state.
"To Kill a Mockingbird, it was my dad's favourite; I first read it when I was seven…we always talked about how he would help me build up my own small library at home when I grew older…but I guess I'll have to do that on my own now…" her voice dropped slightly as she shared that small piece of information with him.
'Oh? Friend of the classics, seemed like there was some human in her after all.' He watched her as she let out a sigh before placing the book back in its place and then once again secluding herself in her room.
A couple of months went by in this state until one day Kakashi decided to drag her out to the training grounds.
"What are we doing here?" she asked the older man. Was there a note a curiosity in her voice?
"You constantly meditate, I thought you might like some physical activity for once" he stated shutting his book with a snap. Her features flickered in surprise briefly before she composed herself.
"What's this about Kakashi?"
"I just told you, today we're sparing."
"Why?" she asked sounding sceptical.
"Because I said so," he replied stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Here's how it goes, you hit me once and I'll pay for tonight's meal, if you don't manage to hit me you'll be doing all the washing up for a month," he finished off his eyes curled into inverted U's indicating he was smiling.
"Why the hell would I willingly sign myself up for a months' worth of washing up? It's hardly a fair trade," she said giving him a 'do you really think I'm stupid?' look.
"All the more reason to give it your all and try to at least get a free meal," he chuckled.
"Forget it," she grumbled as she turned her back on the Jounin and started walking away before an intense pain had her knees giving in as she clutched her stomach in pain.
"First rule to shinobi survival, never turn your back on your enemy," Kakashi stated matter-of-factly from somewhere above her. The bastard had punched her in the gut.
"This isn't an academy lesson jerk, that hurt," she said getting to her feet and sidestepping him. If her insult had offended him he didn't show it. If anything it humoured him.
She had made it about ten meters away from him when suddenly he was aiming a punch at her face. To his surprise though she managed to block it, using the force of his punch as leverage to jump away from him feet scrapping the ground as she skidded to a halt.
'Oh? She'd had her guard up' he thought to himself enjoying the irritated look she was giving him. She was finally starting to show some emotion, even though it was currently directed at him.
"Will you cut it out already," she growled out.
"Hmm," he raised his hand to his chin feigning thinking before he responded flatly, "nope."
It was all the warning she had before she was jumping in the air as another Kakashi, presumably a shadow clone sprang out of the ground aiming for her legs. Grabbing on to her, instead of sinking her into the ground as he had originally intended he used the new position to slam her face down into the ground before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Shinobi tactical knowledge number three: Ninjutsu," he said, from his previous position watching the brunette sprawled on the ground. His eyes widened slightly when she raised her head and glared at him, her eyes glowing slightly before she disappeared. Years of experience in avoiding being caught off guard had him turning on his side to catch the kick she had aimed at his ribcage. It seemed she was very flexible to be confident enough to aim that sort of kick with the difference in their heights. Wrapping his fingers around her ankle he was once again surprised when she twisted her body in the opposite direction aiming her other leg at his face. Catching it lightly with his other hand he watched as she dropped her front to the ground holding herself up in a handstand before turning forcing her legs out of his grip and summersaulting away putting some distance between them.
'She's good,' he thought. She had managed to break his hold on her because he hadn't been expecting her to be able to do that. She had great flexibility and movement and if she trained daily those kicks could really do some damage.
"You forgot the basics sensei; Shinobi tactical knowledge number one: Taijutsu" she smirked relishing in his surprised expression.
"I really didn't expect you to be a close range combat fighter; you surprised me, your taijutsu is quite impressive for someone who hasn't trained regularly for the past year," he admitted.
She grinned at the compliment before crouching and teleporting behind him, right hand raised to punch him. Sensing where she was coming from he sidestepped her attack when she was suddenly coming at him from his left hand side. He had to hand it to her, that teleporting technique she could use was very useful.
"However," he began as he once again avoided her oncoming attack, "you're going to have to be better than that to land a hit," he finished off by grabbing her wrist and twisting it causing her arm to bend behind her back.
Gritting her teeth against the pain she swung her free arm to try and grab onto him, her stomach clenching when she felt his hand wrap around her arm easily. She struggled slightly when she heard him whisper darkly in her ear causing her eyes to snap open as she saw a shadow clone making his way towards then, raising the bandana that was covering the Sharingan in the process; "Shinobi tactical knowledge number two: Genjutsu," and suddenly everything went dark and her body fell limp.
Sighing Kakashi freed her arms letting her body fall to the ground wondering how long it would take her to wake up when suddenly he was cartwheeling backwards narrowly avoiding a sharp kick to his chin. 'When did she?'
"That level of Genjutsu won't work on me," she stated casually while smirking obviously pleased with the fact that she had made him drop his guard.
'That level of Genjutsu? It was a C-rank technique how could she have…' he began thinking when suddenly the Hokage's words crept to the front of his mind; "It's relevant because she is practically immune to it."
'So this is what Hokage-sama was talking about,' he thought as he watched her smiling features. And then realization hit him like a ton of bricks; she was enjoying herself. For practically the whole battle she had actually been enjoying herself. 'This girl… she was born to be a ninja, natural immunity to illusions topped with great flexibility and keen instinct, with training she could be one hell of a kunoichi, there's no way I'm going to let her be off duty until she's fifteen.'
When she got into a fighting stance he raised his hand causing her to blink surprised. "We should leave it here for today," he said.
"Scared of losing?" she mocked.
He chuckled lightly as she made her way over to him. "Not quite, I've just remembered I've got some business to attend to but we should spar again sometime. Maybe next time you could use those nature techniques you got from your mom…" he trailed off when he realized she was no longer walking beside him. It seemed like he had crossed a line.
"Was that what this was all about?" she asked somewhat angrily.
"Huh? No I was just saying-"
"Listen Kakashi I will train with you anytime, but never mention that ability ever again in my presence," she stated sternly before walking off.
"Why not? I was onl-"
"Because it's because of that technique that my parents were killed in the first place," she muttered fists clenched by her side.
It looked like he was going to have to take small steps with her as it felt like they were back to square one but he couldn't help but feel like he had managed to bring her walls down slightly. Taking longer strides to catch up with her he nudged he arm slightly before speaking. "You're still doing the washing up for a month."
She turned to look at him sharply, "Why the hell should I? You forfeited, I was still willing to fight, and in any case it's you who owe me a meal."
"Ah but you see, with the strength you have now you wouldn't have been able to hit me, I decided enough was enough and spared you the pain you would have endured from there on out," he chuckled.
"You liar," she snarled pointing an accusing finger at him.
"As if I'd lie to you," he replied winking at her and in that instance she understood this was his way of apologising for overstepping his boundaries. She smiled lightly and accepted his words even if it did mean she'd have to wash up for a whole month.
Four months went by in which they trained with each other regularly and Kakashi found that the more time he spent with the young teen, the easier it became to live with her. She had at some point during his short absences when on missions picked up on most of the household duties making him wonder how he used to manage without her. One day he came home to find her cooking something that smelled like beef stew. Deciding to trust his nose which had yet to fail him he sat down at the kitchen table before looking up at her concentrated face.
"I've been speaking to the Hokage about you lately," he began tentatively knowing how she disliked being talked about behind her back. She turned from the pot in front of her to stare at him surprised. Her lack of words made it known she was waiting for him to carry on. "I've explained to him about our training sessions and about how much you've improved and he eventually came to an agreement with me."
"About what?" she asked.
"Do you know why you were taken out of the mission roaster until you turned fifteen?"
"When I first came back it was because the council and the Hokage were trying to determine if I was a spy or if I a posed a threat to the village. When it became apparent that I wasn't and my mind had genuinely been erased they kept me off duty because they didn't know how stable my cursed seal was. Deciding to wait a certain period of time to see how it would evolve from there they made me come and live with you, to grow up in a moderately normal atmosphere where you could keep an eye on me in case anything went wrong because you could perform a sealing technique if needed. As far as I'm concerned they are waiting until I'm fifteen because fifteen is the age in which a shinobi is considered an adult and responsible for their actions therefor rendering the need for a guardian useless, if I did anything irrational after the age of fifteen I'd be answering to the council and depending on how serious my crimes were I could end up in prison," she answered him.
She knew more than she had ever let on, he thought to himself and the only reason she had made him aware of that was because she trusted him. He nodded letting her know she was right before continuing, "Well, like I said I've been speaking to the Hokage and he's agreed to put you back on the mission roaster for D-rank missions and easy C-ranks that don't require a team to complete, only if," he explained while raising a hand to stop the smile spreading across her face, "you agree to be part of the team of Genin I choose whenever I choose one. That way I can still keep an eye on you and you can ease your way back into the job slowly," he finished off.
He suddenly found himself being hugged causing him to blush slightly in embarrassment and to hold his body stiffly not knowing how to react when he heard her whisper a choked thank you. He smiled lightly petting her head before she pulled away to turn the hob off.
"But once you're fifteen you're still getting kicked to the curb," he warned affectionately.
"Of course," she replied happily while placing two bowls of beef stew in front of them, "just thinking about not having to wash your clothes anymore is what keeps me sane."
"I'm sure we can come to some arrangement, we wouldn't want you loosing practice" he teased as he placed his empty bowl in the sink and began washing it.
"After that, we eventually started getting along with each other and living together became natural," said Akari finishing of her tea in one large final swig.
"Ehhhh? That's it? You can't just cut off half way through like that," bellowed Sakura standing up slapping both hands down onto the table.
"Well you see it's just that-" a load rumble cut her off mid-sentence and made both girls look at the source of the noise. "I'm hungry" she finished off sheepishly scratching the back of her head.
Sakura sighed before looking up at the kitchen clock. "Just as well," she began, "I agreed to meet up with Ino before going to the hospital."
"Ino? I thought you two didn't get along," stated Akari making her way down the hall with Sakura and walking out the front door.
"We didn't, but a lot happened during our match and we went back to being frenemies," replied the pink haired girl.
Sakura briefly went over the important details as they made their way down the three flights of stairs before the two girls bid each other goodbye and went their separate ways.
Wandering aimlessly down the street Akari worried herself with finding a place to have a cheap meal when she heard someone call her name. Turning she eyed the rather tall individual who had called her before a grin broke out on her face. "Jiraiya, long-time no see!"
"Looking good kiddo, how you been? Still living with Kakashi?" he asked crossing his arms watching the girl approach him taking in her figure. The last time he had seen her she was barely thirteen and now here she stood, grown, a girl with traces of the woman she would blossom into but not quite there yet.
"Yeah… How come you're in town? Not published another one of those books have you?" she asked her smile pressing into a grime line.
"Humph a kid like you wouldn't be able to understand the masterpieces I create," he said glaring down at her, "but to answer your question no, I haven't, but one day a third volume will make its way into the market. For now I'm only here for busine-"
"ERO-SENNIN!"
Both cringed slightly at the load noise. Akari knew that voice all too well, shifting slightly to look around the sannin standing in front of her she saw her blond teammate rushing towards their current position. It was then that she summed two and two together and looked up at the white haired man standing beside her. "Ero-sennin… pft."
"Don't you start, you'll only make it worse," he said glaring down at the girl who was trying to control her fits of laughter. "And you," he bellowed, turning on Naruto, "I told you not to call me that!"
The blonde however was no longer listening, his attention spam being as short as it was had been redirected at the sight of the eldest member on his team. "Akari-san you're okay," he said gleefully looking her up and down.
"Oh, so you know each other?" inquired the sannin.
"Of course, she's my teammate," responded Naruto.
A short silence prevailed after the boys' statement before Jiraiya turned to look at Akari with pity. "You got lumbered with him as a teammate?"
"The hell's that supposed to mean!" screeched Naruto.
Akari giggled at the blonde's antics before responding, "He's okay once you get used to him, but how do you two know each other?"
"He's going to train me this month as compensation for knocking out the substitute teacher Kakashi lumbered me with because he's going to train Sasuke-teme," Naruto explained.
The uneasy feeling of Kakashi training an injured Sasuke arose again before being abruptly squashed by the awe she felt for Naruto. Training under one of the legendary sannin, he probably didn't know how lucky he was. It seemed like she was currently the only one left with no one to train with.
"You're welcome to come along if you like," said Jiraiya.
"Huh, oh no I'll be fine I was actually just going to go get something to eat," she said waving off the invitation before mentally slapping herself. Hadn't she been so hungry she would have taken up on the offer without a second thought.
"Well we'll be training by the river behind the training grounds if you change your mind," said the Sanin before signalling to Naruto that they should probably get going if they wanted to actually get any training done.
Watching them depart Akari stared after her blond teammate smiling. As tempted as she was to accept Jiraiya's offer she'd let Naruto savour the moment. The next time they saw each other would probably be during the third part of the Chunnin exams and she couldn't wait to see how much he would grow in the short time frame. During the second half of the exam he had amazed her with the change he had managed in just a week. Deciding she would just have to wait to find out she turned right suddenly craving a couple of bowls of ramen.
"Akari-san!"
Turning after being called for the second time that morning she assessed the blond approaching her with a surprised look. "Takahiro-kun?"
Panting slightly the Kumo Nin stopped in front of her catching his breath before giving her a warm smile. "Hey, I've been looking all over for you since yesterday, but when I asked around no one would give me your address or didn't know where I could find you," he said lightly.
'It probably doesn't help that you're a foreigner and that I live in the Jounin complex,' she thought before asking him why he had been looking for her.
To her surprise he started scratching the back of his blond locks sheepishly, "Well I was wondering if we could talk?"
Was he nervous or was that just her imagination?
"Um… sure but only if you'll come eat with me," she began, "I haven't eaten anything decent since the exams started and I'm starving, if you're not in a hurry that is."
"No, it's fine, I've got nothing else to do," he replied, smile back in place after the brief pause in which he had listened to her.
"Great! Follow me."
XxX
"Here you go," said Teuchi smiling happily while placing two bowls of steaming noodles in front of the pair of teenagers.
"Wuaa thanks so much Teuchi-san," Akari practically sobbed before splitting her chopsticks and digging in savouring the salty goodness. It seemed a day without eating made them taste even better. "So, what did you want to talk about," she asked the boy sitting next to her before slurping up another bountiful amount of noodles. Turning to face her companion her face fell slightly when she realized he hadn't touched the bowl in front of him and looked rather crestfallen. "T-Takahiro-kun?"
After a brief pause, the blond sighed and turned his face before bowing slightly, "I'm really sorry," he stammered out.
"Huh?"
"I'm sorry for everything I said during our match, about the clan and about you, I mean i-" he was cut off when a reassuring hand squeezed his. Blinking he looked up into the deep pools of blue and purple sitting beside him.
"It's fine, I told you I had fun didn't I?
"B-but I did really disrespectful things to you an-"
"Moo, enough already I said it was fine," she said sternly before holding her hand out for him to shake. "Let's start over; I'm Seishin Akari, pleased to meet you."
He looked at her hand then up at her smiling face before giving her a crooked grin of his own and stretching out his hand to meet hers. "Pleased to meet you Akari-san, I'm Seishin Takahiro."
"Please no more formalities, just Akari is fine," she said turning back to her abandoned bowl of noodles and wolfing them down before they turned cold.
"Well in that case call me Hiro then, that's what my friends call me," he said finally splitting his chopsticks and beginning his own lunch. "Wow this is so good," he said looking down at the noodles amazed.
"Best ramen in the whole of Fire Country," she nodded ordering a second bowl. "You'd get along with Naruto."
"He's the blond that called me a moron isn't he," said Hiro looking at the girl beside him sternly.
"Can you really blame him," she replied grinning to let him know she held no hard feelings against him.
He sighed before pushing his finished bowl forward, chopsticks neatly placed on top before regarding the girls still eating beside him. "Listen I want to make it up to you somehow and I've been-"
"Again with that," she said exasperated looking at him seriously but stopped when he raised his hands.
"Let me finish," he began, "as I was saying, I've been thinking that you've been really cut off from the clan and all that and, well, we aren't leaving until next Monday so if you want, I could maybe train you and teach you a couple of things…" he trailed of shrugging.
Akari starred at him in shock before gripping both his hands in a flash making the blond boys eyes widen in surprise as a slight blush at being touched by an unfamiliar girl in a-none violent way made him blush slightly. "You mean that seriously? You'd really teach me a few things from the clan," she asked in utter bewilderment.
Takahiro nodded slowly not really understanding where all her excitement was coming from when he suddenly found himself being dragged out of the ramen stand barely able to register the money she had left on the counter to pay for their meals. "W-wait, where are we going?"
"I know the perfect place to train," she said focusing chakra into her feet and jumping up onto the rooftops closely followed by her companion.
"What now?"
She laughed out loud at his puzzled face. "Why not, nothing like the present huh?" she replied offering him a bright smile.
He stared after her before chuckling and picking up his pace to run beside her. "Eager aren't you?" he asked his turquoise eyes shining brightly in the sunlight.
"You bet!"
XxX
The sun was high in the sky by the time both teenagers had made it to their training spot; however the trees and the lake sparkling nearby offered a vast amount of comfort from the raging heat.
"I think we should start off with Massed energy, it's the easiest technique apart from Seishinryoku and it'll give you something else to defend yourself with in the third part of the exams."
Akari nodded looking at her new teacher seriously taking in all his words carefully. This was probably a one in a lifetime opportunity; she couldn't afford to waste a second.
"Right do you have any idea what it actually does?"
"Hmm well it's an accumulation of psychic energy so I'm guessing it will affect an opponents' psychic some way or another," she guessed.
"Close… but not quite. While it is true that Massed energy is nothing more than a bundle of energy accumulated in one's hand it doesn't exactly affect the opponent's psychic. It doesn't even affect them physically. Instead it damages their spirit," a smiled played across his lips as he watched the realization dawn on Akari's face.
"The ability to meld spiritual energy and physical energy is what enables a ninja to produce chakra. Without the spiritual part they wouldn't be able to use any Jutsu's," she blurted out piecing the information together.
Takahiro nodded in agreement before continuing, "While Massed energy doesn't completely block a person's spiritual energy it does affect it making the victim have less stamina and resistance. If the attack was strong enough it would probably also interfere with the speed they could do techniques at. Anyway now that you know what it does let's begin, start off with relaxing your body and allow your psychic energy to flow to the palm of your hand."
Akari inhaled deeply, breathing in the hot air and the smell of grass before she placed herself into a basic half standing half crouching position with her right palm stretched out slightly in front of her facing the ground. Feeling the energy flow through her, her eyes began glowing followed by the feeling of cool liquid seeping through her mind much like it did when she performed Seishinryoku.
"Hmm no, you're not doing it right," said Takahiro looking at her critically trying to pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
"How can you tell?"
"Your eyes," he replied flatly, "when we use our techniques do you know why our eyes shine?"
"Um… I've never really stopped to think about it," she admitted.
"Have you ever heard the saying 'A persons eyes are the windows to their soul'?" he asked and proceeded after she nodded lightly. "Well for us it's the same. Our eyes shine as proof of the mental power we are wielding and usually that's the only visible sign of what we are doing, but when using Massed energy the flow appears in our hands and therefor the glow in our eyes diminishes," he said holding up his right hand as it began to glow. While the shine in his eyes hadn't completely disappeared it wasn't as obvious as it normally would be. How she had failed to notice that during their fight Akari didn't know.
"So you're telling me to redirect the flow of energy from my eyes to my hand?" she asked.
Nodding he watched as she once again got into a comfortable position before beginning. Her eyes shone brightly, the glow fading before becoming intense again and then fading. He stood there evaluating her for a while before speaking again.
"Whereabouts can you perform your force shield?"
She looked up at him slightly taken aback by the sudden question. Cutting off her technique returning her eyes to their original shade of blue and purple she wiped the sweat accumulating on her brow before answering with a question of her own.
"What does that have to do with Massed energy?"
"In their essence, our techniques are all the same. I'm just curious because you can't perform a full body shield, and while I know you aren't a pure blooded Seishin I'm beginning to think that maybe the problem with you inability to perform techniques lies elsewhere," he answered walking over to stand behind her signalling for her to stay put. "Show me where you can create a shield," he asked, lowering his voice now that he was standing closer to her.
"Um, my hands, my back and my arms basically," she said while showing him feeling slightly embarrassed by her small shields now that he was here evaluating her closely and not actually fighting her.
"If you wanted to protect your head from an attack what would you do?"
She placed her arms in the shape of a cross over her face while creating a shield before lowering her arms again.
Walking to stand in front of her he grabbed her right wrist and held her arm out straight, hand wide open as if she were going to give someone a high five. "Try creating a shield in this hand," he asked while looking down at the other hand that hung loosely by her side. Once again her eyes shone brightly but no shield appeared. Motioning her to give him her other arm and to keep performing the technique as soon as her left hand came to rest beside her right hand a shield formed around them both. "I thought this would be the case," he muttered.
"What? I don't get it," she said.
"Watch closely," he instructed. He slowly began moving one arm away from the other and both watched as the further away they were from one another the paler the shield got until it seemingly disappeared. "It's not that you can't perform the technique, something is blocking you from doing so. You can't send enough energy to the places you want making your techniques unstable and lacking."
"So what should I do?" she asked relaxing her mind and looking down at the palms of her hand as her blond companion walked around her. She jumped slightly when she felt his hand rest on the back of her head.
"Psychic energy comes from our mind and flows through our whole body, but much like blood needs veins to get to where it needs to go to, mental energy also requires a pathway to move freely, the most direst pathway being our spine," he explained moving his hand from her head to trail slowly down her back following her backbone before coming to rest at the point where it joined her hips.
Ignoring the tingling sensation his fleeting touches were leaving behind she looked over her shoulder at him. "Meaning?"
"You're energy is being blocked off at some point. Instead of receiving a flow of energy you're only receiving a trickle much like a blocked up river," he said once again traveling up her spine before he stopped at the joint where her neck joined her back, "and I'm guessing your problem is here. The energy is flowing from your neck to your shoulders down to your hands which is why you are unable to create a shield using only half of your body, the energy you're receiving isn't enough. When you create a shield on your back, the flow is travelling from your shoulders down through your ribcage instead of travelling down your spine. This also explains why you are unable to create shields around your legs," he finished off returning to stand back in front of her.
They stood in silence for a while lost in thought before Akari broke it. "So what do I do to fix it?"
Takahiro chuckled before answering, "You tell me, you said so yourself during our match, our emotions fuel our power and when I doubted myself my ability to distinguish what was real and what wasn't dwindled. What conflicting emotions do you have that are supressing your ability to use your full potential?"
Once again silence fell upon them, only a slight breeze and the rustle of leaves could be heard as both looked each other in the eyes lost in thought. It seemed like hours had passed before once again Akari broke the silence. "I don't know," she whispered quietly looking down at the ground. If Takahiro hadn't been paying attention he wouldn't have heard her.
"Don't you believe in the fact that you can do it? When we fought you said your dream was to prove yours-"
"It's not that," she cut him off while turning around stuffing her hands into her sweatshirt pockets and looking across the glistening water.
"Then what is it? I can't help you if don't tell me," he whispered back, almost pleaded.
"It's not that I don't want your help, it's that I really don't know. If it was something really conflicting with my personality I wouldn't be able to use my abilities at all. But that isn't the case, the truth is, I don't know if there is something wrong with me or not…" she trailed off.
Takahiro walked over to stand beside her before picking up a pebble and throwing it across the surface of the lake, watching it as it jumped a few times before sinking below the water out of sight. "Do you think it has anything to do with your memories…" he trailed off, feeling awkward for asking the question. He turned to watch her as she scrunched up her face slightly in thought before shaking her head.
"No, it has nothing to do with that. That much I can tell," she answered.
Shifting his feet slightly while looking down at the ground he asked the question that had piqued his curiosity since their fight. "Who did that to you? What happened for you to have your memories erased? It's been churning in my mind ever since we fought and while I've managed to piece some of the information together I still don't feel like I know who you really are. I am really, really sorry for what I did and I don't expect you to ever forgive me for that but… I would like to know the real you, what you've been through, who you are…" he trailed off lifting his gaze to look into her surprised eyes.
"I am who you see standing in front of you, that won't ever change, but if you really want to know, I'll tell you what I can, but I'm warning you," she began her voice growing serious before she smiled at him, "it's a long story," she said before turning around to go and sit down. He followed her and listened as she explained everything she had been through since she had left Konoha and come back, about her teammates, Orochimaru, her parents and Kakashi.
XxX
Night had fallen hours ago, the crescent moon lying lazily on its side casting glowing shadows all over town. For the lucky few that had made it through to the final part of the Chunnin exams this was just the first sleepless night of many to come in the following month as many of them refused to waste the time they had. For Akari and her current companion it was the same, although one of them was worse for wear than the other.
"Maybe we should take a break, go get something to eat," said the boy sitting cross-legged on a rock watching as the girl standing a few meters away attempted to accumulate psychic energy in her hand. While she had gotten better at controlling the flow within her and the glow in her eyes had subsided slightly she still hadn't managed to get her hand to shine at all, let alone be strong enough to mess with someone's spiritual energy.
"I'm fine, don't break my concentration," she muttered, breathing heavily. She had been at it for the past six hours none stop and it didn't take a genius to see the toll the effort was taking on her body. Her brow was covered in sweat and her hands were shaking slightly. Even her pigtails seemed to have drooped a bit giving the young girl a weary image.
Increasing the flow of energy to her hand while controlling the amount seeping from her eyes she felt the floor turn when a sense of vertigo suddenly hit her causing her knees to buckle and fall forward. Barely registering the strong back she was suddenly resting on she let out a sigh of relief and let the waves of exhaustion wash over her.
"You don't have to push yourself so hard, we've still got six more days to train together, something you won't be able to do if you starve yourself to death," said Takahiro hoisting the brunette up properly and carrying her piggyback style while turning to make his way back into the village.
"I'm pathetic, I haven't even exerted myself to be this worn out," he heard her mumble into his shoulder. He grinned slightly knowing it was a blow to her pride to be carried like this.
"You over exerted yourself during our match, no amount of sleep will make up for that if you don't nourish yourself. Besides, this is a new feeling for you; it'll take time to get used to it, although I must admit you are rather heavy," he chuckled trying to lighten the conversation.
Not having the strength to whack him round the head she satisfied herself with the indignant yelp he let out when she pulled his left cheek. The lights in the busy streets were now washing over them as with each step they wove their way deeper and deeper into the village. Nobody glanced their way once. It wasn't uncommon to see ninjas helping one another make their way back into the village after a busy day of training and it was no different for them.
"Nee Hiro," began Akari pulling the blond boys attention away from the different assortment of shops and bars.
"Hmm?"
"I can feel it now," she said quietly lifting her right arm slightly and flexing her hand while looking down at it over his shoulder, "I can feel the energy trickling down my arm leaving behind a tingling sensation in my fingers." He heard more than saw the slight smile in her voice and couldn't help but feel happy for her. He stopped suddenly causing Akari to look up at the sign of the building they were standing outside of.
"Yakiniku BBQ?"
"Is it any good?" he asked lowering her on the floor gently.
Making sure her knees wouldn't give in once again she looked inside the bustling restaurant entrance. "I've not eaten here much to be honest, I've heard the steaks pretty good although I personally prefer the spicy chicken wings," she replied while they made their way inside.
They sat mostly in silence while they placed their order thinking about everything that had happened while they were training only talking when it was called for. For some reason a thick silence had crept up on them making them feel quite uncomfortable.
"So who was your dad related to in the clan, anyone I might know?" asked Takahiro trying to open up a conversation.
"I don't really know, I've never been to Kumogakure before and I've never met anyone from the Seishin clan other than my grandmother and it wasn't until I fought with you that I actually remembered her," admitted Akari looking downcast.
Takahiro swallowed hard before forcing some water down his throat. He had opened up an awkward conversation unknowingly but he'd felt the change of tension in the air immediately. After a small break he looked into her confused eyes and clenched his fists in despair. She was missing out on so many things she didn't even know of.
"I could help you," he blurted out suddenly startling her. "You said so yourself, during our match you remembered things, I know my Robbed memory isn't perfect and I know it's painful but maybe I could help you get some more of your memories back! The seal that's in your mind, no one here has been able to break through it but during our match I managed to bend it, so maybe you should come to Kumo, I'm sure someone there from the clan could help you…even if it isn't me…then maybe you could-"he stopped when she raised her hand to stop him from speaking.
Looking down her open palms on the table she flexed them slightly while she spoke. "Thanks, I know you mean well but … asking you to try and break the seal… it's just too easy, and maybe I'm not even ready to know the truth yet, but one day I'll definitely get them back… when the time comes for me to know, I'll find out what happened to my friends and family, just wait and see" she said looking up at him resolve burning in her eyes and somehow he just couldn't help but believe her, just like he had believed her during their match. He couldn't help but grin back and give her a hearty nod. They ate the rest of their meal in comfortable silence, enjoying the mixture of flavours and spices. In a few hours they'd be out training again well into the night and it would probably be like this for the rest of the week, might as well savour the moment.
XxX
Three weeks had passed since the preliminary round leaving the wannabe Chunnin with only one more week to get as strong as they possibly could in the small time frame. It seemed like yesterday when Akari found herself by Konoha's front gates saying goodbye to Takahiro and his team.
"It's a shame you can't stay longer and help me train," she sighed.
"There's really nothing else for me to teach you, you've already learned the basics, just keep practicing every day and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it," replied the blonde hoisting his backpack onto his shoulders properly. In the background stood his two teammates who had forfeited the preliminary round, all three of them waiting for their teacher who was currently sorting out his teams passports with Izumo and Kotetsu.
"Right, you three ready," asked the older man who seemed about Kakashi's age. When his three students nodded in reply he turned to Akari and mumbled a quick goodbye before walking off with his twin students in tail.
"I guess this is goodbye for now," said Takahiro extending his hand in front of her.
"It was great to have met you, Hiro" she replied shaking his outstretched hand, "don't let them bully you back home," she teased.
Nodding he turned and sprinted to catch up to his teammates. Akari watched as the four figures became increasingly smaller the further away they walked from the gates before a rush of adrenaline ran through her veins making her take a few steps forward and shout out to them.
"Hirooooo!"
Four heads turned to look at her in mild surprise as she cupped her hands round her mouth. "Next time we meet, we'll be sparring as Chunnin!" she yelled out.
All four Kumo Nin smirked as they turned and carried on walking away. Takahiro raised his hand and waved over his head letting the brunette know he had understood her. Next time they met up, they'd both be real ninjas, equals.
Akari sighed as she laid her back against the hard concrete bench staring up at the clear skies, her feet having carried her this way in the search of some isolated place where she could strategize for her upcoming fight. She had trained daily since Takahiro's departure and while her techniques had improved she didn't feel like she was ready for a match just yet.
"You're in my spot," drawled a male voice almost lazily causing her to snap out of her thoughts to look over at the newcomer. As far as she was concerned this was a public area.
"I'm… um sorry?" she said puzzled.
"Don't worry about it," he said sitting down next to her just as she sat up straight to regard him better. "Names Shikamaru, you're on Naruto's team aren't you?"
Shaking his hand lightly she nodded in response, "Akari, Seishin Akari. What did you mean about this being your spot?" she asked as she watched him lay back pretty much the same way she had been just moments ago.
He explained to her how he always came to this secluded area to look at the clouds and sleep peacefully away from all the hustle and bustle of town.
"So, what brings you here?" he asked glancing over at her.
"Um nothing really I was just wondering around and found myself here," she explained. "Shouldn't you be training for the third round?" she asked suddenly remembering he too had made it through the preliminaries.
"I could say the same thing about you," he replied nonchalantly. "I don't really care if I become a Chunnin or not I just want to get this exam over with."
"After the first round you'll be fighting me if you win Temari you know?"
"Tch troublesome, why am I the only one to have to fight women?" he grumbled.
"What's wrong with that?" she asked him taken aback.
"Women are troublesome."
Not really knowing how to respond to that sort of answer she shrugged it off as him just being lazy. Resigning herself she lay down once again and stared up at the sky. As much as she had tried to get information on Dosu, he still remained a mystery to her. All she knew for certain was that his main weapon was sound.
"So… how did you use those elemental techniques without performing any seals?" he asked glancing at the girl lying beside him.
Without looking his way she replied casually, "What makes you think I would tell you when you could be a potential rival during the exams?"
Grinning he turned his gaze back up to the sky, "I could give you information on Temari; the probabilities of you facing her are higher than you facing me."
Akari eyed him cryptically wondering if he was serious for a while before speaking; "You run a high bargain, very well let me hear what you've got."
"She's very tomboyish, much like you are, proud and confident in her abilities meaning she won't come down without a fight. While she specializes in mid to long range combat I wouldn't put it past her to be able to put up a fight in close combat, especially if she uses her fan as a club. She also has wind chakra nature and can use at least B-rank techniques," he finished off.
"Wind chakra huh? That's extremely rare… if I do go up against her I'd have to force her into close range combat, that's going to be troublesome" said Akari in a low voice more to herself than to Shikamaru.
Smirking he looked over at her wondering if her choice of words had been on purpose or if she had just used it subconsciously.
"I doubt someone with your array of techniques would have trouble forcing someone into close combat," he said.
"It's precisely because I have an array of techniques that it's going to be difficult. None of my attacks are really harmful, on a team I specialize on being a backup for the rest of my team members who have much more damaging techniques than mine… I'm not really cut out to be a solo fighter but that doesn't mean I won't give it my all," she clarified.
Shikamaru just looked at her befuddled. From what he had seen, she wasn't a shabby fighter, in fact, if anyone had the strength from the Konoha Nin that had made it through to the third round it was her.
"I kept my side of the bargain," he stated in a board voice.
After a brief pause in which she filed the newly received information to analyse it later she explained how her nature techniques worked keeping it as minimal in detail as possible just like he had.
"You don't elaborate much do you," he said stifling a yawn.
"Information in the wrong hands can prove fatal Nara Shikamaru," she said smirking at the side glance he gave her. "You may not be the best combat fighter out there, but I'm willing to bet you're a great strategist."
"Heh, seems you don't cut back when it comes to profiling do you?" he asked watching her get up and stretch.
"Nope," she grinned, "see you in the final rounds," she said while walking away. She'd relaxed enough, it was time to get back to training, the final rounds were one week away and she still had a technique to master.
