A/N: I realised the last chapter contradicted an earlier chapter. Now the guy who took a shuriken to the knee is a grocery-store owner.
To anonymous reviewer "random": well, Inabi is kind of dead, I'm afraid, but perhaps he'll show up in a flashback! …the other things he said have a meaning, too.
"So!" said Anko, cheerily. "I suppose we ought to get to the actual throwing, yes? Theory is all well and good but it's never as useful in the field as experience." She twirled a shuriken around in her hands. Rather dangerous, as all its edges were pointy, but she had always been sort of reckless.
Sasuke looked faintly puzzled at that. "But…we're not in a field. We're in a clearing."
Anko wasn't quite sure how to respond, so she merely continued by saying, "Okay! So, first, I'll throw a shuriken, and then you'll copy me, all right?" He nodded, so she threw the first one. It hit the clone in the arm, with enough force to make said clone recoil but not enough to dispel. She handed Sasuke a shuriken. Cautiously, he threw it, slower than Anko's, but it hit nonetheless.
"Excellent!" crowed the purple-haired woman. "Now, the real use of clones with this is that they can move, and move like a real person would. Otherwise it's just a human-shaped target board, and the only use that has is desensitization."
"Wha…?"
The clone started walking around slowly, which was good, because it was distracting. Anko really, really did not want to explain what "desensitization" meant. Aside from the fact that it was a fairly difficult concept for an eight year old and he seemed pretty touchy about that sort of thing (she preferred not being hit with blunt objects, thank you), how could she say that the ideal ninja was one with no reactions to anything, not even mass slaug-wait. Itachi had been like that, hadn't he? Presumably still was. Did…that mean that the government and their ideas about perfect ninja were responsible for him….uh….turning out the way he had? On second thought, did she really want to know?
Poke. Poke. Poke.
"Hey!" she said, slightly aggravated.
"You spaced out," he replied. Was the clone rolling its eyes…? Yes. Hmph.
"…Oh…," she said, rubbing the back of her head, a little embarrassed. With another shuriken-the edges on this one were dull, she really ought to sharpen her weapons more often-she threw it at the clone, who winced slightly. Could clones feel pain? She'd never asked. Or maybe it was just pretending, to be more realistic. Or creepy, perhaps, considering it was her clone, after all.
Poke.
"Are you like this around everyone?" asked Sasuke, sighing a little.
"Yep!" she replied cheerfully, handing him a shuriken. "Now you try!"
With a tiny bit more confidence than the first time, he hurled it at the clone, almost missing, but not quite. With that, the clone disappeared.
"Why'd that happen?" he said, sounding faintly confused.
"There's only so much chakra in them," she said, shrugging. "Eventually if one gets hit enough, they go away. I'm…not quite sure why." Okay, now she wanted to know. Hn…maybe the library would have a book about it? Was she still banned from the library?
"So it isn't really your clone, then," Sasuke said, with a kind of smirking tone. "I mean, if I you-ihh-walked into a tree too many times like that other clone, you wouldn't disappear, I don't think."
"I guess so."
"Can you make real, solid clones? Ones that can carry on, forever and ever and ever, as real people and not just energy-beings?"
Anko was kind of confused now. Did she ask this many questions when she was eight?
"I…don't know. Maybe?"
"Th-" Anko handed him another shuriken, and conjured another clone. "Think later. Throw now."
He grumbled a little, but did as told. This time Sasuke missed, due to the clone walking a bit faster than before.
A few hours later, after having gone through about two more clones, both Anko and Sasuke were lying on the grass, fairly exhausted.
"If that was productivity," said Anko, trying to find the strength to speak, "then I'm neverbeing productive again."
"Yeah," agreed Sasuke, his fringe damp with sweat from the combination of the training and the heat of the summer sun. "I wish we lived somewhere less warm…you ever seen snow, sensei?"
"Sure. It's…cold. Pretty, but cold."
He laughed. "Maybe you should wear an actual shirt, then, the next time you go to a place like that."
"Maybe I should." Then she blinked, a little puzzled. Did he just laugh?…did he? Yes, she finally decided. Wow. Progress?
She was really wondering about the clones now though. Could you make solid clones? Of people? …actually, that sounded like something sen-Orochimaru would do. Hn…
Eh. Thinking about such things hurt her brain. Perhaps when it was less warm and she was less tired she would return to that idea…
She looked over at Sasuke. Was he asleep? Yes. Anko wished she could fall asleep to, on the soft grass, but someone had to keep watch, in case other…persons wishing to do harm came around.
Then she giggled evilly, envisioning dumping a bucket of ice water on him. That would be funny.