Hello, everybody! I'm back! And I apologize for the long wait. I have no (logical) explanation for the wait.

And... I was going to make this longer, but, due to Writer's Block, it is shorter than I intended.

Well, either way, I do not own Naruto or it's characters, and I hope y'all enjoy!

Chapter Ten

Sasuke raced forward, kunai in hand. My Katana flashed into my hand as I flicked the knife out of his hand and spun to block Kakashi's strike. I thrust the Jōnin away with the flat of my blade, and sprung sideways as Sasuke sent a small fireball into the earth where I had been standing moments before.

No-one was holding back.

I ducked as a short dagger, longer than a kunai, whipped just above my head. I smacked the flat of my sword against Kakashi's exposed forearm as he withdrew. He nearly dropped the blade as he escaped the immediate conflict.

A soft, high whistle came from the side, and I brought my Katana up to deflect the barrage of shuriken that Sasuke sent my way. I sheathed the weapon and leapt backwards when I spotted the wires attached to the projectiles as Sasuke maneuvered them around midair to retain momentum.

Kakashi had withdrawn from close combat, standing at the edge of the clearing, kunai in hand. After the shuriken imbedded themselves into a log that I had used for the Substitution Jutsu, Sasuke also drew back.

However, they were growing cautious.

I was growing confidant as I saw where the boy's skills lay, and where Kakashi's were now.

Kakashi put away his kunai. Sasuke drew one of his own. I drew my Katana once more.

A small scroll appeared in Kakashi's hand. A heartbeat later it was replaced by a standard-issue Tantō.

Both males simultaneously blurred into motion, weapons streaks of flashing silver.

I dropped into a crouch with my sword above me in a basic defense as Kakashi appeared in front of me, his blade colliding my own.

I thrust him away as Sasuke tried to stab me in the spine. Twisting so the cold steel merely grazed the skin, cutting the cloth, I struck his legs in a sweeping kick, sending the boy careening sideways two or so yards before he regained his balance.

They came back again simultaneously, and I scooted backwards out of their path, forcing them to stop, else they impale one another.

Eventually, Sasuke was eliminated after being pinned to a tree with a blade against his neck; he would have been dead in real combat.

Sakura and Naruto had regained consciousness, and were sitting with Sasuke at a hopefully safe distance, watching.

Kakashi lifted his headband.

Fire. Water. Lightning. Wind. Earth. Kunai. Shuriken. Senbon, even. All basic Ninjutsu elements and various assorted Ninja weaponry were being flung about the training ground. Or rather, what used to have been one.

Several dozen trees that had been standing along the edges of the clearing had been sliced cleanly through by some of the Wind Jutsu, while craters, fissures, and raised platforms of earth scored the formerly flat land. Sprays of water made for numerous mud slicks, and several of the holes had been filled by the excess water from some of our other Jutsu.

Neither of us planned on going near the water, as it was dangerously charged, sparking with electricity from the few Lightning techniques. A good number of trees were on fire as well, and weapons were strewn about, embedded in trees, earth, and even a few stones, where enough Chakra had been applied.

All in all, we bad quite efficiently destroyed the training ground, and were still going at it.

The other Genin had long since retreated to a far safer distance, away from the tree line.

I sheathed my sword, sliding into a basic Taijutsu stance. Kakashi put away his kunai, his tanto having been lost somewhere in the debris. He, too, entered a Taijutsu stance, this one an advanced version of the standard ANBU stance.

I shifted my foot. Kakashi shifted slightly in response.

We both vanished again in a blur of movement, reappearing again with new bruises. I twisted sideways as Kakashi moved to strike, pivoting and springing off against his side to gain some distance.

He, too, moved away from me, a somewhat disgruntled expression on his visible features.

"What was... Your old team like?!" Kakashi asked, panting. I allowed a small smirk to show.

"Well, that's classified, but I can tell you this: We were not just some little wimpy team. We never failed a mission."

His eyes narrowed. "That's not impossible, most rookie teams can do that before they get to the C-Ranks."

"Ah, but who said they were D- or C-Ranks?" I said, straightening out of my Taijutsu stance. "Yes, there were some C-Ranks, but we normally did high B-Ranks or higher."

Kakashi took a step back. "A Genin squad almost never takes B-Ranks, and it's practically suicide to take on A-Ranks!"

I started forming hand signs. "I never said I was from a Genin squad. You merely assumed that I was."

"Then are you even a Genin?!" He hissed. I nodded. "Going by tests and schooling, I'm not even an Academy student. My situation was... Unique, to put it simply. If I make Chūnin then I'll be authorized to tell you four what I mean."

Kakashi started forming his own seals, both of us forming them purposefully slow. "I could always find out myself, you know."

I smirked. "Actually, you couldn't. Only myself and the Hokage are cleared for that, and Lord Third decided that he won't tell unless I want to. Once I'm a Chūnin, I'll be cleared for it."

Kakashi scowled at my answer, but remained silent as we sped up the pace of our seals.

"Hijutsu: Fire Style: Fiery Kettle," I said, completing the signs. I took a deep breath and exhaled, creating several dozen tiny fireballs. Kakashi sprung back in alarm as they morphed into a kettle of hawks.

I Shushined into the trees as Kakashi finished his own seals: "Water Style: Water Bullet." A sizzling sound echoed through the area as the water put out the fiery birds.

I dropped out of the tree and stalked into the edge of the steam cloud as it dispersed. Kakashi dropped into a crouch to keep from collapsing, as did I. The fight had taken a massive toll. I was surprised to have lasted this long against my former Captain, as he would have normally wiped the ground with me.

I credited it with the fact that he was preoccupied with the three Genin.

We remained in the same position, mirroring each other, for almost ten minutes before anything happened. I shifted to a partial kneeling position, before dropping completely. I moved so I was sitting, and said,

"I forfeit. If I try to do anything besides speak I'll probably pass out."

Kakashi dropped back so he, too, was sitting. "I'm not quite to that point yet, but I'm getting close. You would have probably won, had you been serious from the start."

I sighed and lay back on the broken ground. "I've never had such a good fight with a comrade outside my old team."

"... Antan, you may be even crazier than Anko..." Kakashi commented. I stifled a groan.

"... Crazy sadistic snake-woman..." I muttered. Kakashi chuckled quietly, and said, " You remind me of one of my old ANBU teammates. She always said things like that."

I glanced at him, not bothering to sit up to talk better. "You were ANBU?" I asked, feigning surprise.

I saw Kakashi nod. "Yes. I left a few days before their class," he paused briefly to gesture discreetly towards the three partially-concealed Genin, "Graduated from the Academy. Needless to say, my squad was extremely displeased."

"I can see that," I said with a smirk. At least he hasn't forgotten about the old squad. "We should probably try to get up so the others don't think we're dead."

"Agreed."