After what seemed like only seconds, Sango was jostled awake as the eagle she rode swept into a dive. Yawning, she looked out over the horizon, enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping her long hair out behind her like a horse's tail. The sun was just beginning to rise, coloring the clouds bright pink and lavender and hiding all but a handful of the stars in the sky.
"Finally!" Tatsumi shouted as she stretched on Haru's back, waking Ruku and Jakku behind her. "I can see Konoha. It's about time we got back!" Haru and the birds quickly neared the ground and touched down easily with only the tips of their toes. The five shinobi quickly dismounted and picked up the crates; Tatsumi and Disura nodded to the animals, and they all disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Well," said Sango, who held eight of the crates herself with no difficulty. "Let's get going, shall we?"
After a few minutes, the crates of herbs had been safely stored in the hospital's back room Sango now stood alone in the middle of her favorite training field, mentally preparing for the intense workout she had wanted to do for the last three days. "Alright. Here we go," she whispered before inhaling deeply. "AATCHAAA!" She punched a large boulder with only the force of her two largest knuckles, causing it to shatter into small shards of rock that stung her like shrapnel. She grinned and puffed out her chest, proud of her handiwork. With little effort, she sprang forward, catching her full weight on only the index finger of her right hand. One hundred one-finger push-ups on each hand? Child's play...
"Phew," Sango sighed, wiping her sweaty forehead one hour of training later. She raised her head and squinted up at the bright sky. "Judging by the sun's position, it's about eight a.m. or so. Lady Tsunade should be in her office by now. I should go report our intel."
"Lady Tsunade!" cried Sango, flinging open the office door. Once again, she had sprinted there as fast as she could, nearly running over several terrified people in the process. She really could be dangerous when she wasn't paying attention.
"Sango!" said Tatsumi and Disura, who were already there waiting for her.
"Ah, Sango," said Tsunade, intertwining her fingers on the desk in front of her. "I was just about to ask these two how the mission went. You're back eleven days early."
"Yes," said Disura. "We got what we needed yesterday and came back as quickly as we could."
"And what were your findings?"
"You were right," said Tatsumi. "The Land of Lightning plans to attack Konoha and Suna very soon."
"Suna? Does Gaara know about this?"
"Yes," said Sango. "He said he'll be here to discuss everything with you in a few days."
"And has Kumogakure made any alliances?"
"Yes," said Tatsumi. "We know they're definitely allied with Grass and Sound, but there could be more that the lower shinobi don't know about yet."
"I don't doubt it. The Mist village despises Konoha, so they'll most likely join soon. Well, then!" she said hotly. "We'll just form alliances of our own! I'll kick up the training of all our medics and start getting the village's weapon and food storages divided up. I knew I made the right choice when I sent you three. Warn every person you can about Kumogakure before I make the formal announcement. Your lives are about to get very interesting. Any questions?"
"No, ma'am," the three girls said in unison.
"Good. Then go and start training!"
"Hey, guys," said Disura as the three of them walked through town. "I've got an idea of how we can all train together - Ruku and Jakku, too."
"How?" asked Tatsumi.
"Well, instead of having our little sparring match later this summer, why not have it today? I know it's only May sixth, but under the circumstances we may not have much free time later on."
"Yeah," said Sango. "I've been really impatient for our match since we talked about it at the party. Plus, it's a great way to show off some of our new jutsu."
"So it's a plan?"
"Yep," said Tatsumi. "Let's go get Ruku and Jakku."
Thirty minutes later, the five shinobi stood in the center of the training field. Everyone's teammates and sensei had gathered around the edges to watch; someone had even gotten word to Tsunade, who had come to watch Jakku.
"Okay," said Kakashi, stepping into the middle of the clearing. "Before we begin, let's go over a couple of rules. Number One: no summoning. This isn't war; let's keep it simple. Number Two: no leaving this area. Once again, it's sparring, not war; you don't need to be camouflaged. Number Three: no killing, obviously, so no deadly techniques. Cuts, sprains, broken bones - those are all fine. With Lady Tsunade here, you're in no real danger from those. Number Four: when there is one person left standing, the match is over. Or, if you're the type who refuses to pass out even after you've all exceeded your limits, I'll stop the match. Are we clear?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, then - GO!"
"Hmph," Sango snorted, smiling confidently. She reached down and slipped off her bright orange leg warmers, unfastening the training weights that lay beneath and holding them up.
"So that's why she wears leg warmers," said Jakku.
"You didn't already know that?" Disura asked incredulously.
"Well, considering I'm a guy and I don't watch you girls dress," Jakku replied, "then no, I didn't know."
"And I thank you for that, Jakku," Sango replied with a chuckle.
"Those weights can't be that heavy," Ruku scoffed.
"Oh, really?" Sango tossed the weights behind her with a flick of her wrists; they created two explosions of dust and rock as they embedded themselves in the ground.
"Holy- What in the- She's superhuman!" stammered Ruku.
"Alright, let's go." Sango took off at lightning speed, loosening the bandages around her hands and arms as she ran.
"We'll see how fast you are," growled Ruku, making rapid hand signs. "Water Style: Water Whip!" As he spoke, water rose from the ground and collected in his palm in the shape of a rope. He swung it forward; a crack resonated through the air as it coiled around Sango's legs.
"Ack!" she grunted as she crashed to the ground and slid. Before a smug grin could completely cross Ruku's face, she used her legs to pull hard on the whip, sending him flying like a rock from a slingshot.
"That's it, Sango!" Guy yelled with tears in his eyes. "Show them the power of your youth!"
"Yeah! Go, Sango!" Lee called to her. Sango grinned at them before turning her attention back to Ruku, who had recovered and was coming at her with a frenzy of water jutsu.
"Heh. My turn," said Tatsumi. "Fire Style: Fire Storm Jutsu!" A red cloud spread over the field, eclipsing the sun until it was as dark as night. With a bright flash, balls of fire rained down from the cloud, filling the air with flames and filling the air with opaque smoke. Using the lowered visibility to her advantage, Tatsumi dashed through the rain of fire, striking all of the others before they could see her. "Got 'em," she said proudly, extinguishing the flames with a wave of her hand.
"Not yet!" cried Jakku, appearing behind her. He focused his chakra to his fist and sank it into Tatsumi's stomach, sending her flying across the field.
"Where's Disura?" Sango whispered to herself as she peered through the smoke. "I can't let myself get caught in her genjutsu!" Through the rustling of the trees, she could hear a soft, resonating note. "To my left!" She darted through the smoke until she spotted the outline of a blurry black silhouette, standing with its arms raised to chest-level. "Disura," she thought. The figure continued to play the song, undisturbed. "Good, she can't see me through all this smoke." Sango sprinted forward at blinding speed, aiming a punch straight at Disura's flute.
"Wha-" Disura gasped, looking up in surprise as Sango appeared before her.
"Too late!" Sango's fist connected solidly with the instrument, bending the metal until it snapped in two. She kicked Disura under the jaw, then, sending her flying twenty feet away.
"You're good, Sango," said Disura, wiping her lips and spitting blood onto the ground, "but not good enough!"
Sango gasped as Disura dissolved into a stream of rainbow-colored dust and disappeared into the wind. Soon, fifty Flute Spears rose from the ground and thrust themselves through her body. A river of blood gushed from her mouth, making it nearly impossible to breathe. She could see Tatsumi, Jakku, and Ruku dying just yards from her as she gasped for breath.
"Look at your students now," said Kakashi, addressing the other Jônin. "Disura had them in her genjutsu from the first note. This match is as good as over."
"Well played, Disura," said Sango. "You caught me. But I still won't lose!" With eyes blazing, Sango took a kunai from her tool pouch and stabbed it deep into the flesh of her thigh. The sharp pain shooting through her leg snapped her back to her senses, and the scene before her returned to normal. The other three followed suit; Disura hardly seemed surprised.
"Nice job," she said flatly. "You broke my illusion."
"Time to finish this!" cried Jakku. "Lightning Style: Lightning Bullets!" Bolts of lightning shot from his fingertips and hit the other four with a surprising amount of force. Tatsumi and Ruku recovered quickly and countered with fireballs and water senbon. In one last rush, all five dashed forward, each punching another under the jaw. The force sent them all flying back a great distance, where they slammed into the ground on their backs and lay still.
"Well," Kurenai said calmly, "it's over."
"It was a pretty good fight," said Kakashi, picking up Disura and carrying her across his shoulders. Kiba and Lee followed his example and carried Tatsumi and Sango.
"There's definitely a reason they're all Chunin," Asuma agreed as he hoisted Ruku up and onto his shoulders. Tsunade nodded at him, carrying Jakku a little gingerly.
"Well, let's get them to the infirmary," said Kurenai. "Knowing these five, they probably gave each other quite a few injuries and just didn't complain about them."
"They probably won't wake up until tomorrow, either," said Guy, beaming with pride for his student. "Ah, the joy of youth!"
"What a drag," said Shikamaru. "How could Ruku let himself get beat by a couple of girls?"
"And what exactly is wrong with girls?" snapped Ino, cracking her knuckles threateningly.
"Nothing, I just meant-"
"Guys, guys," Choji interjected. "Hurry up. We don't have time for this." Shikamaru just sighed, and then fell into stride with the rest of the group as they started back toward Konoha.