Training Session
"Hajime!"
Two teens stared each other down from opposite sides of a forest clearing. They began circling the area in low fighting stances, waiting for someone to make the first move. The boy couldn't take it anymore, and threw a flurry of shuriken at his opponent. But they were easily dodged by the agile teen in front of him. She was coming closer, so he started to form handsigns. "Great Fireball jutsu!" he roared, sending an enourmous heatwave towards the girl. She lunged in and, while moving her arms in a flowing motion, dispersed the fireball into two smaller ones. The smaller fireballs were then sent back to the boy. He blocked them with another gigantic fireball. The girl tried to come closer again, but he kept her at a distance using various firestyle jutsu's. She was getting tired of running after her opponent, and the technique she used to avert his flames was taking up a lot of her chakra. He noticed little beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. This was the perfect moment to strike. The boy sent some shuriken flying her way as a distraction, giving him enough time to perform a series of handsigns. As she landed on the ground after dodging the shuriken, the girl saw a hurdle of flames coming her way. But it was already too late. In a last attempt to dodge his attack, she bent her torso backwards into a position quite similar to limbo dancing. This made her lose her balance though, and she fell to the ground.
When Rika opened her eyes, Itachi was already towering over her. He had won…again.
"You should have hidden when Kisame gave us the starting sign." Itachi said while helping her up. "You still don't fight like a shinobi… Next time don't take your opponent head-on: use your brains!"
"I told you I wanted to learn ninjutsu, but I never said I wanted to become a shinobi!" Rika seethed back. "A truly strong warrior doesn't need to use sneaky attacks to defeat his enemy! He can beat any opponent in a clean and honest battle! I will not disgrace my honor by sneaking up on my opponent, or attacking them when they are asleep! Only both physically and mentally weak fighters need to resort to cunning means."
"What will you do when your opponents use 'cunning means' in battle? Give them a lecture about honor? If this was a real fight, I would have killed you by now." Itachi replied.
"Now, now, now… We obviously have different opinions on this subject, but there's no need to fight." Kisame tried to reason.
"We're not fighting, we're arguing. Itachi-san's point of view is wrong, because he overlooked a basic point in his reasoning." Rika protested. "I'm not a strong fighter yet. If I were, I would have won from you regardless of how many sneaky moves you'd use." she told Itachi.
"Ahem, I'm sorry to interrupt, but leader has sent us on a mission Rika-chan. You need to get ready right now."
Rika jerked around. And there he was, her partner – the one she'd been avoiding ever since that fatefull day on wich they had been teamed up. She shuddered involuntarily seeing the glint in the Black Zetsu's eye…
"Rika-chan? Are you coming?" White Zetsu asked obnoxiously.
"Eeergh…" 'No! Don't think about it! You're gonna be okay, you're his partner after all…he won't eat you!' Rika told herself. "Yes, ofcourse Zetsu-san!" she turned to Kisame and Itachi, bowing slightly: "Thank you Kisame-sensei, Itachi-san!" , and followed Zetsu to the main base.
"I really don't get what you see in her, Kisame…" Itachi said when Zetsu and Rika were out of hearing range.
"What do you mean?" his partner questioned.
"I don't understand why you waste your time teaching that pathetic brat." Itachi replied.
"Rika's not pathetic! That kid's got a lot of potential!" Kisame frowned.
"Hn… Now you're defending her too? What is she to you?"
Kisame glared at the boy. "She's my friend!"
"Friend?" Itachi smirked at this statement. "What could you two possibly have in common?"
"You shouldn't judge people on their appearance Itachi. You don't know a thing about her! She's the only normal person around here that I can actually have a conversation with!"
Itachi glared back at his partner. "You have conversations with me too! Are you saying I'm not normal?"
"See: you just proved my point. You all have such huge egos that I can hardly say or ask you anything without getting into a fight! And most of the time everyone wants to be on their own, so I don't have anyone to talk to!" Kisame growled in exasperation.
'Okay, he does have a point.' Itachi thought. 'But only a weak-minded person can't live without communication.' "Hn…" was all that he actually pronounced.
