FWT

A kunai flew from Meari's outstretched hand. Saimon swung his claymore up and managed to block the projectile. Sukotto ran up to stand behind him as the swordsman fended off more kunai. Sukotto yelled to him, fishing a Card from his pocket. "Keep doing that! Guard me until I finish casting!"

"Formation Beta! Spell caster's Guard!" Saimon cried. He turned around and smiled sheepishly when he saw Sukotto's blank stare.

"Do you have to name our formations?"

"It makes battle more fun! Besides, the names are good for when we need to organise ourselves quickly!"

"That makes no sense! That name is way too- HEADS UP!"

Saimon turned in time to see a pair of sandals smash into his face. Meari's full weight was pounded into Saimon's head, who fell backward onto the ground, the giggling ninja standing on top of him. Before Sukotto could react, she brought her hands to her chest and formed her fingers into a strange position.

Sukotto gasped. "Is that-?"

"Yup! A Hand Sign!" Meari changed her fingers again and again, changing faster and faster as her mana level began to build. She brought her hands to her face and cried, "Horse! Tiger! Fireball Jutsu!" She placed her hands at her mouth and gave a quick exhale, a fireball erupting from her mouth. It flew towards its target, exploding at Sukotto's feet. He was sent flying into a nearby tree, the smell of burning fabric filling the air. A flock of birds rose from the tree, and Sukotto didn't come out.

Kakashi looked up from his book, "You guys might want to try a different approach…"

"GEE, YOU THINK SO?!?" Saimon had risen up, holding his face. "Why don't you give us some useful advice?!"

"All I'm saying is-"

"SHUT UP!" Saimon ran at Meari full-tilt, changing his Sabre into an axe. "Better be ready for me, Meari-chan!" he teased as he got within reach. "Here I- GO!" Saimon swung the axe in a giant arc and- hit nothing. "Huh?!" He darted his head left to right, trying to find where his target had gone. "Above? In the trees? Or-"

A giggle confirmed his fear. "Underneath!" He looked down to see Meari crouched down to waist level, making yet another hand sign. Before being able to react, Saimon was kicked straight in the chin, snapping his head backwards. His body followed his head, and, after his feet were swept away with a fierce roundhouse kick, he was hit with a strong uppercut that sent him flying into the air.

"I'll catch you, Saimon-kun!" Meari hollered teasingly as the boy begin to plummet back to the earth. She made the Tiger and cried, "Rising Dragon Jutsu!" She slammed her hands onto the ground, channelling her chakra into the soil.

BANG!

A geyser of fire erupted from the ground, engulfing Saimon. It shot towards the sky, taking the form of a dragon before it exploded like a firework. Saimon tumbled back to the ground, where he lied motionless.

"Heehee! Gotcha both!"

"Did you?" Meari turned to see a slightly singed Sukotto stab a Card, crying out, "SUN!" A blast of intense white light shot from the Card, aimed straight for Meari. In the blink of an eye, Meari jumped out of the way from the blast. Another blast followed in the flash of the first, but Meari rolled in the air to avoid it.

"Saimon! Now!" A roar came from Meari's left, and she saw Saimon jumping at her, his Rapier raised to attack. He swung with all his might and-

Hit thin air again. Meari had somersaulted from his swing, and was now flying towards a tree. She landed without a sound and turned to the boys, "That was a good plan, but it still won't work! I'm just too fast for you!"

"Damn it!" Saimon said landing and stomping the ground. "I'm starting to get a complex!"

"It can't be helped.' Kakashi said with a sigh. "You two aren't doing anything right."

"Hey!" The boys huffed.

"In order to defeat a shinobi," Kakashi began, closing his book and turning his head to the boys "You have to think like a shinobi. You are both exceptionally strong, but you don't yet know how to channel that strength into something useful. Furthermore, while that last attack was well thought up, your teamwork still needs to be better. Those kinds of cheap tactics may work on a simple troll, but this is a human genin you're fighting. If you hope to ever accompany Meari-chan to the Chûnin exams, you'll need to do better than that!"

The two boys looked at each other. "Think like a shinobi…" Sukotto wondered aloud. "We've never been shinobi before."

Saimon thought for a second, and then turned to Sukotto, "True, but you and I both know about this manga…"

"True, but I haven't read Naruto in a while…"

"Yeah, but I remember some things… techniques, strategies, stuff like that. We need to use that knowledge to our advantage!"

"So, how do we think like a shinobi, Mr. Expert?"

"Well, I think we should- WHOA!" The boys split as Meari sliced the air between them with her foot.

"Come on! I won't stop just 'cause you guys have! You need to- Guys?" She looked around. "Hey, they're gone."

"Good," Kakashi said, returning to his book, "They're starting to get the gist of it."

"You think they'll be able to pass, Sensei?"

"Who knows? They certainly have the guts…the rest is yet to be seen." The two stood in silence for a minute, and then Kakashi smiled, "Well, better go find them, hmm?"

"Okay!" With that, Meari vanished.

Kakashi glanced at the clock. 30 minutes had passed already. "I wonder how long it'll take for them to notice." He chuckled, and closed his book.