Chapter 14
000
A/N: Sorry for the long delay. This chapter is almost 11k words long so enjoy. My advice is this: Listen to the music! Listen to it on repeat! In my opinion it greatly enhances the enjoyment of the chapter.
000
Rei stood in front of the dresser in her room looking at herself in the mirror as she got dressed. She had a severe look, her face an unsmiling mask as she wrapped one of her battle kimonos around herself with slow deliberate attention to detail. The deliberate ritualized task was close to a meditation and she used it to focus her all her energies on what lay ahead.
The day had arrived; she would soon be leaving to meet Neji for their first ever joint training session. It turned out that Anko hadn't been exaggerating when she told her everyone had heard about her and Neji through Konoha's gossip grapevine. For the last two days whenever she had stepped outside the house some Yamanaka clan member or other had called out to her what amounted to the same thing every time.
"Good luck on your match Rei-sama!"
They were well intentioned she knew but she couldn't help but feel annoyed by the situation. Not quite kick-everyone-who-tried-to-talk-to-her-about-it-in-the-balls annoyed but she had been tempted more than once over the last two days.
Sorely tempted.
"What's wrong Nee-chan?" asked Ino who was sitting on her bed watching her older sister with a little frown on her face.
"What makes you think something's wrong?" asked Rei as she finished tying the belt around her waist.
"You're looking all serious and … grim? Is that the right word?" she asked, squinting cutely as she tried to answer her own question. Rei felt the familiar urge to tackle-hug (not glomp – Rei did not glomp) her sister when she did something cute but this time the usual feeling was much subdued. She had too much on her mind.
Rei looked at herself in the mirror. Did she look grim? And serious? Her jaw was set in a tight line and she looked like she was going to a deathmatch instead of a training session. Maybe she was taking this too seriously.
"I'm just focused Ino. I've got to take this seriously. This is my… game face I guess you could call it," Rei said with a shrug. Weapons. She needed to switch to her set of blunted training kunai and shuriken.
"Why? Aren't spars supposed to be friendly?" asked Ino, her eyes going a little wide as her sister began to divest herself of the sharpened weapons she kept hidden on her person. Ino herself wasn't allowed to handle live weapons yet and was still a little in awe that her sister was not only allowed to use them but had been doing so for years.
"Well yeah but this isn't like the spars I normally have with Genin from the clan."
"Aren't all spars supposed to be the same? How is this any different?" asked Ino a bit dubiously.
"They can get a wee bit more competitive when it's with a member from another clan," said Rei. Something I've had the absolute pleasure of finding out first hand.
"So that's why it's a big deal," said Ino tilting her head quizzically, "because Neji-san is a Hyuuga?"
"More or less, yeah," replied Rei not going into the whole ridiculous betting situation. The older blonde opened the trunk at the foot of her small bed and rummaged around as she continued, "it's also going to be different in other ways though. If I lose to someone ten years older than me no one bats an eye. However things are different when I'm going up against someone my age."
"There's no way you can lose Nee-chan. You're totally going to win!" said Ino with absolute conviction and certainty in her young voice. She even sounded a little indignant than anyone – even Rei herself – would dare to suggest otherwise. Her heart always did funny things when Ino showed that much faith in her.
"Of course I'm not going to lose," said Rei turning to her sister with a smile that was only the tiniest bit wooden around the edges, "don't be silly. It's just that this match is going to be different from all the other ones I've had."
Ino at least seemed mollified that her personal hero was indeed going to win just like she knew she would. "Well, how else is it going to be different?" she asked quizzically.
Rei took a moment to think as she withdrew her set of practice weapons from her trunk and stowed away her live ones. Ino might not understand the intricacies of what had been bothering her but that had never stopped her little sister from being a good listener in the past. Besides hearing all this ninja talk might just benefit her in the future the more she was exposed to it early on.
"I guess it's just that I don't know what to expect. All my matches have been against older and bigger people so that's what I trained to beat. While I can't match them in sheer power I beat them by having better speed, skill and flexibility. Speed is my biggest advantage actually. I'm not sure if I'll be able to leverage that against Neji though," she said.
One of the things Anko had done was teach her how to leverage her inherent speed, agility and flexibility against larger and more physically powerful opponents. Then when they found out she had a knack (not to mention a love) for speed they had focused on that quite a bit. Her Chakra control helped with that a lot and Rei was fast for a kid her age over short distances. It also helped motivate her training that speed had often been a huge factor in combat in the story she remembered. There were any number of ninja who had leveraged fast movement speed into extremely dangerous styles of fighting.
However that speed was unlikely to be all that effective against a Hyuuga. Surprise strikes from unexpected angles did not exactly work well against the Byakugan. If simple speed could overcome the White Eyes then Lee should have been the one who consistently beat Neji instead of the other way around in the story she remembered.
Ino looked like she was thinking hard. "Why not?" she asked.
Rei shrugged as she finished re-arming herself with training weapons. "It's just his family's fighting style and Kekkei Genkai. They don't lend themselves to being overwhelmed by fast opponents."
"But you're still gonna to win right? So why are you stressing out?"
Rei thought about it. Did she think she was going to win? Yes. Maybe. I don't know. Rei wasn't un-confident but she knew she was at a disadvantage. She also hadn't been able to come up with any decent plans. However that didn't mean she was completely without ideas.
Was she stressed out? Meh, she had a few jitters but normally it wouldn't have been a big deal. It was the whole circus that had sprung up around their first sparring match that was making her tense.
"Neji's like me Ino. A prodigy. If I don't take him seriously then I deserve to lose," said Rei seriously as she took one last inventory of herself.
Ino didn't look particularly satisfied by that answer, going so far as to cross her arms and act a little huffy. She would probably be offended if Rei told her how adorable that made her look.
"I don't get why this is such a big deal. You're going to win. He's nothing like you Nee-chan," said Ino looking displeased and pouty.
Rei wasn't sure what had suddenly bothered Ino but she didn't have time to stay and find out. She'd most likely be fine anyway, Ino was quick to get upset but usually just as quick to get over it and forget about it. Rei walked over and wrapped her arms around her little sister giving her a quick peck on her forehead. Ino leaned into her bigger sister and sighed happily.
"I haven't gotten a chance to really talk to you about how your first week at school went," said Rei pulling away after a few seconds, "tell me all about it when I get back ok?"
"Ok," said Ino nodding and with a big dopey smile on her face.
"Make sure to train or study or something," said Rei, a little smile tugging at her own face, "I'll see you later."
000
Downstairs Rei was in for a surprise: in the middle of the day she found her father sitting alone at the dining room table eating something her mother has obviously just cooked. Normally she would be happy to see her dad but him just happening to be at home now of all times was just a wee bit too convenient. She couldn't remember the last time Inoichi had been home during the middle of the day.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, sounding more snappish than she intended.
If he was perturbed by her tone he didn't show it. Instead he stopped eating and regarded her with a bland look. "Is there something wrong with a man coming home for his lunch?"
Rei crossed her arms and leveled him an unimpressed look. "This is about the spar isn't it?"
Her dad kept his face serious for a few seconds before it broke into a bit of a self-conscious smile. "I was just worried about you Rei-chan. I thought I should have a few words with you before you left for your training session. I was worried about how the pressure from all this hype was affecting you. How are you holding up?"
Rei resisted the urge to sigh and pinch her nose. This was supposed to be simple, just me and Neji becoming friends and getting together to help improve our skills. Two simple academy students training together. How did it get so out of hand?
"I'm fine dad. Really," she said shifting her weight.
Inoichi regarded her silently for a long moment before nodding. "Do you have a plan? Make any preparations beforehand?" he asked.
Rei blinked. He's dropping the subject just like that? These talks when he's all concerned and parental are never that simple. The blonde switched mental gears and after a moment's consideration honestly answered his question.
"I thought about prepping the field beforehand to give me an advantage but I doubt I could hide anything from the Byakugan. Besides it's supposed to be a simple spar, skill against skill. Setting traps or something like that beforehand just isn't what you do in a spar you know? I've got one or two tricks up my sleeve that might or might not work," she said with a nonchalant shrug, "and if they do work they're liable to only work once. It's not much but it's all I got. The rest I'll just have to make up as I go along."
Inoichi nodded at that seemingly satisfied with her answer. Rei could tell he had something else he wanted to say so she waited patiently for him to speak. After a few moments he began, "I want you to keep in mind that if you lose-"
Why does everyone keep thinking I'm going to lose?!
"-it doesn't mean anything. Not about you personally, not about your ninja career, not about anything," he said.
Rei frowned, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked.
"I know you Rei. If you lose you are liable to take it hard especially with so many people paying attention to the outcome of what should be a simple spar between academy students. However no matter who is or isn't interested remember this is still your fight. Winning or losing or even what anyone else thinks don't matter in a spar Rei. In the end as long as you give it everything you've got you'll be able to walk away without regrets," he said, stopping there and reaching for his cup.
Rei didn't know what to think or make of her father's little speech. In the end she had a match to get to soon so she didn't want to think about it too much and get distracted. Her father seemed to have finished speaking and so it was her move so to speak. She bit her lip before she blurted out what had been bothering her.
"You don't think I can win?" she asked hating the slight note of vulnerability in her voice.
"I think you can win," her father said seriously, "no matter what though you will be at a disadvantage. I'm sorry for all the pressure a simple sparring session has brought but there's nothing to be done about it."
Rei nodded, feeling somehow relieved and accepting her father's commiseration for what it was. She gave him a slight smile. "Any advice?"
Inoichi made a thoughtful noise. "If you can somehow surprise him that is your best bet. The element of surprise can allow one to overcome even vastly superior opponents."
000
Training grounds in Konoha all shared the same common features without fail as far as Rei was able to tell. They were always in a clearing surrounded by trees – not the massive Hashirama trees but naturally growing trees that, while smaller, were certainly large and impressive enough in their own right. The clearing was often a mosaic of green grass and patchwork areas devoid of life where some jutsu or explosion had torn up the earth at some point in the recent past. All the trees around the edge of the clearing bore the scars of generations of overly enthusiastic ninja leaving wounds either by accident or on purpose. Rei thought overall the appearance of the training fields was incredibly congruent with the type of people who used them.
The blonde arrived on one such field near the academy a few minutes before she was due to arrive. The training field was somewhat smaller than average but it sported numerous training logs and a variety of targets set up around the edges, perfect for a pair of students looking to train. Right away Rei spotted Neji's distinctive profile as he stood in the shade near the edge of the clearing. He was standing underneath a tree with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. The blonde noted that he chose to stand tall and straight when there was a perfectly good tree literally three feet away that he could lean on. Was it because he was expecting her and it would be unseemly for a Hyuuga to be seen reclining on a tree? Or was he aware that they were almost certainly being watched? With a mental shrug and a deep breath Rei stepped out onto the clearing and approached her fellow student.
Neji became aware of her while she was still a good ways off since she did not bother trying to hide her presence. There was a slight wariness in his eyes and Rei got the impression he still didn't quite know what to make of her or their fledgling agreed upon friendship. Not yet at least. In some ways it was a relief to see him a bit off balance even if he hid it well for a seven year old. She would be feeling kind of silly if she was the only one with some jitters.
Inappropriately the situation reminded her of a very awkward first date. Except there was going to be less flirting and more stabbity-punchiness. It really said something about her life that she preferred it that way.
She came to a stop at a polite social distance from him. They eyed each other for a few long moments in silence. Rei had to reassess her earlier impression. It was less like a date and more like two cats trying to decide how much they liked each other.
"Neji," greeted Rei politely but deliberately dropping the honorific. If he thought she was being too familiar he would just have to live with it.
"Rei-san," replied Neji in his own polite tones while dipping his head in greeting respectfully. It puzzled Rei for a few seconds before it registered; she was a clan heiress while Neji was little more than a servant or a vassal to the main house of the Hyuuga. He probably considered himself to be lower in station than her. That or he had been coached as to how he should talk to her and behave around her since he was being more respectful with her now than he ever had at school.
The situation felt somewhat awkward and tense and when she was uncomfortable Rei had a tendency to run her mouth. She gave Neji a challenging and teasing lopsided smile. "Just Rei-san? Come on if we're going to be formal why don't we go all the way. How about you start calling me Rei-sama?"
"I don't think that would be appropriate," replied Neji with a frown. Ugh, right, socially awkward. He probably didn't realize she was teasing him. You know, mostly. She wouldn't object to being called Rei-sama or anything.
Rei rolled her eyes somewhat dramatically. "Don't worry about it Neji I'm just joking with you. What I'm trying to say is that we don't have to be so formal. You can just call me Rei or Rei-chan," she said with what she hoped was a disarming smile.
Neji's frown eased and he seemed to relax a bit. "I see," he said. He regarded her curiously before adding, "I'll think about it."
Cold! Though I don't think he meant it that way. I guess that's the best I'm going to get.
"So how do we do this?" asked Neji, briefly looking down at the ground as if ashamed for having to ask. He was clearly feeling somewhat out of his element. Didn't his clan ever try to socialize this kid?
"Wellll we can't get anywhere without knowing where we stand first right? So we'll beat the crap out of each other until one of us calls uncle," Rei shrugged and gave him sharp little smile, "or gives up or passes out. We do need to get a sense for what the other can do after all."
"So we should begin with a spar then," stated Neji sounding more confident. He instantly seemed more at ease now that he was apparently on more familiar territory.
"That's the idea," said Rei a little distractedly. The mention of the word 'spar' reminded her that they were unlikely to be the only ones around.
Rei stretched her senses and casually looked around but she couldn't sense anyone else nearby. Not that the fact she couldn't really meant anything. In fact she was sure there had to be at least a few people with eyes on them. Certainly she thought that at least the Hyuuga would have somebody monitoring Neji and reporting back how their first training session went.
She saw Neji looking at her with a somewhat puzzled expression and Rei started to have a sudden sinking suspicion. Rei licked her lips and said, "Neji, do you happen to know about the… unusual circumstances surrounding our first spar?"
His look turned even more puzzled and a touch wary. "What unusual circumstances?"
Great. For some reason I had just assumed he knew about the insane ninjas with nothing better to do with their time and money. Then again if Anko hadn't told me there is a good chance I never would have found out about it either… then again there is a good chance someone in the clan would have let something slip. I get the feeling such a thing wouldn't happen in the Hyuuga.
"You can use the Byakugan right?" Rei asked, feeling pretty confident she already knew the answer.
Neji gave her a questioning look but didn't seem too nonplussed at her change of topic. "Yes," he answered succinctly and Rei could detect a note of pride in that simple statement.
"Would you mind looking around? I have reason to suspect we're being watched but I can't sense anyone. I'm guessing you'll have better luck," Rei said.
"Why do you think we're being watched?" asked Neji curiously though he didn't seem particularly troubled by the idea of them being observed.
"I promise I'll explain. Just humor me and see if you can see anyone around will you?" said Rei.
Rei remembered form the story that Neji could activate his Byakugan instantly and without seals. It was apparent that his level of mastery with the White Eyes wasn't anywhere near that point yet. He brought his hands together into a modified Snake seal with only one index finger pointing up. Neji closed his eyes and concentrated, snapping them open after about five seconds.
"Byakugan!"
Rei's eyes widened a little at seeing the effects of the Byakugan up close and in real life for the first time. What looked like veins from the side of his head bulged and pulsed, coming across his cheeks and the side of his head to converge on the side of his eyes. It was clear to Rei that massive amounts of Chakra were shunted towards the eyes along superficial and delicate Chakra pathways. There was a lot more to Chakra in the body than just the Chakra circulatory network though that was where the largest concentrations resided. Chakra also had a tendency to travel in the blood. Even so the visible raised veins should not have existed… Chakra did not normally cause blood vessels to swell under any circumstances.
The straining vessels gave Neji a somewhat alien, very vaguely reptilian look especially coupled with eyes that appeared to be white and pupiless with only a darker ring around the iris setting the pupil apart from the rest of the sclera. It was a bit intimidating and also fascinating to Rei. What must it be like to see in any direction, or in all directions at once? To see Chakra and see through any object for possibly miles in every direction?
After a few seconds Neji spoke up. "There are three ninja watching nearby, two males and one female. One of them is wearing a porcelain animal mask," he said sounding puzzled by the fact.
The Byakugan really was amazing. Apparently even ANBU couldn't hide from it, at least not unless they took some special precautions. Rei sighed. "Only three? Well my guess is there are at least a few more monitoring us by some other means. You'd really think they would find something better to do with their time."
"You expected them to be there," Neji said with a frown, "why?"
"Because higher ranked ninja are idiots with nothing better to do with their time," Rei explained. "Apparently there is some interest in our first spar since we are both considered prodigies. People have been making bets all week on who is going to win our match."
Neji took all that in with a slight frown. "I see," was all he said but Rei could tell he disapproved. Well at least they were of the same mind on that point.
"You didn't know about it? Not even any hints?" asked Rei curiously.
Neji thought about it and shook his head. "Nothing about the betting though it would make sense that a lot of people are paying attention to our training session."
"How so?" Rei asked.
Suddenly Neji looked a little bit like a deer caught in the headlights for a moment before schooling his features to something more neutral. Rei smiled a little as she realized Neji must have let something slip that he didn't mean to. At her expectant look Neji looked away before he finally cracked and answered her question.
"Hiashi-sama told me the first match was important and to make sure not to lose," he said reluctantly "though I don't think he would have said something like that over something as lowly as gambling."
"So it's about Hyuuga pride then?"
"I don't know," said Neji with an artful shrug. "It's possible."
Interesting. It hadn't occurred to Rei that the Hyuuga would have anything invested in Rei and Neji training together other than possible improved relations with the Yamanaka. In hindsight a clan like that would see Neji losing as some kind of embarrassment. It was funny because they were probably the only ones who would see it that way with perhaps the possible exception of the Uchiha.
Rei found she just couldn't help herself. "So Hiashi-sama thinks you might lose?" she asked in a needling tone.
Neji frowned at that. Her implication seemed to anger him for some reason. "He really shouldn't have bothered," Neji said, his Byakugan gaze boring into her. It was pretty unsettling but Rei didn't let it affect her.
"Why is that?" Rei asked, her tone still teasing.
"There is no way I can lose. The result of our match is already a foregone conclusion," he said. His still sounded upset by Rei's jab but he said it with all the certainty that someone else might have when saying the sun rises in the East.
Rei's face instantly lost all humor. "I see. You don't think I can beat you?" she asked in deceptively calm tones. Those who knew her best would have realized they were treading dangerous ground.
Neji shook his head. "We are the closest in ability in our class but we are not on the same level combat wise. You are not my equal," he said to her and Rei realized Neji really did have a vindictive streak in him. He threw the words she had used more than once right back in her face.
Rei's eyes narrowed at that. No that wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all.
She unconsciously clenched and unclenched her fists inside her robes. Rei was tired of people acting like she'd been fated to lose before the first punch was even thrown. More than that though the stakes were suddenly even higher. For her plans to work she needed Neji to respect her as an equal. That meant she had to win now; losing would probably just reinforce his crazy ideas about fate and she didn't want him thinking she was 'fated' to be a lesser fighter than him. Rei had an inkling that if such an idea got entrenched in his head it would be very difficult to remove. Working and dealing with Neji then would probably become an exercise in frustration.
Besides all of that... Rei had poured everything into her training and she was quite frankly phenomenal for her age. She refused to lose. Her pride wouldn't allow it.
He didn't want to take her seriously? She would make him take her seriously.
Rei gave him a smile that was all teeth and no humor, eyes bright with anticipation as adrenaline began to surge through her body. "Well well well. I guess we'll just have to see now won't we?"
Rei was gratified to see him falter slightly before answering. "I guess so."
"Terms for the spar?"
Neji made a derisive sound. "Most spars on this level are taijutsu only but you wouldn't stand a chance like that. You can use whatever you want."
Internally Rei bristled at his dismissive tone but outwardly she showed no reaction. Something she said must have really irritated him because Neji seemed to be going the extra mile to be an ass. She didn't even know why she was surprised.
"Taijutsu only sounds good to me," said Rei before she could think better of it. To do otherwise would be admitting some kind of weakness. However after the words were out of her mouth Rei felt a pang of uneasiness. She had just let her pride write a check she wasn't sure her body could cash. She'd just made things even more difficult for herself. Not good. Shit.
"Well then let's get this started," said Neji in a tone that reminded Rei she wasn't the only one who could act like an arrogant ass.
000
[Music - The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Love by Demetori]
[Highly Recommended]
They had set themselves up next to the tree line, the angle of the sun casting long shadows over the both of them. Rei and Neji stood five paces away while eyeing each other, looking for any exploitable weakness or distraction. The blonde girl couldn't help but notice that Neji was in the Konoha Standard stance as opposed to Juuken and had his Byakugan off.
Rei smirked at him, a smug and cocky look on her face. "Please do fight me seriously Neji. When I kick your ass I don't want you coming up with some lame excuse as to why you lost."
Neji's brow crinkled in displeasure. "Believe me I'll take you just as seriously as I need to."
"Oh?" she needled, "then why don't you use your Byakugan to fight me? I know how much you Hyuuga's rely on it. You're going to need it if you want to have a chance at winning."
Rei could see Neji bristle. "I don't need to use the Byakugan against the likes of you," he said shortly, sounding angry. Good she thought with an internal grin. She was getting to him.
"Hmm," said Rei making a thoughtful sound, "you know what I think?" she said with an infuriating smirk on her face, "I think you're too inexperienced to use the Byakugan in combat. You probably trip over your own two feet when you try to use it in a spar. Am I right? Or am I right?"
Neji's glare could have peeled paint off a wall. "If you insist on being crushed by the power of my bloodline then so be it. You'll come to understand why the Hyuuga are the most powerful clan in Konoha."
His hands came together in the same modified Snake seal from before. After concentrating for a few seconds his eyes snapped open.
"Byakugan!"
Rei watched as the veins swelled with Chakra moving towards his eyes. Good. Even though it made the fight harder for her it would be meaningless if she couldn't beat him at the fullness of his power. Getting him angry also wouldn't hurt.
"Most powerful?" asked Rei in a faux-innocent saccharine tone, "I thought that title belonged to the Uchiha. What did they all suddenly abandon Konoha while I wasn't looking?"
Rei could see Neji's jaw muscles clench but the boy didn't say anything in reply, instead taking up the Konoha Standard stance yet again. Suddenly their eyes locked and the tension went through the roof. The time for banter was over. Any further talking would now have to be done through their fists.
They stood perfectly still facing each other as long seconds dragged out, each one looking for any weakness, any opening, any sign they could exploit. After locking eyes for a small eternity Neji moved his leading arm to the side a fraction of an inch. To any other academy student the small change would have been meaningless but Rei saw it for what it was. A small opening. An invitation to attack.
Rei took it.
With an almost violent flush of Chakra to her legs and feet shot across the space between them as fast as she could, pushing her speed to the limits. She could tell her speed had caught him off guard. He blocked her leading punch a little awkwardly and Rei saw her chance to put him on the defensive. Her superior speed and flexibility had always been her greatest assets and she pushed them for all they were worth constantly trying to circle around him or bend around his blocks.
Neji gave ground to Rei but quickly regained his equilibrium. Rei could see her speed was pressing him but still he somehow managed to block or deflect all her blows. Inside Rei growled and attacked with all the skills that had defeated Genin many years older than her. Still Neji managed to have an answer to every one of her strikes. It was with an uneasy feeling that Rei could see him rapidly adjusting to her superior speed.
Feeling that the momentum was moments from turning against her Rei tried a risky jumping snap kick to his head. Neji ducked underneath it smoothly like it was something he did every day and surged forward burying his fist in her stomach. Rei was knocked to the ground from her jump with a grunt of pain, turning the fall into a backwards roll that brought her to her feet. Rei barely had time to get her hands up before Neji was right on top of her.
He came in with a fast punch aimed at her ribs. Instead of blocking Rei turned her body turning the blow into a glancing strike as she launched her fist at his face. Rei wasn't about to let herself be put purely on the defensive. With a tilt of his head and a nudge from his free hand Neji easily deflected the blow. Then the two of them really started trading blows in earnest.
Rei had faster foot speed, being able to cover ground and change her angle of attack much faster than Neji. Neji had vastly superior hand speed, his strikes and blocks always seeming to be there a split second before hers. Her flexibility helped her make some hair raising dodges and get around some of his guard but it still wasn't enough. Rei frowned slightly as her arms began to sting from her blocks and she kept in constant motion trying to find a hole in Neji's defenses. Though neither of them had landed a decisive hit since Rei got punched the first time the flow of the battle slowly turning against her. Her eyes briefly met Neji's. If the sharp little smirk he gave her was anything to go by he could feel it too.
Shit. It was time to do something drastic if she wanted to win this. She didn't have much time before Neji had her at a clear disadvantage.
In taijutsu like most things there is the 'right' way of doing things and the 'wrong' way of doing things though occasionally the 'wrong' way can be just what you need if you're getting desperate. Striking the enemy while preventing him from landing a solid hit on you was the basic tenet of all taijutsu. However even though it was generally ill advised and considered something of a vulgar strategy it was entirely possible to take a hit on purpose in order to create an opening. Rei grinned to herself despite how she was starting to flag. She doubted the Hyuuga trained very much in 'uncultured' and 'dirty' fighting while it was one of Anko's favorite things. Rei just had to make her blow count. She doubted she would get more than one clean opening.
Rei redoubled her efforts in striking and moving around Neji while he pivoted to keep pace with her. It would make it more believable when she finally made a 'mistake'. She moved and attacked until she saw Neji take a guard stance she had seen him use before, one with one hand forward and another far back guarding his lower ribs. Rei lunged high purposefully overextending as she aimed her gambit punch at his face. Neji reacted as predicted and ducked, stepping forward and punching at her wide open body with his leading arm.
Rei was expecting it and grabbed his arm even as she took a punishing blow to her ribs. With his wrist firmly in one hand and trapped against her body she took a large step back forcing him to come with her. She raised her free in the air as if she was going to come down with a knife hand on his neck. As he had been trained Neji brought his free arm up to block a blow that never came. Instead Rei brought her elbow down on the forearm she was holding with all of her strength.
It was the Byakugan that saved his arm from possibly being broken. Neji managed to rotate his forearm just enough to avoid a direct hit. Still Rei felt a thrill of victory when she heard him hiss in pain as her elbow connected with the long bones in his arm. Instinctively Neji tried to pull his arm back which wasn't the most efficient of moves. Sloppy. She managed to hold on to his arm with little problem. Seizing the opportunity and with a wild grin on her face Rei brought her arm up to drive her elbow into his forearm again. Neji's free hand shot out towards her chest, much faster than before but without any power behind it. Instinctively Rei brought her free arm down to block the strike.
Then her arm exploded in a nova of pain.
Rei let go of Neji and clutched her arm in a pain that was worse than anything that immediately came to mind. She was so distracted she didn't even see the foot that slammed into her stomach, knocking the breath out of her and sending her falling on her behind. More out of muscle memory than anything else Rei rolled backwards to her feet and jumped back to put some distance between them.
Rei gripped her forearm as she looked at Neji, suddenly feeling a newfound wariness and respect for her opponent. That must have been a strike from the infamous Juuken school of taijutsu. Thankfully the pain was quickly fading and the Chakra flow to her arm didn't feel diminished in the least. Neji was holding and rubbing out his own forearm, keeping his distance for the moment and giving Rei a look one might give a dog that had unexpectedly gone from seeming harmless to biting you in the ass. Rei did her best to stand tall despite the pain in her body, giving him an infuriating smirk and winking at him playfully. Neji's eyes narrowed and for a moment his lip curled in distaste. Clearly he was not amused.
Despite her bravado Rei knew she was in trouble. Neji had already landed four solid hits on her to her solitary one hit on him and the toll it was taking on her body was starting to add up. What's more Rei realized much to her chagrin that Neji had been holding back by not using the Juuken. While she didn't know if he was skilled enough to close her Tenketsu yet he could still insert spikes of Chakra into her nerves and muscles causing crippling pain in the short term. Now that he seemed willing to use his family style outright blocking his hits was out of the question. If he could get is hands on any part of her he could cripple her with temporary pain giving him all the openings he could possibly need to take her down.
"Is that the famous Gentle Fist?" asked Rei tilting her head curiously, "I was starting to wonder if you could even use it."
Neji stopped rubbing his forearm and smoothly slid into a stance that was different from the one before. Rei recognized it from the story. It was the iconic stance of the Gentle Fist.
"If you're going to resort to such boorish and ill-bred tactics I see no reason to hold out against you," he said.
Despite the trouble she was in Rei couldn't help tilting her head quizzically the other way as a startlingly appropriate response came to mind. "You mad bro?" she asked with a vicious provocative grin. It lost a little bit in translation from English but it worked well enough.
Even though he didn't say anything she could tell that yes, she had indeed made him upset. If she wanted him on her side she really shouldn't be taunting him so much but she just couldn't bring herself to not do it in the heat of the moment. Rei slid into her own taijutsu stance praying that upsetting Neji would somehow give her an opening she could exploit.
"Well? I'm waiting pretty boy," she said while making a come hither motion with her hand, everything about her oozing confidence and smug superiority.
Despite what she said they charged each other at the exact same time, the girl suddenly wishing she hadn't foolishly agreed to a taijutsu only bout. Rei dove low, supporting her body weight with her arms and doing a double leg sweep of the likes she had only seen professional gymnasts do on a pommel horse back home. Neji jumped over the knee high strike effortlessly, doing a forward flip and tagging her shoulder with a slightly off center heel strike. Rei winced as she threw herself forward and rolled to her feet. Only three hundred and sixty degree vision would allow him to pull off a move like that.
They rushed at each other again and this time Rei decided to wait for his strike and deflect it by hitting his wrist. Neji's hand shot out snake-fast and Rei tried to hit his wrist but Neji was too fast and nimble. With a slight adjustment to his hand his fingertips struck the back of her wrist. Her hand and half her forearm flared in pain and Rei instinctively yanked her arm back with a grimace. Neji came at her again and Rei tried to dodge using her speed. One, two, three hits she avoided as sweat started to roll into her eyes. She couldn't keep this up for long. Any hit now he would catch her.
With some clever footwork Neji maneuvered her to where she was forced to block or take the hit. She brought one arm up to block and his fingers jammed into her elbow causing her whole arm to explode in white hot pain. Rei barely saw his other hand coming and she raised her other arm to block this time getting a jab in the shoulder for her troubles. With Rei distracted and both her arms locked up in pain Neji landed a hard punch to her face, causing the blonde to lose her balance and sending her crashing inelegantly to the ground.
The pain started to quickly fade from her arms. Unfortunately the same could not be said of her face. She could taste blood from a split lip. Rising to a low crouch much slower than she would have liked she looked over at Neji standing just a few steps away. He'd had plenty of opportunity to press his advantage but he chose not to. In her old world someone may have thought he was being nice but Rei knew that was not the case.
In the ninja world ignoring such clear openings was a clear statement. It said you were so far above your opponent that you didn't need to take openings that presented themselves. It was a clear statement that you considered the person in front of you to not be a danger because your own skills were leagues above their own.
Basically Neji was saying she was a non-threat and that he didn't need to take her seriously.
Rei's eyes narrowed dangerously. Her eyes started to darken and for the first time in the fight she began to feel the stirrings of genuine anger begin to swirl in her belly. She clenched her fists and rose to her feet in a low stance.
"You're going to pay for that," she said to him.
Neji's only answer was to resume his Juuken stance.
Rei rushed him weaving side to side as she approached. Gripping the earth with her Chakra Rei stopped less than an inch outside Neji's range trying to bait out an attack that would overextend him. Instead of falling for it he took the time to step forward and aim a blow at her center of mass. With a spike of Chakra to her legs she jumped forward over his strike as she had been expecting a straightforward attack like that since he made it clear he wasn't taking her seriously. Her robes billowed in front of his face and would have blinded any other opponent. Unfortunately that didn't work with Neji.
Rei twisted in mid air as she flipped over him and tried to grab Neji's head in between her legs. He was faster though and couched underneath her attempted grab. Rei had a split moment hanging in mid air to curse mentally as she saw his hands rising up to grab her thighs.
The pain was excruciating. He held on to her legs as she fell hard on the ground, the pain being driven into legs making her see white spots in her vision. More out of reflex than any plan she twisted her whole body like a break dancer forcing Neji to back up away from her flailing legs. Neji stood back and watched as the pain slowly faded and Rei stood back up on shaky legs.
"You should simply give up," said Neji as he stood there watching her with cold impassive eyes. "All your little tricks that might work on others are useless before the Byakugan. You have already lost."
Something ugly was starting to twist in Rei's chest, something that was becoming disturbingly familiar. Her hair was a mess and partly covering her face, her breathing hard and labored. In contrast Neji stood with his arms crossed looking no more mussed than he would from a light workout.
This is too important, thought Rei, I can't lose here. Not like this. I'm stronger than this. Stronger than him!
Rei's only answer was to sneer at him. For the first time she thought she understood why Naruto always kept getting up in the stories even after getting knocked down a hundred times. Like something inside her wouldn't just let her lay down and admit defeat. At that moment she would have sooner let her body be broken in a thousand pieces than let that smug bastard Neji win so easily.
This time driven by emotion and not much of a plan Rei blindly charged him. She threw a wild punch that was easily parried, then another, and another, every one of them batted aside by Neji with infuriating ease. She went for a leg sweep that Neji jumped over with less than an inch of clearance and he made it look completely effortless. When she stood up and threw another punch he ran the tips of his fingers over the back of her hand as he blocked. The whole appendage lit aflame with pain and made her hand go into spasm. Rei gave out a strangled scream before he hit her in the shoulder, chest, stomach, liver and other shoulder with Chakra infused Juuken strikes before kicking her high in the chest sending her tumbling away to land in a heap on the ground.
Rei would have screamed if she'd had the breath for it. One Juuken strike felt horrible enough but multiple ones in quick succession seemed to amplify the pain. The agony receded more slowly than before as Rei slowly forced herself to her hands and knees. It was all she could do as she took deep gulping breaths and tried to keep her arms from shaking. Rei tried to focus on her breathing instead of the pain as she waited for the crippling feelings of pain to recede.
Neji stood some distance away, arms crossed and looking impassively at what he thought of as his defeated foe. "Stay down or the pain will only increase more every time you get back up. Destiny has decreed that I am the stronger one between the two of us. You're the best I've ever fought in our age group but you're still nowhere near my level. The sooner you accept your place the easier things will be when we train together," he said without an ounce of sympathy in his voice.
As Rei heard his words her emotions continued to rise until her whole body felt hot and flushed. She was losing. Neji wanted to shackle her, her, with his destiny bullshit. He wanted her to accept a place subservient to him and accept his bullshit philosophy. Rei felt something in her mind snap. No. No way. She would prove to him she was as good as him. Better than him. Rage flooded her whole being along with something inside that wanted her to start cackling and laughing like a madwoman. The world seemed to snap into crystal clear focus as the pain in her body faded.
She felt it. Sometimes the psycho inside needed to be unchained and let out to play. She was going to win even if she had to burn the whole world to do it.
Rei took internal stock of herself. Other than being somewhat bruised and battered from regular hits there was nothing wrong with her. The pain strikes form the Juuken were temporary and faded quickly. Her Chakra was still well over half. Good.
Neji frowned as the girl stayed there on all fours without saying anything. After a few moments he spoke up. "So are you going to give up or w-"
Die.
Suddenly a kunai was flying at his face at surprising speeds. Caught off guard by sudden and unexpected attack Neji could only gracelessly get his head out of the way while losing his balance. When he looked back Rei was running straight at him even faster than she had been moving before.
Rei ran at the Hyuuga pouring so much Chakra into her legs it was actually painful. When she was almost at Neji she drew another kunai and threw it at his face at almost point blank range. The boy awkwardly batted the projectile aside with his hands still off balance from the sudden charge. Rei came in low and threw a punch at his face.
Neji moved his arms to block when suddenly there were seven fists coming at his face from different angles. Rei used a sealess Bunshin no Jutsu to create six attacking copies of herself mid punch. Given a fraction of a second longer Neji would easily have been able to distinguish the reals from the fake but in that split second timing all he could do was block the fist he thought was the real one.
He guessed wrong. Rei's calloused fist crunched into his nose sending him stumbling back. The blonde closed in while Neji was still reeling and threw two punches in quick succession at his face. Even disoriented Neji's reflexes took over and her managed to block both of her blows. Rei's eyes narrowed. No. She couldn't give him time to regain the initiative.
Keep him on the back foot. Off balance.
Rei sent Chakra to the bottom of her foot. She kicked a roundhouse kick at his face taking a clump of earth on the bottom of her sandal. When Neji instinctively leaned back to avoid the blow Rei cut the Chakra to the bottom of her foot letting clump of earth fly straight into Neji's eyes. It wouldn't blind him but dirt flying hard into his eyeballs distracted him for a few precious seconds.
Rei reached into her sleeves and with a flourish came out wielding a kunai in each hand. All her Bunshin did the same and they all fell on Neji like a pack of wolves.
However now the Hyuuga knew which were Bunshin and which was the real Rei. Still blinking dirt from his eyes he was forced on the defensive as Rei came at him like a mini tornado of steel, kunai flashing in a flurry as she tried to connect with a cut somewhere, anywhere on his body. He was forced to continually dodge and back off as the additional reach the kunai gave her made things more difficult.
Keep him running. Don't let him get his equilibrium back.
Rei pressed forward, feeling wild elation in her chest as she forced Neji to continually give ground and she came closer and closer to bloodying him with steel. The boy seemed to realize that constantly backing off would only result in his eventual defeat so after a short hop back he stood his ground and committed to fight.
Let's see how you like this. You're not the only one with a few tricks.
Conventional ninja strategy emphasized using kunai to strike vital points but Anko had taught Rei how to fight dirty. The kunai gave Rei an additional eight inches of range and she exploited them ruthlessly. Neji came in for a strike and she darted back just out of his range, a slash at his hands forcing him to snap them back before she moved forward and went on the offensive once again. This time her superior movement speed came in handy as she darted in and out of the maximum range of his strikes and continually targeted his hands, the parts of his body that were conveniently the closest to her. It didn't look like Neji had a lot of experience against that particular strategy and Rei kept the pressure high while trying to create an opening.
While Neji was physically back in the fight mentally he was still off balance from the fury of Rei's unexpected armed attack. He made a small mistake in overreaching to try and strike at one of the hands holding a kunai. The blade came down and scored a hit across the back of his hand as he pulled it back. Neji winced. The kunai were blunted so there was no injury but in a real situation that could have been anything from a deep scratch to a crippling blow. By Rei's sudden predatory grin she knew it too.
Slice him. Dice him! I'm taking you down.
To Rei scoring a hit on the back of his hand was like a shark smelling blood in the water. She pushed herself even further to a level she didn't know she had, using her superior speed to attack from different angles, each strike aimed to be as difficult and awkward as possible for Neji to evade. Her blades kissed his forearm and his wrists with what she knew would have been shallow cuts with live kunai. Still it showed that Neji was flagging, making mistakes, leaving himself open to hits.
However Neji wasn't known as a genius for nothing. His skill let him stay one step ahead of the blades – if just barely – and even though he couldn't mount any significant offence at that moment this worked in his favor. If he stalled the fight long enough the momentum of her surprise attack would eventually run its course on its own. Neji was also confident he had superior stamina and he was learning. If he could stay ahead of the flurry of blades he was confident he would be able to outlast the blonde Yamanaka.
Rei was having thoughts along the same vein and her lips curled in displeasure. The longer this went on the more things would swing back in Neji's favor. Already he was starting to adapt to her bladed style. She needed to do something unexpected. Something that would end this fight once and for all.
Let's see how you deal with some more boorish and ill-bred tactics.
The girl came in with a furious combination of slashes that forced Neji to back off hastily. Rei increased her aggression to the absolute top levels of speed and viciousness. The pace would quickly exhaust her but that was fine. She was going to bet it all on one final gambit. If this didn't work she knew she was going to lose.
Neji's face showed the strain of dodging her attacks and Rei smiled at seeing beads of sweat running down his face. She moved straight into him low in an unexpected move, almost ramming him, causing Neji to scramble back just out of range slightly off balance. That was exactly what she had been waiting for.
You're mine Neji!
From where she was crouching low Rei threw one of the kunai in her hands at his face in an upward angle as fast as she could muster. The girl caught a slight widening in Neji's eyes as he realized he couldn't dodge. Using more instinct than plan he brought his hands upward, knocking the projectile higher up and away. That left him just a step and a half away with his hands in the air and his mid section exposed.
Rei forced so much Chakra into her lower body it burned. She crossed the distance between them in a blink and rammed her shoulder straight into his solar plexus. The breath left his lungs explosively as she wrapped her arms around him, hooked one of her legs around his and used their combined momentum to tackle him to the ground.
They rolled and grappled, all pretentions at finesse and refinement gone. It was nails and elbows and flashing teeth but Rei wasn't badly winded and Neji was. She ended up on straddling his waist and somehow still holding the kunai in her hand. Quick as a snake she brought it down and stabbed at his throat. Neji's hands shot up and gripped the kunai less than a foot from his neck. Rei put her other hand on the pommel of the weapon and began to push down. The blonde had leverage and could put her whole body weight behind it. Neji's eyes widened in alarm as the kunai started inching down towards his throat. Rei gave him a smile that the boy could only describe as 'evil'.
"You're going to die," she practically cooed at him with that same disturbing smile on her face.
It sent a thrill through her to see a look of panic flicker through his face.
000
Neji's breathing quickened in fear as he gazed up at the demon sitting on top of him. He thought that because that is what she reminded him of right then, grinning and with a disturbing light behind her eyes.
"You're going to die," she practically cooed at him with that evil looking smile on her face.
Intellectually Neji knew he wasn't actually going to die. Rei would be caught immediately if he did. The girl wanted him for a 'friend' for some reason. The kunai poised to plunge into his throat was even blunted meaning it would stab into his neck about as well as the hilt would. However none of that diminished the terror he was inexplicably feeling when looking at the girl sitting on top of him.
It was almost like he could see his own death. He could get flashes of the Rei pushing the blade down all the way and plunging into his throat, holding the blade there until he drowned in his own blood. In his life Neji had known hatred and anger and resentment but never true fear. Feeling his own impending doom at the hands of the small blonde on top of him was making him break out in sweat as he struggled not to let the blade inch any closer to his throat. It was a contest he was losing.
His impressive mind ran through his options many times faster than any regular child his age could have done. Unfortunately his greatest weapon, the Juuken, was out. Even though his fingers were touching hers it didn't do any good without the calm concentration and smooth flow of Chakra required for the technique. Both those things were out of the question in his current predicament.
As the blade inched closer there was nothing he could think to do. There had to be a way. He always thought of something. Something of his desperation must have shown in his face since the look on Rei's face suddenly turned both wicked and victorious. The feeling of impending doom redoubled and Neji swore he could almost feel the kunai already buried in his throat. His hands started to shake and not just from the strain of keeping the blade at bay. What kind of demon was she?!
Desperately Neji sought for something, anything that would save him from this predicament. The words from one of his many teachers sprang to mind.
When you are overmatched you only have four possible options. Hide, flee, attack unexpectedly or wait for an opportunity.
The first three were definitely out. The best he could do was pray for an opportunity then. The blade was maybe five inches from his throat now and his arms were tiring fast. Neji had to draw from all his years of discipline to maintain some semblance of calm. He did his best to ignore the image of his own death that sporadically kept appearing for a split second in his mind.
Looking up at Rei it looked like she was getting impatient. She pushed harder and leaned her body into it more. Neji sputtered and cursed internally as the blade drew a few inches closer. Her eyes were determined but also sparkling with excitement. She shifted her weight forward even more, lifting her hips slightly off his body to put more weight on the kunai.
Neji's eyes widened. There! Lifting her weight off his body had upset her balance and it didn't even look like she even realized it. Never had he been more grateful for the occasional classes in grappling the Clan subjected him to.
In one solid movement he bucked his hips to the left as hard as he could, pulled the kunai to the left and moved his head to the right. The kunai buried itself in the soft earth not even an inch from his neck. Rei overbalanced and fell rolling off him to the side. Neji struggled to his feet quickly and got vertical a split second after Rei did. He looked at her face and wished he hadn't. She was furious and right then it terrified him.
His mind raced as she produced two more kunai from within her robes. I'm at my limit. I don't think I can last much longer. I have to end this now!
Rei came at him and the only reason he was able to react in time was that she was moving much slower than before. Neji dove in cutting the angle of the attack. In desperation he purposefully allowed the kunai to slice into his arm which would have been a deep debilitating wound if it had been a real weapon. He saw her eyes widen in surprise as he struck her chest with the power of the Juuken. As before she froze up, stunned by the pain and her mouth open in a silent scream. This time Neji couldn't take any chances.
He struck her body again and again not really aiming for anything other than sending spikes of Chakra into the closest bundles of muscles and nerves that he could see. Rei dropped her kunai but Neji ignored that and kept going. He struck her body again and again, over a dozen times until it looked like her body was barely holding itself upright more out of habit than any conscious will on Rei's part. Using the last very last of his strength to make sure he finished her off he sent a vicious side kick straight at her head.
The blow struck her forehead, snapping her head back and sending her flying backwards through the air. There was a tree some six feet behind her that Neji hadn't really registered until now. He winced as the back of her head struck the tree. Her body crumpled, seemingly boneless, and came to a rest unmoving at the base of the tree. Neji stared at her body for a few seconds to make doubly sure she wasn't going to be getting up again. When he was sure she wasn't going to get up let his body collapse and sat down heavily on the ground.
He was exhausted. Neji never dreamed the girl would push him this far. He knew there were a lot of things he needed to think through but his brain was more interested in greedily sucking in oxygen at the moment.
It was then when he was sure of his victory that he saw Rei moving struggling to get to her knees.
How are you still conscious?! His mind cried out in disbelief.
000
She had blacked out for a few seconds at least. At least that was the explanation her spinning mind spat out at her as to why there was suddenly a hole in her memory. Rei came to with agonizing pain all over her body but most distressingly in her head. Black spots swam in her vision and she thought she was going to throw up.
Rei tried to move but her limbs weren't cooperating and her mind was all foggy. They sort-of obeyed and she tried to get to her knees without much success. She turned her head and saw a blur sitting not too far away that might have been looking in her direction. It kind of looked like Neji.
I… I lost?
Suddenly the black spots seem to swim and expand in her vision. She made one last effort to get up before her limbs gave out and she crumpled to the floor. As her vision continued to darken only a few thoughts came through in her discombobulated mind.
I lost.
There might have been tears stinging her eyes but she couldn't be sure.
I failed.
Then darkness claimed her and she knew no more.