Two

Hour of Tests

KIYOMI LIFTED HER HAND, HER LIPS PULLED INTO A FACADE THAT WAS UNBREAKABLE, and perhaps others would call it her 'bitch face'. Still, Kiyomi didn't allow others whispers to ever bother her. People would say whatever they wanted, and she never cared. That was her method of control when people would talk as the liked.

"Shiragane? The Shiragane clan?"

"Shitty Shinobi."

"Weakling clan."

"Despicable, inhuman, puppeteers."

"I thought they were all dead."

"Obviously not."

"Shame."

Kiyomi had heard all of this before. It was what her mother and father told her when she first said she would be the greatest Shinobi in all the sand. It was what they told her when she said she'd become the Kazekage. She was told there was no way. She was told that she might be the strongest, she might be the smartest, but Suna had a way of covering dreams in the sand.

Her hand raised, tauntingly as she beckoned the ninja forward. The man was nearly double her eight and definitely triple her weight in mere muscle. Still, her lips curled into an arrogant smirk. She became a Genin at 7, a Chuunin at 8, and a Jounin at 10. She was not afraid of any brute, no matter how many six packs he might have.

He rushed at her, his steps too heavy for the sand. She watched them as she side stepped. Her ballet flats made little imprints as she applied her Chakra into the brown specs. It kept her upright and kept her from sinking. Her parents had taught her to walk on sand before ever learning to walk on water. What water was really in the land of wind anyway?

The brute charged at her again, his eyes narrowed as she side stepped him with a very arrogant yawn. Her mother was likely shaking her head in the stands, wishing her daughter was more humble. Still, Kiyomi found modesty was of no use in the ring. People hated arrogance, and she loved exploiting the hot headed nature of her opponent.

He raised his hands, and she watched them move in a swift Jutsu. Her narrow eyes were already scanning the imperfections in his movements. The heat was blistering on their backs, but the heat never bothered her. The Chakra manifested around his hands, but Kiyomi's Chakra sensing had always been too shit to properly feel others. Slowly, lightning began to crackle in his hands, covering his fists as his steps quickened. Where he stepped was nearly hot enough to create glass in the sand.

Her smile disappeared as she avoided his punch. The heat of the lightning nearly seared her skin as a trickle of excitement flooded into the weakening husk of her heart. There it is, she thought, adrenaline sweet and delectable.

The light went back into her eyes as her hands gripped the sand below her into a ball. She closed her fist around it, lips finally curling back into a smirk. She jumped back, but her opponent was fast. The lightning crackled around his steps, reminding her that he was known as the fastest man in Suna. Still, she kept up with him, her excited grin flickering back on as she watched his frustrated expression quicken. He was obviously unused to long exposure to his own Jutsu. She thought up a training regimen that he could use to his benefit. However, now was obviously not the time to go over the flow charts in her head.

"Your lightning is stunning," she whispered, and he grimaced as her breathing remained steady. "Still, you know who I am?"

"Use it you bitch!" Hanashi Yao cursed at her, and she raised her brows.

"I wanted to see your fighting style beforehand. It was a mere tactical strategy," she explained, and pressed her hands together and tossed the sand towards him. The ball of clumped sand in her hand hardened and crystallized into glass. Those pieces were sharp as steel as they spread throughout the ground. He stopped abruptly, his eyes widened as the glass shard speared into his ninja sandal. Still, with the slowly lowering sun, the glass shards that scattered over the ground were impossible to see.

The lightening release that once surrounded his body had disappeared, now that the new field was covered in glass shards that he couldn't see. His foot was already bleeding as he met her cold gaze. "You fight dirty."

When she saw his move focused around speed, speed that would eventually outclass her own, she knew the only way to win was to slow him down. She knew that he couldn't go fast in a field of glass, she knew that the sun made the glass reflect, so she had to goad him. She had to wait for the sun to lower.

"Please, don't release your Jutsu on my account," Kiyomi said, digging her feet into the ground and allowing the sand to harden into glass around her feet. The protective barrier of glass surrounded her feet and allowed her to step over the arena without fear. He stepped carefully over the field now that he was forced to take his time.

She didn't waste any time, having learned long ago how to work around her own glass. She jumped forward, grabbing another handful of sand and swung it at him. It turned once again in dozens of little needle like spears, impossible to dodge with his current speed. They pierced his arms, and the sting made it impossible to dodge her glass covered fist. She knew his muscles were too tough to hurt him with her current strength, but her smooth glass gauntlet made them even. The punch threw him back, and she slammed her hands into the sand. The moment he hit the ground, the sand around him surrounded his body in jagged glass as her Chakra flowed through the ground and entrapped him.

He was bleeding and trapped when she walked towards him. She knelt over his prison with a soft smile. "You fought well. Do you yield?"

He glanced at her, his eyes hard. Slowly he snorted as her prison turned back into soft sand over his wounds. He grimaced. "Shit...that was rough. Yes I fucking yield." She laughed, offering her hand. He winced as she helped him up to his feet.

"And the winner is Shiragane Kiyomi!" The announcer shouted over the cheers to the battle no one thought they'd enjoy. Her mother was probably fuming.

"That is one strong Kekkei Tōta," Yao told her with another wince as she helped him stand. She smiled again.

"Imagine raising me," Kiyomi said over the cheers. "In a desert!"

Yao let out a booming laugh. "I always wondered what it'd be like to fight you."

Kiyomi felt her lips curl into another proud smile. "Was it what you dreamed of?"

"More like a nightmare than a dream," Yao said, wiping the blood off his face with yet another grimace.

After Yao sought much needed medical attention, Kiyomi practically had her arm ripped out of her socket by her mother. Kiyomi loved Shiragane Midori, but lately all she wanted was the woman to back the fuck off my shit. Not that Kiyomi could ever tell her mother that, at least not unless she wanted to get her ass whooped with a paddle. She would rather face an entire team of enemy ninja than deal with her mother's surprisingly impressive paddling skills.

"You were reckless!" Midori said, her hands running over her daughter's cheeks as she inspected her skin for so much as a scratch. Kiyomi held in the desire to roll her eyes as Midori gripped her arms and pulled up her sleeves, searching for any wounds or signs of a cut. Besides the old scars that littered Kiyomi's skin, there was just the dirt from the sand that made Kiyomi's skin dry and itchy.

"I was careful," Kiyomi reminded her, since it had been a long time since anyone had been able to get so much as a single cut on her body. In fact, thanks to the nature of her own abilities, most of her wounds were self inflected.

"You can't be using that ability as you would any other!" Midori's stern voice cut through Kiyomi's ears as she had the strongest urge to snap at her defense.

"If you don't want to see it, you shouldn't have come," Kiyomi said, immediately regretting her words at the hurt expression that ran through her mother's face.

"Shouldn't have come?" Midori shook her head. "I had to come you brat!"

"I know you're worried, but I'm fine," Kiyomi said, holding in the fact that she had the strangest urge to throw the fuck up.

Midori didn't look convinced as she stared at her daughter from under the thick lenses that made it even more impressive that her stare could still be so penetrating. Kiyomi was reminded of how little she ever managed to get past her mother. Still, Kiyomi's voice lowered into a whisper. "You can be worried all you like, but I'm fine," Kiyomi repeated, glancing around to make sure no one was listening.

"Are you certain this is what you want?" Midori asked, the worry now so visible that it was a wonder it didn't take its own separate and distinct shape.

"You know it is," Kiyomi whispered, glancing over to the door of the waiting room as if any moment, someone would walk through and confirm what she knew was to happen.

"We could go somewhere," Midori said, her eyes watering and it hurt Kiyomi to know that she was hurting her like this. "We could go somewhere nicer. I could show you the oasis that I met your father. We could travel there. You can see the spring said to have been formed by the gods. We could go."

"Mom," Kiyomi whispered, cutting her mother off. Still, Kiyomi's eyes were gentle. "I was born here. I want to die here. Not at some distant part of the desert where I don't recognize."

Midori covered her face, her lips trembling as she tried to keep her tears in her body. She had cried too much this last year. She had preyed, she had pleaded, and she had nearly broke. Still, her strong daughter always managed to hold it all in and kept her together. That wasn't fair to Kiyomi. It should be a mother's job to make her daughter feel protected, and yet she couldn't even do that right.

"I just want you to be safe," Midori whispered, and Kiyomi's smile grew gentle as she shook her head. That was when the door opened and caused Midori's heart to drop.

"Mom, I can either be safe or I can be happy," she said, pressing her fingers gingerly through her mother's dark brown hair. "I won't be long after you."

Midori slowly nodded, feeling her shoulders drop in exhaustion as her daughter walked past her. "Dinner will be ready when you get home."

Kiyomi grinned, shaking her head as her eyes caught on the man with the black hoodie and purple markings. Kankuro was a legend to all puppeteers in the sand, and would have been a legend to her had Kiyomi and love for puppets. It was ironic that she hated them, but not surprising once one learned about the backstory of her clan.

"Best fight of the year," Kankuro said with a smirk as she followed him out of the room.

"You thought so?" Kiyomi felt herself smile, her lips chapped and her body feeling weak. Still, she worked too hard to get to this point. She wouldn't get anywhere by backing out now. "I thought it had a slow start."

Kankuro snorted. "You waited for the sun to go down. That was clever. Yao-san's Jutsu has never failed him before."

"It was interesting to see it in person," Kiyomi agreed, thinking back to her many flowchart ideas on how to help him overcome the weaknesses she saw in his abilities while fighting him.

"Either way, I thought you'd blanch when everyone started booing you," Kankuro said with a grin.

"Good thing I'm not ten years old," Kiyomi said with a burst of laughter. She followed him down the many halls of the building, towards the back where a dark room awaited her. The moment they stepped inside, the room lit with color as he stood in the middle of the circular room. "Another fight?"

Kankuro grinned, taking a step back as he righted his stance. "And with no sand. You up for it, Shiragane Kiyomi?"

At the clear challenge in his tone, Kiyomi grinned. She took a step in the room, noticing the small light bulbs surrounding the room in a circular motion. She spotted the clear stonework of the ground and she got into a nonchalant stance. Her hair was in a tight ponytail, hanging over her shoulder as her back was still slightly damp with sweat.

She didn't have much Chakra after the battle with Yao, but her Kankuro of the Sand three stood, completely prepared with full energy. She took in the very obvious reasons she was unlikely to win with calm indifference. She knew little about his fighting style, and she didn't have the stamina to figure it out.

"Are you ready, Shiragane-san?" Kankuro asked. It sounded rather condescending to Kiyomi, but she had grown up around battle, so she learned long ago that it doesn't matter if she was ready. The world didn't wait for anyone to be ready.

That was what she was trying to learn currently. She took a step forward, that previous arrogant facade nowhere to be seen. She had to make an impression and she didn't want to seem like an arrogant little shit in front of the Kazekage's brother.

The puppet on his back rushed forward, and she rushed to dodge it. Still, it was fast, swiping her with what she knew to be poisoned claws. She ducked again, the tips of her ponytail was caught by the swipe of his claws, causing her to wince as those shredded bits could have easily been her neck. She watched Kankuro's smug expression as he worked with the puppeteer strings. They spiraled towards her, and she side stepped once, twice, three times as she moved along the small arena.

She was underprepared for this battle, but as a Ninja, one had to be prepared for anything. Gaara fights with sand as well, and to make up for an environment that goes against his style, what does he do? He carries around a fucking sand that likely weighed three times his weight. In that respect, what is she doing?

The claws hit her stomach, tearing through her clothes and towards her skin. She felt Kankuro hesitate, having expected her to dodge. She didn't and her shirt didn't soak with blood. Instead, the claws chipped off as it hit the glass that had been hardened with Chakra as the last debris of sand that covered her body had crystalized with the heat. She took the chance for Kankuro's hesitation as the bits of sand around her hand, dirt from her last battle, hardened into sharp barbs and pierced through the puppet's neck. She attacked the joints, already knowing that those were the weakest and most fragile parts of any puppet. Then, she gathered Chakra into her fists as a condensed scalpel.

She severed the Chakra strings and the puppet collapsed into a heap on the floor when she slammed her leg into the wrists of the puppet, snapping off both pieces as she glanced toward Kankuro. His expression was one she could only describe as horrified as he couldn't believe that she could dare treat his puppet so, but Kiyomi never had any respect for one. She could go as far as to say that she hated them for the stigma they left on her family.

"Bitch," he whispered, and she tried to control the smile that wanted to pierce her blank facade, but she couldn't. Instead, vague smile and all, she rushed forward. He dodged her string of Taijutsu, but her hits were strong. Everywhere he hit, his fists would hit against hardened glass that, if he hit too hard, would shatter into his knuckles.

Kankuro had thought, away from a field of sand, Kiyomi would be an easy opponent, but she was obvious not. Instead, her punches stung, her form was perfect, and he was reminded that she became a Jounin much younger than him. He was impressed, not that he'd tell her that. He began to wonder how much more difficult she'd be in her own element, but he didn't get much further with that thought after her knee collided with his gut. Then, she slammed a Chakra and glass infused fist straight, and he was wrong to think she might hold back, into his balls.

He collapsed, practically seeing the kids he could have had disappear before his very eyes as his groan of pain filtered in the room. Kiyomi took a step back, let out a small breath as she watched Kankuro go into fetal position. He whined, wreathed, and she let out a slow chuckle. "Y-You actually kicked me in the dick. Why? Who-Who does that?"

"Technically," Kiyomi said, already realizing that perhaps it was a dirty and underhanded way to win. "I punched you in the balls."

Kankuro groaned, and Kiyomi watched him wither in pain for a couple more minutes. That was when the awkwardness of the situation began to settle in and perhaps she did feel a bit guilty. She took a step forward, as he continued to attempt to gather his strength to get up and perhaps punch her in the face.

"Do you need some ice?" Kiyomi asked awkwardly, a small grin bustling on her lips. It was an underhanded win, but she knew that letting him gather his Chakra back to controlling his puppet would be bad for her. Kankuro had more chakra, was well rested, and he obviously knew the environment that he fought in, so she worked with what she could do. Yes, she probably could have won fairly, but where was the fun in that?

"Fu-Fuck off," Kankuro said, and she bit her bottom lip and laughed before she could help it. He glanced up, his scowl set into his face. "You're actually laughing right now?" That made her laugh harder, and she fell back onto her ass. "You could have neutered me!" Her sides were splitting, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

"D-Don't! I'm pissing," she said, her arms wrapped around her stomach.

Kankuro grimaced as he sat up with much difficulty. "Well, you did it. You may be a horrid bitch, but you can fight."

She continued chuckling as she stood up and held out her hand to him. He looked at the fist that had slammed into him and nearly took away his chances at having children. His expression was filled distrust, and that only caused her amusement to grow when he finally gripped her palm and allowed her to drag him to his feet. "So I passed?"

Kankuro looked upon the woman who fought so hard for the opportunity. Still, he had a hard time picturing her around his brother. Regardless, her test scores alone were excellent, her Taijutsu was flawless, the psychological test had come back without concerns, and she had thoroughly kicked his ass and embarrassed him. All he had to do was give his okay, and she had the position. Something stopped him, a question he had to ask since no one else would know how to spot a liar. He would know the revulsion and spot what it looked like.

"Would you protect him well?"

Kankuro watched her smile disappear, watched that playful expression morph into something serious, and was once again reminded that this was the girl responsible for fending off and capturing many of the missing Ninja now rotting in the cells of Suna. She had proven her strength time and time again, but that wasn't the only thing that mattered to Kankuro. He had to know that those he gave this job to actually wanted to do it for the right reasons. He had to know that he brother would be safe, and that wasn't surprising after nearly losing him not long ago at the hands of the Akatsuki.

"With my life," Kiyomi said, her conviction strong in her eyes. He believed her, but he noticed there was something in her eyes that made him weary. The only reason he said what he did next was because whatever that emotion was, it was not enough to cancel out the pure truth that had settled over her.

"Then yes, you pass."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Little facts about Kiyomi! She's a Capricorn, loves spicy food, and trying new things. Also, if anyone is wondering, a Kekkei Tōta is not the same thing as a Kekkei Genkai. It is a more advanced and far more rare. I've never depicted a character before who could use one. Kiyomi's Kekkei Tōta is that of Glass Release, and the way this is performed, as all these rare techniques are used, is by combining different elements. In Kiyomi's case, these elements are earth, Lightning, and Fire, that, when combined, create glass. This is something that isn't done in the anime as the only one we've seen (that I know of) is the Dust Release.

I like exploring, in every one of my Naruto fanfics, a different style of fighting. This keep shit interesting to me as each character is a master of their own respective fighting style (Anomie is a master of Ninjutsu and Fūinjutsu, Tsukasa is a master of Taijutsu and technically Iryoninjutsu, Shion is Genjutsu, Azura is Kenjutsu). Now we have Kiyomi who releases on her Kekkei Tōta to do her fighting.

This is my first time doing a story with an Earth sign zodiac. This could be due to the fact I am an Air sign so earth signs are at the other end of the spectrum of what I'm used to! I hope you all are enjoying her! I really like her and I'm looking forward to seeing how this story will grow! It does take place in the 'Fates' universe that all my other stories take place in, but the events happen after the end of Naruto and honestly, there are no spoilers. Suna's too far from all that Konoha drama, so it doesn't actually effect anything in this story.

Ya really don't gotta read them.

This story will be rather sad, dealing with loss, depression, lasts and firsts, and all of that. Still, I hope you will all stick through it because the ending, at least what I've planned for it, will be worth it! Thank you for reading.

-Ul'Yana