"So you're a ninja from the Hidden Leaf village." Sasuke said. "But why do you wear it as a necklace? A simple charm?"

"You're foolish, Sasuke." Mihoshi laughed. Still holding Naruto's fist, she lifted him off the ground and slammed him against the tree, still holding him. So… She was swinging a living mace. She let go, and Naruto flew into a tree. "I am a master of martial arts, and many different kinds of jutsu. I have trained with the best of the best of the best. But I've not come to fight, I've come for my student."

"Naruto!" Cynthia ran over to him and lifted his head. "Naruto? Oh, damn! Sensei, you knocked him out cold!"

"Leave the boy, Cynthia. We're going back to Tokyo."

"No! I have work to do! I want to get the job as a Combat Specialist with the Amestris military…"

Mihoshi shot her eyes to Cynthia. Those cold, angry, burning eyes bore holes through her.

"You are afraid, Cynthia. You are confused, and afraid. You feel small and inferior to the people around you."

"I do not! I'm easily stronger than…"

"That's what you keep telling yourself, don't you see?" Mihoshi demanded. "You cannot choose what you want to do. You do not know whether to leave this place and come with me or stay. You do not know whether to stay with the Amestris military or go back for training at Lalaurana's. You do not know whether to love Edward, Envy, Sasuke or Naruto."

"OH MY GOD YOU LIKE ENVY?"

"Shut up!"

Cynthia started to cry. Her tears dripped down her cheeks and onto Naruto. "You don't TRAIN me! You just insult me! I don't even know why you are still my Sensei. I refuse to be taught by you ANYMORE!"

"Tough words, little Cynthia. But remember, you need me. I am the only person besides Lalaurana herself who knows how to control an inner demon. And Lalaurana is hundreds of miles away." Mihoshi smirked. "Now, come. We have to get a plane to Tokyo."

She was very surprised when Cynthia's powerful fist slammed into her jaw. "GO TO HELL, YOU UGLY BITCH!"

Mihoshi flew against the tree and slumped at the base. She jumped up, just as Cynthia came at her again.

"THIS IS FOR TAKING ME FROM MY FAMILY!"

"AND THIS IS FOR ALL THOSE LONG NIGHTS OF TRAINING!"

"AND THIS IS FOR HURTING NARUTO!"

"AND THIS IS FOR BEING BORN!"

"AND IF YOU'RE GOING TO GET UP AGAIN, SAVE ME THE TROUBLE AND GO KILL YOURSELF!"

Mihoshi rubbed her cheek. She sat up, and felt a shadow fall over her. She looked up in fear at the boulder the Cynthia had hefted up, and the wild look in her student's eye.

"Yo. Cynth."

Cynthia felt a hand tug at her shirt. She looked down at Naruto, who had woken up and crawled over. He smiled cockily. "Live and let live, y'know?"

Cynthia smiled. But Mihoshi got up at tapped Cynthia's shoulder. Cynthia turned to look at Mihoshi. Mihoshi looked at the boulder. Cynthia looked at the boulder. Mihoshi pushed a spot on the boulder. The boulder dropped into hundreds of smaller rocks.

"I forgot. Stupid breaking point…"

"One more thing."

"What?"

Mihoshi pressed a point on Cynthia's neck. Cynthia immediately blacked out, falling to the side. Mihoshi wiped away blood from her lip. "Don't mess with the best."

There was a clap from the side, and Mihoshi was encased in a box of solid rock.

"Yeah," Edward said. "But it's fun."

"THAT WAS LIKE TOTALLY AMAZING!" Naruto exclaimed. He was unable to sit up, but hey, he was conscious, right? "Is that how you made those stairs?"

"Um, yeah, it's alchemy, I already explained that." Edward shot Sasuke a warning glare. But Sasuke wasn't there. Where…

Mihoshi simply broke the walls with her fist.

Mihoshi bent down to pick up Cynthia. "I'll be taking my student and leaving, alright?"

Thump.

Mihoshi twitched. A rock bounced off her head.

"You're not going anywhere with Cynthia." Sasuke threw another rock into the air and caught it deftly. "She doesn't want to be taught by you anymore, so you are no longer her Sensei."

"STOP ACTING COOL!" Naruto screamed at him.

"I don't go by what SHE wants." Mihoshi shot back nastily. "I go by what her FATHER wants. And right now, her father wants her trained."

"The legal age of an adult in this country is sixteen, and that's how old Cynthia is."

"It is?" Naruto asked. Edward shot him a glare.

"I don't care what the legal age is." Mihoshi snapped. "She still cannot control her demonic powers!"

"Then she can go to Lalaurana."

She glared at them, and then looked down at Cynthia. "I'll be back for you, dammit." She hissed.

Mihoshi formed a seal with her fingers, and then disappeared like smoke.

Edward ran over and picked up Cynthia. "Come on, come on… Yo, Naruto, can Cynthia stay at your place? I can probably grab my own apartment somewhere."

Naruto stood up and rubbed the bloody bump on the back of his head. "Sure, sure. I think my couch pulls out into a bed, I dunno."

"Hey, how strong are you right now?"

"Hm, I dunno…"

"Great!" Edward dumped Cynthia into his arms. "You carry her. With all that muscle, she's WAY too heavy."

Cynthia's scarlet eyes fluttered open. "Wha?"

She sat up. Sakura and Naruto took her back to Naruto's house, and Sakura discovered than when Mihoshi made her pass out she fell on this spiky rock, so Sakura made Naruto wait outside while she bandaged it. Medical tape was wrapped all the way around her torso up to her underarms, so there was really no need to wear a shirt.

Looking around, she rubbed her head and called, "Hello?"

"Mm." Naruto grunted. He was eating a bowl of instant ramen at the table. "Morning."

"Morning? What time is it? How long was I out?"

"Just long enough to sleep through the night. Sakura says that your injury isn't TOO bad. You fell on a rock."

"Oh. Wears Sasuke? And Edward? And Mihoshi?"

"Dunno, Edward got an apartment, and dunno. In that order."

"Right." She looked around and her eyes widened in panic. "WHERE'S MY HALBERD?"

"Next to the door. Relax! Everything's been taken care of…"

"Hey! Naruto!"

"Come in…"

It was Kakashi. He strolled in and looked at him. "What are you doing? Training's started. Remember, in the mornings, you train with me. You train in the evenings with that Lalaurana chick…"

"Ahem."

"She likes to be called Cynthia, Kakashi Sensei. Lalaurana in her middle name, and she rather doesn't like it."

Kakashi blinked his visible eye. It scanned Cynthia, from her angered face, to her bandaged torso, then along her arms.

"This is her? Really. Looks weak."

"Naruto. Get my halberd, if you will."

"Yes, Cynthia Sensei!"

Naruto skipped over and used all his strength to drag the enormous thing to Cynthia. "Here it is… Yo, can you make it smaller, by any chance?"

"No."

"Right."

Cynthia picked up the halberd. "Calling me weak is a mistake. Maybe I don't look it, buddy, but I can lob off your head in seconds…" The halberd fell from her hands as she clutched her stomach. "Ouch…"

"Yeah, why do you think we bandaged it?" Naruto looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi Sensei, I'm sorry, but I have to stay to watch Cynthia. We all wanted Sakura to do it BUT NOOOOO, she wants to be with SASUKE!"

"I understand. Completely." Kakashi looked Cynthia up and down again. He shot Naruto a "Don't do anything stupid" glance. "Well, later." He turned to love, but paused. "Oh! Yeah! There's a ninja tournament tomorrow. I was wondering if you would join with Sasuke and Sakura?"

"Sure!"

"But find two more people, you need teams of five. Okay?"

"Right."

Kakashi left. Once the door was closed, Cynthia threw herself on Naruto and pinned him. "NARUTO! You HAVE to let me join that tournament with you!"

"You can't, Cynth, you're injured. Not badly, I know, but you can't heal in just two days. I'll bring Edward, hm, and maybe someone else, like Rock Lee. I dunno. Okay? No!"

"Oh, please. I'm a Lalaurana. I can heal just as fast as some nine-tailed fox!" She scowled. "And besides, I won't let you up until you let me fight!"

"There's more to me than being short and demonic!" Naruto hissed. "I could get you off any time."

"With your arms pinned, you can't make a seal, can you?"

There was a knock at the door. However, Cynthia and Naruto were too busy yelling at each other to hear. Rock Lee pushed open the door. "Hey, Naruto! I was…" He blinked. "Is this some kind of sex thing?"

Cynthia and Naruto looked at Lee.

"GAH!" Cynthia stumbled back. "HELL NO!" She pointed at Naruto accusingly. "He won't let me fight!"

"Well, by the blood staining the tape on your chest, you're in no condition to."

"Eek! Cynthia, dammit! You reopened it!"

"I did? It's your fault! You're not letting me fight!"

"You think I'll let a MARTIAL ARTIST fight in a NINJA tournament anyway?"

Cynthia darted over and picked up her halberd. "I'M GONNA FREAKING KILL YOU!"

Naruto didn't flinch. It was obvious.

The halberd was halfway to Naruto's head when Cynthia paused. She dropped the big sword and fell to her knees, crossing her arms across her stomach. "Oww…"

"Martial arts? You mean, like taijutsu?" Lee asked.

Cynthia started at him blankly. "Taijutsu? What's that?"

"It's like martial arts for ninjas."

"Thickbrows is really good at it." Naruto commented.

"I don't give a crap, OK? I want to fight in this tournament!"

"Listen, Cynthia, can I trust you to NOT do anything stupid while I'm training?" Naruto demanded.

"No."

"Then Lee, stay with her."

"What?"

"Come on. You want to. And I have to go tell Sasuke and Sakura, if Kakashi didn't already."

Lee sighed. "Fine. I'll stay…"

Naruto closed the door behind him. Cynthia reached down and tied on her shirt over the medical tape. "Come on, thickbrows."

"We can't go anywhere."

"I'm going TRAINING, dammit!"

"But…"

"Shut up and point me to the nearest training hall."

"No."

"ARRGH!" She swung her fist at him without thinking. Being cooped up in a small house made her very angry.

Lee caught it and twisted it. "Calm down, Cynthia! If you get too mad your wounds will reopen… Again. It's just a tournament, it's nothing special. I don't think Gaara is even joining."

Cynthia winced, but asked, "Gaara?"

And this made Lee explain Gaara to Cynthia.

"…So Gaara uses sand to fight his battles." She sniffed. "I could take him."

"Yeah. Sure. I lost to him in the Chuunin exam."

"Ah." Cynthia pondered this. How could she fight in this tournament? Hm…

"Because of the nine-tailed fox demon inside him, does Naruto heal very fast?"

"Yes."

Cynthia smirked. Luckily… She skipped into the bathroom and came out, dropping the medical tape in the trashcan. "All healed."

"What was all that roaring I heard?"

"…Don't ask, okay? I'm fighting in that tournament whether Naruto likes it or not!"