"Sensei! I think Kakashi-chan needs to go to the bathroom," called out Suzume from behind him.
Kakashi froze, hands gripping the side of his seat. He could hear a few snickers.
"What was that, Suzume-san?" asked Kuma, looking up from the papers on his desk. Kakashi slowly relaxed.
"I asked you what the exam would be like, sensei," said Suzume.
"Well," he looked around, "everyone here?" There were a few nods, and a chorus of "Yes, sensei."
"Let's go outside then."
They went back out where they had been eating lunch. Kuma-sensei led them all to the center of the field, then had the class sit down to one side. "The rules are simple. You will fight two fights. You must win or draw in at least one of them to pass. I'm putting a time limit of five minutes on the fight so finish it quickly. Subdue your opponent, but try not to hurt each other too much. I'll decide who wins if it's not obvious. Those of you who have already failed, I expect you to watch and learn."
"How do we know who we're fighting?" asked Taki.
"I thought that to be fair, I'd allow you guys to choose your first opponent, and I'd pair you up for your second one. How's that?"
Everyone was relieved, including Kakashi. All he had to do was find someone weaker than him. If they were smart, all the stronger fighters would be doing the same, that way they were guaranteed to pass no matter who they fought the second time around.
"Pair up!" As if this was some sort of signal, every single person who had been sitting near Kakashi disappeared. He was startled when he felt a malicious presence behind him. He turned and saw Aki-san. Her black eyes glittered a little as she stared at him.
"You're fighting me," she said.
There was no way he was fighting her. She was one of the best fighters in the class. "I already have an opponent," he said.
"No, you don't. You don't talk to anybody."
"This time, I did," Kakashi insisted, trying to look around the larger girl so he could find another partner. He had to get away before everyone else paired up. "You don't want to fight me anyway. I'm not weak."
"I know. That's why I want to fight you."
Kakashi tried to dart away, but she grabbed his wrist.
"Who's your opponent then?" she asked politely, as if she weren't trying to break his wrist.
"Kai-san!" His new friend was going to kill him, but Kai's was the first name that came to his mind.
"Kai, who is standing next to his brother, looking annoyed?"
"Inoue, then."
"Already cornered by Ichimaru." She sounded bored.
Aki swung him around, and he could see that everyone was already paired off.
"I don't want to fight you, Aki-san. Would you mind switching?"
"No. I told you, I want to fight you. Besides, I made sure no one else would be your partner, even if you asked."
"Did sensei suggest this?" he asked suspiciously.
She looked surprised. "No."
"Then why?"
"I've beaten all the best fighters in this class. I'm hoping that as a genius, you might provide me with a challenge."
Kakashi's eyes widened. He had known that Aki-san was the best female fighter in their class, but he hadn't realized she was the best fighter. She must have fought them outside the Academy.
"I'll fight you later." It was his last attempt.
"Too late," she said, and there was an absurd cheerfulness to her tone.
"You two sure paired up quickly," said Kuma-sensei from behind them. Kakashi turned, already glaring. The look on Kuma's face very clearly said, 'Don't look at me. You had your chance.'
"I told you I wanted to fight him," said Aki-san.
"You certainly were thorough in making everyone else stay away," said Kuma dryly. "You two will fight second. Have a seat until then." He moved off to record the rest of the pairs.
Aki-san was still holding his wrist, and she used it to tug him to the ground. Kakashi pouted while he sat there, though his mind was racing as he tried to recall every single time he had seen Aki fight. She was a year older than most of their class because she had failed the exam the year before. The failure seemed to have goaded her into improving her skills, especially her taijutsu. She had a fierce fighting spirit, combined with unusual upper arm strength. Kakashi had only seen her kick her opponents once or twice, so he assumed her legs weren't as strong. He would have to target her legs, while staying out of reach of her arms – a hard thing to do when your opponent had two feet on you.
The first fight began, but Kakashi wasn't watching as he went through different scenarios.
"Aki-san, and Kakashi-kun!"
She was tugging him up again. As if he was going to run away at this point. Her air of patient contentment had disappeared as soon as their names were called. All he could sense was a fierce will to win. His new found energy and planned scenarios wouldn't be enough. She was the best fighter in the class, and he couldn't use his usual ninjutsu and genjutsu tricks.
"You going to forfeit?" she asked in a low, dangerous voice, as they took their places across from each other. She must have sensed his mood change.
Kakashi considered it. If she was the best fighter, then whoever he had to fight next would be less skilled. He would have a much better chance of winning. Of course, it would be his only chance of winning. If he fought her, he was giving himself two chances to win. He tried not to shudder under her angry gaze. Providing she didn't kill him.
Slowly, he shook his head no.
"You two can start now," called out Kuma-sensei.
She was running at him, fist pulled back to punch him in the face. He dropped his weight, feeling the punch ruffle his hair. He took the opportunity to kick her in the side, but she barely reacted, despite the force he had put into it. Another punch came at him, this time aimed lower. She was a quick learner.
He threw himself backwards, knowing it would look like he had slipped, when really, his palms hit the ground and he used the impact to kick up at the Aki's arm. She pulled back in pain, which gave him the time to stand up again.
Aki began circling, and he did the same. He wanted to attack, but it was safer to wait for her to move. People left themselves open when they attacked. There was no reason he couldn't encourage her though. He stopped circling, and lowered his arms, sure that she would see the opening. She came flying at him, and this time he stepped past the punch, turning his body sideways so that he was completely inside her guard. He slammed the side of his foot into her left shin, using his weight to stomp down. Aki gasped in pain, but didn't let it stop her. Before he could get out of her range, she punched him square in the joint of his right shoulder. He went flying backwards, teeth clenched against the pain.
Kakashi could clearly remember his first fight when he was three-years old. He had been engaged in his favorite pastime at that age – stalking the old, fat cat that lived under the Hatake house. He had cornered her in the bathroom, reasoning that the small size of the room meant he might actually catch her. She was an outside cat though, and hated being restrained. Rather than cower in the corner, she had leapt at him, her claws catching his hand and leaving two stinging streaks of red. Kakashi had been standing there, staring at the scratches, when his father had spoken from behind him.
"Why did you stop?"
Kakashi had held out his injured hand. He hadn't spoken much at that age.
"A ninja can't afford to stop fighting every time they're hurt. You might have caught her if you hadn't stopped. Unless the pain is overwhelming, you never stop fighting. Understand?"
Kakashi had nodded. His father had helped him bandage his first battle wound, and Kakashi had never forgotten the lesson.
This was why, even though his shoulder was still a mass of pain, Kakashi didn't stop after being thrown backwards. He jumped to the side and ran to the other side of the designated fighting area. Aki was favoring her leg slightly, but if he hadn't moved, she would have caught him.
The look in Aki's eyes was intense as she approached, still limping. "That was good," she called out. "But you won't get that close to me again!"
"I don't need to!" It was an automatic response since if he couldn't get close; there was no way he could win. It was time to change plans.
He ran at her this time, throwing a number of punches and kicks one after another, all aiming for any opening he could see. He had no time to think of his aching shoulder. She blocked well, sweeping her arms in a graceful arc that stopped any of his major attacks. Kakashi let her catch the final punch, using his momentum to slip around her to her back, where he'd been aiming for all along. She let go of his fist in surprise, and he kicked as hard as he could into the soft part behind her knee.
She crumpled, but managed to throw back an elbow in the process, smacking him right in the gut. Before he could recover, she jumped him. They both fell to the ground, struggling. With her strength and size, she had the advantage, and soon she had an arm around his throat, choking him as she knelt on one of his arms, which was braced in a painful, bent position.
"Aki-san wins!" declared Kuma. She let Kakashi go abruptly. He nearly gave in to the urge to stay on the ground and recover, but he didn't want to seem weak, so he pushed himself up.
"We'll fight again in a few years," said Aki. Kakashi shrugged and headed for the sidelines. That was too far ahead for any ninja to plan, especially since they were at war.
A/N: I gave up and split this chapter in half since it was getting too long. How am I doing with the fight scenes? I do believe you have bite the hand that feeds to blame for the cat interlude in this chapter...