Disclaimer: Naruto's not mine…deal, I do…and Mortal Kombat…totally not mine.
A/N: I'm not particularly good at action scenes…please bear with me and tell me where and how I can improve them. :)
Chapter 3: Shopping and Test 1
"She's been out of bed for a week, Kazekage-sama," Temari said. "If you're going to test her, it has to be soon. The suspense is starting to get to her."
Gaara sat behind the Kazekage's—his—desk. The blue and white robes draped over his 13 year old frame loosely and provided a nice contrast to his dark red hair. "Fine," he said quietly. "Tomorrow, Baki will test her taijutsu skills, you will test her ninjutsu, and Kankuro will test her genjutsu."
"What will you be doing?" she asked.
"I will be stuck in Council meetings all day. You three will report to me and then I will decide what rank she will be given," Gaara paused and looked out the window. "I also want her to be packed and moved into the Kazekage Mansion by 5 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Buy her some clothes and other necessary things. She can pick whichever room she wants as long as it's at least three rooms from mine."
"Hai," Temari answered. "If that's all, Kazekage-sama?"
"No, that's not." Gaara turned towards his sister again. "How many times has she tried to leave Suna?"
Temari looked at the floor and answered, "3, Kazekage-sama."
A cold smile graced Gaara's features. "Then you will buy her three versions of this uniform," he gave Temari a card with the relevant information on it. Ignoring her wide eyes, he continued. "You will also tell her that she has to wear the uniform while working in my household."
"Gaara, you can't be serious!" she cried, forgetting her brother's new title in her shock.
"I'm very serious, Temari," he answered. "Suna is her home now, whether she acknowledges it or not. The sooner she accepts it the better." (1)
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"We're what?" Kinabuhi gasped.
"Going shopping," Temari answered. "You don't want to live in my old clothes now do you?"
Kina looked down at her baggy off-white dress. On Temari it reached her upper thighs. On the 13 year old Kina, it reached to just below her knees. Damn, I'm short, she groused.
"Let's go."
The girls went to shop after shop, buying kimonos as well as jeans, pants, shorts, T-shirts, mesh shirts, mesh armbands, mesh leggings, mesh shorts, mesh tube tops, (lots of mesh…apparently, Temari bought the fabric in bulk and had different articles of clothing made by hand), and shoes. Kina blushed when she realized that bras didn't exist in this reality and learned how to use the chest bindings that Temari used. The other girl was shocked that Kina didn't know how to do it, but believed Kina's story about growing up with her widowed father who didn't like to talk about 'girly' things.
"Isn't that just like a man," Temari had snorted.
Along with the clothes, Temari took Kina to a weapons shop and told her to pick a few weapons she wanted to have and use. Temari noticed her slight reluctance and immediately ordered 3 sets of kunais, 4 sets of shurikens, and a katana for the girl. Kina immediately objected about the cost of the items.
"You didn't complain when we were buying you clothes," Temari noted.
"But that's clothes," Kina whispered. "Even though Kazekage-sama is paying for them, I need to have something to wear."
"Well, you're going to need weapons, too," Temari said. "Shinobi don't go anywhere without some form of weapon."
"Am I to be a shinobi?"
"Gaara thinks you have the potential," Temari said, admiring a silver metal fan. She picked it up and placed it in the girl's hand. "Here."
Kina opened the 12-inch long fan with a practiced flick that had Temari raising her eyebrows. "This is very pretty," she said, admiring the black silk cloth with silver herons flying as the pattern. "But why is it in a weapons shop?"
Chuckling, Temari took the fan from her. Closing it again, she pushed the joint holding the fan together away from her. Long, sharp blades emerged from each of the spokes of the fan. Flicking it open again, Temari showed Kina the bladed fan. (2)
Holy shit, it's just like 'Mortal Kombat,' Kina thought.
"You'll learn that as a kunoichi—that is, a female ninja—you have to be cunning and devious in both your manner and your choice of weapons," Temari explained, closing the fan and retracting the blades. "Do you want it?"
"Yes…" Kina sighed.
"There's a twin to that one, Temari-sama, Kinabuhi-sama," the shopkeeper said. He picked up a gold metal fan and flicked it open. Instead of black silk, the fan was red satin and the pattern on it was made of gold threads swirling together to mimic a sandstorm.
"I'll take them both," Kina decided. "As well as the pair of chobos behind you and the bolo over there." (3)
Temari was impressed. Not only had Kina chosen well made weapons, but weapons that were primarily used for self defense. Her sensei, Baki, had once said that you could tell a lot about a fighter just from their choice of weapon. Temari had come to realize that it was not always the case, but if Kina's choice of weapons were geared toward self-defense, then she doubted that the girl would be able to rank any higher than genin.
"We still have one more store to go to, Kina," Temari said. "We should get home so that you can get a good night's rest. Your test is tomorrow."
"Alright, Temari-san." Kina smiled and followed her to another store.
Ten minutes later, she wasn't smiling anymore.
"I…AM…GOING…TO…KILL…HIM!"
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Kina woke up quickly the next morning and put on a pair of short black shorts. After finding a mesh tank top, she placed the black chest binding around herself. She put on one of her new tops, this one was a green Chinese style top, and tucked her amulet underneath it. She grabbed her new sandals and her weapons bag and headed to the kitchen.
Seeing no one there, Kina decided to make her own breakfast for once. She looked in the refrigerator and found a loaf of bread, eggs, milk, lettuce, and string cheese. Lots and lots of string cheese.
Huh, she thought. I never figured Temari or Kankuro as string cheese fanatics.
Taking out the bread, milk, and eggs, she turned to the cupboards and started to make herself some French toast. Temari came into the room after she had made her fifth slice.
"What's that smell?" she asked. "Smells good. I've never seen bread prepared like that before."
Kina turned and smiled at her hostess. "It's something from my homeland," she said. Sort of, more like home time she thought. She made four more pieces before she turned off the stove and sat down at the table. "Eat up!"
Kankuro came as Temari reached for the last piece of French toast. Being male and seeing the last piece of food on the table, he immediately grabbed it and gobbled it in one bite.
"Kankuro," Temari growled. "That was the last piece."
Kankuro rubbed his stomach and opened one of his eyes. "Was it?" he asked. "It was damned good. What was it?"
"It was food that Kina-chan made for us. 'Us' being me and her!"
"Well, Kina can always make more," he said. "After all, I haven't had breakfast yet."
"Then you should wake up earlier, baka!" Temari yelled, glomping her brother on the head.
Throughout this exchange, Kina just looked back and forth between the siblings like she was watching a game of pong. (4)
"I can make more," she offered. "It's no problem, Temari-san, Kankuro-san."
"Yes it is a problem," Temari said, holding her brother in a headlock despite the fact that he was taller by at least five centimeters. "We have to warm up before your test and you can't waste the time to cook this moron breakfast. Didn't I give you permission to call me 'neechan'?"
"Hai, Temari-neechan," she corrected. "But if Kankuro-san is going to test me also, shouldn't he have a good breakfast as well?"
Temari snorted and let her brother go. "If he wants to have a good breakfast, he'll have to get one without your help. You really need to warm up since you're going up against me, Kankuro, and Baki-sensei."
"All three of you?" Kina gasped. "I thought it would only be you and Kankuro-san…"
"Nope! C'mon," the older girl grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "Let's get going."
Kankuro's pitiful cry followed them out the door. "But what about my breakfast?"
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Kina stood in a large dojo in the Kazekage's Mansion across from Baki, Temari, and Kankuro. Her legs wanted to shake so badly, but she refused to let the tremors through. For now, these three were her opponents and she couldn't let any bit of fear show on her face or allow any weakness to show through her body language. So instead of shaking, she stood in her normal Escrima stance. (5) Her feet were planted firmly on the ground and she loosely clasped her right forearm with her left hand. Her bag of weapons lay on the ground by her feet.
"Alright," Temari started. She had been appointed the examiner for Kina's first test. "The first part of your test will be on taijutsu. That means hand-to-hand combat—no weapons until I say so. Kinabuhi, your opponent will be Baki-sensei while I will be the examiner. Kankuro will be taking notes in the meantime."
"You will have 5 matches. However many you win does not matter. Your goal is to knock the other to the ground for ten seconds or get them to admit defeat. You will be allowed one weapon for the third match, two for the fourth, and as many as you need for the fifth," Temari explained.
Baki stepped forward to the middle of the mat covered room and waited for Kina to join him. Once she was five feet away from him, he bowed to her and went into a battle stance. Kina automatically stepped back with her right foot and touched her forehead with the first two fingers of her right hand while at the same time touched the first two fingers of her left hand to her bellybutton, keeping her thumbs extended the entire time. (6)
Baki looked almost confused at her odd stance before she stepped forward and brought her right hand down from her forehead and assumed a battle stance. Her right foot moved forward again and she brought her right arm up to protect her chest with her right hand lightly covering her heart. Her left hand stayed by her bellybutton. (7)
This one has been trained before, Baki noted. I don't recognize the stance, but it's definitely one for fighting.
"Start!" Temari yelled.
Baki leaped into action. He ran directly for the startled girl. Kina felt the familiar sensation of battle tunnel vision start to take over and relaxed the muscles around her eyes. Time seemed to slow down as she moved her left shoulder back and to the right as she dodged Baki's left fist and arm. Her right hand grabbed at his wrist as it flew past. She stepped back with her left foot as her left hand shot out and grabbed his elbow in the same joint lock move she used on Gaara the week before.
Before Baki could react, she twisted his arm behind him and kicked him fast and low behind his knees. This brought the jounin to his knees. Kina let go of his wrist and pinched his right shoulder to immobilize the joint. Her right knee came up and pressed against his back, pulling his shoulders painfully.
"I yield," the Sand nin said.
"First match, Kina," Temari said.
Baki stood when she let him go and quickly reassessed the girl. She's fast and strong for her size, he thought, rotating his right shoulder. She obviously knows the human body and it's weak points. Walking back to the center of the mat, the two faced off once more.
"She's fast," Kankuro noted as she dodged Baki's first punch and blocked his knee from hitting her hip with her own. "She knows how to use her knees, too."
"Yes," Temari answered. Kina was on the defensive again as Baki let loose with a barrage of fast punches. Kina did her best to block each one, but a few got through and she fell onto her knees before the jounin.
"Do you yie—" Baki was cut short with a squawk as Kina struck the inside of his knee with her forearm. He overbalanced and fell onto the ground as Kina jumped up and stood in her battle stance again.
"Like hell I do," she whispered as she waited for Baki to get up and attack her again.
"She got Baki-sensei to squawk," Kankuro laughed.
"Yeah, she did. But did you notice how she never attacks?" Temari asked. The two fighters kept trading punches and blows. Baki was always the attacker, while Kina simply blocked and looked for an opening. "She turns the tables on his attacks but never goes on the offensive herself."
"Now that you mention it, Kina is more of a defensive fighter," Kankuro agreed.
Baki came close to Kina's right shoulder and faked a back-handed punch to her head. As her right hand came up to defend her face, he changed direction and sent and underhand punch to her gut. His hit connected, but wasn't as strong as it should have been because Kina's left hand—which never really left its position near her bellybutton for long—grabbed his wrist and checked the blow. But the force was enough to cause Kina to double over and fall onto her side, coughing.
"Second match, Baki-sensei," Temari called out.
Kina sat on her heels and took a deep breath. Baki noticed her lips moving, as if muttering a jutsu, but noticed no chakra gathering around the girl. When she was done, she opened her eyes and a new light was in them. She quickly stood and walked over to her weapons bag. It was the third match and they could finally use a weapon.
Kina refused to show the pain she was feeling as she bent down to grab the silver metal fan she and Temari had bought the other day. After she recited the oracion, she had pushed the pain she felt into a corner of her mind. (8) She looked at the seemingly fragile fan in her hand. It was heavier than a normal fan, but since the spokes were made of metal, that was to be expected. Even without extending the blades within the 12-inch fan, it could be used as a weapon.
They met in the center again and Baki bowed while Kina executed her strange salute once more. Only this time, she touched the tip of the fan to her forehead instead of her fingers. Once she settled into her battle stance she snapped open the fan and smiled at Baki.
"Bring it," she whispered.
The older man smirked and raised his kunai to his chest. He had noticed Kina's lack of offensive moves as well and cautiously began to circle her. She followed him with her eyes and turned her head to keep him in her sights. When he got behind her, she refused to move her feet to follow him. He finally came up on her right side, when she flipped the fan in her right hand and stepped to face him, all the while twirling the fan until it seamlessly rested in her left.
Baki watched the movements of the fan and failed to notice the exchange of hands and so he was unprepared for her to lunge forward and knock away his kunai with her right hand. He hadn't expected her to attack after being on the defensive for the first two matches. Baki lunged after his weapon only to have his hand slapped by the now closed fan.
He brought his hand back to his side, surprised to see a bright red mark on his tanned skin. That's no ordinary fan, he thought. Kina noticed his hesitation and took the opportunity to attack again. Using quick movements and using the witik form of attacking, she hit a few pressure points on both of Baki's arms. (9)
Kina came up in front of him and winked before she tapped his shoulder with the fan and followed through with a straight jab to his stomach with her left fist. He doubled over and immediately met Kina's upraised knee. The jarring to his sternum knocked the breath out of him and he fell on his face in the middle of the dojo.
"Third match, Kina," Temari said, impressed by Kina's use of the fan. Obviously, the girl had taken her words yesterday to heart. "You'll learn that as a kunoichi…you have to be cunning and devious in both your manner and your choice of weapons."
She waited a few minutes for Baki to sit up as she quickly wrote down her thoughts on the match for Gaara to read later. When she looked up, her sensei was still face down on the floor and Kina was kneeling next to him, shaking his shoulder.
"Baki-sensei!" the girl called. "This isn't funny. I didn't hit you that hard! Baki-sensei!"
Kankuro and Temari ran to where their ex-sensei lay. Kankuro turned the man over and Temari opened his vest. Kina sat and watched as the two siblings took his vital signs and watched his breathing. She was surprised when Temari frowned and hit Baki upside the head.
"Baki-baka!" the blonde kunoichi yelled. "Don't make us call the medic nins, you faker! Just because you were beaten by a little girl with a fan is no excuse to use Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu and worry Kina-chan!"
"Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu…" Kina repeated. She suddenly understood and hit Baki on the shoulder as well. "That's not very nice, Baki-sensei, putting yourself to sleep like that! I was really worried!"
Baki smiled sheepishly and rubbed the side of his head. Kina never thought that the man who had led the Sand nin against Konoha would ever look like a reprimanded child. "Gomen," he said as he sat up. "It's just that I didn't expect you to be so proficient. What kind of taijutsu were you using anyway, Kina-sama?"
Kina blushed and looked down. "Um…it's called Escrima," she explained. "It's from my father's homeland. He taught it to me ever since I was little. But I use it wrong."
Kankuro shook his head. "From where I was sitting it looked like you were using it right."
It was Kina's turn to shake her head. "No, no, no. Escrima is supposed to be for self-defense only," she twisted her hands around the fan in her lap. "I was the first one to attack in that last fight."
"It's okay, Kina-chan," Temari said. "Everyone adapts certain taijutsus to fit their personalities or the situation. It's the nature of combat."
Baki stood up and smiled down at the girl again. "Speaking of combat," he drawled. "We have two more matches to fight."
Kina sighed and spoke without thinking, "Let's not and say we did." (10)
The other three shinobi were silent for a second and then burst out laughing. Kankuro laughed harder when he noticed how red Kina was turning.
"That's a unique way of putting it," Temari said. "Since we still have two more parts of the test to give you, Kina-chan, this once we will forget the last two matches. Why don't you rest for a bit and then we'll start the next part, okay?"
Kina smiled at Temari and promptly fell onto her back. "Thank you, Temari-neechan!"
A/N: Well, how'd I do? Be honest! But not brutal…--;
Next Chapter: Temari finds something out and Kankuro is a flamingo? What?
(1) Kina is now a Daughter of Suna because Gaara "claimed" her as his "ward."
(2) I don't know if a weapon like this actually exists…I made it up for the story…it would be cool if something like this did exist though.
(3) Chobos are fighting sticks…think police batons. And a bolo is a short 14-20 inch sword that is most often used in rice farming.
(4) The whole "tennis match" thing is so overused…but since pong is just a video game version of it, I guess I'm just as bad. --;
(5) Escrima is one of the martial arts of the Philippines…if you haven't been paying attention to the first two chapters.
(6) This is called Bigay Galang, which is the courtesy salutation Escrima fighters perform before sparring. It's equivalent to bowing to an opponent. The hand position is like the 'L' sign for loser; only the middle finger is up against the first finger.
(7) This stance is called Tindig Serrada, which is the 'Ready Position.'
(8) An oracion is a prayer, usually in Latin, that when chanted, sung, or mentally recited, serve to protect or strengthen a person. Kina uses it to focus along with her amulet.
(9) A witik attack is a straight strike against an opponent, but at the point of impact, the user flicks the wrist back very quickly, causing a slight "recoil" effect to take place. The hit is usually very stinging and painful for a while.
(10) This is something me and my friends always say to our professors when they tell us that we "just need to do x number more problems or whatever and then we can go home."