Naruto: A Red Eye Hidden by Shadow

by Tatanka4Life

On the fateful night of the Uchiha Massacre, a girl of Uchiha and Nara blood is spared and left with no memories of her past. Now she must walk on the path left by her family to help her build a new future for herself. Her path will be hard, full of struggles and pain, but as long as she has her friends and family at her side she will keep forging ahead, even if it was a drag.

44. Chapter 43: No Holding Back

Chapter 43

No Holding Back: Rivals in Battle, Friends for Life!

The swirl of energy formed at the collision of the two kunais recoiled and propelled the two kunoichis away from one another. Both bent down low to the ground, fingertips of their empty hands lightly caressing the soft blades of grass and rough earth beneath them, eyes intensely pinned on their opponent against the grins splitting their lips.

Mimi of the pair found traction first and darted back in like a bright comet zipping through the night sky. Amari skipped back gracefully instead of charging ahead, free hand reaching into her pouch and throwing three shuriken on precise paths. As the shurikens whirled through the air she planted her feet and Body Flickered, zigging and zagging at nearly untraceable speeds back to her opponent.

The Inuzuka blocked two of the shuriken then jumped and spun over the third. A quick flick of her wrist before her feet touched solid ground again sent her kunai on target for the Uchiha. Cold steel sought warm flesh; the fine point cut through the threads of air on its hunt—a hunt that ended in disappointment.

Amari turned her upper body to dodge the blade without stopping her forward movement. Mimi landed—a new blade already equipped—and pounced at the Nara.

Their blades clanged together, the sharp sound of metal on metal nearly piercing their ears. Orange, hot sparks flew from the point of impact while the recoil of their strength colliding rolled up their arms.

She's gotten stronger, Mimi noted, grinning.

They pushed each other away briefly then darted back in again. Once, twice, three and then for a fourth time they clashed, passing by one another at extreme speeds, skidding on grass and dirt as if it were ice before jolting back in for another blow.

All the spectators could see were the sparks of their blades upon every meeting, and then the two wild manes of untamed blue and dark-brown hair flowing in the wind in the brief moments before they zipped back in to attack. It enticed all to try not to blink too often, otherwise they risked missing a decisive blow.

Mimi rushed in after the Nara, blade slashing through the air in preparation of a solid block to the incoming blade. But as the strikes closed in, her sapphire eyes widened as they perceived Amari's sudden switch of attacks. Her opponent's blade spun deftly in her hand, the point of the blade no longer seeking to stab her, but pointing towards the ground as it came in an upward slash she couldn't counter.

And faster…

Their kunais made contact with a sharp clang! The improper block Mimi used and the strength behind Amari's strike sent her kunai sailing out of her hand and spinning through the air behind her. The hand previously wielding her kunai was pushed back to the limits of her shoulder mobility. Her guard had been utterly shattered, her center of balance thrown off into a stumble backwards with her body sitting wide open for a strike.

A bad situation that would have been even worse if she fought alone.

"Aoko!" she called out, arms already moving back towards her center to block any taijutsu attack as the muscles in her legs instinctively prepared to dodge.

Amari spun and pivoted on her toes like a dancer, and Mimi's eyes caught the glint of sunlight off a second kunai in her left hand. As she came out of the spin, her foot slammed against Mimi's forearms and sent her flying back. If Mimi hadn't seen Amari in front of her, she would have believed a horse, or at the least a pony, had kicked her.

Simultaneously, Aoko in her natural form flew down from the air wielding the kunai blade Mimi lost in her sharpened teeth.

In fluid motion Amari replanted the foot she used to kick, blocked the strike with her newly equipped blade and tossed the original straight up into the air behind her back. Aoko's momentum and gravity carried her through the strike past Amari towards the ground, but the Nara was quicker, snatching the ninken by the scruff of her neck, spinning low across the ground and tossing her directly at Mimi.

"Mimi, catch the blade!" Aoko released the kunai into the air while twisting her body to prepare to land on her paws.

Mimi snatched the blade out of air as they passed by and continued ahead. As she neared, Amari caught her original blade and began to block and parry her strikes. Her features no longer bore a grin, though not out of lack of excitement. Amari's red eye, as with the rest of her features, were set in stone faced determination while also carrying a serene sense of calm despite the battle going on.

Perhaps it was because she was in battle she hit this meditation level of calm. Or perhaps it was simply because this type of battle was her forte in comparison to Mimi's—a fact made obvious by how easily she turned defense into offense.

With every new exchange, with every narrow dodge of pinpointed stabs and flesh seeking slashes, Mimi realized she couldn't and wouldn't win this battle in a duel of blades. Amari practically danced across the battlefield, blades spinning in her hands to swiftly change direction of attack, block or type of attack without appearing to even have to think about it.

Aoko couldn't engage Amari to back her partner up. In her natural form her defensive abilities were extremely limited against these blades and Amari's quick reflexes. The Sharingan, and no doubt Byakugan too, made it impossible for her ninken to get the drop on her. Amari's footwork shifted in preparation of an attack from the sides or her back when she sensed Aoko change positions.

Her partner could see it too. It became clear she couldn't rightfully attack without endangering Mimi or herself, so she lingered back, whimpering for both her inability to attack and desire to join the thrill of the fight.

A thrill Mimi found herself steeped in.

This had been what she wanted ever since they first fought. This fierce battle where no one else could distract them from their fight. But that didn't mean she was going to fight to her opponents tune just for the fun of it. This was still a competition, and she planned to win.

"Hey Aoko, it's time we turn this up a notch, don't ya think?" the Inuzuka asked gleefully, a wild glint in her eyes.

"Far past time!" she responded with the same excitement.

Mimi focused in on Amari's footwork instead of the dangerous red eye. There were patterns. She had noticed it in in their first fight, her fight against Hisashi and here, but Amari concealed them incredibly well. Better than she had in their first fight.

Now!

Hopping back, Mimi threw her kunai and started to weave handseals. Tiger, Ox, Tiger, Rat. Amari made short work of blocking her kunai, but she wasn't a fool. She saw the handseals, recognized what jutsu they were for and prepared. Nara's always watched and prepared instead of attacking without any thought.

Mimi's chest expanded as she molded her chakra to be like a fine blade.

Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu!

The stream of water she expelled wasn't a large waterfall spilling forth from her lips; it was slim and sharp and cut a horizontal line through the earth. Amari planted her front foot and jumped back, avoiding the cutting stream by a needles width. Mimi landed from her hop and listened intently for Aoko's paws padding hastily towards her.

She needed more time, which meant keeping Amari away. Mimi cut her continuous stream of water up the dirt to chase after her opponent in hopes of landing a blow, but mostly to keep her distracted. Amari hopped on her toes, dashed arcing paths and handspringed out of range of the attack.

We won't have much time, but…

She disengaged the jutsu and moved onto all-fours, hands in Tiger. Aoko hopped onto her back, a wolfish grin on her face.

"I have not been so excited about a fight in a long time. Let's make this fun!"

"Right! Man Beast Clone!" Her partner transformed into a carbon copy of the Inuzuka. "Now, Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!"

Red chakra enveloped her body and finished off the transformation to turn her features feral, elongate her nails and sharpen her teeth. Amari smiled victoriously at her, returning her kunai to her pouch and ninja tool box. She had been waiting for this, proving her dominance in their dance of blades to make the Inuzuka realize she couldn't keep holding back if she wanted to win.

"Let's see how fast ya really are. Let's go Aoko!"

"Don't think your transformation will make this easy. I've only been warming up!"

Mimi grinned wildly, her slit pupils and sapphire eyes teeming with exhilaration. "Then let the real battle begin!"

In an instant all three disappeared in sheer speed.

---

Genma felt his eyes bulge when Amari and Mimi vanished. Where did they— there!

He turned to face the trails of the three but found only the dust they kicked up. Gone. They were already gone. His eyes darted around in search of the trio. Things heated up faster than I expected.

All around him he could hear their sandals scampering across the ground, he could hear the sound of rapid fire punches being blocked, air whistling as kicks were dodged, but every time he turned he only found the dust of their recent encounter.

These two… Genma's teeth tightened around his senbon. They're really going all out.

He had known Amari and Mimi were speedsters, but he hadn't imagined they were this fast. All that morning training with the weighted seals has really paid off for Amari.

Another flurry of attacks echoed on his opposite side; this time the Jōnin was able to get a glimpse of the three.

Amari was back handspringing away from her two opponents, her feet nearly cracking them both under their jaws. The Inuzuka duo leaned back just enough to save their jaws then pounced, their clawing strikes and solid, straightforward taijutsu attacks coming one after another in perfect synchronization, putting Amari on defensive offense.

She blocked a combination of five strikes—two punches, a kick then two more quick punches—from Mimi, but Aoko darted in immediately after, her claws seeking to tear away any skin it could touch. The attack opened up the opportunity for Mimi to recover without a counterattack while Amari herself had to shift her original attack back to a defensive maneuver.

The sharpened nails neared her face, mere inches from cutting through her fragile flesh to draw first blood of this fight, but they found only air. Amari appeared to teleport, reappearing behind the Inuzuka duo in a low crouch. The very edge of the shadow casted by the walls of the arena rested beneath her feet and her hands firmly formed the Rat handseal.

Two Shadow tendrils shot forward and moved to ensnare her opponents.

Mimi spun around, blue eyes darting to the ground to read the movements of the shadows as she hopped away with her partner. The shadows didn't relent in their pursuit. They thinned, separated into multi-tendrils at their ends, appearing like an intricate set of roots for a plant that had enough of humans tearing them out of the ground.

Genma watched earnestly, prepared to see this battle reach a conclusion faster than he expected as the Inuzuka duo struggled to avoid the shadows. Mimi grabbed a kunai from her pouch mid-jump and threw it at her opponent, missing the direct hit as it sailed over her shoulder and pierced into the ground behind her.

Amari and Genma noticed the paper bomb attached to it before it landed.

The explosion went off an instant after it landed, drawing shocked gasps out of almost the entire crowd of spectators when the smoke obscured Amari's fate. All anyone saw was the explosion and sudden disappearance of her Shadows. Genma, as well as the more seasoned shinobi among the stadium, sensed the situation far better.

The explosions smoke and hot dirt rained onto the ground, lasting but a moment, and when the wind carried it clear everyone was able to see the charred and splintered log replacing Amari.

Substitution Jutsu. It's often a basic tactic even seasoned shinobi underestimate the usefulness of, Genma thought.

Amari appeared on Mimi's and Aoko's side, darting low along the ground with fierce features. The enhanced senses of the Inuzuka duo weren't fooled by the Substitution Jutsu; they followed her the entire way and were prepared for her next attack.

Aoko was set upon first by her fierce barrage of punches, but the transformed ninken found an opening and snatched the Nara's mesh covered arm beneath her claws. The initial instinctive reaction of Amari's was to pull her arm back and get away, but Aoko did not relinquish her tightening grip. She yanked her back in towards a hard fist from the front and an elbow Mimi planned to plant into her stomach.

Using her flexibility of mind and body, Amari used the new forward momentum and chakra released from her feet to propel herself up and over Aoko, above the powerful elbow that would have knocked more air out of her lungs than a jump scare ever could.

Amari corkscrewed over Aoko, landed then moved in, arm still held by the transformed ninken. She stepped up onto her thigh with one foot and used the other to kick Aoko beneath her jaw, causing the ninken's grip to loosen as she back flipped back onto her feet—free.

Free but not out of trouble. Mimi was already springing her next attack, spinning ferociously through the air over her stumbling partner and directly at the kunoichi. Amari dodged back, the drilling attack missing her by a strand of hair. Dust and dirt exploded outward from the attack as Amari hopped back and reached into her ninja pouch.

Mimi's and Aoko's synchronized assault, strength and speed are preventing Amari from landing any serious blows. His eyes glanced to the shredded mesh and the trails of blood gliding down her left hand. She may have landed that kick, but Mimi and Aoko drew first blood.

Genma changed positions to ensure his own safety and to stay out of the way of these two battling kunoichi.

Mimi and Aoko charged out of the dust on all-fours, weaving in and out in a double helix fashion. Amari tossed a kunai at the pair, the paper bomb tied on the end flickering in the wind. Genma furrowed his brow in recognition of the fūinjutsu.

Mimi bolted faster across the ground, jumping up, snatching the blade by the hilt and throwing it right back at her opponent, who continued to retreat towards the concrete wall bathed in sunlight. Everyone expected the paper bomb to catch fire and explode, but it continued to fly unbothered through the air.

Amari hopped up and back onto the wall then released the chakra from her feet, shooting through the air, snatching the kunai and zipping past Mimi and Aoko like a bullet. As she hurtled through the air, she corkscrewed and threw the kunai back at the pair, landing and gliding effortlessly along the grass, hands in Snake.

Remote detonation paper bombs.

The blade was almost upon Mimi and Aoko, the former clearly recognizing her opponent's intention. Her hands quickly weaved handseals before her chest expanded. She expelled a large stream of water at the ground, which shot upwards to form her Water Style: Water Wall at denseness Genma dipped his head in appreciation of.

Not easy to make that much water without a source, especially for a Genin.

The kunai ended up trapped within the upwards stream, but even then the explosion rocked the entire stadium. Mimi and Aoko, however, managed to retreat out of the blast range, yet both had to raise their hands in front of their faces as the heat of the explosion rushed past them.

Two Shadow Clones popped into existence.

These two, they're fighting on a different level than the others. Every attack moved seamlessly, both kunoichi adapting to the changing circumstances at moments notices. Genma's features became serious. I've got to keep an eye on these three. If they're going to fight at full battle intensity, I have to be prepared to stop this match at a moment's notice to prevent a permanent injury.

He glanced between the two. Mimi and Amari aren't fighting for Chūnin, even if they're battling at that level. They're fighting to prove who the strongest between them is.

They're not fighting like kids. They're fighting as shinobi.

That was an important difference. A dangerous one. Neither would hold back, neither would lower their intensity until the battle finished. Neither would stop pushing themselves and their opponent to their limits until one couldn't stand up anymore.

This crowd didn't exist right now to these kids. They didn't even acknowledge the existence of the crowd who watched them from the edge of their seats. Those three probably didn't even remember he was here. Right now it was just Mimi, Aoko and Amari.

Exactly how they wanted it.

---

Mimi's enhanced senses were living up to Amari's expectations. Even at her top speed her opponent was not only able to track her, but keep up without the slightest problem. This was never going to be easy, but these two are even tougher than I thought they'd be.

Perfect.

Amari wanted them to be tough; it meant she had to work even harder to win here. An easy victory would be hollow, empty of all meaning. No different than being underestimated in their first fight. She's definitely taking me seriously this time.

Her best chance to deal significant damage was getting Aoko and Mimi away from one another. Together they worked like clockwork, hardly communicating as they overwhelmed her through aggressive offense and numbers. They wouldn't be easy alone either, but she could at the least neutralize their number advantage against her long enough to deal a real blow to Mimi.

Light rain fell on a small portion of the battlefield from the remnants of the Water Wall. Amari's clones didn't waste time charging back in, and neither did her opponents. The two clones Body Flickered in half circles to form a pincer attack, appearing momentarily on the Inuzuka duo's sides before darting in again for a high kick and sliding kick.

The attacks were blocked relatively easily, but Amari knew they would be. They were just the distraction for her to weave her handseals.

Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!

The Uchiha unleashed a barrage of fireballs centered on the duo. Her clones kicked themselves free and dodged away, as she expected Mimi and Aoko to do in separate directions.

They did not dodge.

"Aoko, get ready to move!"

Mimi reached into her pouch and pulled out a scroll, unrolling it in one move so it floated in the air facing the fireballs. Amari's eyes widened at the fūinjutsu staring back at her. It wasn't just one seal, or two. Ten seals were inked on the long scroll, all marked by the kanji for Water.

You've got to be kidding!

Water exploded out of the seals in a dense tidal wave. A giant wall of water that swallowed her Phoenix Flower Jutsu whole and blasted across the battlefield with no end in sight. Amari fell into a retreat, stepping up onto the newly formed water with chakra, sandals and ankles already wet as an entire river apparently opened up from the scrolls.

Beyond the wall of water, she could sense Mimi's grin as she spoke again. "You should get to higher ground." Another scroll opened up, longer than the first that still spilled forth water, and carrying more seals on it. "Things are about to get wet!"

An even larger tidal wave of water poured from the scroll. If the first had been a river of water, this one was a continuous waterfall that continued to pour and pour and pour raging waves that had been contained for far too long over the entire battlefield.

Her clones hadn't been prepared for the next wave, consumed by the torrents of water and disappearing beneath the sudden lake beginning to fill the enclosed bowl stadium they were in.

Amari jumped up onto the closest wall and handspringed her way to a height out of reach of the water. Her Byakugan caught sight of the Inuzuka duo appearing behind her. Damn! This had not gone according to plan. She spun around quickly to block a solid punch followed by two kicks she dodged while retreating back down the wall towards the water.

Towards where Mimi wanted her to be.

"Where did you get all this water?!" Amari demanded, a punch passing over her shoulder.

The water was half way up the trees and still rising.

"Different parts of the village!"

"You better put it back after this!"

"Yeah yeah! Come on, show me the true extent of your strength!"

What a drag!

Amari blocked a hard kick and let it send her flying off the wall back towards the water. She flipped out of it to land on the surface of the water, where she once more had to dodge backwards to avoid a pouncing strike from Aoko. She then ducked under a swiping strike from Mimi. Bracing the weight of her body onto her hands, she kicked both feet into her opponent's gut, simultaneously pushing her away while using the force to flip her back onto her hands and toes to scramble across the surface out of the way of another strike from Aoko.

Grr, I'm not going to get anywhere if I have to keep retreating! Amari slid back on the surface of the water then planted her back foot. Not one more step back, she declared, crimson eye hardening. From here on out, I'm the one who's going to push you!

Mimi and Aoko reached her at the same time, and though neither looked her in the eye, they could sense the new determination. Of the pair, Aoko jumped into the air to strike from above while Mimi sped in on all-fours to go low.

One of Amari's clones burst out of the water in front of her, propelled off the back of the second clone through chakra. "Now you're mine!" she cried as she tackled Aoko out of the air, shocking Mimi for a brief moment. That fraction of a second was all Amari needed to react faster.

"Don't lose focus on the opponent in front of you!"

Amari dipped half of her back foot into the water, kicking it through the cool lake to splash up into Mimi's face, temporarily blinding her. She didn't waste the opportunity to finally push offense while her clone began to fight Aoko, staying between her and her partner.

A solid punch struck Mimi in the face, stunning her and making her stumble back and away from her opponent. Amari stayed on her, punching and kicking fast and hard blows at her gut and face; some landed, others were blocked as her opponent regained her senses and started to counterattack.

She jumped over a sweep kick, skipping back two steps to the line she marked on the water and stopping again. No more retreating. No more running. She could take being hit, and for every hit Mimi landed she would land one twice as hard!

A flurry of punches came from Mimi, but Amari blocked them all and kicked when an opening presented itself. The Inuzuka blocked the kick and slid back on the water. Amari dashed after her, jumping and spinning through the air to kick her opponent. Her opponent ducked under the kick, but as her foot touched the surfaced of the water she continued to spin, bringing her leg around again to connect against Mimi's forearms.

Again she slid back. A wild look in her slit pupils took over as she grinned.

Amari followed again, but this time Mimi wouldn't be able to block her attack; that wasn't a prediction, it was a guarantee.

The second clone resurfaced, snatching the Inuzuka's leg and tugging the foot beneath the surface. "Hehe, I've got your foot!" she taunted in a sing-song voice.

Mimi grunted in shock, eyes snapping down to the clone pulling her into the water.

A mirror of their first encounter, only this time it wouldn't be Amari's hair to get wet or her to be caught in a Water Prison.

Instead of continuing to charge in to punch or kick her opponent, Amari hit her skids and weaved her handseals, inhaling a large breath on her disabled opponent.

Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!

There wasn't time for a Water Wall or a Water Bomb Jutsu this time. This attack was coming at close range, at a fast speed too. Mimi did the only thing she could—she braced for impact.

The Fire Ball connected, exploding on the Inuzuka and dispelling her clone. Mimi's body skipped across the water surface like a thrown rock, flames lingering on her dark blue sweater. Amari Body Flickered after her. Mimi spun out of her helpless body surfing and fluidly unzipped her jacket, stripped it off, skating on her chakra to spin one-eighty and throw the burning sweater into Amari's field of view.

The Nara slid under the sweater, rising up with her right fist clenched and ready to strike. As her fist connected in an uppercut to Mimi's jaw, Mimi's fist connected in her stomach just as hard. Amari's eye bulged as she gasped in pain and in search of the oxygen knocked out of her lungs.

The pair started to stumble away, but Amari's hand latched onto Mimi's wrist, tugging her back in while winding up for another strike. Mimi, physically stronger than the Nara, halted her forward momentum completely and dodged her face down and out of the way of the punch.

Right into a knee that caught her beneath her chin.

She recoiled back, wrist released by her opponent, and stumbled on her heels to dodge the fierce strikes incoming on her. Their intense battled continued to rage on, hard blow after hard blow hitting them with the earth rattling force of thunder. Aoko brawled in the distance against the clone of Amari, struggling to find an opening to get rid of the clone and return to her partner to continue their two on one assault.

Mimi stepped back out of range of a punch, gloved hand snatching it by the wrist as the other gripped her shoulder, leg sweeping Amari's legs out from under her to dunk her face first into the water. While the cool water on her warm face did feel quite nice, Amari felt two intense feelings. First off, being drowned wasn't fun; it was quite frightening to realize her need to breathe in oxygen couldn't be ignored forever, and one single inhale would promptly fill her lungs with water.

Secondly, her hair was wet. No, it wasn't just wet; it was absolutely soaked from scalp to ends. The wild life of her hair was being murdered remorselessly, and now she was going to have to deal with dreaded knots when she got home.

This was personal.

Shutting her eyes and calming her heart against its beginnings of panic as the need to breathe became more and more essential to survival, the Nara focused in on the points of contact on her arm. She envisioned them in her mind's eye and honed in on the entire area, from finger tips to palms.

Blue chakra began to emanate from the points of contact, absorbing the fiery red chakra shrouded around her opponent into those exact points and replenishing the chakra she expended at a rapid rate. She felt Mimi's body tensed as she too realized exactly what was happening to her chakra. The Inuzuka released the arm as if it was made of fire and skated back out of range when her eyes caught the sight of the shadow about to snatch her.

Amari didn't wait to pull her head free from submergence, strands of her soaked ponytailed blue hair whipping back over her head to slap wetly against her dry tank top. One red eye honed in on her opponent's blue eyes—the first time their eyes had met since the beginning of the battle.

Sharingan!

Demonic Dragon: Shadowed Death Jutsu!

Mimi became stiff as a metal rod, sapphire eyes going wide. Her body nearly fell fully slack into the water, but she braced herself on a knee and hand as her breathing sharpened. Amari Body Flickered over to her. As she reappeared behind Mimi to kick her as hard as she could, she sensed her clone pop.

Her leg neared her target. Aoko sped towards her, but she wouldn't make it in time.

That's when Mimi ducked right under her attack. Amari felt her right eye bulge in shock. How did she—

A solid kick landed in her gut, hunching her forward directly into an uppercut and then…

"Leaf Hurricane!"

It hurt.

Amari skipped across the water momentarily then regained her footing, using the momentum gained to keep skipping back. Her right eye zeroed in on the Inuzuka, who crouched with her left hand glowing green over her right forearm. Bloody claw marks through her mesh sleeve marked her forearm while a trail of blood streaked down off her bottom lip.

She used pain to break the genjutsu.

Impressive. For Mimi to need to heal her arm in the middle of battle meant her claws did extensive damage to her arm in order to wake up when biting her lip hadn't been enough.

"Yeah, I know," Mimi said to her partner. "Heh, one moment and she capitalized on it. Just like she did against Lee." She dropped her hand from her arm and moved back onto all-fours. "Let's go, Aoko!"

The two took off to run half circles on both sides of Amari.

"Fang over Fang!"

The Inuzuka duo spun into ferocious tornadoes of claws and pain. Amari watched them carefully, noticing they were attacking from low and high to ensure she couldn't just jump over them. They wanted her to move forward or backward, likely into position for another attack.

I'll just have to deprive them of that plan!

Amari judged the distance, the speed and the trajectory of their attacks with her dōjutsus until the very last moment, standing steadfast in her position. They reached her, and as they were about to shred her into pieces she jumped into the air, spinning and arcing her body into the tiny opening left between them.

Air brushed over her body as her eyes perceived their rotation in slow motion, claws narrowly missing their targets as she floated between the two drilling attacks. The moment passed like an hour. Her hand reached into her ninja pouch in the midst of the acrobatic dodge, and as soon as they were clear she finished her twirl, landing feet first and throwing both kunai where she knew they would land.

Mimi and Aoko came out of their Fang over Fang, landing on all-fours gracefully and gliding on the water surface. They both moved to dodge the blades with ease, but then they dispelled, revealing two clones of the Nara.

"Double Dynamic Entry!"

Their feet collided perfectly with her opponent's shocked faces.

Out of nowhere there was angered shout.

"Kaaaakaaasshiiiiiii!"

---

Somewhere else

---

Kakashi lifted his head in honest confusion. He felt strangely victorious about…something, and his nose itched in need of a sneeze. But he could have sworn he had just heard Guy shouting. At this distance, though? It couldn't have been his eternal rival…right?

He turned to Sasuke. "Did you hear that?"

The boy looked at him in genuine confusion. "Hear what?"

Why do I feel like I just won a round against Guy?

Kakashi shook his head. "Never mind. Come on, we're almost there."

Sasuke just gave him an odd look but said nothing.

Probably just my imagination.

---

Back in the Arena

---

If the three fighters down below were at all baffled, amused or a combination of the two by Guy's shout, they didn't show it. The battle continued to rage on without the slightest hint of slowing down. Mimi and Aoko recovered and popped the clones through Guy's brand of taijutsu and darted back in at the original, spinning once more into Fang over Fang.

Kurenai watched from the edge of her seat, equally captivated by the performance of these two excellent kunoichi and mildly concerned. She didn't doubt Amari's abilities; her performance against Hisashi and here proved how far her daughter had come since first entering the Village. Yet…Kurenai was still her mother, and every blow Mimi landed made her wince as her heart tightened in her chest.

It had been the same against Hisashi, especially when the poison entered her system and those horrible cries of agony tore through her daughter's throat. Every close call, every time his blade neared her daughter in some way, her maternal instincts fought tooth and nail against her shinobi instincts.

Kurenai's muscles stiffened when a Fang over Fang grazed her daughter's back, tearing through the fabric of her tank top to the flesh beneath to open up a new wound. Amari, she could tell, winced from the blow, but she kept moving, kept dodging to avoid the aggressive assault while she waited patiently for a good opening.

No move could be repeated in this battle. Both kunoichi had to keep thinking ahead, looking for new openings they hadn't yet used or new techniques as their opponent adapted to their moves.

"What do you suppose Amari's thinking right now?" Asuma asked.

Kurenai hummed and smiled, glad for the distraction the question provided even if her red eyes refused to budge from the battle. "Honestly? I'd wager she's thinking about how much of a drag this fight is turning out to be."

Asuma chuckled deep in his chest. "Probably true." He leaned his elbows onto his knees, a more serious expression on his face as Amari got nicked again. Another minor injury, but one she didn't let stop her from firing back with a Fire Ball Barrage, blasting Aoko out of the air to plunge into the water and Mimi to lose her footing in an attempt to dodge.

Amari capitalized instantly, blasting small fireball after small fireball to keep her opponent off balance as she closed the distance between them. Mimi jumped up onto a nearby tree and then up and out of the way of another fireball onto the cement wall. Amari met her there, two kunais in her hands, no doubt a fierce look on her face.

Mimi pulled out a blade at the last moment to block one strike, but the second blade made it past her guard just as she tried to dodge back. The blade missed her stomach but cut through her mesh long sleeve across her right arm. Strike, strike, parry, dodge; the pair's strikes were still coming as fast as ever, their footwork carrying them up, down, in zig-zags and half circles along the cement wall.

"Look at those two go," one of the other Leaf shinobi awed from somewhere among the sea of people.

"Are these two really Genin?"

"This is what the Chūnin Exams is about!" another cheered.

Asuma chuckled again. "Despite knowing the match-ups, everyone here is still surprised by how tough and intelligent these two are. There's a reason they're known as the number one rookies of their years, not just of the kunoichis, but of all the shinobi in their class. This fierceness they've shown is exactly the kind of fierceness a shinobi needs to survive in battle."

"You sound impressed," Kurenai teased.

"I am," he agreed, nodding once. "Unlike Naruto's and Neji's battle, this fight isn't muddled by the personal vendetta Neji has against the Main Branch or Naruto's vendetta against Neji for what he said to Amari and what he did to Hinata in the preliminary rounds. And unlike Shikamaru and Temari's fight, this battle isn't one tactician against another in a methodical battle.

"This battle is like a war, a war to prove who the superior shinobi is in physical strength, intelligence and willpower. And it's far from over." Asuma sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. "No, they're nowhere near the final push yet. They may have wounds, but they're only hitting their stride. Out of all the rookie teams and Guy's, these two are different."

Kurenai watched as Mimi dodged two swipes then hopped back a step, throwing her kunai in what appeared to be an opening. Amari blocked the kunai with one of her blades, spun on her toes and tossed the other directly at her opponent. The blade passed her by, but then Mimi moved down onto all-fours as low as she could get. Aoko sped over her, spinning through the air, snatching the kunai then speeding up her ferocious spin up the vertical wall.

Amari slid down the wall on her back with chakra, the blade incorporated into the Fang over Fang cutting mere inches over her. Kurenai tensed again then sighed in relief when her daughter came out unscathed. Aoko halted her spin abruptly as Mimi charged in; the ninken threw the kunai at the blue-haired kunoichi.

Her daughter came out of the slide, pivoted one hundred and eight degrees on her right foot, snatched the kunai out of air then pushed off the wall, corkscrewing over her opponent. The blades again were thrown, impaling into the cement wall after missing Mimi by a narrow margin her enhanced sense of hearing and quick reflexes allowed her to dodge. Amari barely attached herself back to the wall, the toe of her sandal being all that stood between her and the water again.

This is where Amari wants her, Kurenai realized. She's keeping her off the water, off what appears to be an unlimited supply of her Nature affinity.

"Different? How so?" Kurenai asked to Asuma without looking away from the battle.

"While I'll never discredit the hard work our students are putting into their training, the fact is Amari and Mimi have something their peers don't. It's not natural born talent or naturally acute enhanced senses. Those do help them significantly in battle, but they aren't what makes them different; those aren't the reason they stand out from their peers.

"What makes these two so unique is something far deeper. It's something entwined with their very spirits."

Amari blocked and evaded blows in a two on one assault, getting hit hard more than once but firing right back at the person who hit her with hard blows of her own. She sidestepped a claw from Aoko then jumped and twirled through the air to evade a strike from Mimi, kicking both her opponents in the midst of the acrobatic dodge before landing again.

Mimi responded by speeding in again, breaking her block with a hard kick of her own and then following it with an even harder kick to the face to send her daughter careening horizontally across the wall. Amari pressed a chakra covered hand to the wall, reattaching herself and flipping back onto her feet and then into a series of handsprings on the momentum given to her.

On the final handspring she kept her hands attached to the concrete, splitting her legs to block one strike from her front and kick Mimi, who attacked from behind. Amari danced on her hands, hopping over a sweep kick and reattaching herself immediately as she used her legs to block strikes and her hands to keep moving.

Mimi caught a leg, pulled her off the wall, over her head and slammed her back first into the wall again. Amari gasped in pain, but she didn't shut her eyes or stop thinking. Her hands moved into the Clone Seal and a single clone sprang forward out of a plume of smoke, leg swinging to take Mimi's head off.

The Inuzuka dodged under, lowering herself to the wall with Amari's leg still in her possession; Aoko acted fast, leapfrogging her partner to slash the clone into dispersion, but the clone had always been a distraction. Chakra emanated from Amari's hands and pressed against the wall. Then, using no small amount of core strength, Amari lifted her free leg up to kick Mimi into loosening her grip before throwing herself into another handspring, carrying Mimi along with her, feet crushing against the Inuzuka's ribs as she landed it.

Amari hopped free as her opponent gasped, Aoko hot on her trail and ready to continue the assault. Mimi snatched the wall with chakra and quickly returned to her feet to join the attack.

Kurenai swore she saw her grinning.

"What Amari and Mimi have, what sets them apart from their peers, is a crystal clear vision of who they were and who they want to become," Asuma continued. "Although Amari is as docile as a deer outside of combat, the moment you throw her into battle it becomes a war she has to win. And Mimi loves a good fight, especially when it challenges her to be better.

"No pain is too much for them to handle. No injury is as incapacitating as it would be to the others. Hit any of our students, Kakashi's or Guy's with that poison Amari endured and they'd have all given up or been forced to forfeit. The only two I believe could withstand it and still win are Amari and Mimi. Their passionate drive to succeed makes them outright refuse defeat—to refuse even death itself."

"I refuse to lose!" Kurenai recalled Amari's determined shout to Hisashi.

"That's what makes them unique," Kurenai agreed, voice soft.

Asuma's hand found hers and held it gently. "Don't be so worried."

"Am I that obvious?" she asked, smiling weakly.

He grinned charmingly back. "If you know what to look for."

Kurenai squeezed his hand in gratitude and continued to watch the fight.

You can win this, little one. I believe in you.

---

And if I won I would have had to fight one of them? Shikamaru leaned over the railing to spy the match happening on the wall adjacent to him with his fellow Leaf shinobi. Talk about a drag. I've never been so glad to forfeit before.

He had thought 'Risu's fight against Hisashi had been impressive, but it was like these two made a silent agreement to make this entire fight even more intense than that duel had been. This time no one was injured or low on chakra; they were both at full strength and going full blast without any signs of slowing down.

Not only had Mimi changed the entire battlefield to her favor by learning where they would fight and calculating how much water she'd need to do so, but 'Risu was using every skill she had, even Sharingan genjutsu. He didn't need to see it to know; no one in the stadium would be able to see her red eye at the speed these two moved at. He sure couldn't, but he recognized the signs from Zaku.

It was hard to forget.

And Mimi broke herself out of it.

These two weren't holding anything back. This fight was too important to them, and he could tell these troublesome girls were enjoying it. He saw Mimi's grin, seen his cousin smirk and grin at different moments along with that determined look she always wore when a fight tested her.

And he would have had to fight one of them? Sheesh, he almost felt bad for Temari. Whoever won here was going to give her hell. Sure she was smart, and her Wind Style was pretty damn strong, but she fought at a distance. Her taijutsu skills hadn't been displayed, but most long range fighters—him included—weren't nearly as proficient in it as close-ranged combatants. Then there was the fact these two—or three, he supposed—were untraceable to anyone who wasn't a veteran, a Sensor or had enhanced senses like the Inuzuka or Hyūga.

Her odds of winning were slim to non-existent. Not that he really cared. He expended his energy to give a damn.

"It would be a privilege to fight one of them at full power," Shino said without prompting.

"More like a real drag," Shikamaru whined. "Mimi and Aoko are even faster than Kiba; I'd even say they're faster than 'Risu by a slim margin. And their coordination and strength are incredible. Then there's her plan to change the entire stadium to suit her affinity, which was premeditated probably at the beginning of the month of training we had. She learned the battlefield she would fight on and used her time to prepare accordingly for the day of the fight.

"And then there's 'Risu. Troublesome girl is as agile as ever, mentally and physically. She's even faster than she was against Hisashi, and not only is her skill with kunai still superior to all of ours, she's gotten stronger too. I can feel every blow they land in my bones.

"They're both in top form today. Mimi's Water Style is damn powerful, even more than it was against Hironori. And 'Risu isn't being shy about setting people on fire or trying to blow them up. Troublesome girl, what if that had been me? I don't have that kind of agility to get out of my jacket. I don't even have a jacket on anymore. And I don't have ninjutsu to block paper bombs."

"As I said: It would be a privilege to fight one of them at full power," Shino restated.

This entire Exam was such a drag.

And he was feeling it again. The same feeling he felt when she fought Hisashi; the awe, the amazement, the acknowledgment he didn't stand a chance against shinobi of their skill. The realization he would need to train even harder if he wanted to be more than a burden to her when she found that Kasai kid.

Troublesome girl. Why do you have this effect on me? I hate working hard.

He wasn't the only one, he supposed. Shino's acknowledgement of their talents came from a similar place, though the Aburame definitely stood more of a chance than he did. His bugs were no joke.

And Naruto, the poor kid, he'd been almost completely silent since the battle really began. It was like he wanted to cheer them both on, but he couldn't because of how amazed he was by the difference of power between these two and himself.

Shikamaru felt for him, but he wasn't sure what to say to help. So he didn't say anything. Hollow words were worse than silence. Knowing the loudmouthed idiot, though, he'd use this battle as a reason to train even harder and get stronger when it finally finished. It wasn't like he wasn't strong, and he did show some intelligence for once in his fight against Neji, but they all had a ways to go to catch up to these two kunoichi.

Amari created space between her and the Inuzuka duo through a well-timed dodge and immediately crouched down on the wall, hands weaving two distinct handseals: Dragon and Rat. Her shadow, angled by the way the sun hit her, separated into two separate tendrils, both shaped as her unique Shadow Dragon technique.

One tendril arced around her back to speed after Mimi while the other shot ahead directly at Aoko. The duo hastily moved into a retreat down the wall, but closer together. Incidentally, that also moved them closer to the opposite tendrils. Much like the multi-tendril shadows she used earlier, a single new Shadow Dragon formed off of the tendril chasing Aoko and arced right for Mimi as the tendril chasing her retreated.

Shikamaru didn't need to see her face to see the shock. He could feel it on his own face as he watched the Shadow Dragon inch closer and closer. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Both of Mimi's feet were off the wall, granted her right foot was about to touch again, but it was also the foot the tendril was shooting for.

Why, as Shino might ask? Because the shadow formed by her foot was going to aid in her capture.

Mimi disengaged the chakra to her feet in a last desperate attempt, but the way her hands darted in front of her to weave first her Water Clone Jutsu and then Water Bomb Jutsu handseals proved she knew it was futile. 'Risu worked her right into the position she wanted her in, distracting her with the frontal assault to open her up for the real attack.

Gravity took hold of Mimi, pulling her down as her foot missed the wall completely. Three Water Clones formed on the wall and darted up it at the Nara. They attacked from behind and her sides, but they did not hit his cousin. Three new Shadow Dragons shot from his cousin's shadow, wrapping around a leg, an arm and a neck and crushing them. The trio of Water Clones became nothing more than drops of rain on the Inuzuka.

But the distraction did not let her escape. The Shadow Dragon lifted off the wall, lurched forward and wrapped around her ankle.

Water sprayed from Mimi's lips in a sharpened stream, but Shikamaru saw the sudden contortion of pain on her face. His 'Risu dodged her attack by a fraction of a second and retracted her shadows. It may not have been clear to anyone else yet, but one thing was certain about that exchange.

'Risu got her.

---

I'm positive she broke my ankle, Mimi quickly concluded as she landed back on the surface of the water with her good foot and began to hop back on it, face contorted in agony. Pain. Throbbing, pulsating pain reverberated through her ankle. To put any pressure on it guaranteed nausea and dizziness to overcome her. But I don't think it's as bad as it could have been.

The pressure of those sharp teeth had been on her ankle for the briefest of seconds. Any longer and it might have shattered the bone into tiny fragments, so at least that hadn't happened. Still, that brief second had been incredibly painful. Still was.

"Mimi, I'll cover you so you can use Medical Ninjutsu on your ankle. It's fixable, but it's going to take time and chakra."

Much as she trusted her ninken to handle herself, against Amari on her own after already taking damage, Aoko would need backup. Mimi stopped her retreat, placing no pressure on her right foot and weaved her handseal.

"Water Clone Jutsu!"

Water Clones weren't as strong as Shadow Clones, about a tenth of the strength of the original user, but with all this water she could keep creating them at little cost to her chakra. The mini-platoon she could create would keep her opponent busy and buy her the time needed to make an in the field repair.

Twenty formed from her makeshift lake and charged in after the Nara, leaving Mimi to crouch down and use a Diagnostic Jutsu on her ankle. The fracture isn't too bad. It's not good either, to be honest, but it could have been a lot worse. She tore the tendons too.

No wonder it hurt so much. Those Shadow Dragons were damn dangerous to go against; she had known that after Amari broke Zaku, but feeling it personally almost made her pity the punk. Almost. Bastard had it coming.

Without Medical Ninjutsu, to heal an injury like this naturally would have left her unable to continue the fight and on a road of recovery for at the minimum of six months before she could walk normally again. Probably a year before she could have gone back on active duty without repercussions later in life.

Luckily for her she was her own personal medic.

Mimi changed gears from diagnosing the problem to healing it. Aoko joined her, standing steadfastly in front of her as her Water Clones hampered Amari's every attempt to stop the Inuzuka. They took on kunais and paper bombs head-on for their original, buying her precious seconds to dull the pain and heal the more major portions of the injury.

When she felt her clones numbers drop from twenty to ten she stopped healing to create fifteen more.

"Grr, get out of my way!" Amari roared at the clones, kunais spinning into her hands as she kicked into an entire new gear.

Mimi couldn't help but grin as she watched Amari cut down her clones in a fierce and graceful dance of blades. This girl… No one outside of Guy had ever pushed her to this point.

She created twenty more clones when the numbers lowered again, but she knew they wouldn't last long. All she could do against an opponent like Amari was heal it enough to stand on it. If another opening presented itself to heal more, she'd take it, but she wasn't going to be able to fix it all here and now.

"I can buy you more time, Mimi," Aoko told her when she noticed the turning of the tides. Five clones were taken down within a second, ten more replaced them. But no matter the numbers difference Amari wasn't ever overwhelmed; she kept fighting from a place of dominance, stabbing and slashing through her clones like a hot blade through butter.

"Nah, forget it. There's no way you or my clones will be able to hold her off long enough for me to heal it fully."

Aoko looked back to her with a pleading expression. "But Mimi…"

Mimi grinned at her partner. "Don't worry so much, Aoko. If she can win her preliminary match injured and poisoned, I can win this fight with an injured ankle. Think of it like one of Guy-sensei's challenges."

Her transformed ninken watched her silently for a moment then nodded. She moved to speak again, but both of their eyes darted over to the clones at the surge of chakra they sensed.

Amari stood in the center of the clone army, red eye dangerously flicking around at the enemies surrounding her. More notable was her hands in the Tiger Seal. The Uchiha inhaled a large, chest expanding breath of air. On exhale she expelled a huge continuous torrent of fire, but it did not simply stream forward. Amari spun herself three hundred and sixty degrees on her chakra covered foot, creating a giant fire tornado to engulf every single clone surrounding her.

"Here she comes!" Aoko warned, body preparing for combat once more.

Just a little more, Mimi thought, hand glowing green on her ankle as she sniffed the air and listened intently for her opponent's presence.

Out of the flames, like a demon escaping hell, Amari appeared for the tiniest instant, her active fire tornado the backdrop of her intensified features. Then she was all but impossible to trace to the normal human eye. Mimi followed her quickened footsteps clapping on the surface of the water through sound alone.

Mimi reached up and shoved Aoko forward before jumping back herself, the sharpened blade of a shuriken cutting the back of the hand she used to heal her ankle. She heard the Body Flicker user appear behind her, followed by the sound of her leg whistling through the air from above towards the water. The Inuzuka turned around and raised her forearms up to block.

The blow landed hard, the collision of flesh, muscle and bone on flesh, muscle and bone resounding through the arena. Mimi could already feel the contusions from it. Then the feeling of Amari's leg on her arms vanished, and the head of wet blue hair appeared below her guard, her fist cocked back.

The same fist carrying the wills of her precious people and her blood, sweat and tears.

Had her ankle been fully healed, Mimi knew she could have successfully dodged the attack. But the injury slowed her down when the step back meant to get her out of range made her leg lock up and her entire body wince from a shooting pain.

Gah! Damn Shadow Dragons!

The fist landed in her open belly, making her eyes bulge and the air take a vacation out of her lungs. She hunched forward into another punch and stumbled back on one good foot and one throbbing one.

Her opponent jumped up into the air like a cat, the shoulder barge from Aoko passing right under her. Mimi saw her moment. She planted her bad foot, channeled her strength into her fist, growled in a mixture of pain and effort and delivered one of her hardest haymakers to Amari. The force of the blow sent her floating opponent careening on the water, but as always she recovered before taking a full swim and slid to a stop in a crouch.

For the first time in the fight, neither opponent moved back in to keep fighting. They panted lightly, both experiencing the toll of their battle and use of chakra. The red shroud around Mimi notably faded away. Healing my ankle, even partially, took a lot of my chakra, and Amari stealing my chakra sure didn't help me at all. I guess that means I don't have a choice.

"Aoko." Her ninken looked over to her to see her reaching into her ninja pouch. The Inuzuka pulled out two food pills, one for her and one for her partner.

Amari smirked at the sight. "I've been waiting for you to use those."

"I wouldn't be so excited," Mimi retorted, grinning dangerously. "Don't forget, these pills help our military fight for three days and three nights straight. Think ya got enough in the tank to handle that?"

Amari smiled back just as dangerously. "You'll only be able to fight for three days and three nights straight if you're awake."

Mimi flicked the second pill into Aoko's mouth then swallowed her own. Furious red chakra surged to life around her once more, far more intense than it had been. "Let's see if you can back your tough talk up!" She sped through her twenty-two handseals and grinned.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

---

Not good. Amari kept her features neutral against the frown wanting to form on her lips. She could see the intense chakra irradiating off of Mimi without dōjutsu, but with it she could see the massive amount going into this jutsu. I've pushed her into a corner. Her successful use of the Shadow Dragon on her ankle turned the tides of the battle in her favor. It guaranteed, even with her Medical Ninjutsu, that Mimi wouldn't be able to keep moving at the same pace in taijutsu.

Now Mimi would rely on her superior ninjutsu and its advantage over her own affinity to make up for her lack of movement. She was adapting, changing tactics to accommodate for her injury. Amari expected as much, and hoped to push her into using food pills to ensure she brought the very best out of Mimi, but that meant she too had to adapt.

Up to this point the use of her ninjutsu hadn't taken too much of a toll on her overall chakra supply, and stealing Mimi's chakra helped a lot. But the Shadow Dragons again plunged a blade into it to make her reserve leak more than she hoped prior to her sealing the leak off. She wasn't exhausted of chakra, or close to being done just yet; the Uchiha still had a lot of fight left in her.

An Uchiha always had a lot of fight left in them.

Yet denying the fact Mimi and Aoko landed several decent blows on her would be foolish. Mimi punched really hard. And the open wounds from their claws stung. The way they had been fighting, the intensity level and damage they managed, it all added up the fatigue on her body. But this was why she trained so hard for the last month. To be prepared for this kind of fatigue and push beyond it.

From here on out I need to work smarter, not harder. First step to keeping this battle in my hands is getting rid of all this water, Amari strategized, eye flicking down to the water below her. It'd be nice if I had the ability to make it all evaporate with a Fire Ball Jutsu, but that's incredibly unrealistic at this point. It'd take all of my chakra, and there'd still be a ton left over.

No, she couldn't rely on stupid plans like that and hope for the best. The only way forward was to think less like a hotheaded Uchiha and more like a lazy Nara. The longer Mimi had access to this infinite supply, the longer she could defend against anything Amari threw at her—literally and figuratively.

As soon as I get rid of this water, she'll be forced to rely on her chakra supply only. Food pills do increase and intensify chakra, but it can't be limitless. Everything has limitations. In this case, I'd bet the pills really increase the speed at which we recover our chakra. If, let's say, it took thirty minutes for Mimi to recover her full reserves normally, the pills likely shortens that time frame to five to ten minutes.

The initial swallowing of the pill is like an instantaneous resupply, but from then on out it's like having a feeder tube of nutrients trickling into your chakra reserves.

All theory and not fact, but hopefully it was close enough to truth. Otherwise this would be even more of a drag.

And when we're back on solid ground she won't have nearly as much defense through Water Ninjutsu. Taking her down in hand to hand combat won't be easy even with her ankle the way it is. I'm sure Hisashi thought I'd be easy to take down once he poisoned me, so thinking Mimi will be any easier than me when my back was against the wall would be a fatal error on my part.

I'll need to keep my eye open for a chance to hit her with another genjutsu, she thought. That could be how I finish this, because I don't think Shadow Dragons or Shadow Possession will be able to hold her in this state. The chakra coming off her is too intense. She'll have too much strength unless I'm able to snatch her within a few inches of one another.

Not impossible, but Mimi wasn't planning to fight close range anymore. Only Aoko and probably water clones would take her on in close-quarters.

A stream of water shot from the makeshift lake, small and thin, but shaped like a dragon and aimed right at the Nara. Amari dodged out of the way at the last possible moment and let it smash its face into the water.

A larger dragon formed on Mimi's right side, taking more time to take form than the first. At the same time another slim, dragon shaped stream shot from in front of the Inuzuka. As Amari dodged it, Aoko met her in hand to hand combat.

A second large water dragon formed on Mimi's left. Meanwhile another small Water Dragon arced after her. Amari blocked a series of fast punches and claws and kicked Aoko in her center, simultaneously reaching into her back pouch for an exploding kunai.

Her hand found shuriken, normal kunai and unfinished Seals.

Ah, crap! Releasing the chakra at her feet, she avoided the Water Dragon by a slim enough margin to feel droplets of water hit her.

A final water dragon formed directly under Mimi, the Inuzuka once more standing on top of its head in another mirror to their original battle.

"You show off!" she shouted for old times' sake.

"I hope you don't think you'll get me again by jumping headfirst into these ones! The current in them is even rougher than last time, I've made sure of that!" Mimi taunted.

Another adjustment specifically made for Amari.

They wasted no time in charging her simultaneously, coming from three different angles at three different speeds. Amari's eye and head moved quickly, judging the angles of their attacks, their speed and how she would need to dodge them to keep from getting caught by the hungry dragons.

These are not my wise dragons!

Aoko sped in again to attack. Amari's mind moved a mile a second, eyes working together to watch Aoko and the dragons. She cartwheeled to the side on one hand, spinning out of it to land a swift sweep kick to the transformed ninken.

Despite the pill, Aoko was still wounded from the attacks she landed on her throughout the match. She wasn't moving nearly as nimbly as she had been before, which made it easy to catch her with the attack. While she attempted to recover in air, Aoko was met by a hard elbow to her stomach, knocking her down into the water and out of the way.

Just in time too, Amari thought as the dragons were upon her.

One came slamming down face first at her, but she managed to backflip out of the way. The second dragon came next, while the original began to rise back out of the water and reconstruct.

Amari's eyes widened. This is not good…This is really not good! The limitless supply of water, the boost of chakra from the food pill, it was allowing Mimi to use these massive Water Dragons that would crush the fight out of her with relative ease.

The Nara was forced to jump into the air to avoid getting hit again, leaving her in the exact position she didn't want to be in: floating helplessly as the three Water Dragons locked onto her. Mimi was notably absent from the heads of them.

The Byakugan caught sight of her flying in directly from above.

"Take this! Fang over Fang!"

The dragons were attacking at the same time. Every avenue of escape was cut off; hard attacks were coming from all sides.

What am I going to do?! Amari hated panicking, but this situation felt appropriate.

Her thoughts moved at lightspeed as the attacks moved at her in slow motion. Think Amari, think! If you don't, this is going to hurt really bad! Using Ultimate Defense: Dragon Shield would work, but it would take too much chakra to perform. But if I don't…I'll be done for anyways.

Amari somehow found it in her to close her eye and take a deep breath. Calm down…think…there has to be a way out of this.

…

She snapped her eye open. That's it! I have to try it!

---

Genma monitored the battle from within the safe shadows of a tree. Going into this fight, having witnessed Amari's training firsthand, he had known right from the start this battle would surpass all others in intensity and ferocity. And it had not disappointed.

However this battle ended, these two kunoichi had nothing to be ashamed of. To battle at such a high level, through injuries and still think strategically; spectators judged Sasuke Uchiha vs Gaara to be the more thrilling and explosive fight due to the underlying connotations of Leaf strength against Sand, and they were dead wrong.

This was the battle people would remember. Shikamaru would slide under the radar, just as the lazy boy wanted, and Naruto's victory wouldn't be forgotten, but when people talked about the Exams, this was what they'd remember. This duel between two extraordinary kunoichi, both destined to become prominent shinobi of the Leaf in the future.

That was the future, however. The present was weighted by calamity for Amari, possibly even a disastrous end. Genma wanted to jump in, grab her before the attacks landed and crushed her; Miyako would kill him for letting her daughter get extremely hurt. But it was his duty as the proctor to call this match without bias and only interfere if lives were on the line.

Amari wouldn't die from this. It'd feel like a building fell on top of her, but she wouldn't die. Granted that was if the technique hit, and so far the two had pulled out all the stops when it came to reversing defeat rendering attacks.

His eyes caught the flicker of green chakra form around Amari a second before the attacks landed, her body twisting as it did. Genma furrowed his brow. Is she going for her Ultimate Defense? It will drain her chakra to near zero if she does, rendering her unable to battle.

He supposed it beat being slammed by three Water Dragons and a Fang over Fang.

The Water Dragons and her opponent smashed their target in synchronicity. Gasps sounded off from those in the stadium, their eyes no doubt widening as they believed they witnessed this battle reach its final conclusion.

Amari…

Well, Miyako was going to make his afterlife a living hell.

Everyone expected to see a purple blur shoot down out of the dragons into water filling the stadium. What came next, though, did not meet those expectations.

From within the blue currents of water at the center of impact, an imperfect shaped green orb began to take form, spinning faster and faster, enlarging as it did. The body of Mimi was sent careening out of the collision of techniques, skipping across the water hard with enough momentum to carry her to the far wall of the stadium. The only thing to stand between her and colliding with it was Aoko appearing behind her partner to catch her.

Aoko's dripping wet form was nearly knocked over by the catch, slamming her back against the wall in place of Mimi. It looked painful, but Genma's eyes were drawn back to the orb, his teeth clenching tighter on his senbon to flick it skyward alongside his eyebrows.

Amari, you…

The green orb continued to spin and spin and spin, hammering the Water Dragons attempting to keep form in a dizzying assault of chakra. Finally they disintegrated back into the water. In their place, the imperfect orb floated in the air, gravity finally carrying it down as it began to slow down.

When the chakra dispersed, Amari could finally be seen spinning like an ice skater. She spun on the surface of the water and slowed to a complete halt; Genma took immediate note of the fresh cuts on her arms, legs, through her shirt and on her face, she breathed heavily, labored by the chakra she expended to keep her in the fight.

You copied Neji's Rotation, Genma finished his original thought, his features shifting into thoughtfulness. But it wasn't perfect. I saw the gaps in your defenses, which allowed the force of her attacks and the rapid rotation of the Fang over Fang to penetrate through to you.

He turned his head to Aoko and Mimi. The transformed ninken was steadying Mimi's body, rumbling lowly to her partner, probably to inform her of the injuries dealt to them both. Mimi didn't look much better, to be honest. New cuts hadn't been opened, but Genma had seen what the recoil of Neji's Rotation had done to Naruto; the same recoiling force of her own attacks was in all likelihood reflected back on her.

A light smirk took form on his face. Now the real battle of wills begins.

---

Hiashi Hyūga sat fully rigid in his seat, hand clenching his knee in a vice grip in a war of emotions consisting of bewilderment and outrage. This girl, this child of Nara and Uchiha blood, succeeded in performing Rotation without any proper training. She copied the Main Branch technique after witnessing it in a singular match, used it in an imperfect form to protect her from an imminent devastating attack.

The gall, Hiashi thought, frustration a prominent feeling he couldn't quite shake. For someone outside of the Hyūga Clan to use this technique, especially an Uchiha at that, it felt like a personal affront to him and his Clan. An insult on the level of being spat at on the street.

No one in the Uchiha Clan or the Leaf Village ever possessed the ability or the gall to replicate the Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation in the history of Konoha. The required precise chakra control was out of the realm of skills for the average shinobi, the teachings of the Gentle Fist being the prominent reason only Hyūga's could use it.

Yet down below them, panting heavily and hunched forward slightly, stood a girl who possessed both the ability and the gall to perform it. A girl who seemed to be following in her sensei's footsteps in copying useful jutsu. A daughter of prestigious Uchiha blood and incredibly intelligent Nara blood.

A kunoichi with astonishing potential.

"But…how?" Hanabi asked quietly, absolutely stunned by Amaririsu's and Mimi's performance as a whole, but even more by the copying of the Main Branch technique. He could not blame his youngest daughter, for he too felt the same about their impressive performance and the copying of their technique.

"From what I learned from Shikaku Nara, Amaririsu is a rare talent. A prodigy with a great array of abilities," Hiashi spoke firmly. It took time to arrange the meeting between them, both had many responsibilities due to their respective positions within the Leaf, but Hiashi went straight to the source for information.

What he learned, while shocking, made it clear why this child's history was being protected. It was a secret he too would maintain for the safety of a fellow Leaf shinobi and out of respect for Shikaku Nara, Kurenai Yūhi and her parents. Yet watching her now, one thing Shikaku had said that he had taken as an offhand comment now had far more impact on the Head of the Hyūga Clan.

"'Risu has inherited the best parts of her parents."

Hiashi was intrigued to see what she did with this inheritance in the future.

"If Neji was able to learn Main Branch techniques through mere observation, then Amaririsu must have been able to learn Rotation through observing Neji's fight. Had she not used it, Mimi would have surely won."

Her Sharingan played a huge role in this, but Hiashi was not foolish enough to speak of it in the company of so many strangers. Endangering an asset to the Leaf Village would not be a wise course of action. But, even as his frustration subsided, he made mental note to speak to Amaririsu Yūhi in person once more at a later date.

"Just through watching one fight?" Hanabi turned her head back to the match, her eyes wide in shock. "These two are very skilled."

"Indeed. Pay close attention, Hanabi. You could learn much from these two young kunoichi."

Yes, the skill and intelligence of these two kunoichi are far above my expectations. With even more experience they will become valuable assets to our village.

---

Mimi struggled to stand. Her ankle throbbed and practically every inch of her body hurt in some way. She sucked in oxygen greedily. Kami, she panted, wincing as sharp stings of pains awoke. Even with that food pill, that attack and using so many Water Dragons did a number on me.

At times of battle like this, when she didn't have backup, Medical Ninjutsu through normal application wasn't going to work. She needed to figure out a way to heal herself more efficiently, but that was later. Right now there was a more pressing matter to attend to.

She copied Neji's rotation. The Inuzuka grinned tiredly at the girl standing across from her. "A true Copy Ninja in the making, eh Amari?"

Amari smiled weakly back. "I can't help it that my Sensei is the original." She exhaled and inhaled a few heavy breaths. "Wasn't good enough, though. I underestimated how hard the technique was to pull off."

Heh, considering my attacks only managed to scratch her instead of pummel her into the ground, I'd call it a success. And the way my body feels, she grunted, a stitch of pain shooting through her back. It definitely repelled the energy of my attacks onto me.

"Mimi." The Inuzuka glanced to her transformed partner. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this form. It's not a lack of chakra to blame, but the fatigue and pain this battle has caused me."

"Guess we'll just have to finish this fast then," Mimi said, smiling confidently.

"You will both be fighting to end this quickly."

"I know."

What worried the blue eyed kunoichi the most was if Amari had enough chakra left to still use her Body Flicker Technique multiple times. The Uchiha could very well overwhelm her in this state as she had Hisashi in her preliminary fight.

Why hasn't she moved in yet? Is the pain too much for her to move, or is she planning something?

Mimi flicked her eyes to scan the area as she sniffed the air. No clones hiding…but…

"Have you noticed it yet?" Amari asked tiredly.

Her eyes landed on the wall behind Amari. It was easy to see where the water had been resting this entire battle…and how far it had fallen in the last several minutes.

The Inuzuka's eyes widened. "You activated my seals."

Uh-oh. That was the exact opposite thing she could ever want, especially in this state.

"When I unleashed that fire tornado, I used the flames to shield my creation of clones from your line of sight and your nose. I sent them into the water to reactivate your seals. Your fūinjutsu is really good; it's not just a basic Storage Seal, but specifically designed to absorb water."

Amari brought her hands up and began weaving handseals. "Unfortunately I wasn't able to get them to absorb fast enough to stop your Water Dragons, but better late than never."

Her hands ended on Tiger and she began to take a large inhale.

Smart girl, she's been biding her time to take away my advantage of a surplus of water. Probably was trying to tire me out without having to use jutsu's that cost her too much chakra. My Water Dragons ruined that though.

A small smile made it onto her face as she brought her hands up in front of her. Guess I got a bit cocky in thinking she wouldn't be able to undo my water once I did it.

Tiger, Snake, Rat, Snake, Tiger.

"Water Style: Water Wall!"

A wall of water shot up in front of the Inuzuka duo, shielding them from the torrent of flames that Amari unleashed. Steam formed on impact, but the water wasn't enough to snuff out the flame.

These flames were hotter than before.

The power of Amari's flames…it's incredible. I wonder…

Using her chakra to maintain the wall, the Inuzuka began making new handseals, Tiger, Ox, Tiger, Rat. She began kneading her chakra to her stomach. One last test of strength. After this, we're going to finish this. Once and for all!

Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu!

Mimi let her wall fall and expelled a large stream of water from her mouth, hitting the flames head on and forcing them back towards their originator. That's not all you've got. A challenging look formed in her eyes. Show me your true power!

Her challenge was answered. She saw the flicker of green around Amari before a shockwave of energy blasted off her, creating a gust of wind even Mimi felt brush against her body. The flames pushed her water back, evaporating it as quick as she could expel it until the heat stung her eyes.

Within the action, Mimi sensed Amari's response.

Bring. It. On.

Mimi unleashed her chakra, furious red spiking around her followed by a shockwave of energy. The water she expelled pushed the flames back towards the center.

Oppressive steam began to coat the battlefield, all but suffocating the four individuals within with its heat. And as the steam rose it reached the spectators, cooler than at the center of the colliding jutsu, but uncomfortably warm.

When Mimi looked back on this clash of ninjutsu in the following days, she would understand what exactly occurred between her and Amari better than she did in the moment. She would vaguely remember the old stories from older shinobi about how two powerful shinobi could communicate through an exchange of fists, never once sharing a single word yet sharing an entire array of thoughts and feelings.

For Mimi, in that moment, it was like having an out of body experience. Or, at least, what she assumed one should feel like; she hadn't ever had one before, and wasn't really sure if they were real until that moment.

One moment she had felt the oppressive heat on her body, the perspiration beneath her clothes and on her face, the strength of Amari's powerful flames pushing her to push even harder. Then she blinked and the heat was gone, replaced by a cool sensation on her body, like walking into her home after a morning run or stepping into a cool river. The perspiration was gone, the pain in her ankle vanished, and she stood beside her frozen, battling form as all of time seemed to stand still.

Mimi's initial reaction was to release a genjutsu. Several times. But the frozen world around her did not return to life, nor could she feel the distortion of a genjutsu on herself or the world around her.

"What the hell is going on," she muttered under her breath in uncharacteristic nervousness, head turning to take in her environment.

Again she blinked, again the world changed right before her eyes.

Mimi's sapphire eyes bulged and her foot hesitantly stepped back. She winced in preparation of pain that did not come.

She saw…She saw Amari, but she was tiny—or, tinier she supposed. Her friend was pretty short, but this version of her couldn't be more than five years old. The environment wasn't the stadium anymore; they were on a street within the Leaf Mimi had never seen before, the Nara piggybacked on a man—teenager, boy—she didn't recognize, but on the back of his black high-collared shirt was an Uchiha crest.

They both looked happy. Unburdened by pain. Untouched innocence and pure love that hadn't yet been severed by death

Mimi's eyes fell briefly, a hurt she couldn't describe tightening around her heart harder than a Shadow Dragon ever could. This…This was the precious cousin she spoke of. The one who left behind that bandana she always wore. This was the happiness they once had, the love they shared, the joy being together brought them…happiness, love and joy Amari couldn't replace.

Again she blinked and the scene—memory?—before her changed. She stood within a house now—a house she didn't know—hidden in the shadows of a corner wall as the young Amari sat at a dinner table with the same teenager and two adults Mimi immediately recognized as her parents.

Her father had wild, untamed black hair, a bit wilder than his daughter's, but he had kind eyes. A fatherly softness that made even Mimi feel safe and comfortable in a memory she had no place in. Her mother's loving smile, and the genuine fondness in her eyes as she watched her daughter talk animatedly about something the Inuzuka couldn't hear provided yet another terrible squeeze of pain in her heart.

When Amari put her hair up, the resemblance between mother and daughter was uncanny even with the difference of hair color. And when it was down, she could see her father in the Uchiha girl.

But it was in those expressive eyes of her that she could see them both, their spirits still lingering on in the heart and soul of their daughter.

Her cousin watched on, goading his little cousin about whatever was being spoken about if the blush tinting Amari's cheeks was anything to go by.

Mimi blinked away the untouched family and found herself surrounded by darkness. Not alone, though. Amari—older by a handful of years—knelt within the darkness, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared into oblivion. Both onyx eyes still intact, but devoid of hope. Devoid of the happiness and innocence she once knew.

Cold, isolated loneliness, Mimi remembered it too well. This…this right here was the reason she wanted so badly to become a great medic-nin. She wanted to save as many lives as she possibly could so kids like them didn't have to exist. Kids who were steeped in darkness because they had those they loved severed from them. Kids who were drowning in sorrow even though no one else could see it.

Orphans who couldn't ever get back what they lost.

But then the darkness began to fade, revealing a stream of sunlight as two boys—one with green eyes, the other with lavender Byakugan eyes—ran past her, a grin on the green eyed boys lips as he yelled something back at Amari, and a soft smile on the Hyūga's lips as he slowed down and took her by the hand to lift her up.

Amari stood up once more and chased after them, hope restored and life in her eyes and behind her smile again.

Another blink and she found herself in a cramped room of children. Among them, cramped together on worn down cushions used as a bed, was Amari and the two boys. She was squished between them, and an arm from the green eyed boy flopped onto her forehead, but Amari still smiled.

Mimi knew why. Even in this cramped room, overfilled with children of varying ages, without memories of her old family or who she was, Amari still had these two. She wasn't alone anymore.

She blinked and again the happiness was stolen from her, replaced by a sharp blade twisting in her heart as it cut through Amari's eye. The cry she let out, Mimi didn't hear it, but she felt it in her bones. The pain, the feelings of betrayal, helplessness, anger, hurt, sorrow, grief, guilt; everything she felt, Mimi felt too.

Battle instincts kicked in, the protective nature of Mimi pushing her to take action against this bastard who betrayed her, but her blade merely cut through the boy as if he was intangible. Because she hadn't been here for this. This moment, she couldn't stop it from happening any more than she could stop a waterfall with her bare hands.

She blinked and the boy was gone. Amari's body was prone on the grassy floor, blood coating the left side of her face as she kicked and crawled towards the Hyūga boy, who also was missing an eye.

Her medic instincts kicked in, rushing over to try to help the pair, but her hand just passed right through Amari again. Damn it, Mimi grit her teeth and clenched her gloved hands into fists, watching on helplessly as Amari made it to her friend and hugged her arms around him. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!

She saw their final moments together, felt the anguish, the loneliness, the guilt and grief and rage as she could do nothing except watch a younger Amari sob until no more tears could be shed. Standing behind her, sorrow etched into her face and fingers curled into rage filled fists.

I'll kill that bastard if I ever see him.

When she blinked again she returned to darkness, only this time she was alone. Sapphire eyes stared somberly into the void, seeing nothing except what her friend had lost and feeling how much it burdened her heart. It was a burden she too carried, heavy on her shoulders and constricting around her heart.

Then she heard a familiar voice all around her.

"Amari's lost a whole lot. She lost her friends, she lost her real family. She…she carries a lot of pain within her heart. Mimi too. They may not act like it, they may smile and laugh still, but that's because they fought really hard to be able to smile and laugh again."

In the darkness, a small flicker of light emerged. Tiny as can be, but when submerged in darkness, even the smallest light looked like the sun.

Mimi walked towards it, feet picking up pace under her until she was all but running after it. The light continued to grow more and more, it's warmth enticing her to keep running away from the isolated darkness.

The memories she began to witness came faster and faster, emerging on her sides in warm light that beat away the darkness.

Amari, cheeks streaked with tears, bowing before Kurenai. The older woman resting a hand on her shoulder as wonder filled the Nara's eyes and being. "Don't worry yourself one bit about repaying anything. This was my choice, and I have a good feeling about it." Mimi could feel the warmth of her smile and how much these words and that smile meant to that sorrow filled child. "Call it a hunch, but I think a lot of good is going to come out of this."

Amari all but launched herself into Kurenai's arms.

Another memory emerged in warm light, this one of Amari sitting in the grass with Shikamaru lying down next to her. "I'm Shikamaru. Just found out I'm going to be teaching you about our Clan Jutsu."

Mimi began to understand. These people, these moments, they were…

Naruto was crouched next to her by a tree at the Academy, thumb pressed proudly to his chest. "Not as cool as me, though! All I have to do is get stronger and then I'll be the next Hokage! Naruto Uzumaki, that's my name and don't you forget it!"

They were what saved her from the darkness.

The memories came faster the closer she got to the light. Memories of successes and failures. Of tear stained pillows and the joy of an orphaned girl being adopted by the woman she looked to as a mother. Of Shikamaru piggybacking her just like her precious cousin used to do. The formation of her team. Of Kakashi sitting with her on the edge of a dock, resting a hand on her shoulder and offering warm words that had an effect on Mimi too.

"I won't lie and tell you that it'll be easy if you do remember your past. Remembering will hurt. But no matter how much it hurts, know that you will not have to shoulder the burden alone. This team, Kurenai, even lazy Shikamaru will be here to support you when or if that day ever comes. Never forget that."

She saw a bridge where wills and dreams collided. A boy behind a mask who formed a connection with her stood in a mirror while she stood with Naruto and Sasuke to do battle. It was a mirror that, when looking at the other side, swapped their positions to place Amari behind the mask and the boy with her team.

She felt the pain every second of battle against one another caused them. Witnessed the tears of pain, of empathy, of sorrow as Amari reached out to stop the fighting. Felt the piece of her heart she sacrificed as her purpose shattered.

Mimi nearly tripped over her feet when she saw the bloody arm and Amari's collapsed form on the bridge, her tears flowing as she cried out to a cousin who couldn't be there to protect her anymore. But these painful moments, the pain she endured, out of it bloomed something more. Something Mimi could feel as a new memory appeared of Amari and that same boy, now without a mask, ice skating together at peace.

And the crystallized flower that he gave her was absolutely beautiful.

Next she saw their meeting and their battle. The connection they formed, she could feel it in these memories. Sense the importance Amari placed on that exact moment and on her personally.

She saw the Forest of Death, felt the fear, the resolve to die fighting to protect her comrades, the pain she endured when Orochimaru hurt her. She witnessed the Sound shinobi battle, her rage, her pain, her lack of mercy and desire to protect.

Her battle against Hisashi. The feelings of the memory awoken upon being poisoned. The spirit of the green dragon forming behind her visible to Mimi's eyes for the first time.

What she was seeing, Mimi realized at that moment, was the path leading to their most recent encounter, and what she was feeling was everything her friend had felt and endured through to get there. Through this she felt the connection between them grow. She could almost define it, the words almost natural on her tongue but still unformed.

She made it to the light, once more entering the stadium. Standing opposite of Genma, she looked over to see Amari frozen, fist shoved out at the other Mimi and Aoko.

"Every minute of hard work, every drop of sweat, blood and every tear I've ever shed, the wills of my precious people, Ryu, my precious cousin and my parents are behind these fists of mine. You can punch me as hard as you like, you can hit a pressure point with chakra, you can even poison me, but you'll never defeat me with a weak purpose like vengeance guiding you."

Her fists carried more weight behind them than Mimi had known. How could she have known? Those intimate memories she witnessed weren't common knowledge to anyone except those who experienced them with her. She wondered if Amari even remembered those moments with her family.

"You traveled a long, painful road," Mimi muttered.

"So did you."

The Inuzuka wasn't startled by Amari's presence. She sensed it somehow without her nose or ears or eyes. But she didn't dare turn around to face her. She couldn't bring herself to. Whatever this was, it forced her to intrude on Amari's most intimate memories, which means her friend had witnessed her highest of highs and lowest of lows too.

The only difference between them was Mimi hadn't always sought out the light. She submerged herself in the mire of darkness surrounding her and let it inside of herself. To look back meant to face whatever Amari's reaction to her darkest moments was.

Pity? Disgust? She didn't know what it could be, but it couldn't be good.

Still, ignoring her outright wasn't going to work. They were still stuck in this strange place and that meant working together to figure out how the hell to get out. When she turned to face Amari she expected a frown, a scowl or distance between them. What she saw instead was a tear leaking from her eye. Not from pity, not from disgust or disappoint, but genuine sorrow, sympathy and empathy for what she experienced.

Seeing Amari cry for her made it incredibly hard not to cry for what she had witnessed. For what Amari had endured to get here. For the things she felt at witnessing her friend's most intimate memories of pain and love, of sorrow and joy, and how much it hurt that she couldn't do anything to fix it.

Amari stepped closer without saying a word and hugged her arms around Mimi in an embrace. She held her tightly, the warmth and light within this girl transmitting through their connection straight into Mimi's heart. Two tears spilled from her eyes, arms slowly, hesitantly, wrapping around her friend's smaller frame.

The Nara relinquished her hold first and smiled up at the Inuzuka. "I'm glad I was able to meet you."

Mimi smiled softly back. "Me too."

The stadium scene returned to their battle of water and fire.

Amari glanced over at it then back at Mimi. She reached a fist out and smiled. "Your fists carry a lot of weight behind them too, so you better not hold back. Because whoever lands their punch first with the full strength of their wills behind it, they'll be the winner."

Mimi felt that premonition too. She wiped away her tears, grinned back and lifted her fist up. "I won't hold back as long as you don't."

"Good. Now let's finish this!" Amari exclaimed

They bumped fists and the sensations of the battle began to slowly return. The pain in her ankle, the heat of the steam, the force of their jutsu's colliding.

In unison they cancelled their jutsus. Amari bolted in, with Aoko mirroring her movements to cut her off. With the pain back in her ankle Mimi concluded she couldn't rush in and hope she could land the punch with all her strength behind it. She needed to get Amari into a situation where she could hit that blow without risking getting hit in return.

If Amari hit her with all of her wills at this point, it'd be game over.

But she still had chakra to expend thanks to the food pill; Amari didn't have nearly as much anymore. She'd focus in on close-quarters, which meant keeping her as far away as possible until she found that opening.

Mimi molded her chakra in her belly, using her precise chakra control to sharpen the stream of water she was going to form. Amari, no doubt thanks to her dōjutsu, sensed the building of chakra and overwhelmed Aoko with fast and fierce strikes, knocking the transformed ninken down and out of the way.

The water once flooding the stadium was ankle deep.

Amari quickly weaved her own handseals, handseals that were vaguely familiar but not from seeing her use them.

The stream shot from her lips and Amari crouched down, slamming her hands through the water into the ground. "Earth Style: Mud Wall!"

A solid wall shot from the water in front of Amari. Mimi's cutting stream still managed to saw it in half, and as it fell to the muddy dirt beneath it, the Inuzuka had a startling realization: Amari's scent vanished.

Quickly jumping off the ground, she turned her head to yell to Aoko to move. It was too late, however. A hand shot out of the soft dirt and tugged her partner neck deep into the mud. Amari appeared out of the ground, a few splotches of mud on her clothing, in her open wounds and on her face, but unscathed.

"Well, this is embarrassing," Aoko whined. She dispelled her transformation, but the smaller size wasn't enough to escape. "Don't worry about me, Mimi. I'll dig my way out."

Mimi landed on her good foot and blocked a fast series of punches. Despite the speed and strength behind the blows, Mimi could tell Amari was on her last wind. The same last wind that defeated Hisashi in a stunning upset.

Several hard punches pierced through her guard, the Uchiha moving with more agility than her injured opponent to attack from all sides. A kick smashed her side, a punch cracked the cheek opposite of that side, an uppercut barely missed her jaw. But Mimi landed blows of her own, and one solid kick with her bad foot—which was also a bad idea—gave her breathing room from the ferocious assault.

The throbbing of her ankle intensified with that kick, but it was all Mimi could do to avoid an imminent defeat. She was desperate, even with the food pill.

That made Amari special.

"This next punch," Amari said, panting, "is going to end this match. I hope you've backed your fist up with all of your power, because that's the only way you're going to knock me down for the count, Mimi."

Mimi grinned broadly through her heavy breathing and planted her feet. "Let's see what you've got!"

Amari Body Flickered in, her fist cocked back the same as Mimi's with the wills of their precious people and every ounce of blood, sweat and tears behind them.

Whoever hit the decisive blow here would win.

Mimi knew her punch wouldn't land first. Amari had moved faster than she had, going in low below her guard for a gut punch. With the kind of weight was behind that fist, when it landed—if it didn't knock her out cold instantly—it was going to hurt.

As the fist neared her stomach, black fur jumped through the air, sinking sharp teeth into Amari's right arm.

"Finish this fight, Mimi! For Tenten, Lee, your parents, Hana, Kiba and Tsume! Make them proud!"

Aoko…

Tears welled in her eyes as the punch Amari threw was delayed by a critical second. This was her moment to go all the way to the end of this Exam. Not to defeat the Sand shinobi, but to make the people who had made her life worth living proud. To make all the hard work she put into being a shinobi mean something.

"All the wills behind my fist, the blood, the tears, the sweat; you have that same strength behind yours! The loneliness you suffered, the pain you endured, the tears you shed in solitude; they helped you get stronger!"

Amari…

"I'm not letting them take your happiness, Mimi. I refuse. You've fought too hard for it. So if I have to pummel you into the ground over and over again to get you to see the hands reaching out to you, I will."

Even when I tried to push you aside and follow that darkness in me, you kept reaching out to me. You refused to leave me there.

"I'm glad I was able to meet you."

A single tear escaped Mimi.

…Thank you.

Mimi tightened her core in preparation of the blow still going to land and growled in effort, putting the wills of her precious people behind her fist fully for this final blow.

I won't let my precious people down!

Her punch connected first right in the center of Amari's forehead, and then Amari's crushed her insides with the wills of her precious people.

Mimi swore the ground shook underneath them from the force of their punches landing. Even if it didn't, the recoil sent the pair flying away from one another. The Inuzuka tumbled across the wet grass and slid chest first to a stop. She wasn't sure what happened to Amari and Aoko, but she knew she couldn't breathe and was positive Amari just pulled her intestines out of her.

Come on, get up. Get up. Get up.

Shuddered exhales left her as her limbs trembled against the beginnings of her attempt to stand once more. Her vision blurred, muddling the wet grass laced between her fingers into a giant green blob. She pushed up onto her hands and knees, then onto her good foot and her opposite knee, greedily trying to breathe in intoxicating oxygen.

This was as far as she could get. She knew it. If Amari could stand again, this fight was over. That punch, even Guy-sensei never punched her that hard and his fists felt like tons of bricks being slammed into her.

Her vision didn't clear, but she could faintly see the silhouettes of Genma and Amari—the latter lying motionless on her side. The proctor crouched next to her, checking her pulse and possible checking to see if she was still conscious. He glanced over at Mimi's trembling body, assessing the damage and what she was planning.

Stay awake. Stay awake. Don't pass out.

Genma shook his head, possibly in disbelief of them, possibly to tell her to stay back, before standing up. "Since she is no longer able to continue, I declare the winner of this match is Mimi Inuzuka!"

The amount of relief that flooded Mimi's body couldn't be measured.

As far as fights went, that was the toughest battle of her life so far. And with those final punches the pair was able to define their connection.

Friends and rivals, of course, but there was a true definition of their bond that meant far more.

They were sisters of tragedy. Sisters who would do anything on any given day to help the other.

Because they were family.

---

The crowd roared to life in a rare, full standing ovation for the two kunoichi who just battled to their absolute limits. Waves of claps and cheers resounded all around them. Genma ignored the crowd, his thoughtful eyes drawn to the two kunoichi. Mimi fully collapsed onto her butt as she struggled to breathe, extending her neck to open up the already cleared air pathways.

When it comes down to it, he thought, the final blow wasn't fully what decided this match. That's not to say Mimi's mean punch isn't responsible for Amari being knocked out—it is. But what really decided this match was Mimi's stronger desire to win the entire tournament. Had Amari not rallied her at the start, and had her punch landed first, she would have been the winner of this battle. But she wanted to fight Mimi at full power more than she wanted to win this tournament.

And that contributed heavily to her loss here.

Murmurs from the Nara brought the proctor down back into a crouch. "You all right, Amari?" he asked softly to the wounded girl.

"…Can you tell them to keep it down? My head is pounding," she groaned.

Genma exhaled a chuckle. "It's only pounding because you encouraged your opponent to pummel you."

"…I couldn't just let her walk down that path," she murmured.

He hummed. "I get it." He ruffled her hair. "You did good today. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you. Can you…help me up? My body is really sore."

"Sure thing." He lifted his head up. Mimi seemed to have caught her breath, hands glowing green as she applied Medical Ninjutsu to her broken ankle. Aoko was returning to her partner's side, Mimi's slightly burned blue sweater between her teeth. "Hey, Mimi! Think you can heal both of your wounds?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but can you bring her to me? My body isn't ready to move yet."

I thought as much. Must have been one hell of a punch she took. Genma moved to cradle Amari's small body in his arms and carried her over to the medic-nin, setting her down and helping her sit up next to the Inuzuka. Immediately Amari reached out her pointer and middle finger to Mimi. Mimi grinned and did the same, curling their fingers together to create the Seal of Reconciliation.

Genma smiled and stood up. Simply outstanding you two.

"Here." The Inuzuka dug into her ninja pouch and pulled out a pill jar, popping two out to give one to Amari. "Take a food pill. It'll help you feel better."

Mimi swallowed the other one, an intense surge of red chakra momentarily flowing around her before dissipating. "Careful with those, Mimi," Genma warned.

"I know, but I need more chakra to heal all three of us and still participate in my next match."

With the Inuzuka proceeding to heal herself, her ninken and Amari, Genma turned his gaze to where the Hokage sat above them, giving a small nod to the man.

These two were definitely candidates for Chūnin the same as Shikamaru.

---

Lord Third noticed Genma's nod. "Remarkable," he stated to himself. To think Amari and Mimi have grown this much in such a short time. Their battle prowess, their intelligence and the leadership abilities they have shown through this entire Exam are nothing short of remarkable. The companionship towards one another and those close to them shows their Will of Fires have finally taken full form.

They have grown much since they first started on their road to become ninjas, and I have no doubt their bonds and abilities will continue to grow as time presses forward. He smiled and inclined his head back to Genma. Yes. These two are ready to move forward.

You will both be fine shinobi, just like your parents before you. He could spy Amari and Mimi speaking and laughing with one another as the Inuzuka healed her, both wearing smiles from what he could see. Can you see them? I wonder, are you watching your daughters right now? Can you see the Will of Fire burning in them?

The Hokage imagined the parents, as well as Amari's cousin, standing behind the pair. They carry your wills and the wills of the others they care for within them. Please, do not curse yourselves for leaving too soon, as they do not curse you for it. You remain in their hearts and are with them even now. I can see that and I am sure they feel it.

I am very proud of you both, Mimi and Amari. Continue walking down your paths with confidence and you will achieve your dreams.

---

"Would you listen to this crowd?" Asuma asked as he looked around. "I don't think there's ever been such an ovation for participants of the Exams."

Kurenai hummed in agreement, a small smile on her lips. Although she had hoped for Amari to win the match, the pride she felt in her daughter's performance couldn't have gotten any higher. Victory or not, her little one gave this match everything she had, as had Mimi.

"Can you blame them? Those two put on quite the spectacle," Kurenai responded.

"True. Those two pushed themselves to their absolute limits. They make great opponents." Asuma brought his hand to his chin, a thoughtful expression taking over his bearded features. "But there is one thing that has me wondering how they would do as teammates."

The Genjutsu Master turned to look at him, one brow arched in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"That last show of power they had between water and fire. Their strengths were matched."

She nodded. "Right. But why does that have you wondering about them being teammates. I get that they'd make quite the powerful duo, but that's not what is on your mind."

Asuma shook his head. "No, it isn't. That steam they created when they unleashed their full power, it wasn't ordinary steam. It was thicker and carried an uncomfortable level of heat all the way up here. I'll have to talk to Genma later, but I'd bet down there it was ungodly. Probably suffocating."

Kurenai couldn't stop her eyes from bulging in shock. "You're thinking of combining their affinities."

"Exactly. I'd bet, given more time and training, a combination attack from them will be like a Combined Nature Kekkei Genkai."

"Vapor Style." Kurenai was flabbergasted by the possibility.

"Maybe not an exact version of it, but yeah something like Vapor Style."

If that is possible…then those two could become a formidable team when they are together.

The thoughtful expression left his face, replaced by a carefree smirk. "For now, though, I'd say they have done a great thing for each other. Pushing each other like they did has probably opened their eyes to any weaknesses they might have while showing them their strengths. Now they will both work harder to become the strongest."

Kurenai smiled and nodded in agreement then looked back down at her daughter.

I'm proud of you, little one. You've really come a long way.

---

Amari giggled to herself. "I know. I still can't believe Guy-sensei shouted so loud when I did that. If we weren't in the middle of a fight, I would have lost control of my laughter."

"I was this close," Mimi brought up her thumb and index finger with little space between them, "to dying of laughter. Guy-sensei nearly killed me."

"Amari!" A shout cut off the two and brought their attention to Naruto, who was dragging a helpless Shikamaru behind him. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Your match was so awesome! Why haven't you ever fought me and Sasuke like that?"

"Hey, slow down, kid! And stop dragging me. There isn't any rush," Shikamaru tried to chastise.

Naruto spun to face him. "I can't calm down! I'm fired up!" Naruto exclaimed.

Shikamaru took a cautionary step back and raised his arms in front of him. "'Risu, he's you're teammate. Can't you do something?"

Amari shrugged. "Not in this state. The ego of boys is just so troublesome to deal with."

"Truer words have never been spoken," Mimi quipped, grinning lightly.

"Aw man, why couldn't I have such a good fight! I swear, if Sasuke somehow shows me up I'm goin—"

Her teammate began ranting and pacing. Amari allowed Mimi to finish healing her more major injuries before standing up on wobbly legs. Shikamaru was quick to brace her when her legs nearly caved.

"Hey, easy there, 'Risu. There's no rush for you to stand up yet. These people can wait a little longer for you two to recover."

"I'm okay, Shika," she reassured, bracing her legs to be stronger. "Sore, tired, ready for a nap, but I'll be okay."

The food pill was certainly working, as had the healing making it less painful to move, but the fatigue her body experienced in that battle had taken a toll.

"You don't always have to push yourself so far, troublesome girl," he reprimanded lightly, hands still bracing her body. "Mimi can't heal all the damage she and Aoko did. You've still got a few open wounds on you." He eyed the cuts through her clothing and stains of blood.

She smiled at him and poked his forehead. "Don't worry so much, Shika."

"Too late." Amari hugged her cousin close. One lazy arm wrapped around her back and held her there for a moment before releasing her. Amari smiled again at her cousin then turned back to Mimi, who finished healing up Aoko and seemed content to just sit back to savor the moment.

"Hey." She reached her hand out to her friend. "Thank you for fighting me seriously." It had been everything she wanted, and more.

Mimi smiled and nodded, taking her hand to get on her feet. The Nara braced her as she tried to keep the pressure off the ankle she had broken. She worked the soaking sweater back on, zipped it up and placed Aoko back in her hood.

"I guess that makes us one to one now," Amari said.

"I suppose it does."

The Nara gave her a challenging smile. "But next time I'm going to win." Next time she would be stronger and faster and better prepared for the two on one battle fighting Mimi entailed.

Her friend returned her smile with her own. "It's a challenge, Amari." Mimi reached out a gloved fist for a fist bump. "Thanks for…well, thanks for everything. The fight, what you said, all of it. I appreciate it, truly."

Amari bumped her fist against Mimi's, smiling. "Anytime."

The sound of wings flapping caught Amari's attention immediately and made her turn to the source. Atsuko flew in, apparently unbothered by revealing her presence to those within this stadium. Amari raised her left forearm out in front of her to give the bird a landing zone, which she took.

"Well done, Young Amari, and to you as well Mimi. That was quite the match," Atsuko greeted.

"Thank you, Atsuko," Amari thanked.

"Hey, I recognize your scent. You're the Crow from the Forest of Death," Mimi pointed out, eyes widening slightly in surprise.

Atsuko's eyes glinted with amusement. "I am." Shikamaru and Naruto, as well as Genma, looked to the Crow with intrigue. "Allow me to reintroduce myself: I am Atsuko, Head of the Crows of the Leaf. When last we met, my agents and myself aided Young Amari in frightening off the Sound shinobi after Sakura, as well as your teammate Rock Lee, defended the rest of Team Seven from their cruelty.

"I recall you, Neji and Tenten were quite frightened by your inability to sense my presence at that time and our legend, but fear not, I mean no harm to any of you. So long as you remain true to the Leaf and do not seek to harm those under my protection, you will not have to face the wrath of the Crows."

"Hehe, this doesn't count, right?" Mimi asked nervously.

"Should you see a Crow outside your window tonight, you will know if you have done wrong by me…Before you die." Mimi shuddered visibly at the threat, causing Atsuko to hum a laugh. "I only tease, Mimi Inuzuka. Young Amari holds no ill will towards you, nor do I. You two have created a bond through your intense battle, I can sense it, and I look forward to seeing where this takes you both."

"Glad to see you're still frightening those you encounter, Atsuko," Genma quipped.

"Hmhmhm!" Atsuko hummed menacingly. "It is a part of my charm, as you humans like to say."

"How do you two know one another?" Amari asked curiously.

"When we are not within a stadium of strangers I shall explain, but suffice to say Genma and I worked together," Atsuko explained.

Probably by proxy of Mama, Amari pieced together on her own.

Atsuko turned her head to Shikamaru and Naruto. "And finally, greetings to you both, Shikamaru Nara and Naruto Uzumaki. I am pleased to see the next generation is blossoming quite well. Quite well indeed. Alas, my weakness for human speech has gotten in the way of the news I wish to share.

"Kakashi and Sasuke should be here momentarily." Atsuko hopped up Amari's arm to her shoulder, taking it as her perch. "I have been told Kakashi lost track of time."

This caused the two Team Seven members and Genma to deadpan in response. Of course he did…troublesome adult.

"And I thought Shikamaru was a slacker. I almost forgot how bad Kakashi-sense—"

A group of leaves started to fall from out of nowhere in front of all the Genin and proctor, causing all of them to look at them in wonder.

That can only mean…

A tornado of wind suddenly appeared right next to the group, forcing them to raise their hands in front of their face as the leaves whipped around them. As soon as it started, it died down, leaving the leaves to gently flow with the breeze around the source of the Body Flicker Technique.

In the center of it all was Kakashi and Sasuke.

They made it.