Hey everyone! My muse ran off again and I have been dragging her back very slowly hence the lack of updates T.T But enough of that! Today's chapter is set in the PRESENT! We'll get to see more of Team Kakashi's interactions with Xia/Samar and later more moments with the Akatsuki. As a heads up- Xia is unashamed and more uninhibited than most Uchiha. Fair warning given, moving on.
I do not own Naruto; I do own my OCs and plot twists!
Now on with the show!
The Present…
"Let's go!" Xia hollers, tapping her foot impatiently.
Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Yamato and Kakashi sweat drop and look to Samar for an explanation. She smiles regretfully and clasps her hands behind her back.
"Xia-nee is… eager to get started." She says diplomatically.
"Are we going to be okay?" Sakura mutters, eyeing the vibrating brunette.
"Well- just give your best effort. Xia-nee gets annoyed when people try to half-ass it. If you try and give your all she'll be happy no matter the end results." Samar advises her.
"Right! We'll start training by playing a game!" Xia claps her hands to get their attention.
"What game? And how is playing a game training?" Sai cocks his head quizzically.
Xia rolls her eyes.
"If you hadn't interrupted me, I would have told you already! But anyways, the game we're going to play is Onigokko; Kakashi, Samar and I will be the Oni and the rest of you are on a team together! The objective of the Oni is to capture Naruto and disable or capture everyone else. Your team objective is to make sure Naruto" Xia points at him.
"Doesn't get caught at all costs. How you do it is up to you- but I'm warning you that we'll not be holding back so keep that in mind!"
"Why are we doing a stupid tag game dattebayo?!" Naruto yells, pouting.
Xia's eyes harden and a shiver goes down his spine. Samar recognizes her sister's expression and knows Naruto is in for it.
"Na-ru-to-kun, this is mostly for your benefit. I might call this Onigokko, but I guess I could also call it 'Capture the Jinchuriki' instead. You're being hunted, remember?" She says very sweetly.
Naruto pales while Sakura stiffens and Sai listens impassively.
"You might not see your pursuers, but they are out there and from what I read from the Bingo Book and what Samar told me about your abilities, Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha are your worst. Match up. Ever. So, we're going to put you through hell so at the very least you can learn to not look into Sharingan or be within easy striking distance of Samehada. Maybe some other stuff too if your brain can handle it." Xia shrugs, loosening her shoulders.
Kakashi and Yamato grimace in understanding at what Xia is trying to get through Naruto's thick head.
"Is that why sempai is one of the Oni?" Yamato asks cautiously.
Xia grins brightly at him and nods.
"Aa. He needs to work on his stamina anyways." She says nonchalantly.
Kakashi sweat drops at her blatant lack of respect. Samar sighs and looks to the others.
"What Xia-nee didn't say is there is a time limit. You have four hours, the average time it takes a backup team to arrive within the land of Fire, to evade capture. You are also restricted to stay within this training ground. Later on, when you have more practice, we will do scenarios within a village setting. And lastly, if you are knocked unconscious or defeated you will be placed in a prisoner seal for the remainder of the exercise unless your teammate rescues you before one of us reaches you." She explains, Xia nodding along.
"You have a five minute head start starting now~! Unless you want me to come for you right away~!" Xia sings, grinning evilly.
Naruto opens his mouth to argue, only for Sakura and Sai to grab him and bolt for the trees. Yamato swiftly follows, leaving the three Sharingan users alone together. Samar glares at Xia disapprovingly.
"Xia-nee, you're being cruel…"
"So? From what you've told me, it hasn't exactly sunk in his actions have an impact on others- or his value to the Akatsuki. He needs to learn there's consequences when he's a dumbass. Not every problem can be solved by punching it." Xia shrugs.
Kakashi listens to their conversation and decides to add his input.
"Maa, how do you plan to do this?" He drawls.
Xia grins, her eyes dancing with anticipation.
"We'll hit hard with their weaknesses, wearing them down. Genjutsu, traps, psychological warfare, seals- whatever you feel is appropriate. But if you see an opportunity to nab Naruto early, do it. The biggest problem is Yamato with his Mokuton- he'll be able to sense us if we're in the trees."
"So let one of us pursue them and let Yamato sense us while the others are waiting for the team at a designated point?" Samar offers thoughtfully.
"That sounds good to me- what about you Kakashi? And ideas?" Xia asks him.
Kakashi hums thoughtfully before drawing a rough sketch of the training ground. He taps a point near a waterfall with steep cliffs surrounding it, leaving one easy way in.
"This is a good spot to herd them- the walls are notoriously slippery so it takes above-average chakra control to scale them. Sakura could do it and Yamato would use Mokuton to make something for the rest to climb."
"Sai can paint flying beasts so he also has a way out." Samar adds.
Xia snorts, folding her arms.
"But a perfect spot to trap Naruto by the sounds of it." She remarks, thinking hard.
"I like it. Kakashi, I'll act as the obvious pursuer while you and Samar get ahead and get the trap ready. Samar, draw some communication seals for us so we can talk on the move, we still have three minutes." Xia orders, pulling out razor wire from a storage seal on her arm.
Samar nods and sets to work with two shadow clones, carefully drawing the sealing arrays on tags. When finished she passes them out and attaches hers to her collarbone. Xia does the same and Kakashi, after examining it, puts on his. Samar glances at the sun and smiles slightly, her eyes glowing vermillion red.
"It's time." She tells them.
Xia grins, her own Sharingan flashing to life as she turns towards the forest and molds chakra in her throat. Kakashi blinks as he watches the phenomena with his uncovered eye and notices Samar is covering her ears tightly. She sees he hasn't followed suit and gestures urgently for him to do so as Xia inhales deeply. Kakashi covers his ears and quickly is thankful he did when Xia howls, bolstering her voice with chakra.
The sound is piercingly loud even with his hands clamped tightly over his ears and is unbelievably high-pitched. He gapes when he sees the chakra in the sound is bouncing off the trees, a rough version of echolocation. Xia stops screaming after a long moment and looks at them, feral grin in place.
"Found them. East of our current position- you shouldn't have trouble avoiding them." She hums, tensing to race off after their prey.
"Xia-chan, don't break them too badly please." Kakashi requests and Xia rolls her eyes.
"So little faith-! Fine, I'll try not to." She answers before exploding into a flat out run, disappearing quickly.
Samar looks at Kakashi and smiles wearily.
"Shall we?"
Kakashi nods and they shunshin away.
…
Sakura is scanning the trees around them as Naruto complains yet again about how stupid this exercise is. Her temper is fraying but she doesn't punch him quiet- yet. Yamato is frowning as he uses his Mokuton to scan the area for any of the 'Oni'. Sai is painting beasts in preparation, all of them tense; except Naruto. Sakura checks the position of the sun and frowns.
It's been five minutes but there's no sign of-
Then, without warning, a high-pitched deafening howl pierces their eardrums. Sakura swears as she tries to block the sound with chakra and her hands as extra insurance. Naruto is rolling on the ground, writhing in painwhile Yamato and Sai grit their teeth and bear with it. It ends as suddenly as it came but Yamato is far more tense than he had been prior.
"We need to move." He commands.
"Eh? Why-?" Naruto starts to ask but Sakura drags him to his feet, following Yamato.
"Taicho, what do you think that was?" Sakura asks.
"I believe it was a tracking jutsu, though not one I am familiar with. That howl had chakra in it- when it reached us it pulsed." Yamato explains as they leap from tree to tree.
Sai frowns slightly at the information.
"So, they have a long-distance method of finding us along with their Sharingan…"
"Aa. I can't sense sempai or Samar but Xia is coming after us." Yamato tells them.
Naruto scowls then he grins suddenly.
"Wait, what if we capture all of them? That ends the game too dattebayo!"
"Naruto! Now isn't-!" Sakura snaps only for Yamato to speak up.
"It's a possibility but without knowing Xia's abilities it will be risky." Yamato tells Naruto.
"How long do we have?" Sai asks.
Yamato concentrates hard before answering in a tight voice.
"Less than a minute."
"Wha-! How is she so fast?!" Sakura gulps.
"Does it matter, we'll beat her up dattebayo!" Naruto says fiercely.
"Oooh?" A familiar voice coos, making the hair on the backs of their necks stand up.
"You really think so? Oh Blondie, this'll be fun~!" Xia's voice purrs, echoing in the trees.
Sai and Sakura glance around, trying to locate her when a thought occurs to Sakura.
"Kai!" She quickly pulses her chakra- and swears when she sees Xia right behind Naruto.
Xia smirks and Sakura quickly throws shuriken at her, making Naruto yelp as he dodges. Xia catches them with one hand and throws them at Sai, Yamato and Sakura.
"Genjutsu! Dodge!" Sakura yells, grabbing Naruto and pulling him away from Xia.
Yamato and Sai quickly break the genjutsu in time to avoid the shuriken, with Sakura swiftly doing the same for Naruto. But Xia takes advantage of their brief distraction to create two shadow clones who break off and engage Yamato and Sai. Xia shunshins close to Naruto, eyes whirling, and slams the hilt of her sword viciously into Naruto's gut. He gags, trying to breath and Sakura lashes out with a kick to force Xia back. Yamato, having dealt with the first shadow clone, makes wood burst from the ground beneath Xia and pushes her onto the defensive.
She grins wickedly and her body is wreathed in flames, burning the grasping wood tendrils to ashes as she blurs towards Sakura and Naruto. Sakura clenches her fist and slams it into the ground, shattering it. Xia is clearly shocked as she leaps into the air- then an expression of feral delight forms on her face.
"Ho..? You want to dance, Sakura?" Xia laughs.
Sakura throws more shuriken at Xia, grabs Naruto by the back of his jumpsuit and runs away. Naruto yelps at the less than graceful handling. Xia tenses to pursue but Yamato and Sai intervene, wood writhing as it tries to snare her and ink paintings harrying the kunoichi. Her blade is wreathed in flames as she rips through the opposition, keen eyes noting which way they are fleeing. Xia smiles and blurs to cut them off, driving them towards the waterfalls. Sai manages to get his sword up in time to intercept a strike, the ground cracking beneath his feet- and Xia chuckles, drawing Sai's attention up-! She snags him with the Sharingan and knocks him unconscious. Yamato swears, grabbing Sai and evading Xia's follow-up strike that slices the ground open. Naruto and Sakura pale but Sakura keeps her head and forces Naruto to run.
"But-! Sakura-chan! We can't-!"
"Naruto! We need to move!" Sakura snaps.
Yamato creates wood clones to cover their escape and has them harry Xia as he catches up to his two conscious teammates. Xia smirks as she watches them run, sword whirling as she fends off the wood clones.
["Headed your way. Sai is out of the game for the moment."] She reports.
["How did they do?"] Samar asks.
["Decent enough- Sakura is their main genjutsu detector while Yamato is using delaying and capture tactics. Sai is more of a 'minions, do this' type with kenjutsu mixed in- Naruto is shit at recognizing genjutsus by the way."] Xia tells them, dodging another clone.
["Maa, Naruto doesn't have the best control over his chakra."] Kakashi reminds the sisters.
["That doesn't excuse him."] Xia retorts, contorting her body to avoid several spear-like wood tendrils.
["How are you doing?"] Samar asks worriedly.
{"Stamina and chakra fine, no injuries."} She tells Samar in Common so Yamato's clones don't understand what she's saying.
Samar relays the information to Kakashi in Fire as Xia finally beheads the last wood clone and rests for a second.
["Xia, flush them towards us- use fire jutsus."] Kakashi orders.
Xia smirks.
["Hai~!"] She acknowledges, racing after Sakura, Naruto and Yamato.
Xia inhales and lets a torrent of fire roar from her mouth, setting the woods on fire. She notes a stiff wind from the east will blow the flames more in the direction of the river, helping cut off that escape route unless they use dotun. Then she follows, eyes gleaming as she tracks the group deeper into the training ground.
…
Itachi frowns at the door to Keiichi's workshop and knocks. Keiichi had been staying inside for the past four days, isolating himself from the rest of the Akatsuki. Both Kisame and Itachi were worried, knowing Keiichi hadn't been in the best mood when they returned from their mission. Their concern only grew when Keiichi didn't come drag Itachi to his workshop for Itachi's weekly appointment. Keiichi, who had been the driving force behind Itachi actually resting and taking care of himself. Keiichi, who lectures the Akatsuki on healthy eating habits. Given his out-of-character behavior Itachi decided it was time to see what was going on with his cousin.
There is a long pause before the locking seals disengage and Keiichi opens the door. Itachi blinks, worry increasing at Keiichi's bedraggled appearance. Eyes bloodshot, hair twisted into a greasy knot at the back of his neck and his crinkled clothes covered in stains.
"What do you want." Keiichi asks coldly, staring at Itachi with an impassive mask.
Itachi keeps his expression placid but inwardly is alarmed. Keiichi's chakra is a writhing mess of anger, pain, frustration and despair barely being contained.
What brought this on? Did he see something at Orochimaru's base or was it one of the Akatsuki? Itachi wonders.
"It is Friday." He answers Keiichi.
Keiichi blinks, his chakra jolting from the whirlpool of darker emotions at that small piece of information.
"It's-? Shit. In, now, Solomon knows you don't bloody take care of yourself-!" Keiichi rambles, letting Itachi inside before relocking the door.
Itachi sits down on a stool while Keiichi slaps himself a few times (is he sleep-deprived?) and starts Itachi's check-up. They settle into a comfortable silence as Keiichi makes notes on Itachi's condition before sitting on a stool with a heavy sigh.
"Your immune system is still weak but otherwise you're mostly recovered. Since your chakra isn't working overtime to keep your organs functioning your reserves should be deeper than previously. I'll check your eyes now," Keiichi tells him.
Itachi nods in understanding- he had noticed he had more chakra available for jutsus and general use lately. Keiichi steps close again and frames Itachi's eyes with his hands, focusing intently on what the medical scan is revealing to him. It doesn't take him long to scowl at Itachi.
"What in the name of the Seven Seas have you been doing?! Using the Mangekyo daily multiple times with no rest periods?! This is-! Augh, stay still you absolute moron!" Keiichi growls as he labors to correct the damage.
Itachi (wisely) stays still and lets Keiichi have his way. Eventually Keiichi breathes out an annoyed huff and takes his hands away, letting Itachi adjust to his newly corrected vision.
"Whatever the fuck you're doing, stop doing it. At this rate I won't be able to completely fix the damage and it will exponentially get worse. You'll go blind within six months if you don't do an eye-swap with close relative who also has a Mangekyo." Keiichi tells him.
Itachi's gaze locks onto Keiichi, full of suspicion and surprise at Keiichi's knowledge.
"How do you know about that?" He asks softly, a menacing edge in his voice.
Keiichi doesn't bother to glance at Itachi as he scoffs.
"Think, Itachi, think. Who else disappeared with the Sensō no megami?" He retorts.
Itachi pauses, going through the information he recalls from his mother's bedtime stories. Keiichi ignores him as he starts to clean up his lab, straightening stacks of sealing tags and scorched beakers.
"Okaa-san, what happened to the Sensō no megami? Did she and Madara live happily ever after?"
"Well, Sasuke, one day she was walking in Konoha on her way to meet with Madara. There was to be a festival that night to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Konoha's founding. She was accompanied by Madara's otouto, Izuna, who was her good friend and the niece of Mito and Hashirama Senju- only to be attacked!"
"Eh?!"
"An enemy snuck into Konoha and set a trap for them, hiding paper bombs beneath the cobblestones. The entire street was destroyed and they never found any trace of the Sensō no megami nor her companions. Madara was very sad and couldn't bring himself to stay in Konoha any longer."
"Why, okaa-san?"
"Sasuke, he lost his otouto and the love of his life on the same day. His heart hurt too much for him to stay."
"Oh…"
Itachi refocuses on Keiichi and the present.
"Is he still alive?" He asks, keeping his voice soft.
Keiichi stays quiet as he continues to clean up, his movements almost mechanical. Itachi waits, letting the silence stretch between them. Keiichi eventually glances at him and his eyes flash red-
Itachi is standing in a vast savannah, the air blisteringly hot as the sun burns relentlessly overhead. He turns his head and sees Keiichi watching him, arms folded across his chest. Garbed in desert clothing with a golden-brown over robe hemmed in crimson, Keiichi's body language guarded. Itachi is impressed by the depth and detail of the genjutsu.
"Why all the questions?" Keiichi asks, purple eyes steely.
Itachi blinks slowly at Keiichi.
"You have secrets- it is only natural to be curious." Itachi replies.
Keiichi shakes his head, snorting.
"Hn, but you seem to be extremely interested in what happened to the Sensō no megami and her companions. Why?"
"Because they left a mark on the shinobi world." Itachi vaguely answers.
Keiichi deadpans.
"Not good enough." He tells Itachi.
Itachi's mouth twitches into a miniscule scowl as he weighs his choices. Keiichi clearly won't give him more- unless Itachi also offers something in return.
"There is someone claiming to be Madara Uchiha that is the true leader of the Akatsuki." Itachi tells him.
Keiichi stiffens in disbelief, eyes minutely widening before he schools his expression back into a poker face. Itachi is intrigued by the strong reaction.
"… He would be in his hundreds by now." Keiichi points out in a level tone.
"I am aware. But the person in question is an Uchiha, likely with a Mangekyo of their own."
Keiichi considers Itachi's words, staring at him silently before speaking.
"All three survived the explosion."
Itachi stills in shock, not expecting that.
"Why didn't they return to Konoha if they survived?" He eventually asks.
Keiichi's eyes flash with some unnamed emotion.
"They couldn't." Is his blunt answer.
Itachi's mind whirls with questions while Keiichi continues to watch him.
"… Is Izuna-san your father then?" Itachi decides to open with.
Keiichi's mouth quirks into a smirk at the question.
"We're related. This other Uchiha… what is your impression of them?"
Itachi notes Keiichi's wording before speaking.
"They are dangerous and skilled at manipulating others. Can you contact Izuna-san or Sensō no megami-sama?"
"As of now, no." Keiichi shakes his head, grimacing.
"But you could in the future?" Itachi clarifies, eyes intense as he stares at Keiichi.
Keiichi rolls his own eyes with a huff.
"Potentially. Nothing is certain. What are your intentions concerning the Sensō no megami or Izuna?" Keiichi asks, watching Itachi for his reaction to gain a clue into his mind.
Itachi pauses, debating before speaking.
"I intend her nor Izuna-san any harm."
A flicker of intrigue shows on Keiichi's face but he keeps his counsel to himself.
"Do you have any other questions?" Itachi inquires and Keiichi barks out a startled laugh.
"Too many to count- but I have another for you. What was your true reason to kill our kin?"
Itachi keeps his face bland- in all honesty he had expected a variation of Keiichi's question given his recent encounter with Sasuke.
"To test myself."
The genjutsu abruptly grows hotter and drier, the air clogging in Itachi's throat as Keiichi glares at him with growing anger.
"Don't. Lie. To. Me." Keiichi enunciates very slowly.
Itachi grimaces as dust starts to whirl in the air, adding to his discomfort.
"It's the truth- I wished to test myself."
Itachi repeats the lie he had told everyone since the massacre.
{"BULLSHIT!"}
Keiichi slashes his arm angrily, a storm starting to build in the distance as the winds whip up the dust into a frenzy.
"Bullshit. If you wanted to test your strength, then why not the Hokage and the Hyuuga? Why not the Ino-Shika-Cho trio? Why stop with the Uchiha? Why not the Senju?"
Keiichi remembers to speak in Fire this time but his violet eyes burn into Itachi's, demanding answers. Itachi keeps his composure in the face of the Keiichi's anger, answering levelly but inwardly intrigued by Keiichi's deductions.
"The Uchiha lauded themselves as the strongest- I wished to see if it was true."
Keiichi deadpans at Itachi.
"… You're not going to tell me the truth, are you?"
Itachi represses a smile as he gives a small hint.
"See underneath the underneath."
Keiichi narrows his eyes then abruptly cancels the genjutsu, bringing them back to the real world.
"Fine, you cagey ass. Now get out- and tell Konan-san I'll cook tonight." Keiichi tells Itachi, turning away from him.
"Hn." Itachi hums, walking out.
…
Yamato silently swears as the forest behind them continues to burn hotter as the wind picks up. The flames had already cut off the easy escape route towards the river. Sakura grimaces as she runs beside Yamato, pushing her chakra into Sai to break the genjutsu. He stirs, blinking apathetically before his eyes widen with some unnamed emotion.
"Take it easy- Xia did a number on you," Sakura warns him as Yamato lets Sai stand up.
Naruto scowls, glaring at the way they came.
"Why did we run?! We could have-!"
"Taken her? Naruto, she caught you in at least one genjutsu without even having to look at you!" Sakura snaps, glaring at him.
"But-!" Naruto starts to protest only for Yamato to cut him off.
"Enough. Xia is still in pursuit and we have no idea where Samar and Kakashi are."
Sai nods, an ink bird settling on his wrist.
"Witch is cutting off our escape route west and south. None of us have strong enough water ninjutsu to make a viable path through the fire but she is running through it without difficulty." Sai reports blandly.
"My birds have not located our other opponents yet."
Yamato sighs, considering their options.
"We need to keep moving- the fire is cutting off easy access to the river so we'll need to head east or north to stay ahead of the flames."
"We can try doubling back once the fire dies down, stay in the burned areas later on." Sakura comments.
Yamato nods approvingly.
"For now, we'll head west- north has a gorge we should avoid."
The group nods and books it. They race away from the forest fire raging behind them and keep running until Sai speaks up.
"Witch has left the flames and is aiming to intercept."
Yamato frowns, considering their options.
"Naruto, make four squads of clones and have them henge into us- then we'll split up in different directions to confuse her."
Naruto nods, perking up at something he can do to help, and quickly creates the clones. Soon the disguised clone squads split and head in various directions. Yamato gives the signal to head out as well, timing it so they all move in sync with the clones. One of Sai's ink birds lands on his wrist, tapping a pattern on his hand. Sai dutifully recites the message.
"Witch has sped up and is still heading in this direction.
Yamato grimaces while Sakura groans.
"She must have the same sensing technique as Samar." He concludes, repressing a sigh.
"Should we keep running? Or have the clones attack?" Sakura asks.
Yamato considers then relays his orders.
"We'll bait her into trap- have two of clone squads form a pincer maneuver when she gets close enough. Sai, get more of your drawings ready. If she is given too much space Xia will use it against us so we will use suppression and aim to take her out as soon as possible."
"Hai!" Sai, Naruto and Sakura say, determination in their faces.
Meanwhile, nearby…
"Traps set?" Kakashi asks Samar.
Samar nods, smiling slightly as she finishes the fuinjutsu trap.
"Hai, all we need to do now is get them to enter it and they won't have access to their chakra, Kakashi-san."
Kakashi eye-smiles at that.
"Maa, I never thought of using seals like this in the field."
Samar smiles slightly as she stands, brushing off her pants.
"Oji-san keeps telling us to do the unexpected to get the drop on our enemies." She comments.
Kakashi chuckles, putting his Icha Icha away.
"Fair enough. How close are our targets?" He quizzes her.
Samar focuses, spreading her senses out.
"… Yamato-taicho, Sakura, Naruto-kun and Sai are to the southwest of our position, about two clicks. Xia is going to intercept and drive them towards us. Shall we join her or hold position?"
Thinking, Kakashi smiles deviously behind his mask.
"Maa, let's make them work for a win, ne?"
Samar hides a smile, pulling out her tessen.
"Hai!"
["Great! You guys can hit them from the rear while I play- er, distract them!"] Xia says through the seal.
["Xia-nee, don't traumatize them!"] Samar scolds as Kakashi and her set out.
["Too late on that one sis~! I think I broke Sai- but! Just a little!"] Xia snickers.
["That doesn't make it better!"] Samar says, completely exasperated.
["Maa, focus on the mission Xia-chan."] Kakashi orders.
["Oh fiiiiiiiiiine. Spoilsport."] Xia mutters.
Outside the training grounds…
"Do you smell smoke?" Tenten asks, scrunching her nose.
Lee sniffs the air upside down, pausing his handstand training while glancing around before shaking his head.
"I do not, Tenten!" Lee yells.
"I shall do five hundred laps around Konoha on my hands-!"
Neji frowns, tuning out Lee's impassioned declaration as he glances around then his pale eyes widen.
"Over there!" He points.
Team Gai turns and spots a massive cloud of smoke rising from the training ground next door, hints of fire are visible even from their position.
"How Unyouthful! A forest fire that burns down the trees and no shinobi has put it out? Yosh! Tenten, Neji, let us extinguish that Unyouthful fire with the flames of our YOUTH!" Lee declares.
Tenten facepalms while Lee flips onto his feet he continues to proclaim youthful things. Neji, on the other hand, activates his Byakugan and searches the training ground for signatures of shinobi. He swiftly spots a total of seven chakra users but only three are known to him.
What does Team Seven have to do with the fire? And who are the other four shinobi?
"Lee, there's-!"
"YOSH!" Lee bellows over Neji, speeding off towards the fire.
Tenten and Neji groan at the same time before reluctantly following after him.
…
"Here she comes!" Yamato warns the team, recognizing Xia's chakra.
The trio of younger shinobi are spread out in the branches, hiding from unfriendly eyes. Seconds tick by, heightening the tension. Naruto starts to fidget while the rest of the team continues to remain stock still. A flicker of movement is their first warning swiftly followed by a series of fireballs. Their second warning was the tell-tale slashing noise as Xia cuts cleanly the tree trunks Team Kakashi is hiding in. They jump out of the falling trees, Sai and Yamato engaging Xia while Sakura guards Naruto.
Xia grins deviously, blade at the ready before shunshinning close to Yamato and slicing for his hands. Yamato ducks the sword, gritting his teeth as she kicks him back and whirls to block a strike from Sai. Sai's normally passive expression is tight and he almost glares at her. Xia smirks, leaning closer as her eyes burn crimson.
"What's the matter? Didn't like your dream?" She coos.
Sai stoically stills his face but cannot fully hide his confusion and irritation. The flash of emotion is not missed by Xia, who grins.
"There you are~"
"Rasengan!" Naruto yells, charging her with several clones.
Xia substitutes with one of Naruto's clones, henges into Naruto and activates a series of false-surroundings genjutsus to further screw up everyone's perception. A pop and puff of smoke throws Naruto off as he wasn't expecting to rasengan his clone! He glances around, trying to spot Xia but to his growing dread doesn't see her.
Sakura twitches when she feels a genjutsu and goes to break it-!
Two hands suddenly grab her ankles and yank her downwards into the ground which is suddenly pliant and squishy. Sakura gets a hand braced under her, forcibly stopping her torso from following her legs into the dirt. Kakashi emerges from the ground and engages Yamato while Xia continues to confuse Naruto by subtly murdering his clones. Sai is suddenly attacked with air bullets, driving him away from the main fight as Samar adds a fireball to the mix.
Sakura grits her teeth and raises her fist before slamming it down, shattering the ground with a yell.
"SHANNARO!"
The earth splits and forms unpredictable fissures, throwing most of the combatants off balance. Sakura takes advantage of the lull to free herself. All of Naruto's clones vanish, save for the henged Xia, helping the blond realize which one is Xia. Yamato and Kakashi take to the trees to avoid the worst of the attack while Samar and Sai have to catch their balance however they can. Flexing her fingers, Sakura glowers as she shunshins at Xia while Naruto tag teams the brunette.
Xia smirks and throws another genjutsu their way- absolute darkness takes their vision, making Naruto flail and trip. In contrast, Sakura throws off the illusions swiftly and bares her teeth in a challenging smile as she blocks Xia's grab for Naruto.
"Oh no you don't!" Sakura growls.
"Aww, Sakura-chan, you're being so mean~!" Xia laughs, dodging a kick.
"I can't let you win so easily!" Sakura retorts, following through with a punch-knee-kick combo.
"Oh, I suppose," Xia sighs before grinning evilly.
"But you might regret it~!" She sings, slamming her sword sheath into Sakura's knee with a telling 'crack'.
Sakura swears, staggering back on her good leg while Xia presses her advantage, shoulder checking the other kunoichi. Off-balance, Sakura quickly grabs Xia in a bear hug and squeezes, immobilizing the brunette's arms and taking Xia down with her. While Xia is distracted, Sai breaks away from Samar by leaving a pair of ink clones and snaps Naruto out of the genjutsu. Naruto shakes his head, still dazed when Samar attacks with a barrage of water shuriken, forcing them to split up.
In the background, trees are coming alive and trying to grapple Kakashi who is making liberal use of raiton and katon. In the midst of this mess, Xia struggles with Sakura grappling her before an idea occurs to the Kouga. She doesn't second guess it and causes huge amounts of electricity to surge out of her chakra points. Sakura lets go out of self-preservation, having healed her knee while they were grappling and back flips out of range slightly singed. Xia surges onto her feet, grinning viciously and opens her mouth to spit fireballs when a loud yell distracts her.
"Dynamic Entry!" Lee bellows, slamming his foot into Xia's face.
Xia is thrown back across the clearing and has to catch herself on a tree with chakra to halt her momentum but loses her sword in the process. The surprise attack had also managed to shock her into turning off her Sharingan, leaving her eyes dark. Her head snaps up and she glares at Lee, pissed off that someone interrupted their training session.
"The fuck was that, asshole?!" Xia snarls.
"Ah ha! An enemy, come to hurt our nakama! How Unyouthful!" Lee proclaims, pointing at Xia.
Sakura, realizing what a disaster this could turn into, tries to intervene.
"Lee! Stop that, it's just a-"
"Ah, Sakura-chan! You look wonder-!" Lee gushes, beaming at her.
Then he takes another look and his eyes widen comically at the electrical burns.
"Sakura-chan, you're hurt! Who did this most Unyouthful act!"
"Ano, please calm down Xia-nee, shinobi-san-!" Samar tries to mediate, stepping forward.
A moment of intuition has Sakura also trying to intercede but Naruto speaks up.
"Huh? Oh, it was Xia-chan who did that!"
Lee's face goes from worried to sternly angry as he glares at Xia.
"You! You will pay for hurting Sakura-chan!"
Xia rolls her eyes at him.
"Will you fucking listen-?" She hisses.
"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee yells, charging Xia.
Xia dodges, temper snapping as his leg tears through the spot her head had been moments before.
"Oh, fuck this." She growls and smashes her free hand up, redirecting Lee's second kick.
"Xia-!" Samar and Kakashi shout, realizing this won't end well.
"You blocked it but you won't escape the Power of Youth!" Lee informs Xia.
Lee uses another series of kicks, trying to push Xia on the defensive. Xia, on the other hand, isn't having it and attacks in turn, grabbing his left leg and smashing her fist into the nerve cluster on his thigh. Lee grits his teeth, kicking at her head which she stops by grabbing his ankle. She grins viscously and spins, torquing her body until she smashes Lee into a tree. He coughs but grabs the tree, anchoring himself with chakra and swings his body up until it is parallel with the trunk, taking Xia with him.
Xia releases Lee and lands on the tree, sprinting down to heel kick Lee in the gut. Lee sweeps her feet and she turns the fall into a double chin kick as she backflips. Tenten and Neji arrive to see Lee and another kunoichi doing their best to pulverize each other.
"What the heck?" Tenten groans.
"Yo, Team Guy, why're you crashing our training session?" Kakashi eye-smiles.
Neji looks at the older jonin before sighing and answering.
"We smelled smoke then saw a massive forest fire- Lee decided we needed to 'extinguish the Unyouthful flames with the power of our Youth'." Neji summarizes.
"Ahhh…" Kakashi and Yamato sigh in unison, slumping.
"Maa, at least Guy isn't here." Kakashi hums.
"Shouldn't we stop them?!" Sakura demands, pointing at the two brawlers.
"They may need to be taken out by force." Sai comments blandly.
Samar sighs, flexing her hands.
"I can take nee-san but someone else will need to handle Lee-san." She offers.
Tenten and Neji glance at each other before nodding.
"We'll handle Lee," Tenten sighs, readying herself.
Kakashi eye-smiles.
"Maa, do your best!"
Yamato, Sakura, Sai and Naruto all deadpan at him while Xia and Lee beat the shit out of each other. Samar watches intently and spots an opening, flickering under Xia's high kick and capturing her leg while simultaneously kicking Lee backwards. Neji and Tenten quickly pounce and restrain Lee while Xia turns her focus on Samar. Samar twists into a throw but Xia catches herself on her hands and kicks for Samar's torso which she blocks. Swiftly, Samar grapples with Xia and manages to hit two of her major pressure points to numb her left arm and leg.
"What the hell, Samar?! Let me at him!" Xia snaps, trying to push her sister off.
"No, Xia-nee! Behave, please!" Samar retorts, struggling to keep a good grip.
"Why are you stopping me?! She is most Unyouthful!" Lee bellows, similarly struggling against Neji and Tenten.
"Lee, calm down!" Tenten snaps, securing his arms with wire.
"I'm gonna kick your teeth in and make you spit them out like watermelon seeds!" Xia snarls to Lee, nearly wrenching free of Samar.
"You attacked Sakura-chan and set the forest on fire!" Lee yells back, trying to kick his way free.
"ENOUGH!" Sakura bellows over them, surprising the pair temporarily and shutting them up.
"Lee! We were doing a training exercise! Xia was supposed to attack us!" She snaps, staring down the taijutsu specialist.
"Xia! Use your words, you're not a child so stop acting like one!" Sakura glares the other kunoichi down.
Xia huffs loudly, a stubborn expression on her face but stops struggling. Samar relaxes slightly now Lee and Xia have calmed somewhat. Lee pouts, confused.
"But-!"
"No buts!" Sakura hisses, an aura of fury growing.
Naruto flinches back while Sai and Yamato are impressed by Sakura's rather impressive killing intent. Tenten sighs in relief as Lee meekly listens to the lecture while Neji just looks done with everything. Samar releases Xia but wisely doesn't undo the temporary paralysis for the time being.
"Wait, so who won our training exercise dattebayo?" Naruto asks, frowning.
Yamato hums thoughtfully.
"Well, despite being interrupted, I would say our team succeeded in their aim of preventing Naruto's 'capture'." Yamato muses.
"Maa… Can't argue with that…" Kakashi sighs mournfully.
Xia tilts her head at Kakashi and Yamato before smiling.
"Are you sure~?" Xia asks, devious grin forming on her face.
"Xia, no." Kakashi says sternly.
"Xia yes!" She retorts, grin only growing.
"No! Bad Xia!" Samar adds, exasperated.
"Aww, but we would have won!" Xia pouts.
"And the exercise was derailed the minute Tenten and her teammates got involved." Samar retorts.
Xia rolls her eyes in annoyance.
"Hn, fine then. But you're racing me." She counters.
"Xia-nee, I love you deeply but you will never get me agreeing to a 'race' for the next year after last time." Samar deadpans.
Sai tilts his head inquisitively.
"And what did 'last time' entail, crone?" He asks in monotone.
"Both of my legs broken when Xia got too competitive." Samar answers without missing a beat.
"Ahh…" Sakura, Yamato, Neji, Naruto, Tenten and Kakashi sweat drop.
Sai nods, adding it to his list of strange behaviors to research. Xia groans in annoyance, getting to her feet.
"Samar, come on! I'll slow down-!"
"We both know that's a lie." Samar deadpans.
"Augh, then are we doing another training exercise-?" Xia grumbles, retrieving her sword and sheathe.
"Nee-san, let's put out the fire first." Samar sighs.
"Hai, hai, slavedriver~" Xia rolls her eyes and focuses.
Samar smiles and hums innocently. Naruto cocks his head, confused.
"Wait, how're you going to put out the fire? It's super big dattebayo!"
"It's fine, Naruto-kun. We have a lot of practice snuffing out forest fires." Samar states calmly.
"No shit," Xia mumbles.
At her words, raw chakra surges and seems to spread like a mist from her entire body, contrary to most ninjutsu techniques before Xia inhales sharply and clenches her fist. All at once the flames go out and the growing heat vanishes, leaving only smoke and ashes. Xia sighs tiredly, shoving hair out of her face.
"There, done."
"Arigato, Xia-chan." Kakashi eye-smiles.
"Wah- she, but- how?!" Naruto pulls his hair, gaping.
"Impressive, especially without using water ninjutsu." Yamato comments.
Neji tilts his head at Xia.
"Forgive me for prying, but did you use chakra to prevent oxygen from further fueling the fire?" He asks.
Xia blinks before smirking.
"Brains and looks? I bet you have girls fawning all over you," She teases.
Tenten face palms.
"Don't remind me…" She sighs.
Xia and Samar sweat drop.
"Sorry..?" Xia offers cautiously.
"You didn't answer my question." Neji speaks up, staring Xia down.
Xia starts to bristle but Samar smoothly intercedes.
"A keen observation, shinobi-san. That is the basic idea behind it but execution is more complicated."
Neji nods, mollified while Xia grumbles as Team Kakashi starts getting ready to head out.
"Now if you will excuse us-" Samar smiles.
"Wait!" Lee exclaims, surprising everyone else.
"Hm? What, Lee?" Kakashi cleans one of his ears.
"I challenge Xia-san to a race!" Lee proclaims.
Samar blanches while Kakashi sweat drops, Sakura shooting Samar concerned glances while Naruto and Sai watch with confusion.
"Maa, Guy has a mini-me right down to the challenges…" Kakashi sighs.
"Seriously Lee?" Tenten moans, exasperated.
"Lee, we've already interfered with their training once today, let it go." Neji orders.
"I cannot! It would be Unyouthful to fail to answer Xia-san's challenge of a race! It is the springtime of-"
"Wait, I asked Samar, not-" Xia tries to interrupt.
"Youuuuuth!"
"You. Dammit." Xia facepalms.
Samar hides her giggles with effort.
"Xia-nee, he seems like he can at least give you a challenge, ne?"
Xia gives her a dour stare when Sakura breaks it up with an apologetic smile.
"Lee can run for long periods of time. If you want a challenge, Lee can certainly give you one!" Sakura reassures Xia.
Xia eyeballs Lee, taking in his muscle definition and lingers on the hidden weights before she stands grumbling.
"You better be able to actually back your shit up, Greenie." She warns him.
Lee smirks and gives her a thumbs up, a glint shining off of his teeth.
"Of course! To do less than my utmost would be most Unyouthful!"
Xia rolls her eyes before stretching.
"Right, what's our route? Keep in mind I don't know the village very well." She reminds Lee.
Lee nods seriously before perking up.
"We can follow the wall surrounding Konoha!"
Xia nods, remembering the giant wall.
"Sure. On three?"
Lee nods, crouching.
"One!" He says, narrowing his eyes.
"Wait, she's actually racing Bushy Brows?!" Naruto gapes.
"Oh no, Neji, go with to keep an eye on them-!" Tenten urges.
Neji grimaces but is resigned to Tenten's request.
"Two!" Xia bares her teeth.
Yamato sends a wide-eyed stare to Kakashi.
"Sempai, do something!"
"Maa, you know I don't interfere with matters concerning Youth." Kakashi eye-smiles.
"I'll get all too worn out if I have to fend off Lee-kun and Guy."
"THREE!" Lee and Xia shout together, taking off with a massive plume of dust.
Sai blinks placidly at this change in plans.
"Is the exercise over then?"
Samar sighs, pinching her nose.
"We better follow to make sure they don't spontaneously spar as well as race."
Kakashi pats Samar's shoulder, insolently beaming at her.
"Maa, it'll be fine~!"
"You just jinxed it," Sakura deadpans.
Back in Ame…
Keiichi resists the urge to stab Deidara repeatedly in the face with a spoon as he blathers on about art- again.
"How does he still have his tongue?" He grits out to Kisame.
Kisame shoots Keiichi an amused look, leaning back in his chair.
Dinner had just ended and the missing-nin were starting to disband for the night. Keiichi is staying near Kisame since Itachi had retired early, but Keiichi's black mood had only slightly abated. Deidara's antics had only worn away his minimal patience to none-existent. Ticked off, Keiichi starts to leave when Hidan suddenly shouts.
"Augh, shut it before I sacrifice you to Jashin!"
"I'd like to see you try un!"
"Get back here you blond moron!"
"Will you both shut up?!" Keiichi finally explodes, glaring at them.
Deidara and Hidan sneer at Keiichi.
"Haa? And what're you going to do about it?" Hidan snarks, eyeing Keiichi.
"You'd be a good sacrifice for Jashin but you don't look like you can take a hit, heretic!"
Keiichi deadpans.
"I'm stunned you're alive with that mentality. Then again, your god's bullshit is ridiculous." He comments.
"Oi! What was that?!" Hidan growls, stepping forward.
Keiichi gives an unimpressed stare.
"Besides being able to survive rather ridiculous injuries and chopping people into messy bits, do you even have any other skills worth talking about? Or are you just a two-trick pony?"
Hidan's face flares red with anger as he pulls his scythe from somewhere.
"You! We're fighting and then I'll sacrifice you to Jashin!"
"Pass." Keiichi rolls his eyes.
"Hah?!"
Keiichi casually nods towards where Konan and Pain are conversing separately.
"They haven't let me spar anybody in the organization- what makes you think they'll say yes for you?" He asks.
Hidan's head swivels between Keiichi and the two leaders of the Akatsuki; Deidara and Kisame enjoy the show, sniggering. A complex array of expressions run unchecked on his face while Hidan attempts to think of a way around straight up asking Pain and Konan. Keiichi nods, having made his point, and walks back over to Kisame.
"Let's go, I have to blend more pills for you morons." He sighs.
"Oi! What are you walking away for, heretic!"
"You really are a dense moron." Keiichi calls over his shoulder as they head for the door.
"Ooooh! Tobi wants to see Keiichi-sempai fight!" Tobi pops out of nowhere.
Keiichi barely restrains his reflexive attack, the seal on his chest warming ominously. Kisame has no such qualms and slashes at Tobi with Samehada. Tobi yelps and frantically dodges the sword, making Keiichi narrow his eyes thoughtfully.
Why did he dodge?
Keiichi had seen Tobi phase through objects, walls and people before- why not Samehada too? As Keiichi ponders Tobi's reasons for avoiding Samehada, Tobi's body language conveys sadness and indignation as Tobi points at Kisame.
"So mean~! Tobi just wants to know how awesome and skilled Keiichi-sempai is!" He whines.
Kisame let's Samehada rest on his shoulder, glaring at Tobi.
"Ordinarily, yeah, I'd agree except Keiichi isn't exactly in the same position as the rest of us. Now buzz off." Kisame warns him.
Tobi pouts harder while Keiichi makes his escape, Kisame watching his back. As they walk through the twisting corridors, Kisame eyes Keiichi.
"Why're you so wary of Tobi?"
Keiichi glances at him then faces forward.
"I'm wary of everyone." He non-answers.
Kisame chuckles.
"Smart."
"Keiichi, Kisame." The pair halt, one of Pain's bodies catching them at an intersection.
"Pain-sama." Kisame says respectfully.
Keiichi settles for a curt nod, lingering fury at being used not allowing him to show more deference than that. Pain's Human Path stoically stares at them.
"We have realized we have been remiss in assessing your abilities, Keiichi. In an hour's time, join us in the training room."
Keiichi stiffens, knuckles going white.
"Do I get a choice in the matter?" He grits out.
Pain shakes his head and Kisame frowns, uneasy.
"Hey, who's gonna fight Keiichi then? You'll need to loosen the seal a bit if you don't want him to be solely on the defensive the entire time." Kisame asks.
Pain's face doesn't shift as he answers.
"Hidan is the least likely to truly die, so he will be Keiichi's opponent. You and your partner are excluded on the basis of Keiichi knowing your skillsets too well."
Kisame nods and glances at Keiichi.
"Better go get ready then, Keiichi."
Violet eyes flash red before settling again- Keiichi nods brusquely, stalking off to his room. Kisame and Pain watch him leave and Kisame tries to appeal to Pain.
"Does he have to do this? Keiichi will be more vulnerable if the others see what he's capable of and it's not like you gave him wiggle room to defend himself."
Pain sighs, his Rinnegan eyes staring Kisame down.
"I profess myself curious concerning his skills- particularly after the mission targeting Orochimaru. If he is about to die, I will intercede but we need a further grasp on his abilities."
Kisame nods and excuses himself to go inform Itachi exactly what Pain intends for Keiichi to be doing.
Meanwhile…
Freedom. Open skies. The wind rushing in her face. Her muscles burning with strain. Spying her competition in the corner of her eye. The rhythmic thudding of her feet.
Xia can't help but laugh as she pushes herself to move faster, farther, quicker to compete with Lee.
At first, they used the trees but when the forest was swiftly replaced by residential buildings they leapt atop the roofs and start bounding across. An eager, wild grin splits her face nearly in two as Xia realizes Lee can keep up with her. Something only a select few had managed before outside of her family. Whooping with joy, Xia surges faster to reach the massive wall encircling Konoha before Lee. Lee, upon seeing her renewed efforts, strives to match her step for step as they rush up the side of the wall.
Behind them, the other members of Team Guy and Team Kakashi follow at a more sedate pace. Naruto goggles at the insane pace the competing pair set.
"Holy ramen, Lee hasn't even taken his weights off yet and they're that fast?!" He yelps.
Samar grimaces.
"He wears weights? Oh dear…"
"Worried witch will lose, crone?" Sai asks her.
Samar shakes her head, eyes locked on the far-off wall.
"No. I'm worried that he'll spur her to pull out all the stops if he drops his weights." She answers.
"They've reached the top of the wall." Neji reports.
"Maa, at least they won't run over any civilians up there." Kakashi comments, settling into a steady loupe.
"Who's winning?" Tenten questions her teammate.
Neji frowns, focusing.
"They're neck in neck." He informs them.
"We better move out before they get too far ahead." Yamato tells everyone.
They all nod and make their way to the wall, scaling it easily. Meanwhile, far ahead of them, Lee and Xia are sprinting down the length of the wall. Whenever one of them would pull ahead, the other would run faster to over take them. Back and forth, the lead runner would switch between Lee or Xia over a dozen times. Xia is ecstatic at finally having a race buddy- Lee is joyful over someone being Youthful with him.
Lee dodges a chunin on duty and Xia leaps over his partner, making both shinobi yell curses after them.
"Sorry!" Lee bellows over his shoulder.
"Don't be sorry! You didn't knock them off the wall or hurt them or anything bad!" Xia yells at him.
"It is Youthful to know and acknowledge your faults!" Lee retorts.
"What the hell is this 'youthful' crap you keep talking about?" Xia snaps, dodging a kunoichi.
"Xia-san does not know of the Power of Youth?!" Lee almost stumbles in shock.
Xia notices the weakness and expounds on it.
"Nope! Never heard of it!"
Lee freezes in horror, allowing Xia to build a massive lead before he comes back to himself. His eyes burn with fire as he triples his pace to catch up to Xia.
"THE POWER OF YOUTH IS ETERNAL BECAUSE TO BE YOUTHFUL IS TO PERSERVERE AGAINST ALL ODDS! YOUTH!" Lee cries at the top of his lungs.
Across the village an answering cry of 'YOUTH' sends shivers up Kakashi's spine.
"Oh no." He groans as another green blur starts to head towards them.
"Okay, that's nice and all but you don't have to bellow my ears off!" Xia snaps at Lee, who is crying as he matches her step for step.
"YOUTH!" Lee yells, redoubling his efforts.
"Shit!" Xia swears as he starts to pull ahead.
Behind them, Guy ambushes Kakashi with a wide smile.
"My rival! I challenge you!" He says dramatically.
"Hmm? Did you say something?" Kakashi cleans one of his ears.
Guy face faults.
"Too cool! Kakashi, you're too cool!" He cries dramatically.
Samar and Sai, completely thrown off by Guy's antics, look at their peers for a clue of what to do. Tenten and Neji sigh, exasperated. Sakura and Naruto keep their distance but continue to watch reluctantly, as if they can't look away. Yamato looks long suffering but used to Guy's eccentric ways. Sai and Samar look at each other and shrug, refocusing on the race.
Kakashi can deal with him. They decide.
"Maa, Guy, we're actually watching Lee challenge someone to a race-"
Guy perks up, stars shinning in his eyes.
"He found a rival? At last! Oh, what a happy day! Tenten, Neji! Quickly we must cheer him on with all our YOUTH!" Guy declares, crying unashamed.
Tenten face palms while Neji is appears pained by the very idea.
"Quickly! We must follow them!" Guy demands, already racing off after Lee and Xia.
"…" Everyone left behind is left speechless for a long moment.
"Maa. Now that's taken care of, who's in the lead Neji-kun?" Kakashi eye-smiles at the Hyuuga.
Neji huffs and scans the wall before focusing in.
"Lee is in the lead."
"Whoo hoo! Go Bushy Brows!" Naruto cheers.
"Lee-san must be very fast…" Samar murmurs.
"Aa, he is. Guy-sensei is a taijutsu fiend who likes us running everywhere." Tenten confesses.
"Oh? Xia-nee might like visiting your team then…" Samar hums as they collectively increase their pace.
Up ahead of them, Xia is straining to keep up with a Youth-bolstered Lee and finds herself grinning competitively.
"Ha! You're a fast bugger!" She laughs.
Even with the growing gap, Xia doesn't give up on trying to overtake Lee, stubbornness driving her ever onwards. They had covered three-fourths of the entire circuit and start on the last section; the Hokage mountain. Lee simply charges uphill with all the ferocity of a bull. Xia starts to channel more chakra into her legs before releasing it in a massive blast, leaping high into the sky. Lee, half way up Hashirama's face, is surprised when Xia lands above him and propels herself upwards.
"How Youthful!" Lee exclaims, starry-eyed.
"Come on, this can't be all you've got!" Xia yells behind her.
"Very well! I, Rock Lee, will do my best to beat you and surpass my own limits! Youth~!" Lee opens the First Gate and stampedes.
Xia is nearly trampled but can't bring herself to care as Lee continues to surprise her. Grinning, Xia pursues, chasing him as they race down Tsunade's face to the last section of the wall. Not far behind them, Guy witnesses Lee having his first rival challenge. Tears stream unceasingly down his face as he gives a thumbs up.
"Go Lee! Show her your Flames of Youth!"
Lee, perhaps by deeply ingrained instinct, instantly replies at the top of his lungs.
"HAI!"
Xia whoops as they reach the final leg, a mere hundred meters from the finish.
"Gimme what you've got!" She exclaims as Xia finally pulls neck to neck with Lee.
"Gladly, if you do the same!" Lee answers.
They share vicious grins and act in sync, massive bursts of chakra speeding them forwards. Ninety, eighty, seventy-! Xia almost edges ahead but Lee quickly matches her as they strain to push faster. Sixty, fifty, forty-! Lee surges again, redoubling his pace. Xia swears, forcing her body to match his pace with a snarl. Thirty, twenty, ten-! Neck in neck, they shove against each other's shoulders as they reach the last ten meters.
"You can do it, Lee!" Guy bellows and Lee gets a second wind.
At the last second, he wrenches ahead and crosses the finish line first. Kakashi, Yamato and all the younger shinobi and kunoichi cheer.
"Good job Lee!" Tenten calls, shunshinning over.
Neji just nods, but his expression is notably softer than usual. Naruto grins brightly, happy for his friend while Sakura glances back at Xia worriedly. Samar heads over to Xia and tilts her head.
"Did you have fun, Xia-nee?" She asks.
Xia blinks and laughs, nodding with a wide grin.
"Hot damn, I can't remember the last person to out speed me like that who wasn't Ayo'yo-oba-san!" She chuckles.
"I want to do that again!"
"WELL SAID!" Guy booms, popping out of nowhere.
"Ack!" Xia yelps, stunned by the glinting smile.
"Too bright-!" Samar whines, covering her eyes.
"GUY-SENSEI! I did it!" Lee cries, eyes swimming with tears.
"Good job, Lee! You are most Youthful!" Guy gives his standard 'nice guy' pose.
"Guy-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Guy-sensei!"
"Lee!" Guy and Lee hug each other and cry happily.
"Maa. Nice try, Xia-chan." Kakashi drawls.
Xia nods, not disheartened.
"Oi! Lee-san!" She calls, drowning out Lee and Guy's traditional greeting.
"Hai, Xia-san?" Lee turns to face her, confused.
Xia points at him.
"I'll challenge you next time, 'kay? Gotta even the score, ya know?"
Dead silence falls. Then Kakashi pales in horror, Yamato frantically shakes his head, Neji and Tenten gape while Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Samar watch on as Lee bursts into renewed tears. Guy looks on with pride, striking his nice guy pose and giving a thumbs up.
"Hai! I will look forward to it, Xia-san!" Lee shouts.
Xia grins and laughs.
"Damn, now I'm hungry- where's good to eat?"
Back in Ame…
Keiichi steps into the training space for the first time, quickly scanning the area as he makes his way inside. Pain's Deva Path is standing in the middle of the room with Hidan at the other end, holding a massive three-bladed scythe. Keiichi sighs as he stoically walks closer, holding his swords sheathed in one hand. Pain nods to Keiichi and makes a hand seal.
"You may attack and injure Hidan. Show your skills and good luck." Pain tells him.
Keiichi narrows his eyes as he feels the seal on his chest loosen, slightly, before nodding sharply.
"Fine."
Pain raises his arm.
"Fight until you are no longer able to or knock out. No killing." Pain stresses.
Hidan rolls his eyes while Keiichi looks utterly done with this entire mess.
"Begin!" Pain leaps back, leaving the two shinobi in the middle of the training room.
"Ready to die, heretic?!" Hidan laughs, a crazed grin on his face.
Keiichi, ever blunt, snorts and rolls his eyes.
"No. Go fuck yourself. Zealot." He scoffs.
"You-! Die now, for Jashin-sama!" Hidan yells, charging.
Keiichi smoothly dodges and the fight is on.
And done! At last T.T! I even kept my promise~! *Happy tears* Please review and comment, I hope the longer chapter is worth the wait. Next time will be in the PAST, so stay tuned! Be safe out there and have a nice end of the year everyone!