Just as the crowd was growing restless, a hand shot up from beneath Shisui. The Genin startled and moved to back away, only to find the hand hardening into stone around his ankle.

Shisui's eyes widened and he looked up in time to meet six of Akihane's clones firing wind, water, and earth bullets straight toward his body. He hadn't even noticed the clones being created, nor Akihane's emergence from the ground seconds prior to his leg being caught.

His negligence was paid for by the collective impact of the bullets smashing into his body.

I~~~~I

Akihane had not shown herself amidst the chaos.

At the sidelines, Genma waited patiently. His eyes view the dust and smoke while it cleared, trying to decide whether or not to call the match.

To everyone's shock, Shisui was okay.

The Genin was panting heavily and he looked to have used quite a lot of power to survive the onslaught of his opponent.

Truly his survival was something shocking, though not more than the flames surrounding him. The flames looked far more alive than any other seen before, the main body of them eating away at the leftover effects of Akihane's jutsu, growing as it consumed the chakra. To top it all off, the flames were clear, or white, in color.

Genma narrowed his eyes at the boy. That technique, the one that he had just used… That technique was far too familiar. In fact, during the Third Great Shinobi War, Genma had borne witness to its destructive power.

"Well, I'll be…" Genma whispered under his breath.

Shisui reached down and cracked the stone holding his leg in place. He then rose to his full height and caught his breath. The flames around him dwindled and died out, their flickering mass leaving scorch marks on the ground. Even the air around Shisui was touched, the water inside burned away and left to vanish elsewhere.

Nobody seemed to notice Genma's focus placed on Shisui, nor the recognition in his gaze.

Genma still knew though, he still remembered. Despite being a child during the time of the Third Great Shinobi War, he still remembered the different factions created during the war by Iwa. Among them, the most well-known ones were the Explosion, the Burial, and the Inferno Corps.

Among the Inferno Corps, there was a clan of fire users whose control rivaled, sometimes even excelled over, that of the Uchiha.

It was funny to think about how things played out. At the start of the exam, Genma had worried for his sister on principle of the Iwa Shinobi's presence. Now, he was glad.

Akihane's actions would intrigue those watching her closely. Her role in this turn of events would take the fear they had and twist it into something different, something that would help her.

Genma chuckled under his breath. Had Hiruzen planned this? Even if the Old Man had, Genma was still happy. He was worried, afraid, but also happy.

I~~~~I

Shisui looked exhausted after using his ability. He felt the same way as well. His posture was resigned, as though he had already figured out what would happen the moment he had to use his flames. Those flames, the white ones that burned hotter than anything an Uchiha could come up with, really sapped him of his strength. He wouldn't be walking away from this battle victorious. He could not push forward when even his bones felt like resting.

Puffs of smoke rose around him. The rocks decorating the ground popped and turned into dozens of clones. Akihane had set a trap and he had fallen directly into it.

Despite this fact and his resignation, Shisui raised his arms and prepared to give one last show.

The clones attacked as one and then separately, expertly working together as they peppered him with blows and strikes.

Shisui barely made it through the onslaught, smoke appearing as he sent more and more clones back wherever they came from.

Then, just as Shisui dispelled what seemed like the last clone, warm liquid slid down his throat.

Shisui's brown eyes met solid maroon. Akihane's spikes rose and fell in a tell-tale sign of a successful Shuinshin, her blade raised and cupped in her palms. He smirked when he noticed that it was angled at his neck.

Akihane met his gaze completely. She did not look away even as Shisui breathed out heavily and drew more blood. Finally, after two seconds of his blood sliding down his neck, she spoke.

"I enjoyed this."

Shisui was speechless.

I~~~~i

Silence. The choking and twisting current that plagued Akihane daily. Here and now, her blade at the throat of her enemy, Akihane hated it more than ever. She wanted more clangs, more bantering and far more moments where fire, wind, water, and earth barreled out and touched the landscape. She wanted this to continue.

Battling with Shisui was a different experience than anything else she had ever done. Sure, fighting with Darui was also unique, but not in the way that this was. Even Sasuke could not compare. She always went back and forth with her opponents, taking turns and conflicting each move with her own.

When she fought Shisui, Akihane was surprised to find that instead of being opposing, they instead flowed.

Sasuke, who did not use Kenjutsu often, felt like fire pressing at her wind, slowly overpowering it.

Shikamaru, a boy so similar to herself and so different, felt like that choking rush at the beginning of every blow, that high that kept you on your toes.

Shisui, on the other hand, felt like lightning that coursed through the water. The path of least resistance, the all-encompassing feeling of not having to struggle to continue.

Akihane wanted more of this. She wanted to trade blows with this Genin, with this raven-haired boy whose moves matched her own, whose very being…

"I believe I found my equal," Akihane whispered softly, her eyes alight with relief as she laughed gently, confusion flashing through her mind even as she understood exactly what she meant.

Shisui's lips twitched and he seemed to understand as well.

I~~~~I

An Equal. Someone who matched you almost perfectly, someone who you looked at and sought to improve who you were, not to grow stronger than them, but to match their power.

Her words shifted his world. His breathing rushed and then halted. He hadn't enjoyed a fight in so long. Shisui hadn't allowed his body to do the work and match his opponent so perfectly for so long.

Akihane made that possible. This girl bearing the name of the Uzumaki and the face of the Senju, the one with both the wills of Stone and Fire.

He wanted to shake his head, to laugh just as the girl did.

Didn't that only prove her point?

He didn't want this to end.

Shisui smiled at Akihane. He understood what she said, he comprehended exactly what she meant.

This wouldn't end there, with her blade at his neck. They would give it one more go, one where Shisui didn't hold back and neither did Akihane.

He grasped at his chakra and allowed a grin to pass over his lips as he felt the tug of a Shuinshin, his body flickering several feet away, directly behind Akihane. He drew his blade and struck, even as Akihane vanished in turn.

I~~~~I

Yin gazed down at Akihane's battle. His eyes shifted over the two reappearing bodies of two Genin, matched in more than a few ways. They had both been expertly trained in the Shuinshin. Akihane by her Shisui, and Hesei by his sensei.

A considering look flickered over his features as he continued to watch the match. The two were drawing to a close, even if they didn't want to.

He took in every detail. His mismatched eyes flickered between the two. From Akihane he recognized the moves she had implemented into her style. Pieces of Senshi's showed in the way her arms whipped around, the way her strikes became precise.

Pairing to that was her flexibility, no doubt learned from what her two Senseis' could tell her of her mother's style.

Another couple of strikes, several Shuinshin and the flickering over the arena. A stalemate, and then the break and more chasing.

Even from his place up above, Yin recognized the way Akihane was acting, recognized the look on both her and Shisui's faces.

He had once felt the same way when facing off against Orama and Senshi. It was the thrill of finding someone like you, of finding someone who understood deep down without knowing it. It was a one of a kind feeling that ran through you like an electric shock. The title "equals" was often used, but Yin found it too be too general of a term. He much rather preferred something along the lines of a true Kindred Companion.

He was glad that Akihane had found herself someone like that. Someone who you recognized as much more than others did or would. His eyes slipped shut as he thought about it. Burning jealousy crawled at his chest over her luck, over the fact she could still have that. Yin wasn't that lucky.

I~~~~I

Akihane and Shisui stopped right where they started. Shisui's blade rested on her neck, her own mirroring.

They both wore smiles, surprisingly enough.

Shisui allowed his smile to settle into something mild at the same moment that Akihane did. They weren't too surprised, considering all throughout their last bout they had nearly perfectly copied each other without trying.

"Guess we part ways, Uzumaki-San."

Shisui commented.

Akihane replied with, "I suppose we will."

Then, in an utterly baffling movement, they both raised their free arms and called out.

"I forfeit!"

"I concede!"

I~~~~I

Sasuke was rarely surprised anymore. That happened when someone lived with Akihane. They grew immune to the oddities and unexpected situations that liked to happen to her. He had thought every one of her habits had come out by now, but she still tended to surprise him.

Just like now. He hadn't expected her to suddenly forfeit her match. That hadn't been their plan at all. They were supposed to go on, to continue until the end.

It seemed that he was wrong.

Sasuke pushed the thoughts aside or tried to focus on something else. He had his own match to finish.

"You really not going to pay attention, Uchiha?" Tenten shouted at him from across the arena as she sent weapons to him.

The Uchiha dodged them masterfully, grunting as he glared at the Kunoichi. Even after training with her for that week or so, he still couldn't one-up her mastery of weapons.

A kunai nearly nicked his arm, a Senbon flying past his ear. The Uchiha quickly ducked under a volley of Shuriken and launched his own at his opponent.

Tenten brought up a tonto and quickly deflected the weapons, launching toward him with the intent to maim.

Perhaps if he hadn't spared with Akihane all the time, Sasuke would be in trouble. However, where Tenten knew how to use Kenjutsu, Akihane specialized in it. She had several more years of practice with that blade to go before she could match the teachings Akihane had been given by her brothers and Neko.

Bringing out a kunai, Sasuke began to parry the blows and push for a Taijutsu spar. With Tenten's team of Taijutsu maniacs it wasn't the best idea, however, Sasuke really didn't want to get into another weapons bout with the girl.

He ducked under a strike and elbowed the girl in the gut, flowing with her as she tried to lessen the blow. They parted from each other, Tenten breathing heavily and leaning more on her right side than her left.

Tenten swept passed her weapons pouch and grabbed a scroll. Sasuke grit his teeth and shot toward her in an effort to halt what he knew was coming.

Instead, his arm was met with the rod of a boa staff, the smoke of the scroll falling over his eyes as Tenten began to strike at his sides and limbs with her extended reach.

I~~~~I

Akihane wasn't sure what to think of the whole mess Sasuke had managed to get himself into. The Uchiha knew better than to engaged Tenten in close combat, and yet he kept trying to do so.

Her lips twisted into a frown and she tilted her head in bewilderment.

Had her change of plan really messed him up that badly? In all fairness, she hadn't expected to enjoy her match with Shisui that much, nor had she ever expected it to take so much out of her. Using the Shuinshin required a lot of chakra and at the rate they went, it's no surprise that Shisui was exhausted and she was ready to rest. With the invasion hovering over them she couldn't afford to expend anymore chakra, which meant she was now stuck watching everyone else's matches.

"What's up with Uchiha, Akihane?" Shikamaru spoke up from behind her, startling her slightly. She hadn't noticed him behind her, which was strange. Normally she could feel the shadow user anywhere, but after the month of training, he seemed to have improved beyond what she expected.

She turned to face him, her mouth softening into a line as she angled her head toward Sasuke's match. The Uchiha had just finished dodging Tenten's blows and looked to be readying a Jutsu.

"I'm not certain. I might have shocked him more than I anticipated." Akihane suggested. She honestly wasn't sure why her friend was having so much trouble. He was smart enough to develop a plan and he outclassed Tenten in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu. The match wasn't actually that hard to predict, and yet Sasuke was turning her ideas on their head and twisting what should have been a straightforward win into something long-winded.

Shikamaru raised a brow at her and then looked back to Sasuke just as he let loose a stream of fire down Tenten's newly thrown ninja thread. The fire raged, forming a dragons head as it barreled into Tenten's shocked form.

"I would have thought he'd expect something this unpredictable from you after living with you for so long. You are a troublesome woman, after all." Shikamaru commented, earning him several glances.

Standing off to the side, Hinata sighed gently, her cheeks flushing as she glanced at Akihane.

"Naru-Chan had a plan set forth before the matches, but she seems to have thrown it out the window. Uchiha-san is trying to catch it currently."

Akihane's cheeks flushed slightly at the light chiding. It was true that she had messed up their plan, however, it hadn't been on purpose. As she had stated before, her battle with Shisui had surprised her. "It's not like I wanted to. That match was…"

She trailed off, looking away. That match had been something else. She wasn't certain why it had affected her so much but she didn't care. Fighting Shisui was thrilling, and that's what mattered at the time.

Several meters away, Shisui looked up at her. Their gazes met. To those watching them, there was an obvious understanding passed between them before everyone once again looked at Sasuke's match.

I~~~~I

Sasuke was pissed. He had nearly nailed his opponent with his Fire Dragon Jutsu, only for her to use a stupid fan in her scrolls and swat it back. The girl looked exhausted from doing so, however, Sasuke was also starting to tire.

He had taken a single moment to look at Akihane, perhaps for inspiration on a truly stupid way to pull a win out of thin air. That was the moment he saw Akihane staring at that stupid Iwa Nin.

He wasn't jealous. He couldn't be. His Akihane had far too many friends and deviations for her attention to be jealous of every single one, even if Shikamaru happened to be the most annoying one. No, he wasn't affected in the slightest. If the girl wanted to drag more people into her web of admirers and give Sasuke more work at keeping them in check, then she could.

He would just have to show them that no matter her interest in them, Akihane had always chosen him first.

Taking a deep breath, letting out an angered and strangled puff of air, Sasuke readied his chakra.

He grasped at the bits in his limbs as he readied kunai and ninja wire. His thoughts went to his match in the preliminaries and how that girl had tried to snare him in her Genjutsu using those bells. That gave him the perfect idea.

Without another thought he launched the weapons at his tiring opponent, letting go of his chakra as he did so. His eyes turned red and he launched at Tenten once more.

The girl tried to weave around him, only to find each of her moves was predicted and countered. Blows struck her form, the weapons he launched before landing behind her as he continued to hit her back.

Tenten gasped and tried to counter his blows and found herself tripping over the kunai in the ground. She quickly caught her footing, or so she believed.

The world twisted and she dropped to the ground, even as the sky followed and everything flipped on its head. The crowd was drowned out with a rush of white noise and the entire arena was dropped into darkness.

I~~~~I

Sasuke stood in the same place as before he had launched his weapons. Tenten had just dropped to her knees in front of him. The Genjutsu tag wrapped around his kunai lay beside her foot, pulsing in activation.

The Uchiha walked forward, raising his hand to form a single seal as he tugged on the wire connected to the other kunai.

Lightning sparked and rushed down the wire, hitting Tenten's feet just as she screamed in pain, snapped out of the Genjutsu with the shocking pain.

Her body slumped forward and Sasuke panted gently as he glared down at her.

Sighing he released the Jutsu and glanced at Genma. The Tokubetsu Jonin raised a brow as he called the match in Sasuke's favor.

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sasuke huffed and reached down to pick up Tenten, carefully maneuvering her so that she wouldn't be injured. The Medic Nin walked toward him and he helped put her on a stretcher even as the crowds roared.

Deep down, underneath the molten fury in his chest, Sasuke felt like he had lost.

He glanced up at the other competitors, his eyes meeting Akihane's.

The girl smiled at him and waved slightly, her eyes still that gentle shade of lavender he remembered from long ago.

She was growing up, growing away from him in a way he wasn't sure he liked. In a year, would she no longer gaze at him? Would she entrust her secrets to someone else and tell them all her problems?

At what point would he lose her forever? At what point would she no longer turn to him and forget about his existence or stop caring about his wellbeing?

Sasuke wasn't certain what the future contained, but he did know that no matter what Akihane did or who she turned to, he wouldn't turn away from her. He was doomed to protect her the moment he had first met her.

When Shisui had brought her to their home, her small body leaning on his with a dull look in her eyes that reminded him of his father and the set in her face that reminded him of his brother. The tiny little girl whose hair he had called odd but pretty, whose manner he had named befitting of her looks. The little girl that Shisui had told him he should look out for a protect at all costs because she was something precious and the world would want to take that away.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke silently vowed to uphold that. To stay at her side even when she no longer acknowledged his presence.

He walked back to the box calmly even as Genma started to call out the next match. He reached the steps the moment Shikamaru and Yarui were called down to the arena.

Waiting for him was Hinata, her calm and unnerving gaze offering him little comfort.

"You messed up," Hinata spoke softly, her emotions somehow hidden beneath the Hyuuga indifference.

For all that Hinata put up the façade of a weak little girl, Sasuke could always see past it. She was a strong Kunoichi who had proven time and time again that she was able. It was only her father's stressful comments and the fact that her Sister would be branded with the Caged Bird Seal should she show her true potential that kept her back.

"How so, Hyuuga?" Sasuke demanded of her even as he heard Genma start the match.

Hinata sighed gently and looked away. Her demeanor changed from an unsure child into one with the world on her shoulders.

"You got into an argument with Akihane after she nearly died. When she asked you if you were mad that she had saved a comrade, you told her that you weren't. You ignored her and tried to avoid the topic. You lied to Akihane."

Sasuke flinched, stepping away from the Hyuuga at the accusation.

"Why don't you trust me anymore Akihane? You nearly died! Why didn't you try and find me, why did you go to the Nara? Why is it you keep on going to him when all we've ever had is each other?"

"Are you mad about me saving Hayate, or are you mad about the fact that I was with Shikamaru when it happened?"

"N-No. I'm not made."

"I know, Sasuke. I know."

She had known. She had realized what his problem was and left it at that even as she gazed at him like she was breaking apart.

"Fix it. Before it destroys you both." Hinata spoke up.

She looked at him with sharp eyes, and within an instant, was pressed against him with her glowing palm resting right above his heart. Her purple chakra made the dark stairwell light up in an eerie manner.

The threat was clear as day. He met her gaze calmly and reached up to grab her wrist even as the chakra died and her eyes hardened into the Byakugan. Sasuke's Sharingan shone and the tension between them built up.

"Hinata-Hime, Sasuke-San? Are you alright?"

Akihane's voice broke the two of them, their respective Doujutsu vanishing as the ivory haired teen walked down the steps. Her soft eyes traveled to Sasuke first before shifting over Hinata. They then shifted to Sasuke as she walked over. Her hand reached up, passing their three-inch height difference in order to touch his cheek where Tenten had cut him.

"That was a good match, Sasuke-San." Akihane smiled again at him. Only, this one was different. This wasn't the snarky smile she gave their Sensei or the sadistic one she gave her prank victims or even the loving one she always gave the Sandaime. No, this was the smile that lightened her gaze and left him feeling weak in the stomach and nearly drove the air out of his lungs. This was the smile that expressed years of friendship and trust.

This was the smile she only ever gave Sasuke.

In a move that surprised even himself, Sasuke tugged Akihane forward and wrapped his arms tightly around her. He closed his eyes and placed his chin on top of her head, letting loose a quiet gasp that sounded more like a sob.

Akihane didn't stiffen even though she was surprised. She relaxed against him and wrapped her arms around him as well, glancing toward Hinata. The Hyuuga smiled gently and nodded before she left the stairwell to them.

If the Uchiha cried and whispered soft apologies to Akihane, then that was her business.

I~~~~I

Well what do you know, I managed to get another chapter out. It only took me all of my Thanksgiving break. So I'm sick right now and that means I really have nothing better to do besides write, draw, or sleep. I feel like I'm wasting time doing the last two options though, so I decided to feel productive and get this finished. It took a sad turn that I hadn't planned on but figured I'd address. There's a lot of relationships configuring to do before Shippuden and there's a lot of fluffy/angsty moments to come. Also, expect a Sasuke Centric Chapter sometime in the future.

Drabble- First Meeting

Akihane had been such a small child when he first met her.

She was barely as tall as Shisui's knees with glowing ivory hair that reached her shoulders.

Her eyes had left him with a lasting impression, the changing hues mimicking his father's haunted gaze.

Shisui had fluttered around the girl like a worried mother hen.

He has asked her questions in a gentle manner, smiling comfortingly all the while.

Akihane was a strange girl.

She did not whine like most of the other children did, nor did she ever beg for anything, and Sasuke could not recall her ever crying even when she had hurt herself while training.

Sasuke still recalled his words that were used to describe her.

"She's haunted by her past; she had seen the true nature of the world and it was not kind to her."

He had to agree with that description of the Uzumaki.

He had learned from his father that Shisui was Akihane's guard because she was the target of several assassination attempts.

He learned from him that she wasn't liked by the rest of the village.

He learned from Shisui that she was someone precious that should be protected.

As the years went by Sasuke saw more and more of Akihane, whether it was at the academy or at his home.

Strangely enough, Shisui was only ever visibly walking by her side inside of the compound, while any other time she was outside he trailed silently in the shadows.

He never quite understood why that was, though Akihane had hinted several times she knew why.

Sasuke never asked.