I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.
Training
Ryuu walked out of the church, Fu beside him, and smiled slightly. It was late, nearly midnight, but the pastor, as this church's preacher was called, had spent from about six in the morning until now teaching Ryuu and Fu about his religion, at Ryuu's request. Ryuu understood the religion a lot better because of it, but he still wasn't sure if he really believed in it. He was willing to give it a chance though, if it would help with his nightmares.
Ryuu and Fu returned to their house, going to bed and waking up bright and early and heading to Tsunade's office. When Ryuu knocked on the door, it swung open to reveal Danzo Shimura, who glowered down at them. Ryuu's tanto was in his hand in an instant.
"Stop!" Tsunade's voice ordered, Ryuu freezing, looking past her to Tsunade. "Danzo, we'll finish this discussion later. Leave. Now."
Danzo gave a stiff bow before walking past the two genin. Ryuu stepped inside with Fu and closed the door, turning to Tsunade.
"Is he still going to be a problem?" Ryuu asked.
"No," Tsunade said. "If you have any trouble with him or his ANBU, tell me and I'll have him arrested. Anyway, what can I do for you?"
"Do you have any missions that don't involve killing anyone?" Ryuu asked.
"I do," Tsunade nodded. "There's a race being held in the Land of Tea. The race is to decide the leadership of the Land of Tea, and one of the two families competing has asked for us to protect their runner."
"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Who's going on the mission?"
"Originally, Team Kakashi would be going, though Kakashi's busy and would be staying here," Tsunade said. "However, I think you and Fu can handle it."
"What will they be doing?" Ryuu asked.
"I've got some other missions they can do," Tsunade said.
Ryuu nodded. "Okay. When do we leave?"
Tomorrow," Tsunade said. "For today, you're going to be training with some of your academy classmates."
"Who?" Ryuu asked.
"Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Lee," Tsunade said. "Kakashi and Kurenai said they have something special for all of you. They should be gathering at the Third Training ground in an hour."
Ryuu nodded, leaving with Fu and heading to the Third Training Ground, waiting for the others to arrive. After an hour and ten minutes, everyone except Kakashi had arrived.
"Well, since he's probably going to be late, we're going to start without him," Kurenai said. "Now, the training today is going to be split. I'll be teaching you all some more advanced genjutsu. Kakashi is supposed to be teaching you all advanced ninjutsu. Looks like we'll have to skip that for now."
"Um, Kurenai Sensei, I can't do Genjutsu," Naruto said.
"Neither can I," Lee said.
"They're right," Ryuu said. "Why don't they work on taijutsu together. Both could stand to learn something from the other."
"Good idea," Kurenai said. "Alright. Lee, Naruto, you're both going to work on your taijutsu together."
"Which mainly means Lee's going to train Naruto to be something other than a brawler," Ryuu said.
"Actually, I've been working with Naruto on his Taijutsu," Sasuke said. "He's gotten pretty good."
Kurenai nodded, Naruto and Lee moving away from the others to train on their own as Kurenai began to drill the remaining four on genjutsu relentlessly. At first, it wasn't hard, even without Sharingan. But then, Kurenai began to teach them genjutsus that relied completely on chakra control, rather than any kind of visual genjutsu. Ryuu saw Fu and Hinata struggling at the techniques, Hinata more so than Fu, while he and Sasuke learned them at an alarming rate, though nowhere near the rate they picked up any that involved using their eyes. Finally, they all stopped as Kakashi arrived, Yugao just behind him and both holding swords. Ryuu grinned, drawing his Tanto and forming a Vacuum Blade. Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy it and Fu formed a water blade from the water in the air. Ryuu looked to the others, Lee looking excited, Naruto confused, and Hinata watching Ryuu and Fu's jutsus in silence.
"What chakra natures do you have?" Ryuu asked her.
"Fire and Lightning," Hinata said.
"I see," Ryuu nodded. "The only sword-type jutsu I know for fire is...not a training jutsu."
"It's alright," Yugao said. "We brought extras. Here."
She tossed a scroll into the air, three katanas appearing out of it and stabbing into the ground. Lee, Hinata, and Naruto all picked on up and Ryuu glanced at Naruto.
"Sasuke, teach him to make Vacuum Blades," Ryuu said. "After this, I mean."
Sasuke nodded and they turned back to Kakashi and Yugao.
"Ryuu, you're going to help us teach them," Kakashi said.
Ryuu blinked in surprise. "Really?"
"You're almost as skilled with a blade as I am, when you use your Sharingan," Yugao said. "You'll be training Naruto and Fu."
"Fu doesn't need training in kenjutsu," Ryuu said. "She's better than me. By a lot."
"Alright, Naruto and Lee, then," Yugao said. "Fu can help you. I'll take Hinata, and Kakashi can deal with Sasuke."
Kakashi, Fu, and Ryuu all nodded and Ryuu glanced at Kurenai, who had a knowing grin on her face. He swallowed hard, preparing himself for genjutsu interruptions. He, Fu, Naruto, and Lee all walked a short distance away from the others. Ryuu glanced at the other pairs, watching them other pairs train, going straight into trying to hack each other up and then learning to not leave themselves open from there.
"Aren't we going to attack each other?" Naruto asked as Ryuu was deciding which defensive techniques to start with.
"No," Ryuu said. "You'll be learning to defend yourself before you learn to kill others."
"What's the point of that?" Naruto asked. "If I hit you before you hit me, I win, right?"
"Attack me and I'll show you," Ryuu said, Fu taking a couple of steps away from Ryuu.
Naruto sprinted forward, shouting like an idiot as he did, then made a huge, sweeping, overhead slash at Ryuu. Ryuu easily sidestepped the blow, sweeping Naruto's legs out from under him with the side of his Vacuum Blade, then stabbing the ground beside Naruto's head as he landed. Naruto flipped to his feet, stepping forward and taking a baseball swing at Ryuu with the sword. Ryuu dropped, deflecting the blade upward before flipping his tanto over, tapping the buttcap against Naruto's gut.
"Not only have I killed you twice now, but if that swing had connected with anything, it also would have just broken your sword," Ryuu said. "Now, would you like to learn to wield that thing properly, or would you like to keep waving it around like an idiot?"
"I want to learn," Naruto said, dejectedly.
"Good," Ryuu said. "Now, we're going to start with basics and defense, because with defense, you can offset your opponent then counter and deliver a much more lethal blow than if you tried to rush in and slash him. This way, you'll already be in close enough to do a lot more damage, and you won't have to worry about the opponent seeing you coming while you're still trying to close the distance."
Lee and Naruto nodded, Ryuu showing them, mostly Naruto, how to properly hold and swing a katana, then different blocks. He walked them through a number of more basic defensive techniques and evasions, working them continuously until they could both perform the techniques passably well. Then, he moved on to more advanced techniques and combinations of techniques. After they had gotten the hang of that, he added in some basic counter slashes, ones mostly meant to disable, rather than kill. As expected, Lee picked it up much faster than Naruto, due to already being an expert in Taijutsu and skilled with several kinds of weapons. naruto, on the other hand, was starting to get impatient and bored.
"Naruto," Ryuu said. "Focus."
"But Sasuke and Hinata are over there learning awesome attacks and stuff!" Naruto complained.
"How come they're not learning defensive shit?" Naruto asked.
"You think their training is superior to yours?" Ryuu asked.
"Yes!" Naruto said. "Swords were meant to kill people! That's what we're supposed to be learning!"
Ryuu was silent for several seconds. Then, he nodded. "Okay. Sasuke! Come and fight Naruto!"
"What!?" Naruto shouted. "I can't fight Sasuke! He's Sasuke!"
"You're not having a Taijutsu match, it's Kenjutsu," Ryuu said. "Sasuke, no Sharingan, no lifting gravity seals. Both of you are only to use the sword techniques you've been taught today."
Both nodded, Naruto much more worriedly and hesitantly than Sasuke. Ryuu stepped out of the way and Sasuke lunged. His form was nearly perfect, as expected, since Sasuke had Itachi for a brother, however, he was letting Naruto seem better than he was. His attacks, even with perfect form, were sloppy and telegraphed. Naruto deflected his first slash, then his second. He ducked under a third, spun around a second, then flipped over a forth. He spun, blocking Sasuke's blade again and they began to push against each other, only for Sasuke to let Naruto fall past him and holding his Vacuum Blade to Naruto's throat. Naruto grit his teeth, slapping the blade away.
"See?" Naruto said. "Sasuke was learning the important shit while I was only being taught to dance around like a coward!"
Everyone went deathly silent as Naruto's eyes widened, Naruto turning to stare at Ryuu in fear.
"I-I'm sorry!" Naruto stammered. "I didn't mean that!"
"Yes, you did," Ryuu said. "And the reason you lost isn't because Sasuke was taught a better style, it's because his brother is Itachi, one of the most skilled kenjutsu masters to ever exist in the Hidden Leaf Village. Sasuke had training before today. And even if he hadn't, you were so hung up on how much better Sasuke's training was than your own, that you didn't use a single one of the techniques I taught you. You didn't parry, you didn't dodge properly, you didn't set your form, or position yourself according to your opponent in order to be able to counter. All you did was bat Sasuke's sword away from yourself out of fear and do everything in your power to not be touched by it. In a real fight, you can't be afraid of being cut, because you probably will." He stepped forward, getting within inches of Naruto. "With swords, you have to be comfortable being this close to someone, too close for them to slash you, but close enough for you to do it."
"But you can't either!" naruto argued.
"Can't I?" Ryuu held his sword sideways at his side and turned, placing the edge against Naruto's abdomen. "You have to be fast, thinking, and precise. But if you're so desperate to learn how to wave your sword around like you're clearing spider webs rather than fighting, then you're welcome to train with someone else. I'll teach Hinata to defend herself instead. At least then someone with half a brain will survive in a fight while you're letting the enemy cut you to ribbons because you're too good to learn to defend yourself."
Naruto stood in stunned silence as Ryuu turned to Lee, who readied himself instantly. As Ryuu walked over to Lee, correcting his form, no one else, besides Fu, moved. Fu walked over to do her own inspection of Lee's form, catching that his sword was a little too high, and not tight enough to his body.
"Well?" Ryuu asked. "Go and train with Yugao. Yugao, Naruto's not to learn anything defensive today. At the end of today, he and Hinata will spar to see if Naruto's satisfied with his preferred style."
Yugao nodded, walking away with Naruto while Kakashi and Sasuke walked away as well, leaving Hinata to walk over and stand beside Lee, trying to copy his position. Fu helped Hinata correct her position and then began to teach Lee from where Ryuu left off, Ryuu teaching Hinata what she had missed. Hinata was naturally flexible and fluid in her movements, allowing her to pick up more advanced techniques faster than Lee or Naruto. Within half the time, she had caught up to Lee. Finally, as the sun began to set, Naruto and Hinata were ordered to spar after Ryuu used a seal to dull their blades, allowing for bruises but not cuts. The fight was brutal, for Naruto. No matter how fast or how powerful a strike he attempted, or from what angle, Hinata was able to defend against, and counter, everything. By the time Naruto decided to try misdirection, he was already covered in bruises. By the time he realized that Ryuu had taught Hinata to ignore misdirection without her Byakugan, he was barely able to stand.
"That's enough," Ryuu said. "So, Naruto, are you satisfied with your training?"
"No," Naruto said miserably, bowing low. "I'm sorry for complaining and for calling you a coward. Please teach me to defend myself."
"I'd love to," Ryuu said. "But I have a mission tomorrow. Sasuke can do it instead. At least until I get back. Now, if you'll excuse me, Fu still owes me a rematch for the last time she and I sparred with blades."
They all cleared out to the edges of the field, watching as Ryuu and Fu turned to face each other, both wearing an emotionless expression, eyes alert and analyzing everything the other did, from every twitch at the end of their blade to every movement of their eyes. Every breath, every shift, every hair blowing in the breeze. As Naruto watched, he barely noticed the two actually start to move. One moment they were staring each other down, the next, they were dancing. At least, it looked like a sort of dance. They moved around each other like water, far closer than he would have expected for a sword fight, yet even at that close of a range, their swords still clashed. He recognized different parries, dodges, and throws that both did as what Ryuu had tried to teach him. He also recognized that Fu was the more offensive of the two.
Fu stepped back, out of their borderline intimate closeness and spun in a blur, slashing at him only for Ryuu to redirect it over his head and slash downward at her. She spun around the blade, getting close to him again and spinning, using the technique Ryuu had used to show Naruto he could attack without needing room to slash. Ryuu, however, flipped over it, placing a hand on Fu's head to support himself before swinging his legs outward and around, making Fu spin and throwing her to the ground, stabbing down at her, only for her to contort, avoiding the blade and wrapping her legs around him, flipping him to the ground and pinning his sword arm. She stabbed at him but he craned his head out of the way before grabbing her and yanking her down, slamming his forehead protector into her forehead then throwing her back. As she stumbled, he flipped to his feet, darting forward and slashing at her abdomen. For a moment, Naruto thought she might actually get hurt, until she spun, dropping into a split with her body lying along her front foot, then shoved off the ground, shooting backward under Ryuu, between his legs, then magically rising to her feet in time to step forward and swipe Ryuu's legs out from under him with her blade, putting the blade to his throat. Ryuu sighed and nodded and Fu smiled, letting the blade fall away as water, soaking him. Then, she pulled him up, Yugao, Sasuke, and Kakashi all clapping as they all walked over.
"Very well done," Kakashi said. "You've both improved. Although, I don't think I've ever seen anyone use a sword quite as...close to their opponent as that. I actually thought you might trip over each other a couple times there."
"Almost did," Ryuu said. "And that's exactly the reason that we practice getting that close. What kenjutsu master that you know of actually knows how to counter that kind of fighting?"
"None," Kakashi said. "Of course, I also don't know many that would be so skilled with a sword that it would be necessary, and yet not also be skilled enough with ninjutsu or something to keep you getting that close."
"I'm sure there's someone," Ryuu said. "Somewhere."
"At any rate, I'm impressed with your progress," Kakashi said.
"As am I," Yugao smiled. "Alright. Everyone head to bed. We've all had a long day and most of you have an early day tomorrow."
They all nodded, scattering to their homes. Ryuu and Fu both changed into a pair of thin pajamas and climbed into bed. Ryuu closed his eyes, praying for a night of rest, rather than a night of nightmares, then lay down, Fu taking her usual spot on his chest.
"Are you okay?" Fu asked. "You've seemed...different, ever since we came back from the Land of the Moon."
Ryuu smiled, nodding and kissed her, staying there for a few moments. "I'm fine. Just a little shaken by what happened still is all."
Fu nodded and settled in for the night, closing her eyes as Ryuu did the same, drifting off to a dreamless sleep.
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