The Ice Queen in Konohagakure Chapter 6: 5 Years Later, a Naruto + Frozen Crossover fanfic

Sun streamed through the window striking Elsa's face and stirring the 12-year-old girl from her sleep. A moment later her alarm clock went off, pulling her the rest of the way from her dreams. With one hand she blindly reached out and turned off the annoying contraption. Once it had been silenced, she sat up in her bed, stretching out her limbs. Yawning quietly, she made her way to her bathroom across the hall to do her morning routine and get ready for the day.

Pulling her hair out of the braid she wore while sleeping, she shook it loose and gave it a few strokes with her brush, before quickly making a loose braid that hung down in front of her right shoulder. This done, she quickly brushed her teeth, then thought about putting on some makeup but decided against it. Kurenai always wore makeup no matter if she was on an undercover mission or just going to the store, so she had made sure to teach Elsa the finer points of eyeliners and lip glosses, but Elsa usually went without to differentiate herself from the fangirls in class that always seemed to wear too much in the hopes of catching Sasuke's eye.

Making her way back to her room, Elsa got dressed in her usual outfit of pants and a t-shirt, with a short-sleeved light jacket over top. Around her waist, she also had an odd accessory of a blue partial skirt with a snowflake design that hung down covering her right thigh to her knee but left her left leg exposed. She had seen it in a shop, on one of her outings with Hinata, and decided to wear it as a reminder of her home and the many dresses she had initially brought with her. Sadly she had ended up abandoning them completely after her first year here when her ninja training had started getting more intense.

Hinata had laughed at her and said the garment was weird, but Hanabi had said it looked cute on her prompting the older girl to give her sister a noogie in retaliation. Elsa chuckled as she thought of how the two girls' relationship had changed over the years. Hinata still loved giving and receiving affection from the little girl. But ever since Hanabi had become more vocal and started contradicting everything Hinata said, she was just as likely to get a bop on the head as she was a hug and a kiss. The little girl got her revenge however by taking an almost sadistic pleasure in seeing Hinata squirm whenever she called Elsa her "nice sister."

Elsa finished getting ready by pulling on a pair of fingerless gloves that tightened around her wrists. When she no longer felt the need to wear her gloves 24/7 she had taken them off only to find that it felt weird having bare hands after so long. Naruto had then shown up with a pair like this for her to wear as replacements. As a thank you, Elsa had bought Naruto a pair of goggles that she never saw him without. Her preparation for the day complete, Elsa made her way out to the main living area of her apartment.

"Morning Greta," she called as she entered the room.

"Morning child," the troll responded, looking over her shoulder with a smile but, not turning away from the stove where she was making pancakes for breakfast, "how did you sleep?"

"Very well thank you," Elsa answered politely, "is there anything I could help you with?"

"Oh, you are too good to me child. Would you mind setting the table?"

"Sure," Elsa said happily.

The routine between the two had become well-practiced over the years that Elsa had lived here. Greta was always there whenever Elsa woke in the morning greeting her with a smile and warm meal. Elsa had come to love the short troll woman and always offered help when she saw her working on something in the house. When it came to mealtime the help she was asked to give usually meant setting the table because as Elsa grew it was easier for her to reach the cupboards than the squat rock-skinned caretaker. When the table had been set and the cooking finished, Elsa sat across from Greta happily eating the fluffy pancakes.

"I have another letter from your mother," Greta announced, producing the envelope in question.

Elsa accepted the letter with a smile and swallowed before saying, "Thank you, Greta, I will read it when I get back from classes today."

Greta gave the girl a look, "Child, I know she says it in the letter but she also told me to tell you that you should write more often. Your family misses you terribly you know."

Elsa felt a small pinch of guilt in her heart.

"I know," Elsa said, "I want to but I am just so busy with the graduation exam coming up in a few weeks."

"Don't give me that Elsa," Greta rarely used Elsa's name so when she did the girl knew to take notice. "You know that you started sending letters less often well before it got close to graduation."

"N-no, I..." Elsa tried to deny it but the troll silenced her with another look, "fine, I will make sure to write today. I will have a letter for you to take back at dinner."

Greta's eyes softened as she saw the girl's dejected expression.

"I know it must be hard, child," Greta said, switching back to the endearing title she used for Elsa, "You came here to attend the school to get control of your abilities and now the academy is coming to an end and you are scared of leaving all the wonderful friends you have here. Just remember as long as you have love for them in your heart then you will stay connected with them no matter how much distance separates you."

Elsa looked up and met the kind eyes of the troll before smiling as well.

"Thanks Greta," she said.

The odd pair shared a meaningful look for a moment more before turning back to the food in front of them. As they were finishing, there came a knock at the door. Standing to answer it, Elsa beamed as she saw Yugao standing outside.

"Good morning Elsa," the purple-haired woman said with a smile of her own.

Where Elsa had noticeably aged over the past five years Yugao hadn't changed in the slightest, still looking as young and beautiful as ever. She and the two other women that shared Elsa's building had become mentors and role-models to the young woman as she grew and became more interested in the kunoichi side of her education at the academy. They had also been invaluable in helping her when she started experiencing the more awkward aspects of growing up. As kind as Greta was, trolls apparently did not share all aspects of human biology. While none of the three had enjoyed having to explain certain things to the girl, the experience had only cemented the fond feelings that the three women had for the blond-haired princess.

"Good morning Yugao-sensei," Elsa responded. "I will be ready to go in a moment. Will we still be meeting after classes to practice some more?"

Yugao smirked inwardly at the epithet that Elsa used with her name. When the girl had started to show more interest in the shinobi arts each of the three women she associated with had grown excited and started hinting to the girl that they would be willing to train her if she asked. In the end, Elsa had asked Yugao if she would start teaching her the sword. Kurenai had been a little upset, but she had already started taking notice of the Hyuuga heiress so she switched her focus to her. Anko however had been despondent at the fact Elsa hadn't wanted to learn about torture and poison. Yugao personally didn't understand how Anko hadn't realized that a kind-hearted person like Elsa wouldn't be attracted to something as brutal as torture. Regardless Elsa had become Yugao's student and she was very proud of the progress that the young woman was showing. She already had plans to gift the girl her first sword as a graduation present.

"Of course," Yugao answered, "I want to make sure you are in fighting form when you graduate from the academy."

Elsa nodded happily then with a quick, "Wait one moment," she closed the door, going back inside to gather her things. Yugao heard some quiet noises and a muffled, "Bye Greta," before the door opened again and Elsa walked out locking it behind her.

"Ready," Elsa said cheerily.

"Good," Yugao said, before she smirked slightly, "then let's see if you can keep up."

When she finished talking she turned quickly and vaulted over the railing of the walkway they were standing on and dropped the two stories to the road below. Strengthening her legs with chakra she easily landed without injury. Turning back Yugao watched as Elsa leaped after her, jumping first to a branch on a tree that grew beside the road then flipping down elegantly to the ground. Elsa looked at her with a challenging smirk, that Yugao returned before taking off at a speed that was just barely faster than the average genin could run. She soon heard the sound of Elsa sprinting behind her trying to keep up and couldn't keep the proud smile off her face.

A few minutes later Elsa was jogging into the academy campus. Yugao had slowed down about when they reached the halfway point between the apartment and the school not wanting to wear the younger woman out before her classes that day. Elsa knew, however, that when they met up for her sword lesson later the kunoichi would be back to her taskmaster ways. While Elsa knew Yugao was a kind and considerate person, as a swordmaster she demanded perfection, and any mistake was corrected with a sharp thump from a bamboo sword that the woman carried while teaching. Elsa appreciated the discipline, however, because it was never done with malice and she knew that she was improving rapidly.

As Elsa entered her classroom she looked around at the students that had already arrived and spotted Hinata sitting in the top row of desks. Hinata must have noticed her when she walked in because as soon as Elsa met her eyes the girl smiled and waved. Elsa's friend had changed much over the years. She had grown taller and she kept her hair short except for the two bangs that framed her face. She had also started wearing a rugged canvas coat over her usual black shirt and pants, the material being useful for protecting her while moving quickly through trees at high speeds where you were often in danger of getting scratched by a protruding branch. The biggest changes, however, were in regards to her personality. While the girl was still soft-spoken and polite, most of her shyness was replaced with calm self-confidence. The relationship the girl had with her father had improved, though he was still often cold and aloof. She had also started to take a more proactive role as the clan heir. Offering suggestions in clan meetings and advocating for better treatment for all clan members.

Elsa still remembered when Hinata had explained the concept of the branch family and how they were treated. She had been angered at the idea that certain members of a family would be better treated than others for no reason other than the fact that they had been lucky enough at birth. Not only that but, as Hinata and she had looked into the history, it was clear that while the main branch was focused on dealing with the administration of the clan holdings, the branch family was supposed to be the warriors that protected the clan and its people. The whole point of the seal on their foreheads was to protect the byakugan of those that would be in the most dangerous circumstances, yet now it was used as little more than a slave brand. Elsa had told Hinata that her best bet to help her family was to gain power so that she could change policy and to lead by example to combat the traditions that had taken root in her house. Hinata's father had supported her and said that he had been trying to change things ever since Hinata's uncle had been killed, but by that point, he had grown too entrenched in the tradition to effectively change it. Hinata, however, being from a new generation might have better luck. With her father supporting her, and Elsa to encourage her, Hinata had come out of her shell and become a force for change in the clan. There were still a few elders and her cousin who didn't like her but they weren't able to do anything because of how positively the rest of the clan members saw her.

Returning Hinata's smile Elsa made her way between the desks to sit next to her friend. When she got there she offered a greeting.

"Good morning Hinata," She said happily, "how are your father and sister?"

"Good morning Elsa," Hinata responded, "they are both well thanks for asking."

"So, I am meeting with Yugao at the regular place after classes today to train some more. You and Kurenai should come and we could do some stuff together."

Hinata's eyes brightened at the idea. "That sounds wonderful. Kurenai-Sensei did say she wanted to meet today, I will ask her about it."

Any further planning between the two girls was interrupted by the odd sight of the window opening and Sasuke jumping into the classroom. This was followed shortly after by Naruto throwing the door open and tumbling inside.

"HA!" Naruto exclaimed, looking toward the door he just entered, "You tried, but I beat you today Sasuke."

"Not quite, idiot," Sasuke said nonchalantly from the window.

Turning around sharply Naruto's jaw dropped at the sight of his friend and rival already in the room.

"Huh-wha-What!?" Naruto babbled until he put it together, "You cheated!"

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the other boy.

"Hn," Sasuke scoffed, "we are ninjas Naruto. If you aren't cheating you aren't trying, as you like to saw."

"Guh," Naruto seemed to wilt at having his own words thrown back at himself before shaking it off and smiling as he walked up to the other boy and they shared a fistbump to show that there were no hard feelings.

That tradition of theirs had been started by Elsa about a year ago. She had been practicing with Yugao and after finishing had found the two boys chucking a kunai back and forth between themselves. Sasuke had looked livid but Naruto had been smiling. Elsa had put a stop to it with a firm voice asking,

"What is going on here?"

"Oh hey, Elsa," Naruto had said, "I had this idea that we could train by throwing a kunai back and forth."

"What!?" Sasuke had shouted, "I thought you were trying to kill me! You just suddenly started throwing this at me with no warning."

"I did?" Naruto asked with a puzzled look.

"YES!" Sasuke yelled back.

Elsa had sighed with a palm on her forehead. Even with as good of a friendship as Sasuke and Elsa had with him, Naruto could still be unpredictable and one of his flaws was that he didn't seem to understand that not everyone saw things the way he did. Elsa had eventually managed to calm Sasuke down and told the two boys to shake hands to show that there were no hard feelings. Naruto had said that shaking hands wasn't manly, and Sasuke "hn"ed in agreement. As different as the two boys were they could be surprisingly in sync at the worst times. Eventually, Elsa convinced them that a fistbump would work, and ever since then whenever a training exercise got heated the two boys would do this to show that they were still friends.

With their little ritual complete the two boys looked at the desks and, after spotting Elsa, made their way up to sit next to her and Hinata. Naruto had his hands up behind his head and talked about random things, while Sasuke walked with his hands in his pockets and listened silently. They were complete opposites but they complemented each other and helped to strengthen the other's weaknesses. Elsa smiled as she watched the pair, she was so happy that she had made them interact all those years ago. The experience had given Naruto another precious connection and had helped keep Sasuke from being drowned by the darkness in his life caused by the tragedy of losing his family.

As the two boys walked through the classroom Sasuke was stopped by two girls, one with blonde hair and the other with pink.

"Good morning Sasuke," the blonde said.

"Would you like to sit with us? We saved you a seat," the pink-haired girl said next.

The boy looked uncomfortable at the attention of the two girls and that wasn't helped by Naruto stepping in to tease his friend.

"Yeah Sasuke, want to sit with your girlfriends today?" Naruto said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Sasuke fidgeted like he wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or punch the other boy when one of the girls spoke again.

"Shut up Naruto," The pink-haired girl said rudely, "this has nothing to do with you."

Sasuke's face immediately dropped into a cold expression and he looked darkly at the girl.

"Don't talk to my friend like that," he said, before walking past the two girls and continuing on his way to where Elsa sat. Naruto, his smile slightly dimmed, shrugged and followed after him. Sasuke was the first to arrive so he took the seat beside Elsa, while Naruto sat in the seat beside Sasuke.

"Are you ok Naruto?" Elsa asked, leaning forward to look at the other boy around Sasuke, "Haruno shouldn't have spoken to you that way."

"Eh," Naruto said, shrugging again, "It's fine, She can think what she wants, but I am going to be the Hokage so it won't matter."

"Naruto," Elsa said again, her tone conveying worry for her friend. He had the tendency to hide things that hurt him if she didn't pry.

Naruto turned and gave her a genuine smile. "I'm fine Elsa, honest."

"Hn, I wish they would just leave me alone, I haven't said a word to them, yet they are constantly trying to get me to spend time with them," Sasuke said adding his feelings to the conversation.

"Well of course," Naruto said, "what girl could resist your brooding charm, with merely a grunt their hearts become yours." As Naruto said this he grasped his chest dramatically. "But don't worry Sasuke, we will defend your innocence from the harpies that are trying to get it, right girls."

Elsa and Hinata giggled at the boy's melodramatic behavior while Sasuke just let out a long-suffering sigh. Any further tomfoolery halted, however, when the door opened to admit the two instructors in charge of the shinobi hopefuls. All of the students stood and bowed in greeting to the familiar senseis, Iruka and Mizuki. In addition to running the shinobi selection courses for the younger students, Iruka and Mizuki were also homeroom teachers for one of the shinobi classes.

The Academy worked as a funnel for potential ninja. All of the children in the village attended it for general education, but those that showed promise in the shinobi arts were separated and placed in shinobi-specific groups as they grew. The rest of the students would graduate with the knowledge they needed to either be accepted as an apprentice by a tradesman or, if they were truly academically gifted, they may be sent to the institutions of higher education found in the capital of the land of fire.

As the students sat back down, Mizuki watched them all with a cloying smile on his face, while Iruka looked on with pride at how orderly they were. When they had been younger, the students all liked Mizuki better due to the kindness he showed them. As they aged however they grew to appreciate Iruka's tough love and high expectations. While a compliment from Mizuki was a regular occurrence, one from Iruka truly felt earned.

"Well done class you look very professional, except of course for…" Quick as lightning Iruka's hand flew out and a piece of chalk struck the top of Shikamaru Nara's head, which had been placed on his desk so the boy could nap. "Shikamaru this is not your bedroom, where you can waste your time dreaming. Now greet your senseis." As Iruka spoke his head almost seemed to get bigger as his voice increased in volume.

Shikamaru rubbed his head where a bump was starting to form from the impact of the chalk.

"So troublesome," the boy said, "why the need for all this ceremony every day."

"If you would rather, I can just contact your mother about your noncompliance," the teacher said calmly. At the threat, Shikamaru hurried to his feet and bowed deeply,

"Good morning Sensei," He said.

"Good," Iruka said, nodding to himself. "Now, as you all know your graduation exam is coming up in a few weeks. Surprisingly, none of you tried to graduate early. We usually have one hotshot who thinks they can skip a year or two but since this will be everyone's first attempt let me give you the details for what will happen during the test."

As the teacher spoke Elsa glanced at Naruto, who was pouting slightly. The boy had wanted to try and pass the exam early but Elsa had talked him out of it saying that it would be better if they all took it together and that she hadn't felt ready. The boy had agreed but would often complain that he never got to show off just how awesome he was. Surprisingly Sasuke had never shown a desire to skip, when she had asked him about it he had answered cryptically,

"He graduated early, maybe by staying the whole time I will learn something he doesn't know."

Shaking the distraction from her mind Elsa focused back on the words of Iruka.

"The exam will consist of three sections. Section 1 will be a written exam to test your knowledge and problem-solving abilities. Section 2 will be a physical test, it will include an obstacle course but not the one you have been practicing on during your time here, as well as a series of spars, and marksmanship trials. Finally, you will be tested on chakra knowledge and ability, you must be able to perform the transformation, clone, and replacement techniques. Are there any questions?"

The class was silent. After a moment Iruka gave another nod.

"Very well if you think of any please approach me or Mizuki before the day of the exam. You don't want to put off asking something because you're embarrassed and fail because of it. Now come get your books, we will be reviewing protocol and policy today."

The class groaned but shuffled to their things and prepared for a boring lesson.

"Form 3" Yugao called out

Elsa heard the command and pushed her body to complete the complex movements of the form without making any mistakes. When she had first started training she would swing the sword as quickly as she could trying to mimic the speed she had seen Yugao using while she was demonstrating her ability. Yugao had chastised her and said,

"You must first teach your body to move correctly then when your mind is focused on trying to move as quickly as you can your body will move correctly on its own."

So, as she had been taught, She moved carefully, swinging her sword in tight arcs in the form she had been taught. When she finished the form she knew she had done it well enough because there was no tap from the bamboo sword that Yugao now carried.

"Form 10" Yugao's voice called out.

Elsa's mind raced but she stood still; there was no form 10. The style Yugao was teaching her, Dance of the Crescent Moon, only had eight forms, one for each phase of the moon. As Elsa tried to puzzle out how she should act, her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her head from her teacher. It stung but it was nowhere near as sharp as other taps she had been given in the past. Looking at her teacher with a confused expression, Elsa saw Yugao looking at her with a slight smile.

"Why didn't you move?" Yugao asked.

"Because there is no form 10 Sensei," Elsa answered, still baffled.

"I know," Yugao said, "I think that it is about time that we moved on in your training. You have been practicing with me for two years now and in that time you have learned the eight basic forms as perfectly as can be expected. From now on you will keep practicing them so that they are ingrained into your body, but you must also start thinking for yourself. The eight forms are great for training yourself and learning the basics of the sword but they will not be perfect for every situation you will find yourself in as a ninja. You must also be able to improvise with your weapon, so if I call a non-existent form it will be up to you to make it."

"Really?" Elsa said, her eyes shining in anticipation.

"Of course," Yugao said, "The thing that differentiates ninja swordsmen and women from Samurai is our freeform way of fighting. While different ninja may learn the same style their way of fighting with them will be completely different. A sword is merely a tool we use to fulfill our mission nothing more nothing less."

"Yes, Sensei," Elsa said, accepting her teacher's words.

Any further practice was put on hold however when a smoke cloud appeared with a small pop. When the smoke cleared Kurenai and Hinata could be seen walking up to the other pair.

"Hello," Hinata said as she made her way over to Elsa and Yugao.

"Hello Hinata, and Kurenai, what a pleasant surprise," Yugao said unsure of how to react to the sudden appearance of her friend.

"Indeed," the other woman said, "Hinata said that Elsa invited us, and I thought it might be nice to do a little group training."

"Oh my gosh," Elsa said, as she began to sweat slightly, "I did invite them. I am so sorry I forgot to tell you Sensei,"

While Yugao was kind, she didn't like surprises, especially if they interrupted the training time she spent with Elsa. Elsa had learned this from the sour expression that always came on her face whenever Anko would show up uninvited. Yugao looked at her apprentice for a moment, displeased with her forgetfulness, but the genuine regret in her eyes washed any annoyance from her mind. With a sigh of acceptance, Yugao looked at Kurenai and Hinata again.

"This is great timing actually," Yugao said, "I wanted to give Elsa some more freeform experience with her sword, so why don't Hinata and she have a spar."

"What a splendid idea," Kurenai said back.

Elsa and Hinata looked at each other and saw a look of determination in their opponent's eyes. Naruto and Sasuke weren't the only rivals in the class, though Elsa and Hinata didn't look for every opportunity to compete. Instead, when given the opportunity, they loved to use each other as a measuring stick to see how far they had come. A moment later they stood opposite each other, Elsa had her wooden practice sword held in a ready position as she watched her opponent closely, Hinata stood in the beginning stance of her gentle-fist style and the veins and nerves around her eyes swelled as she activated her byakugan. Kurenai and Yugao stood to the side looking on at their respective students.

"Hinata has made great strides in her proficiency with the gentle-fist as of late," Kurenai said, pride noticeable in her voice.

"Oh?" Yugao responded, "Elsa has mastered the eight basic forms of the dance of the crescent moon, I have great confidence in her ability."

"Loser buys dinner?" Kurenai then said.

"I think I would like sushi tonight," Yugao responded, before raising her hand and saying, "Begin!"

Elsa decided to take the initiative and attack first. Lifting her blade she dashed forward and opened with a diagonal swing aimed at Hinata's left shoulder. The other girl leaned smoothly to her left letting the swing fly by hitting only air as Elsa expected she would. As much as the elders of the Hyuuga clan disparaged the girl's skill, Hinata had been training in the gentle-fist style practically since she could walk. She was easily one of the top four combatants in their class when it came to pure taijutsu ability, basically equal with the likes of Sasuke, Kiba Inuzuka, and Choji Akemichi. If they were fighting bare-handed Hinata would have won this fight easily, luckily Elsa's skill with a sword evened the playing ground.

Hinata, from her bent position, was able to launch an attack at Elsa's shoulder. The blonde girl brought her sword back to defend but was only fast enough to knock the blow to the side using the bottom of the hilt. Even though she didn't score a "cut" she was able to use her weapon to push Hinata's hand up and move under it. Spinning for more power, she attempted a horizontal slash aimed at the Hyuuga's torso, however, the white-eyed girl predicted the move and disengaged her arm. Then, demonstrating her flexibility, dropped into a split and launched another strike, this time managing to hit Elsa's hip.

She hissed as she fell back from the exchange, limping slightly as her left leg became numb from having its chakra flow disrupted. Hinata put a hand on the ground to hold her weight and hooked her right leg around so that she could stand quickly. Elsa formed a hand sign to gather her chakra and pushed it down into her numb limb forcing the chakra pathway to open. She regained feeling but the leg was now sore from having so much chakra shoved through it at once. She ignored the pain and took up a fighting stance, her sword now held in a reverse grip. Rushing forward she slashed as she passed Hinata, making the taijutsu user step away from Elsa to dodge the attack. Stopping suddenly, Elsa pivoted back to her opponent then flipped her grip on the sword and attacked the girl with a lunge making use of her longer reach to close the gap quicker than her opponent could. Hinata again moved to the side but the attack was coming so quickly that she didn't have the chance to try for another counterattack. In the opening caused by the girl's hasty dodge, Elsa was able to twist her blade and turn the lunge into a slash that caused the tip of her sword to connect with the fleeing girl's abdomen.

Now it was Hinata's turn to hiss in pain at the stinging strike she had received. The strike had hurt but if it had been made with a real sword it wouldn't have been deep enough to incapacitate an enemy so the spar would continue. The two young women squared off again as they prepared for their third exchange. Kurenai and Yugao watched from the sidelines, each woman cataloging advice they would share with their respective students. As one, the two opponents dashed forward engaging in a highspeed exchange of attacks. Elsa did her best to keep the other girl at a distance, trying to press her reach advantage. Hinata in turn used her natural flexibility and skill to evade the swings of the sword and attack with swift counters.

As they fought, neither of the two combatants could get the upper hand. Hinata landed a few blows to her opponent's arms but none of them landed well enough to disable the limbs. Elsa also scored several hits but they were all glancing blows or too shallow to finish the fight. Eventually, the two girls disengaged from each other. As they settled however Hinata's stance lowered and she smirked as she said,

"You are within the range of my divination,"

Holding her sword vertically next to her head Elsa responded to the claim with a challenge,

"Just try it."

As one, the two ninjas-in-training called out their techniques,

"Gentle-fist style: eight trigrams 32 palms,"

"Dance of the crescent moon, form 5: waxing gibbous,"

Hinata shot forward, her hands flashing out to begin the barrage of attacks. Each of her strikes was made with extreme precision, her fingers extended with a small amount of chakra visibly glowing at their tips. Elsa moved fluidly through the stances of her own technique, her training over the years making her moves sure as she warded off the attacks. As Hinata's technique progressed the speed of her movements increased, seeming to double just as the number of strikes did. Finally, she reached the last barrage of 32 attacks and Elsa was hard-pressed to keep up. As difficult as it was though, she blocked out any fatigue and just moved in the forms she had come to know so well, her sword weaving a complex pattern of parries and attacks to hold off her friend. Elsa's technique ended with a single-handed horizontal swipe, designed to remove the head from her opponent's shoulders. Hinata ducked the attack and made her last lunge, her glowing fingers stopping a hairsbreadth from Elsa's chest directly over her heart. An attack like that from the hands of one adept in the gentle-fist would be fatal.

"Another draw huh?" Hinata said.

"Looks like it," Elsa responded as she wiggled the kunai she held at the other girl's throat.

As she had made the final slash with her right hand Elsa's left had dropped to the pouch on her thigh and whipped out one of the multi-purpose knives that were ubiquitous in the shinobi community allowing her to turn a loss into a tie due to mutually assured destruction. Both of the girls' faces then split into grins and they shared a hug.

"You finally got up to 32 palms, that is so cool," Elsa gushed.

"Me? What about you, you were able to swing your sword so quickly, it was amazing," Hinata responded.

The two girls went on about how impressed they were with each other as their teachers looked on fondly. They both had long lists of improvements they planned to drill into their pupils, but for now, they let them enjoy the sense of accomplishment.

"So, halfsies?" Yugao asked.

"I know this wonderful place on main with sushi that is to die for," Kurenai responded.

AN: Hello Readers, here is another chapter of Ice Queen in Konohagakure. I hope you enjoy it.

Special thanks to ACreativeMindAtWorkHere for beta reading this chapter.