I'm happy to present another chapter. I noticed a few typos last chapter, and I will do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again. Two things I would like to address, One review said that Seishi seemed like he was in the back seat. This is intended. Sasuke since he was tortured with the Mangekyo by Itachi, is more of a risk than Seishi, so the Village has more eyes on him. Also their social circles are different. Sasuke has little to no friends outside of Seishi since his goal of revenge he feels his his and his alone, so Sasuke feels as if bonds will slow him down, which is show in the show and manga, and Seishi is on good and friendly terms with a few people, since his actual family was lost before the massacre, he doesn't have the same drive for revenge that Sasuke does. Granted he still feels some anger and regret, but I'll delve into that more later. Being two different people that is also a psychological difference in the two. Seishi lost everything systematically, while Sasuke had it all ripped in one night, on top of mental torture, and has a target for his blame, while Seishi does not. Plus being two different people, they handled their trauma in two different ways. As for the pairing of the story, it is undecided. I am open to suggestions, but as of right now there is no set pairing. The important names in the description of the story are just the most current relevant characters who take up a primary focus and may change in time. This chapters a little shorter than the last one, but I wanted to give it to you anyway so you know this story isn't dead already. Anyway, enough of this ramble. Please review so I can improve, and I hope you enjoy this installment. :)

Seishi jumped down from the trees and stumbled a little on the landing. He had just made it to training ground three in record time. He put his hands on his knees as he panted, trying to refill his lungs with oxygen. He looked up to see his new brand new teacher, Anko Mitarashi, giving him a bored look while eating what appeared to be a stick of Dango.

"You took so long, I had time to get a snack." Anko said before finishing the last ball on the stick. With her snack finished, she flicked the stick towards Seishi. Seishi ducked as the speeding stick came straight towards his head at insane speeds. Seishi stood back up and looked at her with wide eyes. Anko shrugged, giving Seishi a smirk. She soon raised her arms above her head and stretched her shoulders, closing her eyes and slightly bending her back to fully stretch out. This motion caused her trench coat to widen out, giving Seishi a small view of what was hidden underneath. Seishi's face immediately heated up, and he averted his eyes before she caught him looking. He was thankful he couldn't see skin or else he might not have been able to look away.

"You know," Seishi heard the voice of his new teacher, "Getting distracted like that and looking away could lead to your death." Seishi's head turned back towards her, doing his best to keep his eyes up. Thankfully Anko was no longer stretching, and was just looking at him with a superior smug look. Seishi was still having trouble fighting his blush, but he kept his eyes on her. "In the ninja world, a simple slip in focus could lead to your death. Always remember to keep your cool." Seishi just nodded at that. It was something everyone learned at the Academy, but he didn't think this was a fair example.

"Now," Anko said, "Let's begin the test." Seishi looked at her confused.

"What test?" He asked her. She didn't answer him at first, she just turned around and scraped a line in the dirt behind her.

"The test," She said, "is something every Jonin will give to their students to see if they're ready to be a ninja, and to see what values they hold." Anko finished. Seishi was still confused. Hadn't they already taken a test in the Academy? If it was something every Jonin did, what was the point of the Academy test? He decided to voice his concerns to her.

"If every Jonin gives a test, why did we take a test in the Academy?" Seishi asked. Anko turned back around after finishing making the line definitive.

"The Academy test is to see if you're capable of growing as a ninja." Anko said. "The Jonin test is to see if you have the character to be a Shinobi of the Leaf." Seishi was silent after that. Having grown up in the Leaf, he knew they valued camaraderie. It was drilled into their heads through the Academy about teamwork. They were told that they would always work in squads on missions, and always did team drills and games. But he didn't have a team, so what was his test?

"Anko-sensei, I don't have teammates, how will you test my character?" Seishi asked her. Anko gave him a small smile. 'Glad to see he's not dumb.' Anko thought.

"Most Jonin use tests to divide the team, to see who can look above their own self-preservation for the good of a team and their mission." Anko lectured. "My own sensei used what he called a 'bell test', that he got from his sensei." Anko gave a slight grimace, but it immediately went away as she continued lecturing. "He had two bells that three of us had to contest over, and the one who didn't have get a bell would be sent back to the academy." Seishi's felt things click in his head.

"It makes sense then." Seishi began. "With their ninja career on the line, they focus on themselves, and they'll forsake their teammates to protect their own future." Anko nodded at that, her smile coming back.

"Very good. And those ninja are sent back or dropped from the program altogether." Seishi sighed. It was so simple, yet so good. No wonder why it was a ninja test. It took everything they learned from the Academy to accomplish one simple task. Brilliant. Though it still left Seishi wondering,

"So since we can't do that, what is my test." Seishi asked full on confusion. Anko's smile grew wider at that.

"Your task is simple. All you have to do is get past this line behind me." Seishi leaned a little to his left to look at the line better. He then glanced back at Anko who had a wide smile on her face.

"That's it?" Seishi asked.

"That's it." Anko replied.

"No tricks?"

"I didn't say that." Anko chuckled. "Now before we begin." Seishi looked straight at Anko, giving her his full attention. "If you fail this," Her voice then went darker, "I'm dropping you from the whole Ninja program." Seishi's eyes went as wide as saucers. His mouth dropped open, and he started to protest.

"That's not fair!" He yelled. "If you can't test my character, how can you do that?" He continued yelling at her. Anko, still smiling her wide smile, replied,

"I can do what I want. I have the authority." Seishi immediately yelled back.

"It still isn't fair." Seishi sulked. Anko's smile dropped, and she yelled back.

"You dumb brat! Everything about being a ninja isn't fair." Seishi glared back at her. He was about to start charging but he took a deep breath. 'If there was a hidden element to the bell test, there's probably a hidden one to this.' Seishi thought. He had one plan, he was about to see if it worked.

"One piece of advice, come at me with everything you got, or I'll get bored and we're done." Anko said to Seishi. Seishi's eye twitched. She was definitely not going to be bored. That was an insult to him, an Uchiha, and in his opinion, the better of the two Uchiha in the village. She would not get 'bored'. He would make sure of that, but first he had to test out his plan.

"Are we good to start?" Seishi asked. Anko regained her composure and simply nodded. Seishi then slowly began walking towards Anko, who just raised her eyebrow and gave him a quizzical look. Seishi continued walking all the way until he stood right in front of Anko. "May I please go over the line?" Seishi asked. Anko bent forward until she was eye level with Seishi.

"You can't honestly think it's going to be that easy." Anko said incredulously. She stared him in the eyes, seeing if he would flinch. Seishi didn't, instead he just shrugged his shoulders.

"What if I said pretty please?" He asked her. A tick mark formed on Anko's head. She began yelling right into his face

"If you don't take this seriously, then I'm leaving and we're done!" Seishi grimaced slightly. 'It was worth a shot.' He thought sadly. Seeing that didn't work out, Seishi immediately went for Plan B. Seishi tried to dash past Anko, but as soon as he made a move towards the line, Anko reacted and buried her fist into Seishi's stomach, launching several meters away. Seishi hit the ground solid on his back. He clutched his stomach and sat up.

"The hell was that for?" Seishi asked. Anko just glowered at him.

"We're ninja." She began. "You're even more pathetic than I thought if you think that was gonna work." Seishi frowned and stood up. He was not going to let that slide. He was not pathetic, and he was not a waste of time. He would prove that to her now. Drawing two kunai out of his holster, he charged at Anko. She said not to hold back, and he would make her regret that. When Seishi got near, he threw the kunai at her in short range. Anko sidestepped one and caught the other, leaving her with a weapon and Seishi without one. He didn't care. Seishi led in with a spinning kick towards Anko's midsection. She easily deflected with her open hand. Seishi continued his momentum and brought the other kick towards her head, jumping slightly on his grounded foot for the height difference. Anko ducked underneath that one easily. She swung her hand out, swatting at the leg Seishi kicked the ground off of to throw him off balance. The move forced Seishi upside down, which he caught himself with his hands. Springboarding back to regain his balance, he charged back in. He let loose a flurry of punches and kicks, that Anko seemed to dodge easily. Finally Seishi over extended himself, letting his arm sail past Anko's head, and with his midsection open, Anko spun around and unleashed a powerful kick into Seishi's stomach, and sent him rolling away from her. Anko let out a deep breath and returned her outstretched leg to the ground. She just watched as Seishi slowly recovered from that second kick.

"You know, when they told me I'd have an Uchiha to train, I expected better." Seishi raised himself up slowly and grimaced. That's the second time she had hit him in his torso, and she did not hold back. "Honestly, you're laughable." Seishi glared at her, but she wasn't done. "I worked with your older brother quite a few times you know, and I can honestly say he'd be disappointed in how you turned out. He was ten times the ninja you were at this age." Seishi's glared hatefully at her. He didn't want that to be true, it couldn't be true. Shisui would never have been disappointed in him, and Seishi hated that she thought she could possibly know what he would say. She had no right. Seishi stood back up and continued glaring at Anko. "We'll if you're gonna prove me wrong, get on with it." She called out to him. Seishi took a deep breath and let it out. He then went through several hand seals, taking a deep breath he prepared his jutsu.

Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu

Seishi called out before releasing a torrent of flames towards Anko. Anko raised her eyebrow seeing the massive ball of flames come barreling towards her. 'Impressive.' Anko thought. She quickly jumped out of the way. Looking for Seishi, she was surprised to not see him still casting the flames. Instead she saw him right behind it as he ran towards where the line would be. As soon as Anko's feet touched the ground, she sent herself back towards Seishi. As Seishi neared the line he felt something grab his collar, and then he was off his feet. Anko gripped Seishi around the collar, and after one wind up swing with Seishi in tow, she hurled him towards the tree line. Seishi flew through the air for a good several yards before landing on the ground and rolling a couple more. As soon as he stopped, he brought himself to his feet.

"Nice try, but you're gonna have to do better than that." Anko called out to him. Seishi grimaced again. He was not done yet. Seishi took off towards Anko, and after throwing several shuriken, he brought his hands together for another jutsu. After five hand seals, he was ready.

Fire Style: Phoenix flower Jutsu

Seishi called out. He blew out several small fireballs towards Anko, but not in the same path as the shuriken. Anko saw the several projectiles and started weaving through them. Not a single one hit her as they all flew past, the fireballs had left the air hot, but not close enough to even singe her hair. Seishi ran in after the fire balls, engaging Anko in taijutsu again. He gave her everything he had, but after attempting a punch to the side of her gut, Anko had dodged and again kicked Seishi away, this time her kick landing on his chest, sending him sprawling away yet again.

"I'm getting bored Seishi." Anko called out. Seishi struggled to his feet again, wiping away a little bit of blood on his lips. "If this is all you can muster, you don't need to be a ninja." Seishi struggled to his feet again. He was tired of being insulted. Before he could charge in again, Anko spoke. "What drives you to get behind this line Seishi. What makes you want to be a ninja." Seishi thought for a moment on his answer. It was a question he always asked himself, and one that people always asked him. His answer was always the same. He stood tall when he gave his answer,

"I want to be a ninja to make my family and my clan proud." Seishi said. Anko didn't say anything to that. Seishi glared at Anko and yelled, "And the reason I want to get over that line, is to SHUT YOU UP!" With that Seishi charged. Anko grinned, now she was excited. He came in with a vengeance, meeting Anko in another flurry of taijutsu. However, unlike before, when Seishi felt he was losing he jumped back. Going through hand seals again Seishi readied his jutsu.

Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu

Another fireball came careening towards Anko, and like before she jumped out of the way. Seeing Anko jump out of the way, Seishi charged towards the line. Anko saw the boy take off and sighed. As soon as her feet hit the ground she was off again. Grabbing Seishi's collar she went to throw him with a yell of, "Try again brat!" Though as soon as she went to throw him, a pop was heard and Anko ended up throwing a log. Her eyes went wide as she realized why he did the same thing twice. Anko whirled around to see Seishi dashing towards the line. 'He's close' Anko thought in surprise. She immediately leapt towards him, as soon as she landed she swung her leg out for a fierce kick. Seeing the kick Seishi leaned back and fell to his knees, sliding under her outstretched leg. As soon as he cleared that obstacle, Seishi popped back to his feet and dove towards the line. He was so close. So close to winning. Before he could hit the ground however, he felt something grab his collar once again. Seishi shut his eyes in anger. So close yet so far yet again. Seishi was currently hanging just short of the line. Seishi felt his energy drop as he let his hands fall and braced himself for the throw. Anko stood over him, hand on his collar. She had caught him just short. Anko looked down at Seishi and smirked. 'You really are impressive brat.' Anko then proceeded to drop Seishi on the line. She was satisfied.

Seishi let out an 'oomph' as he hit the ground. He was so tired, but he had to keep trying. He put his arms on the ground to raise himself up. When he did however, he felt the uneven earth below him. Seishi's eyes shot open in shock. Looking down he saw what he didn't think he would. He was over the line. His hands on it, his head and shoulders past it.

He did it.

Seishi immediately stood up and looked at Anko who had a huge grin on her face. He stared at her in shock, he honestly didn't think he could do it. "Congrats brat. You have passed the test." Seishi just stared at her in disbelief. His mind reeling. "I'm proud to say that from now on we're Team Anko, and we'll be doing missions as such." Anko said happily. She then bent down towards Seishi and rubbed his head. She gave him a wide enough grin to shut her eyes, and then stood up. "Now come on, to celebrate we're going out for Dango. Your treat of course for wasting my time." Anko laughed as she turned around and began walking away. Seishi just stood there, still shook. Though his mind finally returned and he smiled widely. Seishi felt so proud of himself right now, and nothing could stop his happiness.

"Wait…" Seishi said."What do you mean my treat? I'm paying?" Seishi yelled after Anko who was already walking away singing about dango. "Anko-sensei wait!" Seishi yelled as he went to catch up to her. Seishi grimaced as he felt the after effects of their little battle. He hurt, but he was happy. He was finally a Ninja.

"Hurry up Seishi!" Anko yelled as she whirled around towards him. She put her hands on her hips and stared him down as he caught up. "That dango isn't gonna eat itself." Seishi sighed, at least his sensei was strong, even if she was weird.

Seishi yawned as he followed Anko to where they would be training that day. After paying for her enormous serving of dango yesterday (though he still had no idea where she kept all that dango that she devoured), she had told him to meet her early in the morning. Once he did however, they began a long walk through a forest to wherever they'd be going. Seishi yawned again as he stared at the back of his teacher.

"Sensei, where are we going?" Seishi asked Anko.

"Our new training ground since we're a team." She replied. "We're almost there don't worry." Seishi yawned again but kept trudging along behind her. Not soon after they broke the tree line and emerged in an open area. Seishi's jaw dropped as he was met with another forest. However, this one was unlike the one he just went through. The trees were absolutely gigantic and had a very ominous looking feel to them. The forest itself seemed to be fenced off all the way around from where Seishi could see.

"Uhh, Anko-sensei, where are we?" Seishi asked her. Anko twirled dramatically, her trench coat flapping behind her in a picturesque fashion. She threw her arms out wide and with a smile said,

"Welcome to Training Ground 44: The Forest of Death!" Anko exclaimed. Seishi gave her a questioning look.

"The forest of what?"

"Death."

"As in…?

"Death."

"I got that." Seishi sighed. "Why are we going to train in a place that has death in the name? Sounds kinda counter-productive?" He asked his sensei, who he was now sure is more crazy than he thought.

"You shouldn't die in there, but if you do die, at least you'll die closer to home." Anko gave him a smirk.

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!" Seishi yelled exasperatedly. Anko started laughing at the annoyed look on Seishi's face. At seeing his sensei laugh at him, Seishi's face morphed into a pout. "Rude." He mumbled under his breath. Anko shook her head, still releasing a few chuckles.

"C'mon, we're wasting time." She said to the even more downtrodden boy. Seishi groaned but moved his feet nonetheless. They made their way to the gates surrounding the monstrous forest, stopping just outside for Anko to unlock one and let them both in. Seishi shuddered as he passed through the threshold. The entire aura of the woods was giving him a weird vibe and he was not appreciative of it.

"Now." Anko began as she closed the gates behind them. "We're not going to go too far in today, but just know, you are not allowed to leave these woods until I unlock the gates and allow you out. Is that understood?" She said to him. All mirth from before was lost in her tone of voice, adopting a much more strict tone.

"Yes Sensei." Seishi responded quickly, the fear from the forest replaced with an excited feeling of finally being able to train as a ninja. Almost.

Anko raised a finger and had all of Seishi's attention. "Now, we're going to start with a very simple training exercise." Anko said. Seishi nodded, waiting for her to continue. "We're going to play a game of tag." She said with all seriousness.

"Seriously? Tag?" He asked incredulously. Anko only nodded with a large smile on her face. "No tricks?" He asked her.

"Not a one." She said.

"What are the rules?" He asked, not wanting to be duped, and for good reason if his Sensei was as crazy as he pegged her to be.

"Ninja art and tools are allowed." Anko replied to him. Seishi thought for a second before asking another question.

"Will there be a winner? And if so, what are the stipulations?" Anko gave him a more predatory smirk.

"Yes, a winner will be crowned when one of us can no longer play, or it reaches noon. The loser however, has to treat the other to dinner." Anko said to Seishi, who now got another annoyed look on his face.

"This again? Is this just some ploy to get me to pay for your Dango addiction." He asked, ready to get more annoyed if that was indeed the case. Anko's grin turned more friendly as she gave him a simple answer.

"Yep." Seishi groaned again, 'Of course it was.'

"Fine, but I don't plan on losing." He declared with a defiant look in his eye. Anko met his challenging gaze with one of her own,

"Neither do I brat." Anko replied challengingly as she leaned forward and stared at Seishi. Seishi also leaned forward, their faces not too far apart as they glared into each other's eyes. Until Seishi shot his hand out, smacking Anko in the shoulder.

"You're it!" He yelled as he turned around and bolted into the trees, jumping into the branches after a short distance. Anko stared after him in shock, she was JUST about to do that to him. Her look of shock turned deadly as a large grin reappeared on her face.

"Cheeky brat. Big mistake." She said before she too took off into the trees, giving chase to the Uchiha that got a head start.

Seishi continued jumping from limb to limb, confidant that he had made some good ground against his Sensei. He was the fastest in his graduating class, so he was sure his speed accounted for something, regardless if she was a Jonin or not. Just as he thought about slowing down and hiding, a kunai whizzed right past his face, narrowly missing his cheek. Seishi's eyes turned around in shock. There's no way she can be so close already?' True to his fears however, Anko was in sight and gaining. Seishi groaned before pumping more chakra into his legs and speeding up, trying to create distance by making his pathing random and with as much obstacles as possible. However as he looked behind him again, she was still there and still gaining.

Seishi cursed. He would have to take more drastic measures. He refused to be caught, because he knew if he did, he would never be able to touch her. Seishi reached down and grabbed some ninja wire and a kunai, being careful to stay mindful of his footing as he leaped between branches. He tied a knot through the loop of the kunai and after seeing a good spot, a tree that was not too far away, but had thick branches even higher up, he threw the kunai and embedded it into the body of the tree. He gave a quick tug to make sure it didn't fall out before applying chakra to his hands and leaping out of the branch he was on. He swung around the trunk of the tree, the wind rushing through his hair, his momentum taking him up to a higher level of branches. As he reached a uitable height and felt the wire slacken up, he let go, aiming for a branch underneath him. He landed on a particularly thick branch, crouching as he did so. He stood up and gave himself a proud smirk.

"That was pretty cool" Seishi laughed.

"Ya it was." Seishi heard behind him. Seishi yelped as he turned around to see his his Sensei standing there with a smug smirk.

"Are you kidding me?!" Seishi yelled out. Anko laughed again, truly finding enjoyment in toying with her new student.

"That was pretty cool, but your run ends here." She said. Seishi just stuck his tongue out at her. A tick mark formed on Anko's head. "How childish are you?" She yelled.

"You still haven't caught me yet!" Seishi yelled back as he turned around and went to run away again.

"Oh no you don't brat." Seishi took three steps before he heard a call of, "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands". Seishi turned around to see multiple snakes rushing out at him, coming from his Sensei's left sleeve. The snakes wrapped around him multiple times, restraining his movement completely. Seishi struggled against the continuously constricting pythons wrapped around him. "You almost thought you could get away again? Nuh uh." Anko said as she sauntered towards him, that smug smile returning to her face once again.

"This is totally cheating." Seishi said as he still struggled. Anko laughed at him as he squirmed, which only caused the snakes to tighten up farther.

"I said all ninja arts was allowed didn't I? That includes summons." Seishi groaned as he still strained against his bondage, but the snakes allowed no wiggle room. The faces of said snakes were much closer to Seishi's own than he was comfortable with, that was for sure. Anko finally reached him after walking slowly, rubbing it in that he wasn't going anywhere. "And now my cute little student," Anko began as she bent down slightly towards him to look him straight in the eye. "You are now it." She said as she brought up her finger and booped him on the nose. Seishi blushed a little bit at the touch and turned his head away. Anko noticed the bashful look on his face and laughed. 'Definitely not like most Uchiha I used to know.' "Tag." She said before laughing again and walking away, the snakes tails leaving her sleeves as they stayed wrapped up around them.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Seishi asked her. A little bit of panic in his voice.

"Why to get a head start of course. Just like you did" Anko said with a smirk. Seishi's eyes darted between her and the snakes wrapped around him.

"A little help? Please?" Seishi asked her quickly, getting really uncomfortable at the thought of being alone with Anko's snakes.

"Nope!" Anko said with a large smile. Seishi blanched, his face becoming ashen and looking from the corner of his eyes and making eye contact with one snake in particular that decided to flick its tongue out and lick his cheek.

"Anko-sensei c'mon, please?" He asked again.

"Don't worry they won't bite. Hard." Anko added, giggling again as Seishi's look of horror continued to grow. "Well I'll be going now, try not to get eaten by anything unsavory. I'd hate to have to fish you from something's stomach." Anko said as she walked back towards the body of the tree.

"That's all a big joke and you're coming back to help me right?" Seishi asked. Anko just simply waved over her shoulder, reaching the body of the tree and leaping down to another branch. "Anko-sensei?" Seishi called out. "Anko-sensei?" He called out a little louder. "Anko-sensei?!" Seishi yelled out. "Are you kidding me? She actually left? What a horrible teacher." Seishi groaned. Not taking to kindly to his words, one of the snakes leaned over in front of Seishi and opened its mouth wide. "I'm sorry! Please don't eat me!" Seishi whimpered out. The snake closed its mouth and leaned closer to Seishi. Before bobbing its head up and down like it was laughing at him. Seishi flushed in embarrassment before struggling against the snakes even more. "She's gone now, so can I leave too?" He asked the snakes. Their only response was to tighten up more. "Wow you guys are just as rude as her." Seishi said downtrodden, before resuming his struggle.

Anko sat on one of the roots of a tree near the area where she and her little apprentice had started their game of tag. The game, however, turned out to be much more one sided than she expected. She had left her pupil in the canopy of this forest in the cozy clutches of her snake summons, but she didn't think it would've taken this long for him to find her. In all honesty she was starting to worry about the poor Uchiha. While she may have been exaggerating a tad when it came to things that could hurt him all the way up there, that didn't mean this forest wasn't dangerous. They didn't call it the Forest of Death for no reason.

Anko took a deep sigh and stood up. She had settled on finding her apprentice and cutting down anything in this forest that may have harmed him. It would really look bad for her if something were to happen to one of the last Uchiha this village had, and she did not want to deal with that headache. Plus she already decided she liked the kid. He was fun to tease and bought her dango, so he already has a few things going for him. She especially liked that he was expressive, something not only was the Uchiha clan normally lacking, but also the Hyuga clan. As Anko prepared to take to the tree tops, she heard the sound of branches being tossed aside from her right. She directed her gaze in that direction to see her apprentice she was just thinking about come flying from between the trees and running straight towards her. She waved towards him and called out to him.

"Oh hey brat, finally come to resu-"

"ANKO-SENSEI SAVE ME!" Seishi screamed out. Anko's cheerful visage changed into one of confusion until she saw three giant yellow tigers break from the treeline behind Seishi. The tigers were at least ten feet in height and double that long. They were one of the most vicious predators in these woods and one of the things she was hoping Seishi did not run into. Anko clicked her tongue in annoyance before flashing through some hand signs.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall"Anko called out as she slapped her hands to the ground. A wall shot up out of the ground behind Seishi and cutting him off from the chasing predators. Anko pushed some more chakra into the wall, rising it to about thirty feet before she stopped. She stood up removing a kunai from inside her coat in case the tigers decided they wanted some more. Seishi ran up straight to Anko and hid behind her. He was practically shaking from being chased by monsters. There was no way those were actual animals in his eyes. Anko waited a few more seconds before sheathing her kunai and turning around to the frightened Uchiha. Seishi's eyes were fixated on the newly formed mud wall in front of him, seeing if the tigers showed themselves and he needed to run some more. Anko reached her hand out and started ruffling his hair, drawing Seishi's eyes back to his sensei.

"You okay brat?" Anko asked softly, concern finding its way in her voice. Seishi just looked from her to the wall and back to Anko, before shaking his head and responding,

"Yea-" Seishi's voice cracked a little bit, "I mean yeah." Seishi coughed, as his voice resumed its normal tone.

"What happened?" Anko asked, the concern having not left. Seishi's looked back to the wall, and after not seeing any fur, recanted his short tale.

Seishi was currently standing underneath a branch far below the one he was trapped on earlier, using his chakra to hold himself to the wood and defy gravity. Seishi always enjoyed manipulating his chakra for fun, even when it was unnecessary. It wasn't too long ago that he had finally gotten away from those dastardly snakes. Seishi was sure they hadn't tightened his as much as they could have, because he was able to wiggle his hands together and perform two hand seals and perform a substitution. As soon as they noticed a log was in their grasp and not him, they poofed into smoke and disappeared, which was just fine for Seishi. He didn't like being made fun of by snakes. He knew they were making fun of him. Back in the Academy they talked briefly about summons and how they're smarter than the average animal, so Seishi was absolutely certain they were making fun of him and he did not like it at all. However he had more pressing matters to deal with. His sensei had actually left him, and now he had to not only find her, but also locate the exit in these forsaken woods. Seishi sighed as he looked around. He could spot where his kunai was that he had swung on so he had at least a general direction, but he had run in such wild patterns that it would be difficult to back track.

Whatever, better late than never Seishi said as he stretched his shoulders. He was just about to fall off his branch when he heard a low growl from below him. Seishi craned his neck up and looked to the ground and saw something he was not expecting. A giant yellow and black striped tiger was standing on the forest floor, around twenty five feet below him. Which may have been fine it this tiger wasn't almost half that height. Seishi's eyes went huge before he started creeping up the branch. He didn't even breathe as the tiger kept its beady eyes on him. As Seishi made his way around the branch, he heard wood creaking above him. As Seishi turned his head to look above the branch, he saw another one of those giant tigers on the branch he was currently partly under. Seishi's started to panic as he slowly stepped back underneath the branch, only to see yet another giant tiger to his right roughly fifteen feet away. Seishi's breathing started to increase rapidly, he was not ready for this. 'Anko wasn't joking after all' Seishi thought in dismay. Seishi heard the wood above him creak some more as he was a giant tiger paw start reaching below the branch and feeling for him. At seeing that, Seishi had enough. Seishi screamed. It was a short yelp of fear, but it set the tigers in motion. Seeing his only option for retreat was to his left, he took a step up the branch for power and leapt for another branch not too far away. As soon as he moved so did the tigers, each making their own path towards him. Seishi immediately started bolting running as fast as he could in whatever direction. It didn't matter to him, all he wanted to do was put some distance between him and the tigers.

Seishi hazardly looked behind him and saw that not only were the tigers huge, they were also fast. Seishi gave another yelp as he pushed more chakra into his legs and leapt between branches with all his might, running when there was enough room. Seishi ran for several minutes when he saw something he thought he may never see again. Standing up and stretching was his Sensei. Seeing her pushed Seishi to his limits, she was his savior right now and she had never looked more beautiful. He ran through several more branches on his way to her, and it seemed to catch her attention as she looked in his direction. He finally broke through the tree lie into the small plain she was in. He saw her wave in his direction.

"Oh hey brat, finally come to resu-" Anko started. Seishi didn't care what she was about to say. He just yelled out to her.

"ANKO-SENSEI SAVE ME!" He yelled as loud as he could.

After finishing up his retelling, Seishi straightened up and pushed Anko's invading hand away, trying to push away the fact that a minute ago he was terrified. Anko smirked at the tough guy act he was trying to put on. Anko gave him a once over looking for any external damages. She could only see a couple tears in his shirt and a few scratches, all likely caused by branches he ran past on his desperate scramble back here. Anko felt a twinge of guilt creep into her for letting this happen. She never should have disappeared on him in a place so dangerous. She felt like a fool for letting this happen to someone that was her own responsibility.

'Great.' Anko thought, 'One day in and I already almost let him die. I won't make that mistake twice.' Anko grit her teeth. She was not going to be the reason Seishi died, and to do that she would make him stronger. "Alright brat, break time's over." She said to the Uchiha. Said Uchiha immediately straightened up completely and gave Anko his full attention, his thought now far away from the tigers. "We're going to start some real training. That game of tag was a warm-up, and after that experience, I think you're plenty warmed up." Seishi nodded at her words. Seeing him listen fully, Anko continued. "Follow me. We'll leave the forest for now, just for you, but this will not be the last time you see it." Seishi nodded at that. Anko then turned around and walked to the gate, unlocking it and letting Seishi through before locking it back up. "We will train in this plain for today, and we'll move to a closer training ground for tomorrow. Now, to train as a ninja one must be fully aware of what they're training for. Now what are we going to train for?" Anko asked. Seishi mulled over it in thought for a few seconds, his mind coming to his recent experience with monster tigers.

"To not die?" Seishi finally said questioningly. The only response he could come up with. Anko smirked at the answer.

"Good enough. We will be training to not die, be that to enemy ninja or ferocious summons or normal animals. Now to do that I will pushing you to your limits day in and day out. Only when you hit your limit will we stop for the day and do missions to push you even further. Got it?" Anko asked Seishi. The Uchiha's eyes went wide at that. He didn't realize Anko was going to be so tough, but it excited him. He was sure under Anko's guidance he would reach incredible heights, especially if she pushed him so far every day. He met Anko's eyes with a determined look.

"Got it. I'm ready." Seishi declared. Anko's smirk turned into a full smile. 'Kid's got guts. This'll be fun.' Anko thought happily. Her smile then turned into a wolfish grin.

"Well then kid, come at me with all you got." Anko said as she tensed herself for the upcoming "spar". The kid had no idea. Seishi's gaze was confident as he lowered himself into his own modified stance and prepared for his fight with his Sensei. His legs may have been sore from his race with tigers, but if she wanted his best, he would give her his best.

"Go." Anko spoke, and that was all Seishi needed. As soon as the word left her lips, he was off.