—the elbow jab comes in too close, too quick. There's no way to dodge, so take the hit. Take the hit and counterstrike in the shin, disrupt the balance and—
THWACK.
Shit. That hurts. Right near the lungs.
Now kick out. Got him. Neck is exposed. Strike with a knife hand. Turns at the last moment, struck the jaw instead. That hurts too.
Grapple him by the collar. Good, it's a solid grip. Make to throw. He resists, but the center of gravity is already breached. There. The opening. Strike. Solid hit. He's coughing. Punch again. Punch again—
Everything is spinning. Shit. Head-butt. Of course, gave him the prime opportunity. Here comes the next one. Dodge to the left. Good, take this into a shoulder throw. Wait, what is he—shit. Block now.
Comes from below. A shadow clone. No, four. They kick. Successful block, but still flying up, up.
It's coming. Know what it is. Spin now.
"Naruto Ren—khu!"
Caught his neck by the toes. Now, force it down. Speed down alongside. He lands, cushioned by the clones. Fingers thrusts. Two poofs. He stumbles. Now is the chance.
My turn now. The Lion Combo. This is how it's done.
Launch kick. Jump. Strike. Grapple the counterstrike. Feint. Kick, then—damn. Another shadow clone. When did he—
Land. Where? Behind. Duck.
The fist sails by. Kick backwards. Hear a grunt. No poof, not a clone.
Roll into a flip. Charge. Headbutt him. Let him have a taste. Shit. Shouldn't have done that. Hurts.
He punches. Parry. No, it's a feint. He's—
Looking at the sky now. Out of focus. What happened? An up-kick? From that angle? Damn. Got struck in the jaw.
On the ground now. A tackle. Shit it hurts. A couple of ribs probably gave out.
Knife hand to his throat. He croaks, stumbling back. Glaring, scowling. Ha, serves him right.
Shit. This isn't a fight. It's a brawl.
Who am I slugging against?
Don't remember. Just don't want to lose. Have to keep moving. Keep the pressure on.
Dash in. Punch, a feint. He tries to dodge. Kick. Send him flying backwards. Leg feels as if covered in pins and needles.
He bounces back up. Barely a pause. Damn.
Breathing is difficult. Lungs feel like they're on fire. Can't see well. Blood in the eyes.
So… tired.
But… it's quiet. I feel like…laughing. That's absurd. I don't have a reason to. Then again, I don't have a reason not to either.
He's coming in strong, whoever he is. Time to end this. Remember later.
Put everything into this leap.
Put everything into this shout.
Put everything into this punch.
Everything.
BAM!
.
.
.
Slowly, he opens his eyes. Through half-lidded eyes, caked in mud and blood, he stares at the sky. It's stopped raining. Fianlly.
It hurts all over, but, he feels sleepy.
He thinks, somehow, he can sleep now.
"Oi…"
He tilts his head a little, at an angle. Who? The sun? No, that's stupid. That would mean that there are two suns. And that's just stupid.
Naruto. Well, then. That makes more sense.
He opens his mouth. To speak. Hacks out blood instead.
Damn, it hurts. He really feels like laughing now.
He feels the blonde step closer.
He stares up.
Naruto stares back, eyes soft. "Sasuke…"
"N-Naruto-kun!"
He turns, eyes wide, surprised, relieved. "H-Hinata!"
She runs to him, touching his face, arms, chest, and not a single blush, so absorbed in him in worry.
"H-hey!" Naruto nearly yelps when the girl almost rips his shirt off to check for wounds. "H-Hinata! I'm okay! Really! Look, look!"
He pantomimes a kabuki and shows her his bloodied but barely wounded torso.
She exhales in relief, before blushing and visibly shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "Naruto-kun! It…it's…it's…!"
Naruto begins to look worried. "Wh-wha! What is it?"
The girl's eyes shine and wobble, and she's choking back a smiling sob. "It's Sakura-san!"