Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter Eight- Battle of Eternal Rivals: Kiyoshi versus Katsu

Kiyoshi ran forward, delivering a powerful Leaf Whirlwind to the leg of the dummy; it caused the wood to clatter, as though it was seconds away from breaking. After throwing another punch and knocking the scarecrow off of its post, Kiyoshi immediately spun, delivering a series of quick kicks and punches to an imaginary opponent. He jumped back, finding another dummy in his peripheral vision, and took off towards it in a series of zigzags and quick changes of direction. After his final step, Kiyoshi disappeared from view for a mere fraction of a second wherein he returned directly under the target.

"Leaf Rising Wind!" the shinobi exclaimed, using all of his strength to execute an upward kick that ripped the dummy straight out of the ground. Kiyoshi leapt into the sky, landing atop of the straw creation and thrust it downwards into the ground. But just as Kiyoshi was about to take a break, a kunai was sent careening towards him at an alarming pace. The young Genin had just enough time to counter the projectile with a kunai of own, sending it harmlessly into the ground. A ninja dressed in dark clothing leapt from out of the trees, landing a few feet with a single kunai at her side. She held it so that it was slightly pressed up against her chest with her arm bent slightly. "Oh, Katsu."

"Fight me," she said, her expression was cold and unwavering.

"R-right now?"

"Kakashi won't train me. Akira is with Neji-sensei. Shikamaru-sensei is preparing for the Chunin Exams. I want you to fight me." She said blandly.

Kiyoshi shook his head, walking over to another dummy, this time repeatedly kicking the side with precision and accuracy. "I have to practice for Guy-sensei."

Bewildered from the refusal, Katsu yelled,"Kiyoshi Lee, I challenge you to a match!" Her hand was angled outwards, pointing at Kiyoshi and her face had turned red from embarrassment.

Kiyoshi stopped cold in his tracks. All at once, a volley of emotions swelled up inside of him, like a balloon just waiting to burst. Everything had been happening so fast. First he had been trained by Guy and now Katsu had been willing to agree to a Rival Match just like those between Kakashi and Guy. He didn't want to seem too enthralled, but he couldn't pretend to hide the excitement anymore.

"So, what's it gonna be!" Kiyoshi shouted to the skies. "No holds bar ninja battle?"

"Taijutsu."

"Huh?" Kiyoshi faltered.

"You heard me. In order to pass the Chunin Exams I need to improve in hand-to-hand combat." She said matter-of-factly.

"Alright, but I won't go easy on you!" Kiyoshi nodded, taking his typical iron-fist stance. Katsu whom had never moved, now rushed forward, swinging her kunai wildly at her opponent. Kiyoshi easily dodged and used his hand to deflect her follow up kick. Kiyoshi felt it was the appropriate time to retaliate and leapt up to deliver a Leaf Hurricane. Katsu managed to duck underneath, but she was nowhere near fast enough to respond to the Leaf Whirlwind that soon followed, knocking her back a few feet.

"Guh," she stammered, holding her side.

"I know you've got the Sharingan. Come one, I want to see what it can really do!" Kiyoshi smiled, looking at his opponent.

"I-I'm not quite sure how it works yet. I still haven't had the chance to talk to Kakashi-sensei. I can't activate at will!" She said, still rubbing her waist.

"Hmph," Kiyoshi smiled. "Then I'm going to finish this!"

Kiyoshi ran forward, pulling back his arm to deliver one final decisive blow. It was going to be swift, and, for Kiyoshi, victory was going to taste so sweet. For too long he had been the runt of the group. Now was his time to shine!

'I won't let you win!' Katsu said, holding both of her arms up to block the attack. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to brace for the attack. When she opened her eyes, her irises were red, with a single black tomoe around her pupil.

"Again!" Neji shouted, instructing his pupil to strike him.

Akira used the Byakugan to focus in on his sensei's tenketsu. With a total of 361 one of them, Akira felt it would be easy to hit one dead on. However, that was not the case, hitting a chakra point required almost exact precision, something that troubled the Genin to no end.

Using the Gentle Fist was simple. Tyler only had to strike the area in which the tenketsu was located and shoot chakra into it, blocking the opponent's natural flow of chakra. That he understood and was easily able to do. The Eight Trigrams technique called for more accurate and faster movements. Within the past few days, Akira had a large grasp on the Gentle Fist style of Taijutsu. However, he had made no progress in learning Neji's signature technique.

Akira thrust his pointer finger and middle finger directly into the Hyuga's chest, simultaneously emitting chakra from his fingertips. For perhaps the fifteenth time in a row, his attack did not have the desired affect.

"Shikamaru-sensei says that I have no sense of chakra control. I can't walk on water and I can barely climb a tree," Akira said honestly, recalling his first attempt at tree climbing wherein he fell flat on his back.

"It's fine," Neji said, shaking his head. "Most Hyuga members cannot learn this technique until their later years."Neji was easily the tallest of the sensei, maybe only being shorter than Shino and Guy who stood at an impressive six feet tall. He had chalky white eyes, unusual yes, but it was the trademark trait among the Hyuga. He had long straight brown hair, bound together tightly by a single rubber band at the bottom. He was garbed very plainly, a simple white kimono top and white trousers. He also had a black, slightly protective layer, from the hip to the knee.

"Come, I'll teach you my favorite maneuver." Neji says, beckoning him over.

Akira thought that the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was his favorite technique. He wasn't quite sure what else Neji was capable of doing.

Neji led Akira to a small clearing where he and Tenten used to train when they were younger. Neji stood in the center and found a long, red string that was strewn about on the floor. He picked it up, and placed it in Akira's hands, informing the boy to pull on it when he gave the signal. Akira nodded and, as soon as Neji was ready, the boy pulled the trigger, unknowingly releasing a volley of kunai and shuriken from various hidden traps within the wood. There had to have been hundreds of projectiles flying towards the Jonin, all poised to strike and kill.

Neji spun, releasing chakra from all of his tenketsu at once. The chakra, in combination with the fast, spinning motions created a large rotating shield of chakra around him to toss away the projectiles. When the volley of weaponry ended, so did Neji's acceleration. Within seconds, the shield dissipated, revealing Neji standing confidently in the center of fallen shuriken.

"That is the Rotation technique, formally taught only to the main branch of the Hyuga clan." Neji explained.

"N-Neji-sensei…"

"Unlike the other Hyuga techniques, this one is actually rather simple to master and requires no precise chakra control, and with your amazing reserves of chakra, this technique should be beneficial to you. Come, let us begin…."

"Not yet," Katsu smiled, catching Kiyoshi's fist in her right hand. With her left hand, she threw a punch directly into his stomach. He doubled over and she took the opportunity to clasp both of her hands together and deliver another blow to his back, sending him face first into the ground. Kiyoshi flipped to his feet, and used a Leaf Whirlwind attack, but Katsu easily jumped over top of it. Before landing, she delivered a downward kick of her own, knocking Kiyoshi back down into the dirt.

"Ugh…how did you," Kiyoshi began, looking up at his opponent.

"I'm not sure," Katsu responded, jumping back so that Kiyoshi could get to his feet.

"This is the sharingan's power. It's like I can see your movements. I know where you're going to be before you do." Katsu said, grinning.

Kiyoshi struggled to his feet and took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself. With the added weight Guy applied, the Genin could feel that his movements were a little slowed, but he didn't understand what powers the Sharigan gave their wielder. Maybe even if he was fighting at full power she would still be able to counter his movements. If only he could activate the first gate, he would show her his true strength.

'But I promised Guy-sensei…' Lee frowned, lowering his head. 'I guess I'll just have to try harder!'

Kiyoshi leapt forward at an alarming pace and disappeared from view. When he rematerialized, he was standing just a few feet in front of her, his arm cocked back and poised to strike. She blocked the blow with her free hand and thrust her kunai forward. The boy barely had enough time to spin to the side and deliver a back handed punch to Katsu's cheek. She took it rather well, however, and delivered two punches of her own to the Genin's midsection and then another straight kick to his chest. The blows were enough to knock Kiyoshi back quite a ways, distancing the two from one another.

Kiyoshi took a deep breath, motioning for Katsu to come to him. She took the taunt and charged, leaping high into the air. Kiyoshi blocked her flurry of kicks, and responded with an attack of his own. The kunoichi ducked underneath Kiyoshi's punch, and tackled him, clasping both of her arms around his waist. Her initial plan was to lift him off the ground and toss him aside, but Kiyoshi proved to be physically dominant. He held his ground and landed a decisive elbow drop to Katsu's backside, knocking her to the floor.

"Chalk another win up for Taijutsu!" Kiyoshi shouted, tightening his hand into a victory fist pump.

"Then try this!" Katsu yelled, rolling over. She took a deep breath and exhaled a giant fireball jutsu. Kiyoshi narrowly managed to avoid the full brunt of the attack, but his shirt caught on fire.

Panicked, the boy failed about, repeatedly hitting the burning piece of cloth with his hand. When it started to creep up along the side of his clothing, he immediately removed his jacket and tossed it on the ground, hoping that he could put the flame out with his foot.

"Summoning Jutsu!" he exclaimed, after biting his finger and place his right hand on the ground. Kiyoshi's large red and blue turtle summon, Nagame appeared, just a few inches from the fire.

"Gahh!" the turtle said, opening his mouth wide with disbelief. He shot a stream of water from his mouth, dousing the small inferno that had been created. "What happened?"

Kiyoshi, annoyed and confused, pointed over to Katsu who had been laughing hysterically all the while. That was, until she saw Nagame, Kiyoshi's summon. She looked at him intently, kneeling down so that she could get a good look at the turtle's face.

"I...I need to go," Katsu frowned, looking away. "I need to find out why Kakashi-sensei won't see me."

"You cheated!" Kiyoshi said disapprovingly, shaking his head. He picked up his jacket, now frayed and almost burned to a crisp. He grabbed onto her arm in an effort to make her stop. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she lied, turning away from him. She wrenched her arm free and took off towards the Leaf Village. "I'll help you with your Ninjutsu some other time!"

"Hmm…" the Nagame muttered, looking at Kiyoshi.

"What?"

"Does this mean you won?" Nagame said.

"I…I won!? Guy-sensei, I won!" Kiyoshi screamed in triumph raising both hands into the air triumphantly. All of his worries over Katsu had immediately vanished when it was clear that he had become victor. "Kiyoshi Lee one! Katsu Uchiha ZEROOOO!"

"Relax." Nagame said sighing.

"Oh, sorry. I get excited whenever I think about Guy-sensei," Kiyoshi said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Katsu gasped, bursting through the doors of the Hokage's office. He stood, glancing out the window that overlooked the entire city of Konoha. To his side stood Yamato, another Jonin from Leaf.

Yamato had a very average face, but that really only went as far as his eyes, his eyes were sharp and intimidating. Visually they didn't look all that different, but when you were staring right at them the effect was glaringly obvious. His head band was situated where it should be, on the forehead, but his band was unique in the way that it was almost like a helmet. He, like Kakashi, was wearing the standard jounin attire, and right now, both of them were staring at her.

"So this is the girl?" Yamato said, smiling at the child. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh?" Katsu said, taken back. "Hello, Yamato-sensei."

"Yamato is going to be training you from now on," Kakashi smiled, giving the child a 'thumbs up.' "I'll oversee as much as I can, but I'm not sure how long I can stay. Recent events have been rather…troubling."

'How could I have doubted you…Kakashi-sensei," Katsu thought, a wave of relief washing over her.

"I'll see you tomorrow at Ichiraku around twelve," Yamato said, walking around Kakashi's desk and up to the young kunoichi. He put his hand on her head, ruffling her hair slightly before walking out of the room- leaving the Hokage and his students alone.

Kakashi took a seat at his desk and motioned for Katsu to do the same. She sat in the same chair she had a few weeks ago- the very time she and Kiyoshi had gotten into trouble. He pulled up his hitai'ate so that Katsu could see his single Sharinagn eye. She had seen it thousands of times before, but it still shocked her every time she saw it.

"Shikamaru told me you activated your very own Sharingan." Katsu closed her eyes and took a deep breath. While it appeared distress and fear activated the Sharingan the first time, subsequent activations seemed to be triggered based on a calmed mind. Only by taking a step back and truly relaxing could she activate her Sharingan. When she opened her eyes, her irises were deep red, and a single tomoe surrounded her pupil.

He stood and walked up to Katsu, tilting her head upward so that he might get a better look at her eye. The single tomoe worried him. He had hoped she would've already awakened with two tomoe; teaching her would've been much simpler and far quicker. He could show her something once, and within a few hours time, she would most likely master it.

'Now the chidori will take days to master,' he sighed. 'That's time I simply don't have.'

Kakashi reached into his cloak and pulled out a small red and yellow scroll. Unfolding it, Katsu could see that there was only a single name written on it in red ink- Kakashi Hatake.

"What is this Kakashi-sensei?"

"To be honest," Kakashi shrugged. "It's a gift. Your birthday is in…three, four days now?"

"Tomorrow," she responded, looking rather confused. Summoning contracts were written in blood and normally had a long list of names. This parchment, however, literally only had one signature in RED PEN.

"Right," the Hokage nodded. "Just sign this; you'll understand in a moment."

Katsu took the parchment, as well as the pen Kakashi had laying on his desk, and wrote her name directly under his. She wasn't sure what Kakashi had been trying to accomplish, but she understand that sometimes he worked in "strange ways."

"Now what?" She asked.

"Try the Summoning Jutsu." He motioned for her to continue in the way that was accustomed. She bit her finger, allowing for a small amount of blood to drip and placed her right hand on the ground, exclaiming the very words Kakashi had just muttered.

There was a puff of smoke. Then nothing. Nothing occurred.

For a moment, she thought Kakashi lied to her. That he didn't want to train her because she was a "monster" or some sort of "threat." She felt as if she wasn't good enough to be a shinobi and all at once the panic started to settle and she could feel the tears forming in her eyes and she thought she should just run away.

That was when she felt someone touch her back.

"H-happy birthday Katsu-san," Kiyoshi smiled, sitting on top of a large, blue box with bright red ribbon. The box itself was larger than Kiyoshi, towering over the young kunoichi. Akira and Shikamaru stepped out from behind the box, holding a cake that had the "Leaf" symbol made of frosting situated on top.

"Happy birthday," Akira nodded, smiling slightly. "Teme."

It was still difficult for Akira to be completely open with his new friends, but Katsu was overwhelmed by their gesture of kindness. Being already in an unstable state, Katsu collapsed to the floor, weeping.

"Whoa, kid, relax," Shikamaru said, taken back. "Do you not like the cake? I told Temari that she put too much frosting."

"H-hey, are you alright?" Kiyoshi panicked, jumping off the giant present.

Katsu looked up at her teammate and whipped away her tears. She smiled and hugged onto him, motioning for Akira to join in the embrace. Reluctantly, he too knelt down to hug his comrade.

"Th-thank you," she managed to choke out.

"Why don't you meet the others in the basement," Kakashi said rather abruptly.

Shikamaru nodded, indicating he understood. The Jonin motioned for Kiyoshi and Akira to do the same, and they followed behind to meet up with the others. All of Squad Twelve, Temari, Rock Lee, Sakura, Might Guy, and Iruka had all set up a small get together for the child's twelfth birthday.

Katsu couldn't wait any longer. She pulled on the ribbon, ripping it off in one swift jerk. She assumed it would open like any regular present, but she should known by then that, in the ninja world, everything exploded in a puff of smoke. When it finally cleared, three small dogs, each a different color, happily jumped onto Katsu.

The small blue dog took a deep breath, as though it was about to bark, but hiccupped instead. That wasn't the strange part though. With each hiccup, the dog blew a small bubble. Before long, the room was filled with small water bubbles that Katsu and the other two dogs began popping.

The brown one didn't hiccup, but, instead, couldn't stop sneezing. Like the first, each sneeze brought about a strange occurrence. However, instead of bubbles, it shot out bursts of concentrated air.

Finally, the black dog had a small tuff of red hair right around his left eye. It came as no surprise when the dog barked, shooting out small flamed from his mouth. What did surprise Katsu was when one of the sparks from the flame hit her jacket, catching it on fire.

'Damn it Kiyoshi!' she freaked. The smaller blue dog took a deep breath and unleashed a small stream of water onto Katsu, distinguishing the fire.

"The blue one is Yuuki. The brown one's Konjou. And finally, the black one is Takeshi. They are your ninken, your personal summons. They're young still, only about a few weeks old. You're going to have to teach them to speak of course, but I'm sure they'll make invaluable teammates over time."

"Kakashi-sensei, they're perfect!" She squealed with glee. She wasn't one to normally act so childish, but in this instance, it was incredibly worth it. "Thank you."

"Well, we can talk more later," Kakashi smiled. "With everything happening so suddenly, I thought that a small party would help take everyone's minds off of everything."

"I'll be down in a minute. I want to take the puppies' home first."

"Well, hurry. Everyone's here for you." Kakashi said.

Katsu nodded and took for the door. The three ninken, almost instinctively, followed behind. She rushed down the stairs, barreling over a few Jonin who had the misfortune of coming to see the Hokage.

"Sorry!" she yelled back. She and the dogs made their way to the streets of Konoha, taking the fastest route she could to her home. Katsu hadn't realized, but, during the time spent in the Hokage's office, the sun had completely set, giving way to the darkness of the night. Katsu didn't mind, however. She felt that, as an Uchiha, she should be much more accustomed to the darkness.

"Ruff!" Takeshi barked. Katsu looked over to the dogs who were now growling and were clearly agitated.

"What's wrong?"

She looked over to the animals and ran directly into something. She fell back on her bottom and almost landed directly on one of the small dogs. She looked up, seeing a figure standing over her. He was a tall man, probably only an inch shorter than Guy. He wore a black, short-sleeved shirt, with a low cut collar. His pants were made of a thin, lightweight material and were also black. His hair was onyx, as was his eyes, and fell to about chin-length. The backside was strangely spiky.

"Happy birthday, Katsu Uchiha," he smiled.