Jonin vs Jonin

by Tartarun

Sequel to Teachers and Lessons. Kakashi hunts down Kurenai and takes his pound of flesh. His team is avenged.

Disclaimer: I own 0% of Naruto at the current time. Apologies, I was a bit wary to write a fight scene between two Jonin and so it took me a looong time to get this done. Reviews are love! ^.^

If Asuma noticed how tense Kurenai was in their training session, he did not mention it. She appreciated it, knowing you would be hunted by Copy Cat Kakashi was a very sobering thought. She did not regret what she had done after all it was a lesson every shinobi needed to learn. The younger and more innocent the student was, the longer and more effective the lesson would be. But that did not take away from the fact she made three genin kill themselves, she had been honestly surprised at that. She had thought she'd have to drag them unwillingly down to death but they had faced it head on. She had her lesson on the very first day as a genin, her teacher had been a genjutsu specialist too and had wasted no time in reminding them of their own mortality. She lightly shuddered, she had been trapped in a rockslide until she suffocated. Even now she remembered clawing at the walls as her chest burned for air, she knew she'd done Team 7 a favour, Kakashi knew that too in his logical side but his mentor side would not take it so well.

Before they finished as they stretched to cool down she asked Asuma if he had done the lesson with his genin too.

"Bit young aren't they?" Asuma asked bemused, "I haven't but their clans have."

Kurenai cocked her head interested, "Their clans?"

"It's their kekkei genkei, it's not as easy as just being born into a clan. Why do you think there are still civilian clan members?"

"They need to die to activate their blood line?" Kurenai asked interested wondering if her team had gone through this too.

"They need to feel the despair and horror of dying. As quoted by Shikamaru when I asked, that intense feeling unlocks their bloodline. As far as I know Shika has been choked to death, Ino has been stabbed and Choji crushed. I don't need to cover the lesson with them, clan kids with kekkei genkei are already prepared."

"I did the lesson with my team, they didn't mention anything about their clans having done it already." She murmured.

Asuma shot her a look, "Already? Yeah Dad told me the Inuzuka, Aburame and Hyuuga were special cases. To activate their bloodline it's something else. Don't tell the Inuzuka's you know but kids born to them have multiple dogs bonded to them. Then one is killed to strengthen the bond with the other one. It's a bit barbaric but it works for them." He shrugged easily, "That's why they panic when they lose sight of their dogs. On the other hand the Aburame actually die."

"What?" Kurenai was stunned.

"Implanting the hive kills them, their heart stops beating and they have to hope the swarm start it up again if they match. Bringing them back from the dead gives them control over the bugs. It's creepy and oh boy the Hyuugas." He lit his cigarette and breathed out smoke, Kurenai started to imagine dozens of scenarios, each more gory than the last. "They're born with normal eyes but they're completely covered in cataracts. They cut the eyes out of the babies, slice out the cataracts and the iris then implant it back in. It's a horrible sight," He winced, "Eye jelly, blood and tears are mixing in the sockets. The kekkei genkei kicks in at that point as the blindness flips a switch in the brain. Ergo Hyuuga penetrative eyes."

Kurenai stared at him. "It's the truth I swear." He lifted up his hands, "I swear!"

"That was not what I was expecting." She told him flatly.

He laughed, "Grisly tales of the Elemental Country's capital of Kekkei Genkei. They're all pretty messed up. I heard a rumour that the Yuki kids were frozen alive to kick-start their bloodline."

"If it doesn't?" Kurenai asked horrified yet fascinated.

"Baby popsicle?"

She hit him hard.

"Why so interested anyway?"

"…I may have forced Kakashi's kids into committing suicide." She admitted.

He choked on his cigarette, "You're dead."

"I know."

"NO seriously DEAD."

"I know…"

"Can you get deader than dead?"

"Asuma!"

"Come on it's Kakashi we're talking about here. Seriously suicide?" he whistled.

"They are a pretty impressive team." She admitted.

"You're telling me, they managed to paintball me yellow. The stain didn't come out for days!"

"Yellow…?" She snickered.

"It was good trap work…before I cut it all up." Came the smug reply.

"Oh! When Ibiki got attacked by a kunai and a genin? The entire T&I department were laughing for days."

"Yup, so how did you kill those kids?"

"Make me sound like a murderer don't you?"

"Aren't you?"

"Anko's words here, I'm an evasive religious supporter. I made them drown in a pool of blood." She said quickly.

Asuma stared at her. "Religious supporter? Oh I want to hear this. Wow Kurenai that's a messed up mind set. Loving the foreshadowing though."

"Well we send people to whatever heaven or hell they believe in don't we? Ergo we support religion. Hey blood also had the added incentive of making them insensitive to combat. I put some serious thought into that."

He shook his head, "You probably did them a favour…but they won't realise until they fight on the field." He said slowly, "That won't stop Kakashi from killing you though."

She deflated, "I know."

"I know some good burial spots?"

"Shut up."

…

Kakashi slouched into the Jonin haunt. Ibiki looked up from his couch and blinked. The normal apathy was gone from the Cyclops and his single brown eye was as hard and glittering as diamond.

"Kakashi." He called out bored, "Come and play a game of GoKage with me."

Kakashi shrugged over, hands in pockets. Ibiki felt a little better knowing where his hands were, to the Jonin it was a clear sign of peace.

"What's the starting condition?

"Random." Ibiki shrugged, he called out to a cackling Anko, "Anko! Three great villages now."

"What the hell is this? An academy aptitude test?" Anko sauntered over, chewing Dango, "Ah GoKage, Iwa, Kiri and Konoha."

Kakashi set up the icons quickly, "That leaves me with Suna, Kumo, Ame and Taki."

The two jonin tensed then their hands flew on the sloping board. There were no turns, no rules, and no mercy. It was a war stimulation. Kakashi moved his shinobi across the desert to block Ibiki's advance while Ibiki used his other hand to sneak some by the sea. Icons moved everywhere and flew off the table (they were the dead teams and troops). Kakashi used pincer like strategy to box in one of Ibiki's villages while Ibiki laid siege to one of his. The Fourth Hokage icon was particularly annoying to Kakashi but he sneaked the Orochimaru icon on to challenge him. Ibiki snorted and pulled out the other two Sannin icons, The Third Raikage and Hanzo met them in Taki. Suddenly Ibiki pulled out a new icon, Kakashi shook his head exasperated.

"You're using my own icon against me? What cheek."

"Tch. You're slipping Cyclops."

"Maa so defensive."

Icons slammed into one another as they moved them haphazardly with an underlying strategy which changed every minute. The Naras hated the game. Vehemently. It was too much effort to move the icons for them at such speed. They attracted quite a crowd, a game of GoKage was quite a thing to see when played by experienced ninja and Kakashi and Ibiki were some of the best.

"Come on! Take out that damn Third Kazekage already!"

"Taki's almost down!"

"Watch out. Jiraiya's snuck past the Thunder Twins."

"Yes! Yagura victorious!"

"Woohoo, Konoha's epic in this game."

"Holy….Suna's got some pretty devastating moves."

"Kakashi's making sure the Fourth doesn't meet Iwa at all look! It's always against Kumo the Fourth goes up against."

"That's pretty damn clever."

The game built to a crescendo. Both the ninja pored over the board, hands blurring to move the icons at such a speed that they were still only for a fraction of a second. Then Kakashi sat back with a sigh.

"Maa you got this one." Spectators rooting for him groaned good naturedly. "Nice move with Konoha and Kiri teaming up."

Ibiki chuckled and gathered up the icons, "You say that after you obliterated that with a bijudama?"

Kakashi shrugged modestly, "It was a real pain, take it as a compliment."

"It cracked the damn board…with the force you slammed it down…."

"Realistic conditions…?"

"Get out of here Cyclops." He sighed.

"And here I thought you were fond of me."

Ibiki snorted, Anko draped herself over him, "Aww is the Cyclops pouting under his mask, you're just lovable." She squeezed his cheeks hard and tried to yank off his mask, "Let's get a gwood lwook at the bwaby face."

He fended her off playfully, "Unless you want me to Kawarimi with Iruka, which I totally can. I would get off." She sighed in exasperation and plopped down on the game board scattering Ibiki's neat piles of icons.

"One of these days Cyclops, one of these days…"

"Anko! My pieces!"

"Yes they are rather nice aren't they IBitey."

"I will dock your pay for a month if you call me that again…"

"Pooh-pooh, I'll just sell off Cyclops' cute little genin to get more cash then."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow sardonically, "Was I meant to hear that? Surely you aren't discussing how to sell my genin in front of me...their jonin sensei."

"It's less of a warning and more of a heads up, if you know what I mean." Anko chewed on the dango stick reminiscent of Genma. "Yo Cyclops what's this I hear about your genin drinking. I should be invited to any and all drinking parties!"

Kakashi sobered instantly, the humour leaving his eye. Both the interrogation specialists picked up on it easily and winced.

"Let me guess…"Ibiki glanced at Kakashi while collecting all the icons, "It's not first kill, Naruto had his a while ago. A comrade died? No we'd hear about it hmm."

Anko picked her teeth with the dango stick, "They had the genjutsu lesson?"

"…That was fast." Kakashi commented lightly.

Anko snorted, "Please Cyclops, give me some credit. Shouldn't you be pleased they've gone through it? I mean you did it even younger than them."

"That was in war." He replied icily.

"So?" Anko countered, "You and I both grew up in war, look at the sheer difference in quality from us and the peace shinobi. Your kids will be ****** epic."

He sighed, "Anko, they're too young, too immature. We grew up too fast in war."

Ibiki coughed loudly, "Cough Uchiha massacre cough Jinchuuriki cough the hell you put them through on a daily basis cough."

"…The last one's fun hell not hell hell…"

"My, my so eloquent copy nin. But seriously yes your brats are young but they handled it, going by the fact you haven't dismembered Kurenai yet."

"Don't give me ideas…Sasuke nearly hugged me…that's how bad it was."

Anko and Ibiki gave him blank white eyes which made him snort mentally, Hyuuga Anko and Hyuuga Ibiki. Hiashi would have a heart attack.

He spoke slowly, "As a shinobi I realise the sheer value of that lesson but it was my job to teach them that. A lesson they were not ready for and I don't know how this will affect them. My word with Team 7 is law and I deemed them unfit to take that lesson, Kurenai overstepped that bound and now…" His eye shot them both a grim look.

Anko sighed, "I suppose." She agreed grudgingly.

"Try not to kill her too irreversibly." Ibiki advised, "If someone messed with my genin tem I'd be pissed too."

Kakashi sent him an innocent eye smile, "Would I really kill a fellow Jonin of the Leaf?" With that she shunshinned out making sure he was close enough to the warm fire that the sparks ignited the smoke making his exit marked with an inferno.

Anko coughed and waved away the smoke and fire, "He may be getting soft about his team but goddamn he can pull off an exit…maybe I should try that for the next Chunin exams?"

Ibiki paled drastically.

…..

Kakashi re appeared on the streets of Konoha. It was an unwritten rule of the Jonin, you wanted payback you had to find the person yourself. He was in two minds about the whole affair, yes his genin were stronger and Kurenai had done him a favour in a twisted manner but he was furious that she had done it in the first place. Maybe he'd have a better time making up his mind after he smashed her into the ground several times?

Biting his thumb, he summoned Pakkun in a side alley.

"Yo boss." His pug lifted one soft paw in greeting, "Got any biscuits for me?"

"Do a job for me and I'll get you two."

"You're in a fine mood Kakashi, what do you want done?"

"Remember Kurenai? The one who charmed you into thinking a rock was a charming lady ninken?"

Pakkun went as red as he was able to, "That was one time!" he grumbled, "But yes, smoke, cinders and salt. I can track her." Kakashi petted his summons absentmindedly.

"Good boy." Pakkun snapped at his hand before sniffing around for Kurenai's scent.

"Not that I'm complaining Boss, but why call me? Your nose should be able to track her easily." He closed his book with a snap.

"Because I didn't take her seriously last time and my genin team paid the price." He said carelessly.

Pakkun growled, "What did she do to the pups?"

"You don't have an equivalent." He soothed the irritated pug. "It wasn't physically harmful."

"Humans…so complicated. Living in a pack is so much easier." Pakkun scoffed. Kakashi hmmed but didn't say anything as Pakkun picked up the trail and scampered off tail waving. It was almost cute how much Pakkun enjoyed the hunt.

He followed him until he could smell her scent stronger himself and dismissed Pakkun, his pug saluting him as he left. Then he sauntered onto the training field where Asuma and Kurenai were resting and watched Kurenai go pale with no small amount of satisfaction. So he completely ignored her. No sense in being predictable.

"Asuma." He greeted cordially, his mask showing his smiling face. Asuma blanched minutely running over in his head what he had done to Kakashi recently.

"Kakashi." He greeted back. "What brings you here?"

Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well I had a reason for sure."

"Which was?"

"…I can't remember." Asuma and Kurenai looked like they wanted to face vault.

"Kakashi." Kurenai ventured nervously.

He eye smiled at her, "Yes Kurenai?" Her brain jittered to a halt at that before kick starting. Well if he wouldn't bring it up neither would she, she had a survival instinct dammit. No she felt bad for the kids…

"Your team. How are they?" she asked quietly. Asuma stared at her out of the corner of his eye like he thought she had a death wish. She probably had.

"Sleeping off the effects." Kakashi's eye narrowed, a hard glint appearing. "What were you thinking? They're genin! Rookie genin…"

"They're the only Rookie team not to have had the lesson." Kurenai countered calmly. Kakashi rolled his eye. "They're also the only Rookie team with a high enough chance of going psychotic. I wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke focuses more on his revenge now, do you know how long it took me to curb him even slightly of that?!"

"I'm not sorry." Kurenai bit out. "They needed to do it sooner or later."

"It was my decision." Kakashi hissed slight killer intent leaking. "I respect you as a fellow Jonin of the leaf, which is probably the only reason I'm confronting you. Otherwise it would have been vengeance beneath the table. Cross me again and you will find out how sneaky I can be, understand?"

Asuma tried to cut in. He got two vicious glares for it. He made a surrender gesture almost immediately.

"Then why are you here Copycat?" Kurenai hissed. "Either I did you a favour or I didn't. Choose a side and stick with it."

"Either you did me a favour or you didn't. That is true." Kakashi mused, "Tell you what let's have a test of convictions. If your conviction can stand up to mine…I'll acknowledge you did me a favour."

"And if it can't?" Kurenai asked warily.

Kakashi eye smiled at her, "Wouldn't you like to know?" he chirped.

"You mean combat." Kurenai said at once, "This isn't testing convictions. There are few in Konoha who can stand up to you when you decide to go full out. I am not suicidal, the outcome is predetermined."

"And my mind is made up on whether you did me a favour or a hindrance." Kakashi told her calmly, "The degree of it depends on the test. I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself. Will you take it or not?"

"Fine." She hissed. "I'll prove to you I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Guys." A nervous Asuma cut in, "I need to be going."

"But Asuma I remembered why I came here!"

"…why?"

"To get you to referee us."

"I was afraid of that." Asuma sighed. He puffed on his cigarette, walked a safe distance away and turned back around. "Are you two ready?" he intoned, "…Go!" He flickered away as fast as he could not wanting to get caught in the middle.

Kurenai made the first move. She stamped a chakra laden foot to create a cloud of dust which completely hid her. Kakashi created two mizu bunshins to stand back to back while he took advantage of Kurenai's blindness to sneak underground. Kurenai attacked like a whirlwind. She grabbed one bunshin by its chakra coils and ripped them apart with the force of her genjutsu; the construct burst apart into clouds of water. Meanwhile the second bunshin took the opportunity to send a lightning jutsu at her through the air conducted by the water. The air crackled and her world flashed white! The earth clone of Kurenai fell apart in crumbling earth and dust. Kurenai snapped her fingers and the mizu bunshin's vision was awash in fire as the dust exploded. It jerked away screaming as its nerves wailed in agony and the real Kakashi sighed as the genjutsu forced the bunshin to collapse. He burst up through the earth and grabbed Kurenai's ankle. But she had sensed him burst out and had leapt back so instead of trapping her in the earth he was forced to swing her over his head and slam her into the ground. Kurenai spat at him in her tiny crater and hissed.

She rippled away and took the light with her. Kakashi tried to dispel it and was attacked on three sides by a brutal taijutsu assault. Nothing as good as Gai but when he was blinded it was a challenge. He quickly shoved his headband up and the Sharingan blazed through the genjutsu in milliseconds. He caught Kurenai's arm in a punch and forced her back; both sides using chakra to reinforce their attacks and defences. Kurenai blurred her time. Kakashi was now having trouble keeping up with her attacks and anticipating where they would land. His Sharingan blazed blood red and the pinwheel spun as he detected Kurenai's chakra in his system and reversed it so her chakra was completely cut off and his genjutsu took effect. Kurenai shook off his genjutsu with ease, she was the genjutsu specialist…she knew herself too well to fall to a genjutsu of that calibre. She discretely made her hand signs while involving herself in a taijutsu brawl and Kakashi recognising them sprang away. Instead of the stream of fire he was expecting, Kakashi found himself faced with the earth erupting around his feet and encasing him in an interlocking dome. Then it collapsed on him, burying him in sticky mud and choking earth. He blinked in the darkness, genjutsu for the hand signs he realised dimly before using a lightning net around himself and pushing outwards to blast an Iwa bunshin out and himself to melt into the earth.

Kurenai had not been idle during that time. Senbon and kunai littered the field laced with her chakra even though it left her feeling mildly drained. She kept kawariming with the weapons and the bunshin couldn't follow her! Still he managed to keep up an even fight even though he was being assaulted on all sides randomly. Kurenai could tell at once it wasn't Kakashi…the Sharingan should have been able to follow her easily. Good thing it wasn't actually her doing the kawariming. She was underground waiting for the Copycat to pop up.

Both of them crashed into each other in the crushing darkness and there was a brief scuffle when both figured out what had happened, had a mental chuckle before plunging through the surface and body flickering away to opposite sides of the field. Kakashi reacted with blinding speed, flickering behind Kurenai and catching her in the ribs with a brutal kick. She snarled and stumbled away before recovering impressively. The tree behind Kakashi stirred and shook, wrapping steel like bands around his chest and legs to keep him immobile He was drawn into the tree struggling before Kurenai punched him in the face hard. Blinking away stars he spat his blood in Kurenai's eyes and she was blinded for one crucial second. He head butted her hard and this forced her to release her genjutsu. He didn't give her any respite. Two quick blows broke her left arm and left her white faced in suppressed pain.

Kurenai was furious, a bit scared but mostly furious. Time to play dirty. Kakashi spun to kick her again and stopped seconds before slamming his fist into Obito Uchiha.

"Kakashi…still as insufferable as ever." Obito remarked casually.

Kakashi smirked under his mask, "You're still as useless in a fight as I remember. You're on the wrong side baka."

"Maaa what can I do? Mind staying still for me?" Obito remarked before springing into a series of lightning quick attacks. Kakashi blocked them and the two engaged in a deadlock brawl. Obito ducked under Kakashi's arm and when he surfaced a girl's face gazed back at Kakashi.

"Rin?" Kakashi said dully.

"You let me die Kashi." The girl whispered, when had blood appeared on her face? "I trusted you and you just as well killed me!" Her face twisted in rage and with a scream she attacked her old team mate. Kakashi swore never to let Kurenai know how close her guess had been. Kakashi spun around when a familiar voice coughed behind him.

The Fourth Hokage looked disapprovingly down at him. "Che Kakashi is that how you apply what I taught you? Letting your team mates be killed? You teach one thing to your genin team and yet you follow another path. Remember what your father died for…"

He morphed into a smiling Obito, "Bakashi…" Blood spurted from his mouth, "Did you avenge me? Or did you leave my corpse in enemy territory? You're my friend Kakashi…they tried to convince me you left me there…I told them all they were wrong, that you wouldn't let my body rot in Iwa territory." He smiled showing blood filmed teeth and coughed more choking up blood and teeth as his voice gurgled. During this distraction Rin leapt at his back with a kunai. Kakashi was horror stricken at what his old team said. He locked away what they said in his mind before turning back to the fight and cold hard facts. They were constructs of Kurenai's genjutsus…all they said were guesses extrapolated from what little information she had…that's why all the little details didn't add up. Lies. This was no time to get emotional. He turned suddenly, using Rin's momentum against her. Using one hand to trap her and his other hand to draw a kunai from his pouch, he sliced decisively along her throat. She fell forward on the grass, dyeing it a runny red as she screamed and gurgled curses towards Kakashi.

Obito screamed and ran forward.

"Kakashi! She's our team mate! You bastard! How could you!" Kakashi unleashed his killing intent thickening the air. He glared darkly at Obito.

"Obito is dead." He said sharply, "This…this is a mockery of my team and it only adds fuel to my rage. Raikiri."

He raced towards Obito who cradled Rin in his arms, the white crackling chirping lightning ripping up stones and earth. Kurenai knew there was no defence at that range so she settled for traumatising Kakashi as best as she could.

"Ninja." Obito spat before Kakashi's hand pierced his chest and went through his heart. He felt the slimy warm blood slide down his arm as Obito choked and spasmed. Coldly he let the body drop to the ground. Obito crumbled into dust and blew away stinging his eyes. Kakashi's heart cracked inside. This time he really did have his team mate's deaths on his hands. He just knew his nightmares would get a lot more vivid from then on.

Wire fell in a silver cocoon around him and drew tight. Before it could cut into his flak jacket he applied a lightning technique over his whole body. The silver wire hissed as electricity sparked down the metal and shocked Kurenai into dropping the spool and rubbing her burned hands. He kawarimid with the spool itself before using his momentum to do a sweeping kick. Kurenai leapt high and lashed out with her foot. He ducked and went under on his back using both feet to aim for her back and make her crash. She anticipated that and spun so his feet met her hands instead and as he rolled back on his feet, she flipped off his sandals to land on her toes opposite him. There was no point in kawariming anymore, his Sharingan could track her chakra as it moved. She threw shuriken so they curved around him trailing wires and bounced off each other to tangle hopelessly. The other ends were attached to kunai which using Kakashi as a leverage Kurenai threw so they would eventually wind around and hit him. Kakashi glared at her and grabbed the wires and spun them above his head like a flail. Kurenai ducked the two flying kunai as they nearly cut off part of her hair. They whistled through the air and while avoiding them, Kurenai didn't notice the line of exploding tags he had laid when he had pretended to be lost in thought about his team mates. On their own they wouldn't explode…

Kakashi brought the kunai down so hard on the exploding tags they were driven hilt deep.

BANG!

Fire and light filled both their worlds. The sheer heat and noise and the pain of the intensity of the light blinded Kurenai and caused her to scream out. Kakashi was far enough away to escape most of the effects. He had basically set off a small bomb on Kurenai and she gasped in pain from burns over her body. The noise had burst both their eardrums and they reeled balance gone. Asuma winced from his safe distance, revaluated the distance and flickered even further away.

Kurenai flickered away into the relatively safer trees and almost fell over. Here Kakashi's mobility was gone. She breathed heavily as her burns itched and bled. She'd be a sitting duck for his nose and ninken. She breathed softly, her breath quickened and stirred the leaves and rustled in the branches until she had a breeze going and she was upwind from Kakashi. She thanked Asuma for that little trick. She laid low setting traps lazily with one hand as fast as she could while sending a trickle of medical chakra to her eardrum with the other. Thank god it hadn't been more serious, that was about the extent of her healing abilities.

Kakashi wobbled a little bit where he stood. Unlike Kurenai he didn't have medical chakra training. He bit his thumb and summoned two of his meanest dogs and Pakkun.

"Shurokaji, Kurorai follow Pakkun. Pakkun track down that woman." He ordered grimly, "But do not engage, she's dangerous."

They growled once baring teeth before putting their wiry heads to the training field and streaking away. He placed his hands over his ears, there was this one genjutsu Kurenai had shown him months back. It effectively disrupted the opponents sense of balance…he was hoping that he could key it to his ear so the genjutsu and his normal body would cancel each other out and he could move relatively unaffected. He stood still for a few more seconds; grinned savagely under his mask and sprang away from his spot like steel cable snapping.

His chakra was lower than he'd have liked it to be but manageable. He was no fool, going into the trees was suicide, especially since Kurenai had time to prepare. Well, all prey had to be eventually flushed out. He thought coldly. His ninken came back snuffling and snarling.

"She changed the wind boss." Shurokaji snarled. "We can't pick up her scent."

"But she's not beyond a three hundred metre range. That's when the traps end and there's no sign of her beyond that." Pakkun added quickly.

Kakashi rubbed his chin, "Three hundred metres huh. This became doable. Okay you three, if I'm standing on the North point, go to the rest of the cardinal points on a three hundred metre square. There draw this symbol on the ground." He knelt and using a stone carved a four pointed star with four crescent moons from the centre. Around it went five spirals and some kanji. "Think you can do that? It doesn't need to be perfect but they do need to lie on a circle, then come back to me."

Pakkun took one look at it and raced off, "I'll draw the circle boss!" He picked up a stick and dragged it after him in a cloud of earth and dust.

Kurorai asked curiously, "What does this do?"

"Isn't this fuinjutsu boss?" Shurokaji circled the symbol.

Kakashi nodded, "I picked up one important lesson from sensei."

"What?"

"What was that?"

"A mistaken fuinjutsu sealing reacts explosively." Kakashi smirked under his mask, "That's why the symbols don't have to be perfect. This is a four star cardinal seal for basic barriers for children and like." He shrugged, "Well it was, until I added the odd whirlpool matrix on top. It's unstable now…a rookie mistake. The two seals will repel each other generating and the energy will try to drain out in a spiral but the circle Pakkun is drawing will keep it in and circulating. The energy will build and build until…" He imitated things blowing up with his fingers.

"That's devious boss." Shurokaji growled, "I like it."

His other ninken sniffed around, "That explosion…could it kill the woman?"

Kakashi cocked his head, "If medics don't get to her fast enough, yes." He drawled. He pushed himself up and sighed. "I'd better stop Kurenai from getting suspicious in that forest."

Meanwhile Kurenai was finishing off her trap. Ninjutsu was out against the Sharingan, genjutsu required her to be near him which she had no intent on doing, ditto for taijutsu so she had no choice but to fall to other less well known ninja arts. She put the finishing touches on her circled spiral. Fuinjutsu was the most logical choice for her, it had the most range and creativity even with her beginner's knowledge. She stood in the middle of the spiral and checked it. Chakra would flow from her to the spiral where it spin until the spiral turned into a circle and the energy would keep spinning until it got too powerful to contain and blasted outwards hopefully keeping her safe. She was unhappy with the fact her chakra would be used, she wasn't sure she had enough to do sufficient damage to the bastard of a Cyclops.

Pakkun came racing back and slumped in front of the first symbol.

"I marked the cardinal points." He barked, "You should be able to find them easily." Kakashi, Shurokaji and Kurorai took off blurring. A minute or two later they came to a halt beside the points and carved the symbol in. The symbols lit up in harsh yellow light and the light sped around the circle until they all connected and the circle flashed bright white.

Kurenai breathed and fed in her chakra, the spiral lit up a bloody red and worked its way around the earth. It felt suddenly ominous standing in the middle of a bloody red light in the dappled shade of the trees, she shivered and poured her chakra in. Slowly the red darkened as the energy rushed around, she could feel her hair standing upright in static, a shrieking sound sounded distantly in her ears, was this meant to happen? Then red burned into her retinas as the circle detonated with the speed of a bullet.

The circle flashed white again, searing across their eyes and all hell broke loose. A section of the forest was levelled in a malevolent bloody red light in a roaring, crunching mess and the explosion erupted outwards. ..What? Their circle pulsed with something like a heartbeat and collapsed inwards with the force of an avalanche to meet the red light in a thunderous crash! Trees shattered into chunks and chips as the shockwave rolled over the training field. The ground pitched and rolled and everybody scrambled to find their balance. Rocks and boulders were sent skidding as Kakashi dodged easily and ground himself using chakra. There were continued crashings as trees continued to fall like dominos, the chakra in the air lending everything a heavy weight. Kakashi straightened slowly and took note of his surroundings. The training ground was absolutely wrecked. There was a circular crater stretching around the now treeless and smashed up forest, rocks were everywhere, earth and dust were lodged in the streams and water soaked the mud at his feet. Cracks in the field had appeared due to the force of the explosion and he could hear distant yells of alarm. Most likely all the nearby training fields and buildings had felt that.

Asuma flickered in front of him.

"Okay Kakashi, this has gone on long enough! If you two carry on, you'll destroy the village!" He seemed shaken and Kakashi grinned at him.

"Maa what are you talking about? Now we can finally get serious, there are no obstacles on the field."

Asuma made a noise between a shriek and a groan, "There isn't anything on the field anymore! As referee I decide the match over, we need to find Kurenai." He snapped before turning his heel walking off.

They found Kurenai pretty soon collapsed in a broken spiral. Both her arms were broken and they could see chakra burns and normal burns all over her body. Blood wept from numerous scrapes and slashes, there was the hint of bone where rocks had fallen on her leg. They both knew without prompting her chakra was dangerously low, there wasn't even a patch of clean skin on her and her hair smoked under the blue sky. Even worse they could just hear her weakening heartbeat.

Asuma cursed loudly and set off his signal flare before rushing over to pump his chakra in her system in a desperate effort to keep her alive. Kakashi placed his hands over her heart and sent his lightning in very gently to keep it beating. She had lost. He had won. Grudges could be blown away in the smoky breeze.

…..

Later when the medics had rushed to the field and started efficient work on Kurenai; Kakashi and Asuma found themselves stared at by several curious shinobi. Anko pushed her way to the front.

"I didn't think you were serious about nearly killing her." She said admirably as several hushed whispers broke out, "Your little grudge match settled now?" A horrified and awed silence fell over the shinobi, each of them vowing never to piss of Kakashi Hatake especially if this was what he did to one of his close friends!

"Yeah…pretty much." Kakashi allowed casually. "But it was too bad the fight ended before it got fully serious." The crowd were stunned into silence. The two shinobi had blown up a training field, caused a small earthquake, set off a small bomb, nearly killed one of them and the Copycat didn't think it a serious fight!?

The Hokage stormed up to them. "Explain Jonin." Killing intent leaked off his frame but both Jonin held their ground.

"Well Lord Hokage, Kurenai and I just needed to sort out some kinks in our relationship." Kakashi tried. Asuma's killer intent joined his father's.

"Really! She moved too fast too soon." Upon seeing his own death flash through his head he quickly added, "But we're cool now, your woman is safe Asuma."

Asuma gritted his teeth, "You just love making it worse for yourself don't you?"

"This is about your genin team and their education?" The Hokage cut in sharply. Kakashi nodded thinking he should behave for once. "This will not happen again?"

"As long as no one messes with my genin team without giving me all the details before hand…" Kakashi replied thoughtfully. The Hokage spun on his heel and snapped, "Well you heard the man, any of you make him blow up more training fields…you will be doing D ranks in the Academy with no pay."

"Why do we get the punishment for Cyclops flipping out?" Anko blinked.

The Hokage called back, "Because I'm reclassing Team 7 as an explosive suicidal unit. Punishing them for being stupid and explosive will be like scolding the rain for being wet."

"But I'm an Assassination specialist!" Kakashi called out in indignation.

"Tough."

"What are we doing about the training field?!" The harried organiser chunin cried.

"Give it to Team 7 in the way it is now. There's no point in fixing it."

Kakashi's jaw dropped, "We're not that bad…honestly."

Genma clapped him on the shoulder, "Dude your team blows the shit out of everything. This is the fourth training field that's been blown up in this month."

When Team 7 eventually woke up, they would wonder why everyone was giving their squad a wide berth. Especially their lazing porn reading pervert sensei. When they asked, he just chuckled and ruffled their hair. They understood slightly when they stood in front of the destroyed training field littered with god knows what. They understood a bit more when picking up bandages they ran into Team 8 at the hospital. And they understood fully when the official slip of paper came labelling them as Detonation specialist Suicidal Squad.

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