Chapter 31

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

Once I'd taken the time to get a bit to eat, Dad made sure that everyone, including Haru, was out of the base. Then the two of us went down to training ground C, the biggest. For a while he simply watched as I completed the exercises he'd requested of me. He seemed quite pleased, though he said nothing. I did my best since this was the first time he'd ever been able to watch me train.

After about an hour of that, I began to try to focus the chakra I'd used the other day into a small enough amount to use when targeting. It took me almost another hour, but I was successful in letting the emotion out in a controlled way; however I only tried to use excitement (because I was indeed excited about getting to try this). We determined that I could only easily use the emotion(s) that were readily at hand, therefore, I'd have to work on controlling them a little better, so as not to have a repetition of the past three days.

Once we'd decided I'd had enough of that for the day, my father suggested the two of us sparing.

"Is that a good idea?" I asked looking around us at the multitude of weapons, and especially at the stone walls. "I mean, what if we caused the base to cave in?"

For the first time, I got a genuine laugh out of my father. It took him a moment to regain himself, and when he did, he was still smiling. "I don't know whether to think of you as more like myself, or more like your mother. Sometimes it's like you're exactly half and half." I didn't understand exactly what he meant, but I did get the idea.

I laughed a little, then asked, "So how will we spar safely then?"

"Any weapon you can get to in this room, but no jutsu, summoning, kekei genkei, you know, civilian style." He smirked.

I returned the expression. "Does that mean absolutely no chakra?" He nodded. "Deal." I said as I released the chakra weights on my arms and legs. None it is then. I smirked at my own genius. He never even knew I had them. Thank you Sakura for chakra control and masking training. I mentally laughed.

I had heard many stories of how strong a fighter my father was, but I never guessed he'd be like this. Up until now, even Itachi had trouble keeping up with me, but even with my weights off for the first time since I'd gone to Konoha, it was me keeping up. Every move was matched perfectly. We'd started out hand-to-hand, but soon after he found a sword that was to his liking. I knew I'd have to get something, so I picked up the first one I saw that was the right size for me.

He continued to wear me down, not trying to injure me, just trying to see if he could pin me, or if he could cause me to run out of energy. After nearly two hours, I was beginning to get tired, and I knew I need to get the upper hand soon. I could see that his energy was beginning to fade as well, –though not nearly as much as my own- so I took advantage of this. I'd noticed how if his sword was close to cutting me, he'd hold back, so I purposely put myself in a position to where it would cut me, but not severely.

As the cold metal made contact with my right arm from behind and to the side, I slid, backwards, up its edge to where I there was enough of the blade for me to grab. Although my arm was bleeding quite profusely, I ignored it. As soon as I had a good grip on the blade of his sword, I pulled the edge toward my body about ninety degrees, using my arm as leverage in order to pull him around to my side. Once he was in range, I kicked sideways and up as hard as I could.

My foot made contact with his chin and he went back. I pulled the sword out of my arm and quickly moved to where I was standing over him with both swords pointed at his neck. He smirked and let out a chuckle. "You kick pretty hard, even without chakra, you know that?" I smiled. "You can have victory this time, alright. Hurry up and heal that before you bleed out." He said chuckling again.

As I tried my best to heal the wound -something I'd never been good at- he continued to talk. "Do you normally have chakra weights" I nodded. "Well, you are indeed clever. The thought didn't even cross my mind until you kicked me. I'm surprised I didn't notice you deactivating them; you must have studied under Tsunade."

"Her apprentice, actually" I responded, before returning my concentration back to my wound -I hadn't made much progress.

"To be honest, I've been wondering who you would fight more like: me or your mother. I've found again, though, that you're like a perfect mix. Your mother knew how to find a way around the rules too. However, I am proud that you've inherited most of my fighting techniques. You don't just move; you flow. That makes me very proud." I smiled at him for a moment before returning to my work. "However, it seems you should learn to heal better, especially if you're going to pull stunts like that." He said pointing to my arm.

"I've never been good at this stuff." I admitted. He nodded, taking my upper arm in one large, gloved hand and placing the other over the gash and healed it quickly. "Thanks." I said.

He nodded in response, then, "You'll have to work on that. I'll have Konan or Sasori to teach you." He said as he finished. "I've got some news for you too." He said out of the blue.

"What kind of news?" I asked, curious.

"Within the next two or three days, you, will be going to Konoha."

"What!? Why?" I asked, upset. Even though, I still missed the village, I'd finally been getting to know everyone really well, and I'd definitely gotten attached to my father.

"Konoha thinks the Akatsuki is behind Gaara's death. When they get here, you will pose as a hostage, so that they do not accuse you of working with us; which you weren't to begin with, so you really do know nothing." I was angry, but I did understand. It was all to keep me safe.

"What about Haru and Kazuma?" I asked.

"The deal was that you would return to Konoha with someone to marry. In this case you will have to find a way to get Haru into the village; Kazuma as well. It's pretty much up to you from here, Kimi." I looked at him confused.

"I plan to reveal myself to the rest of the world soon." I'd forgotten about that. Why does he have to crave world domination in his spare time? "You'll have to help him understand. You'll also have to get Konoha to accept them in the war that's sure to follow, if you want them to stay."

"What about you, Dad?" I asked.

"Well, if I come out on top, then there's nothing for you to worry about. However, should I fail, you will lead our clan back into prosperity and see that it is known as the strong and wise clan it is." I nodded. "Just make sure that you try to rid it of the curse." He added with a small smile.

I smiled back. "You know, as much as I want everything to go on in the world as it is, I still don't want to see you hurt." I said.

"I know, but I've been around long enough." He stated simply. I suppose this is the first real test to see if I can control my emotion. I thought to myself.