"What did you need from Kakashi Sensei? He didn't tell us anything about you!" a raspy, grating voice yelled.
It was that annoying blond kid, Naruto. One of Kakashi's newly selected genins. One he picked over me. Did Naruto's presence mean he and his teammates had already passed their test?
"Should he have told you about me for some reason?" Niyana replied coolly.
"He told us about some of the other senseis when he was explaining that he's never had a group of genins pass before, but he didn't mention you. Then he dropped everything after our test to help you."
"Why don't you ask him then?"
"I don't think he likes me."
"Who would?" a softer, snooty voice commented.
"Sakura, that was uncalled for. Remember what I said about teamwork?" a white haired man wearing a face covering over everything but his right eye reprimanded her. "Sorry for the bother, Niyana. After they saw us talking, these three followed you and wouldn't listen when I told them to go home."
"I only hear two."
"Funny. I would have sworn Sasuke came too. No matter, at last one of them listened. I must admit my own curiosity towards your students. I'll make sure these two keep out of the way. I hope you won't mind our observation."
"By all means. I won't tolerate interference however."
Niyana turned her attention back to us. "As I was saying, you will have to spar me for a meal. Team Seven will observe. Begin."
Niyana leapt back to the charred area where the tree had stood. Miyugi, Trigyoko, and I looked between ourselves.
We charged her, and I created the hand signs I'd used earlier.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Force."
The shield form raced out from my hands again. She seemed surprised I used the new technique we had stumbled across by accident. Still, she dodged it without concern.
"Earth Style: Earth Spire," Trigyoko whispered beside me.
The ground rumbled before a jut of rock shot out right next to Niyana Sensei's feet. While she was off balance, Miyugi took a shot.
"Fire Style: Fireball."
A ball of flame appeared in his hand as he cocked it back, tossing it at our teacher. She bounced off the spire to dodge it.
"You all are actually going to put a fight, huh?" She sounded proud.
She grinned as she pulled out a few kunai.
"Look out!" I tackled Miyugi and Trigyoko as three kunai whizzed overhead.
"How did you see that? I didn't even know she'd drawn a weapon," Trigyoko asked.
"No time, just focus!"
We hauled ourselves up and circled Niyana.
"Wind Style: Vortex Trap," I whispered. Wind immediately snared Sensei, but the popping sound and poof of smoke alerted me that she had used a clone. I backtracked mentally and turned to Trigyoko's rock spire, looking at the peak. Niyana kneeled on one knee at the top, watching us leisurely.
"Ah hah. Seems one of you figured it out," she remarked.
I grinned. "How good is your throwing arm, Miyugi?"
Following my gaze, a matching smile spread across his features. "I can spin something up. Fire Style: Fire Column!"
Flame erupted along the pillar, reaching taller than where our Sensei stood. She was forced to jump down. I threw down a smoke bomb and threw a flying kick where I predicted she would land. My leg certainly made contact with something as I dropped into a roll to get out of the smoke.
As the bomb's effect was cleared by the wind, Niyana was revealed with her hands up in surrender. Her jaw was already starting to show a bruise.
"So who kicked me?" she asked jovially.
She followed the boys' pointing fingers to me, standing behind her, kunai at the ready.
"Here. You deserve this," she admitted as she tossed a bento box to me. "Miyugi, Trigyoko, if you get desperate, you could always try to get Ayami's lunch off her. Although, I'm not sure she'd be much of an easier target. Ayami, you're free to eat."
I walked to the edge of the field casually, settling to my knees facing them.
"Oh come on! Are you kidding us? You're really going to ditch us?" Miyugi yelled after me.
I lifted the lid off the food, surprised by its pescatarian friendly content, and broke the chopsticks. Trigyoko growled frustratedly and whipped back to Niyana Sensei. "Earth Style: Earthen Fist!" he yelled.
As his arm grew and turned to stone, I made hand signs low and murmured, "Wind Style: Vortex Trap."
Trigyoko slammed his arm down towards Niyana, who only got as far as her toes before my jutsu encircled her. She took the full blow.
When the trap cleared, Trigyoko ran into the dust cloud. Niyana Sensei sat up slowly. She looked mostly unharmed, except for a cut above her eye and a thick coating of dirt.
"Here I was thinking that was the end for the three of you. Very sly, Ayami. Trigyoko, Miyugi, you didn't turn on Ayami despite the possibility of obtaining the same reward. Ayami, very well done. You even had me fooled into thinking you abandoned your team for your own gain. Here you are, Trigyoko," Niyana praised and handed Trigyoko his own bento.
I covered my meal and left my chopsticks resting on the lid as I stood and returned to the center of the field. Miyugi wouldn't look at me. Trigyoko dropped his food next to mine and came back.
"You could have told us your plan instead of making us look like idiots in front of Team Seven," Miyugi mouthed off.
"Oh? And when should I have done that?"
His silence was answer enough.
"I didn't make us look like idiots. I made us seem clever."
"You made you seem clever, and used us to do it."
"If you don't want food, I'm more than happy to step away and eat mine while it's still hot."
"You don't think I can get it without you? Shows what you know. Fire Style: Fire Circle Trap!"
A blaze surrounded a large area with Niyana in it. Miyugi hopped into the ring, passing the flames without pain. He engaged Niyana Sensei in taijutsu, but she quickly gained the upper hand and with a solid kick, sent him flying back out.
"Rely on the team, Miyugi! You can't defeat her alone!"
"I'm just as strong as you!"
"I didn't do it by myself, either. You helped me, remember?"
"Well I don't need your help," he snarled as he did more hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragon's Breath!"
From Niyana's perspective, it would look like part of the wall was folding in towards her. I saw her try to jump over the wall of flames, but they climbed higher to meet her. The Dragon's Breath ended as she dropped back to the ground. The strain on Miyugi's chakra was becoming more evident by the second.
"Ah!" we heard from inside the flames.
"Release the jutsu," I bid.
"I don't take orders from you."
"Miyugi, Niyana Sensei could be hurt. Neither of us knows what made her cry out. Release the jutsu, or I'll make you!"
"I'm sure she's just trying to trick us. Leave me be so I can concentrate."
I shot a glare at him before I started forming my own hand signs. "Lightning Style: Lightning Shield."
Before Miyugi could hit me for retaliating, I defended myself. If I could wear him down, the wall would drop when he ran out of chakra.
Or I could break his concentration. "Lightning Style: Lightning Force."
The shield form lunged out of my bubble. It hit Miyugi squarely, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. The raging inferno didn't dissipate. If anything, it grew stronger.
Beginning to panic for Niyana's safety, my subconscious took over. "Wind Style: Roaring Gales."
Huge gusts of wind like I'd had to contend with during the storm three years ago kicked up. Even so, they weren't strong enough to put the fire out or even clear a path. My mouth and hands weren't done. "Wind Style: Swirling Wind!"
The wind I'd already created churned faster and faster, sucking up the ring, rotating into a column of death.
My hands fell to my sides and I blinked a couple times, properly taking in the scene before me as the wind whistled in my ears and my clothes flapped against my skin. The force of the fiery tornado pushed at my back.
What have I done?
I saw the white haired sensei from Team Seven dive through the combo jutsu, leaving it with Niyana Sensei in his arms. The tornado was drawing nearer, the pressure at my body growing stronger. I couldn't get my feet to move.
Run. Move. Back up. Get out of there!
Still rooted to the spot, I didn't do anything as it drew close enough. I was sucked into the funnel.