An obvious cough interrupted them and Avurin's gaze fixed on Jiraiya's across the rooftop.
"As flattering as it is to watch you two lovebirds fight over my book, I believe we need to talk about a few things." Avurin's eyes narrowed as she put the book back in her kunai pouch while Kakashi straightened his back and started to follow Jiraiya. Avurin joined them as they began talking lightly about Naruto's abilities.
"You're lucky you're not strung up from the top of Hokage Tower by your toes," Avurin muttered as Jiraiya talked about what a great job he did training Naruto.
"I only did what I had to do. He's much better than he was. I dare you to underestimate him." Jiraiya was confident, she could give him that. Despite not being a sensor, she could feel the calmness to Naruto's chakra that hadn't been there prior to Jiraiya's training.
"We won't. I just don't agree with throwing kids off of cliffs." Her tone was nearly a growl and Jiraiya smirked.
"Those Hatake genes are rubbing off on you, girl. I can also see congratulations are in order." He gestured to the scar on her neck and Kakashi nearly puffed out his chest in pride. She scowled at the two of them as Jiraiya clapped a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Really, though. I'm happy for you two. That's a big step. Your dad would be proud of you, kid. She's a spitfire and I can already tell that she's keeping up with you not just in bed, but on the training grounds. You've been working hard, I can see it."
Jiraiya's proud gaze on her made her skin itch. It wasn't a feeling she was used to. There wasn't anyone other than Kakashi that had noticed her progress. Tsunade had acknowledged her increased chakra control and improvement in speed and reaction time but it was usually followed by a list of things she needed to improve before she could reach Jonin status. While the elders didn't hold much sway over Tsunade, she was still being held back. There were kids from Naruto's class that had reached Jonin ranking already and she could see the bias in front of her eyes. To have her progress acknowledged without a 'but' to follow was a new feeling.
"Thanks, I guess. I'm still not quite where I want to be but I'm improving." She crossed her arms and focused on the ground in front of her. She missed the concerned glance from Jiraiya and the slight shake of Kakashi's head to tell him to drop the subject. They continued walking towards an empty dango stand and she noticed the conversation had turned more serious.
She knew about the current operations to track the Akatsuki. There wasn't much known about the group just yet so the entire matter was being kept on a need-to-know basis. Kakashi only told her about some of the information because he was part of the scouting missions to find more information about the group. There was also the incident with Itachi. That was the most likely driving factor for him confessing the nature of the missions. The missions were S-Rank and extremely dangerous. He hadn't needed to tell her when he was leaving for those missions, seeing his retired Anbu mask back on his face as he left the cabin was enough for her heart to ache as she watched him leave.
"The group we've been watching is on the move. They want the fox in Naruto. We're boosting security along with all of our allies since we can only assume that they're after all of the Jinchuriki. We don't know what their goal is, but they're dangerous." Avurin held a cup of rapidly cooling tea in her hands, fighting not to shiver. While it wasn't war between villages, this group may as well hold the same danger as an impending war on the horizon.
"We'll keep our eyes open. With security heightened and several of us ready to catch them when they make a move, we may get more information in the upcoming weeks. Hopefully they make a mistake and we can utilize it." Kakashi's words were quiet as Jiraiya finished the last of the dango on the plate in the center of the table. Avurin hadn't been able to bring herself to eat any.
"Just keep yourselves safe. They will come after Naruto eventually. Be ready to fight when they do. I have some business to handle before I head out again so I'll leave you two alone. Congratulations on the union!" Jiraiya left quickly and Avurin felt her eyebrows knit together in contemplation. They would have to fight soon, she could feel it. The danger felt like it was right around the corner and she wasn't sure if she was ready to face it.
Kakashi's hand covered hers gently and she sighed, letting the thoughts go.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we can have some fun with the pups. Ready?" His tone was gentle and she found herself relaxing. Sure, things were about to be more difficult. However, she could enjoy the day for what it was knowing that they wouldn't have much time to enjoy it in the upcoming weeks. She smiled and set her tea down.
"I'm ready. Let's get going."
…
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. We ran into this old lady-"
"Give us a break! You were probably making out with Avie-sensei somewhere!" Naruto yelled as Kakashi and Avurin appeared on the fence of the training grounds. Avurin couldn't help but chuckle and smirk. She wished that was what they had been doing while their precious students had been waiting on them. Kakashi didn't seem the least bit ashamed in letting the pups assume that was the case since he didn't bother to correct Naruto.
Leading them back into the training grounds, they passed three posts half buried into the ground. The kids' moods immediately dropped as they looked around the area.
"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Naruto asked quietly.
"This was the site of your very first lesson, wasn't it?" Kakashi agreed just as quietly. Avurin took in the scene with new eyes. She had heard the story from Kakashi but seeing the area with the context was entirely different.
Kakashi pulled out a pair of familiar bells from his pocket, explaining the rules. The kids seemed to put away their dour emotions as they straightened their backs, determination in their eyes. They were training hard to bring back Sasuke and that wasn't forgotten as Kakashi egged them on. Avurin was surprised to see him reveal his Sharingan, completely prepared for what they could use against him. At least he wasn't underestimating them.
She knew Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya were hidden in the trees to observe the assessments. It wouldn't have made sense to do this without witnesses. Taking the hint, Avurin flashed away from the clearing to join them as Naruto lunged for Kakashi. This wasn't her fight. She would keep herself clear from the battle and watch. Finding a perch in one of the trees a few branches away from Jiraiya, she watched as Kakashi toyed with the kids.
They had definitely improved. Naruto's use of his shadow clones was much better timed, his new experience shining through. Avurin knew they weren't actually a match for Kakashi, but she couldn't deny that they were giving him a workout.
Sakura's strength had improved under Tsunade's tutelage and Avurin had to bite back the jealousy from how well Sakura had taken to Tsunade's methods. Avurin had hoped to pass something on to the young kunoichi but she really hadn't been able to connect with Sakura the way Tsunade had.
She hadn't expected the fight to end abruptly and cheaply after only an hour of playing cat and mouse. Naruto was certainly creative, wearing Kakashi down before threatening him with spoilers for the book in Avurin's kunai pouch. Of course Kakashi would fall for it. By then, night had fallen and she still had to complete her own assessment.
"Avurin, change of plans. Naruto has completed his assessment just in that fight. Kakashi still has plenty of chakra left so you'll be facing him for your own assessment." Tsunade spoke from under the tree. She sounded smug, as if it had been planned all along. Avurin rolled her eyes.
"You sure he'll be able to handle it? We've been beating each other into the ground for almost two years now. I can keep up with him a lot better than I used to." Avurin couldn't help but be snarky. She knew that Tsunade could understand her concerns were legitimate, especially considering that she could tell Kakashi was still catching his breath even in the distance.
"I'll heal him before you two have your spar. It'll replenish his chakra. Follow me." Tsunade and Shizune started making their way towards Kakashi and his students so Avurin had no choice but to follow.
"Naruto, Sakura, you did great work today. However, I want you two to stay here and watch the next assessment. We've had a change of plans so Avurin will be sparring against Kakashi for this one. Once that's done, I have an announcement to make. Kakashi, come here. I'm going to restore some of your chakra for this." Kakashi complied, only looking slightly tired from chasing his students through the forest. He'd recovered quickly just in the time it had taken them to meet him where the battle had ended. Avurin took a moment to smile at the two pups.
"You guys are something else. You've both come so far in the last few years." She couldn't help but ruffle Naruto's hair despite his scramble to avoid it. "I feel like it was just yesterday that I met you kids and almost got stabbed for coming near your sensei. You've both grown so much. Keep it up." Avurin wasn't known for being soft with them so this was probably already more than what was expected judging from Naruto's confusion and Sakura's borderline discomfort.
"Avurin, are you ready?" Kakashi asked from behind her. Tsunade had been very quick with replenishing his chakra, not having any injuries to heal. She rolled her shoulders and turned to face him, a smirk on her face.
"I should be asking you the same thing. Think you can keep up?" she teased, putting a hand on the hilt of her katana. Kakashi let out a low laugh that sent shivers down her spine.
"That's enough, you two. Start when you're ready but make sure we're out of range before you use any large jutsu. I fully expect both of you to give it your all. Don't hold back." Avurin nodded to Tsunade without breaking eye contact with Kakashi. His headband was already pushed back, his Sharingan nearly glowing in the dark.
An unspoken signal seemed to pass between them as Avurin activated her kekkei genkai at the same time Kakashi drew several shuriken to throw in her direction.
"Catch me if you can, 'Kashi!" She purposefully used the command to force him to follow her as she darted into the trees, leading him towards the clearing. She quickly let the command dissipate, not wanting to take away his will for the duration of their spar. It was a simple reminder of her power, to let him know that she was willing to use it.
Startled voices from the group they had left behind scrambled to follow them at a distance, the necessity of observing the assessment more trouble than they had probably expected. Naruto's voice was exceptionally loud as he loudly complained about not having any warning. Avurin let out a quiet laugh as she cleared the trees, landing at the edge of the clearing. She could hear Kakashi behind her, already knowing he was enjoying this as much as she was.
While the mating bite was still new, she had noticed that she could feel a whisper of his emotions through the rudimentary bond between the two of them. He had discussed this with her in passing before, telling her that a non-Hatake could feel parts of the bond while a Hatake felt it entirely. His attentiveness to her moods since he had marked her was definitely a bonus. Knowing that he was enjoying himself brought a smile to her lips as he launched himself out of the trees, a kunai in hand.
Drawing her katana, she met his strike easily. He was crafty, though. Using a combination of shuriken, kunai, and explosive tags, he was able to push her further into the clearing as they fought. Training together as often as they did, he knew that she preferred the coverage of the trees in order to use her bow. He didn't appreciate the long-distance attacks so he tried to mitigate the risk by pushing her further away from her preferred territory.
She grunted as she blocked another strike of a kunai with her katana, his own physical strength pushing her back as their blades locked. She avoided looking into the Sharingan despite how close they were, keeping her focus on his hands and feet. Things were quickly devolving into taijutsu as he forced his way past her defenses.
When her katana was finally knocked from her grip, sticking into the ground several feet away from her, she started meeting his blows hand-to-hand. She grit her teeth as a punch managed to graze her forearm, a glancing blow but a blow nonetheless. It would certainly bruise. A kick to her calf almost brought her down to her knees but she held her ground despite the ache. She wouldn't stand a chance against him if they continued using taijutsu, she just didn't have the physical strength to match his. He was bigger than her and stronger.
Weaving a quick series of signs, she unleashed a water dragon from the nearby river. While she wasn't as proficient in suiton jutsu, she could still use them when she needed to, especially as a complimentary part of using lightning. The dragon rushed them, forcing Kakashi to back off in order to counter with a mud wall. The dragon was weak but it served its purpose in distracting him. Avurin flashed away into the trees, drawing her bow as she positioned herself to watch Kakashi.
By now, he was used to her tricks. Using the chaos of the dragon meeting the mud wall, he had disappeared. Avurin didn't let herself lose her head as she notched a chakra arrow, keeping her senses as open as possible so that he couldn't sneak up on her while she was looking for him. A light rustling in the leaves several feet below her caught her attention and she started searching the area. She knew around that point would be when Kakashi would start using shadow clones and genjustu to throw her off-guard. She had to be careful.
A rustle behind her made the back of her neck itch but she trusted her still-developing sensing abilities. He wasn't within her range. It was a distraction.
A kunai flew past her face, embedding itself in the tree she was sitting on. Turning in the direction it had come from, she let the arrow go. It was an explosive arrow, intended to flush him out if he revealed where he was. A 'pop' was heard shortly after the explosion and she cursed quietly. She'd hit a shadow clone and completely given away her position. Adjusting quickly, she weaved a familiar set of hand signs, unleashing a fireball in the exact opposite direction of where the clone had been positioned.
Kakashi had explained when he'd trained her on the jutsu that it was typically used by the Uchiha. She could see why. It was spectacular with enough power behind it and incredibly destructive. The trees had a decent hole burned through them in a clear line from her position and several scorched branches fell down to the ground below following the dissipation of the fireball. It had rained the previous day so she didn't have to worry about the fire spreading. Even if it did, she knew Tsunade would handle it for the sake of not distracting the two from the assessment.
Kakashi lunged for her following the fireball, his Sharingan shining bright in the night as his own hands followed the motions of a specific set of signs faster than she could track them. The sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the forest and Avurin scrambled to put her bow away, weaving her own signs to counter the Chidori with her own. The jutsu took a lot out of her but she knew it took even more from Kakashi given his use of the Sharingan while he used it. It was her best hope of countering him.
He was entirely too fast, nearly in her face with the deadly jutsu within a fraction of a second, ready to kill her. Her own Chidori was barely developed as he forced her back, swinging at her head with the electricity. She knew he didn't move to kill unless he was entirely confident that the hit would land so she was confused when he missed and didn't seem bothered by that fact. She brought her own Chidori to swing at his side as he passed her, following his momentum from his lunge to land the attack to her head.
Chidori wasn't heavy, per say, it just felt like it was given how much wild chakra was being swung around. When attacking with it, the user had to follow through with their movement in their entirety in order to avoid having any sort of backlash or accidental contact with another part of the body. It had been one of the first lessons Kakashi had taught her about it, explaining that she had to be completely confident in her movement when she did choose to attack with it. For him to miss a hit while using it, much less not go for center-mass with it, she was suspicious.
Her Chidori made contact with his side followed by a quick popping noise. Another shadow clone. Narrowing her eyes, the forest was oddly silent. She was starting to feel like she was being hunted since he was choosing to toy with her at this point. Activating her kekkei genkai as a last-resort safety measure, she continued to sense for his chakra as she moved through the trees to circle the clearing. Kakashi had been subjected to her kekkei genkai very few times during their training, usually by forcing her into a corner until she had to use it. She knew he didn't have much defense against it and she could easily use it to slip out of his grip if he managed to corner her again.
She felt a small spark of his chakra to her right and she froze, crouching as close to the branch she was sitting on as possible. His shadow clones had faint traces of his chakra and she was able to tell the difference between them and the real thing, even if it was just barely. This chakra signature felt like the real thing but she didn't know for sure. He had pulled out all of the stops in this spar and was revealing some new tricks she wasn't used to.
She tossed a kunai when she felt him move further behind her. A fleshy sticking noise followed by a quiet grunt told her she'd gotten him. She was still suspicious. He was playing a game that she wasn't familiar with and she didn't trust any of it. He never let himself get caught off guard by a simple kunai.
"That hurt." His voice from right over her shoulder caught her off guard and she barely stopped herself from jumping in surprise. She carefully turned to face him, still avoiding looking into the Sharingan. A kunai was sticking out of his shoulder, a small patch of blood surrounding it, soaking through his Jonin jacket. She didn't speak, knowing her kekkei genkai was still activated. Her eyes were likely glowing in the dark so she knew that he was aware of that fact. Why he would allow himself to be so close to her when she was primed and ready to unleash a command was so suspicious she was genuinely unsettled.
"You're thinking too hard," he whispered in her ear, his hand lightly tracing her side through the thin shirt she was wearing. Her breath hitched and she did the best thing she could think to do in that situation. She used a substitution jutsu to flash across the clearing, just barely landing inside of the tree line. Avoiding the clearing was a familiar game for her since he was always adamant about pushing her into the clearing. What wasn't familiar was the feeling of running away as if she was a rabbit avoiding the jaws of a wolf. Their spars, while serious, typically followed a routine and a small set of rules.
She narrowly avoided the tripwire set across several trees, almost forming a web. He'd driven her exactly where he wanted her. Looking around herself, she was surrounded by several wires that were likely all rigged to either trap her or explode, possibly both. Getting out of the literal minefield of traps would be difficult and it would take time that she didn't have. Using a pair of shuriken, she set off two of them in the distance. One snapped to reveal that it had been set to loop around whatever limp tripped it, razor sharp and ready to maim a limb. The other was explosive, setting off several others in the vicinity.
As expected, he wasn't playing around. Taking in her surroundings, she knew he was watching her from a vantage point. There had to be a method to the madness surrounding her. There would be no other way for him to lay so many traps and get out of them without setting them off. She was happy to find that there weren't any tangled above her and she leapt higher into the trees, getting herself out of the web without risking touching any of them. Leaving that particular area, she let out a small sigh of relief. Now, to rinse and repeat the process of trying to find Kakashi while avoiding his tricks.
A solid, full-body tackle caught her off guard. Knocked to the side, she fell past several branches before slamming into the ground, another body on top of her. The wind was knocked out of her and a kunai was held to her neck, sharp enough that she could feel her blood already rising to meet the cool metal pressed against her. Resorting to her instincts, she bucked her hips, throwing Kakashi over her head, his grip on the kunai lost in the unexpected movement.
Growling to herself, she pulled out her own kunai and righted herself, lunging for him as he started to regain his bearings. Slicing into his arm in a quick scramble between them, she was surprised when blood immediately coated the blade and started running down his arm. Despite her surprise at having the original Kakashi under her, she didn't let up. Wrestling him to the ground, she ground her hips down on his own, knowing it was a dirty trick.
"Stay still…" she muttered, forcing his hands above his head to pin them to the ground. The command took hold quickly, his eyes glazing over in a now-familiar distant expression, and she pressed her kunai against his neck. "Yield." As he opened his mouth to speak, the familiar bite of a kunai against her own neck registered.
"Actually, I think you should yield before Jiraiya ruins his pants." Blinking, her surroundings seemed to dissolve, revealing a very pleased looking white-haired pervert underneath her with a faraway and dazed look on his face. Jolting backwards, her back met a pair of knees as she scrambled away from Jiraiya, releasing her kekkei genkai immediately.
"When did you…?" she muttered to herself, tilting her head to look up at the man looming over her with an amused glint in his eyes.
"You met my eye right before I used Chidori. I stepped away while the genjutsu took hold which was why I missed you. It was pretty funny to watch you swing a Chidori around in the air. Some of it was reality. The traps weren't as extensive as you thought, but there were still traps that you managed to avoid. Swapping myself for Jiraiya in the final scuffle was easy enough. I was the one to bring you to the ground, he just happened to be nearby." After the explanation, she couldn't help but feel her mood sour. She felt like a complete idiot. Most of the fight she'd experienced had been entirely a genjutsu and, while she had been suspicious, she hadn't thought to try to disperse a genjutsu.
"There were some tells now that I think about it. Appearing out of nowhere is a specialty of yours but duplicating yourself isn't possible." She took note of his injuries, noticing that the kunai in his shoulder and the slice on his arm were still present. Seeing her confusion, he chuckled and helped her stand up, entirely ignoring Jiraiya's light groan as he sat up on his own.
"We still fought and you did well. You caught me off guard when you threw the kunai. You weren't supposed to notice where I was and I let my guard down. I also switched with Jiraiya right after you cut me. You did good work, Avie." His hand rested on her shoulder and his words were gentle but she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes. Of all things, recognizing and dispelling a genjutsu was a basic concept that she should have been able to manage.
"He's right. You had him all over the place keeping up the authenticity of that genjutsu. It was extremely high-level work that I honestly wouldn't have expected some of our S-Rank enemies to figure out until it was too late. In the end, you almost had him." Tsunade's voice was calm, almost proud. Avurin shrugged, not resisting the urge to pout.
"He left clues. They were subtle and I noticed them but didn't think to dispel the genjutsu or I would've won." She was grumbling, her arms crossed to hide how her hands were shaking following the fight. Having your reality completely controlled down to the last second was not an experience she wanted to repeat.
"Actually, I didn't leave anything on purpose. I didn't expect you to get out of it. I was still testing your abilities with it and getting out of it would have been a plus towards your assessment but it wasn't expected. Using your senses to find the small things that I couldn't cover up was even more unexpected. That genjutsu would have broken if you'd taken a lucky guess. Actually figuring it out wasn't even in the cards." Kakashi informed, drawing nods from Tsunade and Shizune. Naruto and Sakura looked almost starstruck in the background, watching the entire interaction with barely concealed amazement.
"That's reassuring. I do want more training on genjustu though. I don't want that to happen again." Avurin finally met Kakashi's eyes, determined to remedy what she'd fallen short on.
Tsunade clapped her hands together, drawing everyone's attention.
"Avurin, I'm hereby announcing that you have passed your assessment. As of today, you are a Jonin of Konoha. You can pick up your jacket from the mission desk later today." Avurin almost felt light-headed, not expecting to finally reach the rank. Tsunade didn't give her time to process the information, however. "That being said, Naruto, Sakura, you have also passed your own assessment. Starting today, Avurin, Sakura, and Naruto will be joining Kakashi as a new team under the name 'Team Kakashi.' You will work as equals in the field with Kakashi as your Captain. I expect great things from all of you."
Avurin's gaze shot to Kakashi who winked at her. He'd known all along and had strung her along. She didn't know whether to be overwhelmingly happy or whether to punch him into the next week.
"Avurin, Kakashi, if I find out that either of you exposed these kids to any sort of indecency, I'll replace both of you. Don't get cocky." With Tsunade's final warning, she gestured for Shizune to follow her on the path back into the village. Avurin felt a blush rising to her cheeks.
"Ha! She thinks that just because we're younger than you guys that we haven't seen people kiss! Don't worry! We won't tell!" Naruto's obnoxious comment forced Avurin to bury her face in her hands to hide her mortification. Sakura, helpfully, punched him for his pure idiocy.
An arm over her shoulders brought her focus back to her surroundings. Kakashi was smirking down at her through his mask, his arm tight against her.
"Let's go home and celebrate."