The Lost Ninja (Naruto Fanfiction)

Entry 8

A/N: Just a quick chapter, beacause I'm quite busy at the moment. My first action scene!!!! I apologise in advance if it isn't long enough, or that in my haste, I've created some impossible battle. let me know what you think in the comments, and please vote if you like it.

Kagesu.

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Hana Namikaze.

 "So, we're training?" I ask quizzically.

Kakashi shrugs. "Lady Tsunade thinks it would be good for you. This way, I can test your abilities, see if you've still got it."

"That's assuming I've gotten worse since our last sparring match."

"No." He sighs, shifting his gaze awkwardly, embarrassment visible in his manner. "It's so we know how much better you've become since our last sparring match. C'mon. Cut me some slack here."

I roll my shoulders, working out a crick in my neck. "Fine. Set the rules, Mr. Jonin."

Scratching the back of his head, he leans back. "Right. Rules…" He pauses for a moment, thinking. A smirk inches its way onto my face, growing in size.

"Rule 1, taijutsu only." He recovers quickly, sweat dropping as I tilt my head calmly. "Rule 2, no lethal blows. Rule 3, no forbidden jutsu. Rule 4, you have an hour to defeat me."

This is going to be interesting.

Stretching forwards with my arms, I raise them in the air, getting rid of any stiffness. I know he isn't going to tell me when to begin. I know better than to ask. A ninja does not start, nor does he finish, according to the timing and will of his enemy. I had learnt at least that much in the academy.

Kakashi Hatake.

She stretches, flexing the muscles in her arms and torso. I study her form, noting that she holds herself with a certain confidence, but not arrogance. She knows she is tough, yet she refuses to underestimate her opponents. Without the use of her eyes, I can tell that she too was studying me. Hana had always been tricky, changing her tactics depending on the opposition. Let's just hope I can figure out how to beat her first.

Placing one foot in front of the other, she inhales sharply, bringing her hands into a single hand sign in front of her. One that I don't recognise.

She is gone.

Pulling my headband away from my sharingan, I search the vicinity for a chakra signature, anything. Nothing. She isn't there.

"You've gotten slower since last we sparred, Kakashi," she whispers in my left ear, and as I turn to face her, kunai in hand, she drops low, disappearing once again. I can hear a faint breeze rustling the leaves of a nearby cedar tree. She is trying to put me off.

I take a step back, narrowing my eyes and listening for anything sudden. Hana is using a jutsu that I hadn't seen performed since…

Giving me no time to think, an oddly-shaped kunai comes flying from between two branches, followed by another from a different direction. I bring my own up, knocking each out of place as they come at me. After the tenth, a large shadow looms over the dirt and, without breathing, I roll forward with my shoulder, her kunai missing me by mere millimeters. I've been lucky.

She stands still, head tilted again in thought. This is my chance.

Lunging with my left, I pull out several shuriken and throw them with deadly accuracy. I jump back, defending against yet another kunai swipe before dodging right, springing backwards in a somersault. She rolls beneath me and I dive, bringing an almost invisible wire out of my pouch. As we pass each other, I bring it up, catching her heel and landing on top of her. I smirk, satisfied. Hana simply lies there as a straddle her stomach, defeated. Dropping my weapons, I touch her hand. Something  doesn't seem quite right. I've never known her to give up. Then she disappears.

A clone??? That would have cost a lot of chakra, given her small supply.

Eyes widening, I flip back just in time to feel a weight on my shoulders. She rolls in midair, landing and rolling again. Regaining her footing, she pushes forwards using an assortment of skilled weaponry within a small space. She is fast. I can't see her movements before they hit, and it is obvious that she knows which points to strike.

My left arm goes limp, then my right. She isn't even attempting to cut through my skin, but to sever my pressure points, rendering me incapacitated. I haven't had the chance to use any jutsu, and now, I won't.

Closing my eyes, I sniff slightly, aiming to catch her scent. It is crisp, clear as day, behind me. As I lower my head, she dashes towards me, ready for the killing blow. I slide to the ground, fighting every instinct in my body as she catches me by the vest with her leg, kneeling beneath me. It is all over.

"What was that all about?" she queries softly. "You weren't meant to go easy on me. You didn't even use any jutsu."

I sigh, thinking about how the other chunin would react in this situation. I settle on one answer.

I open my eyes. Upon doing so, Hana lets me drop, then stalks off.

"Women. What are they like?"