Kusari no Naruto

Fourth Link

Naruto took a long, deep breath. It was a cold night so he was able to watch the slight mist escape his mouth and float off before dissipating. In front of him he held out his blade, a long straight Ninjato without ornament or decoration. It was a blade for killing, not for ceremony. The few scratches along the steel and the wicked gleam to the edge showed that clearly enough. He took another few long breaths, regulating his breathing with his eyes focused forward. Looking from his perspective, with the sword raised horizontally, it looked as though he was splitting the waterfall in two.

Slowly he took a step forward, his foot light and weightless before it pressed down on the damp ground. The slight crunch of the dewy grass was lost in the roar of the waterfall; it was why Naruto liked this clearing so much; it was so easy to focus. His foot pressed down completely and like that, he just moved. Forward, a stab. Sidestep, a sweeping slash diagonally up. Hop back, block from the left with a dodge to the right. He dropped down and swiped out to both sides so fast his blade left a silvery trail in the air.

More stabs, another invisible opponent dropped to the ground as the blade spun once in his hand. It was needless movement but it diverted attention from his footwork. A sudden and unexpected backstep took him within another shadow enemy's guard and a lightning-fast jab through the crook of his shoulder finished him. His body bent back at an unnatural angle, the sword keeping him propped up so his back was just a hair's breath from the damp ground. He spun, legs flashing out to take the footing from his final two attackers only he could see.

With a final flurry Naruto flicked the imaginary blood from his blade and re-sheathed it all in one smooth motion. His breaths were calm and collected if not a bit deeper than before; even after hours of practise he only felt slightly winded. His eyes travelled up to the moon, hanging sentinel over the sky like an observer sent to watch his practise.

Speaking of observers, he was shocked out of his daze by a sudden slow, rhythmic clap from behind.

"Wow."

He turned, blood rushing to his cheeks and a small bashful smile appearing on his face as he nervously rubbed the back of his hair.

"What that? That was nothing 'ttebane…"

The young blond-haired boy standing across the clearing from him just smiled warmly as Naruto took that opportunity to allow his long red hair to fall messily about his face, like a curtain he could hide behind.

"Are you kidding? The Chuunin exams won't know what hit them."

If anything, the blush on Naruto's cheeks only intensified as the boy was suddenly there, brushing the hair out of his eyes and over his ear. For a moment he was lost in those startling blue eyes, like deep pools that he could look into forever. After a moment he realised where he was staring and immediately looked away, his face aflame as his fist clenched at his side. A second later and he was back to his usual self, a fire burning in his violet eyes.

"Damn right 'ttebane!" The blonde boy just chuckled in that irritating but adorably flaky way of his.

"You'll never change, will you Ku-"

"Argh!" Naruto shot up straight in a flash, his eyes wide and his chest rose and fell rapidly with his quivering heartbeat. For a moment he just sucked in lung-fulls of air, unblinking and unmoving as his mind struggled to comprehend what he had just seen.

No. Seen wasn't strong enough; he hadn't just seen that… he had lived it. Every sense was there from the slight damp on his skin from sweat, to the scent of the wildflowers. It was more like a memory than a vision; a memory that certainly wasn't his.

"Are you… okay?"

He finally looked around to spot Nezumi sitting a few feet from him, her legs tucked up to her chest as she regarded him curiously. He blinked a few more times behind his mask, thankful it stopped the woman seeing the full effect of his panic.