Happier Than Ever: A Naruto Uzumaki Love Story

Chapter Ten: Training Day (Part II)

*NARUTO*

The two girls made their way to the center of the field, far away enough from the spectators, but not too far that their movements couldn't be seen clearly from where they stood.

"Whenever you're ready!" Kakashi-sensei yelled at the two girls, triggering Tenten's defensive fighting stance. He could picture the mischievous smile on Kazuna's face as she slowly took up her own stance.

Tenten was the first to charge, aiming for Kazuna's body with quick, short jabs, easily evaded by Kazuna's very minimal movements. Tenten swung her halberd around her body to gain momentum before striking towards Kazuna, who easily evaded her attacks.

"She uses minimal movement to ensure she can counter attack at any given moment, but why isn't she striking back?" Neji noted.

"She's playing with her," Sakura answered. Kazuna's movements flowed from one evasive maneuver to the next as Tenten tried to land a hit on her.

"She hasn't even used the katana yet. Kazuna must be quite the opponent. May I go next, Kakashi, sensei?" Lee asked anxiously.

"I think I'll have you and Sakura try to attack her at the same time. Lets see if she can handle that," Kakashi-sensei said, his gaze unmoving from the fight before them.

"Aren't you gonna fight back?" Naruto heard Tenten ask her dark-haired opponent.

"Are you gonna give me something to fight?" Kazuna asked with blatant indifference. This irked Tenten, causing her to flare her attacks with more vigor and speed – to no avail. Kazuna's moves remained nominal and lackluster, only further irritating Tenten.

"She's trying to get her riled up so she'll go all out," Naruto said, anticipating what Kazuna would pull out of her sleeve. Tenten twirled her weapon around herself in circles at a great speed, but Kazuna evaded with simple steps in the opposite direction to avoid them. She swung her halberd over her head and behind her back for maximum momentum, only to be thwarted by Kazuna using the Katana to push the halberd to the ground and step on it, completely stopping Tenten's movements. Kazuna kicked her right foot up, the top of her foot striking the bottom of Tenten's chin, causing her to lose her weapon and fall on her bottom. Kazuna then kicked the halberd too far away for Tenten to retrieve it.

"Anything else you got in those scrolls of yours?" Kazuna asked smugly. Tenten grit her teeth and took to her feet, whipping out another scroll.

"Lets see how you fair against this," she said confidently. She retreated and placed two scrolls on either side of her and performed the proper hand signs – tiger, dragon, monkey, hare, snake, and cross arms – causing the scrolls to rise up, swirling around each other. She leapt into the air, shouting, "Twin rising dragons jutsu!" From her vantage point, she began simultaneously summoning weapons of all sorts and hurling them down at Kazuna.

"Finally, something a bit more entertaining," Kazuna yelled after her as she took up her katana and deflected every weapon being thrown at her.

"I'm not finished yet!" Tenten announced as she tugged at the strings connected to her weapons, creating a storm of weaponry for Kazuna to evade.

"How foolish," Kazuna said – Naruto could hear the smirk in her voice. Kazuna sliced through the strings, causing the weapons to fall around her as Tenten controlled them. Using her speed to her advantage, Kazuna made quick work of disarming Tenten before disappearing completely and reappearing behind Tenten, shocking the Konohagakure kunoichi before landing a kick on Tenten's back, sending her hurling to the ground. Her scrolls fell limply to the ground, bringing an end to her jutsu. Kazuna landed behind Tenten, holding her katana to the young girl's back.

"You're entirely too slow and predictable. Although the hailstorm of weapons was fun," Kazuna said. Tenten balled her fist and slammed it into the patchy grass. "Can you give me something a bit more challenging, please?" Kazuna yelled to Kakashi-sensei.

"How utterly embarrassing," Neji sighed.

"Don't underestimate her, Neji. She's no ordinary swordsman. The Noroi clan was notorious for their superb use of katanas. Lee, Sakura, you're up next," Kakashi-sensei said. The two started towards the center of the field when Kakashi-sensei stopped Sakura in her tracks and whispered something in her ear, to which she nodded and stayed behind.

Tenten switched places with Tenten, who'd returned to the group with a defeated look about her.

"You did well," Kakashi-sensei said. "I should have warned you to take this a bit more seriously than a normal sparring match. This girl is very skilled."

"I'll beat her next time," Tenten swore. "Let's go, Lee! Kick her ass!" she yelled.

Lee reached the center of the field and bowed to Kazuna before breaking into his fighting stance. Kazuna threw her weapon to the side to propose a fair fight.

"Lee is fast and powerful, but I don't think he'll be too much for Kazuna," Kakashi-sensei noted. "The Noroi were fabled for their speed and brute strength. Matching her against Lee and Sakura should be entertaining to say the least."

"And Sakura?" Naruto raised a brow and looked over to where Sakura had been standing only to find that she was nowhere in sight.

Naruto then fixed his eyes to the battlefield before him, wondering what Kakashi-sensei had up his sleeve.

"Whenever you're ready!" Kakashi-sensei yelled at them. Bushy brow then launched at Kazuna, who didn't move a single muscle until just before Lee tried to strike. This time, Kazuna's evasive moves were a bit more calculated.

"You're fast," Kazuna said as she moved with Rock Lee, using his momentum to her advantage. He'd throw a punch and she'd use his extended arm to get around him; he'd swipe at her legs with his own and she'd jump over him, using his shoulders to propel herself above him. Watching them fight was like watching two acrobats dance together.

"Watching someone who's practiced the art of hageshi dansu is quite intriguing," Neji noted. "Her movements are so fluid. I think she and Lee would make a good partnership." Tenten hummed at his observation.

"Let's see how she does with a surprise attack," Kakashi-sensei said. It wasn't until then did Naruto realize why Sakura had disappeared.

"Don't tell me she's–"

"Yep," Kakashi-sensei answered Naruto with a smug smile.

The yellow-haired ninja watched as Rock Lee push Kazuna backwards towards a small hole in the ground – presumably where Kakashi-sensei had Sakura hiding. When they were finally close enough, Sakura sprung out from the ground, seemingly catching Kazuna off guard. She hurled a punch at her while Lee advanced with a similar attack. Naruto was sure she would be hit until he noticed the small grin on Kazuna's face. To avoid Sakura's upward strike, she pivoted her entire body around the pink-haired kunoichi and kicked her into Lee. Bushy brow then jumped over Sakura's body, using her back as a springboard to propel himself forward with enough force to strike Kazuna, but the dark haired woman was too quick. She took Lee's extended leg and swung him around before throwing him into Sakura, causing them to both tumble into the ground.

"You're quite skilled, Kazuna," Lee said. "Now, enough playing. It's time to get serious!"

author's note:
shorter chapter (still over 1,000 words, tho ;), so i decided to double upload today. i'll start chapter eleven today, but i don't know if i'll have time to post over the weekend. i hate writing actions scenes - that's part of the reason this chapter is so short. the real story starts next chapter, so i hope you stay tuned. please leave a comment letting me know how you like the story so far. i could really use the feedback/motivation right now!