Kitsune no Akuryō

To Defeat Him!!

Kon'nichiwa mina!  Welcome to the next chapter of Kitsune no Akuryō. I hope you enjoy. We will be going back to the morning of last chapter, just as a heads up. The final test for the Chūnin Exams is just around the corner, only a month away, and, surprisingly, Team 7 is entering without a member. However, the remaining two must continue to endure, at least for themselves, if not for his sake...

Sasuke Uchiha's P.O.V.

    Kakashi-sensei looked slightly bewildered as he met us in preparation for the final combats of the Chūnin Exams, but it seemed to have left him as soon as Sakura yelled, "What's your excuse for being late this time?"

     He smiled so that we couldn't see his eyes, "I got lost. There's so many back alleys to explore."

      "Sensei!" she yelled in earnest, breaking from our pre-training spar.

      "Alright," he said, keeping his smile, "today we will begin getting ready for the third stage. Sasuke, practice your taijutsu. Sakura, you'll come with me."

    "But sensei!" I glared at him.

    "All in good time, my sweet little genin," he smiled at me before he called, "Sakura, follow me."

     She glanced at me for a moment before following sensei back into the village.

     I glared at the tree which had become my present opponent and began striking it. I imagined it as that sand kid. He had emanated such danger chakra. His aura had been intoxicating, almost suffocating. I grinned as I kicked the stand-in for him this time. I was looking forward to fighting him as an opponent and showing my skills as a shinobi. I continued practicing until I delivered a spinning round-house kick to dealing the finishing blow.

     "You know that showing your back to your opponent is the easiest way to be critically injured?"

      I started at the voice and missed my footing, crumbling to the forest floor. As I scrambled up and looked around, Kakashi-sensei strolled next to me. He nodded to the tree, "You were quite involved then, but you weren't fighting a real opponent. I'll be your sparring partner, and let's see how you do."

     I glanced around, trying to find Sakura, but quickly had to jump back as I saw Kakashi-sensei's hand come to strike. I watched him in surprise.

     He was standing where he had started. A certain ease structured his posture. He was almost too calm, too confident. The only sign that he was actually taking this seriously was the fact that he wasn't reading that book while we fought as he had during his bell test. His one eye gazed steadily at me.

     He sighed, "You're attention is distracted. It leaves a wide opening for your opponent to take advantage of. I wouldn't advise using that strategy."

     I nodded, keeping my eyes on him. How could I be thinking of Sakura now. I had to become stronger. I had to defeat him. I had to kill him and avenge my clan. There was no time for thinking about someone else.

    Kakashi-sensei minded taijutsu first, leaving no stone unturned. Over the next few days, he would critique my skills, pressing me further to becoming stronger. Every day ended in sweat when water was more than enough to ease my aching body, but I was more than eager. No matter what happened, each encounter would bring me one step closer to standing up against my hated brother.

    On the start of the third day, Kakashi-sensei instructed, "As you continue to refine your taijutsu, you should also be developing your own fighting style. You should have some skill or weapon easily available which you can rely upon."