Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 95

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 95

"We keep telling you, you need more control," Temari said, slightly annoyed. "You have lots of power, but you have little to no control over it," She explained for what felt like the hundredth time.

"I know that, but it's easier said than done," Kurotsuchi replied with a groan, massaging her head. Eiji simply sat to the side as the girls talked. Really, they had it handled. The four girls of his team could really get things done when they wanted to, he'd found.

"That sounds like quitter talk. Maybe I should call you that instead of Princess," Tayuya commented, feigning disinterest rather well. Eiji, for his part, had to suppress a smile at the way Kurotsuchi's brow twitched at the nickname. It seemed that she had been put into the group for the nice sounding but equally insulting nicknames, just like he had. The redhead had realized pretty quick that the Iwa nin hated being called that, and had taken to doing so every chance she got.

"It is doable, just because it's hard doesn't mean you can ignore it," Yugito said, adding her opinion to the mix, making Kurotsuchi deflate. Really, half their time training had been spent trying to get the girl to train on that part but she just-

"I've been trying, ok?" She admitted, getting a blink from everyone. No way that was true. None of them had noticed any changes in her style of fighting since they started. Well, none that would signal some work being put into control, that is. "It just... I can't improve my control."

"That can't be," Eiji said, joining the conversation for the first time. "How've you been going at it?"

"I've done everything you guys told me. I've been training by myself doing everything I can to get at least some control over my lava but... I just can't. From weaker attacks to strong ones. From slowly using them to trying to get some instinctive feeling. And... nothing," Kurotsuchi explained, making the four of them frown. That was... strange.

"What techniques have you worked on? How long? Have you talked with your grandfather?" Eiji shot then, closing his eyes to better concentrate. That, and to consult with Hachi and Kage too.

"Strange," Hachi mused, although it seemed to be mostly to herself. "No progress whatsoever is very strange indeed. Especially since she's tried several approaches."

"There must be one that hasn't been tried yet," Kage added then.

"I... um, I haven't talked with him yet," Kurotsuchi replied nervously, fidgeting from what he got from Web Sense. "I'd like to work things out without his help, really."

"Ah, pride, of course. How very fitting for you, Princess," Tayuya pointed out, which almost made the girl flinch.

"Tayuya, enough. Say something helpful or wait until we are done here," Eiji told her, which made her mouth click shut. "As for the other questions?"

He listened then, how the girl listed all the jutsu she'd tried to work with to gain more control, how and for how long. She'd tried everything, from a technique that shot a small ball of lava to her strongest technique, and nothing seemed to work. There had to be something they were missing though. He'd seen her use lots of jutsu since she joined their training, there had to be... Then he blinked.

"What about that one you used during the Chunin Exams? The one you used during the Preliminaries, I mean," Eiji asked, recalling how she'd used a technique to immobilize Neji. It had been Lava Release, but it hadn't actually been lava, he was pretty sure.