Bring the Hammer Down

18

Naruto nearly choked when TenTen's sword came a hair's breadth from his forehead, shaving off several blonde locks. He let himself fall backward and latched onto her sword with his chain, jerking her in the opposite direction she was spinning and knocking her offbalance. He planted his hand on the ground and pinwheeled away as TenTen righted herself.

He unsealed his hammer with a quick swipe and jammed the spikes into the ground, winding his chain around the hilt and stepping back into a taijutsu stance. TenTen leveled her sword and stared at him warily.

"What are you planning?"

Naruto grinned and pushed his foot out a bit further, a small mound of dirt building up in front of his sandal.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be much of a surprise now would it?"

With a quick upward swipe of his foot, he kicked dirt in TenTen's face and lunged forward, grabbing at the hilt of her sword and jerking it from her grasp. His chain whipped forward and lashed itself around the feather-like sword, and dragged it back to rest against the hammer. TenTen brushed the dirt out of her eyes and growled at her soul mate.

"What the hell was that? We're supposed to fight with our weapons."

Naruto shrugged and rushed forward, kicking and punching as he spoke.

"A fight is never fair Ten-chan. I'm just utilizing what I can. Now come on!"

She whipped a kunai out of nowhere and leapt at him. He still hadn't figured out where she hid all the damn things. He'd never found any in their makeout sessions...

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Sanosuke and Jiraiya watched as the two sparred and came close several times to killing each other. Jiraiya was amazed at the teens' ability and resiliency. They'd been traveling and training in the wilderness for over three months since Itachi had last visited them and the two had grown by leaps and bounds in their adeptness with their respective weapons.

TenTen was a natural with her feather. It was almost like the girl had been born with it in her hand. There wasn't much she couldn't do with it, even going so far as to try to drain Naruto's chakra with it, just to see how much he truly had on tap.

The amount Keppaku ate was astounding...and the sword had said it wouldn't have to eat for a month afterward.

Naruto was back on his feet the next day like nothing had happened.

The girl could cut through just about anything with that soft looking sword and the only thing they'd found she couldn't pierce was Naruto's hammer. But neither could he put a dent in her sword. They were unbreakable items, much like the two's spirits.

He winced when TenTen wrenched her sword free of the chain and lunged at Naruto, swinging the sword low, trying to chop at his ankles. Naruto dove over her swing and grabbed his hammer off the ground, spinning on the spot and lashing out, only to find TenTen wasn't there. He was about to stand when he felt a sharp point on the back of his neck and heard a husky voice next to his ear.

"I win."

Naruto remained motionless, but grinned.

"I'd call it a tie sweetie."

TenTen narrowed her eyes and gasped when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Slowly, she turned her head to find his chain wiggling in midair, right behind her, aimed at her heart. With a sigh, she let off the pressure on his neck and stood upright, slinging the feather to her shoulder.

"You always ruin my victories with that stupid chain. Just once, I'd like to see you lose badly."

Naruto chuckled as he knocked the dirt off his pants, before sealing his hammer away and bidding the chain to wind back around his waist. He stretched his arms out, his wings billowing out as well, and groaned in contentment at the feeling. Looking back toward her, he smirked and put his arms back at his side.