Ritoru Taikoku

Training

They stood in the woods that served as a training area for the village. Neji made a clone of Kakashi but made him appear injured. His headband was knocked onto the ground and there was blood crawling down his forhead, arm and leg with a gash in the torso.

"Okay, Raku," Neji held a kuriani knife to the clone's throat. "Defend him."

Raku's heart rate sped up and she began to shake.  (Thoughts are *in stars*)

**It's not real. I know it's not real! But it looks...so real...** she shook her head. **I'll never be able to beat Neji but...for Kakashi, I will try!**

Her eyes grew hard and she took off toward Neji, who made a clone of himself to hold the knife and he himself faced Raku. She took her gentle fist stance she'd been taught, one that mirrored Neji's, and began striking. He went easy on her, only blocking every third move. He never activated his byakugon or struck back. Her body had grown stronger but not enough to take a hit from him.

He took her weak hits noticing how she was becoming more calculated as she went on. She drew closer and closer to his chakra points but was not able to actually hit one.

She grunted as she frantically tried to hit just ONE chakra point, she was getting closer but also getting frustrated.

In his office, the Hokage was watching it all in his crystal ball.

He noticed that Raku trying to fight reminded him much of Neji's cousin Hinata. Not wanting to hurt anyone but when it came to it she would try. But, like Hinata, she was no match for Neji. Even if he never struck back and rarely blocked her, her blows were underpowered and not accurate. She gave small cries of effort but couldn't land a correct blow.

Gentle fist was extremely difficult for someone without the Hyuga Kekki-genkai, nearly impossible. He was surprised she'd learned the stance and how to deliver the correct blows. She was still weak from years of malnutrition but he fully believed she would grow. The Kakashi clone, to him, was a bit far in appearance but it appeared to be affective. It ignited a fire in her eyes he'd never seen.

xxX

When Neji suggested they take a break, he released his jutsu. The clones poofed away in smoke.

Raku sat down, puffing for air. "I couldn't do it." She dropped her head.

"Raku..." Neji gently lifted her chin. "You did well. It wasn't fair, I knew that. I've been training since child hood. I want to try something that might help."

He pulled a pen out of his pocket, and began placing dots on himself. He never thought he'd do this. Giving her the exact locations of his chakra points, but she needed this. And for some reason...he actually cared.

"Even a light blow, if delivered to the correct spot, can hinder an opponent. We will work on your accuracy then work on building up enough chakra to dispel with each it."

xxX

Without the clones, Neji took his stance. He put marks on the easiest chakra points to hit on his body and he hoped it helped.

Raku mirrored his stance and took a deep breath.

She made a sound of effort and thrust her left hand forward, hitting the dot but slightly to the side. "Almost." Neji encouraged. "Picture the clones again," she missed. "You need to protect Kakashi. I am your enemy."

The white haired girl pictured an injured Kakashi and pictured Neji with the knife at his throat. Her eyes flashed yellow

She seemed to move in slow motion, drawing the heel of her hand back, teeth bared in concentration. "Kakashi!" she thrust her hand forward, nailing Neji's chakra point with more power than he expected but not enough to effectively hinder him. She hit again and again, now perfectly hitting each dot on his skin.

"Good! Let's do it again!"

xxX

By the time the sun was setting she could find 60 chakra points without dots and 100 with dots. With the image of Kakashi in danger she found her inner strength that allowed her to be more affective. Neji noticed with each strike her eyes glowed as they did at night.

Maybe she could learn how to control her wild chakra and use it to battle during the day. He'd voice this to the Hokage when he made his report in the morning.

Xx

Raku woke up with her head under Neji's chin and their legs tangled together, his arms around her. They both slept under the covers for the first time and she found it was easier to listen to his heart this way. She blushed as she felt his hand slide up and down her back, he hadn't woken yet. Allowing his chakra points to be hit so much took more out of him than he expected.

Raku snuggled closer, nuzzling his chest. Her heart fluttered a little as he pulled her closer, easing her back to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REMEMBER I will put off updating if there are no comments/reviews answering the questions at the bottom of the chapter!

Q1) Were you surprised that Neji went so far to help her learn?

Q2) Why do you think he cared so much?

Thanks for reading <3