An Unknown World

Sparring

I arrived just before Kora in the field. The open area would be perfect for our short spar, but I'd have to remember to go easy on her. I hadn't fought anyone with a lower skill set than mine in a long time, not that she can't hold her own.

She came running down the path with her crowd of onlookers trailing behind. At least three dozen people had shown up for this, all to cheer on Kora. This is why I love her part of the village, Kora was the only shinobi in their community, so naturally everyone was extra supportive.

"Kakashi!" She yelled and pointed at me from across the clearing. "I challenge you to a match of skill and strength!"

I shook my head and put my hands into my pockets. "I accept. Come at me." I even kept my sharingan eye covered in order to not tip the scale even more in my favor.

She crouched down before sprinting at me full force and throwing a punch, a kick, and an elbow to my torso. I took a step back with every move she made. She swiped a low kick at my ankles which I quickly jumped upward to avoid. The smile never left her face even though she hadn't landed a hit yet. She continued to throw punches and kicks at different parts of my body, she had quite a graceful way of doing so, nothing felt forced and each one flowed into the next, her speed was going to benefit her later.

The final attempt was a roundhouse kick to my skull. I caught her foot with my left hand and held it there. "Are you done playing around yet?" I asked her. The smile on her face became more determined suddenly.

"I'm just getting warmed up!" She said, before immediately beginning to weave a sequence of hand signs and the ground around me started to sink slowly. "Earth style, mud moat" she smirked as she jumped away from my hand. I watched the murky mud form around where I was standing. I had no idea what her nature would be, but I'm impressed that it was earth style, a more defensive jutsu.

Not bad kid.

"Don't forget that this is a battle Kakashi!" Kora yelled. Her arms were covered in hardened dirt and she was taking a defensive stance. "I guess distracting you isn't very hard to do!"

Even more impressive.

She made her signs quickly with both jutsu, the second time I didn't even see her do it. I hopped over the muddy water with ease, her academy and slightly genin level ninjutsu wasn't going to be difficult to handle, but I was assessing her skills more than actually fighting, although she was also just trying to show off, I wanted to give the crowd that had formed a show.

"Let's see how much those stone bracers can handle." I said as she smirked at me. "Are you sure youre ready kid?" Her smirk flatlined on her face, her eyebrows crinkled inward angrily. She wasn't going to hold back, and I wanted to make sure of it.

I pulled a kunai out of my tool pouch and ran at her. I struck at her torso, her left side, kicked at her ankles, all of which she dodged before I then forced my elbow upward connecting with the bracers on her arms, sending her into the air above. I watched as she adjusted her body quickly in the air, her arms pointed down toward me, sending her more forcefully downward from the weight.

I flipped backward out of the way before she hit the ground, the force creating a small crater twice the size of her own body. As the dust cleared, I could see her chest heaving, the impact may have been too much, although the rock on her arms cushioned the blow, she was using an enormous amount of chakra control for her age to keep the jutsu together.

"We can stop whenever you're ready. You've more than proven yourself Kora." I said as I crouched down, putting my right hand on the ground in front of me. She was doing so well; I had a newfound admiration for her. With her skill set at her level, she will make a great genin and may surpass her peers with ease.

She crouched down as well only a few feet from me, still panting with both of her fists on the ground. "I have one more move that I want to show you." She said before digging her hands into the dirt and kicking off the ground, flinging herself at me. I spun sideways and dodged before her body could hit mine.

She flew past me, flipping her body back in my direction and digging her feet and one hand into the ground to stop herself, the stone bracers were starting to chip apart as her chakra control was beginning to diminish. She was staring me down as I turned to face her and with one swift movement, she took the hand that wasn't planted on the ground and threw a chunk of dirt at me which I let explode against my left shoulder.

"Got you." She said before the stone on her arms completely crumbled, her chakra was all used up. "Sorry, Kakashi." She said as she collapsed onto her stomach, still looking at me with her chin on the ground, smiling.

I felt a burning on my shoulder where the dirt had hit me, I looked over and saw that my undershirt had been ripped and there was a small deep gouge with blood soaking the area. So she did get me after all, I didn't even realize that the clump of dirt had taken any shape, it must have been just enough to stab me before disappearing. She used the last bit of her chakra to try and make a shuriken out of it, she almost completed the genin level jutsu with barely any chakra left.

I stood up and walked over to her, lifting her from the ground and cradling her in my arms. "You definitely got me." I told her as she smiled up at me. "You did great kiddo; you're going to be a strong shinobi." I walked toward the crowd of on lookers who were completely silent, I had paid no attention to the cheering or yelling over the course of our battle and almost forgot about them a few times. They all had their eyes fixated on us as I was carrying Kora.

"Watch this." I whispered to her before grabbing her left arm, since her right was trapped between my chest and her body, and I raised it up into the air and every person in the crowd started cheering, whistling, and screaming her name. It was one of the greatest things I had ever seen.

"I need to get her back home, but she is going to be just fine! Thank you all for supporting her!" I yelled to the crowd before flickering away with Kora. I know her mother had been watching and would already be home preparing for her recovery. As I approached the shop, Ms. Kitsaku ushered us inside and to the bed where Kora would be resting. I laid her down and covered her up as she started to snore softly. Poor kid is exhausted.

We left the room and went back outside. I shook my head and let out a little chuckle. "I didn't know that she had gotten so good. I am very impressed with her skill set at her age." I said scratching the back of my head, my shoulder was exposed, and I had forgotten about the cut on it.

Ms. Kitsaku gasped lightly. "Oh Kakashi! Did she hurt you? I am so sorry that she was so reckless!"

I couldn't help but laugh a bit more at her reaction. I loved how motherly she could be towards me, she always seemed to be more worried about my well-being than I was. "Yes ma'am, but don't be too hard on her over it, she's very proud of herself for even being able to make contact. Besides, I genuinely didn't let her do it on purpose, she threw off my guard all on her own."

She sighed. "Well it can't be helped. She is always going to be chasing your heels Kakashi. She truly wants to be just like you one day." Her eyes started to glisten a bit as if she was going to cry, instead she turned around to walk back inside. "I hope that life doesn't disappoint her too much." With that she disappeared into the shop and I turned to leave as well. I had been gone much longer than I thought, and the sun was beginning to set.

As I jumped onto the rooftops and slowly made my way home, I couldn't help but feel the same way. Kora was such a determined kid and I know that she could make any of her dreams come true, but it isn't that easy, and she has yet to experience life outside of the village. I can't help but worry about what could happen after graduation for her. If she didn't have to go through half of what I did, she would at least be on the fast track to having a happy life.

That's all I could ever ask for, for Kora.

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I hope that I'm not the only one who loves Kora. She's so spunky and outgoing. I feel like Kakashi always deserved someone who could be like a sibling, even if nobody knew about it.

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Love y'all!
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