In Darkness, We Hide [Naruto Fanfic]

Chapter 5 - Running

Chapter 5 – Running

Kenai moved with such grace, she looked as if she was made of water as she went through basic kata, and stretched, enjoying the beautiful weather. Itachi was watching her with a cup of tea in his hands, the warmth seeping through him quite nicely. She yawned but continued on with her movement, moving slowly, then with such accuracy, speed and precision, it very much impressed him.

The shark-man watched quietly, waiting until Kenai was ready for them to spar, since he had already warmed up. A deep breath soared through Kenai's lungs, and she exhaled heavily, closing her eyes for a moment. A single nod towards Kisame told him that she was ready and he moved to face her.

"So, what'll it be shadow bitch? Jutsu? Taijutsu? Swords?" Kisame asked, his smirk getting larger as the seconds went by and he chuckled to himself.

"I know what that sword of yours does, so jutsu or weaponry would make you a clear winner. Taijutsu only. I might not die if we only fight hand to hand." Kenai sighed melodramatically and rolled her eyes when she caught Itachi's gaze.

The Uchiha smirked faintly from his seated position against the front wall of the little shack. Kenai was definitely a tough woman, being through all that she had, but he wondered whether her agility and technique would overcome Kisame's brute force. If he got a hit in, she would probably lose.

"You won't cheat with your shadow shit? Itachi-san, I don't trust her, you better referee." Kisame raised an eyebrow at her as he took up a guarded stance, ready for her at any time.

"Me? Cheat? Of course not." Kenai gave the shark-nin a charming smile before charging at him, not wanting to let him get the drop on her somehow.

Before they went all out, the first few moves, and combinations were just testing out each other's strengths and weaknesses before they fully made the attempt to defeat each other. Obviously, they weren't going to completely destroy each other, but they would definitely need to make it seem like they were going to kill each other to survive.

Kisame's biggest trouble was getting any hits near Kenai, whose smaller size (About two thirds, considering the swordsman was nearly 2 metres tall) was helping her avoid Kisame's attacks, even though he was extremely quick for his size. His strength would be the only way he would win, and Kenai knew it.

She danced around him, using the terrain to her advantage, but they gradually started getting more intense, and the smirk she had on her face faded quickly, as she barely dodged a punch that put a massive hole in the tree it landed in instead, and huffed in relief.

With a bit of chakra channelled to her extremities, she decided to take the worst possible option, but she hoped Kisame wouldn't expect it, despite knowing how incredible his perception and intelligence was in battle. Her full speed became her best weapon now, and her chakra would not be wasted since she did not want to lose this fight.

Itachi could see how determined the woman was, and even though he was a pacifist to his very core, training for your whole life to be a killing machine made you appreciate how good someone was in battle, especially if they could kill you. He could see how much Kenai was holding back in their sparring session, but this was more than a sparring session. Kisame was ready to take the full force of her abilities, and he even looked slightly concerned, making Itachi smile mentally at how good Kenai truly was.

Kisame knew that Kenai was ready to finish this, and that she would probably accidentally finish him for good if he wasn't careful. He watched incredulously as she charged straight at him from the front, and he could feel her violent intent as he readied himself for her barrage of attacks.

She jumped up high at the last second, avoiding his right jab, and swung her leg at his head, and even though he blocked it with both arms, the impact sent him flying and smashed into a tree, though he was lucky he didn't take as much damage as he would of if her kick had landed.