"Shikamaru, I'm glad you came. Come in, come in," Jiraiya said broadly to the younger man. The apathetic Chunin ambled into the hospital room apprehensively.
"Good morning, Master Jiraiya," Shikamaru said carefully, not aware why he had been asked to visit the recovering shinobi.
"How is your physically therapy going?" the teenage genius asked.
"Pretty good," the infamous pervert nodded, then he lowered his voice to a whisper and added conspiratorially, "I'd be done with it by now, but I'm taking it slow because my nurse has huge..."
"Is there a reason you had me sent here?" Shikamaru interrupted, annoyed.
"Please, close the door," the Sannin instructed, sobering.
"Shikamaru," Jiraiya addressed him seriously, "I'm told you're one of the brightest minds in the Hidden Leaf Village, if not the brightest. And that you're also quite the codebreaker."
The Chunin smirked, and shrugged in false humility, "So?"
"Well," the Toad Sage frowned, "Before we begin, I should ask how you feel about Blood Oaths."
"I thinking they're a drag," the Nara heir responded predictably.
"Good answer," Jiraiya smiled slightly, "In that case, just promise me you won't tell anyone what you're about to hear, and we can lie to the Hokage about the oath that I'm supposed to make you swear before discussing this with you."
Shikamaru studied him for a few seconds, and then shrugged again and said, "You have my word. Now, what's this all about?"
"I'm sure you've heard about Sasuke surrendering his body to Orochimaru," Jiraiya started and Shikamaru nodded, his interest peaked.
"Well, there's more to the story than you know," the injured Sage informed him, "So far only clan leaders and a few other know the whole story."
He proceeded to give the cloud-envier a rundown of Itachi's real history, and of the fight against the new and improved Orochimaru.
"So Orochimaru killed Itachi..." Shikamaru said softly as he digested the information. Then he bobbed his shoulders again, and asked, "What does that have to do with me?"
"There was something else," the Sannin admitted, "something we didn't tell the clan leaders or even Naruto and Kakashi. You'll be the only one who knows this besides myself and the Hokage."
"During the latter part of the fight," the older ninja frowned in memory, "after Orochimaru paralyzed me and set me up to watch him kill Itachi, I noticed the snake was using some pretty fancy footwork. I'm fairly familiar with Orochimaru's fighting style, and his legs are generally the last things he worries about. He tends to focus on Ninjutsu and that sword of his. He usually doesn't even take a single step unless someone attacks his legs or moves out of range. That was when I noticed his toes were tracing characters in the dirt. It was about the same time I figured out Sasuke was no longer ordering Orochimaru to stop."
"So, you think Sasuke was directing Orochimaru's feet, to send you a message," Shikamaru mused, rubbing his chin, "since Orochimaru doesn't use his legs, and Sasuke only swore not to interfere if Orochimaru fought Naruto, Sakura, or Kakashi-sensei."
"Yes," Jiraiya nodded, " I suspect Sasuke was able to influence Orochimaru's footwork to try to send me a message. This message."
He took out a piece of paper, and handed it to the younger man. Shikamaru studied it for a minute, before handing it back.
"It looks like gibberish," the Chunin noted with a yawn, "but given your attempts at flattery, I assume you think it is encoded."
Jiraiya nodded.
"And have you considered that this might be a trap?" the lazy shinobi asked the Sannin, "That Orochimaru wrote this message to trick you, or even just to mess with you?"
"We have," the toad summoner admitted, "In fact, the Hokage is certain of that fact. But I convinced her we should at least decode the message before we discard it. It took a bit of a guilt trip, but I talked her into letting me have you help figure out what this says."
"I don't suppose I have a say in the matter," Shikamaru sighed.
"Not since you promised to keep this a secret."
"Well then, we might as well get to work," the apathetic young man began to look more carefully at the string of characters.
"Well, well, well," Anko Mitarashi smirked as Hinata Hyuga entered the small clearing, "the first victim of the day, right on time."
"Anko," Hinata inclined her head politely.
"Alright, maggot, here's how this works," the Jonin started pointedly, "To test you stealth and tracking skills, we're gonna play the old classic, Hide and Seek."
The proctor picked up the bizarre looking helmet sitting on the ground beside her.
"This blocks all visual, auditory, and olfactory stimuli," Mitarashi explained, "Even your vaunted Byakugan. I'll be creating three Shadow Clones, one to watch you and two to hide with me. After ten minutes, the clone here will take the helmet off you, and dissipate to let me know you are coming. Then you have seventy-five minutes to find the three of me. To be fair, I will be leaving a few traces for you to follow. Then, if you pass the first part, we'll switch places for the second part. While you're hiding, if at least one of your copies can avoid capture, you'll pass the test. And you don't have to leave a trail for me. You better do your best to stay hidden."
"Oh, and other than Jutsu to enhance your senses, no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu are allowed," Anko paused for a second and then added for good measure, "Or Taijutsu or Weapons Jutsu for that matter. The same will go for me."
"What about traps?" Hinata prompted, remembering Kakashi's tests.
"So long as you don't cheat and use a Jutsu to set them up, go to town," Anko shrugged, "I'd say your time would be better spent other ways, but if you think it will help... Anything else?"
"No," Hinata shook her head.
"Good," the serpent summoner handed her the hood, and then split in four.
"Ten minutes starts once you tighten the strap," Anko told her, and one of the clones moved to stand next to Hinata. The younger Kunoichi nodded.
"Good luck," Mitarashi offered condescendingly, as the Hyuga heiress lowered the helm into place. True to the description, the aspirant could no longer see or hear, and could only smell the dull metallic tang of the mask. She activated her Kekkei Genkai, and then went to the advanced form, but she was still blind. Hinata had to take a deep breath and force herself to relax; being unable to see was a new experience and an unsettling one. Though she slept in total darkness like most of her clan, and had consented to be blindfolded in the past, this was the first time she had been in a situation where she could not regain her sight if she wanted to. She tried counting to keep track of the time, but the feeling of her anxious heartbeat interfered, and she could not tell if she was counting too fast or too slow.
Finally, she felt unexpectedly gentle hands touch her neck and shoulders, and the helmet was removed. The clone of Anko set the device on the ground, and winked at Hinata.
"Have fun," she smirked, before disappearing in a puff of chakra.
"Suigin Byakugan," Hinata quickly placed her palms together and activated her bloodline trait. She instantly picked up on the three trails, two leading north and one leading south. Obviously she was meant to follow the northern tracks first, but the Kunoichi pushed her enhanced vision further and saw that one of the northern trails ended, while the other thinned as it turned to the left. She studied the trail that abruptly stopped and realized it was deeper and more noticeable than the other two.
"She doubled back," Hinata whispered to herself, "But where..."
Broadening her focus again, she saw a branch higher up in one of the trees had been unnaturally bent.
"OK," Hinata nodded to herself, and turned to the south. As with the other two paths, after the initial indication, it rapidly grew fainter. But not faint enough to fool Hinata. The young woman ignored the broken branches and disturbed leaves, and instead watched for Anko's footprints.
'She's better than I am,' Hinata admitted to herself, 'by a decent margin. She's probably as good as Kakashi-sensei, Yugao-sensei, or any of the ANBU members.'
The footprints suddenly came to an end. Hinata glanced about for any continuation of the trail, but there was none. Nor was there any indication the examiner had doubled back again. Then Hinata smiled slightly
"There was something I forgot to ask you, Anko," the Chunin announced, "What do I need to do when I find you? Do I have to tag you, or is it just enough to let you know that I have caught you? I assume I am not allowed to attack you physically, like in the Genjutsu exam."
There was no answer, and so Hinata pointed as her eyes widened.
"You are in the maple tree seven point eight meters to my two o'clock," the Hyuga scion told the forest, "on the third branch up, under a chameleon tarp. Do I need to come over there and reveal you directly?"
"I guess not," Anko said sourly, sweeping off the concealing cloth, "But for the other two and for when you are hiding, yes, tagging will be the indicator."
Hinata nodded and the clone exploded.
"Twelve minutes," the candidate for advancement noted, "That leaves me just over an hour to find the other two."
She turned about and headed back to the 'home base' clearing at top speed. But she still kept careful track of the woods around her, just in case on of the other Ankos had changed direction. But she caught no hint of the Jonin, and when she reached their starting point, she briefly pondering the northeast trail and the western tracks. Making up her mind, she jumped into the trees to her left, landing right next to the footprint of the Anko that had laid the false trail.
Looking forward, Hinata saw a branch bent low, with a chunk of the bark knocked loose to the north. But she realized the break in the tree's skin was too sharp, and the tree limb had been pushed down by something far lighter than Anko. So she continued to look around, and saw deflection marks on a tree slightly south of due west.
'She jumped there, to there, to here," Hinata tallied in her head as she followed the imprints, 'And she is moving higher. Which means...'
As Hinata expected, the tracks through the trees stopped. The pale beauty turned her attention downwards, and quickly found Anko's new trail heading south on the ground. The white-eyed Chunin dropped to the ground. Anko's trail became erratic, switching directions every hundred feet or so, as if she was hoping to catch the younger Kunoichi napping, or at least force her to slow down. Despite this, the Jonin's trail was as faint as before, and even with her Byakugan, Hinata found following her target challenging.
Hinata dropped to a walk when she saw Anko resting against a sturdy oak. Suspecting a trap, she approached her tester cautiously.
"No need to hold back," Mitarashi smirked, "This isn't a combat test. And this was the 'hard to follow trail' so I usually don't hide. Though I suppose maybe I should have, considering who's following me."
Hinata closed the distance and tapped Hizashi's student on the shoulder. But this Anko didn't vanish.
"This one only took you fourteen minutes," Anko tried not to sound too angry, "Maybe you should pace yourself. You know, try not to totally humiliate the proctor?"
The pursuing Kunoichi's head dropped and she mumbled something incoherently.
"I'll see you back at the clearing," the real Jonin sighed, not having intended to punish the girl for succeeding. But as she ran off Hinata kept pace with her. The elder daughter of Hiashi kept her eyes focused ahead and her mouth timidly closed.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to follow me?" the Curse Marked woman asked, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice "I could be leading you the wrong way..."
Without saying a word, Hinata picked up speed, leaving the Jonin behind.
"Guess not," Anko said as Hinata faded into the brush, "One of these days I have to get Iruka to teach me how to deal with teenage girls."
Hinata reached the sensory deprivation helmet slightly out of breath and thoroughly conflicted.
'I need to do my best right?' she asked herself, 'But I don't want to upset Anko.'
The still somewhat withdrawn young woman stood there, staring at the last trail. The wind had picked up, and was starting to shift the leaves, covering the route the last clone of Mitarashi had taken. Hinata heard the other woman enter the clearing, but did not react.
"Listen kid," Anko started in an oddly uncomfortable tone, "I got one hell of a temper, and don't like getting shown up. But that's no reason not to break me like a cheap shuriken. This is your test, and I'm not going to be so petty as to fail you just 'cuz you find all my copies in under forty minutes. It just means I'll have to show you up in the second part, OK?"
"If you can," Hinata said softly, drawing on that safe place within his regard.
"Fair enough," the Jonin chuckled, "Now shouldn't you get going?"
"Yes."
Hinata smiled slightly at her examiner in thanks, and then darted north towards the fading tracks. Anko picked up the helmet and spun it in her hands.
"Yeah, she's got my number," Anko sighed again, "But I think I handled that pretty well."
Even with the breeze interfering, this trail was the most obvious of the three, and Hinata quickly figured out why. On this path, Anko's clone had been running full out, sacrificing stealth for speed. Still the Jonin's trail was very faint, and the sixteen year old doubt anyone without a Dojutsu or advanced sense of smell could have followed it at the speed with which she maneuvered through the trees. That thought inspired two others, a curiosity about how Kiba and Shino were fairing, and a relief that Naruto had Gai's skill test instead of Anko's.
Allowing herself to be distracted by her musings, Hinata almost continued her jog after the tracks ended. The Hyuga heiress skidded to a halt in a most Uzumaki like fashion, and began to look around. She chided herself, knowing that the human instinct to moving her head to shift her vision was unnecessary and was considered unbecoming of a Hyuga shinobi. Then she chided herself again, for allowing her internal monologue to disrupt her focus again.
Spreading her vision as far as she could, Hinata could not see another mark on the ground or in the trees. Nor could she spot another chameleon tarp, or the skeletal or chakra systems of a human being. It was like the Shadow Clone had just disappeared.
'Anko wouldn't do that right,' she pondered, 'that would be cheating. Maybe I have been underestimating her this whole time.'
She took a few steps in each direction centering on the end of the footprints, trying to push her quicksilver eyes to see even farther, burning through her chakra. Then she relaxed, not wanting to take a food pill before the second part of the test.
'She's gone,' Hinata lamented, 'but she can't be. I have to be missing something.'
The Chunin tilted her head back, staring into the sky as she sighed. Then she realized what she was doing, and her eyes widened.
"Even with all around vision, we still tend to focus on the horizontal," she told the universe, "And like most other people, we still forget to look up. And down."
She leaned forward symbolically, her Byakugan having already pierced the ground and found the skeleton and chakra system of Shadow Clone Anko. The duplicate sighed, even as Hinata dug into the ground to tap her tester on the chest. Anko's head emerged with a wry grin.
"I thought I had you there, maggot," the proctor said ironically, "But at least it took you longer to find me than it did the first one. So I guess you better get moving."
Hinata rotated her face back and forth gently, knowing there was no way for the clone to know what had happened to the original.
"You already found the solid one?" Anko blinked in surprise. Hinata nodded, and the copy shook her head.
"Then I guess this is game over," the facsimile dismissed herself with a frown. Smiling slightly in triumph, Hinata stretched, and started her run back to the real Anko.
"Thirty six minutes and fourteen seconds," the Jonin announced as the Chunin entered the field, "less than half your allotted time, and easily the best showing so far..."
Then Anko's visage turned joyfully savage, "Are you ready to run, little rabbit?"
"Just one second, please," Hinata requested. As she had decided earlier, she took out the small tablet and quickly gulped it down.
"Yeah, good call," Mitarashi acted in kind, relaxing, "Holding on to clones for that long can be pretty draining."
"As is the Byakugan," Hinata agreed.
"OK, now are you ready?" Anko prompted again.
"Yes," Hinata said in quadruplicate.
"Good," Anko stared them down as she retrieved her celluar, "It's 8:40 now, which makes it easier to track the times. So I'll be seeing one of you at 8:50, the others a few minutes thereafter."
Despite her best efforts, the Hinatas shuddered from her tone, and took an instant to pity Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji.
"You better go," the Jonin cautioned before she strapped the hood into place. Unlike her examinee, Anko was used to the sensory deprivation, and begin carefully ticking off the seconds. Not that she expected Hinata to take advantage of her, but others had tried, and it was only fair to hold the honest young woman to the same standards.
After the lead-time had expired, Anko freed herself, and dropped the helm unceremoniously on the ground.
"You'll forgive if I don't wish you good luck," Hinata said softly before vanishing to send her knowledge to the other three. Anko was signing even as the smoke cleared.
"Ninja Arts: Obsessive Eyes Jutsu," she activated her first support Genjutsu, then followed it up with, "Ninja Arts: Nose of the Bloodhound Jutsu."
Like an advanced version of the children's puzzle, Anko's enhanced orbs sought out any changes in the landscape around her. At the same time, her empowered nose drank in Hinata's pheromones, helping Anko determine the girls' course.
There were three visible trails, one leading north, one south, and one east. Anko recognized that Hinata's northern route reused her own aborted path.
"Cute, but not good enough," Anko selected that set of tracks to follow. As the experienced woman expected, Hinata's path continued past her original reversal point. Reusing the heavy tracks was just a weak ploy by the girl to cover her own footpath. But after only another half mile, then trail vanished. Mitarashi sniffed at the air, Hinata had paused here, but the scent was not strong enough to indicate the target was close by. A few more deep breaths didn't reveal the Hyuga girl's direction, and Anko frowned. Then she remembered the trick she had used after doubling back, and looked up. Sure enough, there were marks on the trees from where Hinata took to the foliage. A few quick hops later, and Anko was on a branch looking back to the south. Surprised, the examiner followed the footprints on the limbs back to the clearing.
"She came back," Anko mused, "But that leaves only two set of paths from her, and neither looks doubled up."
As she considered, Anko felt a slight respect growing for the girl. This little detour had taken seven minutes, and now she was wracked with indecision. She took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, but in doing so she noticed something. Anko realized Hinata's odor had barely dissipated at all while she had been following the false trail. She sniffed again, verifying it was more than just the time Hinata had spent in and out of the clearing over the last hour.
'No she's definitely been here recently,' Anko decided, 'Unless... No, she wouldn't. Although, it would be an unexpected tactic.'
She wandered around the perimeter, staring into the woods and twitching her nose for hints of Hinata's scent. Then she suddenly turned back, kneeling down, and flicking the trunk of a tree, hard.
"Ow," the voice of Hinata Hyuga emerged from under the façade, and Anko grabbed the chameleon tarp, scattering the leaves and branches strewn across it.
"Tag," Anko said smugly, "And it only took me nine minutes."
Hinata nodded sadly, and then the clone broke apart, sending news of her defeat to her comrades. Anko stood back up, and addressed the other two paths.
"East or south?" Anko debated, "The trail going east is more obvious, which could mean she wants me to follow it. Or it could mean she was trying to trick me into not following it. Or that whichever Hinata went east piled the twigs and leaves on the one hiding here and was in more of a hurry."
Then she smirked ironically, "Or that she wanted me to sit here debating her motives. Ah, whatever!"
With that proclamation, Anko charged east. But after the first few hundred feet, she was forced to slow down as the trail split in three. One continued due east, one veered slightly north, and the last turned sharply south. All three looked real, but only one had a solid scent tack, so Anko followed the northeastern path.
So it continued. Every hundred meters or so the path would split in two or three, obliging the Jonin to pause and use her olfactory Genjutsu to determine Hinata's true course.
'What, is she planning to go all the way to the Land of Waves?' Anko groused to herself after the fourteenth such split. Despite occasionally diverting north or south, the Chunin's evasion had tended towards the east. But at the next split, Mitarashi hit a new roadblock. Of the three paths, none contained Hinata's gentle aroma. The proctor grimaced, and dashed down the middle path, which again was heading in a purely easterly direction. But after only eighty feet, the trail ended, and Anko was forced to backtrack. This time she chose the left branch, and was rewarded by it continuing onwards, until the next fork.
"How did she do this in ten minutes? How could she run this far and lay so many false trails?" Anko frowned in annoyance. The Jonin decided to bend her rules, and activated an illusion to mask any pain or exhaustion she might be feeling. This would allow her to run at full speed and concentrate more easily, even if she became tired or sore. And because the technique was altering her own sense of touch, she judged it as within the guidelines she had set. She picked up speed, and sprinted through the trees.
After nineteen more splits, Anko saw her. Hinata was standing at the next fork, panting slightly. The younger woman held a flat piece of stone, approximately one foot in diameter and with a cord tied around it. The Hyuga heiress flung the stone sidearm, causing it to skip across the ground, disrupting the foliage and creating marks the looked remarkably similar to the 'ball of her foot only' tracks that Hinata left behind when she strode at high speed. When the rock reached the end of the rope, the Chunin yanked it back, just barely catching it in her fatigue.
"So that's how you did that," Anko announced, "Pretty clever."
Hinata spun back around, to look at her tester. The mischievous woman also noted the skin on the younger Kunoichi's hands was raw from throwing and catching the weight.
"But you didn't do all of this in ten minutes," Mitarashi admonished.
"You didn't say we had to stop and hide after you started looking," Hinata countered carefully, "And sometimes the best way to evade someone is to not stop and wait for them to catch you."
Anko looked like she'd been slapped. But then she smirked and admitted, "True enough. But I have you now."
"No, Anko, you don't," Hinata again challenged her gently, "Check the time."
Her expression turned dark, and the staff-blade user practically tore her jacket yanking her phone out of her pocket. The digital display read 10:08, but as she watched blinked over to 10:09.
"Time's up," Anko admitted sourly. Then she exhaled to regain control of her emotions, and asked, "Are you the real one?"
The duplicate shook her head 'no'.
"Then get out of here, and tell Hinata to meet me back in the clearing."
The clone, and her copy of Hinata's cable disappeared, and the stone she was carrying fell to the ground. No longer troubled by the limitations on of test, Anko took a chakra restorative, and sent energy to her legs both to recover the strain she had put them through, and the enhance her performance on the way back to the starting point of the test.
Despite length of the chase the clone had lead her on, Anko was back to the break in the woods before Hinata. She collected the helmet, and sat down to wait. To her amazement, and slight irritation, the younger woman took almost ten minutes to arrive. When she did, the Jonin stood up, and glared at her.
"Where were you?" the snake summoner demanded, "The Land of Tea?"
"Actually..." Hinata began nervously...
Naruto almost jumped when his front door swung inwards .The blond Chunin had moved one of the loveseats and the coffee table aside, and was practicing a katana form in the empty space wielding the awesome, deadly paper towel tube. He spun around, brandishing his 'weapon' menacingly, until he recognized the form of his girlfriend, standing in the portal.
"Hinata?" he goggled, lowering his 'sword', "Aren't you supposed to be having the stealth test with Anko-sensei? Or is it done already?"
"Actually," she grinned at him, obviously self-satisfied, "I'm in the middle of it. We're playing Hide 'n Seek. So, can I hide here for the next seventy minutes?"
She stepped inside, closing the door, staring at him suggestively.
"Sure," Naruto smirked back, "But what do you want to do for the next hour?"
"I just want to watch you practice," she said, and his expression turned to one of disappointment, until she added, "Though I think you might find it easier to move around without that shirt."
"You might be right," he agreed happily, obliging her...
"You went to Naruto's place for a quicky?" Anko exploded.
"No... We didn't... We haven't... We don't..." Hinata stammered. Then she took a second to compose herself.
"You never said the village was off limits," she explained, "And it's always easier to get lost in a crowd. Besides I thought Naruto's condo was the last place you would expect me to go if you were looking for me."
Anko continued to glare the Hinata until she could no longer hold her composure. The Jonin burst out laughing, eventually dropping the helmet to clutch her sides.
"Gods, Hinata," she guffawed, "I never thought you'd be the one to make me change my rules for the next time I have to do this. When Kakashi pulled out that note card for my Taijutsu trail two years ago, I thought he was being anal. But now I can see why he does it. I'm just glad Gai has to deal with Naruto and Shikaku. I can only imagine what those two would put me through."
"Anko?" Hinata walked over carefully, concerned by the Jonin's fits of mirth.
"I'm OK," Mitarashi wheezed, finally regaining control. She straightened, and addressed the Chunin directly, still struggling to keep a straight face.
"Congratulations, Hinata," she said, take a deep breath to keep from giggling, "You have passed the stealth and tracking pillar of the Jonin trials."
"Thank you," Hinata bowed deeply.
"Now get out of here before you make me collapse a lung," she ordered. With no further prompting, the younger woman ran off.
"She went to Naruto's," Anko chuckled, "And made him practice in his underwear... Wait 'til Iruka hears about this."
Even was gap between them widened, Hinata heard peals of laughter erupting from the forest behind her.
"You slipped up on the Waterfall Cutting Technique," Temari told Naruto abruptly as he finished, "And your Six Stars kata was sloppy. But overall, I have to give your katana style a B Ranking."
Naruto nodded and replaced the blunted, practice blade on the rack. But Temari continued the stare at him expectantly.
"What?" he asked self-consciously.
"The requirements are 2 A-Ranks weapons, 2 B-Rank weapons, and 4 C-Rank weapons," the Sand Jonin explained, "And with 4 A and 6 B styles, you've pretty much blown that away, even with the devaluing of light throwing blades. But I was hoping to see your real weapon."
He did not respond, and she pressed him, "Why haven't you shown me the staff-blade, Naruto?"
"Well, we don't have one here," he pointed at the racks of sparring weapons with a weak grin. Temari gave him a dubious look, and he sighed again.
"To be honest, I wasn't expecting to exhibit the staff-blade," he admitted, "It doesn't have a formalized style, and anyway most people just dismiss it as a stand-in for training with other weapons."
"I mean that is part of why I like it," he added defensively, "Most of those moves and forms I know for the long sword, katana, short sword, jian, mace, and even the tonfa and short spear, they all can be easily translated into the staff-blade. That's also part of the reason I was able to get so good with so many weapons in the last year or so."
"Well, Naruto," Temari looked kindly at him, as her fan appeared, "I'm certainly not one to deride you for an unusual weapon."
"No, I suppose not," he chuckled. She swung the fan over her shoulder, and pointed it at him.
"So will you show me?" though phrased as a question, her tone made it sound more like a command.
"How?" he asked, "Like I said, there's no set style. Half my moves come from other weapons. So it's not like I can prove anything."
"You can prove the staff-blade the same way I proved the fan," she told him, "You spar against someone, until you beat an acknowledgement of your skill into them."
"Spar?" he asked, "But there still isn't a training staff-blade here."
"So you use your Kitsune, and I use my fan," she ordered him, "No Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, and as little Taijutsu as you can. Just weapon against weapon. Since part of being an expert is having control, if you're really as good as the rumors say, you should be able to mock a fight without hurting me."
She flicked her wrist, partially opening her weapon, "Just so you know, I am considered an S-Rank fighter with my weapon of choice. So you better not hold back."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Naruto smirked. Like the Kunoichi, Uzumaki summoned his weapon without any outside indication he was going to do so. Kitsune appeared, scabbard an all, across his back. He smoothly drew the tubular blade, and assumed a fighting stance. He extended Kitsune lightly in his right hand, keeping his left free and balanced.
'That's the jian's fighting stance,' she considered, 'Which means if I attack hard, he will redirect me and I can use that to turn back for a quick shot to the head.'
Temari swung her fan sideways at Naruto's chest, and as she expected, the staff-blade flicked out to intercept. But contrary to her reasoning and his posture, the Chunin absorbed the blow, and once her attack had been fully aborted, he drove the point of her weapon towards the ground. Once she was off balance, he swung his arm back and stopped Kitsune just short of her chin.
"You probably don't want to underestimate me, either," he informed her, annoyed.
"Sorry, Naruto," she said sincerely, then her eyes grew hard as well, "It won't happen again."
'Right, it's a fusion of other weapon styles and unique moves,' she chided herself, 'So a katana stance could easily lead into a mace or short sword type maneuver.'
Temari lashed out horizontally again, but this time when he stopped her cold, she expanded her fan further, and flipped it over his weapon, trying to score fictional scratches on his chest with the spines at the end each slat. He responded by pushing both of their weapons high, and stepping in, jabbing the vulpine hilt of his creation towards her solar plexus. She caught his wrist with her left hand, but he was too strong for her to stop, so she pushed off, moving away. He countered by stabbing at her neck, but she blocked the attack with her fan and was knocked back for the effort.
Temari flipped backwards as she regained her feet, sweeping her fan up in a move that nearly caught Naruto off guard, but he managed to step back at the last minute. She brought the weapon back down, as if to smack the top of head, but he the blocked strike. The he turned his blade over, pushing her weapon down as he stepped out of the way. He finished the rotation, striking the flat of the fan with Kitsune, sending a vibration through the weapon, numbing her hands.
"I guess I still owe you an apology, Naruto," she offered, even as she stabbed out, quickly opening the fan when he tried to block.
"I think I need to stop testing you by rank, and just fight," she admitted.
"Does this mean we're starting?" he asked with only a hint of mocking, "Because I've faced S-Rank weapon users before, and this wasn't what I would expect."
"Fine, let's dance," her eye twinkled happily, "Just don't blame me for what happens."
She swung her fully opened fan, and when he tried to stop it, closed the weapon over the top of the pole, continuing her path. He tried to divert his weapon to knock her strike away, but he was just to late. Instead, he accepted the 'injury', in return for 'stabbing' her in the shoulder.
Temari stopped, raising her hand to indicate he should hold up as well. Uzumaki obliged, both were breathing hard and sweating profusely.
"What is it?" he asked, "Are you ok?"
Each had lightly struck the other a handful of times, though Naruto's bruises and scrapes had quickly vanished.
"I'm fine, it's just..." she paused, exhaling raggedly. Then she pointed to the wall.
"It's 6:13," she informed him, "We ran over."
He looked at the large clock hanging in the academy's sparring dojo number three. Then he sheathed Kitsune, grinning sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head with his left hand.
"Sorry, I guess I got to caught up in the match," he apologized.
"No, it's my responsibility," she absolved him, "I was having too much fun. It's been a while since I had a challenge like that."
"Thanks," he smiled broadly, "you too."