The various conversations in the amphitheatre slowly tapered off as people realised something was amiss; however before any civilians even caught a whiff of the situation it was already over. To the Kage and their guards it all happened in less than an instant, almost in slow motion. The assassin, clad in their blank white mask with only two small eye-holes, immediately let go of their blade, turning on a dime and sprinting off without a moment's notice. However in that same moment Naruto had already twisted his body around and launched himself in their direction.
A deep scowl had worked its way onto the redhead's expression. He knew the Hokage was okay of course; in that second he caught the tell-tale signs of smoke from a perfectly executed substitution. However it was the indignity of the situation that got to him; he was a Konoha Shinobi yet he had almost allowed a successful assassin to get to his village's leader. No danger should have even come close enough to the Hokage that would require him to take action personally. So in that vein he immediately took off after the would-be assassin.
He couldn't understand it personally; even if the Hokage had been tipped off to their presence before-hand, the shinobi had still somehow managed to get past the senses of the other Kage and their bodyguards. Either they were an unequivocal master of stealth and concealment, or they had a trick; Naruto would lean towards the latter because he lived with a master of stealth and concealment. Even Anko wasn't that good.
All of this was analysed and filed away in the redhead's mind in less than a few seconds; there were benefits of training your body to operate at super-human speeds after all. One was that with enough practise, you could force your mind to do the same, effectively slowing down the world around you. He had taught a very rudimentary and basic version of this technique to his genin; it was highly dangerous in the wrong hands. After all, if you could think even twice as fast as your opponent, then you almost had a make-shift Sharingan; everybody knew how dangerous they were.
However Naruto was using that technique to analyse the fleeing assassin, trying to understand how they did what they did. They were shorter than him, with a lithe build that did lend itself to being inconspicuous and agile. However it was their feet Naruto most took notice off, mostly in the fact that they never actually touched the ground. Whatever they were doing it was obviously a well-worn skill because they were executing it perfectly; no wasted Chakra to give them away.
He could see it as they bounded off a storefront; their shadow never quite touched the soles of their sandals. Whatever it was also seemed to be giving them a great boost in speed; every step was more like a leap. They weren't faster than Naruto but apparently, as they made an inconceivable turn that had them twisting their body through a window barely large enough for their body, they didn't have to be. Obviously this person knew Takigakure's layout like he back of their hand, a fact that had Naruto's eyes narrow as he instead took to the rooftop.
In that brief moment though, when both were in the air and the assassin's body was twisted and arched, he managed to catch the ever so slight bulge on their chest. A woman then. She was an agile thing; he would certainly give her that. It took him a few seconds to locate her again, but when she came twisting out of another window down the street the chase was on again. He could swear it was like she was flying, gliding off objects so effortlessly without ever once touching them and using the streets' naturally confined design to its fullest. A wind technique then; the redhead could recognise the signs.
Under different circumstance Naruto would have quite enjoyed talking with this person; they were obviously a master with the element and as Naruto's primary affinity he imagined they would have a great deal to discuss. However right now his analytical, sped-up mind was simply trying to crack the Jutsu so that he could beat it and catch up to this woman. However it wasn't even really the problem; no, that came from the fact she would turn down a street, usually via an improbable and rapid change in direction, and simply vanish.
It forced Naruto into the air using the Hiraishin to track her down again; problem was that she seemed to be moving in no discernible direction or pattern. The closest he actually came to catching her was when he launched a kunai ahead of her to try and cut her off. Unfortunately for him it seemed to be at the exact moment she bounced off a wall, soundlessly he would add and with no prior warning whatsoever. Instead of falling ahead of her, it instead nicked her in the leg.
Naruto tried to flash to the weapon but apparently the assassin had predicted this, twisting her body mid-air to reflexively kick the kunai further down the street. By the time the redhead had regained his bearings and made after her she had already vanished into a nearby building. This time, she did not re-emerge. The Namikaze made a valiant effort of scouring the nearby streets but short of simply ripping the buildings down, which he did admittedly consider, he had to admit he lost her.
Returning to the arena, feeling thoroughly humiliated that somebody had actually managed to outrun him, Naruto only bade a quick greeting to the other Kage before immediately making for Hiruzen who was being fussed over by an all too apologetic Raido.
"For the last time Raido-kun I am fine, if every youngster with a sword was able to get to me I assure you I would have never made it this far." The old Hokage placated; from the way the conversation looked it would almost seem like Raido was the one who had been targeted; he certainly looked to be in enough hysterics.
"But Hokage-sama…" The younger Jounin tried to continue; however Sarutobi was having none of it. He caught Naruto out the corner of his periphery and immediately turned to the redhead, blanking Raido from further apologising.
"Ah Naruto; that was a rather speedy reaction my lad, I expected nothing less. Did you manage to catch the perpetrator?" The older Shinobi asked curiously; for a man who had just been targeted for assassination he didn't seem all that perturbed. If anything he seemed more irritated by his own bodyguard's placations than the thought of nearly dying. However the simple words only served to make Naruto feel even worse, causing him to look like a dog with its tail between its legs.
"Ah, Hokage-sama I-" Naruto tried to begin, only to receive a sigh from the Hokage as the man placed his pipe back in his mouth.
"Not you too Naruto, I've already told Raido that it wasn't my first assassination attempt and by all means it likely will not be my last. It is a wrinkle that comes with our line of work, ne?" He smiled congenially, carefully lighting up his pipe and taking a few drags before blowing them out almost casually. "Now, any word on that hitman?" Naruto struggled with himself for a few moments, warring with his own sense of failure and the Hokage's easy dismissal of the situation. Finally loyalty won out and he nodded curtly.
"A few things, firstly it would be hit-woman." He corrected, only to have Hiruzen raise his eyebrow and smirk.
"Oho, it has been a while since they sent a Kunoichi after me; seems I still have it after all." Hiruzen interjected amusedly, causing Naruto's eye to twitch at the calm nonchalance the Hokage was displaying.
"Secondly..." Naruto carried on as if he hadn't heard anything "…I believe she managed to sneak up on us by using a rather strange wind technique that allowed her to literally step off the air. It both made her footsteps silent and allowed her to cover large distances with minimal movement." Both men knew what this meant; it may not have simply been a case of the assassin sneaking up on them, but simply appearing within their ranks too quickly to react to. If Naruto had to equate it to anything; it would be like him suddenly appearing via the Hiraishin; no warning.
"Hmm, a dangerous technique indeed then; we should be wary for a repeat performance." The older Shinobi mused quietly, only to blink as Naruto brandished his mildly bloodied kunai.
"Maybe not in the immediate future; I was able to catch her in the leg before she vanished into a building." Naruto stated quickly, unable to completely remove the slightly smug tone in his voice.
"Arrogance does not lend itself to you Naruto." The Hokage quickly pointed out, tapping out his pipe casually as his sun-strained eyes crinkled in amusement. However he felt the change in atmosphere the moment Naruto began to frown.
"However Hokage-sama, based on the assassin's knowledge of Taki's layout, I can only assume-" The Jounin was silenced by Hiruzen raising his hand, an indecipherable mask appearing over his weathered features.
"Did you discern any aesthetic traits beyond the assassin's gender Naruto?" The redhead paused at the question before quickly shaking his head; the interloper had concealed her entire body, hair included. "Did they display any techniques or Jutsu known to a specific village or clan?" Again, another head shake; the assassin had been a subtle and sparing as possible in her escape. Hiruzen just smiled then, lightly patting the redhead on the back as he re-filled his pipe once more.
"Then my boy, we best not be going around with accusations based on nothing more than circumstantial evidence." Hiruzen's smile widened, but it was obviously put on; the wink was real though. "Wars have been started for less, ne?" Naruto frowned at the man's casual dismissal of the evidence; however before he could get a word in edgewise Shibaro walked over. The two village leaders immediately began to converse, with the Shibaro's customary questioning of the old man's well being and musings on the assassin's identity first and foremost.
The sight made Naruto scowl, but he kept it to himself; he was sure the assassin had to have been from Takigakure. One did not simply know the layout of a village to that degree without living there for months or years. Not only that but if the assassin were from a different village they would have first had to find a way into the hidden village before sneaking through Taki's entire defence; no mean feat. And yet the Hokage was casually conversing with the man who may very well have ordered his execution as if they were old drinking buddies.
Was this how politics worked?
Surprisingly the exams actually continued from that point, the entire assassination apparently being swept under the rug. Hell, Naruto would be surprised if many of the civilians left the arena even knowing the Hokage had nearly been killed. Still, it left a sour taste in the mouths of those that did know and Naruto found that he couldn't even find it in him to enjoy the fights anymore. Up in the Kage stand there was no light banter or playful, criticising remarks, just a tense silence as the remaining battles unfolded.
Predictably the Taki team quickly lost out to Haku's team, so no surprises on that front; it was over quickly too so not even a lick of fanfare was raised. However it was in the final fight of the exams that Naruto found himself most disappointed in his inability to pay attention; lost in his own thoughts as he was. From what he would later recall, it was a rather tough and close fight; not as drawn out as the conflict between team ten and the Kiri squad, but lengthy as far as shinobi fights went.
His team admittedly did their best, but in the end a close victory for Kiri was scraped out; Mei had not been lying when she had said she chose only the best. All of the team's members were essentially a solid chuunin already and Naruto had to commend his team from lasting as long as they had. True to form they had immediately gone after the Genjutsu user of the Kiri team, knowing from personal experience how dangerous they could be in drawn out fights. They had even hidden their intentions with an all-out assault on Haku, only to divert at the last moment.
However the teamwork between Haku and Chojuro turned out to be excellent; between the Yuki's speed and the swordsman's raw power team seven were simply outmatched. They also knew how valuable their support member was and defended her accordingly. There was also the small issue that it was readily apparent that Ami seemed somewhat reluctant to seriously engage Haku, leading to her instead seeking out an opponent in Chojuro. A bad match up if there ever was one.
Ami was a dependable and competent Kenjutsu user in her own right, but trying to compare that to the raw talent and skills the swordsmen of the mist, even in training, could display? There was no contest; there was a reason Kirigakure was mostly famous for that particular squad; their training was intense and brutal but it certainly paid off. When Ami fell, the rest of team seven was not too far behind; they had managed to take out the support member but a joint assault from Haku and Chojuro turned out to be too much for Sakura and Sasuke.
Despite the loss, Naruto did distinctly remember the feelings of pride he felt for all three of his team. While they did not win, each one easily showed the necessary skill and forethought required of a chuunin. There was also the helpful fact that he had won the little wager between the three Jounin sensei, but that only heightened the good feeling. He told them as much when their match was finally over. They were tired and a little beat up but they still found their sensei's words uplifting; although Sasuke seemed all too contemplative after the fact. Naruto could see the familiar glint of determination he used to see in Shisui's eyes after coming out of a close spar with Itachi.
It was readily apparent though that Taki really did want the foreign shinobi out of their village though as not half an hour after the exams were over the teams from Konoha were ushered towards the exit of the village. Team seven were the last to be let out though and in the brief time they were waiting for the others to be evacuated, they received a visitor in the form of an energetic green blur.
"Heyo Naruto!" Fuu exclaimed brightly, landing on Naruto's back with a chipper grin on her face; she seemed remarkable better and less thoughtful than Naruto had seen her last. The genin of the squad simply looked between the mint haired Jounin and their sensei before sighing and shaking their head, scratching it up to another quirk of their redheaded teacher. He seemed to have the remarkable ability to attract the strangest of people to him.
"Hi Fuu." Naruto shot back in a significantly less exuberant tone; luckily for him Fuu took that as her cue to jump off his back and quickly sidle around so they were facing one another.
"You guys leaving already?" She asked brightly, looking torn between understanding and slight disappointment; obviously her time alone to think had done her a great deal of good. Naruto was definitely glad for that.
"Yeah, but you know that already." Naruto replied with a smirk, causing Fuu to look down sheepishly. "So why are you reallyhere?" There was no spite in his voice, just friendly banter.
"Ahh, saw right through me huh?" Fuu rubbed the back of her head and stepped back, only to wince as the leg she was putting weight on shuddered slightly. Naruto looked down only to raise an eyebrow at the bandage around the younger girl's thigh.
"What happened to your leg?" The redhead questioned, his tone becoming oddly neutral compared to how congenial it had been; his eyes had also narrowed slightly. Fuu's eyes widened slightly as she looked down before gaining an embarrassed smile.
"Well, after our… talk, I needed some time alone to think, so I decided to go to a training ground and blow off some steam." The mint-haired Jounin started, eliciting a small nod from Naruto; he had done the same on occasion; it was a great way to clear one's mind. "I guess I wasn't exactly in the right state on mind and got careless; ended up destroying a whole tree; one of the splinters managed to nick me you know?" The girl smiled brightly but it looked forced somehow; her eyes were squinted shut and her grin was just a little too wide.
Naruto's eyes only narrowed further as he glanced back down at the wound again, the wound that was in the exact same position as the assassin's, the same assassin who should have been a resident of Takigakure, the same assassin who would have to have a great deal of skill in wind manipulation. However before he could do anything Fuu's expression suddenly sombered and without warning she suddenly launched forward. Naruto's muscles tensed but he was surprised to find she had simply wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest.
"Thank you Naruto; even though you couldn't be what I wanted you to be… thank you." She separated, never noticing Naruto slide a kunai subtly back into its pouch, and smiled brightly up at him; this one seemed decidedly more genuine than the last. "Us Jinchuuriki have to stick together, right?" When she parroted his own words back to him the redhead faltered, the words of the Hokage flitting through his mind. After only a moment of hesitation he gave a small smile of his own and nodded.
"Right." The sentiment seemed genuine, but it didn't stop the knot forming in his stomach as he was escorted out of the village.
A bright grin erupted over Naruto's features as he stepped through the familiar gates of Konoha; he took a deep breath in and sighed contentedly. There was nothing like the smell of home, from the earthy scent of the trees to the more varied and aromatic smells emanating from the market. Even his genin seemed entranced; despite the only short stint out of their home, for them it felt like a great deal longer. He turned, about to address his genin, only for a flying purple blur to sudden tackle him from the side, an exuberant cry filling the air.
"Narutoooo!" Came Anko's over-the-top exclamation as the two rolled comically to a stop in the middle of the street. The trench coat-clad woman had, at some point, managed to manoeuvre them so that she was straddling her redheaded boyfriend. From the side the genin looked on with a mix of incredulity, exasperation and a mall smattering of embarrassment; Sakura, Sasuke and Ami respectively.
"Anko? I thought you said you would be on a mission by the time we got back?" Naruto groaned from the floor; he was certain she had just managed to bruise his ribs with that stunt. However his girlfriend merely leant back, a smug expression slipping across her wily features as she stabbed a thumb at her chest.
"Finished early, because as you know… I'm awesome." Suddenly her expression became slyer as she slinked her body back down until the two were almost touching nose-to-nose. "You've been gone for three days, you know what that means right?" A sudden coughing broke into her attempted seduction though, causing her to look up and blanch.
"I think we all know what that means Anko-chan." Hiruzen uttered calmly, easily repressing his amused smile as the pony-tailed woman suddenly went red in the face.
"Ah… Hokage-sama." Was about all she could manage to get out before she took another look at the compromising position she had put herself, and Naruto, in. Nearly steaming out of the ears she just about managed to scrabble to her feet without losing too much more dignity, an accomplishment in of itself, and gave a curt nod to the man. "I ah, I hope you had a pleasant trip?" She hazarded awkwardly, only eliciting a small chuckle from the older man as he puffed on his ever-present pipe.
"Oh, I'm sure Naruto would be happy to regale you of the details later. Now if you would all excuse me, I made a promise to Konohamaru about souvenirs." And with that the aged Kage simply sauntered off, flanked by a few ANBU in the shadow; they were almost as common a presence as the old pipe. Once he was safely out of view Naruto gave a broad grin, having managed to pick himself up with a tad more poise than his flustered girlfriend, and turned to his genin.
"On a similar note, I'll see you all at training tomorrow, usual place." He was about to dismiss them, only to see their confused expressions.
"But sensei…" Ami started bemusedly "…the chuunin exams?" She was only met by an up-turned eyebrow though.
"The chuunin selections take a bit of time; the Hokage does not have final say after all. His choices have to be put through a sort of peer review, this takes around a week or so." His grin turned decidedly more malicious. "So until then I'm afraid you're still stuck with little old me." Ami started as suddenly Naruto vanished from where he was standing, appearing not a foot in front of her with a suspiciously fake pout on his lips. "You wouldn't be getting tired of your old sensei, would you Ami-chan?" To the side Sasuke muttered something unintelligible under his breath that only caused Naruto to smirk.
"Just because you might become chuunin… no, even if you become chuunin; I'll always be your sensei…" The redhead shot back, walking over and quickly ruffling the boy's hair before he could react "…Sasu-chan." The boy simply gave him an evil look.
"I'll make you stop calling me that." He growled back, his Sharingan flashing for a moment to increase the poison in his glare. Naruto remained unaffected, a broad grin splitting his cheeks.
"You're welcome to try Sasu-chan, you're welcome to try." He shot back mirthfully; at that the genin turned to leave, but not before Sasuke decided to get the last word in.
"Count on it, Tomato-sensei." The dark haired Uchiha called back, dashing off not a moment after. A tick-mark appeared on the redhead's temple for a moment but by the time he turned around his genin were gone, leaving him to stand there and grumble about ungrateful brats under his breath.
"Ah, Naruto-san… I mean, Naruto." Kurenai suddenly piped up, causing Anko too look over with intrigue as well, a sly look twisting her face.
"Ah Nai-chan!" The violette called out with her previous exuberance and not a moment later the Genjutsu-user was subjected to the same treatment as Naruto not even five minutes earlier. They rolled to a stop somewhere near Asuma's feet, causing them both to look up at the bearded Jounin slightly red-faced. The Hokage's son merely smirked, chewing slightly on the cigarette in his mouth.
"Don't mind me, please carry on." The grizzled former-guardian chuckled, admiring the view unfolding beneath him. It was sometime around that point that Kurenai realised the impromptu roll-around had caused her dress to slip slightly from her shoulders. She immediately scrabbled to her feet, bright red from her virulent blush, and corrected herself immediately. Anko got up with a lot less fanfare, her hair now even messier than usual and she didn't even try to fix it. Deciding that Kurenai likely wasn't going to continue, Asuma instead spoke up in her place.
"I think Kurenai was trying to tell you that we were going to head to the Dangoya to talk for a bit Naruto. You know, discuss the exams, talk a bit about our teams." The man chuckled, the cigarette switching sides in his mouth. "Unless of course the Hokage-to-be can no longer mingle with us common rabble." He said it jokingly but it still caused Naruto to growl slightly, at least until a retaliatory smirk appeared on his own features.
"Not common rabble no, just people who couldn't even get their team past the first round of the tournament." The redhead shot right back, remembering team ten's rather drawn out defeat at the hands of the Kiri team. It nearly caused Asuma to choke on his cigarette; rather ironically considering it wasn't even lit.
"Oi!" He cried indignantly only to get a rough at on the back from the very same redhead.
"So Dangoya? Sounds good; Anko you coming?" The aforementioned violette looked around, having previously been drinking in Kurenai's embarrassment like some kind of emotional vampire.
"Huh what? Oh, yeah sure." She muttered distractedly before quickly returning her attention to the now better-clothed and less-flustered Kurenai, a look of disappointment briefly passing over her face.
"Sounds good." A new voice entered the fray as Genma suddenly dropped from a nearby roof, chewing on his usual senbon. All the assembled Jounin looked at the bandana-clad Jounin blankly for a moment. "What?" He shrugged, taking the senbon out for a moment to spin it between his fingers. "I was passing by and heard you guys talking, I could go for some Dango too." At that everyone just chuckled.
"Well, if that's the case we might as well just invite along everyone." Naruto replied, his smirk dropping as soon as he saw Genma's facesober considerably.
"Well, you know that might not be possible and all, what with Yugao and all…" Genma answered, causing everybody to stare at him in confusion for a moment until he looked up, just as puzzled "What? You guys don't know?" Naruto took a step forward, his face serious all of a sudden.
"Don't know what?"
Training ground three was oddly quiet; usually at least the distant sound of sparring, or even Jutsu practise could be heard from the surrounding areas. However today there was nothing, just the wind making its solemn pass through the trees, carrying the occasional browning leaf along for the journey. For Yugao it only seemed to heighten her solitude at that moment as she sat there, leg's crossed, staring at the shimmering black monument as thought at any moment it would begin to speak. She had been coming here a lot lately; most would say it was for the peace, or just for the time to think.
In reality even Yugao didn't know; the rational part of her mind told her that simply sitting here staring at a carved name wouldn't do anything. The cynical part of her mind told her that Hayate would be annoyed with her right now, whittling away her time in front of an old, sentimental rock. The Shinobi part of her mind told her that right now she should be training, not allowing her skills to rust and dull like an ill-kept blade. However it wasn't her mind tying her to this place, it was her burdened heart, the same part of her that wished the monument would speak to her.
"You know, there's a little girl who just came home from Taki, excited and likely hoping to see her big sister." Yugao didn't flinch when Naruto's voice suddenly appeared in her ear; she had been his subordinate for years; all of their squad were used to his sudden and abrupt appearances. In fact, she supposed a small part of her had almost expected him; he was the harsh but compassionate captain once again, scolding her for taking too long with her break, or sneaking off to see…
"What do you want Naruto-taichou?" She didn't turn around or look up when he walked over, his barely noticeable footsteps making the softest of crunches against the grass.
"Ami did amazingly in the exams you know, you would have been incredibly proud of her." All Naruto got for his trouble was a non-committal grunt though as Yugao shuffled her position slightly. She was forced to move again as Naruto suddenly sat down next to her, making her very aware of the two swords he was carrying and now placed on his lap. "You know, I feel like I've already had this conversation with you; what happened?" Yugao grunted again, averting her eyes from the two painfully familiar blades resting in the redhead's lap.
"Did you break into my apartment taichou?" She didn't sound so annoyed with the act itself more than the fact he was successful. It was a matter of pride for a Shinobi that their homes were protected and safe even when they were not there.
"Please Yugao, you live with Anko for a number of years and most security measures become child's-play; don't change the subject." Naruto retorted quickly, his features set and lacking the usual amusement that practically defined him with his friends. The long-haired ANBU leant forward, her head falling as she muttered something unintelligible. "Come again?" This time Yugao looked up, however reluctantly, revealing her bloodshot and very red eyes.
"I went on a mission." She finally murmured in a tone that was actually understandable. Naruto raised a brow slightly.
"That's good." He started cautiously, only to be suddenly rounded on by the woman as she glared at him furiously. The redhead could now see the full extent of the damage; Yugao did not look good. Aside from her bloodshot eyes she was paler than he remembered seeing her and her face slightly more gaunt.
"Is it!? I nearly got a teammate killed Taichou!" Taken aback slightly, Naruto could only stare at the mildly hysterical woman for a moment before releasing the breath he was holding.
"Tell me what happened." And after a long moment of hesitation, she did. She told him all about how she had finally mustered up the courage to take on an op with her squad. She had made sure it was routine, rookie stuff to get her back in the swing of things. Of all the luck though they had actually managed to run across a team from another village; which didn't matter. Of course their goal was in direct opposition to her team's and conflict inevitably broke out.
She had been doing fine, the other team were obviously not veterans and there were no notably dangerous members in their ranks. However there was one with a sword; instincts kicking in Yugao had immediately moved to challenge him when she spotted the enemy charging at one of her squad mates. At the last moment though it had not been some faceless foreign ANBU in her field of vision, but Hayate. She hesitated, and like any mistake on the battlefield, somebody had paid for it. Luckily the rest of the team had been able to mop up the rest, but not before the very person she had been trying to protect took a nasty blind-sided wound to the chest.
"…he's recovering in the hospital now; the medic-nin say he should be fine with recuperation but, but what if he hadn't?" At some point in her initially anger-fueled rant Yugao had broken down and tears were now freely streaming down the contours of her thinned face. "What if, because of my damn hesitation, somebody had died?" Her head fell, her voice becoming sombre and resigned. "What if it happens again Taichou?" There was a rather obvious silence after that; but instead of an answer, Yugao instead felt something being pressed into her hand.
She nearly started when she realised it was the hilt of a sword, her sword. However her brain was given no time to comprehend this much past the point of acknowledgment before her instincts kicked in and she suddenly rolled back. Where her head had been was instead replaced by the soft whine of steel passing through air.
"Taichou?!" She called out, but was met only with the answer of another strike that she was forced to divert with her sword. However not seconds after she did so, she looked down at the blade incredulously, not believing she had actually done so.
"Well, the reflexes are still there." Naruto's voice spoke up from behind her, causing her to spin; he was right there, in the very stance that she herself had taught to him. However she was having difficulty seeing him beyond the long, slightly curved ninjato in his hand. It was Hayate's blade, his sword. Suddenly Yugao could see Naruto again, she could see him through the slight red tint that had come over her vision.
"How dare you!" All of a sudden she was a grey and purple blur of motion, rocketing forward and lashing out with a flurry of blade strikes that would have made the casual onlooker dizzy. Naruto was hardly a Kenjutsu master, but he was certainly a lot faster than his talented subordinate; even so, in her rage she proved to be rather creative, earning a nick or too across his torso that he responded to in kind.
By the time they had worn each other out the entire training ground was covered in scratches and gouges; as were they. Yugao was panting heavily while Naruto seemed less than exhausted, although he know bore a few light scratches. He smirked, tensing up to go again before surprising Yugao by suddenly spinning the blade in hand and driving it into the ground.
"Good; remember that." And like that he was simply gone, vanishing before the sword even stopped vibrating. The violette blinked but the redhead did not return; she was alone again, sweaty and tired. However she also felt remarkably lighter; walking over she gently placed a hand atop Hayate's sword to quiet its humming. It was still warm and before she even knew it she found a small smile dancing on her face. Memories of training sessions, long talks as they polished their blades, sparring under the moonlight; she couldn't think where they had gone before now.
She was glad they were back though. Looking up she realised it had gotten darker without her realising; she needed to get home, she needed to congratulate her little sister. Firmly grasping the hilt she pulled it out of the earth before frowning; Naruto had not been gentle to it during their spar. It was covered in nicks and scratches no true swordsman would allow to happen, not to mention dirty from where he had unceremoniously shoved it into the ground. However it did look… used; she smiled, thinking that Hayate would be glad his sword had not gone to waste.