Team Yumi re-entered the Hidden Leaf Village as the sun began to set over the Hokage Monument. They had just finished a mission, and were on their way to report their success to the Hokage. Despite the time of day, various villagers were running, talking, playing, and laughing through the streets. A few ninja discussed their most recent mission, while vendors tried to sell goods to annoyed customers.

 

"Heh... I really missed being in the village!" Koukon grinned, happy to be back home.

 

"Yeah. We can finally rest." Hikari wasn't as enthusiastic as her friend, but still smiled. "I can't wait to go eat some ramen." She rubbed her stomach, having missed her favorite food.

 

"Of course, that's the first thing you think of. It's always ramen with you." Koukon teased Hikari. "I guess that going to Ichiraku wouldn't hurt, though..." He looked over at his teacher. "Yumi sensei, is it fine if we head off?"

 

"Yeah, I'll go check in with Lord Hokage. You three can go off and get something to eat." The woman smiled back at her students.

 

"Alright!" Koukon shouted, and looked over to his teammates. "Let's go, Hikari! Are you going to come with, Kiniku?" He asked his best friend, hoping that the three of them could go together.

 

"It's been a while since the three of us got to go to Ichiraku together, hasn't it?" Hikari asked. "You should come with us, Kiniku."

Shinachiku / Daiki / Misaki

 

"Man, these guys are really goin' at it," Shinachiku commented, actually surprised at how his fellow ninja were holding up against each other.

 

"Kiniku is from the Matsuyo Clan and Ryuichi is the son of Rock Lee; they're not people you can take lightly," Daiki added.

 

"They could stand to be a little less annoying or weird. And so can the people they hang around!" Misaki blurted.

 

"Yeah, like my stupid sister!" Shinachiku piped in.

 

"Or that weirdo Koukon," Misaki added, as both she and Shinachiku laughed together. If it was one thing they had in common, it was making fun of their fellow classmates. Meanwhile, Daiki merely examined the two ninja sparring.

Edited September 21, 201411 yr by Firaga Sensei

"Heeeey..." Koukon whined in response to Misaki. "You know you like my company." He tried to sound cool, but he was still whining.

 

"You're the stupid one, Shinachiku." Hikari glared at her younger brother.

Misaki / Shinachiku

 

"Ew, no way!" Misaki cried.

 

"No, you're stupid!" Shinachiku argued back.

 

Kiniku / Ryuichi

 

The two were getting tired of just simple punches and kicks. "Okay, let's make this interesting! Earth Style: Stone Shot!" Kiniku cried, sending three earth shards at Ryuichi.

 

"Sealing Jutsu: Earth!" Ryuichi said, pulling out a scroll and sealing the shards up. "Now then: Leaf Hurricane!" Ryuichi cried, dashing forward with two powerful kicks to Kiniku, one that he blocked and one that he caught. Ryuichi used the momentum to flip kick Kiniku in the chin, barely receiving impact from it at all.

 

"Unseal!" Ryuichi said in the air, releasing the shards he had back down!

 

"Wind Style: Aero Strike!" Kiniku cried as he bolted upward and shot through all the shards in one hint, barely missing Ryuichi as he continued to forward in the air. When he missed, he and Ryuichi fell back down to ground level, and stood in their stances as they plotted their next moves.

"You don't have to be afraid, Misaki." Koukon pouted.

 

"Shut up and watch the battle, Shinachiku." Hikari ordered her brother, now focusing on the fight. "Come on Kiniku, you can do it!" She cheered.

Both Misaki and Shinachiku glared at the respective members of Team Yumi and then pointed their noses in the air as they childishly pouted. Meanwhile, Daiki was still observing the fight.

 

Kiniku / Ryuichi

 

Kiniku heard Hikari's cheers and used it to amp himself up even more. "So then, should we take this to the next level?"

 

"You mean...?" Ryuichi said.

 

"Yep. I'll take off mine if you take off yours," Kiniku said.

 

Ryuichi nodded. Both he and Kiniku sat down for a moment and pulled up their pant legs to reveal that they were both wearing weights on their ankles. They both removed them and threw them far to the side, the weights creating a small explosion from hitting the ground so far.

 

"All right! That is much better!" Ryuichi commented, shaking out his legs and going back into his stance.

 

"Yep. Sure is." Kiniku commented back, stretching out his own legs before going back into his own stance. "Now then, let's go one more!"

 

"Right!" Ryuichi and Kiniku both dashed out of plain sight, and then reappeared in front of each other and started trading blows at an even faster rate, occasionally darting in and out of sight to try to get behind one another, but only to counter each other and start the process all over again.

Edited December 14, 201410 yr by Firaga Sensei

"Wow... They're so fast..." Akarui was amazed by the sudden increase in speed between the two chunin.

 

"Heh, that's nothing compared to my Swift Style." Koukon laughed, trying to show off.

 

"You mean the style you're still learning to use?" Hikari teased Koukon. "I'm sure either one of these two could out-speed you..."

 

"Hey!" Koukon began to complain. "I've gotten better at it... Kind of..."

Kiniku / Ryuichi

 

The two went at it until they have almost drained all of their stamina. They stood facing each other, panting as they barely managed to hold their stances.

 

"Whoo... you're giving me a good work out, Bushy Brows... but this'll go all day unless we end it now."

 

"I agree. Let us reach a most glorious conclusion to our youthful battle! First person to hit the ground first wins!" Ryuichi cried.

 

The two Chunin than charged up their chakra and dashed into the air, both looking to end in it one final punch. And they did. Both of them: they both punched each other in the face at the same time, sending them backwards towards the ground, and a split second before either of them landed, Kiniku and Ryuichi used their index fingers to balance themselves in the air, legs and body pointing straight up and not touching the ground at all.

 

"Heh... looks like we had the same idea." Kiniku said, smirking.

 

"Yes, it appears so. But who will be the first to fall?" Ryuichi said back.

 

A few moments passed as the two held their ground, eyeing each other to see if one would  There's gotta be some way to get this guy to the ground... Kiniku thought. Wait! I got it! "Hey String Bean! Give Hikari a scare!"

Edited December 14, 201410 yr by Firaga Sensei

"O...kay...?" Koukon was confused, but shrugged.

 

"How will that do anything-" Hikari began to ask, when Koukon had a Shadow Clone jump out of a bush and grab her shoulder. She shrieked, and punched Koukon's face.

 

"Ow..." He rubbed his injury. "I think I liked it better when you just hugged me..." He complained.

 

"Sh-shut up!" Hikari shouted, nervously glancing over to her brother. Please tell me he didn't hear that...

Shinachiku

 

"Bahahahahahaha! That was hilarious!" Shinachiku laughed, rolling around on the ground and holding his stomach, as his teammates simply covered their ears after hearing Hikari's shriek.

 

Ryuichi / Kiniku / Shogo

 

"Whoa!" Ryuichi cried, the jarring shock of Hikari's shriek caused him to lose focus and fall on his face, the rest of his body following as he lay on the ground belly down. Kiniku, thankfully, managed to pop in some earplugs right after he told Koukon to scare Hikari, and took them out when he saw Ryuichi fall. Getting back on his feet, he went over to Ryuichi.

 

"Agh... that was no fair, Kinku. Nor was it very youthful," Ryuichi said, sitting upright and rubbing his face.

 

"What can I say? Deception is a ninja's best friend. Besides, at least now you can use this to get stronger, right?" Kinku said, holding out two fingers to Ryuichi.

 

"Oh... um, yes! Yes, you are right. I will continue to get stronger and i will be ready for something like that next time!" Ryuichi said, smiling as he took Kinku's fingers with his own; together, the two formed the Unison Sign. Kiniku then helped Ryuichi back up and they went back to their teams.

 

"So then, who's next?" Kiniku said to his teammates. He then noticed Koukon rubbing his face. "Ooh... that doesn't look good. I don't know where you got that from, but you might wanna let that heal, String Bean. So I guess that leaves you, Hyguamaki. You're up!" Kinku said, pointing behind him with his thumb.

 

"Ah yes, now which of you would like to prove your youthfullness? Shogo, Akurai?" Ryuichi asked his teammates.

 

"I will," Shogo said, speaking out loud for the first time that day. "I want to spar with Lady Hikari. Only I can."

 

"Oh I see... well, okay. Go ahead." Ryuichi said, letting Shogo take his place on the grounds.

Edited September 21, 201411 yr by Firaga Sensei

Koukon glared at Kiniku. "Yeah, I wonder where..." He grumbled angrily.

 

"Shut up, Shinachiku!" Hikari shouted at her brother. At least he didn't mention what Koukon said...

 

Hikari was surprised that Shogo seemed so eager to fight her. She nervously stood up, and nodded. "O-okay..." She walked over to Shogo.

Shogo

 

Shogo stared down his cousin Hikari. He had been silent for a while now, as well as concealing his feelings, but he could feel his inner thoughts and emotions bubbling up as he brought up his hand into a half seal to confirm the Seal of Confrontation.

 

Lady Hikari... I want to test your strength. Let's see how you compare to me... Shogo thought calmly, but again he could feel the animosity in the back of his mind. He really did not want to start a scene or something of that matter. Now was not the right time.

Hikari followed Shogo's example of forming the Seal of Confrontation. This could be difficult... I just hope my defeat won't be too embarassing, especially in front of everyone else. She still looked calm, however.

 

"Come on, Hikari!" Koukon cheered on his friend, realizing she was nervous.

 

Hikari tried to hide her smile. I can't screw up... Not with him and the others watching.

Shogo

 

Shogo focused himself and shot straight at Hikari, aiming to land as many palm strikes as possible.

Hikari dodged Shogo's hits, making sure not a single one hit her. If I get hit once, it's all over... She waited for a short time, then jumped over her cousin. As she was in the air, she held her palm back. "Air Palm!" She shot a blast of wind towards Shogo, hoping to get in a hit.

Shogo

 

Shogo canceled out Hikari's attack with his own Air Palm, and jumped up after Hikair, delivering a series of blows and ending with a short Rotation that sent her flying back.

Hikari hit the surface of the nearby lake, making a loud splash noise as she began to descend into the water. After a while, she jumped out, now channeling her chakra into her feet to stand on the water. Can't let my guard down like that... She thought to herself. I guess that worked out for me in the end, though. She ran towards Shogo, and attempted to hit him using her Gentle Fist technique.

Shogo

 

Shogo also positioned himself on the lake by channeling chakra on the bottoms of his feet. He collided with Hikari as he dodged and weaved through her strikes and managed to land some strikes of his own.

Edited December 14, 201410 yr by Firaga Sensei

When Shogo got a hit in on Hikari, she smirked... And disappeared into a cloud of dust. Suddenly, four Shadow Clones of Hikari all jumped towards Shogo, gripping his arms and legs so he couldn't escape. Another started running over to him. "It's over now!" She shouted, her palms glowing with chakra. "Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists!" She shot two compressed blasts of chakra at her cousin, hoping that this would really finish the battle.

Shogo

 

Before Hikari could impact with her Lion Fists, Shogo took advantage of his Water Style affinity and turned to solid water, melding into the water below him by replacing himself with a Water Clone. Now Hikari would have to go on the defensive...

Hikari looked surprised when her cousin quickly dodged her attack. "Crap." She muttered, now having her clones surround herself. She also got into a more defensive stance, and used her Byakugan to scout out Shogo's location.

Shogo

 

Shogo used his own Byakugan to track Hikari as he kept his own chakra hidden. Evenutally, he summoned Water clones from under the water, which sprung up and attacked Hikari's clones, before Shogo himself sprung up from the water.

 

"Eight Trigrams: Rotation!" He cried, creating a dome of chakra around him that sent Hikari back. "Air Palm!" He added, shooting a the large chakra blast at Hikari to finish her off.

Hikari screamed in pain as the Air Palm hit her, and collapsed. She forced herself to stand, but was slightly off balance. I... I can still win... She ran towards Shogo, preparing to strike his chest.

Shogo

 

Shogo merely sidestepped Hikari's strike and grabbed her wrist. He held her in place for a moment, gripping her wrist tightly, as his Byakugan flared and a hint of KIlling Intent burned in his eyes. He then kicked Hikari away.

Shogo

 

Shogo merely sidestepped Hikari's strike and grabbed her wrist. He held her in place for a moment, gripping her wrist tightly, as his Byakugan flared and a hint of KIlling Intent burned in his eyes. He then kicked Hikari away.

Hikari fell to the ground, and looked up at Shogo, terrified. Wh-what's... Happening...? I-I don't want to die here...

 

"Hey, stop!" Hikari looked up to see Koukon punch Shogo's face. "What the heck are you trying to do?!" He shouted at Shogo.

Shogo / Ryuichi / Kiniku / Shinachiku / Misaki / Daiki

 

"Grr!" Shogo growled after recieving the blow from Koukon. "Get out of my way!" He yelled, blasting Koukon back with another Air Palm. Thankfully, Kiniku jumped up and caught his teammate midair and brought him back down alongside Hikari.

 

"Shogo! Get a hold of yourself!" Ryuichi said, getting in front of Shogo before he could take a step further. "My teammate, what is troubling you? And why did you attack Hikari and Koukon?"

 

"Its none of your concern!" Shogo cried.

 

"Hey, you jerk! You're gonna get it for hurting my sister!" Shinachiku cried from afar.

 

"Shinachiku, no!" Misaki cried right after, holding back the enraged son of the Hokage, fearing for both their safety as Daiki was simply shocked by what he saw.