Thank you VERY much to ceechi who drew the adorable picture of Ashley on the side! I love it! xD

Pic of Ashley  --->

Third Person’s POV

Peikirin bends down and grabs Tozoku’s arm, helping her red haired teammate to her feet. The embarrassed girl swipes the back of her hand across her mouth irritably, giving Ashley a poisonous look.

Though the blonde had an innocent look on her face as she looks up at Areki’s face on the big screen, Tozoku was sure she could see the girl trying not to smirk. She didn’t know how, but she knew Ashley had made her fall over somehow.

“Are you alright?” Peikirin asks slowly, as if thinking hard about her words. Tozoku rips her arms away from Peikirin and adjusts her hair, before smirking proudly.

“I’m fine” she replies curtly, placing her hands on her hips. “Just focus your energy on getting rid of Ashley.”

“….I’m not allowed to kill her” Peikirin says lowly, hooding her pink eyes and staring coldly at Ashley. A light giggle escapes Tozoku’s lips as she winks at her olive skinned teammate.

“We’re not going to kill her” she informs Peikirin, “Yet anyway.”

“To finish off the day folks” Areki announces, smiling brightly, “We’re going to get Round Five, the Heavy Weight Stage, under way! Originally we were going to try and get Round Six done today as well, but considering how long the day has been for our contestants, we’ve decided to let them rest and compete again tomorrow.”

A few of the remaining contestants exchange relieved looks, looking forward to having a rest. They’d been competing for a few hours now, and their bodies were feeling somewhat tired, especially since they’d had to use their chakra in nearly every Round.

“Anyway” Areki continues, chuckling for some reason, “As I said, Round Five is the Heavy Weight Stage. Two contestants from every team will be chosen to compete in this Round, and like the past few Rounds, four contestants are going to be eliminated from the Tournament. The rules are very simple! Absolutely no weapons or Jutsu allowed, even ones that only affect yourself. We want to see just how physically capable you are. Contestants will be lifting rocks in this Round, with the weight of the rock doubling for each stage. We’ll be beginning with a ten kilogram rock. If teams could please choose their competitors now thanks!”

Ashley’s eyes light up mischievously as she turns to face Kakashi, who gives her a suspicious look in return. What was she so excited about all of the sudden?

“Can I compete in this Round Kakashi Sensei?” Ashley asks eagerly, clasping her hands together and turning on her puppy dog eyes, seeing the doubtful look her Sensei is giving her. Surely he couldn’t say no to Ashley’s puppy dog eyes?

“Uhhh…” Kakashi begins awkwardly, scratching the back of his head and looking away from the blonde. “I was actually thinking that maybe Neji and myself should compete in this Round….”

Ashley’s face suddenly drops, the girl narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms, lip lifting with distaste.

“Why?” she questions sharply. “Because you’re both men? Do you think that Kyoku and I can’t handle this because we’re girls?”

“No, that’s not-”

“I didn’t know you were so sexist Kakashi” Kyoku speaks up softly, a teasing glint in her eyes as Kakashi sweat drops, waving his arms back and forth in defence.

“I-I’m not!” he protests, looking between Ashley and Kyoku. “It’s not because you’re both women. I just-”

“You’re just scared that I’ll kick your ass in this Round” Ashley interrupts smugly, smirking arrogantly at Kakashi and reminding him slightly of Sasuke. “This sort of thing is totally up my alley Sensei, and you know it.”

“I’m not scared” Kakashi sighs, his shoulders drooping. Why did Ashley have to try and goad him into letting her do this? He just didn’t think she’d be able to get very far without the aid of her chakra. He didn’t want her to hurt herself, was that such a bad thing?

“I don’t mind stepping back Kakashi” Neji suddenly speaks up, tilting his head to the side and smirking with amusement at Ashley’s determined face. “It’ll be interesting to watch the both of you compete against each other.”

“I still don’t think that’s a good ide-”

“Great!” Ashley interrupts her Sensei again, giving him a closed eye smile and turning to head for the middle of the arena. “I’m glad that’s all settled then!”

Kakashi’s shoulders slump further as Ashley jogs towards the centre of the stadium, another sweat drop forming on the side of his head. What had happened to the days when his students respected his decisions and followed orders? He missed the way they used to look up to him….

“Don’t worry about her Kakashi” Kyoku murmurs reassuring, gently placing a hand on the silver haired Jonin’s shoulder. “You’ve trained her to be a strong Ninja, even without the use of her chakra. She’ll be fine.”

Kakashi glances back at Kyoku over his shoulder, before straightening up and nodding his head. Kyoku was right. His student was tough…..And if she happened to hurt herself, Kakashi would very much enjoy saying I told you so to Ashley.

Ashley’s POV

I grin cheekily at Kakashi as he strolls over, hands in his pockets. He rolls his visible eye at me, taking up a position by my side.

“Honourable Ninja don’t blackmail their Sensei” Kakashi tells me wryly, making me shrug and glance up at him, one hand on my hip.

“I didn’t blackmail you though Kakashi Sensei” I insist. “I just didn’t listen to your decision. There’s a difference.”

“Honourable Ninja also respect their Sensei’s decisions” Kakashi shoots back coolly, making me smirk up at him, place a hand on his arm and shake my head.

“You should know by now that I’m hardly an honourable Ninja” I chuckle, to which Kakashi sighs.

“Sometimes you can be” he says as he looks down at me, before suddenly blanching. “But most of the time your methods just worry me.”

“I like to call them unorthodox” I reply brightly, giving my Sensei a closed eye smile.

“Alright!” Areki’s loud voice sounds through the arena, catching my attention. “If our chosen competitors could all form a single file line, we’ll begin Round Five!”

The crowd scream and cheer as we make a line, with Kakashi on my left and Tanzaki from the Hidden Mist on my right. I look up at her as some Grass Ninja walk into the arena, performing hand signs to create our rocks, only for her to glance at me from the corner of her eye. She turns her head slightly and blinks her ruby eyes, before nodding at me. Remaining silent, I return her head nod and look straight ahead, seeing that there are small rocks now sitting on the ground before each contestant.

“You’ll have thirty seconds to lift the rock above your head” Areki explains, smiling slightly. “The first four contestants who are unable to lift their rocks will be disqualified. And now ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to begin Round Five in three……two……one…..Go!”

“Psh, way too easy” I mutter, bending my knees and reaching down to lift the ten kilogram rock. Using both hands to grip the rock, I straighten up, easily raising it above my head, arms stretched high up. Glancing to my left, I see that Kakashi is also holding his rock up, though he’s only using one hand. The other is still shoved in his pocket, visible eye hooded boredly.

“It looks like all of our contestants were able to lift the ten kilogram rock!” Areki shouts excitedly. “Wonderful! If you could all drop your rocks, our Grass Ninja will create heavier ones for you!”

I throw my rock to the ground, dusting my hands off and then placing them on my hips, giving my Sensei a triumphant smirk.

“See Kakashi Sensei?” I ask, earning a wary look from him. “No problem!”

“It was only ten kilos Ashley” he tells me dryly, making me blanch. “An untrained child could have lifted that.”

Third Person’s POV

Kohana watches the screen attentively, her eyes flicking between her friend and her Father as they heave the twenty kilo rocks above their heads, Kakashi still only using one hand.

‘He’s strong…’ the young girl thinks, freezing as she suddenly hears voices below her. Her grip on the tree she’s clinging to tightens, nails digging into the bark as she glances down. Hiding in the leaves of a tall tree close to her house, Kohana was a good eight metres up above the ground, having wanted to watch the Tournament as well, yet stay out of sight at the same time.

The girl watches through wide navy eyes, as a group of teenagers pass below her, all talking excitedly about what had happened in the Tournament so far, and who they thought was going to win.

“I hope that Ashley chick wins!” one of the males laughs, running a hand through his hair. “She’s hot man!”

Kohana’s nose wrinkles at that, thinking it silly that the boy only wanted her blonde friend to win because she’s attractive. That wasn’t a reason to win. Having skill and determination were good reasons to win.

“Well, I hope Hatake-san wins” a softly spoken girl says. “He’s done very well so far, and my Dad told me that he’s a really skilled Ninja. They reckon he could be one of the strongest in the Village.”

“Yeah, my Uncle is a Ninja” another girl adds, nodding her head enthusiastically, “And he said that Kakashi used to be in the ANBU Black Ops. Only really strong Ninja get to join them.”

Kohana watches as the teenagers disappear around a corner, their carefree chatter fading away and leaving Kohana alone again. She can’t help smiling to herself, looking back up at the screen as forty kilo rocks are created and placed in front of each contestant, some of them looking a little worried.

‘Everyone says that my Dad is strong’ she thinks happily, watching her Father as Ashley says something to him, a smirk on her face. ‘And everyone seems to respect him….’

Kakashi gives Ashley a closed eye smile and shakes his head, before bending his knees and using one hand to grab onto the heavy rock in front of him.

“I hope I can be like you one day…” Kohana says softly. “….Dad……”

“Just you watch Sensei” Ashley says with a smirk, interlacing her fingers and cracking them loudly, “I’m gonna put your old man self to shame!”

Raising an eyebrow, Kakashi glances down at his blonde student. Though normally quite humble about her abilities, the girl’s Uchiha arrogance could quite easily be stirred up in a competition. She obviously hated being bested by anyone.

“Says the little girl using two hands” Kakashi replies with a closed eye smile, before reaching down and scooping his hand underneath the rock. His smile suddenly disappearing, Kakashi throws all his concentration into lifting up the forty kilo rock with one hand, the muscles in his right arm flexing.

Exhaling sharply, Kakashi manages to hoist the heavy rock above his head, sending a pointed look over to Ashley, who narrows her eyes and purses her lips.

“You sure looked like you were struggling just then Sensei” she eventually says, a devious glint flashing through her visible eye. “Time to show you how the younger generation does it!”

‘We’re not allowed to use chakra’ the girl thinks to herself, copying Kakashi and shoving her hand underneath the large rock, ‘So it’s a good thing that my Katsuryoku doesn’t use any! Suck on this Kakashi Sensei!’

Activating her Kekkei Genkai, Ashley telepathically lifts her rock into the air, while making sure to keep her palm stuck to the bottom of it, wanting to make it seem as if she’s lifting it with her own physical strength.

Kakashi’s eye widens slightly as Ashley easily raises the forty kilo rock above her head, seemingly having no trouble whatsoever. The blonde places one hand on her hip and sends Kakashi a tooth filled grin, seeing the shocked look on his face. She wondered how long it would take him to figure it out.

“And it looks like our four contestants are already out!” Areki announces, seeming somewhat surprised by the result. “Three people were unable to raise the forty kilo rock above their heads, and one wasn’t able to lift the twenty kilo one. Now it’s just a matter of seeing who can lift the heaviest rock!”

Ashley and Kakashi drop their rocks, the silver haired Jonin sighing with relief, as one Grass and two Sand Ninja exit the arena, looking downcast. Ashley watches eagerly as a huge eighty kilo rock is created in front of her, the object much taller than herself.

“This’ll be fun” Ashley laughs darkly, turning and giving Kakashi a teasing look. “Are you gonna be able to lift this with one hand Kakashi Sensei?”

The Jonin, sweat dropping at the size of the rock, tilts his head and gives Ashley a dry look. Though very physically strong, Kakashi had the feeling that if he even tried to lift the rock with one hand, his arm would snap off.

Shrugging her shoulders, Ashley manages to get her hand under the rock and, focusing her mental energy on it, uses her Katsuryoku to hoist the rock into the air, left hand on her hip.

Ashley can’t help smirking, as the remaining contestants, including Kakashi, all look at her with wide, unbelieving eyes.

“J-Just to be clear folks” Areki stutters, his eyes also wide, “That rock weighs eighty kilograms. And Ashley Minami has just lifted it into the air as if were nothing!....Is she using a Jutsu?”

“No!” Ashley can’t help snapping irritably, sending a nasty look up at the screen and making Areki shrug. The orange haired girl from the waterfall Village, Ita, leans back and glances at Ashley, her face scrunched up with concentration.

“I can’t sense any chakra” she eventually decided, shrugging. “She’s actually lifting that up without using any chakra!”

“Damn straight I’m not using chakra” Ashley brags, looking over at Kakashi and pausing when she sees the suspicious look on his face. He studies her for a moment, wrapping his arms around his eighty kilogram rock at the same time. He wasn’t about to be outdone!

‘How can she be lifting that so easily?’ he wonders, struggling to hoist the rock above his head, managing to rest it on his shoulder. ‘She was using two hands for the twenty kilogram rock. We’re not allowed to use chakra, so what could she be-’

Kakashi’s eye suddenly widens with realisation, before he scowls at Ashley. Finally managing to push the rock above his head and hold it up with both arms, Kakashi sends her a critical look.

“You’re cheating” the silver haired man says decisively, arms shaking slightly under the rock’s heavy weight.

“Nope” Ashley replies calmly, shaking her head. “I’m actually not.”

“I know you’re using your Katsuryoku” Kakashi informs her, deadpanning. Ashley shrugs uncaringly, as both Leaf Ninja throw their rocks down on the ground, causing it to shake.

“So?” Ashley challenges, raising an eyebrow and turning to face her Sensei. “What’s your point?”

“You can’t use Jutsu for this challenge” Kakashi sighs, rolling his shoulder. “It’s supposed to be a test of physical strength.”

“My Kekkei Genkai isn’t a Jutsu” Ashley corrects, rolling her eyes and watching as all of the contestants, besides herself and Kakashi, exit the arena. “I’m not using any weapons, I’m not using chakra and I haven’t done anything to make myself stronger.”

“It’s still cheating” Kakashi tells his student, to which she shrugs again, smiling darkly at the huge one hundred and sixty kilogram rock now towering over her.

“I’m not above a little cheating here and there” the blonde informs Kakashi cheekily, rubbing her hands together. “You should know that by now Sensei.”

Kakashi stares at Ashley as her smile fades and she focuses on lifting up the giant rock, at least pretending to make it look difficult by resting it on her shoulder for a moment, before shakily hoisting it up above her head. The crowd erupts into wild cheering, amazed at the sight of such a tiny girl lifting such a huge rock above her head so easily.

Kakashi suddenly smiles wryly at Ashley and shakes his head.

“I’m not even going to try and lift this” he chuckles, tapping his rock with his knuckles. “I’ll just do the honourable thing that any good Sensei would do, and let you win.”

“Gee thanks Sensei” Ashley replies sarcastically, though she sends him a closed eye smile. “That’s really good of you.”

“Unbelievable folks!” Areki shouts into his microphone, eyes sparkling with amazement. “Ashley Minami has just lifted one hundred and sixty kilograms! And in doing so, has won our fifth and final Round for the day!”

“Yessss!” Ashley cries, throwing a fist in the air triumphantly as the crowd cheers wildly. “It’s about freaking time I won something!”

“Even though you cheated” Kakashi mutters under his breath, earning a murderous glare from Ashley.

“Don’t take this away from me Sensei” she warns. “Or I’ll be sure to permanently damage your manhood.”

Kakashi sweat drops at that, and takes a few steps away from his blonde student, allowing her to celebrate her victory uninterrupted. He certainly didn’t want to risk losing his manhood.

Ashley’s POV

“Alright Ashley!” someone shouts, making me pause. Turning around, I see Shikamaru running towards me, a big grin on his face. “You were awesome!”

“Huh, I know” I reply smugly, before squealing as Shikamaru wraps his arms around me in a hug and lifts me up, spinning me around. I feel myself blushing as Shikamaru lowers me to the ground, shoving one hand in his pocket and shaking his head.

‘Why am I blushing?’ I wonder, placing the back of my hand against my cheek and looking at Shikamaru through wide eyes. ‘It’s just Shikamaru.’

“I can’t believe you just lifted one hundred and sixty kilos” the Nara chuckles, tilting his head to the side and looking at me through hooded eyes. “It must be such a drag to be on the receiving end of one of your punches.”

“Uhh, what was up with the hug Shika-kun?” I ask, not so subtly changing the subject. Shikamaru pauses, his eyes widening. He glances down at me awkwardly, before rubbing the back of his neck and laughing nervously. What’s up with him all of the sudden?

“Uhh….I was….Happy that you won?” he suggests, as if asking me if that’s why he did it. I give Shikamaru a suspicious look, causing him to cough and turn away, pretending to have something to say to Kakashi Sensei. Hmmm…..

“Alright everyone!” Areki suddenly calls, as the audience begins to finally quiet down, “That’s the end of the competition for today! Our remaining twenty contestants will be competing again tomorrow however, in our sixth and final Round for the entire Tournament. We kindly ask you to be here bright and early if you’re one of our competitors. For now though, audience, give all of our fantastic competitors a round of applause as they leave to go and relax for the night!”

I wave up at the crowd as they begin cheering again, before blowing a kiss at the screen and holding up two fingers in a peace sign.

“C’mon guys” Kakashi calls over his shoulder, already heading for the exit, walking beside Kyoku. “Let’s pack it in.”

“Yes!” I bark, running up behind my Sensei. “I’m starving! I want to eat!”

“Yeah, what’s new?” Kakashi teases, earning a wry smirk from me and making Kyoku laugh quietly.

“Tomorrow should be interesting” Neji says, suddenly appearing beside me. I tilt my head and glance over at him, curious.

“What makes you think that?” I ask, to which he shrugs and looks up at the sky.

“Well, we competed in five Rounds today” he explains thoughtfully, “But there’s only one final Round tomorrow. It must be important if they’re leaving the final Round for the whole day tomorrow.”

“Ugh, what a drag” Shikamaru sighs, turning around and walking backwards in front of Kakashi and Kyoku as we all exit out of the stadium and into the street. “I’m the only one who won’t be competing tomorrow.”

“Well that’s what you get for being lazy and dropping out” Neji informs Shikamaru bluntly, making the Nara deadpan.

“Don’t you ever take a day off?” he sighs, causing Neji to raise an eyebrow in question.

“Take a day off from what?” the brunette asks cautiously.

“From being so damn arrogant” Shikamaru retorts, making me laugh and Neji scowl. Shikamaru catches my eye and winks at me, before Neji glowers at me.

“Oh, like you can laugh” he snaps. “You’re the most arrogant person I know!”

Shikamaru’s eyes widen, no doubt thinking that Neji is incredibly stupid for insulting me. I scowl back at Neji and push my chest out, balling my hands into fists.

“Yeah?” I challenge, teeth bared. “Well at least my arrogance is valid. I’ve actually got the strength to back up my arrogant ways Hyuga. What have you got? Some veiny eyes and mediocre Taijutsu!”

“M-Mediocre?” Neji repeats, eyes widening with shock, before he glares at me angrily. “The Gentle Fist Style is one of the most proficient Taijutsu styles in the world! And the Byakugan is- Ughh!”

Neji is suddenly interrupted by a lightning fast punch to the stomach, sending him sprawling across the dirt on his back. He eventually slides to a stop, a good forty metres away from us, as I glare over at him, hands on my hips.

“You’re so good” I say mockingly, “And yet you couldn’t dodge a simple punch to the gut, even with your precious Byakugan.”

Neji pushes himself to his feet, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth and narrowing his pale eyes at me.

“I wasn’t ready” he growls dangerously, as some of the other contestants approach us, also leaving the stadium. “It’s not like I was expecting you to attack me!”

“You can’t really use that excuse in the middle of a fight Neji” I taunt, shaking my head. “Expect the unexpected. You know, I really do like you, but sometimes you just…..irk me.”

Neji smirks, leaning back from his defensive position.

“I assure you, the feeling is mutual” he assures me, making me smirk as well. We weren’t best friends, but I guess you could say that Neji and I had an understanding. Arrogant people don’t tend to get along wonderfully all the time.

“Oh look Peikirin” an obnoxious voice suddenly sneers from behind me, making me freeze, “Ashley’s pretending to be tough again! Hahaha, how sad!”

“I agree” Peikirin agrees in her weird, breathy voice. “It’s….Pathetic really.”

My hands slowly clench into fists, as Shikamaru watches me worriedly and Neji narrows his eyes over at Peikirin, not liking the girl one bit. A slight smirk appears on my face, seeing that Kakashi Sensei and Kyoku had continued walking as Neji and I had been arguing. They’d been too smart to get involved, and right now, I’m thankful for that.

Revenge time.

Whirling around, I see Tozoku laughing nastily, her hands on her hips. Seeing me glaring at her, she smirks, as if shed bested me at something. Psh, like that’ll ever happen.

“Oh, what’s the matter Ashley?” Tozoku asks sweetly, giving me a fake worried look. “Did I hurt your little feeli- Eeepp!”

Before the red head can finish her sentence, I flick one hand up, causing a small amount of earth to crawl up Tozoku’s legs, stopping at her waist and securing her in place.

“Tozoku!” Peikirin cries, taking a step back, her pink eyes wide with surprise. She watches as Tozoku’s hands scrabble at the hard earth surrounding her lower body, no doubt panicking since she can’t exactly move.

“You’ve annoyed this Wolf one too many times” I growl lowly, hooding my eyes. “And now, since there are no rules, I’m about to bite back.”

“I won’t let you hurt Tozoku!” Peikirin shouts, leaping in front of her friend and raising her hand, ready to draw the sword strapped to her back. I roll my eyes and shake my head.

“Please” I scoff, performing swift hand signs. “I destroyed you once, I can do it again. Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!”

Taking a deep breath and focusing my Wind chakra into the back of my throat, I lean forwards and blow out a powerful gale wind. It hits Peikirin with perfect accuracy, blowing her right out of the way as the chakra in my Jutsu whips at her skin.

“Peikirin!” Tozoku barks, flailing her limbs angrily. “Peikirin! Get back here and protect me you moron!”

“Don’t worry, now it’s your turn” I tell Tozoku brightly, baring my teeth in a grin. Tozoku scowls at me unattractively, before placing her hands together in a familiar hand sign. Recognizing her Jutsu, I slap my hands together and perform the same hand signs.

“Summoning Jutsu!” we both shout at the same time, becoming shrouded in a huge cloud of smoke. At the same time as multiple glowing eyes appear through the smoke, a low growl emits from beside me, guttural and angry.

“Feel free to rip off another leg” I suggest, making my Wolf chuckle darkly.

“If you’re going to twist my arm Milady” is the rough reply, as the smoke begins to fade. Sure enough, as I’d expected, Tozoku has summoned her freakish, screaming Spider. I almost feel bad for it, considering it’s still missing a leg and it’s clear that Tozoku doesn’t care for her demonized Summon.

The white Spider shrieks furiously, seeing the Wolf beside me, before crouching down and leaping into the air. Kai also crouches down, before launching himself towards the Spider with a snarl, eager to meet it head on. Despite the Spider being bigger than him, Kai easily knocks it to the ground, his steely, muscle packed body to heavy for the Spider to tackle.

Landing on top of the Spider, Kai immediately snaps his jaws around one of its legs and jerks his head backwards ferociously, aiming to tear another limb from its body.

“W…W…Wolf….” I hear Peikirin mutter lowly, her eyes wide and her body trembling. “Wolf…..Kill it……Kill the Wolf!”

I watch with wide eyes, as Peikirin suddenly charges forwards, sword drawn and a loud scream emitting from her mouth.

“What’s up with her?” Shikamaru asks out loud, as I begin performing more hand signs. Hell if she thought she could stab my Wolf!

“Summoning Jutsu!” I shout, as I am enveloped in another cloud of smoke. “Jet! Don’t let that psycho near Kai!

“Sitä” my largest Wolf replies in his impossibly deep voice, before bounding out of the smoke and running for Peikirin, whose sword is now covered in flames. (On it)

“Earth Style: Earth Chain Jutsu!” Jet thunders, narrowing his golden eyes, before a thick chain made from rock shoots up out of the ground. Catching one end in his mouth, Jet swings it around a couple of times, before throwing the other end forwards. Dead on target, the chain wraps around Peikirin’s wrists, before Jet gives a mighty tug.

“Aaaarrrgghh!” Peikirin shrieks like a banshee, abruptly being pulled into the air by Jet. My Wolf then jerks his head down, moments later causing Peikirin to slam heavily into the ground. And face first too. Jet’s a good boy.

“Pysy maassapikkutyttö” Jet suggests tauntingly, chain still held in his jaws. “Olen juuri menossasatuttaa sinua...Taas.” (Stay down little girl. I’m just going to hurt you….Again)

“Hah!” Kai snarls, slashing at the Spider’s large jaws viciously. “Come on bug! Give me some sort of challenge! Or is it hard fighting while missing three legs? Hahahaha!”

Tozoku glances between her Spider and teammate with wide, panicking eyes, before glancing back at me. Seeing that I’m suddenly standing right in front of her, Tozoku freezes, eyes trained on the dark smirk spread across my face.

“Are you scared?” I ask lowly, almost in a whisper. Tozoku immediately scowls and shakes her head, whipping her long ponytail back and forth, before I bark out an obnoxious laugh.

“You’re lying” I sneer. “I can sense that your heart is going crazy. And you’re shaking. Oh, are you….nervous?”

I reach forwards and grab Tozoku’s chin, roughly turning her head to the side, inspecting her face. I feel the girl trembling beneath my tough, panic clear in her eyes, though she scowls angrily, putting on a brave face. Heh. It’s always good to know when you’re out classed.

“Such a pretty face” I smirk, holding up my free hand. “It’d be such a shame if something were to…..Happen to it….”

I almost laugh when Tozoku’s eyes bulge out of her head as my hand is suddenly enveloped with white electricity, courtesy of my very handy Katsuryoku.

“But it would be pretty fun if I was given the privilege of disfiguring it” I laugh darkly, enjoying myself as I see Tozoku’s eyes fill with tears. “Yeah go on, cry. The more you suffer, the more I enjoy myself…..”

‘…Is this the way you plan on proving yourself to me?’ a deep voice in my head asks, making me pause briefly. Who was th- Wait….

‘Hakuba?’ I ask, confused. I haven’t heard from him in so long, I’m not used to his voice anymore.

‘Who else would it be?’ the Wolf asks smartly, rolling his glowing red eyes. ‘Don’t let me interrupt your activities, I’m just wondering if this is the way you’ve decided to prove to me that humans can be decent.’

I can’t help scowling, my hand still sparking with electricity, as Hakuba watches on patiently, his eyes narrowed. He knows exactly what he’s doing…

“Hakuba, you’ve seen what this girl has done to me” I argue, trying to convince the Demon that my actions are justified.

“Yes” Hakuba agrees lowly, stalking back and forth behind the bars in my psyche, “And I have also seen where revenge and retaliation get people…Do as you wish you silly brat, but just remember the words we’ve exchanged in the past……Perhaps that so called heart felt promise you made to me wasn’t so sincere?....’

I glare at Tozoku hatefully for a few moments, before hanging my head and sighing deeply, the electricity fading from my hand.

‘…..You’re right Hakuba’ I admit, begrudgingly. ‘I did make a promise to prove myself to you…..If I kill her like this, the Grass Village may want revenge on the Leaf Village, and then we’d retaliate as well.’

‘Revenge is a never ending circle brat’ Hakuba growls, sitting back on his haunches. ‘It’s hard to swallow your hatred, but in the end, it will prevent further heartache……’

I release Tozoku’s face, roughly pushing it away from me, before waving my hand and freeing the red head from her earthy prison. My only satisfaction is the way she falls to the ground, once again landing on her face, though this time its better, because she’s snivelling and brushing away tears.

‘That doesn’t make it any easier though Hakuba’ I think, gritting my teeth as I watch Tozoku scrape herself from the ground and dust off her clothes. ‘I’d still love to smash a hole through her face.’

‘……Though you’re still an irritating little brat’ Hakuba growls at me, ‘I see that you are so far keeping your promise to me……However, I’m just waiting for you to blow it, because as soon as you do, I’ll be fighting to break fr-’

‘You can stop putting on a front Hakuba’ I sigh. ‘You stopped me from killing that girl because you like me. You’re just a big softie.’

‘I am no such thing!’ Hakuba roars in protests, head butting the steel bars of his prison irritably. ‘I’ll be glad when you fail! I was merely amused that you would break your promise so quickly! Humans, you’re all the same!-’

‘Thank you Hakuba’ I interrupt, my words sincere, despite the smirk on my face. ‘You stopped me from making a stupid decision, and I appreciate it.’

‘……Don’t thank me’ Hakuba growls under his breath, after a brief pause. ‘It was unintentional…’

I snap back to reality, as Kai bounds over to me, face covered in purple blood. He grins at me darkly, red eyes flashing as his teeth shine brightly. He’s sick sometimes. Glancing back, I see that the Spider has completely disappeared, so I can only assume that Kai had either killed it, or injured it so badly that it went away.

I spot Jet sitting on top of a flailing Peikirin, her eyes looking wild as she glares up at my Wolf, her sword nestled comfortably in his teeth. Jet looks back at me blandly, ears laid back, looking more like he’s relaxing at a spa than holding down an enemy.

“Ha!” Tozoku suddenly barks, jabbing a hand at me. “I can’t believe you were dumb enough to fall for my scared act! You’re such a pathetic Ninja Ashley, if you can’t even see through such a simple ruse! You’re going to wish you’d killed me!”

“I already do” I reply blankly, staring at the girl through dull eyes as she bounces around like she’d just beaten me at something. “Nothing would’ve made me happier than to see your head splattered across the ground, but unlike you, I can see reason. Don’t worry, I’ll get you back, just not here and now.”

“Empty words Ashley” Tozoku sings, waving a hand in my face and making Kai growl lowly. “You don’t scare me in the least! Peikirin! I don’t care if Wolves set you off, time to stop being crazy and get back to the hotel! Come on, I’m leaving, whether you’re following or not!”

That said, Tozoku throws her nose in the air and skips off towards her hotel, leaving her still flailing friend to fend off Jet by herself.

“I want to kill her” Kai snarls, lowering his head and baring his teeth at Tozoku’s back. I let out a weary chuckle and place a hand on Kai’s head.

“Join the club buddy” I sigh. “Join the club.”