Third Person's POV

The next ten months go by somewhat quickly for Ashley, the girl's time filled with the same harsh training organised by Kyoku, as well as her own personal practice to try and perfect her new Jutsu. Ashley had managed to create other Jutsu during this time, however, that one particular attack seemed to be the one that tripped her up the most. She was almost a little scared of it if she was honest with herself, considering how many times she had been injured whilst attempting to use it.

Any time not spent training, Ashley found herself in the hospital, becoming somewhat of a regular, much to her chagrin. She still hated the hospital, possibly even more so than she used to, after being forced to spend so much time there.

Being healed by Sakura had been somewhat of a novelty in the beginning, Ashley fascinated to see how well her teammate had been going with her training. Nowadays however, Sakura would only roll her eyes whenever she saw a bloodied Ashley lying in a hospital bed, snapping that she was wasting the staff's time and that she should learn to avoid getting herself so injured.

Ashley's attitude wouldn't be much better though, goading Sakura into arguments with her smart comments and constant escape attempts.

It wasn't Ashley's fault that she would get so many injuries, something that Sakura didn't seem to understand. Kyoku's training had never gotten any easier, and as Ashley's skills improved, the ANBU would hold back less and less.

It seemed that in the whole eighteen months that Ashley had trained with Kyoku, the words I'm going to die had lost all meaning......

Between her long days of training and her stints in the hospital, Ashley was still a Ninja of the Leaf, which meant that she would often be sent out on missions. Whether it be in four man cells with her fellow Genin, or the occasional privilege of joining a squad of higher ranked Ninja, Ashley had been working hard to complete her duties when required.

On rare days though, those precious days so few and far between, where Ashley had neither training nor missions, she would spend her time with Kiba and her other friends. While Ashley still sparred with Team Eight on occasion, none of them seemed to have the availability that they had in the beginning anymore.

Despite everyone seeming to be so busy these days, Ashley had managed to grow even closer with her friends, something that filled her with a sense of joy that she would never admit out loud. She would have rather taken that secret to the grave, than ever admit it out loud to anyone.

Ashley's friends were her source of strength, and to be able to form stronger bonds with them, made her feel strangely fulfilled. How one could not feel that way, with friends as good as hers, Ashley didn't know.

While her thoughts did often drift towards Naruto, wondering how the energetic blonde was faring with his own training, Ashley's sadness at not having seen him for so long was often comforted by the thought that he was doing something that made him happy. And in time, he would be returning, as he had promised.

While Ashley had spent much time with her female friends, mostly Ino and Hinata, plus Sakura, whenever Lady Tsunade would spare her, the Minami enjoyed her time with Kiba most of all.

Despite his cheeky attitude and constant ego building, he had proven to be Ashley's greatest source of comfort and safety. Having spent so much time with him, Ashley no longer grew flustered over every small action, though this wasn't to say that he didn't often make her nervous.

She had grown used to being his girlfriend over time, something that still seemed to excite the Inuzuka despite having been dating Ashley for over a year. Secretly, the blonde thought it was adorable, but again, it was not something she could ever bring herself to say out loud. Kiba would probably never let her forget it.

Ashley's Wolves had also managed to remain a solid constant in her life, despite her more than full schedule. Whether they were helping Ashley with her training, passing along messages between her and the other Minami, or just causing chaos with their usual antics, Ashley appreciated each and every one of them in a way that she didn't even know how to express.

With so much happiness in her life, Ashley hadn't been hearing too much from Hakuba, a welcome relief after the things he had put her through. While the demon was still angry and would explode with a venomous fury once in awhile, Ashley had been spared from a large portion of Hakuba's feelings ever since she had experience that hellish nightmare.

The demon had never given an explanation for that experience either, only seeming thoroughly confused and even somewhat anguished by it himself. It hadn't made any sense to Ashley and, eventually, she had stopped demanding answers from him.

It had seemed as though Hakuba hadn't had the answers to be able to give her anyway. Even if he had figured it out, the demon didn't seem keen to share any information.

"Wind Style: Divine Wind!" Ashley shouts, inhaling deeply, before breathing out a powerful gale that quickly splits into three large tornadoes. Not wanting her opponent to get any closer, Ashley then performs another set of hand signs. "Fire Style: Running Fire!"

The blonde exhales a flamethrower of chakra enhanced fire, the flames immediately merging with the whirling tornadoes, causing them to burn with a ferocious orange glow. The flaming winds tear across the terrain with a thunderous rumble, cracking the ground below as they spin.

Ashley races around the tornadoes, keeping a close eye on Kyoku as the winds barrel towards her, the woman having been running towards Ashley. While the ANBU was still faster than her, Ashley had managed to put a bit of distance between the two of them and she planned on maintaining it for as long as possible.

Seeing that Kyoku is performing hand signs, Ashley immediately drops down into a squat, slamming her palms down on the ground. She swiftly rises to her feet again, bringing her arms up above her head. Her Katsuryoku activated, Ashley causes the earth to shoot up beneath Kyoku. The woman stumbles a little, as jagged pieces of rock rise up all around her, the flat terrain morphing into an uneven, lopsided field.

Managing to keep her footing, whilst darting around the tornadoes that seem to be targeting her, Kyoku jumps up onto one of the pillars that had risen out of the ground.

"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu" Kyoku mutters, before tilting her head back. Water streams out of her mouth, shooting high into the air and gathering above the blue haired woman.

Ashley's eyes widen slightly as the water gathers, having become a massive orb in mere seconds. She moves her hands, already predicting what Kyoku is about to do.

As Ashley rises into the air on a small piece of earth, the orb above Kyoku suddenly bursts, spewing water in all directions and sending it cascading down over the top of the flaming tornadoes that Ashley had created.

The waves wash over the terrain with a mighty roar, shaking the earth and ripping trees from the ground. The flames of Ashley's tornadoes are immediately doused, before the whirlwinds are destroyed, the waves coursing over the ground until they soon begin to diminish.

Seeing that most of the water has dispersed, the ground absolutely soaked, Ashley immediately leaps down from her floating rock and easily lands on the ground in a crouched position. She and Kyoku make eye contact, just as the girl completes her hand signs.

"Lightning Style: Wolf Termination!" Ashley calls out, chakra building up inside her body, her arms tingling as she kneads Lightning into it.

As Ashley presses her palms into the wet dirt, a streak of lightning flashes across the ground towards Kyoku, before it splits in half to circle around the woman. A small number of electrified beasts appear out of the lightning, their heads and shoulders visible as they seem to swim through the dirt, only moving along the circle of electricity.

Growling, the beasts then launch themselves away from the circle all at once, slamming into Kyoku and electrifying her body. The ANBU's body seems to freeze as lightning courses through her, before she suddenly disappears in a puff of smoke.

Ashley blinks, whirling around as she feels someone appear behind her. Her brows furrow, when she sees Kyoku looming over her, fist pulled back. Focusing chakra into her hand and wrist, Ashley jabs her arms forwards, managing to place her palm against Kyoku's gauntlet and redirect the punch with great effort. The blonde lets out a grunt, barely strong enough to force Kyoku's powerful hit away from her, the woman's fist mere centimetres from her face.

Unphased by this, Kyoku uses the momentum of the redirection to fall into a spin, putting her weight on her front leg, before she lashes out with a vicious heel kick with her left foot. Swiftly focusing her chakra into both arms to reinforce them, Ashley reaches up and crosses her wrists over each other. Her legs bend from the weight of Kyoku's kick, Ashley wincing at the painful crack sound as the ANBU's heel collides with her palms. A tremor runs down both of Ashley's arms, a sharp sting that makes her sweat even more than she already is.

Blocking Kyoku's hits was almost impossible, and if the woman had been fighting at full force, Ashley knew her bones would be broken. But she didn't have much choice once Kyoku got in close. The woman loved fighting at short range, and she liked hitting hard and fast.

Ashley felt sorry for anyone that had to fight in a life or death, hand to hand combat situation with Kyoku.

Gritting her teeth, Ashley watches as Kyoku quickly retracts her heel, jumping up with her right leg, and swinging it at Ashley's head. The blonde reacts quickly, raising her own right leg in a high kick that counters Kyoku's.

The kick knocks Ashley's leg back down with ease, the momentum causing Ashley to stumble, her leg shaking from the pain of the hit. Before she can right herself, Ashley is slugged in the stomach with an immense force that knocks her off her feet and sends her sliding across the ground at high speed.

Gasping for breath, having been momentarily winded, Ashley slides to a stop, only to flip around and sit up on one knee. She nurses her stomach with one hand, breathing heavily as she watches Kyoku through one eye.

Not wanting to allow Kyoku to get close to her again, Ashley suddenly flings both of her arms into the air, causing multiple tendrils of earth to shoot up out of the earth. They swiftly coil themselves around Kyoku's legs and torso, pinning the woman's arms to her sides.

Kyoku blinks, glancing down as the rock stops moving and sets itself in place, securing her tightly. She then watches, as Ashley continues to move her arms, walls of rock shooting up in front of the girl one by one, blocking her from Kyoku's view.

Wondering what on earth Ashley could be planning now, Kyoku glances down, as a bomb pops up from her right gauntlet. Kyoku allows the bomb to fall to the ground, landing at the base of the earth tendrils holding her hostage. The blue haired woman turns her head away as the bomb explodes beneath her, blasting away at the rock and sending debris shooting in all directions.

As Kyoku falls to the ground and lands in a crouched position, she raises her head curiously, hearing a faint buzzing sound from up ahead. She smirks to herself, wondering what her sneaky student could be up to behind those earthen walls, as she darts forwards, chakra focused into her fists.

It didn't matter what it was, Kyoku would be able to smash through anything Ashley threw at her.

Coming up to the first wall, Kyoku throws her fist forwards and crashes through it with ease, before pulling her left hand back to break down the second wall. She does so with no trouble, darting forwards as the wall crumbles and collapses around her, already running up to the third wall.

The buzzing sound behind the walls increases in volume, as Kyoku smashes through the third barrier, the ANBU having never heard the strange sound before. It almost sounded like metal grinding against other metal, though that didn't make sense, as Ashley didn't fight with any weapons beside kunai or shuriken.

As Kyoku bursts through the fourth and fifth walls, her eyes widen slightly, as Ashley appears before her, only ten or so metres ahead. The girl stands with her knees bent, one foot forwards and her right arm pulled back, palm facing the sky. Ashley bares her teeth in a silent growl, a flat disc of chakra spinning wildly in her hands, sharp blades protruding out of it, as wind billows around her chaotically.

"Wind Style" Ashley shouts, her eyes shining, "Typhoon Divide!"

Ashley throws her arms forwards with all of her strength, the flat disc flying through the air and roaring with an unpleasant grating sound. Surprised by the attack, Kyoku pauses for a moment, unsure of how to counter the disc, when it suddenly dissipates in mid-air, seemingly losing power and fizzling out.

Ashley looks on in dismay and frustration, heaving a deep sigh, when Kyoku decides to charge forwards. Seeing Kyoku approach, Ashley takes a step to the side to dodge, only for her legs to give out beneath her. Kyoku skids to a halt in front of Ashley, as the girl drops to her knees and hangs her head, panting heavily.

Kyoku tilts her head, resting her weight on one leg and placing her hands on her hips, before Ashley glances up and grins sheepishly.

"Dammit" she chuckles, breathless. "I thought.........I'd figured.......it out......"

"Is that the Jutsu you've been working on?" Kyoku questions, reaching up to wipe the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Yeah" Ashley confirms, now sitting on her legs. "......I've made......a few new.....Jutsu, but.......that's the only one that.....I can't get right........"

"The new Lightning Style Jutsu is coming along well" Kyoku compliments, recalling Ashley's earlier attack. "I counted five Wolves this time. Last time it was only three."

"I've been.....working on it......a lot" Ashley says, running a hand through her hair and closing her eyes. "But it's still......not enough......to beat you......Sensei......"

Kyoku closes her eyes and smiles at this. While it was of course true that Ashley, still a Genin, would not be able to defeat her, the young Kunoichi had come a long way in their eighteen months of training together. Her endurance and chakra control had improved immensely over that time, enabling her to move faster, hit harder and use more Jutsu successively.

She had, at the very least, become good enough to cause Kyoku to break a sweat, and that impressed the ANBU greatly.

Not that she was going to tell this to her student.

"You can block my punches and kicks now" Kyoku points out, reaching down to help Ashley to her feet. "You've come a long way."

"Ha....." Ashley laughs sarcastically, taking her teacher's hand and allowing herself to be pulled up. "You're still......taking it easy on me....."

"I wouldn't say that" Kyoku says mysteriously, looking at Ashley in thought. "..........Let's go and get something to eat. I want to talk to you about something."

Ashley blinks at this, before raising one eyebrow. Now this was unusual.

"Must be serious" the blonde jokes, still catching her breath. "You never ask me.........out for a meal."

Kyoku merely smiles at this, gesturing for Ashley to follow her, as the woman begins walking back towards the centre of the Village. Still feeling a little fatigued, the Minami jogs to reach Kyoku's side, the two Ninja conversing casually as they walk through the streets.

It was pretty rare for Ashley and Kyoku to have much to do with each other outside of training, the ANBU having wanted to maintain somewhat of a professional relationship. After all, she had only become Ashley's teacher to please Lady Tsunade, not because she had particularly wanted to help Ashley.

In the last few months however, Kyoku and the Minami had occasionally gone to get meals together after training, and had even been sent on one or two low ranked missions together. It wasn't often that they didn't spend their time together these days.

Kyoku wasn't sure when it had happened, but a small part of her had grown fond of Ashley during their time together, though she tried not to show it. Kyoku wasn't the kind to bond too strongly with her teammates and allies, as she valued the success of a mission far more highly than friendship. And she had never had a student before, but the ANBU had never expected to care too much for one, should she become a teacher.

Kyoku had initially held a very strong sense of disdain for Ashley, finding her to be weak and too much of a complainer, not to mention the arrogance the girl had. While Kyoku couldn't yet determine the level of care she had developed for Ashley, she knew that she, at the very least, didn't dislike the blonde anymore.

Kyoku and Ashley sit down at an outdoor table, the two ordering food as a waiter steps over. They continue to converse, with Ashley being highly curious as to what her teacher could want to discuss with her. Not wanting to drag it out, Ashley looks up at Kyoku, as her meal is placed in front of her.

"So" Ashley says carefully, twirling her noodles around in her bowl, "What did you bring me here for?"

Kyoku slurps down some noodles, her eyes closed, before she looks down into her bowl in thought.

"......You're aware that the Chunin Exams are coming up, aren't you?" Kyoku asks, her question surprising Ashley.

She hadn't been expecting the ANBU to want to talk about Chunin Exams. Ashley didn't really know why that had anything to do with her, considering the state of Team Seven.

"Shikamaru mentioned it to me a week or so ago" Ashley confirms. "Why?"

"Lady Hokage called a meeting with the teachers of all of the Genin teams recently" Kyoku informs her student coolly, raising her teal eyes to meet Ashley's. ".....I recommended you to take the Exams."

"What?" Ashley squawks, before she begins to cough, choking on her food. "Why? I can't compete. Team Seven is only Sakura and I, so we don't have enough people anymore."

Kyoku chuckles at this, looking back at her food as she picks up some noodles with her chopsticks.

"You won't need a standard team" Kyoku advises cryptically, something that piques Ashley's curiosity. "The rules are different this year. If your teammate will compete as well, you can both enter as a team."

"Just the two of us?........" Ashley murmurs in thought. "So, did Kakashi Sensei recommend Sakura too?"

"Lady Hokage herself did" Kyoku replies simply.

"......I don't know about competing with just Sakura and I" Ashley says worriedly, leaning her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her palm. "There were four of us in Team Seven, and we barely made it out."

"You may be at a slight disadvantage if you enter with a two-man team" Kyoku shrugs, "But who's to say that having three or four people will be an advantage either? You've trained hard for a year and a half. You're stronger than you were back then, and I've prepared you for this."

"You really think I'm ready Kyoku Sensei?" the Minami asks, seemingly looking for assurance. Kyoku smiles to herself at this.

It was fascinating to see someone who appeared to be so confident, look to her for validation. Ashley was certainly multifaceted, if not a walking irony sometimes.

"You're fourteen now" Kyoku says, "And you've trained hard. With my help, you're already a step ahead of the rest. I'm not really sure why you're worried. Do you have no confidence in my methods?"

Ashley stares at Kyoku for a few moments, wondering whether the ANBU is being genuine or not. It was so hard to tell sometimes, seeing as she seemed so set on keeping Ashley at arm's length. But sometimes, Kyoku would smile in a way that almost felt affectionate, or say something that made Ashley feel as if the woman were proud of her. Then she would look at Kyoku, and that expression would have been replaced with her usual stoic one, as if the woman had put on a mask.

"Hn" Ashley grunts, shovelling more noodles in her mouth. "Glad to know you've got so much faith in me Sensei."

"It's more that I have faith in my own ability to train you" Kyoku says with a smile, to which Ashley pauses with food halfway to her mouth, deadpanning at the woman.

Ashley slowly pulls the sliding door open and peeks inside, having been directed to this room by a member of the hospital staff. To her relief, Ashley finds herself looking at the back of Sakura, the pink haired girl healing a wound on her patient's arm.

As the skin heals back together, Sakura closes her eyes and lets out a breath, satisfied that the injury had been healed with no complications.

"Psssst" the girl hears from behind her, causing her to turn around. "Sakura, come here for a second."

"Ashley?" Sakura addresses, blinking in surprise as she rises from her seat and walks over to her blonde friend. "I'm surprised to see you here, seeing as you look to be uninjured."

Ashley's grin immediately falls at this.

"Hey, I came all the way here specifically to see you" she pouts, stepping back into the hallway. "You should be nice to me."

"To see me?" Sakura repeats, both curious and suspicious. "What for?"

"Come with me" Ashley orders, waving her hand for Sakura to follow. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Sakura follows after Ashley, the two girls walking through the hospital and exiting out into a small courtyard. Ashley sits beneath a tree and pats the ground beside her, to which Sakura obliges and takes a seat next to the blonde.

She listens patiently as Ashley explains why she had come, though her enthusiasm with the conversation begins to wane, when she realises that Ashley wants her to compete in the upcoming Chunin Exams.

Now hugging her knees, Sakura averts her gaze to the ground, the corners of her mouth turning down. She had heard about the Chunin Exams of course, but it hadn't crossed her mind that Ashley would want to compete with her. She had been too focused on her training to even think of that scenario but, now that the time had come, Sakura finds herself a little frustrated that she hadn't prepared for it.

Turning Ashley down was going to be difficult, considering how stubborn the blonde could be.

"Kyoku Sensei said that we'll be allowed to compete as a two-man squad" Ashley finishes excitedly, turning to Sakura with sparkling eyes. "So, do you wanna compete with me? The girls of Team Seven will show all those other teams that we're the best of the lot!"

Sakura can't even bring herself to smile at this, too aware of the fact that she is not ready to compete in the Exams, let alone fight by Ashley's side. If it came down to a combat situation, which was inevitable, Sakura would have to leave all of the fighting to Ashley, due to a secret that nobody beside Lady Tsunade knew about.

And Sakura didn't think it was fair to burden Ashley with all of the responsibility. Like she always had.

"....I'm sorry Ashley" Sakura apologises quietly, "But I can't."

"Huh?" Ashley asks, her eyes widening in surprise. "Why not?! Don't you want to become a Chunin?"

"I do, but-"

"Is it because we don't have Sasuke and Naruto on the team?" Ashley inquires, her tone a little sharper than intended.

"No no, it's not that...."

"Coz I promise, we don't need them Sakura" Ashley determines, staring at her teammate confidently. "We can do it without them. I know we can."

"I.....I'm just not as sure as you Ashley" Sakura sighs deeply, feeling a little guilty that she can't admit the truth to her friend. "I don't want to drag you down...."

"That's never stopped you before" Ashley teases, earning herself a flat look from Sakura. The pink haired girl soon sighs again, to which Ashley watches her in silence, deep in thought.

Ashley and Sakura had long ago agreed not to discuss the specifics of their training with each other, wanting their hard-earned abilities to be a surprise when the time was right. So, while Ashley had no idea to what extent Sakura had trained with Lady Tsunade, she knew that the girl had been working incredibly hard to improve her skills.

Why Sakura seemed to be so unconfident after such rigorous training, and with a Sannin no less, Ashley had no idea. It seemed that the Minami had more confidence in Sakura than she had in herself.

".....I dunno what's going on with you Sakura" Ashley says softly, trying a more gentle approach to the subject, "But don't you think Lady Tsunade would be offended if she heard you talking like that?"

"Huh?" Sakura asks, her green eyes wide at the thought of upsetting her teacher. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, she's dedicated the last year and a half to training you" Ashley points out. "Wouldn't she be upset to hear that you don't think her training has made you stronger? She'd probably get mad actually....."

Sakura blinks at this, slowly turning her head away as she mulls over Ashley's words.

"I dunno what you've been up to during the last eighteen months" the Minami continues casually, shrugging her shoulders, "But I'd bet you're way stronger than you think. I mean, you trained with one of the Legendary Sannin, how could you not be."

Sakura lifts her head, as Ashley rises to her feet and stretches her arms above her head. The blonde then glances down at her friend and winks, poking the tip of her tongue out cheekily.

"I'm not gonna let this go" Ashley warns, only half joking. "Even if you're not confident, just know that I've got enough confidence for the both of us. We'll dominate the Exams, if you'll just team up with me. So, think about it and then come see me when you come to your senses, alright?"