Yasu Hatake
vs
Kei Uchiha
Deep in the woods stood the snow haired female, her hands held out in front of her. The female’s eyes were closed as a deep exhale left her lips. The sun was high in the sky, and not a cloud in sight. The temperature itself was cool due to a slight breeze in the air. The clearing stood a female, her form rather short, but she wore an Anbu uniform. The mask on her face looked almost cat-like in nature with detailed red markings. At her side she had a long sword, its design a flat black. It was known as a chokuto. On her back she would have a short tanto blade which was also decorated with a wash of black. Slowly, the female grabbed the handle of the chokuto and pulled it from its sheath. A sharp ringing sound entered the air for a brief moment. A deep inhale followed as she bent her knees, separating them as she curled her spine to the right. Her hand would hold out the blade in a straight line, her other hand remained in a flat palm. ‘An extension.’ The exhale finally came as she opened her uncovered eye, the dark hue looking ahead. This child was known as Yasu Hatake. Though she was only thirteen years old she was already an Anbu. A prodigy one might say. The child had always taken the lead of a situation, always had plans and she knew how to behave under pressure. The young child had been through hell and back, but she knew that it was all just the beginning…The real changes would start now.
“Again….”. Kei stood in the opening of trees not far away from Yasu, unbeknownst of each other’s presence for the moment. But she’d surely realize his presence as a sudden flash of bright light erupted from between the trees. His hands were hovering above one another as his face showed that the task at hand was highly straining. It was unusual to see sweat run down the Uchiha’s face and to see him breathe as loudly as he did while gazing into a flame so bright that it might very have been blinding where he just an ordinary civilian. “More.”. Small beams of yellowish light began to protrude the spaces between his fingers as his blood was illuminated from the source of fire that slowly reshaped into an orb; his hands now shaking from the arduous task, burns covering his fingers and palms but still Kei pushed on through, forcing more and more chakra into the source of heat, referred to by him as ‘The Ember’. This essence of fire, this birthplace of the Sun’s son, this cradle of incinerating ferocity, it moved between his hands like a living being, like a snake seeking to escape its shell, the egg, ever forcing itself out more and more and more, until it could no longer be contained. And in that exact moment of chaos, Kei spread open his left hand while clasping the right; squashing the essence of fire in his right hand as if grabbing the power for himself, as if claiming the fire for himself. And then it happened, a swirling torrent of bright yellow, and deep orange fire raced around his right arm while said hand was shrouded in a liquid-like glove of white-hot fire that was so compact that it distorted the air directly around it. And then, as if everything was but a figment of the mind, the flames dispersed and Kei stood hunched over; his right arm smoking and wrapped in intense snake-like burn marks that left his skin disfigured. His breathing slowed down. A single drop of sweat fell of his nose. Then suddenly, he’d look up to gaze at Yasu were she watching him; exchanging a brief look in which he actually seemed taken aback, if only for a split second, before his usual calm and clean demeanor returned as he stood upright again. Sighing softly, he looked away from her and to the ground while using his left hand to wrap bandages around his right arm; finishing with a tight knot as he balled his right fist. Then sounding a “Tch.” As if she was at fault for merely being there. His gaze slowly raised up at her again, loathing, disregarding, just like that time when he looked straight through her, just like when he stepped over her fallen body during the masked rogue encounter, as if to taunt her while his mask sat idle; attached to his belt. “So, cyclops, are you still as useless as you were?”. – Even though the two had trained together in terms of formations and god knows what else ROOT did, this would be their first encounter against one another, outside of ROOT’s training facility, ever since they faced in the Chuunin exams.-
The flash of bright light instantly caused the Hatake’s head to turn, her face expressionless beneath the wooden mask. Her opened eye observed the familiar male, her head tilted slightly askew. ‘Such dedication.’ The young female spun the sword in her hand as she quickly sheathed it as she stood up right, her body motionless as he gave her the specific look of what she deemed to be ‘disgust’. Even with his words she seemed unmoved, blank. Normally a ninja would buy into the rage and attack recklessly, Yasu however…she just didn’t care. In a slow motion she rolled her neck as she held her hand out to him, her fingers beckoning him to attack. With the year and a half that had passed, the child drastically changed. With her fragile mind, it became easy to flourish into what Root intended. The child accepted her fate, in fact she was honored for such an opportunity. Ever since that day (the loss of Takuza) the child would have night terrors, reliving the situation over and over again. She believed the bonds are what got Takuza killed, are what made him weak…Yasu had decided to give up all of her humanity to become the perfect weapon of Konohagakure, no matter the cost. To protect and serve from the shadows, to make sure the village maintained peace. One of the things she was taught was how to ‘fake’ her personality, but such a thing rarely occurred. When she wore her anbu mask, she was a machine…capable of only killing or being killed. Nothing else existed to her…The child rarely spoke after the things she went through and if Kei truly knew her…he’d notice this change in her. The child began concentrating chakra to her feet and calves before moving forwards in a burst of speed, her body moving in a blur of black. As of now, the child’s speed was suburb, but she knew about the sharingan now, how it worked…How it saw body movements, enough to the point it would allow a user counter almost instantly. As she dashed forwards, she moved in zig zag motions, her body seeming to almost flicker due to the intense speed. The gloved hand pulled the tanto out of its sheath upon her back, the blade itself twirling in her hand as she closed in to Kei’s location. The grip was tense, her heart pounding as she pushed her body forwards. Yasu drove the blade forwards, tilted upwards as she attempted to dig the blade into his stomach. If she had done so, she’d pull her arms up, allowing the blade to cut his insides apart. However, Yasu knew Kei wouldn’t allow such a thing to occur, and if he did move away the child would perform a backhand spring. The chakra would still be concentrated in her feet that way as soon as they met the ground she would use her momentum to push her small body high into the air. From her ninja pouch she’d grab a kunai with an explosive tag and toss it to where Kei potentially moved to after dodging her initial strike, soon as the kunai dug into the ground she used a hand seal to detonate it. As her body descended, she prepped herself so that she’d land on her feet, sliding back just a few feet.. Yasu took this moment, to listen carefully due to sight being a bit of trouble due to the smoke from the explosive tag. From her training with Root she became more Intune with sounds; learning to work with them.
As soon as she moved, his eyes changed to that threatening gaze of the sharingan, and in that moment everything changed. Her movements that at first seemed to fast that he could barely keep up now slowed down to where he could see where she was coming to, before she did; which was straight at him in a zig-zagging pattern which he quickly discerned; the rhythm of her stride that let him know when she moved left, and when she moved back right. She had drawn her Tanto, Kei grabbed the sheathe of his chokuto in his right hand and moved his left hand over the hilt. She began to twirl the weapon in her hand, Kei crouched through his knees, ever so slightly, and merely stood in waiting as he continued to watch her ever move. Even without the sharingan he most likely would’ve been able to react and act in time but these eyes were necessary in order to better keep up with her speed; Yasu was just that fast, even faster than him. –No room for mistakes.- As such was his code. And in became more that evident in that split second moment in which she rushed forth, stabbing he blade forward. Exactly when she did, however, he already saw her attempted strike from the very first minute movements in her muscles that suggested she was diving in for the attack; the vibration on her chest from her pounding heart, the tightening of her grip, the legs preparing to push the body forward. This allowed him to reduce the possibility of her escaping his following move, close to Zero, as their bodies were coming towards each other in a minimal space where they were both locked in momentum. Kei, however, didn’t dash straight at her but just past her left side, barely avoiding her tanto that sliced through the fabric of his shirt; almost cutting his right bicep Meanwhile, he had drawn his Chokuto by means of laido, in a unique fashion. He only unsheathed at the last possible moment, just before passing by her, as the outside of his right bicep would graze past her arm due to his somewhat crouched posture. It was the butt of his hilt which he aimed to smash into the pit of her belly before ramming his sheathe up against the hilt to fully sheathe the blade again while adding to the concussive force. If she still managed to move away after that blow, by means of the backhand spring, he’d dash right after her to kick her in the pit of her belly again just as her hands touched the ground; seeing as he only had to continue running where he already was running to, whereas her forward motion was stopped and she’d had to flip bac onto her hands, giving him the upper hand in speed even though he was technically slower; merely because of how they moved. ---- The heavy impact of the hilt, which was only a small area with a lot of force of motion, and technique, behind it, would easily drive the air out of her lungs and possibly throw her off her feet, though not by much, as he pulled his sword clear and continued to dash past her before turning around as he came to a halt; two yards opposite of her. Before he had stopped, he had already released the chokuto from his hands to let it rest in his waistband while his hands moved to form the tiger seal and he brought both fingers up to his lips, all the while having molded chakra in his stomach which was then expelled in a huge orb of fire that rushed out towards her with enough force to leave the ground cratered around where she stood; the orb having a 5 yard diameter. The heated ball of flame left the ground scorched below where it had travelled the short distance towards her; leaving little room for running away due to its size. While the orb flew out, Kei dashed back a few more yards and drew two shuriken in each hand and stood still while paying close attention to his surroundings.
Yasu kept moving, according to plan though a simple hiccup caused her plan to almost back fire. Kei would move just a tad, enough that her tanto sliced through the fabric of his shirt. Mere seconds after that she felt the blunt hit from the male’s sheath, it impacted her stomach, caused a large expulsion of air to leave her lips. Though her form wouldn’t falter, with the chakra concentrated in her calves and legs she stood upright, pushing back against sheath’s force even with how painful it had been for her. With a twist of her wrist she shove her sword backwards in a downwards motion, her intent to stab the blade through the males shoulder blade. If this had occurred, she’d twist the blade and sever the connection of the muscles in his arm, thus rendering it useless. Next the child pivoted her feet, moving in a counter clock wise motion to get away from him. As she took her steps, she’d stumble and breath heavy, attempting to catch her breath from the previous blow, her free hand holding the area the male had hit. Once her breathing regulated she’d turn around, her hand quickly forming the tiger hand seal. The small child’s body flickering out of existence for a brief moment before reappearing on the other side of the training field, her hand shaking the possible blood from her blade. Now even if her blade didn’t hit the male, she’d still attempt to use the body flicker technique to gain distance away from Kei. Yasu deduced that the male had activated his sharingan due to how he had countered, so in that regard she was going be a lot more careful. Yasu would scan the area around her looking for his body, to see what he’d do next. The snow haired child felt a burning in her stomach from the blunt force directed to it moments ago, it was more than likely going to leave a large bruise.
A quick body flicker took her away just before the fireball left a large cloud of smoke, temporarily hiding him from sight as she moved away from where he now faced her previous location. Her blade had found but air in that earlier moment where she attempted to retaliate, as he had never stopped moving. He recounted the moment where his hilt made contact and de-activated his sharingan in order to preserve chakra. His right arm still stung painfully under the bandages but he ignored it completely as four shuriken suddenly flew through the smoke screen. One came at her left arm, one at her right, one at her left leg, and one at the right; all thrown with a curve so they’d close in on her from both sides. Each Shuriken attempted to hit just after Kei had walked out of the smoke, observing how she’d react. Given the 10 yard distance between them, it’d be easy for him to follow her movements even without sharingan as he calmly walked towards her. If she’d do nothing but dodge/deflect/ get hit by the shuriken, he’d come to a stop about 5 yards away from her; both arms hanging loosely by his sides; most of his right arm bandaged; up to the bicep. “Always so quick to run away. But what is it.” His voice dropped to a more sinister tone. “What is it that you are truly running away from?”. Then, out of nowhere, he’d form the tiger seal and created a perfect copy of himself that gave off the same chakra signature and everything. It was identical in every way perceivable; a shadow clone. This clone would then slowly walk towards Yasu, ever keeping eye contact, before suddenly activating the sharingan; aiming to paralyze her if she made eye contact. The unique nature of this clone bore a further hidden mystery as it would continue to walk towards her whether she had fallen under the genjutsu or not.
The sound of the shuriken flying through the air caused Yasu to quickly sheath her tanto, her hand pulling her chokuto from its sheath. Yasu began to spin the blade before her, so that when the shuriken attempted to make contact they’d be knocked off course. As Kei exited the smoke, Yasu began taking careful steps back, her eyes looking only to his chin just in case he had the sharingan activated. Yasu didn’t want even the slimmest mistake to cost her this fight. The snow haired child listened to him carefully, her figure just swaying as she took steps back. The words penetrated her thoughts but she wouldn’t respond to him at all. ‘Running away…Is that..what I am doing?’ she questioned internally as her eyes caught the hand seal he had made. ‘A clone?’ the question was soon answered as a shadow clone appeared to his side. The clone in question would continue to approach her, which was rather alarming. Yasu licked her lips under her mask as she continued taking steps back, her thoughts pertaining to attempting to use her ‘gift’, though she wasn’t trained in it. ‘I can’t afford the loss of chakra..’ From her ninja pouch she pulled another explosive kunai, throwing it between the real Kei and the clone who had begun to approach her. Once it landed, she’d detonate it with a hand seal in hopes it would at least cause some damage. Quickly the female sheathed her sword and let a exhale leave her lips as she began to quickly weave hand seals, Ox → Rabbit → Monkey → Dragon → Rat → Bird → Ox → Snake → Dog → Tiger → Monkey) hoping that the explosion would buy her a bit of time. Yasu held her hand to the earth as an eruption of raw lightning chakra appeared In the palm of her hand, the shape somewhat spherical. The sound of birds chirping filled the space, and with a soft exhale she’d open her right eye, allowing the sharingan to finally be revealed. Everything had been kept secret up until this moment, but Yasu felt backed into a corner…She had hoped that she was using the eye correctly. The child concentrated chakra to her calves and feet once more as she charged towards the dust cloud that would surround Kei and his shadow clone. The only part of the eye that she could use was being able to see the color of chakra, which was viewable due to the cloud being composed of natural materials. If the two of them had been gone, Yasu would notice it and begin looking around for any pigments that stood out. If Kei and his clone were still in their spot Yasu would charge for the figure further back, assuming it would be the real Kei, Yasu charged forwards, her hand reached out in attempts to make contact with the males chest. Normally tunnel vision would be an issue, but the sharingan provided assistance with that. If Kei had dodged she’d stop, the chidori still in her hand as she continued to assess the situation. Now, if Kei and his clone had moved, she’d target one of them and run at it with her full speed, her body a blurr. Only the sound of birds chirping would echo loudly as she attempted to slam the chidori into his chest.
The clone’s sharingan watched her reach for her pouch, and knew its course of plan as soon as he saw her kunai with an explosive tag attached to it. As soon as it flew through the air, the clone clapped its hands together causing a strong gust of wind to knock the kunai back towards her as she’d continue to move away; causing the kunai to hit the ground about 5 yards away from the clone, while the real Kei stood about 3 yards behind said clone. Upon detonation of said kunai, or rather just after it, Yasu would find herself weaving handseals while the real Kei moved to stand beside his clone, him too now activating the sharingan. He thought back to a similar situation they found themselves in during one of the first times that they ever met; when she almost ran away from home. “You should’ve learned by no--.”. Further words were cut off as she suddenly shot out of the shroud of smoke, on Kei’s side, with her hand coated in such intense lightning chakra that it was near-blinding to behold. “Chidori… you can’t be seri---“. The sentence couldn’t even be finished as she rushed at him with immense velocity; his sharingan barely keeping track. However due to her moving in a straight line forward it was obvious to him where she was going. Both versions of Kei jumped away, one to the left, and one to the opposite direction as where she come from, in a quick series of dashes, but it wasn’t enough. She caught up with superior speed and was about to drive her chidori straight into, or through, his back as his eyes widened in surprise. He couldn’t believe it. A simple spar on the training grounds would be where he found his end. Her speed was simply overwhelming as he took his last breath, the sparks of lightning dancing around the chidori already caressing his skin and clothing. Death was impossible to avoid, yet Kei looked as cold as ever, straight into her eyes. And then suddenly… a crooked smile appeared on his lips as, out of nowhere, he erupted in a huge explosion that easily aimed to consume her whole before knocking her back with great force; the explosion covering a fearsome 6 yard diameter; its intensity of such great measures that it blew a great hole into the ground and scorched its outer perimeter. This would have surely been a killing attempt if it wasn’t for the fact that Kei had lost chakra beforehand while practicing his new technique, the fact that he then used his fireball before making the clone, and the clone then using the gale palm, and the added fact that he only detonated the clone at half its capability in its current state. Given all these circumstances, it’d at the very most leave her hospitalized for a week but if she was as durable as he thought then she’d most likely come to within a few minutes or so; her ears likely to still be ringing from the loud explosion that scarred the training grounds. Kei’s voice then spoke out from behind her. “Never underestimate your opponent by blindly running into them. It was easy for me to see your Chidori through the smoke screen due to the focused chakra. All I had to do was feign my surprise while already knowing where you’d end up soon as you began running in a straight line, which is why I let the clone move back; to intentionally leave him in your path of motion, the obvious choice. But even if you went for me my body replacement technique was ready to trap you just the same way. Make sure you have a clear and safe target before going in for the kill. Also, given your interest in using kunai… you should consider finding new or faster ways of throwing them. When you reach for your pouch, the results are obvious.” He’d toss a food pill into her lap with the flick of his thumb. If she was developed enough in sense of taste, she could tell it came from the ROOT supply chamber which may or may not lead her to suspect him of stealing it beforehand. He then sat down beside her and ate one of the black pills himself while turning his eyes back at her, black as usual, as if waiting for her feedback .
The childs eyes opened wide as her attack landed, the shaky gaze looking at Kei…and then came the smile, the sick twisted smile. ‘no.’ the young Hatake had no time to react and she was blown back from the explosive clone, her body hitting the ground with a loud thud. As her body bounced, her mask slid off. The mismatched eyes stared blankly into the ceiling, and it was in that moment, Kei would see how different she had become. Her expression was blank, uncaring even. The sound of ringing existed in her head as she laid upon the hard earth. As Kei spoke to her, the mismatched eyes shifted to stare him down. There was no anger, no ill intent…No, Yasu simple did her best to sit up, and her hands pulling the mask back on as she sat there silent, her head nodding in response. Once Kei threw the chakra pill on her lap she looked down at it for a moment before she pulled the wooden mask away, her other hand dropping the pill between the cloth and her face, her tongue catching it before chewing on it. Yasu left the mask tilted as she looked at the ground, her eyes searching for something. The taste of the pill was odd, but Yasu didn’t question it, after all she hadn’t spoken yet, why should she start now. The snow haired female pulled her knees to her chest as she began to draw in the loose dirt around them with a stick. Yasu thought of herself as a failure, but what really hindered her mind was that she never got help for what she went through, the terrifying sights she had seen. Yasu always held a strong exterior, she didn’t believe being weak was an option, even more so when she got recruited for Root. Yasu swallowed hard as her head turned to look at Kei, her mismatched eyes meeting his onyx ones. The young Hatake’s eyes themselves screamed for help, a look of sorrow hidden deep in them. Her brows furrowed as she looked back ahead. “I’m a failure.” She whispered softly, her head shaking. “No matter…what I do I’m not strong enough.” Yasu’s voice was calm and monotone.
“Then become better.” Was all that the Uchiha whispered before turning around and walking away with slow calculated steps. “And remember what I said, improve, and then succeed. Work on your mid-range combat in order to wear your opponent down, eliminate risks, and secure yourself a kill using Chidori.”. He never even looked over his shoulder as his strides brought him closer and closer towards the gates, coming to a sudden stop. “There’s a technique which revolves around summoning projectiles similar to how I summon my snakes, look for it. It should help you.”. And with that final tip, Kei was gone. A condensed light flickering between his fingers as he walked home while trying to keep an egg-like ember of fire within his hands; ever controlling the wild flames into their compressed state as best he could; further causing his palm to smolder and scar under the bandages that were mostly burnt away again. Whatever this technique was, that it was worth him putting his right arm on the line, it must have been something special as the levels of pain coursing through his already sensitive skin became unbearable, causing his eyes to fill with unwanted tears as the need to scream arose. But he fought it back, he fought it all back, only to sharpen the blade that was his soul. Such conviction… was perhaps his greatest asset of all.