Taro Hyuga and Ando Kaze faced each other on the packed dirt of Training Grounds 4. Morning light slanted in between the leaves of the woods surrounding them.
Together, the two boys extended their index and middle fingers, their knuckles still aligned–the half-tiger seal–otherwise known as the Seal of Confrontation. Then, their fingers lowered in silence.
"Begin!" Takegi Sensei's voice echoed across the training grounds.
Taro moved first.
Delicate feet slid across the dirt without so much as a vibration. His posture was loose. Then suddenly, Taro's eyes sharpened and veins bulged around the edges of his temple–Taro's Byakugan was released.
His arms flowed like reeds in shallow water, his palms open rather than clenched. Taro's every motion reflected yielding and flow rather than force and dominance.
Across from him, Ando Kaze hopped from one foot to another. He still wore his relaxed smirk as Taro charged him, but his blue eyes flickered constantly–distance, angles, shadows–he was clearly planning something.
Then, a kunai appeared in Ando's palm with the flick of his wrist. Many of the civilian students in the audience "aww'ed" at his dexterity.
Taro glided forward, his feet tracing a soft arc.
A palm strike followed thereafter, straight towards Ando's shoulder–it was fast, clean, and aimed at the tenketsu point rather than at the bone.
Ando twisted away at the last second, his kunai flashing up to deflect off of Taro's wrist with a metallic clang. At the same time, his other hand snapped forward.
He aimed for Taro's wrist, hoping to grab him in a grapple, but Taro's Byakugan provided him with far greater insight than Ando had realized.
Taro immediately retreated. He flashed back three or four meters.
Ando maintained pressure. He launched two kunai the second Taro backpeddled.
One passed wide to the left. The other ricocheted off the ground like a rock across water, yet its aim still held true.
Taro Hyuga didn't flinch, however. He saw all underneath the scope of his Byakugan, and his vision immediately latched onto the two projectiles screaming his way.
That was the exact moment Ando had been waiting for!
A third kunai dropped from his sleeve, caught between his fingers mid-fall, and snapped across the training grounds with the flick of his wrist. The kunai shot like a bullet towards Taro's midsection.
"Too slow." The veins around Taro's eyes bulged much fiercer.
Taro pivoted, and his body spun like flowing water around a stone. Ando's kunai brushed cloth instead of flesh. In the same pivot, Taro directed chakra to the base of his heels. It was no flicker technique, but the explosive release of chakra beneath him rocketed Taro directly into striking distance!
His open palm slid forward, his fingers just barely connecting with Ando's shoulder.
A gentle tap.
Ando stumbled backwards as his arm went completely numb. At the same time, another kunai slid down his sleeve and clanged against the ground.
All of a sudden, the tide had turned.
The calm smile had quickly faded from Ando's face. Now, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy looked serious.
Taro pressed forward again. He needed to continue the pressure. His steps were light, and his palms drifted in-and-out in a mesmerizing rhythm–each strike aimed not to injure but to disable.
Ando leaped backwards. In doing so, he kicked up a large cloud of dirt and dust.
Taro Hyuga's eyes instantly pierced the haze, but then they widened.
From within the dust cloud, kunai came flying in a messy, uneven pattern. Some spun wildly. Others fell short and slammed against the dirt. One arced high and was still gaining.
To Taro Hyuga, however, all could be seen through his eyes.
He wove through the dust cloud without a shred of hesitation. His sleeves snapped out like venomous snakes, each strike deflecting metal that would have otherwise impaled him.
Then, Ando burst out of the dust cloud and ran around low and fast, a kunai reversed in his grip whilst his other arm dangled at his side. He slid across the dirt and plunged into the dust cloud–towards Taro–and slashed his kunai skyward.
Taro leaned back in a beautiful arc. His spine bent unnervingly and the kunai blazed past him, missing by just a hair. In the same motion, Taro's foot hooked lightly underneath Ando's ankle.
A gentle pull.
Ando Kaze fell backwards. He crashed to the ground and landed on his butt. Before he could recover, two fingers hovered an inch from his neck.
A tenketsu point.
Taro Hyuga stood steady above him. His breathing was calm. His eyes were back to normal.
"Taro Hyuga. Winner!" Takegi Sensei announced.
Some of the class "oo'ed" and "aww'ed." Taro Hyuga certainly had fans amongst their peers, although nowhere near the absurdity of future Sasuke's fan-club. In their class of 30, there were probably four students who outwardly commended Taro. He was a handsome boy, after all. And Noble.
Ando Kaze and Taro Hyuga returned to their seats. Their spar was over.
"Jun." Takegi called the boy.
"Yes." Jun rose slowly. He wore black cargo pants and a gray top, he had short brown hair, and had a scar horizontally across the center of his nose.
"You choose." Takegi instructed.
At first, Jun looked at Natsuko. Their Clans had always been particularly close, and yet, the girl had never seemed to like him. Even before her parents death, when she still actively attended Clan dinners and tea tastings–she was stubbornly dismissive of him. After her parents death, the girl blatantly ignored him entirely.
That had always irked Jun Shimura. He may not have been the heir to the Shimura Clan, but his father personally worked for Lord Danzo-sama. He had connections. He had strength. What did the blind girl not see?
Then, there was the pink-haired brat. He had always been an eye-sore to Jun too–loud, obnoxious, ignorant–but recently, coupled with his explosive growth, he had become even more of a daily cancer to Jun's life than ever before.
"I choose him." Jun pointed at Okuda Tomomori.
"You heard him. Okuda. Come forward." Takegi instructed.
"Yes, Sensei!" Okuda shouted as he ran towards the training grounds.
Jun Shimura followed.
Okuda stood squarely in the open. His shoulders were set, his fists were clenched. His stance wasn't refined, but it was solid–knees bent, weight forward, he was egging Jun to come closer.
Jun, meanwhile, lingered out of reach with his hands hidden inside of his pockets. His posture was relaxed but his eyes were sharp. He tilted his head slightly and analyzed Okuda's posture as well as his breath; and the fact that he leaned too far forward.
"You rush," Jun said calmly. "Every time."
Okuda answered by charging.
He closed the distance in a heartbeat, swinging a straight punch meant for Jun's face.
Jun ducked underneath it and slid neatly to the side. Then, he jabbed two fingers into the flesh between Okuda's ribs. It wasn't strong–but it was placed to hurt.
Okuda growled and spun around, launching a backhand that forced Jun to evade and hop away. Now, the Clan kid circled him.
They clashed again–forearm to forearm, shoulder to shoulder. Okuda fought like a battering ram. Each strike was heavy and committed. Jun Shimura, meanwhile, slipped, redirected, and nudged all of Okuda's attacks away at just the right moment.
He allowed Okuda's overbearing momentum to work against him.
Then, a punch grazed the edge of Jun's cheek and his cocky smile faltered, quickly replaced with rage.
Jun swept low in an attempt to knock Okuda's legs out from under him. Okuda jumped and landed awkwardly. He panicked and lunged towards Jun and tackled him to the dirt. They hit the ground hard and rolled.
Elbows flew. Knuckles struck. Finally, Jun managed to wriggle himself free after a sharp twist; his arm scraped across the ground and blood soaked his sleeve. Just as he scrambled back to his feet, Okuda surged up again as well.
"Relentless…" Jun muttered underneath his breath. Then, he flicked his wrist.
A shuriken cut through the air!
Not directly towards Okuda, but passed him, beside his shoulder.
Okuda barely even registered it. He charged forward.
Then the air shifted.
The shuriken that blew past Okuda's shoulder unnaturally cut across the air and whipped back around. The wind screamed silently as it curved straight towards the back of Okuda's neck.
Takegi Sensei flickered onto the field. He appeared right behind Okuda, placed one hand on the boy's shoulder and another between the center of Jun's shuriken.
Classroom 2A stuttered in awe: Takegi Sensei had caught Jun's shuriken!
Mid-air!
"So cool!!!" The students thought collectively.
Takegi Sensei, meanwhile, cast a glance towards Jun Shimura.
"You've learned elemental ninjutsu already? Very impressive. As expected from the Shimura Clan." Takegi praised without remorse. He was not above sucking up to children to win the graces of their parents.
Jun snorted in response. "Of course I've learned elemental ninjutsu! Who did you take me for? A fool?"
Immediately, the class erupted.
"Don't forget to do the Seal of Reconciliation." Takegi Sensei reminded the boys.
"Whoa! So that was ninjutsu?"
"It was so cool!"
"Did you see it? Did you see it? It went voosh and then shing! And then Okuda was out!"
Among the chaos, the two boys returned to their seats.
Jun Shimura had won.
As they sat, Nana Inuzuka spoke up.
"Who knew you learned ninjutsu already? What ninjutsu was that, anyway?" She asked the class's burning question.
"Hmph!" Jun tilted his chin arrogantly. "Wouldn't you like to know, filthy mutt!"
Takegi Sensei scratched his cheek. He was apprehensive with Clan children. That much was painfully clear.
"Alright. Alright. Let's settle down everyone. Who'd like to go next?" He prompted.