Training: Part One

"Hah!" Tenten swung her sanjiegun in quick fashion.

Suki glided her golden fans against the three-sectioned-staff, redirecting it away from her. While Tenten was like a ferocious tiger, Suki flowed like water through her movements. Sweat flew across their faces with each fierce clash. They were both determined to win this battle.

Suki and Tenten were bound in a never-ending rivalry since they first joined the Kyoshi Warriors. They were the best of friends but when it came to sparring, both of them treated each other like enemies. Yet, Suki and Tenten wouldn't have it any other way.

Suki's eyes widened a bit as her arms were trapped in the looped chains of Tenten's sanjiegun. It was all too sudden. Then, she saw the growing smirk on Tenten's face. Before Suki knew it, a kick flew directly at her face. It took everything that she had to avoid it. Suki quickly drew back to gain some much needed distance from Tenten and catch her breath.

"Out of breath already?" Tenten teased as she playfully spun the sanjiegun around her.

"Hardly," Suki readied her fans and went onto the offensive this time. She still had a couple of new tricks she would like to show off.

Thus, another bout ensued with several exchanges of blows. Some blocked, others dodged while only a fraction struck their intended target. Tenten could tell Suki's martial arts were stronger and more refined since their previous spars. Even if Suki had gotten better, Tenten would't let her get the upper hand.

'Left,' Tenten's reflexes went into full gear, and she quickly ducked down. A golden fan had barely brushed against her hair. A close call but nothing she had to worry about.

'From the top,' Tenten snaked her away around the axe kick with ease. Suddenly, a thick plume of smoke exploded around her, catching Tenten by surprise, "What the heck!"

A golden fan streaked through the thick smoke and smacked Tenten across her face. Then, a barrage of them came for her. Damn, she couldn't block them all. Tenten frowned to herself; this sneaky bitch! Suki had taken this right out of the playbook of that demon mist guy. It seemed that she must have adapted her fighting style to incorporate new tactics, albeit a bit underhanded.

Tenten's legs were suddenly swept under her, and she crashed onto the floor. She was about to get up, but a pair of golden fans were pressed onto her neck. The smoke finally cleared which revealed Suki triumphantly standing over Tenten with a victorious smirk.

"Looks like it's my win," Suki pulled her fans away from Tenten's neck and retracted them.

"No fair, cheater!" Tenten voiced her grievances to Suki, sitting back up with an angry pout.

"I didn't see any rules about not using any smoke bombs," Suki replied with a face full of innocence. After that hard-fought battle, Suki let loose a few stretches to ease her joints. "Besides, it's not like every enemy you encounter is going to play nice and fair with you, Tenten. Just like that creepy mist demon guy."

Tenten clicked her tongue in irritation; she didn't want to admit, but Suki was right. These shinobis, or whatever they are, weren't going to stand there and let you attack them. No, they were going to use every dirty little trick to bury her six feet deep.

"Where the heck did you even get smoke bombs anyways?" Tenten asked with curiosity.

"Well, I asked Temujin if he could make me some, him being the legendary blacksmith and all."

Tenten stood back up as her fighting spirit burned brightly. She wasn't going to quit with just one measly spar. That simply wasn't going to cut it for her.

"That last battle doesn't count," Tenten smacked a fist against her palm. "Let's go again."

"Fine," Suki smiled at her. "Let's make it quick. I need to check up on Naruto's condition afterwards."

*****

Azula and Naruto sat across from each other in a lotus pose. Azula was as still as a tree unlike the hyperactive blonde before her shuffling around in place. She tried to concentrate yet the incessant mumblings of her beloved imbecile was getting on her last nerves. Having enough of this, Azula forced one eye open to catch a glimpse on what Agni's name Naruto was doing.

There he was, goofing around with a mere butterfly fluttering around his head. Of course the hyperactive ball of energy would be distracted with this kind of nuance. Azula's eyes couldn't help but twitch with irritation.

Putting on a fake smile, Azula asked, "Foxy, can you please tell me... WHAT YOU ARE DOING?"

Her booming voice scared the living daylights out of Naruto, and the butterfly in his hand suddenly flew away. Naruto could feel the disapproving glare from Azula. Yeah, she was not pleased one bit.

"Ah, A-Azula," Naruto stuttered out. "I was just, you know, achieving some enlightenment..."

"Naruto, this is serious."

"I know, I know," Naruto scratched his head in shame. It felt like he was being reprimanded by Ursa all over again. "It's just... shouldn't you be doing this sort of meditation on your own?"

"I would if it was only normal meditation," Azula replied. "But, this is more than that."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, "What do you mean?"

Azula gripped the loose fabric of her pants. The dire consequences of failing to attain her Spiritual Fire could possibly burn her from the inside. Just the thought of it made her heart clench.

"If I fail now, I could possibly be burned to death," Azula answered. Even if the consequences were dire, she had the determination to push through with it.

Naruto eyes widened with shock, "Then why are you doing it!"

"I have to."

"No, it sounds too dangerous," Naruto argued. He couldn't let Azula try to attempt this crazy dangerous technique, even if it granted incredible powers. Naruto couldn't imagine her gone from him, "Losing you would-"

"Naruto," Azula interrupted him, her hands gently cupped over his. "This is my chance to grow stronger beside you and protect everyone else. I won't let you keep fighting the hard battles alone, so I have to do this."

Naruto couldn't argue over that. It was the same as mastering the rasengan; there were consequences if he failed. Naruto bit down on his lips and asked, "Are you sure about about this, Azula?"

Azula nodded with a smile, "That's why I have you with me. I want you as my lifeline if anything goes wrong."

"I...alright," Naruto said with a bit of hesitation. If Azula said she needed to do this, then Naruto would have no choice but to follow her through with it.

"Just so you know, I'm not going fail... dattebayo," Azula smirked, copying Naruto's signature verbal tics. Although, she inwardly cringed at herself for saying it; it just didn't have that oomph like Naruto's.

"Hehe, I guess I shouldn't worry about it then," Naruto grinned at her. He felt less worried now seeing the complete confidence of Azula.

At least Azula got him to smile. That was all she needed. Azula deeply inhaled and closed her eyes while Naruto kept a watchful eye on her. Then, there was absolute silence.

*****

Meanwhile, Kunais were scattered across the area; some punctured trees while others were embedded into the ground. Suki and Tenten laid down on the soft grass next to each other amongst the kunais. Their breaths were haggard, and their soaking wet hair were glued to their foreheads. Their weapons had fallen out of their hands as they gaze up at the sky above.

"You're such a dirty fighter, Tenten," Suki turned her head towards Tenten. "Seriously, throwing dirt at me was such a scummy tactic."

"Says the one who farted at my face just to get away," Tenten argued back, causing Suki to let out muffled giggles. "You can be such a child, you know that?"

"C'mon, Tenten, it was pretty funny."

Tenten rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

"Hey, it was still a tie, though. I think you might have gotten stronger since the last time we sparred," Suki complimented her.

Yeah, she did but that didn't put Tenten at ease at all. She was a Kyoshi Warrior at heart and also dedicated herself to become a weapons master. Tenten knew she wasn't some sort of prodigy, but she always believed that if she worked hard enough, she could stand toe-to-toe with the geniuses.

However, as a non-bender, there was only so much she can do against a bender. Sure, she can win against ordinary benders but against the elites like Zabuza, Tenten was practically a sitting duck. When she heard from Azula how Naruto had managed to beat Zabuza by the skin of his teeth, Tenten only felt both guilty and weak. If she was a bender maybe things would have played out differently. Maybe Naruto wouldn't end up like how he is now.

"Do you think it would be better if you were born as a bender instead?" Tenten suddenly asked.

Suki simply blinked in response to Tenten's random question. That was certainly out of the blue.

"Um, I'm not really sure," Suki replied with a bit of confusion. "Why are you asking me that anyways?"

"I was just curious, that's all."

Suki stood back up and patted the dirt off of her clothes, "Well, I'm going to take a bath before I check up on Naruto. You want to come with?"

"Uh, I think I'm going to train for a bit more," Tenten sat back up.

"Of course. I totally forgot that resting isn't in your dictionary," Suki walked away from her. "Just finish training before evening; Yulah and I will probably need help cooking dinner."