A Rival?!

Yet another week that goes by.

The Transformation Jutsu is really damn difficult, and it actually drains your chakra—unlike the Leaf Exercise. It makes you cover your body in chakra to change its appearance and achieve the effect you want, and it also needs you to actively recall every detail of what you're trying to transform into until it becomes second nature.

So far, I've only gotten five or six somewhat successful tries transforming into characters that didn't really do anything to my height—if I try changing it, it fucks up the whole thing, and uh, weird things happen.

I feel like I'm close to a breakthrough, though. So it really isn't all that bad.

Trip. Fall.

"Good job, Hyuuga Utsuho. Now, do the seal of reconciliation with Shiraishi Sora." Mika-sensei instructed, her arms crossed.

Yeah, remember how Mika-sensei said we'd start doing light Taijutsu spars a few weeks ago? We've started today, and this civilian had the worst possible card dealt against him.

A Hyuuga.

I'm not even kidding when I say the match didn't even last ten seconds. This menace just sidestepped a wild hook, gave a tiny tap to throw him off balance, and then palmed him straight out of the ring like he was swatting a fucking fly—and he did all of that while keeping the whole neutral, deadpan Hyuuga expression on his face!

Also... I couldn't help but feel a weird sense of déjà vu from this guy.

Where have I heard of the name 'Sora' before?

...Probably not important. I used to get déjà vu all the time back in my old life—and most of the time, it meant absolutely nothing. And it's not like this guy was unordinary, if at all. From what I've observed in my classmates, he was average, even among the ones of civilian origin in our class.

Sora reluctantly locked fingers with Utsuho.

"G-Good match."

"Good match."

Then, they both returned to their spots.

"Next up, will be the girls. Who's excited?" Mika-sensei said, her tone a bit too enthusiastic for my liking. No, I don't want to get my ass beaten, thank you very much!

A surprising amount of "Me, sensei, me!" erupted from my side of the training field. You're supposed to say no, why is everyone so eager to throw hands with everyone else?!

Of course, not everyone in my group was up for it, but a part of them was genuinely excited for it, and that made me fear for my life.

"I'll pick at random, and whoever it happens to be, has to step up and do the seal of confrontation with their opponent, just as we did before with the boys. Are you all ready?"

I am, just not to get my ass beaten!

"Hm..." Mika-sensei hummed, thinking about who she was going to choose. "Uchiha Hoshino, step up."

A girl that was about my height, had long, black hair, onyx eyes, a light purple shirt and grey shorts stepped forward 

Hoshino smirked, and brought her fist up. "Yes!"

"And..." Mika continued, looking over at my group.

Don't pick me, or I swear that I'll start using Fuinjutsu to pull pranks on you when I actually learn it!

"Amai, you've been a little too quiet lately, so I think it's about time you actually start participating. How about you step up this time?"

You asshole!

"...Okay, sensei." I muttered, completely resigned as I reluctantly walked to the ring of the area. Do I really have to go against an Uchiha, of all people?!

Hoshino was already waiting there, looking rather smug as I stepped to her opposite side. Arms crossed, head slightly tilted, you know, the whole cliché arrogant rival thing.

"Ready to lose, old hag? In fact, just give up right now. There's no way you could win against an Uchiha."

...Did she just call me an old hag because of my hair color?

"Pardon?" I asked, my expression deadpan. Since when do children get to talk this much crap?

"You heard me, frosty. That white hair makes you look ancient, like, 'grandma at a tea party' ancient." 

"Girls, while I think messing with your opponent's mental state is useful, I'd rather you both actually demonstrate your skills with actions instead of words," Mika-sensei said, likely internally cringing at our antics.

Me, on the other hand?

I'm going to mangle her.

I don't even care if she has her own special Taijutsu style or whatever—I've always stayed quiet in my past life and took every insult, but that doesn't mean it'll be the same in this world.

Power is something that's actually obtainable here, and doesn't rely on completely random factors such as luck, money—or talent, in Lee's case. It didn't rely on random factors, at least not fully.

Lee likely had some kind of talent in hand-to-hand combat, but it was all hard work nonetheless. No bloodline, no special tricks, just pure effort.

"Say something. You're always so damn quiet all the time," Hoshino said in irritation. "What do you even think about when we are in class? You don't even try talking to anyone else outside of your little friend group."

Okay, that's it. I'm punting her to space and keeping my promise.

"You sure talk a lot." I replied, narrowing my eyes slightly at her. Never thought I'd be arguing with a kid, but here we are. And not just any kid—an Uchiha with a superiority complex.

"And there's a lot more where that came from, silver," she said, flashing that smug, shit-eating smirk again.

Oh, hell no. I'm sending this prick to hell and beyond.

"That's enough. Just do the seal already and fight," Mika-sensei cut in, arms crossed, clearly tired of our crap. "Class is short, and we don't have all day. Or are you both stalling so that the others don't get to spar? I can lower both your points because of that."

We both turned to her, clearly not amused. I could already hear a few people in the back snickering.

"Fine." We both answered in unison, and I formed a half-ram seal with my right hand, which she reciprocated without hesitation.

We stared each other down for a few seconds, until Mika-sensei, who had been watching the whole exchange with mild amusement, announced the beginning of the match.

"Begin!"

I took a few steps back, and got into whatever stance I could manage. Probably full of openings to exploit, but it's something.

"What kind of style is that? You're full of weak spo—"

Then, I jumped.

I didn't even wait for her to finish her sentence before I bent my knees and twisted my body, and my legs extended.

It almost felt like I was attacking in slow motion, the way her face slowly caved in from the force of my unexpected dropkick.

Yeah.

I held my promise.

I had the opportunity, and I doled out a dropkick against a child. Who's gonna stop me?!

Hoshino tumbled across the dirt, holding her nose as she groaned in pain. She stayed down with an expression of disbelief, unsure of whether she should get back up or complain about the move I just pulled.

"...Amai, you're supposed to engage in hand-to-hand combat and knock her out of the ring, not hurt your opponent on purpose," Mika-sensei said, rubbing her temples in frustration. "We've gone over this when I first explained how Taijutsu classes would go."

She then walked to us and leaned in to whisper to my ear. "I know you're more mature than this."

...Right. I let my emotions get the better of me.

Still, that dropkick felt nice.

After checking on Hoshino and confirming her nose wasn't broken—which was honestly terrifying, considering the force I'd just used even if it wasn't even at full strength. Chakra did scary things to the body.

"You'll both have a rematch, and you'll only use your hands from now on. No intentionally hurting each other in a serious manner," Mika-sensei continued, giving me the look. "Got it?"

"Got it," I muttered, shamelessly stretching my arms behind my back.

She sighed at my response, and turned back to Hoshino, and said a few things I didn't quite catch. Then, she returned to her spot.

"You know, that hurt," Hoshino said, her voice sounding more frustrated than injured. Above all, I caught a faint hint of... respect? The hell? "You're not bad."

Did she just compliment me? No, that's sarcasm, right?

"Thanks?" I replied, trying to sound casual. I'm not some kind of mind-reader that could see through her intentions, so I wasn't about to overthink it.

She didn't say a word in response.

"Ready?" Mika-sensei called out, "Begin!"

Hoshino immediately lunged forward.

Shit!

I barely reacted to her right jab aimed at my right side by using my forearm to block—

No, that was a feint.

She spun and threw a quick backfist at my face—and it connected.

I flinched, but the momentum from the hit allowed me to pivot on my feet and launch a sidekick at her chest.

The strike landed solidly, forcing her back a step, and—

She's holding my leg?!

I felt the pull and instantly knew what she was trying to do. She was gonna try and throw me out of the ring!

However, I've been training diligently ever since my arrival here, and unfortunately for her, I'm the type to do all kinds of reckless shit, even if it means dislocating one of my joints!

I hopped on my only stable foot, and mid-air, my left leg quickly shot forward and hit her square on the face.

"—Ghck!" Hoshino recoiled, her grip loosening around my shin. Chance!

I pulled it free, and as soon as I landed on my now free leg, I did a poor spin and kicked with the other, landing on her chest and knocking her out of the ring.

I wasn't yet used to those weird moves, but it was something. I've seen them on kickboxing videos during my past life, so I've been trying them out against Rei. They felt... strange, on my body. I wasn't exactly the flexible type, so throwing these around really took a toll on me, and felt even odder than I expected.

She landed on the ground, looking at me in disbelief as if trying to process what just happened.

"That's enough from the both of you. Amai, those were some very... unconventional moves, but effective. Hoshino, your initial feint was good, but you let your guard down after that. If you'd kept your focus, you might've had a better chance."

Hoshino pushed herself off the ground, wiping dust off her uniform.

I won... I won against an Uchiha! A six-year-old, but an Uchiha nonetheless!

I was still high on adrenaline, and I couldn't help but let a small grin creep up on my face.

She approached me, a determined look on her eyes.

"The next time we are paired together, I'll be the one to win." She muttered, but there was a strange sense of respect in her voice.

Huh. So she's the type to only respect those she considers equals.

Did I just get my first rival in this world?

"I'll be waiting for you, then." I replied, mostly in the heat of the moment. Normally, I wouldn't even talk like this, but you know what? Screw it all.

I'm ready to give it everything I have, and mark my name in this world.

No matter what!