"Leaders are like eagles. They don't flock, you find them one at a time." [Shihouin]

Rain droplets tapped the window pane from outside Sanzen's dark apartment as the cloudy sky provided little light or comfort. It was rather poorly lit inside at the moment as Sanzen prepared for her later event of the day. She had killed a man, beaten a child who could oddly regenerate, and she felt it were time to see her student. In her mind, it was time to break this tie they shared and to see whether or not he had grown. He wasn't officially hers despite what he may have called her but she treated him as her own none the less. She was the one to first give him a taste of full on psychical pain as she watched his skin burn. She trapped him good that day. However, upon slacking off in her next fight, he had found a way to defeat her. She wasn't to injured due to her protective clothing beneath, but something else caused her to pass out instead. Something that currently haunted her mind day in and out; and the reason she had not seen her student since. She could feel it lurking and watching from within her. Sometimes she would even randomly hear random laughter. For a while now she pondered her sanity about the whole thing but the spiritual pressure said it all.

Standing before her mirror, she silently brushed her hair as she gazed into her dark red hues. She missed the time before this spirit, Kutsuu, disturbed her. When she could hear the sweet lullabies Kyouki would sing at night before she slept. The feeling of security she had as Kairo would watch over her. She missed Nagori's knowledge for he would help her when she had questions. She even missed Bankotsu's arguments, Shisshou's hyperactive self, and Tsukimi the dull. But now the once mysterious Kutsuu had blocked them all out; what happened? Lost within her thoughts, Sanzen didn't even notice that she involuntarily had pulled off her ninja pouch and placed all her weapons across her bed. Apparently she had been looking them over before the fight and was already wearing her gloves too. Strange. But what wasn't about her?

At the sound of the baby crying three doors down she raised her head, her thoughts breaking, before she shook it. She needed to get a hold of herself, especially if she were to fight Shi. She knew all to well that if she lost focus for a single second he would seize the opportunity to strike and personally she didn't want to lose. If she did though, she would admit to herself that she would be proud but at the same time it was still kind of depressing. She shrugged her thoughts aside on that one.

Changing out of a shirt that made her look like she was just working at the red light district, Sanzen pulled out her recently washed fireproof protection gear and slipped it on. She had to be honest, the stuff didn't really breath that much and so sometimes it got hot since it stuck close; but it still allowed her to move freely and she knew she would need it. She soon slipped on something she never thought she would wear; her green Flack Jacket and black pants. The ban they were supposed to wear, which revealed which hand they were, was then slipped onto her right leg and she fit on some ninja shoes. She then pulled her hair back into a pony tail, giving her a long strand that fell to the bottom of her back, and walked back over to her bed. With gloves on, Sanzen picked up all her tools and re-situated them in her bag before clipping it in its appropriate spot that could be easily reached. She ten removed some back up tools from her drawers, all well hidden inside a secret compartment, before placing them in the flack jackets pockets. Once she was done, she walked back over to the full sized body mirror and peered at it. She looked like a whole new Sanzen now, which was rather strange. She never did enjoy the jacket but today it felt good.

With everything set where it should be, Sanzen bit her thumb before placing her hand on her floor. As she withdrew it there was a puff of smoke before a tiny dog appeared; a miniature pinscher otherwise known as Ichiro.

"Well good morning Ichiro, up for a run?"

Ichiro rose up before standing tall. For a small dog the little guy had a lot of pride. In fact, he always thought he wasn't the coolest of the others... kind of an odd fellow.

"Good, take this to my student pronto, I hope to meet with him today. Did Takao tell you where it was?"

He walked forward, "yes ma'm/"

"Good."

She held a rolled up piece of paper requesting his presence at the training grounds immediately, that she wished to see him. Tying the paper around Ichiro's neck, she walked over to the door and let Ichiro out. All he had to do was take the elevator down and walk out the motion doors to enter the town so it wasn't hard for him. Form there he would just run. As he left, he left walking in style before casually and quietly slipping into the elevator. Seeing as how Sanzen was ready, she shut the door to her apartment and locked it before entering the next elevator available; there were three. From the apartments she would be at the training grounds in no time; especially since she was running.

Despite her change in appearance a few men still easily noticed her. Maybe it was her body structure,her face and eyes or hair. She didn't know and personally she didn't care. Although she started a job at the red light district and hated it, she was also earning good money. In her point of view, she honestly didn't see herself ending up with a man anyway nor actually becoming someone besides an old hermit woman with 57...well...dogs. She didn't like the idea, but at the moment she could see herself ending up being some sort of teacher some how. That is, if she could actually not be beaten by her students. She felt as though she improved but also lacked the motivation to take it up a notch and go further. She didn't necessarily feel stuck but due to her spirit bugging her 24/7 she was having trouble. Note to self, find some way to remove a spirit. At least one, Kutsuu, the others were fine. Otherwise, control a spirit. She didn't think there was anyone like that in Konoha, but what about Kumo? For some reason she didn't see anyone here having any techs to do it but Kumo was an unknown land to her full of unknown people. Maybe she would even fit in more a bit there. As her thoughts ran on how to get rid of Kutsuu, she actually felt a bit better. It made her wonder why Kutsuu hadn't said anything either. Maybe he thought it was impossible. Maybe it was. But she had a feeling that there was someway somehow. She just hoped it didn't mean death.

Before long she arrived at the training grounds in a field much like the one they previously fought in. It was a wider grass plain thought, about 20m all around, and then some trees. Large slabs of rock lined the training area except for three openings into the forest, one was a dirt path. In a way it was like a ring, the rocks being the walls, which made it interesting. To hide they would have to go behind the rocks or into the forests but Sanzen had a plan to keep him around. She knew he had the sharingan but would he expect such creatures?

Although it was already a possible waste of chakra, Sanzen bit her thumb agian and made seals before slamming her hand into the ground. Before her appeared four dogs; one small, two medium, and one large. The small was a male Jack Russel named Seiji, one medium being the well known male Shiba Inu named Takao, the other medium being a female Whippet named Naoki, and finally the large being a male German Shepard named Nobou. Ichiro the Miniature Pinscher would arrive later once Shihouin did but Sanzen may not use him.

"Guard the perimeter, make sure that if Shihouin runs past you stop him while I fight here and around. Make sure to rub against mud and such to hide your scent trails."

They each nodded before they leaped off into different directions and leaped off. Sanzen trusted they would hide in good positions so Shihouin wouldn't easily see them but she knew Shi was smart as well. Finishing off her set up she made hand seals and sighed, her ears tuning into a sound somewhere to the left of her and well hidden. She soon nodded and placed a hip on her hand, waiting for Ichiro and Shihouin to meet her. Today she needed to succeed no matter what. Especially if she wished to rank one day.

Sanzen-shishou. He still called her that to this very day. His only master, the only one who he held upmost respect for. In front of her, all else failed. Love, rank, strength, titles it was nothing when he was around her. She was the only person that he looked up to and in his mind he was even closer to her than Nasa. She reminded him so much of his own mother, all her actions and mannerisms were the same, the way she talked and held herself even the way she looked. It was like Shi had gotten the chance to see his mother again even though he knew she was dead. When the pain got to him, the loneliness of an orphan child, all he had to do was think of her and everything would be OK.

He discarded the thoughts from his head and quickly turned over in his bed. Surprisingly enough, the moment he did turnover was the same moment he got a visitor from a complete stranger. A nin-dog was at his window, pawing on the outside of it to make some noise. Shi quickly got up from his bed and let the dog in, eyeing the note around its neck. He quickly read it while getting ready. Sanzen wanted to spar? Shi was always up for a test of his skills. On his way out of his apartment he wondered if Sanzen learned any new skills or techniques. He hoped that she’d be willing to teach him her Doton techniques one day. Even though he had read her style before, he knew that it was useful with the range it offered. For now, he was a more of a mid-range fighter with the intent on expanding his skill and range with a better style. Maybe she was willing to help him once he got Chuunin. He’d learned more from her than his own sensei. Once he’d arrived at the training field he spotted Sanzen in the distance. He quickly approached her standing in front of her at about six meters, waiting to see if she was ready to spar.

ooc: lame post didnt have much to go off of.

Sanzen stood with her arms crossed and eyes closed as she thought over some strategies regarding the fight and even just thinking about her life in general. She needed a way to silence an old spirit and thus was generating a plan that would first not require her to travel elsewhere for help. In her mind, she could silence him herself even though she always had trouble doing it. She just needed more focus, she was tired of living the life of a whore. Actually, she was sick of it before she even started. It made her hate Kutsuu more and more, what was wrong with him?

As the sound of approaching foot steps filled her ears she opened her eyes and glanced over at the path to the training grounds. Although the figure was slightly shadowed due to the trees and dark skies above, Sanzen could still see that it was Shihouin approaching due to the way he walked and his structure. She memorized it when they first met and was constantly reminded by Kutsuu to know him in and out so that, well, she would kill him. However, there wouldn't be any killing today if she could prevent it. She had Kutsuu under lock at the moment for she cared a lot about Shi to much to even think about killing him. Today they would just have a friendly spar is all. Today was the day Sanzen hoped to change for the better as well.

Turning towards him and opening her eyes, a slight warm smile crossed her face before she greeted him, "long time no see. I hope you have been doing well and I'm sure you may have experienced a lot since the last time we met but thats something for a later date. Right now, you and me both know we don't like to talk then fight but the other way around."

She let out a sigh as her arms relaxed at her sides before she smirked, "let's get started shall we? We can talk after over food if you like."

Whether he caught that she just offered to feed him or not, he wouldn't have much to think about it further. As soon as she said her last sentence her hand suddenly reached for her pouch as she took out three kunai and cast them towards Shihouin. All three were thrown in one swift move, just as she was trained to do, and were aimed at his center and a little to the right and left of him. From his spot, the kunai aimed at his sides would be a meter to his right and left. This all depended on his movements though. Right after those were thrown she then threw a delay tool at him as well, it's body piercing through the air as it was aimed towards his center as well behind the first tool.

From there she remained in her stance as she waited to make her next move; all depending on his own actions. Everything else remained still in their positions, waiting as well.

Shi had been prepared to spar with her the moment he got close to her. Since he’d started six meters away he had ample time to pull a kunai from his pouch and keep it in his hand, near mirroring her movements as he simultaneously pulled four shuriken from his pocket and tossed three of them at each kunai for a counter. By that time, Sanzen had reached for the delay tool, but Shi backed up about a meter and threw his last shuriken to counter the delayed tool. He quickly clasped his hands together while bringing them up to place the kunai in his mouth as he performed hand signs for his techniques.

Sanzen seemed different. She seemed more quicker to react this time and he would have to stay on the balls of his toes of he really wanted to win against her. It was almost like she was harboring some new skill in the back of her head, but Shi wanted to make sure that he didn’t underestimate her. He didn’t need his Sharingan now, but he felt that there would come a time for him to use it. He’d have to use it at two tomoe and focus into reading her movements. As long as she didn’t have a jutsu or power to increase her speed past her rank he would be fine.

Or at least he hoped.

Although his movements were close to hers, she still had a bit of a faster edge to it. Judging by the rate of speeds, the kunai on her side and his shuriken would meet at 3 meters but with hers being a tad closer towards his side though. The closer they got the more anyone with high senses could hear that one kunai seemed off amongst the three; this of course was rather predictable of her. Once the shuriken collided with her kunai it triggered the tag placed on one kunai to erupt, creating an explosion that would cast the other kunai and his shuriken away. Normally it was the delay that held the tag, but she hoped to at least make things a bit more unpredictable. Just after the delay and before the impact, Sanzen withdrew three more kunai and threw those towards Shihouin as well. It was then that the delay hit Shihouin's other shuriken and exploded as well; giving her time to high tail it out of there.

The moment they struck Sanzen turned and made a quick dart to the right. She did so to where she would hopefully be fast enough to get away but slow enough to be noticed before she disappeared amongst the trees. By the time Shi may have seen her, he would then be dealing with the three kunai she had thrown between the two explosions. These were both aimed for his right, left, and center again and in the same manner as the first three; their forms hidden by the debris of the second explosion before piercing through it. Depending whatever he did though, a small white Jack Russel suddenly burst out from the forest roughly seven meters away in an attempt to attack his flank.

Meanwhile, as Sanzen was taking cover and Shihouin was dealing with the dual strike from front and back, another threat or so was already upon Shihouin from places nearby. One formed hand seals and sighed as she waited to make her move; a light heat beginning to surround her.

What the hell? She rigged the right kunai? When? Once the kunai made contact and the tag exploded, Shi was at least four meters away from the blast since he’d move away from it. Once the first spark went off, Shi moved back two meters diagonal to his left to escape the blast and the smoke, thus evading the second set of kunai thrown from his original position. If they were rigged too, the blast would be avoidable since he was keeping his senses and eyes on everything. Shi realized that Sanzen was no joke, so he opened his one tomoe. He lifted his left foot and slightly lifted his right to move in any direction from a new threat. During the entire time he never stopped completing hand signs and was ready for any attack. His sharingan was able to catch her going into the forest and he also noted some other activity which would have been hidden from him as well.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shi could see a dog from the distance attacking his right flank. Since he had moved left away from all three attacks, he had plenty of time to place the kunai in his hand as the dog attacked him. The white dog moved quickly and seemingly had no intent to move from his directional position. This let Shi knew that this tactic was a mere feint so Sanzen could attack with her second hand. However, he didn’t think she would let the dog go to waste. The moment the dog got in range of the technique, he released the perfect Goukakyuu which blazed towards the dog. The massive fireball would be hard to dodge within five meters. Since Shi was faced towards the direction her chakra moved in, he made sure to keep the eyes on her position as he realized she was taking the attempt to hide behind cover. He would prepare his next move.

Spoiler:

The kunai, her running off, the dog; it was all nothing but one huge diversion to not only keep him moving, keep him alert, but making him more and more unaware of what was beneath him. Sharingan or not, he seemed to focused on dodging, watching Sanzen, the dog, the kunai, and even making hand signs to even realize that Sanzen had been setting a trap beneath the surface of the earth. The threat definitly was nearby, in fact, it was right beneath him. Before the fight even began she created one of her special explosive clones that hid casually in the bushes. When Sanzen was casually talking and using the kunai and explosions, this clone easily was able to sneak beneath the surface of the earth without anyone but Sanzen and one of her other dogs noticing. During the dual attack, the clone was beneath the earth generating a sort of light mist. It was basically the same attack she had used when she first made him explode. Now, although he kept moving, this clone stayed right beneath him as much as possible while continuing to release the mist.

Since he kept moving though she had to admit it was difficult to get him surrounded with it like last time. However, when he stopped moving to use his technique that was when the fog would begin to rise up around him. Due to the limited time though, and the fact he used a fire jutsu, the fog would have only had enough time to rise up and surround the area around his knees and blow. The fire from his attack would then light the fog and thus the fog would erupt into an explosion of flames. This would then travel beneath the ground and explode the clone beneath him as well; causing the ground to blow up from beneath him like a land mine due to the clone not being that far away from the surface. The moment the fire hit the fog this would all happen in less then a second and would most likely shock Shihouin from the sudden surprise of burning legs and the ground erupting beneath him. Due to the fact the fog would have made his flames travel, since its considered a conductor so to speak, his clothes would also end up lightning on fire and probably travel upwards.

Due to the fact Sanzen was watching the whole time, the moment the explosion went off and the fire headed towards Seiji, the Jack Russel, he was then de-summoned. His duty seemed to be fulfilled and besides, she still had her three other dogs. Knowing the way Shihouin tended to work, rather then attacking and leaving herself out in the open, Sanzen waited in hiding along with her remaining three dogs. She had wasted quite a bit of chakra so far, a bad habit returning, but she was ready for anything.

What Shi didn’t like was that Sanzen wasn’t being fair. She had rigged the area and formed her own advantage before the battle even started. It sort of pissed him off that she’d taken cover but Shi realized that this might be a part of the training regimen. She might be trying to teach him how to fight and deal with the disadvantage if you got stuck with it. However, Shi’s movements and plan had not been for naught. Luckily he was wearing standard issue nin-boots to deal with the threat of her attack. The moment he stood still and waited for the dog to attack with his feet ready, he would be able to feel the mist creep up an inch from the ground and on to his toes. Once he realized this mist, he channeled a bit of chakra to his feet and made his move, focusing his senses all around him at the same time.

The moment he felt the mist, Shi jumped two meters up and moved back to the left three meters once again and continued his technique. It would still hit the mist, but Shi would be out of the range of the mist due to his jump. In the air, he would grab the needed tools from his pouch and transform them into a giant shuriken and toss it towards Sanzen’s chakra signature. The moment he would land on the ground he would sprint five meters towards the clearing and activate his Sharingan to two tomoe. Now would it would be just that more difficult for her to surprise him. He would land safely on the ground at least eight meters away from the mist and keep his eyes peeled for all chakra signatures be it above or underground. He woul keep his hands steady and his kunai in his hand ready as he prepared his next move.

Sanzen was fighting with the advantage. She could now flank and attack him however she felt like it and moving into the forest where there might be other traps put him at the disadvantage as well. He would have to deal with it. If he ran into the forest his Sharingan wouldn’t see a wire-trip. He was fucked at the moment.

As Shihouin made a move to leap, Sanzen's eyes watched him from the forest nearby as she motioned some hand signs. It was then a Sanzen burst out from the trees 7 meters to her right and ran towards Shihouin.

While the fire he released caused the mist to erupt and thus destroyed her land mine clone as well. This was rather frustrating but couldn't be helped. Information from the clone then traveled back to her but for the most part it didn't have much usefulness at the moment. As the fire approached the dog, she then de-summoned it. It was one man, or dog, down but she still had a few more and was formulating a plan. So far, Shihouin was doing good. She had it all designed to put him at a major disadvantage which was rather unfair but who said there wouldn't be plenty of unfair battles in the future? This was more of a training exercise then anything even though she didn't enjoy having chakra wasted. Normally she would fight on even ground with people or start as though they just happened to meet and nothing was set but today was different of course. Especially when she used her dog summonings.

Meanwhile the Sanzen that burst out from the forest ran up from behind Shihouin as he leaped. She had positioned herself so that she would be attacking from his blind spot and so that he wouldn't have much time to react. Bad idea to leap on her opinion, due to the fact he didn't know that there could be more clone mines waiting to strike fro below. Once he landed he could have found himself being grabbed and pulled down before he had much time to react. That, or a clone could rise out and hit him as he landed. It was his lucky day though that this wasn't planned. However, she did have something else in mind. As Sanzen ran towards him she pulled out three kunai from her pouch and continued to run. Once she was within a six meter range, which was only like a mili-second later, she immediately thrown the two of the kunai at his right and left hips while holding onto the third. When the kunai attacked he would still be a meter from the ground, giving him little time to counter. Then he would have to deal with Sanzen who continued running towards him.

As soon as the kunai hit, or would just barely slide by if he landed in one spot and didn't move, Sanzen would attack him head on. This would also be right as he landed as well. Being a human, she could easily change course unlike the kunai too. Because she was running at near full speed she could easily catch him too. With a kunai in hand to defend herself with she also waited to see how Shihouin would react.

Fighting someone of one rank higher made the difference. Shi couldn’t compete as well but he hadn’t fallen yet. He had the Sharingan. His Sharingan had the ability to see through all. Since he had been keeping eye of all the chakra signatures in the area he could keep watch on Sanzen and her position as she moved through the forest. By the time she had thought she was behind him, he had already had a plan going. His tactic was short but it focused mainly on deception and foot setting. With a kunai in his hand, he drew another set of three shuriken from his pouch and turned around the moment before Sanzen burst from the forest behind him. Reading her speed and movements with his Sharingan he held his prepared tools in his hand as he kicked his body around to meet her face on.

Even though he couldn’t fight gravity, he could still move his hands. As she ran towards him face on he watched as she continued to pull out three shuriken, keeping both tomoe focused on her speed. Reading her movements, analyzing her body position and formulating the correct move based on the range he had between her at the rate of time she was moving. By just watching her run a meter, he had gained crucial info on her position, not forgetting that he was still falling. By this time his feet had been perfectly placed for a nice landing which would turn into a sprint.

He watched her reach for her pocket and pull out two kunai. Using the Sharingan to mirror her movements, he didn’t need to pull out kunai but just watch her throw them. Essentially the same moment she threw the kunai would be the same moment his two shuriken would go barreling towards her attack. This would be unexpected and the little time any normal person would have to counter this was now exploited. He would land before she could attack him since he had blocked the attack earlier than expected. The shuriken were countered which would be about four meters away from his position. By that time, the meter he had left would be done with. He would continue to keep note of chakra signatures on ground or under and run away from Sanzen while activating his third tomoe and preparing his next move. His eyes would allow him to react to all threats, but at the same time he kept his senses open for what might be behind him, keeping his feet in perfect position to change speeds and direction. She was literally on top him though, with the Sharingan he could create a chance to react even though he couldn’t keep away from her physically.

It was odd to see Shihouin mirroring her moves but not uncommon for someone who possesed the sharingan either. Sanzen had heard rumors of Sharingan owners knowing how to do different techniques and such per tomoe earned and although Shihouin was only a genin she didn't underestimate his sharingan for nothing. Also, since he had one in general, she knew to never look him in the eyes during battle. Never check, only assume. it was bad to assume sometimes but she rather do that then get stuck in some genjutsu. The hypnotizing eye right? She could have sworn she heard that before.

With her kunai in hand, the Sanzen running towards him had it positioned to deflect any of the weapons that could happen to fly at her. They kunai were countered early which honestly surprised her a tad but a simple surprise wasn't something that would cause her to stop in her tracks. Unlike before, these kunai weren't loaded. Oh no, especially not with what she had in mind since her creation. As the kunai were deflected four meters from him she was well enough away to counter and soon enough was right up on him. He could move right, he could move left, up, down, back, anywhere. But the thing was she was right there and no matter which way he attempted to go; he would end up being struck. Before Shihouin could move, sharingan or not, he would suddenly find Sanzen running right into him with her arm reaching around to direct the kunai right into his back. Of course she wasn't aiming to cause any serious damage, otherwise it would have been 3rd degree, so the kunai was positioned to where it would just barely cut into his back in a place it wouldn't even phase him. Consider the kunai more of a threat or warning; what could happen if fighting someone else. After the collision though, he would then realize once again what it felt like to have something not only explode in his face but he would feel a familiar burning sensation as well.

It was then that Sanzen in the forest ran from her position, her senses alert and eyes watching, before stopping in a tree branch ten meters away with kunai in hand. Three she had pulled out just before she ran and three that she would be ready to use at any moment. The dogs continued to watch as well as they continued to try and lie low.

With the three tomoe his eyes could clearly see the next image of her move. By reading her body even more he could see the next image of her movement pop out directly in front of him. The three tomoe Sharingan was a perk that wasn’t really needed unless you were being overwhelmed in close combat. Even then, it was only good if your opponent had some extra form of speed. Normally, no matter how fast someone was the two tomoe Sharingan was enough to read all of their movements. The three tomoe was only useful when someone got an extra speed boost by using a large amount of chakra or something. Even then, using the two tomoe got better as you ranked up. But here Shi was using his three tomoe when he didn’t even need it.

The problem was that he realized that Sanzen would end up running him over. So he quickly activated his three tomoe to allow him to see her move before she could consciously make it. This would give him the time to perform the smallest movement possible. The ideas he had was a jab with the kunai in his hand or spit in her face. The jab would have worked but the problem with that was simple.

It wasn’t her. It was another one of the explosive clones. Fuck.

Shi cursed her for putting him through this hell but now he could get a little bit of room with this. Since Sanzen’s clone from before had detonated underground, it had formed a very large five meter dent in the earth. This knocked up lots of debris. He could have easily kawarimi’d since they were in a forested area, but switching in the forest might not be the best thing for him to do where there were other chakra signatures lurking around. The moment the clone went off, Shi replaced with a size relative piece of stone debris from the crater. The moment he would end up near the crater he would throw down a smoke bomb for cover. About a second after, he would appear running towards Sanzen’s real chakra signature performing handsigns for a technique with the two tomoe back in his eyes. This would be a tricky move set, but he would prepare his next one mentally and go through with it anyways.

Of course as the clone went off Shihouin managed to evade again. She knew he would substitute, he was just that predictable. But who wouldn't if they knew that someone running right at them and wasn't going to stop? Especially if they had explosive clones that could easily put some in a hospital if used right. The moment the information traveled back to Sanzen she quickly formed hand signs, her eyes watching Shihouin right towards her before she suddenly sunk beneath the earth. Although she now couldn't truly surprise him with anymore clones, at least at the moment, she could still hide and this happened to be the one place he couldn't reach her. He could use tags to blow up the ground in an attempt to reach her or maybe even a jutsu but without possessing any earth abilities; she was currently untouchable. Only problem to this was she also couldn't see him. Sure, she could pick up on feeling vibrations if close enough but she lacked a pair of eyes besides the dogs. If hurt they wouldn't blow up and send information back to her though.

As Shihouin approached and Sanzen disappeared, one of the dogs whom had hidden in a bush behind her would then spring forth and stand in her spot snarling. If attacked, she would be in range to hear anything major and thus could de-summon unless the dog, or Naoki the Whippet, dodged. Meanwhile, Sanzen motioned hand signs right as she went under. She was using quite a lot of chakra due to her clones and the summons so she knew all to well she wouldn't have much left if she kept using more attacks. However, a few simple moves and she may just have this in the bag. From an area about 45 degrees across the field, roughly 20 meters away, another dog ran out and began to run after Shihouin from behind.

Predictable or not, Shi had managed to escape all of her tactics without her so much as laying a scratch on his body. Even though he was proud to know that, the feeling that Sanzen would continue to run him down was imminent. Luckily for him he had not being using his Sharingan but for a minute or two and only used the three tomoe for a short time, a few seconds at the most. Not to mention a C rank jutsu, especially a familiar technique like the Goukakyuu was very easy for him. See at this point, Sanzen’s tactics had become more and more predicatble as the battle raged on. She would now have to surprise him to attack him and that wouldn’t work so well for her because of his Sharingan. At her level, and from the previous experiences he had with her, she could only do about two or three of those lethal explosive clones. His tactics were more than just staying in the open, but attempting to find those clones and dodge them before they had the chance to hit him.

With Sanzen performing hand signs underground, he was aware that she was molding chakra for a technique. It was time to put his skills into play. After she concealed herself with her Doton, he spun around to check his flanks. Her attack patterns seem to focus on him focusing on her to open up his flanks. He couldn’t fall for that. When he’d caught sight of the dog attacking from what was his flank, he performed hand signs quickly since it was far away. He had a kunai in his hand, good. He dropped the kunai and simultaneously performed his move set. This would be tricky. Grabbing another one with his left hand, he performed the technique once the dog was in range. Using his two tomoe he could time this technique perfectly by reading the dogs movements. The kunai that he’d dropped was in front of him, so when he smashed his foot on the ground it would force the kunai deep into the earth where it would be held firmly there. Dropping the kunai, grabbing one with his left hand and slamming it into the ground all happened near the same time as he performed a technique. Once the dog was in range a powerful jet of fire would release upward a few inches in front of it. At that point it would be impossible for him to change his momentum; even if he stopped he would run into it. Shi kept the heel of his right foot up off of the ground and slightly lifted his left. Holding his hands in front of him, the kunai in his left hand would be great for guarding and making a quick strike. His eyes were fixated on Sanzen’s chakra signature as well and he was keeping track of all chakra visions in his sight by moving his head. He would prepare his next move mentally and physically, and wait for her.

To bad for whatever Shihouin was planning, the dog wasn't dumb enough to run head first into chaos. The moment Shihouin turned Takao veered off to the right and began to run somewhat back towards the forest. This way he wasn't running in head first into anything and thus giving him time to dodge Shihouin's next attack. The Whippet whom was standing in Sanzen's original spot, before she went under, was now behind Shihouin's back flank. As Shihouin prepared whatever he was about to do next, which from what the dogs saw was throwing kunai into the ground and stabbing them into it, Takao (the dog was originally attacking his flank) continued to run to the right before he was turning towards the left. As stated earlier, the area was a 20 meter circular field and due to Shihouin's position he was estimated to be about 9 meters from one edge; giving enough room for Takao to run a circle around the perimeter with Shihouin being a sort of off center point.

As Takao did this, Naoki (the dog whom was in Sanzen's spot) then burst out from Shihouin's flank and appeared to run straight towards him. However, a second later she merely released a loud snarl before she slid and made a sudden turn to her left. Due to Naoki's size she was much quicker then Takao and cover ground faster. Now, as Takao ran counter clockwise around Shihouin, Naoki was running a bit faster around him at clockwise. Both then began to move in a bit more as they ran, making the perimeter around Shihouin go from 20 to 15 meters. All they did was run though. One may think that they were dogs and tire quickly but there was a difference between your average dog and ninja dog; one that was trained for combat and to run further distances. This meant they had more agility and endurance behind them. Meanwhile, Sanzen began to move in towards Shihouin's right before a German Shepard sprang out from his left, ran, then stopped ten meters before him snarling.

He stood on his toes with his teeth bared. He was ready to run if he must but more so ready to see what Shihouin would do next. It was then the miniature pincher from before, one that was never de-summoned after Shi arrived, leaped out and began to run in Takao's course; making sure that they were always straight across from each other. All of course never left their eyes off Shihouin. How would Shi react to all this?

No offense to Kaosu-sensei, he was a great teacher to Shi. As a matter of fact, he’s still a good teacher to Shi. However, in the short time that they had spent together battling, Shi had learned more and created new concepts and ideas in his head than he had ever spent with Kaosu. What Kaosu needed to learn was that Shi operated best in a ninja’s environment, aka on the battlefield. Even though he was somewhat book smart and intelligent he learned and created best with his body. It was the main reason as to why he was so competitive and always jumping for a battle.

His proof of learning was simple. He had copied a technique that Sanzen used against him. From the first time he’d fought her he knew that she was good with subbing clones in situations where she could get cover. In fact, she had done this in the very battle was in. Learning from her actions, Shi had done the same thing when he kawarimid. It’s why he threw the smoke bomb down and ran out from the mist. That crater she made -there were tunnels there- and he had hid himself deep in one of the tunnels for a second to so the dogs wouldn’t notice him. He was also keeping watch with his Sharingan on her signature and concealing himself with those tunnels to keep away from Sanzen. The Kage bunshin above couldn’t do much.

Once the dogs started surround him and changed paths Shi had read it with his Sharingan. Instead of wasting chakra once the dog had moved before he could enter the range of the technique, Shi didn’t release the jutsu and decided to keep that chakra instead. There would be no use in performing it if the dog wasn’t even in range. During this entire time, Shi had focused what little sensory skills he had into his flanks. His peripheral vision was fine with his Sharingan but his rear wasn’t. He knew that she would attack from those flanks, which meant he had to keep his skills honed on them at all cost. Even with those skills the clone couldn’t do much. Once the dogs started to surround him he released the technique and the clone dispersed.

A small bit of earth slowly rose up a few meters away from the confusion where the dogs were. A dirty hand crept out from the earth and a head and body slowly came above. Shi was covered in dirt and his entire body looked a shade of deep brown. His chakra wasn’t exhausted now that his Sharingan was off and he was still fine, not even breathing hard. One technique and a minute or so with the Sharingan didn’t hurt him that much. Shi raised his hand in defeat. A slight smile crossed his face as he sat on the ground with his legs in the hole he made. “I can’t fight you Sanzen-shishou…” he took a deep breath and exhaled largely. “You’re too strong. If it wasn’t for my Sharingan I would have been killed many times over by now.” Shi drug himself up from the ground and started dusting himself off. “Not only do you have the strength advantage but you have the tactical advantage with a coordinated attack and numbers.” He signed once again, but his guard was still up. “It’s like I will never win against you Sanzen-shishou.”

The moment the clone poofed away, something that actually surprised each of them, every dog then let out a sharp bark. This caused Naoki, Takao, and Ichiro to slow down their paces and slide to a halt. Naoki whined a bit then as she stretched while Ichiro and Takao stood stiff, waiting for Sanzen's order. Nobu, the german shepard, also stopped snarling and stood with his head high as well; also waiting. Sanzen herself stopped beneath the ground and waited as well. She knew the bark meant it was a fake or the target was lost, but then where would Shihouin himself be? How troublesome. Although the dogs could see him now, she couldn't, that is until he started talking. Following his voice, she listened to what he had to say as she soon found herself beneath him. Once he had finished though, giving up in the process, her hands suddenly reached up and grabbed at his waist, or hips, on both sides before pulling him under. To anyone this was probably uncomfortable, but thats what he got for sitting. It was a place she could easily grab at and yank down before he could truly move.

Shihouin would then find himself underground with only his head sticking out, the well known head hunter jutsu as some referred to it as. A jutsu that was actually tricky to use on people, especially those who wouldn't stop moving.

"It's like I will never win against you Sanzen-shishou" she mocked while coming out of the ground; her arms crossed and her face holding a bit of an agitated glare.

"So what if I have numbers and coordination, so what if you could have been killed many times over?"

Suddenly the Sanzen before him faded away into nothing as though she vanished before something grabbed his shirt near his chest beneath the ground. Suddenly he found himself rising out of the ground, his shirt in the real Sanzen's grip before he was standing on his feet. She watched him carefully as always, her form standing just a few inches above his. one day he would probably be buffer and taller then her, she could see it now. But at the moment she had the present Shi to talk to.

"Shi, today you were assigned a B-rank mission with your team to the outskirts of Kumogakure," she began, her voice having a serious tone as she stepped a meter back from him, hands behind her back.

"This mission requires you and your team to infiltrate a bandit hide out and kill the boss. Then, get out as quickly as possible. Your teacher decided to test each of you."

Turning to her right, she began to circle around him much like the dogs were earlier. Except this time she had no intention to truly attack like before.

"When you arrive and successfully infiltrate you begin to search for the boss. however, upon entering you realize it's a trap from Kumogakure. Ninja from their village are there aiding the bandits and end up badly hurting your sensei and teammates. It is now on you. It is your duty to make a decision on how to handle the scenario but either way you will most likely be attacked, taken hostage, or murdered. What would you do?"

She circle around him once by now, her eyes settling in his when she asked that question before she stopped and stood before him again. She didn't give him much time to respond yet as she continued.

"You wouldn't just sit down and give in; that much I know. The odds were against you in your perspective and although I did that on purpose, if you had kept going you may have just beat me. Now imagine this all as the bandits."

She sighed then, her angry expression dissolving as she seemed more relaxed. She was never really angry, in fact from what she saw him do she was impressed.

"It doesn't matter if you could have been killed many times over; you're alive. You managed to not get attacked and the only thing wrong is a little dirt on your clothes. That's what matters. That and the fact you can still fight. Do you think many others your rank would have even survived or been able to escape the first clone, OR more importantly the second?"

She reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder, a sort of smile crossing her face, "either way, well done." She patted his shoulder a bit before she sighed again and placed her hands back behind her back. It was then Shi may have noticed just how much she was thinking, her face appearing thoughtful and deep. She had down casted her eyes as well before finally she gazed back up at him.

"Lets call this spar, training, whatever a day. At least this much. Unless you have something to say, I have something else I have been thinking about that I wish to teach you. Are you ready to hear what that may be or done for the day? This will benefit you greatly in the future."

Shi couldn’t control himself when he was surprised attacked under the ground. One of the flanks most people didn’t count for. Since he couldn’t even hear her coming the only thing he could do was ride it out. It felt bad, really bad. He was easily being man-handled and she wanted to she could have easily killed him with a simple kunai. That feeling came back again, creeping back into his consciousness. Worthlessness. Even though he felt bad, he dusted himself off and listened to Sanzen talk. She began to paint a picture of him on a mission. The same situation he was in currently, but a lot worse. He consciously asked himself what he would do had he been placed in that situation. The same answer would be what he had thought of before, a shaky tactic that would only work if he had tons of information that he could throw away. After she talked he answered her question.

”In a situation where you are outnumbered and out ranked, the only tactic you can use is deception. I don’t have any close range attacks yet but deception works best for lowering the guard of your enemy. When we were out on our B Rank mission to the Sound a ninja told me that ‘You can’t be as good as the enemy, it is essential to be better, otherwise you leave it up to chance. In that case you lose control over the situation. Never allow that to happen’. The only way I can win is to get stronger.” He sighed out of disappointment. ”With the disadvantage I had not even my trump card would have worked, there were multiple targets and then you attacking from an underground flank…I need more strength so I can do different things in different situations.” He looked down at the ground, feeling worthless. ”But you’re right. It pains me to say it…I gave up.” At that point he was about to cry, and she would even be able to notice it. He held his emotions back and swallowed it and lifted his head up towards her.

When she placed her hands on his shoulder, he felt a lot better but he still felt horrible. He looked up at her with reminiscent eyes, remembering his mother. She looked just like her, and she acted the same for the most part as well. Seeing her almost made him want to cry, but at the same time he felt good that she was willing to teach him just like his mother used to be. Out of most families it was unheard of to have many female mothers as ninja, but Shi was lucky to have one for a very short time. Almost even in front of Nasa, Sanzen had became the most important person to him. It was almost like he still had a mother with her.

He listened intently; she wanted him to learn something. He already had a few ideas buzzing around in his head but he was open to some more. ”Whatever you want to teach me Sanzen-shishou, I will learn.” He waited for her to start the second lesson.

Her careful eye watched his every expression as she saw the emotions rise on his face; that it looked like he was going to cry. She could practically read numerous times and tell how bad he wished to grow just by his features and willingness to train and fight. He had a competitive edge to it but she saw that he learned best through fighting the first day he case around and she taught him jutsu. It was easier to remember something when placed in a situation where you were forced to stay on your toes at all times and use whatever you could to defeat the enemy.

At his ranking, he truly would have a lot of trouble fending off her attacks. In her mind, he could have used his trump, the shadow clones, and even regular clones. Her dogs could smell the difference but would keep their distance until they realized and she did have his eyes to see the difference until the shadows attacked. The point though was that he could find a way to separate them individually and attack that way. Dogs were rather fast but she knew Shi was skill full too. By the she would have had the ground lined with tags probably or set something else up but one way or another, with more effort he could have maybe been closer. It was fine though. She was actually glad it was over and besides, they both learned a lot from it. Maybe it was good to stop at that point anyway. She was going to stop them eventually anyway.

As her eyes rested on him still she nodded as he agreed to continue training while ignoring his emotions. She wanted to cheer him up but at the moment she was on duty as a ninja training her student. She couldn't just baby him, that makes students weak. Although she knew he would continue to push though. At the moment he would just need to learn to set the emotions aside and focus; at least from what she thought. This next exercise would call for a lot of his focus too.

Turning around, back to him, she walked four meters away and then faced him. This now placed them five meters a part. She then reached into her pouch and took out a kunai; her finger feeling the top as she did while keeping her eyes locked on him.

"If you trust me, don't move."

After that, she then threw the kunai towards him at a normal throwing speed; not aiming for him. Then, the kunai flew past his right ear and flew off elsewhere. Her eyes never left him as she allowed her right hand to rest back by her side; her other on her hip.

"Did you hear that?"

Once she had gotten behind him he wondered what she was up to. Whatever this new training was, he hoped that it would be beneficial to him. Even though he mentally doubted her by thinking that, he realized that Sanzen wouldn’t teach him anything useless. Whatever she had in mind would have been useful for him to say the least. When she reached for a kunai in her pocket he kept an eye on her. There didn’t seem to be any other things attached to it. She threw it directly for him and he didn’t really know why. Once the kunai she threw got close to his ear, he could hear the sound of it whistle past him. ”Yeah, the sound of a kunai whistling past my ear... Is this senses training?”

ooc: short i know.

His response was precisely what she wished to hear. With a nod she then whipped out another kunai, her finger feeling the top just like the other as she gazed at him.

"Close your eyes and don't worry, I won't hit you unless you lean towards it for some odd reason," she said with reassurance.

Once he closed his eyes she would then snap her hand out and once again threw a kunai past his ear. It would then whirl by before falling to the ground in the distance, much like the other one had. The moment it did though, the tag that was securely placed to on the kunai with paint disguising it, would then explode. A tree shook some from the force before Sanzen sighed, "open them."

When he opened his eyes he would see her place her hands behind her back casually as she gazed at him. He face was as expressionless as always but her voice held a serious sort of tone, one used when she was testing him, "now, besides the fact there was just an explosion. What could have told you before hand that the kunai had an explosive attached?"

Ooc: Sorry, short as well

He did just as she instructed and closed his eyes. Even with them closed he was semi-scared about what might happen. He kept his entire body still and waited for whatever to happen. Within a few seconds another kunai whizzed right past his ear, however this one made a different sound. It was much softer than the other kunai. The sound difference was slight, but as long as he could hear it he could tell something was up with the kunai, almost as if something were on it. The only other thing he could think that would make it produce that sound would be-. His thoughts were quickly interrupted be a large explosion several meters from behind him. It was exactly what he thought it was a tagged kunai. ”The paper from the kunai causes the wind to flow differently around it. Therefore the sound it makes it somewhat softer, but more different that softer. It makes the air flow around it in a different fashion and thus makes a different sound. I used the same thing on Hope when I fought him to make the kunai quieter when I attacked him. I had never thought of training to hear the difference though, I was only thinking about using it.” Once again, he was actually learning something.

A slight smirk like smile crossed her face as she nodded her head to his response, "very good. I'm impressed by you taking it into consideration to hide your attack as well. A flailing tag is to predictable, however"

As she finished, she suddenly whirled a hand out from behind her back as another kunai whirled past his ear. This one however had a flailing tag instead and so it was pretty obvious that there was a difference between a normal kunai and a loaded one. It was just the sneak ones he would need to watch for. Once one person started concealing their tags it wouldn't tag long for many others to catch on. She in fact learned it from her teacher when she was younger so who knew how many others were aware of this simple concealing method.

The moment the kunai struck the ground elsewhere and exploded, Sanzen continued.
"You of course should still know what that sounds like as well. That one was far more obvious though, so continue concealing your tags when throwing but be careful. You don't want them going off beside your leg. That would be bad," she said with a slight grin, resisting the urge to chuckle.

"Now then, moving on," she said, her hand reaching into her pouch again. This time she took out three kunai and used her other hand to cover them up so Shihouin couldn't study them.

"Now you and I both know that in a fight someone isn't always going to throw a kunai by your head hoping you would listen its sound. In fact, not everyone just throws one kunai. So this time, I want you to dodge, not deflect, AND tell me which kunai is loaded, if there is one thats loaded of course."

A smirk crossed her face at the last comment before she backed up. This gave him more room to move. Who would normally throw kunai five meters away anyway, unless they were running towards the foe or something. But there was the chance of getting caught too. Maybe that was just her though. Placing 8 meters between them she nodded with a smile.

"After this I want you to go retrieve all the kunai I have used for this exercise, consider it a memory test. Where did you hear them land? Call it as soon as you know it, if there's an explosion before you do then you fail."

Her grin soon vanished as she whirled her hand out and threw all three kunai towards him. All three were aimed for his head so he would simply have to duck but all three were separated at least two feet from each other too. One would fly to his upper left, above him, and his upper right; when he dodged of course. If he were paying enough attention, he would be able to dodge and tell that the upper left kunai was the loaded one as well. Normally it would be the middle one when aiming for an opponent but it was good to be unpredictable as well.

Once the kunai whirled by and flowed off they would eventually strike the ground behind him. It would be then that the left one exploded, making it obvious. Of course, he should have told her which one it was by then.

Shi listened to every word she said and began to commit it to memory. Luckily she was teaching him this alone, which would be good to have as another advantage in battle and over his normal team mates. All he had to do now was get some camouflaged explosive notes with a few prepared kunai or shuriken so to use this tactic. What was good about it was the fact that he could do it with a simple exchange of tools and possibly create a damaging blow with really no effort idea.

When she threw the kunai he had to use his ears above all else. The moment he could hear the difference between them, it became obvious that the left one was different among the rest. Ducking his body, he dodged towards the opposite direction to get away from the blast. This was simple enough, but it did require some training. If it weren’t for him point it out, he would have never noticed it at all. Now he had another advantage to use in battle which was perfect. After the blast, Shi felt as if the session was winding down to an end. He figured that Sanzen would be busy, so he curtly bowed to her. ”Thank you Sanzen-shishou, is there anything else you need me to do?”

A he dodged away from the loaded kunai, besides ducking, she knew that he knew which one it was and nodded. Very good, he was learning. If he ever worked on his senses more whether it be with her, himself, or another; learning the sounds of the simple tools would help a lot. Especially when another opponent is hidden and throws some tools at you. It was not only teaching him to pay attention when he dodged, well focus in general, but was teaching him to listen for minor details. Sure, she told him there was the chance of there being one so of course he would search. In battle though it would be a surprise but it was in battle where he learned most. He would get it, she knew that much. Of course he would need to learn to pick up on the sound a bit further than 5 meters though. This way he would have more time to dodge.

As he asked her the question, before going off to retrieve the tools as she asked, she then nodded and reached into her pouch.

"Pay attention to each sound."

She drew out a shuriken and threw it out from between her fingers as it cut through the air beside his head. A second or so after it passed by him she then threw a senbon. This would be the trickiest thing to hear out of everything due to it's aerodynamic body. It made a very faint noise out of all the others but then again, she rarely saw anyone use senbon much. It was still good to know though.

Next, she then took out some wire and pulled it from its coil, moved it around a bit, and then coiled it back. Returning it to her pocket she then let out a bit of sigh before blowing some hair out of her face. She seemed so relaxed at the moment.

"I'm pretty sure you get the idea. Unless designed a special way, weapons aren't usually silent. Senbon are very faint but still make the slightest noise, that may be the tricky one to listen to but then again it seems the usage of senbon is rare. Anyway, whenever you are fighting or walking around, whatever, try as hard as you can to memorize the sound of every weapon you come in contact with. From the sound of a katana leaving it's hilt to the sound of a barrage of shuriken flying your way. You know what an explosion sounds like, a smoke bomb, that's all obvious."

Grinning some as she stood in a more relaxed pose she continued, trying hard to make it short and sweet, "remember that wind affects the sound of weapons too. Especially the throwing ones. Anyway, for the most part that is all. I'm sure you can use this training to your advantage one way or another. If you help me retrieve my tools then you're dismissed. I'll even treat you to some ramen if you'd like."

Walking forward she made her way over towards where she threw her tools to retrieve them. She didn't want to just throw them away after all. Why buy new ones when she could easily retrieve the undamaged ones and use them again? After all this, they would then leave. Whether they had ramen or not, it didn't matter to Sanzen either way.

-End-