Another soft and thoughtful sigh escaped Kaia’s lips as she wandered her way down the road, headed toward where the training field she had booked for the evening was located: there was nothing really special about it outside of the fact that she had used it since she was ten years old and had properly begun training as a shinobi. The training field was huge, and had a path that went through the forested portion that was roughly a mile and a half long from start to finish; the path making a large loop with various natural obstacles in the way one would have to traverse. There was a fairly large stream that ran through it, as well as a giant clearing with nothing but hard packed dirt and grass. There were several boulders along the one side of the biggest clearing worn flat from years of being exposed to the natural elements: they made perfectly good benches for people to sit and rest on if they didn’t want to sit on the ground or on one of the fallen trees.

Kaia, as was becoming tradition for her when training, had her long black hair pulled up in a ponytail at the top of her head; the ponytail having been braided and then spun around itself until it formed a bun – less place for grabbing, even though she hadn’t been intending on training with anyone but herself: it was just a good habit to have. Her attire for the day consisted of her Konoha headband hanging loosely from around her neck, a black sports-bra contained her generous chest with a mesh long sleeved top over that which hid nothing of the flat stomach and muscle beneath, black pants which stopped right below her knees, and traditional black open toed sandals. Her weapons pouch was strapped around her right thigh as always; high enough up to be accessed with ease with her dominate hand.

However, none of this was what Kaia’s mind was on; she was still thinking about Daremo. Her and Daremo had had a lot of interaction lately: from him helping to save her life back with Amaya, to showing more compassion than she had ever expected during her check-up when she had had a complete and utter breakdown, to him standing up for her during the mission they had done several days prior which had led to that moment afterward: not including the fact that she had admitted toward the end of that mission that she had spent several long years traversing the wilds with cannibal – which kind of implied that she might have resorted to such tactics herself – and he hadn’t judged her for it: hell, her own father didn’t know that about her because she feared what his reaction would be. They had grown even closer after that, spending more and more time with each other until Kaia had finally moved in – the only person outside of Daremo that could unlock and lock his door at will: something which still made the young female smile from ear to ear. Then had come that meeting with him and Kenta; she had woken up to find him gone, and a letter behind to come to the Hokage Tower. She had followed him of course, with all kinds of concern. Yet, what she had found out during that meeting had been absolutely anything but what she had been expecting. She had found out secrets about Daremo that could have caused him a lot of problems were the wrong person to have found out – yet, he had been willing to have her there during that meeting with Kenta so that she too could know the truth. She had vouched for him when it came to the Dogkage; pleaded on his behalf… especially after he had told her he loved her. Her heart has soured at that point, and she was sure the cheesy grin was once again on her face just thinking about it.. she had even broke all of her own rules of etiquette to tell him she loved him too… right in front of Kenta.

With another sigh, this one more amused sounding than anything, she started walking again and made her way closer to the training field, tilting her head a bit to the right as she heard what was clearly the sound of a spar: the grunts and calls indicating that two people were physically fighting, likely hand to hand, though she couldn’t see them yet to be certain.

Glancing up at the sky as she walked – Kaia never bothered with a watch since she had been taught to judge time simply by the position of the sun in the sky – she noticed she was a tad bit earlier than she had expected: apparently even taking a long detour through the market to grab the strawberry bubble tea she carried in her right hand hadn’t even put her behind schedule. Shrugging to herself and not really minding the idea of having to wait she turned the corner and found herself face to face with the gate of the fence that went around the training field, through which she could see two individuals. Both were male, the first looked to be roughly five feet seven inches tall with a slim build and decent muscle, black hair back in a ponytail and dark but honest chocolate brown colored eyes: he was wearing only black pants held up by a rope-like belt and his feet were bare. The other male was built like a tank and stood easily at six feet tall with short cropped black hair, forest green eyes, and wearing a pair of shorts and also no shoes. To anyone who didn’t know better it seemed at first glance like an uneven match, yet even for two Genin (Kaia recognized them from around the village) they each were holding their own in their own way. The smaller of the two was lighter and therefore faster, easily darting around the larger ones strikes. However, the large one had the advantage of longer arms and more powerful muscles, meaning that any hit he did land hurt worse than what the skinnier of the two could manage. For several long moments Kaia just stood there, sipping at her strawberry bubble tea she kept forgetting about, and watching as she leaned on the gate.

The two went at it for several minutes until one of them, the larger and more muscular of the two, looked up and saw Kaia standing there. He raised a hand to wave and Kaia smiled in an automatic but friendly fashion as she finally pushed open the gate and stepped in; leaving it open for now. ”Hey, guys.”, she called out as she approached, stopping a good six or seven feet away in case either of them tried to take a cheap shot at the other while they were distracted.

”Hey, Kaia. I thought it was you who booked this place… always this field, eh?”, asked the slimmer of the two.

Kaia nodded and grinned. ”Yeah, it’s the least busiest. Don’t get bothered so much out here. So whose winning?”

The larger of the two laughed. ”We were just fighting about that, actually...”

”Oh, mind if I join in?”

”No way! I’m not fighting a girl!”

”Yeah… I can’t bring myself to hit a woman. Plus you’re kind of tiny – no offense. But, you are… and I’d be afraid I’d hurt you.”, the large of the two said.

Kaia’s good mood was slipping away, being replaced with annoyance. Placing one hand on her hip – her other still holding her mostly full cup of strawberry bubble tea – she rolled her eyes. ”So answer me this… what happens when you come across an enemy whose female? What would you do then?”

”I… well...”

”Well, see… you’re not… that’s besides the point...”

”No, it’s really not. See, you won’t fight me but for all you know I could be your enemy. So what would happen if I just happened to attack you? Would you fight back?” The two just glanced at each other and then back to Kaia the smaller one looked at his watch.

”Oh uh… it’s late. I should head home or my mom will kick my ass if I’m late for dinner.”

”Oh yeah.. I should probably go, too...” Before Kaia could say anything both took off, more than happy to get away from the now annoyed Kaia. Kaia just sighed and shook her head as she watched them go: that always seemed to be the way it happened – no one wanted to fight either because of who her fathers were, because she was small for her age, or because she was female. It got annoying having to deal with it all the time.

”Ugh...” She hadn’t been wrong though in her question she asked them: what would they do if they came up against a female opponent – or would it be different if it was an unknown person?

Word Count: 1,510

Daremo's eyes remained locked onto the being that was fluidly rushing towards him. The environment bending and twisting in agony with each step in closing in on their destination. Seeing a wild haymaker coming from the left, Daremo swayed to the right and ducked under it with his both of hands coming up to block a knee strike aimed for his chin that would have undoubtedly killed him. "Oof", the force of the blow rattled his bones as he was airborne and flipping wildly in the air. Looking around for something to stabilizing himself and spotting a branch, Daremo grabbed it. With muscles developed from his time as a taijutsu practitioner, he hauled himself on the branch and abandoning it immediately, the branch and the tree instantly being turned into kindled as the being struck it.

With the ground fast approaching, Daremo's legs were bent slightly as he entered into a roll, barely dodging an axe-kick that left a 10-meter radius crater. Standing up and going through a familiar set of hand seals, the all familiar cloak of pestilence sprung around his frame. "Useless.", the other being said, appearing a front of the former Sannin and grabbing his face and squeezing it. Daremo desperately crawled at the monstrosity hand wrapped around his face that was either attempting to suffocating him or trying to pop his head like a grape. "Your necrosis is weak." Indeed, the cloak surrounding him wasn't doing anything to the beast which held his life. The normal necrosis effects were non-existence. Balling up their other into a fist, the being slammed it into Daremo's stomach - the effects were instantaneous. The necrosis shroud disappeared on contact, Daremo's chest cavity shattered, and the earth underneath them cratered. The Sannin didn't even have time to register the pain before he blacked out. Seeing the purple hair male unconscious, the being casually threw him on their shoulder, not caring for the injuries they caused, and casually walked towards a lake.

"Tsk.", the being spoke, tossing the limb body into the water, and watched as the body began showing signs of necrosis. "And I was holding back too.", soon, Daremo's body was covered in necrosis, yet the being didn't worry. A few minutes passed by before the being dragged the now breathing body out of the water as the blotches of necrosis disappeared to reveal healthy skin. "Wake up, hatchling. It is time for you to go home.", as if answering the being's called, Daremo's eyes snapped open as he coughed violent, spitting out a globule of necrotic water that instantly killed the ground it made contact with.

Looking at his mentor who was no longer in her human form, nothing was said as with a flick of her tail, Daremo disappeared with a plume of smoke.

Another plume of smoke indicated his arrival. The destination in question is his empty bedroom. Making a single hand seal, Daremo was bombarded with information from his clone that was busy cleaning up the house. From what he gathered, Kaia, after having an interesting time with this morning with him(the clone), decided to go out to train at one of the training grounds while he slept in: today being one of the few days he wasn't working. Nothing else of importance was gathered from the clone's memories, except the fact the house was cleaned.

Having caught up with everything he had missed due to being dragged into the summoning world by his companion, Daremo briefly thought about what he should do with the rest of his day. it didn't take him long to figure out the next course of action as he turned to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Fifteen minutes later, wrapped in only a towel, Daremo exited the bathroom. Opening the walk-in closet, not paying attention of the feminine clothes hanging within them amongst his, he grabbed a dark green training gi shirt and pants. Unlike normal training gis, his were inlined with a breathable mesh fabric strong enough to stop a kunai if necessary. Laying the clothing on the bed, he moved towards a dresser drawer and pulled out a pair of black boxer briefs that were neatly folded by Kaia's own undergarments, and slipped them own. That done, Daremo quickly got dressed and styled his hair into a low-hanging pony-tail.

Slipping into closed toe black footwear, Daremo walked out of the room, and his house, not before locking the latter. The sunlight caused him to squint his eyes momentarily. Looking around and noticing nobody near his home, Daremo executed a smokeless body flickered only to appear in a nearby alley.

Stepping out of the alleyway and onto the road leading to the training ground in question. Greetings were given to those who he passed by with a few holding a small conversation with him before going about their day. There wasn't any rush to get to the training grounds - he had a feeling Kaia would still be training when he arrived there. Speaking of which, Daremo came to a stop at the gates before him, eyes peering through the iron bars and spotted his lover. Leaning on the gate, Daremo listened to the conversation she had with the two boys.

"Stupid.", he thought to himself, the boys' reasons for not wanting to spar with Kaia being that of idiocy. What would happen when they come across a female enemy? Would they fight back or just allow to be killed by the assailant? Is this the mentality being taught within Konoha's school system? Really? A soft smile appeared on his face when Kaia basically said the same thing he was thinking. Seeing the boys leaving, Daremo jumped on a branch hanging over the gates, using a minuscule amount of chakra to do so.

"She must really want to train.", he mused, seeing the dejected look on Kaia's face. Silently he jumped down from the tree, making sure to cushion his landing with chakra in order not to draw attention to himself. "You know.", he spoke, having closed the meter or two distances between them instantaneously. His familiar voice should be once Kaia recognized without a problem, therefore, he, hoped, she wouldn't freak out as his strong arms snaked around her waist, and pulled her body flush against his. Leaning down, "I can always help you train.", he whispered before playfully pushing her forward and slapping her ass.

When Kaia gained her footing and turned around, there would be a small smile on Daremo's face. His purple eyes soaking in her appearance, briefly lingering on her eye-catching assets before looking at her directly, "So, are you up for it? I will even let you decide the rules."

---

1143

Kaia stared for what seemed like a long moment at the spot that the two Genin had been before they had taken off, her brow furrowed and a frown on her normally happy face. She really hated being treated differently simply because she was a female: and chances were those two were going to pay one day very dearly for refusing to fight a female and getting used to the idea before facing a real opponent. In fact, they would be lucky to survive the encounter at all: women often had tricks up their sleeves, and many were willing to use their assets to their advantage as well – not that Kaia would have ever done something like that, but it wouldn’t mean another woman wouldn’t. No, if they didn’t get used to the idea of fighting the opposite sex now it was going to get those two in trouble later. In fact, the whole idea of it had her almost chasing after them just to drag them back here and force them into a spar, almost.

Instead of chasing after the boys and giving them a sound beating to show them women weren’t weak she stood there and brought her straw up to her lips and took a sip of her strawberry bubble tea, noticing as she did so a familiar voice coming from behind her. Before she could turn around however familiar strong arms were wrapped around her and she was pressed up against Daremo; contact she rather enjoyed. She stopped taking a sip of her drink as she listened to the words whispered in her ear, the simple act causing a shiver to run up her spine. Being playfully pushed away and having her bottom slapped only caused Kaia to laugh as she easily got her footing and twirled in a graceful manner so that she was facing him – her movements like that of a dancer, more-so than a simple ninja. A smirk formed on her face as she looked Daremo up and down, slowly. Placing her free hand on her hip and shifting her weight to lean on one leg she took another sip of the delicious bubble tea while contemplating the offer. Going up against someone like Daremo would certainly teach her a lot more than two Genin would, that was definitely for sure. The harder the challenge the more she would learn; and she trusted him completely. This wouldn’t be like going up against a stranger who could just as easily kill her and be done with it whether accidentally or on purpose. But, that was what also made it hard at the same time; Kaia had enough trouble fighting people she didn’t know, the idea of causing harm to someone she did – someone whom she loved for that matter – was a difficult concept to grasp. Sure, she could learn a lot from Daremo by sparring against him, but could she actually bring herself to attack him? There was no way she would win unless he held back or she went all out – or even a combination of the both – but could she really bring herself to attack someone she loved even in a spar-like setting like that?

”You should practice what you preach...”, Kaia thought as she sighed; figuring suddenly she should probably explain her delayed reaction considering she had just spent the past several seconds in silent contemplation. ”Ugh… I don’t like the idea. It’s hard enough fighting against someone I don’t know – I hate the idea of harming someone, or worse – but it’s all that much worse thinking about fighting someone I know and love.” Kaia would pause, taking a deep breath and even downing the rest of the delicious drink in her hand. ”The idea of having to think of you like an opponent, even in a friendly spar…”, her sentence trailed off and as she did so she tossed the empty container toward the garbage can. She watched as it moved through the air and landed dead center in the hole on top; dropping down to join the rest of the garbage within.

She then turned her bright blue gaze back to Daremo at that point, her decision made even if she didn’t like the idea. ”But, I know I have to practice what I just preached… We can spar, but I won’t use anything too dangerous against you that would cause a large degree of harm; I don’t care if you can heal yourself, I can’t bring myself to do that.” That was about as best as she was going to be able to do; it wasn’t perfect, and it was handicapping her considering some of her high ranked techniques were some of her greatest assets, but the idea of causing second or third degree burns to Daremo should he get caught in one of them? No, she couldn’t do it. This was a spar, not a full blown fight for her life, and she wouldn’t use those techniques unless absolutely necessary. ”Whoever draws blood first, or makes the other quit or tap out, wins.” Simple enough rules really: about as basic as it could get but she saw no purpose for anything fancy. She highly doubted she was going to win, but she was still going to go all out within the limits she had set and try.

Thinking quickly Kaia headed toward the gate, the only entrance into the fenced in area unless someone decided to hop over the high walls; a stupid mistake if they did so with a spar going on. She closed the thing and flipped the latch down to effectively lock it. Throwing a playful glance over at Daremo she chuckled teasingly, ”There, just in case you try and run away from my scary ass in the middle of the fight.”, teasingly playful words were accompanied by a wink – she was obviously joking, but it was her way of lightening the mood considering she had revealed one of the series issues she had: she wasn’t like a typical ninja who could go into battle ready to spill blood and take lives, the fact that she had issues just sparring someone was indication of enough of the series handicap she had – something that could cost her one day if it got in the way of a serious battle and caused her to hesitate in the slightest. Hesitation would be all it would take to cost her her life and the lives of those around her after all; but it was something she was at a loss to fix by herself.

Word Count: 1,100 | 2,610

A playful shove to most people was something different to him. He did it, not only to be playful but also to get a quick read on her talent. A normal person, or a genin, would have stumbled a bit from the unexpected push; their foot coordination and balance not being to the point that they could correct themselves in time from the surprising action. But, she had done so within milliseconds of being pushed, even turning around with a dancer grace without much problem with a smirk on her face, all the while not spilling her drink. Her coordination was something he had expected from her, and she didn't disappoint. Not like he was going to tell her this, yet.

Waiting for her to respond to his suggestion. He mentally shook his head at the beverage she was drinking. There is no doubt in mind that within the container was Bubble Tea. He having found out quickly one of her favorite beverages being the sugary drink. Not truly a fan of it himself, it didn't stop him from going to get it for her whenever she asks him too or doing so when he wakes up before her or on his way home from work. He knew she enjoyed the beverage well enough. So, he had no problem is making a detour to retrieve her a cup.

Dismissing the thoughts about her beverage choices, Daremo took a moment to look at her. Short. The first word to come to mind when describing her. With him being over a foot taller than her. Despite her short stature, there was no doubt she built for taijutsu, more so than most in her age group. Muscle mass aside, something he knew she had hidden behind feminine curves, her short stature gave her a better center of gravity than taller individuals. While others might have to adjust their combat style to fight her, she did not. Shinobi academies always teach their shinobi how to deal with opponents bigger, faster, and stronger than them while neglecting to teach how to handle people who are smaller and more compact. There aren't any guides in learning how to combat these individuals and learning in a life and death situation isn't the safest option. Hence while, thanks to her smaller stature, Kaia fighting style never needed to be adjusted, unless, on the rare occasion, she runs into someone shoulder than her.  

He wondered what was bothering her from answering his question that was asked several seconds ago. She had just been standing there with a thoughtful expression while drinking her tea. Before he could voice his concerns, she voiced her own, and he listened. She admitted not liking the idea of fighting and harming others, furthermore, having to fight someone she loves and thinking about as if they were an opponent, even in a spar setting, did not sit well with her. Here, if it was anyone else, he would have interrupted and given them his own opinion on the matter. But, this was Kaia-Mai, his lover, and he had the right to treat her differently than others. Another reason why he didn't cut into her musing was that, from his standpoint, she was having a debate with herself just verbally, instead of mentally.

He had some idea why she felt the way she did. Her past, from what he had learned, hadn't been the best with everything considering. Living with a cannibal for a few years can explain why she didn't like the thought of hurting another person, even when she had too. He didn't fault her reasons nor would he ridicule her for them. If things were different then there might have been a chance he would have turned out similar to her. But, because of his own unique up bringing, something he needed to tell her about, his opinions on killing is skewed and cold at best. However, this wasn't the time to express his own viewpoints. No, he could always do that at a later date, maybe after the spar.

Purple eyes met memorizing blue ones as it seemed she came to a decision regarding the spar. "Know you don't need to fear the chance of hurting me. First and foremost, I am a medic-nin, and I can safely heal any injury that would be dealt.", calmly he spoke, his words attempting to slice through the worry she had about potentially harming him and to ease her mind. She soon spoke of the rules, first blood, or the first one to make the other one quit or tap out wins. "Very well.", agreeing to the simple rules.

He watched her as she went to lock the gate, his eyes mainly trained on her shapely rear than anything else. Tearing away from the bountiful asset before she could notice, his gaze fell onto hers as she made her way back over. Her comment about him running away caused him to chuckle softly, as he fired back with a lewd remark, "Is your scary ass still red from this morning? I'm surprised you can talk with how much screaming you were doing earlier." He smirked, hinting at the coupling they had this morning. There were many words to describe the particular morning, but thinking about that wouldn't do him any favors.

"Before this spar starts. You are allowed to use Shadow clones. In fact, I insist you do. It will help in learning how to coordinate attacks with them. The faster you learn how to coordinate attacks with the clones the better the Shadow clone technique will become.", Daremo spoke, "Plus it will help me get back into shape.", he added as an afterthought. Having said what he wanted, his body would appear relaxed with his left foot a couple of inches a front of the other and arms simply dangling. Of course, this was all a ruse, his body was anything but relaxed. His muscles were tightly coiled and ready to lash out at the first instant. He wouldn't be using his full abilities, keeping everything roughly around what one excepts a newly minted special jounin could do. "Come at me.", he commanded and waited for her to make the first move.

---

1053[2196]

Kaia laughed at Daremo’s comment, a grin sliding into place on her face, while in her mind she formulated a plot, a plan of action of how she wanted to try and have this go down. Meanwhile, to allow nothing of the calculations and ideas going on in her brain to show, she would just shake her head before replying to his comment, ”Maybe it’s still a little red… wanna see?” Her question would be asked with yet another playful grin spreading across her face, hands shifting down to the waistband of her pants and tugging down the right side about an inch or so as she gave her hips a little shake as if she were going to start pulling the clothing off completely – though it was nothing more than a playful gesture as there was no chance she was actually going to go through with the act.

Not only was the playfulness a means of formulating her plan without it actually looking like she was doing so, but it also had an underlying affect of calming her down and getting her head in the game so to speak. He had been right in his words after all: even if she did injure him it wasn’t like he couldn’t heal himself. That, coupled with the fact that he had years more experience than her did make the overall idea of attacking him easier; though it would never be truly easy. Still, it was enough to have her able to continue, far more lighthearted than she had been mere moments ago.

As Daremo went on to mention the clones she couldn’t help the grin that spread a little more: that had been exactly what she had been thinking of doing. There was no way she could fight him one on one and hope to even make a dent – even if he happened to be holding back. The only way she was truly going to level the playing field was by making as many of herself as she could afford to while ensuring she could still properly attack and function. It was all down to the math, really: the more clones she made, each of which would get an even amount of her chakra, the less chakra they would overall have to use. Kaia didn’t normally rely heavily on Ninjutsu, preferring to allow her fists and feet to do the talking for her, but in a situation like this she assumed a mix and match of both would be best: she had once seen Amaya simply brush up against someone and give them a full blown seizure to the point they had fallen out on the floor violently twitching and foaming at the mouth, so she definitely wasn’t going to underestimate what any medic could do if given a chance.

Kaia, refraining from commenting on the last portion of what Daremo had said about getting back into shape, simply moved to put some distance between them instead of moving closer: though there was another purpose of this as well outside of just getting some distance – another portion of her plan she wanted to put in motion as a back up in case the original her got into a sticky situation. Weaving the required hand signs with the kind of skill that hinted at practice, Kaia would speak clearly, ”Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Three clones would appear, each the same distance away from Daremo as the original Kaia was; one to his left, one to his right, and one right behind him, leaving the original Kaia in front of him.

Shadow Doppelganger Technique:

Immediately the clone behind Daremo (Clone One) would begin by making an “Ooooo!” sound while pretending to fan herself with her hands. ”Would you look at that ass. Ooooooh, I could just grab it…!”, Clone One added, making a repeated grabbing motion towards Daremo’s ass but not actually moving toward it.

The real Kaia, meanwhile, offered up a sigh at her clones and face-palming as if embarrassed without actually breaking her field of vision: this was part of an act, a way for her to prepare instead of rushing half cocked into battle and hoping things worked out like they should – she didn’t consider it cheating, she considered it good planning, taking advantage while she could of the situation. With another sigh she would pretend to lean against the nearby stack of logs – this part of her overall plan – infusing one of them with a small amount of chakra: preparation for a later technique. As if to add to the embarrassment the clone to the right of Daremo (Clone Two) would begin to nod in agreement with the first clone. ”Mhmm. I could stare at that booty all day long.”

Substitution Technique:

”Focus! Please.”, the real Kaia would finally speak while the clone to the left of Kaia (Clone Three) would begin to nod its head in agreement that the other two should focus.

”Sorry!”, came Clone One and Clone Two’s response at the same time.

With the clones seemingly getting their heads in the game the original Kaia would grin once more, her gaze fixed on Daremo, her head in the game – gone – or so it would appear – was her hesitation at attacking him, her doubts about sparring.. ”Let’s do this then.”

Immediately Clone Two to the right of Daremo would rush forward, Clone Three to the left of Daremo doing exactly the same thing and both moving as fast as possible; were they to get close Clone Two would jump into the air, executing a jump kick aimed for Daremo’s head while Clone Three would go low, aiming to take out Daremo’s legs in a sweeping kick. The original Kaia, as well as Clone One behind Daremo would keep their distance; both reaching into their weapons pouch and pulling forth five kunai; the little looped hilts of which would be tied by chakra strings – a technique often used for puppets but which Kaia enjoyed using as a quick and easy means of retrieving weapons should they be deflected. The kunai were immediately thrown, Clone One aiming for Daremo’s back in general while the original Kaia’s aim was more precise: one aimed at his throat, two at his chest where his heart would be, one the abdomen, and another toward his left leg, aiming to hit the inner thigh.

Chakra Strings:

Word Count: 1,060

Chakra:

The suggestion about using Shadow Clones was taken to heart by the young woman, and a barely noticeable smile appeared on Daremo's face at that. Even from the distance, he could tell she wasn't exactly used to going through the foreign sighs. Sure, she did so with practiced ease, there was still room for improvement that will come with more practice. Because, like the age old saying, practice makes perfect, and in the case of shinobis, practices mean survival. He has known shinobis who died because they didn't familiarize themselves with a technique hand seals. With the few added seconds used to correctly perform them causing their lives to be forfeit. Daremo didn't want Kaia to end up like that. He didn't want to find out the reason of her death was because of her inability to perform hand seals perfectly within seconds. And, it is because of his reasons for wanting her to become more familiar with the seals that he allowed her to complete them without interrupting.

Three plumes of smoke, one on each side and behind him, signified the clones arrival. "Good, you are taking heed of my advice.", he spoke loud enough for her to hear him as he took note of the positioning of each clone, and committing their distance to memory. Hearing the clone's comment about his assets was surprising. He never thought of Kaia as a pervert, like him. Sure, their activities in the privacy of their home would suggest otherwise. There was a reason why they happen in privacy, where no one can see them. Daremo, on the other hand, had no reservation of openingly being a pervert. During so in a manner that wasn't off-putting or offensive to the party. So, yeah, it was surprising to hear one of her clones making such a comment in an open environment.

His eyes twinkled mischievously seeing her sigh in exasperation and face-palming in embarrassment. Said eyes narrowed when she moved towards a stack of logs and leaned on them. Before he could ponder on her actions, the other clone would make a perverse comment similar to the first one. "My. My. Who knew you had a pervert side? Is there something you need to tell me?", he jested. Shadow clones were an interesting technique because of them exhibiting their creator's personalities. With each clone made, another aspect of the person is allowed a 'body' and making itself known to all. Create enough clones, and every aspect, even the hidden ones, of a person, would come to light. Of course, most people don't consider it a drawback, but for Daremo, who has some personality quirks, it was enough to give him pause in extensive usage.

"While the clones comments are funny. And, I did find some interesting piece of information about you. Their comments left them unguarded and susceptible a potentially fatal attack." he calmly spoke, giving her a piece of advice. Indeed, he could have attacked both of the speaking clones - dispelling them from existence. He didn't do it because he wanted to see what she had planned, and with her getting the clones under control, it seemed like he didn't have to wait long.

"Impressive speed.", he admitted, noting how quickly the clones closed the short distance between them and him. "But not enough", his body moving to the right, occupying the now empty spot of clone #1, and dodging the jumping kick. Now facing the space he once occupied with his right shoulders facing Kaia's direction, his muscles tensed as he jumped two meters backward, getting out of range of the leg sweep, along with dodging the thrown kunais. During the movement of jumping back, his hands disappeared within his gi, as two kunais were pulled out and thrown at the sweeping clone in an attempt to pin her pant leg to the ground.

Clone #1 wasn't that lucky. All but one of the kunais thrown by Kaia would find their mark. Two lodging themselves in the clone's face, and one in the chest and stomach. The kunais thrown by the clone positioned behind him would all speed towards Kaia. Daremo didn't bother in wait to see the results. No, he was going to take the struck clone out of commission for good.

With a burst of speed, succeeding that of Kaia's by a small margin, Daremo's moved towards the clone #2, who attempted the sweep. Muscles tensed as he attempted a running knee strike, and depending on if the clone #2 wasn't pinned, would be aimed at her jar with enough force to potential severe a tongue if it was some way between her teeth. If the clone was pinned, the kick would be aimed at her temple with enough force to lurch her to the right.

---

817[3013]

Until that moment she hadn’t known what true physical pain felt like.

There was something to be said about Shadow Clones: they were definitely useful in certain situations, especially when it came to gathering intelligence, or as a means to even the playing field. But for someone who was experiencing using them for the first time in a serious fight? They had one drawback that had been totally and completely unexpected; the pain transferred, and it was pain Kaia had never experienced before.

The reaction Daremo gave was one Kaia hadn’t been expecting and yet had been expecting all at the same time. She knew he was going to get out of the attack some kind of way – though she had clearly hoped to do something at least with her attack – yet she hadn’t been expecting him to do so that easily and to that effect. His sheer speed, even though she was fairly positive he was holding back, was unlike anything she had really seen. The fact that he reacted so quickly also proved to her that she had much more training to do before she was on par with someone even half of Daremo’s skill level.

But… back to the pain.

With Daremo having dodged out of the way with more ease than Kaia had been expecting her clone had been forced to take the kunai meant for him; though the height difference between them ensured that only one missed: the one which had been aimed at Daremo’s throat and which had soared quite easily over her clone’s head. The rest? They hit their marks; the clones face, neck, chest and gut. Because it had happened so quickly there was no way for the clone to dodge; the attack would have been hidden considering she didn’t have a way to communicate effectively with her clones – yet another drawback she would have to work on – until the last very minute when they would have struck, leaving her clone no chance to dodge out of the way. The moment the clone dispersed the pain – as well as the perverted thoughts about grabbing Daremo’s ass which apparently hadn’t been just for show and distraction – transferred to Kaia who had never experienced anything like it. She was unable to disassociate herself between real pain and the clones pain and it was staggering. But, this was not the end. The clone, which had been pinned in place by Daremo’s kunai and its pant leg, opened its mouth to say something like the smart ass it was trying to be only to suddenly be missing its tongue. It too instantly dispersed and that pain was added onto what Kaia was already feeling.

So the kunai now heading toward her own neck and chest, which had mere seconds ago been thrown at Daremo’s back by her clone that was now long gone? They meant big trouble…. But, she was stunned. Utterly and completely enveloped in the agony of experiencing for the first time the act of being stabbed, not just once but four times in various portions of her upper body. That was coupled with the fact that she was also relieving the pain of having just bitten off her own tongue. Her mind was in a whirlpool for pain and confusion, unable to distinguish what was real pain and what was the pain the clones had experienced, and it caused her to falter when she needed to move – even the fact that she had a substitution prepped and ready for use was completely forgotten in that moment of agonizing pain.

So the kunai, which had been aimed at Daremo’s back and which were now speeding toward Kaia completely unhindered, were about to cause some decent damage. All of the kunai had been grouped in a relatively loose formation, but because of the severe height difference between Daremo and herself instead of heading toward her stomach like they would have on a normal heighted person, they were aimed toward her face, neck, and upper chest. Kaia couldn’t move, couldn’t respond because she was stunned by the pain, and so in quick succession each kunai struck a mark; one grazing her right ear enough to nick it and make blood flow before embedding itself a few feet behind her in a tree, another struck her in the right side of her throat, one in her left shoulder, and two in her chest.

Kaia dropped to her knees: whatever she had thought the outcome of the spar was going to be it hadn’t been this – at least not this quickly. Yet, it showed her where her fault lay; even though she had known this was going to be difficult she had been vastly wrong on just how difficult it would be. Slowly, almost as if in a trance, Kaia would lift her hand, seeking out the worst of the pain which was her neck. Her fingers would make contact with the blood first before moving upward to the blade embedded quite a bit. Fingers would trace up along the edge to the hilt, though she would pause as reasoning began to return to her: pulling that out would be a very, very bad idea. She had no way of knowing if an artery had been struck, and if it had the kunai was likely the only thing keeping her from bleeding out.

Dropping her hand back to her side Kaia would just stare ahead; afraid to even more her head at this point to see where Daremo might have gone. ”Good thing you’re a medic...”, she would speak softly, unable to help the small smirk that formed over her face as she had remembered the words of comfort he had tried to use to convince her she had nothing to worry about: the same words that had convinced her to take part in this spar against him in the first place. Yes, it was definitely a good thing he was a medic. Kaia said nothing else, nor did she move, as her eyelids closed and she remained in the same position she had been in: the pain was still assaulting her mind, though the confusion of it being the clones or her own was fading – more so because her most recent physical injuries were giving her something new to focus on… though they hurt like hell too.

Word Count: 1,062 | 4,732

The two kunai found their mark, driving through the fabric, and pinning the clone's leg to the ground. Struggling wouldn't do the doppelganger any good, and she was about to open her mouth, probably to say some smart comment, Daremo's knee made contact with her jaw. A resounding smack ranged throughout the clearing as the strike forcefully closed her mouth as a severe pink piece of tissue along with a few shattered teeth, went airborne before they, along with the clone, poofed in a plume of smoke. The brutal strike being enough to dispell the clone.

With the clone disperse, it took Daremo milliseconds to come to a stop. His position being exactly where he once was doing the start of the spar. Eyes fixated on the other clone that had thrown the kunais from behind him. His muscles were still coiled and ready to strike at the doppelganger till he noticed her expression. Not one of confidence or anything, her face was etched in pain, and her eyes were wide. Before he could figure out what was wrong, the clone dispersed. Daremo's mind went into overdrive as he tried to figure out what had caused the clone to disperse prematurely. Scenarios after scenarios were dismissed as quickly as they came as he searched for a reason.

What would caused a clone to dispell without being hit? There were only two reasons why something like that would have happened. Either, Kaia had dispersed the clone for a reason, or, she had suffered enough pain that caused the doppelganger to dispell. And, with the damage he caused to the others, he was certain that the transference played a part in this. As he thought about it more, a small fact, having escaped him momentarily, came to the forefront of his mind: the other kunai. The recently dispelled clone had thrown kunais before it dispersed, and with nothing blocking their path, the only way thing they could hit was. . .Kaia

"Shit!", Daremo mentally exclaimed, turning in the direction of the thrown projectiles. And, for a split second, time slowed down to a crawl. Having turned around in time, seeing Kaia's pain filled expression and knowing it had been caused by the pain transference, there was nothing he could do but watch as the kunais found their unintentional mark. One grazing her ear, making a thin cut that drew blood, before embedding itself into the tree with a thunk! He watched as another found its mark, embedding into her shoulder. Another two hit home, hitting her in the chest, but, it was the last one that nearly caused him to panic. Subconsciously his body began to move towards Kaia, eyes locked on the Kunai that were about to pierce her throat. He and his body knew there was no way they would make it in time; it didn't stop him from trying though.

With a burst of speed, the distance between Daremo and Kaia closed within a blink of the eye. His arms wrapping around her small frame, preventing her from falling to her knees, instead, he eased her down. Eyes quickly looked over each wound, taking in the severity of each and putting them in order. "It will be alright.", rather those words were to reassure her or himself, he didn't know, the only thing he knew was that he had to heal these wounds. "Don't do that.", he tone was firm, having noticed her hand the blade edge of the kunai stuck in her neck. Sure, he knew she wouldn't have pulled it out, but right now, he wasn't taking any chances.

Her comment and the smirk on her face alleviated some of his worries. "Yeah, good thing I'm a medic.", he spoke calmly. Moving his left hand towards the kunai, green chakra flared in his right hand, forming into a blue, two-foot long needle. Humming with positive healing, Daremo looked at Kaia, "I'm going to pull the kunai out and stab you with this needle. The needle will heal all of your wounds in a matter of seconds.", he spoke. Grasping the kunai, he removed it, and at the same time, he pushed the senbon into her chest. His hands free, he made quick work of removing the other kunais,  with a precision only obtained during times in the emergency room, as the puncturing wounds healing as quickly as the weapons were removed.

It took only seconds for all of her injuries to completely heal. Daremo checking over each one to make sure they healed correctly; that his chakra did what was designated to do. Nodding in approval, Daqremo removed his training gi shirt, exposing his white medical tape wrapped torso that had turned purplish from the wound which it covered, and wrapped it around Kaia. The kunais that struck her chest having ripped her shirt, exposing some of her assets,  "I enjoyed the view, but I prefer only I see your girls.", he joked as he stood up. Reaching down, he scooped up her small frame in his arms, bridal style, "Let's go home. We can spar later.", he spoke and begin walking towards the gates. Instead of unlocking it, he simply jumped over them, landing softly on the ground. "Oh, since I won. I get to bathe you, among other fun things.", he spoke, his eyes twinkling mischievously. as he carried her home.

---

Daremo spoke words of comfort, telling her it would be alright, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he was telling himself the same thing. She wasn’t necessarily worried, at least not extremely so: she was fairly certain the simple wounds could be healed with general ease – and just as she hadn’t screamed from the pain, she didn’t allow herself to panic now. Doing either wouldn’t make things better, only worse: at least that much she had got right. The past several minutes, or rather minute, had been a complete and utter disaster – though she hadn’t yet started kicking herself in the ass over it: she had been intending on spending the entire day training, and yet had burned those plans within a matter of sixty or so seconds.

As Daremo began to explain how he was going to heal her, or rather the process he was going to use, eyelids which had been shut opened, her right eyebrow raising in curiosity at that logic: stabbing someone with a needle to heal them? It was definitely different than the way Amaya went about fixing people – who was really the only medic she had seen in action up until that point. So, instead of closing her eyes like she probably would have under normal circumstances she instead watched curiously as he worked; stabbing her with the needle which she didn’t even flinch over – more so because it was Daremo doing it instead of some random medic she didn’t know – and removing the kunai as her wounds were healed. It was, all in all, fascinating to watch: the way such wounds could be healed so well, gone as if they were never there in the first place… well, it added to ideas she had already been toying with. But… she was going to save those thoughts for another time….

Daremo removing his shirt caught her attention and held it, not just because she enjoyed seeing him shirtless, but also because of the purple coloring of the bandages under which she knew an injury laid. She was no doctor, not even close, but she had a feeling that wasn’t exactly a good sign: still, she wouldn’t speak on it in public when someone could risk over-hearing so instead she pursed her lips and kept her concerns to herself for the time being – she would wait until they were in the privacy of their own home to voice them. She raised an eyebrow again as he wrapped the shirt around her body before giggling at the comment he made: she hadn’t thought about the damage done to her shirt until that point, since she had been focused on the pain which was now entirely gone. ”Yes, I’d rather not show off the goods for everyone and their mother to see.”, she spoke with a nod of agreement. ”I’m also glad I have a mountain of these shirts at home, else I’d be pretty pissed it’s ruined.”, she added with a soft laugh.

Just as she was beginning to wonder exactly how she was going to walk her exhausted – but thankfully pain free – self home she watched as Daremo picked her up bridal style. Not bothering to resist, though it did seem a little embarrassing to have to be carried home – she simply rested her head against him, listening to what else he had to say. ”Mmm… So long as bathing is first.. I want to get this blood off of me.” Kaia fell silent then, simply focusing on enjoying the trip home as Daremo jumped over the gate instead of unlocking and carried her in the direction of their home…


Word Count: 610 | 5,342

Learning Medical Ninjutsu from Daremo
Medical Ninjutsu Nothing -> D-Rank: 5,342 - 1,500 = 3,842
Medical Ninjutsu D-Rank -> C-Rank: 3,842 - 3,000 = 842
Remaining: 842