The Sword and the Shadow (NSFW, 18+)

Kagura lost her playful expression almost immediately. She had assumed that because they were wrapped, her boobs would have just brushed against the woman’s legs as she went by without any ill effects… and had been vastly mistaken, noting the woman cartwheeling away. It was great that the Uchiha was recovering well, but knowing that she had almost knocked her over again made her curse mentally. She had more than your average bust, and even with the wrappings holding them in place, they were prominent, and this hadn’t been the first time they had gotten in the way. But more pressing was making sure that she hadn’t actually hurt Akari at all.

But then she said a joke and she realized everything was fine, busting up laughing on the spot, enough to the point that her hands were on her knees for a couple of seconds and she completely missed whatever it was that the woman had started to say next, and had to consciously reign herself in in time to hear about the Haze Technique, but couldn’t wipe the massive smile off her face. Listening closely and nodding a few times, noting in particular the seals used, and only when the clones formed noticed that she was a bit flush. It took a moment, but things clicked into place.

And her facial expression turned to one of sheer terror before she bowed her entire upper body over formally. “I am so sorry! I promise I wasn’t trying to look up your skirt or anything! I didn’t even think about it like that!” That was the only reason she could think of that would make Akari embarrassed, not even thinking for a moment that the woman’s compliment and joking offer had been legitimate. Kagura had never really thought of herself as that pretty.

[26]

Kagura’s own terror and embarrassment would confirm Akari’s fears in her own mind. She knew, she knew and she hated her. She didn’t wan--Then she heard Kagura speak. “Wait, what.” She would say, her face clearing up. “Wait, are you saying you wouldn’t even consider wanting to look?” She would ask, almost feeling insulted before sighing and taking a deep breath. “L-Let’s just forget it okay? I shouldn’t have made the joke as I did. Despite the observation of your appearance being honest. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get so embarrassed.” She would say, her eyes not really being able to meet Kagura’s. It wouldn’t take particularly much effort to realize how Akari might feel at this point, and to be honest the dark haired girl was fucking terrified beyond belief of Kagura finding out. It couldn’t be natural for someone to fall for someone this quickly, could it? It couldn’t be. “What do you say we forget all this happened and get back to work on ninjutsu practice shall we?” She would ask, hoping that the idea of learning more jutsu would get Kagura to forget about all of this.

Maybe it could work? Right? Possibly?

“Now then, Haze Clone, demonstrate?” She would ask, continuing on unless Kagura stopped her. The jutsu was simple and in her moments of supreme embarrassment and crippling fear she had managed to plan out the next five or six as a panic reaction to try to calm herself down. One of which was one she liked to use and was a real doozy. Hopefully, they could put this behind them. Hopefully her first apprentice wouldn’t want to be taught by someone else after only about twenty minutes or so.

[26]

Kagura listened, and was more and more confused. The way she worded her response, it made it seem like she sort of wanted Kagura to have snuck a peak to see what she had been wearing. But… that couldn’t be right. That meant… maybe the joke had been less of a joke than she thought? Honest opinion of her appearance? Looking back at their interactions, perhaps Akari thought that Kagura was hitting on her, but more than that, she liked it? The Hokage of the village, interested in her, a no-name Genin? I mean, it sounded like something out of one of the mangas she read once in a while… one of those fairy tale scenarios.

Her mind was overclocked trying to process the information, so much so that she hadn’t lifted her upper body yet, still bent over in apology, but now her face was completely and utterly red, using a curtain of her hair to hide her face. She heard her ask about Haze Clones, tell her what to do, but still she couldn’t move… she was certain her face was akin to a tomato at this point. And it wasn’t just because she had stumbled upon the fact, and she did think it was a fact, that the top ninja of the village, her teacher and mentor, and her first real friend had an interest in her that was beyond those previous titles.

It was because she wasn’t objecting to the idea, and it sounded pleasant… that reaction was what had her absolutely frozen in place. There was a vast amount of knowledge she possessed on relationships, but it was only from manga, novels and, as much as she would never admit it, adult themed doujinshi… but that couldn’t prepare her in the slightest for a real person having an interest in her. She had worked and trained so much growing up that she didn’t really find people attractive nor want the interaction beyond simple friends, but now that she had someone who had put their attention on her... she found herself wanting to explore the option… and the thought of messing it up was absolutely petrifying.

Slowly, as though the weight of the heavens was on her back, Kagura crept upwards with her upper body, revealing a face that was completely and utterly red, her eyes shining with a combination of terror and hope. “Y-Y-Y-Y-Your not too b-bad on the e-eyes yourself…” The worst possible sentence came out of her mouth, and immediately, the red in her face intensified… and she had to restrain herself from fleeing outright.

[27]

Akari would notice that Kagura hadn’t moved when she had reminded her about the Haze Clones. Was she reconsidering this whole Sensei/Student thing already? She was afraid that might be the case. She was getting ready to apologize again and make the offer that they could simply act like they had never chosen to take that step. When she rose, her face, her eyes in particular, were filled with terror and hope. Two things Akari didn’t expect to see and the sight tore away at her own embarrassment and revealed nothing but concern for Kagura. Had she made her so uncomfortable then?

Then she would speak, the difficulty in saying her words would freeze Akari in her tracks. Had she.. Had she been thinking about the situation in ways that Akari hadn’t expected? “Y-You really think so?..” She would ask, her own voice seemingly small in comparison. She had never dealt with this kind of thing before. Her experience with relationships was nonexistent in any form beyond a purely intellectual standpoint. Slowly, she would take a step forward, almost terrified of what Kagura might do. “A-Are you just saying that to make me feel better about this?” She would ask, her own mind supplying the idea. Her voice was if anything, even smaller now. Afraid of the answer and terrified of what might happen in the next few moments. “I’m sorry Kagura..I didn’t expect to feel this way so soon..I won’t lie to you, I think you’re stunning. So much so that it makes my heart ache. I didn’t know why, didn’t realize what was happening before it had already happened..I didn’t even know I felt this way about women until just a bit ago. When I fully put what it all meant together…” She would say, her eyes unable to look at Kagura anymore. She felt ashamed, who let things like this happen? “If you want a different teacher, I’ll accept that. If you’d rather stay somewhere else. I’ll help you find one.” She would say, speaking more from autopilot than anything. “I’ll stop putting my foot in my mouth now if that’s okay..” She would say, unconsciously crossing one arm over her body to hold the other.

[27]

Kagura was using sheer willpower to keep herself rooted to where she stood, unmoving aside the shallow breaths she was allowing herself, listening to her heart hammering in her chest, probably just to keep the blood inside her face. She listened, and slowly but surely, the look of fear in her eyes began to dwindle a little bit; she wasn’t about to be cast aside. She was still Akari’s student and friend… and she had even offered an escape route out of this situation entirely where they likely would never meet again, but that thought made her chest hurt very sharply all the sudden, and she realized exactly what was going on… instinctively, more than intellectually, she knew, and now that she did, the escape route was almost completely forgotten.

Kagura marched up to Akari as though she was on a warpath until the pair were within easy reaching distance before her arms opened up and she wrapped the smaller woman in a firm hug, not brokering any type of escape or argument. From there, her voice would be soft, but there was a calmness there now that had been missing from before. “Trust me, this is new to me too… but the idea of not being your student or your friend… and whatever this is… well, it’s not an option on the table anymore okay? We will figure it out together, just like all these Jutsu. One step at a time. Not like either of us planned this… can’t help whatever the heart wants.” And from there, she would simply hold onto Akari, not letting go for a while to give her time to process that information.

[28]

Oh god she was coming over to her, oh god it was like she was going to war. Oh god she must’ve been furious. Akari’s mind was going through a dozen scenarios a second none of them ending well as Kagura moved toward her. Akari wouldn’t run though, she had too much pride to run wholesale. So it came as an utter shock to her when instead of hating her, of leaving her to be someone else's student. She hugged her, firmly, and not letting go. Her soft, calm voice would sound, and Akari’s world would freeze. Was this really happening? Based on her words then Kagura was feeling similarly to her? Akari’s face heated for a different reason now. She would wrap her own arms around Kagura, hugging her tight as she fought back tears of joy for the second time that day.

It would take a while for her to speak. For her to gain control of her voice once more. “Yes, we will. I’m sorry I’m so difficult so far..” She would say, acknowledging the fact that frankly, she had been difficult so far. Pulling her head away she would tilt it up and kiss Kagura on the cheek, softly before pulling away. “Thank you..Now, allow me to say that Kagura, you are absolutely beautiful, and I’m glad I jumped in front of your sword today.” She would say, quoting her greeting from earlier with a small smile.

[28]

This time she knew that the kiss on the cheek hadn’t been a figment of her imagination and let her go as she slowly pulled away, allowing her to have as much space as she needed or didn’t. “Me too… and for the record, I’m stupid jealous of your eyes. Not the Sharingan, but the blue ones. My eyes blend in with my hair.” She gave her a very lighthearted smile and then took a deep breath, the blushing slowly turning to a light pink as she took a moment to look around at all the Haze Clones that were still standing around. “Tell you what, after all this, you and I are going to my favorite ramen shop. We can learn more about each other outside the whole professional thing then, but for now, when anyone could walk into the training area and we don’t even know how to explain it to each other, we focus on the jutsu, yea? I look forward to learning more about you though, Akari-Chan.”

With that said, she took another calming breath and finally took a full step back. She formed the seals, and created the first Haze Clone… and just as quickly, dropped the seals, and formed another one without the seals at all. This was easier, leagues easier, to focus on rather than her conflicting emotions and hammering heart. She had to truly focus to not think about, and then in sequence, freak out about the fact that she could very well be dating the legit Hokage of the entire goddamn village. She shook her head clear of the thoughts, and then dispelled the Haze Clones, looking back to Akari for a moment. She hadn’t been lying before… she was pleasant to the eye… it was interesting that she wasn’t like most girls, interested in boys… learning new things about herself by the second.

(Learned Haze Clone)

[29]

A dusting of pink would cross Akari’s face again as Kagura complimented her eyes. “Funny, I’m jealous of how expressive yours are.” She would say, remembering how Kagura’s eyes had lit up at the prospect of learning new things and sparkled with her emotions. She would listen to her completely before nodding her head in agreement. “I agree, both to the date you just asked me on and regarding our professional manner in public. But I warn you, when we get you settled into the house. I’m going to cuddle you.” She would say, a small, indignant expression on her face as she stated her terms with no hesitation. “And I can’t wait to learn more about you..Kagura-Chan.” She would say, the suffix having new meaning now. She would watch her take a calming breath, even taking one herself before she got her rampaging emotions, and yes, hormones, under control.

She hadn’t expected things to move so fast. Hadn’t expected, hell, she hadn’t even entertained the idea that Kagura might be interested in her too. But now that they had progressed to where they were, and Kagura was clearly feeling something toward her. It was a lot easier to reign in her feelings for the moment. She could focus now, focus on teaching, focus on learning, and more importantly, focus on making Kagura stronger. She watched the brunette form the two seals and create the Haze Clones, doing the jutsu normally as she needed to do. Then she would watch her form them without utilizing hand seals. “I really am jealous of that trick you know..” She would say, a small shake of her head accompanied by a rueful smile.

“This next technique is called Temporary Paralysis, it had one seal, Tiger, but it also required to make physical contact with a target. You have to place your middle and index fingers against the eyes, head, or spine of the target for it to take effect but it will allow you temporarily paralyze an opponent.” She would say as she formed a shadow clone and then formed the Tiger seal. “I’ll demonstrate” She’d say before forming the chakra in a temporary holding pattern with the seal before touching the clones spine with her middle and index finger and causing it to stiffen up in obvious distress. Akari would nod before dispelling the clone entirely and turning to Kagura. “You’re turn.” She’d say with a small smile.

[29]

It was nice to know that they were in agreement about how they should act for now, regaining a semblance of professionalism, even if the brunette was fairly certain that she doubted she could ever achieve that true mask unless there were other people around officially. Hearing her want to cuddle with her however made her blush again, not because of the action, but because she was honestly looking forward to that too; being close to Akari was nice in a way she couldn’t properly explain. “Only if I don’t cuddle you first.” she joked a little, a playful smile gracing her face. She wanted to still have fun with Akari, and make her laugh… something that she now knew had been the first signs of her attraction towards the woman. It just hadn’t clicked before. “And you can’t be jealous of the one trick I have, copycat…” she stated sticking out her tongue as she prepared to do the jutsu she had just been shown.

First, she made a pair of Shadow Clones appear before her, and then performed the technique with the hand seals first, causing the first clone to collapse and then disperse entirely, dismissed. Then the second one turned around and lowered into a loose boxer’s stance. Kagura didn’t want to just be able to perform the jutsu, but do it when she was under attack. A few jabs and a hook were dodged or redirected, and upon the next jab she grabbed the wrist of the clone and pulled her forward, wrapping her hand around the woman’s neck on the side and tapping her spine, causing her to collapse, and again disperse. “Very Handy…” she said, looking towards Akari with a very mischievous smile and giving her a wink.

(Learned Temporary Paralysis Technique)

[30]

Akari would smile and give a short laugh at Kagura’s statement. “I can’t tell if you’re trying to tempt me into dismissing us to go home early or not.” She would say, her own joke in swift riposte. “Besides, that’s one race I don’t think I’d mind losing.” She’d say with a small smile. It felt good to be able to be open about this. But she would shake her hand swiftly, getting her emotions under control. “Right, no more public flirting.” She would say sheepishly. She was too excited about all of this. Too happy about it all, which wasn’t necessarily the bad thing. He inability to control herself during such emotions was. But she couldn’t help it, she didn’t feel this way often and she wanted to revel in it.

At her joke about her being jealous of the one trick she had, Akari would respond by turning up her nose in mock condescension. “As the Hokage, I reserve the right to be jealous of whomever I want. So there!” She would say, before being unable to keep up the act and falling into a fit of giggles. Then Kagura would demonstrate the jutsu, seallessly creating two shadow clones and demonstrating the jutsu both with and without seals. Both were flawlessly executed and she nodded her head in approval. Right up until Kagura insinuated a rather ‘intimate’ innuendo and caused her to blush like a mad woman. “I-Indeed.” She would say, her face redder than her shirt at that precise moment. To be perfectly honest, she didn’t think about such things very often. She thought of cuddling, kissing, and in general rather innocent flirting with a significant other.

But that thought did something strange to her. She felt herself heat a bit and all she could really think about was Kagura. She swallowed and pushed the thought into the back of her mind. She had to focus now. Besides, Akari already felt this had moved too fast. She didn’t want to leap into stuff like that quite so soon.

[30]

Kagura giggled at Akari’s statement and subsequent request. “I promise I won’t try to, and that will have to be good enough. I like making you laugh.” And it was true; she had been nothing but playful both with her banter and actions since they had made the agreement, nothing that couldn’t be seen publicly as just two girls who were just messing around while they learned some techniques. She could always pretend she didn’t know that Akari was the Hokage if she needed to make someone misunderstand the situation.

Now, Kagura’s mind had been thinking about various pranks she could pull on Akari using the technique, but based on the woman’s reaction, she had missed something completely. Was there a hidden joke there that she didn’t see? “What?” she asked, wanting to be in on the joke. Regardless of the answer, and the slight tilt of her head to the side, she knew whatever it was had been enough to stop their lessons again, and that meant it was important enough to explain… right?

[31]

The statement that she liked making her laugh brought a smile to her face. “I like making you laugh too. I like hugging you too.” She would say, her blush returning. Then she would ask about what had caused her to pause the training again and the resulting facepalm could be heard throughout the floor they were on if anyone else were there to listen. “I forgot to show you the next jutsu. I’m sorry, see, I took your comment about the temporary paralysis jutsu being ‘useful’ when you winked at me a little more..intimately than you might have intended. It’s my fault, and I apologize. I just get embarrassed so easily at times, especially with things like this where I have absolutely no experience.” She would say, explaining how she had taken the joke. It was far better to be honest than not in general after all.

“Lemme see, ‘Hiding in The Shadows.” She would say before making another shadow clone and having it stand near them. “This jutsu is mostly for ambushing. It allows you to sink into a shadow and wait for a target before striking. The weaknesses are that while you’re merged you can still be damaged, and certain doujutsu and sensing techniques could pick you out of the shadow without any trouble at all. Hell, the Sharingan is one of them” she’d say before showing the tiger seal again and sinking into the clones shadow and reappearing a few moments later. “Tiger seal, obviously.” She would say as the clone waited for Kagura to practice the jutsu.

[31]

Kagura would blink hard as the woman literally face-palmed, and then listened to the explanation, and then her face gained another round of redness to her cheeks, but her smile betrayed that she too, enjoyed the hugs. Not that she was going to keep that a secret. She was genuinely looking forward to seeing this place in the Uchiha sector and seeing what it was really like… getting her own room would be pretty awesome, but silently she wondered how hard it would be to sneak into Akari’s room for sleepovers or… whatever they were called when you were roommates? Hell, that whole thing was confusing, and she shook her head to clear it before listening to the next jutsu instruction.

Walking over to Akari’s clone, she performed the half-tiger seal and leapt into the clones shadow, lurking there for a moment before slipping back out of it and standing, and then without seals, jumped into the original Akari’s shadow, staying there for a few moments and wiggling around or whatever the equivalent was before hopping back out. “Could literally tail you, but too many Byakugan and Sharingan users around here for us to get away with that for long… could be useful if one of us was able to move a ton faster and wanted the other to keep up though.” There she was, thinking of unconventional uses for a Jutsu again; transportation of personnel would be a boon to their abilities to stick together without making it to where they had to match one another physically.

(Hiding in Shadows Technique)

[32]

Akari would watch Kagura face some of the redness she herself had gained when things had been thought through and she decided that she quite liked the shade on her..Was she her girlfriend now? She didn’t know, the thought intrigued her. ‘Best to think of that later though, during the date or something.’ She would think, pushing the thought from her mind. Kagura would proceed to demonstrate the jutsu, first doing it with seals on her own clone. Then doing it without any on her. “I feel like there’s some subliminal message about you acting like my shadow hidden there. Not that I’d complain.” She would say idly, effectively inviting Kagura to never leave. “But yes, the Byakugan and Sharingan users in the village would eventually notice something amiss. Although I hadn’t thought of the moving thing. Then again, that’s kind of what scrolls are for aren’t they?” She would ask curiously, smiling softly at Kagura as she asked the last.

“And it would take chakra for people to utilize so it might not be good for long distances.” She would say before considering it again. “Although they could rotate I suppose. Interesting thought.” She would muse out loud before shaking her head to get herself back on task. “Right, good job on the jutsu. Next is one of my favorites and one I expect will be one of yours too once it sets in what it can do. This technique is called the ‘Focused Amplification’. It powers up a jutsu a bit and can be quite devastating in the right hands, yours especially. Since the only change the technique makes to utilizing the original jutsu is an additional hand seal.” She would say, letting that sink for a moment before grinning. “It isn’t compatible with the more devastating technique. It tends to not work well with techniques that’s A rank or higher in complexity. You’ve gotta keep in mind though that it’ll increase the speed, range, everything. So be careful when using it.” She would say before demonstrating the hand seal. “All you have to do is apply the Snake seal to the end of a jutsu and effectively ‘overcharge’ it. She would say before blinking a bit and blushing. “I-I don’t actually have a suitable jutsu to demonstrate it with..All my attack techniques are either A or S ranked.” She would say she didn’t know if Kagura would be able to make use of it either so far.

“We can test this one out when we get something more suitable to combine it with. There’s a few techniques that will work that we’ll get to in a bit.” She would say if Kagura didn’t have one either. “Sorry, I’m not sure why I mentioned a jutsu I can’t either demonstrate, or teach you something to combine it with yet.” She would say, annoyed with herself for such a basic ass mistake.

[32]

Kagura listened to what she had to say, nodding periodically as she did so in order to assure her that she was listening, and put her finger against her cheek while looking at the ceiling in thought. If what she was saying was true, then she was more than capable of doing the technique as it was using the few she already had. First, she held up the snake seal with one hand, taking her time with it and feeling the chakra amplify… but then slowly lowered the hand and let it release. Then she turned, ensuring she was facing away from Akari so if this backfired it didn’t do anything to hurt her, and used the Focused Amplification on a Fusee. The effect was instant, saturating the entire side of the facility in blinding cyan tinted light, washing away everything for a few seconds before Kagura dispelled the technique and began to stumble around.

“Crap Crap Crap! I can’t see!” she proclaimed, eyes shut tight and one hand extending, feeling around. “Note to self… don’t keep your own eyes open when using Focused Amplification on a Fusee. Way too bright!” She stumbled again, almost tripping before getting her feet back under her and then stood still, not wanting to fall, trying to blink quickly. “Everything is so friggin’ blurry! Ack!” She was still swaying back and forth, the light seeming to have messed with her equilibrium… “Did I at least do it right?” she asked, seemingly not as worried about the spots in her vision as much as making sure she got the jutsu correct. She wouldn’t be pulling that stunt again for a bit.

(Learned Focused Amplification)

[33]

Akari would watch Kagura perform the snake seal in practice. Wondering if she was just getting used to it or if she had a thought as to a jutsu she could use it on. There were some jutsu they would end up teaching her today that would work wonderfully. Needle Jizou came to mind for example. However as of yet they hadn’t gone over anything that would make for a good example. Two techniques could technically be used, Fusee and Flare Gun but amplifying either of them would..That was when Kagura turned away, making her body a shield for Akari before a brilliant burst of cyan light erupted from in front of her. ‘Oh..’ She would think when Kagura started stumbling around.

Hearing Kagura’s expletives would cause Akari to start laughing, not a restrained one either, but full on peels of laughter. It would take her a few moments to get herself under control and when she did Kagura would be talking about never doing that again while still stumbling around. Akari would act, moving over to her and encompassing her in a hug. “Stop, I’ve got you.” She would say softly, nuzzling her head against the taller girl's shoulder before looking up and kissing her cheek again. “I don’t want you to trip and fall, so we’ll stay like this for a few until your vision clears, mmkay?” She would say, the smile in her voice evident as she now had a perfectly valid reason to be ‘steadying’ Kagura. “No one has come onto the floor anyway. We’re not far from the door and I can hear it from here. So don’t worry about people seeing us.” She would say, her arms wrapped around Kagura’s waist and resting on the girl's back as she hugged her close. “That is why I said we didn’t have anything to use it on. The only options were bad ones. But at least you’ve proven you’ve got the jutsu down.” She would say, a fond tone to her voice. “We’ll wait a few minutes until your vision and balance come back, and then take up the ninjutsu training again.” She would say, intent on not letting the taller girl go until she was confident she wouldn’t accidentally fall.
[33]

Kagura could hear Akari laughing nearby and stumbled towards the sound until she felt the smaller woman’s arms wrap around her. Hearing her words, still blinking furiously, and she wrapped her own arms around her again. The reassurance worked, and the brunette settled, relaxing a bit into the woman’s body as she waited for her eyes to start working properly again. She did, however, object when she stated that Fusee hadn’t been a good one to use it on. “I mean, it was bad because I wasn’t expecting it, but imagine using that when you get surrounded or being attacked by someone you can’t see. Could easily buy you some time and help you turn the tides.”

But it didn’t stop there. “Or launch a bunch of super-powered flare guns into the enemy ranks to blind them before you press your assault. If you used glasses with your own troops, it could easily shift things into your favor.” Kagura did this a lot though, found a technique and then found unique and different applications for the technique… it was just how her mind worked. Now, she was also a Genin without a lot of battlefield experience, so her advice to a Hokage whose number one strength was her mind, this was probably just dumb, but she couldn’t help it.

[34]

Akari would giggle at Kagura’s response “I suppose, but giving every shinobi in my village the necessary odds and ends to make use of unique ways to use jutsu like this would end up being more trouble than it was worth. Think of it, there could be hundreds of uses for jutsu that one would need items, like glasses, to defend against. All of which would need to be stored in scrolls to carry successfully. Not only that, but they’d then have to get the scrolls out on the fly, select the exact item in question and get them on. That concept works for one or two things, but when you start considering all of the possible unique ways one could utilize jutsu. It ends up becoming dangerous to utilize the time for such things.” She would say, her own viewpoints on the matter differing from Kagura. It wasn’t an argument, there was no vitriol in Akari’s words or manner. It was simply her thoughts on the matter, stated calmly. Better to have general tools on hand that allowed one to manage a variety of situations. Besides, there were easier ways to blind people than trying to do it with a focus amplified fusee. Like a flash bomb for example.

“How are your eyes?” She would ask in curiosity, part of her hoping they would be okay soon so that her friend wouldn’t be blind anymore. Part of her wanting it to take as long as possible so she didn’t have to let go. Akari knew the next jutsu they would work on already so if she was ready they could start it immediately however it might not be enjoyable for Kagura to do so. Well, she supposed she could make it that way actually.

[34]

As expected, the Brains between the pair explained why it was that she was not necessarily wrong, but to try to make that something that could be used in mass tactics was not something feasible. The brunette would nod, knowing she was right, and knowing that it was just them discussing facts more than anything else, and the Flash Bomb example that was given made this seem all the more silly to have had the idea in the first place… but Kagura wasn’t going to forget it… and not just because their were still spots in her eyes as her vision began to return. It was almost there, and she felt steady on her feet again, which was a good sign, but she also didn’t really want to let go just yet… but there was more work to do.

“I think I’m OK. Still gonna have spots in my eyes for a little while, but they will go away too I’m sure. Besides, I am curious what’s next.” Even with those words said, she made absolutely no motion to release the woman; she would have to let go of Kagura first, and if asked, she could easily fall back on ‘I was still a little unsteady and didn’t want to let go’ or something… even if she just wanted to stay in the hug a little while longer. Eventually they would release and Kagura would take a step back and wait for the next instruction, but not before deciding to try her own hand at something, bending down and kissing Akari’s cheek lightly once before moving out of melee range.

[35]

Akari heard her words and made no move to let go. “But..hug..” She would say, almost petulantly. The pout was clearly obvious in her tone but it was indeed time to move on. “I guess you’re right though, we do need to continue anyway. I’m starting to get hot and I’m looking forward to the swim.” She would say, reluctantly letting go before something occurred that made her freeze in her tracks. The feel of a soft pair of lips against her cheek would send her blushing madly, she’s done it to Kagura a few times, but she didn’t know it would send her own heart racing. Was this what Kagura felt when she did it? Her mind went to the scent of cherries, lavender, and vanilla. The cherries had come from Kagura’s lips and everything Akari was wanted to taste them. She took a deep breath to quash that particular urge, they had moved far closer than she had thought possible already but she didn’t want that to happen so fast. She hadn’t ever kissed someone before, not on the lips anyway. Was it too girlish to want that to be special? She didn’t know, but she did. She wanted to feel like it was right, and in the middle of a training ground on ninjutsu practice did not feel appropriate for a first kiss.

“I-I wouldn’t mind that again..” She would say simply before shaking her head and getting control of herself. A stupid little smile would come onto her face as she looked back up at Kagura. “That was, really nice.” She said, talking about how it felt in general, not that the act itself was. I mean, it was, but that’s not what she was addressing. “Back on track though. The next thing I’m going to teach you is how to escape from a genjutsu. However it’s important that you’re fully able to see for this so here’s how we’ll do this.” She said, reverting back into ‘teacher mode’ from ‘nervous, shy, girl mode’. “I’m going to explain how to tell you’re in a genjutsu but I can only do so much in that regard. It’s up to you to notice in the end, and I won’t lie, my genjutsu are difficult to realize at times so you’ll have to be careful. I won’t put you in one that’ll do any harm. If anything you should like it I think.” She would say, already thinking of what she’d do. “Then I’ll explain how to escape a genjutsu. However due to the nature of genjutsu demonstrating it is quite tricky since you wouldn’t see any illusion I was, and I wouldn’t see any you were in usually. So the genjutsu I do use will cause you to hopefully make you start doing something quite obvious that’ll end when you escape it.” She would say, trying to explain everything as best she could. Escaping a genjutsu was a finicky subject to teach because it was as a whole the targets on will that allowed it to be escaped to begin with combined with their ability to even realize they were in one to begin with. “Now, to escape a genjutsu you generally have to be able to move to use your hands to form the seal. Obviously, you’re special in that regard but this genjutsu won’t restrict your movements. For this scenario I won’t make you escape twice unless you really want to try though.” She said, waving away the rule they had followed thus far about performing the jutsu twice.

“With me so far?” She asked, pausing to make sure that Kagura hadn’t gotten lost anywhere in the explanation. She liked genjutsu, but she hated demonstrating how to escape it. It was always so wordy to explain. “All you have to do is disrupt your chakra network to escape the genjutsu. Because all a genjutsu is in reality is the user utilizing a trigger of some kind to subtlety manipulate their chakra into the targets chakra network and mind to make perceive things differently in one or more ways. Disrupting your chakra network forcefully expels that chakra.” She would say continuing her lecture so long as Kagura was still with her so far. “The stronger the genjutsu the harder it is to break out of. I’m going to utilize one on you via my sharingan. Which you’ll have to try to escape. If you haven’t escape it in five minutes, I’ll break you out myself review, and we’ll try again.” she said, making sure her student knew that she wouldn’t abandon her in an illusion. “Now, are your eyes ready? Meet mine when they are and I’ll cast the illusion.” she would say, activating her sharingan again and waiting patiently.

[35]

Kagura was very patient as she listened to the entire explanation, thinking about what would need to be done and mentally visualizing what it might be, thinking about how she was able to freely manipulate her chakra when it came to Ninjutsu and how she might be able to use that to her advantage to escape it. Everything sounded perfectly fine, right down the five minute time limit… but what worried her just a little bit was the fact that she said that the brunette was going to enjoy it. Considering the fact that the pair seemed to enjoy being playful back and forth and with little quips here and there to make each other laugh, she knew that this could be trouble if she wasn’t careful. That was probably a legitimate tactic if you were facing off against someone you knew well; place them into a Genjutsu that you knew they wouldn’t want to leave.

Genjutsu had always been a bit of a touchy subject for Kagura; she felt it was a very dishonest set of techniques, so learning how to break out of them was very high on the priority list. It wasn’t that she had anything against the people who used them, one of which obviously standing before her, but she herself knew that she would never be utilizing the Genjutsu side of the wheelhouse unless she literally had no other choice. Kagura closed her eyes, focusing on what she could feel her chakra doing inside her body, making sure she understood all of it, then opened her eyes and locked them with Akiri’s, curious to see what it was that she thought up for an illusion.

[36]

“The genjutsu I’m going to use will simply make you experience your deepest desires. The ones you don’t want to admit. Ultimately, it’s you want, so you should enjoy it. But it will also, hopefully, be fairly easy to recognize.” She would say before activating the genjutsu. She didn’t know what the girl would go through in her deep seeded wants. Would she be seeing a world at peace going by? Would she be in fight after fight because deep down she loved the rush of battle? It was a curious thing. Either way, Akari would be soon to see as she would see whatever it was that Kagura did. The question was did Kagura know that? She didn’t know, but she wouldn’t hide it from her. She probably should’ve mentioned that but it honestly slipped her mind while she was trying to explain the ins and outs of escaping illusions as a whole.

Kagura would see Akari’s eyes spinning around, the tomoe circling the iris like sharks in water before her world would be drawn into what her own mind created in this case. Akari would see it all play out until the illusion was dispelled successfully, or until the time was up in which she would simply break it with her sharingan. Speaking was pointless, since in the illusion Kagura wouldn’t hear her, so simply watched, quietly seeing how her student fared against the more subtle of the three shinobi pillars.

[36]

Kagura blinked at that. Deepest Desires? Her eyes went to the sky for a moment as she tried to think what the heck those could even be. She hadn’t really given it much thought; she had been brought up from a young age, trained to serve before most kids were done with learning how to remember to flush the toilet. What did she want? She gave it a shrug as she locked eyes again, knowing she was about to find out first-hand. She could feel the chakra that didn’t belong, but only because she had been specifically sensing for it probably, but she let it take root, curious herself for what her deepest desires were.

The scene around them changed rapidly. Kagura was in full armor, standing near the front gate to the village, which was slightly different in appearance. She was a bit taller too, her hair wrapped up and around and close to her head, and she had a sheathed blade underneath her hands that thrummed with power that she could feel. Nothing seemed amiss, just a light breeze playing with the leaves overhead… it was peaceful, and she knew that the reason for that peace was because she was standing guard, protecting her home, and her mere presence was a deterrent to those who would do them harm.

The scene shifted again, and the armor was gone, Kagura was wearing a very form fitting kimono and there were fireworks lighting up the sky. “Come on Akari! We are going to be late for your own birthday!” She heard the words come out of her own mouth as if it was natural, the most casual thing in the world. But then she felt a tug and saw the outline of Akari in the darkness, pulling her back inside, and beginning to pull her in for a deep kiss—

And suddenly the Genjutsu ended, Kagura’s face was beat red, and she had dispelled the Genjutsu out of sheer panic and embarrassment. Just under three minutes had gone by since the start of it. She was absolutely speechless, ensuring she did not meet Akari’s eyes, but definitely looking at her face, the idea that she might have somehow seen the last part terrifying her. Wordlessly she didn’t ask if she had seen either, but waited for the next lesson.

(Learned Genjutsu Release}

[37]

Akari watched, quietly, and patiently as the first scene was Kagura standing guard at the village in peace. She was decked out in armour with a rapier at her side, and she stood with confident alertness as she guarded those in the village from harm. Then the scene would change and Akari would watch, blushing moderately at seeing Kagura in the form fitting kimono. She looked wonderful in it and somewhere in her own mind she felt a stir of desire that she hadn’t felt before and suddenly she was very worried herself. She wasn’t caught in the genjutsu by any means. She was simply seeing what Kagura saw, but she certainly wanted to see her in the kimono for real. Snapping back to ‘reality’ she would listen with a smile as Kagura called out her name and telling her that they were going to be late. So, it was her birthday in this illusion. Well happy birthday to her then. What froze her in her tracks was what happened next. The sudden tug at her back, her own silhouette in the darkness as she pulled Kagura back inside and began to close the distance. It wasn’t a controlled ‘pulling in’ per se. It was the kind you do when you’re intending to kiss the hell out of someone. When you don’t need to ‘stop short’. Akari would blush viciously as the genjutsu was shattered in instinctive reflex by Kagura. Then there they stood upon the field in the new training center once more.

Kagura would avoid her eyes again, no surprise, few who had a genjutsu cast upon them by a sharingan didn’t. Akari’s face would be redder than her shirt as her mind filled in the gaps of what had been ended. Part of her was mad at Kagura, but not for wanting to kiss her like that. But for ending it when she did. She felt that stir in her again and she gulped before taking a deep breath to steady herself. “So..Your deepest desire, from what I saw. Was to have the village at peace, with you being it’s protector. As well as for m-me to pull you to me and k-kiss you deeply?” She would ask, her voice stuttering a bit as she warred with everything in her heart, mind, and body. She wanted her first kiss to be special, she wanted it to mean something.

Didn’t it mean something if you cared for the person you kissed? Didn’t it mean so much more when they wanted it so badly that it was considered one of their deepest desires? Akari was curious now as to how far that genjutsu would’ve gone if Kagura hadn’t ended it. For now though, she didn’t think she could hold herself back anymore. So she would deactivate her sharingan. Her eyes turning back to the crystalline shade of blue that Kagura had said she was jealous of. Then she would move over to her, if she wasn’t already right in front of her. “Like this?” She would ask as she reached forward without warning, took the front of Kagura’s shirt, and pulled her to her, kissing her soundly, and deeply on the lips.

Provided this was allowed to occur, Akari would be frozen for a moment after the contact had been made. She had never kissed anyone like this before, so it was a first for her. She was self conscious about it, knowing that it would be an awkward kiss. But after a moment she got lost in the softness of Kagura’s lips and the taste of her cherry chapstick and she would melt into it. Her heartbeat racing as her hold on the front of Kagura’s shirt dropped and she moved her hands to hold her. The kiss would last as long as Kagura wanted it to, Akari breaking it willingly, if hesitantly when the girl she had basically just sexually assaulted decided it was time to end the act.

[37]

Kagura’s worst fears confirmed, she saw that Akari too was blushing and it only made her own face deepen in shade. She was pretty sure at this point there were other parts of her body that were being deprived of blood simply because of the sheer amount that was being displayed openly. Hearing her announce it out loud had her on the verge of a nosebleed, she was certain of it. If her face got any more red, it would probably start turning purple… but she wouldn’t lie to her, and finally locked eyes with the woman. “Apparently?” she said sheepishly, allowing the smaller woman to realize that it had somewhat caught her off guard as well, which was the reason she had dispelled it so quickly, brown eyes meeting blue as Akari approached her.

But having her shirt grabbed and being kissed completely, her instincts took over for now, guiding her to what she should do. One hand reached up behind the woman and threaded into the base of her hair, right in the scalp and her fingers weaved through the roots gently, while the other wound around the woman’s waist to hold her close. Kagura took the lead, controlling Akari’s angle as the kiss continued, and Kagura found herself kissing the woman back deeply and with a passion she didn’t know she contained. She was about to press forward out of blind passion when she heard the door open nearby, not within eyesight but close enough to be heard, and it snapped Kagura back to reality and she fell backwards on her butt… breathing very heavily and in shock of just how fervently she had basically just given away her first kiss…

And there was no regret.

[38]