Love Through Negotiation «COMPLETED»

Chapter 4

In his defense, Naruto never thought it would escalate the way it did. He just really wanted to win is all. Perhaps it was because he'd been under a little too much stress as of late, or that there wouldn't ever be a future with him and Sakura, or the simple fact that he was still feeling the lingering grogginess and associated grumpiness that came with very little sleep, or even-

Wait, no. Naruto knew exactly why it escalated the way it did. It was because he wanted to wipe that smirk off her face. So haughty and smug. It didn't matter that Yugito didn't look a thing like Sasuke, because whenever he saw that look, that look brimming with a superiority that didn't have to be stated outright because it was just known by everyone, he was a kid again in the academy trying his best to stand up against the Uchiha's overwhelming power that seemed to come out of nowhere. He hated that smirk more than anything in his life. It reminded him of everything he used to be that he wanted to leave behind.

As soon as the leaf touched the ground between then, Naruto rushed forward and tried to punch her in the face, such was his consternation. She parried the blow away, stepped forward, and planted a knee into his stomach, launching him backwards a few feet.

Naruto coughed up some spit, got his balance back and let his nose curl into a semi-snarl. "You call that an attack?" he asked.

Her smirk only grew in scope and scale. "No, I don't."

Naruto breathed out slowly and rushed right back at her again. He found that she was right to be confident in her strength at least, but not enough that he would concede defeat so easily. Whether it was because of her being a Jinchuuriki to a cat beast or not, her flexibility was far and away echelons above anything or anyone he had fought before. She contorted her limbs around in ways that would break or pop out of socket to any normal person. This meant that not only did he barely touch her throughout their spar, it meant that he couldn't predict the way she moved with any regularity and also meant that he got more strikes underneath the neck than he had been preparing for. She wasn't lying about that previous jab either. She hit hard and she hit mean.

Any normal man would have seen his obvious disadvantage and conceded defeat then and there, lest they become any more bruised and battered than they already were, except Naruto knew about his strengths and weaknesses. He might get batted around like a yarn ball in any straight taijutsu fight, but he could continue to get batted around ad infinitum. He had endurance and he had the will to never give up, even for things one might consider to be petty. Most importantly, however, he wasn't against tricking his opponents.

WHA-PAHM.

Over the course of thirty seconds, Naruto had made it appear that his arms were becoming heavier and heavier, until they reached below his face, creating a faux opening that Yugito took full advantage of. Already, he was getting a feel for her fighting style. She struck at what was most painful or what was most debilitating. An open face was like catnip to her. She couldn't resist it.

Naruto crumpled and got to one knee, his smirk hidden by his downturned head and sweat-logged hair.

Yugito was breathing hard as she stopped before him, one neuron blast away from sending a leg crashing down on his exposed neck. She had to remind herself that it was just a spar. He looked to be down for the count. That might teach him to be too arrogant around her. Still though, he could take a punch. If he got any better, he'd be a good workout. Better than any wooden dummy, that was for sure.

"Are you o-"

CRACK.

Her world suddenly turned sideways and upside-down. Her cheek was smarting with pain and there was blood on her tongue. Another punch rocked her world, this time to the other side, before she planted both feet on the ground and pounced away from him.