AFTER DARK | naruto

64 | fighting fire with fire

It was safe to say your opponent shared every single fire attack you had, you had trained with three Taijutsu masters on your team for the past five... Or six years of your life, but it seemed your moves were just as predictable. She managed to match you blow for blow, with the same amount of heat you had.

The heat you two were releasing was overbearing for the other fighters, be it the Shinobi of the allied forces, or the reanimated Shinobi on their side. It also reminded you as to why nobody else could have taken your spot and defeated her, anybody else would probably get incinerated.

Only a few of your hits actually connected, one being straight to her jaw—giving you a split second to react and sweep her feet out from underneath her.

She had matched you blow for blow, her heat seemed to be even hotter than yours—but you had different attacks. You couldn't use wind, it'd just combine with the fire already around you and probably set the entire forest on fire.

You could use your darkness, but you weren't really sure how to use it. You would put the alliance at an advantage had you messed up with it, and fighting fire with fire—really wasn't working.

You grabbed a fistful of her hair before she fell to the floor, it might have been a dirty move (that would surely have pissed you off had someone used it on you) but you were running out of moves to use. You reared your head back, bracing for your hit by closing your eyes before you head-butted the woman. That was the first time you got a reaction out of her, she hadn't made a single sound up until this point.

"That was... A dirty move," she grimaced, "Did your mother raise you in a barn?" She put a hand over her forehead with a grimace.

"Um, no," you replied, there was a sense of confusion in your tone, fists still balled. The topic of any of your family members would probably still be a sore spot for years to come. "I don't think your mom taught you any better if you ask questions like that," you accused, an annoyed pout on your face.

"I didn't have a mother to raise me." She responded. "I was an unwanted child."

"Huh," You blinked, "Checks out..." You rose a brow, the annoyed look still present on your face. Without giving her the room to say another word, you managed to land a rough hit to her jaw. The moment her head craned the other way at the impact, you landed a hit to her cheek.

You were copying these moves straight off of your teammate, you had seen Neji use them once before on Naruto during their fight in the Chuunin exams. It was a combination of hits you'd remember from time to time—seeing how effective it was to knock an opponent off balance for a few seconds.

Typically, you would use your fire for hand to hand combat, just for an extra point your way—with just enough brainpower though, you realized it'd give her an advantage more than yourself. She gained power from fire just as you did, so you went in bare handed.

Your strikes weren't as powerful as they could be, but upon a few hits, you realized this woman wasn't used to getting hit in the first place. With her heat being for more powerful than yours, it was easy to imagine that she'd simply incinerate an opponent before they got close.

That made her a delicate target with anyone as her opponent.

She managed to steady herself after a few hits, reaching out her palm and hovering it over your face before releasing a blast of fire. You had to admit, it was hot.

Blindly, you reached out for the collar of her shirt, accidentally scraping her collarbone as you tried it. Once you got a firm enough grip, you joined both of your hands at the front of it. Yanking it down, you brought your knee up to hit her straight in the gut.