11 Spar

//Forgive me if I'm off this chapter. Trying to establish the actual mindset of a young tomboyish female is actually kinda difficult, especially Kushina who is known to have a short temper. As for Zetuo's personality, I'm still working on setting his completely in so just work with me for a bit.

Other then that, enjoy and be sure to leave a detailed review if you like the story.

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Kushina wasnt very good with words and it was something she herself was very much aware of.

Growing up, the young redhead didn't have too many friends and the few she did have were members of her old village, Uzushiogakure, back when she was around 4 or 5 years old. They were left behind when she moved down to Konoha, leaving her alone and with no one to truly call a friend.

While she wasnt totally clueless on how to communicate with people, she wasnt particularly good in any sort of casual chitchat. Her short temper and brash, tomboyish attitude tended to scare most kids her own age off before she could even attempt to befriend them. She didn't mesh with the females very well and the males only saw fit to call her names, a prime target being her hair color which they said looked akin to a tomato. Eventually, at some point during her youth, she simply stopped trying and opted instead on giving her all towards her goal of becoming the first female hokage.

This very ineptitude of social interaction and lack of experience in communicating was perhaps the very reason she didn't get along with Zetuo very well, finding it rather hard to comprehend anything he had to say without feeling somewhat annoyed, angry, or suspicious.

Learning he was from another world had definitely helped her toleration levels but even despite that, she still found the black haired boy to be infuriating somehow. Just looking at his black eyes brimming with intelligence and amusement made her want to punch him in his face and watching him handle everything so calm and orderly made her want to kick him. Everything about him made her want to lash out for no reason other then she felt annoyed, pissed off by her own inner turmoil.

She was aware that this was wrong and it was why she hadn't acted on it, choosing to verbally assault him with questions and exclamations instead. She was unsure of how to approach him so she chose to act up instead, hiding feelings behind violence.

Her feelings and actions were illogical and she knew it which was why, when she and Minato landed in front of Zetuo after getting the day off from their senseis, she opted to say nothing at all, choosing to watch instead. The only scenario she would receive for her snipped remarks would be to be looked at like something was wrong with her, a look she couldn't stand. Instead of looking like someone who was upset and uncooperative, she allowed Minato to do all the talking.

Minato Namikaze, around the same age as Kushina and far more intelligent then he looked, didn't illicit the same negative feelings as the otherworlder did. That being said, he didn't bring out any positive ones either, at least none that she was aware of. It was only yesterday that she had truly interacted with him and the brief exchange period of an hour or two hadn't done much to alter her first impression of him; a rather girly male who seemed rather unreliable.

Of course, there was no denying that he easily scored at the top of his class during his time at the Academy.

"Heya Zetuo," the blonde said the moment they touched down, a smile on his face. "Hows it going?"

Kushina watched as the youth smiled, a genuine full toothed grin that almost made her do a double take. As far as she was aware, this was the first true smile she had seen him provide, most of the time keeping a calm look that showed little expression. When Zetuo grinned, he looked far younger and, though she would never admit it out loud, much cuter.

Kushina wasnt the only one who was shocked by the smile, but Minato managed to hide much better then she did as the young male directly addressed it. "You seem to be in a great mood today."

Zetuo shook his head, a mischievous grin on his face that made the two other youths back up a bit. With all the scars lining the boys neck, arms, and legs, the grin seemed much more evil then was probably intended. "Its all simply your imagination. I'm ALWAYS in a good mood fam. I just dont show it enough."

"fam?" Minato asked, clearly a bit confused.

"Its short for family but it can also be used towards friends to show closeness," Zetuo explained as he took a step closer, counteracting the step back Minato and Kushina had taken. "Now that we're friends and allies, it's best that we all get along dontcha think?"

Kushina was now thoroughly confused. This was the first time for her to see him like this, to witness this youth actually acting like a normal person instead of an off the charts IQ shogi player. Before Zetuo's eyes had only seemed to scan over things with little to no life in them, but now they seemed to be overflowing with vitality and positivity. It was really throwing her for a loop.

"Who said we were friends?" Kushina blurted out, unable to stop herself. She was feeling embarrassed but not from being called friend but because she realized she had got caught up in the youths smile. She didn't like him any more then she would like a stranger, but she had to admit that he did have one heck of a set of pearly whites. "We just met each other yesterday."

Though it had came out rather rude, the black haired youth didn't seem to take offense at all, merely shrugging at the abrupt commentary. "I've become friends with people I knew for less then three minutes, let alone twelve or so hours. Though I guess it falls into a matter of opinion in the end, an attribution to different working mindsets."

Apart from the apparent mood switch, the youths manner of speech had also changed. What once started out as a voice that only seemed intent on calculating the next step in survival was now transformed into one that was carefree and optimistic. It was like the boy had switched from survival mode into something more casual, and Kushina had to admit that this was much better then previous.

"In any case, what brings you here? I thought we weren't supposed to meet up for another several hours."

Minato took that opportunity to jump right in and explain, allowing Kushina to just stand back and watch. She still had so much she wanted to say but with no way of knowing how to actually put it into words that didn't sound harsh or rough, she remained silent. She was fond of this side of Zetuo, the feelings of annoyance still being there but it being substantially less, and didn't want to put a damper on his mood.

"So, in summary, our senseis said we have the day off to rest for a bit," Minato finished, wrapping up the story. "I ran into Kushina on the way and we were conveniently able to locate you. All we had to do was follow the small scale damage."

"Oh, you noticed that?" Zetuo asked as he glanced back. "Still not sure how I was able to put out that fire but I managed somehow. Guess I'm more skilled then I thought."

"Did you finish your tasks for Lord Third," Kushina asked, her voice lowering so as to not be overheard. She had finally managed to think of something to say that wasnt impolite and hurried to join in the conversation, not wanting to be left out. There were people bustling around this area so she didn't want anyone else to know what she was saying.

Zetuo nodded, his eyes filled with amusement. "Oh the joys of the tasks that have been handed to me. It truly was a splendid event. Alas, now I have nothing to do."

"If you're done with everything then.....how about we get started on chakra?" Minato asked, his voice also lowered.

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//Working On my action scenes. This is my first time so try and be polite about it.

"Okay, so what are we doing first then?" Zetuo asked, clapping his hands together. "I personally believe that KNOWING what chakra is should be the first step. It was a combination of physical and spiritual energy right?"

It hadn't been very long since the three of them had met up near the food district, around ten minutes or so, and in that allotted time, Minato, Kushina and Zetuo had reallocated to the outskirts of the Village where a training ground was positioned. A wide clearing with grass so green and lush that it made Zetuo wonder if he could sleep on it, the wind and a large stream near them only adding to the already picture perfect scenery.

"Yeah. There really isn't much you need to understand about chakra other then the basics," Minato replied as he walked a distance away from the black haired youth. "However, I'd like to hold off on the chakra for now. Let's focus on something more important."

Zetuo narrowed his eyes, pitch black hues taking in Minato's body language and current position, his brain running full mental calculations before the blonde had even finished his sentence. A fight was about to ensue, that much was painfully clear to the youth as his hand crept over to the katana attached to his hip, his body automatically taking a stance.

Minato picked up on the stance that Zetuo had taken and decided not to say anything more, readying himself for a spar. Ever since that very morning, the young blonde had wanted to have a go at the kid, a competitive spirit, that he didn't even know he had, rising up and rearing its ugly head. While he was entirely aware of the physical distance between them, he still wanted to go through with the fight for two important reasons.

The first reason was because he needed to know where the youth stood. He had agreed to help Zetuo and so, being that he wasnt one to back out on his own promises, he had to have the necessary information on the youth statistics so he could know what required improvement. The fight wasnt to beat up on the boy but rather to test the waters a bit and devise a training method revolving around the kids weakness. Granted he could only teach him so much as he himself was still learning, but he was still trying his best.

The second reason was purely selfish. Minato had been on alert since they had come into contact that same morning, the youths shirtless appearance, story, and new menacing aura having thrown him upside down. Even now as he faced Zetuo, he felt intimidated despite the enormous gap between them and it was this that lead him to want to fight in the first place. He needed to ascertain just what made this black haired male so.....fierce.

"Kushina, tell us when to start if you please," Minato said before taking a deep breath and fishing a kunai out of his pouch.

Kushina said nothing as she stepped back, completely clueless as to why these two were already brawling when they had JUST got out here. She had initially assumed they'd be teaching Zetuo about chakra and attempting to see if he could even USE chakra, but now she was simply confused. This sure as hell didn't look like chakra instructions.

The redhead eventually just ignored common sense and went along with whatever reasoning they had, making sure to take another few steps back as she didn't want to get in the way.

"Start!"

Without any hesitation whatsoever, the two of them rocketed forward, Zetuo drawing the blade while Minato raised his kunai. It didn't seem possible to stop them now, even if she wanted to, so Kushina decided to watch Zetuo carefully, wanting to discern his particular style of fighting.

The clash wasnt anything spectacular as it was mainly the two jabbing at each other, waiting to see what the other could do or would potentially do.

Zetuo took a step forward and quickly thrusted his katana in an unorthodox way, attempting to throw Minato off, knowing full well that he was physically inferior. In this type of battle where he was vastly outclassed, he had to use skill, reflexes, and abnormal processing speed to gain the edge. He had to use every trick in his arsenal to even match up to the blonde youth.

Minato, however, easily deflected the blade and stepped in for the kill, but Zetuo narrowly avoided it by sidestepping it entirely, using the chance to land a solid punch to his opponents abdomen. After landing a clean hit though, Zetuo quickly retreated, understanding that he had no chance in a simple fist fight.

They once again returned to circling one another, both of them sizing the other up.

This time around, it was Minato who made the first move, darting towards Zetuo at a much faster speed then before, kunai gripped tight.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of steel clashing against steel rang throughout the clearing as the two of them rapidly swung their weapons, deflecting, attacking, or countering with each swing of their blades. The speed was increasing and the tempo remained random as blonde and black went back and forth, each aiming for a nonvital spot on the body in an attempt to win the duel.

At this point, Zetuo was completely outclassed and was barely managing to stay in the game. Even when he scanned through the possible plans and their subsequent routes, nothing came up in his favor, all of it shut down due to the speed at which they were going. The only reason he hadn't been defeated yet was due to his amazing reflexes which had been honed for nearly his whole life. When it counted most, his body would react on mere instinct and fend off oncoming strikes from Minato's kunai.

(("There has to be some way to at least make it a draw,")) Zetuo thought as he deflected a few more rounds, dancing around Minato at a quick pace. (("Come on and think damn it."))

And just like that, a plan clicked in that was both smart yet entirely stupid. But of course, Zetuo believed it to be the best course of action and he had the habit of thinking in an optimistic manner when it came to even the smallest plans.

Lowering his own body closer to the ground, Zetuo thrusted his katana at Minato, this time letting it go, giving it that extra length.

Minato, surprised at this course of action, hurriedly deflected the blade and then made a clean swipe towards Zetuo. The black haired youth however twisted his body in an almost impossible way as he simultaneously dodged the slash and kicked the blonde away.

"And that's it," Kushina said as she stepped in. "Match is over. There isn't any point in continuing. We all know that this was pointless to begin with."

//This is my first time writing an action scene so cut me some slack.