To Prove Oneself: Part One

Year 95 AG, One Week Later

Western Earth Kingdom

Naruto stood with kunai in hand as he glared intensely at a makeshift target. He steadied his breath and aimed with narrowed eyes. With a quick throw, the kunai soared through the air with incredible speed only to miss its intended target. By a long mile.

"This sucks!" Naruto cried out in frustration.

He had been practicing for a week now and barely made any progress at all. Naruto threw about hundreds of kunais by now, yet barely a fraction of them landed properly. He realized how hard it was to master kunai throwing. No wonder it took some shinobis months or even years to master it.

"Don't tell my old ass that yer already quitin'?" Temujin walked over with the kunai Naruto tossed before.

"I'm not; just frustrated," Naruto said.

"Not gonna lie, yer technique does suck," Temujin bluntly said.

Naruto's face deadpanned, "Thanks for the encouragement."

"Don't sweat it, lad," Temujin spun the kunai around his finger. "It could be worse."

Naruto wiped the sweat off from his forehead and laid across the ground. He stared at infinite sky as he imagined his past attempts.

'What am I doing wrong?' Naruto thought to himself. He couldn't find any mistakes in his form. Maybe Temujin was right; he just sucked ass at throwing.

"Don't bring yourself down, Naruto," Suki suddenly walked up to Naruto. She raised her hand out to him and helped him off of the ground.

Suki took the kunai from Temujin, "Here, watch how I do it."

Suki shuffled her feet and lowered her form. With a steady aim, she threw the kunai, and it struck dead-on in the middle the target.

"See?"

"Easier said than done," Naruto groaned.

"Ah... what happened to that confident attitude earlier, kid?" Temujin laughed.

Suki grabbed another kunai from Naruto's bag and brought it to Naruto's hand. Moving behind Naruto, Suki began to instruct him.

"I want you to relax your body," Suki moved her hand over his.

"I don't think-"

"Just do it," Suki interrupted.

Naruto felt Suki's breath across his ear. A shiver ran down his spine as she came closer behind him. Weird thoughts and images began to form in his mind, and he felt rush of blood flowing. Naruto quickly shook his head and remained focused. She slowly guided his hand to his chest as Naruto calmed his breath, firmly gripping the kunai. Suki adjusted his form, lowering his body and shifting his arms.

"You're arm's still stiff, blondie," Suki said. "It's a beginner mistake to tense up when throwing weapons. Tensing up makes it difficult to steady your aim."

"How'd you know that?" Naruto asked.

"Trust me. I was in your shoes before," Suki smiled.

"You use kunais?"

"Fans."

*****

Tenten walked through the forest with quiet steps, her eyes rapidly moving as she scanned her surroundings. The cracks of twigs and leaves echoed underfoot as she ventured through the ancient lush of green. The sunrays streaked through the boughs in sepia toned beams against the wintry fog of the woodlands. She crouched behind a bush as she listened to the forest's hums.

Behind her stood Azula with a bored expression. She had followed Tenten in her quiet hunt. A faint rustle was heard just ahead and drew Tenten's attention. She quickly pulled a bow over her shoulders. Having a legendary blacksmith around has its many advantages, especially when it came to weapons. The wooden bow was incredibly handcrafted by Temujin for Tenten to hunt with.

Her eyes narrowed with concentration as she focused on the rustling sound. Tenten was an experienced hunter as she was a warrior. She'd been trained to survive in the wilderness, learning to create fire, bushcraft and gathering resources. A rabbit suddenly revealed itself from the bushes, and Tenten quickly nocked an arrow. She carefully aimed her bow; with a deep breath, she fired the arrow. Headshot. It was a painless death for the unfortunate rabbit.

"That took you long enough," Azula said.

"You know," Tenten glanced behind her with irritation. "You didn't have to follow me."

"And I wouldn't have if Yulah hadn't persisted me so much," Azula replied.

Tenten sighed and walked over to the dead rabbit. She pulled the arrow out and tied the rabbit to her waist by its legs. She strapped the bow over her shoulders again and looked back at Azula with aggravation. For the past week, Azula hadn't been carrying her own weight and done nothing to help around. Meanwhile, Tenten and rest help gather resources and set up camp. Tenten felt a bit irritated that Azula hung around Naruto all the time.

"There's a river just by," Tenten said. "You could at least contribute around here a little by catching fish, princess."

"As if I would."

"And why's that?"

Azula turned away, "Like I would need to tell you."

"Wait, don't tell me. You don't know how!" Tenten cried with fake shock. "Honestly, I'm not surprised for someone who had been fed with a golden spoon in her mouth for all her life."

"You don't know even me," Azula said, her voice seething with anger.

"Maybe I don't," Tenten replied. "But, I could tell what type of person you are, princess. Arrogant, bitter and spiteful." Feeling fed up, Tenten walked back to their campsite, leaving Azula all by herself.

Azula gazed at Tenten's retreating form with hateful eyes. Azula told herself that she'd change when she created her own Will of Fire. But, it was incredibly difficult to abide by it with people like Tenten. However, Azula had changed herself for Naruto, and she was sure as hell not going to revert back to her old, tyrannical self just because of some girl. No, she was going to prove herself. Azula walked deeper into the woods.

*****

Suki felt his shoulders relaxed and nodded in approval, "Good. Now throw whenever you're ready, blondie."

Naruto gazed at his target and steadied his aim. With another quick toss, the kunai pierced through the air. In an instant, the kunai struck near the edge of the target.

"Yatta!" Naruto spun Suki around with a tight hug. Although, the kunai didn't hit directly head-on, Naruto was happy with his results.

"Oh!" Suki couldn't help but cry out.

Naruto finally set Suki down, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks, "Easy there, cowboy." Suki said, her head feeling a tad dizzy. Not that she didn't like it, though.

"Oops, sorry bout that," Naruto grinned.

Temujin stepped in with crossed arms, "Beginner's luck, brat."

"I'll shove those words up your ass, old man," Naruto quickly pulled out another kunai.

Tenten walked out of the woods and approached everyone, "Hey guys! Look what I brought!" Everyone turned their attention to her as Tenten raised the rabbit just above her head.

"Finally," Suki sighed with relief, "I was getting tired of eating nuts and dried fruit all the time."

"Oi!" Temujin quickly took offense, "I spent time building up rations for all of us!"

"I'm just saying," Suki shrugged her shoulders. "Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers."

"Hey Tenten, where's Azula?" Naruto suddenly asked.

"She's probably using the bathroom," Tenten wrapped her arms around Naruto's own. "Wanna help me cook, Naruto?"

"Eh.. I'm not that good of a cook, to be honest," Naruto scratched his head.

"Me neither," Tenten dragged Naruto away. "Now, come on."

"Ah... wait up, you guys!" Suki blurted out.