Chapter 10

"So, you're Gemma's brat."

Yuzuki looked at the purple-haired kunoichi in front of her. She gave off a dangerous air, but it didn't really bother her that much. The Kyuubi's chakra had bothered her more than the killing intent that radiated off the woman in waves. She blinked when a kunai was tossed at her and moved her head to the side to dodge it.

"Decent reflexes," Anko said as she continued to study the kid in front of her, "All right, your mission is to take this scroll to the tower in the forest, there's a few shinobi inside that keep the place running."

"Understood." Yuzuki nodded as she was handed a long blue scroll that was sealed with wax.

"To make this harder, I'll be hunting you," Anko continued as the girl placed the scroll inside her shirt where there was a small pocket, "So, you better have more than decent reflexes."

She watched as a small smile stretched across the girl's face that slowly became a bit unnerving. The girl had a decent grasp on how to unnerve people. A slight tilt of the head added to the effect she was going for.

"I understand, Mitarashi-Senpai." Yuzuki said in a sweet tone.

"You might just make it, brat." Anko gave a crazed grin.

She gave a hand sign for dismissed and the kid seemingly vanished into the forest. She couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face, she was going to enjoy messing up Genma's kid. The man seemed so proud of her it was sickening. She would make sure that the A-rank she completed didn't go to her head, genin that somehow got missions that important typically ended up back home in a box.

She jumped into the forest and followed the kids' path; she hadn't learned not to burn the tree branches with her chakra yet. She had made such a rookie mistake, then again underestimating the kid would be a mistake all in its own. From what she understood, the kid aimed for average while in the academy. If she could impress two tokubetsu jonin, then there was something to watch out for. A genius that hid their abilities was possibly the worst kind, they were unpredictable.

She grinned and easily maneuvered out of the way of a log trap. The kid was a fast worker, she'd give her that. The kid wanted to be in torture and interrogation, well she might just pick up a tiny Kohai by the time her D-ranks were over. From delivering scrolls to resetting the forest's traps, she had her the entire two weeks.

She landed on a branch and began to search for the kid, she blended in well with her muted color scheme. Oh, she had missed hunting someone like this. She brought her hands together and summoned a snake. Those usually scared the brats she had to hunt before. She was going to have fun.

Yuzuki stared down at Anko from her spot in the trees. She had sweat going down her face and barely had control of her breathing. That woman was downright terrifying, she had caught up to her so quickly! She had to make her way to the tower, but with Anko chasing her it was going to be a battle. It was going to be worse than training with Genma. At least there he wasn't aiming for kill shots. Anko didn't care, if she ended up needing the hospital the purple haired kunoichi would think she was a waste of time. By outperforming what was expected of her she was showing what she could do, and that was dangerous.

She had no choice, she had done nothing during the mission with team seven, it wasn't really her place to do so. She looked down at her sandals and almost sighed. She didn't have time to think back to the mission where she was practically useless. Hayate was of more help, and that hurt a bit.

She jumped from the tree when a few kunai tore her from her thoughts. She had wasted too much time thinking. She twisted her body in mid air to dodge a few more and quickly performed a kawarimi to put some distance between them. The log that was where she had been was riddled with kunai when it landed. She was happy not to be turned into a living pin cushion.

"An academy level ninjutsu huh," Anko muttered, "You'll have to do better than that, brat."

She knew that, she knew that very well. She didn't really know that much ninjutsu besides the clone technique. Transformation wasn't going to help her now, and she wouldn't be able to get close enough to Anko without removing her weights. Hayate had told her to refrain from using the byakugan and from removing those. He wanted her to see just where she was in her skill level. She wasn't a match for a jonin, but a genin she was.

She had the Yamanaka clan jutsu's she could use, but would Anko stand still long enough for her to perform it? There were too many variables that made this too delicate of a situation. Her mind had already supplied to her that she wasn't in any true danger of death, so she was able to look at it from a point of view that seemed far too calm. She narrowed her eyes and decided on one thing.

Sprint for the tower and set up as many traps as she could until she reached it and handed over the mission scroll. This would be an exercise in stealth and speed. She needed to be able to get away when the situation called for it, or when there was something on the line. She wasn't in a three man squad, and wondered how she would be able to change the strategy to fit two other people. She shook her head and began that sprint by using the trees, she would try a new trick she had up her sleeve.

"There you are," Anko seemed to purr at the slight jolt of fear and shock that came from her.

"Hello, senpai!" Yuzuki greeted in a happy tone.

She dug into her kunai pouch and brought out a small tag and flicked it towards the older woman who dodged it with a smirk. She smirked back and quickly dropped to the forest ground as a purple cloud of smoke billowed from the tag. She had found those in the weapons shop and bought a small pack to see if she liked them. She quickly landed on her feet and jumped back as kunai hit the spots where she had been.

"Not bad, a distraction that allowed you to get your bearings," Anko complimented before laying into her, "But you aren't skilled enough to make it work in your favor yet, you don't have that killing edge in you."

She blinked at that. She had already killed before, what did she mean that she didn't have the edge in her? She dodged a punch to the face and brought her hand up in the defensive style of juken. She blocked the tenketsu within Anko's right arm, something she could do after so many years of learning the juken. She was grazed by a kick to the leg as she jumped back from the attack.

"Ah, a Hyuuga kid," Anko said as her arm hung by her side in a useless manner, "Maybe you do have a few tricks up your sleeve, not bad."

"Do you want me to unblock them now or later?" Yuzuki questioned much to Anko's surprise, "What? I thought we were having fun."

"Idiot," Anko informed her, "Do it later."

Yuzuki let out a low snort before dodging the kunai sent her way and observing the way that Anko fought. She was like a snake in the way that she struck out, always going for the kill. She appreciated that the other woman wasn't holding back. She met her in taijutsu, much to her dismay at being forced into close-combat, and winced at each hit that got a vital point. She didn't back down because Anko was right.

She really didn't have that killer's edge; she didn't fight to kill, just maim, or incapacitate.

"Too soft, brat," Anko informed her and she growled slightly.

She brought a hand back and landed a hit on Anko's chest, taking a nasty kick to her stomach. Both women seemed winded by the attacks but kept themselves standing. Anko realized that it would have been a lethal attack if the kid was using her juken with her chakra like she had with her arm.

"Now you're getting it."

Yuzuki gave her a look before activating the audio genjutsu seal in her hitai-ate. Anko was disoriented by it and that gave the dirty blonde more than enough time to sprint into the forest and get closer to the tower. She rubbed at her stomach and winced, there was some bruising there. She tossed a kunai to her side at a snake that had appeared. It seemed surprised that she had done so.

"Sorry, but I'm not in the mood to be attacked by a snake," She informed it in a soft tone as she removed the kunai from it's side and quickly bandaged it up, "Be safe, 'kay little guy?"

She quickly moved away from it before it could wrap around her. She chuckled quietly at the summons, she felt bad for injuring it. It was just doing what it was ordered to do. She quickly moved from the branches of the tree and pumped chakra to her legs to increase her speed as she ran on the flat forest ground. She was surprised at the speed she was able to gain from the addition of the chakra.

She reached the tower in the forest and quite literally slammed through the doors and into a wall, effectively startling the shinobi that had been waiting for her. She looked up at the scarred man who simply raised a brow at her and saluted him from her spot on the ground.

"Express delivery!" She chirped as she held out the scroll.

"Genma's brat?" He questioned.

"Genma's brat." She nodded.

He sighed at that and accepted the scroll. She had gotten to the tower faster than they thought she would. Anko was usually one that could toy with a person for hours. He watched as the kid deftly dodged a kunai sent her way with an amused expression on her face. She looked towards the doors where Anko was standing.

"Hello, Senpai!" She greeted.

"Don't hello Senpai me, brat!" Anko growled at her, "A low level genjutsu huh?"

"It's a seal that sewn into my hitai-ate," She replied in a calm tone, "It helps when being cornered by a person stronger than me, ne?"

She accepted the punch to the face, she did kind of deserve it. She might have put too much chakra into that seal and overpowered the genjutsu. She flew back and hit the ground with a dopey smile on her face. The man that had accepted the scroll sighed at the antics.

"Anko, don't kill her," He warned, "You'll have Genma and Hayate on your case if you do."

"Relax, I'm not gonna kill the brat," Anko huffed, "She's going to learn an actual genjutsu from me for making it here in one piece, she's crafty I'll give her that."

That was new, Anko usually didn't give compliments to people. The purple-haired kunoichi easily picked the girl up by the back of her uniform, said kid giving him a cheerful wave, before moving her towards the next part of her disciplinary D-Ranks.

"I think the Sandaime might need to find new disciplinary missions for that brat," He muttered, and one of the chunnin in the tower nodded their agreement, "She was far too cheerful."

"You really like to fuck with people, huh brat?" Anko questioned as they reached the first trap that needed maintenance and resetting.

"Are you telling me you don't?" Yuzuki asked.

Anko snorted at that and watched as the kid quickly worked with an ease that spoke of practice. She had it reset in a few minutes and hidden in less. That spoke of more skill than an academy understanding of trap setting. The kid had her secrets and definitely kept them close to her person, she was far too good at it for her liking.

"What else do you have up your sleeve?" Anko asked in an offhand way.

"I'm not stupid, senpai," Yuzuki informed her as they moved to the next trap, "Keeping secrets is normal in a village like this, and some of what I have up my sleeve are clan secrets."

The kid that belonged to two clans and was saved from bearing the caged bird seal of the Hyuuga clan. She looked into the pale eyes and narrowed her own. She was too calm compared to how she was earlier. It was quiet for a while as they went from trap to trap and she worked through them.

Lunch was a welcomed change of pace; the kid had made a bento for her. She looked down at the masterfully made food before looking towards the Yamanaka who had different food in hers. She could almost smell the sushi from where she sat. The scent of spiced tuna was very distinct. Anko wondered how early she woke up to be able to make boxed lunches that were this distinct. She shrugged her shoulders and dug into it; it was tasty.

"Who else did you make a lunch for?" Anko questioned.

"Hatake-Senpai and Shishou," She answered as she bit into a piece of homemade dango, "That man doesn't take care of himself and I was already making three."

Kid was confusing, and she didn't want to think about her actions anymore. She acted more like a grown woman than most of the kids she went to the academy with. She tossed a branch towards the kid and got an annoyed look in response.

"Wanna learn a genjutsu?"

"Fuck yeah."

Anko smirked at that response and began to explain. She was all for corrupting the kid, damn the fact that Genma would get angry. She could easily take on the older man. Now, to teach her how to fuck with a person's mind. She'd go with the Hell Viewing Technique first, it played on the parietal lobes and occipital lobes of the brain. Sensory inputs and processing visual information, respectively.

"Did you learn a lesson?" Hayate asked Yuzuki as he picked her up from the forest of death.

"That Anko-Senpai is awesome." She answered with a smile.

"Oh no," He muttered as he looked towards the purple-haired kunoichi who was smirking, "Don't try to steal my student."

"Once she enters torture and interrogation she'll be my student," Anko informed him, "I look forward to having a Kohai that actually learns what she's taught."

He didn't like the sound of that. He gave the woman an annoyed look and began to lead his student back to the village. He watched as her expression changed from a smile to a calm mask. She was far too good at putting on a mask and being able to act accordingly.

"She taught me a genjutsu, apparently I'm very good at it," She informed him.

"Which one?" He asked in a strained tone.

"Hell Viewing Technique," She answered, "The parts of the brain it deals with are sensory and processing, making it simple to mess with."

He hummed at that and she sent him a look that he was familiar with. He was glad that there was still some part of her that was normal. She looked away and he noted the thoughtful expression that made its way onto her face. She had been faced with an opponent that took her seriously and would maim or possibly kill her, yet she hadn't harmed Anko beyond blocking her chakra points. She was starting to learn that she didn't automatically go for the kill.

"You think too much," He told her, "That's why you don't go for the kill."

"I know," She muttered.

"You aren't a creature of instinct, but I don't doubt that you can learn how to be," He informed her, "It'll take a few missions and mishaps to learn it, but you will everyone does."

She looked at him and nodded her understanding. He went into the weapons shop and she followed him. He was looking for a few blades to give to her for when she began the chuunin exams. For now, he would watch to see what caught her eye. She wouldn't get it, but an idea of what she liked was nice. She looked at one that was currently bigger than her and one that was small enough to be holstered around her waist and on her back. She got a few more whetstones and the smoke tags, and they left. He followed her into a clothing store where she got leather and some cloth.

"Why cloth?" He asked her.

"I do know how to make clothes," She told him with a slight frown, "Some of what I own is too small for me, so I decided to make some."

She got more cloth than he knew what to do with. There were several spools of white, dusty blue, and black. He looked down at her uniform and noted that the pants were well above her ankles and the sleeves were reaching her mid arm. It had to be uncomfortable wearing clothes that were a bit tight.

"Konoha style or your style?" He asked as they left the store.

"My style, it'll be nice to have something I'm more familiar with," She answered with a strange expression on her face.

He understood that. He watched as a purple-haired ANBU went across one of the rooftops and he felt guilt burn in his gut. He had missed out on a wonderful relationship. He felt a hand on his shoulder blade and saw an understanding expression on his students face before she quickly moved away. She was more at an impasse than him, she felt weird trying to even think of a relationship with the children that were her physical age but knew that if she started to go after people older than her then they would get the brunt of the villages anger and disgust. She gave him a wave and he let her go for the day.

Yuzuki happily stepped into her home and removed her sandals. She stretched and put her bags down in the living room. She didn't have enough rooms to have a small workroom. She only had the bedroom, guestroom, and bathrooms upstairs. A small family home that her parents had left her. She'd have to build her own one of these days, just to have something that was a bit more western. She'd keep the small tiled entrance for her shoes, she liked that.

Wasn't a huge fan of the bathroom, too small for her liking.

She sighed at that thought and changed into a tank top and shorts so she could get an exact measurement for her new clothes.