"Don't be so sure about that third shinobi," Akane stated in response to Fen's question. "You and I were both a bit too flashy back there. I probably shouldn't have wasted so much energy on that guy. It would have been better to take him out right there. And you were right when you said you didn't know how to hold back," Her eyes glinted as she began to criticize Fen's anaylsis of the situation. "You've used that Dynamo Fist move twice already, right? So now we're both a bit tired and your chakra's depleted. Plus we don't know the location and status of our opponent and she's a ranged weapon user, like me. This situation is actually the worst possible one for fighting her. Unless your first attack seriously injured her, we may be in for a bit of a scrape." Akane drew two kunai from her pouch, mentally tallying the number remaining. She had been too lax in conserving her weapons earlier, and that shuriken barrage she had used, while it had been effective, had caused a drain on the supply of throwing stars at Akane's disposal. In a fight like this where the opponent's location was uncertain, every shot would count. Akane concentrated on circulating most of her chakra towards her arms to maximise the distance and power behind each shot. She waited silently for the opponent, signalling Fen to keep silent in order to keep their position as secure as possible.
The first attack was a surprise tactic. A whirling, buzzing weapon consisting of three metal balls bound together with mental thongs shot towards Akane. Though she managed to move aside quickly, one thong wrapped itself around the handle of her kunai. Surprised, Akane dropped the metal knife and watched as the strange weapon's momentum caused the thongs to wrap themselves around the knife, stopping only when all four metal balls struck together with a resounding crash. If that weapon had hit Akane's arm the limb almost certainly would have snapped. As this particular piece of information was being digested, Akane quickly rolled onto her belly just in time to duck under the path of two more whirling terrors. This time she caught a glimpse of the opponent fleeing into the underbrush as she attempted to change positions. With a quick flick of her wrist, Akane sent a kunai hurtling after the girl. The knife's whistle was followed by a satisfying thud, and Akane smiled savagely. A familiar whirring noise suddenly filled her ears, and the smile dissapeared as Akane deftly avoided yet another killing weapon, this one coming from a position directly behind Akane's current location. The girl didn't understand how that was possible. The thud she had heard was definitely a kunai entering flesh. How could her opponent have survived and changed position so quickly if she was injured? Arming herself again, Akane swore vehemently. If Fen hadn't pushed this girl into the deep forest, this wouldn't have happened.
Akane bolted in surprise. Two more weapons, each hurled from a different position, were moving towards her. Barely avoiding the blows, she cursed again. This girl was using a clone jutsu of some sort, probably Mitsu Bunshin. She remembered what she had learned about that in class on the day when the signature jutsus of other villages had been discussed. Mist, apparently, utilized a form of clone jutsu that allowed the user to split his chakra evenly into ten parts, forming ten clones with the exact same amount of chakra as the host. There was a limit, she knew, as to how far each clone could move from the original. Her knowledge of the jutsu ended there, but she guessed it was basically a watered down version of the Kage Bunshin that she had seen jounin performing. Still scaled up from the regular old Bunshin which created illusory clones, but a lower-ranking move nonetheless. High rank or low, however, it would certainly create trouble in this position. The opponent could flank the clearing and continuously attack. There was no way to guess the original's position, so she was safe.
Or was there?
Another weapon came hurtling towards Akane. This time, she did not move. The device struck just below her chin, and the cords began wrapping around her neck as the silver balls at the end gleamed wickedly...
BOOM!
The explosion of smoke revealed that all Akane's opponent had managed to do with her attack was to pulverise a large log of the type often found in Konoha's forest.
The purple-haired kunoichi grimaced as she raised another bola and twirled it menacingly, while her nearby clones performed the same action from their own positions. Where had that blasted girl gone? She couldn't have moved too far away.
BOOM!
The kunoichi's mouth dropped open. One of her clones had vanished. So that was it, then. The girl had used the temporary speed granted to her by the substitution jutsu to move into the treetops and target one of her clones. But she had made the fatal mistake of giving away her position. Like any skilled ranged-combat specialist, the purple-haired girl had memorized the position of each of her clones. Now she knew where to attack. Increasing the velocity of the bola she carried, the girl bared her teeth in a silent growl and launched the attack. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the sound of several bola all contacting the same point and something crackling and snapping reached the kunoichi's ears. There was silence again.
The girl smiled, removing yet another bola. Now she could focus on her final target, that annoying boy who had blown her away...
The flash-bomb that blinded the girl was a complete surprise. So was the rapid succession of sounds that followed it, each one heralding the loss of another clone. Just as her vision cleared, the girl felt a kunai penetrate her shoulder as Akane's weight and momentum bore them both to the ground. The sound of cracking ribs and the pain that followed made the kunoichi gasp as her opponent walked a few steps away, her face obscured by her bangs.
Akane's eyes lit up fiercely. "You were sloppy," she stated flatly. "Your technique was interesting, and anywhere else it would have been effective. But I was in that tree canopy earlier, and I had already scouted the spots that would be best for a ranged attack in case I needed to launch one myself." As she dispensed this explanation, Akane fleetingly remembered Tenten-sensei's lessons on the subject as she passed on what she knew about projectile weapons and their use to Akane. Smiling slightly at the memories, she continued. "I could guess where you would position your clones. All I needed was a way to escape the clearing. Once I was up there, it was easy enough to use a flash-bomb to blind you long enough for me to attack the clones. And now..." Akane's eyes flashed grimly as she tugged her kunai from her victim's arm, causing the kunoichi to whimper in pain, "I'm going to leave you here. Your blonde-haired boyfriend is only winded, so he'll recover soon. If you're lucky, he can get medical attention for you all. If you aren't... well, you shouldn't have been stalking me. Pervs." Akane practically spat out the last word. She turned as if to go, then stopped. "Oh, one other thing..."
The kunoichi was forced to endure another wave of pain as Akane pressed a hand to her chest, effectively immobilizing her, long enough to slip the remaining bola as well as the other weapons in the girl's kunai and shuriken pouches into her own. Straightening up, she stepped towards Fen. "Well? Shall we go now?" She asked, grinning at him grimly, as if to say 'This-is-what-happens-to-people-I-don't-like-so-watch-yourself'.
