The Chunin's impassive face splintered, cracking into a wicked smile that snapped his eyes into crescents.
'Fucking weirdo.'
"Oh... that's a wonderful idea Aoki..." he said creepily, meandering over to the arena as I followed. The students seemed to hold their breath as we readied ourselves, I'm sure most of them were of the mind that I had lost it.
But I knew that this was the "right answer", or as close to it as I could get.
"Let's skip the theatrics and get on with it," I said curtly as he was about to walk up and offer to perform the seal of confrontation.
The man had a small chuckle to himself as he recognised my distaste for him, I picked up a rock and locked eyes with the man, "When this rock hits the ground, we start... and only Taijutsu, no chakra enhancement either, cool?"
He nodded, staying silent.
'Time to shut this motherfucker up.'
-----
[THIRD PERSON POV:]
"He's crazy..." Byakko whispered to Denki who was standing near her, most of the kids who watched shared the same thoughts as her. The only two who felt that something seemed fishy about the situation were Yakumi and Ryoma.
The former was surprised at how unprofessional the Chunin was being and was wondering how such a person was allowed to become an instructor in the first place, Ryoma on the other hand never knew Aoki to be someone to make rash decisions. He trusted that his friend must've done what he did for a reason.
"Shh, they're talking." Denki silenced Byakko as the two opponents began to talk, working out the logistics of the match. When Aoki picked up the rock to start the spar, they all unwittingly held their breaths in anticipation.
A beat passed where not a word was heard.
Aoki whipped his arm forward and in a practised motion, threw the rock at a blitzing speed.
*SHOOM*
"?!?!?"
The students didn't have time to be shocked, the Chunin was the only one who reacted in time.
He smacked the rock that was flying dead centre at his forehead with his arm, crashing it to the ground. The Chunin broke his eyesight from the pebble that had lightly bruised his hand only to look up and see a foot flying towards his abdomen.
"?!?!?!"
In less than two seconds, the spar had become something none of the students had imagined.
The two started sending flurries of attacks at one another, some landing, most missing.
Aoki continued using movements from Fast Fist inter-spliced with Strong Fist techniques, he had gained an appreciation for the latter when Guy demolished him using it.
"How is he not disqualified?" Byakko whispered, still reeling in shock from Aoki having thrown the rock at the ninja instead of upwards as everyone expected; the magnitude of the fight resulting in a standstill hadn't been registered yet.
No one answered her, all were enraptured by the fight. After a few moments, Byakko's eyes widened as she understood.
Aoki didn't form the seal of confrontation.
The rules associated with the Academy's spars only have to be followed during a regulated match, in a spar where no such agreement has been made, the only rules to be followed were the ones agreed on before the match. The rules that Aoki had chosen.
A minute had passed, Aoki had taken a few hits and the damage he received wasn't negligible with the frame of reference in the kids' minds, yet he fought with as much energy as someone would at the very start of the fight.
With each passing second, the students in the audience grew more and more surprised.
"He's... keeping up with the Chunin..." Denki said, his concerned face betraying the shock he felt internally. He had interacted with Aoki almost every day, yet the speed and strength he exhibited was far beyond what any of them had seen. The only people who've seen Aoki at his best were Sasuke Sarutobi and Might Guy, none of whom were here to answer the student's questions.
Most believed that the Chunin was going easy on the boy, even if he was a bastard who'd pick on a child, he must be limiting his abilities against someone of Aoki's age.
Yakumi knew better, and so did Byakko.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
The two Uchiha had seen spars of all kinds, Genin vs Genin, Chunin vs Chunin, Jonin vs Jonin and every other combination possible between those ranks of ninjas, Yakumi had even been privy to a match between two Elite Jounins Uchiha's at his grandfather's request.
They both knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt, the speed and skill that the two opponents were showing were well within the realm of Chunin.
No, they weren't using Chakra enhancement as most Chunin would, they weren't using Ninjutsu as most Chunin would, and they weren't using lethal force as most Chunin would...
But in all other realms of ability, the battle was identical to one between two Chunin.
Yakumi's eyes grew slitted, he clenched his fists and cursed under his breath. He thought that he was getting closer to the boy's strength since Aoki had begun to take him seriously in their matches... how wrong he was.
"Fast..." Ryoma said, commenting on Aoki's dodge of the Chunin's attempted grapple. Byakko nodded in agreement but the mood was broken when Denki spoke his thoughts out loud.
"That smile's scary as hell..."
------
[AOKI POV]
'Left. Dodge.'
'Punch, midsection... he dodged.'
'Move.'
'Fast Fist... now Strong Fist.'
'Good hit.'
'He landed one... doesn't hurt. Keep moving.'
Thoughts are barebones, movements are swift. Instincts are king, planning is miffed.
'Move, Move, Move.'
The beginning was easier, the man's fighting better now. Faster too... but not enough for me to lose because of that.
As I shifted styles, once again the man landed a hit on me; flinging me back as he prepared to launch an assault of fists to further his advantage.
I retreated and jumped away, taking stock before attacking again, growing annoyed at the reason why I was taking way more hits than him.
It's my fucking inexperience that's holding me back.
The Chunin seems to be able to predict my attacks, moving in ways to intercept my strikes before even I think of launching them. It's clear he's fought many using the same styles as me, it doesn't help that I'm using two of the most popular ones.
It doesn't matter. I'm still landing hits.
'I don't need a landslide victory... I just need to outlast him.'
The fact that I managed to land hits on him regardless was the only thing giving me the confidence to make a statement as bold as that one.
He tried to hide it, he tried to divert my attention or mask his emotions every time my fist landed a proper hit, but he wasn't able to. With every strike, the man winced a little. His pain was barely hidden beneath a mask of confidence.
'I'm hurting him. I don't know by how much, but I'm hurting him.' I realised after the first few connections.
I remember how my strike at full strength made even Guy react, even if only slightly. Might Guy's physical prowess is far beyond anything this Chunin is capable of, punches that could cause Guy to cough a little would be enough to damage this fucker properly.
'Eh? My face is sore...' I put a hand to my lips and felt them skewed into a ridiculous smile, I don't know how long it's been since it's been this way.
I couldn't help it.
Between both of my lives, all the experiences I've been through, everything I've felt... this moment was the most fun I've ever had.
My heart was pounding, my lips were smiling and blood was rushing through my veins.
Pure joy.
'I'm alive... I feel alive!'
With that thought, I shot forward, allowing my smile to reform as I cocked my knees back for another kick.
-----
[THIRD PERSON POV:]
The human brain is interesting, what can capture our attention at first and bring us to our knees could become commonplace within the next few minutes... not to mention an hour.
There were some who still watched with rapt attention, such as those who knew Aoki well, but the majority of the class believed that Aoki's showcase was exceptional but still far below the Chunin who was "holding back", and so the fight became a bit boring.
Some sat on the floor talking with friends, playing games to pass the time; while others nestled themselves in the crook of a comfortable spot and laid their bodies to rest after a stressful day.
Yakumi sneered at the fools who did so, a brilliant display of Taijutsu was being missed by those who refused to push beyond their tiredness. The fact that they couldn't understand how impressive this was wasn't an excuse.
A ninja must see underneath the underneath.
Eventually, Yakumi's discerning eyes noticed a very interesting detail. Aoki had been hit much more than the Chunin, taken punishment beyond what he thought he would be able to take and keep moving; yet he moved with only a little fatigue.
The Chunin on the other hand was a different story.
His Taijutsu had shifted into one that relied on intercepts and blocking over time, trying to rest his weary physique, but Aoki took full advantage of this and did his best to tire the man out.
'Is it possible? Can he actually win?' Yakumi wondered as Aoki stood up from another hit by the Chunin, moving as if unaffected.
Aoki prepared to counterattack but the Chunin's hand shot up as he spoke for the first time since the spar began.
"Stop." He said, making Aoki freeze in place as the students who were drifting off into sleep shot up in attention.
He looked at the group of children who had been audience to his spar, "Go to class, school's almost finished," he turned to Aoki and continued, "You too. Go."
Aoki's face almost twisted into one of disappointment but he gained his composure and walked away, slightly limping as he convened with his friends who huddled around him and checked his body for injuries.
The Chunin retained an impassive expression as he watched the students walk away, his eyes trained on Aoki for a moment before snapping to an inconspicuous tree that lightly ruffled as he stared at it.
*THUNK!*
A clone of Aoki's homeroom teacher Jinbei dropped down from the tree with an expression similar to the Chunin's, the only difference being that cracks of annoyance could be seen forming.
"That took longer than you said it would." the clone said, staring down the Chunin. The other man just shrugged his shoulders in response, giving a light smile to accompany it, "I stopped when you came, stop complaining."
Jinbei's clone sighed as if exasperated, "Weren't you supposed to come as... who was it? Tokei? Lord Third told me that this should be a smooth process since he already knew you." said the clone accusatorily.
The man sighed a little as he leaned against a tree, wiping away the layers of sweat that hung to his forehead, "Tokei wouldn't work, not for what I had in mind."
Jinbei nodded but continued to speak with a rare smile, "Still, the fight should've ended quite some time ago... considering you were cheating," pointing at the Chunin who was now healing himself in the open, taking no care to conceal it like before. The man's arm was shoved up his chest and emitting a green glow, he had been itching to do this for a long time.
"Tokei" just scoffed and walked away, refusing to explain himself to the clone, he had to make an important report.
The man was limping quite a bit.