"Attack me. No ninjutsu, no eyes."
Kiyomi moved. She was incredibly fast, and the wooden sword left a blur in the air as she thrust straight for Sasuke's throat.
Sasuke tilted his head slightly. The wooden sword grazed past the tip of his nose. He followed through, driving the hilt toward Kiyomi's stomach. She reacted quickly, twisting her waist at an impossible angle to dodge the blow before swinging back at him.
"Too hasty."
Sasuke hooked his foot around hers. Kiyomi lost her balance, but he didn't stop. He brought the wooden sword down toward her shoulder. She twisted in midair, forcing her body around to block with her own sword.
Crack.
Kiyomi's wooden sword snapped in two. She landed on the ground, blood spilling from the web between her thumb and forefinger.
"You're afraid of the power inside you, so you keep suppressing it. But in a fight, suppression only makes you slow." Sasuke tossed aside his wooden sword and walked up to her. "Close your eyes."
Kiyomi did as he said.
"Feel the thing beating in your chest. Don't think of it as an enemy. Think of it as part of your body, like your hands and feet."
Kiyomi tried to reach out to the fiery energy. The moment she touched it, that sharp pain came rushing back.
"Don't fight it. Guide it." Sasuke's voice sounded beside her. "Imagine you're a container. It's full now, so you need to make a small opening and let the water flow out, instead of letting it burst the container."
Kiyomi took a deep breath. She tried to relax the muscles in her chest and let the Red Chakra flow slowly through her meridians.
A faint red glow flickered at her fingertips.
"Good. Now concentrate that power on your broken sword."
Kiyomi