Lost to Shisui!

I crouched in the tree, a lock of hair sliced off my forehead, and gasped for breath.

Taijutsu wasn't my weakness, but compared to others at the same level, this body was always just a little weaker and a little slower!

Tch!

I stared at my slender wrist and clenched the kunai in my hand.

If I couldn't win with strength, I'd use ninjutsu. If I couldn't beat him head-on, I could always play dirty!

Uchiha Shisui wasn't having an easy time of it either. He balanced upside down on a branch, surveying his surroundings. A corner of his shirt had been torn away, exposing his lean waist, and he held himself in a cautious curve.

He was on high alert. After a brief exchange, Uchiha Shisui had already determined that I was an evenly matched opponent. He had no choice but to give the fight his full attention.

Uchiha Akatsuki—no wonder the clan head had chosen him. Shisui smiled, his fighting spirit roused in an instant as his blood boiled.

No matter how rational they were, every member of the Uchiha Clan had a battle-crazed streak in their bones.

"Hm?" A breeze brushed past his ear. Shisui ducked backward, and a shuriken barely grazed his cheek as it flew past!

"Found you!" I shot out from below, my eyes fixed on victory as my hands formed seals without pause. My cheeks puffed out—

Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire!

In an instant, a flurry of bright red fireballs surged toward him on waves of heat! Fueled by fire-natured chakra, the fireballs suddenly grew larger and faster! Uchiha Shisui leaped upward to dodge, forming hand seals in midair. He used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind me and kicked me hard, sending me flying!

What a pain—he was like a rabbit. I couldn't hit him at all!

I held back a cry of pain as I twisted in midair, trying to regain my balance, frustration boiling inside me.

As expected of Body Flicker Shisui. He hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet, but his Body Flicker Technique, ninjutsu, Taijutsu, control of ninja tools, composure, and tactics had all come along so far that he was far beyond his fellow clan members. He was clearly different from an ordinary student!

But I wasn't a pushover either!

I jerked my arms in midair. With a sharp swish, several lengths of steel wire appeared in my hands! I controlled the shuriken that had just flown past, making it wheel around and hurtle straight at Shisui! At the same time, the Phoenix Sage Fire raced along the wires toward him!

"S-something terrible's going to happen!" Rin's eyes widened as she watched from the sidelines, sweat beading on her forehead. She frantically shoved Obito beside her. "Hurry and stop them!"

But the very next second, the steel wires in my hands gave a harsh ripping sound and snapped all at once! The change happened too quickly. I lost my balance in midair and went flying. Uchiha Shisui formed hand seals and flashed behind me!

His breath was right beside my ear. I closed my eyes helplessly, without any resentment over losing—only a little disappointment.

I'd still lost because of my lack of real combat experience.

I'd used thirty percent of my chakra in the fight at school. Then I'd sent out a clone with another thirty percent to keep Kuixing company. And now I was using the last forty percent to fight Uchiha Shisui...

I had no idea where I'd found the courage to challenge a true genius with only forty percent of my strength. Running out of chakra was inevitable—

Forget it. A loss was a loss. Failure was the mother of success.

Feeling the wind rush past my ears, I tensed up and gritted my teeth, trying to minimize the damage from the blow to my back.

"Hm?"

The pain never came. Instead, I found myself in a warm embrace.

Two arms wrapped firmly around me. Uchiha Shisui spun in midair to shed his momentum, then landed safely on the grass with me in his arms.

I was stunned.

All my life, I'd been the one getting beaten up. This was the first time anyone had gone easy on me—not only had he gone easy on me, he'd saved me, and not only had he saved me, he'd held me so gently.

"You..." I opened my mouth, clutching his sleeve, but the words caught in my throat.

It would've been a lie to say I wasn't touched! No, no! It would've been a lie to say I wasn't smitten!

Maybe I wasn't moved to tears and ready to pledge my life to him, but Uchiha Shisui, you've got yourself a friend for life. I, Akatsuki, have decided!

"Are you hurt?" Once we'd landed steadily, Shisui set me down. He raised my arm to examine it, but I guiltily pulled it back.

"N-no, I'm not hurt!" I hid my hand behind my back, my heart pounding as I clenched my fist. My palm was covered in bloody welts.

The chakra had run out, and the steel wire had snapped and cut me.

"Akatsuki, you were a little reckless." Uchiha Shisui spoke bluntly, never bothering to spare anyone's feelings. Ignoring my resistance, he held my wrist and opened my palm. His brows immediately furrowed.

"Your fighting style is fierce, and you don't care about the consequences. You could easily hurt yourself."

I pouted.

I didn't want to admit it, but he was right.

We'd only been sparring, but as the fight went on, I'd gotten worked up and pushed my chakra to the limit. I'd also stopped watching how hard I hit. That was how I'd run out of chakra and messed up my own hand.

Under his sharp gaze, I wrestled with myself for a while before lowering my eyes and saying, "I'm sorry. I went too far."

Uchiha Shisui sighed heavily. Watching me, he smiled and shook his head, then reached out and ruffled my hair. He picked up the lock I'd lost and said, "It's all right. We're even."

It felt as if something had gently tapped my heart.

I didn't look up. I let him mess with my hair.

He'd teased me and criticized me, yet I couldn't bring myself to resist. Instead, I obediently accepted his scolding without a word. Even my breathing had slowed, all my attention focused on the hand resting on my head.

I was doomed.

I should've known from the first time we met. Uchiha Shisui had a way of keeping me in line—just by being himself!

"You were like this at school, too. You risked getting hurt just to take your opponent down." He was still lecturing me. I lowered my head further and muttered, unwilling to admit defeat, "I wanted to end it quickly..."

With Lord Fugaku, the most elite Uchiha, teaching me, and with my chakra natures—lightning, fire, and wind—all geared toward powerful attacks, I really did prefer using quick, precise, ruthless moves to end a fight. Sometimes I was cruel to myself and my opponents.

After all, I didn't want to be fighting all the time.

"You..." Shisui looked exasperated, as if he'd known me for years.

"You remind me of how I used to be."

I looked up at him, not knowing what to say.

After our fight, we'd somehow grown much closer. It was such a strange feeling. We'd only exchanged a few words and a few moves, yet I felt like I already knew him well—as if we were kindred spirits who'd known each other forever.

The feeling was so strange that, even as joy welled up inside me, a wave of unease rose with it.

Whenever I thought about how things would end for him, about his death, my breathing grew strained.

I turned my face away, my mind in turmoil.

I shouldn't have gotten to know him.

"Come on, let's clean that wound." Uchiha Shisui rummaged through his ninja pouch and took out something like an alcohol swab. He grabbed my hand to clean it, and I immediately snatched it away in fright.

"No!" I was terrified, my whole face tensing up.

People were strange. They didn't feel the pain when they got hurt, but they were afraid when it came time to treat the wound. Was that weakness or courage?