BOOM!
Soren's fist punched through the air right where Temari's face had been a second before. Dust rose from the ground as his blow struck the dirt of the training field.
Damn, she is too fast, he thought.
He did not have time to think anything else. A shadow loomed over him from above. His eyes snapped open when he saw Temari's leg descending directly toward his abdomen.
CRASH!
The impact knocked all the air out of his lungs. Soren felt his feet leave the ground from the force of the blow. The world tilted violently as his body was sent flying backward.
"Gah!" he managed to gasp before slamming into the trunk of a tree.
The bark cracked under the impact. Soren fell to his knees, coughing and desperately trying to catch his breath. His hands gripped the sandy earth as his vision blurred for a moment.
It cannot end like this. We are just getting started.
"Done already?" Temari's voice drifted over to him in a bored tone. "I thought you said this would be interesting."
Soren lifted his head. Through the involuntary tears the blow had caused, he could see her. Temari stood in the center of the training field with one hand resting casually on her hip. The desert wind played with the loose strands of her blonde hair, tied back in four perfect pigtails.
Her dark green eyes looked at him with a flash of superiority. That same flash made his heart beat faster every time he saw it.
"Interesting?" Soren stood up, swaying slightly. A fierce smile spread across his face as he wiped blood from the corner of his lips. "Temari-sama, this is just warming up!"
"Do not call me that," she narrowed her eyes. "It gets on my nerves."
"Whatever you say, Temari-sama!" Soren dropped into his guard again. His legs flexed and his weight was distributed perfectly between both feet.
"You are hopelessly foolish," Temari shook her head.
Then, she moved.
One moment she was there. The next, she had vanished in a blur of speed.
"Shunshin!" Soren spun on his heels just in time to block a side kick coming straight for his ribs. His forearms collided with Temari's shin.
The impact made his bones vibrate. Damn, she hits way too hard.
But this time he was prepared. Instead of letting the force push him back, Soren lunged forward. His right hand shot toward Temari's ankle.
"Got you!"
"Really?" Temari's voice sounded right behind him.
What?
POOF.
The body he was about to grab dissolved into a cloud of white smoke. A log fell heavily where Temari had been standing.
Kawarimi no jutsu. Of course.
Instinct screamed in Soren's mind. He threw himself forward in a roll just as Temari's fist whistled through the space his head had occupied. The air hissed with the force of the missed strike.
"You almost decapitated me!" Soren jumped to his feet with his eyes glowing with excitement. "That is what I am talking about! This is the Temari-sama I wanted to face!"
"Stop talking," Temari lunged at him again.
This time Soren was ready. His fists moved in a series of rapid punches. Left, right, left again. Each one was designed to force Temari to back up or block.
She did both. Her hands moved, deflecting every blow with the minimum movement necessary. Her feet glided over the sand in perfectly measured steps.
"Your form is sloppy," Temari commented while blocking another punch. Her voice did not even sound winded. "You put too much force into every strike. You waste energy."
"Maybe!" Soren grinned widely while throwing a high-low combination. "But it is more fun this way!"
"Fun," Temari repeated the word as if it were a foreign concept. Then, her leg shot out in a low sweep that Soren barely managed to jump over. "Is this a game to you?"
"Of course not!" Soren landed on one hand and used the momentum to launch a spinning kick. "It is something much more important than that!"
Their eyes met for a fraction of a second.
Then the moment broke. Temari ducked under his kick and her fist slammed into Soren's stomach with force.
"Oof!"
Soren doubled over. The taste of iron filled his mouth. His knees trembled, but he refused to fall. Instead, he forced himself to stand straight and look directly at Temari.
She was looking at him with exasperation.
"Why do you keep getting up?" Temari asked. "You are clearly outmatched."
"Because," Soren spat a bit of blood to the side before smiling again, "I made a promise."
*****
THREE HOURS EARLIER
Soren walked through the streets of Sunagakure with his hands in his pockets and a cheerful whistle escaping his lips. The midday sun beat down hard on the adobe structures, but after living his whole life in the desert, the heat was as familiar as breathing.
"Soren!"
He turned his head to see Matsuri running toward him, his childhood friend.
"What is up, Matsuri?" he asked with a smile.
"What is up? WHAT IS UP?" She punched him in the arm. "We were supposed to be training with Baki-sensei right now!"
"Oh," Soren scratched the back of his neck with an embarrassed laugh. "Right. I completely forgot."
"How can you forget? I reminded you this morning. And yesterday. And the day before yesterday."
"Well, I have just been... busy."
"Busy," Matsuri crossed her arms over her chest. "Busy doing what exactly? Because I have seen you for the last three weeks and every time your head is in the clouds. What is going on?"
Soren felt his cheeks get warm. He looked away quickly.
"Nothing. Nothing is going on."
"Liar," Matsuri pointed an accusing finger at him. "I have known you since we were kids, Soren. I can read your face like an open book. So spit it out. Is it a girl?"
"No!" he replied too quickly. Then he stopped. "Well... not exactly."
"Oh, for the love of..." Matsuri grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into a side alley. "Fine. Now you are going to tell me everything."
Soren sighed. There was no escaping when Matsuri got like this.
"Do you remember three weeks ago when we had to deliver that report to the Kazekage Tower?"
"Yes."
"Well," Soren felt his heart race just at the memory, "I saw her in the hallway. Temari-sama. She was talking to her younger brother about some mission and I just... I froze."
"Temari?" Matsuri's eyes went wide. "The daughter of the Kazekage-sama? That Temari?"
"Yes."
"Soren," Matsuri looked at him seriously. "Temari-sama is one of the most dangerous kunoichi in the village. She is two years older than us and is light years above our level. Why on earth would you notice her?"
"I do not know," Soren leaned back against the alley wall. "Just... the way she spoke. The confidence in every word. The way her hair glowed under the sunlight coming through the windows. Her voice is like... I do not know. Like listening to music."
Matsuri stared at him for a long moment.
"You are a goner," she said finally.
"Completely," Soren admitted with a grin from ear to ear.
"So, what are you going to do about it?"
"That is the problem," Soren ran a hand through his messy black hair. "I cannot just walk up and say: Hey, I think you are amazing, let us go out. Temari-sama is not that kind of person."
"Definitely not," Matsuri agreed. "She is the type who would probably rip your head off if you bothered her with romantic nonsense."
"Exactly. So I have been thinking... and I think I have a plan."
"Soren. Please tell me you are not going to do what I think you are going to do."
"I am going to challenge her to a fight!"
"I KNEW IT!" Matsuri put her hands to her face. "Soren, she is going to destroy you. She will turn you into dust."
"Maybe," Soren shrugged. "But at least I will have her attention. And she respects strength. If I can show her that I am serious, that I do not give up easily, then maybe..."
"This is crazy. She will hate you even more after this."
"That is a risk I am willing to take."
Matsuri looked at him for a long moment. Then she shook her head with a resigned smile.
"You are an idiot, Soren. If you are going to do this, at least do it right."
"Will you help me?"
"Someone has to make sure your funeral is pretty."
Two hours later, Soren was standing in front of the private training field of the Kazekage family. His heart beat so loudly he could hear it in his ears. His hands trembled slightly at his sides.
You can do this. You just have to go in there and...
The gate opened before he could finish the thought.
Temari was there. She was wearing her short light purple dress that showed off her long and toned legs. The red sash around her waist accentuated her curves. Her blonde hair was tied in her signature four pigtails.
And her dark green eyes looked at him with irritation.
"Can I help you?" she asked in a tone that clearly said: you better have a good reason for being here.
Soren swallowed hard. All the carefully rehearsed words vanished from his mind.
"I... you... we..."
Temari's eyebrows arched. "Are you having a stroke?"
"No!" Soren shook his head violently. "No. I just... Fight me, Temari-sama!"
Temari stared at him. Then she looked around as if she were searching for some hidden ninja. Finally, she looked back at him.
"What?"
"I challenge you to a battle!" Soren felt his confidence return now that he had let the words out. "You against me! Here and now!"
"Why the hell would I want to fight you?" Temari crossed her arms over her chest. "I do not even know you."
"I am Soren. I like intense battles, spicy food, and..." he stopped just before saying "you". "And proving my worth."
"Fascinating," sarcasm dripped from every word. "I still do not see any reason to waste my time."
"Because," Soren took a step forward with his eyes shining, "I bet I can give you a worthy fight. And I know someone like you never turns down a challenge."
"You are quite cocky for a simple genin."
"It is not cockiness if I can back it up."
"Oh, really?" Temari stepped away from the door and walked toward the training field. Soren followed her, his heart accelerating with every step. "Then let us make this interesting. If you somehow manage to give me a decent fight, I will consider your challenge. But if you bore me..."
She turned toward him with a cold smile.
"...then I will turn you into my personal practice dummy for a week. And I will not be gentle."
Say something smart. Say something that impresses her.
"Deal!" Soren shouted before his brain could fully process the implications.
Temari blinked. She clearly had not expected him to agree so easily.
"Wait. Do you understand what that means? An entire week being my practice target. Sharp wind. Explosions. Techniques I have been wanting to try but are too dangerous to use on normal teammates."
"I understand perfectly," Soren nodded enthusiastically. "But when I win..."
"When you lose."
"WHEN I win," he insisted with a confident smile, "you will agree to go out with me. A date!"
Temari's face went through several expressions in rapid succession. Surprise, confusion, disbelief, and finally, the start of a blush before she crushed it with willpower.
"A date?" she repeated slowly. "You are challenging me to a fight to get a date?"
"That is right!"
"That is..." she stopped. She shook her head as if she were trying to clear the confusion. "That is ridiculously stupid."
"But effective!"
"It is not. Because I am going to refuse this ridiculous challenge and..."
"Are you afraid?" Soren interrupted.
Temari's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What did you say?"
"I said," Soren knew he was playing with fire but he could not stop himself, "that maybe you are afraid that I might actually give you a decent fight. I mean, it makes sense. It would be embarrassing for a kunoichi of your caliber if a simple ordinary genin managed to..."
"Fine," Temari's voice cut through the conversation. "Deal accepted. But when I destroy you, and I will, I want you to remember that this was your idea."
"Perfect!" Soren moved to the center of the training field. "Then let us start!"
"You do not even know what you are getting into," Temari muttered as she took her starting position.
But Soren had heard her. And he smiled even wider.
Oh, Temari-sama. I know exactly what I am getting into. And I cannot wait.