A New Step (Navi/Ayama,[Private, Invite Only])

The surroundings were as they always were, a few sparse trees littering the terrain as the sun would begin to rise, shining light on the border between the Konoha forest and Suna desert. Navi would stand leaning against his usual tree, dressed in his usual modified Jounin attire. His face wore the same bored expression, always cool and casual, thinking and waiting patiently while zoned out in his own world.

A lot had happened since he had last seen Ayama, but unfortunately he wasn't allowed to talk about any of it. He had been recently promoted to Captain in the ANBU, and with it came more responsibilities and a higher pay grade. He had also developed a new technique for himself, and had grown powerful enough that he would soon be considered a Sannin level ninja. He reflected back on his meeting with Viper, but all he could think about were the parts in the conversation about Ayama.

Navi pushed the thoughts from his head. The important thing was that he had been promoted to a position where he could better serve his village. Now it was time to focus on his duty as a fire nation sensei. He had promised to teach Ayama advanced Taijutsu today.

Ayama...

Navi felt butterflies fly up in his stomach and quickly pushed them back. Nervous tickles ran up his spine as he shifted uncomfortably. He felt his body going into a state of conflict, his duties as a teacher and cold-hearted ANBU clashing with his feelings for Ayama. She hadn't even showed up yet and Navi's thoughts were clouded.

Navi dug his hands in his pockets and tried to push everything from his mind, forcing himself to remember his dark past to control the nerves. It seemed to be working, but he was still having a bit of trouble in completely quelling the butterflies in his chest. In a somewhat desperate attempt, Navi pulled out his book and started reading, taking his mind off of things and successfully returning him back to his cold and distant state after a few minutes. Ayama would show up soon, and he needed a calm mind if he planned to teach her effectively.

Ayama was usually quite punctual. She always hurried to get to Navi’s lessons, always excited for what he would teach her that day. But today she simply walked to their normal meeting.

Her thoughts clashed and warred in her mind, quarreling with each other more fiercely than she ever had with Hisoka. Her mind was a mire, swirling too confusedly to even understand in its attempts to solve her problems.

Or, rather, her one major problem.

Navi had recently been consuming her thoughts, her growing feelings a constant dilemma. She was trying desperately to siphon them off, to forget such foolishness. But every attempt to stifle her feelings seemed to only strengthen them. Her flutters returned every time his face came to mind. Her notebook was filled with doodles, attempts to capture his features in pencil and paper and expel her emotions. She never quite managed it. The eyes were never quite right. She could never capture their depth, the intensity of his stare.

Shivering inwardly she pushed away her thoughts trying to calm turbulent mind. She glanced up as a familiar chakra signature came into range. Navi was leaning against one of the sparse trees near their meeting place. Her heart picked up the pace a bit and she felt Hisoka’s annoyance stir from the other end of the bond. The dark cat quickly threw up his walls blocking his mind from hers. As her mind and heart grew more and more confused over what to do, Hisoka strove to separate himself.

“It makes me feel funny, probably because of how close we are bonded. All this indecision and confusion is effecting me,” he had explained to her once when she had asked why he had begun to drift away. She respected that, although the lack of closeness wasn’t helping too much.

“Hey,” she said her voice light and happy, all traces of internal conflict gone, “So we’re practicing taijutsu today right?”

“Hey,” she said her voice light and happy, all traces of internal conflict gone, “So we’re practicing taijutsu today right?”

Navi slammed his book shut and looked up. He hadn't even noticed Ayama had arrived in front of him, and blinked a few times out of surprise before he was able to regain his senses.

"Yes, today is taijutsu..." Navi said, trailing off a little bit as if deep in thought.

His eyes glimmered for a moment before the red symbol of the Navagan sprouted from the center, creating an intense stare that rested on her. Navi smiled slightly, pocketing his book and standing up from the tree.

"Well? Aren't you gonna start us off?"

Navi was able to suppress his other thoughts for awhile and resolved to just focus on Ayama's training. She was a valuable team member who needed work on her taijutsu skills. Besides, Navi saw she was progressing at an unusually fast rate, and recognized that she would easily be promoted to Chuunin soon for her natural talent.

This was impressive to say the least, but Navi didn't want her ego growing too much. He would still aim to show her up and maybe teach her a trick or two.

She blinked at his almost surprised reaction to her greeting. Was that book really good or something? Usually he was much more alert than this.

"Well? Aren't you gonna start us off?"

Grinning at the challenge, her earlier confusion forgotton she stepped back, giving herself some room before settling into a basic Taijutsu stance. She had never learned much about the hand-to-hand combat style, kenjutsu having been her fathers specialty. But basics had been taught at the ninja academy Suna had. She knew enough to get by and was helped by her natural flexibility and agility. The ability to be a world class acrobat was something she enjoyed from her bloodline. The enhanced hearing and smelling got head achingly annoying in public places. Night vision was useful but often served to remind her of her fear of the shadows and the fangs made a lot of people do a double take. Her flexibility and agility though had no downsides. Easy to use in battle and excellent for showing off to villagers. Backflips were her favorite.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you….. Much,” she grinned flashing fangs before advancing for the first strike. It was a solid very forward move. Her arm snapped forward in punch, aiming for his face right off the bat. At the same time though she was bringing her other fist in an uppercut to the kidneys.

Navi observed her entire muscle and skeletal structure thoroughly through his Navagan eyes. Ayama had the build to be an exceptional acrobat if she trained wanted to be. She was flexible and agile, giving her a natural advantage in taijutsu over someone who was inexperienced.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you….. Much,” she grinned flashing fangs before advancing for the first strike.

Her left arm muscles would tighten immediately, conveying to Navi's eyes the incoming attack and allowing him to predict her movement before she even made it. The punch was solid and would be aimed straight for his face, but Navi already had moved his left hand forward to catch her incoming blow. His hand would grasp her fist firmly, stopping the momentum of the attack easily before glancing down and noticing her second arm moving in for an uppercut.

Again Navi would be able to react with impossible speed, all because the move would be obvious to Navi before it was even made. With his right hand he slapped the uppercut away, redirecting the momentum into a clear miss and causing her solid initial move to throw her forward and slightly off balance.

While still holding onto her left fist, Navi would twist her arm hard, putting it in a position where it could be easily broken. If she wriggled hard enough she could probably break free from Navi's half-hearted grasp, as his movements served more as a warning then as an attempt to end the fight early.

Navi felt that there was no move that he couldn't predict or foresee with his powerful eyes. Ayama was indeed resourceful, but how could she hope to catch him off guard when he had taught her most of the moves she knew anyway? Navi stifled a yawn as he prepared for what he expected to be another uneventful taijutsu session.

She supposed she should have expected Navi’s smooth block. He outclassed her in many aspects and she knew he was holding back significantly when he fought with her. Her face never even twitched as her arm was twisted into a painful position. Her eyes narrowed and while the playful expression still remained, the colder calculating fighter was making its appearance. Despite her feelings for Navi this was a spar and she was a ninja above all else. Her goal was always to win else she die in battle.

Her eyes narrowed and her mind raced to solve the conundrum. She knew enough about Navi and his eyes to know what he used them for in battle. He could see the flex of her muscles, something he used to predict her movements. At the same time he could also see her chakra structure and flow. Suddenly her eyes widened, perhaps, just maybe she could confuse the eyes.

She immediately began to channel a small layer of chakra through her skin, encouraging the ebb and flow of it so that it swirled confusedly. The chakra wouldn’t be in her musculature but simply stretched under her skin. The swirling energy was meant to obscure and distract the Navagan from the movement of her muscles beneath it. It was just a theory but I was one she was about to test.

While she was coating her skin in swirling energy she brought her free hand around to grip Navi’s upper arm. The chakra was swirling right under her skin as she finished that move and kicked out with her right leg at his left knee, a blow sure to dislocate the cap at least.

A blow she hoped he wouldn’t notice if her plan worked.

[[reading about the Navagan and from what I understand about Sharringan and Byakugan, this might work, im not sure though. Her should still be able to see her chakra infrastructure but not her musculature, at least that’s how I imagine it ]]

Suddenly her eyes widened, perhaps, just maybe she could confuse the eyes. She immediately began to channel a small layer of chakra through her skin, encouraging the ebb and flow of it so that it swirled confusedly. The chakra wouldn’t be in her musculature but simply stretched under her skin. The swirling energy was meant to obscure and distract the Navagan from the movement of her muscles beneath it. It was just a theory but I was one she was about to test.

Navi watched with interest as he observed what she was doing. It was a clever idea, swirling her chakra in order to confuse his eyes, but Ayama still had a relatively undeveloped chakra network. She simply didn't have enough chakra to swirl around to confuse him. His Navagan was also fully mastered and developed, allowing him to not only recognize chakra patterns but analyze them for elemental affinities. Ayama's attempt was undoubtedly an impressive trick that might work on an undeveloped Byakugan or Sharingan, but it was useless when used against an ANBU-Class ninja with a mastered hybrid of the two.

While she was coating her skin in swirling energy she brought her free hand around to grip Navi’s upper arm. The chakra was swirling right under her skin as she finished that move and kicked out with her right leg at his left knee, a blow sure to dislocate the cap at least.

After a quick moment of seeing through the swirling chakra to her tensing muscles he would predict her movement. Her free hand would shoot out to grab Navi's arm, and he would respond by letting go of her other arm and slapping the lunge away. Next her leg would tense and betray the movement of a kick, aimed for Navi's left knee. There was a ferocious amount of force behind her muscle movement, and Navi suspected his kneecap would be dislocated if her attack made contact.

Instead Navi elected to jump straight up, evading the movement of her low kick. While in middair he would frontflip over her, then whirl around and flick her in the back of the head with his index finger. The movement would be done flawlessly with his expert acrobatics skill blended with immense speed, leaving little room for a possible reaction.

The flick was playful, but would probably end up aggravating Ayama a little bit. Navi noticed she fought more skillfully when she was aggravated a little, and prepared for her ferocious attack. As bored as Navi pretended to be, Ayama was quite cunning and talented, and it was fun for him to watch her improve.

"We can probably end this session early if that's all you got," Navi said with a sigh. A tiny smile would appear in the corner of his mouth as it was obvious he was baiting her.

She snarled in feral frustration, as he easily out maneuvered her. She was growing stronger n faster each day, her chakra developing way beyond the normal skills of a genin. As Navi easily flipped over her she couldn’t help but feel a bit of respect. While she had the potential to be a fine acrobat, Navi was a fine acrobat.

"We can probably end this session early if that's all you got," Navi said with a sigh. A tiny smile would appear in the corner of his mouth as it was obvious he was baiting her.

“Fuck that,!” she snarled eyes flashing as she whirled striking out with her foot. It was a forceful kick to his chest, one he would be able to block, but that wasn’t the point of the strike.

Moving with feline precision and grace she retracted her foot, but was already leaning forward. By the time it had returned to the ground her fists her out, quick punches scatted around his head and chest and a single open palmed strike aimed for his solar plexus. Nothing fatal, but definitely debilitating if landed.

“Fuck that,!” she snarled eyes flashing as she whirled striking out with her foot. It was a forceful kick to his chest, one he would be able to block, but that wasn’t the point of the strike.

Navi relaxed his guard as the kick came in, somewhat disappointed that all she was trying was a relatively weak kick. Navi would put up his hand to catch her incoming foot and block the strike, using almost no effort to stop the entire movement.

Moving with feline precision and grace she retracted her foot, but was already leaning forward. By the time it had returned to the ground her fists her out, quick punches scatted around his head and chest and a single open palmed strike aimed for his solar plexus. Nothing fatal, but definitely debilitating if landed.

Her fists flew out, causing Navi to catch a few painful jabs in the chest before he realized what was happening. Immediately Navi would regain control of the situation, blocking the rest of the series of attacks easily by catching and slapping away each punch with his hands. She would finish her fierce combo with an opened palm strike, and Navi would use this opportunity to take the offense.

As her hand would come in, Navi would grab her incoming wrist and redirect it, using his speed to precisely steer her momentum and set her off balance. He would follow by throwing all of his weight against her. After having been tackled to the ground he would grapple her and twist his body so that he would roll on top, creating a somewhat awkward position for what would appear to be his win. Because of the adrenaline and thrill of the battle, Navi wouldn't realize that he was pressed up close against Ayama's body in his current position. His hands would be pinning her completely, and Navi spoke with a satisfied look of triumph on his face.

"Nice try, but you won't wriggle your way out of this."

It had been going so well, it seemed as if she was going to win. She had actually landed a few hits. Then Navi returned full force knocking her to the ground. A small gasp of air escaped her as his significant weight settled on her smaller form and suddenly she was staring into his grinning face.

"Nice try, but you won't wriggle your way out of this."

Oh god she could feel his breath on her face he was so close. Her face flushed slightly and her heart rate picked up considerably. She began to breath a little bit faster and her mind was suddenly a confusion of thought. Did she like him? Was it even real? Was it worth the stress? He’s from another village. This could end badly! It could end happily.

She was warring with herself fighting viciously over what to do. Then finally she decided screw it all. She was done with the confusion, with the dancing around this. She knew he would never instigate a relationship and she wanted to know. Gods help her, she wanted him to return her feelings. She leaned forward closing the minute distance between them.

And kissed him.

It wasn’t a passionate open mouthed make-out like they showed in the movies. It was chaste by most standards. But she funneled into it all the intense emotions that had been eating away at her. Her love, her confusion, her frustration…. her fear. It was a moment long in coming for the two ninja.

She would never know how long that first kiss actually lasted. Maybe a couple of seconds maybe a minute. To her it felt like hours. But before long her brain caught up with her actions and reminded her of a crucial detail.
She was kissing Navi… on the lips….without any real consent.

Her eyes, which had fallen shut when she leaned forward, snapped open and she jerked back. Unfortunately there wasn’t much escape with Navi pinning her but she was now pressing her head in the dirt like she wished she would just melt away. Her face was flushed bright red with both shock at her own audacity and embarrassment.

“I’m sorry!” she gasped, her tiny spark of insecurity firing up, “I’m so so sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking you were just, and I was just and and oh no. I mean well….” she began to babble her words running together in a panic as her octave rose. Fear unlike anything she had ever shown before expressed itself on her face. The fear of rejection, the fear of embarrassment. The fear of being pushed away and shattering a delicate trust that had been built.