Chapter 57

Mai cocked a brow in Hinata's direction when the ninja stared at her impatiently when they crossed paths two days later.

"What?" the Be Fong questioned.

"Where have you been?" she asked. "I came by your house five times and you were never there. You weren't outside the Village, were you?"

"No–"

"And don't say you were with Kakashi, Shikamaru, or Belva, because they were looking for you too. Naruto had half a mind to tell the Hokage you were missing and was seriously contemplating breaking into your house."

Thankfully the latter of those options didn't happen. After Masaru and her talked for hours discussing the serious matter at hand – him leaving the next night once resting and being fed – Mai cleaned up the mess. Though some of the wooden walls and floor were still splintered in areas which could cause some suspicion.

"Went to a few holistic doctors around the Village and did some overnights for more tests."

Now the Hyuuga was no longer irritated, instead slightly worried. "Is everything okay?"

"Perfectly fine. The dizzy spell were because I was dehydrated and a lingering bout of pneumonia I picked up from that extensive mission outside the Village. It was the rainy months in some of the territories I traveled between, so I shouldn't have been surprised."

The Hyuuga breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm glad you're all right then. Please don't do that again. With those killers out there... I feared the worst. The last thing I want to do is be put on a retrieval mission and discover it's your body we're trying to find."

"Sorry," and Mai truly was.

"I know," the young woman smiled. "I'm glad I ran into you." It was the Be Fong's turn to cock a brow. "Everyone's getting together for a picnic. Sakura and Ino's idea since everyone's home from missions for the first time in a while."

"I'm not sure..."

"Come on, Mai, some social interaction with everyone else isn't going to kill you."

No. But she'd rather not be asked more questions by the others. Or receive looks of sympathy on her current situation.

"Besides, I thought you'd be interested in joining us. Some of the guys are talking about a few friendly spars between them after eating."

The Phantom Ninja rolled her eyes. "What is it about males and needing to show off to each other?"

Hinata laughed. "Not sure, but it's fun to them. And I might secretly enjoy seeing them loose to you."

Mai smirked at that.

They were the last to arrive. Kakashi was rather surprised to see that the Be Fong actually joined them of her own free will. None had to twist her arm to force the ninja to come along. Naruto grinned as he welcomed Mai to their mini party.

"Where have you been?" he asked. "Was wondering if I had to send out my clones to search this Village high and low for you."

"I was busy," Mai merely answered. Because no one but Hinata knew of her little visit to the hospital and she intended to keep it that way. No one needed to worry or ask unwanted questions.

"Everything okay?"

It was no secret Sasuke's departed once more. And based on the look he was giving her, the knucklehead wanted to be sure everything was fine.

"We're good." That was just another lie.

There was plenty of food to go around, even with Choji present, and good conversation. Yamato came a little later to join them. Ino was revealing the details of her last mission in Bird Country where they saw massive parrots. Ones so large a person could easily fly on them.

"I thought that was only a rumor," Shikamaru stated.

"So did I," his teammate answered. "But they are so high up in the dense treetops anyone could miss them even with their size. We were lucky to stumble upon them."

Once most of the food was consumed that's when the friendly spars began. And some playfully challenges to egg one another on. It was peaceful though, Mai thought to herself. How things should be. None of them were in uniform, excluding Kakashi, who mostly seemed to wear only that outside his home. It was a nice sight to see them so relax and care free. If none of them had been in the Academy they could easily do this as normal civilians. Excluding the top-notch fighting skills on display. Those sparing matches would merely involve half assed flying fists, grappling arms, and wrestling. All close-range tactics where someone wouldn't think twice about calculating three steps ahead of their opponent every second.

"How about it, Mai?"

The Be Fong's head tilted up from her sitting position beside Hinata, the two listening to Choji telling them about a new restaurant that would be opening in the coming month and they should check it out. Kiba grinned down at her with crossed arms looking rather confident in himself.

"Let's spar," the Inuzuka said.

The young woman was a little surprised he asked. No one else had been brave enough to challenge her and while the females in the group decided this time to sit out, all of the males had stepped up, including Shino and Sai. Except Shikamaru. It was too troublesome for him to move when he was perfectly comfortable lying on the grass.

"You're only going to get your ass kicked," Ino stated.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't hurt to humor a person. Besides! I just came back from a mission with my sister and learned some new attack formations. Come on, Mai, for old times' sake."

He gave her a toothy grin. The Be Fong recounted the last time they properly sparred against each other one-on-one. It had been a few months after she became a Chuunin, shortly after Sasuke's defection. Only days before removing herself from the grid to train as a Jounin and eventually rank among Phantom. It felt like a lifetime ago, and though she wiped the floor with all of her fellow graduates the last time they planned a large gathering like this, things were different. Together as a group, a ninja had someone other than themselves to worry about. On their own there was more freedom and range. Things could be interesting.

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Chapter Inspiration:Can You Feel My Heart by Bring Me The Horizon

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"If it'll get you to not annoy me about it later if I refuse," she said.

Standing, the young woman brushed the dirt from the back of her pants. The young man grinned wider that she accepted the challenge.

"Come on, Akamaru."

The canine yipped in excitement. Their pairing drew more attention from those that were unaware of the match at first. This was a friendly match so the Be Fong would go easy on him, as the Inuzuka prepared himself a few feet away. Still, that didn't mean the young woman would let up her guard completely. She'd give him the benefit of the doubt that he could possibly win and then pull back enough to even the odds. Then again maybe today would be the day he finally bested her. Mai wasn't one hundred percent certain on his skills like she used to be with how hectic everything had been. All Mai had to rely on was old information. She hoped he had indeed grown since then so she could be surprised. A challenge was welcomed now and again.

Kiba and Akamaru attacked first, which didn't exactly surprise the Be Fong. She didn't move from his path until the last moment pushing off the ground and twisting to the right. They were so close she could feel the breeze of their passing. Landing gracefully, the young woman performed two backflips as the duo turned themselves around. They were going to have to do a lot better than that if they hoped to best her. The young man smirked.

"Think Kiba will give her a run for her money?" Choji questioned.

"Maybe," Shino muttered. But all highly doubted it. Even if the Jounin had acquired a new skill.

The technique the Inuzuka was so excited to share involved his claw-like fingernails. By building up chakra in them one slash could produce an attack that stretched across the distance between him and his opponent. Ten visible, blade-like chakra strikes cutting through the air with each swipe. Mai's Chakra Strings maneuvered her through them skillfully, very intrigued by them when one passed in front of her face by inches. It was a glowing light blue in color back arching backwards under another attack before the strings took over and effortlessly shifted her form from another swipe without a second thought.

It didn't even look like she was trying, Shikamaru thought to himself. She'd probably barely break a sweat by the end of this.

Standing upright Kiba huffed at the fact that he had not managed to land a hit. It seemed the young woman was merely dancing around each attempt as if he were a nuisance. No matter, he had something else up his sleeve with Akamaru, racing forward. Mai didn't try to avoid them as their forearms contacted, pressing against each other at a standstill. The canine came in from the right with such speed it was rather surprising. She blocked Kiba's kunai attack with a short sword before using the contact to maneuver around his form and throw away the weapon in his grasp. Akamaru couldn't stop his approach realizing too late that his partner now stood in his way. The two went crashing to the ground in a pile up. However, the young man disappeared in a puff of smoke. Mai threw back an arm to block another sneak attack from the ninja, glancing over a shoulder at him.

"Akamaru! Fang Wolf Fang!" he shouted.

This technique wasn't new, but definitely more powerful than from when they spared the last time. His chakra, speed, and strength had grown incredibly as Mai seemed to glide across the grass with the help of the strings to avoid the swirling motion. There were higher leveled attacks the duo could have used, but those would have been deadly for a friendly spar. They were following her move for move. Unknown to them, the Be Fong had already formulated a plan for this having completed a jutsu without noticible hand signs. A foot slammed into the ground to create a tough, solid barrier just behind her. Then with the tug on the Chakra Strings, she was catapulted over them both with a flip. They went crashing into the rock and collapsed in a tangled mess.

Mai paused, looking at the audience they had a bit further away. Unlike the last time, no one was really watching intently. Enjoying the rare day or rest among friends and catching up on lost time. All of the were relaxed without a care in the world as they smiled and traded stories from the past few weeks. Then there was Naruto and Hinata, who were now talking with Shikamaru. It was no secret anymore that the knucklehead and her had grown closer. There was a part of Mai, as she watched them, that was almost envious of what they had. They had each other and would never desert the other, which was something that the Be Fong always craved.

Kiba couldn't understand what she was doing as he sat up with a grunt, Akamaru shaking his head. Every other time she spared against someone she didn't hesitate to take them down or showcase her moves. This time it felt like she was almost holding back. Why give him the chance? It was as if she were as lazy as Shikamaru, finding it almost troublesome. Even the way she had her back to him and stared at the others irked him a bit. Like he wasn't being taken seriously. She wasn't even using the Chakra Strings on him.

"What's wrong, Mai?" Kiba taunted with a smirk as he stood once more. "Have you gone soft during your time off?"

The comment made her shoulders tense, but it went unnoticed to his eyes.

"Don't tell me you've slacked off like that knucklehead over there and have become weak."

Because you are weak.

Kakashi was the first to notice the shift in the atmosphere around them. His attention went to the sparing individuals to observe carefully. He even moved forward a step. Slowly, the Be Fong's attention turned back on the ninja and his canine companion, who whimpered uncomfortably. Yamato and Kakashi shared a look that went noticed by Naruto, who turned away from his conversation with Hinata and Shikamaru. Now he watched as the Phantom Ninja shifted her weight before releasing a feral shout.

The ground in front of Kiba exploded, throwing him backwards as he tried to desperately gain some distance. Through his surprise and the airborne dirt cloud Mai came barreling through with such speed it made the breath catch in his throat. Akamaru barked in warning, ramming into his partner's side and tackling him out of the way. They barely dodged a punch from the Be Fong as it went sailing past. Tumbling across the ground the ninja righted herself with the invisible Chakra Strings and bounded across the field light on her feet.

By now everyone was watching from the display, wondering what had happened to cause such a reaction. The Jounins were on edge. This was no longer a friendly spar, but something much more dangerous as Kiba's body was jerked through the air. He roughly tumbled across the ground without control. The Inuzuka groaned in pain once stopped, turning over to spit dirt from his mouth.

"What the hell is going on?" Ino questioned.

Kiba saw the Be Fong approaching with a less than friendly expression. He crawled backwards across the ground using his elbows and feet seeing as how he couldn't quite stand just yet from the shock of it all.

"Mai!"

The shout caused her to halt abruptly, staring down at Kiba with unforgiving anger. He in turn stared with wide eyes, panting heavily.

"Enough," Kakashi ordered in a commanding tone. "Back off of him."

There was a tense moment of silence as the Phantom Ninja realized the severity of her actions. They had witnessed it all. Her slip up. What she was capable of. How heartless she could actually be. Even towards someone considered a friend if pushed the wrong way. There was no way to take it back, but Mai wasn't going to forgive the Inuzuka for his words either. [song ends]

"Call me weak again," she threatened lowly for only him to hear, "and I won't hold back. I will show you just how strong I truly am."

Hold back? That was holding back? And without caring about her actions anymore Mai teleported on the spot leaving them even more stunned and at a loss for words.

"When... when could she do that?" Yamato questioned.

Kakashi couldn't answer, having not known it himself. However, that would explain how she managed to return to the Leaf so quickly from Tsunade's reports regarding the No Face organization when they were stationed on the other side of the mainland.

"Kiba, what the hell?" Ino exclaimed.

It snapped the young man out of his daze. "Me?" he questioned. "I didn't do anything!"

"Did you say anything though?" Naruto asked.

No one had been really watching or listening to know what had been exchanged. The ninja stood up brushing himself off.

"Nothing serious. I may have taunted her a bit, but that's normal–"

"What did you say," Shikamaru pressed. His expression was so serious it made Kiba a little uncomfortable.

"She wasn't paying attention," Kiba said. "Distracted, so I asked if she was slacking off like Naruto," the blonde grunted in irritation, "and became weak during her time off."

Kakashi sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose in mild annoyance at the ninja.

"Don't you ever listen?" Sakura asked. "To anything? Mission reports? Meetings? Our own conversations?"

"Of course, I do," he snapped back in irritation.

"Then you would have known that what you said is taboo for her. Has been for the last year or so."

"Kiba," Hinata spoke up. "Remember the incident with the possessed sword?"

"Of course."

"She didn't come back from it the same. We don't know what it said to her... but it couldn't be anything good."

"It's not only that," Kakashi stated. "Remember the meeting we had with the Hokage? Her mission regarding a possible rogue organization growing near the border a few months ago did not go according to plan. She's the only one who escaped alive from those serial killers out there. For the first time, she couldn't save them."

"Then there's Sasuke," Naruto added. "He hasn't come home officially yet because he still thinks he needs to get stronger. No one has ever said it, but we're all thinking it: Mai thinks she's weak because he's out there training to protect her, and in turn she thinks she's not strong enough to protect herself. Mai doesn't need to be stronger and neither does Sasuke, but he won't seem to listen to reason..."

And he should know with the number of times they spared together when the Uchiha returned during his breaks.

"You just set off the most dangerous asset to the Leaf," the blonde said. "You're lucky to be alive."

Deep down there was a now part of Kiba that felt guilty about what had happened. Sure, he said a lot of things sometimes to rile up his opponents, enemies or allies. It always made for an interesting fight. But that was not what he was looking for. For the first time the Inuzuka felt actual fear towards the Be Fong. His hands were trembling at his sides. This event had been different from before. The same could be said when seeing her on the battlefield. He was always in awe and wary of her power. Back then though he wasn't the enemy. This time she saw him as one, and after that display never wished for it to happen again.