"Ohai oooooohhhhhh!" Ibuki yelled to a crowd of uniform blouses and fuku skirts that were occupied by a collection of teenage girls all of which attended Hachinoe High School. Which is the school Ibuki goes to, so stop asking.

The response garnered by the charging schoolgirl was a chorus of happily high pitched to outright shrill shrieks of "Good morning!" And "Ibuki-chan genki da ze?" The pony tailed girl charged up to the group of young women, clustered around a far-too-small bench meant to support the girls as they waited for the bus to take them on their journey back to the purgatory of school. Panting yet grinning widely Ibuki swung her brown book bag around to her front.

"You'll never guess what I got this weekend..." The dark haired young woman said smugly.

"A boyfriend?"

"A manicure?"

"Some new outfits for Roppongi?"

"A clue?" The last came from Sarai. Ibuki promptly stuck her tongue out at her friend, then smiled when a collection of boos and calls of "Oh be quiet!" were directed at the brown haired schoolgirl. Ibuki waved the crowd to silence and grinned knowingly when attention was refocused on her. Reaching into the pack with the flair of a stage magician, Ibuki made sure that all eyes were on her as she procured the treasure. There was a moment of silence, then a communal gasp of shock and envy.

"That, that, that's..." One girl stuttered, her eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Athena Asamyia's new live CD!" Another finished her expression pure impressed jealousy. "It hasn't even been released outside of Hong Kong yet!"

As a chorus of questions and begging began Ibuki waved her hands to silence the crowd.

"My grandpa goes to China all the time on business and he got me this as a present." The slim schoolgirl explained to the rapt crowd. Then she burst into another huge smile. "Hey we've got time before the bus gets here, anyone have a CD player with speakers?"

After a fury of activity that took place with an intensity usually reserved for life and death struggles or shark feeding frenzies, a set of portable speakers were attached to a discman and the treasured item set to play. As the bright sounds of China's most popular girl began serenading the rapt crowd Ibuki impulsively jumped onto the bench, lip syncing the Chinese singer, while doing her best idol singer impression, holding an imaginary microphone and swinging her hips side to side. The collection schoolgirl's alternately cheered and laughed, though all were holding their sides as Ibuki pirouetted on the bench in perfect time to the close of the song, holding one hand proudly aloft.

The pony tailed girl then collapsed to the ground holding her side and laughing...

"-and this will demonstrate that the influence of post-revolutionary impressionism was severe on both American and Japanese artistic styles. Furthermore-" The lecture would have been boring without the teacher's voice being as colorful as a bleached sheet. Ibuki was currently occupied with seeing how long she could keep her bangs suspended by blowing on them as this was far more interesting a past time than the trials of art history. As the teacher, an overweight man that seemed to have been stuffed into his cheap suit as opposed to having put it on, turned his back on the class to begin filling up the second half of the chalk board with mindless statistics about artists who had been dead for the past several hundred years.

Ibuki sat back and stretched, trying desperately to stay awake throughout this hideous mental torture. She met the gazes of several other girls and a few boys who were also fighting hard to stay conscious. The pony tailed girl suddenly burst into a wide evil smile. Easing out from her seat Ibuki stood, put an expression of shocked horror directed at the front of the class, then clutched her head shaking it, and pantomiming extreme pain. Sinking down to her knees the young woman held her hands out pleadingly, as if begging the teacher to stop. As the old man droned on oblivious to the quiet snickers and giggles starting to spread out like ripples through "his" class.

At this moment however, Ibuki held center stage. The longhaired schoolgirl clutched her head again, shaking it back and forth as though trying to clear it. The rest of the class bravely fought off laughter as Ibuki went through a series of seemingly pained convulsions, mouthing screams every time the teacher said "-and furthermore..." Which was about every minute of constant speech.

Eventually, the "torture" became too much for the beleaguered student and she grabbed her pencil off her desk held it out in front of her with one hand, covered her wide dark eyes with the other, shook her head desperately once more, then stabbed it at herself, doubling over and twitching as though she was dying. The giggles and choked laughter washed through the room then shut down abruptly. Ibuki looked up to see the old man staring at her over his thick glasses.

The young woman smiled charmingly and held up her pencil triumphantly.

"Dropped my pencil." She said easily. The old man blinked, shrugged, and turned around.

"And furthermore..." Ibuki stood, dusted herself off, bowed twice to the class, which instantly started giggling again, and settled back into her chair. Only thirty more minutes to go, she thought going back to blowing her bangs up again.

"So where are you going again Ibuki-chan?" Asked Reiko one of Ibuki's better friends at school.

"Well the old man said that we needed to go see the family while we still recognized each other and this semester is just about over so... off we go to Aomori!" The pony wailed girl said as she twined her friend's long dark brown hair into a single long braid.

"Aomori! That's the most northern prefecture on the main island! You'll be, like nine hours away on the train!" Reiko wailed sorrowfully. Ibuki patted her classmate's head and smiled sympathetically.

"Hey I'm not fond of leaving you guys either but I gotta go. Anyway it's only for the last two periods of the year and then I'll be back to party with you guys again!" The pony tailed girl said. The time was lunch; the place was outside Hachinoe High School, a small cluster of trees with a few benches sprawled haphazardly beneath the shading leaves. Ibuki was noted for her skill at three things among her friends; One was her near mythical back rubs, several of her school friends played sports and whenever they sprained, pulled, or otherwise broke themselves, they went to Ibuki. The pony-tailed girl, despite her wild midnight black mane, was also excellent at finding hairstyles that suited her friends with amazing alacrity. Last were her skills at being the class clown, both her sense of humor and the all-important ability to not get caught.

At the present the young woman had other problems. Reiko still was pouting, already depressed at her best friends upcoming departure. Even finishing a complex braid that would make the girl's inherent cuteness stand out hadn't helped. The Ibuki's eyes narrowed with an almost evil gleam, and she began to gently rub her friends neck. Reiko mewed in surprise and nearly went limp as the black haired girl worked the area of her upper spine.

A few heavenly relaxing minutes later Reiko was lolled forward, nearly asleep.

"Still bummed?" Ibuki purred. The other schoolgirl made a vague noise that equated to "Ii e" (No).

"Great!" The impish young woman sang as she hopped to her feet. Reiko moaned in disappointment then she turned to her friend and saw the gleam in her eyes. "Because you owe me a stop at the snack shop after school for the hair!"

The brown haired young woman narrowed her eyes and rose to her feet with an "I should have known" expression. However if she had looked into her friend's wide black eyes at that instant she would have shivered. For Ibuki's eyes had all the warmth of black ice at that second. Her attitude was now one of careful appraisal, and cold clear purpose.

Elena had just walked out of the building. The girl that stood in the high school was no longer a happy, fun loving young woman, but a scion of training and drive from nine hundred years of ninpo tradition. The kunoichi had seen the dark skinned beauty training a few days ago, doing what would appear to be a dance to the untrained eye. Which was a class Ibuki didn't fall into.

So then, one last test of her capabilities. Against a real opponent this time, not like the yakuza trash. One last test before she went to find her friend, and discovered if she was ready for the responsibility of being a true kunoichi of her clan. That test would be tonight. The test would be Elena.

Two days after that Ibuki was sitting on a shinkansen (bullet train) headed for Tokyo Eki (main station). She sat at a window looking out at her mountain rushing away. Enjou-sensei had called in a few favors and searched out the databases of the major high schools in Tokyo. Among other things the experienced shinobi had found that a Tendou Makoto had recently enrolled at Justice High School. The name Tendou seemed familiar to the young kunoichi, one she remembered being associated with Makoto, a cousin maybe?

Anyway Makoto had wrote her long ago and said that she would be attending school somewhere in Tokyo, and that was a good a lead as any to start with. Ibuki also remembered that some very interesting things had happened in Justice high a few years back, and if they repeated themselves she didn't want to miss it.

The kunoichi was currently dressed in a very formal, pretty, and to the lackadaisical young woman, stifling, blue and white blouse and dress. She carried a small bag with only a couple nights worth of clothes, and the papers giving her a new identity as Mikogami Eri (discounting her tightly wrapped kunoichi gi, and a few hidden kunai). Also there was a certified cash card with a direct line account containing her "loot" from the drug dealer mission.

The midnight haired young woman sighed deeply, smiled and closed her eyes. It had been almost a full year since she had seen Makoto, the only girl who was ever a real challenge (barring the other more experienced kunoichi she had spent the past year training with). Makoto was also probably her best friend outside the clan, maybe best friend period. The two girls had shared so much in the past, and though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, the young shinobi missed her tomboy-ish friend terribly.

And, unfolding without conscious effort, a scene opened in the eye of Ibuki's memories.

One year previous.

Sitting beneath a low rent warehouse in an even lower rent part of the city the "arena" such as it was wasn't an ideal battleground. It was in fact little more than a thirty-foot square concrete pit with hard rubber on the floor for grip. This place was not one that people would quantify as a field of honor. Indeed most people who even vaguely associate with the word "honor" stayed out of the part of town it was in. However, tonight men and women who sought exactly that attribute were gathered here. Seeking an answer to a question they would never admit to themselves. Trying to discover if the years they had spent shaping their minds, bodies, and spirits had been a waste.

And it was down to two of them. Two young girls of no more than seventeen.

Of course.

It was always came down to them. No matter who else was there, no one else mattered, no one else came close. If one entered, the other would be close behind. In truth they were probably equals. And contrary to all her extensive training as a ninja woman of an ancient and hidden clan, Ibuki wouldn't have had it any other way. Grinning behind her black mask the pony tailed young woman bowed respectfully to the short haired young woman opposite her.

Pulling her belt tight across her white gi Rindou Makoto returned the bow, then stood and grinned wickedly right back at her biggest rival, and maybe best friend.

The fat man serving as arbitrator - referee was far too strong a term - cried out, "HAJIME!" (Begin!) and the two were moving before the last syllable had left his lips.

Makoto, as always, was straightforward, but Ibuki knew from previous encounters that trying to directly counter the karateka's rush only had a fifty-fifty chance of success, and so the kunoichi leapt up, descending with her legs chambered and ready to deal a series of kicks to her rival's head. Makoto braked out of her rush and swung to one side, avoiding the blow, and lashed out with a roundhouse kick.

Grinning at the challenge, Ibuki ducked under the kick and swept Makoto's remaining leg out from under her. Makoto rolled back as Ibuki sprang to her feet in pursuit, and the short-haired girl just got her legs under her in time to swing an arm across, knocking *Ibuki's* legs out from under her.

They scuffled briefly on the ground, Makoto trying to get a grip on Ibuki and the kunoichi trying her best to keep the deceptively strong karateka from getting said grip, and then Ibuki knocked Makoto's hands back and rolled away, both girls getting to their feet. For a moment, they just stared at each other, wills and patience being tested against each other, and they moved at almost the same time.

Ibuki leapt into the air and back, away from Makoto and keeping out of the karate girl's devastating reach, at the same time drawing a kunai from her belt and hurling it down at Makoto.

Makoto hurtled forwards, letting out a battle cry as her rushing punch carried her underneath the blade, inside its arc. Ibuki snatched a second kunai and hurled it before touching ground, but Makoto used one hand to bat it aside with the ease of long practice and closed the distance.

Then Ibuki's feet touched the concrete walls of the "arena". The young shinobi pushed forward, arcing over her friend/opponent and landing lightly on her feet about two feet behind the white dressed girl. Makoto slammed her weight around in a tight circle and slashed backwards with her right leg heel first in a brutal spinning hook kick. Moving so fast it barely looked like her legs had even twitched the pony tailed kunoichi hopped back, barely avoiding the devastating blow. The inertia of the kick left the karateka's back to Ibuki, a mistake the ninja girl was quick to capitalize on.

Even as she cursed her overzealous attack Makoto was trying to spin herself around, and was seconds too late, feeling her rival's hands fasten themselves to her chin and shoulder from behind. Knowing both that if her friend braced with her powerful legs, Ibuki wouldn't snap her neck, but would wrench her head around to where continued fighting would be impossible, the karateka instantly reached back over her shoulders, latched onto Ibuki's tan gi and pulled forward while arcing her back and dropping to one knee, flipping the raven haired ninja over her back. Feeling the throw coming and being unable to stop it the kunoichi snapped her legs back, adding her own strength to the throw and controlling it's inertia. Ibuki landed feet first, bent at the waist supported from falling by her and Makoto's shared grip.

There was a split second pause as both girls blinked at each other.

Then Ibuki kicked her legs sideways and snapped her body over, pulling Makoto over her own shoulders and slamming the short haired girl back-first onto the hard rubber. The karate girl's breath huffed out of her, but she twisted out of her rival's grasp, rolled sideways to her hands and knees, then stood up violently with a hard lead arm straight uppercut punch.

The kunoichi twisted sideways, taking the blow on the shoulder instead of the chin; the impact still spun the girl totally around. Making the best of her painful situation Ibuki planted her left hand and foot and kept spinning, her right leg wheeling out in a vicious blow. Makoto stepped into the blow and slammed her left arm up, catching the ninja girl's leg with her forearm and pushing forward with all her weight, stopping the fierce blow dead.

But her power block didn't let the karateka recover quick enough to counter and Ibuki stood upright directly in front of the white dressed young woman, with an empty look in her eyes. The ninja girl snapped a right knife hand at her friend's face, which predictably Makoto knocked away with a powerful left arm block. Then Ibuki cut loose, unleashing a barrage of blindingly fast punches and knife hand chops at the short haired young woman's upper body and head.

Unmoving Makoto sat back and deflected the fearsome salvo of quick attacks. She knew Ibuki well enough to realize if even one of those seemingly minor blows got through it would disrupt her focus long enough for her rival to hit her with something serious. So she sat back and waited patiently using her excellent parrying abilities to wait for her opportunity.

Which, although only a few seconds, seemed to be an eternity of small sharp pain caused by Ibuki's onslaught. The ninja girl lashed with an especially hard low left punch then ducked, cocked her right arm back, and exploded upward with a brutal open palm uppercut.

Well that's what it looked like anyway.

The Rindou daughter brought her arm up to take the expected impact, only to see Ibuki use her momentum to spin herself around, hop off the ground, and slam her right heel into Makoto's ribs. The white dressed girl let her legs go limp and rolled sideways with the force of the kick. At the instant her feet touched the ground Makoto was back up and charging forward left arm cocked back for one of her infamously powerful Hayate punches.

The raven haired kunoichi saw no reason to be at the point of impact for that particular technique and sprung forward and narrowly over her friend's head. Something that proved to be a mistake.

The short haired girl stopped her charge abruptly and leaned forward while lashing straight upwards with her right arms in a rear arm vertical punch. The blow caught Ibuki cleanly in the stomach and spun the ninja girl to the left side of the arena. The kunoichi flipped herself to her feet, her stomach on fire with pain, in time to see Makoto standing over her with her right arm cocked back, then descending in a brutal overhand chop.

This time however Ibuki slid forward, snaked her left arm up and around Makoto's striking limb, twisted her rival's arm so her elbow was pointed up and the momentum of the strike rattled into the karateka's joints, then unloaded a punch glowing with ki power into Makoto's side, sending the white dressed girl flying.

The young warrior crashed into the far wall and slid to the ground momentarily dazed, but shaking her head and standing all the same. Then Makoto was desperately bringing her arms up to meet a series of six spinning ki enhanced kicks. The last two of which crushed into her side and thigh. Growling through the haze of pain the short haired fighter lunged forward, caught Ibuki by the collar of her gi, and spun around, lifting the shinobi off the ground, and slamming her rival into the cement wall behind her.

Makoto twisted her grip in and tried to squeeze her opponent's arteries and make her friend submit. The ninja girl had other ideas however, and brought her right leg back into the wall then pushed off, kicking up in between the Rindou-ryu girl's arms, and crushing the ball of her foot into Makoto's chin. Understandably the short haired girl let go.

Ibuki dropped to the ground, coughed in spite of her best efforts, then charged forward. Her head spinning the karateka still managed to lash out with a powerful straight right reverse punch at her closing opponent. The ninja girl spun around the strike and lashed out with her elbow aimed at the white dressed girl's sternum. Makoto covered with her left arm and deflected the blow, only to have the shinobi snap a back fist with the same arm into her face.

The young woman twisted slightly with the impact, then snarled and sank a short, nasty left punch to the ninja girl's gut. Ibuki sank down and spun around with the blow, then caught herself again and wheeled her right leg up and out, catching Makoto in the left side of the jaw. The white dressed young woman also spun with force of vicious kick, but stayed on her feet long enough to plant her left foot, and power a brutal haymaker right punch to Ibuki's temple.

Then both girls slumped to the ground, Ibuki face first, Makoto dropping to her back.

Starring over the edge along with rest of the crowd the fat man stared for a few moments. Then started as he realized people were now looking at him instead of the two prone girls. For lack of any better ideas he started counting.

"Six!" Makoto opened her eyes to the sound of someone counting.

"Seven!" She knew what was going on, and rolled to her stomach, wincing as the concrete room spun like a hurricane.

"Eight!" With every last bit of strength she had the white haired girl rose to her hands and knees, blurrily looking at Ibuki slowly pushing herself up as well.

"Nine!" Everything, everything she had, push all her pain away, block out the dizziness, Makoto knew what was coming, if they both stayed down for a full ten count the match would be disqualified, and wouldn't allow it, she wouldn't let the fight be for *nothing*!

"TEN!" The fat man shouted, staring wide eyed as Rindou Makoto fully gained her feet. Amidst the cheers, boos, and small brawls (from those that couldn't quite square their bets) that exploded from the crowd Makoto heard a soft but strong voice.

"Omedeto Makoto-chan."

Ibuki was laying on her back, smiling slightly and showing no other signs of moving. The short haired karateka staggered over to her prone friend and dropped into a relative sitting position. Makoto leaned back heavily on both her hands, idly watching the chaos above them.

"Another good fight Ibu-chan." The Rindou-ryu girl said. The pony-tailed kunoichi laughed once and groaned painfully as she sat up.

"It usually is. Next time then." Ibuki said and held out her fist to her friend. Makoto smiled widely and lightly punched her rival's fist.

"Next time."

The dark haired shinobi girl opened her eyes to once again look out over the speeding country side. That had been the last time she had sparred her friend, a fact that Ibuki regretted, and hoped Makoto did too. A small, quiet smile played across the kunoichi's delicate lips. She was certain that Makoto would stronger, faster, and more precise in her technique than when she had last seen the short haired karate girl. Mako-chan always was.

However Ibuki had spent the last year training outside her clan, with kunoichi from every major ryu in Japan. "Next time" was, hopefully, rapidly approaching, and that training would bring surprises to her best rival.

It had certainly surprised Elena.

Two days prior.

The dusky skinned, white haired beauty walked casually through the darkening shadows of the park just outside the city limits. This wasn't something she was used to yet, despite her nearly life long training in capoeria. A note had appeared in her schoolbag at some point during today. It described her fighting style, and asked if she wanted to test her skill against a native art of this country.

In this park at dusk.

It was foolish and melodramatic. Elena loved it.

She was presently leisurely walking through a clearing in between the tall trees of the park and the bamboo grove that seemed to be a mandatory feature in any major park in this country. Under her loose sweat pants and t-shirt the African girl wore her typical white top and bikini bottom, and the young woman walked completely without fear. This country was a very friendly place, and she couldn't believe someone would go through all this trouble just to do her actual harm.

Well that's what Ibuki surmised the white haired woman was thinking from beatific smile on her face as she strolled into the clearing below the oak tree the kunoichi was hiding in. The kunoichi shook her head, such innocent thinking was good way to end up dead or worse in most places, this Elena girl seemed to have a far to optimistic outlook on things.

That would change. Soon.

The ninja girl pulled a kunai out and studied the African girl's long, flexible, and above all strong legs. If this had been a mission a good dagger to the back of the knee would be what was called for. But it wasn't, this was test. And the examination was about to begin.

Ibuki cocked her arm back and cut loose the deadly blade, the dagger flying true to its target, the ground in front of Elena. The white haired young woman gasped, stopped short, and then turned around on instinct. Sure enough there stood the tan gi wearing kunoichi with her arms crossed and an appraising look in her eyes. The pony tailed girl nodded once and smiled under her black face mask.

"Yoroshi ku. I'd like to challenge you. Mind?" Ibuki asked casually. Elena smiled widely and pulled her t-shirt and sweat pants off, her white tennis shoes were next, and the dark skinned woman folded the clothes into a neat pile and laid them next to her. Elena looked up at the patiently waiting ninja girl, stretched briefly, then cartwheeled to the center of the clearing, and began her jenga, a shifting rhythmic, dance like series of carefully plotted steps that was the basis of her art.

Ibuki's eyes emptied of all emotion, and the Void filled her heart. No feeling, no distraction, nothing but purpose and intent. Ibuki-schoolgirl existed now only as a vague memory that didn't affect Ibuki-kunoichi. The young woman relaxed her body, raised her arms into loose knife hands, slid her feet a little more than shoulder width apart, bent her left leg slightly more than her right, and settled into her typical ready kamae. Then she exploded forward with no warning.

Elena grinned to herself and flipped, bringing both feet toward her opponent.

It was time to dance.