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[i]The next morning // Land of Fire: Konohagakure - Training grounds[/i][/right]



Reiko watched the genin, all six of them, as they fought. Kage was holding his own against Natsuko and she was proud of him. He'd been a bit of a sad sack, never getting the hang of a particular technique and often being bullied into submission by Kouji. At the thought of the blond boy, she looked over at him and the smaller genin. They fought fiercely although the girl was fast enough to leave him few opportunities to perform hand signs. When it came to power Kouji had the girl beat but she had him on speed. It was interesting to see how Minoru had trained his students. Even if Natsuko wasn't winning against Kage she was able to told her own and use skills that she'd been taught.

When the Taketori boy arrived, Reiko had no objections to him sparring with Mariko. It was an interesting match up and they were able to matc each other blow for blow. She had to be careful though, in allowing them to spar. They could easily end up hurting each other due to the long standing rivalry of theur clans. She'd been so caught up in the match between Kazuhiko and Mariko that she'd missed seeing the Wakahisa girl beat Kouji. 

Koharu stood with her katana drawn and pointed at Kouji, resting the tip just below his chin. He was sitting on his behind, legs sprawled out and arms were holding up his upper body. His lips were set into a scowl as he looked up at the girl, who's own expression was cocky. [color=8882be]"You lost."[/color] With those simple words she moved her sword back and sheathed it before turning her attention to the other matches. Kage and Natsuko's match ended quickly when they'd both managed to knock each other backwards, although Kage clearly could keep going if he wished. Kage landed roughly on his own hind end, looking sheepish for a few moments before he got up, helping Natsuko to her feet shortly after. His dark eyes narrowed on Kouji, seeing the small scrapes and a few bruises on his arms. Koharu's eyes widened when Kage grabbed Kouji by the shirt and made him look up so he could check the wound on his cheek. 

He set the work, grumbling softly about Kouji being reckless. The only time the boy was confident in any way was patching up his teammates after practice. When he grumbled about needing water to clean up Kouji, Koharu quietly approached and cupped her hands together, forming ice cold water in her palms. Kage looked up at her with a startled expression. [Color=darkcyan]"Th-thank you."[/color] He dipped some gauze into the cold water and wiped away the blood, wondering if Koharu minded the way the water clouded pink in her hands. He applied some strong smelling ointment to the cut before smoothing a bandage over it. She'd noticed the way that Natsuko seened drawn in by what Kage was doing and she smiled a bit. Perhaps they'd find something that Natsuko could do that she or Kazuhiko couldn't.

The girl had since discarded the water in favor of watching Kazuhiko and Mariko fight. She was always impressed by what the other heirs could do. They had to work harder and train better because of the weight they had on their shoulders. Just because  her clan wasn't as big as the Taketori or the Hyuuga didn't mean that she couldn't sympathize with them. It wasn't much longer until Rieko stepped in, forming a large earth wall between the two sparring genin and telling them their match was over. They'd done good, even if it ended in a tie. She gathered up her genin and left quickly so Kazuhiko and Mariko wouldn't try to fight again. That left the girls to usher Kazuhiko back to Minoru's house in time to help with dinner. 

The sparring had lasted a lot longer than expected but they'd had fun. Koharu finally got to beat up Kouji without it reflecting badly upon her clan, Natsuko seemed interested in how Kage had patched up Kouji and Kazuhiko actually got to fight Mariko without their families looming over them. When they'd told Minoru he'd seemed proud and he'd gathered all three of them into a group hug, causing Koharu's cheeks to heat and turn a bright red. In celebration, rather than cook, he and Azumi decided to take them out for ramen. The rest of the evening had passed nicely. The kids were lavished attention and treated like kids and spoiled by their sensei and his wife. Soon they'd have more low rank missions and more training and in a few years they'd be ready for the Chunin exams.

[@Typical]