Chapter 1

Kotetsu ran cautiously toward the coast, never falling to keep an eye out for attacks. Abumi Shizune my be a woman, but she was one of the last to take the bloody graduation exam. As far as she cared, everyday one had to prove they were worth surviving the day. 5 years behind enemy lines will do that to a person.

Schreeeeck!! A kunai knife whizzed by Kotetsu head so close to his ear he had to stop died in his tracks. The knife planted itself in the ground, a small piece on paper wrapped around the eyelet almost completely burned out.

"oh, no," Kotetsu thought to himself. But before he could reacted, the paper bomb exploded in am explosion that didn't seem to fit its size. The odd colored smoke showing the poison the paper bomb had been soaked in. Just like Abumi, her recipes for paper bombs seem to have to no end. Maybe someday she'll share one or two.

Abumi jumped down from the tree branch she had been hiding on to just outside the blast area, still in the transparency jitsu she loved so much. The swirling gas and smoke made her amazonian frame look like she was made out of liquid metal. Beautiful.

"Still alive, or do I need a new student finally," she said with a slight grin.

The smoke cleared to reveal only a piece of driftwood. A look of surprised crossed her reflective face.

"Where..."

Before she could complete that thought, shape lurked at her from behind. Abumi spun on her heel and slashed with a knife at the shape and it fell to ground in a splash. With the speed only a Jonin like her could would have, she side stepped the thrust of Jotetsus' halberd from behind.

"Not bad. A double substitution jitsu, but you still lose," stated Abumi with a flash of her slitted orange eyes. Jotetsu curiously looked around to see what she meant. After all, he was behind her. There it was, a kunai knife, the tip of it just under the skin of his thigh. Abumi held it in an ice pick grip, clearly she had stab behind her. He hadn't felt a thing, must of had a numbing agent on it.

"See you when you wake up."

"I hate day's like this," Jotetsu thought to himself as the world got fuzzier and fuzzier. Abumi only does thing sort of thing when she needs to vent after hearing bad news. It was better than a broken bone, or the body cast he was in for week when her boyfriend broke up with her. Still, it made for interesting training. Never know whats next.

As the world around Jotetsu began to look more and more like a dim golden aura with white runes, he looked up groggily at his sensei, now fully visible. And just before he passed out, he saw the reason for her sour mood.

On the right side of her fair skinned, and otherwise perfect face, was a tiny red zit.

"Women..."