HSV : Clash with Metal Ch.2

The day she first met him, Aki saw nothing but a player in Raiden. She wasn't entirely surprised though, Omoichidou was a haven for those kinds of men. And even the ones that came seeking refuge from the devastated shinobi villages seemed to adapt to the Omoichidou lifestyle quicker than most would deem normal. All the men Aki knew were the same. So of course she hadn't given Raiden a second glance. Oh sure he was handsome, and Aki had always had a soft spot for the overconfident type – not that she'd ever admit it- but he was a player through and through and she wanted nothing to do with him. Unfortunately, what Aki wanted was rarely what Aki got. Raiden was a friend of her younger brother Hikaru. He was Hikaru's best friend in fact. So it was unavoidable that the two of them would end up spending more and more time together. And that was exactly what happened. It got to the point where it almost felt as if Raiden lived at the Kobiru compound.

"You seem distracted, hime," The blue-haired man smirked as he thrust forward, pushing Aki back. In his arm was a short sword, wooden. Though they had both taunted one another with their skills at weaponry, it had been decided that their first sparring match would have to be wooden blades. Steel was their passion, but neither really knew the other's abilities yet, so it would be dangerous to start off with sharp objects, even if both of them were used to those kinds of weapons. "I know," he smirked, jabbing the short sword up to her head, barely missing her as Aki jumped back. "It's my handsome face isn't it? You can't help staring?"

Purely out of instinct, Aki rolled her eyes. It was a mistake. A mistake which left her open for a split second. But that second was all he needed. Rushing at her, Raiden side stepped and spun around the shorter girl. He grabbed her right arm and pinned it behind her, while simultaneously bringing his right arm around her body and thrusting the fake sword up against her neck, essentially disabling the sandy-haired kunoichi as he held her against him. He was good. Not as good as Hade, who would have disarmed Aki much sooner, but still good.

"You're not so bad, hime," Raiden panted breathlessly "Not bad at all," he smirked.

The way he said that last part sent shivers down her spine, but Aki chose to ignore him, looking up at the darkening forest around them, She could tell they'd been going at it for a few hours already. It was one of the longest sparring matches she could remember having. Hade's were usually quick matches. With Hade, she always lost. Haru was different. They were fairly evenly matched, but Aki usually had the upper-hand when it came to weapons. Although without weapons was a different story. Hikaru was the same. With her sisters Aki rarely sparred. Most girls didn't last long with her, especially when it came to weapons sparring. She was too used to fighting with men for females to present  much of a challenge. It wasn't that they weren't good, but it was an undeniable fact that men, having more muscle, were built physically stronger. Since Aki had been training with males for far longer than any of the other Kobiru girls, or most girls in general, it made sense she was just a little bit stronger than the average female. Of course that was where she was now. As a genin, most of her peers were still just starting out; soon they'd catch up, and maybe even surpass her when it came to physical force. But that was exactly why she focused on weapons. Weapons would give her an edge that her small body took from her.

"You can let go now," Aki finally spoke. Raiden's muscular frame towered over her as he held Aki against him. Even as overheated as the girl felt from the intense workout, she could still feel how hot his body was. It was comforting in a way, like being wrapped in a warm blanket, but after a while it began to feel a little awkward.

"And what if I don't?" His voice grew deeper, huskier. He was teasing her, like he always did. As much as she wanted to push him away, Aki knew better than to respond. That's what Raiden wanted. Flirts like him thrived off the attention they got. But Aki was too smart to play into his games. "mmm" Raiden leaned down closer to her and began sniffing. "You smell surprisingly good after a three hour spar, hime."

Fire ran through her veins at the comment. He had that effect on her. She knew he was goading her, but reason failed her as she flung her head back and stomped her right foot on top of his. "Who said you could smell me!" Aki agitatedly shouted. Thrusting her left arm back, she pushed the smirking man away from her. The eldest Kobiru girl wasted no time. In one swift movement, her right leg came off the ground as she spun on her left and kicked him in the center of the chest. His smirk briefly disappeared as Raiden found himself suddenly falling to the grassy patch of dirt below. He tried to react in time, but it was too late. Aki saw her opening, and she took it. Grabbing the wooden sword that had fallen out of the blue-haired man's hand when she surprised him with her kick, Aki dropped to the ground and kicked Raiden's legs out from under him. She then quickly pounced on his chest, pinning him to the ground with both her and his swords crossed against his neck and her knees atop each of his arms. "Gotcha!" The air was thick as she glared down at him, smirking triumphantly.

"You know hime," he began with a grin. "If you wanted to be on top, you should have just said so."

She didn't bite this time. "You lose."

"Oh?" Raiden's grin only grew wider. He wasn't yet ready to call it his loss. That's how they had been for hours now, one besting the other only to be thrown down in an instant. But this time Aki wasn't going to give him anymore openings."Did I ever mention that I love a girl who takes charge?"

"Is there any kind of girl you don't like?"

Aki could have sworn she saw a shadow briefly cloud his usually bright eyes. She wondered for a moment if Raiden was actually insulted by her words as he gasped and gave her a pained expression. "That wounds me, Aki-hime," he mournfully whispered. It sounded too much like one of Hade's phony pleas that she knew it wasn't genuine. "My feelings for you are special, they're true, why won't you believe me?" There was hint of a quiver in his voice, as if those words were foreign to him. It seemed unlikely. Players like Raiden often spouted off sweet nothings to whatever pretty girl happened to pass their way, Aki had certainly heard it plenty of times with her brothers. Kobiru men were the biggest flirts in the village, she knew all the lines. A few flattering words would hardly work on her.

"Say it," Aki growled, pulling the crossed swords tighter around his neck. "Admit defeat."

Raiden stiffened, unable to move his neck to nod, though it seemed as if he'd wanted to. "I admit defeat to your beauty," he winked.

Aki caught herself mid-eye roll this time, knowing he'd used that against her already. "Just say it and we can go home for dinner."

"Oh?" he smirked, "is my hime hungry?"

She winced at the nickname. It was nothing new. And though she'd never admit it, it did make her feel special. But what was with the 'my'? She wasn't sure she liked that. Since when had she become Raiden's? Aki was not the kind of woman who liked being considered anyone's. Even her brothers didn't claim ownership over her, who was he to do that? "I know what you're thinking Rai-rai," she leaned in closer, smirking menacingly. If he thought he could just wait her out, Raiden was wrong. She was smaller than him. If anyone would be defeated by hunger, it wouldn't be her.

"Oh? I never realized you had such a naughty mind Aki-hime," his smirk grew wider.

It was then the girl realized their position. Though he'd teased her about it only moments earlier, Aki had failed to really take notice that she was straddling Raiden, pinning him down. "Ah!" Panicked, the sandy-haired girl jumped up, backing away before she even realized she had let him go.

Raiden jumped at the chance, quickly turning the tables on his princess. Leaping to his feet, the blue-haired man grabbed her ankle and pulled the girl down. She struggled, grabbing for the wooden weapons, and jabbing them into his ribcage. It gave her only a second, but enough for Aki to climb back up to her feet. She thought quickly. There was a tree in front of her. Raiden was taller, but Aki was more agile. She ran for the tree. She would use it to flip and get behind him. That was the plan anyway. But Raiden was faster. He reached the girl before she could do her move and pinned her to the tree, his knees on her legs and hands at her wrists. Smirking, the blue-haired man panted as he looked down at his prey. "Gotcha!"

Aki knew she was lost this time. She had no weapons and very little energy left. Her mind went a mile a minute trying to figure out what she could do to get out of her current position. But there was nothing. He was bigger and stronger and he had her. And then she felt something. It took her a moment to realize what it was, but once it clicked, she knew exactly what to do. "Oh Rai-rai," Aki smiled up at the blue-haired man sweetly, batting her eyelashes like she'd never done before. They were mere inches apart. Their breaths rough and labored. Her ample chest pressed against his hard toned torso. She knew in her position there wasn't much she could do, but Raiden always liked to look his women in the eye. And being taller than most, it mean he usually leaned down, looking down at them with that annoyingly overconfident smirk of his.

"What is it Aki-hime?" he replied, drawing down closer to her. She whispered something. It was so quiet, however, Raiden couldn't make it out. And so he leaned closer. Mesmerized by the movement of her soft pink tongue over her plump lips as she repeated her whispered words, the blue-haired man moved even closer. And that's when Aki saw her opening. Stretching her neck up, the sandy-haired girl closed the small distance between them and suddenly kissed Raiden.

It was supposed to be a short quick kiss. Something to shock him and have Raiden pull away quickly, freeing Aki long enough for her to regain the upper hand. That's what it was supposed to be, but as always what Aki wanted was rarely what Aki got. And a simple, quick, meaningless kiss turned into something completely else.

Maybe he was used to this sort of thing happening, but for whatever reason, Raiden was not shocked. Instead he immediately accepted the kiss. Bringing one hand around her, he placed it at the small of her back and pulled the petite kunoichi closer to him, careful not to let go of her subdued arm. It was a fierce and passionate kiss. A kiss neither of them had ever quite experienced before, and as much as it pained her to admit even to herself, Raiden was a good kisser. He was an amazing kisser in fact, but in the back of her mind Aki couldn't shake the feeling that it didn't quite feel right. It wasn't like kissing her brother or anything weird like that, but it wasn't the kiss of a lover either.

"That was..." Raiden began. He was a little breathless and his cheeks were an uncharacteristic pink, but otherwise he looked the same.

"Yeah..." Aki nodded. They didn't need to finish the thought. Both of them understood... As much tension as there usually was between the two of them, as much as they flirted with one another, as much as they may have found one another attractive, the truth was neither of them liked the other that way. That extra little special spark – which neither of them realized they had already felt with someone else – was simply not there.

"You're not bad hime," Raiden smirked, shaking his head slowly as he finally pulled away and let the sandy-haired girl move again. "Not bad at all."