Naruto / Samui's POV (Courtyard of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Naruto had been excited about the fight but had yet to determine how it would go. He had not expected Samui to launch a surprise attack! Naruto grabbed the tanto on his back and tensed as he prepared his counter. Right when Samui drew close, he moved. Time to see who the better kenjutsu user was!
"Uzumaki Style: Deflecting Draw!" Naruto called. He quickly drew and slashed with his tanto. Drawing and slashing away Samui's attack in one fluid motion. Naruto's strength sent Samui flying back a short distance. He smirked at the smiling Samui as he prepared to follow this up.
"Uzumaki Style: Seafoam Slashing Net!" With several slashes, Naruto sent a gridlike grouping of chakra blades flying forth.
Samui did not flinch as lightning sparked from her blades and unleashed her technique. "Cool Flashing Beheading!" Lightning burst forth from her own blade, forming into a cutting bolt. This sliced through Naruto's own attack before racing towards Naruto. Without hesitation, Naruto charged forward, dodging the attack by merely leaning his head. He closed the distance absurdly quickly. His raw speed allowed him to do so in a mere second. Samui raised her blade to block a thrust of Naruto's tanto, but it was a feint. Naruto instead attempted to sweep her legs. Impressively, Samui back-flipped over, aiming a finger at Naruto.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at such but flinched when Samui called out. "Lightning Style: Jumping Arc!" Samui called as a lightning bolt surged on her finger and arced toward Naruto. Only given a second to react, Naruto raised Riptide to block out but gasped in pain when the electricity was blocked. However, it bounced off his blade and into him. The electricity made his muscles tense, and he froze in pain. It only lasted for an instant, but it was all Samui needed to do to close the distance. Naruto managed to raise his guard as Samui slammed into it with a flying knee. The power of the blow made him slide back and fall to one knee. Samui followed this up with a two-handed downward thrust of her blade. Naruto caught such, and the two engaged in a blade clash.
"You seem to be losing your cool, Naruto," Samui said as she looked down at Naruto. She gave a small teasing smile intended to tempt his competitive side.
"I didn't expect you to be this strong," Naruto admitted readily. His grin grew as the fight slowly built. But it was better Samui was strong. This fight would be fun! It would probably be painful, but Naruto did hate being shocked. But it's better this way anyway! Let's cut loose!" He finished his thought out loud as he prepared to continue.
X-X
Samui's POV
"Let's cut loose!" Naruto cried. Samui did not flinch at the next part. She expected him to attempt to overpower her again. He was the physically stronger opponent; it only made sense. Instead of allowing him to do so, Samui kept her cool and spun to allow his force to unbalance him. Samui felt her mind and body focus in the moment as he did so.
As conflicted and disorganized as her mind had been, it finally achieved peace. There was no need to think as much now. Samui knew what to do, how, and the best way to achieve such. She would think over the ramifications and her feelings later. Samui had to do as she had done for years and protect what little she had.
What was Samui's mission? What had her leader commanded of her? She was to win over Naruto Uzumaki to the Cloud. Samui was also to perform well enough to not harm the Cloud's reputation. A and Mabui had insisted she could achieve both in this match. So her goal wasn't to win but to do well and build rapport with Naruto. Easy enough, Samui supposed; she would do whatever was needed for Atsui.
Naruto impressively reacted to such a counter and attempted to grab her arm. Samui was too slow to dodge such a thing, but that was fine. Instead, she leaned slightly, making him miss the arm but brush something softer. It sent a slight chill down her spine, and Samui felt embarrassed but was focused, and it barely registered. Instead, she watched hawk-like as Naruto's face grew red. He stumbled back and attempted to apologize. She ignored such and instead. As Mabui had suggested, Samui watched his eyes. She noticed Naruto's gaze dip lower than her eyes before shooting back up shamefully. Mabui was right; this was surprisingly easy. It even felt good to make Naruto lose his cool. Samui smiled sweetly as she opened it to kick Naruto in his chest with a back kick. While Samui wasn't the physically strongest, she could crack stones with that kick. Yet Naruto flew back and landed on his feet, albeit wobbly. As if it was a minor inconvenience. "Something wrong, Blondie?" Samui asked innocently.
Naruto seemed to hesitate before shaking his head and seeming to refocus. Once again, Samui took advantage of this as she prepared her attack with a taunting smile. "Cloud Style: Crescent Moon Beheading!" She called. Naruto ducked under the slash but was unprepared and unbalanced, which allowed Samui to crash bodily into him.
The two became a ball of limbs as they rolled through before they settled with Samui straddling over him. Naruto instinctively bucked to free himself, but this merely made both freezes for an instant as their position became apparent to both. The contact was innocent and yet loaded with tension. Awkward looks were given to each other. Even with it being her intention, Samui felt somewhat embarrassed by such but also enthralled to get this reaction. But she allowed the adrenaline to fuel her as she attempted to put her tanto to his throat, ending the match before Naruto called out his counter. Apparently annoyed and decidedly done with her odd tactics.
"Personal Atmosphere: Level One!" Naruto called. The air around Samui seemed to swell around her before it lifted her away from Naruto. Naruto rolled to his feet and propelled himself up to her.
Samui felt a sliver of panic fill her as Naruto's gaze intensified. Despite the overwhelming power he showed and her being vulnerable in the air. She felt no fear of him hurting her. Somehow, it only made her want to fight with him more. Test her limits; Samui had never been the type to lose herself in combat before. She had always been told when to fight for real. Yet, something was thrilling about fighting Naruto. This was fun; hell, it was fabulous!
Samui was helpless as Naruto grabbed her and whipped her to the ground. Samui slammed into it with a booming thud and felt stunning pain fill her body. She rolled on instinct, narrowly avoiding a fight-ender of a double stomp attempted by Naruto.
"Alright, Samui, explain yourself," Naruto said with a slight frown. "You're not fighting properly; you're being all weird. Plus, stop being so damn touchy! I can't focus when you do that."
Samui felt the shame grow but continued her ploy regardless. Besides, a small part of her was enjoying this. She liked having Naruto focused on her and making such an unflappable man squirm. His struggle to maintain focus and not leer at her was appreciated. Yet she felt some accomplishment when she made him break. "Why am I distracting~?" She sang mockingly, asking as if she was confused. She lowered herself into a sprinting stance, allowing Naruto a view she was sure would throw him off.
Naruto flinched at such. "See, what the hell is the deal with that?!"
"With what?"
"I'm not stupid; I know what you're doing!" Naruto bluffed, obviously.
"Preparing to charge?" Samui asked.
Naruto growled. "You keep making us touch, and now you're well…"
"Hm?" Samui hummed in false consideration as she looked at her stance. She gasped in pretend realization. "Oh, I see, you find my... looks distracting."
"Yes! No! Stop that!" Naruto roared indignantly.
Samui felt vindication and shame in equal measure. She liked having Naruto's attention and enjoyed their easy comradery. This mission may not be purely negative. Besides, Naruto had been having a hard time at home, and they would treat him better… yet such thoughts caused an equal level of guilt. Samui nearly confessed her sins to her target before Atsui's face flashed through her mind.
She had to do this. Besides, she did enjoy it to a certain extent… the best for everyone involved…
"Seriously, Samui, what's going on?" Naruto asked grimly. His voice was as serious as his eyes now. Something about the plain concern in his eyes made her feel weak.
"N-nothing, I'm cooler than ever," Samui said. She nervously raced forward to keep him from prying, but to her dismay, Naruto seemed to handle her onset of taijutsu and kenjutsu. Each strike was dodged, caught, or blocked. Her blade never seemed to even come close to hitting the blonde. But most upsetting was his calm eyes, even as he slowly overwhelmed her.
"Usually, no doubt," Naruto agreed, blocking several more strikes from her. "But right now, I can tell you are conflicted and not being honest. If it's some strategy to distract me during this fight, it's certainly working, but I'm worried about it. I thought you wanted something from me; unless you give it your all, you won't get it!"
Samui grits her teeth as a rare frown appears on her face. "You think I'm not trying?! You have no clue what this means to me!"
"Maybe," Naruto admitted with ease. "But whatever you're fighting for isn't something you believe in. Not truly, I can tell."
Samui felt anger towards him for the first time since she had met the blonde. Naruto had no clue why she was conflicted. He was not being made to choose between his morals and family. "I believe in it plenty!" Samui roared as she upped her speed and intensity.
"You were stronger when you fought Suigetsu," Naruto noted as he matched her increase in speed and power. "Does this have something to do with the bet?"
Samui's patience snapped at such. He wanted to know so badly? He insisted upon hearing the truth? Fine, she'll expose it.
"YES!"