Temari / Sai's POV (Courtyard of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Temari's life was nothing less than complex. She was the eldest child of the Kazekage himself, a prodigy in wind nature, yet she was not the favored child. Nor was their Father anything close to someone who resembled a loving parent. Temari could remember little before except for her siblings, but she remembered it being often tense and cold. Their mother had been a loving and caring woman, but even back then, Rasa had been cold. He had children to secure his legacy, not out of love. His love for his wife had been confirmed but limited to her only. Rasa was a man who loved out of convenience, it seemed. Nothing had changed much with the birth of Kankuro. Rasa had been somewhat happy to have a son yet seemed doubtful of him from the start. No things had only truly changed when Gaara was born.
Temari knew she could not afford to show mercy here. Becoming Chunin would offer her many opportunities. It would be necessary to keep an eye on Gaara as well. So she pursued the strange man she had been battling as he crashed into a tree painfully. She nearly flinched as the bark shattered from the impact, and his black blood splattered around the area… wait for black blood? She looked at what she expected to be a broken man only to see ink stains.
Gaara had been chosen to be a jinchuriki, so desperate had their Father been to consolidate power he had insisted they not wait but seal the beast within Gaara even as he was within his own mother. It had worked; their mother even managed to give birth. The cost had been significant, though. Their mother, the only light they could see in their dark life, died that day. With it, the only compassion Rasa had seemed to have died as well. He had become somehow colder and focused solely on his job as a Kage. As if that wasn't enough, Gaara slowly became the monster he was today…
"An Ink Clone." Sai's voice echoed throughout the forest. Temari flinched. 'He led me into the forest and is somehow hiding from my air currents. Can't even use his voice to lead me to him. He's good.'
"Next up, Super Beast Scroll: Critter Ambush." Temari tensed and felt a minor disturbance in the air. She leaned out of the way and dodged a blur of darkness. A bird. Before she could ponder further, she dodged a speeding rabbit, a lunging coyote, and several rapid squirrels. 'He's summoned a whole damn forest of murderous art! I'd already be tagged if it wasn't for my Current Sense.'
"Enough!" Temari yelled as she raised her palms. "Wind Style Air Current Repulsing Dome!" A large dome of swirling aim seemed to emerge from Temari's very being, destroying all the ink creations that attempted to attack Temari. She felt a twinge in the currents around her as she did so. 'He had been sitting completely still!' She smiled as she drew her fan and shot off another unfocused blast. It tore through trees and stones as it smashed toward her target. She felt grim satisfaction as she saw Sai fly with the debris before he suddenly burst into ink. 'Another Ink Clone?' She flinched as she heard a crumble of earth behind her. She raised a palm and fired off a desperate blast of wind, which managed to smack Sai out of the air and skidded away from her.
X-X
Sai's POV
Sai rolled against the ground to slow his roll and avoid breaking anything. 'She's capable of one-handed jutsu and has great instincts. Danzo would've ordered her death or somehow integrated her into us. I suppose I should try to end things before they get ugly.' Sai decided as Temari swung her fan to send him flying again. Wisely forgoing a more robust technique to ensure he would be hit again. But Sai jumped into the air and summoned a more enormous creation than his previous ones. "Super Beast Scroll: Robin Steed." Sai signed as the air sent him flying. Luckily, his art came to life, turning his flight into a controlled flight path. He saw Temari seething before she joined him in the air, riding her fan.
'Limits her options.' Sai thought as he began to throw a litany of kunai and shuriken at Temari. He smiled as they were casually deflected. 'Needs to be a more powerful attack. Likely one she does not see coming.' Sai willed his creation to turn back and readied a lunging stance. He saw Temari scowl at this as she started to weave hand signs. Sai did the same as a random thought occurred to him. 'She's amusing.' Temari finished her technique first.
"Wind Style: Pressurized Air Beam," Temari said as she closed her hands, and a beam of air raced forward. Sai could only gasp in pain as it pierced him just above his left shoulder. "Sorry, art boy, but I don't play nice! Wind Style: Wind Cutter!" A blast of wind blades raced forward as Sai finished his own technique.
"Super Beast Scroll: Armored Steer!" Sai yelled as ink surged through the robin and formed into Samurai-like armor. The blast of wind sliced through this with ease, as did his armored bird. Temari smirked as the creation burst into ink, and Sai flew off of it, cut and falling to the earth below. Temari flinched as she realized it had been too easy. She whipped her palm behind her, surprising a closely approaching Sai. Without a word or seals, she blasted him with wind. But the Sai burst into ink as well. 'He wasn't on the bird or flanking me? Then where?'
Sai smirked as the real him flew free from the cloud of ink tanto drawn. Temari could only widen her eyes as Sai sliced through her fan and cut a line through her front. She screamed out in pain before falling, losing control of her wind jutsu. Sai blinked at this. Briefly debating whether to save her. 'An incident for the Leaf perhaps, but not one that couldn't be dealt with. Besides, she might become a threat in the future…
"Sai, sometimes we gotta act in ways that may betray logic." Shikamaru had told him. "Remember, sometimes you just gotta act impulsively, though it is a real drag."
'Well, she is interesting…' Sai decided as he formed another bird and caught Temari. She frowned at him before nodding once, apparently too proud to thank him. 'Things were much simpler before.'
As they landed and Sai allowed Temari to walk away, Kakashi poofed back in. "I assume?" Kakashi asked.
Temari growled. "He almost cut me open. Then, saved my life; I'm beyond done here!"
Kakashi nodded coyly. "Sai?"
"All done here," Sai replied with a smile.
"You're rematching me one day, art boy!"
Kakashi shook his head, amused as he raised his voice. "Sai of the Leaf Village wins! Next match will be Shikamaru Nara VS Suigetsu Hozuki!"