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 Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 2:52 pm
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:01 pm
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“Talking”
Thinking
“Telepathy through mind seal”
(“Animals talking / “Telepathy with animals”)
“Demonic language”/ ‘Demon talking telepathically to their jinchuuriki’
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I suppose that you already knew this, neh?
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
::;Seeing the Truth;::
Chapter 13: Shishou no Ryuuki - Second Third
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
After Akina dropped off the tired kitten, she had changed back into her regular clothes and dropped off a note the house that the Team Seven genin shared, telling whoever read it that she’s ‘around’. And just to make sure that no one starved or anything, she left some money on the counter.
She started strolling through the Konoha streets, ignoring any hateful or fearful auras as the hidden village’s citizens hurried home from work. It was a little past sunset now.
The S-Class mission scroll was safe inside her ninja pouch, positioned on her waist, so that no one could take a peak. This mission that he was entrusting to ‘Ryuuki’ was important for the future of Konoha, and, to tell the truth, Akina felt honored that he would give her such an assignment.
She understood why he said that it was for the Shishou no Ryuuki. This ‘rogue Anbu’ can be anywhere because no one knows which country he or she was loyal to. This meant that he or she had more freedom than any of Konoha’s ninja.
Because of the attack of the Sound village that was just over the horizon, Sarutobi probably felt that he needed to plan for the future.
Perverted chuckling reached her sensitive ears, as well as a loud splash, followed by a yell of frustration. She would recognize that voice anywhere. Akina double-checked that her chakra signature and aura were hidden before jumping up into the trees, headings towards the source of the noise.
She found Naruto fighting with his own Kage Bunshin…on top of a moving river. On the shore, sitting on a chair under an umbrella, was none other than the Toad Sannin, Jiraiya. The white-haired shinobi had noticed her there right away, and kept an eye on what she was doing.
The real Naruto finally defeated his clones, panting slightly. It looked like he had been doing this for a long time. Akina decided that now would be a good as time as any to reconnect to her teammates, since she had been blocking their link to her mind up until now. Naruto’s blond head snapped up towards the tree she was sitting him, causing Jiraiya to raise an eyebrow at how he was able to sense the girl.
“Akina-chan?” She jumped out of the tree, landing a few feet away from Jiraiya. Naruto grinned and walked off of the water.
“What are you doing here?”
“I need to tell you something…” at this point she turned towards the legendary shinobi and bowed once. “Good evening, Jiraiya-sama.”
The toad summoner grinned. “Ha! There we go! Finally, someone shows me the respect I deserve!” He looked pointedly at Naruto, who grinned at Jiraiya and shook his head at his request for another nickname.
“Sorry, no can do ero-sennin!”
“Don’t call me ero-sennin! It’s gama-sennin! I summon toads!” he snapped, glaring irritably at the fox container. The boy closed his eyes, smiling and shrugging, before turning back towards his female teammate.
“So…what’d you have to tell me?”
“I might be disappearing from time to time, but I’ll leave a note on our kitchen table telling you how long I’ll be gone.”
Naruto opened his eyes and frowned for a bit before nodding. “Fine fine…”
Jiraiya butted in at this point, grinning at them both. “ ‘Our kitchen table’?”
The jinchuuriki picked up on what Jiraiya was implying and scowled slightly at the perverted Sannin. “ERO-SENNIN! Kakashi-sensei just made our team live in the same house as a ‘teamwork exercise’ ,” he made air quotes with his fingers as he said “teamwork exercise”, “and Akina-chan is the one in charge of cooking breakfast.”
“Oh? So your sensei is the brat, huh?”
Naruto immediately started snickering at the way Jiraiya referred to their lazy sensei. Akina took the chance to bow once more to Jiraiya before leaving the two. She mentally checked over where each of her teammates were, sensing that Sasuke was in the mountain range. There was some stress and determination leaking through the seal, so she assumed that Kakashi had already put him to work, training.
And now…I must leave the village.
She arrived home and sealed her supplies into a scroll. She used her air manipulation to write a note downstairs on a piece of paper, stating that she would be gone for a week, putting it on the kitchen table like she said she would.
Akina took out the scroll that contained her Anbu equipment, tucking it into her ninja pouch on top of her mission scroll before using Shunshin no jutsu to reappear in the cave where Konoha’s Council of Beasts met. Almost immediately, she was greeted by the extremely formal Hiroki, Hiromi’s brother.
(“Good evening, young hatchling. What brings you here to the Cave?”)
The small brunette bowed politely to the hawk. Hiroki was like Aburame Shino. If you are polite and abide by the rules, then you’ll get along fine.
“I must leave the village for about a week. I need a small companion from the Hebi clan, preferably one that can use poison.”
He blinked. (“There has been much talk of the Chuunin Exams. You get one month to prepare, correct?”)
“Hai.”
Hiroki did not pry into their Guardian’s business, flying off to the snake’s clan head’s favorite tree in the Forest of Death. There was a loud yawn from one of the bushes, out from which Kouseki emerged, still slightly groggy from her nap.
(“Where the hell are you going for a week?”)
Akina reactivated the connection between their minds, making sure to cut herself off from Naruto and Sasuke.
“Hokage-sama has a mission for Ryuuki. It’s an S-Class mission.”
The great wolf pondered on this for a while before sighing. (“Just watch out for the hebi-teme and the gaki’s a** of an aniki.”)
“Hai.”
Hiroki screeched, informing the two demons in disguise that he was back. Both could smell a small snake riding on his back. It was male. The brown hawk gently descended, keeping in mind that the creature on his feathered back was not used to flying. He landed on top of Kouseki’s head, wishing to keep at least a few feet in the air at all times. A small, forest green head peaked over the bird’s head, staring at Akina for a minute.
(“You’re sssssstill a little hatching…and yet you’re already fighting like an adult.”) he nodded in satisfaction at the one he was to accompany for the next week. Kouseki squinted at the snake before pouting a little.
(“Oi, hebi, what color are you?”)
The snake let out a series of high and low pitched hissing, the snake’s form of laughing. (“That’ssss right. You dogsss are color-blind…”) he paused to let the insult sink in before continuing when he saw that Kouseki didn’t give a damn, (“I’m dark green, like the foressstssss.”)
Kouseki grinned. (“Just checking. You hebi tend to be blindingly bright when you’re poisonous.”) The snake laughed again at the not so hidden insult before climbing onto Akina’s outstretched arm, moving upwards to coil around her neck. She disappeared for a minute before coming back into the clearing, fully clothed in her Anbu uniform, with the dragon mask and black cloak on.
Akina bowed to Hiroki, resting her hand on Kouseki’s back for a few seconds before took off at a sprint deeper into the forest, where eventually she reached the Konoha borders and crossed it, sneaking around the guards.
She kept up the pace for a while, making a connection with the mind of the snake curled around her neck.
(“Where are we headed? All Hebi-sssssama ssssaid wasss that you had to leave our territory for a week.”)
Akina stayed silent for a moment, assessing the snake’s aura to see if he was trustworthy enough to keep secrets. The snake stayed quiet, letting the demon do what she wanted. He had nothing to hide.
“I am the Shishou no Ryuuki. My long-term mission is to work on her reputation and keep it high in preparation for our village’s future.”
The snake let out laugh inside her mind. (“You do realize that no one knowsss if Ryuuki is a chick or not, right?”)
No, I didn’t…I’m not that connected to the rumor mill yet… Akina kept her thoughts to herself, sensing that it was more of a rhetorical question than anything.
For some odd reason she felt that Zabuza, who was one of the only possible two who could spread the rumor, didn’t tell anyone that she was female for kicks. He seemed like that kind of person. Either way she appreciated it. It would help if no one knew she was only a little girl.
Silence reigned for one more hour, and night started to descend upon the lands, enveloping everything in a dark blanket. Fortunately for Akina (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), she was blind, and the inkiness didn’t affect her all. Also, the snake currently riding on her person was neither diurnal nor nocturnal, meaning that it slept whenever it felt like it.
When Akina felt that they were at a good enough distance away from the hidden village, she stopped in the branch of a tree, sitting down. She allowed the snake to slither off of her body, to go hunt, while she took out the bingo book that was given to all Anbu trainees, jounin, Anbu, and the like. Chuunin were allowed to keep one, but rarely ever paid attention to it for some strange reason.
She flipped through the book, going at a quick pace so that their faces would be at the top of her memory. Once the book was looked through once, Akina went ahead and spread out her senses to their limits, taking in everything that was happening in a 40 mile radius.
Her traveling companion was currently staking out a mouse that was getting a drink. A couple dozen miles away, a group of traveling merchants was setting up camp for the night. Her thoughts traveled the list that was included inside her S-Class mission scroll. After the instructions, Sarutobi had listed all of the underworld bosses and their organizations, along with any information that she would need.
Up at the top of the list was the name: Akatsuki.
Hmm. So that’s where his aniki went… She mentally scanned over the list again, picking one that seemed to have a big enough reputation. If she wanted to make a name for Ryuuki, she felt like she had to start off with a bang. She automatically crossed Akatsuki off of her mental list. This went on for a few seconds before she decided.
Setting Sun. A group that’s famous for its slave-trading and rank in the black market for illegal items…it seems that they’ve had some connections with Gatou. I should go check out his old headquarters for more information… The snake came back, his belly full of mouse. He made his way back up to Akina’s neck, resting after his large meal.
“We’re heading for Nami. Do you mind the cold?”
(“Nah.”) He seemed much more content now. Akina put away the bingo book, feeling that she was rested enough. Now that her demon blood was becoming more and more active, she could go longer without meals and rest.
Along the way, she passed by a couple middle-ranking nuke-nin.
“—go back to HQ and report this…someone got to the prize before us…”
She filed away their scents into her mind, saving this information for later. It might be useful. Around five hours later, after crossing the small expanse of water, Akina announced to her ‘passenger’ that they had arrived inside the country borders. The snake woke up, having taken a nap at the smooth pace she had set, and nodded silently, opening his orange eyes to observe their surroundings as they went deeper into the country.
Akina arrived at the bridge and shunshined across it, reappearing deep inside the forest near the clearing she had trained in a couple months before. She blurred towards the honeycomb shaped base, finding that it was still intact and relatively untouched. It was now lifeless.
She jumped and landed vertically on the outside of a fourth floor window, using her wind manipulation to open it from the inside. The window shut itself silently, and Akina scanned the entire building, almost immediately finding Gatou’s old office at the heart, naturally. She went inside, easily avoiding any detection devices set up. I’m surprised that no one has come and raided the place.
She waved her hand, opening all the drawers and cabinets. Wind blew gently throughout the room, aiding Akina in reading and sifting through the documents. The snake raised his head and looked at one of the papers in view.
(“Oi, look at that. That’s a ssssssshit load of casssssh, right there.”)
The paper he was referring to flew to Akina’s hand, and she quickly gathered up all similar documents. She knew what she could do with them.
She spent the next hour inside the room, going through all of his papers. Akina nodded in satisfaction once she was done, feeling she had more than enough information concerning all the organizations that Gatou had associated himself with. She sealed all of the papers she could use in one of her spare scrolls before exiting.
Akina erased any traces of her being here, leaving the building. She would burn it down when she felt it was the right time. She backtracked, going back to the place where she found those nuke-nin. She dropped onto ground, tilting her head this way and that to sort out their individual scents from others that had gone this way. Found them.
Akina took off at a quick pace, wanting to at least find the general area that they were hiding in. If she found their headquarters, that’d be even better. The snake wrapped around her neck shook off the dew that had gathered on his scales. Akina put a hand on his cold body, bringing up his temperature to a suitable height.
(“Arigatou…”)
Soon they arrived in a reclusive town, located near the edge of Ka no kuni, keeping well out of its boundaries. Their scents have been residing here, and there were no trails leading out of the city. There were still a few hours left before sunrise.
A nearby mouse caught Akina’s attention, and he agreed to do her bidding when she asked if he could sneak into one of the bars (which were still open, believe it or not) to get information.
(“These in between periodsssss are pretty boring…when doesss the killing sssssstart?”)
Akina sighed inwardly. Are all lethal animals bloodthirsty? “Later; have patience.”
The mouse came back and recited as much gossip as he could remember, and Akina thanked him and left. The nuke-nin were leaving. She kept five miles between them both at all times.
(“We’ll be killing ssssssoon, right…?”) asked the snake, hopeful for some violence.
Akina didn’t bother to answer.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
A day later, Akina found herself a couple miles away from one of the Setting Sun’s four bases. It was located in a strategic position with a mountain range guarding three of its sides. This one was also known as the base where their weapons were held.
It was called the Flare base, for obvious reasons.
There were no slaves or prisoners here because of the risk of them escaping and using their own weapons against them. That meant that she didn’t have to worry about killing innocents.
(“Killing…now?”)
“Hai.”
She strengthened her connection to the elements around her, and found something quite interesting inside the mountains almost completely surrounding the base. Hmm.
There were certain elements inside the rock that she could use to her advantage. She inwardly smirked as she moved them towards the middle of the base, underground.
Akina dropped to the ground from the tree she was hidden in, putting her hands to the earth and gaining control over the earth as well as tapping into her natural fire attributes. Underneath the base, she gathered the elements and set it on fire using her flames.
The reaction was almost instantaneous.
In a colossal explosion, the base self-destructed on itself, creating a large mushroom cloud of flaming gases. Akina quickly manipulated the fire in the air to take the shape of a dragon, making it come crashing back down on the base so that the fires didn’t spread. A full minute later, the fire died out, revealing a large scorched crater where the base had been, full of soot.
The snake perched on her shoulders recovered from his initial shock at seeing such destruction before hissing a little. (“You need a calling card, so that everyone will know that it wassssss you.”)
Akina pondered on this for a few seconds before nodding to herself. She gathered up all the soot into the middle of the crater, molding it into a distinct shape and hardening it. Her companion nodded, now satisfied.
Sitting in the middle of the gigantic hole was a black dragon the size of a horse that looked like it had been delicately carved from black volcanic rock. In the middle of its forehead was a shape that was currently located on her mask—an outline of a crescent moon.
Her attention went to something else in the crater however. For one thing, it had apparently survived the initial explosion, as well as the inferno that occurred afterwards. It was an old looking sword that looked like it was just about to crumble into dust.
That wasn’t the thing that had attracted her attention, though. It was the fact that it was emitting a curious aura.
She walked over and bent down to pick it up, but immediately let go when it sent a jolt of electricity through her body. The snake hissed, having been shocked as well. Akina carefully picked up the snake and put him on the ground before bending down and taking the handle of the sword in both of her hands.
The same course of lightning came, but this time she was ready for it. Akina absorbed the energy of the electricity, shunting any that she couldn’t handle into the ground. After a few seconds, the lightning doubled in power for another couple seconds before dissipating. She felt the sword eat up a little of her chakra before its aura disappeared, going dormant.
The snake hissed at the sword as Akina picked it up by its white handle, quickly locating its matching sheath, which had a strange symbol painted on the side. She slipped it into place under the strap that held her ninja pouch around her waist, by her left hip.
I’ll ask Kouseki about it later. |
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:36 am
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 1:31 pm
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:53 pm
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 6:11 pm
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:48 pm
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Ahh, I'm too lazy to put in any font alterations, so I'm just going to type it like this, sweatdrop .
Yeah, she can talk to any animal alive, though it might be a little bothersome to other people, like having the chattering of the village doubled. I guess it's like hearing voices that other people can't, xD. Don't forget that Naruto and Sasuke are the other 'humans' that can understand the animals as well.
Good job on catching up Leon! Just by reading this fanfiction, you have successfully read about 70,000-73,000 words! Congratulations!
And...yes, in total this entire story is about 76,000 words total. Does that surprise you? xD.
I'm sorry about not updating as fast as you might like me to, but my grades are starting to drop a bit (I dislike math with the intensity of a horde of pissed off nine-tailed demons), so I'm going to spend less time actually typing up stuff for studying. I have a math test tomorrow...bah.
There really aren't that many fanfictions in this guild anyways, sweatdrop . The same goes for fanart, but ah well. That's what DeviantArt and FF.net are for, right?
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 2:54 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 3:17 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 4:46 pm
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Okay, this is the last posting of the story for now, since I am still working on the next chapter and not even done with a third yet. I think I managed to get a pretty good grade on that math test I told you guys about, so I'm giving myself some typing time.
Also, I discussed the time-skip with my sister (who debates with me about certain parts of my story), and she's helped me decide quite a few key parts. I just wanted to let you guys know, so that you know that those chapters will go by a little faster.
“Talking”
Thinking
“Telepathy through mind seal”
(“Animals talking / “Telepathy with animals”)
“Demonic language”/ ‘Demon talking telepathically to their jinchuuriki’
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I suppose that you already knew this, neh?
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
::;Seeing the Truth;::
Chapter 13: Shishou no Ryuuki - Last Third
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
The snake and girl watched (both in their own ways) as the last prisoner headed home after years of captivity in the second base that Akina had targeted, the Blaze.
The mouse that she had sent inside the bar had given her the location of the Setting Sun’s other bases, or at least a vague idea of where they are. This second one was located on the northern edge of the Fire country. The other bases were in the south, west, and finally, the east, which she had already demolished.
Akina had come in and killed all members of the Setting Sun, letting one of the prisoners catch a glimpse of her mask (but not her body, just to be safe), before moving out of the base and creating a dragon made out of earth to manipulate into free everyone.
This western style dragon also had the trademark crescent moon on its forehead. The prisoner that had seen Ryuuki’s mask recognized the symbol and told them that it was the same as the one on the mask of their savior. This had calmed the others down (it wasn’t exactly common to see a dragon made of earth walking around like it was alive).
One of the ladies in the group had stared at the dragon for some time before asking “Are you one of Shishou no Ryuuki’s dragons?”
Akina, who had been a quarter of a mile away and using her wind manipulation to hear everything they said, was not too surprised by this question.
Slave was a general term. This young lady just so happened to be a sex slave, who belonged to the commander of the base, no doubt. She must have heard rumors. So, seeing a benefit in answering, the young kunoichi made the dragon nod.
And now, ten minutes later, no humans were within a thirty mile radius of the base (Akina had transported all the prisoners on a dragon made of wind closer to the nearest town).
(“Desssstroy the damned thing already!”)
Since she had started meditating, she could manipulate the elements much better, and had the energy to destroy this base. She put her hands in the ram seal, channeling some chakra into the ground. It rumbled slightly before the earth starting shifting.
The jaws of a dragon appeared around the base, completely surrounding it. In one swift motion, it closed its mouth with an audible crunch, before sinking back into the earth, bringing the remains of the base with it.
Any important items were safely sealed away inside the scroll containing Gatou’s papers. In the middle of the clearing where the base used to be located, a snarling statue of a dragon made out of the hardest stone she could find in the area was made, the customary crescent on its forehead.
Akina panted slightly and rubbed at the small headache that had formed. Earth was the hardest element for her to manipulate, since she was more attributed to air. For the bigger things, like what she just did, she needed to use chakra.
The snake coiled around her neck hissed in pleasure. (“That’sss two bassssesssss in lesssss than 24 hourssss! What’sssss next?”)
“Back to Nami—I need to do something.”
She started running towards Nami at a slower pace than usual (though she was basically invisible to most shinobi, at the speed she was going—speed had always been one of her good areas, because of her smaller body), and reaching Nami about seven hours later.
Akina hid herself in the forest near the beginning of the bridge leading to the island country, far away from the road. She took out the scroll and summoned the papers she found in Gatou’s old headquarters, or more specifically, all the deeds to their lands as well as a scroll containing an eight of his valuables, which was still worth a pretty penny.
If the snake had eyebrows, he would have raised them; questioning just what the hell she was going to do with all that money.
She sealed the deeds into the scroll and moved to the edge of the water, using the thick mist as cover. The scroll was dropped into the water, where it was picked up by a dragon made out of water, about twice as big as Kouseki was.
The dragon held the scroll carefully in its jaws, which were lined with jagged ice shaped like teeth. The claws had the same ice-like quality, and the snake noticed with amusement that a crescent moon made out of ice was in the middle of its forehead.
As the mist started moving around, the kunoichi quickly moved back into the forest, using long-ranged elemental manipulation to deliver the scroll, as well as keeping it dry.
Back in the Wave village, Tazuna was walking through the streets, grinning as he was greeted energetically by the people that used to be so unhappy just a few months ago. The streets were already free of garbage, and the houses were all in the process of being rebuilt.
A scream echoed, attracting his attention. A young man came running towards Tazuna, looking panicked.
“Tazuna! Tazuna! There’s a water dragon by the pier! What do we do?!”
The old man gritted his teeth, inwardly thinking that he was getting too old for this kind of stuff. “Did it do any damage?”
The other man frowned and scratched the side of his head. “Ah, no. It’s just floating there. We spotted something in its mouth, though…”
This sounded familiar to Tazuna for some strange reason. Dragon…dragon…dragon…hmm…oh. He slapped his hand on his forehead, groaning slightly. The villager who had told him the news blinked and sweat dropped.
“Tazuna…?”
Tazuna sighed. “It’s not an attack. Remember that masked ninja that I told you about? The Shishou no Ryuuki? Yeah…the dragon is probably his.”
The man stared blankly at him for a second before the statement actually sunk in, causing him to gape.
“KAMI-SAMA! THE SHISHOU NO RYUUKI IS HERE?!”
There were some gasps, and all activity on the street stopped. The other villagers were staring at them. The bridge builder sighed wearily before nodding. “Yeah.”
As one, everyone headed over to the pier, where, just like the man had said, a water dragon was waiting, right in the middle.
Inari was there as well, and was staring and gaping at it, awed by the “spirit”. It was an eastern style dragon, and looked much like the Suiryuudan no jutsu (Water Dragon Blast technique), except the water that this one was made of was not constantly moving. It was still, creating a few small rainbows as the sun shone through its body.
The dragon seemed to have been waiting for Tazuna, because when he arrived it looked at him and headed in his direction. As it got closer, the people crowding around the pier could see the individual scales and details of this dragon.
Inari was ecstatic that he was in the front row, next to Tazuna, who had been let through the crowd.
Eventually it was a few feet in front of Tazuna, and he stared wide-eyed at the dragon. Up close, it looked a little intimidating, yet beautiful, what with the effect the sun was having on its body. It leaned over until its snout was in front of Tazuna, and he got the message, holding out his hands to accept the scroll that was dropped from its icy jaws.
The dragon lifted its head back up, not leaving just yet. While Tazuna studied the scroll he had been given, Inari had stepped up and reached out with his hand, as if to pet it. Many miles away, in the forest, Akina was a little amused at his reverent expression.
It lowered its watery body, allowing Inari to put a hand on its snout. Inari scrunched up his face slightly when his hand felt cooler, like it was underwater, so he took his hand back. He blinked as he realized that his hand wasn’t wet.
“What am I supposed to do with this?!”
The boy looked back at his grandfather, who was staring frustratingly at the scroll. He grinned slyly as he realized that he knew something that the elder did not.
“That’s a summoning scroll. You have to put blood and chakra on the writing to summon whatever’s inside, ojii-san! How could you not know this?!”
Tazuna scowled lightly at the kid. “Well, I’m not the one that’s been obsessed with being a ninja!”
It was true. Since Team Seven had left, Inari had thrown himself into learning how to be just like them.
Inari snatched the scroll from the old man’s hands, setting it down and opening it to reveal a seal. He hesitated a little before biting his thumb and wiping the blood across the seal. Nothing happened, and Inari acquired a disappointed face.
There was just one problem with him being a ninja…he didn’t know how to use chakra. Akina seemed to know this, because she made the dragon move forward again, putting its paw on top of Inari’s hand.
“Wha…?”
A small bit of Akina’s chakra made its way through the dragon and into Inari’s hand. His eyes widened at the feeling of chakra flowing through his veins. He was frozen for a few moments in sheer wonder before he felt a slight pressure on his hand. The dragon wanted him to finish the job.
“Oh…sorry.”
The chakra was forced into the scroll, and in a puff of smoke, a small stack of papers, as well as a large amount of gold bars and other expensive trinkets appeared on top of the unrolled scroll.
Finished with the job, the dragon took its claws off of Inari’s hand and started moving away, back into the water. The ice crescent shined in the sunlight, reminding them once again just who was helping them.
It wasn’t the dragon. It was the Shishou no Ryuuki.
“Matte!”
It stopped, turning its head back to look questionably at Tazuna. It was halfway out of the pier already.
“Tell your master…arigatou, for everything.”
It nodded before descending into the water.
Back in the forest, Akina let out a silent sigh as she released control over the water. Your welcome, Tazuna…
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Akina returned to Konoha after a long week of assassinations, rescuing innocents, and the like. She passed by the guard to the forest, like before, and used Shunshin no jutsu to get to the Council’s Cave after she was a good distance away from everyone.
Kouseki was the first to greet her, wearing a face-splitting grin. (“OI! AKINA-CHAN! We all heard about what you did! That’s a nice touch, you know, the dragon statues.”)
The snake slithered off of Akina, now tired after traveling with her. Hiroki was there again to bring him back to his home in Area 44. Before he got on the hawk, he looked back at Akina.
(“My name…my name is Kuroi.”)
The wolf watched as the two left, then turned back to Akina to find that she had already changed back into her regular clothing, with everything put away. She nodded before howling for a messenger bird. Another brown hawk came swooping into the cave, screeching happily.
(“AKI-CHAAAAAN!”) You can pretty much guess who it was.
Hiromi spiraled towards the girl, barely controlling her descent in her haste. She managed to stop in time and allowed herself to circle around the girl’s head in glee. Kouseki grumbled at the hyper activeness of the bird before barking to get her attention.
(“Yeah…?”)
Kouseki grunted, padding towards the exit with Akina and Hiromi in tow. (“Get this message to everyone that knows Akina is Ryuuki: DO NOT TALK ABOUT OR MENTION RYUUKI’S TRUE IDENTITY.”)
The bird baffled the wolf by actually doing a salute in midair before darting off into the skies as they all exited the cave. The older demon noticed that her itoko needed some rest, so she lead them both home.
She laughed loudly once they turned the corner onto their street, hearing Sasuke and Naruto yelling at each other…again. On the other hand, Akina was a little pleased to hear the familiar arguing after a week of being gone.
“We’re NOT having ramen for dinner again!”
“Why not?! It’s the most delicious thing in the world!”
“We’ve had it for dinner for the past five days! Give it a rest already!”
“MAKE ME!”
All activity in the house halted as Akina unlocked the door with her keys and went inside, taking off her shoes.
Naruto’s blond head popped around the corner, peaking into the hallway to find Akina in front of the door, looking dirty and tired. Sasuke shoved Naruto’s head lower so that he could take a look at her from the kitchen, too. The boys got out of the kitchen.
Naruto ran towards Akina and hugged her tightly, letting go quickly since he knew how she felt about physical contact like that. He looked over her closely, now that he was right in front of her, remembering something.
“Neh…either you kept us closed off from your mind to surprise us with your visit or you were too tired to remember to reconnect to us. I’m guessing the second.”
Kouseki nudged Akina’s head from behind, easily reaching it, since she was about the size of a small horse. (“She’s tired. Try not to wear her out with your jabbering, okay baka-chan?”)
He pouted at the request and nickname before nodding grudgingly. Blue eyes looked at the girl before he brightened up, smiling. “Why don’t we go out to eat?”
Sasuke grunted at this point. “She needs to shower first, dobe.”
The other boy scowled. “I know! I was just making a suggestion! Weren’t you the one who was complaining about not eating my beloved ramen?”
The Uchiha resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Yeah, but when we go out you’ll probably make us go to Ichiraku for…what was it? Ramen.”
Akina left the boys to their bantering in favor of getting the smell of dirt and sweat off of her body. Kouseki followed, after snatching her ninja pouch off of her waist. The wolf went right to the girl’s dark green colored room while Akina showered.
(“So…the Setting Sun, eh? You sure know how to get the Elemental Country's attention. They have connections with other groups in every country. Make sure to get some information when you attack the Inferno base.”)
“Hai. I found a sword in their armory…I want to show you it when the others aren’t around.”
Kouseki dropped the ninja pouch onto the black colored bed and attempted to open the zipper with her mouth, having no hands in this form. She let out a victorious bark when she managed to hook the zipper onto one of her smaller teeth. Score!
She put a heavy paw on the pouch and pulled the zipper, satisfied to hear the zippp as it opened.
“Kouseki-chan? What are you doing?” Naruto was staring from the hallway. She had forgotten that she left the door open in her haste to get inside the pouch.
(“I wanted to see if she brought me anything!”) Buahaha. That’s the perfect excuse.
Naruto closed his eyes and tilted his head, reminding Kouseki yet again how much he acted like the fox sealed inside of him. “I don’t think Akina-chan would like it if you went through her stuff.”
Kouseki scoffed. (“She won’t mind if I do it, though. I practically raised her…not that she needed someone to, of course.”)
He grinned before he noticed that Akina was standing behind him, all clean with her hair already drying out. “Err…hi Akina-chan! I was just…er…leaving.”
He made his escape and got himself ready to go out to eat. Sasuke saw the dreamy look on his face, immediately saying “No ramen.”
Akina took her ninja pouch out from underneath Kouseki’s paw and strapped it back onto her waist. Kouseki pouted.
“Later.”
She walked downstairs, nodding towards her teammates as they exited the house and started walking into the main part of the village, since their house was located in a less crowded area. Naruto put his hands on the back of his head as he walked backwards, looking at his teammates.
“What do you guys want to eat? Since someone won’t let me have my ramen…” he pouted at Sasuke, who just raised an eyebrow, as if to say 'Did you expect me to eat ramen with every meal like you?'
“Something spicy…” suggested Akina. Kouseki had mentioned in a passing comment to her that dragons tended to have a liking for spicy foods. She must have inherited it from her mother.
“Nothing sweet.”
“And Kouseki would probably want meat…gah! Let’s just get sushi. That way, Akina-chan can dump wasabi and shichimi on her food and we can let Sasuke-teme avoid sugary stuff like the plague.” Naruto grinned and led the way to one of the popular, yet affordable sushi restaurants (he made sure that it was one of the few that actually let him eat there).
In the back corner of the restaurant was Kakashi, sitting with a few other jounin, including the senseis and Anko.
Sasuke and Akina forcibly dragged their more hyperactive team mate down into his seat, but they both had no doubt in their minds that the silver haired jounin had noticed them anyways.
They quietly ordered their dinner, and being the ninjas they were, couldn't help but overhear the other group's conversation, since Akina's soft talking had forced their sense of hearing to heighten.
"--Ryuuki striked the Flare base a while ago, along with that one other base of theirs. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't have so much trust in the guy who told me. Both of the bases just disappeared practically overnight..." mumbled Genma, as he chewed on his senbon.
There were a couple worried murmurs from the other shinobi. Kakashi turned the page of his Icha Icha Paradise book, earning him glares from Kurenai and Anko.
The waiter who served them came over and carefully placed their food on their table. Naruto immediately bit into his sushi, while Akina grabbed for the wasabi, putting some on her food. Both boys now took the time to watch as she ate the food with no problem at all with what should have made her breath fire from the heat.
"How do you do that?!"
The girl tilted her head, continuing to eat. She shrugged, not bothering to answer the question. She had gained some looks from the surrounding people, but after a couple quick death glares from the boys, they returned to their meals, minding their own business.
After a few minutes of eating, Sasuke finished and noticed the low-volume conversation that their superiors were having. Naruto side-glanced, but otherwise kept on eating, giving them an excuse to stay.
"--shouldn't he be caught and questioned? Shishou no Ryuuki is a vigilante that is doing things with no limitations like rules. What if he turns on us next?"
"I don't think that'll be a problem, Kurenai. Have you noticed what this guy has been doing? He's getting rid of all those mafias and illegal trading. If anything, he'll help us..." said Kakashi, finally joining the conversation.
Gai grinned reassuringly at the red-eyed rookie jounin. "YOSH! SHISHOU NO RYUUKI TRULY HAS THE FLAMES OF YOUTH!"
Kakashi inwardly cringed at the high volume (the others had deemed it amusing if they made the two rivals sit next to each other), then paid attention to Akina's reaction to the Green Beast's outburst. Her right hand twitched slightly, and he realized that this was the hand used to draw an Anbu sword.
The jounin at their table (Kurenai, Anko, Genma, Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma) all fell into a thoughtful silence, contemplating Kakashi's statement.
The question was: How would they contact the Shishou no Ryuuki to help them in the coming battle?
"Sandaime-sama would have thought of this already, since Ryuuki's reputation is spreading. If he didn't already contact him, then we can't," sighed out Genma, glancing at everyone with his half-lidded eyes.
They all nodded (others more slowly, not willing to give up such a good plan), before going back to their former conversation.
Anko glomped Kurenai from the side, putting an arm around her shoulders. "SO! When are you and Asuma getting together?"
Both skillfully hid their blushes and glared at the snake-user.
"ANKO!" "ANKO-CHAN!"
Naruto finished his sushi, letting Sasuke get up to pay for their dinner. He and Akina waited for the Uchiha outside the restaurant, walking through the deserted streets.
"Shishou no Ryuuki...is he really that powerful?" started Naruto, looking between his team mates. Akina was once again riding on Kouseki's back, after much insistence from the wolf, who kept on nagging that she was tired from her training.
"He has to be if he took out those bases so quickly, Naruto-baka."
"Urusei!"
They started bickering through their mind seal again, forcing Akina to lower the volume of their voices in her head. This had become a regular thing. Whenever they realized that they chanced the risk of making a scene (and therefore attracting the attention of...unwanted people; i.e. Fan girls and pissed off civilians), they carried on their argument in the mind seal, too irritated at each other to keep their insults to themselves.
Kouseki and Akina stayed a few meters ahead of the glaring boys, walking along as if they didn't know the two.
Well, actually, Kouseki was walking like that, and Akina was just riding on her back.
(“So...about that sword...”)
Akina replied directly in Kouseki's mind, making sure that the boys were oblivious to their conversation. “It was able to resist white fire...the second hottest fire color. It had an aura, also...”
The wolf was silent for a few moments before she responded, carefully choosing her words. (“Right...we can go to the Council Cave and you can show me there...”)
They reached the house that they had all come to call home. Naruto kicked off his shoes and called the bathroom first, while Sasuke and Akina entered at a more relaxed pace. Neither spoke of their training, acknowledging the fact that they might have to fight in the Chuunin Exam Finals.
They heard the water turn on, signaling that Naruto was now cleaning himself up in preparation for bed.
Akina nodded at Sasuke before she went back out the door with Kouseki following. The Uchiha paid her no heed. Since the first day they had lived in this house together, the two had taken strolls around Konoha before coming back to go to sleep.
The boys had been confused at first, but after seeing the various wildlife treat her with so much respect due to her position as their Guardian, it made sense. They were probably making their nightly rounds to make sure everything was alright.
It was the perfect excuse.
Several nocturnal creatures greeted the two as they passed by, heading towards the nearest forest. Anbu were scattered around the village, keeping an eye on everything since there were foreigners in the village.
Akina was a little amused to find out that Kenshiki had been given guard duty tonight. His spirit aura had a hint of annoyance and envy, which meant that he was most likely cursing the fact that she, as in Trainee Number 55, had no guard duty.
Spirit auras were different from chakra signatures and can only be sensed by those that had very acute senses in that area (which was extremely rare in Ningenkai, the human world) or were naturally able to.
The two continued to walk leisurely, sensing several Anbu linger around their area, as if trying to decide what to do about them.
When they were far enough that they could not be noticed, Akina grabbed a hold of Kouseki's pelt and shunshined towards the Council Cave, making sure to conceal them.
The large black wolf shook her fur, relishing the cool evening air. (“All right then. Show me the sword you found, pup.”)
A scroll was taken out of her ninja pouch, from which she summoned the ancient katana. Immediately after it had entered the living world again, it seemed to scan the immediate area and seemed satisfied that it's 'owner' was there, going back into it's dormant state.
Kouseki stepped forward and sniffed at the piece of metal, and was disgruntled to find that it did not exude any scent whatsoever.
(“Draw the blade.”)
Akina obeyed her, unsheathing it carefully, as to not damage it anymore. When it was fully drawn, the older demon narrowed her eyes, recognizing the symbols for what they were. Her expression grew grave.
(“Itoko-chan,”) she started, using a more affectionate title to show that she was completely serious. (“Don't use this blade unless you're sure you want to kill. These symbols are very old and ancient; I can't translate it, but I can tell you that this sword is from the time when the gods still walked the earth. I don't know how the hell those idiotic humans got their hands on this, but it's extremely powerful.”)
The girl sheathed the sword, nodding to show that she understood.
However, when she picked it up, it sent out a taste of it's aura, and just before it disappeared, the image of the Shinigami had flashed in her mind again. Akina paused for a moment before sealing the sword up.
A sword from the time when the gods still walked the earth... repeated Akina in her mind. Interesting.
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 10:04 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 6:06 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:52 pm
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:33 pm
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Well, since it seems that I'm in a rut, and am hopelessly brain-dead as to how the rest of the chapter is gonna come out, especially Neji and Naruto's fight (grumbles about fatalists and ranting), I will just post what I have so far and see what you guys think before moving on. I'll add some more comments at the very end because I need a bit of help and a few opinions from someone other than my helpful little sister, xD.
"Talking"
Thinking
"Telepathy through mind seal"
("Animals talking" / "Telepathy with animals")
"Demonic language" / 'Demon talking telepathically to their jinchuuriki'
'Miscellaneous things such as signs, Anbu sign language, letters...'
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
::;Seeing the Truth;::
Chapter 14: (untitled as of now)
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Naruto and Kouseki stood side by side, looking at the stadium in which they would be fighting in. People were already making their way towards the stadium, intent on getting good seats.
The black wolf took a look at Naruto's face, noticing his stern expression. (“Nervous, baka-chan?”)
Seeing as there were other people around, he responded by placing a hand on her pelt and rubbing it a little to show that he was fine.
(“Ohayo Kouseki-senpai!”)
Team 8, with the exception of Kurenai, was approaching from behind, no doubt there to support Shino, who was stoic as always.
Akamaru greeted Kouseki by hopping onto her back and nuzzling her neck from behind.
Kiba took a tentative sniff at the air before frowning at the two. “Where's Akina-chan and the pretty boy?”
Hinata shuffled out from behind the boys, looking around worriedly before frowning reprovingly at Kiba. “K-Kiba-kun...be nice.”
The Inuzuka just grinned and shrugged in an unconcerned manner. “Well, it's true!”
Both present members of Team 7 took the moment to grin at the teasing before Naruto answered.
“I haven't heard from the teme for a week, but I know he's alright. Akina-chan's off checking up on something. She said...er, she didn't really say, but I'm pretty sure she's gonna meet us in the stands before she goes to the competitor's booth.”
Kiba nodded. That sounded like Akina, and it seemed like Akina was just checking up on the animals before coming back to check in on her human friends.
Kouseki knew better than that.
The higher-ups had good reason to believe that the attack on the Hidden Leaf Village would be sometime during the Chuunin Exam Finals. It was the perfect moment, if anyone thought about it.
Everyone would be busy at the Stadium, so it was likely that the security might be a little lax around the outer walls. By the time word got to the Hokage and all other military leaders that they were being attacked, the enemy would already be halfway into the village.
Right about now, Akina should be just getting back from a meeting with the Sandaime Hokage himself, with a few specific orders and suggestions that he thought she should follow. He also seemed to want her to become promoted to Chuunin level. It would save many people a lot of grief.
If Akina was made a chuunin, than she also had more freedom to...say, be assigned to go out on 'solo-missions'?
Naruto grinned at the quiet Aburame heir, his blue eyes shining in excitement for the fights ahead of them. “Good luck Shino—see you in the arena!”
Dark sunglasses were turned in his direction, and the bug-user said nothing for a while. The demon container stared back and didn't move until Shino gave a tiny inclination of his head. The grin grew wider before he nodded towards the stadium and led the way for all five of them.
“Hey...Naruto.”
Naruto looked back at Kiba and blinked questionably at him, allowing himself to be dragged away to an alley by the Inuzuka. Once he was sure that they were out of immediate ear-shot of his team and Kouseki, Kiba looked grimly at his former classmate.
“Good luck with Neji.”
Blue eyes acquired a determined shine. “Thanks. I'll make sure to straighten out that b*****d. He had no right to push around Hinata like that.”
Kiba's wild eyes looked surprised for a moment before he knew that Naruto understood the seriousness of this situation, and what he was trying to do.
Naruto was trying to knock something out of Neji that had been in his blood for quite a few generations. The hatred between the Branch Family of the Hyuuga and the Main Family had started a while back, and the animosity had only multiplied since then, due to a certain...incident a couple years before Akina arrived.
Both boys joined the group again in getting to the stadium, renewed determination coursing through their veins.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Naruto frowned from his spot in the line of competitors in the middle of the arena. He glanced around, seeing the equally bored looks of both Shiranui Genma, the growing crowd, and the emotionless faces of all the other genin competing with them.
“Oi! Sasuke-teme, Akina-chan! Where the hell are you guys? They're having us line up in the middle of the arena in front of the judge...”
“Kakashi's making me do some last minute practice...”
“...I'll be there soon.”
“Bah! Don't you guys want to be promoted?! Being late for the matches doesn't really seem responsible...”
“Hmmph. This coming from the King of Pranks? I don't believe it...” Naruto was both bewildered and disgruntled by the fact that he could actually feel Sasuke rolling his eyes at him.
“BAH!”
Both boys could feel a little amusement from the quiet girl, and it made them feel a little more moody at the fact that this was the equivalent of Akina laughing at their behavior. It didn't help that she was a year younger than them.
The only reason that they didn't do anything about being laughed at was because it meant that she was opening up to them. They were afraid that if they reprimanded her for her amusement, then she would withdraw into her shell again.
“Yo, brat,” called Genma. Naruto turned his head and sent a slightly miffed look at him, all while determining whether or not that was said with malice. His chocolate eyes held no resentment, only boredom, so Naruto tilted his head.
“What?”
“Have any idea where your team mates are? I didn't think they were the type to be late...” he drawled, unconcerned. However, inside, he was slightly bewildered by the few seconds that had passed when he was being 'evaluated' by Naruto so closely. With those deep blue eyes seemingly searching his soul, it felt like he was being judged by some higher being. It was a slightly discomforting feeling.
“Do they need to be here in line or anything?”
The jounin shrugged a shoulder. “Not really. This is a good chance to be seen by the audience, though, but all we really want is for you guys to be here for your matches...”
There was a mutter beside Naruto from Shikamaru that sounded suspiciously like “I knew I should have just stayed home...”
Naruto nodded. “They'll be here soon.”
He reluctantly relayed this newfound information onto his team mates, and just as he suspected, felt some smugness radiating from Sasuke's mind.
Genma looked at all the participants in front of them, listened to someone talking in the earphone, then looked up at the sky to see the time. Another ninja appeared in a burst of smoke behind him and gave him a paper before disappearing again. The senbon-chewing jounin glanced at the paper, then back at the genin.
“All right, you guys. It seems that one of our participants withdrew from the Finals, so the match-ups have changed slightly.” He held up the paper for them to see. “Here's the new line-up.”
Match One: Uzumaki Naruto VS. Hyuuga Neji
Match Two: Sabaku no Gaara VS. Uchiha Sasuke
Match Three: Sabaku no Kankurou VS. Aburame Shino
Match Four: Sabaku no Temari VS. Nara Shikamaru.
Match Five: Winner of Match Four VS. Takamaru Akina
Several participants made some sounds of annoyance at the change in plans, Shikamaru in particular. He had been preparing for an intense first battle full of tactical movements with Akina, but now he wasn't so sure he was prepared enough. Bah...so troublesome.
“Alright you guys, the spotlight is on you, so do your villages proud!” Genma nodded towards someone in the higher booths, then looked up at the audience.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Chuunin Exam Finals here in Konohagakure, where these aspiring genin will fight against each other in a tournament for the right to be promoted to the chuunin level!” His voice was heard loud and clear throughout the entire stadium through speakers.
The young genin down in the arena were almost blown away at the amount of cheering that erupted from the crowd.
“Our first match is between Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji, both genin from Konoha! Will the other participants please go up to the competitor's booth?”
When the arena was empty of everyone but the ones fighting and Genma, their judge, he nodded at them both, putting a hand over the speaker so that everyone wouldn't hear his next words. “You guys ready?”
Neji inclined his head while Naruto shot a look towards Genma that clearly said “HELL YEAH!”
He nodded at them both and removed his hand from the speaker attached to his earphone. “Both fighters are ready. The match between Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji will now begin. Hajime!”
The applauding started up again and suddenly a loud war howl was heard clearly over the yelling and clapping for a short few seconds, courtesy of Kouseki who was now flashing her grin at the startled people sitting in the area around her and the other Leaf genin.
(“KICK HIS a**!”) was the general message of her howl. Anyone who understood it couldn't help but crack a small smile or grin. Kouseki was generally known for this kind of behavior, even in the Inuzuka clan, so this was to be expected from her.
I'll make sure to do more than that, Kouseki-chan...
“What is with your team and cheering for the one that will inevitably lose?”
Naruto turned his blue eyes towards Neji and stared at him. Neji shifted slightly as he was subjected to the same uncomfortable feeling as Genma. “We cheer because that's our way of showing we support the ones we hold close to us.”
“But fate has already decided that I'll win.”
Naruto didn't shift his gaze from his face. “We're just puny mortals. Who are we to know what fate has planned for us?”
Neji frowned a little. “I am one of those who fate has bestowed a cruel life upon. The same is with all those from the Hyuuga Branch Family. Of all people, I should have the right to know.”
But his opponent only shook his head, not breaking eye contact. “You aren't the only one with a tough life, Neji. Most of us here have these kind of problems that we shouldn't have to deal with, but we do anyways. That's life.”
It was Neji's turn to shake his head. “You don't understand,” he scowled. “my situation is different.”
“How do you know that for sure? Take my team mate, Akina. She was born blind, and she'll probably stay blind for the rest of her life. This should automatically take away any chance for her to become a ninja, but look at her now! She worked her way around the fate that Destiny had given her and beat the odds.”
Neji just shook his head again. “My situation is different,” he repeated.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
The crowd above and around them was quiet, yet confused. Why weren't they fighting? What was happening down there? What are they talking about?
Most the ninja in the vicinity, however, could hear them loud and clear. They were tense, the Hyuuga section of the audience in particular, sensing the seriousness of the situation.
“Didn't the battle start already?” This question came from Chouji, though it took them a few seconds for the Leaf-nin around him to understand it, since the Akimichi had been eating while talking...again.
Kouseki studied the situation down in the arena, having followed Kiba and co. to the stands here to join up with Ino and Chouji. (“Yeah. Right now they are trapped in a battle of ideals and wills.”)
Kiba relayed this statement to the others, who just looked at the wolf in surprise. That was pretty deep, coming from such a violent creature.
“A battle of ideals and wills...” murmured Ino, this match reminding her of the fight between her and Akina, and how Akina forced Ino to change her ideals. And now, Naruto was trying to do the same with Neji. They really do belong on the same team...
Hinata looked down at her shoes from her place next to Kouseki by the railings, knowing what they were talking about. Kiba lay a comforting hand on her shoulder while Akamaru whined a little. They had become more protective of the girl since her injuries, but since Akina had alerted the medic-nin to tend to her injuries early on, she was on her way to a full recovery, and healthy enough to walk around on her own.
“He can take care of himself, Hinata.” Ino and Chouji turned their heads around so fast that Kouseki was wondering if they had suffered from whiplash. Akina had mysteriously appeared behind the group, startling the genin, but the two members of Team Ten were the only ones that showed a reaction, not being used to the enigmatic girl.
Kiba grinned at her. “Hey, Akina-chan! It's about time you got here!” Akamaru barked in agreement before she nodded in greeting to them all.
Hinata raised her head again to nod and give her friend a smile, albeit a small, shaky smile, in response to her words of comfort.
Ino shifted uncomfortably at Akina's appearance before mentally shaking it out of her system. “Hey, Nature Girl!”
Akina tilted her head at the Yamanaka, not seeming to take any offense. She had sensed the teasing manner in which she said her nickname. It's just like when Naruto called Sasuke a teme. No offense it really meant...it's just a nickname.
“Aren't you supposed to be up in the competitor's booth?”
She simply shook her head. Kiba decided to talk for her. “I don't really think that she needs to go up there until after her match. But I think she'll go after Naruto's match, right?” His guess was proved correct when she nodded.
Kouseki shushed them by growling lowly. (“Shut your traps! I wanna hear this!”)
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Down in the arena, Naruto sensed Akina arrive in the stadium and head towards their friends through the mind seal, that being the only way he could sense her at all.
“Hey, teme, Akina-chan's already here. Hurry up!”
“...Hn.”
“How is your situation different? I want to understand.”
Neji just growled at him and broke eye contact, looking towards the area where the Hyuuga clan was sitting. “A dead last like you wouldn't be able to understand anyways.”
A grunt coming from Naruto attracted his attention back to him. Naruto caught his white eyes again, letting Neji see his pain, loneliness, and bitterness. Is it possible...that there is more to this guy that even the Hyuuga eyes cannot see...?
“Try me.”
Something in those deep blue eyes disturbed Neji. What was that he saw...? Behind the bitter emotions was...sympathy. Rage started to consume him. Sympathy?! How dare he try to sympathize with me?! He just doesn't understand!
Naruto didn't back down, even when Neji started sending him a death glare. He's been victim to many of those in the past few months, so one more wouldn't affect him as much as the Hyuuga hoped it would. Damn. It's like I'm playing with a bomb! One wrong move and BOOM!
“Why?” spat Neji. “Why do you insist on prying? It's none of your business!”
“You made it my business when you beat Hinata-chan into a pulp in the preliminaries. She was my classmate, so I want to know what such a shy girl has done to receive that kind of punishment.”
“So you sympathize with the Main House?” he hissed.
“No, I just want to know the reason for your hate,” Naruto replied coolly.
The chance for Naruto to try to change Neji's way of thinking slipped away. “There is no need for someone like you to know.” Neji slipped into the starting stance for the Jyuuken, his Byakugan now activated.
Naruto successfully hid a disgruntled look, slipping into his own opening stance.
Both boys stared at each other for a few moments before Naruto decided to take action.
“Kage Bunshin no jutsu!”
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Sasuke cursed under his breath as he hastened to get to the stadium, aggravated at their sensei, who was leisurely following his student.
Alrighty then! That's all I have so far, and as you can see, I kind of avoided my problem there by switching perspectives to Sasuke. sweatdrop . Yeah, it's kind of a cheap trick, but now I'm at a loss as to whether or not it's okay to skip some of the Naruto/Neji battle? Would you guys mind? Because There's sure to be plenty of action coming up, considering the invasion and all, and I already got all of that outlined...stupid Neji. WHY DO YOU TORMENT ME LIKE THIS?!
Anyways, I hope you all had a good Independence Day (if you celebrate it, that is). I think I'm going to Great America (I doubt you guys know what it is, but whatever) this weekend.
Man! What the heck is wrong with the coloring?! xp .
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:02 pm
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