Hello all!
This is just a litte thing I've had sitting on my hard drive for a while, and I ran accross it and decided I've been absent for too long. I plan to write more on this one at some point.
Dislcaimer: I own nothing.
"He's a midrange fighter, with an incredible defense. We might have a chance if we could get a close-combat type in there, but with all these blades raining down, we don't stand a chance," Kakashi said.
"But we can't," Temari reminded him.
The two of them, along with Sakura, Kiba, Tenten, and Kankuro were packed into a small hidden recess in the face of a low cliff. On top of the cliff, there were two rogue ninja wondering where their opponents had disappeared to, and actively searching for them in the rocky, hilly, scraggly-forested terrain. They were the last two left out of the small band of rogues they'd led.
At the beginning of the fight, the band had identified themselves as a clan of weapons-jutsu users who had a bone to pick with both Konoha and Suna, and so they'd prepared for the day when the two hidden villages would stage a joint mission, which seemed to be the best way to declare war on both at the same time.
The leader had realized that he was not going to win this battle, and even if he and his second-in-command managed to somehow escape, his underlings were all dead already. They had very little left to lose except their lives and the last shreds of their dignity, and that desperation showed through in their determined fighting. Unfortunately, the goal was to capture both of the rogues alive, but neither had any intention of coming quietly. And each was damn good at his art.
Tenten spoke next. She'd already been invaluable in this battle, having better control and accuracy over each and every weapon in her scroll than any of their opponents. "Kami," she breathed, "if only I could turn their weapons back on them somehow!"
Kiba looked at her. "Is there a way?"
She shook her head, and her hair buns swayed softly. This battle had been going a long time, and they were all looking a little haggard. "Not a plausible one. I'd have to get close enough to attach strings to each one, just like I've got attached to mine."
"Strings! That's it!" Sakura whispered loudly to herself. "That's why this is familiar!" All heads turned questioningly toward the medic. "When I fought Sasori with Chiyo-baasama! Sasori had a defense like this! Sensei…"
Kakashi blinked. "It's risky, and you and I are the only close-range types here." He turned his attention to Kankuro. "Are you thinking what she's thinking?"
He nodded, frowning. "I think so, and I should be able to do it."
"Do what?" Kiba asked.
"I can get one of them through the metal rainstorm going on up there."
"I'm too low on chakra to finish this one-on-one," Kakashi interrupted. "Sakura?"
"Hai. I should be able to do it, as long as I'm not going to need to heal anyone within the next few hours."
"That's a risk we'll have to take. Kankuro, how long do you need?"
"Two minutes, maybe three max."
"Kiba, Tenten, Temari. The three of us will keep him busy. Kankuro, Sakura, make this work." Then Kakashi was gone, followed closely by the other three he'd just mentioned, and Sakura and Kankuro were left alone in the recess.
Suddenly Sakura was a little nervous. She was in close quarters with a foreign, albeit allied, shinobi, and she was about to become his puppet. She felt her pulse quicken slightly, and she took a deep breath. "Just tell me what to do."
"Stand up straight," he told her. She lifted her chin, pulled her shoulders back, and straightened her back. "I'm not her, you know."
Sakura nodded, thinking he was referring to the elderly puppeteer's highly respected status that he couldn't match yet. "I know." His eyes were slowly sizing her up, and she tried not to blush under his scrutiny. This is just part of the process, she told herself, but she picked a spot on the opposite wall to lock her eyes on anyway.
"I've never done this before."
"Which part?"
"The living part. I've maneuvered my wooden puppets through plenty of tight spots, but I've never used anything –or anyone, I guess- that wasn't an inanimate object."
"Oh. I won't work against you; I've done this before," she said with a slight smile.
He shook his head and circled around behind her. "With an old woman."
She twisted around to look at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't get me wrong; I've got nothing but respect for Elder Chiyo. But she was too old to be using you that way. It only worked because she was such a great puppet master, and because you worked with her."
"What do you mean? Her age didn't seem to affect her abilities that I noticed."
"You wouldn't notice, no offense. All I mean is this: Puppets are dead weight, and she was an old woman. I read your report of that battle. She was already tired by the time she put her strings on you."
"So?"
"So, she was only able to guide you. Uniform weapons and her lifetime of practice made that enough; I don't have either of those luxuries today."
Realization was starting to dawn on Sakura. He hadn't just been being modest; he was telling her that his style was going to be a lot different that Chiyo's. "Oh," she said quietly.
"Now relax," he ordered. "I'm about to start attaching strings." She turned back to face the front, and he walked back around to stand in front of her. He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them and touched her forehead with the tip of his thumb. "Let me tell you how this is going to work. Do you trust me?"
"Today? Yes."
He touched the corners of her shoulders, just outside the fabric of her sleeveless top, with his index fingers. "Good. Now, like I said, Elder Chiyo wasn't strong enough to properly use you as a puppet, but she had the experience and circumstances to compensate for that. I don't, but I am strong enough. I'm going to overpower you."
Sakura's heart skipped a beat. She knew what he meant, but did he have to phrase it like that? He touched the insides of her elbows with his middle fingertips, and the tops of her wrists with his third fingers.
"You're lighter than my regular puppets, so that'll give us an edge of speed. Don't resist or you'll wear me out, and don't try to help or you'll throw me off." His pinkies tapped the tops of her hands. "Once I've got you, just go completely limp. After I get you through his defense I'll give you as much slack as you want, and it'll be your show."
He spread his fingers, and her arms rose. He curled his fingers in to tap his palm, and her arms stayed put when he moved his hands.
"Why not drop the strings completely?"
"Because if things go bad, I need to be able to pull you out of there." He slipped his hands under the hem of her top, and she gasped.
"Kankuro! What-"
"Direct connection. Relax."
She forced herself not to flinch when his fingers brushed over her sides. Chiyo-baa-sama had told her that too, she remembered. She felt him tap her ribs on either side of her breasts, then another tap a little lower on her ribs. Then his hands were outside her shirt again, and he used a finger to separate the V-neck of her collar. She stared at the wall, focusing on keeping her breathing steady.
"Why so many strings?"
"Because I'm not taking any chances. I need complete control over your body because there's no telling what kind of poisons might be on those blades, and you're not made of wood." He paused for a moment to let that sink in. "Normally I have one heavy puppet on each hand, so to have both hands for just you gives me an advantage."
He touched the center of her sternum, then dropped his hands to her hips. She gasped softly when his fingertips slipped under her waistband, but all he did was touch her hipbones and the center of the back of her hips and then pull his hands back. He knelt in front of her and reached around to tap the backs of her knees, then her shins, then her heels, and finally the tops of her feet before standing back up.
"There," he said. "I've got you. Try to collapse."
She relaxed her arms first; it felt a little strange when they stayed exactly in the same position. Next she let her head loll to the side, but it didn't. She consciously relaxed her abs and her back, and she wasn't surprised when she didn't move. She relaxed her legs a little at first, then when Kankuro's strings held her up, she relaxed them completely.
"Now what?"
"Now, I need to get a feel for you. Stay relaxed like that."
She took a deep breath, and he didn't waste any time. He lifted her off the ground with the strings, and it took some effort on her part not to gasp or try to look around. He spun her around experimentally, first slowly, and then a little quicker. He tugged on the strings attached to her knees and arms and curled her into a ball in midair, tucking her head and curving her back. He held her there for a second, then stretched her body out, pointing her fingertips and her toes as far away from each other as they could go. Next, he gently let her head fall back, then arched her back and curled her legs back in what almost seemed like an effort to touch her hair with her toes.
Once her feet had left the ground, he tested her flexibility while holding her in place with only his strings. It was exhilarating, like she had found a way to turn off gravity. Which technically, she supposed, she had.
Kankuro didn't hold her there for long; he seemed to have gotten all the "feel for her" that he needed, and the explosions were getting louder on top of the cliff.
"Ready?" he asked.
She started to nod, then thought better of it. "Ready." She hoped she really was.
Like I said, this is only the first part. I want to write some about the battle and maybe a little bit of aftermath, but whether or not I actually get around to it and how soon probably depends a lot on the response this gets. (Yes, that's my mean, bribing way of asking for reviews. lol)
Pretty please, tell me what you think! :)