IIII'MMMMM AAALLLIIIVVVEEE!
Sorry to anyone out there who wanted more chapters from "Your Choice", but I think I'm done with that for a while. I might post another one-shot randomly every now and then, but I won't be focusing on it.
This is an idea that's been floating around in my, erm, chaotic mind for a while now. It started out with Mizu as the main character, then it went to another awesome OC I created. I kinda maybe went fangirl crazy and gave her two bloodline traits among a whole bunch of other Mary Sue things. *Cough* romance with Itachi *Cough* BUT! I have gone back to Mizu as the main character for this story, and my other OC will be powered down. A. Lot. And no romance with Itachi. That was just weird now that I think about it... I blame teenage hormones. (Perfect excuse for any and all embarrassing crushes.)
BUT ANYWAY! I will try to get more than eight chapters into this story. Writer's block has challenged my time and time again when it comes to completing any of my stories, and I have nearly always lost. HOWEVER. I do not intend to lose this time.
With that said, on to the story.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
The child's breathing slowly fell into a familiar pattern.
In.
Out.
Normally she didn't have this much trouble calming herself. Normally she could focus on the task at hand and suppress her emotions. It was what she was trained to do. But now her fingers were twitching and her heart was beating in her ear and she just wished the sick feeling in her stomach would go away.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Nothing about this situation was normal. But she was a ninja and she would do what she must.
Mizu's eyes flew open as the stadium burst into cheers. The last match was over. The next one was hers.
Knees shaking, she slowly stood.
Remember, image is everything.
I remember.
Though she doubted that she would have that much trouble playing the scared little girl today.
After taking one last calming breath, she carefully set down a wooden staff on the bench next to her.
"Winner, Naruto!" The proctor of the third exam said. "Next match, Mizu versus Tenten."
Mizu started towards the staircase, mentally rehearsing every detail of the plan she had come up with for this fight. Before she knew it she was stepping into the very arena she had dreamed about competing in for the last four years.
It's time to start acting.
Yes, I believe it is.
The crowd gathered around the arena had seen two very exciting fights that day so far. The first, Shikamaru versus Temari, had been a battle of wits with a twist ending. The second, Neji versus Naruto, had been a battle of ideologies with both participants giving their all. Neither had failed to deliver the kind of excitement the civilian crowd craved.
But by the looks of the tiny, stuttering child that had just stepped into the arena, this one couldn't even be called a fight.
"I heard she graduated from the Academy at the age ten. Ten!" one plump matron gossiped to anyone who was listening.
"How old is she now?" another old housewife asked.
The first woman smirked at the expecting faces around her. She drew in a deep breath, allowing the suspense to build within the eyes of those paying attention, and finally said, "Eleven."
There was silence for a beat.
"No way!"
"She entered as a rookie?"
"She must be insane!"
"She's going to get crushed."
Then finally, "Shhhhhh, the match is starting."
The head proctor repeated the rules of the match to the two girls. "Are you ready?" he asked.
The older girl, Tenten, nodded firmly. Determination was written all over her face. Mizu started to nod, then froze, her eyes widening in horror.
"I left something really important in the competitor's box, can I go get it really quickly?" The dark-haired youth seemed to shrink in on herself as she glanced at all those present to witness her beginner's mistake.
The head proctor cocked an eyebrow at her. "Quickly."
Mizu nodded and took off.
"Well, she certainly is fast," a young woman sitting in the stands said, trying to find something, anything, that would make the forgetful genin look like she had any chance at all.
Twenty seconds later, a sprinting Mizu came back into view with her staff in tow.
"Okay, I'm ready now!"
The head proctor glanced at her with a look that clearly stated 'you are going to die' and said, "Begin!"
Tenten didn't waste a second on banter, instead, she pulled out two kunai and threw them directly at Mizu. Mizu quickly dodged to the left, only to land right in the path of three more. Thinking fast, she substituted with a rock nearby and brought up her staff to deflect another 'stray' kunai that had bounced off another and sailed past her.
Stop! You're acting like a real ninja should act, remember the plan?
Oh, right.
Mizu promptly put on a shaky smile and stuttered, "Y-your p-p-pretty g-good, y-you kn-know." Tenten merely narrowed her eyes and brought out a shuriken.
It's not working!
Patience child. You have to convince her.
How?
Her question was answered when her arm movement was promptly jerked from her control, and placed in another's. The shuriken Tenten had been holding a second before was suddenly uncomfortably close to her face, but try as she might, she couldn't raise her arms to defend herself. Her eyes widened in panic before scrunching closed in a horrible age-old habit. Then her arms were hers again and she hastily batted the shuriken away, wincing as it opened up an uncomfortable long gash along the length of her arm.
That's how.
Are you crazy? I could've died!
Hey, I'm helping you here. Obviously, your acting skills were lacking, so I just polished them up a little.
I'm bleeding!
You're a ninja.
Are you trying to make me lose?!
Not at all. Look at her, did you see how her eyes widened when you froze? Did you notice the relief on her face when you managed to deflect it in time? She's a feeling creature, use that to your advantage. You're a scared little girl, now make her feel like a schoolyard bully.
...I hate you.
Mizu whimpered, settling into a shaky defensive stance. At the insistence of her 'friend', she glanced again at her newest injury.
Tenten's eyes also shifted to the younger girl's arm, and she kindly said, "You should forfeit now, you're clearly outmatched. You can always try again next year."
Wow, her emotions are practically made out of clay.
Mizu looked up at Tenten, then back at her arm, "Maybe..." she drew out the silence for a few moments before settling her features in an adorable look of determination, "No! I won't! I'm gonna see this thing to the end whether I lose or not!"
Tenten's face became unreadable.
I can read it, you nitwit.
Well, at least to Mizu. She drew out five kunai and relented, "If you insist."
Mizu's eyes widened and she ran in the opposite direction, it never hurt to put a little space between you and certain death.
Stop here.
Mizu skidded to a stop and faced her opponent once more. Something wrapped around her, knocking away her staff, and pinning her arms to her sides, and her legs together.
Why must you do this to me...
Stop complaining or you'll miss your chance. Quick she's coming close to finish the fight now. Cut the wire and engage her in taijutsu. Make sure it's pathetic or I will.
Uggg...Fine.
Mizu cut the ninja wire and launched a fist at the now much closer Tenten. Tenten merely caught the punch and swung her leg around. Mizu went flying into the nearest wall. Dragging herself to her feet, she quickly located Tenten.
Start the sniffles.
Mizu forced tears to fill her eyes, before wiping at them furiously. Sniffling, she whispered, "I-I'm s-sorry, I r-really wanted t-to give y-you a g-good fight." Sniff Sniff Hiccup "B-but I g-guess I'm j-j-just n-not st-strong enough. I n-never am." Her lip quivered and she shut her eyes in supposed shame.
Now that's what I'm talking about.
You're a horrible influence, you know?
I know. Pay attention.
It was at that moment that Tenten made a disastrous mistake. She lowered her kunai in the presence of her enemy. "Hey, hey, it's okay." Tenten's eyes now held nothing but absolute sympathy and understanding. "You are amazing for a kid your age, one day you'll be the one beating up on everyone in the arena. Don't give up so soon."
Mizu's eyes widened and her sniffles stopped. A small smile formed on her face as her face colored and she looked down, "C-can I she-shake your hand?"
"Sure." The foolish genin closed the distance between them, reaching out as she did.
Okay, so one strong knock to the head should do it. Hmmm...Will I be able to reach with enough power to knock her out? Oh, drat, she's almost here, why did I plan on punching her again? I can barely reach her head at my height!
Suddenly her movement was wrenched from her control again.
H-Hey! Give me back my body! I want to do this!
Not a chance. There is no way I'm letting you mess this up.
Then her finger's started tingling in a horribly familiar way.
What are you...
Tenten reached her, and quick as lightning Mizu's hand reached out and struck her in the neck. Tenten's eyes widened in shock, then filled with pain. She crumpled to her knees, screaming.
Stop it! You're hurting her!
Patience child, unlike you, I can control this. It won't kill her.
Mizu felt herself bend down to again tap Tenten's neck, this time, to stop the jutsu.
The stadium was deathly quiet. No one had thought the child stood any chance at all from the beginning, and yet, she simply touched her opponent and Tenten had collapsed, crying out in pain. Someone started to clap, but when no one else joined in they stopped.
"Winner, Mizu," the proctor said after what felt like an eternity.
As she exited the stadium, still not under her own control, a thousand questions buzzed around in her head.
Why? We had a hundred different ways to end that battle. Why do that to her?
Your name will be known, whether you like it or not.
Okay, so after I finished this chapter, I literally walked over to my sister's room, barged in (Without knocking, oops), shoved my computer into her hands and said,"Fix it." So any awesomeness this chapter may contain is a direct result of my sister's editing. In case you're wondering her username in Silverstorm13.
I allready have some of the next chapter written!
Tsk, only 52 words.
Shut up inner voice! ANYWAY, I'm hoping to be able to update once every two weeks since my life is crazy right now, but I am currently working on the next chapter as I said before.
You mean I'm working on the next chapter. You're off daydreaming about Transformers.
Shhhhhhh, the readers don't need to know about that...
(Ok, so I saved everything, but then I saw I had 1,974 words in this chapter, and I was like,"NNNNOOOOOOOOOO!" so I added this part to get it up to 2,000.)