Please note: the disclaimer is written backwards. Don't worry, these fanfictions aren't making you crazy.
etc. etc., jounin, smelly people, late Gorgon, scary a of concept the friends, returned affiliated, themes or places, characters, any Naruto, own not do We DISCLAIMER:
Kiba: What's with the disclaimer? And didn't you update yesterday?
Esperwen: Lack of school has made me bored. And this makes up for the long wait over the weekend.
Kiba: But now the story's going to end sooner.
Esperwen: Don't worry. I don't think the Portals are ever going to close permanently.
Kiba: Was that a minorly subtle hint to the readers?
Esperwen: Very good. Now let them read.
Chapter Seven: Return of the Gorgon
It was now into the second month that Deniizu had gone away. Michiko had come back from Suna at the beginning of the month, and this was also the sixth month that Pooriin had been training under Aburame Shibi's supervision. Now, every other day, Pooriin stayed inside to meditate for only half of the day; after lunch, she was taken outdoors for a different kind of training. And today, Michiko and Shino had been invited along.
"It has been about two weeks, since we have gotten started on the second part of Pooriin-chan's training," Shibi said, while he, Shino, Pooriin and Michiko walked down the street to their own training field, "Has it not, Pooriin-chan?"
"Hai, Shibi-sensei," Pooriin nodded politely, and her teacher continued.
"We have been trying to discover other secrets to Pooriin's doujutsu," Shibi explained, just as they stepped into the clearing, "But our efforts have proved fruitless, thus far. You can see our problem."
Michiko's jaw dropped, and she stared in awe when she saw the state of Pooriin's training field; Shino stiffened slightly, and even the Four Musketeers couldn't help but gawk at the site. Kunai scratch marks marked every tree; the innermost ones had large amounts of their trunks cut away. Stray weapons peppered the ground and trees, there appeared to be small craters on the ground, and Shino thought he saw a few bloodstains; now he understood why his father had needed so many bandages lately. But what caught their eyes the most was the ground; it was charred and blackened with soot, uneven in some places as if stone jutsus had been used, small ponds had formed in an area where it hadn't rained for three weeks, and somehow, parts of the ground seemed cut by something much larger than a normal sword; perhaps a wind jutsu.
"I thought you couldn't use any ninja techniques," Shino said, looking at what was left of a burnt tree; a slight crater and blackened roots were all that were left, "I thought that you couldn't use chakra, like Lee-san."
"I can't," Pooriin nodded, a cross between anger and sadness on her face, "But the Gorgon can. You know how I can't remember any of the thoughts when I'm a Gorgon; I just see things from an...observer's perspective? It's the same with ninjutsu; the Gorgon can mold chakra and harness it for use somehow; I can't, and once I wake up, I don't know how she does it."
"...She's terribly strong," Michiko whispered picking up a ruined bird's nest that D'Artagnan had been sniffing, "And out of control. Look at all the dead things..."
"The 'dead things', as you put it, are the reason why you and Shino are here," Shibi said calmly, the devastation around the small group not seeming to affect him.
The damage probably doesn't affect him, Michiko thought, He's either used to seeing it now, or it's that high-quality emotional training again. Even Pooriin doesn't show as much emotion during arguments, when she remembers. Otherwise, she's her usual hyperactive self.
"Often, I have asked Tsunade to lend me a medical nin during Pooriin's outdoor training," Shibi continued, "But they have all been needed right where they are; in the hospital. However, you, Michiko, may be just what we need. I realize you have only been back for less than a week, but if you could-"
"Stand by in case you need medical attention?" Michiko interrupted avidly, "I'd love that! And I need training for stressful situations anyway; you're really helping me."
"...Good," Shibi nodded after a moment.
...he didn't want me to interrupt, Michiko realized, keeping her smile on but mentally kicking herself, Smooth, Michelle.
"That would be the reason why I am here, isn't it?" Shino asked calmly, after a short moment of thought, "Michiko-san will need somebody to help her, since the medical nin must by all means be protected."
"Correct," Shibi nodded, a faint smile on his face.
That's probably the closest Shino will ever get to a smile of pride, Pooriin guessed, knowing how stoic her tutor could be.
"...But I don't see why a medical nin helps you figure out Pooriin's ability," Michiko said slowly, not wanting to seem rude to Shino's father, "Unless...we're only a back-up plan? Are we expecting somebody else?"
"Very good," Shibi nodded, "Believe it or not, we are actually quite late for our appointment; the jounin who I sent for was scheduled to be here at sunrise. But as you can see, there is nobody here."
...Maybe he got mad and just left? Michiko thought logically, giving a confused look with Shino, who only shrugged in reply.
"I don't understand," Shino said bluntly, and Shibi shook his head gently.
"As you may have heard, there are only two jounins who are quite notorious for being late," Shibi explained, then saw a grin appear on Michiko's face, "Yes, Michiko-san, one of them is your own sensei, Satoki Inel."
There isn't even always a guarantee that Inel-sensei will arrive, Michiko thought, laughing inwardly.
"However, the jounin who will meet us, is...ah. Right behind me."
Shibi and Pooriin turned around, and all four of them could see their final companion. Sauntering into the clearing, he had silver hair and a lopsided forehead protector over one eye; Pooriin could see that he was reading a certain hentai manga that he held in ANBU-gloved hands.
"Yo," the son of the White Fang of Konoha greeted, with his customary embarrassed smile and neck scratch, "Sorry for being late, but there was a really good chapter, and I couldn't-"
"Shino, Pooriin-chan, Michiko-chan," Shibi said, speaking right over the jounin's excuse, "I introduce you to Hatake Kakashi, an S-rank ninja who has been kind enough to lend us both his valuable time, and his own doujutsu."
"Well, I wouldn't say it was mine," Kakashi grinned, "It was more like a gift-"
"Come, Pooriin-chan," Shibi interrupted again, leading his pupil to the centre of the field and completely ignoring Kakashi for the moment.
"Hey," Michiko smiled at Kakashi's wounded look, giving him a peace sign, "Remember me?"
"...Ah, yes," Kakashi nodded in recollection, "You and your friend are the two Tea Village prodigies; Deniizu with taijutsu and ninjutsu, while you specialize in medical techniques."
"It's nice to be recognized," Michiko grinned, "And you, of course, are the famous Copy-Ninja. But on to business: what's Shibi-san planning?"
"Well," Kakashi rubbed his chin while stepping forward, before putting a hand on his forehead protector as Michiko and Shino followed, "From what I remember, he intends to set off Pooriin-chan's ability, and see if there are other ways to set her back to normal, or if she can control it at all. He's tried squinting, or veils, both before and after the ability has been activated, but nothing has worked. Today, we're going to try to find a way to get her to control it after activating it; he hopes that my eye's abilities will be able to see some clue to how Pooriin-chan's works."
Shino looked to where his father and friend were; from Pooriin's body language, and the way that his father was leaning towards her, he could see that his father was trying to set her temper off.
"Interesting," Shino murmured to Kakashi, before grabbing Michiko's hand and pulling her to the edge of the clearing.
"What?" Michiko asked, when he stopped and let her look back, "What is it?"
"They're jounins, and we're only genins. I think it would be best if we stayed back," Shino said, and Michiko looked back to the other three.
Kakashi had just pulled up his forehead protector, and was standing, seemingly aloof, to the side. However, he had already put away his book, and as the people familiar with Kakashi knew, putting away his book meant business. Shibi was now shoving Pooriin by the shoulders while he spoke; if she weren't so worried about the Gorgon, Michiko would have thought that he looked rather ridiculous; something like a very old gangster.
"She's starting to shake," Michiko observed, making the Dog seal with her hands.
"It's starting," Shino nodded, watching her make the Dragon seal.
Pooriin's hands balled into fists; Michiko made the Rooster seal.
Pooriin was starting to grind her feet into the ground; Michiko made the Snake seal.
Three more signs of growing anger; three more hand seals.
"Once more," Michiko whispered, watching as Shibi shoved Pooriin again, this time to the ground.
It's close, Shino thought, able to hear his father yelling, even at this distance.
"Enough!" Pooriin roared, leaping to her feet, while Michiko made her final seal.
Two things happened at once; Shino saw what Michiko did, while Kakashi saw the change in Pooriin. Pooriin's eyes did not really turn black, Kakashi could see, using his Sharingan; her pupils dilated until they made the irises too thin a circle to see. Michiko took her hands apart and held them up, outstretched, allowing a green aura to surround them; her justu was ready.
"Why did you activate it now?" Shino asked, seeing the chakra in Michiko's hands, "Doesn't holding onto medical jutsu waste chakra?"
Hearing a curse, Shino glanced over to where the jounin were; Shibi had just taken a glancing blow to the shoulder. However, the clan leader smoothly used the Body Flicker Technique to move just out of Pooriin's reach; summoning bugs out of his sleeves, he was still completely serene.
"This isn't healing jutsu," Michiko answered, and Shino realized that the glow was only coming from her fingertips, "This is for us."
Michiko touched her right thumb to the side of her neck, and arranged the four fingers on the side of her face, on certain points that her teacher, Kazuma, had taught her. With her left, she did the same with Shino.
"...It's a Sense Enhancement technique," Michiko said quietly, after minute, then bent down and touched the four dog's faces in the same manner, "It works like a soldier pill, only without the extra burst of chakra, and for a little bit longer; chi, the five senses, and my elemental detection are sharper than before."
"How long do we have?" Shino asked, also in a low voice; his sense of hearing was very different; he could hear Michiko breathing, and even the dogs' tails moving.
"Half an hour until it wears off," Michiko answered, cancelling the jutsu from her hands and standing on the ready, brandishing shuriken and the dagger Sasuke had given her as a welcome present those many months ago, "Porthos is good at keeping track of time; he'll tell us when it's time to redo the jutsu."
Porthos barked for emphasis, then whimpered with his brothers while Michiko and Shino winced.
When are you going to remember...! Aramis started, then stopped and shook his head in annoyance.
My poor ears... D'Artagnan sighed.
Get ready, guys, Athos said softly, Michiko has that fighting smell about her; she's getting anxious.
"Remember, boys, Pooriin's the enemy," Michiko murmured, "She looks the same, but she's different right now; she may try to hurt us, but we have to remember not to hurt her."
She smells different, Porthos whined, getting a whiff of scent on a stray breeze.
Are you sure it's not that new guy who smells? D'Artagnan asked.
Trust me, I'm sure, Porthos answered gruffly.
They watched Kakashi and Shibi fight against the Gorgon, but after a few minutes of sparring with 'simple' taijustu (lack of chakra classed the taijutsu as 'simple', but neither genin had ever seen some of the moves that Pooriin and the jounin used), Michiko gasped shortly, then started running forward towards the others; she sensed something huge.
"Don't!" Shino exclaimed, grabbing her elbow and pulling her to a stop, then lowered his tone when he realized how loud he sounded, "They're jounin; they can handle it."
"There's going to be so much fi-" Michiko started, then winced at the rush of heat she felt; she didn't need her Sense Enhancement to feel that the fire was hot, even from that distance.
Looking towards the other group, Shino and Michiko saw Pooriin blow a gigantic fireball straight at Shibi and Kakashi.
The kikaichu are especially susceptible to heat, Shino realized, instinctively stepping between Michiko and the flames.
Oh my...Pooriin, what did you do? Michiko thought, stunned at the magnitude of the fireball, then shook her head, No, not Pooriin. The Gorgon.
Suddenly, a huge wave of water came from the small pond in the clearing, and met the fireball before it could hit either of the jounins. Kakashi had read Pooriin's seals before they were fully activated, and had countered the technique with one of his own; both he and Shibi were safe.
"They're jounin," Shino repeated, half dazedly, seeing so much water formed from so little a source; it was a hard feat to accomplish.
"...nifty," Michiko mused, nodding appreciatively.
Nifty, indeed. Kakashi is nifty.
"Shibi, she squints her left eye slightly whenever she tries to hit you, but while she was making those seals, she squinted her right eye," Kakashi reported, while dodging an attack from the Gorgon and jumping backwards to get out of range, "Do you think it means something?"
"Most likely," Shibi nodded, thinking hard, "...Perhaps we should try to get her to close one eye?"
"Didn't you try that before?" Kakashi asked, countering a water attack with an earth-based one, using the element's natural weakness against it (according to the elemental table of strengths, earth had an advantage over water, as water had an advantage over fire, etc.).
"Yes, but either her ability would not manifest itself, or I could not get her to close just one eye," Shibi answered, deflecting a kunai and pushing the Gorgon back skillfully, "She continually ended up closing both."
"What about pulling down that bandanna?" Kakashi asked, gesturing at it casually while dodging another attack with seemingly equal ease.
"Do you want to get close to her?" Shibi challenged, and Kakashi couldn't help but see where the other shinobi was coming from.
"...She's incredibly fast," Kakashi noticed, blocking another punch and knocking away a well-timed kick.
"She wasn't during the beginning of our training," Shibi said, "Her brother has been training her for physical combat; she's becoming stronger and more talented as Pooriin, but she's also giving the Gorgon a more powerful body."
"Then shouldn't she not train?" Kakashi asked, half amused, half concerned.
"She wants to be a ninja, Kakashi-san," Shibi answered smoothly, "Since she has no talent with chakra, she needs to be exceptional with taijutsu and her studies. Take my word for it, she isn't letting her brothers go easy on her."
"Fascinating as that is, we need to test that 'one eye' theory," Kakashi said, getting nicked on the arm by a kunai, "And fast. She's catching up to us quick."
"Do you have a plan?" Shibi asked, unable to help but marvel at how Pooriin was making two jounins look like experienced chuunins; the Gorgon was terribly powerful indeed, "A few come to my mind, but they all risk harm to Pooriin."
"Yeah, but we need more bugs, and maybe an elemental changeling with a small pack of dogs wouldn't hurt," Kakashi said, glancing at the group across the field.
While he tried again to engulf the Gorgon in kikaichu, Shibi thought about it; he was endangering two genins, one of which was his own child. But he also knew how well Shino was doing with his ninja techniques, and he had heard of Michiko's bloodline limit, as had Kakashi.
"So long as you can get them a proper message so that they know the plan, by all means, begin," Shibi agreed.
"Then hold Pooriin off on your own for a moment," Kakashi said, and while Shibi hurried and stood between Kakashi and Pooriin, the silver-haired jounin stepped back, quickly made a few seals, and summoned a small dog onto the ground beside him.
"Yosh, youngster!" the dog greeted, raising a paw.
"Pakkun, I need you to deliver instructions quickly; just run your errand, and then you can leave."
Michiko: Oh no! A minor cliffhanger! NOOOooo!
Shino: ...must you do that?
Michiko: No, but I'm having fun. (to reader) Oh NOOOOoooooOOOOoooooOOOOoooo!
Shino: At least keep your volume to a minimum; that Sense Enhancement is still effective.
Michiko: I am being quiet. If I were really going for volume, you would be deaf right now.
Gorgon: I have caught you off-guard!
Shino: Time to go! (grabs Michiko, turns to reader) I'll help you out of here if you review.
Michiko: You can't bribe the readers! All they have to do is close the window and-
Shino: Do you want help escaping, or what?
Michiko: I will submit...
Gorgon: RAAAAAAH! (attacks)
Michiko: Quick! Review before it's too late!