Chapter 8
A/N:Hi everyone... Sorry it took so long to update. Getting ready to transition from highschool to college has taken its toll on me for a while. Especially since I've been recovering from a bad injury. I know this chapter is kind of short but the next chapter is already in progress.-TheGnRFangirl
Out of all three of us the best spell caster would unquestionably have to be Itachi. He had every spell from the black books memorized and half of our families spells were already in his head. He didn't have to review spells like I had to. He was a good measuring stick to see how well Sakura and I had really been doing.
We packed up everything that would fit into the car. The rest we abandoned in some alleyway. Our next destination would be our arena. All three of us needed to know where we were at with our magic. As we drove down the road I kept having the feeling like someone was watching us but I couldn't be sure. That nightmare probably just shook me up.
"Our next move will be determined by the results of this next match guys." Itachi said from the back seat.
"We both got the message back in the apartment." I told him. "We don't need a reminder."
"I know but we don't exactly know if any of us are ready."
"Itachi your the ruler that we'll measure ourselves with."
"And why am I the ruler?"
"You have every spell memorized and can keep calmer than me. Magic is controlled by how well we concentrate. Something that is hard during a fight."
"What makes you you think I concentrate better than either of you?"
"Even when we fought in the arena last night you were still able to help me even though you were in the middle of a fight."
Silence from the back seat.
"You okay back there Itachi?" Sakura asked without taking her eyes off the road.
"Yeah." He answered. "I was kind of expecting Madara to interrupt or something."
This would be the kind of argument Madara would end by just bringing another random subject. Actually, he'd probably start listing everyone's strengths and weaknesses.
"We still have a rematch with Kilik's group to deal with as well." Itachi said.
"Would it be bad for us to ignore the rematch with them?" I asked.
"That's not something that I know of." Itachi said. "It'd be better to play it safe and give them their rematch. We don't want to have any bad blood between our families."
"True but what if Danzo really is chasing us?" I countered. "We could be causing them more trouble if we don't leave."
"Right now little brother I just don't know."
I looked behind me and saw that he was holding the bridge of his nose in anger. It was probably because he doesn't know what to do in this situation. I understood his frustration.
"We could always talk to them somehow." Sakura suggested as she stopped the car.
"We don't have any way to contact them Sakura." Itachi told her.
"I'm sure Genma would know of a way." She said.
"And if he doesn't?"
"Then I guess we'd be back to square one."
No one made a move to leave the car. Sakura might be right though. Genma might have a way to contact Kilik's group but I had my doubts. He didin't have any way to contact us so why would he have any way of contacting anyone else that participated in the arena that he ran? I doubt that he even knew the group outside of the arena. We had very little options.
"We won't really know unless we try." Sakura said in defiance.
"Nothing really suggests that he would be able to contact them." I told her. "He has no way of contacting us. From that we can logically guess that he can't contact anyone who is outside of that arena."
I could see some form of defeat in her eyes. I think she knew it was a hopeless idea from the start. There was no longer any reason to remain in the car. Sakura was the first to get out of the car, Itachi and I got out as well. I took the lead and headed toward the sewer. Sakura was right on my heels and Itachi was right behind her. Following the same path that we've used since we first found this place was uneventful for the most part. Well, except for a rat that scared Sakura when it ran in front of her. Entering the arena now felt like a relief for some reason. What's wrong with me now I wonder.
"I'm guessing this is going to guess this is going be a one versus two match." Itachi stated.
I nodded my response and started walking towards the combat area. The sound of footsteps behind me assured me that they were following me. Once I was in the combat area I kept on walking towards the very center. There would be no thirty feet across from each other or bow to your opponent bullshit now. Politeness and honor would not exist in this fight.
I turned around once I was in the center, Sakura ws already on my right side.
"Any rules that we should follow?" Itachi asked.
"Lets just assume that Danzo won't be playing fair." I told him. "The only rule is not to kill each other. Other than that, anything goes."
Itachi nodded his agreement. I turned to look at Sakura and was glad to see that she wasn't frightened by these rules. She actually seemed really eager to fight. Perhaps she had a hidden sadistic side.
I turned my attention back to Itachi. I really wanted to see how we matched up against him. A few seconds ticked by but no one made a move. This seemed almost like a real fight. There was a cold chill in the air that almost promised disaster. Just as I managed to swallow my nervousness Sakura casted the first spell.
"Vires!" She yelled as she closed the small distance between her and Itachi.
I watched Itachi's lips move but I didn't hear the spell he muttered. I knew that it would take time for her spell to take full effect. Something in the back of my mind told me that I couldn't let her get hurt. My body reacted before I knew what I was doing.
I watched someone grab Sakura by the shoulder and pull her away from Itachi. Now I was in front of Itachi.
"Lamina fulgur!" I yelled as I pointed my arm at Itachi. I had enough control over the lightning to keep it non-lethal but it would still give my brother a pretty good shock.
The second my lightning hit Itachi he burst into a bunch of crows. I wasn't expecting that. The shock caused me to cut off the spell. I felt the hairs on the bqck of my neck stood up which cqused me to look up. I saw Sakura punch Itachi in midair. She sent him crashing onto the floor. Before I knew it, I held out my arms and caught Sakura. I felt my heartbeat quicken as I held her. I set her down gently and turned my attention back to Itachi. He had a smirk on his face that showed he was fine.
Our sparring match didn't even last five minutes. Itachi's favorite spells seemed to mess with the five senses. Sakura did have a knack for seeing through these spells but she had to pull me out. When Itachi used fire based spells I took the lead while Sakura kept healing me. For the most part Itachi was untouchable. This is the first time he's used magic since the manor. He silenced me and placed me in a cage just like in the manor. Sakura did try to break the cage but she could never get close enough. Itachi silenced her as well but she still had her first spell active. Of course Itachi never took any hits.
In the end we knew that we weren't going to win and (begrudgingly) admitted defeat. Sakura was my perfect partner. Since my body healed abnormally faster than even mediums I tended to disregard my own health and safety. Sakura had a healer's instincts. The moment she saw an injury on me that didn't heal she would step in and heal it. Her fighting skills were getting better. Her punches and kicks were becoming more accurate. She could get careless but avoided unnecessary risks. Together we could hold our own if we weren't separated from each other. It was our flaw and could become the final nail in our coffins when we face Danzo.
Thank the Gods that Itachi was on our side. His skill and favorite spells could change things very easily. If he didn't get hurt then Sakura wouldn't have to worry about him. I'm sure he could keep all three of us out of harm's way.
"Itachi that was amazing!" I heard Sakura say. "I couldn't even keep up with you. How were you able to do that."
I didn't hear Itachi's response. My mind was only capable of watching Sakura at that moment. She was smiling as she listened to Itachi. Her eyes kind lit up with excitement. I felt my heartbeat started to speed up. I even felt my cheeks warm up a bit. This sensation was foreign to me. I don't remember having felt this way before.
I turned my attention to my brother instead. His lit up a bit as talked to Sakura. I felt a very familiar form in the back of my throat. I could almost taste the bitterness of jealousy as I watched him. Why was I feeling jealous. What could possibly cause me to be jealous of Itachi? Then again, he did just show us how skilled he was even though he hasn't really used magic since the manor incident. He always had to better than me at everything.
I didn't really feel like hearing the rest of their conversation. I made my way to the spectator area where Madara usually sat. They didn't even notice that I left the combat zone. I couldn't really understand my jealousy though. If I were jealous of Itachi's skills with magic shouldn't I have been feeling like this during the actual fight? This wasn't. exactly the kind of jealousy I felt when growing up in Itachi's shadow. This was something else entirely.
These emotions were all stronger than anything I've ever felt. I sat down and tried to calm myself down. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I hoped that this would calm the flood of emotions that were flowing through me. Mediums weren't supposed to really have any emotions. In the beginning you won't really notice but with time emotoins fade away. It was one of the prices we paid for power.
One breath... Two breaths... Three breaths... The emotions were starting to fade. The angry fire withen me began to sizzle out. I heard my name being called from a distance. I waited until I knew for sure that I was back in control again. I heard my name being said again.
I opened my eyes and saw that Sakura's face was only a few centimeters from mine. I jumped back in surprise.
"Sakura, what the hell!?" I asked.
She'd been startled by my outburst because she hwd taken a few steps back.
"Sorry." She said sheepishly. "You kind of looked like you were dozing off so..."
"So you decided to get into my personal space?" I asked.
She only blushed in response but I couldn't help but think that she looked cute when she blushed.
"Hey can the two lovebirds please return to reality?"I heard my brother ask.
"Very funny Itachi." I said as I stood up.
I saw Itachi smirking at me. In anger I flipped him off. He only rolled his eyes.
"I think we can handle ourselves pretty well." Itachi said, his tone serious. "We won't know where we stand against Danzo until we fight him."
"I don't like the direction this is taking." Sakura said.
"It's the only way we'll know for sure." I said to her.
Sakura kept a stoic face but the panic showed in her eyes. It was barely detectable.
"We'll still have to deal with Kilik's group." Itachi said. "We can see if they're at the arena."
I forgot about them.
"Why do we have to worry about them again?" I asked.
"We don't know what'll happen if we don't give them their re-match." Itachi stated. "I'd rather avoid a potential feud with them so we're playing it safe."
I only nodded my head this time.
"Then we should get going." Sakura chirped in.
She started making her way towards the door. I started to follow her but Itachi held me back.
"Be careful with your emotions." Itachi said quietly and ominously. "Your emotions can consume you very easily if you can't keep them under control."
When he let go of me I just walked after Sakura. I guess mediums do keep their emotions. Great.
A/N:Please leave a review. All forms of are accepted. -TheGnRFangirl
