Sand and Blood

Chapter Ten

Death Forest: Day One, Part Two

One fights for a cause...to not let his team down, ever...

Ryu was no longer in sight of the others, he and Neji moving around so much as they fought. Tenoki was on her feet now, the location of everyone becoming very clear as she need listen for only a second. Lee was not facing her, and she took this advantage, trying to sweep Lee with both legs. He jumped over them without even turning to face her. His body spun in midair, using his leg to thrust his body around and kick her across her face. She didn't even have time to stand up before his foot made contact with the side of her head, the blow sending her flying across the forest floor until she skidded to a halt on her side.

Lee had obviously declared her as his target as he ran towards her with speed only comparable with Tenoki herself. She would have to show him what real speed was...

Yosh, lying on the ground, had finally stopped yelling. He was weak, struggling to push himself up onto his knees. With a sudden burst of energy he managed to get to his feet, trying to run towards Tenoki. The piercing sound of blades; one right after the other, sounded loudly as he fell back to the ground, four kunai in a perfect line going up his back, jammed in his spine. He lay motionless, paralyzed.

"One down," Neji said, mocking Ryu, taunting him for not being able to save his friend from the attack. Ryu had dodged it, Neji waiting until he and Yosh were lined up before letting them loose, misleading Ryu as to who he was aiming at. Ryu was furious, with Neji and himself, for realizing just a little too late who the attack was meant for.

Tenoki forced herself to recover quickly, for another attack from her opponent was already on its way, trying to get her down and keep her there. She jumped to her feet, leaning back and to the side to avoid a fist. She was now in Lee's blind spot, she grabbed his arm and tried to twist it forcefully backwards to snap it like a twig.

Her task was proving to be impossible, for Lee was ready for her, grabbing her wrist with his other hand, turning his body so he had the advantage. While she was distracted in trying not to let her arms get broken, Lee kicked the back of both of her knees with one leg. She fell to the ground and Lee sat on top of her, both of her arms twisted awkwardly behind her, liable to break if he twisted any harder.

Tenoki struggled, and managed to get one arm free. She used it to push herself off the ground and onto her knees, Lee still on her back trying to keep her down. The pain was rising in her other arm, she ignored it and pushed as hard as she could backwards with her one free hand, smashing Lee in between her and the ground. She pulled away, hurting her arm even more, so much that she let out a cry of pain as she reached for his leg. She put her toes on his heel, holding it in place and pushing it the opposite way of her hand, which pulled it towards her. She twisted his foot with all her might, trying to break his ankle before he could break her arm. They each yelled, cursing at the other as they let go simultaneously, and jumped away from each other.

They both were in fighting stance, facing the other. Tenoki was wary, concentration on Lee an the skills he had just displayed. He obviously fought with Taijutsu, and would definitely be the victor is she challenged him again with only physical skills. Next time she wouldn't get out of another attack so fortunately...

Meanwhile, Tetsuo faced his opponent in the trees, she held a scythe in each hand, a chain connected them together. She yelled out in anger, the scythes and katana clinking together with a deep metallic sound as the two battled. Neither was winning; a blade had yet to pierce either of them. They seemed to be evenly matched, it was now a matter of who had the most endurance and could keep this up the longest.

Tenten jumped upward and back, onto a higher branch. Her arms crossed in front of her, she yelled out as the scythes for the first time in their match left her hands. Tetsuo couldn't think fast enough to figure out how to dodge this quick attack, a scythe on either side of him, the chain the only thing that would seemingly hit him. With both his katana raised in front of him, he planned to cut the chain in half, his only option.

The blades on the end of the chain had passed him, no longer a threat. Suddenly, the scythes rapidly changed directions, and in the blink of an eye had moved in a circle around Tetsuo, causing the chain to wrap around him. The blades stuck into the tree, pinning him in place, his swords useless to him for his arms were crossed in front of his chest. He couldn't move. Tenten stood before him, grinning, watching him try in vain to break free. She would prove one and for all that she was better than this guy, he had nothing on her...

Tenoki, although distracted, could sense the impending danger on her teammate. Now was the time to show her opponent her real speed...

She crouched down, pushing off the ground and appearing in an instant in front of Tetsuo, blocking a deadly attack from his enemy. The kunai sent on a straight course to his throat was stopped as Tenoki grabbed it in midair. The kunai was moving so fast and she had such little time to prepare that she accidentally caught the blade, which soon became covered in her blood that splashed behind her onto Tetsuo's chest and ran down her arm. As fast as she had caught it, she threw it behind her. It hit the chain binding Tetsuo, breaking a single link, the entire chain falling limply to the ground. He shook it off him, spreading his arms wider to ready his swords, now made useful again.

Tenoki jumped straight up as Tetsuo charged, running under her in a collision-course for the unprepared Tenten, swords spread out to the side this time to slice her in half horizontally. She jumped up also, barely avoiding both blades as they sliced into the tree, cutting it clear in half. The top part of the tree slowly fell to the ground with a loud crash.

Tenoki was intercepted in mid-air as she tried to push off from the tree behind her to assault Tenten. She had known he would come for her before she had jumped in front of Tetsuo, but she was willing to risk a blow to her for her teammate's life.

Lee tackled her, knocking her off-course and they both fell hard to the ground, Tenoki cushioning Lee's fall. He grabbed her around the neck, pulling her roughly to her feet. Still in a daze from being knocked so hard to the ground, she grabbed a kunai in each hand, trying to get him to let go of her arm, and stabbed for his stomach with both. Her plan failed miserably, her intention of making him letting go of her throat to block the close-range attack turned against her. His hand stayed around her throat, as both of her wrists tightly held together with his other hand.

He lifted her off the ground, her feet dangling loosely a few inches away from the soil beneath her. She was starting to feel faint, unable to breath at all. The kunai fell from her hands onto the ground, Lee smirked, victory not far. With her hands so close together, Tenoki formed a handseal.

"...Chi...yake... no jutsu..!" She hissed, the last of her breath able to escape her lungs. Lee yelled, dropping her to the ground. She gasped for breath, a row of razor-sharp needles protruding from her neck. Lee's own blood was dripping down his hand, and covered the needles. Tenoki slowly stood up, the grin now on her face. She had found the key. Lee was a physical fighter. He couldn't touch her unless he wanted to get holes in him again. But for that, Tenoki would be grateful, for her Chi Yake no Jutsu, or, Blood Despair, wouldn't work without someone else's blood as well as her own.

The bandages around Lee's hand soaked up most of the blood, the rest slowly dripping onto the ground. He stared at her in shock as the needles retracted back into her neck, taking with it Lee's blood. She now had the advantage.

She pulled her arm back quickly, lunging at Lee and throwing her fist as hard as she could. Seconds before he blocked it with his arm, four needles shot out of her knuckles, lodging themselves in his arm. He yelled out in pain, connected to her until she pulled out the needles. Instead she tried to jam them in further, to get to his chest. He pushed back, grabbing her wrist and pulling the needles out of him. They slowly retracted back into her hand.

Tenoki faced her opponent in silence for a few seconds, forging up the blood and chakura to make more needles. Lee watched her, as she became surrounded in light blue flames. A single drop of blood dripped to the ground, sending a ripple of blood to Tenoki's ears. In an instant she was on the attack, the flames around her turning blood-red, as needles swiftly pushed their way to the surface of her knuckles once more. They were long and silver, and extremely sharp and deadly, like the open mouth of a crocodile waiting for just the right moment to strike it's prey...

She focused her chakura, trying to make it impossible for Lee to attack her anymore by making more impenetrable needles. They protruded from her back and arms; as she crouched down to hide her weak points she was invincible, like a porcupine there was no room to attack her. She ran close to the ground, swinging her arms at him, trying to get him down and keep him there. He nimbly dodged every swipe of her many claws. Tenoki knew her time was limited; she had to get more of his blood to keep this up...

Tenten and Tetsuo were fighting to the death, each determined to prove to the other who was the best. Both out of breath, they paused briefly in fighting stance.

"There's no way I can lose to a girl..." Tetsuo commented. What he meant to say was, 'there's no way I can lose in front of a girl...', that girl being Tenoki. As long as she was near, he couldn't lose. He could sense that she was starting to get the upper hand, and a man can't let his woman show him up, no sir. "Tetsuo no Jutsuo!!!" Tetsuo yelled at the top of his lungs, showing off his swordsmanship with tricky moves. He made like he was going to take another lunge at Tenten, at the last minute throwing his swords with crossed arms. She did the same, throwing her scythes once more. Tetsuo, refusing to get hit with the same attack twice, managed to jump over them, meanwhile Tenten being pinned to the tree behind her with the crossed blades. They barely cut into her arms and stomach, pinning her arms to her sides with is plan had worked.

Before he could even let out a laugh if triumph, a katana soared through the air below him, where gravity would force him to fall. Thinking quickly, he grabbed a branch below him, stopping inches away from the katana. It was right there again, yes, there, the place he'd not like sharp things near. The small branch he hung from was cracking, holding up too much weight.

"AH! No, no, no, no!!! Don't break, dammit!! I only got onea these!!! And two of those... But I can't risk to lose any of them!!! Not before they get a testdrive with Tenoki!!! NOO!!!" He plead to the tree. Second before it gave way, he reached down, and grabbed the handle, yanking it out of the bark. Tenten only smiled through her pain, knowing that now she had gotten him too. Another two scythes, with another chain connecting them flew at Tetsuo from the trees, catching him around the neck, shoulders and torso. His neck was bent to the side in an awkward way, the chain going across his forehead protector and pressing the side of his face into the tree. He clenched his teeth in pain, trying in vain to move his arms to try and break the chain. His feet dangled only an inch off the branch below him. He grinned.

"Looks like your aim is a little off... I win..." He said, trying hard to laugh let alone speak through his twisted vocal cords.

"Neither of us can move.... How did that make you win?!" She demanded, eyes narrow with rage and pain.

"Easy... I'm better," He stopped talking, focusing on breathing, which was proving to be a difficult task. Tenten faced him, grinning at his predicament. Suddenly her eyes widened, staring at something behind Tetsuo. He was not facing it, and could only hear someone's yelling.

"LEE!!" Tenten called, trying to move but immediately regretting it. Blood trickled down her arms and the sword's blades, but she did not care. She was too focused on what was behind him to take much notice. Tetsuo, breathing harshly, tried to look through the corner of his eyes. He heard Tenoki scream, along with the sound of blades slicing through skin. They were getting softer, their fight pushing them away from the clearing. Tetsuo froze, staring at nothing. His Tenoki... was in danger...