A/N: Yay, I gained more readers! :) Anywho, this chappie has a funny story behind it. I was working on it in school, and my teacher caught me (stupid me had opened my book to the wrong chapter - fail). All my teachers know I tend to write through their class, so I was told that if I was to be allowed to write that period, I would have to include something to do with that class. So, I worked a scene where I could use what I had learned. Go me!
The Land of Waves arc is going kind of fast, I know. The next chapter will probably be last part of it. If I feel up to it, I may post before my scheduled post on Saturday. Depends on my mood...but I've been in a serious "Oh-em-gee, REWRITE...MUST RIGHT MORE!" mode, so I've been making seriously long chapters. This one is about twice the length of a normal chapter for me. O.o
Please excuse my attempts at writing fight scenes. I'm more of a romance novelist, and on that note: thank you to my faithful, and new reviewers - and to those of you who want romance (I did put romance as the genre, after all), I am trying to work it in. Unfortunately, writing romance for twelve year old kids is rather hard, and I'm trying to keep the characters as in-character as possible. Romance will grow to be more prominent as the story goes on, but until then, I'll try to add what I can. (CPR maybe? lol) Thanks for putting up with me. -.-'
Disclaimer/Claimer: I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own the characters Mirani and Ilki, as they have previously been copyrighted to me by a friend who borrowed them for her privately published book. So yay, I own something!
Glossary at end of the chappie.
Even though she had spent the first part of her life going through the twelve grades of the American school system, Mirani never thought she would actually use anything she learned. Neither did she ever want to dabble in the path of an iryō-nin. But it seemed like life just loved throwing curveballs in her direction, or so she thought when she was interrupted from her water walking practice on the fifth day they were in the Nami no Kuni. A distraught Sakura had come running into her and Ilki's clearing, half-shouting if they had seen Kakashi.
After resurfacing from the rather cold water, she angrily pulled herself out and found her friend trying – and failing – to calm the pinkette down. The chill of nighttime made her mood even more foul as she stomped over, wondering what the heck was so important that it required that level of loudness.
"What's going on?" she snapped as she started wringing out her hair.
"I-It's Sasuke-kun!" the pinkette wailed. "I told him not to go back out training tonight, but he just wouldn't listen! He and Naruto were running up the trees when-when suddenly he just fell! I thought he would land on his feet as always, but…but it was like he passed out! Now he won't move, or wake up, and I can barely feel his chakra! Kakashi-sensei…if he isn't here…"
"Sounds like he suffered from chakra exhaustion. It's happened to us before." Ilki frowned when she saw her friend's troubled expression. "Whatcha thinking, Mirani?"
"How high was he when he fell?" she asked her sobbing teammate.
Sakura cringed. "I don't know…he was past the third or fourth branch, I guess. Pretty close to the top."
"Then chakra exhaustion is the least of our worries." She rubbed her temples, trying to remember what she had learned in her Human Biology class she had been taking in her senior year. While the class focused mainly on anatomy and physiology, occasionally the textbook brought up homeostatic imbalance – or what could go wrong with certain parts of the body. While not providing treatment or care options, some knowledge was better than none. "A fall from that height could mean broken bones, sprains, dislocations, concussions…and that could lead to a cerebral edema…" At their confused looks, she clarified. "It's when the brain swells, and it compresses vital tissue."
"You…how do you…" The pinkette gaped. "They don't teach anything iryō-nin related in the Academy except how to bind wounds…"
"I took a class before I came to Konoha," she said absentmindedly. "Kakashi-sensei might be back at the house. We need to hurry…jōnin should know more about medical ninjutsu."
Her friend nodded. "I'll go look."
"Will you come check on him, Mirani?" Sakura started to shake again.
"I don't know how to heal," she said, shaking her head. "I just know the terminology and what could happen. Treatments…not so much."
"Please…please help Sasuke-kun!"
She sighed in resignation as the girl's voice rose several octaves. Her teammate took the opportunity to grab her hand and drag her towards the other clearing. An unconscious Uchiha lay on the ground on his back, and Naruto was crouched down next to him with an almost-gloating expression. 'Probably doesn't understand the gravity of the situation,' she thought as she eyed him. 'And he probably thinks that the emo prince is weaker than he is…he's never gonna let this one go…' She almost groaned at the thought of the headaches that would create.
"Is this how he landed?" she asked, turning back to Sakura. At her nod, she frowned. "Less chance of a broken limb, but a higher chance of a concussion."
Naruto opened his mouth to, presumably, ask a question, but she shushed him with a wave of her hand. She had taken a health class in her junior year, learning first aid, but had not paid much attention. 'Not that it would help…unless he needs CPR, and I'd let Sakura do that one,' she thought with a cringe. 'First aid only taught us how to handle situations where someone passes out because of a heart-attack, or choking, or something like that. Most important thing I can even use from that class is how to remain calm and check his vitals… Why did I have to be in a class with all my slacker friends?'
Her frown deepened, and she knelt next to the Uchiha. 'At least there's no blood,' she thought. While at first, it looked like he was not breathing, she discovered when she lowered her head and turned it slightly – so that she could see if his was chest was rising while hearing if he was breathing – that he was, albeit they were very shallow breaths. The air tickled her ear, and she jerked away quickly – it felt weird, and oddly reminded her of her ex-boyfriends on Earth when they whispered to her. 'And that's a bad association to make with the emo prince,' she thought, resisting the urge to twitch in irritation.
"Is everything all right?" Sakura asked, her voice quivering.
"He's breathing." She placed her first two fingers under his jawbone, below the ear to check his pulse. It was weak, and without a watch, she could not calculate it properly. However, she found that in the few seconds she had held her fingers there, it was steadily increasing. "If his pulse is any indication, he should wake up soon."
The Uchiha, if she remembered correctly, had a fast recovery rate, even at this age. As if to prove her point, his eyelids flickered before fully opening. He had a dazed look at first, but then seemed to realize where he was and what had happened.
"Sasuke-kun, you're -!"
Mirani silenced her with a glare, putting a finger to her lips in a 'quiet down' fashion. She glanced at the blond, silently telling him not to try talking either. Her attention was brought back to the emo prince, however, when he tried to sit up.
"Not so fast," she said as quietly as she could, placing a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder. "That was a hard fall, and you could have a concussion."
"Hn." All he did was glower at her.
"Can you move your arms and legs?" she asked, and he demonstrated that he could. "Anything hurt?" The question was not answered – males and their pride.
"I'm fine," was all he said as he tried to sit up again.
"That may be the case, but people with concussions tend to think they're fine at first." She crossed her arms. "If you start to feel weird, you have to say something. It could mean brain damage."
Just after she finished speaking, Ilki walked into the clearing with Kakashi hobbling behind her on one crutch. Considering he was temporarily crippled, they had made good time from the house to the practice area. The sensei hobbled over to them, giving Sasuke a good once-over.
"She's right. You're going to need some rest."
"I don't have time for that." He tried to walk, and faltered.
"It wasn't a suggestion." Their sensei looked at all of them. "Everyone should head back."
The Uchiha glared at the authoress for her help, and she figured he was irritated that she halted his training. With a glare of her own, she said, "Hey, brain damage won't help you to fulfill your 'ambitions'."
–
Digging up her knowledge she had rather easily pushed aside in the few months she had been in the Naruto world had been for nothing, Mirani learned. The Uchiha had, as she predicted, recovered fast – within the night – and did not have any serious damage. He had even resumed training with Naruto, and two days later, they had finally mastered tree climbing. 'Which brings me back to water walking,' she thought with a frown as she glared at the dinner in front of her. 'I never want to work on that again. Seven days of practicing it, and I barely have it down.'
Her glaring contest with her food was interrupted when the front door was slammed open, and the emo prince dragged their blond teammate through the door. Both were rather beat up, and Naruto looked as if he could not move his body at all.
"You guys are finally back," Tazuna said, looking up from his own food. "You both look super dirty and worn out."
The blond laughed. "Both of us made it to the top!"
"Good." Kakashi set down his chopsticks. "Starting tomorrow, we will all be going to the bridge to help protect Tazuna-san, instead of the shifts we've been taking."
This made Inari launch into another tirade of how they would all die, like his father did when he tried to stand up to Gatou. Naruto proceeded to yell right back at him, and the younger boy ran out of the house. After he finished eating, Kakashi went out to talk to him for a bit while the others prepared for bed.
In the room that the three girls shared, Mirani was reading one of her jutsu scrolls when Ilki plopped down on the bedroll next to her. Their other female teammate was already fast asleep, and judging by her snores, she would not wake up if the two talked.
"Zabuza shows up tomorrow, doesn't he?" the Jinchūriki asked quietly.
"If the outline kept that straight, then yes," she replied without glancing up. "What of it?"
"I'm worried." She bit her lip. "About Takeo. We never did get a chance to work with my control."
"Sorry." Looking up from her scroll, she rubbed the back of her neck. "That's my fault…I should have picked up on water walking faster. For all the control I have with jutsu, I can't seem to master the simplest tasks. It doesn't make sense."
"You've always been a perfectionist. In my psychology class, we learned once that perfectionists over think simpler tasks."
"…you learned something?"
Ilki glowered. "Anyways, Takeo…"
"Last time Kakashi-sensei inadvertently stopped it with his Sharingan and a well-timed genjutsu, but I don't think he'll have the time to do it again," the authoress said with a frown. "Drawing on the power of the Nibi would be helpful, but if you don't think you can control it, you can't. We can't have you on a killing rampage, killing friend and foe alike."
"I haven't been able to contact that Nibi since the first time. I…can't seem to find the focus." She paused, and looked at her lap. "To be honest, I think I'm afraid. I don't wanna feel like I did."
"Then let's fight him together," her friend said, smiling. "If you start going all psycho-killer on me, I'll try to stop you."
"Do you honestly think you can stop me?" she asked, looking back up.
"I will try my hardest."
Despite her reassurances, though, Mirani could tell that her friend was still unsure. By the time she finally curled up in her bedroll to sleep, she saw her still staring off into space, wide-awake. 'Hang in there, Ilki,' she thought sleepily, before drifting off.
–
"W-What is this?"
The bridge-builder's tone did not help the situation that team seven had walked in. For a moment, Ilki was glad that they had not brought Naruto along – his reaction would have only made the situation worse. Around them on the bridge lay dead bodies, the pavement red from their blood. Her vision blurred for a moment, but she suppressed the memories that wanted to resurface.
"Here they come!"
Kakashi's warning did not come as a surprise as mist began to roll in, the Kirigakure no Jutsu. They assumed defensive positions around Tazuna instantly, and she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sasuke was shaking. 'I missed the whole Zabuza fight,' she thought, narrowing her eyes. 'I wonder if everything went how it was supposed to…and how this battle will go.'
"Long time no see, Kakashi," a voice said from the mist, a voice she recognized as Zabuza. "I see you're still with those brats. He's shaking again, poor kid."
The moment a bunch of clones appeared, Sasuke smirked. "I'm shaking from excitement."
At his sensei's nod, he obliterated them. The mist cleared for just a moment, revealing Zabuza, the hunter-nin that was Haku, and finally, the redhead that was Takeo. A growl escaped her lips, and he smirked at her before beckoning at her with a get-over-here motion.
"Ilki, wait!"
But she had leapt forward, wanting to end this quickly. 'Before the cat comes out for more,' she thought, her happy side quickly gone. Killer intent washed over her from the shinobi, but what once affected her only made her angry. Use it, the Nibi whispered in the back of her mind, snaking into her train of thought like smoke.
"You're not going to fight this alone," Mirani whispered, appearing next to her and breaking her concentration.
"This is my fight," she hissed, not looking at her.
Lowering her voice to the point that she could barely hear her, her friend said, "It's my fault we're here, and that you're feeling like this. Let me help."
Some strange sense of calm washed over her, and she pushed the Nibi back down to its cage. Turning to look at her friend, she smiled, and for a moment, was her normal, chipper self. However, the distraction was an opening for Takeo – she heard the whisper of wind, and suddenly, she felt a strange sensation in her arm. Looking down, she saw a kunai embedded in her skin, warm blood trickling down and catching in the lines of her fishnet.
"Get away from her!" her friend growled, slamming into him and pushing him away.
Never had she been stabbed, and the sensation was odd. She had always thought it would be painful, but instead it just felt cold. It stung slightly, but the adrenaline rushing through her body had dulled anything else. With a confused look, she wiped at the cut and found her hand covered in blood. She stared at it, barely hearing the battle going on around her.
"Taiyoukei Hakkei: Taiyou!"
Fire burned around her in the form of a large fireball, sizzling as it hit the mist and slowly fizzing out. From somewhere in the mist, she heard Takeo's laugh, punctuated by the clang of metal.
"Silly child, water negates fire. You'd learn that if you had been in more battles, but I think this will be your last."
There was another growl. "Taiyoukei Hakkei: Chikyuu!"
Around her, the mist thickened, becoming more like floating raindrops. Condensation appeared on her skin as the air became humid, and she watched as the drops became red with her blood. She could not move, could not think clearly, instead mesmerized by her first true injury.
"Taiyoukei Hakkei: Kaiousei!"
The air drops solidified into ice as a cold, whipping wind blew around her. With the wind, they shaped into needle-like structures, which then converged on a single location. Clang, cling, swish.
"You'll pay for those lucky shots, brat. Suiton: Suishū Gorugon!"
"Taiyoukei Hakkei: Dosei!"
Her friend skidded by her, surrounded by rings and the bubble-like protection that her Kaiousei had. Pressing against the protective bubble was a snake made out of water, attempting to squeeze her.
"T-Taiyouk-kei Hakk-kei: Kinsei!"
Somewhere in that mist, Mirani was panting from exertion. A stream of thick, greenish air flew by her, clouding around a slowly approaching figure. The figure, Takeo, started coughing, before dashing out of the cloud and past Ilki. For a moment, the mist receded enough so that she could see the redhead holding her friend's head, a kunai against her throat.
"Letting other people fight your battles will get you nowhere, child," he said with a smirk at her.
The kunai pressed deeper into her friend's skin, and she saw a small trickle of blood travel down her neck. Something inside her snapped, and her wound was forgotten. A growl escaped her lips, and the Nibi's voice started to whisper death and destruction in her ear.
"Let her go," she hissed, shifting into a pouncing position.
"Ilki, don't –" Her friend's voice was cut off with a strangled sound.
"Or what?" He laughed, a maniacal laugh that resonated with evil. "You must not want to see another person murdered in front of your eyes…" Smirking, he pressed the kunai deeper again. "She must be close to you to protect you with the ferocity she did. Reminds me of your parents, and how they fought for you…"
"Shut up!"
"They fought so valiantly for you to grow up like a normal person. But all those arguments did nothing to the ruling council…they all wanted you to be trained as a weapon to gain power to our rather small village. Ever since the bijū was sealed inside of you, when some of our most powerful shinobi stumbled across it, you were the cause of the council's problems. If your parents had merely given you over, maybe Aneigakure would still be around…"
"I'll kill you!"
Everything became red again, like the first time she attacked him. Time seemed to slow down as she fell on all fours, howling with a ferocity that did not belong to a human. She let her mind be taken over by the gleeful cat, and watched as she pounced on the redhead. He had pushed her friend to the ground, that battle forgotten as he went after his true goal, which she realized was her.
With every paw swipe, his dodging got slower and slower. Mirani's battle with him had weakened him slightly, enough that his responses were not the best. At one point, she managed to actually nail him across the abdomen, and blood went flying. It splattered across her face, sizzling as it met the chakra that surrounded her and giving off a metallic-smelling smoke. The cat inside her howled in glee as she pounced on the man, who had fallen from having most of his midsection torn out.
Blood covered her hands – there was so much of it that it had seeped through the chakra coat around her. The warm fluid stained the pavement under a barely recognizable body. Bones crunched under her hands and feet as she circled what was left, and she let out a chilling yowl.
"Ilki, stop!"
Her friend's voice barely made it through the red haze in her eyes – to her, it sounded like someone else was challenging her. She spun around, eying the girl approaching her with her hands up. A hiss bubbled up from her throat, and she tensed, preparing to pounce.
"I'm your friend," she said quietly, soothingly. "It's over; he's dead. You don't need to attack anyone else."
Growling, she pounced. Killing felt so good, and that girl would not stop her. She managed to dodge – mostly. Ilki's paw grazed her arm, and she let out a cry of pain as her skin was burned. The cry managed to cut through the haze, and directly hit the part of her mind that was still sane. 'I burned my best friend,' she realized, and the killer intent she felt dissipated instantly. The chakra coating disappeared, and suddenly, her vision became speckled with black spots. She barely heard herself murmur an apology before she fainted from exhaustion.
Glossary: (This is a long one.)
General:
Iryō-nin: Medic-nin.
Zabuza's Jutsu:
Kirigakure no Jutsu – literally "Art of Hiding in the Mist", but considered "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu."
Mirani's Jutsu:
Taiyoukei Hakkei: Taiyou – Solar System Release: Sun. Inspiration from NASA: "he sun is a star, a hot ball of glowing gases at the heart of our solar system."
-Chikyuu: Earth. Inspiration from NASA: "Earth is an ocean planet."
-Dosei: Saturn. Inspiration from NASA: "Adorned with thousands of beautiful ringlets, Saturn is unique among the planets."
-Kinsei: Venus. Inspiration from NASA: "Similar in structure and size to Earth, Venus' thick, toxic atmosphere traps heat in a runaway 'greenhouse effect.'"
Takeo's Jutsu:
Suiton: Suishū Gorugon – Water Release: Powerful Blasting Rain Trench.
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