Hey, guys! I'm back, after finishing Could Be Worse, and I have a few things I want to share. As you can probably tell from the 'new' Chapter 12 here, there's gonna be a few changes I'm gonna make with the story.
Concerning the Sasuke v. Kiba fight, that's no longer what the plan is. I've been thinking long and hard about this, and while I adore Kiba, have thought about writing a fight scene with him, and was super-excited to get his scene with Sasuke started, I don't know that I can go through with this scene the way I initially imagined it would go down.
I handled the last three chapters very poorly, in regards to the Kiba situation. I had him call Sasuke out in a pretty cowardly way that just wasn't right for Kiba's character, leaving a kunai in the door. Initially, it wasn't going to be Kiba who left it, but like I said earlier on, I mostly let the story take me where it wants to go. I don't outline anything, and I don't really plan much between the beginning and end. I just write. It works for me.
This was a poor bit of writing on my part, and I'm really sorry to you guys for putting that out. I'm sorry to myself, as well!
Because of this, I'm going to be rolling the chapters back and changing a few things. As I'm writing this, I never deleted chapters for a story before, so I don't know what this is going to do in terms of reviews and stuff. Hopefully, it won't delete reviews, since I like reading reviews. Even though they're reviews for chapters I don't like. :3
This is the first chapter I'm redoing, and there's not a lot of change. I just deleted the middle scene where Sasuke finds the kunai, and the last scene where Sasuke visits Tenten. I replaced it with a longer scene at the end, where Sasuke encounters the new challenger he's going to be fighting instead of Kiba. :P
Sarada didn't often spar during classes at the Academy. Kunoichi were typically steered more toward excelling in espionage and team support. The few times she's trained with her father when he came around taught her a lot, she felt, but she still had barely tested herself against one opponent, let alone two. She was glad that Himawari was alongside her, at least…
Unsurprisingly, Matsuro came right for her, Byakugan active and palms poised to strike. As gallant as he looked, and as kind and polite as Himawari made him out to be, the genin was intimidating from head to toe, and Sarada knew that even with her father's training, she wasn't quite skilled enough to take him on.
Thankfully, Himawari was, and before Matsuro could get close enough to strike at Sarada, he was intercepted by a swift, staggering palm from Himawari, and was almost critically struck in the first few seconds of their spar. He dodged away from Himawari's powerful palm thrust and put more of his focus on her, while Sarada turned her eyes on Boruto.
Unlike Matsuro, Sarada had observed Boruto spar a few times before now. He was quick on his feet, blunt with his fists, and he knew how to throw simple feints with clones, a shoo-in for graduation in a couple of weeks. Sarada could take him, if she wasn't careless.
"Your knee any better?" she taunted.
"Can you take a joke yet?" he retorted with a smirk, using the Clone Jutsu and summoning two illusionary copies on either side of himself before all three of them sprinted forward.
Sarada kept her eyes squarely on the real Boruto, tracking his movements even as he and his clones begin to break form and move more disjointedly toward her, changing places, stopping and sprinting, and trying to confuse her. The real Boruto leapt into the air while the other clones charged, and Sarada was ready for the falling kick that was coming, whirling off to the side to avoid it, and turning to face Boruto again, only to stare right into a fist headed for her face.
Sarada's heart jumped for a moment and she nearly flinched and tried to deflect, but at the last moment, decided to keep still and let it come. The clone's fist passed through her harmlessly, and the next fist, Boruto's actual attack, was then easily caught and-
Sarada stumbled forward with a blink as this fist also passed through her, and before she could turn her head, a third punch connected right with the side of her head. Sarada spiraled into the grass, but was quick to rise again, shaking her head and staring at the three Borutos.
"I swore that was the real you! How'd you end up behind me?"
The real Boruto, the one in the center again, crossed his arms and smirked, and his two clones followed suit. "Little trick my dad taught me when he had time to actually be a dad. I'm not good enough for shadow clones yet, so he taught me something almost as good: Clone Transfer. I can swap places with any clone I want, once or twice every while. Takes a bunch of chakra, y'know?"
Sarada had a hard time understanding before she glanced down at the center Boruto's shadow, just in time to see it disappear. Shadows were another easy way to tell a clone from the original, as clones didn't have shadows. But now… none of the Borutos had shadows. Which could only mean-
Sarada gasped and leaped, a split second before the real Boruto burst out of the ground at her feet and swung a hard, readied uppercut. If Sarada had delayed a moment longer, she would've taken the full brunt of the blow and been out for sure, but she just managed to skim away enough to only be knocked lightly on the chin as she leaped backwards.
He summoned another clone after the first punch passed through her and hid it underground, she realized. She underestimated Boruto… As much as an insufferable dope as he was, he was way cleverer than she gave him credit for. But as much chakra as his clone transfers had to be expending, she knew he couldn't keep up this advantage for long. She could still take him.
It was Sarada's turn to go on the offensive, rushing forward to swing and strike at Boruto while he wasn't surrounded by his posse of clones. Close-quarters combat was definitely where she had the advantage, and in the few seconds she had before Boruto's clones rejoined the fray and she had to concentrate again, she managed to land a few staggering blows, pushes, and a solid elbow to the gut.
When all four Borutos came at her again in retaliation, Sarada did not relent. Though the clones got in her way, she pushed past them whenever she could, keeping her eyes on the original's shadow and continuing to harass him with attacks whenever she was able, pushing him harder and harder, waiting for the right moment…
After several dodges and strafes, Boruto finally managed a successful roll under one of Sarada's blows to get behind her. Sarada whirled around quickly on her heel and wound up a solid swing, and even as she did, everything in Sarada's eyes seemed to begin moving in slow motion. She noticed things in the blink of an eye, like the shadow passing over her forehead, and the way the hair of the Boruto she was about to punch didn't move with the breeze. And she adjusted her stance accordingly, bringing her feet out from under herself, using the momentum from her punch to feint into a roll, passing through the fake Boruto and dodging the real Boruto's overhead strike attempt.
Boruto landed hard, stunned for just a second long enough for Sarada to turn completely again, every easy, fluid motion timed precisely. It all culminated in one loud, victorious "CHA!" as she slammed her fist right on the top of Boruto's head and causing him to reel and hiss in pain with his body hunched and his hands on his head.
The next moment, however, Sarada's victory is shattered by a heavy weight slamming into her from the side and sending her spiraling across the grass. She was dazed, and it took her a moment before she realized it was Himawari who slammed into her and quickly helped her up.
"He's tough," Hima sighed, shaking her head back and forth as she recovered her bearings and took another stance. Sarada readjusted her glasses and squinted at Matsuro who stood beside Boruto.
"I'm good, I'm good… Just… Agh… Gimme a moment, shit…" Boruto grumbled, getting to his feet and pacing in a small circle as he rubbed the top of his head.
Matsuro shook his head and sighed. "I'll deal with them both," he declared simply and casually, as if he'd barely broken a sweat going toe to toe with Hima, while she herself was already worn, tired, and sweaty.
Sarada gulped. 'Tough' was a little bit of an understatement. Sarada had only witnessed firsthand how the Hyuga fought just this morning. Matsuro was a genin. He was angry at her. And he had proven himself a match for his cousin already. It was far too late to back down, so she charged forward beside Himwari fully conscious that she was running headfirst into an ass-kicking.
She had no delusions about winning. Sarada's mind was working and strategizing around drawing Matsuro's attention. She was hoping that he would be so distracted kicking her ass that Himawari could eke out a win for them at her expense. The faint, slim hope that their combined might could overpower him was also there. Maybe?
Nope. Matsuro was much too fast. He slipped around both Sarada and Himawari's punches and palm strikes. Even when Himawari lunged into a quick roll to try to cover Matsuro's other side, he just did the same, ducking into his own roll to Sarada's back side. Sarada turned as fast as she could, and raised her arms to block Matsuro's blows on instinct. Three quick palm strikes effortlessly break her defensive stance and send ringing pain through her arms. A fourth sends the heel of his palm right into Sarada's stomach, sending her staggering backwards and almost falling.
Himawari caught Sarada and steadied her before moving past her to counter Matsuro before his assault could continue. Discomfort rolled up and down Sarada's spine as she tried to center herself. All four of his strikes, although soft, hurt like hell underneath her skin. But she took a solid note of the fact that blocking the Gentle Fist was almost as damaging as getting hit point-blank. The way Himawari moved and the way she moved fluidly and crossed her wrist against Matsuro's to batter away his palms… Dodging and deflection were her only two options.
Steeling her nerves, Sarada rushed right back into the fray, just as Matsuro managed to briefly stagger Himawari again with a successful strike to the shoulder. She did a little better for a moment longer. The first two strikes were tensely parried away. She dodged the third, but could not move in time for the fourth. At the same moment, Himawari lunged as well, and as Matsuro's palm struck Sarada's ribs, Hima gave Matsuro a powerful palm to the ribs as well.
She was succeeding at being a distraction, at least. Sarada overestimated just how much of the Gentle Fist she could take, however. She noted the possibility of focusing chakra near the point of impact a split-second before the strike to cushion against the damaging burst of chakra and lessen the damage. A feat that required master chakra control and hair-trigger timing… She couldn't do it today, but she kept it in mind to try to learn eventually.
"We've got him on the ropes!" Himawari lied, pressing the attack and trying to land a few more quick strikes while Sarada stumbled forward and tried to help as much as possible. The unflappable genin was quick to go back on the defensive, waiting for a mistake, for Himawari to give him an opening.
One wide strike from Himawari nearly grazed Sarada's arm on the way forward, and she flinched for a half a moment, her strike hesitant because of it. Matsuro used the flinch to deflect the strike and leave Himawari open before pushing both palms forward with a yell. Bursts of forceful chakra blasted from his palms, knocking Himawari and Sarada head-over-heels backwards through the grass. With Himawari already battered and Sarada completely unready for something like this, both of them had a difficult time standing.
"You can't win like this," Matsuro sighed, crossing his arms. "Just give up now, so you won't need to be carried back to the compound."
"He's right…" Sarada groaned. "We had a good run, Hima, but I think-"
"There's one more thing we can try…" Himawari panted, adopting another serious look. "I hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but Matsuro leaves me no choice. I know a powerful forbidden jutsu, Sarada. I snuck into my daddy's home office last week and peeked at his scrolls. Daddy's mastery of this jutsu saved the world, and the scroll said that the stronger the opponent, the more likely this jutsu is to work. We could turn this around and win with this! But I need your help…"
Sarada gulped and listened closely as Himawari whispered in her ear. And as Himawari revealed the details of the power she held, Sarada's eyes widened and her face went pale.
"H-Hima… That… There's no way that I can-"
"You can! I believe in you, Sarada! This is our last chance, and there's nothing left for us to lose! I know how you're feeling, but just trust me! Trust in yourself! We can win with this, but only if we do it together. …Do you trust me, Sarada?"
She looked at the ground for a long moment before exhaling and balling her fists. "I trust you, Hima. Let's… Let's do this!"
Both of them took another ready stance, and Matsuro squinted, shaking his head and readying himself as well to counter whatever was coming as both Himawari and Sarada charged forward. Sarada leapt into the air, and Matsuro shifted again as he watched the both of them make hand signs.
"Predictable. Attacking from both ground and air won't get past-"
"Transform!"
Matsuro paused, his mouth open and his mind going blank. In front of him, Himawari went up in a flash, and was instantly replaced by a grown naked woman with long gloomy blue hair done up in giant pigtails, her body wreathed in misty clouds as she ran giggling toward Matsuro with arms outstretched. Above, Sarada had also transformed into a similar shape as Himawari, only with curly jet-black hair, bangs covering one eye while the rest was held back in a huge ponytail. Sarada's new form was brightly blushing and squealing with glee as she dove through the air with her arms extended as well.
Matsuro was not expecting this. He went rigid with shock, struggling to process the sight before him, and his state of being taken aback was just the opening the two of them needed. Sarada rolled forward in the air and canceled her transformation with her leg extended for a flying kick. All Matsuro could do to try to recover was lift his arms to block, but he still staggered, and even more so after Sarada pushed off her foot away from him.
Himawari's opening came, and she canceled her transformation as well, lunging forward quickly now that his defenses had fallen and landing two solid strikes on his torso.
"Two Palms!"
As Matsuro was pushed back, Himawari stepped forward and pressed the attack with another two strikes even faster, before making a quick side step and focusing four more strikes along his right arm at an even faster pace than that.
"Four Palms! Eight Palms!"
The more strikes Himawari landed, the more difficult it was for Matsuro to move, and after the eighth palm, it was impossible for him to try to recover and defend against Himawari's subsequent strikes as she whirled about on her heel, almost like a dance around Matsuro, rapidly striking eight more times in calculated location along his back, his legs, and his other arm, before finally returning to his front side for the last blow, a flick on the forehead.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms!"
Matsuro was so battered by the barrage of attacks and the disturbance to his chakra flow that he couldn't even maintain his Byakugan, and with his defenses still shattered, Himawari lunged in to finish it. She hooked one leg around Matsuro's and drove her elbow into his back to bend him forward over her lunged knee, before using both hands to grab Matsuro's farther arm and pull it back, twisting it into the same brutal standing armlock that Matsuro had defeated her with this morning.
"You should probably concede," Himawari echoed him with a grin, and it took Matsuro only a few moments to grit his teeth and oblige.
"Fine, I yield."
Himawari cheered at the air as she released Matsuro and allowed him to stand and stretch his arm.
"That was a shamefully inappropriate move for you to formulate, Lady Himawari… I'll have to ask that you never use it again. You're above using such strange, desperate tactics to win."
Himawari stuck her tongue out at Matsuro. Sarada could've almost laughed. She could hardly believe that stupid jutsu was actually stupid enough to catch Matsuro off-guard like that. She also had a hard time believing such a jutsu actually helped to save the world...
Sarada was so dazed that she didn't notice Himawari running up to tackle-hug her to the ground and sit on her stomach.
"See, Sarada? I told you the Sexy Jutsu would work, didn't I?"
"Hima, please don't ever make me do that again…"
She rolled her eyes as her Byakugan faded and her eyes returned to normal, then looked up and smiled even wider.
"Did you see us, Auntie? We beat the odds! Are you proud of us?"
Sarada looked up as well, and her eyes widened at the sight of her sensei looming over the two of them, her head blocking the sun and with a glare so intense that it could boil water.
Sarada pointed at Himawari. "It was her idea. Please don't kill us."
…
…
A couple of long showers were very much in order. Sasuke found it interesting how bathing after they made love seemed to affect them. He stepped out of the bathroom feeling refreshed, relaxed, and alert, with the energy to move on with the day, find things to get done, or just walk around with his thoughts, as he was wont to do.
Sakura, on the other hand, stepped out of the bathroom more tired than when she went in, and collapsed on the bed with a groan without even drying off. Assuming that the hangover had caught up to her again, Sasuke did his best to help his wife fully into bed before deciding to make a silent exit and let her sleep off her fatigue in peace.
The morning air outside was still as warm and bright as when he and Sakura were out on the balcony, and Sasuke squinted against the sun's rays as he made his way up the pathway from his house to the quiet side street heading toward the main road. Sasuke didn't have time to let a single thought cross his mind.
Even though he hadn't seen anything coming down the road when he first looked, he heard him just in time, and with a hair-trigger reaction time, Sasuke quickly dodged to the side to avoid the extended leg flying through the air that had been aimed right at his back. The Dynamic Entry grazed his arm slightly and caused him to stagger slightly, but Sasuke was otherwise unharmed by the attack.
He frowned deeply and squinted as the attacker lands on his feet and skids across the ground for a moment, kicking up an obscuring cloud of dust. Sasuke watched carefully as his attacker stood in the dust cloud like a menacing silhouette before speaking.
"I've been waiting for you, Sasuke Uchiha. The time for waiting is now finally over, and the time for a new springtime of passionate, overflowing youthful rivalry..."
The figure in the dust clapped loudly once, and the force was enough to completely blow away the dust cloud surrounding him, revealing a green jumpsuit with ripped sleeves, an orange neckwarmer and legwarmers, and large, round eyes staring intensely at Sasuke's face. He took a perfect crane stance as he continued to yell loudly at Sasuke.
"...begins NOW! I, Rock Lee, challenge you, Sasuke Uchiha, to a monumental battle that will continue the eternal struggle for superiority started by our masters! What say you?!"
There was a long moment of silence as the wind whistled between them, and Sasuke blinked slowly at Lee before sighing and turning to walk down the road in the other direction. "Not interested. Maybe some other time, Lee."
Immediately, Lee broke down and groaned, following after Sasuke. "Oh, come on! You've been saying 'Some other time.' for months now! Why won't you fight me?!" he complains.
Surprise! Rock Lee punches in to challenge Sasuke and... is immediately rejected. Don't worry, though! Lee is a persistent fellow. I remembered early on in the story I said something about Sasuke training with Lee. I thought it would be better to go on that, than to mess up Kiba's character doing it how I did before, or have him awkwardly come up to Sasuke to challenge him directly. I liked the idea of Sasuke v. Kiba, but I'm more comfortable with Sasuke v. Lee, so that's what I'm going with!
I'm rolling back and reposting all of the chapters from chapter 12 to chapter 15, except for chapter 14. Most of Chapter 14 will have to go, and what's left will be amended onto chapter 13. I'm posting all of these at once, so you should have gotten an alert about two other new chapters at the same time as this one. :P Go read them!
~M.H.C~
May all your~
Hearts beat with~
Calamity~!
Till next time!
