Dimensions
Chapter 21: Obtained Scroll
Forest of Death: Near the Tower
The first one who noticed Sanomi's change was Naruto. He saw her clutching herself on the ground. It looked like she was in so much pain. Sanomi let go of her sword and clutched herself with both arms.
/Chikako, what's going on/ Sanomi asked.
/I don't know. Sanomi, the scar, I don't know what it does./ Chikako replied.
"Sanomi-chan?" Naruto tried to go near but Sanomi shooed him away. She lowered her head on the ground but lifted her headto gaze at Naruto. Naruto eyed the sapphire eyes that Sanomi obtained. It didn't look normal.
"What's the matter? Too scared to face us?" The rain nin asked. Sanomi growled, clenching her teeth with anger. The scar finally subsided and Sanomi was out of breath.
"Sanomi?" Naruto asked. Sanomi panted slow breaths.
"I'll be fine Naruto-kun. I just want to get rid of these guys." Sanomi stood up and Sakura was worried about her condition previously. Sanomi was about to strike but Sasuke grabbed her wrist tightly. She doesn't know what Sasuke wanted and it was driving her crazy. The scar was like a light bulb that flashed on and off and it was frustrating for her to face.
"Let go of me Uchiha." Sanomi growled.
"I won't let you fight."
"Let go!" Sanomi wanted to get out of Sasuke's grip but she didn't have enough strength.
/Sanomi! Listen to him/ Chikako shouted in her mind. Sanomi moaned and the scar had finally subsided. But it'll be back. Sasuke let go of the wrist and Sanomi turned away from him.
"Don't say that to Sanomi! I'll take care of them so stay calm!" Naruto was in a position to fight.
"No Naruto!" Kabuto shouted but Naruto already charged at one of the clones. He punched one of them but when he punched them black ooze started to come off them.
/Huh/ Was all in Naruto's mind.
/Those clones.../ Sanomi thought. The clone that was hit started to form another body.
/Sharingan/ Sasuke turned on his sharingan and started to look at the clones. A rain nin clone started to throw a kunai at Naruto. Sasuke quickly stopped it with his own and it cut off the hand.
"Sanomi, don't move." Sasuke commanded. He gazed at Sanomi who was gripping the sword tightly. Sanomi didn't want to command his orders yet Sakura motioned her to calm down. Out of nowhere a kunai started to fly towards Sasuke but he didn't move at all.
"Sasuke!" Sanomi ran in front of him and knocked the kunai out of the way with her dagger. Kabuto was about to block it too but her speed was quicker.
/Amazing speed./ Kabuto thought. Sanomi turned towards Sasuke and the cursed seal was activated.
"Sanomi I told you not to move!" Sasuke shouted. "You have to listen to me."
"No you listen to me! I won't allow you to fight in this condition Sasuke. You are hurting yourself." Sanomi shouted back.
/I want to save him./ Sanomi thought.
/Why can't I move/ Sasuke thought as he just laid in the ground motionless. Kabuto stared at his surroundings-clones everywhere was what he was seeing.
"The kunai is real, but the clones are fake. Mostly a kage bunshin technique. They're all just illusions." He stated.
"Naruto, you gotta stop." Sasuke said. "It's useless if you just attack them."
"The enemy's hidden somewhere. Matching their moves with the illusions." Sanomi whispered.
"They are probably weak since they're using this technique." Kabuto said.
"They are bad with hand-to-hand combat." Hidden somewhere beneath the trees the real rain nins watched them.
"How long will they last?" One of them wondered. Kunais flew everywhere and each of them dodged.
/I'll get rid of the clones until they can reveal their positions./ Naruto thought.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Within a couple of seconds many Narutos were everywhere, matching the rain nins.
/Shadow clones./ They thought with awe. Naruto did everything he could with many punches and kicks to each clone. But every time they were hit they would reform again and again. The rest of Team 7 and Kabuto watched him.
"This is useless." Sanomi said.
"Shouldn't we help him Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. Sasuke just stared at Naruto fighting by himself.
"We got no choice. He'll die here." Sasuke stated.
"Sakura! Let's go!" Sasuke charged first with a kunai at hand. Sakura, Sanomi, and Kabuto followed. They did everything they could to help their teammate. Sasuke dodged a clone and slashedit with the kunai. Sakura jumped high in the air and stabbed the clone. Behind them Sanomi used her Kochou Sword and slashed triple the clones.
/Should I use my P-/
/Sanomi, Iie! That uses too much chakra. Who knows what will happen. Especially that scar on your leg./ Chikako said.
/The question is what is it/ Sanomi thought. A clone popped behind her and Sanomi kicked him in the trunk of the tree.
This lasted until dawn and everyone was very tired. The sun rose up orange and yellow mixed all together. It seemed that the shinobis' strength was gone and the rain nin have an advantage.
"Looks like they're dead." The rain nin said.
"Let's go." The clones had disappeared and the real rain nins went down to the ground swiftly.
"Sorry." Sanomi smiled. The rain nins were confused.
"Hah."
"Yay!"
"They fell for it!" The rain nins didn't get it. The ones that they were facing were now changed into Naruto clones. The real wised ninjas were behind them in the bushes.
"They fell right into our trap." Sasuke said. The rain nins were now scared. Naruto was panting loudly. He lost so much chakra.
"Naruto. Sit out. We'll take care of them." Sasuke said. Naruto smirked.
"Hah. And miss out all the fun? No way." Naruto punched the rain nins like they were dominoes.
/Naruto.../ Sanomi thought.
/No way./ Kabuto thought.
/He just used a Kage Bunshin technique, transformed 4 teammates into clones, and he still kept going. If he knows how to control his chakra this kid would be impossible to beat./
"Ninpou oboro bunshin no jutsu!" The rain nin made more clones but now they were actual shadow replications.
"More? I'll fight them all." Naruto said.
"Naruto no!" Naruto turned back at Sasuke.
"It's a waste of chakra. The shadow clones are all fakes." Sasuke tried to turn on his sharingan but pain shot down his neck. Sakura supported him in the back of the bushes.
"What are you talking about? They're suppose to be real ones mixed with the fake. So I'll destroy them all!" Naruto didn't listen to Sasuke and struck once more towards the clones. Sanomi wanted to step in but something stopped her.
"Don't think about it. Listen to me. Don't be like Naruto!" Sasuke shouted at Sanomi.
/He's right Sanomi./ Chikako thought.
/Just listen to him./ Sanomi just watched as Naruto was beating up many clones. She gripped the sword tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She wanted to help Naruto so badly that Kabuto stepped in and did all the work for her. She groaned as the scar came back. She clutched down to the ground and rubbed the scar back and forth with her hand.
"If I want me to be like Naruto Sasuke," Sanomi whispered. She gazed at Sasuke who was trying to activate his sharingan.
"Then I will be stronger in battle."
Sanomi jumped high in the air and slashed as much as she could with Naruto.
/Sanomi/ Naruto thought. Sanomi had transformed eyes and it was the same sapphire.
"Sanomi!" Sasuke shouted and pain shot down in his neck. He watched as Sanomi formed her chakra together. He barely saw her using any ninjutsu and hand signs performed magnificently.
"Petal Dance no jutsu!" Sanomi formed a pink orb and the petals were so sharp that each clone had no match for it. Sanomi stopped her jutsu and something crossed her mind. She performed unknown hand signs and the scar rose to its potential.
"Chiba...aoiro no jutsu!"(1) Sanomi shouted. She was now in a blue orb and blue feathers flew toward three clones. It was similar to the Petal Dance but when the feathers land on the clones they were like explosive bombs and the clones were long gone.
/Sanomi what was that/ Chikako asked hesitantly. Sanomi made a thud on the ground not answering the question. Sasuke and Sakura gaped. They had the same questions in their minds.
"Sanomi!" Naruto shouted. He ran towards her and shook her madly. A clone was charging to the two of them and Naruto was in a panic. He couldn't use the Shadow Clone jutsu anymore due to the lack of chakra.
"Naruto!" Naruto saw Kabuto running towards them and saved them both. Yet he was injured from the clone. They fell to the ground while Naruto held Sanomi with both arms. Sanomi opened her eyes a bit and Naruto was glad. Her eyes weren't sapphire anymore but to her regular onyx eyes.
/Sanomi daijoubu/ Chikako asked. Sanomi nodded her head faintly while not saying anything. Soon the real enemies attack from below! Sasuke noticed that with his sharingan it was a earth element technique.
When the enemies were walking towards Naruto, Sanomi, and Kabuto they were so shocked to see something and were paralyzed from it. Kabuto's eyes were red! When they were like this Naruto laid Sanomi down and knocked them out like dominoes. They were now unconscious and the clones disappeared.
"Thank you for saving me Naruto." Kabuto said. Naruto smirked.
"It was nothing." Naruto replied. Sanomi opened her eyes and Kabuto was staring at her. Sanomi got scared and shook it off.
"You were unconscious for a while. Glad to see you awake." Kabuto said. Sanomi nodded her head but she stood up endlessly.
/Sanomi.../ Chikako thought. Sanomi sighed and she stared at the scar with questioning. What did Vi gave her? A new jutsu? Or something more.
/Chikako...Kabuto is not...nice./ Sanomi said. Chikako turned her head to the side and was confused. Sanomi put her sword in her waist and felt her injuries from the leg.
/Who is he/ Sasuke thought. He stepped out of the bushes along with Sakura holding him by the shoulder. Naruto walked over to the rain nins and found the scroll they needed. The Heaven Scroll. Orochimaru burned the old scroll they used to have.
"Hey that's great." Kabuto said. Sanomi smiled.
/Thank god it's over./ Sanomi thought.
Tower
As Team 7 went towards the tower Naruto helped Sanomi with the injured leg. It seemed it got worse by doing too much jutsus and waste of chakra. Sanomi didn't mind. She was glad that someone was helping her, even if it was Naruto. She gazed at Sasuke who was helped by Sakura.
/They're meant for each other ne/ Chikako asked. Sanomi nodded her head faintly. Sasuke gazed at Sanomi and she swiftly turned her head away and saw Kabuto's team.
"Where were you Kabuto?" One of his teammates asked.
"I ran into some trouble but no worries." He replied.
"Hey, thanks for helping us Kabuto!" Naruto shouted.
/Dang he's loud./ Sanomi thought as she winced at the shout.
"Well I should be thanking you all. Especially you Naruto. You saved the day." He said happily. Naruto grinned with that remark. Sasuke just gazed blankly.
"We have to go to separate doors now. I'll see you soon." Kabuto and his teammates entered their door to the right while Team 7 went to the left.
Right Door
"So, you got anything?"
"Of course." Kabuto said confidently. "I wrote down all the data you need." Right before them was Orochimaru! Kabuto handed over the nin-info card.
"It seemed you're fond of him Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said.
"Well, yes." He said in his snake-like voice.
"I thank you for the card." He looked behind him seeing a young girl.
"Oh yes. We have another one working for me. Her name is Vi." Olivia came out behind him in order for Kabuto and his teammates to see.
"Pleasure." Olivia stated. It seemed she lost her glasses and was now wearing contacts. Kabuto sensed a deadly chakra in her but didn't say anything.
"You're always a good person aren't you Kabuto?" Orochimaru said as he and Olivia disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"I'll see you soon." Was his last word to him.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
As Orochimaru disappeared he wanted to talk to Olivia.
"You didn't do your duty." Orochimaru said.
"Forgive me. I won't fail you this time." Olivia said.
"You failed your duty but did the other?" Orochimaru asked. Olivia smirked.
"Hai."
"It was a success Orochimaru-sama. The scar's within her."
"Excellent."
"And I think that she used the jutsu. It's not what I had planned but it's perfect."
"The Aoi Tori(2) Demon is within you. I won't do anything for the time being." Orochimaru stated.
"Orochimaru-sama..." Olivia gazed at the eyes of Orochimaru, the legendary sannin.
"The reason I scarred her was because I want her to experience my power. I want her to know that the Aoi Tori Demon is powerful and strong. She would not be underestimated by me." Orochimaru smirked and patted Olivia's head.
"I know. But don't underestimate who you talk to." Olivia looked at Orochimaru.
"I don't know much about the girl you are talking about but-" Orochimaru threw her a card. Olivia gazed at it and it had Sanomi's picture.
"Kabuto did a spare. He wanted information about this girl." Olivia smirked.
"He's always quick. I think he has a card about me too." Everything was silent until Orochimaru said one important thing.
"Kariko, the one you want..." Olivia waited for more as Orochimaru took a pause.
"She has the Kochou Spirit within her." Olivia's eyes widened.
"The Kochou Spirit? What is that?" She asked. Orochimaru whispered something to her ear.
"You'll know a little bit later just like your demon. All I can say is that it's a legend."
"Just. Like. Me." Orochimaru disappeared in front of Olivia again.
"Hang out for a while my dear. I'll see you later." Olivia lowered her head to the ground and stared at the card.
"Kariko...Kochou."
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Left Door
Team 7 opened the doors and saw that everything was empty.
"What's going on here? There's nothing!" Naruto said.
"Sakura," Sakura heard Sasuke's voice and stared at him.
"It's okay I can manage."
"Oh. Okay." Sasuke got out of her grip and Inner Sakura was mad. She was enjoying it.
"Naruto." Naruto turned to Sasuke.
"You can let go." Naruto turned to look at Sanomi and she nodded her head.
"You sure?" He whispered.
"Hai. Arigatou gozaimasu." Sanomi replied. Naruto nodded his head and started to walk around the room.
/Thank god! I was tired of hearing him scream in front of my ear/ Sanomi thought as she clutched her forehead.
/Well do you want ME to scream in your head/ Chikako asked nicely.
/NO./ Chikako pouted.
"You all right Sanomi?" Sanomi saw Sakura with a concerned look on her face. She nodded and Sakura lowered her head.
"What is happening to you Sanomi?" She whispered softly.
/That scar. I know I should've bandaged it./ Sakura thought.
/But it'll probably be useless anyway./
"What does that say?" Naruto asked as he pointed to a framed notice on a wall. Sakura saw the notice also and began to read it.
"If you do not possess Heaven gain knowledge and be prepared." Sakura began.
"If you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength." Sanomi continued as she stood by with Sakura.
"If you open both Heaven and Earth scrolls, dangerous paths turn into safe paths." They both said.
"This is the secret of...something. It shall lead you on your way." Sakura ended.
"What does that mean?" Naruto asked.
"Well the whole point is that we need to open both scrolls." Sanomi said. Naruto handed a scroll to Sakura and were not confident about opening them. Who knew what would happen.
"Well, here it goes." Naruto slipped a small part of the scroll and soon both of them opened them.
"Man?"
"Boy?" It said on each of the scrolls.
/What does that mean/ Chikako thought.
/I think it means a human being or such./ Sanomi thought.
/But who/ Sasuke noticed that the scrolls started to smoke.
"Sakura! Naruto! Throw the scrolls on the floor." Sasuke said.
"This is a summoning technique." Sanomi said. Naruto and Sakura threw the scrolls on the floor. The smoke started to clear.
"Whoa I don't believe it."
"Sensei?" Sakura asked. It was Iruka-sensei himself.
"Hey, long time no see eh?" He asked. He gazed at the whole team until he noticed Sanomi.
"Ah. Kariko Sanomi is that right?" He asked. Sanomi pointed to herself and nodded her head.
"I need to talk to you privately." He said. Sanomi had no choice but to come forward.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Iruka commented.
"Thank you. You too." Sanomi replied and bowed. Iruka went over to her ear and whispered something.
"When you meet the Hokage again he'll probably talk to you. He wants you to come forward when he says it in front of the participants."
"Do you know exactly what he wants to talk about?" Sanomi asked.
"Sumimasen. I don't know. But he'll explain alright?" He winked. Sanomi smiled and went back to the team.
"Anyway I'm here to welcome the examinees that pass and has come straight to the tower. Known to be a messenger of course." He stared at his watch.
"Well you made it just in time. You passed the second exam." Team 7 stared at him with awe. They had just passed the trials.
"I would like to treat you with Ichiraku Ramen but-"
"ALL RIGHT!" Naruto charged over him and embraced him with happiness. Who knew that he had so much energy. The rest of Team 7 was so tired that they were on the ground.
"What would happen if we opened both scrolls?" Sasuke asked.
"I would be ordered to knock out the examinees until the end of the second exam." Iruka said.
"Luckily you didn't open them."
"Whoo. Thank you Kabuto." Sakura said in relief.
"So what does the frame notice mean?" She asked.
"The Hokage's principle to keep in mind during the exam. Heaven means the head of a person while Earth points to the body. If one does not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and prepare. Naruto's weak point is the brain for example and should study and prepare for the missions in front of him."
"Okay." Muttered Naruto. Sakura laughed softly until Iruka looked at her.
"If one does not possess Earth run through the fields and seek strength. Sakura, you should train yourself everyday." Sakura stopped her humor and nodded her head.
"If you have both Heaven and Earth it attributes and dangerous missions will become safer."
"But what is the missing character about?" Sanomi asked.
"Ah you noticed? Well the character stands for Chuunin, human character that goes there. Survival mission tests have basic abilities. Examinees are known as Chuunin, commanders to lead missions."
/How interesting./ Chikako thought. /I think your main element you need to work on is Heaven./
/Heaven/ Sanomi asked.
/Yup. I'm mostly the brains for you./ Chikako laughed. Sanomi popped a vein.
/You'll regret it later you know/
/I know/
"By the way, don't push yourselves in the third exam, especially you Naruto." Iruka said. Naruto wondered why but he had to respond something.
"Iruka-sensei I'm a real ninja now. There's no need to worry about." He said.
Iruka was surprised about that comment. He thought about the time when he asked Anko to let him be the one to tell Team 7, welcoming them. She said yes but couldn't believe that he wanted to be hated. Kakashi recommended them and had high hopes, meaning that Anko agreed with Kakashi's choice.
/Now...I guess Kakashi is the one that really knows their abilities best./ Iruka thought.
"Hey. Iruka-sensei, you okay?" Naruto asked.
"Hm? Oh yes. Anyway that's basically it." Iruka ended.
Tower
In another part of the tower Anko's cursed seal was hurting but was better thanks to the Hokage. One of the chuunin examiners asked,
"Isn't Orochimaru one of the sannin from the Konoha legends, S-classed exiled ninja from the "Bingo" book?"
"Even the Anbu couldn't deal with. Heard that he died, but why would he come to the village now?"
Anko thought of their encounter and the Hokage knew it concerned Sasuke. From the video monitor one of the examiners announced that 21 people had passed the second exam. According to chuunin regulations they would have to do preliminary matches for the first time in 5 years.
"Let's finish the exam then." The Hokage commanded. As they walked to the main hall Anko whispered something to the Hokage.
"Hey. Someone is after Kariko Sanomi too right?" She asked. The Hokage nodded.
"I'll be speaking to her."
"Her background is way different than everyone elses." Anko muttered.
Tower: Entering the Main Hall
Iruka was leading the way towards the main entrance. Everything was quiet except for Naruto, who was talking to Iruka about the ramen. Sakura had thoughts to herself while Sanomi and Sasuke were at the back. Sanomi turned her head towards Sasuke yet the raven-haired boy looked straight ahead while walking.
/Sanomi-chan. He's worried about you. You know how much he tried to let you listen to him./
/I know. But.../ Sanomi stopped walking and stood still.
/I clearly disobeyed him./ Chikako lowered her head.
/Every samurai needs to have a sacrifice./ Chikako stated. /Even if it means their life./
/Sanomi-chan you saved Naruto from death and you blocked the kunai from Sasuke. Courage gave you strength even if it meant risking what's on your leg./
/Dang it. What is this thing/ Sanomi thought. She did a strange jutsu that she doesn't even practice or study about. Does it control her? What would she do if it came back? She was not looking forward to that.
/Anyway Sanomi./ Sanomi shook her thoughts and Chikako appeared in butterfly form.
/Let's just go on. No matter what the risk is. The Hokage wants to speak to you yes/ Sanomi remembered. What could he want?
"Sanomi!" Sanomi looked up and saw her team waiting like 10 feet away from her.
"Oh! Matte!" Sanomiwalked towards her team but pain came back. But before she could touch it Sasuke just appeared out of nowhere. He grabbed her arm and pulled it over his shoulder. Sanomi did not say anything but a thank you.
/He's mad at me.../ Sanomi thought. /For not listening though./
/Yet he's still helping Sanomi. Don't worry about it./ Chikako reassured her.
"Sanomi, walk with me." Sanomi turned to Sasuke and with her wounded leg she tried to move as slowly as possible so she would be comfortable while walking. But during the way Sanomi was blushing and Sakura was still clueless about what's happening.
Reality
The Kariko and Wong residences were quiet lately. They had wondered how their daughters were holding up, wherever they were.
In the Kariko Residence Touya would play the piano elegantly for Sanomi. He wanted her to hear it and come back safely. Yet he couldn't hold up any longer. He wanted to tell the rest of his family but wanted to keep Sanomi's promise.
When it was dark out and everyone was sleeping he stepped outside in the front yard and sat on a high tree.
/Sanomi. Aishiteru. Please be safe./ He looked up at the sky seeing the beautiful moon and shooting star. And not knowing he made a safe wish. He hoped that star would go farther and farther that it would reach Sanomi.
"Touya." Touya turned around seeing his Tou-san. He stepped outside also and sat with him.
"Tou-san. Do you think Sanomi is safe wherever she is?" Touya looked at his father. His father smiled.
"Knowing her she would do just fine. She did change a lot. She's thirteen Touya." Touya stared at him for a while. His father smiled and patted him on the shoulder. He stood up and had a blanket over his own shoulders.
"Now let's go in. It's getting cold." Touya nodded his head and went inside. His father although didn't come in with him.
/Sanomi. Aishiteru. Someone should find you and bring you back./ A tear dropped and he went inside.
Translations
(1)Blue Thousand Feathers no jutsu
(2)Blue Bird
A/N: I had finally revealed Vi's specials. There will be a surprise in the next chappie so look forward to that. Ja ne.