Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist, Yu Yu Hakusho, or Naruto.
Author's Note: Ino still has her long hair for now. Just trying to avoid confusion for later.
A.N. 2: Sorry for the long wait. I haven't had internet access since July! And still none from home right now. And I've been too busy to write recently. Thank you all for your patience! Enjoy!
Ch. 21 "A Disadvantageous Situation"
"I just can't believe it," Sakura said quietly, sitting in the front row in the stands. "Today's the last day of the chunin exams." She looked down solumnly at her hands in her lap. "And I'm not down there with Naruto or Sasuke. I don't even know where Sasuke is..."
"Come on, Sakura. Cheer up!" Ino answered, forcing a smile of her own. "It's not like you're the only one not becoming a chunin. I mean look at our team. Shikamaru is the only member of our group down there." She leaned over, trying to console her friend. "Besides, it's not like this is the only chance we'll ever have. We won't stay genin forever."
"Alright, girls. Chatty-time is over," a boy's voice came from the other side of Sakura. It was Choji, once again muching on another bag of potato chips. "The first match is about to start."
"Choji!" Ino snapped, since she couldn't reach him. "You keep your mouth shut! You don't know crap about how to deal with girls!"
Back on the ground...
"Alright," Genma announced, catching the majority of the crowd's attention. The contestants listened tentatively. "It's time for the first match. Kurama Minamino and Shikamaru Nara, you two are to stay here to begin. Everyone else," he pointed to a door far behind them, "please make your way through that doorway and continue to the balcony upstairs. From there, you'll be able to watch the matches for yourselves. And once one battle is over, the contestants of the next one will be called to make their way back down here. Understood?"
Everyone answered a collective 'yes,' and began making their way. However, aside from Kurama and Shikamaru, three stood paused in a tense moment of silence.
As Alphonse stepped to turn, he found two glares pointed in his direction. One, a clear look of termoil and mixed emotions, including confusion, sorrow, and even fear, showing beneath his headband. "Brother," Al began with a smug smile, "you look almost like you're afraid of me. I thought you'd be happy for the chance to see me again."
"You know, it's funny. I always wondered what it would be like when I finally found you again." He lowered his head and continued. "But I never imagined you would be like this."
"Well, you know what they say. 'Expect the unexpected.'" Then, he turned his attention to the other glare he was recieving. Unlike Edward, this was a look of anger, and determination. He chuckled, "Naruto Uzumaki. What's wrong? Are you angry at me because I hurt your girlfriend?"
"Huh--!" Naruto withdrew, surprised. A blush ran immediately ran across his face. "What the heck are you talking about? She's not my girlfriend!"
"... Girlfriend?" Hinata sat in the now silent crowd, only able to hang on this one word. She whispered to herself, "Naruto-kun's... girlfriend?"
"Hinata?" Ino turned around to face the blushing girl behind her. "Are you okay?"
"Relax, runt," Alphonse told him with a chuckle, reaching out a finger to the boy's headband on his forehead to poke him. "You'll have your shot at me soon enough." This brought Naruto's anger to a full boil.
"Alphonse!" All three of them turned to the doorway. Hiei stood calling out to his teammate. "Let's go!"
"Yeah, yeah," Al responded. He turned back to the other two blondes. "Well, that's my cue." With that, he turned and started running to the doorway, where Hiei had already disappeared.
"So that's your brother, huh?" Naruto asked Edward.
"... Yeah. I guess so." Edward stared solumnly as his brother continued getting closer to the doorway.
"Edward," Kurama said from behind him, quickly catching his attention. "I believe it would be wise if you rejoined the rest of the group."
"Oh, crap! You're right!" Edward immediately turned to run, grabbing Naruto by the collar of his jumpsuit. "Come on!" As he made his way to the doorway, with Naruto following, he watched as Al walked through the shadow. "There's something I've gotta find out." He started through the opening, and was met with a disturbing surprise. "Al, listen! I--" He paused for a second. "What the..?" Hiei and Alphonse had both disappeared. "No, damnit! Where is he? Al! Where the hell did you go?!" He looked around, trying to find some sort of hidden door, or anything that might explain Al suddenly vanishing. "He was just here! What happened?!"
"Maybe they just went on ahead," Naruto commented as he started forward.
"What? Hey, wait for me!" Ed called after him, waiting to see if he would run into Alphonse again.
"And now," Genma announced with the last two contestants standing ready for their match, "Kurama Minamino vs. Shikamaru Nara. If you two are ready, then let the match begin!"
"Man... That was almost sad," Shakamaru commented, still looking at the doorway.
"Yes. Edward has not seen his brother in nearly a year's time," Kurama answered, "and by no means did he expect to find him as he is now."
"Actually, I meant him just spacing out like that. Usually, Naruto's the one you expect to do that kind of stuff."
Kurama chuckled lightly. "Perhaps. Of course, as I'm sure you can attest, he has his moments, as well."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Shikamaru said with an obvious smirk. Come on, just a little more.
"However," Kurama immediately drew two kunai from his pocket, and jumped back, slinging them past each side of Shikamaru's head, making him lose his concentration. "It seems the spotlight is on us for now. And in the light, deception is rather difficult."
"D-deception?" He tried to feign innocence with a grin. "What do you mean?"
"I am afraid you will not be able to defeat me using such meger tactics. You were attempting to gather a large amount of chakra, and then use it all in one jutsu in an attempt to capture me before I could defend myself. Perhaps other shinobi might fall prey to this ruse," he reached behind, pulling out a few shuriken in his left hand, "but you will have no such luck against me." Immediately, he tossed the shuriken at Shikamaru.
"Crap!" He jumped, narrowly avoiding the weapons, and landed a few feet to his side. "What gave me away?"
"By paying special attention to your chakra, I noticed that the pressure was steadily building. You likely believed I simply would not sense this, as you had been doing it slowly since we arrived, before the match even began."
"Oh, man. What a drag," Shikamaru formed his handsign for the Shadow Possession-no Jutsu. "I wanted to do this quick, and be done with it. But now I actually have to work for it." With that, his shadow began expanding, attempting to stretch out to Kurama.
"Yes, well, that is the point, is it not?" Kurama jumped back once more, as the shadow tried to make its way towards him, stopping only inches from that spot, and withdrawing. Now is my chance! Immediately, he grabbed behind his head, pulling his rose out from his hair. "Rose Whip!" He swung it in a whip-like motion over his head, allowing it to form a safe distance from his own body. "Now," he said to himself as he swung his signature whip towards Shikamaru.
"No!" He jumped away, letting the whip tear into the soft ground beneath him.
"Unbelievable," someone in the crowd commented.
"That's one hell of a jutsu," another said.
"WHOOA!!" Choji yelled in a fit as he saw this for the first time. He even popped his new bag of chips, spilling half of it at his feet. "Ahh! No!"
"I know I've already see it," Sakura said from her seat, "but I still can't believe he has a move like that. It's just amazing."
"Yeah, it's something, alright," Ino answered. "I still couldn't believe it when he used it against you. I guess there are all kinds of jutsus out there. I just never imagined that someone could actually use a plant as a weapon." She grinned as a thought occurred. "Maybe he could help out at my mom's flower shop. He seems pretty well-suited for it."
This is bad, Shikamaru thought to himself, as he jumped to avoid another attack. This is why I wanted to use the shadow posession and end it quickly. With that whip, he has a range of about five meters he can attack freely and immediately in any direction. But my range is limited, even while extending my shadow. "Aahh!" He yelled as Kurama landed one attack on the top of Shikamaru's shoulder, making his evasion more difficult. Great. Now, on top of the trouble I've got already, I'm starting out the match with a bleeding injury. This is one hell of a drag... He jumped once more, this time, forming a few hand signs. "Cloning-no Jutsu!" Suddenly, several Shikamarus came back down to the ground, circling the kitsune.
"So, clones?" Kurama commented. "You are attempting to be best me in a game of chance? Sorry," he drew back to attack again, "but that won't work!" He swung, attacking three clones at once, with seperate portions of the whip. "You see, my Rose Whip allows me to attack multiple targets simultaniously with a simple turn of the wrist."
"Really?" One Shikamaru stepped up. "Well, let's see if you can handle this!" Each clone jumped up at the same time, tossing a kunai at Kurama. "Try finding the real one!"
All the kunai are centered in a circular pattern. This should be simple. Kurama immediately tossed his whip up, spinning it to counter each kunai. He had intended to search each cloud of smoke to find the real kunai, and therefore, the real Shikamaru. However, before even completing his motion, he saw several clones pull out a handfull of shuriken, tossing them in a second wave without pause, and even reaching back with the first hand for a third wave. No! There are too many now, and there's no time to search for the real kunai here. I've no choice! Immediately, Kurama jumped high into the air, above the clones, dodging the second wave as it hit the ground and disappeared. These clones will only cause additional hinderance. And with that, he swung his whip once more, eliminating the surprised clones nearly simultaniously. "What?" It turned out the surprise was his. Each one that circled him had turned out to be clones. The real Shikamaru wasn't there. Kurama landed a few feet to the left. "So, you disappeared, leaving behind only your clones," he thought outloud. "Admittedly, an impressive maneuver. Combining clones with a high-speed attack to halt my offense. Most would not consider such a simple solution to that problem. Huh?" Immediately, he saw a shadow jump out from a bush only a few feet away. He then jumped back to his other side, twice, to be certain he could avoid the shadow. I must continue avoiding his shadow for as long as possible. I still need a little more time. "That was rather clever, as well," he said to the bush. "You created the clones, while simultaniously hiding yourself in part of the battleground. Impressive tactics, I must admit." He narrowed his gaze, prepairing to use his special ability once again. "However, it seems you have already forgotten my specialty."
What?! Shikamaru thought in shock, from where he was kneeling in the bush.
"He just uses his chakra, as you guys call it, to transform his rose into a weapon," Edward told them. "He can actually use almost any kind of plant to his advantage."
"So, in places with lots of plants, he has a bigger advantage?" Shikamaru asked Ed out of curiosity.
"Hm? Yeah, I guess so."
Crap! He immediately felt vines pulling tight at his ankles. I can't believe I forgot about that! I was so busy worrying about that stupid whip, I forgot Edward said he could take advantage of any kind of plant. He then felt another, larger vine pulling harder at one of his wrists. "Ahh!" He immediately pulled out a kunai, and cut at it, then jumped out of the bush, tearing off part of the vine at his feet.
"You battle admirably," Kurama told him, "but it seems luck does not favor you at the moment." He lowered his free arm, and raised the whip back up to chest level. "Forfeit is the most expedient and least painful choice for you in this situation."
What am I gonna do? Shikamaru asked himself silently, standing so close to the wall, the sun behind him. He's not dumb enough to get caught in any shadows here, he made quick work of my clones, he can attack me easily out in the open with that whip, and he can even control the plants, so hiding would be useless if I give away my position. This is bad...
"Alright, we finally made it," Kankuro said as he stepped into the sunbathed balcony ahead of everyone else. "I wonder how the match is going?" He stepped up to the rail, followed by the bulk of the other finalists, to find Kurama dodging yet another shadow that Shikamaru had launched his way. "Whew! That was a close one, huh? That kid's either real smart, or real lucky."
"Looks like that Shikamaru is up against the wall," Temari retorted. "Literally. He better do something to put that red-head in his place, or he's gonna get creamed by that whip."
"I wonder why he isn't hiding if he's in that much trouble?" Kankuro asked.
"It wouldn't do any good because that other kid could just use the plants to attack him," Greed answered from behind them.
"Huh?" Kankuro asked. "He'd attack him with the plants? What do you mean?"
"He can use his chakra to control all sorts of plant life, and make it do just about anything he wants."
"And just how do you know that?" Temari asked.
Greed paused for a second. "Let's just say he's not exactly a complete stranger."
"Greed!" An all-to-familiar voice rang out from the passage onto the balcony. Everyone turned to find Edward making a mad dash onto the balcony, followed desperately by Naruto. "Where is he?"
"What the heck are you talking about, Pipsqueak?" Greed asked with a straight face.
"You know good and damn well what! Where the hell did my brother go?!" Edward grabbed at the collar of Greed's shirt with his left hand.
"Well, well. You're awfully tempermental today."
"Damnit, you bastard. You better tell me where Alphonse went or I'm gonna--"
"You're gonna what?" Greed cut him off. "Hit me? Come on, Pipsqueak. We both know that won't do you any good." He then grabbed Ed's wrist, making him wince in pain. "I don't know what he's up to, and personally, I don't care. If he decided not to join the rest of us, that's his problem." He tightened his grip, making Ed release his, and kicked him, flat-footed, back against the wall, where he fell to his rear. "Now, be a good kid and stay still. I'm sure he'll make it on time." Greed turned back to face the arena. "He's not one to miss out on a good fight when he gets a chance."
Edward just gave a disgusted look to the humonculus as he rose back to his feet, his arm over his stomach.
Then Naruto spoke up. "Alright, so Al's definately gonna be here. But where's that other guy? You know, the short one?"
"Don't you dare say 'short!'" Ed snapped at him, making many of the others snicker at him.
"Same thing," Greed answered. "Their business is their own. Hiei will be back soon."
"Are you talking about me?" Everyone turned to the doorway, surprised, finding the short apperition who had appeared out of nowhere. None of them had felt his chakra as he arrived.
"Wha... Huh?" Naruto pointed and stared at the demon with clear surprise. "But you..." He started motioning aimlessly with his hands. "We were... And then you... How the heck did we ever pass you up here?!"
Hiei just grinned nonchalontly. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I never saw you on my way here."
As Naruto kept making an ass of himself trying to argue with Hiei, Edward just watched, thinking to himself. We had to have passed him at some point, but we never saw him on our way up. It's like he and Al disappeared together. Something's not right, here...
Up in a different balcony, however, a new arrival reappeared. "Hello, Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama. I appologize for the sudden departure." The Mizukage bowed to his Fire Nation counterpart.
"Ah, Mizukage-sama. I'm happy to see you are back." Sarutobi stood and bowed in return. "It's a good thing you didn't take too long. The first match is still in progress."
"Oh, very good," he answered, both sitting back in their respective chairs, he on the other side of the Hokage, opposite the Kazekage. "Has anything extraordinary happened until now?"
"Not really. So far, Shikamaru has tried to use his jutsu to trap Kurama. And Kurama has used his own Kekkei Genkai, which allows him to take command of plant life, and even manipulate their physical structures, such as the whip he is currently using."
"Really?" The Mizukage asked, intrigued.
"Both competitors seem to be concentrating on their own strategies, using the surroundings to their own advantage. A sure sign that they prefer a tactical standpoint in combat."
"I would say this has been an interresting display so far, Mizukaga-sama," the Kazekage said to him, glancing from the corner of his eye. "It's good that you're here to witness the end of it..."
"Yes, I certainly look forward to it," he answered, returning the look...
"Yah!" Shikamaru yelled from the air as he threw yet another kunai, which Kurama easily swiped away with his Rose Whip, also aiming for his opponent. However, when the whip hit Shikamaru, he disappeared in a cloud, leaving behind a log. The Substitution-no Jutsu.
"This strategy is quickly becoming stale, Shikamaru," Kurama said as the whip come to a rest at his feet. "I am losing my patience." He reached back, into his pouch, pulling out a few kunai, and swung them into the collective bushes around the tree.
This is bad, Shikamaru thought from the spot where he was hiding up in the tree, out of Kurama's view, as well as many spectators. I've got to do something fast. I'm expending way too much chakra on all those clones, but I can't get near him without getting hit by that whip. At the same time, though, every second I spend around these plants is just as dangerous, since he could easily attack once he finds out where I am. He watched as Kurama held out one hand to the bushes. What's he gonna... He paused, waiting to see what his opponent was up to. Immediately, he heard a loud rustling sound from the bush right next to him. He saw the limbs thrash around violently, attempting to capture whoever might be hiding within. After a moment, though, it stopped, and Kurama lowered his hand. Shimamaru continued nervously, Oh, man! If he did that with that little bush, I hate to think what he could do with this tree. Come on, think... He closed his eyes, and put his hands together, calming himself, so he could map out his next strategy. You can figure a way out of this, Shikamaru...
"What the... Asuma, is that some kind of handsign?" Kurenai asked the teacher. They were some of the few who knew where he was.
"Nope," he answered, not taking his eyes off his student. "This is something completely unique to him. He does this when he needs to come up with a strategy if he's in a tight spot. It's like a trigger in his mind. He'll find some way to pull a win out of this."
It seems Shikamaru has a slight advantage at the moment, Kurama thought to himself, standing still in the middle of the field, looking around at the possible hiding spots. Because Yusuke and I have both lost a large portion of our spirit energy, I must conserve mine for later, where I'm certain I will need it, so I cannot spare any additional spirit energy invoking all of the plants to attack. And because I don't know where he might be hiding, I would only be wasting it each time I make the wrong decision. Also, there is still the threat of his Shadow Posession. Were I to attack him now, it's possible he could capture the shadow of the whip, just as he did in the third exam, and take hold of me through that link. I must avoid that scenario if at all possible. Though I doubt he knows the advantage of his position at the moment, I'm certain he is using his time wisely, gathering strength and composure, so he can begin another attack. Kurama tightened his grip on the whip, closing his eyes and anticipating Shikamaru's next move.
"Come on, Kurama," Edward said quietly. "Hurry up and attack. I know you can handle him..."
"What's he doing?" Izumi asked quietly from her seat, next to Kakashi, and not far from the other Jonin-sensei. "Shikamaru is practically an open target, screaming to be attacked." Kurama, you wouldn't be trying that already, would you?
Well, Fox, just what are you going to do now? Hiei questioned silently. You can't find your enemy, so you can't attack head on. But you still insist on saving your spirit energy for your fight with me. Like you'd even make it that far, Hiei grinned smugly. He's going to get killed in the second round if he insists on continuing to use this strategy.
Now, it simply comes down to patience, Kurama thought. I can feel his spirit energy, though I can't find the location. Where are you, Shikamaru?..
Alright, Shikamaru thought, having finally gotten an idea. I hope this works... He pulled out a handful of shuriken, and prepaired to strike.
Okay, so it's not packed full of the edge-of-your-seat action. It should get better, though. This fight won't take too long. Who will win? Where did Alphonse go? Why is Yusuke not back yet? What's up with Hiei? And where did I put my chopsticks?! Wait, why am I asking you this? Who are you people?
Please do review!!