Disclaimer: I have no ownership of Naruto, and this is just a fan fiction with loose connections to the actual show.
A/N: This arc won't exactly be 10 chapters like the others. I don't even know how long it'll be. I do know, that I'll be introducing atleast FORTY NEW CHARACTERS! So there'll be a lot of action, and a lot of stories to tell. If you know me, you know that I won't let most of these new characters go by without a little backstory (It's okay they won't take up whole chapters like the others did)! :)
Chapter Twenty One: Ellipsis
Annie's POV
We happened to find a sign as we walked along the road. It read,
"Shin Jidai City: 5 miles away
Population… ~200,000"
"Yes we're almost there!" I cheered. My feet have been killing me and I really wanted to get to the city before it got dark. I didn't want to have to camp out another night.
"I wonder how it'll be like, my sisters and I have never gone this far, or into cities so famous." Rairakku said.
"How 'bout our little book nerd here tells us all about Shin Jidai?" Yoruki said teasingly, nudging Reyna.
"I'm not a book nerd, I just happen to know about some of the cities," She said.
"Okay then, what do you remember 'bout this one?" Yoruki asked.
"It's one of the largest cities in Hiewa, but it's not old like Kyuden was. It formed only about a century ago, but it was a pitstop for most of the famous heros in the world. It grew quickly to become the center of the hero world. It's actually has the biggest hero office in the world."
"I guess that could be sort of a good sign." Asaki said, "Maybe we'll become famous heroes too."
"You can't just become famous by coming to Shin Jidai, hundreds of heroes probably come here every month." Yuri said, "If that was how it worked, the world would have been filled with legends."
"I know that, it's just…" Asaki trailed off and didn't continue.
The three new girls to our team has made the group more interesting. Hasu was just buckets of fun and she had so much energy. Rairakku had soon become the older sister I never knew I wanted. Yuri has been… more difficult to ease in. She doesn't speak to us often, and when she does, it's never casual. She's always on an agenda, always moving forward. She doesn't take time to relax. After she joined, she set up a schedule for night watches. We had to start taking turns during the night, to watch over our camp in case someone tried to attack us. Admittedly, it was a good idea, since plenty of travelers get attacked by thieves on the roads. But it was annoying having to wake up and stay awake for about an hour doing nothing. I don't know how Yuri manages to do double time. She said Hasu was too young to watch, so she would do both turns. She also always takes first watch. Yuri is tough, but also very strong, and very protective. I just hope that she can make her safe circle a little bigger and let the rest of the group in.
"Hey" Vince said randomly after we were walking for a while, "This has been bugging me for a while."
"What?" Taylor replied.
"You know that 'dot dot dot' on the sign we just read? What is that called? What does that even mean? I've seen it all the time but what is it actually used for?"
Yoruki face palmed.
"Oh my god how do you not know this I'm embarrassed to be related to you!" I said...hypocritically. I never knew what it's called either but I'm not stupid enough to ask my friends such a simple question. I waited for someone else to answer.
"It's called an ellipsis." Taylor said.
"It's usually used to imply a break in speak, or, in the case of the sign, to lead up to something. It's used to make suspense too" Reyna answered, while in the background Yoruki imitated her speaking.
"What about the squiggly thingy?" Vince asked again. Like his last question, I did not know the answer either.
"That one's a little harder" Asaki said, "I don't even know that one."
"It's not used very often, it's usually just to show estimation, or similarity." Reyna answered.
"If we're done with the punctuation lesson, can we hurry up? I wanna get to the city already!" Yoruki complained.
A second after he said that, a flash of light blinded us from ahead. When it wore off and I was able to turn my head enough to see what happened, three figures stood posing together.
"If it's a fight you want it's a fight you'll get" Said the man on the right.
"But the fight you'll get is not the fight you'll want" Added the women on the left.
"Since our skills are off the charts you see! There's no chance at beating us! Best to give up now while there aren't tears in your eyes and bruises on your skin!" Said the man in the middle, "Because we are-!"
"TEAM GALE!" They said together, changing their pose, so that they're all pointed at the sky.
...I'm not sure if we're suppose to be intimidated or if we're suppose to laugh… but we didn't give them any reaction at all.
"Well I've seen enough of this, let's keep going." Yuri said, walking around the three, who kept their pose, their sad watery eyes following her.
"Wait what if they're like a comedy group. I want to watch their performance." Rairakku said.
"Yay, Hasu loves performances!" Hasu cheered, jumping up with enthusiasm.
"I dunno guys, I think they're serious." Yoruki said.
"Why aren't they moving, are they waiting for us to accept their challenge?" Asaki asked.
"I'm not sure, should we say something?" Taylor said.
"I think we should give them a chance, I sorta pity them." Vince said.
I turned back to the three newcomers, and found them all lying face down on the ground in depression.
"Hey hey! It's okay! We'll fight you! No need to get so upset!" I said.
Right away they all jumped up and pointed at me.
"By accepting our challenge you've sealed your fate." The man on the right said.
"The fate of your failure that is!" The women on the left added.
"You're in for some trouble because there's a storm coming! A ferocious gale storm!" The man in the middle shouted.
And that was how we ended up fighting three strangers on the road in a pity duel.
Vince's POV
One of the weirdos, was a man who told us his name was Fannel. A fitting name, since he carried a long pedestal fan on his back. His purple hair was so long that, when it was tied to a ponytail, it reached his a**. The woman's name was Lumia, and she had a floor lamp across her back. Her bright yellow hair almost made a thick circular frame around her face, and her green jumpsuit matched Fannel's blue one. The leader Vacue, had a vacuum strapped to his back. He had a thick black afro and an orange jumpsuit, which clashed against his dark skin. All of them shared the same over-dramatic flare.
We played rock paper scissors and me, Annie, and Taylor ended up having to fight them. They said it would be the three of them versus the three of us, in a team match. We managed to find an empty field and readied our stances.
"Let the battle begin!" Vacue announced.
The three of us were expecting a stupid easy match. None of us were ready for the fast paced onslaught that began.
Our three opponents reached for their weapons as soon as match commenced. Lumia and Fannel quickly ran to the left and right. As they ran they attacked us with their tools. Fannel's fan shot sharp discs of wind, and Lumia's lamp blasted us with super fast light balls.
"Agemika!" Annie called out when we realized how serious they were. The flimsy shield could only manage to block the first shot before breaking into pieces. We tried to make the best out of those few precious seconds.
The three of us ran in opposite directions, me to the left, Annie going right, and Taylor retreating. I almost tripped have a dozen times trying to avoid the attacks coming at me. We were given no time to rest, no time to think or plan. I could barely concentrate enough to get my staff out. I tried to knock some of the discs away. I stole a glance to the side to see Annie doing the same against Lumia's spheres. Vacue had begun blasting out his own attacks too. I couldn't figure out what it was though. It looked sort of like wind, but it was different somehow. These three weren't giving us a break. They just kept attacking each of us separately, rather than target one of us first. But it seemed like they didn't have too. I was running out of breath, and it was getting harder and harder for me to avoid getting hit.
Fortunately, Taylor had managed to make a shield out of one of his swords, and was charging at Vacue, protecting himself from the shots.
"Agh!" I said as I was finally hit by a disc. I was pushed back, though I managed to cushion my fall with vines, only to be knocked back again! I tried to roll to my feet, but again, I was pushed back by another attack.
"D*mn!" I yelled getting hit again. I managed to get back up and continue running. I tried to remember a magicry spell, something to help me run faster, but I was never that great at magicry. As soon as I was about to give up, I suddenly began to move quicker than before. I looked at my legs, to find them enveloped in mana. Did I accidentally cast the right spell on myself? No wait. I could feel Annie's familiar mana on me. I looked again at Annie, and saw than she had cast her magic on both of us, and was running to join Taylor. I was about to too, until Vacue made his big move.
"Are ya all ready!?" He shouted.
"Of course we're ready!" Lumia shouted.
"We're always prepared-" Fannel started.
"For the Gale Storm!" They all screamed at once.
Vacue had stopped attacking a while ago, and I realized he had begun preparing for a bigger move. I ran as fast as I could, to stop him before it would activate, but I was surprised by the unexpected wave he unleashed before I could reach him. I was pulled towards him, my feet lifting off the ground. Our bodies were being sucked towards Vacue, gliding over the grass rapidly. As soon as the three of us were less than a dozen feet from him, we were launched up into the air.
"First is my great Gravity Storm!" Vacue announced.
We helplessly floated up high, unable to control our movements. While dangling in the air, we looked down to see Lumia and Fannel getting ready to attack too.
"And next-" Lumia started.
"We'll add in-" Fannel added.
"Our own-" Lumia said.
"Light Storm!" "Wind Storm!" The two of them said together, hurling their offenses at us. A collection of fierce light beams and ferocious wind currents came at us, and we could do nothing to stop them.
I think could hear all three of our screams harmonize into a beautiful chorus of pain.
Thankfully, as we fell to the ground, our three opponents were waiting there to catch us. Sadly, I was not caught by the girl.
"That...match...was amazing!" Vacue said as he squeezed me tight in his arms after he caught me.
"Ah...okay...that's enough now!" I said, gasping for air.
"Hmm, it might have been more exhilarating if our sparring partners were stronger." Fannel proposed.
"Very true, very true." Lumia acknowledged, "However, an easy practice session is a healthy choice too!"
"Exactly, we must thank our weak friends for awarding us today with this simple challenge." Vacue declared.
"Can you not speak about us as if we weren't here?" Rairakku said, trying her best to keep Annie and I tied up, and not biting off their throats.
Once we calmed down, we all sat and spoke about our travels.
"So you three made these weapons yourselves?" Taylor asked.
"Yep! The three of us, along with our previous leader, learned how to make these 'modern-advanced' weapons from an old man in Negland." Vacue said, giving us a closer look to his vacuum cleaner. Looking at it now, we could see that it was much more than what it seemed. It was sort of like a bazooka. The lamp and fan were the same, functioning like lasers and chainsaws.
"And can you tell us more about your vacuums element?" Reyna asked, "It doesn't seem like anything I recognize."
"Oh yeah! My gravity element!" He shouted,
"You have space powers!" Hasu chirped in.
"Not exactly," Fannel said, "He can change the way gravity works in an area, or how it affects a person, or people."
"And it's not exactly his power, it's provided by the weapon." Lumia added.
"All three of us are lightning nature, but our weapons are made with other element capability." Vacue told us.
"My fan gives me wind, Lumia's lamp gives her light, and Vacue's vacuum gives him gravity powers. It's not exactly a real element, and more of something he created on his own." Steven said.
"Not exactly on my own," Vacue said, "Me and Gale worked on this together."
"Gale?" Asaki asked.
"It's nothing, let's move on!" Vacue replied, "What are you all up to? Where're ya all going?"
"We don't exactly have a plan or anything, but for now we're heading for Shin Jidai City." Annie said.
"Really?" Lumia said, "That's great so are we!"
"Are you guys planning on entering the tournament too?" Fannel inquired.
"Tournament? What tournament?" I asked.
"I can't believe it! You're going to Shin Jidai without knowing about it's annual tournament!" Vacue yelled.
"Every year Shin Jidai City holds 'The Festival of New Beginnings'." Fannel said, "It's wear they celebrate their own traditional new year. They also hold a tournament, for any rookie teams to participate in. We were planning on entering ourselves."
"We should enter too!" Yoruki declared, "We can easily whoop everyone's *sses and win the prize!"
"You're saying that even though our team members just easily lost to another team that is going to be entering." Yuri said bluntly.
"Yeah, that's because it was with Vince and Annie. Me and Asa could easily beat them!" Yoruki said.
"HEY!" Annie and I yelled.
"All jokes aside, we really should enter." Taylor said, "It's worth a try."
"Yay we'll get to play a game!" Hasu cheered.
"We're not in it just to play," I said, "We're in it to win!"
Taylor's POV
The city was alive and full of energy. Streamers, balloons, banners, and lights. Bright colors and bright feelings surrounded us. Little kids ran around, while their parents talked and laughed. It was amazing to see so much happy emotion.
While looking for the Shin Jidai Hero Office, we marveled at the sights. There was so many people, and so many heroes too. They walked around, casually carrying around weapons and armor. After asking around for a while, we finally managed to find the building, though it amazed me that we couldn't find it on our own. A grand piece of architecture, in the middle of the city, standing in front of the giant coliseum where the tournament would be held. Our team followed behind Team Gale, as they walked up to the front desk.
"We're here to sign up for the three man team rookie tournament." Vacue told the man.
"Of course, what is your team's name?"
"Team Gale!" The three announced in unison.
"Hmm…" The man looked through files until he found the right page, "Oh I see…I'm sorry. I regret to inform you that your team is not allowed to participate in our tournament."
"WHAT!"
"You see, the tournament only allows rookie teams. The tournament only classifies teams that were formed less than a year ago, as rookie teams. According to our records, Team Gale was formed a year… and a week ago."
"Missed it by a year!" Vacue cried out.
"We were so close!" Fannel sobbed.
"But still too far!" Lumia wept.
"Okay…" The man said, "Next in line please."
The nine of us stepped up to the desk, Stepping over the collapsed bodies of Team Gale.
"Hello mister," I started, "We would like to enter into the tournament as well."
"Of course, what is your team name?"
"..."
"..."
"Can you hold on a minute?" I asked.
"Go ahead."
I turned back to our group and looked at them frantically.
"We don't have a team name!" Annie said.
"What?! I assumed you six had already made a team name before we joined!" Rairakku said.
"And we assumed you four had already made it!" Yoruki said.
"You mean to say that you four went out on a journey, before fully legalizing your team?" Asaki asked.
"I guess we just forgot too. Tamashii city has a hero office too, but we forgot to go to it before we left." Reyna said.
"Well then I guess we have to legalize it now." Yuri said, turning back to the man, "We need to make our team official now."
"That won't be too much a problem. I still need to know what you will be naming your team, before I can give you the forms." He told us.
"Team Ellipsis!" Vince said, before anyone else could say anything.
"Team Ellipsis." The man said, writing it down, "Thank you and here are your forms, Return to me when you have completed all of it."
"Team Ellipsis?" Annie asked Vince as we were walking to some seats.
"I don't know, it just came to me." He replied.
"What the h*ll? I don't want to be named after some punctuation just because you feel like it!" Yoruki complained.
"I sort of like it actually." Asaki said, "I like the feel of it too."
"Yeah me too," Reyna added, "It's like it means something too. Like we're patient, or suspenseful. I feel like ellipsis implies a surprise is coming along. Something you won't exactly expect."
"Yeah, or awkward silences. Ellipsis come with those too." Rairakku teased.
"I wanted to go for something more like Team Legends, but Team Ellipsis works too." Annie said.
"I guess that's what we're going with then. Team Ellipsis." Yoruki said.
"Team Ellipsis! Team Ellipsis! Go Team Ellipsis! Yay!" Hasu cheered as she jumped around.
The man looked over the form quickly after we finished filling it out, and added it to the files behind him.
"Excellent, now that you all are a full team, which segment of the tournament will you like to enter your team in?"
"There are different segments? What are the choices?" I asked.
"There are three different tournaments. Single hero, three-man team, or a team of eight."
"That's a little difficult, since we have nine people in our team." I said.
"One of us can choose not to participate, then we can enter the eight person tournament." Asaki suggested.
"But who's going to do that?" Vince asked.
"Definately not me! I wanna be in the game!" Hasu shouted.
"Maybe we shouldn't let Hasu enter, she might get hurt." Rairakku said.
"I think that is for the best too." Yuri agreed.
"No way that's not fair! I won't get hurt! I'm strong! I'm so strong! I want to play the game too!" Hasu yelled.
"Okay, okay, someone else is going to have to opt out." Yoruki said.
"I'll do it."
We all turned to Reyna.
"I don't really think I want to be in the tournament. I'm not as strong as the rest of you in actual battles. I'm more fit for support." She said.
"Are you sure Reyna?" I asked, "You don't have to do this, we can find some other way."
"No it's completely fine! I don't want to participate. I'll just hold the rest of you back. Trust me, this is what I want."
"Then it's final," Yuri said turning back to the man, "We will enter the team of eight tournament. Our whole team excluding Reyna Simanei."
"Perfect." The man replied, "I'll put your name in the roster. Have a good day."
Walking away from the desk, I could feel the festive energy again. This city does make me feel new. We're a new team, with a new name. We're entering a tournament, filled with new people. Everything felt so great… until I saw those two.
A/N: And that was Team Gale! An interesting group, right? Too bad they can't participate in the tournament though. Same goes for Reyna, though, it's actually better for her health that she doesn't strain herself. Anyways, on to the next chapter! :)