Chapter 25: Inner Turmoil
"Attention all shinobi" Naruto yells out grabbing the attention of the entire arena "Will all of you please join me on the battle ground. We are not done here yet."
The remaining ninja step down from the rafters and line up according to squad on the arena floor. Naruto along with Genma and the other proctors of the Chunin exam stand on the podium in front of everyone.
"Now let me congratulate those who have made it this far in the exam" Naruto begins looking at the genin "Your skills are impeccable, and I cannot wait to see you all in action in the finals"
"The finals?!" the genin shout confused.
"Then what was all this fighting for?" Shakou asks annoyed "A lot of people got hurt"
"Yes I understand but you must remember this is the life of a shinobi." Naruto explains "Everyday your life can be at risk, so you need to be ready for anything while honing your skills to stay alive and protect those you care for."
Shakou cools down as the others take in what the Hokage's saying.
"These were just the preliminaries, to cut down the number of genin that passed the second test. We now have a good number of shinobi to participate in the final round."
"And what is this final round?" Kobura asks.
"Well, it will be a tournament. One on one fights where the winner goes on to the next bracket till we have one winner."
"You mean we have to fight now?" Iwa asks shocked "Come on, half the people who moved on are in the hospital"
Naruto grins at the question.
"No you will not fight now. You will be given one month to train and prepare for the finals."
"And the winner of this tournament, do they become Chunin?" Rei asks.
"Hmm, this is where it may become confusing to you" Naruto says as he takes his time "Winning the tournament does not necessarily make you a Chunin. The proctors and I will examine the way you fight to see if you have what it takes to become a Chunin, similar to what we did here today. If we deem you to be worthy then you will move on in rank, regardless of how you fare in the finals."
"What?!" the genin say as they start to become rowdy
"Silence!!" Genma yells quieting the group "If I may sir"
Naruto nods his head to proceed.
"To put it in simpler terms, there's a possibility that all of you become Chunin or none of you do." Genma explains "It all depends on you and how you apply your ninja training from the academy and the missions that you participated in as you fight"
The group of Genin still looked confused but not as much as before.
"Thank you Genma. Also, during this tournament representatives from all the ninja villages will come to see you fight." Naruto continues "So come prepared"
"Will you tell us who we fight first?" Yabun asks.
"Now how much fun will it be if you knew before hand?" Naruto asks with a smile "You will not know your opponent till the day of the finals. So go out and train hard and I'll see you all in a month."
Naruto turns away from the crowd as Genma steps up to give one final announcement.
"To the Jounin, please relay what you heard here to those who are currently in the hospital" Genma says before also turning away.
"Finally" Iwa complains "I'm starving can we please get something to eat?"
"Not yet Iwa" Kankurou says "You and Shakou need to get checked on first by the hospital for your injuries."
"Aww man"
"What injuries sensei" Shakou states "I didn't get hurt."
"Nonsense, you both are going to get checked out and we're going to see Kin" Kankurou orders before starting to head for the exit.
"Ok, but please tell me they have a cafeteria" Iwa say as he runs after his sensei.
"Fine" Shakou replies as he starts to walk alongside his sensei before looking back at the cloud team. 'I will expose you for everything that you have done'
Shakou turns his head forward as he leaves the arena with his team.
"You ready to go Rei?" Shikamaru asks "We need to head to the hospital to get you taken care of and to tell the others about what the Hokage said"
"Yes sensei, I'm ready" Rei answers.
Shikamaru and Rei head out of the arena along with the remaining Genin and Jounin. Genma turns around to see that everyone has left.
"Make sure the preparations are ready" Naruto informs Genma and the Anbu "This needs to go as smooth as possible"
Konoha Hospital…
"Awww my little boy" Sakura says as she squeezes Taiki "Did they hurt you?"
"Mom…MOM!!!" Taiki screams as he was being suffocated by the hugs.
Taiki pushes his mom back a little and gasps for air.
"I'm ok really, this is nothing" Taiki says before he grabs his side in pain.
"Uhuh, you expect me to believe that?" Sakura asks crossing her arms "You forget that I'm a doctor"
Taiki grins as Sakura leans over and kisses him on the top of his head. She turns around and heads for the door before stopping.
"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask"
"I won't mom"
Sakura opens the door and exits closing it behind her. Taiki sighs in relief and lies back on his pillow. He turns his head towards the window and looks outside. The sky has turned an orangey red color as the sun begins to set.
"I wonder how Rei and Hideo did in their matches" Taiki says aloud
"Well why don't you just ask me?"
Surprised, Taiki quickly turns to see Rei and Shikamaru standing at the doorway. Rei and Taiki smile at each other as she walks over to his bedside and sits on the bed.
"How you feeling Taiki?" Rei asks as she looks at the bandages covering his wounds.
"I'm good, just a little tired" Taiki responds non-saliently "Nothing a good nap can't fix"
Taiki examines Rei as he sees the cuts and scratches on her face and arms.
"Well, you don't look too beat up. So is it safe to assume you won your match?"
"Yea I won"
"I told her to get it cleaned up first, but you know how she is" Shikamaru adds.
"I certainly do sensei, so who did you face?"
"Uhh…Sora" Rei answers under her breathe.
The answer takes Taiki by surprise.
"What?! Wow that must have been…" Taiki starts to say but can't finish his sentence.
"Weird…yea I know"
They both chuckle as a knock is heard at the door. The door opens as Sakura is seen holding some food for Taiki.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know you were going to have guests" Sakura says as she lays the tray of food on the counter next to the hospital bed.
"It's ok mom"
"Shikamaru, how are you doing?"
"Meh you know Sakura, same old same old"
"Hi Ms. Haruno" Rei says waving.
"REI!! Oh I almost didn't recognize you. How have you be-." Sakura begins to rant but stops when she sees Rei wounds unattended. "What is that? Are you hurt too Rei? Oh come with me I'll take care of everything."
"Oh no Ms. Haruno I'm ok"
All of a sudden Sakura grabs Rei by the back of her shirt and lifts her off the ground. Rei starts to yell in surprise as she flails her legs.
"Nonsense, you're coming with me right now, no ifs ands or buts" Sakura says using her strength to carry Rei passed Shikamaru and out of the room as the young kunoichi stays motionless accepting her fate.
"Thanks for the food mom and see you later Rei" Taiki says smiling and waving goodbye to his mom and teammate.
"Sheesh even when I was younger I was afraid to cross your mother" Shikamaru says reminiscing "I don't know how your father did it"
"Yea me neither"
"Anyways Taiki, I need to talk to you about the next round" Shikamaru says as he closes the door to the room.
Elsewhere in the hospital…
Sounds of the hospital equipment beep in Sora's ears as she slowly opens her eyes. Shocked to see where she is she quickly sits up on her bed as the beeping becomes louder and faster. The oxygen mask wrapped on her head becomes foggy as she breathes heavier and heavier.
"Sora" Shuiro says as he walks into the room noticing the sounds "Calm down you're in the hospital"
Sora surveys the area and begins to calm down. The beeping slows down and gets quieter. She takes the oxygen mask off her face and holds it in her hand.
"How long have I been out?" Sora asks.
"Not long almost two hours" Shuiro answers. "You collapsed from chakra exhaustion, and besides the minor scratches and bruises you're fine"
Sora nods her head glad to hear she's ok.
"How's Takeo?"
Shuiro doesn't answer right away he stares blankly at the floor before he turns to his pupil.
"He's not doing too well. He's in a coma and the doctors don't know when he'll come out of it"
Sora puts her hands to her mouth and begins to tear. She composes herself taking a few breaths.
"Can I see him?"
"Sure" Shuiro says with a smile "I'll take you there"
Shuiro goes back to the hallway and returns with a wheelchair for Sora. He helps her on and takes her to her teammate's room.
Elsewhere in the hospital…
A figure tip toes down the hall of the hospital. The figure has their back to the wall as they creep closer and closer to a specific room. The figure looks at the board next to the door that reads "Taiki Uchiha". The figure reaches for the door knob when all of a sudden they hear.
"Nice to see your feeling better Kin" Shakou cries out.
The figure freezes in place as it slowly turns its head to see Shakou, Kankurou and Iwa standing there staring at her.
"Kin…uhh what are you doing?" Kankurou asks confused.
Kin quickly stands stiff, facing her team.
"Nothing, I was just looking for the ladies room." Kin answers with a smile, trying to hide her true intentions.
"Really? Cause it looked like you were going to go into that leaf ninja's room" Iwa replies with a mischievous smile.
Kin's face quickly turns red from embarrassment.
'Stupid stupid stupid' Kin thinks to herself 'What are you doing? Come on Kin cover this up'
"What are you talkin about?"
Kin turns around and looks at the board with Taiki's name written on it. She puts her hand to her mouth as a faux shocked expression comes over her face.
"Oh how embarrassing that would have been" Kin begins "I've been a little light headed since my match."
Kin laughs trying to play it off but the rest of her team just stands there staring.
"O…k… well if you're light headed then you should be back in your room" Kankurou states "Now come back, you need to rest"
"Yes sensei" Kin answers as she jogs over to her team.
The sand team begins to walk back to Kin's room when Shakou suddenly stops.
"I need some air; I'll meet back with you guys later" Shakou states causing the rest of the team to turn to him.
"Alright Shakou we'll see you later" Kankurou responds as he takes Iwa and Kin back to the hospital room.
The door to Taiki's room opens as Shikamaru exits. The door shuts behind him.
"Alright, one down one to go"
Elsewhere in the hospital…
"And…that should do it" Sakura says as she stands back and takes a look at Rei.
Rei sits there almost completely bandaged. She struggles to move her arms as she tries to speak.
"I think it's too much" Rei says through her teeth but all Sakura hears is mumbles.
"Oh no need to thank me Rei" Sakura replies smiling "Well I need to go check on the other patients so I'll be back a little later. Bye"
Sakura leaves the room leaving Rei sitting on the patients table wrapped like a mummy. Rei closes her eyes and concentrates. Slowly the bandages begin to slightly freeze, enough for the kunoichi to break them. The bandages rip releasing her. Rei grabs some more bandages and tends to her own wounds.
'Since Shikamaru sensei is speaking with Taiki I should go see Hideo' Rei thinks as she finishes and steps outside of the room.
She looks around and walks up to the secretary's desk. The woman looks up from her paper work.
"Umm I'm looking for the room my teammate is in can you help me?"
"Sure, what's their name?"
"Hideo Hyuga"
The secretary grabs a clipboard and passes her finger down the list of all the people admitted on the floor. Suddenly she stops at a name.
"Here it is, room 324" The secretary says as she puts the list down and points to her right "Go around this corner and it is the second room on the left"
"Thank you so much" Rei says as she uses the directions given to her and walks towards the other end of the floor rounding the west corner.
A bell is heard as the elevator doors open. Shuiro emerges from inside, pushing Sora in her wheelchair.
"Ready to see him?" Shuiro asks
"Yes I am" Sora says nodding her head "By the way where's Yabun?"
"You know how he is; he left to get something to eat" Shuiro answers as he pushes her wheelchair down the hall and around the east corner.
"Anti-social prick" Sora says angrily
Shuiro stops in front of a closed door that reads "Intensive Care" before he steps to the side and cracks open the door. He looks inside to see that the only person inside is a body lying lifeless on the bed. Shuiro opens the door and helps Sora inside. Upon entering the room a silence comes over the shinobi as they just stare at Takeo with an oxygen mask over his mouth helping him breathe. Blips are heard from the machine monitoring his heartbeat and bags of clear fluid are suspended on either side of him as a tube runs the fluid into Takeo's arms.
"Takeo…" Sora whispers to herself "Why are there no nurses here monitoring him?"
"The hospital has become undermanned these days, they can't be everywhere at once" Shuiro replies "But don't worry, if anything about Takeo changes an alarm will sound alerting the nurses"
Her jounin's answer helps comfort her a little but seeing her teammate there causes another tear to fall.
"I just don't want to lose another friend"
Shuiro looks over to his genin and walks behind her placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Sora, what happened to Riki was tragic" Shuiro begins "But that's the life of a shinobi, we wake up everyday with an understanding that it may be our last"
"I know sensei but…I'm sick of my loved ones getting hurt right in front of my eyes"
"Well, you know what you have to do then, dontcha?" Shuiro states as he walks away from the wheelchair.
Sora doesn't answer; she just turns her head to look at her sensei with a confused look.
"You're just going to have to get stronger" Shuiro exclaims causing Sora's eyes to widen as she turns away and stares at Takeo "so when the opportunity comes when a loved one is in trouble you'll be there to save them"
Shuiro walks to the entrance of the room.
"Listen Sora, I'm going to go talk to the nurses for a minute"
"Alright sensei"
"Oh and one more thing" Shuiro says just before he steps out "I heard Hideo is on this floor too, room 324 if I'm not mistaken. I'm sure he could use your company"
After hearing this, Sora raises her head as a smiling Shuiro leaves her alone with her teammate.
In room 324 Hideo lies in his hospital bed staring out the window. With the sun setting the sky has turned orange and the wind has picked up causing the trees of the forest to wave. A bird lands on the open window sill as Hideo looks at it. All of a sudden there's a knock at his door which startles the bird to fly off. Hideo turns his head to the door before exhaling.
"Come in Rei" He says
Rei opens the door and slips into the room, closing the door behind her.
"Wait? How did you know it was me?" Rei asks walking up to the bed.
Hideo doesn't answer, he just stares at her.
"Oh that's right" Rei says laughing "Duh"
"Is there a reason you're here?" Hideo asks not amused
"Can't I check up on my teammate?"
"Then check up on Taiki"
"Grrr for your information, I already did" Rei says annoyed "And if you don't want me here then I'll just leave"
Rei turns around clenching her fists when a bandaged hand grabs her arm stopping her.
"Wait, don't leave" Hideo says causing Rei to turn around "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to act like a jerk… it's just…"
"Don't worry about it" Rei responds sensing Hideo's unease.
Hideo loosens his grip as Rei's arm slips through his hand.
"So how's Taiki doing?" Hideo asks breaking the silence.
"He's recovering nicely; he'll be up bothering us in no time"
Hideo grins at the thought when Rei pulls up a seat beside his bed.
"Can it be?" Rei says sarcastically as she moves in closer looking at Hideo "Is that a smile I see"
"Shut up" Hideo says blushing before playfully pushing Rei back.
They both laugh, the tension and unease that was in the room before has now gone away.
In the hallway Sora is seen rolling her wheelchair toward Hideo's room. She looks at the name plate beside the door that read Hideo's name. She reaches for the doorknob when she hears the laughter. Her hand stays levitated as the sound has frozen her in place. She recognizes Rei is in the room.
"Anyways, I'm assuming you won your match" Hideo says catching his breath.
Rei's laughter dies down as she looks down before answering "Yes"
"Great, whose ass did you kick?"
Rei looks away before standing to her feet. A puzzled Hideo looks at his comrade.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No no you didn't" Rei begins to say "It's just-."
"Come on you can tell me"
"Maybe I shouldn't, it's not important anyway"
"Rei…" Hideo sits up in his bed grimacing "There's nothing that you do that isn't important to me"
Outside of the door Sora's floating hand begins to shake as she pulls it back. Overhearing the whole thing Sora begins to breathe heavily.
"Hideo, you can't say things like that" Rei says as she heads for the door.
"Rei wait a second"
Rei stops in front of the exit before she turns her head to Hideo.
"I fought Sora" Rei informs to the shock of Hideo "Get some rest, cause tomorrow we need to talk about a few things…"
"Wait Rei…you fought Sora?" Hideo repeats trying to wrap his mind around it
"Goodnight"
Rei opens the door and closes it leaving the leaf shinobi alone. Hideo stares at the door before punching the wall behind his bed. Outside of the room a sad look comes over Rei's face as she stands there. She looks to her right to see an empty wheelchair but pays no mind to it and walks away.
The elevator opens as Shikamaru steps out. He turns to see Rei walking down the hall towards him. He waves at his pupil as she glances at him and walks past him into the elevator he was just in.
'Oh great, she must have seen Hideo' Shikamaru thinks to himself as he scratches his head 'Why does my team have so much drama? Oh well let me get this over with'
Shikamaru continues toward Hideo's room as he opens and enters the door.
Hospital Roof…
The wind blows as stray leaves fly around the late afternoon sky. Shakou takes a deep breath as he lies back against his metal fan that he lodged into the roof.
'Finally some peace and quiet' Shakou thinks as he closes his eyes and raises his arms behind his head.
All of a sudden the metal door leading to the roof thrusts open. The door banging against the concrete makes a loud sound that startles Shakou. The sand shinobi slowly peers over his fan to see what the ruckus is. His eyes see a sobbing Sora leaning over the side of the roof.
'Oh jeez it's that leaf ninja chick. Well there goes my peaceful time' Shakou thinks with a sigh 'maybe if I stay quiet she won't notice I'm here'
Just as Shakou finished his inner monologue Sora looks over to see Shakou looking at her. They both become startled as Shakou drops out of sight behind his fan and Sora turns her back to him wiping the tears from her face.
"I'm sorry I didn't know anyone else was up here" Sora says as she pushes her red hair out of her face.
She waits for a response but looks over in Shakou's direction when she doesn't get one. Noticing the sun set she walks over to the ledge looking out to the horizon which happens to be the way Shakou is facing.
"Wow look at that sunset" Sora says before turning to Shakou who has resumed his lying position "I hope you don't mind if I stand here"
"It's your village; you could do whatever you want" Shakou responds not opening an eye.
"Yea…but this is not the same village that I once knew" Sora replies under her breath "Besides for now this is your village too"
Shakou lifts himself to his feet and dislodges the fan out of the roof.
"This is not my village; I am a shinobi from the village hidden in the sand" Shakou says becoming annoyed "And don't you forget it"
Shakou swipes his fan causing wind to gust at Sora. Sora sticks her arm out and twirls her fingers as the chakra-filled wind starts to twist up her arm. The wind has become concentrated in a straight line that is now swirling around Sora's entire body. Sora closes her eyes, her red hair flutters in the wind until she finally exhales causing the wind to escape into the sky. Shakou's eyes are wide open as he can't believe he just witnessed that.
"I forgot, you are the asshole of your team" Sora says as her hair falls to its normal place, her eyes looking at the sand shinobi with stern eyes "But I guess knowing your situation I don't blame ya"
"You know shit about me or my situation" Shakou retorts as he closes his fan and slides it into the harness on his back
"Well you were on a mission with my boyf-." Sora starts to say but the thought of Hideo has cut her off.
Another tear begins to form in her eyes when she turns away from Shakou to wipe it off.
"DAMMIT!!" Sora yells causing a strong wind to come over the roof.
'Where does this power come from?' Shakou thinks while he puts extra weight on his legs to stay still as the wind blows over. 'This girl…'
Once the wind dies down he composes himself and walks till he's a few feet away from the leaf kunoichi.
"I guess I'm not the only one with problems" Shakou says as Sora turns her head to him.
In a hospital room…
'A whole month huh?' Taiki thinks to himself as he lies back on his hospital bed staring at the ceiling. 'It's going to be so boring around here until then'
'If only I had a girlfriend, then the wait wouldn't be so bad' Taiki smirks mischievously.
'Training could also pass the time you know' a voice says startling Taiki.
"Huh? Who's there?" Taiki asks as he sits up looking frantically around the room.
Taiki sees no one there and bows his head taking a deep breath.
"I must have taken one too many blows to the head" the young Uchiha says. "I'm starting to hear things"
'Hear what?' the voice asks.
Taiki quickly lifts his head to see Sasuke sitting in the chair across from his bed. The startled youth lets out a yelp.
The yell catches the attention of Kin who was wandering the halls around Taiki's room. She quietly walks up to his door and cracks it open to see the leaf ninja in his bed.
'Calm down Taiki, it's only me' Sasuke reassures.
"Dad you can't sneak up on me like that and besides what are you doing here?"
'I came to warn you son'
"Warn me?" Taiki repeats with a confused expression "Warn me about what?"
All of a sudden the door creaks drawing Taiki's attention away from his father and to the source of the sound. His eyes widen to see Kin standing in the doorway.
"Kin? What are you doing here?"
"Uhh well I was just walking down the hall when I heard what sounded like a little girl screaming" Kin explains trying to control her nervousness
"Little girl?" Taiki replies with a laugh trying to play it off "That must have come from down the hall or something"
"No I'm pretty sure it was from this room" Kin exclaims as Taiki's head falls with embarrassment "But when I opened the door all I saw was you talking to yourself"
"Really?" Taiki says as he glances to the empty chair where his father sat "Haha how embarrassing I sometimes talk out loud when I'm thinking, it's nothing though"
Taiki chuckles non-saliently while Kin steps up to his bed. The wind blows the door shut. Kin observes the room when a glare catches her attention. She stares to see Taiki's leaf forehead protector on the table next to the bed. Suddenly a sharp pain causes her to put her hand to her temple.
'I sense a dark presence here' She thinks to herself.
"Soooo how are you feeling?" Taiki asks noticing the bandages wrapped around her arms and a patch on her cheek.
The question breaks Kin out of her thoughts as she looks at the leaf ninja.
"Oh I'm fine" Kin answers twiddling her fingers behind her back in a nervous way. "How are you?"
"Ehh could be better, but I'm glad to hear you're good"
"Really?"
"Yea, after the beating I gave you I'm surprised your walking" Taiki jokes
"Is that so?!" Kin says not sensing the sarcasm "How about if I make it so that you can't walk"
Kin pulls her arm back to punch Taiki when the Uchiha catches her fist causing the sand kunoichi to fall forward onto his bed. The two look at each other, both blushing when Kin rolls away and sits at the edge of the bed.
"I was just kidding you know" Taiki informs her.
"I'm sorry; in my village joking is not something we do often" Kin says before turning her head to him "I'm curious about something…why did you not continue fighting after I was down?"
The question takes Taiki by surprise as he thinks back to the end of their fight and realizes that she was still semi-conscious.
"You could have kept attacking to make sure I was done but instead you helped me off the floor and onto the stretcher. Why?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Taiki replies staring at his hands "There was no reason for me to continue, and there's no honor in attacking when someone is down and defenseless."
Kin takes in what Taiki says and turns away again.
"I don't know how it is in the sand village but that's not how we do it here. Besides, seeing you like that…I cou-."
Taiki looks up to see Kin coming closer to his face. Her action cuts him off as his heart starts to race. He closes his eyes slowly when Kin kisses his forehead. The second Kin's lips make contact with Taiki a vision comes into her head.
A dark cloud fills her mind as red eyes beam out of the fog.
'Stay away!!' the apparition yells 'He's mine!!'
Kin pulls back from Taiki and stands to her feet.
"What's wrong?" Taiki asks noticing Kin breathing heavily.
"Nothing nothing" Kin replies "I should leave now"
"Wait Kin"
Kin doesn't flinch and just leaves the room. The Uchiha sits there confused by what just transpired. Taiki falls back onto his pillow with a sigh. "Women"
Kin leans on the door to Taiki's room as she continues to breathe heavily.
"Kin!!"
Kin opens her eyes to see Kankurou jog up to her.
"Are you ok?"
"Yea, I'm fine just a little tired" Kin answers
"Come on I'll take you back to your room" Kankurou says as he helps his pupil walk down the hall "I sent Iwa to get us something to eat so you'll get something in your stomach soon"
As they walk, Kin looks back at Taiki's room with concern clear on her face.
"So everything I've heard about that mission was true?" Sora asks distraught.
Shakou remains silent looking out onto the horizon. Sora notices he has an expression on his face that he is in deep thought.
"I'll just take your silence as a yes then"
Sora turns her eyes towards the sun before lifting herself off the roof railing.
"Wow, it's getting late I should be heading back now before sensei kills me" Sora says as she stands to Shakou's side "It was good talking to you Shakou"
Her words take Shakou's attention away from his thoughts as he sees her smile.
"Yea it's whatever" Shakou replies trying to act tough looking away again.
Sora chuckles before heading back downstairs.
"Don't stay out here too long"
The door to the roof closes as Shakou grins. Suddenly something catches the sand shinobi's eye. He looks to see a figure walking around the hospital towards the surrounding forest. At a closer glance Shakou sees the cloud village insignia on the person's headband. His eyes widen as he realizes the figure is Kishu.
'Him!!'
Shakou clenches his fists and stealthily climbs down from the roof. Kishu continues to walk inside the forest unbeknownst to him that Shakou is trailing. The cloud ninja heads deeper into the forest.
'So I have one month to prepare' Kishu thought to himself 'that shouldn't be a problem… everyone else better be ready'
All of a sudden Kishu leaps onto a branch right above him. The crouching shinobi turns his head back to see Shakou kneeling down making a hand sign while his shadow stretched all the way to where he was just standing.
"Nice try sand ninja" Kishu says with a smile "But you'll have to do better than that to catch me"
"Who says I was done?" Shakou sneers "HAH!!"
Kishu's attention draws his eyes to his right when another shadow slithers around the trunk of the tree he was standing on and races towards him. Kishu doesn't move and just watches it when it finally stops in its tracks a few inches away.
'What the?!' Shakou thought as sweat begins to form on his face 'Why doesn't it move?'
"Like I was saying before, you need to do a lot better than that to catch me" Kishu reiterates as he stands up turning to Shakou.
Shakou looks up and sees the cloud ninja pointing toward the setting sun.
'Shit I didn't realize that the sunlight was almost gone' Shakou thinks as he releases the jutsu and stands.
"Now what do I owe the pleasure?" Kishu asks sarcastically.
Becoming annoyed Shakou reaches over and pulls his fan from its harness. He takes it out and jams it in the ground beside him.
"Hmmm, I sense some hostility here. I wonder what brought this on all of a sudden?" Kishu asks himself "Did I do something to offend you?"
"You know exactly what you did!!" Shakou screams.
"Uhhh I don't think I do" Kishu replies scratching his head "I don't even know you"
"Well let me refresh your memory, you and your entire fucking village destroyed my home" Shakou exclaims as he tightens every muscle "And took my family from me!!"
Just as those words were said Shakou dislodges the fan and opens it in one flawless motion.
"Dai Kamaitachi - Great Cutting Whirlwind Technique!!"
Shakou swipes his fan in Kishu's direction releasing chakra-filled wind in a straight line toward the cloud shinobi. The wind cuts through the branches surrounding the two causing them to drop in pieces to the forest floor.
"Not bad sand shinobi, not bad" Kishu says causing Shakou to look up and see that he had avoided the attack and is now out of sight.
"How did yo-."
"Dodge your attack?" Kishu interrupts "Well it's not that hard when your movements are so large, I could see that jutsu coming a mile away"
'Dammit, where is he?' Shakou thinks as he looks around for his opponent.
"Now this on the other hand is a whole different story!!"
A light shines in the trees behind Shakou. It makes the sand shinobi glance there to see a stream of lightning fly towards him.
"Shit!!" Shakou yells as he quickly grabs his fan and swipes it "Dai Kamaitachi - Great Cutting Whirlwind Technique!!"
The jutsu was performed just in time for the wind to ricochet the lightning straight up in the sky while still getting through to cut down the trees in its path. Shakou stands there breathing heavily as the trees fall, creating an area of open space. And in the middle is Kishu shielding his eyes from the attack.
Back at the hospital…
The hospital has quieted down with the setting of the sun. The genin admitted are all in there rooms resting. In room 324, Hideo lies in bed thinking about the events of the day when he hears a familiar sound. He sits up and sees a shadow walk by his door.
"Byakugan"
Hideo's eyes see through the walls of the hospital but do not notice anything unusual.
'I know I saw someone outside my door' Hideo thinks as he climbs out of bed and walks up to the door.
He opens the door and peers into the empty and dark hallway of the hospital. When he looks down the end of the hall he sees a shadow walk around the corner. The Hyuga pursues the unknown assailant slowly until he finally reaches the other end of the hall. He stealthily pokes his head around the corner to see the only open door.
In the forest…
"Heh, wind beats lightning remember?" Shakou says in between breaths
Kishu lowers his arms slowly as he stares at his opponent before smirking.
"I really underestimated you sand shinobi, so I guess I should go all out" Kishu states before disappearing again.
'He's fast!!'
Shakou lifts his right arm in an L shape as Kishu suddenly reappears with a kick. Shakou blocks the attack as he uses his other arm to slam his fan where the cloud ninja is.
"Eat this!!" Shakou yells as the fan makes impact with the ground.
The dust picks up in the air as Shakou moves his fan out the way to see the damage done. To his surprise Kishu is not there.
'Where did he--.' Shakou thinks looking left and right before feeling a sharp pain "ARGH!!"
Shakou takes a knee as he drops his fan. He squeezes his right arm with his left as an electrical charge is seen climbing up the limb.
'Dammit, he must have transferred some of his electricity from when I blocked his kick.' Shakou thinks as he tries to move his arm 'Shit, it's gone numb'
The sand shinobi's hand reaches for his fan and lifts it as a shield just when an electrified fist makes contact with it. The force of the attack pushes Shakou back a little as sparks begin to fly.
"Hahaha, you are impressing me sand man" Kishu laughs while Shakou tries to keep his ground "I wonder if the rest of your village are as strong as you...oh that's right there is no more village"
"Son of a bitch!!" Shakou yells as he pushes Kishu off of his fan.
Kishu jumps backwards while making hand signs.
"Raikou Kyuuzou- Lightning Surge"
As soon as the last hand sign was made an electric current runs up Kishu's body and into his arm. A yellow orb form in his hand as he unleashes a beam of light. Shakou cocks his fan back and swings it forward.
"Dai Kamaitachi - Great Cutting Whirlwind Technique!!"
The wind collides with the lightning jutsu and creates a power struggle between the two shinobi. Shakou tries to keep the wind up as he sees that he is winning. Suddenly he notices Kishu with a smirk on his face as he raises his other arm. The sand ninja's eyes open wide as another yellow orb forms in the other hand. Kishu unleashes another lightning strike which he uses to strengthen his beam. The combined lightning beams pierces through Shakou's wind jutsu connecting with him. A flash of light engulfs Shakou as he yells in pain. The light finally dies down as Kishu calmly walks up to his smoldering opponent.
"Pathetic, after all that talk this is how you fall?" Kishu asks looking down at a charred body "What a wa-."
Kishu's words are cut off as he becomes stiff. His entire body trembles as he tries to move everything but to no avail.
"What was that you were saying?" A voice asks as Kishu recognizes it.
"How…did…you?"
Shakou is kneeling behind the cloud ninja as his shadow has encompassed Kishu's shadow. Shakou lowers his head causing Kishu to do the same. As Kishu's eyes looks down he sees the charred body crumble into dirt.
"A substitution jutsu, very clever" Kishu says as he continues to try and move
"You can stop trying; my shadow possession jutsu won't allow you to move."
"Oh really?" Kishu retorts with a snicker "I wonder how long it will last."
All of a sudden Kishu starts to slowly move his right arm to the surprise of Shakou. The sand ninja realizes what's going on when he looks back to see the sun almost gone behind the mountains.
'I can't let him beat me…' Shakou thinks as he concentrates on his jutsu while pulling out a kunai with the cloud ninja making the same move.
Kishu continues to force his will on moving that right arm. He begins to move his fingers to make a fist. Dark clouds form in the sky ousting the last of the sunlight and releasing the shadow jutsu in the process. Shakou quickly charges the cloud ninja with the kunai in hand and thrusts it at him just as Kishu stands there raising his arm to the sky for a counterattack.
"Mushi Kabe no Jutsu- Insect Wall Technique!!" a voice yells as small black sphere appear between the two combatants.
The sphere grows in size as it explodes pushing both ninja backwards and away from each other.
"Iwa!!" Shakou says surprised to see his teammate.
"Stay away from my comrade!!" Iwa yells standing there, arms extended out as his parasites surround him ready to attack Kishu.
Back at the hospital…
Holding his side in pain Hideo reaches the open door with the room sign reading the name of the person inside.
'This is Takeo's room' Hideo thinks surprised as he stands in the doorway 'What's going o-.'
Before Hideo can finish his thought an explosion goes off in the room.
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT SEASON ON NARUTO XX: REDEMPTION