As the great Mushu once said, "I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVEEEEE!" Sigh, it is good to be back! Sorry it took so long to get this written, classes got crazy and assignments were due left and right xP Finally managed to get this typed up over our fall break and it's edited and everything. Time for Manami to endure her second test, with a small surprise at the end ;) Hope you all enjoy! ~KB
Ch 19: The Test Part Two
Manami's knees hit the ground with a hard thud and she tensed when she realized she couldn't move. The intense red eyes kept her in place as the figure sauntered towards her. A village headband held back curtains of black hair, and wide wrappings were draped across the body in a short dress pattern with one red sleeve. Manami determined the figure to be a woman and noted the wrappings along her forearms and hands.
"Who are you?" she croaked out.
The red eyes glinted with mirth as the woman replied, "I am Yuhi Kurenai and this is your second test."
Manami narrowed her eyes, "Alright, what is it then?"
Kurenai smirked down at her, "Let's see if you can figure it out."
A flash of light caught Manami's eye and she was able to move out of the way of the shuriken thrown at her. The shift in momentum helped her grab ahold of her senses and Manami was back on her feet in no time.
She unsheathed the katana and held it ready for another attack. Kurenai kept her distance, baring only a few visible shuriken. A strange rumbling caught Manami's attention and the ground began to shake. Large vines suddenly broke through the ground and wrapped around Manami, pinning her limbs together. Thorns of various sizes pierced through skin and tore her clothes. Manami tried to wiggle out of its grasp but stopped due to it inflicting more injuries on herself.
Manami locked eyes with Kurenai again as she approached her. The sheer intensity of those eyes sent shivers down her spine but Manami couldn't look away. She continued to struggle against the vines, creating cuts all over her body. Finally, Manami managed to grab a kunai from the leg pouch and cut parts of a vine off, freeing her arm. Manami deflected the shuriken aimed for her and sliced across the other vine holding her down.
Dropping to the ground, Manami grabbed the fallen katana and ran towards Kurenai. Before she could get close enough to attack, random vines appeared out of the ground. Manami cut them down with a single swipe of the katana before they had a chance to grab her again. When Manami was close enough, she swung to attack Kurenai but the katana embedded itself deep in a tree trunk where the ninja once stood. Manami tugged on the handle of the blade, it's stuck, she grimly thought, oh great.
Suddenly, the katana was sucked into the tree, dragging a surprised Manami with it. She didn't have enough time to react before her hand was swallowed by the trunk. Some force in the tree was pulling her in like quick sand; Manami was elbow deep and nothing was working. If she didn't figure out something quick, she was going to be swallowed whole by the trunk. Think, think, she told herself, what's the best way to get out of this?
Manami took a deep breath and stood extremely still. If this thing behaves like quicksand, the less I move, the less I'll be drawn in, she concluded.
As Manami stood there, the tree trunk drew her in less and less until it stopped mid-bicep. Manami released a sigh of relief when she was no longer being drawn in and tugged at her arm. Still stuck, she thought grimly. Glancing around, Manami saw no sign of Kurenai anywhere. That can't be good.
Sharp pain across her upper thigh confirmed her thoughts. Manami looked down to see a large gash on her leg. A glint caught her eye and Manami gasped when she saw an arm holding a kunai emerging from the tree. Manami struggled to free her arm as Kurenai slowly appeared from the tree trunk. In a desperate attempt, Manami put all her force into yanking her arm out. She somehow managed to bend her arm in the trunk with enough force to break apart the dead wood right as Kurenai stepped out.
Splinters flew in every direction, giving Manami a few scratches on her cheek in addition to the bloody mess that was her arm. Pieces of wood were lodged in her arm, which was surprisingly still clutching the katana. Manami plucked out the slivers of wood, wincing at the pain. She hissed at one piece in particular lodged deep in her forearm.
Manami took the katana in her left hand and let her injured arm go limp. If I force it too much I'll bleed to death, she thought. Now, where's that ninja?
The whiz of a shuriken passing her ear caught her attention. Manami whipped around to find Kurenai running straight towards her and crouched into a defensive stance. Kurenai lunged at Manami but she deflected the attack away from her sending Kurenai into a backflip away from her.
Pain suddenly tore through the middle Manami's chest. She could feel the cool sting of a blade and the warm blood sliding down her stomach. Her breathing became labored and her vision blurred. Turning her head sideways, Manami saw a second Kurenai holding the dagger running through her torso. Red eyes burned into blue as Manami sank to the ground for a second time.
She felt the blade slip out from her torso and heard Kurenai back away. It was over now.
Manami's breathing became ragged as she felt as if her lungs were being crushed; her throat was suffocating, her vision was tunneling and her mind became fuzzy. The scenery around her became blurry, the mess from the battle appeared to disappear in and out at random. The delusions became worse as Manami felt her consciousness slowly slipping away.
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Manami gasped for air when she suddenly felt all the tension on her chest and neck disappear.
As the air returned to Manami's lungs, she discovered herself lying on her side. Getting up Manami saw that she was still in the arena but everything looked perfectly fine. Something around her chest moved and Manami saw a white snake curl into her lap.
"Kenta?" she asked.
The white creature blinked at Manami in response. It slithered forward up her arm to nuzzle her neck, almost as if were apologizing for something.
Manami stood up but stumbled forward a bit. She could still feel the effects of all the injuries she received from her fight with Kurenai but when she looked down to inspect the wounds Manami discovered that she was unscathed.
Questions flooded her mind but before she had a chance to ponder them, Manami sensed danger and dodged a kunai just in time. Manami grimaced when she saw Kurenai holding a few shuriken and looking more offensive than before. Drawing the katana, Manami crouched in defense as a response.
"What the heck just happened?!" she called to Kurenai. "This place was a mess just a minute ago and now it's like nothing happened!"
Kurenai grinned at Manami's confusion, "That's because nothing did happen," she replied, "not physically anyway. From the moment you looked at me you were trapped in my genjutsu."
Manami quirked an eyebrow, "What the heck is a genjutsu?"
Kurenai shook her head. "It's an illusionary technique. Everything that just happened was an illusion until your little snake decided to interfere. It wrapped around you and began to suffocate you. As your consciousness slipped so did the illusion. Eventually you were able to slip out of the genjutsu and back into reality."
Kenta nuzzled against Manami's neck again and she realized that he was apologizing for having to choke her.
"I understand," she told him. Manami raised her hand to pet Kenta on the head to let him know it was alright. "You knew I was trapped in that illusion, didn't you?"
Kenta nodded his head and Manami smiled at him. "Thank you. Now, let's finish this."
Kenta flicked his tongue in agreement.
Alright, Manami thought, if the illusion started from the moment I looked into her eyes I need to avoid doing that for the rest of the fight.
Manami decided to focus on Kurenai's midsection. It allowed her to see her arms and legs for movement while avoiding Kurenai's face altogether. Manami charged at the ninja at swiped at her when she was in range. Kurenai dodged the attack and countered immediately. She tried to redirect Manami's focus upwards by attacking from above but Manami refused to look up, instead suffering from a few of the blows and relying to Kenta to help deflect the attacks.
The two worked surprisingly well together for only having just met. Manami chalked it up to Kenta being raised under Anko. He was probably born and trained to be a ninja's companion. But I'm not a ninja, Manami thought, thrusting the katana at Kurenai. She rather enjoyed her new friendship with the snake and found him to be extremely reliable.
Manami deflected some shuriken and blocked a jab from a kunai. She swiped at Kurenai but missed as she back-flipped out of the way. Manami swung overhead but Kurenai blocked it with a couple of kunai, locking them in place. She kept her gaze between Kurenai's feet, searching for a sign indicating her next move.
A new presence appeared in the arena but Manami focused on Kurenai. It didn't feel threatening so she wasn't going to bother with it unless it decided to attack.
Manami saw Kurenai take a step back and she immediately went to block an attack, except that it never came. Instead, Manami noticed the female ninja had taken a relaxed stance. Taking a chance, Manami looked up at Kurenai face to face.
The black haired woman gave Manami a slight grin and bowed her head, indicating their match was over. Manami sheathed the katana and bowed in response. Kurenai smiled as she turned around and vanished into thin air.
The presence Manami felt before hadn't left, if anything it felt stronger. Must be my next opponent, she thought. Let's find out what's next.
Manami turned around to meet a shock of silvery white hair that practically defied gravity. Her opponent this time was male and donned the standard navy uniform and green jacket she'd seen throughout the village. The only main difference was his headband and a mask. Rather than the headband normally resting on the forehead, this guy had it pulled over his left eye as a makeshift eyepatch. The mask covered the rest of his face, from his nose to the base of his neck, so the only visible part of his face was his right eye.
"Hello," greeted the new ninja nonchalantly, "My name is Hatake Kakashi and I will be your final opponent."
FIN
SOOOOOOOOOOO? What'd you think?!
I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it just as much (I won't know unless you tell me!)
Anyways, see you all soon! ~KunoichiBlade