By Silver Dragonfly
Chapter 08 – Historic Myth, a Fox Fight
"Wake up Sakura."
What…
"You must wake up or you may miss your teammates match."
Teammates…match…THE MATCHES. And with that her eyelids snapped
open to reveal emerald jade. Sakura glanced around quickly and then bit
her lower lip. She was no longer on the main level of the arena, but sitting
against the wall on the surrounding balcony. I lost then?
"So you're finally awake Sakura?"
Sakura's eyes immediately focused on the beaten looking blond sitting to
her left. Ino… "I… lost?"
"Pfft—I'm the one who wants to cry. To tie… with the likes of you." Ino
answered softly. "Here—" the blond girl offered Sakura her head protector.
Sakura accepted it; although she felt confused… We tied but how…
"Sakura, you made it. You bloomed into a beautiful flower."
"Ino…" Sakura whispered unsure of what to say.
"But next time we fight, you won't come out of it with just being knocked
out." Ino boasted as she turned her focus onto the arena. Sakura smiled.
"Besides I have no intention of handing Sasuke off to you."
Sakura's head whipped to the side as she turned to glare at Ino. "That line—
I'll return right back to you." Sakura growled as the two glared and then
turned sharply away from one another at the same time.
At the moment, they heard the examiner announce the end of the fifth
match. Sakura turned to watch the screen, but relaxed when Naruto's
name wasn't displayed.
"You fought very well Sakura and you do yourself honor not using the
powers of the phoenix when you didn't need them."
But in the end I lost… Sakura responded.
"It doesn't matter because you chose to fight that fight using your own
strength. You have the true heart of a phoenix. Just as your teammate is a
kyuubi."
Kyuubi!! You mean Naruto!
"Yes. Your teammate has fully bonded with the guardian of the fox clan,
otherwise known as Kyuubi."
But I don't understand—a nine tailed fox demon attacked Konoha over
twelve years ago and the demon was sealed within Naruto how can he
have bonded with a guardian of the same name?
"I do not know all that happened at that time and you will have to ask
Naruto himself at some point to see if Kyuubi has told him. But had the
Yondaime Hokage tried to seal Kyuubi in any other then the child he
was meant to bond with, it would have killed both child and guardian."
So then Kyuubi had chosen Naruto even before he attacked Konoha…
"Yes. We know as soon as our chosen partner is born, but that isn't
what I have to tell you right now. Before we bond any deeper, I must tell
you that my power and our bond do come with a price, a price that you
cannot escape. However, if you would rather not accept it, then I can
break our bond now."
Sakura's mind whirled. A price? What kind of price could Hitori mean?
Can you tell me what the price is?
"That price is to fight."
To fight? –
"I am a Clan Guardian, sometimes called a Spirit Guardian. My clan is
that of the phoenix. My powers are those of flame, renewal, and healing.
My fate is to fight against Chimera and stop it from destroying the mortal
realm. However, I cannot do this job alone. As a Clan Guardian and one
who took part in a bonding a millennia ago, I must have a human partner
to help me. That partner is you and while our bond is formed, I cannot
force you into my battles unwillingly, though even if you do not look for
them they will find you."
I think I understand, but what is Chimera? Sakura asked as she watched
Shikamaru's fight against the female Sound-nin without really seeing it.
"Chimera is a being formed by pure malicious intent and the lack of all
order, in other words—chaos. It appeared in the mortal realms nearly
eighteen hundred years ago and the Clans have been fighting it ever since."
Hitori answered.
But if it appeared so long ago, why are you choosing me now? Why not
choose someone then?
"Because we defeated it then after bonding with humankind. Chimera was
sealed and the mortal realm recovered. When the humans that the Clan
Guardians had bonded to passed away, the Guardians also passed out of
the mortal realm never to return, or so we thought. Then nearly five hundred
years later Chimera made an attempt to escape and it was then that the
Guardians discovered we could also return, but only by bonding with a
human once more. The bonds were formed and Chimera was kept back, but
barely. At that point we decided the Clans needed to keep in touch with
humankind outside of the Guardian bonds and so the summoning contracts
were formed. Those contracts served a duel purpose for they kept the Clans
and Humankind working together and they allowed the clans to keep a more
careful eye out for any further attempts made by Chimera.
Twice more since that first escape attempt, Chimera had tried and failed and
now once more Chimera is making an attempt. For barely thirteen years ago,
at the time Kyuubi's partner was born, it unleashed its keys, agents sent to
posses humans and use them to unleash Chimera and at the same time keep
the Clan Guardians from bonding and making their way to the mortal realm.
Kyuubi set out after them, being the only Guardian able to slip into the mortal
realm, and it was right at the point of his partner's birth. What exactly
happened we don't know, but Kyuubi ended up sealed within his partner
rather then simply bonding to him and at least one Key had escaped his hunt."
With those words Hitori fell silent, unsure of how Sakura would respond to
all the information she had just been given.
I want to help—so much of what you've said reminds me of shinobi legends
I was told when I was young—and if I can help, I will. I will help you Hitori.
Sakura answered, slowly at first and then with firm resolve. She sensed a
wave of gratitude from the phoenix and couldn't help but smile.
"And I will help you."
That was when Sakura's focus returned to the arena and the preliminary
matches being held within—just in time to see her teammates name being
displayed on the screen.
Naruto's eyes fixed on the screen. "Finally!! It's my turn!" Now I can show
them!! He thought to himself and then crouched for a moment to take Zurui
out from under his jacket where the kit had been sleeping and set him down
next to Sakura. He didn't want the little guy to accidentally get hurt. With a
shout he leapt down to the arena floor to take position opposite of Kiba, the
only other student at the academy louder then him. It was then he noted that
the puppy Kiba always had with him, was still with him in the arena.
"It's like we've already won! So lucky, eh Akamaru?" Bark!
Naruto glared. "Shut the hell up! And Kiba—don't bring a puppy. It's in the
way!" Idiot is underestimating me. Naruto growled to himself.
"Idiot, Akamaru's fighting with me!" Bark!
Naruto grumbled as the examiner confirmed that animals were allowed.
"Fine. You need all the help you can get!" Naruto then shouted, after all he
wasn't the same Naruto Kiba remembered from the academy. Kiba seemed
to smirk at him.
"Keh. Akamaru, you stay back. I'll fight him alone."
Naruto smirked in return.
"I feel bad for you—so I'll end it in one punch." Kiba claimed raising a fist.
"Then I'll do the same." Naruto answered with a huge fox grin. If Kiba
thinks that I'm going to go down easily—He's got another thing coming.
"Stop acting so tough!!" Kiba shouted, echoed by an agreeing bark.
"Then please begin." The examiner stated and stepped back.
Naruto steadied himself and watched Kiba as the slightly louder boy went
into immediate action with a jutsu and charged him. Naruto put up a light
guard and took the hit, flying back into the wall. He grunted and then mentally
grumbled. It was taking him longer then usual to bounce back, yet another
side affect of whatever it was that Snake-freak had done to him. A fight he
thought a moment ago wouldn't be all that bad had suddenly taken on a new
level of difficulty with his chakara hampered. He snorted as he heard Kiba
tell the examiner it was over. Yeah right, Kiba wouldn't know what hit him
if that was the case. He climbed to his feet from the rubble and glared at Kiba.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Naruto smirked as he heard Sakura cheer him on. Sakura knew…Kakashi-sensei
knew… the others they probably didn't even guess.
Kiba seemed stunned for a moment and then laughed. "You say that as you
bleed? I told you to stop acting tough!" Kiba told him, still obviously sure of
himself with Akamaru backing up his statement with a few sharp barks.
"I let you hit me to test your strength. So you should stop fooling around and
use your dog or whatever." Naruto responded, wiping the blood dribbling
down at the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.
"You'll regret that!" Kiba snarled. "Let's go Akamaru!" And then the two
charged. Naruto tensed, letting them come to him. His eyes followed Kiba's
movements and he frowned when he spotted the smoke balls just before they
were thrown at his feet. What the! Naruto crouched ready for an attack as
the smoke engulfed him, but instead he heard a growl and yap, then nothing
and the smoke cleared. Naruto's eyes opened wide as he spotted what had
stopped Kiba, or rather Akamaru's attack. Between Naruto and Kiba one
small fox kit stood over Akamaru, his jaws on the small nin-pup's throat.
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