Difference

HUGE AUTHOR'S NOTE

Well, here's the deal. I've decided to post the rest of the chapters that I was working on for some time. I was going to finish the story and then post the first chapter but I was way to anxious to see how it would do. I found out that my character is a Mary-Sueish girl. Thus, I have decided to edit and make adjustments. So basically I'm going to take down the story in a week or so. This is your LAST chance to read the original. So after a week, you'll be able to read the hopefully IMPROVED version of Difference. The storyline will change a bit and character traits may change as well. I really can't go into detail. The title will also stay the same. So I have to say, thank-you to all that helped me along this journey. I hope that I shall give readers more enjoyment than this story. Well, thank-you so much!

HUGE AUTHOR'S NOTE

"I was taught this move long ago," Sierra began, "I'd rather it not be wasted."

Sierra built up her chakra and hit the ground with tremendous force. The ground turned to various pieces of rocks and shattered as if there had been an earthquake. Responding to the attack, Orikawa jumped upwards.

"Since you are quite accomplished, I will use some techniques that are quite as powerful as well," Orikawa replied and began forming seals. In a few seconds his hands finished the seals and hit the ground. A slight movement was felt underneath Sierra's legs, but this was the least to worry. A tiger with Konoha's mark appeared. The coat was gleaming with superb care and excellence, and the muscles could be seen with high definition. "You may want to keep an eye on Tekateka Tora. She is the best tiger bred from the mighty Zennou, a beast and ruler."

"I am highly honored to meet you, Tora," Sierra said gracefully and bowed in the majestic tiger's presence. The tiger bowed her head in respect as well.

"You are a respectable human. I wish you luck in becoming a Genin," Tora replied elegantly as well, "However, in order to become a Genin, I must test you."

"I would not expect any other from you," Sierra agreed, "What is the task that I must perform?"

"You must build a defense strong in a minute. It must be strong enough so I cannot penetrate it," Tora instructed.

Sierra looked towards the tiger's claws. They were not normal claws. The embedded claws were surrounded by spikes that could kill a beast in less than a second. A defense that could be strong enough for such a tiger would be extremely difficult to conjure."

"Fine, I accept the challenge," Sierra consented, although troubled by what she should do.

'I'll just have to try and use the Ultimate Defense that I have been taught. I just hope it's enough,' Sierra thought and began using intricate seals, 'Will there be enough time? I don't know if I can do this under a minute.'

"Thirty seconds left," Tora relayed and took a running stance.

"Defense of the Crying Souls!" Sierra shouted at the last second.

With the last letter, Tora began running using her powerful muscles. Sierra began sweating with fear that she had not felt for a long time. Is this the end of her?

"Very well, Derno," Orikawa agreed, "I will be the offensive. Mind you, that in a real fight, you usually cannot order your opponent to attack you."

"I can make them by standing there until their patience becomes dissolved," Derno commented delightfully.

'What a strange boy,' Orikawa thought and began running towards Derno. With a quick movement, Orikawa struck at Derno's leg. However, a hand stopped the attack. Looking upwards, Orikawa saw Derno had moved his hand quick enough before Orikawa could strike. Orikawa lead his leg towards Derno's stomach but was once again blocked by Derno's hands. Curious to see Derno's strength, Orikawa placed a small amount of chakra into his arm and swung his elbow into Derno's leg. Sure enough, Derno had once again blocked with his hand.

"You blocking skill is limited," Orikawa observed, "Is this all you can do?"

"I have only just begun," Derno replied, "Come test me if you like. This is my ultimate defense against you."

"Is it really? Then I must say that it is a poor job. May I ask who your teacher was?" Orikawa asked.

"My father," Derno answered with a tone in his voice with a waver of admiration.

"Your father is it? Yes, I must say that you are correct with him being stronger than me. However, I know his weaknesses. His defense lies mostly within his hands. The legs are quite powerless with this type of taijutsu."

"I did not say that my father and I have the same fighting style, sensei," Derno commented once again.

"Come Derno, it is your turn to be the offensive," Orikawa directed with a tone that most would fear, "You will find that I am not as formidable as you may think."

With this command, Derno began running towards Orikawa at top speed. His legs were almost a blur and made the ground particles levitate in the air to form dust. Derno's hands began striking Orikawa's body. It was all a blur. Within a few moments, the sounds of beating were stopped. Before Derno was not a human's body but a tree trunk.

"Where is he?" Derno said out loud, looking everywhere.

"Sierra, where are you?" Toro screamed out of frustration. He couldn't sense her chakra nearby; thus she must be farther ahead.

Above, in the sky lied thousands of birds that came from the right. An explosion had occurred there, but what had happened?

"I knew I'd find you some way," Toro replied with satisfaction.

He began running towards the scene of the action. After what seemed like a few minutes, a large crater was visible. Dust had clouded the area and made it hard to view the cause of such a large crater. However, in a few seconds, Toro had found his answer. Two bodies lain on the ground. One was visibly an animal's body, whereas the other was standing upright.

"Time to get her out of the area, I'm pretty sure she can't handle Orikawa either. We need to re-strategize so we can become Genins. Then we'll find Derno," Toro muttered under his breath, trying to not be visible to Orikawa who stood several feet away from the crater.

Within a quick movement, Derno jumped off the branch he was using to conceal himself and grabbed Sierra. Surprised and confused, Sierra did nothing to Derno. Such an unexpected occurrence would strike someone with unease.

"Wha-What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be waiting for Orikawa?" Sierra asked after mustering up air to speak.

"What we've been fighting is replications of Orikawa. I noticed that with my fight with him. Replications usually only have a small percentage (30) of the owner's actual strength. We have to work together to find a way to defeat him. Otherwise, we run the risk of losing if we go against him alone. My genjutsu was broken in mere seconds that would take many at least hours. Orikawa is no ordinary jounin, though," Toro explained to Sierra, trying to be clear as possible.

"He told me that he rivals the might of another jounin named Kakashi. Do you know him?" Sierra asked, trying to help with the losing situation.

"I've heard of him before. He's talented. He became a chuunin before eight I think. I'm not quite sure, but father has been in missions with him. It's strange, but father says that every time that Kakashi is the commander, the team always seems to worry about death and get on task. He's also very well-known in other countries as well. That's basically all I know though," Toro enlightened Sierra, however in a disappointed tone, showing his little knowledge of Kakashi.

Understanding his disappointment, Sierra switched to another subject, "If we are to work together, we have to find Derno. I wonder where he is. The forest is wide, and it may take days to find him."

"He's doing taijutsu. So it'll be much harder to find him than you. Taijutsu usually gives more clues on plants though, such as scratches on wood. So keep an eye out for those. Just try and pinpoint his chakra. As you said, it may take days so try to use common sense in finding him. Since the forest is so large, we'll have to split up. If you happen to meet Derno, contact me. I'm going to give you a needle. I have my chakra on it, so it should pinpoint me. Just follow it and catch up with me," Toro instructed to Sierra.

Sierra nodded and grabbed the needle. With the procedures finished, Sierra jumped from her position to a random area.

"Derno, you should be careful where you should look for enemies. They could be anywhere," Orikawa exclaimed when coming out of a tree, "This mistake would be very costly if it were a one-on-one battle."

"Perhaps it is your mistake to become visible," Derno yelled and charged towards Orikawa.

"Your attacks are very feeble. You need to think out of the ordinary," Orikawa informed with a serious tone.

With that being said, Derno jumped up from his spot and jumped behind Orikawa. He gave a kick to Orikawa's tanned face.

"Too slow," Orikawa mentioned and blocked the kick with his finger.

Derno gave another kick towards Orikawa but failed once again. This went on for several minutes and became a wasted effort. The jounin's defense was impenetrable.

"I'll defeat you!" Derno yelled out of frustration.

Orikawa sighed and gave Derno a sympathetic look, "Derno, you place too much confidence in yourself. Sometimes, things cannot be done alone."

'Is this a clue? Why did he emphasize alone?' Derno thought and began emphasizing his tools. There possessed several shuriken and kunais. However, the supply was dangerously low. He would have to find more weapons or risk a failure.

"I'm not a quitter, and I won't lose now," Derno said out loud.

"You say you will not lose to me, but your actions say otherwise," Orikawa stated simply and truthfully, "You are young. So, you have much confidence. What you are doing will only get you so far. You have to learn how to defeat an opponent using much more than your own skills."

With those words being said, Orikawa ran towards Derno. Before Derno could defend himself, Orikawa landed a punch towards Orikawa's stomach. This hit made Derno fly upwards and land on the ground in disgrace.

"I sense movement nearby," Sierra said out loud, "I need to hurry."

Looking around, Sierra saw dust particles rising above the trees. With this sign, Sierra ran towards the commotion.

"What was that?" Derno asked himself, "That was an extreme rush of chakra. I'd hate to be the receiver of such power."

With that being said, Derno began jumping tree to tree towards the energy.

"I don't expect you to stand up," Orikawa replied with his eyes full of resentment, "Perhaps now you can think about your actions. When you're ready, come at me."

There on the ground lied a body that contained bruises all over. Derno felt a pain that would make a man fall to a deep sleep for several days. However, he would not fall asleep in such an occasion.

"I won't take my words back. I still will defeat you," Derno replied weakly.

Orikawa smiled and disappeared into the forest.

In the opposite direction, Sierra appeared.

"Derno, are you okay? What happened?" Sierra asked as she ran to the beaten body.

"I was battling Orikawa and lost. But I'll come back, I promised him that," Derno answered in a whisper.

Looking at the bruises, Sierra sighed and opened her traveling pack. Inside the bag were neatly placed weapons, food, and medicines. After searching through the bag, she found an ointment.

"Here's an ointment that I made several weeks ago. It's made from native plants. It should help lessen the pain," Sierra explained and began rubbing the ointment on Derno's face and arms, "You should be more careful though next time. Orikawa is a jounin which gives a reason for him being so strong. Do you feel better to walk and find Toro? I met him earlier, and he told me that we have to re-strategize. Toro and I couldn't defeat Orikawa. So, we'll have to defeat him together."

"That's fine with me since I can't really do much," Derno acquiesced.

"I hope I reach Derno in time," Toro spoke and immediately held a smile on his face after his last word. There in front of him was a young girl and boy running towards him who were smiling as well.

"I found Derno," Sierra spoke with a smile on her face, "He was attacked by Orikawa, so I saved him."

"Oh really?" Toro asked with concern.

"Yeah and let's forget about your plan. I still think it's better to work alone," Sierra spoke again.

Toro drew a kunai from his bag and threw it at Sierra, "Is this a joke, Orikawa?"

Orikawa stepped to the left and slid, "How interesting, I thought you wouldn't be able to distinguish me from Sierra."

"Sierra has never defied me in any moment. She trusts me with her life, and I do the same. We will do anything for each other," Toro said with a smile.

"Is that right? And what of Derno?" Orikawa asked.

"Once we know each other more; our relationship will be almost as close," Toro replied.

"You would even die for them?" Orikawa asked again.

"If it means life for them, of course," Toro said confidently, although with a great sorrow in his eyes.

"Don't you treasure your life as well?" Orikawa asked with concern.

"I believe all life is significant. No life is more significant than the rest. However, if I must sacrifice my life, then I would do it to save my friends," Toro replied again with a smile and an arm behind his head.

"You are beyond your years," Orikawa muttered and gave a large smile as well, "YOU PASS!"

"What's the matter?" Derno asked, curious in why Sierra had stopped suddenly.

"It's not right here. Just listen, something is near us. We have to move quickly, I don't like this quiet sound," Sierra replied, worried by the strange sign.

Derno just stared at her confusedly and immediately jumped away before several weapons came dashing towards them.

"Thanks," Derno muttered under his breath.

The number of kunai increased by each minute and dodging them became increasingly difficult.

"How…long…has…it…been?" Derno asked, gasping between each word when fleeing from the sharp points.

"A minute," Sierra grimly replied.

However, after Sierra's last words, the kunais' air raids stopped. There was no sight of the attacker.

"I'm sorry that took so long," a boy's voice said among the trees, "Orikawa was relentless."

Sierra sighed and began walking towards Toro, "We've been trying to find you."

"Yeah, sorry about that, listen, let's forget about teaming up. I think it's better to just work alone," Toro replied with a smile upon his face.

"Really?" Derno asked.

Suddenly, Sierra threw a shuriken, aiming towards Toro's head protector. With a swift movement, Toro jumped towards the right and out of danger.

"What was that for?" Toro asked, now frowning from the attack.

"Orikawa-sensei, you can't fool me. Your replication was the exact opposite of Toro's personality," Sierra informed, now in a fighting stance.

A small pop was heard and standing before the two Academy graduates was Orikawa, "Your perception and knowledge of Toro allowed you to distinguish me from him. However, how did you know it was me?"

"The first thing that caught me was when you said that we should forget about your plan. Usually, Toro thinks very throroughly through his plans. It is very rare that he changes his plans. Second is that when I threw the shuriken, you jumped to the right. Toro always jumps away to the left by habit and preference. Also, your reaction caused a frown. Toro does not frown very often in any situation," Sierra explained.

"Besides, we work as a team. I'm not going to quit working as a team just because one of my teammates are stupid," Derno replied, trying to make himself look more intelligent by saying something instead of being back in the sidelines--which is not his normal way of sociality.

"You work as a team?" Orikawa questioned with a slight smile yet with a look of sternness.

"Of course, minds together can accomplish more than one mind alone. Derno wanted to see how we would hold up against a jounin individually to see where we stand. He had already planned working together after we showcased our individual talents," Sierra informed Orikawa.

"So no matter what, you'll always prefer working as a team…" Orikawa repeated the message, "So tell me, if you were doing a mission, a friend was captured during that task. To win the mission, you would have to kill…Derno right now. What would you do?"

"Wh—What?" Derno asked in amazement.

"I do not kill," Sierra answered in a strange tone.

"Derno, what would you do if Sierra were endangered? However, Toro was captured suddenly. If you could choose, who would you save?" Orikawa asked with a slight amusement in his voice.

"Hmm… That's tough," Derno said, placing his hands on his chin, "I'd save… I'd save both of them!"

Orikawa smiled and yelled with great excitement, "YOU PASS!"

"What? All we did was fight you and answered your questions!" Derno said with an ear-to-ear grin on his face.

"Teamwork will always prevail. No matter what your situation, even if you are disgusting, you'd be an even worse person if you didn't treat your friends carefully," Orikawa enlightened, "Remember that, otherwise you will surely fail in life."

With those words, Orikawa snapped his fingers. The image of the forest began to shrivel away. What was left from the image was four bodies: Orikawa, Derno, Toro, and Sierra.

Two words were shouted excitedly from the new Genins, "I PASSED!"