Of course Shikamaru won. What you expect, sillies?
About Nameless...wouldn't you like to know? Ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku...ORICHIMARU-SIMULATION READ WRITE ERROR! bzzztrrt!
Dragon Man 180, harukakanata: Excellent names, thank you.
crazy-antman: No disturbance yet. Akatsuki's waiting for orders. Who knows how much of a disturbance there could be later though. Mwehehe...
LittleShadow: Thanks for the names. The reason I update so fast is because I rarely sleep and I neglect schoolwork. After Ch. 16 is up, there may be a delay while I attempt to catch up.
steampunk pirate: Welcome aboard! Well, about Kage Natsume...I was using dictionary, and I looked up thorn. Looking through, I chose natsume, which it said meant thorn, splinter, spine, or biting words. If it's wrong, I may change it. That site is usually reliable, but not always.
TankerMDK: I'm really not sure if your review was a flame or not. I asked a few friends. One thinks it is a flame (kakashi1585), one thinks it's not (Maiyuu-chan), and the third is just plain confused (Misarashi Tsukamaru). I personally don't think it is. Enjoy the story, whatever the case.
makeinu: silly. Nanashi means Nameless. You can call Nameless Nanashi if you want.
Chapter 16: I'm Sorry: Edo vs. Raina
"I'm bringing you home," Raina told Edo, holding one of her Tonfas before her face.
Edo's made no response, his feline mask impassive.
"Well? Answer me!" Raina activated her lightning speed, dashing in a straight line towards Edo. He tensed, bringing his claws up defensively. Raina struck hard, knocking the heavier shinobi back. Edo gave a half-hearted retaliatory swing, but Raina ducked underneath, moving behind him in an instant and kicking him in the back. Edo rolled with the impact, flipping forward and away, but Raina was waiting. She appeared right behind him again. Edo was ready, however, propelling himself above Raina with one hand and striking downward with a swift kick. Raina was knocked down, but recovered quickly and jumped away.
"I can't go back, now, Raina. Too much has happened."
"Are you that selfish? What about the village? What about your friends?" Raina covered the distance between them in an eyeblink, tonfa whipping around viciously. Edo simply raised a claw to block. Raina gasped. "How?"
"You've improved, Raina-chan. Looks like you finally learned some of the Denkousekka's secrets," he said heavily. "However..."
Edo whipped his other arm across; Raina dodged back.
"You can't simply beat me just by moving quickly. You can't change direction easily when you move that fast, so if I can predict where you will attack-" Edo ducked lightly under another of Raina's charging swings. "I can evade and counter them."
He swung an elbow sharply into Raina's midsection. The cloud-nin's breath whooshed out of her, and she flew backwards.
"I'm sorry, Raina, but I cannot let you take me back by force. I will not serve that man again."
Raina breathed heavily. "You're talking about Raikage-sama...he's why you left?"
Edo glanced up toward the dais where the man in question sat watching them intently. "I couldn't stand him anymore."
"Selfish...that's not like you Edo." Raina attacked again, more carefully this time, without using the breakneck speed of the Denkousekka. Edo blocked every strike as they came.
"Not selfish," Edo gritted, returning several of his own strikes. His claws scraped and screeched over Raina's tonfa, kicking up sparks. "Not entirely."
Edo's coat and streaked hair fluttered as the two continued their deadly dance.
"That man tried to made me into a monster, emotionally if not physically."
"Monster?"
"You don't know. You weren't sent on those particular missions, Raina-chan. This was after we had become Chuunin."
Raina bashed aside Edo's guard and kicked him in the side. "What missions?"
"The Raikage would give me and Takame special missions that would utilize some of out more unique abilities," Edo locked his claws against Raina's weapons. "We did some horrible things under his orders."
Raina pressed her attack.
"Don't you understand?" snarled Edo. "I killed innocent people! Just so he could guage my strength...I couldn't take any more."
As if by rote, Raina recited. "A shinobi is a tool of his or her village-"
"Don't tell me that you honestly believe all that," hissed Edo.
"No," she admitted. "But still, you left without any warning, Edo. Takame and I, we...are your friends. You could have talked to us about it. What are teammates for?"
Raina pushed away, activating her Denkousekka again. She began running around Edo, leaving a huge cloud of dust in her wake. Edo raised a hand to his face.
"I'm bringing you home, Edo-kun," her voice echoed from the cloud. "We'll start over. We'll work it out."
"You're not being realistic, Raina-chan. We can't just start over. Things won't change just because we want them to."
Raina's only response was a technique.
"Shuurai no jutsu (Lightning Strike)!" A bolt of lightning erupted from one side of the dust surrounding Edo, singing his torso as it passed.
She's not able to aim those things properly while she's going that fast, Edo realized. Reaching into a pouch, he ducked under another blast. He flung a pair of orbs to the ground. One white, one black. The black let out a piercing whistle, the white a flash of blinding light.
Raina stumbled, rubbing her eyes furiously. She looked up, seeing Edo standing still across from her.
"You had a perfect oppurtunity there."
Edo shrugged.
"Nishuurai no jutsu (Twin Lightning Strike)!" Raina blasted a pair of lightning bolts from the ends of her tonfas. They struck Edo heavily in the chest, spinning him around and down to the ground. He struggled back to his feet, chuckling weakly. Raina lost it then, unleashing another bolt which struck the shinobi in the side.
"Itachi," came the amused voice.
Itachi's black eyes snapped off of Nekoarashi Edo, who was being raked by more lightning.
"Kurohigure-sama," he nodded.
The leader of Akatsuki had no response. He was an average sized man, of indeterminate build. His inside-out cloak was topped by a large hat, which completely obscured all detail of his face. Kurohigure sat.
"What orders?" Aira hissed softly, craning his head backwards towards his leader.
Kurohigure did not answer for a while. His eyes scanned the arena and the stands. He began to laugh, a low, throaty sound.
"Most interesting," he said simply.
"What's interesting, sir?" Kumonosu rasped.
"We're just going to watch the rest of the matches," Kurohigure decided. "We don't interfere."
"But that's no fun!" whined Zeka, who had returned with Kurohigure. She quailed under his answering stare.
"Give it time. I guarantee you some entertainment."
The tone of his voice would have caused even Orochimaru to shiver.
Edo had been driven back to the edge of the arena, next to his feline idol. He rested an arm on it, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Steam rose from his overcoat.
Raina raised a tonfa threateningly. "Surrender."
"I'm afraid not."
"You leave me no choice. Daishuurai no jutsu!" An immense blast of electricity, much bigger than the previous ones, leapt towards Edo. There was a blinding explosion.
Raina squinted through the dust and smoke. She vaguely made out Edo's heavy form. The fluttering coat, the mask, the complete...lack of arms and legs? That wasn't Edo, that was his idol, wearing his overcoat.
"RAINA! ABOVE YOU!" came a voice from the stands. Kumogakure's legendary elementalist Onoeka Kaigen was on his feet, hands cupped around his mouth.
Raina looked up. There, like the monster he had once described himself as, was in the air above her, his arms crossed as though in meditation.
"Houshutsu! (Release)" Edo yowled, extending his hands.
No way! Raina hesitated. He was using Rai Kyuushuu no jutsu (Lightning Absorption)?
All the lightning that Raina had emptied into Edo came roaring from his palms towards her. The resulting explosion left a forty foot crater, three feet deep. Raina crouched at the center of the devastation. He mask was cracked, and her body was singed and cut.
Edo looked little better. He also had burns along his now bare arms, which he wrapped around himself as he crouched. On his arms were visible a pair of black tattoos. The one on his left arm read 'savior', while the one on his right read 'destroyer'. Wrapped around his left arm near the shoulder were a pair of forehead protectors. One had the symbol of Hidden Cloud, the other the symbol of Hidden Mist.
In the stands, Edo's current teammates, Gyakusetsu Nazo and Ke Maiyuu looked on.
"I don't like this, Nazo-chan."
Nazo scratched his brown topknot. He furrowed his brow. "The tattoos are clearer now."
"But-"
"No matter what happens, we can't interfere. If the worst happens, we'll have to focus on protecting the crowd. It may not be enough, but-"
Maiyuu muttered to herself, tapping her bouken.
Edo croaked. "No..." he clutched the side of his head.
Then he was gone. Vanished in a burst of black mist. He reappeared behind Raina. Edo unleashed a quick roundhouse kick on Raina. She pulled herself to her feet. Edo followed, dark misty afterimages behind him. He unleashed a quick double attack, simultaneously kneeing her in the stomach and backhanding her in the back of the neck.
Edo fell to his knees, the blackness disappating. Nazo and Maiyuu let out simultaneous sighs of relief.
"I'm sorry," Edo whispered as Raina lost conciousness. "I'll come home...but not yet. Just be patient, Raina-chan."
"Winner, Nekoarashi Edo."
Edo stood slowly, as if in a daze. Bending down, he picked up Raina gently and began carrying her towards the stairs.
When he reached the top, he walked over to Sakura.
"You're a medic, right?" he asked distantly.
Sakura nodded.
"Please, help her," Edo set Raina down.
"All right."
Edo bowed. "Thank you."
Edo returned to the arena floor and retrieved his coat and statue. Upon his return he sat in a corner, head against the wall.
"Hey! What happened down there?" Naruto asked him curiously.
No answer.
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Naruto," Shikamaru called. "Drop it."
Naruto frowned, but complied.
At the sound of Shikamaru's voice, Temari stirred.
"Hey."
She immediately had the attention of both her brothers, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sakura.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Gaara," Temari sat up slowly. She turned an eye on Shikamaru. "Did you win?"
Shikamaru smirked.
"Heh. Thought as much," she got to her feet.
"Don't-"
"I said I'm fine, Gaara," Temari grunted, but even as she said this, she stumbled. Shikamaru caught her and held her up.
"Don't get any ideas," she warned him.
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Shikamaru helped Temari lean against the railing.
"Well, everybody! That's it for the first round. I guess that means it's time for the first semifinal match! Uzumaki Naruto of the Leaf vs. Sakebu Discorujia of Sound!"
Naruto confidently made his way to the arena floor. He positioned himself across from his lavender-haired opponent.
Hyuuga Hinata looked on apprehensively. "Naruto-kun..."
Neji glanced at his cousin. He smiled.
"Hnnn," he mused. "I admit this doesn't look good. Naruto's primarily a close-range fighter. That puts him at a disadvantage against his opponent's sonic attacks. Also, his opponent is an expert at genjutsu, which is one of his greatest weaknesses."
Hinata looked at her scarred cousin.
"If I were a betting man, I'd say Naruto has no chance whatsoever of victory."
He looked sidelong at Hinata, eyes twinkling. "Of course, I remember what happened the last time I said something like that."
Hinata brightened.
"He'll win," she said quietly and confidently.
"Begin!"
Next Chapter: Fox's Requiem: Naruto vs. Discorujia
All righty then, time for the semifinals. First, we have Naruto vs. Discorujia in Chapter 17: Fox's Requiem. And after that, Shikamaru vs. Edo in Chapter 18: Black Clouds Gather. Oooh, I'm all tingly.
Urg, trying to set up some backstory in the middle of a fight is really tiring. Hope this chapter is acceptable...it's 4 in the goddamn morning!
Another thing, completely off topic. If they ever make a movie out of Garth Nix's Sabriel books, they absolutely must cast Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) as the cat Mogget. He's perfect for the role.
Please review, or I die a thousand deaths.
