Chapter Two: A Taste of the Battlefield
Rika blocked the continuous attack of the nameless chuunin, growling in irritation for two reasons.
One, the chuunin he was fighting was obviously the weakest, and most likely got his current status because of sheer luck. They obviously underestimated him. Kuroshiro Rika wasn't supposed to be underestimated by anyone except her and got away with it.
Two, she was getting worn down. She was obviously being played at. And if she wan't careful, she may get killed. More importantly, dying early was not on her to-do list.
Contrary to popular belief, Kuroshiro Rika was not the type that hated fighting. In fact, she loved it, relished it, enjoying every minute of it…
…But right now, all she was feeling was a strong sense of irritation and wariness, not to mention the large amount of worry she's feeling for her blonde haired friend that's still increasing by every passing second. And if the man she's fighting right now doesn't show more interesting techniques soon, she may lose control and might really seriously try to kill the man...
She was just doing what Kakashi told her to do, and wait for the others to arrive while distracting the opponent…
Like how other teens her age were raised in the base, she was taught that killing is not a game that is done for enjoyment, but an obligation to help other people and should only be done if it is absolute necessity. She never doubted.
But right now, she did. I mean, killing someone because they're boring and are too aged to fight someone as young and powerful like her wasn't exactly considered an absolute necessity, but her curiosity and growing annoyance is starting to get the better of her right now.
Deep inside, Rika knew that she wanted to know how it felt, killing her first. She repressed the thought for a while, but right now, it resurfaced.
'Just do it!' her inner voice said. 'It's only a chuunin. He's probably killed a lot of people for the snake guy by now and annoys everyone else by his incompetence. Killing him just makes this world a better place. And it's only for this time. Go on!'
Rika mentally slapped herself. She wasn't supposed to have these thoughts, especially at such a serious situation like this. Besides, Yuri wouldn't like it. She wouldn't do it, she firmly decided. Her curiosity and annoyance wasn't worth the life of another human, even if it was a worthless chuunin. Kakashi would just chew her off if he discovered anyway. She was just going to injure the man, but not enough to kill him.
Rika finally gave up and kicked the chuunin to buy a little time. To finish this quickly, she had to get serious. She was hoping to buy a little time for Kakashi and the others to arrive, letting them handle the situation themselves, but it was obvious that if she continued to wait for them, she could get killed and end up making a fool of herself. In fact, she was only doing this because she was told to do the exact same thing she was doing right now if it ever came to a situation like this.
She sighed, finally losing her patience. If she was going to fight, she should at least do it seriously, or else she's not going to survive. Raising both of her hands over her head, she closed her eyes, did extremely fast handseals, and shouted, "Wind Blast no Jutsu!"
Gaara of the Sand sneered, watching the foolish girl take on a defensive position while six of his men surrounded her. A daughter of one of those foolish rebels, no doubt. She certainly inherited their never-ending foolishness and their disgusting flair for heroics, thinking she could defeat five of his men alone.
Nevertheless, he continued to watch them fight. After all, it shouldn't take too long. The girl was showing signs of power, but not enough to defeat all five of his men. At the rate she was going, she might be able to bring down two of his men or three if she was lucky. Glancing at her eyes, it was obvious that she wasn't going to survive that encounter. But as he was just about to dismiss the girl as an expendable anomaly, Gaara's eyes widened.
Her fighting style abruptly changed and in a matter of seconds, she was able to bring down the second one, with an extremely powerful and complicated wind Jutsu no less. Again, she used the wind blast to bring down another two of his men. The girl now turned to her fifth opponent, the most powerful of his men.
Now he was really curious. He would watch them finish the fight, he decided. If his assumption was correct, she would win this fight. Until then, he would just have to wait.
"You mean to tell me," Kakashi said in a dangerous voice "That you left an 11 year old girl to fight seven ninjas who are no doubt far more trained and experienced than her, one of them being the Kazekage of the Sand?"
At Yuri's distressed look, Shikamaru stepped in to defend his son. "Didn't you hear him, Kakashi? Rika transported my son back here before he even had the chance to react!"
Hinata interrupted. "Look, I don't care whose fault it is. A girl's life is at stake. She could die any minute now!"
Facing Gai, Kakashi said, "You're right. Neji and Lee, you're coming with me. Yuri and Shikamaru, you're with Gai. Hinata, you'll go with us to make sure Rika gets medical attention. Let's go!"
Rika slammed hard against the tree, panting. She was able to bring down three of the four chuunin without getting killed, but just looking at her now bleeding shoulder, the last ninja was obviously more powerful.
She was able to regain her balance, but having only one usable arm was an absolute disadvantage. Wincing in pain, she leaned against the tree to gain more balance. She would do anything just for her wound to heal. And suddenly, all traces of her wound were gone.
She blinked. What the heck happened? Flexing her hand, she noted that it was back to what it was before she was injured. Slowly, a smile formed on her face. Facing the chuunin with kunai on hand, she said "You know, I really thought you had me there, but now... you're going to face so much worse."
Suddenly, she appeared slashing the man's back mercilessly, only barely saving him from death. Flexing her hands over her fallen opponent, Rika pouted."I thought you were faster than that! You were supposed to move when I hit you, not just stand there! If you did, your wounds would have been less worse! You know, if Kakashi-sensei was here, he..."
"He would have told you that posy little girl ninjas like you have no place in the battlefield."
"Wha-aaaargh!"
Before she was able to see her opponent, she was slammed to the tree, coughing blood in the process. Looking up, everything was a blur. All she could hear was a voice in her head, and those paralyzing neon green eyes boring down on her.
"Foolish girl. You should have escaped when you had the chance."
Glancing down at the hands gripping her neck, she choked out," A true kunoichi never...ever backs out fromher opponent..."
" You? A ninja? Don't make me laugh. You're one of the daughters of those foolish rebels, no doubt. Only they will give these sordid notions to their own filthy children. Though judging by your Jutsu, your teachers taught you well... Only someone smart enough wouldn't show their true potential to their own opponent...Nonetheless, the kin of this world's filth has no right to stay alive."
Hearing his words, Rika felt anger rise through her. Breaking Gaara's grip, she leaped to a nearby tree branch, coughing. Then with anger evident in her voice, she whispered," My parents were a million times better than you will ever be, you murderous piece of scum."
"Really? Then tell me, girl, what are your parents' names?"
"You..you don't even have the right to know who they are!"
" Then why did you use the word 'were'? Does that mean they're missing?" Gaara taunted, "Or maybe they're just dead?"
Then, Rika snapped. Her mind stopped working. All she could think about was killing the worthless scum that was in front of her. Then...
"Rika!"
Rika was startled. Then with a wide smile of relief, she pounced on her blond-haired friend.
"Yuri! You're still alive!"
Yuri laughed. "What are you talking about? Judging by the looks of it, I was in a much safer situation than you were. Are you okay?"
"Yeah... but if we don't act fast," she said, glancing loathingly at the man in front of them," This guy is going to eat us alive."
"How ...quaint." Gaara slowly stepped towards them as the two took defensive positions." Two little lovebirds, sharing their last goodbyes with each other before suffering two long painful deaths."
Before Gaara reached the two ninjas, a voice rang out." Don't even think about it, Gaara."
"Kakashi-sensei! Behind you!"
Kakashi turned and blocked Gaara's swift rear attack just in time to save him. Growling in annoyance at his attack being blocked by Kakashi, he said, "Protecting those children, are we? Honestly, Kakashi, you've become weak. You're wasting your life with those imbecilic children."
"Let them go, Gaara. They have nothing to do with you."
"Oh, really? they may have nothing to do with me, but you do.And since they seem so important to you... they do have a connection with me..."
"Let them go and I'll come with you."Kakashi said in defeat.
"Do you still hold your name in such high respects, ex-jounin? Do you deem yourself so important? You're just a senile old fool to me, Kakashi. Nothing else."
Gaara charged, sadistic smirk in place. Kakashi readied himself to attack, but then, someone intercepted them.
Rika stood there, righteous anger and determination on her face. Her hands shook on the force of the attack, but she still held her ground.
Kakashi was shocked. Her speed became too fast for him to even notice. "Rika! Get out of the way, you're going to get hurt!"
Rika ignored him, "Go away! Just leave us alone! If you don't, I swear I'll kill you!"
Gaara was expressionless, but his eyes betrayed him. Those eyes...he knew them...
Gaara smirked. "Fine," he murmured, "but I will be back...remember, I will kill you someday."
And then he disappeared, along with his two ANBU.
" Thank God!"
Rika fell down, panting. She was drained of all her strength, not to mention that sudden adrenalin rush. That man was so powerful...
"You okay, kiddo?" Kakashi said with a weak smile on his face.
"Hey! I was the one who rescued you, you know!"
Kakashi laughed, then became serious. "By the way," he said in a low voice, "NEVER do that again."
Rika grumbled," Fine, I won't. But don't turn to me if ever Gai-sensei tries to budger you with the BURNING PASSION OF YOUTH!" As if to make a point, she took a nice guy pose, making Kakashi cringe.
"That is not included! Anyway, it's getting dark. Let's go."
Yuri and Rika nodded and the three of them ran.
Gaara stormed inside his room, thinking about what happened to him: meeting his rival's ex-sensei, and the girl...
At first, she seemed to be an ordinary brat, but then, no ordinary fool can bring down his men...
And those eyes...
He knew he's seen them before...
Determination, courage...
Traits that he himself loathes in the very fiber of his being...
Yet, there was a glint of something else that was unconsciously supressed by the girl...
…Anger, emptiness, loneliness, and a certain want...
...The unmistakable eyes of an Avenger.
…Only a few have felt true sadness and emptiness, and the girl was one of them.
In fact, he was reminded of himself, but ebony eyes?
The girl could have easily passed of as Uchiha Sasuke's daughter.
Well, one thing's for sure: the girl could possibly become a force to reckon in the future.
But then, he could only wait.
End of Chapter
A/N: I've finally finished editing this one. Hope I get reviews...
Anyway, here's the snippet for the next chapter, "A Voice I Hear"
She could hear voices that sounded from far away. Two blurry images formed in her mind, seemingly having a heated discussion. And then…
"You can't do this!"
"Why can't I?"
"Because I won't let you!"
"That's not a good enough reason for me."
"Don't do this, please. It would destroy me if you do it."
"What is the real reason?"
"I … I …"
"I love you."
So, there's the snippet. R and R!
