Chapter 31
Crossing a Line: Water and Sound, The Cruel Combination!
Everything with the Curse Mark happened in mere seconds, yet for all the Leaf shinobi it passed as an eternity. The mark's shape and color transformed from the foreboding black tomoe to resemble long, curved embers across Sasuke's pale skin. Horror consumed the Genin who witnessed its taint, bodies locking up and their mouths agape. Awe took to those who hadn't, curious to know what it was, like young children on the hunt to discover the world around them.
The Leaf adults all understood. Even those originally unaware of its placement sensed the taint or recognized the danger instantly. Years of experience prepared them to jump into action and stop the match, ready to restrain him as if he was the Nine-Tails so the necessary jutsu could be used to contain the mark.
None, however, expected the shout from Amari, not even Amari herself. It bubbled up out of her before her brain could register the action. She didn't even like yelling or shouting. It drew too much unwanted attention, and she was a girl who preferred the shadows.
Yet she yelled to him on more than one occasion. Panic, of course. She didn't do well with panic. It made her act on primal instinct, not analytical, well thought-out plans. Still, she couldn't complain with the results this time.
No one expected Sasuke's sheer willpower to contain the mark.
Amari was proud of him. She could hardly contain the small, relieved smile on her face when she glanced at the adults around her. Everyone from her sensei and mother to the Hokage and Anko wore bewildered expressions, as if the spirits of the past Hokage floated down from the ceiling to tell a joke they learned in the afterlife.
Nice work, Sasuke. You kept the mark controlled, and against the odds you won your fight on taijutsu alone, using your experience against Lee to your advantage.
Proud as she was of him, she could feel the onslaught of anxiety shooting back through her body. Her sensory abilities tingled; a slow chill ran down her spine, like a droplet of cold, melted ice cream sliding down her back. Cold pinpricks danced across her skin. Her heart battered her ribcage methodically, one hard slam after another to ram its way out of her chest.
Amari's body sagged forward, Byakugan eye deactivating and returning the left field of her vision to darkness. She could still feel the presence of the vile, cold chakra. It lingered on her senses like a rotten stench stuck in her nose, only there was no smell. There was nothing to see or touch or hear or taste either, at least not for the others.
She could feel it, though. She could feel the chill in the air that did not exist. She could see the shade of Sasuke's purple chakra turning darker, sharpening its jagged edges as poison glistened on the blade of evil.
So cold…
The cold darkness within…it reeked of Orochimaru. Bloodlust. Twisted evil. Death.
"You're paralyzed by fear."
Amari jolted, eye widening, startled by the weight of a gentle hand resting on her shoulder. Torn from dark memories, she snapped her head to the source. Red eyes watched her; concerned but understanding. Comfort without judgement pooled in them, carried through the invisible thread binding mother and daughter together.
Kurenai knew. Of the tainted, cold chakra. Of the overwhelming anxiety they caused her and why. She knew everything; whether because she had been told or pieced it together on her own, Amari couldn't say. It didn't matter. She knew, and she understood better than anyone because she was both a Sensory Type like her and her mother.
Being awoken from her own mind came with the awareness of the burdened breaths leaving her and the white-knuckled grip on the railing even Lady Tsunade's colossal strength wouldn't be able to budge.
Deep breaths. Control it. In then out. In then out.
Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale. She controlled the rhythm and size of every breath, the only thing she could control at the moment.
"Is Amari okay, Kurenai-sensei? Aoko said her heartrate skyrocketed," Mimi said.
"She will be," Kurenai reassured, calm and confident. She needed that. She needed someone to be confident and calm for her. "Amari is a Sensory Type, although her abilities aren't nearly as sharpened as they could be." Amari leaned forward and rested her forehead on the railing. Her mother's hand moved to her back and rubbed gentle circles over her ripped apart tank top. "Chakra isn't just the source of our power as shinobi. It is a part of us. Unique to the person it belongs to."
"Unique?" Naruto asked.
"Has Amari ever described how your chakra feels to her, Naruto?"
The boy crossed his arms and took on a thoughtful expression. "Um…She may have, but I don't really remember."
"Bright. Warm. Energetic. These are some of the words she tends to use when she describes your chakra, and she's right."
Her mother left out the second chakra. Red. Angry. Evil. Full of hatred and disdain.
"Sounds just like the Goofball."
"Ex- exactly," Hinata agreed. "Cha- chakra is unique to each person be- because it reflects an individual's personality. The color is- is also unique to the individual. Amaririsu's chakra is green, for instance."
How many times, Hinata?
She lacked the ability to say it, far too focused on regaining control of her breath.
"Wait, so if you can sense how Naruto's chakra feels, that means you're a Sensory Type too, Kurenai-sensei," Sakura pointed out.
She could sense her mother's smile and nod without seeing. "I am."
"So…so what did Sasuke's chakra feel like?"
Cold. Sharp. Dark. Pure evil.
Amari exhaled a deep breath and lifted her head from the railing, eye staring at the blank wall across the room. "Nothing fun, I assure you," she commented. She couldn't explain it. Her reaction would worry Sakura enough. To describe the feelings it gave her, how it still lingered lightly on her senses like the pads of someone's fingers barely touching her skin, it'd only panic her teammate.
For her sake, it's better she doesn't know.
Amari looked back to her mother and smiled, grateful for her presence. "Thank you, Mom."
Kurenai smiled back, knelt down to her level and pulled her into a warm embrace. Amari shut her eye, focusing her entire being on the warmth her mother provided to banish the last of the cold away.
"He will not touch you again. I promise," she whispered for only her to hear.
That vow of protection was all she needed to feel safe again.
Amari hugged her back as if it were the last hug they could ever share.
"I love you."
Three words she could never say enough.
"And I love you."
Kurenai returned to her team after their embrace. Left alone with Sakura and Naruto, Amari did her best to reassure them she was okay. She wouldn't let this become common. It was embarrassing enough for it to happen once in front of all her peers.
I'm still too weak.
As they waited patiently for the next match to start, Naruto spoke up. "Hey Amari, could you do that technique Sasuke used?"
His cerulean eyes had a fire in them. He wanted to show his skill, determined to prove his growth and match his rival in making it to the finals.
To be honest, despite her incident, Amari could feel her inner fighting spirit thrumming in thrill. She wanted to get down there and fight, too. But she had to keep it controlled. In her injured state her mandatory goal remained surviving to the next round without more injuries.
Just get through this round as quickly as possible. You can show your growth in the finals.
"The Lion's Barrage?" He nodded. "No, not in the same way Sasuke did at least."
Her teammates tilted their heads at her, surprised by the answer given. "Why not? You watched Bushy Brow with your Sharingan, too. Plus you fought him on your own and hit him with one of your genjutsu's."
True and true. Yet his point caused her to sigh in frustration and frown. "Naruto, I know everyone around us knows, but can you try not to talk about it so openly. Or loudly."
She didn't need him slipping up about her Byakugan around Neji and Hinata of all people. Or Ino, for that matter. Troublesome girl. The less the Hyūga Clan knew about her eye, the better. I've lasted this long without getting their attention. I want to keep it that way.
"Hehe," Naruto laughed nervously, a tinge of pink tinting his cheeks. "Sorry, Amari. Forgot about that."
"Just don't go blurting it to the world or I'll put you in a genjutsu so powerful you'll think you're a pretty girl after it's over." He paled and nodded rapidly. Point made, she returned to the original topic of discussion. "Anyway, you're right. I did see Lee's fighting style for a longer period of time than Sasuke, and I had my dōjutsu activated. But it's not as simple as seeing it and repeating it. I need to have the physical ability to pull it off as well. It's why I can't perform the Five Chakra Natures despite witnessing them all with my eye."
If only it were so simple. With that kind of power she could end Kasai, Orochimaru, find Itachi and deal with him, go to the other Hidden Villages and negotiate peace then have a large victory bowl of ice cream. And all of that would be done before she became a teenager.
Heh, if only. She shook her head mentally. I want nothing to do with that level of power. Power like that corrupts people or places a large target on their backs. No thanks. I have to look over my shoulder enough with two dōjutsus.
"So…you don't have the physical ability to pull off the taijutsu technique?" Naruto asked.
"It's a bit more complicated than that when it comes to this technique. The Lion's Barrage is based off the taijutsu style Sasuke learned from watching Lee, and Lee's taijutsu is based off of Guy-sensei's style of taijutsu. You saw what it did to Sasuke. It wore him out instantly after he performed it.
"For starters, I wear myself out enough on my own." A few of the adults, her team, Mimi and Shikamaru shared chuckles, smirks and snorts of amusement. She couldn't hide from the truth. Most of her fights either ended with her collapsing in exhaustion or critically injured. Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing.
"In theory, I could use my own style to get an enemy into the air and then knock them down hard, like using clones. It might lessen the strain on my body a bit, but if I were to use Guy-sensei's style of taijutsu, clones wouldn't help. His style has the user attacking fast and hard, to the point of wearing down flesh and bones."
Sasuke found that out the hard way.
"Although I'm fit and have trained really hard, my body isn't accustomed to his style. It'd leave me in a similar state under normal circumstances. In this condition," she motioned to her right arm with her left hand, "it'd only worsen my injuries. I won't discredit Sasuke's ingenuity in the moment, but Guy-sensei's style isn't meant for someone to copy and use at their whim without consequences."
"Damn right," Mimi sounded off.
Amari half turned to look at Team Guy. Mimi's eyes were drawn to the name jumbler, nearly bouncing on her toes in anticipation for her chance to fight. Guy, on the other hand, couldn't contain the bright grin he aimed her way. He honestly looked at her as if she just told her teammates the secrets of life.
It was a tad unnerving, to say the least.
"That's right! It takes more than Sharingan to master our style of taijutsu—"
A beep cut off whatever else Guy was about to say. All the shinobi looked back to the green monitor for the names placed on it.
"Damn," Amari sighed.
Shino Aburame and Zaku Abumi of the Sound village.
It would be cruel of her to say she hoped Shino kicked his teeth in…but she really hoped Shino kicked his teeth in.
"Amari." Shino's calm voice startled Amari slightly. She met his sunglasses and waited for him to speak. "I have not forgotten what you, Sakura and Shikamaru told us of his techniques or his actions. Rest assured, although you were not chosen to fight him…" Shino turned away to walk to the stairs. "I will finish what he started. Why? Because: No one threatens to blow my comrade's head off."
"I believe you."
"You should. I am your comrade, after all."
Amari bowed her head to his retreating back. "Thank you, Shino."
"You're welcome."
Shino never wasted words or his time on false bravado. He was blunt, analytical; spoke his mind even if it came out strange to others.
For him to vow to finish what Zaku started, it made Amari pity Zaku. Not because she suddenly cared about his fate. She didn't. But the poor fool didn't realize how bad his day was about to get.
Out of all the Leaf Genin, there was only one Amari feared facing in battle. One she knew could beat her given one opening or moment of restraint on her part.
That shinobi was Shino Aburame.
As a sign of respect, Shino never held back. Never. Regardless of whom his opponent was or how insignificant they might be, to give anything less than his full power was an insult. And for a shinobi to do the same to him was an even greater insult.
For Zaku, he made an even graver mistake: he threatened and tried to kill comrades.
An unforgivable act by the Aburame's standards.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Sakura asked.
Amari nodded confidently. "Shino will be perfectly fine." There wasn't a shred of doubt in her mind. Shino had this fight won before it even began.
She rested her left forearm on the railing and leaned her weight on it. "If there is one shinobi in our class to respect and fear, it's Shino. Not because he's mean. Not because he's a bad person. He isn't. Shino is a good person and is unshakeable in his loyalty to his comrades." Her eye remained on the arena, watching both Zaku and Shino make their ways towards the center. "Why you should respect and fear him is his incredible talent."
"Hm," her mother hummed in laughter. "Shino feels the same way about you. Should you ever face him, little one, be sure to use your full power. Shino will expect nothing less from you, and you should expect nothing less from him."
"I know, and I will. I respect his strength too much to give him anything less than my best."
Giving anything less would only end badly for her anyways.
"I've never seen you so spooked by an opponent, 'Risu," Shikamaru noted, walking up to the railing to see what this fight was going to turn into. The Nara's traded a look.
Watch him carefully, she put behind her look.
Shikamaru nodded and returned his attention to the arena. "This should be good."
Watching these fights helped to scout future opponents. If you weren't paying attention—like Shikamaru pretended—then you'd end up in big trouble later on.
Naruto looked between the two Nara's, confused by their silent conversation. "Do you two have telepathy or something?" he asked at length.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Amari giggled and shook her head. "We're not Yamanaka's, Naruto. We're Nara's."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Sometimes she forgot how knuckleheaded her best friend was.
The Nara's sighed in unison. "Idiot," Shikamaru muttered.
"Oh, Naruto."
Behind them, Asuma and Kurenai spared the pair amused smirks.
"Please just pay attention," she pleaded. "If you ever fight Shino, you'll want to understand his technique."
He nodded and peered down at the two shinobi who now stood across from one another. Shino was the epitome of calm and collected. His hands remained in his pockets as he stared—more likely glared—at his chosen opponent. Zaku, though hunched over due to the cloth bandage, still held himself with the same arrogance she tried to squash out of him.
Before she wanted Shino to kick his teeth in. To embarrass him and make him look like the fledgling fool he was. Now…now she still could only feel pity for him. He truly had no idea the kind of shinobi he was facing.
It took time for her mercy to wither away—Shino's was already gone.
"I can't believe Zaku stayed to fight," Sakura said, flabbergasted by his decision.
Amari wasn't surprised in the slightest. "He's all ego and hatred now. I guarantee he wanted to face one of us again."
The glare he shot up at her proved Amari's point.
"I suppose. But after what you did to him…" Sakura trailed off.
After she broke him, she meant.
"These toys of yours, they don't make you a shinobi. Your arrogance does not make you a shinobi. Your lust for blood does not even make you a shinobi. You're a fake, a fraud, a coward who targets the weak and thinks it makes him strong. And after I'm done with you, you won't even be able to use those precious arms of yours without Medical Ninjutsu. But I don't have to tell you that, do I? Because my genjutsu showed you your fate."
Absolute terror crossed her enemy's features. She could feel his weak attempts to break free. Feel the desperation to escape and keep his arms intact. She could see his terror. Could see every drop of perspiration on his body, those caused by exertion of energy and those beginning to form from fear.
In return, he could see the merciless burning red eye searing into his soul, branding itself into his memory banks forever. He could see her hatred, her disgust for him. He could feel the chill of her killing intent caressing his skin like a reaper preparing to take his soul, and though he couldn't see it, he could feel the presence of the demonic black dragon by looking into her eye.
And he was afraid.
Good.
"No! No! Stop, let go of me! Leave my arms alone!"
There it was. The cowardice. The fear. The cry for mercy after all the pain he caused and tried to cause.
"See? Begging for mercy. But remember what I said? My mercy has withered."
For threatening her teammates, for wanting to kill her and Sasuke in front of Sakura as some twisted game, for using a technique that would have killed the people she cherished, Amari had no mercy left in her beaten and battered frame.
Zaku didn't deserve compassion. He didn't deserve to walk away from this without punishment. He didn't deserve to use those precious arms of his.
So she broke them. Without remorse, without restraint, without flinching.
He begged more before they snapped. It fell on deaf ears. Only the sounds of his cries of agony were audible to the child.
Amari watched in silence. She felt no pleasure. No sick smile tugged onto her face at his pain. The red eye full of fire watched on, cold and emotionless as her shadows returned, leaving the arrogant scum to fall face flat in the grass—unconscious and broken.
He didn't deserve her mercy.
"I don't regret it," she muttered.
She'd do it again in a heartbeat for the same reasons.
One violent act did not justify another, but he tried to kill people she loved, cared and lived for in one fell swoop. He threatened to put Sakura through the torture of watching him kill her teammate's right in front of her.
No. She did not regret it.
"Zaku reaped what he sowed."
Funny how he wanted to cause her and her team so much pain, but the moment the sandal was on the other foot, he begged and pleaded for mercy. Mercy he would have never given them in exchange.
But she wasn't Zaku. She didn't break him out of pleasure and enjoyment of another person's pain.
"He wanted to kill people I love…So I stopped him from ever doing the same to someone else," Amari said quietly.
She could have killed him. Instead of breaking his arms she could have broken his neck, but she didn't.
Zaku wasn't worth killing.
There was only one person she planned to kill. One monster to be slain for stealing her two best friends from her. And when that day came, she hoped she wouldn't hesitate. She hoped looking in his eyes wouldn't remind her of the friend she lost. She hoped when his body lay dead before her she wouldn't have to carry the burden of killing someone she called a brother.
But Amari knew her heart better than that. All she could do was prepare as best she could for the pain that day guaranteed. Because when the fight was over, when their kunais and shurikens pierced the earth all around them and their jutsus scorched and cracked the ground…when his body was at her feet, she knew she would remember the boy he used to be.
The boy she called brother. The boy she yearned to have back, along with Ryu. Once more her world would shift around her, leaving her heartbroken and full of pain she didn't know what to do with.
That was later, though. For now, she needed to stay focused on the path ahead. She had to become stronger so she could finish what Kasai started and fulfill Ryu's final wish.
Her peers and the adults heard every word she spoke. She could feel their eyes on her, but she couldn't guess what they were thinking or feeling without looking at them. Shock? Sympathy? Remorse for what they must have went through to push her to that point? Fear of who she might have become without having people to care for?
It could have been any of them or none of them. Either way, it didn't change Amari's lack of regret.
"You better not be talking about Sasuke," Ino growled.
Shikamaru and Sakura groaned at her ignorance to Amari's feelings for Sasuke.
"Ino, you do realize—"
"Save your breath, Chōji," Shikamaru interrupted. "Trust me. Nothing any of us say will change anything."
Her cousin was right. Nothing any of them could say would change Ino seeing her as a threat. Amari, however, saw an opportunity for fun.
"Aw, but I do love him," Amari said innocently.
"Hands off, One-Eye! He's with me!" Ino told her.
Heh, in your wildest dreams.
The response was everything she could hope for.
"You can't stop me from loving him, Ino," she said. Those few words almost caused the Yamanaka to blow a gasket. "It's too soon right now, but one day we'll reform our Clan."
Mimi lost it. Uncontrollable cackles left her before a hand covered her mouth, muffling the laughter to not distract the proctor or the combatants. Amari turned her head just enough to hide the fact she was biting her lip to contain her own giggles.
Ino's face was priceless! It was like her brain couldn't take the information coming in and paralyzed itself. But what made it even better was the reactions of those around her. Asuma was shaking his head to try to scold her, but he didn't bother hiding his grin. Kurenai brought a closed fist up to her lips to hide the smile on her lips.
Then there were Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru. All three turned green or pale at the idea of the two Uchiha "reforming" the Clan. Further down, Hinata's cheeks turned feverish red at the same use of the word—a word everyone was misunderstanding.
Kiba grinned at his cousin's hunched over and shaking form.
The use of the word went exactly how Amari planned it to, but there was a far less comedic use for it. She did believe they needed to reform their Clan—reform it to be kinder than what she remembered it being for a…half-breed like her.
Sasuke as a romantic partner wasn't going to happen. He was a clan-brother, nothing more, and he undoubtedly felt the same.
But that wasn't going to stop her from having fun.
"He loves me more anyways," Amari added on.
Ino's brain switched back on. "What did you say?!"
"Please stop, Amari…" Naruto shuddered. "I…I can't handle thinking of you two being…you know, in love."
Amari bit her lip harder. One barely contained giggle later and she was back in control. Hehehe, his response was even better than I hoped!
It was time to finish up, though. She couldn't keep everyone like this when a fight was about to happen. "But I do love him. I love him as a brother, just like I love you, Sakura and Shika as family. That's far stronger than her fan girl love. What did you all think I meant?" She waited a few seconds, for effect.
To her side, the struggle for Tenten containing Mimi's laughter raged on.
Ino's eye twitched, finally realizing how well she had been played.
"Wait, don't tell me you thought…You sickos!" she accused. "We have to literally reform the Clan to be better than they were, not…Eww!"
Her act only furthered the struggle next to her.
"Hold it in, Mimi! Come on, keep it together!" Tenten scolded. Amari finally glanced over to the pair. Tenten was piggybacked on Mimi, holding her hands over her mouth to muffle the Inuzuka's cackle. Mimi's entire body shook with laughter. She grabbed at her sides and her eyes welled with tears.
Score one for the great Amaririsu Yūhi!
Aoko merely shook her head at her partner, but the humorous glint in her eyes didn't go unnoticed.
"Deep breaths! Come on, deep breaths! If you don't, I'll have Guy-sensei make you do three hundred laps, four hundred squats and two hundred push-ups straight."
Alarm hit Mimi when Guy flashed a sparkly grin her way. Immediately her muffled cackling was replaced by deep breaths.
"Heh, I haven't seen her laugh that hard in a long time," Kiba said, grinning. "Nice one, Amari! You even had Hinata here blushing."
Hinata's blush returned. "Ki- Kiba!"
"I saw. She's too cute for her own good."
Hinata squeaked, her blush intensifying. "Ama- Amaririsu! Yo- you can't jus- just say those things!"
Amari sent a smirk her way. "Hinata, how many times?"
"Ah! Sor- sorry! One last time, I promise."
Too adorable!
With the situation defused, Tenten hopped off Mimi's back and sighed in relief. "Phew, that was too close."
Mimi jabbed a finger Amari's direction, her blue eyes shimmering with mirth as she grinned. "That was amazing! But never do it again in public!"
Amari gave her a closed eye smiled and giggled. "No promises."
"All right, you had your fun Amari. Now everyone focus on the match. They're about to start," Asuma told them.
Everyone focused back on the two standing below them. Luckily the whole incident went unnoticed by the proctor and the fighters. Unlike the light atmosphere she incited up on the balcony, the arena floor held a very serious and no nonsense air to it. Shino in particular didn't have an amused cell in his body.
"I'll give you one warning: Forfeit," Shino stated firmly.
Zaku growled. "What did you say?"
"Forfeit. Your condition will be irreversible if you chose to fight me. Why am I telling you this? Because: I never hold back against an opponent, nor do I underestimate them, regardless of how weak or insignificant they may appear." His words struck a sharp chord in Zaku. She could see it even at a distance, the sudden spark of anger in his eyes at being called weak and insignificant. "Furthermore, I will show no mercy to those who bring harm to my comrades. So I say again: Forfeit. You will not defeat me. Why? Because: I vowed to Amaririsu Yūhi to finish what you started."
Zaku's eyes became crazed at the mention of her name. "Is that so?" His left arm began twitching. "Then I guess you're gonna have to disappoint that little brat, 'cause I'm gonna use you as an example for what she did to me!"
He pulled his left arm out of the sleeve, perfectly functional from the look of it despite her breaking his arm.
The presence of her mother's chakra next to her made Amari glance up. Kurenai's features weren't worried by any means. She was confident in Shino's abilities, but there was a question in her eyes. "Are you sure you broke his arms?" she asked.
"One hundred percent," Mimi answered before she could. "Don't mistake him using the arm for it being fully healed, though. They aren't. He needs to end the fight quickly if he doesn't want to intensify the damage already done." The group looked to the medic of the group, finding a clinical disconnect in her eyes between herself and Zaku's pain. "Those pipes in his arms must have some damage to them as well, and I'd bet they're extremely sensitive too."
Blue eyes flicked over to her. "I'm not sure what knocked him out to be honest. It could have been the pain of both his arms breaking. It may have been the power of that genjutsu of yours."
Kurenai hummed in surprise and turned back to her. "You didn't mention your genjutsu's were ready for battle. Did you use Shadow Checkmate or Shadowed Death?"
"Shadowed Death. I…need to refine it more," Amari admitted.
"Mm." Kurenai didn't seem surprised. While her genjutsu's worked as needed in the moment, to be on the level her mother considered battle ready required more work and time. Time she hadn't had before the exams. "You'll get there. Mastering a genjutsu is like mastering a ninjutsu technique. It takes time and experience to perfect." Her red eyes returned back to Zaku. "Did he have the chance to release it?"
"No. I broke his arms immediately after."
"I see."
She sounded…pleased?
Amari snapped back to attention when Zaku charged Shino. He went for a strike, only for Shino to block it easily, keeping his other hand in his pocket. Before Shino could get him away, Zaku turned his hand and released a Slicing Sound Wave right in his face, sending him flying away in a heap of smoke.
Aoko murmured then Mimi spoke. "Hmph, figured as much with that weak attack."
"Weak? He just blasted Shino at point blank," Kiba said, clearly confused and slightly perturbed.
"Yet Shino has no internal injuries, except slight bruising. Amari took one of his blasts head-on. The contusions it left on her were severe, Kiba. She was lucky it didn't fracture her ribs."
"Wait? Seriously?"
"Yeah." Mimi nodded. "And compared to the rest of her injuries, those were minor. Just little bumps in the road for her recovery." Her eyes narrowed on the Sound shinobi. "He talked tough to Shino, but he's regulating how much power he uses to avoid more pain. All of the energy and power of his attacks are shooting through the very limbs that are broken. It must be excruciating."
There wasn't an ounce of remorse in her voice.
Shino's outfit was scuffed from the attack, but otherwise he seemed fine. He stood back up and faced his opponent, posture straight and confident.
Things started going downhill fast for Zaku. Behind him, a horde of parasitic insects gathered together to block the path behind him, earning shocked gasps from the Leaf Genin with the exception of Shino's own team.
"Shino wins," Amari stated.
Quite frankly, Zaku was screwed. If he attacked Shino with his good arm, the parasitic beetles would get him and suck him dry of all his chakra. If he tried to attack the beetles using his good arm, he'd leave himself wide open for the Aburame to attack him, thus ensuring he won no matter what option he chose.
His best option was to forfeit. He could avoid unnecessary harm and get out without the permanent damage Shino promised.
Amari knew better, and she was sure Shino did too. This punk wouldn't forfeit. He thought his arms made him more powerful than all the other Genin here.
They didn't.
"I suggest you choose your next move wisely," Shino told him. "I hate repeating myself, but I'll remind you one last time: I never hold back against an opponent. If you don't forfeit, the damage you will succumb to will be irreversible."
Zaku lowered his head, teeth grit together as he growled under his breath. Finally, he snapped. "Rrrraaagggghhhhhh!" Zaku turned his good hand at Shino. "Now you've done it. Now you've made me mad!" His other hand shot out from the cloth cast to aim at the beetles.
Zaku opened his now free hand and let out another scream. "I'll blow you away! And then I'll blow the head off that little brat for humiliating me!"
"Wrong decision," Shino said.
Everyone expected a Slicing Sound Wave to happen. What happened instead caused many of the gathered shinobi to gasp in horror or bewilderment.
Holes broke open in Zaku's arms, releasing blue chakra in large amounts before his right arm—from the forearm down—blew off completely.
"Holy hell," Mimi muttered, disturbed and wide eyed at the scene.
The same expression and feelings found their way to Amari.
Over his own screams of agony, Zaku somehow found a way to form words. "Wha- What did you do to my arms?!"
Amari pitied him. She really did.
"Do you know what's better than having one Ace in the Hole? Two Aces," said Shino, cold and calculated. "Amaririsu explained to me exactly how your jutsu works, and how heavily you rely on those arms of yours. I already had a plan to counteract them long before we entered this arena. That's not all she told me, however. She also told me of your misplaced arrogance and fragile ego.
"So I used both to my advantage. I told you to forfeit to incite your anger, then told you of my vow to Amaririsu to remind you of your defeat at her hands. Blinded by your emotions, you left yourself open to my real plan. As I said, I never underestimate my opponent. You pretended to still be unable to use your arms, but I knew better than to believe in such a simple trick. When I blocked your attack, I planted a female beetle on you to draw the males to your pipes exits—both exits just to be sure."
Shino lifted a hand to rub his face where the attack hit him. "I admit my reflexes were slower than they should have been given all I knew about your technique, but Amaririsu's, Sakura's and Shikamaru's information was on point. Still, after your first attack I learned of another weakness you had: The use of your Slicing Sound Waves was causing you pain. You had no choice but to hold back, otherwise you might hurt yourself. So again I used your fragile ego and arrogance to move you exactly as I wanted, like the puppet you are."
"Wha- What the hell happened?!" Naruto asked as Shino continued to explain every detail of his plan to Zaku.
"Shino used his insects to plug the holes in Zaku's palms—both holes," Amari explained. "All the pressure of the Slicing Sound Wave exits from his palms. With them plugged, the pressure continued to build and build and build in his arms. Eventually the pressure had to exit, but with it usual exit blocked…"
"Something had to give. His arms or the bugs," Shikamaru finished where she had trailed off at.
And they all knew which gave out first. Enraged by Shino's final prod, Zaku increased the pressure to full power—his final mistake. A mistake that cost him his arms, just as Shino promised.
Shino sped to Zaku's side and laid him out with a hard punch, ending the match.
"But where did the bugs come from?" Sakura asked.
"They're inside him." There were yelps of surprise from her teammates and Shikamaru's team, save for the Nara himself. "Neji, take a look. You'll see it yourself."
The boy cast a skeptical look her way then activated his Byakugan. Barely a moment later, he gasped, taken aback by the truth. "I had no idea. I thought he used a Summoning Jutsu to get all those insects, but she's right. They are actually living inside him!"
The medics came out with a stretcher and carefully placed Zaku's unconscious body on it with his missing limb. They then proceeded to carry him out.
"I've heard of the Aburame Clan being insect tamers, just never realized the full extent of the pact between them and their insects," Mimi said.
"I've heard of it as well," Neji agreed. "It is said a bug master allows their chosen insects to nest in his body. In return they obey their hosts will. They serve him, answering his call, fighting his battles and destroying his enemies. I have also heard they allow the insects to feed on their chakra as part of the bargain."
Amari nodded along silently, watching Shino walk towards the stairs to return to his team. Shino Aburame was a dangerous opponent. Far more dangerous than many of her peers realized, until now.
"I told you. Shino is a shinobi worthy of respect and fear."
"You weren't kidding, 'Risu. Troublesome."
Shino returned to his team. Kurenai joined him and congratulated her student on his victory over the Sound shinobi.
"Shino." The Aburame's obstructed eyes met Amari's single onyx eye. "Thank you."
He nodded once. "You're welcome."
Hayate prepared to announce the next candidates below them.
"Hey Sensei," Amari greeted without turning around.
Her puzzled teammates first looked to her at the sudden greeting. Yelps of surprise followed when they noticed Kakashi standing behind them.
Naruto turned back to face her in shaky confusion. "Ho- How do you always do that?!"
She gave her knuckleheaded teammate a closed eyed smile and stuck her tongue out at him. If he wanted to forget her sensory abilities and think she was psychic, she wouldn't mind. It'd be fun.
"Hey guys. Sorry I'm a bit late but you won't believe how hard it is to navigate those halls. I lost my way three times," Kakashi greeted.
"Kakashi as usual," Asuma chuckled.
Kurenai sighed. "You probably got caught up in one of your books."
"Or he got lost on the path of life," Amari teased.
"Or there was a lady who naturally wanted to go dancing with him," Sakura jumped in.
"Or maybe another black cat crossed his path so he had to take the long way," Naruto added, a roll of his eyes as he relaxed against the railing.
Kakashi raised his eyebrow at them. "You don't believe me?"
"Of course we do, Kakashi-sensei," they drawled in unison.
Defeated by his students, Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and exhaled a sigh.
"How's Sasuke?" Sakura asked.
Kakashi returned his hand to his side and met their curious gazes. "Oh, he's fine. When I left him he was sleeping soundly in the infirmary." His tone was casual and light, but the look in his eye betrayed it. Something serious was going on. His eye was hardened, a signal he took care of the problem, albeit temporarily, but he would be on guard from now on.
"But later I would like to talk to you about something Amari." Again his tone hinted at nothing serious. It was the look in his eye she found far more unnerving.
Had she done something wrong?
"It would seem a certain Bishop has finally realized the piece misjudged as a Pawn is far more powerful and important to the game of shogi."
Only the Jōnin and the present Nara caught onto the exact meaning of his words. Amari's hand tightened around the railing. She swallowed hard and did her best to keep her features neutral against her rising nerves.
"Such a sharp eye and mind you possess. It's only a pity you lack both eyes. Without both Sharingan your value is greatly diminished."
"So I'm just a useless pawn, huh? An extra piece on the board? Heh!"
There wasn't a doubt in her mind who the Bishop was.
Orochimaru.
And now he was seeing her as a greater target than before.
"I…" Amari swallowed again and shut her eyes, inhaling a deep breath. Stay calm. Breathe. He wouldn't bring this up if he didn't have a way to protect you. "Any tactics you'd advise in countering the Bishop's next move?" she asked, her eyes still closed.
Was there anything she could do to keep herself from his grasps?
"As soon as this test is over, there's something I will teach you to counter its next move."
She nodded, grateful and hopeful the technique would be enough. She turned back to the arena and opened her eye. "Okay." Kakashi had a plan. He had a technique to teach her so she could counter Orochimaru's next move. That was more than she had and enough to calm her down.
"I don't know about you Sakura, but I don't understand a word they are saying," Naruto said.
The beeping of the monitor signaled the next fight.
"Haha! About time! I was itching for a fight!" Mimi cheered. She looked up to Aoko. "You ready for this, Aoko?" The ninken barked happily.
"What a drag." Amari sagged. "At this rate I'll never get to fight."
"Your time will come, little one." Her mother didn't even try to hide her amusement.
Troublesome adult.
"Listen up Mimi and hear your Sensei's awesome words!" Guy bellowed. Mimi turned around to stand more or less at attention. "I can't claim to know who your opponent is or his skills, but I know he's no match for you. As long as you remember to take this seriously and not grow overconfident, you will succeed. And be careful." Guy shot the other Leaf ninja a suspicious eye. "He may look as if he has been hurt, but that doesn't mean he can't fight."
"Right." Mimi nodded.
Guy grinned again and pointed out into the…wall across the room? Sometimes Amari worried he was seeing more than their current surroundings. Like just by pointing he could create a beach and sunset to run off on.
"Now go! Let the flames of youth consume your very soul! Show them your power!"
Lee and Guy started to pump their fists into the air, practically glowing with the fires of youth they spoke of.
Tenten cast a long look at them then sighed and shook her head. "I don't know about all that, but good luck, Mimi."
Mimi grinned and gave the trio a sharp nod before jumping onto the railing and then down to the ground below. Time to see her power again.
Amari was excited.
Mimi landed down in the arena and turned her blue eyes to her opponent walking down the stairs. By the look of him he was at least two or three years her senior, and about three heads taller than her. Most of his head was shaved, except a ruffled black Mohawk down the center of his head. He wore a grey short-sleeved shirt and a black sleeveless jacket with baggy black standard shinobi pants.
Only when he was closer could she see his pale eyes as well as the permanent scowl etched into his features. According to the monitor his name was Hironori, and from the look of his body he seemed to have a good muscular build.
"His injuries are mostly superficial. Although," Aoko sniffed the air. "His right bicep smells of blood. I believe he may have been stabbed."
Hmm, so nothing I can really make use of. She grinned. At least this won't be boring.
"Mimi Inuzuka and Hironori of the Leaf, you are set for the third match. Are there any objections?" Hayate asked.
"Nope, I'm ready," Mimi said, feeling her grin dissipate into a feral smirk. She could feel her thrill building, making her want to bounce on the balls of her feet. If this guy made it this far, he must at least be somewhat of a challenge. He might even be a thrill to fight!
She hoped.
"Other than having to deal with dog breath here, no," her opponent said, his tone bored and irritated.
"The nerve!" Aoko growled.
Those words stole the smirk from her face, destroyed it beyond all recognition and replaced it with a vicious snarl. "What did you just say?"
Her anger surged through her veins. The past insults those Academy punks tried to hurl her way resurfaced in the back of her mind, doing nothing except pissing her off more.
Why did she ask him to repeat it when her ears heard the insult loud and clear? Old habit. She wanted him to say everything on his mind, insult her with his harshest words. Tell her exactly how he felt. Then she would shove all of the words back down his throat, along with his teeth!
"Listen mutt." A very raw nerve stabbed. "Forfeit now. I have no interest in kicking a pathetic pup like you."
Mimi heard nothing else. Not his ask for her to forfeit again or anything else he might have said.
The rage she contained since the Academy broke free.
"Let's rip him to shreds!" Aoko growled.
"Proctor, start the match," Mimi snarled. Her slit pupil flicked over to Hayate. "Now."
"All right. When you are ready, you may begin," Hayate said, stepping back and out of the way.
Hironori didn't make a move. He looked bored and irritated at having to fight her.
Nothing he felt could match the fiery rage pumping through her veins, spreading its poison to every molecule in her body.
He didn't want to make the first move? Fine. She'd take it then and make him regret ever opening his ignorant mouth.
Mimi crouched onto all-fours. "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!"
Chakra cloaked her body, red and lashing like the blazing anger she contained within her heart. As the chakra enveloped her, her appearance began to change, becoming far more feral than natural for her. Her canine teeth and nails grew longer, her pupils shifted into slits and her facial features became sharper in intensity.
Aoko hopped onto her back and snarled viciously at their opponent. "I wasn't gonna tear you apart 'cause you were a Leaf shinobi." Even her voice was harsher. "But then you opened your mouth. Man Beast Clone!"
Aoko transformed into a carbon copy of her. Finally Hironori realized how serious he needed to take her. It was too late for him. Nothing he could say or do now would change what she was going to do to him.
He took up a defensive stance and grabbed at the kunai in his ninja tool box.
"Bring it on mutt!"
She snarled. "Let's go, Aoko!"
The two flashed away in sheer speed.
He was dead!
Mimi reappeared in the air on his left side, her foot aimed directly for his face and Aoko below her, going in for a shoulder charge. Hironori barely had time to register their appearance, eyes bulging in surprise as his body slowly tried to react to the faster shinobi.
The Inuzuka duo landed their blows in synchronicity to send him skidding across the arena floor. Hironori rolled out of it and onto his toes, but Mimi was already there, a wild look in her eyes.
"You're a half-breed traitor!"
"Mutt!"
"Look at the half-breed mutt with a mutt for a friend! Aw, what's wrong, can't make any human connectio— ah!"
So many insults, so much pain and hatred she buried away, all releasing at the same time because of this arrogant piece of trash.
"You're dead!" she roared.
Hironori had no chance to counterattack. The All-Fours Jutsu increased her speed, strength and senses exponentially beyond a worm like him. Her entire body felt warm, thrumming with heat and hatred as red chakra lashed off her.
Mimi came off her hands and slammed her right knee into his jaw. This piece of trash had crossed one line too far, and now he was going to pay for it!
Hironori cried out in pain as the attack sent him flying into the air.
"Aoko!"
"Got it!"
Using her shoulder as a springboard, Aoko jumped off after Hironori, getting higher than their enemy and into the perfect position to drill him into the ground. Mimi crouched back down and dashed forward where the momentum of her companion's attack would shoot him to.
Aoko spun into a ferocious spiral and drilled into Hironori. Their enemy shot faster to the ground, but Mimi was there. She jumped off the ground and spun herself in a violent tornado, yelling out, "Fang over Fang!" before hitting him.
The technique slashed and clawed at him, drawing blood and filling her nose with its scent. Like a moth drawn to flame, the scent intensified her innate need to destroy him.
Mimi came out of her spin and skidded on her feet across the concrete floor, watching with feral eyes as her opponent skipped away with plenty of slashes and cuts through his outfit and skin.
Slowly, Hironori pushed himself up off the ground. His pale, wide eyes looked at her as if seeing a wolf demon.
"I can smell your fear." She chuckled nastily. "What's the matter? Afraid of the big, frightening wolf? Gonna cry? Wanna throw in the towel and tell the proctor you're done? Go ahead." Mimi stalked a circle around her prey on all-fours, Aoko mirroring her movements. "Go ahead and try to quit. I dare ya. 'Cause before you even form the syllable, I'll be there, slamming my fist so far down your throat I'll be able to examine your organs without a Diagnostic Jutsu."
Hironori moved into a crouch and watched the pair carefully. "I'm not scared of you, mutt."
Another chuckle, even more feral and nastier than before. "I'm gonna enjoy shutting your mouth."
Mimi charged back in with Aoko. As they neared, Hironori jumped up and away from the two sets of claws about to tear him apart. Kunai and shuriken started to rain down around the duo, but their enhanced senses allowed them to dodge them all.
Hironori landed, hands held in Tiger as he inhaled. Recognizing the technique, Mimi sped through her own handseals. "Aoko, prepare the scrolls," she ordered.
"Right!"
Her companion darted behind her back, deft hands reaching into her ninja pouch and taking the necessary two scrolls in a quick exchange only the dōjutsu wielders above could see. Upon exhalation, Hironori released a massive fireball right at Mimi, but she was ready.
Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu!
A sharp and powerful stream of water shot from the Inuzuka's mouth directly at the fire. The two jutsus collided, and in the end her Water Style proved more than enough to douse his flames. Steam formed at the point of impact, concealing her enemy's visible presence behind it.
"Too slow mutt!"
Mimi canceled her jutsu and ducked down into a crouch, a wild smirk on her lips. She heard the blade cut past where her head once was, the sound of it slicing through the air piercing her sharpened sense of hearing. She quickly spun one-eighty, shifted her weight backward and dodged into a handspring out of the way of his next strike. Her feet met the floor again and she hopped back, narrowly dodging two thrown kunais she could hear whiz past her ears.
Had her opponent already forgotten? An Inuzuka's sense of hearing and smell were far stronger than the average human. With her All-Fours Jutsu activated they were even better. She heard and smelled him coming before he even got within a few feet of her.
His attempt at a surprise attack failed, but Hironori didn't let it discourage him. He closed in on her to engage in a brawl. She blocked his punches and threw a few of her own, nicking his face with her claws when she feinted a punch with her other hand. Her enemy blocked her follow up strike and countered with a spinning roundhouse kick.
Dodging underneath it, Mimi felt confident in her abilities. The bout of confidence left her off guard when her opponent's next attack came faster and with a surprise. Her ears heard it first, the kick with a blade cutting through the air. Then her eyes caught the glint of the blade attached to his ninja sandal.
Damn! Where did that come from?
Only by her enhanced speed did she dodge a fatal strike. The blade sliced past her cheek, drawing blood and awakening her pain receptors. Mimi slid back out of the way, and as she did she felt the change of texture beneath her feet.
Perfect timing, Aoko.
She hopped up and channeled chakra to her feet then landed on the new surface, gliding effortlessly on the water like an ice skater.
The water continued to spread across the arena, combining with the remnants of her Water Bomb Jutsu. "Water? But—" His eyes widened as he noticed the carbon copy of Mimi crouched behind her, kneeling before two scrolls releasing water at a slow pace.
"Forgot about Aoko, didn't ya?" Mimi slid to a stop on the water a few feet away from her partner. "It's too late to realize your mistake. Now, Aoko!"
Mimi jumped up and backflipped in the air as Aoko sped across the water in a Fang over Fang. She landed feet first on the scrolls and instantly unsealed more water. Out of the scrolls, two shin high waves surged forth and, after speeding through twenty-two handseals, Mimi prepared her next attack.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
The Water Dragon that formed wasn't much to boast about. Thin and nowhere near as large as the one she used on Amari. But it would work for its intended purpose.
Aoko, having heard her shout, stopped distracting and attacking Hironori to retreat out of the way of the incoming attack. Her enemy spun around and saw the golden eyes of her dragon speeding right for him.
Quickly creating handseals of his own, he slammed his hands into the ground. "Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
He knows two Natures? She'd be impressed if she wasn't hell-bent on destroying him.
A wall made of the arena floor shot up right in front of him, blocking him from view and providing the perfect barrier against her weaker jutsu. Her dragon impacted hard against the surface of the wall, but it did little else, except maybe splashing water on him.
Her opponent jumped over his wall and charged in once again to exchange blows. Mimi met him, their feet glowing on the surface of the water as their intense exchange grew more and more heated. Mimi took more than a few blows, too filled with rage to care about refined technique, but for every punch he landed, she hit him back that much harder.
Hironori grit his teeth. "Just let yourself be put down already!"
Mimi snarled. "Enough of the dog insults!" She put as much strength as she could behind her fist and slammed it into his face. "Who the hell do you think you are to insult my Clan?!"
Hironori came back with a punch of his own, but she dodged under it and went for a sweep kick. Her enemy jumped over her attack and, as she came back up, brought his hands into Tiger.
Point blank range.
"Mimi! Water Wall!" Aoko ordered.
Her hands were already moving. "Water Style: Water Wall!"
Just as the fire left his lips and closed in on her, a wall of water sprang up from beneath her feet to protect her. The water blocked the attack, forming steam at the point of impact, but with such little water, Mimi struggled to keep herself from being turned to toast.
His flames were intense, though not nearly as intense as Amari's. And unlike her fellow kunoichi, Hironori kept forgetting one important detail: An Inuzuka never fought alone.
"Aoko, let's finish this!"
The flames intensified, as if to insult her and tell her the fight was over. Mimi wasn't done yet, though. Not by a long shot.
His flames abruptly stopped and were replaced by a cry of pain as Aoko, in her natural form, sunk her teeth into his right arm.
It was time to finish him off.
Amari watched carefully with her Sharingan activated as Aoko's teeth sank further and further into Hironori's arm. Blood poured out of the wound. He desperately tried to pull her off, swatting at the animal and cursing it the entire time. Finally he ripped her off and threw her at Mimi, but not without the ninken taking some skin with her.
Kakashi whistled behind her. "It's going to take time for that wound to heal."
She nodded in agreement. Shouldn't have been a jerk.
What impressed Amari more than the bite was the speed and strength of Mimi in her All-Fours Jutsu. She was fast, faster than she had shown herself to be during their fight. And the chakra coming off her, the raw power behind it, it was amazing.
No, she was amazing.
"If Aoko's back in her normal form, I'd bet she's setting up the attack she tried to finish me off with. That's why she had Aoko use those scrolls," Amari noted. Despite how lost the Inuzuka appeared to be in her feral rage—rage Amari hoped to never stir—she hadn't lost sight of planning ahead. Not completely, anyways.
"You're right, Amaririsu," Guy said, grinning down at his student. "Mimi has worn down her opponent and created an environment she can use her unstoppable combination."
Naruto and Sakura turned to look at Guy. "Unstoppable combination?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, unstoppable. Once inside, no one can escape."
"But what is the combination?" Sakura quizzed.
"Water and Sound. It's a cruel combination, but effective in rendering an opponent incapable of fighting any longer."
His prediction came true not long after. Mimi captured Hironori in her Water Prison Jutsu and left him floating in the center of it. Amari couldn't see the look in her eyes, but what she said and did next made her feelings clear.
"This is the part where I usually ask my opponent to forfeit because I don't want to cause them more pain. But for people like you I make an exception. Aoko, knock him senseless."
Her ninken moved across her arm to the Water Prison then unleashed the most piercing howl Amari had ever heard. It was loud even at a distance. She didn't want to feel how terrible it was at the concentrated point of attack.
Hironori clutched at his ears to protect against the onslaught, screaming in agony as the howl continued on and on and on. Amari swore she heard him attempt to forfeit, but then Aoko somehow went even louder to drown out his voice.
Only when Hironori passed out inside the Water Prison, blood floating in the orb of water from his ears, did Aoko stop howling. Mimi released the jutsu and let him fall unceremoniously face first onto the ground.
"Since he can no longer continue." Hayate coughed then cleared his throat. "I declare Mimi Inuzuka as the winner of this round. She will move on to the finals."
Slowly Mimi's features, nails and teeth reverted back to normal while she moved to her sealing scrolls. By activating them again, the water returned to the scrolls, sort of the same way water ran down a drain. Once all of it was absorbed again, she watched the medics take Hironori away.
"Maybe next time you'll show some manners, jackass," she snarled before walking to the stairs to rejoin the group.
Amari deactivated her Sharingan and relaxed her weight against the railing. Scouting Mimi went exceptionally well. Given time she would come up with good strategies beyond don't piss her off.
Though that one will remain at the top of my list.
When Mimi reached the top of the stairs her eyes were still distant and with slit pupils. Her sweater was tied around her waist, likely because she was too warm internally for it. Amari couldn't blame her, not really. After all the insults to her Clan Hironori threw her way, he earned the beating he received.
"Nice going, Mimi. You kicked his ass!" Kiba congratulated.
The sound of her cousin's voice woke Mimi up from her thoughts. Her pupils returned to normal and her lips split into a wide grin. She hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him in closer, strangling him a little as she did. "As if there was ever any doubt! You better win your match Kiba or I'll start whipping your ass into shape."
Kiba struggled to get out of her headlock to no avail. Eventually Mimi let him go and took a small jab to the arm from him. "Yeah yeah. You watch. I'll blow my opponent away!"
"You better."
Mimi was greeted by her team with a large slap to the back from Guy. "Nice work Mimi! I knew you could do it!"
"Ohh, your fight has fired me up, Mimi! I can't wait to get my chance to show what I can do!" Lee was on the verge of bouncing up and down with excitement.
"You did really good Mimi, but you should probably heal up that cut," Tenten said, pointing to her own cheek to remind the Inuzuka of the cut on her face.
Sudden remembrance crossed her features. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." She brought her gloved hand to her cheek and healed the wound. When her hand dropped, the only sign of the wound was the dried blood on her face, a darker shade of crimson than the Inuzuka fang markings on her cheeks. "Good as new."
"Only you would forget about getting hurt," Tenten sighed.
"But if I didn't forget then you couldn't remind me. How boring would that be?" Mimi retorted getting a bark from Aoko, which made her grin. "Exactly, Aoko."
"What did she say?" her teammate asked.
The Inuzuka shrugged. "Can't tell. It's a secret between us."
"She said that it also meant you wouldn't fuss over her anymore, and that would be even more boring," Kiba piped in, a grin in his tone.
The blush that crossed Mimi's face served as a source of amusement for Aoko. The ninken chortled and made no effort to disguise it.
"I'm going to strangle you, Kiba!"
Mimi's attempt to strangle her cousin was thwarted by Guy, who grabbed onto the back of her shirt to hold her in place. She still tried to lunge forward, hands slashing through the air as she tried to break free. "All right, that's enough Mimi. Save your youthful energy for when it's needed," Guy scolded.
"You better sleep with one eye open, Kiba," Mimi grumbled quietly. "Yes, Guy-sensei."
"Hmm," Kakashi hummed.
Team Seven turned around to see what was on their sensei's mind, but he didn't meet their eyes. He leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets and eye staring nostalgically at the ground between them.
"Sensei?" Sakura prompted.
Kakashi perked up. "Huh? Something wrong guys?"
They each sweat dropped at his question. "You were the one who hummed, Sensei. We thought you wanted our attention."
"Oh, that." He gave them a closed eyed smile. "I was just remembering the shouting about pulverization Amari ranted about in the Land of Waves."
Nothing else needed to be said to turn Amari cherry red. She too remembered her threats to pulverize Zabuza for inserting his opinion into a conversation he was not invited to. A conversation she totally flubbed by calling Haku cute.
It's so embarrassing!
Then there was the whole age discrepancy as well as the insinuation she'd never become a woman. Irked by the memory, her embarrassment was not whisked away, but joined by her anger to dance together.
I'll show him! I'll hit a growth spurt someday!
Why did she have to be so short? It was such a drag.
Her teammates were no help at all. They covered their mouths to hide their laughter at her expense, but even then she could hear it loud and clear.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with us, Amari," Naruto teased, bumping her shoulder with his own.
Oh. Oh he was not getting away with teasing her about this. "Naruto, do you remember when I threatened to pulverize you." Remembrance crossed his face and his teasing grin began to fall. "Me too. Want to try that again?" she dared, a dangerous look in her eye.
No way. No way was he getting away unscathed if he tried to tease her more.
Sweat began to pour from his forehead as he shook his head rapidly.
"My Sensei senses tell me I should probably know about this…incident by the sound of it," Kakashi inserted himself into a conversation he didn't belong in.
Amari sent a scathing glare Naruto's way. You will not speak of what happened that day.
No one was allowed to know about that day. No one!
"I- it was nothing Sensei, ha ha! Nothing happened, be- believe it," Naruto stuttered in fear.
Kakashi could see straight through his bluff, of course. "Don't worry, Naruto, Amari won't hurt you so long as I am here. So what happened?" Naruto shook his head and mimed zipping his lips. He knew the sort of consequences awaiting him. He could almost see the red behind the onyx eye, ready to strap him into a genjutsu he would never recover from. "I'll teach you a new jutsu if you tell me."
That was playing dirty, but two could play at this game. She wouldn't let either of them get away with this.
"By the way, Sensei." Kakashi stiffened instantly at her sweet and innocent voice. "Remember when you sat in a tree after sticking the weighted seals on me? Because I seem to recall you knocking me over as I struggled to stand up."
His eye bulged when Kurenai's eyes snapped onto them.
If you want to battle with blackmail, I have the most and Mom in my corner. Your training regimen on my mind taught me many things from seeing through deception to always using gathered information wisely.
"I don't recall anyone ever telling me about this incident," Kurenai said. The momentum shifted completely. Now it was Kakashi on the back foot. "Care to give me all the details, little one, so I can punish those responsible."
It was neither a question nor a joke.
Everyone watched their dual as if it were another round of the exams. Their heads moved back and forth between them, watching every strike and counterattack with intensity to see who would end up on top.
"Okay, I can't lie to you. Sensei—"
When the gloved hand clamped over her mouth, Amari knew her victory was guaranteed.
"Ha ha, nothing happened, Kurenai! She worked really hard at getting stronger and I was very proud of her," Kakashi answered nervously then lowered his voice to a threatening whisper. "Don't you dare."
He knew the kinds of consequences awaiting him too. The genjutsu's her mother could cast far outranked her own.
She wasn't about to let him get away easily.
His hand left her mouth and she sprang her next attack. "Oh, and the ending to Make-Out Violence is—"
Kakashi yelped in surprise and covered her mouth instantly.
Okay, she was cheating. She didn't know the ending of his new book, but he didn't need to know that. They were ninjas, after all. Deception was their fun little game.
"How do you know that? Kurenai would never let you read these books," he whispered urgently.
True and she would never read them anyways. She had higher standards for books than his perverted taste in literature. How anyone could call something that made a grown man blush and giggle like a…well, like a perverted teenager sneaking a peek at an adult magazine literature was beyond her.
Again, he didn't need to know the truth of her ignorance. He only needed to believe she knew the ending.
Because of his hand over her mouth her words didn't form correctly. It was his way of ensuring she didn't blurt out the ending.
"I ovarherd adults twalking abut it. It a real cwiffhanger."
"Shhhh!" he shushed her. "Don't tell me that!"
"Aparrotly, the lady—"
"If I teach you a new jutsu, will you stay quiet?" he asked quickly.
Hmm. Tempting. "Yesh…as lung as yo pawmise it isn't lwam."
"I promise," he said in a cheery voice.
Slowly and carefully, as if trying to diffuse a trap, Kakashi removed his hand from her mouth. When she didn't blurt out the ending to his book, he audibly sighed and relaxed.
"Yeah, I got stronger that day," Amari reassured her mother despite everyone knowing it was a lie.
Sakura covered her snickering behind her hand at both Naruto's visible relaxation at the passing danger and Kakashi's.
"Say Kakashi, I haven't seen you sweat like that in a long time. Amari really out played you there," Asuma prodded, a smirk on his face.
"She had the odds unfairly stacked in her favor," Kakashi defended.
"You taught me that way, Sensei."
He sighed. "In hindsight, teaching you that was a bad idea. You already had the perception of a Nara. I just made it worse for myself."
Amari giggled then focused back onto the screen in the distance, waiting for the next opponents to be picked and silently hoping it would be herself.
At least Sensei is going to teach me something new and…wait a minute!
Amari's eye bulged.
"As soon as this test is over, there's something I will teach you to counter its next move."
She spun around in shock. How could she have been played so easily?
Kakashi noticed the change of look on her face immediately. In response, he eye smiled at her, victorious over her in his high-stakes gamble.
I was so focused on preventing Naruto from telling him about the Sexy Jutsu, I forgot he even said that. In the end, I won the battles but he won the war. Well played, Kakashi-sensei, well played.
The monitor beeped again and revealed the next two opponents—neither were Amari.
Kankurō vs. Misumi Tsurugi. Looks like we'll finally get to see the Sand ninja use his puppet and see what Kabuto's other teammate has to offer.
Yoroi had a good ability but was way too overconfident. If Misumi was also overconfident then it was possible the Sand shinobi would make easy work of him.
As soon as they were down in the arena, Kankurō took the wrapped up puppet off his back and set it next to him, still contained within the bandages. The proctor started the match before he could unwrap it, and Misumi didn't waste time to take advantage of that. He charged in to strike him. Kankurō blocked his attack easily, an arrogant grin on his face, unimpressed by the assault.
Before the Sand shinobi could even utter a word, Misumi countered his block by using a technique that sent chills down Amari's spine faster than a bolt of lightning.
Misumi's body began to stretch unnaturally, as if he had no bones to speak of, and proceeded to wrap Kankurō in a deadly chokehold.
Just…like…Orochimaru.
"That jutsu," Amari choked, eye wide and unfocused in fear.
Misumi faded from her sight, replaced by Orochimaru's Grass shinobi disguise. The arena disappeared next. Large trees and grassy floors where their battle took place. He was racing around the trees, body stretching unnaturally around the branches like the very snake summoned to attack her team. She could hear his female voice in her ears.
"Dearest Amaririsu."
Amari's breathing quickened.
"Your Sharingan eye is so perceptive. Perhaps I should take it as a trophy."
His face was mere inches away from hers, green flames flickering on his arm as he caressed her cheek, his obsessed and crazed eyes staring deep into her soul.
He was going to take her eye. He was going to pluck it right from her skull just like Kasai plucked Ryu's out…and there was nothing she could do about it.
Someone's hand resting on her shoulder jolted her, but not awake. No, she was still there, her entire body quivering. She heaved heavy breaths she could not control as her near death experience played before her eyes.
His hand was inches from her eye. Inches from taking the prize he coveted.
I can't- I can't breathe.
She was going to die.
"Amari. Hey, it's okay."
No, it wasn't. He was here. Right in front of her. He was going to take her eye. He was going to steal it from her socket with his insane glee at her pain.
Her knuckles turned white as she clenched the railing for dear life. Her legs lost their strength, turning from solid trees to melted ice cream.
She could hear his female laugh. She could feel his breath on her face, feel the heat of her flames still dancing on his skin.
I- I can't—
"Little one!"
Amari gasped a sharp breath as her vision shifted back to reality. She wasn't standing anymore. Hard concrete greeted her back and butt, as did the concerned eyes of her mother and Kakashi. Her eye darted around wild, frightened, seeking out the Sannin who nearly killed her.
"Breathe, little on. Breathe. In." The command registered in her subconscious mind. She inhaled. "Out." She exhaled. "In. Out. There you go. Slow, deep breaths. Easy, don't rush it. In. Out."
"I understand the jutsu looks weird, but it isn't that bad." Ino's voice was distant to the blue-haired ninja.
Asuma, who she finally noticed hovered behind her mother, shot a look away from her. "Not the time, Ino," Asuma scolded, his tone serious.
Behind him, Mimi retreated back to the railing, casting one worried look back over her shoulder before leaving for good.
"In. Out. In. Out," her mother continued the mantra.
In. Out. In. Out.
Amari kept breathing, slowly bringing her heartrate down and easing the quivers of her body. One breath at a time, that's all she needed to focus on. One breath, and then another, then another. Inhale, exhale. By controlling her breathing she could control herself.
"Snake?" Kakashi asked quietly after she regained some grip on reality. She nodded without speaking, unable to trust her voice to be sturdy. "Exactly the same?" Another nod from her.
From around her, as she kept breathing, she heard bits of conversation regarding the fight.
"I- I think he just broke his neck," Lee stated in shock.
"Nah, that was just a puppet," Kiba said.
"He switched places with his puppet before the match began. Misumi miscalculated his opponent's intelligence, and now all the bones in his body are toast, save for his neck," Mimi said.
Slowly but surely she reached close to normal. It…it frustrated her immensely this happened. Not once, but now twice in front of everyone she lost her composure. Why did this have to keep happening? Why couldn't she be stronger?
In an attempt to regain some lost ground, she tried to smile to reassure the adults. It didn't reach her eye or hold any real strength to it. "I- I'll be okay."
"Are you sure? You collapsed on us, Amari," Asuma said.
She nodded. "Just…" The mark Orochimaru left on her. The intensity of the battle, of her fears as his hand neared her eye, of his crazed obsession she couldn't erase from her mind, all of it was still so fresh. But this time she swore it wouldn't happen again. "…I just remembered something I wanted to forget."
"Something or someone?"
"Both are appropriate."
The sound of the machine beeping drew all of their attention to it.
Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka.
Why wasn't she surprised this whole thing got more troublesome?