Chapter 37
Watching as the other candidates filed away towards both balconies I felt Kakashi stop behind me causing me to turn and look up at him. His eye was soft at first before becoming his usual serious gaze. He spoke low yet I noticed the redhead with a gourd pause just as Kakashi speaks. "I shouldn't have to remind you to finish this match quickly; take as little damage as possible unlike your usual."
Nodding to him though I notice Gaara finishing his way towards the right set of stairs to the right balcony, Kakashi then nods to me in return before he too heads up a set of stairs. The opposite of the ones Gaara took himself. Turning my eyes fall upon the female of Kabuto's team causing me to smile. I walk in front of the proctor and turn so my back was to my teammates as she stood about ten feet in front of me. Not like he had to say anything at all. I already knew that if I wasn't careful there would be a lot more people asking questions about my healing ability.
Not to mention now that my fangs have grown in all of them watching would be able to see my red eyes. I don't feel like explaining to Kakashi right now as to why my eyes glow red or what my main source of nourishment is. To top it off, in the forest, I had learned my curse mark acts up when I use my energy. Since healing as I do uses energy which is why I have to feed in order to finish healing or to replace the energy I lose. I am guessing taking damage will make the mark act up just like jutsu will. Sadly, that means I have to use as little chakra as possible. I won't be able to fight with my full strength so now, I'm at a disadvantage. Should be interesting.
"Your sensei giving you warning?" She asks though her voice would echo a sneer that was hidden behind her cloth face cover bringing forth a smirk from me as well.
"Yeah, to not kill you."
"That's if you can." She states arrogantly before dropping her left foot back and lowering her stance into one more prepared to fight. Feeling myself stir excitedly within as my heart gave a thud. I dropped down as well. It was then I realized that ever since that vision of Light and those blue flames. I have been feeling differently about fighting than I used to. More confident even.
"Big talk for someone who doesn't even look as if they can throw a kunai straight. I bet this fight won't even last five minutes. The end result is obvious that I shall be the victor."
"You talk tough Shorty. What are you nine?"
"Oh, ha-ha make fun of my stature. That is such a girlish blow, maybe you should run home and touch up your makeup?"
"Funny of you to mention that. You what? Spend more time on your hair than training? Let me guess anything that could mess up that ratty heap, you make your teammates do it for you? Not like it helps though. Still looks like a trash bag." Did she seriously just comment on my hair? I love my hair. Subconsciously I found myself fingering a soft tendril of my hair looking down at it. My hair isn't ratty, nor does it look like plastic. Trash or otherwise. "Hahaha, what did I hit a nerve?" Her voice becomes shrill as I take in a slow breath releasing my hair before pinning her with the iciest of glares I have ever done. Watching as her body stiffens showing her smile faded and her right foot subconsciously moves back behind her before she could stop herself. Almost as if her body was telling her to run away.
"Yeah! Kira! Show her why you're the Ice Queen!" Naruto shouts down at me causing me to move my gaze from my opponent over my shoulder and up towards him just long enough I could visibly watch him swallow hard and fall silent. My eyes had left her long enough Amaya was able to recover now pinning me with a hard glare.
"Now, let's have a good clean fight, and may the best one win." The proctor says glancing from one to the other obviously noticing the two killing intents mixing together as if two lionesses were squaring off over a meal. "Start." He says, automatically I leap back just as a kunai sticks in the floor where I had just been standing. Damn, she's quick.
"Well, you're a fast one I'll give you that." Amaya's voice comes from behind me just as she sends a kick towards me in mid-air. Grabbing her leg with my left hand I take some of the force from the impact to my side, just as I slam my elbow down and bring my knee up. Connecting her leg in between them successfully achieving a howl of pain from her. Kicking her off of me I land upon my feet facing her. Watching her scrambling to stand I take notice of her limp.
"Your leg is fractured, I would advise you not to move around too much." I state plainly watching as she stands straight. Probably should have just gone ahead and shattered the bone.
"Go to hell." She shouts raising her hands I watch her hand signs just before a slight vibration meets my feet. Leaping back avoiding a spike of earth, my feet barely touch the floor before I am forced to continue dodging the hardened deadly earth. After the fourth one, I growl and sprint towards her annoyed until I am forced to dodge again. Completing a right side flip my long hair flowing into my face. This is getting pointless. I have to get close to her! Just as another spear came up from my feet I leap into the air pushing just enough of my chakra into my feet to counteract her chakra still surrounding the chunk of rock, so I can now stand upon the spike to look down at her. "Hey! No fair! It's supposed to go through you!"
She's trying to keep me at a distance so I don't get close. Problem is. Without using jutsu I need to get closer to her and use my superior strength and speed against her. "C'mon Kira! It's not like you to hesitate!" Naruto yells again causing me to roll my eyes. I'm not hesitating. I'm trying to strategize you, idiot! I silently snarl at him. As another spear shoots towards me I leap onto it to avoid being hurt as I watch her. Amaya's face was turning red from irritation though lining the anger was fatigue and pain. Practically in desperation. She was probably hoping to wear me down and force me to mess up. To push my body in a way I would have to react seriously.
"Is this it?" I heard a female voice speak from the opposite side of the room threatening to take my attention away from the girl below me. "After our first encounter, I thought she was stronger than this." Oh, I see it's Temari. Shaking my head I push myself to not listen to the conversations around me. My only problem is not what everyone else thinks. It's doing this properly…. Wait… that's it! I felt my eyes nearly widen.
Within the fighting arena, those Jonin rank or higher stood there at first listening to the childish banter being passed between the two kunoichi. As if trying to get each other riled up before the fight. Until the killing intent being shared between them was almost as if they were trying to defeat one another with their intents alone. "Lord Hokage. Are you certain we should be holding the preliminaries right now? Orochimaru… He never mentioned who the other one was he had put the curse mark on. Or even if they survived." The proctor of the second exam speaks quietly towards the old ninja without pulling her eyes away from the two genin before them.
"As I had already explained Anko. It is the same with the Uchiha boy. The first sign of a curse mark going out of control we will step in. Besides." The Hokage chuckles as he raises his hat slightly to clear his view of the oncoming fight. "The best way to figure out who else was marked is by allowing them to fight."
"I see your point." Anko sighs now watching the dark-haired girl as she leaps back just as the fight begins avoiding being stuck with a kunai. Her opponent, another kunoichi genin from the leaf village suddenly appears behind her in mid-air aiming a kick for the dark-haired girl. "They're fast." Anko comments nearly absentmindedly.
"Not a surprise from our own Kira Lake." The Hokage responds to her watching calmly as Amaya is sent flying in those few short moments. The attack having been thwarted by Kira.
"What do you mean Lord Hokage?" Instead of answering the Hokage remains silent. Watching the girl he had come to know over the years dodge all of the attacks being sent her way.
Meanwhile, Team seven was watching the very fight. Two of them more with bated breaths. -If she's not fighting, could it be the curse mark has taken more of a toll on her than she had been letting on? - The young Uchiha silently thought as he crosses his arms. "She's just dodging."
"I knew Kira was all talk and no show! Ha!" Ino's shrill voice pipes up causing team seven to glance her way. "She's running scared!" Of course, she would say that. She was unconscious when Kira came to in the forest. Shikamaru thinks as he glances at his blond teammate away from the fight as Kira just seems to perch herself on top of one of the spears.
"No way! Kira's not scared! She'll smash that girl to smithereens!" Naruto barks at the annoying Ino before looking back towards the fight. "C'mon Kira! It's not like you to hesitate!" Naruto yells again as he tries to understand why his teammate hasn't made a move yet.
"She isn't hesitating." Kakashi speaks up calmly causing the genin of team seven, ten, and even Tenten and rock lee to look at him.
"She's biding her time." Might Guy speaks up drawing the genin's attention to him.
"Huh? What is she waiting for Sensei?" Rock lee questions confused by the words being spoken between the two Jonin.
"Before the exam, Kira would run through different strategies of possible outcomes in a mission. Be sure she is smart but when the time came everything she plans usually escapes her. She rushes into a fight expecting her skills to win it. No matter the damage she takes." Kakashi elaborates for the genin in front of him. "She's grown."
"But, that still doesn't explain what she is waiting for." Tenten questions trying to understand as she glances back to the fight seeing Kira now on a different spear.
"I get it. She's coming up with a plan." Sakura speaks her own thoughts allowed.
"Yes, let's watch and see what she comes up with." Kakashi smiles down at his team before they turn back around and watch as Kira's hands that usually reach for her favorite blades move to her tool pouch. Time seems to stand still as she calmly sifts through her things as if double-checking what she had thought of would work. "She's ready."
Leaping from the spear she was crouched upon just as another breaks through it Kira drops down to the floor. Using the stone spears that had previously broken through the ground to keep out of sight. What the others could see it was as if she was trying to keep out of her opponent's sight as she zigzags through the field of spears in no particular direction. Even seeming to backtrack but never once passing a spear twice. Causing her opponent to limp towards the field just to try and get a glimpse of the dark hair. "So now you're hiding?!" Amaya questions loudly in the now completely silent room.
Moments seemed to tick by as the Jonin on the landings waited, some even beginning to question the two that seemed so certain about the kunoichi's abilities. Even Might Guy was beginning to question himself as Amaya now stands in the center of the field looking around. Having lost sight of the second genin the moment Amaya began to step forward.
It was then a black streak comes into view. "There!" Sakura calls unnecessarily just before Kira came into view now standing on the peak of one of the spears. Her long black hair blowing around her from her sudden stop. Looking down at her opponent in silence a dark smirk upon her features. "Huh? She didn't do anything?"
Just as soon as those words left the other female member of team seven the entire building begins to shake as smoke and dust explodes from the floor below. The spears begin to crack and fall before being caught by something unseen. The onlookers raise their arms to block their eyes as a loud explosion bursts through the very field the fight had created. Shooting heat and debris at them so they are barely able to catch Kira leaping towards the floor just after the flames fade from sight.
"What?! What's happening?!" Naruto shouts as he clenches a hold of the railing in front of him and leans forward as if doing so would allow him to see. "I can't see a thing!"
"Wait a second. I think I see something!" Sakura calls as she spots a figure that seems to be kneeling inside of the smoke.
"Really?! Where?!" Naruto shouts trying to follow the direction Sakura was now pointing in.
