I. AM. SO. SORRY. As I said, updating has become so hard it's petrifying. I had a history test worth 70 of my year grade and guess how many questions it was? Three. Yep, only three. That means it was harder than frickin LIFE, so I had to study for it all week. Anyway, I make it up with this sort of longer than usual chappie, I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 14
Unsettled Business
They opened their eyes to see Gaara standing in front of them. By the look of his staggering posture, torn up clothes and bloodied skin, they could tell right away what happened. He had taken the entire hit for them.
"G-g-gaara!" Ino yelled as she and the rest of the teens ran over to Gaara. He dropped on his knees and slowly began to fall over. They caught him. His face was twitching in pain.
Hinata looked over Naruto's shoulder at the damage. My goodness…he thought. To think he endured all that pain…for us.
Gaara was not yet dead. He could still stutter, but his words were filled with pain. The sand around him suddenly dropped to the floor at once, loosing its life as if it too had taken a hard hit.
"It's ok all of you…" He grunted before clutching a wound in his side. "You need to go on. This is the only way to fulfill the prophecy. The right prophecy."
Ino looked down at him. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Survivors…don't…she couldn't take it. Aw, screw it. She let the tears roll. They streaked her blotched face.
"Aw, I knew I would be there to see the day you would finally break." Ino spun around to face Rin. Her sorrow had turned into pure hatred and anger.
"Get…out…of…my…face." She blasted Rin with all the power she could, to the other side of the room. Though she knew Rin was long from being defeated, she at least took her anger out and bought some time while Rin was lying there in pain. She turned her attention back to Gaara.
"You guys…you have to use this." He used his final strength to reach into his pocket and pull something out. It was a small gemstone, which had green, blue, white and red colors swirling to the middle. It confused them a small bit. He put it in Tenten's hand. "Use…it." He grunted.
"But how?" Hinata asked softly.
"The fellowship will know. Just please…use it quickly. We only have so much time left." At this, they jumped back a little.
"Time?" Shikamaru asked. "Since when were we given a time limit for this?" Gaara mentally slapped himself for not having told them before. He pointed at the gargoyles, which had been looking more and more living from the moment they looked at them.
"Those," he said. "When they reach their full life…you will know evil has prevailed. Those creatures haven't existed for the last century, and they are capable of destroying you." They looked at the gargoyle. All looked almost living except for the head, but they could see it rising ever so gradually. They were alarmed. He was right…they only had a little time left. They had to use it promptly. "So please, go on and use it. You will know what to do once it's activated." They all looked at Gaara again, their mouths open, having so many questions, yet seemingly not being able to bring themselves to ask them. "And don't feel sorrow for my death…" Gaara began, his voice fading. "After all…it's in your prophecy. Good luck my eternal friends." With those being his last words, Gaara fell lifeless. They all looked down.
Even though a loss is made,
They then discover a fact.
"We have to do it now guys. To avenge Gaara…to save everyone," said Neji, looking at the ground as he recharged his mark power. They all nodded in agreement. They would succeed. They mentally vowed to it.
"Oh, I'm afraid that's not in our prophecy dears!" They turned around and were all blown back by a strong force. Rin and Kiroku, still in their demon forms, were standing before them. They looked at the gargoyles. The life was now in the middle of their chins. They had to get some time. Rin lifted her index finger in attempt to lift them off their feet. However, it would not work. Her face turned mystified, as she continued to gesture her finger up. However much she tried, it would not work.
"Wha-" She was caught off guard by the punch of Neji that was follow by many rocks. Tenten helped him by ramming Rin out from under her feet. This move had her falling flat on her face.
Naruto and Hinata slammed a heavy wall of water at Kiroku, blowing him down. The ground he was blown into was dented in.
Neji and Tenten then summoned many rocks, piling them up. This blocked off Kiroku and Rin's path, giving them time to activate the gem Gaara gave them. They ran to the fellowship.
"He said you could lend us a hand." Shikamaru opened his hand that had the gem in it. When the fellowship saw it, they grinned.
"Excellent. We have it. It's all going to go uphill from here, my friends!" Kiba happily snatched the stone as he set it on the ground carefully. Sakura glanced at the gargoyles, which had now had life up to their mouths. We need to do this fast. The fellowship made their circle again. Only this time, they were reciting the prophecy…backwards. The stone began to rotate and grow, getting faster and faster. What did this mean?
"Your superiors won't save you. Your friends sure as hell won't save you. The only thing that can save you is…"
"And let the figures of our past grant us service!" They said together. The gem gave off a blinding light as they all shielded their eyes. When they could just barely see, they could see eight glowing figures.
"So these kids here are…them?" One asked, stepping forward. He looked almost exactly like Neji, only much taller and more toned. His hair was in a more secure ponytail. His voice was as smooth as ever though.
"Obviously…if we are here." Another said as they stepped forth. This one was feminine, and resembled Sakura only with longer, less shiny hair. She was medium height. The rest of them stepped out of the light. The teens could now process who they were.
"Are you…" Tenten stuttered in question.
"Our past selves?" Ino finished for her. The figures, who all resembled their reincarnates, nodded as their bright outlines glowed.
"Though you can probably tell already, let us introduce ourselves properly." One who resembled Tenten said. "I am Tensha." She looked very strong, which supported her element.
"I am Inoa," another, resembling Ino said as she bowed. "Reincarnate of this young lady." She gestured toward Ino. Inoa had wings of flames, giving her a dangerous and feisty air.
"Sakaria," Another, who had pearly white wings said as she gave a small curtsy. "Pleasure."
"And I am Hinalia," said the last feminine one who had a flowing blue robe and a vibrant hue aura. The girls nodded back, still in awe of their past selves. The guys looked at their previous selves.
"Sasuraku right?" Sasuke growled at his counterpart who had a headband and airy clothes.
"Yep." He answered simply back, saying nothing more. Yeah, this guy was just like Sasuke.
"Shikaru," The Shika counterpart said as he held a hand out to Shikamaru. He was medium height, very ripped, and spoke with a more raspy voice than Shikamaru. Shikamaru gladly took the hand and shook it.
"The name's Nejero." Neji's old self gave him a nod. Neji gave a slight nod back, but no great show of emotion.
"Ah, and who's this fine man right here?" A tall spiky blond nudged Naruto who beamed. "Narutaku! Nice to meet ya!" He patted Naruto on the shoulder in a fun manner.
"Nice to meet you too! Or me…or…uh…" Naruto looked at the sky, looking for words. Narutaku laughed and patted his shoulder again.
"Don't hurt yourself, buddy!" He laughed as Naruto smiled again.
"It's great that we're all acquainted and everything, but in case no one has noticed, we only have about seven minutes left!" Ino said, pointing to the gargoyles. They all followed the direction of her finger to see that the life level had rise to the noses. They choked up a bit.
"Not to worry…" Shikaru said maliciously, passing a fireball back and forth in his hands. "This will be fun." Inoa nodded and winked. The saviors took to their reincarnates and whispered a plan in each of their ears. When they were done they all nodded.
"You guys hide behind this," Tensha said to the fellowship as she created a rock wall. "It's very durable, so your safety is insured. I only apologize that your past selves could not come." Kiba sighed.
"Don't mention it. I think we like it better this way." He said in an I-just-want-this-frickin-day-to-be-over way as they walked behind the rock. Tensha laughed at their flippant attitudes before Nejero called everyone to a silence.
"Let's go." Nejero said as they all charged around the rock mountain courtesy of Tenten and Neji, and got in their positions. Once they got there, they came to find an even more dangerous sight that made them take a few steps back. Rin and Kiroku had taller, more muscular and dark versions of themselves standing behind them. They all knew right away that they had the same plan as them.
"Ah, Rinua and Kirokoa," Sakaria said, stroking her chin. "Funny seeing you two around here." The figures who apparently were Rinua and Kirokoa stood with their arms crossed.
"It's simply been too long my…friends." Rinua said to the saviors as they all stood surrounding them.
"I couldn't agree more," said Hinalia. "In fact, we've waited nearly 150 years for this day. Now we can finally pay you back." She darkened her gaze at Rinua who laughed at her.
"I do see it has certainly taken you 150 years to find your boldness, Hinalia." She chuckled. "But I'm afraid not even with the help of your reincarnates will you be able to over throw us." Hinalia chuckled at this, making Rinua irritated.
"Go on then." The voice of Kirokoa said smoothly and dangerously. "Show us what you've got. I'm sure it's been a sufficient amount of time." Inoa swiped another glance at the gargoyles. The life level was reaching ever higher. She knew right then that Rinua and Kirokoa were haggling the time, and they would have to put their plan into action quickly. She gave a look to Nejero, who nodded back.
Nejero reached into his sash belt and slowly pulled out a sharp sparkly rock, unlike anything Neji had seen before. While Rinua and Kirokoa were still giving their it's-been-too-long speeches, he threw it at them close enough to whiz by their faces, but not kill them. Their words were cut off and their faces turned from utter surprise into murderous glares. This was a sure sign that they were ready.
"Let the fight begin." After saying this, Kirokoa dashed to one side while Rinua dashed to the other. Rin and Kiroku began to fight the teens head on.
"You guys take these amateurs…" Narutaku said to the teens as he traced the agile movements of his past enemies. "I'm afraid to say that those two are out of your league."
"Right." Sasuke nodded, as he began to sweep up some dirt from the harsh wind he was gradually beginning to create. With a final nod, the saviors darted after Kirokoa and Rinua.
"It's unfortunate…I was looking forward to diminishing those oafs along with you brats…" Rin said in a feigned sad tone, giving a mock sniffle. "But I guess we'll just have to take you out first." She began to charge her power balls before flinging them forcefully at the teens. Fortunately for them, they were well equipped with defenses and attacks.
"Tenten!" Neji called to Tenten. She looked at him. "Give me your hand!" confused, Tenten obeyed. Neji took out a kunai and pricked her palm, a bead of blood dribbling down from it.
"Ow! What are you-" Neji then pricked his own palm, then pressed it into hers. Tenten looked even more surprised. Uh…blood brother? After she felt a surge of power move through her, she knew right away that that was not Neji's intent. They were charging each other's powers…even greater than the fellowship had. She looked at her palm, which began to radiate with power. She then grinned. She knew automatically what to do next.
She and Neji faced towards the wall behind Rin and Kiroku, who were then dodging Shikamaru and Ino's fireballs, and held their hands out at it. With a strong rush of power, they blew it out from behind the Rin and Kiroku and the two got thrust forward to the ground. They had shards of rock from the wall stuck in their backs, as blood slowly began to bleed through their dark robes. Rin shakily supported herself up.
"Now…" She pulled a rock out from her arm as Kiroku began to stand. "I am really angry." She ran at Neji and Tenten. Neji wrapped his arms around Tenten for protection, making Tenten blush and forget about the danger for a split second. He's so sweet when he's not being a stiff…
Neji's protection wasn't needed however, when all of a sudden Rin and Kiroku were swept up into a water cyclone created by the combined powers of Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto.
"Wow, you're better at this than I am!" Naruto did his infamous smile to Hinata, who blushed.
"Thank you Naruto." She answered as they continued to help move the water with the wind. She looked at the gargoyles too. The level was now at the top of their noses. Luckily, those ugly things had pretty big heads.
Sasuke and Sakura were the lead controllers of the twister, so their physical ability was much more significant. It took much of their energy to create such a huge whirlwind, but their anger of Gaara's death only fed to their power.
"By the way, Sakura?" Sasuke grunted, as it was becoming increasingly more difficult to support the power of the twister.
"Yes, Sasuke?" Sakura said back with just as much difficulty in her voice.
"I'm sorry for being rude to you in math…urgh…and interrogating you." He apologized. Sakura's face turned to surprise. She had known enough of his personality to know that an apology from him was quite rare. Better late than never. "I just wanted to…agh…tell you…"
"Sasuke, look out!" Sakura cut him off. He shifted his attention towards the power ball falling in his direction and just barely dodged it. He looked up at the heated battle taking place above them between the figures of their past.
"Ooh…" Sasuraku tutted at his enemies, looking down at the nearly fried Sasuke. "Looks like you nearly hit my reincarnate. We have punishments for that." With much stronger a force than Sasuke and Sakura could produce, he blew a spiral wind at Rinua and Kirokoa. They spun for a bit, but were not effected.
"Silly man," Rinua said as she charged up again. "You're going to have to do better than that…" The long time opponents lunged at each other again, the battle once again beginning.
Down below, the winds had ceased and Rin and Kiroku were knocked almost senseless in dizzy confusion, not being able to stand on their feet. They were hobbling around, seemingly unable to harness their power up. The teens used this to their advantage.
Ino ran towards them, her fists filled with fire. She was read to take them both out in one swift blow. However, only feet away from them, they poised up and hit her stomach very hard, causing her to choke up blood. They grinned in satisfaction, as they looked down at the coughing Ino, now standing with posture and no hint of dizziness. Ino's friends watched this in fear and confusion. What had just happened?
"Do you honestly think that we would falter at the face of a stupid little tornado?" laughed Kiroku as he snatched Ino up by her collar. "You kids have become so vulnerable." He took out a dagger and to Shikamaru's great fear, stabbed it into Ino's…arm. Believe it or not, arm. Ino was bewildered, but didn't attempt pondering this in her pain. Kiroku left the dagger deep within her arm and dropped her to the floor. Shikamaru ran to her, along with the rest of her friends.
"Of course we have decided not kill you just yet…" Kiroku looked at the gargoyle, whose lifeline now was at the bottom eyelids. "With the help of ourselves, we have plans for that. But that won't stop us from causing you great…pain." As he said this, he blew the others off their feet and flat on the ground. Shikamaru didn't budge though.
"Ah, still stubborn Nara." Kiroku laughed. "Tell you what, I will let you have a little moment with your true love before we take your souls. How about it?" Shika ignored him and looked down at Ino. Her wound was incredibly deep, and there was a chance of either severe blood loss, many veins or arteries severed, or both. Either way, he didn't want to let it happen.
Ino was squinting in pain. Now that she had already let her tears loose that day, she had no problem with letting them flow again. Shikamaru took her hand in his and squeezed it.
"It'll be ok Ino…" he said quietly, reaching into his pocket. He tore off a strip of his shirt and pulled a liquid out of his pocket. He put some liquid on the fabric. "Ok…this is going to sting just a little. But trust me, you will feel better." He gently dabbed at the wound.
Ino took a sharp breath in as this happened. It did sting. But just as fast as the pain came, it stopped. She looked at her arm. The wound began to seal up to her surprise. She was stunned at she watched the cuts retract and her blood fade away.
"Shikamaru!" She said to Shikamaru who was grinning back at her passionately. "I…it's just…"
"Your welcome." He cut her off. He smiled and gave her a quick peck on her lips. They both smiled.
"Ok…moment is now done!" Kiroku took a slash at them, but Shikamaru rolled both himself and Ino out of the way into safety. They got to their feet and joined the rest of their friends. They were now all face to face with their enemies, as if in a staring contest.
"I have a thought," Neji began quietly only to his friends.
"Hey, I'm pretty open to anything right about now," Naruto said through his teeth.
"I don't know if it will work, but it's worth a try. Since we can already charge and combine energy with our other element…perhaps all of us could combine our elements into one." Neji looked at them all for consent.
"Like one giant death force." Tenten said maliciously.
"Exactly." Neji began to smile too.
"I think that will work," said Sakura after mulling the idea over in her head.
"Yes, let's try it." Hinata said, happy that they had a plan. They looked at the Rin and Kiroku, who then also looked like they were forming a plan, then to the gargoyles. They still had enough time.
Tenten was well equipped. She took out Neji's kunai. "Ok guys, we all need to prick out palms with this ok? Just make sure you don't puncture a vein." They all nodded. Tenten pricked her palm and passed it around. Everyone followed suit. Once they were all pricked, they formed a quick circle and pressed their hands together. They closed their eyes, and could feel their energies flowing through one another. They could almost feel the water, earth, fire and wind flowing through their souls and through their hands.
In the center of the circle, something began to formulate. It was an orb with rocks, fire, wind and water revolving around it. It grew and grew until it reached a sufficiently deadly size. The teens all exchanged a look that said, perfect.
They looked at Rin and Kiroku, who had certainly not failed to notice this. The orb turned in the same direction, seeming to obey their mental directions. They shared another look and grinned. They all rose their hands in the air, the deadly orb rising too. Rin and Kiroku knew there was no way they could get out of this. The kids all then thrust their hands in the direction of their enemies.
"We've been wanted to do this for a long time." Ino said.
"Longer than you will ever know." Sakura finished. With that, the ball shot directly at the two. The kids covered their eyes as a large light emitted from the impact, and when they opened them, all was left was, well, nothing. Just some smoke rising up from two scorched marks on the ground. The teens were satisfied.
"It's about time," sighed Hinata, breaking the silence. They all smiled. They were glad they had half of their problems out of their system. Now they could finally put their main plan to action.
Before they could think, they saw the saviors, Rinua and Kirokoa now on the ground instead of the air. Rinua was shaking in anger.
"It seems as though we have underestimated these kids." She said under breath to Kirokoa who was just as angry.
"It seems you have." They swung their head around, and then were immediately bashed into the ground by Shikaru. The rest of the saviors put their hands on their hips as Rinua and Kirokoa stumbled to their feet, embarrassed of having not noticed Shikaru right behind them.
"In case you have forgotten, it remains that we have some unsettled business." Narutaku rolled his head, cracking his neck as he did so.
"And we are going to settle it right now." Nejero finished. With that, they all took to their positions. Hopefully, if this pulled through, it would be settled.
TADA. I hope you liked the chappie, I'm so so so so so so so so so so (so x100000) sorry that it wasn't my best, but we can all take comfort in the fact that Rin and Kiroku are dead! It's about time I killed them off. They were getting in the way. Also, I know I overuse the word "teens" too much, but I can't really find any other way to describe them so I stuck to that word. Again, so sorry if you weren't fond of this chapter, but I still hope some of you liked it! R and R please, thanks a bunch!
