Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.
ZabuzasGirl: Yeah it was a really short flashback but there wasn't really much to write about for it. Reply continues at the bottom because of spoilers.
I can't wait to post the 26th chapter. It's a long one and it's all original stuff. I know I updated recently but I wanted to get this out there.
I don't particularly like the song below but I'm only using it for the lyrics.
I am spinning out
Kissing asphalt
It's all crashing down
I am spinning out
Kissing asphalt
I am pavement bound
-Kissing Asphalt – The Go-go's
"Alright Gaara, come down here!" The proctor called. Shikamaru and Naruto left the arena. Soon Gaara came down. The two faced each other.
…
Sakura and Gai turned at the sound of someone walking down the steps.
"Hello Gai." Kakashi said. "How are you feeling, Lee? Are you alright?"
"Kakashi." Gai said.
"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said.
"Oh right, sorry about that." He said to her. "You must've been worried. Sorry for not keeping in touch." Sakura faced forwards again.
"I don't mind. That's okay." She said. Rin looked over at the pink haired girl as she looked down at Sasuke with a frown. She lowered her head. "Listen, Sensei…"
"Hm?"
"You know that there was a mark on Sasuke's neck, right?" she asked. "Well, is it…?"
"It's nothing to worry about." Kakashi said. Sakura looked back at him while Ino looked between the two. "So, that's that." Sakura nodded before she looked back towards the arena. Kakashi looked around and counted eight ANBU. Rin glanced back at him. "Eight of them. Eight members of the ANBU black ops in an arena this size? That's nowhere near enough. What could lord Hokage be thinking?"
"Well, not knowing how the enemy's going to act the ANBU black ops have probably been dispersed and stationed around key parts of the village." Gai said. The crowd started to cheer.
"Huh?"
"It's starting." Gai said. "We can't afford to let our guard down. But for now at least need to watch this match." Rin looked back down at the arena. She saw Gaara look up towards her. Rin couldn't help herself and waved with a big smile. He and Sasuke walked towards the middle. The proctor raised his hand and looked between the two before dropping it and jumping back out of the way. Gaara's sand came out of the gourd and Sasuke jumped back. Gaara grabbed his forehead as if he suddenly had a headache. Rin frowned.
"Gaara?" she whispered with worry. The sand suddenly fell. Rin looked back at Baki but his eyes were on Gaara. When Rin looked back the sand was up again and Gaara had his arms crossed. Sasuke threw two shuriken but of course Gaara's sand blocked it. The sand then formed a clone who was holding them. Sasuke started running at him but the clone blasted sand at him. Sasuke jumped to avoid it as the clone threw the shuriken back. Sasuke threw more to deflect them. As he came down he went for a kick to the clone but the clone blocked it causing its arms to burst. Sasuke turned on his hands to get back up and went for a hit to the clone's throat. The sand soon formed around Sasuke's wrist but he hit the clone through the face and it dispersed. Sasuke went to punch the real Gaara as a sand shield came up. Suddenly Sasuke was gone and appeared behind Gaara like Lee had during their match. Sasuke landed the punch to Gaara's cheek which sent him flying and skidding across the ground. Gaara sat up and glared at Sasuke as the armor from his cheek cracked. Sasuke motioned for Gaara to attack but Gaara just glared at him. A moment later Sasuke started running at him. Gaara brought up his sand shield but Sasuke skid around him and landed a kick to his check. He went flying once more, his sand swirling around him to catch him and soften the landing. Gaara stood as Sasuke ran at him again. His sand circled him as Sasuke sprinted around him, so fast no one would tell where he was. Sasuke suddenly left the circle and kicked Gaara before grabbing him by his sash and kneeing him in the gut. Sakura hear a gasp and felt Rin flinch beside her. She looked to see the blue haired girl watching the match with wide eyes.
"His training, what did you two do?" Gai asked.
"Huh?"
"To get to such a level in a mere month."
"Sasuke has copied Lee's Taijutsu with his sharingan. Do during the taijutsu training I did with Saskue. I simply had him imagine Lee's movement and copy it. Sasuke mastered that Taijutsu only because he knew Lee. Of course, Sasuke had to work very hard to master it even with his sharingan." Gaara stood and put his hands together in a sign. His sand surrounded him and formed a sphere around him, slowly so his eyes were the last thing visable to Sasuke who had started running at him. Sasuke threw a punch but the sand had spiked out right before he hit, it had cut his cheek and leg and had hurt his knuckles when they hit the hardened sand. He jumped back and the spikes receded.
"The sand has covered his entire body." Lee said.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted as he and Shikamaru ran up behind them. They stopped at the top of the steps to catch their breath.
"Naruto." Lee said.
"Wha? What is it, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.
"Sensei, please! You just have to stop this match, right away!" Naruto said.
"What?"
"The guy Sasuke is fighting is completely different than the rest of us!" Rin turned to look back at him. "He's about as far from normal as you can get!"
"Naruto, slow down, what are you trying to say?" Ino asked.
"This guy's crazy! He kills just because! Don't you see!? If this continues, Sasuke will die! You've gotta believe me!" Naruto shouted. Rin stood.
"Gaara won't kill him!" Everyone looked at her. "He won't…" she shook her head.
"Relax. No need to panic." Kakashi said. Everyone looked at him. "You know, Sasuke and I weren't just goofing around. There's a reason we were so late getting here." Down in the arena sand swirled above the sphere and a sand eye appeared. Sasuke ran at the sphere and threw kunai, which bounced off, before running at the back. More spikes came out as he attempted a hit to the sphere and followed him when he backed away. He dodged them as they shot out at him then jumped off the top. Sasuke brought his arm up and unclipped the black band going around his arm.
"Sensei." Sakura said.
"Hm?"
"You said there was a good reason you late. What were you doing?"
"Hm, well it's kinda a long story."
"Oh come on, would you please do something!? This is no time for talking." Naruto said.
"You're right, so shut up and watch." Kakashi snapped. Everyone looked to him again. "Keep your eye on Sasuke he's about to surprise you." Rin turned to look at the match. Sasuke did a bunch of back flips before sliding back up the wall almost to the top. He did a bunch of hands signs before putting his hand against the wall. Lightning started to spark around his hands.
"But it can't be." Gai turned to Kakashi.
"If you wondered why I always insisted on training Sasuke myself, now you know." Kakashi said. "It's because he's like me." The lightning had made a dent in the wall and proceeded to do so wherever it went as Sasuke started running down the wall.
"A physical activation." Gai said. "I see; that's what you were doing all this time. You were building his speed up to the level required."
"Exactly." Kakashi said.
"It's amazing." Sakura said. "His chakra is actually visible. How is that even possible?" Sasuke reached the ground and continued running towards the sphere.
"Whoa, I've never seen him do that before." Naruto said.
"That bazaar noise, what sort of technique is it?" Sakura asked.
"It's a jab." Gai said.
"A what?"
"But this jab is a jab like no other. It's the only weapon in Kakashi's arsenal he didn't copy from someone else. It's the weapon on choice for assassinations." Rin's eyes widened and she turned back to watch. "The secret of the jab is the speed in which it is delivered and a ninja's ability to focus its chakra at the point of impact. Once these two elements, speed and focus, have obtained a certain level the chakra actually becomes visible and gives off the distinctive sound that you hear, like birds chirping." As Sasuke came close to the sphere sand spikes came out but he managed to dodge them. "It is this sound that gives the technique its name. Chidori: one thousand birds!" Sasuke's hit landed. Everyone gasped and watched in shock as Sasuke's fist went into the sphere. "Also known as lightning blade."
"Why's that?" Sakura asked.
"It got that name, because Kakashi once used it to cut a bolt of lightning in half before it could touch the ground." Gai said. "But whether called thousand birds or lightning blade, it's a technique on unimaginable power. Requiring almost inhuman levels of speed and chakra. But once perfected it transforms a ninja's arm into an indestructible and invincible sword. A dangerous technique not to be taught lightly."
"Yeah, you're one to talk." Kakashi said. He crouched and cupped his hand by his mouth. "Right Lee?"
"Well, whatever, I don't understand a word of it." Sakura said. "All I know is it looks awesome!" Everyone looked back to the match. Suddenly Gaara screamed and Rin felt her heart stop.
"BLOOD! IT'S MY BLOOD!"
"Gaara!" Rin shouted. She moved past the others and ran down to the bottom of the steps and gripped the railing. "Gaara!" Sasuke tried to pull his arm out but it was stuck. He tried using chakra and it was visible for a moment before he finally pulled his arm free but with something else attached. He fell back onto the ground.
"What's that?" Gai stared in shock along with the others. It looked like an arm with claws at the end. Sasuke moved back and held his arm in pain. The arm receded back into the sphere. Everything was quiet until suddenly a screech sounded which shook the whole arena. The sphere started to crack before the sand became soft and fell around Gaara finally making him visible. He was breathing heavy and holding an arm to his shoulder where blood seeped through his fingers.
"Gaara!" Rin called when she saw the blood. Gaara's head popped up when he heard her and their eyes met. Suddenly Rin's eyes widened in shock and her body jolted as Gaara's eyes slowly grew wider. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing.
"Rin?..." His voice came out just above a whisper. Rin coughed up blood as the katana that had run her through was pulled out just as quickly as it had gone in. "NOOO! RIIIIN!" Gaara's blood curdling scream rang out as her body fell back and out of sight. His scream was so loud it wasn't even drowned out by the explosion that happened above the center stadium where the kazes were.
"Release." Rin felt groggy and groaned as she blinked her eyes open. "Hey." her vision slowly focused.
"Huh? Who…?" Shino sighed as Rin blinked. "You're…?"
"Shino Aburame." He reminded her.
"Right." Rin slowly sat up. "What happened?"
"A genjutsu. You fell back and hit your head too." Rin looked around and saw everyone else asleep.
"Huh? Where's Gaara? What's happening?"
"Your village is attacking the leaf."
"W-what?" Rin's eyes widened. Shino leaned a bit closer to her.
"You know nothing about this…" Rin couldn't tell if it was a question or a statement but answered anyways.
"No, I-I didn't know- "
Just… stay with Baki, okay?
"They…" Rin gasped. "Where did Gaara and the others go?" Rin stood. "Wait.. where is Sakura? A-And Naruto and Shikamaru. They're gone too." Rin turned and looked down into the arena. "And Sasuke?"
"They left to stop your friends." Shino said as he stood. "Even if you hurry I doubt you'll catch up to them." Rin turned to look at him. "But if you stay here you'll likely be arrested."
"I can catch up." Rin said. She made a bunch of hand signs then bit her thumb and pressed it to the ground. Shino moved back as the area began to glow. Rin stood as a large sand coloured cat appeared. She climbed onto its back and looked back at Shino. "We can catch up. Ai." The black cat jumped on behind her. "Thanks for waking me up." Shino nodded. "And… I'm sor-"
"The more time you waste here the farther away they become." Shino said. Rin nodded.
"Right. Rei!" she said to the feline who then leaped from the stands.
"Shikamaru!"
"Huh? Rin- Whoa!" Shikamaru blinked at the large cat that landed in front of where he sat. He looked up at Rin.
"Shikamaru, where-?" Rin was cut off as Rei ducked down so Rin wouldn't be hit by a kunai. Rin put her hands over her head. "I'm not attacking! I'm not attacking!" she squeaked. Asuma watched her suspiciously as she cowered on the large cat. "I'm just trying to find Gaara. I had no idea any of this was going to happen." Rin lifted her head and looked down at Shikamaru. "You have to believe me."
"I trust her." Shikamaru said to Asuma. "She's too nice to go along with something like this. She made everyone cupcakes for crying out loud." Rin smiled slightly in relief.
"We can't let you go though." Asuma said. Rin's eyes widened.
"Please, I have to know Gaara's alright. He's never been hurt before. Please?" Rin looked from Shikamaru to Asuma.
"And if there's a fight between one of the leaf ninja and your friends?" Asuma asked.
"I'm more of a medic than a fighter." Rin said.
"How'd you ever pass your genin exam?" Shikamaru said with a frown.
"To be honest… I think the Kazekage made them pass me." Rin admitted. "I'm not saying I can't fight but not well enough to beat any of you guys."
"Why do you say he made them pass you?" Shikamaru said.
"Because of Gaara. I'm not stupid. I know the only reason I was allowed to come here with them was because of Gaara. He's… calmer around me; he's happier. He used to be so…" Rin looked down. "If I hadn't passed my exam, Gaara and I would've been more separated."
"So take you away and he loses control?" Shikamaru asked.
"W-Well… he's never lost control. Not really."
"Right before everyone was affected by the genjutsu he was shouting your name." Asuma said.
"Shouting? The guy was screaming." Shikamaru said. Rin blinked.
"He did? The last thing I remember is the sand sphere breaking." She said. Shikamaru nodded.
"Then you passed out and then he started screaming as if … something had happened to you." Shikamaru said with a small frown.
"If they know how much she means to him they could've used another genjutsu." Asuma said.
"For what?" Rin asked as she looked between the two.
"For Gaara. I think he saw something happen to you after you'd passed out."
"Please, that's even more of a reason to let me go find him! I promise I won't fight anyone o-or hurt anyone. Here," Rin reached behind her and picked up Ai. "If I leave Ai here, I'll come back for him after I make sure Gaara is okay."
"I've had enough with animals for one day." Shikamaru muttered. He could've sworn Ai started glaring at him.
"You'd better get going." Asuma said. Rin's face lit up and she put Ai down.
"Thank you so much. Oh, Shikamaru, here." Rin reached into her pouch before she tossed Shikamaru a small first aid kit. He caught it and looked up at her. "I know it's not much but I only have two." Shikamaru blinked.
"Um, thanks."
"Be good, Ai." Rin said before she took off on Rei. Ai walked up to Shikamaru and sat in front of him. Shikamaru frowned as the cat simply stared at him.
"Shoo…"
So while Rin was unconscious is when everything else happened. I couldn't find a way to change things in the right way and I was too lazy to try. And if you're asking how Shino could be there to wake Rin up but also get to Sasuke and Kankurō before her…. Don't. I have no way to answer that because it's probably not possible but I needed it to be for this to work. Or maybe it could've been a clone that woke her, idk. I needed someone to wake her up who knew about the genjutsu but it couldn't be anyone else.
Next one is kinda short but that's cause I had to take it off of this one otherwise this one would've been over 4,000 words.