AN: Alright, I wanna thank all of you guys for keeping my dog in your thoughts. He's fine now and he'll be with my family for the rest of his long life hopefully! Anyway, sorry this chapter is really late. I was hoping to get it finished and up on Sunday, but something got in the way. I came down with a horrible 24 hour bug, so I couldn't do anything with the story. But now, I'm obviously better. Haha. Hopefully I'm not going to be sick like I was this past year, so nothing comes up that keeps me from updating, other than writer's block ..
Anyway, the song I was listening to for this song was Hall of the Mountain King by Apocolyptica. Funny story about this song. When my dad was teaching my sister and I to parallel park, and he had me get in the front seat for my first try, guess what song came on! Yep. So when you listen to the song, not only think about the fight, but imagine me getting into the driver's seat of a car. And btw, I can't drive worth crap, that's what made it so funny. . You can imagine how hard I was laughing at the irony of the entire situation.
I also want to say, after reading my first flame, yes my first in this story, and I'm probably really late in saying this, if anyone intends to flame this story, please put some heart into it. The one I got was just pitiful that I couldn't even consider it a flame. I was discussing with my sis today what we could dub the pitiful excuse of a flame, and agree that it could either be called a vanilla scented candle, or a spark. You guys tell me which you prefer!
Oh, and the update you saw, wasn't an update. My sister was going back through the story, and found some discrepancies that I wanted to fix. That's what it was. .
And to Thomas Drovin, My first dog died when he was 15. The one I have now is only 9, though. So, it still feels like he's really young. And to tell the truth, my dog Piper is to me what Naruto was to Gaara really. He helped me through my toughest times. On another note, Rox is afraid of vomit period. You wanna hear that best one? Fred is afraid of feet. Haha. She's fine as long as they're covered up. ^.^ Anyway, we'll get to it. But we need to finish the tournament first! And Thanks! I hope you had a great Easter too!!!
And to Me and Gaara 4eva, I'm glad to see the inside joke common among my friends is liked so much. ^.^ And yes, you did see the chapter earlier. I was just fixing some things.
And to Gaaras1Girl, Haha. I showed my mom and my sister you're review again, and she could not stop laughing. Believe it or not, my sister did do that to me. It took my mom and hour to calm my sister down, while I was behind the car tossing my toys and cookies. My sister made it pretty clear that she was not going home with me in the car, so my mom call a family friend to pick my sis up while I rode with my mom, my head hanging out the window. . That had to be one of the worst nights of my life! We didn't get home until 9 or 10 o'clock at night because of that. Thank god she's a little better about it now, otherwise Monday and Sunday, I would have been SOL.
And to Azura Soul Reaver, Well, let's find out! ^.^
And to princessSiyaka, Here here! I could not agree more!
And we have newbie fave-ers/alerters! NarutardKerry, lostcb, LoboFanGirl, Wolfstar-Wolfy-Hollyleaf, and blackangelrose. Thank you guys, and welcome to the family!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters etc. You know the drill. Oh, and Kirigi, Saito, belong to Thomas Drovin, which I'm very grateful he's letting me use. Although, I did take some creative liberties with Saito, Thomas. Thanks a bunch!!!
Chapter Twelve: Wind vs Fire
It didn't take them long to clean up the arena. As soon as they were done, the announcer called down Rox and Cordi, switching places with them by launching himself into the waiting room. Rox and Cordi stood opposite each other, neither looking at the other. "Begin!" the announcer bellowed.
Neither sister moved. The last round had woken them up in this tournament that it would be very easy to kill one of their friends, and that was the last thing they wanted. They stood there like that, not looking at each other for several minutes. Then several people in the crowd began to yell down to them, "HEY! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU TWO!?!?! BOOOOO!!!! WHERE'S THE FIGHT!?!?!?"
Cordi thought quickly. They had to fight, because it was useless waiting for the other to give up for no reason. Both of the sisters were stubborn, but Rox was a little more stubborn, but that didn't mean Cordi would just give up. Then an idea occurred in head, remembering all of their fights in their childhood, and a smile escaped her lips, which she quickly snuffed out. She looked up to see her sister staring at the ground, trying to find some way to end this peacefully.
"ROX!!!" Cordi snapped, her face serious. "WHAT THE HELL'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!?!?!" Rox shot her a confused expression, not really understanding Cordi's question. "WHY ARE YOU SO PISSED OFF AT ME!? HUH!?!?!"
"I-I'm not pissed off at you," Rox stammered, still very confused.
"Yeah, you are!" Cordi snapped back. "You only look at me like that when I've done something wrong in your eyes!" she added, waving her hands in the air.
"I'm not pissed off at you," Rox stated, glaring at her sister.
"Quit lying!" Cordi demanded, pointing an accusing finger at her sister. "You most definitely are pissed off! What wrong!? Do you just not want to tell me!?"
"I SAID I'm NOT … PISSED … OFF!!!!!" Rox yelled at Cordi, slowly getting louder.
In the Kage box, Naruto watched on very confused. He leaned over to Gaara and asked, "What the hell is Cordi doing?" Gaara just shrugged, arms folded and still watching the dispute. "I mean, Rox obviously wasn't pissed off. Soooo …."
"Quit LYING! Yes you are!" Cordi yelled, unknowingly cutting of the Hokage.
"… It makes no sense," Naruto reasoned. Gaara still just shrugged watching the dispute unfold.
"SHUT UP!!! I TOLD YOU!!! I'M NOT PISSED OFF!!!!!" Rox yelled, reaching for the first thing she could find, a kunai, and throwing it at her sister. Her face was red, and her eyes filled with rage. She was huffing angrily.
Cordi dodged the knife, keeping her eyes on her sister. So far, her plan was working. "There you go, throwing shit at me again!" Cordi yelled once she was on her feet again. "And you only do that when you're mad at someone or something."
Rox saw red. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" she yelled in frustration, before jumping into the air, fist ready to pound the living daylights out of Cordi. It was a fierce battle-cry. "I TOLD YOU I'M NOT PISSED OFF!!!!!!!!" With that, Rox took a swing at Cordi.
Cordi caught her sister's fist, and laughed, "I beg to differ." When Rox was angry, she didn't like anyone laughing, not even chuckling. Rox let out another battle-cry, punching he sister squarely in the jaw, knocking Cordi back a couple paces. Rox jumped back, freeing herself from her sister's grasp. She then swung her right arm around, creating a huge gust of wind which blew its way to Cordi, making her fall over. Alright, now it's like any other fight with Rox, just with elements this time, Cordi thought, pulling herself up. She swung her leg around, a jet of flame coming out of the bottom of her foot. Rox quickly dispelled it with a gust of wind, as if she were blowing out a candle. She grabbed Cordi's ankle, and swung her around, making Cordi loose her balance. Cordi was quick to gain it back, jumping at her sister with a flamed fist in the air. Rox caught it with her own fist, wind circling dangerously around it. It exploded, blowing both of them back. They launched at each other again, trying the same thing, the fire and wind exploding again in their faces.
As they landed at opposite sides of the arena, Rox decided to end it. She spun around several times, gaining speed with each spin, until she was going so fast, a tornado whipped up around her. With her hands, she directed it away from her toward her sister. Cordi didn't have time to dodge the massive tornado, and got sucked in. She found a root to hold onto, to keep close to the ground. Her hair flew around her as her lungs were slowly robbed of air, suffocating her as the tornado shrank, focusing around her. As a last ditch effort, Cordi flung up an arm, charging it with electricity, and firing it off into the stadium. The bolt hit Rox, causing her to stop breathing and her heart to stop beating. She fell to the ground, the tornado evaporating along with her. Cordi looked up astonished and looked around for Rox. She saw her sister on the ground twitch, bolts of electricity popping off her.
"Rox!" Cordi yelled, running over to her. She placed a hand over Rox's chest, pulling the electricity out of her sister's body. Rox's eyes were wide and lifeless. She still didn't move. "No. No no no no."
"Call the match," she heard Lynne order the announcer. At first he didn't say anything, until a loud thump was heard. Apparently Lynne punched him.
"The winner is Cordelia Turner," He called out.
Lynne barely let him get that out before yelling down to Cordi, "Use the electricity you have like those paddles!" Cordi looked up to Lynne in the waiting room, eyes wide and barely breathing. She just killed her sister. "You know! CLEAR!!!" Lynne reminded. Cordi nodded quickly, still not breathing. She placed her hand over her sister's heart, shooting some electricity in. It made Rox's body jump but nothing yet. "Come on, come on," Cordi muttered helplessly. She flicked her hand, hoping to clear her electricity of her nerves a bit. She placed her hand on Rox's chest again, and gave her another bolt. Rox let out a cough, telling Cordi that she was alright. Cordi broke out into a grin, tackling her sister with joy. "You're alright," Cordi said, tears starting to fall from her eyes.
"Cordi," Rox coughed, "air…." Cordi let go of her sister, letting her breathe. Sakura had jumped down, and run over them.
"Move, I need to check her vitals," she stated, shoving Cordi out of the way. Cordi quickly wiped her eyes, tears flowing freely from them. Gaara and Naruto had jumped down too. Naruto stood behind Sakura, watching her check Rox. Gaara placed a comforting hand on Cordi's shoulder.
"You did well," Gaara stated, patting and rubbing her back smoothly.
"I almost killed my sister," she murmured to herself, bringing a hand to her head as if to sort her thoughts physically.
"She's alright," Sakura called out, putting her hands in her lap. Rox slowly sat up again, looking at her sister.
"If it wasn't for you," Gaara reminded, "she wouldn't be alive right now." Cordi nodded. She couldn't really argue with that. Rox crawled over to Cordi and gave her a hug, knowing that's what she needed most: a hug from her sister who was still alive.
A thud sounded as Shikamaru finally landed in the ring, his foot-steps tapping against the ground as he ran toward the group. He placed a hand on Rox's shoulder as he knelt down to her level, turning her toward him. "Are you alright?" he asked her, obviously worried sick. She gave him a small nod, hugging him too to calm him down. He embraced her too, turning his head to kiss her on the cheek. He moved his hands up her neck into her hair, rubbing her neck gently. "Don't ever do that again," he sighed, laying his forehead against hers, before lightly kissing her on the lips. She gave him a light kiss back, forgetting everyone crowding around them for a bit.
"I won't, I promise," she laughed, pulling away for a bit before kissing him lightly again. Cordi beamed at her sister and Shikamaru. Lynne was also grinning at the couple. Cordi and Lynne had heard they were dating, but neither of them had really seen them together. Rox was normally too shy to date, so this little scene made them grin like it was Christmas. Although, now that Rox was declared fine, no one was paying much attention to her and Shikamaru holding onto each other, other than her friends.
"Cordelia," the announcer barked, bringing Cordi and Lynne back to the tournament scene. "You won," he reminded the dirty-blonde, not liking the fact that he had to repeat himself. Cordi just blinked at him, as if to say, "Yeah, your point?"
Gaara let out a slow sigh before stating, "It's time for the awards ceremony." Rox had pulled away from Shikamaru to listen in, a little confused by what Gaara said.
"There's an awards ceremony?" Cordi, Rox, and Lynne asked, all looking at the Kazekage with their brows furrowed in utter perplexity.
Naruto stepped forward, giving them a huge nod along with a bright grin. "With a trophy and everything," he smiled, arms crossed, still nodding his head for emphasis.
"Seriously?" Cordi asked, gawking at them. For some odd reason, she couldn't see ninjas winning medals over fights. She always thought that the main prize was graduating to the next level. Everyone nodded, Naruto being the most expressive with his nod.
"Only the top two places," Sakura clarified. Rox and Cordi just looked at her, before standing up simultaneously.
"Alright, let's get this over with," Rox sighed, lightly brushing off the dust and dirt on her pants. Cordi nodded in agreement. Both of them looked over toward the announcer, waiting for him to lead the way. He frowned a little before walking toward the center of the arena, avoiding the huge crater Cordi had created in her fight with Fred. Shikamaru, Sakura, and Lynne backed off to the sidelines, so as not to get in the way of the ceremony. Gaara and Naruto silently put their hats back on their heads, before standing next to the announcer.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," the announcer called out to the crowds in the stands as soon as a young boy with a small box and a chuunin with a slightly bigger box came running out to stand next to the Kages. "Our second place winner, from the Hidden Leaf Village, Roxanne Turner!" he announced, pointing to Roxanne. She stepped forward, waving to the cheering crowd. Naruto stepped forward with the young boy, opening the box and pulling out a blue ribbon with a silver medal on it. He spread the ribbon open and placed it around her neck, letting the medal hang over her chest for all to see. He reached back into the box, pulling out a small silver trophy cup, "2nd" engraved upon it. He handed it to her then gave her a courteous ceremonial handshake. Rox grinned at him, trying to keep from laughing. Honestly, Naruto in his Hokage outfit and holding such a serious face seemed so unlike him, that to Rox it just seemed funny.
"And our First Place Champion, from the Hidden Sand Village of the Wind Country, Cordelia Turner," the announcer stated pointing toward Cordi, who was standing next to her sister. Gaara walked up to her, the chuunin walked up next to him, the bigger box in hand. Gaara slowly opened it up and pulled out another blue ribbon with a gold medal attached to it. Cordi bowed as he opened the ribbon, letting him place it around her neck. He then reached back into the box, pulling out a large golden trophy cup, "1st Place Champion of the 82nd Bi-annual Jounin Exam," engraved along the bell of the cup. Gaara smiled and handed it to her.
"Congratulations," he whispered to her as she took the cup. He let go of it, and just as he did, she nearly dropped it from the weight. She sent him a small glare, knowing he made it look like it weighed nothing on purpose. He just smiled and moved away from her so she was in view of the crowd. Naruto did the same for Rox, letting the crowd see both of them. The crowds cheered, happy for their champions. They both simultaneously raised a hand and waved to the crowds, trying hard not to laugh, but both grinning as if it were their birthdays.
Rox leaned over to Cordi and muttered, "I always wondered what if felt like to be an Olympian." Cordi laughed and nodded. As soon as everything died down, Shikamaru and Lynne joined up with the group, which consisted of Gaara, Cordi, Naruto, and Rox.
"I suggest a victory feast," Naruto declared to Rox, Cordi, and Gaara as Shikamaru and Lynne finally caught up with them. "Ramen, anyone?"
"No!" they all called out, making Naruto frown in disappointment.
"What about barbeque?" Shikamaru offered. Everyone immediately agreed with that for the victory feast, leaving Naruto feeling slightly bummed.
"Well, then let's go," Lynne suggested, starting to walk toward the exit.
"Uhm, You all go ahead," Shikamaru waved, watching everyone start to follow Lynne. "I need to talk to Cordi about something first."
Cordi shot Shikamaru a strange look before giving Gaara's hand a squeeze and letting go. Gaara nodded to her as if telling her he'd wait for her right there, while the rest of the group moved on. Rox looked back at Shikamaru a little confused, but joined Lynne and Naruto out of the arena, as the rest of the audience filtered out of the stands.
"What do you need to talk about?" Cordi asked, slowly walking over to the lazy Nara.
"This is so troublesome," he muttered nervously, scratching his head. Cordi hadn't noticed it before, but something was bothering him. She had never seen Shikamaru this troubled about something, and it had her worried. "I – I was wondering … i-if you would a-allow m-me to …" he paused, trying to find the words that would be the best to use at the moment.
Cordi was becoming anxious. "What?" she asked, her worry becoming apparent in her voice.
He averted his gaze, looking down as if the dirt were far more interesting than talking to her. "I … I want your sister's hand in marriage," he stated, clasping and un-clasping his clammy hands. He innocently looked up at her, anxiety for her answer evident in his eyes.
Cordi had the biggest smile her face could hold. "Honestly, I can't see Rox happy with any other man," she beamed. "Of course you have my blessing to marry her." A heavy weight seemed to have been lift from Shikamaru's shoulders, freeing him of some heavy burden.
He ran to Cordi, wrapping his arms around her in a grateful hug. "Thank you! Thank you so much!!!" He laughed, picking Cordi up and swinging her around, then giving her a tight squeeze.
"Shikamaru, be careful," Cordi laughed. "You might give away that you can actually get excited." She patted him lightly on the shoulder as he laughed at her joke. He held her away at an arm's length, and let out a grateful sigh.
"I'm just so happy," he sighed, nervously grinning at Cordi. He dropped his hands from Cordi's shoulders as she dropped her own. "Now, all I have to worry about is asking her," he smiled, scratching the back of his head, underneath where his ponytail sat.
"Don't sweat it," Cordi laughed. "I'm sure it'll go smoothly." She shot him a reassuring smile, pulling him toward the arena entrance. Gaara smiled at them and nodded in agreement.
Shikamaru thought of something, and his head instantly shot up. "You can't tell her anything!" he whispered in a harsh tone.
"Your secret is safe with us," Gaara reassured, giving him a small smile. Is everything going to remind me about my predicament? He thought, not giving away his feelings in any way.
Shikamaru nodded nervously, then walked ahead through the arena entrance along with Gaara and Cordi following shortly behind. Shortly enough, they caught up with the rest of the group around when they were crossing the West Gate. Fred and Ronni were there too, just lightly bandaged up. Ronni was wrapped up in the arms of Kiba, while Fred walked next to Kankuro and Lynne. Shikamaru found his way to Rox's side, quickly wrapping his arm around her waist. "What was that about?" Rox asked, looking at the small group that finally reached them.
"Nothing," Shikamaru sighed, giving her a light kiss on Rox's forehead. Rox frowned at him as if she didn't buy it.
"Hey, I was actually wondering," Naruto interrupted, turning around to face Cordi and Gaara, who were walking hand in hand. Cordi shot him a questioning look, wondering what he wanted to ask. "What was the whole telling Rox that she was angry thing about?"
"Oh, that?" Cordi asked, as if the answer were obvious.
Rox turned slightly to face her and added, "Yeah, I was kind of curious about that too."
Cordi smiled. "Oh, it's just my own version of a Jedi Mind Trick," Cordi joked, waving a hand as if placing a spell on Rox, a grin all over her features.
"A what?" Kankuro asked confused, eyeing Cordi oddly, as Fred, Lynne, Rox, and Ronni all rolled their eyes at the youngest of their group. Naruto, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Kiba also looked confused.
"It's another one of her movie references," Ronni explained.
"Uh-huh," Cordi laughed. "It basically means that I told her to do something, and she subconsciously obeyed my command." She shot a sly look at Rox and did the same hand motion she did earlier and joked, "You are very thirsty. You want a drink."
"Quit it," Rox scoffed, turning back to face forward.
"So, basically, by just telling Rox that she was angry, you made her … angry?" Naruto asked, lips pursed.
"Yup," Cordi laughed, "and it worked like a charm."
"You know best how to make Rox mad," Lynne laughed.
"Yeah, I do. Hey, Lynne," Cordi laughed. Lynne looked up to her friend, not sure why she was laughing. They were just talking about all of their fights, which if she recalled, none of them were happy with, and she was laughing? She notice Cordi was pointing over Lynne's shoulder toward the gate. Lynne quickly spun around, seeing Sasuke and his group coming in from their mission, snickering about something.
A small smile creeped its way to her face. "Remember, you need to tell him about…" Fred murmured in her ear, gesturing to Lynne's abdomen. Lynne sighed, her good mood slightly ruined.
"Yeah," Lynne muttered. "I'll catch up with you later." The other four nodded, walking off with their boyfriends and fiancé for their victory barbeque feast. Lynne restrained her urge to run up to Sasuke, and instead opted to walk. "Hey," she smiled, waving to him.
"Hey," he smiled back. Suddenly, Lynne's nerves began eating away at her, and it was so obvious on her face. He frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"Well," Lynne muttered, not sure what tactic she should take. She decided to just lay it all out on the table for him. "Here's the thing. I'm pregnant."
Instantly, Sasuke's smile was gone. "Hey, Hoshiro? Could you drop off the mission report?" One of the men conversing with one of the other team members turned to Sasuke, nodding, before taking off toward the Hokage building.
As soon as the team members weren't paying attention, Sasuke grasped Lynne's upper arm in a vice-like grip, dragging her away from his other teammates. "That's not funny," he informed her when they reached a safe distance away from the other men.
Lynne's brow furrowed in confusion, and stated, "It wasn't meant to be." Sasuke just blinked at her. "Sasuke, I'm really pregnant. Twins. You're the father," she added, hoping the seriousness of her tone would get through to him.
He let out a harsh laugh and asked, "Are you sure I'm the father?"
"Are you saying I'm a whore?!" Lynne hissed back.
He gave her a shrug, his face slightly peeved with her question. "Well, the first week you were back, you had Neji and Sai on either arm," he replied.
Lynne gaped at him. "Neji is gay!!!" she almost shrieked, remembering that Neji wasn't out of the closet yet though. "And Sai's a freak!" Sasuke shrugged, his lips pursed and his eyebrows up in a challenging way. "What is wrong with you!?"
"Well," Sasuke started, "I was pretty sure that both of us were clear on the fact that this wasn't supposed to be serious. It was just a sex thing." He glared at her. He let out a sigh, then added, "And now you go and do something like this."
"Like what!?" Lynne snarled. "YOU impregnated ME! I wasn't the only one in that bed that night!" He just glared at her. "And, correct me if I'm wrong, it was you who wanted to start up your clan again!"
He sneered at her then asked, "Why would I want the mother of my children and clan to be a loose whore like you?" He shoved her back a couple steps, turning and walking away from her. He stopped a bit, saying over his shoulder, "They aren't a part of my clan. Get rid of them." Then he just walked on.
Lynne felt a huge lump in her throat, and she could barely breathe.
"HE SAID WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!" Cordi and Rox screeched, almost knocking the table over by standing up so fast. Lynne was at the end of the table, bawling her eyes out, and trying to wipe them away quickly. After Sasuke had walked away, Lynne ran straight to the barbeque restaurant, thousands of tears flying down her face. When she entered the restaurant, her friends saw her and quickly brought her over to their table. They coaxed her into telling them what happened, the men sounding eerily quiet. Especially Naruto, Gaara, and Shikamaru, who's eyes were wide with disbelief at what she told them he said.
"THAT DOES IT!!!!" Cordi snarled, shoving her way out of the booth and stomping toward the entry, murder in her eyes. Lynne would have told her not to, but she was crying so hard now she was hiccoughing, barely having any control over her breath.
"Wait up Cordi, I'm coming with," Rox stated getting up from her seat, the same glint in her eyes. "No one hurts my friends and gets away with it," she growled. With that they both stormed out.
"Oh, Lynne," Ronni sighed, getting out of her seat and walking over to her. "Let's get you cleaned up," she said looking at her friend. "Don't think about it. He's an asshole," she added, helping her friend up. Fred joined them and helped usher Lynne to the Ladies' Room, leaving the guys sitting there with burning pork.
"Katsumi," Madara called out, walking down toward her room in the West Akatsuki hideout.
"Yes sir?" she asked, not looking at him, but instead focusing on her project.
"How long until you finish?" he asked, eyeing the meat puzzle in front of her.
She smiled. "Oh, not too long." She looked down at her assignment lovingly. "A month at the most."
"Good," Madara sighed before leaving the dark room, only lit by the candle on the table.
"You better make it quick you fucking bitch," the head of the meat puzzle growled. Katsumi cast it a small glance, before leaning over it. Her glare bore deep into the head's magenta shaded eyes.
"You know," she smirked, "I could always forget to sew a certain extremity on. You're choice, Hidan." The head just glared at her, but shut his mouth, probably for the first time in his life.
AN: Alright, I gave you a little Akatsuki. This just basically says, no Akatsuki for a month, because they need Hidan for Madara's plan to get Naruto. So, he's not going to go ahead and waste his people until he's able to use Hidan. Anyway, tell me how you guys liked it! I'm dying to know! Haha. Please remember to review. And I know a lot of people want to hit Sasuke right now. If you see a Sasuke around you, give him an extra punch for me, whether it be a poster or a plushie. ^.^