Saturday, January 26th, 2013.
I told you all I'd update today! I literally just finished writing this chapter.
Because of that, it's not as well written as some of the other chapters. Well, that and coupled with the fact that I suck with writing fight scenes, and there's not a lot in this chapter. I mean, it's completely a fighting scene or two, but it's just-...I'm just confusing myself. Nevermind.
Dedication:aalc95. She's awesome. Period.
Disclaimer: Karin. Why? 'Cause I feel like it.
Karin: *Sigh* If EOC owned Naruto, we'd know what the hell I was doing and what...Sasuke is doing. Oh, and apparently I'd have a love life with-..with-...fuck this cue-card! SUIGETSU?!
Me: Yes. Now read on lovelies! And reviews.
First up: Chouji and Ino!
I HAVE SOMETHING YOU ALL HAVE TO KNOW AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE! READ AFTER READING CHAPTER!
Chapter 20: The Battles Part 1
Ino POV
"Come on, Chouji! We gotta' hustle!" I yelled back to Chouji as I practically dragged him with me across the arena to reach the top of the arena's sitting area's roof to where the SN4 were last spotted. Chances are, they tried to run, and headed to the ground, behind the stadium itself, which is where we're headed.
"What? Ino, 'hustle'? Really? Wait! What the hell's going on!?" I was surprised Chou decided to focus on my vocabulary first of all things, but was then jerked back when he stopped abruptly, standing his ground.
When he's like this, you'd either need REALLY good food (especially barbeque or barbeque-flavored potato chips; even better, the last chip) or…well, you'd have better luck pushing a boulder.
That's 20 times your size.
I sighed. "What Chouji? We gotta get going! Now!" I was little jumping on my feet, preparing to sprint the moment I saw Chouji was going to move. Kinda in a hurry here!
"No!"
"No?"
"Not until you tell me what's going on, Ino! What are you girls all doing!?" Chouji looked so confused…and scared.
Man. Now I feel horrible. Sorry…
I softened, finally realizing how terribly scared my childhood-friend-near-brother was, not knowing what was happening.
"Temari, Karin, and us girls – with Sai-kun, of course – devised a plan to attack and take care of a group of Sound Ninja who are some of Orochimaru's top ninja guards, called the 'Sound Ninja 4'.
"Temari had heard, the last time she saw him personally, her father talking with Orochimaru about the Invasion, but she didn't want to tell you guys so you didn't worry or freak out and ruin the plan. You had enough to worry about.
"Luckily for us, Karin, in her time before with Orochimaru, knew who the SN4 were and their strengths and weaknesses. Using that, we devised a plan to decide whom would fight whom, based on their strength. Sasuke and Naruto were purposely left out since they needed all their strength for their fights; and just in case Sasuke encounters Gaara and stalls him until Naruto gets there.
"Karin knew they specialized in setting up a near-impenetrable barrier that she figured they'd use it to keep Orochimaru's assassination of Lord Hokage private. Remember we told you that's what he was planning with the Invasion? With Temari, she figured out approximately just when they'd try to set it up, and Tenten shot their hands as they started signing the jutsu with multiple arrows on her bow.
"Chouji, you and I are chasing one of the four. Get it now? Please say yes – we're in a hurry. Or, I am at least."
After I said that, I took a couple deep breaths – I said that pretty quickly.
Luckily for me, Chouji is used to me doing that so he understood.
He looked at me for a minute. Then sighed and – surprisingly – hugged me.
"You could have told us, Ino. Told Shikamaru. You know how he is with strategizing."
I hugged my friend back. "We know, sorry Chou. But Temari's almost just as good as Shika at that, you know."
"I guess." He pulled away, took a deep breath, then another, and shook himself like a dog.
"Alright. Let's go!"
And I raced ahead of him.
Moments later, Chouji asked, "Who're we chasing? What's he like?"
"'He'? The ninja may be a girl, Chouji. Don't be so sexist!"
"S-sorry, Ino…it's just-…you know-"
"-I'm kidding, Chou."
"Oh."
"He is a guy. His name's Jirobo. He's big, with brown eyes and orange hair. All the SN4 have a curse mark, like Sasuke, but unlike Sasuke, he can control it. According to Karin, there's a 'Second Stage' of the curse mark, transforming the host into looking like some sort of humanoid demon, but it's different as far as details go for everyone. However, for all, their eyes are yellow where the pupil and iris should be (possibly with a shape in place of the pupil) and around it, black. The Second Stage makes the host about 10x stronger or even stronger than that than in the 1st stage of the curse mark, which is when the curse is coursing around their body. Remember when black marks were covering Sasuke in the Forest of Death? That's the 1st stage."
"…Well. What abilities does he have?"
"We didn't have too much, but we know he's very strong physically strong, not particularly fast, but faster than you'd think he'd be with that size; and specializing in Earth Style jutsu (doton) and chakra sucking, feeding on it almost like food. He can suck it out of you and absorb it for himself. Very dangerous."
Finally, we landed behind the other side of the arena, where we had suspected the SN4 would be after Tenten shot their hands.
But no one was around. Not a trace of anything.
"…Was Jirobo supposed to be here?"
I shook my head. "Either here or the forest, since it's so close. Come on. We better catch up. Can't let him get away."
As we were jumping through the trees, Chouji asked me, "So, who are the other Sound Ninja 4 and who are they being fought by?"
"Tenten & Neji vs. Kidomaru; Temari & Shikamaru vs. Tayuya, & Kiba, Kankuro, and possibly Hinata (but likely temporarily with her injuries) vs. Sakon and Ukon, Sakon's younger brother who is carried on Sakon's back."
"…Creepy."
"Definitely."
"Ino?"
"Yeah?" I answered him, scanning ahead for any signs for Jirobo. I think we might be getting close to him…he didn't have the time to get too far ahead.
"What's Sai doing? I mean, he was part of this planning, right? It'd only be fair to be included in the actual plan right?"
I sighed. I should've known he'd ask that.
"Look. I know you guys – pointedly you and Shikamaru – don't trust Sai-kun, but I believe in him and trust him. Sai isn't going to engage with the SN4 like us – he has his own mission."
"And that is?"
"Can't tell you."
"Why not? We tell each other everything don't we? Did he even tell you what he was doing?"
Starting to get angry, I took a deep breath through my nose.
Geez, lighten up Chou.
"Yes, he did, because I was the one who came up with his part, as well as Sakura and himself. It's a private thing Chouji –and very personal to him. That's why-"
"Well, well. What do we have here?"
Chouji and I whipped to the voice that cut me off.
It was low and very obviously male. He's here!
"I don't know who you Konoha kids are, but you got in the way of us, and therefore in the way of Lord Orochimaru. For that, I will have to kill you."
Jirobo jumped from his hiding spot on a thick branch above us and onto the ground, looking at us from below, a creepy smirk encroaching upon his face.
"It's been so long since my last meal. Itadakimasu. (1)"
With that, he launch up toward the branch Chouji and I were frozen on.
Karin POV
"Is this how you treat an old friend, Karin? I would have thought I taught you better." Kabuto said.
"You were never a friend of mine, and you taught me nothing, Kabuto." I spit out his name like it was poison in my mouth, which it may as well had been.
Damn. Does this guy tire at all? He hadn't broken a sweat at all yet! But then again, it's only a few moments into the battle…but his ease while dodging still me pisses me off.
"Really? Who taught you medical ninjutsu, then? How to harness your powers? How to use a scalpel for multiple purposes?" The ass went on. "How to paralyze a grown man using only a vein? Have I really taught you nothing?"
I decided not to answer. Unfortunately, he was telling the truth.
In this time, I was kidnapped by Orochimaru the first time when I had just turned 7. I ran away back to Grass when I was 11, and I'm 13 now. Orochimaru had tried to kidnap me again in the Chunin Exams, in the Forest of Death. Luckily for me, Anko was there and I got away.
"Giving me the cold shoulder now? I'm hurt – I thought we had bonded all those years." He had a smile on his face that made me want to drag it all around the arena that we were fighting in. The same arena that had held…Sasuke and Gaara's fight only moments before everything erupted into chaos.
"Well you were mistaken." Kabuto, finally beginning to fight back – good, that means he finds me enough of a threat to fight back! Now all I have to do is kick his ass and hope it stays kicked; stupid regeneration abilities – aimed to fingers to my shoulder, and I had barely dodged it, not expecting it.
Oh, right! Kabuto can hit nervous points in your body, rendering that part of the body numb and useless! The human nervous system equivalent of the Jyuuken, essentially. But he only uses that when he wants to get things over with…
I narrowed my eyes, and kicked Kabuto in the gut, sending him across the ground away from me a few yards.
That means he must want to get back to Orochimaru quickly.
I smirked, charging toward Kabuto as he stood back up, a fist at the ready.
Sorry, but that ain't happenin', Kabu-freak! I'm beating you once and for all – you aren't going back to Orochimaru if I have anything to say about it!
Maybe Suigetsu's influence is rubbing off on me. I mean, Kabu-freak? Really, me? I can do so much better…
Ino POV
Man…this guy really is tough! His physical strength is unbelievable!
In only the past maybe 15 minutes, Jirobo had toppled the tree Chouji and I were on, flew us across the forest floor like rag dolls, evaded my Mind Transfer Technique – apparently he had faced a Yamanaka before; damn – trapped us in the same dome Shika was trapped in with Kiba, Naruto, Neji, and Chouji in the other future. Thankfully, Shikamaru had told me all about it, so I used his same plan to get us out of the dome.
However, it was apparent that Jirobo was getting annoyed –he activated his Curse Mark, his speech about his new strength was included.
On the bright side, we weren't large enough threats for him to go 2nd-Level-Curse-Form on us. We need to step up our game. This time, I'm going to get inside his head, I'm not letting him get away.
"Chouji!" I thought to my friend.
Yeah? Got a plan? He replied.
"Yeah," I thought back. "I need you to use your Human Tank technique to corner him against a tree long enough for me to get inside his head. You don't even have to hit him – just closed off! I'll lure him over to that huge tree over there, and that's your cue to use you technique to keep him there long enough for me to use my Mind Transfer Jutsu. I might not even get into his head but either way, you use your Human Tank technique."
But what about your body? I dodged some kunai Jirobo threw, and threw a couple shuriken back.
I'm so glad he doesn't know about my telepathy.
"If I do go into his body, my Inner will take it over and fight while I'm in Jirobo. If I get into him in time, hit him. In fact, when you use your technique, wrap Kunai around you, like Asuma-sensei taught you. I'll jump out fast enough for me not to get hurt and jump back in while Jirobo's trying to get back up. I'll try to find his weakness and then we'll beat him, okay?'
This is really dangerous, Ino. You could get hurt! I shot a meaningful look to my friend, who was trying to avoid Jirobo's fists, which were must stronger than before now that he's using his curse mark.
"Pathetic, this is hardly worth my time. Aren't you going to show me what Konoha's got to show for itself?"
This angered me. "You ain't seen nothin' yet, FATASS!"
"I wasn't talking to you by the way. And yes, I'll get hurt sometime in this fight, and so will you, and so will Jirobo. What's a good battle without a couple bruises?"
But Ino-
"No, 'but Ino''s Mister. We aren't just fighting for ourselves, we're fighting for our friends, our kage, our village, and our people. We need to show them that we're capable of becoming ninja to be proud of and show this Jirobo guy what Konoha's really made of. And that's not going to happen without some wouds here and there. We can't be afraid to get hurt Chouji, and you guys, meaning the team, too, can't focus on keeping me unharmed, because I'm going to get hurt regardless and get stronger from it.
Understand?
…Alright, I get you Ino. But you didn't have to go all wise-woman on me, you know.
That brought a smile to my lips. That's the Chouji I know.
"What's to smile about, princess? Happy you'll die with your friend, here?"
I turned to our opponent and charged. "More like planning to enjoy kicking your ass! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Two clones "poofed" into existence on either side of me, and together, we rained an onslaught of fists and legs and feet upon Jirobo, backing him up and hardly giving him any time to do anything but defend himself.
Soon, he was nearing the giant tree I needed him to be against, and my clones and I jumped above his head to stick ourselves by the soles of our feet using chakra to the trunk of the tree, watching Jirobo's confused face from above.
"Wha-what?!"
"Now, Chouji!"
"Spiked Human Bullet Tank!"
And Chouji came rolling toward Jirobo.
He looked startled for a moment, but then he smirked and began to raise his hands.
Oh, no you don't, Sumo Man!
I pulled 2 kunai from my pouch and threw each at one part of his forearm, a place where it'd render his arms numb for a short amount of time.
Now he can't defend himself!
"AGGHHH!" Jirobo's agonized scream as he was crushed and cut by Chouji and his kunai almost made me smirk.
Even though I didn't get into Jirobou's head as planned because I decided to change it and barricade him instead (I told Chouji as I fought Jirobou so he wasn't confused), the plan still worked.
Eh, strategizing might not be my thing, but I think I picked up a thing or two form Shika, so I can do something. It's still his job though; I'll do it if I have to.
I jumped down and dispersed my clone. "Is he unconscious?" I asked Chouji, standing in front of him.
Since Chouji had stopped spinning by now, he poked his head out from the top of his still enlarged body and looked down, though I doubted he could see past his stomach.
"Judging by the blood on the kunai, I'd think so. I can't feel him struggling either."
Chouji shrunk and stepped out of the crater he created.
As the smoke cleared, Chouji caught his breath. I doubt Jirobo's done with now, so if the necessary, I'll use my chakra scalpels to fight him, which is why I need to preserve my chakra and strength.
Finally, the smoke cleared, and Jirobo, in the middle of it, laid eyes closed but the Curse Markings were still there.
If they're still there, that means…
Suddenly, he smirked and Chouji gasped.
"W-what? Why a-are you g-g-getting up!?" My friend sputtered.
"I knew it. That wasn't enough." I said. DAMN that bastard! We'll show him the power of us – Ino Yamanaka!
That much is certain, Inner.
Slowly, Jirobo sat up. "I'll admit I underestimated you guys – that attack was stronger than I anticipated, though obviously amateurish."
I scowled. Amateurish, huh? I'll show you amateurish!
However, when I took another look at Jirobou, the blood drained from my face.
Chouji's breathing increased rapidly, and my heartbeat followed.
"So let's get this party really started, shall we?"
Jirobo had activated his 2nd Stage of the Curse Seal.
(1): "Thanks for the meal". It's a Japanese tradition to say it before eating.
So yeah, I keep alternating between "u" and no "u" for Jirobo's name, but that's because the real letters name isn't an English letter, and therefore not on my computer. Here's the real spelling of Jirobou's name: "Jirōbō".
HEY LOOK HERE!:
I'll be updating every two weeks and try to keep that schedule. That should give me enough time to write a chapter or two. At the same time, I'll be updating ReWind every two weeks as well, but the opposite weeks of DoOver. Therefore, something is updated every week.
Example: Week 1 - DoOver. Week 2 - ReWind. Week 3 - DoOver. Week 4 - ReWind.
So 2 weeks for the same story, every week for a different story.
What does this mean? ReWind's getting updated next week!
Everyone okay with this system?
You all can still vote for Sasuke's presents, you know.
Also, like I said in the author's notes, I think ReWind's going better than DoOver, with more room for character development. Sadly, the really good stuff that I have for it aren't coming for a while. Sorry ReWind lovers.
I have some future romance planned for this story, too, you know. But I have to focus on the SN4 battles.
Oh, and Ino & Chouji vs. Jirōbō, and Karin vs. Kabuto will end in the next chapter, if all goes as planned. The chapter after that will show 1 or 2 more battles.
Until 2 weeks from now for DoOver readers, and 1 week from now for ReWind and DoOver followers!
Love,
Epic Otaku Cherry
