"Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off." Franklin D. Roosevelt
Chapter 22: Competition
"They are coming." Neji-San said in the communicator.
I looked at the boy I had put down. He was getting on his feet. His teenage face showed signs of anxiety. I wondered how old he was. He looked older when he was bleeding to death, arrogantly claiming to be the student of the Tsuchikage. Right now I felt like I was staring at a child at fault, waiting to be punished.
"You don't wear any sign indicating that you're a Chuunin, and you're certainly not a Jounin if you got caught in a trap." I said out loud.
"It was a big trap, mmh." he pretended.
"Indeed, he isn't in the data books I have on me, but I thought he might have been recently added." Jiraya-San said.
"It's a Genin team with him, we don't need to worry." I muttered.
"Yes, but an Iwa Genin Team."
"Does that makes that much of a difference?" I asked.
"To you, not so much I think."
The communicator sizzled, and I perceived the echo of battle.
"They're too many, some are coming your way!" Lee-San prevented me.
"Roger that."
I stretched my arms, making my shoulders creak. Finally, a bit of action. Just at that moment, I heard the tenant of the inn squeaking on the other side of the house. I jumped on the wall, hiding among the shadows on the ceiling. I crawled from where I was and casted a few Genjutsu on the corridor I was on, a mild one on Jiraya-Sama's room, and a stronger one in another room. If they found the corridor, they would probably pick the room with the strongest Genjutsu, and fall asleep there. If they went to the room with their teammate…
I went out of the corridor, closing to them. I glanced backwards. My eyes immediately drifted away. Great, they wouldn't enter it if they didn't pay enough attention. Staring at the corridor would give them a feeling of non-existence, as if there was nothing. They would grow uncomfortable if they went in. Inside there, I was reminded of the empty ruins of the clan, something sad I definitely wouldn't stare at. Sad, melancholic, and haunted as well.
"Nothing near the kitchens." A boy said.
"Of course you would have immediately checked the kitchen." A girl replied angrily. "The staff is probably hiding in the cave. We'll interrogate them later."
She had short black hair, fairly large shoulders, and was as tall as her companions. They all look like they were at least fifteen or sixteen. What impressed me the most, is that apart from her straight hair, her slightly tanned skin and the lack of mole, she looked a lot like me. I had heard that people could look like other people even though they didn't share the same bloodline. So now I had a double working in an Iwa Genin team…
First that explained why that Deidara-San confided into me so fast: I looked like one of his teammates. Second I might be able to use that later, either against this team or against the blonde Iwa shinobi.
"I know he is inside. I just can't tell where." another boy said.
"Then concentrate better on you sixth sense, or whatever." The girl replied.
"Over there… It seems there is an area with more chakra…" he muttered.
Shit! They had a sensor with them! The red-haired boy would probably notice the amount of chakra I had used to conceal the place. Well that won't mean he would avoid the illusion effects, but knowing it was there will make it dismiss most of the effects I intended.
I should have planted physical traps when I was at it. But I didn't have the time. The best to do would be to eliminate their sensor. I saw him closing his eyes, sweat covering his brow. He wasn't very good I was lucky, but he was already better than I was in that area. Well it wasn't that hard: I had used a lot of energy to make these illusions stand. They would have a hard time dismissing them.
I silently aimed at them. Neck, guts, thigh… There were several spots I could easily get and it would be over. I had no idea if they had a medic with them, but I could make the boy bleed to death, even die in an instant if I coated my weapons with chakra. That would be ironical since I had just sewed one of their teammates back. Even if I could, could I justify all this violence.
Yesterday too I have faced the same dilemma. Being a ninja and eliminating people was easy. Anyone could dismiss a kill with a simple: "I was ordered to". Maybe this boy had a brilliant future before him, maybe he didn't. The one I'd hurt the must would probably be me. And after I'll have his teammates facing me, and it would be another spar where I could simply say "I killed them because they wanted to kill me."
In the end, we all killed for simple silly reasons. But it wasn't fair, was it. Nothing was in this world, but did it justify all this violence? Killing was simple and fast. The kunai I was about to throw trembled in my hands. Yes, it would be easy to throw it. But what would happen after? Could I face the consequences? Could I still sleep at night after that?
"It's near here. The chakra signature has intensified." the sensor said.
"Akatsuchi, check the right room. I'll check the other one." The girl decided. "Toma, you stay in the corridor."
They didn't see the corridor I had masked. Now the sensor was all alone, I'd just have to be swift and it could be over. It wasn't part of the mission, and there wasn't any need to eliminate these people. They weren't an immediate danger to us. Actually we were the one to detain their teammate, so in all logic we would be the bad guys. Who was I to make such a decision?
Yet, killing was so much easy than rendering someone unconscious.
I had no time to lose. I stopped the chakra flux that glued me to the ceiling and silently dropped behind the boy. My hands immediately went to his throat, but I managed to cover his mouth instead and punched him hard in the gut. He was stronger than I expected, throwing me above his shoulder. I reversed my grip, plunging my fist in his mouth to muffle his cry. As I was flying, I stepped on the wall and gripped it with chakra. I used his own move to make us both fall on the other side of the corridor. Fortunately, I had thought to erase the sounds from this part of the house, so their teammate wouldn't call for them.
His teeth sunk in my hand and a gasp of pain escaped me. By the time I took my hand out of his mouth, a hard fist was coming at me. I twisted my body to evade it. I didn't like fighting in restrained places like this. Especially not when my own illusions were affecting me as well, reminding me of that empty house with Father.
"Kurotsuchi! I found the signature I had sensed!" he yelled.
Only silence and a smell of old tobacco answered him. It fired me up. This environment made me uneasy, and I had steam to let loose. I lunged at him. He didn't move, rather turned around. He was surprised by the door behind him who hadn't been there before. I clearly saw his skin becoming grey. Some sort of hardening Jutsu? It didn't matter. In this zone, his spirit was already influenced by my illusion. I'd just have to increase my domination.
My fist connected to his jaw. Unfortunately, it had become hard as rock. I felt the shock coursing through my arm and the skin of my hands blister. His grey eyes locked on me for a second. I infused my chakra directly in his head, but not fast enough to avoid a stone-like grip on my wrist.
"You won't surprise me twice. I can sense you!" he yelled. "Where is Deidara-Nii?"
He punctuated his sentence with a punch aiming my elbow. It would break my arm if it connected, and he was immobilizing me. It was my luck. Stone didn't conduct heat very well, and his Jutsu wasn't simply a hardened skin. It was probably like a second skin. I could move the chakra around me, but the stone on his skin was made of packed particles which I wouldn't control that much.
Then I remembered the little Sakura-Chan asking why I was making heat and not sound with my vibration. It was probably a question of frequency. If I could adjust it…
The output in chakra was way higher than I had expected. I hadn't thought of the self-inflicted damages either. I felt a wave of hit and hard shivers in my arms. They were very quick and brutal, each shake crumbling a bit of his armour. My muscle fibres felt excruciating under the pressure of his grip and the violent treatment I was inflicting him. We both howled in pain as I managed to retreat my hand in a cloud of stone dust. The little shards were peeling the skin off my hand.
He followed my steps back.
"Kurotsuchi! Akatsuchi! Deidara-Nii!" he was howling while trying to hit me.
But this time I was ready, and I send false images of my position to him. At first it would felt as if he was getting dizzy, seeing double. Then his brain would act to correct the situation between the reality he perceived through his eyes and the images I sent him through chakra, and would suppress me all by himself. Brain tricks were amazing.
I didn't need to do much to avoid him as long as I maintained the pressure on his mind, and he didn't seem to think he was trapped in a Genjutsu. I liked mixing reality and illusion, because fighting in our minds would force me to split my attention between the illusion and the reality. In this case it wouldn't be tragic, but against several teammates it was a dangerous move.
It would have taken me more energy than I had thought, and caused me some damages, but I finally knocked him down by having him butthead a door frame. He fell out of the Genjutsu and I dragged him to Jiraya-Sama's room where I tied him. Seeing him unconscious, I was reminded of how easy it was to kill people. It felt wrong.
"Is everything okay?" Jiraya-Sama asked.
"Toma!" Deidara-San exclaimed. "Wake up buddy! What did you do to him?"
"I knocked him out." I shrugged while turning my radio on. "How are you doing guys?"
Battle noise answered me. They seemed busy. I turned to the occupants of the room.
"You know; I didn't think they would attack us. I mean, we could have given them their teammate diplomatically." I remarked.
"I said that I handled the negotiations." Jiraya-San said.
"You were waiting for them to break our defences or wh…"
"Dynamic entry!" Gai-Sensei yelled and I was forced to drag both our… guests… outside his path of destruction.
Lee-San laid in his arms, completely knocked out. Neji-San followed them. His eyes fell on my injured arm and he cringed. I shrugged. It was no big deal, I had worse during my training with Sasuke.
"Where are the other Genin?" He asked, eying the unconscious boy.
I closed my eyes and visualised the big boy shivering in the corridor. He really didn't like the haunted house-like feel I had given this place. When I had been fighting with Toma-San, he had been too busy to notice all the features I had put there. For now, both Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi were walking an endless corridor, probably to the trapped room I had left intact. The Jutsu was steadily draining me. I sat down to mix some more spiritual and physical together. There should be a way to have them feed the trap with their own chakra, but I hadn't had the time to study Genjutsu much.
"Trapped in the corridor." I said. "They're not likely to find the exit without their sensor now."
The two males were sighing in contentment.
"Then it will probably end even better than we thought. We came into an agreement with the ninja from Iwa. We couldn't contact you for a while, we thought they knocked you down, even if you were protected by Jiraya-Sama." Gai-Sensei said.
"I did nothing, I wanted to know if she could do it on her own." The man said.
"She could have been gravely injured!" Neji-San exclaimed.
"He's right." someone said. "You're lucky these kids are weak to Genjutsu. Thanks for reminding that to me leaf girl."
A woman appeared in the hole Sensei had just made in the wall. She wore a standardized Iwa outfit I had seen in some of the books on the subject: red coat covering one of his arms, brown ninja pants, black sandals. Her long auburn hair was tied with style around her body, her front bangs gathered in a tight braid behind her right ear. She seemed to hide lots of things in her outfit, and I was quite wary of her square backpack. Two students were behind her, a girl with pigtails, glasses and pointed teeth and a boy with green dishevelled hair. He was heavily leaning on her, his bruises indicating that Neji had probably immobilizing him. I saw them showing me with their fingers and probably remarking my resemblance with their teammate. With a gesture of his hand, the Jounin accompanying them walked in the room.
"Sensei!" Deidara-San exclaimed.
"And you're lucky these Leaf ninjas had nothing against us." The woman said to the blonde. "Diplomacy could do a lot of good in our world."
"I couldn't agree more." Jiraya-Sama said.
He took a good look at her chest while he was at it. She had a slight smile that made him blush. I noticed it didn't go to her eyes. They were fixated on me. I glanced at Gai-Sensei, and read in his eyes that we had all gone easy on each other. No one had been outwardly aggressive. These matches were like friendly spars, except that we weren't friends. When I said ninja's spars were the equivalent of the civilians going for a coffee…
"I apologize for our earlier attack. We had thought you had abducted the boy, so…"
"I said I was resolving this mission first, mmh" he pouted.
"Oh don't worry, it was a good exercise for the kids, very youthful." Gai-Sensei said.
"That's what I thought when the Blue Beast of Konoha let Genin handle mine."
"Well I just happen to see someone with a 'flee on sight' order who didn't seem to attack my kids either." He replied on the same tone.
"How is that supposed to be a normal conversation?" I wondered.
"Sensei's bragging about us again. It's all because they have me in their team, mmh!" Deidara-San bragged.
"Remind me why you were bleeding to death yesterday?" I asked.
"Yanagi, I think you can release the other Genin now." Jiraya-San said.
"Oh, yes that's true." I said
The drain was steady and they weren't moving much in that never-ending corridor. But their Sensei walked to me. I tensed a bit, even though I didn't want to show it. She crouched near Toma-San. Although I had knocked him out and tied him up, his mind was still trapped in the Genjutsu. His Sensei immediately cut the strings immobilizing his student. Her hand glowed green when she put it on the boy's brow. A medic.
"What an interesting technique. You managed to have his own brain sustain the illusion, even though your chakra is diminishing. I suppose the illusion would have vanished unless you provide him with more chakra, but it's enough to provide a large opportunity. Allow me to break your zone illusion as well." She said. "I'll need some information about your illusion for later. Genin managing to trap my future are pretty rare."
She let the boy the time to wake up. Then she opened the door to the corridor and stepped in. Immediately after she stilled, then forcefully brought her hands together and released herself from the illusion. Then she moved to her students and sent a spark of chakra in their systems, efficiently cleaning them from my attack.
"Sensei!" the girl's shouted. "Toma has disappeared!"
"And then there was this corridor that never ended, but I couldn't break the illusion." Akatsuchi moaned.
"It's only natural. No one would have known there was actually a Genjutsu specialist among a Genin team."
Neji-San crouched near me as well. Gently, he prodded my burned and clawed skin. I couldn't repress a slight jerking gesture as he ascertained my wrist wasn't broken. The trio came back to the room. It was starting to get a little crowded in here. The big boy stilled near me and caught the girl by the shoulder.
"Kurotsuchi, look!"
She dumbly stared at me for a moment, before a wild grin appeared on her face.
"So cool! There's another me in Konoha!" she said. "I hope you're as badass as I am."
"She's a bitch as much as you are." Toma-San grumbled before locking his eyes on me. "Next time I see you, I'll crush your arm into dust."
"You might get burn doing that." I coolly replied.
The hand he had been holding me with wasn't fairing any better than my own wrist. It was itching me, and I had a hard time not peeling my skin off. He closed his fist, as if it was nothing. I saw the thick muscles of his arm popping. Under the threat, Neji-San put himself between us.
"Your doll-like teammate is even protecting you." He spat. "Can you be even more pathetic?"
"You…" Neji-San started before a look from Gai-Sensei cut him off.
"What a well-brought dog you are, doll-boy. I know your chakra signature fire-bitch. Your little Jutsu won't be saving you next time." Toma continued.
"Is he like that usually?" I asked the two people that came in.
"He's a real pain in the ass." Kurotsuchi-San said. "And a sore looser at that. But in the end he's just a tiny pebble under my foot, that idiot."
"So you're the one who trapped us in the corridor? Well played." Akatsuchi said.
"Oh yeah… That reminds I promised myself to wreck the face of that so-called Genjutsu specialist. I suppose you won't be worth the fight."
I briefly glanced at our respective Sensei. The medic was currently healing Deidara. Because she was a bit slow, I supposed she wasn't a very good healer, but that probably meant her specialties weren't in that domain. The woman was too busy with his student to prevent the tensions that were rising. But the slight tug of her lips told me otherwise: she was amused by the scene.
We were outnumbered, and we had lost our hostages. Which meant an all-out fight wouldn't be at our advantage. They wouldn't attack because of Jiraya-Sama and Gai-Sensei, and we wouldn't be attacking them because of the Jounin here. No one would be attacking because it could degenerate, but it was a whole other story if we were defending ourselves, right.
"I'm sorry Kurotsuchi-San, but you're the one who weren't worth the fight. I just saw you ordering people around and cowering in this inn. I hope the nap I offered you was as pleasant as the one Toma-San had." I told her sweetly.
Her smile was slightly sour when she showed me her teeth. The big boy near her seemed more of a pacifist. He will probably seize her if she attempted anything. The redhead stood up, grinning because he was towering us. He brought his hands together with strength.
"I get the time to dream of how many of your bones I'd break today."
"The best you could do was a scratch, and you were calling your teammates for help." I said.
"You bitch, I'll…" he started walking on me.
Neji-San started to move, still hoping to protect me. But Toma-San thought he could do whatever he wanted. His attention was to fixated on me. He was sending waves of chakra all around me in an aura of fear. I could see my teammate tensing at that. I just send my own chakra crashing onto his. I was targeting only him. As our energy collided, I send another wave of chakra which hit him with strength. Images of me easily overcoming him bloomed in both our minds through my illusions. Toma-San stumbled back, and his brow was covered of sweat.
"Your illusions won't work on me. You won't trap me anymore."
"Why wouldn't I waste my energy that way? You're already scared. I just have to wait for your next mistake."
And strike. And kill. It would be easy… No! Killing wasn't the solution. I clenched my fist. Plus, there was very little chance that I managed such a feat in a room full of people. I wouldn't have the time to injure him too much before anything happened but still. Even that boy would stop me, since he was on his guards like everyone else in this room.
It might be that tension in the air which made me think it was an easy feat to kill someone. Without the effect of surprise, it becomes… No! What am I even thinking? Killing people is never easy. Neither is it the solution to the problems of life.
"So you did the stitches to Deidara as well? Aren't you full of surprises?" the man said. "I am starting to wonder about the choices of Konoha in terms of teams. She looks as old as my kids, and you're caging her with fresh Genin?"
He was asking too many questions for my taste. Apparently to Jiraya-Sama's tastes as well. But there were other people who could talk. Like my teammates and my Sensei. I knew Neji-San could keep his tongue, Lee-San and Gai-Sensei were a whole other deal.
"We're all fresh Genin! The power of youth that flows through our veins is the same!"
"Oho… So you're what, thirteen or something? What a cute little baby." Toma-San taunted.
"The cute little baby handled your ass, idiot." Deidara-San mocked.
"Why are you on her side!" the redhead complained.
"Man, I saw her boobs when I was injured. Imagine Kurotsuchi with bigger boobs. And this morning, when she was alone with me…" The blonde explained and the tongues on his hands wiggled.
In the next pair of seconds, I went horribly red and jumped on my feet. I had a defensive position. Neji-San had tried jumping at Deidara-San. I was holding his arm as he was in my way to strangle that peep. Toma-San was actually throwing me a weird look, while maintaining Neji-San in place with his other hand. Lots of people were looking at me and my doppelganger. She was punching her way to the blonde with a ton of insults in her mouth.
There was a striking noise as Lee-San managed to hit the blonde across the face and he was thrown down. Surprisingly, Gai-Sensei held his student just after the hit had landed.
"I had just healed him." the Jounin Sensei complained before crouching to the nose-bleeding teenager.
"Do not insult my teammates in front of me. Ever. Yanagi-San is the most upright person I know. She'd never fall for your malevolent schemes."
"Well, this mission seems promising." I muttered.
How long before we threw ourselves at each other's throats? I didn't have the time to think too much. That last hit had made the tension rise even more than before. I saw the young Genin smiling at each other, lurking for blood. Neji-San and Lee-San were like that as well. In that sea of violence there was only the adults and I.
None of them had killed before, or even seen a dead body, right?
I prepared myself for the fight when I felt that incredible pressure in the air. It was just like that night when I was gasping for air at the moon. But it wasn't the moon. There was an incredible source of energy that send fear through me. It wasn't like the Genjutsu I had thrown at Toma-San earlier. No, it was terrifying raw power. It burned.
I held my head in my hands, trembling. I remembered a sword through me in a time like this. I had no will to stand. That power wanted me to bow down, to kneel to it. It wanted me to stop all this and obey. I was weak, he was strong. That was the truth I felt in all that energy. I felt powerless under that power, as if the one wielding it could do whatever he wanted. That is what he was saying. He was the frog; we were the flies he'd eat in a swift move. Sudden death. Brutal death. Inevitable death.
I heard someone moaning. I thought it was my own voice. It could very well be. But there wasn't any gurgling respiration like last time, nor that blade through my left lung. I was paralyzed anyway, but I'd surely die if I tried.
"What do you think you are doing, you stupid kids. You think I'll let you land attacks on each other and say nothing?" growled a deep voice.
It was Jiraya-Sama, the goofy Jiraya-Sama with that voice. A man who knew so much more than what he said. The man who was linked to Itachi-Sama.
Itachi-Sama… I couldn't die here! I couldn't!
I opened my eyes to reveal the Sharingan. It had been a while. I looked at the man who was threatening my very life. I couldn't die here. I had to get the information from Itachi-Sama. I had to know why the clan fell for! I had to know why Sasuke survived! I had to find my new purpose in life. I had to. I couldn't die here.
I closed my trembling hands, my nails digging inside my palms. There was something hot rolling inside my fists. A wet drop fell on the floor.
"You're very impressive, Uchiha girl." The Jounin from Iwa panted.
Then I noticed I was the only one truly standing. All the Genin looked like they were agonizing on the floor. Gai-Sensei was leaning against the wall, he was very pale. The woman was seating on the ground, her brow covered with sweat.
I looked at Jiraya-Sama.
"You have a strong will." He said. "But the lesson wasn't for you."
The tension immediately dropped. I felt like the air around me regained a few degrees. I had the biggest difficulties unclenching my fists. My nails had dug semi-circular wounds on my skin, deep enough to draw blood. Gai-Sensei tossed a roll of bandages at me, and I used it to wipe my palms clean. Everyone around me was on the floor.
"It was for the ones who wanted to fight, I understand." I said. "But is it the way to get peace."
"This was merely discipline. To me, you're all whining kids." Jiraya-Sama said. "There are times where you can nag each other, and even start a fight. But this isn't such time. We are all strangers in this country, and we have no interest in fighting one another. Did I get myself clear?"
Answers were grunted by the different people in the room. This man was clearly terrifying.
"And just for those of you who think they have the advantage of the number; a backup team should arrive in a matter of hours." Gai-Sensei added, closely looking at the Iwa Jounin.
I heard Kurotsuchi-San making comments about capturing one of us and getting a nice hostage. I thought she meant me, because of the trap I had closed around him. They were looking down on me because I had been classified as a Genjutsu specialist, and usually these people weren't good physical fighters. Both Deidara-San and Toma-San emitted dubious looks at that idea, even if it seemed appealing to them. I was making more and more enemies in Iwa it seemed.
"Jiraya-Sama, you should let these young people fight." The Iwa Jounin said with a seductive voice. "You know how boys are at that age. Too much testosterone and they get to clash."
Even though he totally disapproved that idea, the Sannin's eyes softened. He was very appreciative of the curves of the Jounin Sensei. And if I wasn't mistaken, so did most of the males in the room. I frowned. I didn't like this situation at all. I clearly emitted a disappointing noise. The old man's eyes fell on me. The twinkle on them made me even warier than before.
"I fear some of them had difficulties to understand my lesson, Yanagi. Would you care for helping me with my teaching?"
"Depends. Who do I fight?" I asked.
"Does it really matter to you?" he said.
"I know Genin are nothing to you, but I'm the kind of person who likes to know a bit about their opponents."
"Deidara, you go." The sensei decided. "You did nothing in that last fight!"
"But Sensei, I was injured…" he complained.
"Yes, but you're the one who caused all that mess."
"Sensei's the one continuing it." Akatsuchi remarked.
She glared at him and he froze. Interesting.
"Sensei! I want to crush that girl!" Toma-San exclaimed.
"You already lost to her. Now you get to watch and learn. Deidara observed her doing Genjutsu. He's been with the Konoha team since last night. I wish your reluctance isn't because of some growing affection."
Her voice was sweet, yet so sharp and cold at the same time. I repressed a shiver. She really was dangerous that one. With reluctance, Deidara-San's grey eyes crossed mine. He nodded at me and showed the outside. We started with the ninja seal, both our right forefingers and middle fingers were touching. His skin felt smooth under mine. He didn't have the scars left by the intensive use of weapons.
"No killing, no maiming, no grave injury." They told us.
"Get that bitch!" Toma-San yelled.
"Go Yanagi!" Lee-San howled even louder.
"Start!" Jiraya-Sensei announced.
He had the immediate reflex to draw back from me. His hands plunged in the square pouches on his hips. They were staying too long to be shuriken or kunai. Or maybe he would throw at the last moment.
"I'm sorry. It's not against you." I told him while lunging at him fast.
His eyes widened. I decided it wasn't worth using all this speed. He managed to avoid my slowing fist with a step to the side, his hands joining. I could hear a wet munching sound. It was kind of disgusting. He threw his hand's content in my direction, a white form. The clay creation spread out its wings. I was so fascinated that I stayed there watching.
And the bird exploded right to my face.
It wasn't a strong explosion. Just enough so the wind would send me away with mild burns. I felt my body turning in the air and the world spun around me as I executed an involuntary back loop. I crashed on the ground harshly, dirt and stones scratching me everywhere.
If he had wanted so, he could have blown my head. I would have died. I laid down for a millisecond. He knew I would have died. I knew it too. Everyone knew it, and I felt they would rub it in my face. Deidara-San looked at me, his eyes asking if I wanted to give up. He wasn't resenting me or anything. He let me stand up.
"She's lost! Let that mascaraed end!" Toma-San yelled.
"In a real battle, she would have died." The Sensei added. "Your Genin team sucks, Maito Gai."
"She totally let him land that attack!" Gai-Sensei retorted. "She slowed down!"
"Shall I continue?" Deidara-San asked. "This time we go all out, mmh."
"Hn."
"I'll take that for a yes."
I ran at him again. He sighed and put his hands back in his clay pouches again. He wouldn't be lenient again. He was creating another explosive bird. But I won't let him. He clearly wasn't fast enough for me, and I could be faster if I wanted to. But too fast and I'll miss details of his moves. For a higher speed I'd definitely need the Sharingan, and I didn't intend to use it. None of them knew I was an Uchiha, and I had no wish to tell them.
We clapsed our hands together at the same time. I knew he was expecting a Genjutsu, as I was execting another explosive. So I went for the tiger seal and prepared little fireballs. I filled my lungs with air.
"Katon, Hôsenka no Jutsu!"
I fired at him. Flames started licking his naked arms. He was forced to retreat. He threw the contents of his hands at me. Tiny white cicadas exploded in my flames, efficiently dispersing them. He used the power of the explosion to fasten his retreat, but I had been counting on that. Quickly than he expected, I spread a layer of chakra on the floor and glided on it towards him. I used that energy to land a kick on his recently healed calf.
He yelled in pain and cursed me. His hands went for a grab reflexively. I didn't avoid him completely and his fingers were tangled in my hair. He harshly threw me on his knee. I felt my lips burst and my teeth clatter. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I spat reddened saliva in his eyes, and he immediately let go to clean his eyes.
"Hey! That was totally dirty!" someone complained in the background.
"If you want to fight fair, then give up on being a ninja!" Jiraya-Sama replied.
I chuckled. I remembered Gekko-Senpai saying something similar in the fight I tried to get that burgundy ribbon from him and never succeeded.
Deidara-San went for a circular kick. I ducked under it and rolled out of his way. I threw a volley of shuriken at him. Invisible wire was tied to it. I'd voluntarily miss him so that he would be trapped. But he was smarter than this. He saw through everything, the false trajectories and the wired, even grabbing them and pulling. I couldn't resist. I knew there was his fist by the end of the way.
I yanked back to make him lose his focus, and he missed my face. I didn't manage to free myself from the wires. Deidara-San went to get clay from his pouch. I wouldn't avoid the explosion this time. But he wouldn't either. What was he playing at? I walked faster than he was pulling me and grabbed his wrists.
"You have lots of strength for a girl." He grunted.
"You'll be exploding us both doing that!" I hissed.
"Will I, mmh?" he taunted me.
He didn't feel the chakra when I sent some in his organism. He suddenly stops resisting me, and I am destabilised by his manoeuver. I tumble forward, just enough for him to strangle me with my own wires. I cannot break his grip.
"This is how you lose, Yanagi-San. Forfeit."
"I… am not… finished…. with you…" I managed, but couldn't loosen his grip.
I couldn't breathe. The edges of my vision field were turning black. I felt like I was about to puke. Then I remembered the chakra I had injected him and started the Genjutsu. It was a bad one, I knew, but it was enough for me to slice the wires when he took the time to break it.
He looked disappointed by my performance.
"I expected better from a so-called specialist." He said.
I didn't reply, only punching him in the face. But I had been slowed down and my rhythm was wrong. He avoided my hit, and his own fist went for my ribs. I grabbed it, and he felt the strength of the impact coursing through our arms. I wrung it until his shoulder was about to pop, forcing him to put a knee on the ground;
"You were saying?" I said.
"I'm saying you would have died twice if I had been serious."
"You would have never been able to land a hit if I had been serious." I said to him.
I wasn't sure of that. In my mouth the approaching victory tasted like ashes. He was perfectly right. He would have exploded my head. He would have strangled me with my own wire. He totally would have. Would have it been so different, had I used all my aces? Kakashi-San was right. My life wouldn't last long if I kept my secret weapons secret for silly reasons.
Yet we both were exhausted. He was breathless, and so was I. Deidara-San had enough clay to make another bird. I twisted his arm a bit more. He gritted his teeth, but the pain didn't stop him. I quickly grabbed a kunai and pinned his creation as he opened his free hand. I'm practically sure the tip of my blade is grazing the mouth on his palm. He was determined to win, and so was I.
The clay bird is bigger than before. If it exploded, we would definitely be maimed or killed. But right there, there was only he and I.
Earlier that day I wondered about how easy it was for a ninja to kill an enemy. I had my answer. It was as easy as dying from one.
I feel the chakra coursing his clay bird. His hand trembled under the pressure. People starting shouting at us to stop this, but we were already beyond the limits of reason. There was only Deidara-San and I, the bomb between us and the second Genjutsu he had yet to see. He was right to doubt my Genjutsu performance earlier. Because he just unravelled the mental attack that would set me free, not the one that would make me win.
I didn't want to lose my edge. I kept holding his arm and send a knee into his face. He managed to twist enough to avoid the impact and I merely grazed his cheek. Then he pushed against me when my leg was up. I tumbled backwards and instinctively let go of his locked arm. He tossed the bomb at me.
I was falling on the ground. Once again the bomb flew at me. I would die if it exploded. Life was so easy to lose. Someone shouted my name. I felt very calm on this instant. Everything was crystal clear. Deidara joined his hands to make the bird explode. I'd let him try once.
"Katsu!" he shouted.
Nothing happened. I grinned. My Genjutsu did work. He was so persuaded to fill his bird with chakra, when he was merely wasting it away. I picked my kunai and the clay bird came with it. Blue flames suddenly engulfed it and I read fear in his grey eyes. I kept it burning as I walked to him, the clay hardening then crumbling to the ground.
"How did you…" he started.
I threw the kunai at him. He avoided it and the projectile sunk into a tree, hissing.
"You should give up. You don't have any clay left, and not much chakra."
"You're not faring well either." He replied.
He was right. But I could go for another assault. I ran at him at full speed and he had no time to escape far enough. My fist crashed into his jaw. He violently collided with the ground and skid for half a meter before stopping. I saw him try to stand. I stepped on his chest.
"You lost." I simply said before helping him up.
I would have died three times in this battle. In a real fight I would have died. Victory tasted like ashes in my mind as I came back to my teammates. I wasn't sure about the future anymore.
Helllow! Sorry about the late post :) I have finally found an internship and have much less time than before to write. So don't expect a weeky uptade. Plus i'm working on another little project, a FemNaru based on an old story I have written (in French).
RadioPoisoning: I didn't notice I was making Yanagi's breats so much. They aren't that big, but it's more about the scar she has. Her heart was nearly missed, so she has a deep scar on her left breast, which bothers her a bit.
Girl-luvs-manga: I don't intend to have Deidara crush on her. Maybe I'll change my plans later though.
fuchsdeifeswuid: one day, Yanagi will understand why Neji willing to be her "rival" so much :) And Gai in fundoshi is a nightmare, I don't want to think about this anymore.
Guest: I placed the meeting with Deidara at that time because it was very interesting. His opinion on Yanagi will be rather good I think. She'll have his esteem for her strengh as a ninja, and she will reciprocate. About the fact that she is an Uchiha, he won't mind now, but he'll have a dilemma with Itachi's meeting :)
Leila-chan: the discussion with Jiraya was hard to write. And I like Deidara quite a lot as well, he's one of my favourite Akatsuki.
YumiKnowsBest: I don't edit my text before uploading it, because I'm very lazy, hence the errors. thanks for you positive review :)
