The Deeper Me
A/N: Hope you enjoy!!
I need to be more…what's the word…original? Anyways, please remember to review!
Warning: Language slightly inappropriate!
Naruto Characters © Masashi Kishimoto | OC's in this Story © me (unless said otherwise).
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in ANY WAY nor form.
Chapter Three: Abilities
Everyone gathered together in a group, several girls crowded around Itachi, whose face was quite kind and slightly annoyed.
"Alright then, you all know the drill, today – however – we're having two VS two matches." Kakashi instructed, several groans were heard, while several smirked (guess who).
"Alright then, first up are Ageha Akimichi and Eiki Nara VS Shibaku and Shiggon Hyuuga." Said people stepped out of the crowd and into a marked arena. They took their stances. "Start!"
Shibaku and Shiggon took their Juuken form, perfectly symmetrical. Eiki charged in first, while Ageha was behind, being there for support.
The twins made a high kick, hitting Eiki's chin in the process, before returning to their original stance. Eiki was sent back a little, doing a bend back, he flipped back over and back onto his feet. Ageha had used a type of genjutsu on himself to make himself disappear, not worried about being detected since the twins hadn't activated their Byakugan…yet.
Eiki made a simple clone and one shadow clone, he charged, the real Eiki and the genjutsu clone at the front while the shadow clone created another clone to like it attacked from behind. Eiki's shadow clone waited patiently, making himself invisible (but not undetectable), like Ageha. Eiki prepared a shadow controlling jutsu.
The twins' eyes' narrowed, activating their Byakugan.
Ageha reacted first, throwing several extra sharp shurikens towards the twins, before dispelling his other jutsu. His hands made a set of seals, Tiger, Rat, Bird, Boar, Tiger and lastly the Kage Bunshin Seal. "Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!" Over two hundred shuriken were created.
Creating four seals, Bird, Dog, Ram and Rat, Eiki shouted, "Shadow Control Jutsu!" Using his shadow manipulation skills to control the shurikens, via shadow.
The twins focused their chakra. "We see all and know all!" They chanted together, using words instead of seals. "And with our powers, to you we call!" They paused, closing their eyes, releasing a small but sharp burst of chakra.
"Guardian of the Great Eight Divination Signs: One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms!" They shouted, opening their clearly focused eyes, using their chakra to dispel the shurikens.
"Two strikes…" Shiggon chanted, the twins charged.
"Four strikes…" Shigaku chanted.
"Eight strikes…" Shiggon chanted.
"Sixteen strikes…" Shigaku chanted.
"Thirty-two strikes…" They chanted. "Sixty-four strikes…" They released more chakra. "ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY STRIKES!!"
A puff of smoke covered the area. Kakashi, Itachi and Tsubaki were the only ones to see the result.
They're holding back, I know it… Tsubaki mused. Too bad, they gave their best try, but only one side shall be the winners.
The smoke started to clear. Two figures could be seen standing up, and slightly panting. "And the winners are…"Kakashi started, pausing a bit while the smoke cleared. "…Shigaku and Shiggon Hyuuga." He said, just before all the smoke cleared. Eiki and Ageha were on the ground, panting.
"I'm beat!" Eiki exclaimed.
"Same here…" Ageha agreed.
"That was great teamwork, all of you." Tsubaki complimented, smiling serenely, as she approached the four. Taking out a summoning scroll, she summoned four small tubes that were filled some sort of special healing water, and gave one to each of them. They looked at her with a little look of confusion before shrugging it off – a bit too tired to care – and began to drink the solution. All four of them immediately felt the healing powers of the water.
"What is this water?" Shigaku asked, amazed, staring at the tube.
"I call it Kimizu." Tsubaki replied. "Its natural water, enhanced with healing chakra and special herbs, the chakra increases the rate it heals by. My mother had a scroll on this water – but she didn't name it – so I did, in her place."
"Interesting!" Eiki said, happily, jumping up and down. "I feel like I could run a marathon!"
"Alright, alright," Kakashi sighed. "Come on! Next match is – hey, you five, out of the ring! – Yacho Yaminaka and Kouka Inuzuka VS…hmm…let's see…" Kakashi said, drifting off. Maybe…hmm…let's see how they work together… "…how about Itachi Uchiha…" Many girls squealed and hoped they'd be paired up with the Itachi Uchiha. "…and Tsubaki Namikaze."
Many girls face-faulted, before shouting in protest. "WHAT?! NO WAY! ITACHI-SAMA CANNOT BE PAIRED UP WITH…HER! SHE BARELY EVEN KNOWS HIM!" A random girl within the class protested.
"YEAH!" Another agreed.
"You tell him, sister!" Another girl said, as the girls had a…screaming fest. Itachi's eye was twitching, a whole lot.
"If that's the case," Tsubaki said, cutting all the girls off, smiling at them. "How about one of you pair up with him?" She asked, knowing an argument laid ahead.
"I—" A girl started, before being cut off.
"No, I—" She got cut off.
"NO, I!"
"NO, NO, NO! I!!!" As several rounds of 'no, I' passed, Kakashi got annoyed.
"WILL YOU GIRLS QUIET DOWN?!" He barked, thunder clouds suddenly flashed, scaring most of the girls out of their wits. "For goodness sakes! And, Tsubaki, no swapping partners in future! My word is final." Kakashi scolded.
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei." She replied, innocently, entering the arena. No matter what her personality, a little fun should be done – every once in a while… Itachi, Yacho and Kouka were already in the arena. Turning to Itachi, she said, "Let's do our best."
"Yep." He answered, flashing a small smile. The girls – though a bit quieter than usual – squealed. They both turned to the Inuzuka (and her dog, which was in its own fighting stance) and Yaminaka. Their eyes met, narrowing, except for Tsubaki's, which just showed how true her gentle smile was.
"Start!" Kakashi-sensei bellowed.
"Itachi-kun… please back me up, ok?" Tsubaki asked. He nodded, she nodded back. Tsubaki charged, drawing a kunai.
(A/N: This is just like an intermission, wait until the italics stop!) "Hey, hey, who'd you think will win?" A Russet-brown haired girl asked, curious.
"Itachi-sama, of course!" A tea-green haired girl answered.
"How about that other girl?"
"I think Itachi-sama will have to save her sorry arse!" She replied. "Definitely! She's even underestimating her opponent!"
Tsubaki charged at Kouka, aiming at her shoulder, she moved swiftly, before – at the last second – feinting, jumping on Kouka's shoulders, using her hands to do a flip in the air, Kouka felt the pressure, Tsubaki doing more than just flipping over her. "WOOF, WOOF!" Usuakari barked.
"Oh, crap!" Kouka cried, looking up, only having to squint her eyes at the sun. Kouka turned around, running back to Yacho. "YACHO!"
Tsubaki charged at Yacho, Kouka soon catching up. She smirked in a shinobi-ish way. Just as I thought… She mused. Now, let's fulfil my plan! Tsubaki was in a crash-course with Yacho, a bit too fast for him to dodge, she pulled her kunai in front of her, aiming at Yacho. Kouka was right behind her, she could feel it. Then, like before, just before Kouka reached up to her, she flipped on top of Yacho's shoulder, pushing herself to land gracefully beside Itachi.
Kouka had charged on impulse, with a bit more force than required. She, then, regretted doing that as she toppled over Yacho, the two of them rolling on the ground, Usuakari made the rolling worst, following after her mistress. They were covered with dirt and several minor cuts, but were otherwise unharmed. They got up to their feet. "Yacho…" Kouka started.
"Yeah, I know." Yacho answered, pulling out a kunai of his own, Kouka also pulled out her own kunai. They narrowed their eyes. Win… They both chanted within their eyes.
"Not so bad, huh?" Tsubaki said, smiling gleefully.
Itachi smirked. "Nice tactic."
"Did you see that? No one has ever done that! Who, no, what is she?!"
"Did you hear that?! Itachi-sama just…!"
"Let's make this a bit fairer, shall we?" Tsubaki asked rhetorically. Tsubaki bit her thumb and made a set of seals, Bird, Boar, Dog, Bird and Rat. She slammed her hand; fingers extended, on the ground, a seal appearing beneath her hand.
A summoning Jutsu…?! Kakashi thought, bewildered.
A puff of smoke masked the figure within it, before dispersing entirely. "Hiya, Tsubaki-chan." Greeted a female red-crowned crane chick, about 50 centimetres tall, with a red square cloth – which as folded in half – tied around its neck. The kerchief had a circular crest that had a white background which was separated into three parts. In one of the parts was an electric-blue coloured snowflake, adjacent to its left was a vermillion-orange coloured symbol of a flame and in the space next to it was the kanji symbol '丹頂', or tancho (literally red crown) in an amethyst colour.
"Greetings, Nebiki-san." Tsubaki said, kneeling on the ground and stroking her back, with swift but soft strokes. "Now…to the matter at hand…" Tsubaki whispered in her ear, explaining the situation. Nebiki nodded several times. Tsubaki turned to Itachi. "Let's go together."
"Alright." Itachi answered confirmation within his nodding. They took their stances and darted in.
Meanwhile, Yacho and Kouka were burning with fighting spirit. Impressive, yes, but mustn't lose! Besides, it'd be nice to beat Itachi, too, but it's time to beat Tsubaki-san first! They both thought, glancing at each other, they nodded, prepared for the incoming attack.
This time, the attack was lead by Itachi; Tsubaki took out a weapon that looked like a twirling ribbon and she was close behind him. Kouka threw a smoke bomb ball towards the two, jumping back.
Itachi cut the ball in half, the smoke covered the arena. Damn… Tsubaki and Itachi thought. Barks could be heard, Itachi was about to charge in when Tsubaki stopped him. "Let's use Nebiki." She whispered, getting s confirmation nod from Itachi. "Nebiki!" She called.
Nebiki flew over and perched on her shoulder. The three nodded, figuring out the plan through looks alone. Itachi charged in, Tsubaki just behind him.
Kouka and Usuakari charged in, aiming at Tsubaki. The attack sent pieces of the earth towards Tsubaki. Tsubaki dodged, jumping back, unknowingly activating a trap.
Gottcha! Kouka smirked. Ninja wires were gripping her ankles, making her unable to move, triggering another trap that shot out kunais, which circled around her wrists. The wires were held together by Kouka's chakra. "Urgh…" Tsubaki grunted, struggling out of the wires.
"Sorry," Kouka said, smirking. "But it's no use! It's being held by my chakra!" Kouka exclaimed. Tsubaki stopped struggling, but was still slightly trembling, facing downwards.
He he he… Just as I thought. Tsubaki thought. Now… It's about time…URGH!
Within the smoke, Yacho performed a single hand sign. "Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!" He aimed at Tsubaki. Tsubaki's body stopped trembling, and smirked slightly. Kouka stopped the flow of chakra within the wire; she took out a kunai, holding it by Tsubaki's throat. The smoke soon cleared, revealing Tsubaki clutching onto Kouka's arm. Itachi ran towards the two.
It's started, huh? He thought.
"Let go of her." Itachi said, pulling out a kunai. His eyes were stoic.
"Heh… make me." Kouka replied, smirking, pressing the kunai a bit stronger. Tsubaki closed her eyes, trembling slightly. "He he…remember, think about it, very carefully." Tsubaki stopped trembling, slipping out of Kouka's grasp. She kicked her side, running towards Itachi.
Hmm… all is going according to plan… Now, Tsubaki, you can do it! Itachi mentally cheered, seeing Nebiki's shadow through the corner of his eye.
"Itachi-kun…I…" She started, before being cut off.
"Stay where you are." He said firmly.
"Itachi-kun...?!" She exclaimed, horrified. "Itachi-kun, it's me…"
"Stay where you are." He repeated.
"Itachi-kun…" She sighed, before smirking. "Well, certainly can't fool you, huh?" She said slyly.
"Hn…" He answered. Tsubaki's possessed body charged, aiming a punch at Itachi's right shoulder. She jumped up, waiting for impact. Itachi dodged at the last second. The ground was pierced and cracked.
"Gosh! I love this body!" She exclaimed. "So powerful." Itachi's eyes narrowed. He made a set of seals, Dragon, Rabbit, Ram, Rat, Snake and Ox; in his mind he said the Jutsu name.
Tsubaki charged in again. "HA HA HA! Man, she had this much power, she was holding back the whole time!" Tsubaki aimed another punch towards Itachi's face. Her punch, however, stopped an inch before it actually reached his face. Shadows covered Tsubaki's eyes.
"I think it's about time… I take over again…right, Itachi?" The real Tsubaki said.
"Yeah, about time." He grumbled.
"Sorry…I just wanted to see…the outcome."
"And make a fool out of me in the process."
"Yeah, yeah…"
Inside Tsubaki's Mind…
Yacho had successfully entered Tsubaki's mind. Her mind was so complicated to him, that it took a little searching to know where he was. Tsubaki's mind was like a lost civilisation, full of tall, mystical buildings, forests, lakes and many ancient scripts were written on buildings. He walked inside a building and entered an underground area that looked like a control room.
This must be where she controls herself through her mind… He thought, amazed. He approached a large screened computer, it was already on. He began opening some files.
"Let's see…" He searched through the files. "Oh crap! She's been training with ANBU'S?! What the hell?!" He exclaimed, eyes bulging. He saw a file that was given the title 'Memories' and tried to open it.
Please Enter the Password.
"Password?" He muttered.
"Hey, hey, it's not polite to look through someone else's mind, ya know!" A voice behind him said, in a mocking tone. He turned, flabbergasted. In front of him was a girl about Tsubaki's age. She had a burgundy-coloured hime (princess) cut hair; sepia-brown pupils and wore pure white sleeveless dress that had an amber-coloured ribbon going around the middle of the top of the dress and a matching amber-coloured lace was on the bottom of the dress. Her skin was slightly tanned.
"Who are you? This is Tsubaki's mind, right?" He asked a bit confused.
"Yep, sure is. I'm Tsubaki's 'imaginary' friend, as some would say. But really, I'm more a part of her mind." She answered him. "And, I know you entered here without her consent…so…" Her eyes turned deadly. "Are you ready to take the punishment?" At the very same moment, Tsubaki had entered her own mind.
"Greetings, Yacho-kun." She said, bowing slightly. "Good work, you can leave now." she told her 'imaginary' friend.
"Yep, OK!" She said, as she vanished.
Yacho narrowed his eyes at her. "…I'll take over my body now. I just wanted to see if you could unlock anything, and you did, but this was only the tip of the iceberg." Her eyes no longer reflected her gentle self – but reflected the eyes of a true kunoichi. She made a set of seals, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Ram, Bird and Rat, and said, "Namikaze Arts: Inner Altered Reality!"
Yacho was shrouded in darkness, he felt chained up to a wall.
In the Real World
Tsubaki took a kunai out of her kunai pouch. She stabbed her left hand, on the side opposite to her palm. Everyone was shocked.
"Is she emo or something?"
"She must be a lunatic!"
"Itachi-sama!!!"
"You know, if the host's body gets hurt then your real body gets hurt too, you know that, right Yacho-kun?" Tsubaki smirked. She seemed to be losing a lot of blood, but didn't seem to mind.
Inside Tsubaki's Mind
"ARGHHH!!!" Yacho shouted in pain. "OK, OK! I'll dispel! Stop! Stop!"
Inner Tsubaki nodded.
In the Real World
Tsubaki made the sign of release. "Release!" She shouted.
Yacho's soul went back to its rightful body.
"…masochists!" Yacho grumbled. He was surprised, however, when he saw that no blood was pouring from his left hand. He stared at it, flabbergasted. "What the hell?!"
Tsubaki chuckled, dispelling the Jutsu she had used. This had all been planned. Now, Yacho had just about no chakra and Kouka had been taken down when she was hit earlier and was unconscious.
"The winner is Itachi Uchiha and Tsubaki Namikaze." Kakashi said, amazed.
Everyone was wondering what happened. Itachi's fan girls were too fascinated in how they won that they forgot to cheer Itachi's name.
Tsubaki and Itachi walked towards their opponents. Tsubaki carried Kouka; Usuakari followed her mistress instinctively, while Itachi helped the fatigued Yacho up, both of them carried the two towards the trunk of a tree.
"How did you two do that?" Yacho asked. Kouka stirred awake.
"What happened?" She asked, yawning. Usuakari's bark woke her up. "WE WHAT?!"
"Calm down, Kouka." Kakashi said. "Anyways, Itachi, Tsubaki, I'm quite curious on what you did back there. Care to explain?"
"Well, it was all planned out." Itachi said. "I had a feeling that Yacho and Kouka would aim for Tsubaki, after what she did—" Tsubaki blushed. "—So I created a plan with Tsubaki-san, utilising all of our strengths to win." Tsubaki nodded.
"Yes, by utilising Genjutsu. You see, I made it so that it looked like I got trapped, when I was setting a trap for them myself. I allowed Yacho to enter my mind and control my body to think that he had the upper hand. When Itachi made those hand signs earlier, it was for a Genjutsu known as Ninja Art: Altered Reality, which allows the user to make the target think that everything that happens in the Genjutsu to be real. While Yacho was in my mind, I used my own Genjutsu Namikaze Arts: Inner Altered Reality to make Yacho think that what happened in the real world and my mind world was the same. It's just a simple tactic to fool the enemy; however, this would only work for ninjas at about Chuunin or lower since they mostly rely on sight alone. Ninjas that rely on smell would have been able to tell that – when I stabbed myself – there was no blood. Genjutsu is a technique that uses ones senses against themselves, which is hard to counter."
"Unless, of course, you are a Genjutsu master or of you have a bloodline limit." Itachi finished for her.
Many of their classmates were awed. Many of Itachi's fan girls had a new profound respect towards Tsubaki – while the boys were practically drooling.
Looks like she's gonna have a fan club by the end of the day… Kakashi thought, chuckling inwardly. "Very smart move, Tsubaki, Itachi." He said, though his face was covered, his smile reached his eye.
"Thank you very much." Tsubaki said, her face had returned to its usual motherly sereneness, as heavenly smile adorned her face.
"Thanks." Itachi said.
"Anyways," Kakashi said, gaining the attention of the class. "We need keep on going, come on, those matches aren't gonna fight themselves!"
"Hai, sensei!"
The day passed by without anything too amazing, except for Aki Urohiya's use of weapons and great chakra manipulation work.
(A/N: I was going to type out his fight, but I didn't want it so that Aki was the only one doing the work within the two on two. Besides, I'm sure everyone likes surprises, right? ;) )
"Alright then, class dismissed, everyone, work on chapter 3.1 to 3.3!"
"Hai, sensei!" Everyone was dismissed at the arena, and was heading home.
Tsubaki and Itachi were talking to each other beneath a shady tree.
"Hey," Itachi said. "Would you like to meet my little brother?" He asked.
"You have a little brother? Well, I'd be happy to meet him!" She smiled.
"Yeah, he's two years old…" He said. "And very cute." He smiled his own smile. "You wouldn't mind taking him out of the Uchiha compound tomorrow, do you?" He asked. "I'll be coming, too, of course." He said, a bit nervous.
"I'll do it! I always wanted to see what it's like having a sibling." She giggled. "I can picture him now…"
Itachi smiled, Tsubaki's laugh and smile made him want to protect it, protect until the very end, just like Sasuke.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow at… Say nine o'clock tomorrow morning?"
"Alright! I'll see tomorrow morning!" She said, standing up, walking away. She waved goodbye to him. "See you tomorrow!" She said, cheerfully.
"See you later." His smile soon faded once Tsubaki was gone. He soon headed back home after he could not see Tsubaki around the corner. "…I wonder am I…" He started. "…no! That can't be…" He sighed, remembering when he went to a fortune teller one a pure whim.
"You shall find your heart in some place and time unexpected. There is no 'coincidences', young one, only the inevitability."
Yes, indeed, there were no coincidences within this world, only the inevitability.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Oh my goodness… This is the longest chapter I've ever written… 0.0 And I had so much fun writing it, too! XD (I broke my record of 4, YES!)
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!
Anyways, hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I'm gonna have to write a one-shot story for Christmas… Should it involve Tsubaki? Please reply and tell me if you want me to write a Tsubaki X Itachi one shot for Christmas.
Or…
Hinata X Naruto
Sasuke X Sakura
Shikamaru X Temari
Please note that I'm not going to do anything involving yaoi.
Next Time...
Chapter Four: Sasuke
Tsubaki meets Sasuke...stay tuned to see what happens! ;D