I am not a doctor or a nurse or a student of biology, so I apologize if some of my information is inaccurate. I will try to look things up carefully, but if I get something wrong, just try to go with it or you can shoot me a review and I will try to change it.
I have never written a battle scene before. For school I had to become very proficient in description and poetry, by practice I have gotten fairly good at dialogue, but I have never really needed to write action sequences.
I had a pretty good battle planned out, but I don't know how well I was able to execute it. I put a lot of effort into the battle and am fairly pleased with it, but again, I am not an action writer. If you have any suggestions, I will gladly listen. I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew by making my first fanfiction an action romance …
~*G*O*L*D*E*N*~
~*~White is the color of bones~*~
~*~Strong but fragile bones~*~
~*~Stable but always weakening~*~
Sasuke enjoyed the sound of Kiba's nose breaking. For all his taunts and bravado, he was not fairing well against the young healer.
"Stand back, guys. Let me take her out by myself," Kiba had announced as he swaggered up to Sasuke.
"Remember that all techniques are allowed, but do not aim to kill," Iruka cautioned.
"Enough talk! Begin!" the Commander shouted.
Kiba crouched down and began grunting what sounded like random syllables, but Sasuke recognized the signs of a spell. Kiba's nails began to grow to unnatural and dangerous lengths.
"My family has been imitating the ferocity of wild beasts for centuries," Kiba proclaimed proudly.
"It seems more like you are wild beasts imitating humans," Sasuke shot back with a smirk, though she was not taking his new attributes lightly.
Sasuke held the pinky and middle finger of her hands together and began humming her own spell.
"Did you mess up?" Kiba mocked after nothing appeared to be different about Sasuke.
"Why don't you come find out?"
Kiba grinned and began to charge Sasuke staying low to the ground. He swung his hand towards Sasuke's body just to test her reactions. As he continued to throw punches, gradually increasing his strength and speed, it seemed no matter how much he increased his ability Sasuke would dodge it perfectly.
"Not bad, if you were an eight year old student at the Academy," Kiba mocked, though it was apparent that he was slightly flustered. She seemed to be just as strong and fast as him even with his enhanced abilities.
"Well, then you are only attacking with the skills of an eight year old. No, actually, since I am dodging so easily, you must be attacking with skills even lower than that," Sasuke countered.
Kiba growled at that and straightened from his position crouching on the ground. "I'm just trying not to hurt the little doll," he snarled tying to regain the upper hand.
"Well, you are doing an excellent job," she replied sweetly. "I don't have a scratch or a bruise at all."
"I can change that."
"What happened to not hurting me? If you are trying to hurt me, then I suppose you are not doing a very good job. I guess I better let you make up your mind about whether or not you are actually trying to fight me or just swinging your pretty nails around."
Kiba charged her then, growling out some more threats. Sasuke began blocking, now, instead of just dodging.
"The kid has basic combat skills. I'll give her that," the Commander commented, "but, I have yet to actually see her do anything."
"That is why she will be such a great fighter," Kakashi said proudly, "because she fights with healer techniques that the fighters won't recognize or know how to counter."
"Hrm?" the Commander raised an eyebrow as he grunted skeptically.
"That first spell pumped her body with adrenaline, which allows her to keep up with Kiba's attacks. I know Kiba's spell is similar in that it increases his muscle mass." Kakashi glanced away from the Commander and back towards the fight. Seeing Sasuke hold her hands in a praying position and begin chanting, he said, "Here comes the counter attack."
"Praying for your life," Kiba said, truly believing her to be giving up.
Sasuke just smirked and took advantage of Kiba suddenly dropping his guard to taunt her by slamming the heel of her hand into his nose and holding it there a little longer than required to break his nose. Kiba lurched backwards and bent over clutching his nose.
The sound of the bone snapping along with Kiba's scream caused the other two boys in the arena, who had previously just been standing near the edge, to rush forward. Though they did not think Kiba was out yet, they were now prepared to step in if needed.
"Not yet!" Kiba yelled as they neared him. "I can handle it."
Kiba threw his head back up quickly, but the sudden motion caused his vision to blur. He clutched the side of his head.
"Does your head hurt?" Sasuke asked with a smug voice. "That would be from all the blood rushing to your brain, usually it is a technique to help keep people conscious after a concussion, but if too much blood is pushed into the brain of a healthy person, they will experience symptoms of Intracranial pressure, including pain, ocular palsies, which causes you to be unable to move your eyes, and … "
Kiba finished the list of symptoms by hunching over and puking. Kiba shook his head to try and get rid of the pain.
Because of the sudden headache, his own spell had faded causing his skills to return to normal as well as preventing him from being able to fight properly. Despite that, Kiba tried to charge Sasuke again, but he had indeed lost control of his eyes and could not stay focused on Sasuke's form.
With a few quick kicks to the stomach, Sasuke had forced Kiba's body outside of the ring. Unfortunately for him, Kiba was not able to see that he had been knocked out and tried to rush Sasuke again.
Sasuke gave a swift kick to his ankle, causing him to tumble forward. She moved to the side, so he would not fall on her, and gave a chop to the back of his neck, which finally made him loose consciousness.
"Knock out, Kiba," Iruka yelled from the sideline. "Two on one attacks now allowed."
"Alright, that was unique," the Commander admitted, with just the slightest hint of admiration. "A little gross, but effective."
"Healers have to know the human body inside and out in great detail," Kakashi explained. "There is a thin line between repairing damage and causing it."
"Well, now we will see how she does against more than one opponent."
Gaara and Naruto stared at Kiba for a while, slightly unnerved by the manner of his knock out. Those techniques were new and strange.
"We shouldn't let her touch us," Gaara whispered to Naruto. "And we shouldn't let her have any time to cast any spells. We really don't know what she is capable of doing."
"Don't let her get to you, Gaara. Kiba was impulsive, but usually his strength is enough to counteract the trouble he finds himself in because of it, which is why we let him attack first," Naruto assured him, though he nodded slightly to Gaara's remark.
With one more glance at each other, they both rushed Sasuke. Naruto reached her first and aimed a punch at her head, which she easily ducked under. However, she had to duck her head right into the place Gaara had just aimed a kick. With a quick lurch backwards, Sasuke flipped out of the way and landed a few feet away from them.
Remembering Gaara's words, Naruto jumped after her with Gaara right behind him. Naruto was just a few seconds ahead of Gaara and threw his punch first. Sasuke dodged and grabbed Naruto's arm. She threw her body forward forcing Naruto's body into Gaara's.
Both boys stumbled for a second, but quickly separated and charged again. This time Naruto used his extra speed to get behind Sasuke just as Gaara reached her front. Each aimed a kick on a different side and at different heights, giving her no room to move, but Sasuke would not be corned.
She jumped forward towards Gaara, so that only his upper leg connected where the force was greatly reduced. The momentum of Sasuke's body knocked Gaara off balance and he fell to the arena floor.
Momentarily stunned by Sasuke's escape, Naruto was unable to stop Sasuke as she quickly pulled a bottle out of her sash and poured the liquid inside of it onto Gaara's face. Gaara coughed as the liquid entered his mouth, but was not able to stop it from doing its job.
Attempting to save his companion, Naruto attacked Sasuke, who was standing over Gaara looking satisfied. Naruto pushed her away from Gaara and knelt down next to his friend.
"It's just a tranquilizing agent. He'll just pass out for an hour or so," Sasuke offered calmly, remembering that these boys weren't really her enemies.
"You … better … win …"
"Don't worry Gaara, I will."
"Knock out, Gaara," Iruka announced as he ran around the outside of the ring to be close to where Gaara lay, now unconscious.
"You're full of new techniques," Naruto commented casually. "But, I won't be as easy to take down as my friends because I now know what to look for in your moves." While Naruto slowly pulled his sword off his back, he moved towards the opposite end of the ring, so that Gaara would not be injured in their fight.
Tossing the bottle outside of the arena, Sasuke sauntered after Naruto.
Both poised to fight, but wanting to wait while Iruka carried Gaara out of the ring to continue fighting.
"I couldn't use my sword before because I might have hit Gaara as we fought in close knit moves, but now I don't have to hold back at all," Naruto explained to Sasuke waving his sword from side to side, a wide grin on his face.
Rolling her eyes, she countered, unimpressed by his attempt at intimidation, "I have spent over 10 years of my life learning the techniques of a healer. Do you really think in all that time I only learned two spells?"
"I'm surprised you even learned two. Everyone knows the Institute is just a place for pretty little rich girls to go and improve their list of reasons to brag and bait an even richer husband."
"And little boys go to the Academy to earn the honor of licking the crumbs off the king's floor."
"Then why do you want it so badly?!"
At that statement, the Commander stilled and listened intently for her answer.
"It … was my family's legacy," she replied slowly. Glancing towards where Gaara used to be and noticing the space now empty, Sasuke charged Naruto again, not wanting to talk about it any further.
Careful to avoid Naruto's sword, she ducked and swiped at his legs. As he flipped over her kick, she rolled farther away from him, using the new distance to quickly chant a spell before Naruto could reach her. Placing the palm of one hand over the back of the other, she bagan to mumble the appropriate words, which caused her bottom hand to begin to glow green.
Just as her hand began to glow, Naruto reached her and swung his sword down towards her chest. In response, Sasuke leaned just enough away to be out of the blade's path and quickly shoved her glowing arm against his wrist, which held the sword.
"Was that supposed to hurt," Naruto teased, as he felt no pain at all.
"No," she replied slightly amused, "quite the opposite actually."
Confused, Naruto decided it didn't matter and began to lift his sword for another attack only to realize … his sword wouldn't move. His face grew even more confused and he tried to pull harder, thinking his sword must have gotten stuck in something. To try and dislodge it, he stepped back with his full body weight, but instead of freeing his sword it flopped to the ground as his arm fell to his side.
Panicking slightly now, he tried to move his arm. "What did you do?" he demanded furious.
"This is one of the first skills healers learn," she started, circling him like a predator. "To be able to perform any kind of surgery or procedure, we first have to numb the patient so they will not feel pain. Though, it has the added bonus of making the patient unable to move. In a fight, it's less messy than breaking a bone and more effective."
"Doesn't matter." He picked up his sword in his other hand. "I can fight with both hands. A real fighter is able to adapt to any situation."
"I don't see a real fighter, only a cat bristling its fur to appear bigger to its attacker."
"I am not a cat! I am a student of the Royal Academy of Fighters!!"
"You haven't graduated yet."
"I'm stronger than most graduates anyway. I don't need a vest to prove my strength."
"Well, a vest would hide your scrawny chest."
"Maybe your little trick with Kiba affected your eyes as well. My chest is as broad as a …"
"Ape," she finished and paused to look him over. "I suppose you do have that … primitive feel."
"Primitive?!" he yelled, swinging his sword in her direction again.
She dodged, easily noticing the difference in skill between his dominant and current arm. "Too primitive to think of an intelligent rebuttal?"
"What about my butt?!"
"Well, I suppose that proves that the things that come out of your mouth are even worse than what comes out of your butt, which at least serves a biological purpose."
"That's not something a lady should be saying."
"I doubt any lady could stand you long enough for you to know how a lady behaves."
"I know plenty of ladies and you are not one."
"Do I not look like a lady?" She curtsied with a cute smile to add to her sweet words.
"No," he mumbled, but he was blushing slightly.
"Really, why don't you look again?" She walked slowly towards him, purposely swaying her hips.
Still blushing, he looked away, which was just what Sasuke had planned. Before he could regain his composure and look back, she pointed her right arm towards the ground, palm parallel to the ground. She grabbed her right arm around her wrist with her left and spread out the fingers of her right hand.
"Does my body not have the same qualities as a lady?" She continued hoping to keep him distracted a little longer.
As he began trying to form the right words, she started chanting quietly, so as not to be heard over his voice.
"Well … I mean … there are … there are certain … certain things about you … that … that … that are …"
Perhaps Naruto should have been thankful that Sasuke had finished her spell and had begun to attack him again, which prevented him from having to speak anymore. She aimed at his chest with her right hand, palm facing him and now emitting crackling tendrils of blue light.
Still flustered, Naruto swung his sword forward, momentarily forgetting that she was not an actual enemy and he should probably not cut off her hand. However, when the sword connected with her hand, it got cut instead. The sound of the sword's point hitting the ground finally startled Naruto out of his confusion and he jumped backwards in shock and a bit of fear.
"What was that?" he breathed as if he had been punched in the chest.
"My own special version of a technique used to cut flesh and bone for surgery," she said proudly. Straightening herself, she began slowly walking towards him, hand still producing the menacing noise and light from her spell.
For the first time in a long time, Naruto backed away in fear, dropping the remainder of his sword as he moved.
"Naruto!" Kiba shouted from the side, slightly recovered from Sasuke's spell. "Don't chicken out now! She's just a little girl," he urged, though his voice held a hint of fear.
Naruto stopped moving. Though he lowered his head, his body stood strong and he curled the hand on his arm, which was not numb, into a fist.
The new body language made Sasuke stop as well. Cautiously, she examined him again. Under her gaze, Naruto began grunting out apparently random syllables and his whole body began to glow red. To her surprise, he began moving the arm she had previously numbed.
Now having use of both his hands, Naruto charged forward throwing punches with both hands in quick succession, leaving Sasuke little time to do anything but push his fists slightly off their directed path. Though none of his punches hit anything vital, Naruto began connecting with Sasuke's body.
The sun was setting now, creating an eerie orange blaze behind the two forms now sparring furiously in the middle of the grassy field.
"This is taking too long," he said, gasping for breath after the long exchange. With that said, he took advantage of Sasuke's breathing break. He sliced his thumb with his teeth and started drawing in the grass with the blood.
A summoning. Sasuke could not know exactly what was coming, but she had to stop it. Still panting, she rushed forward, but he was too far away and she was too tired to get there in time. With an explosion that singed the grass, a frog appeared in front of Naruto. Sasuke reached them just after he appeared and tried to get rid of the frog before it could help Naruto in any way, but both the frog and Naruto jumped out of the way easily.
Sasuke turned around just in time to see the frog spit a dagger out of its mouth, which Naruto picked up with a toothy grin.
"You're not the only one who can affect the human body," he bragged. "This dagger can knock you out with even the smallest cut."
"You haven't been able to cut me yet," she countered smoothly. However, her eyes locked on the dagger, prepared to evade it at all costs.
His attacks came quick and steady. Sasuke had to use every ounce of energy she had left to avoid the blade. This was not good. She could not keep this up forever, but she could not find any openings to cast another spell.
She couldn't loose.
She had to find out.
She had worked so hard to get this far, even knowing how low her chances were, especially being a woman.
"Woman have their own kind of unique power." She had remembered Kakashi saying that, when she first expressed her worries about being able to fulfill her plan. She knew what she had to do, but it took her a few more minutes to steal herself for what she was about to do.
As Naruto swung the dagger once again, she dodged just right, so that Naruto's hand was just in front of her chest. Then, she did one of the most humiliating things she had ever done, she leaned forward so that her breast touched the back of Naruto's hand. With a squeek, he dropped the dagger and backed away.
Sasuke picked up the dagger slowly and aimed a kick at Naruto's already shaky legs. He tumbled to the ground. So as not to waist her opening, she straddled Naruto's chest and brought the dagger up to his face.
"Every little kitty needs whiskers," she mocked and quickly cut three whisker marks on each of Naruto's cheeks.
As Naruto drifted off, the last thing he saw was Sasuke's smirking face surrounded by star's from the night sky.
~*~Black is the color of night~*~
~*~Dark but soothing night~*~
~*~Ending but ever renewing~*~
~*A*N*G*E*L*~