I do not own Naruto or Kamen Rider Blade. I am only writing about them for fun. I am not gaining anything from doing this so don't get the idea that you can sue me for some quick cash. That being said, I hope you all enjoy the fic.
The Forgotten Rider
By Ten-Faced Paladin
Chapter 6: The Animal Within
In the middle of the Forest of Death, the three remaining members of Team 7 were being pitted against a lone Kusa-nin. Moments ago, the ninja had used a wind technique to separate them before she replaced Naruto. At the moment, Sakura, Sasuke, and Chalice were standing at opposite ends of a clearing from the Kusa-nin.
Chalice wasn't fooled by the feminine face. He knew for certain that he was looking at Orochimaru, one of the three Sannin trained by the Hokage, and currently an S-class missing-nin. The man was downright obsessed with learning every jutsu in the world and developed a number of depraved techniques to extend his life.
"Ku ku ku ku," the Kusa-nin chuckled. "It seems that you have exceeded my expectations. This will be so much fun."
The Kusa-nin licked her lips with her freakishly long tongue before reaching into her belt and pulling out an Earth scroll. Both Sakura and Sasuke flinched at seeing it. Chalice would have narrowed is eyes, but his visor kept that hidden from sight.
"Ahh," the Kusa-nin smiled. She had seen thee reactions from both the younger nins. "So you like my Earth scroll eh? Well, it would make a lovely addition to your own Heaven scroll I suppose."
The Kusa-nin's smile turned to an even deeper sneer. Slowly, almost tortuously, she raised the scroll to her mouth before opening wide. Her mouth seemed to open as if her jaw was unhinged. With a firm push, she rammed the scroll into her mouth and actually swallowed it with a loud and wet gulp.
"Gross," Sakura hissed under her breath.
"Hmm, I think we can safely agree when this is over one of us will have both scrolls," the Kusa-nin smirked before she turned her gaze at the three Genin. "And one of us will die!"
Sakura and Sasuke were suddenly assaulted with images of being torn up by a storm of kunai. Bloody gashes ripped through their bodies as the precious red liquid spilled on the ground. Their screams of pain ripped through the air and echoed across the forest. They were both silenced instantly by the horrific images.
Chalice was a different story. As the bloodlust became thick enough to cut through with a knife, he began to tremble. He was not assaulted by images of his own bloody death, but instead his Undead instincts began to shift into overdrive, seeing the Kusa-nin as a challenge as much as a threat.
'FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!' the instincts of the Mantis Undead screamed.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Chalice roared, obeying his instincts and raising his Chalice Bow at the Kusa-nin. Said nin's eyes widened before Chalice fired a single bolt at her. She dodged to the side quickly, but a chunk of her hair was severed as it moved past her and blew a chunk out of the tree behind her.
Chalice roared loudly as he charged at the Kusa-nin. He slashed and swiped with the Chalice Bow wildly, recognizing the shinobi in front of him as his enemy. Nothing else mattered. This enemy's blood would soon feed his weapon and litter the ground once he was done. Kyle Jones wasn't in control. Only Chalice the Legendary Undead was here.
The Kusa-nin on the other hand had recovered from being caught off-guard and was dodging each strike. Her body was almost as slippery as a snake's as she dodged each strike. It was near though. Chalice was proving quick to recover from misses and send another strike which was just as fast as the other.
'It seems I underestimated this one,' she thought to herself, growing excited. 'This is even more amusing than I thought!'
"FIGHT ME!" Chalice roared in a gravelly voice.
The sounds of Chalice's voice snapped Sakura and Sasuke out of their sickened illusions. Sakura dropped to her knees and trembled uncontrollably. Sasuke struggled to remain on his feet, but quickly failed before vomiting loudly.
'What is this?' he groaned inwardly. 'Her bloodlust was incredible! Her eyes! I could see my own death! Why wasn't Kyle affected?'
The Kusa-nin slipped backwards and leaped up to a tree branch. Chalice roared and took his own running leap at his target.
"Predictable," the Kusa-nin smirked. Her cheeks suddenly bulged before she opened her mouth again. Instead of a tongue, a purple snake slithered out of her mouth, hissing loudly. The snake then opened its own mouth, revealing a large katana that was being pushed out of its gizzard.
The Kusa-nin grabbed the handle of the slightly slimy blade and watched Chalice come at her. Once he was close enough, she slashed widely, aiming to cleave her opponent in two.
CLANG!
Instead of cutting through flesh and bone, the blade met against the Chalice Bow. The two metals reverberated against each other with a ringing noise that echoed through the area.
The Kusa-nin's eyes widened in shock at what had just happened, 'Impossible! The Kusanagi is capable of cutting through anything! It was made from Manda's scales! If it can't cut this weapon…'
The thought was cut off as Chalice tried to make a grab for the Kusa-nin's face. She leaned back and allowed the friction between the weapons to cease, but Chalice quickly used her for footing and leaped back, pushing the Kusa-nin back at the same time. Both fighters landed on the ground with some distance away from each other.
Kyle, meanwhile, was trying to regain control of his body. He was drowning in the battle-lust of Chalice and if he didn't take control soon than his entire consciousness would be overridden by the manic battle fury of the Ace of Hearts Undead. 'Come on! Come on!' he urged. 'Don't let it control you!'
Chalice aimed and fired several energy bolts from his weapon, which flew past the Kusa-nin. The ninja in question dashed to the side and charged again. Chalice turned on his feet and blocked the oncoming attack
"My my," the Kusa-nin smirked. "Such an interesting weapon you have. Your armor too. Where did you get them?"
"Raah!" Chalice bellowed before he knocked the Kusa-nin back. "It won't matter! You'll soon be dead!"
"Oh really?' the Kusa-nin asked. "Then you are welcome to try."
Kyle had managed to get some of his mind back from Chalice, but he was still in the thick of his mental battle so long as this ninja kept pumping out her bloodlust. He would have to get rid of her soon or else he would lose himself again.
Acting fast, he gripped his belt buckle and pulled it off before slipping it into his weapon.
"Oh, what is this I wonder," the Kusa-nin smirked.
Chalice struggled to keep his mind in check as he reached for his cards. He had t at least get the Kusa-nin to lay off the bloodlust. He gripped three cards in the case and pulled them out. They were the Category 4, 5, and 6 of hearts. Float Dragonfly, Drill Shell, and Tornado Hawk. The Kusa-nin raised an eyebrow when she laid her eyes on the cards in Chalice's hands.
"Float! Drill! Tornado!" the Rouzer cried as the cards were swiped through. "Spinning Dance!"
The wind began to pick up around Chalice as he began to rise into the air. His body was spinning at a high speed and the wind continued to pick up speed. The Kusa-nin was surprised for the third time as she watched the event unfold. Chalice rose to the apex of his flight before shifting angles and roaring back down at the Kusa-nin with the force of a bullet. The enemy ninja raised her sword and let Chalice come before taking the blow. The sound of the impact ripped through the air before the Kusa-nin was sent flying through the air. She recovered quickly before catching an overhanging branch and setting herself on top.
The sudden pressure in the air seemed to lift when the impact hit. Sasuke finally found himself capable of his normal movements while Sakura managed to come out of her fear induced daze.
Chalice collapsed onto his hands and knees, breathing and panting hard. He replaced the Chalice Rouzer back onto the belt before reaching for his card holster. He drew out his Category 2 of hearts before swiping it, slowly, through the Rouzer.
"Spirit!" Immediately, the static field swept over his body, restoring him to his human form. Sweat was beading on his face as he tried to regain his breathing. He then pushed himself back to his feet, using a nearby tree for support. That experience had been horrifying. He knew himself of the dangers of fusing with the Undead but had never experienced them like that before. The Rider turned around to see his teammates, recovering, before approaching them. His stance was a bit wobbly as he stepped over to them.
"You guys okay?" Kyle asked.
"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. Sakura could only give a weak nod of her own. It seemed she was still trying to find her voice in the midst of the chaos.
"Oh now I am very intrigued," the Kusa-nin smirked. "I suppose when I kill you all I will have to take those odd cards for myself."
"Doubt it," Kyle growled. He slowly began reaching behind his back for one of the three buckles that he kept hidden from view. Fighting as an Undead was dangerous enough, so he would have to fight like a true Rider.
"Just try and stop me, boy," the Kusa-nin smirked. She bent her knees slightly before she lunged forward at the group of three. Her movements were quickly as she slithered around several trees almost two quickly for words.
"Damn!" Kyle hissed as he grabbed the Leangle buckle and the Category Ace of Clubs.
As the Kusa-nin came closer, a sudden storm of shuriken and kunai flew down from above and stuck into the ground. The Kusa-nin stopped immediately in her tracks and looked in the direction the weapons came from. Up above, where the source of the weapons was, stood a familiar blonde ninja in an orange jumpsuit.
"Heh," Naruto smirked. "Looks like you need some help."
The Kusa-nin looked up and smirked at the sight of Naruto, "Hmmm. Looks like you managed to get away from my little friend. I condone the achievement."
"So it was you!" Naruto frowned. "You're the one who sent that thing to eat me!"
The Kusa-nin only smirked at Naruto's agitation. The ramblings of a blonde Genin apparently didn't seem to matter that much to him. Sasuke could see the bloodlust in the Kusa-nin's eyes, even if she wasn't projecting it anymore.
"We have to give up our scroll," the last Uchiha spoke. "There's no way we're going to get out of this alive if we don't."
"WHAT?!" Naruto cried. "Give up the scroll to this creep and fail?! No way!"
"Stop being stupid, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. "We'll die if we keep this up!"
"Oh yeah?" Kyle frowned. "Who's to say she won't kill us even if we do give it up?
Sasuke turned to look at Kyle with a look of surprise. Apparently he had been more than just rattled. If he was thinking about surviving, then he hadn't been considering the intent of the Kusa-nin.
"Your friend is right," the Kusa-nin laughed. "It is unnatural for the predator to just give up on its prey when it's so close to capturing it. This test doesn't mean anything to me. Your scrolls mean nothing!"
Kyle frowned and held up the Leangle Buckle. It seemed that their opponent was not going to leave until she marked Sasuke with that Cursed Seal. Kyle knew exactly what that mark would do if it managed to get on Sasuke. The problem was, he wasn't sure if he could stop her.
"If we don't fight then we die," Kyle frowned. He slipped the Ace of Clubs inside the buckle before placing it at his waist, letting the belt wrap around him. "It's as simple as that. Henshin!"
"Open Up!" the buckle called as Kyle let it open. The purple field with a gold spider on the front flew out and hovered backwards, engulfing Kyle and changed him into Kamen Rider Leangle.
"How curious," the Kusa-nin chuckled as she took a ready stance for the next bout of fighting. Leangle summoned his battle staff and got ready to do battle as a Rider. Leangle was the strongest of the Riders in Ace Form, at least as the show claimed. Now was as good a time as any to see if the claims held true.
He dashed forward and swung his Leangle Rouzer in an arch. The Kusa-nin parried the strike and rolled around Leangle before slashing at the green and yellow Rider. Sparks flew through the air as he stumbled back. The armor showed no visible signs of damage, but the pain from the impact was there.
Sasuke was just as quick to react as he got fed up with being a spectator and decided to get involved with the fight. The last Uchiha picked up the slack from Leangle stumbling back and attempted to use his own fighting style to bring the enemy ninja down.
The Kusa-nin smirked and went on the defensive as Sasuke continued to attack her without mercy. Leangle regained his balance and witnessed the unfolding fight. He knew exactly what Orochimaru was capable of and the pace of the fight was no where near that point.
"Gotta end this!" Leangle growled as he reached to his case. He grabbed three Rouze Cards which he thought would be helpful in this fight. The ones he drew were Blizzard Polar, Category 4 of Clubs; Rush Rhinoceros, and Category 9 of Clubs; Poison Scorpion.
"Rush! Blizzard! Poison!" the Rouzer announced as Leangle slashed the cards through the end. "Blizzard Venom!"
Ice with a purple undertone began pooling at the end of the staff. The ice was so cold that mist was collecting around it. Tightening his grip, Leangle charged with the intent of running the Kusa-nin right through. Even if he didn't, if he at least cut her, then the poison from the Scorpion Undead would either weaken her or take her down.
The Kusa-nin was enjoying her little spar with Sasuke. He was moving so fast she didn't even have the time to use a proper stance with her sword. Having to fight one-handed was proving to be very entertaining. While fighting, she noticed something in the corner of her eye. Daring a glance, she saw Leangle charging at her with his spear aimed right at her torso.
"Not today," she smirked. Pushing Sasuke away, she leaped straight up just as Leangle would have stabbed her with his staff. The blades on the staff missed and dug into one of the numerous trees. Small pulses flowed into the tree before Leangle managed to pull his weapon of choice out of the hard wood. As he turned to face the Kusa-nin again, the tree began to sag while the leaves turned a deep brown in close to a blink of an eye. The Kusa-nin eyed the dying tree warily before re-sheathing her sword in the snake's mouth which was hidden in her gullet.
"Glad I avoided that," she smirked. "Otherwise I would have gotten really sick. Perhaps a hands-off approach is needed after all."
The Kusa-nin stood straight at the opposite end of the clearing and pulled back her sleeve. Tattooed on her arm was a strange ring-like marking with a snake in it. She then bit her thumb and drew blood before smearing it across the marking. She then started a flurry of hand seals.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" she cried before slamming her palm on the ground.
There was a large blast of smoke before it cleared. In the spot where the Kusa-nin stood, a large brown snake that looked big enough to crush a house in its grip was in her place. Standing on the head was the Kusa-nin herself with another irritating smirk on her face.
"OH CRAP! BIG SNAKE! BIG SNAKE!" Leangle shouted out. The Snake Summons lunged at the Rider who did a leap backwards, landing with his comrades.
"Aw, are you frightened of a little snake? Kukukukuku…" the Kusa-Nin mocked.
Leangle growled. "Well, if you wanna play with Summons then let me play too!" He drew three cards out and tossed two of them into the air. He followed up by slashing through the card he had in hand, the Remote Tapir.
"Remote!"
Leangle fired a beam from his weapon, striking the cards in the air. The cards then expanded and reshaped into two of the Royal Category Undeads, the Queen of Clubs: the Tiger Undead and the Jack of Clubs: the Elephant Undead.
The Elephant Undead look as imposing as ever with his bulky frame and large hammer gripped in its hand. The Tiger Undead was radically different. One was that it was female and was covered with tiger fur. Bronze armor was covering her shoulders while a claw-like weapon was attached to her wrist. Her white face was covered with a black feral mask that had a smaller bronze mask over it and a Mohawk was sticking up from her head. She didn't have much in terms of torso armor except for some bronze armor covering her chest and a black skull marking.
"All right Kyle-nii!" Naruto cheered as he landed on the ground. "Show that freak what the Undead can do!"
"Undead?" the Kusa-nin blinked. "How odd. Heh, I'll just have my pet swallow them up! I bet they're tasty!"
"Don't mock my power!" the Tiger Undead growled.
"Hmph!" the Elephant Undead snorted. "I am not impressed."
The giant snake unleashed an echoing hiss and lunged at the pair of Undead that were in front of it. Neither Undead seemed to find the giant snake remotely intimidating. After having to battle numerous other Undead and even see the likes of the Joker, a big progeny of the Queen of Diamonds wasn't about to frighten them.
The Elephant Undead stepped forward and hefted his steel hammer off of his shoulder and gripped it in both hands. The giant snake raced closer with its mouth opened wide, ready to swallow both of the Undead in a single gulp. The Elephant Undead reared back his hammer and unleashed a mighty swing. The metal head of the hammer impacted against the side of the snake's head. There was a loud cracking noise before the force of the impact knocked the snake to the side and it rolled in the grass. It unleashed hissing cries of pain, which judging by the crooked jaw, were rather valid.
The Kusa-nin had jumped ship when the snake was hit and began to move, taking refuge on an overhanging tree branch. She was stunned to find that this creature was strong enough to possibly match Tsunade herself! She was beginning to curse her source of intelligence for being so misinformed about this fourth member of Team 7. She had no idea what his abilities were since he had appeared practically out of nowhere with abilities no one knew about. In her life, being uninformed was a quick way of becoming dead.
The angered Kusa-nin looked to the strange green and black creature which had defeated her summons and found that its companion was missing. A roaring noise quickly revealed its position as it seemed to almost fall from the sky in a flurry of slashes which threatened to turn the Kusa-nin into tomato paste.
Leangle turned to see his teammates were recovering. Naruto had been itching for an opening to leap in while Sasuke was catching his breath from the fight he dealt with. Sakura was wide-eyed from all the action that was going on.
"Well?" the green Rider demanded. "Are you guys just going to sit there or are we going to get a scroll and make sure this freak never bothers us again?"
"Heck yeah!" Naruto shouted as he dashed towards the fight.
Sasuke just smirked and followed Naruto towards the battle. Leangle was quick to add his own speed to get himself to where the Tiger Undead was dealing with the Kusa-nin. Naruto acted first by leaping up before going into a flurry of hand seals.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called before numerous clones poofed into existence next to him before he continued going at the Kusa-nin.
The enemy in question was parrying strikes from the Tiger Undead, but her arms were cut up from the near misses and the sharpness of the claws. She was quickly getting annoyed before she saw the oncoming group of Narutos.
"Pest," she hissed. Acting fast, she used a foot to push the Tiger Undead away before racing down the tree toward the orange clad boys.
The group of blondes didn't seem intimidated as they attacked as one entire unit. There was a rain of punches and kicks which were aimed at several points which would really hurt on impact. Their plan didn't go well as the Kusa-nin slithered through all of them while punching each one thus dispelling them, until she hit the real one and slammed him against a tree.
"Gah!" Naruto groaned as he hit the wood. Blood dripped from his mouth, but he started growling. His whisker marks became more pronounced and his eyes turned red and slitted. "You think that's going to put me down? Think again!"
The feeling of a sickening chakra ran through the area and Leangle felt the unfocused anger piling in his gut again. The Tiger Undead was staring right at the blonde while the Elephant Undead likewise had an unblinking eye on him.
"What is this power I feel?" pondered the Elephant Undead.
"It's coming from the boy," observed the Tiger Undead. "Is he an Undead? No human could have such an aura."
"Hmm," the Kusa-nin smirked. "So you are the Kyuubi-brat."
"Raaaaahhh!" Naruto roared as he lunged at the Kusa-nin. He swiped at her with his now elongated nails. The Kusa-nin quickly found himself pressed to dodge like she had against the Tiger Undead.
'So this is how far the Kyuubi-brat has progressed,' the Kusa-nin thought to herself. 'They aren't fighting each other, but are actually on the verge of symbiosis! Simply leaving him alone is foolhardy considering how he can draw on the Kyuubi's chakra during high emotion.'
Acting quickly, the Kusa-nin grabbed the back of Naruto's jumpsuit and hefted him into the air. The blonde was having trouble breathing since the collar was digging into his neck. The bottom of his shirt had been lifted and was revealing the seal which was holding the Kyuubi away.
"Let's see if this keeps you down," the Kusa-nin smirked as she brought her free hand back. Chakra collected into her fingers before she slammed her hand into the seal.
"AAGH!" the blonde cried in pain as the seal began to take hold over his own original seal.
"NARUTO!" Leangle cried as he saw what was happening to his friend. The images in the manga played over in front of his eyes. "NOOO!"
The Kusa-nin smirked as Naruto stopped struggling and just dropped the blonde. He was falling from a fair distance and hitting the ground from so high up had the potential of killing him if he landed wrong.
Leangle knew Sasuke wasn't so cold as to let that happen, but he wasn't about to take the risk. Gripping his staff, he hurled it through the air. The tip caught on Naruto's jacket before embedding itself in the tree he had been falling from. Sasuke watched the Rider's actions and put away the kunai he had been about to throw. Instead, he retrained his sight on the Kusa-nin with his Sharingan activating.
"Ah, there's the Sharingan I wanted to see," the Kusa-nin smirked.
Sasuke lunged at the Kusa-nin with a kunai drawn, ready to take the enemy down once and for all. The ninja continued smirking as she started going at Sasuke hand to hand. This time, Sasuke was having an easier time because his Sharingan was following her moves perfectly.
"Excellent," the Kusa-nin smirked. "Your Sharingan is following me perfectly!"
Leaping back, the Kusa-nin began slipping around the trees, keeping out of sight so Sasuke could not know where she was. Realizing he was at a disadvantage, the last Uchiha leaped to another tree, trying to keep moving and be less of a target at the same time.
"You can run but you can't hide, Sasuke," the Kusa-nin smirked as she followed.
She continued to follow Sasuke even as he circled around a tree. She slid around, hot on his tail. As she could see ahead of her again, several kunai and shuriken were sent flying at her face. The Kusa-nin smirked and her arms blurred before catching the weapons in her hands and one with her tongue.
"Is this all you can do, Sasuke?" she sighed. Her voice was a bit slurred with her tongue hanging out, but she was still understandable. "How disappointing."
She glanced at the weapons she caught and noticed something. There was an almost invisible string tied to each weapon that she was holding. Following the lines, as hard as it was for normal people but easy for her, she saw Sasuke standing on a branch ahead with the lines clenched in his teeth. The Kusa-nin's eyes widened in shock.
"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Breath Technique)!" Sasuke called as he completed the hand seals. Breathing out, Sasuke launched streams of fire that traveled down the wires and impacted against the Kusa-nin, bringing out a cry of pain from her.
The last Uchiha sighed as he relaxed and spit the wires out. He just continued to stand on the branch and watch his enemy burn. Thumping noises caught his attention and he turned to see the two Summons that Leangle had brought out leaping towards them.
"Back off boy! He's mine!" the Tiger Undead hissed as she and the Elephant Undead continued to charge.
Sasuke blinked in confusion before a deep chuckling noise began echoing from the fire he had created. It was too deep to be a female and it definitely wasn't the voice of the Kusa-nin he had been fighting a moment ago.
"Ku ku ku ku ku," the voice chuckled. "You exceed my expectations Sasuke-kun. You are exactly what I want."
"What?!" Sasuke gasped as he turned to the blaze. The flames had died out and the Kusa-nin was standing there. Her face was practically melting and her clothes were singed. However, her left eye seemed to have turned yellow with pale skin underneath revealing the face before had been a fake. This ninja raised her hand to her hitae-ate and the symbol for Kusagakure changed to one for Otogakure.
"Who…what are you?" Sasuke gasped as he saw the melting features of the ninja's face, and the some of the one underneath.
"My name is Orochimaru," the ninja smirked through his melting lips. "As for what I want…you'll just have to figure that out later."
From where he was plucking Naruto off the tree, Leangle had heard the voice of the Snake Sannin. His blood ran cold when he realized what was about to happen unless he or the two Undead he had unsealed managed to do something about it.
Orochimaru estimated the distance between himself and the two curious Summons that were attempting to come and fight him. Seeing they were still far enough away, he began flipping through hand seals.
"Before I go, I think I'll give you a little gift," Orochimaru smirked before he completed the sequence. Almost like a bullet, his head launched from his shoulders by his extended neck right towards Sasuke. A burst of killing intent kept Sasuke still before Orochimaru managed to sink his teeth into the last Uchiha's shoulder.
"Gaah!" Sasuke bellowed as he stiffened from the bite.
Satisfied, Orochimaru recalled his head. It was in the nick of time before the Tiger Undead was close enough to take a swipe at it. Using another hand seal, the Snake Sannin vanished in a puff of smoke, smirking with his own annoying chuckle.
"Damn!" the Tiger Undead growled. The Elephant Undead just snorted and looked to Sasuke, who was trembling and crying out in pain.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried out. Both Undead looked and saw the pink-haired girl running towards them. Sakura had taken one look at Sasuke and immediately felt more useless than never before. She hadn't even taken part in the fight because she had been too afraid after the amount of killing intent had hit her. Even after Kyle dispelled it, she was still too scared to move. She had just sat there why Kyle, Sasuke, and Naruto had risked their lives in the fight.
A thump caught everyone's attention as they saw Leangle land on a nearby branch with Naruto over his shoulder.
"Damn!" he hissed. He could only watch as Sasuke's pain became too much for him to bear before he passed out. Leangle idly noted that the Curse Seal progressed faster than the manga had described.
Turning to Sakura, he saw she was trying to help Sasuke by picking him up, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Sakura nodded numbly. "But you guys aren't. I just sat there while you three tried to fight that guy off. I'm so useless."
Leangle shook his head before he gestured the Elephant Undead to help. Sakura was going into her pity fest quicker than the Rider expected. Perhaps it was because there was someone there to help her and her teammates. With nothing to distract her, she felt useless.
"Don't start crying on me now, Sakura," Leangle warned as the Elephant Undead picked up Sasuke. "I doubt many Genin would be able to stand up to Orochimaru, win or lose."
Wiping her eyes, Sakura turned to look at Leangle questioningly. Sighing, Leangle gestured for his two Undeads to follow him to the ground. The trip down was uneventful for a change, but there was a hollowed tree they could use for shelter. While Sakura made a fire, Kyle had both boys down in the hollow for them to rest.
After resealing the two free Undead, Kyle disengaged his armor and took a seat by the fire. Sakura was already out setting up traps in case of enemies. Even in the midst of her own grief, Sakura managed to get the job done. He could see her already hiding the tripwires underneath dead leaves and branches. Since he didn't know much about traps, Kyle delegated himself to making sure the two boys were okay. Naruto was snoozing soundly, but Sasuke kept groaning and writhing in his sleep. The Cursed Seal was doing its work while Sasuke struggled to stay alive.
"I hate this crap," Kyle sighed as he turned back to the fire. Sakura had already returned and was gazing sadly into it.
"Kyle," the pink-haired girl suddenly spoke up. "When you said not many people could go against that Orochimaru guy, what did you mean?"
"It's just logic," Kyle explained. "Sasuke and Naruto are used to being in the middle of life and death. For Sasuke it was witnessing his clan getting slaughtered and for Naruto it was the abuse he faced growing up."
"What about you?" asked Sakura.
"Me?" Kyle sighed. "I got used to it after facing the Undead in a couple of fights. Fighting humans with killer intent is better than fighting monsters who know nothing but killing."
Sakura shivered. She recalled the fight with the Mole Undead. It had radiated a good amount of killing intent. If she hadn't been distracted by how ugly it looked, she might have been stiffer in fighting it.
"Moving with that thought," Kyle continued. "You don't have ninjas in your family do you?"
"Not really," Sakura sighed. It had been one of the points she had been made fun of while in school before her forehead became a common point of ridicule.
"So you had no one to help you prepare for the kind of things that ninjas face," Kyle explained. "Sasuke had an entire clan and later people giving him hints while Naruto had his pranks and the bad side of the village. I had the Demon Brothers get me used to that when I fought them. They had beheaded one of the workers and I had to act fast or else they would have gotten me too."
Sakura just blinked at the Rider who seemed to become more mysterious than before. He seemed to have such a strange insight into the lives of Team 7 that not many people knew, or cared to learn. She wasn't sure if se should be flattered or be annoyed that he had dug so deeply to learn about them.
"My point anyway, is that while Sasuke, Naruto, and I were ready for this sort of thing, you weren't," Kyle finished. He then turned to Sakura. "You entered this test because you either didn't want to hold the team back, or you didn't want to hold Sasuke back, didn't you?"
Sakura was unsure of how to answer and Kyle left her to give her some time. He looked around. There were no doubt enemies around, waiting to strike, and with two of their own down, things didn't look to be in their favor. He took out his cards and flipped through them. He could use the Locust and Dragonfly Undead to scout around, but he would also need them when things got tough. Without them, he would be unable to assume Blade's King Form or Chalice's Wild Form. Also, his body was still exhausted from the last battle. He could not transform without the risk of dying.
"I'm scared," he heard Sakura say.
"Huh?" Kyle looked at her.
"I'm scared, I really am," Sakura shivered. "I haven't changed much, have I?"
"That's not true," Kyle protested.
"I was useless out there, just like at your old village. I couldn't do anything. I just froze up," she continued to berate herself.
"Hey, you're part of the team," Kyle said.
"I'm a dead weight," the pink-haired girl trembled. "It's been that way since all this started. Nami, and here, I've only stayed back while Sasuke and Naruto got the job done. They're moving so far ahead while I'm being left behind."
"Sakura," Kyle sighed as he turned to his teammate. "There are a lot of different versions of strength. You have a head for tactics and your chakra control is one of the best out of your class if what I learned was true. If you fought a guy like Sasuke, you'd probably outlast him and take him down when his chakra ran out. Naruto is strong in the physical sense since he's best with brute force. Sasuke is strong in ability with all the techniques he knows and his Sharingan to help him learn more. Technique and power mean nothing if you don't have the head to use them."
Kyle turned back to the fire and sat down next to Sakura and drew his Rouze Cards. He still had to figure out which ones would be best to help protect them. Of course, if a certain trio he had seen in the manga were going to show up, he would need them for a fight too.
"I've met the other teams and I find that there's a common pattern between all of them," Kyle continued. "After I came to Konoha I learned a lot about the different kinds of people who lived here so I was able to recognize them pretty easily. Take your blonde friend for example…Ino."
"What about her?" Sakura frowned. Even in the midst of depression she still regarded Ino as her rival.
"Well, her team is made up of the kids of the infamous Ino-Shika-Cho trio, right?" Kyle continued. "The Nara men seemed to have a lot of intelligent people their families while the Yamanaka clan has those mind control techniques. The Akamichi family has their body expansion techniques which turn them into living tanks. So, logically, Shikamaru is the strategy, Ino is the technique, and Chouji is the muscle."
That made sense to Sakura. Kyle had really done his research into Konoha if he knew that much about her rival and her team. She also had to admit that he was right about the aspects of the minor families. They were pretty well-known for those abilities.
"Let's move on to another team," Kyle continued. "Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. They follow the same pattern as our team and the trio."
"How?" asked Sakura. "I mean, Shino hardly says anything and Hinata is too shy to do much at all while Kiba is a lot like Naruto."
"That's where these people can kill you," Kyle explained. "You underestimate them. I did some checking and found that Shino scored highest in the academy next to you and Sasuke. He has a head for tactics. Hinata may be very shy, but she knows the Jyuuken, which is a very strict and powerful style that only members of her family can learn. How many people outside the clan can possibly know about it? Finally, there is Kiba, who specializes in attacks with his dog. Judging by how he acted like Naruto and seems more aggressive than his teammates, he has some power if he talks like that."
Sakura fell silent at that. She never really thought about that before. When the teams were called out she just thought it was something like a draw or matching up people's grades. When she had been called for Sasuke's team, she had assumed that she would have one of the smarter boys would be on her team. She had been suitably shocked when Naruto had been called as the final member of the team.
"Then where do you stand?" she finally asked. "Power, tactic, or technique?"
"That's the big question, isn't it?" Kyle smiled. "I'd say that power and technique are my strong points, since I can use the Rouze Cards in different combinations while my power as the Rider gives me strength. Strategy isn't my thing though. I guess I can also be creative and think of different combinations on the fly when I need to." He then finished, "We all have our own strengths, Sakura. It's a matter of combining them that matters. You have a gift, you just need to tap into it."
Sakura finally smiled, "Thanks, Kyle."
"You're welcome," Kyle said. "And don't see yourself as dead weight. Until those two wake up, it's our responsibility to keep them and the scroll safe."
Kyle was thanking any deity that Orochimaru hadn't managed to destroy the Heaven scroll that Sasuke was holding. He had probably been too caught up in the fight with the two Undead. It would probably make passing the exam a lot easier since they only needed to find an Earth scroll rather than hunt down both scrolls for themselves. Still, there were a lot of enemy ninjas out there who would take advantage of their current weakness and try to claim their scroll.
Sakura on the other hand was feeling much better. She may not have the raw power that Naruto had, nor the library of techniques that Sasuke possessed, but she had the brains to use everything around her efficiently. It definitely helped boost her confidence when she needed it.
The fire continued to crackle as the sun began to set on the first day of the five-day exam. No doubt the Sound Trio was planning their assault as Kyle and Sakura were resting and waiting for Sasuke and Naruto to wake up again. Kyle racked his brains for what else was going on in the forest while they were waiting. Near as he could tell, Team 8 had already gotten their scrolls with a stunt involving the flying leeches while Team 10 had yet to get theirs. Team Gai probably didn't have theirs yet or were already making a search area for themselves.
Knowing that neither of them could stay awake forever and stay strong in case of an attack, Kyle decided a little bit of help was needed. Summoning his Joker Belt, Kyle took the Category 10 of Clubs and slashed it through.
"Remote!"
Kyle's body was covered in a static field before it bulked up and he hunched over in his seat. As the field vanished, Kyle had changed into the Tapir Undead. His arms were thickly muscles and his feet were trunk-like with three toes. He had black armor over his shoulders and torso while his face was mostly covered with a black mask except that an elongated nose hung out. His eyes burned red like sunset and a mane of hair ran down his back in a ponytail.
Kyle/Tapir Undead reached to his case and pulled out a card from the Diamond suit. The Category 8 of Diamonds to be exact. The Scope Bat. He carelessly tossed the card out in front of him before his eyes fired a beam of red energy. The energy hit the card and instantly unsealed it. In a flash of light, another Undead had appeared.
This Undead was covered in black armor with deep blue skin underneath. It's hair was orange and ran down a line on its back. Its ears were pointed while its mouth was wide open with sharp teeth clearly visible. Instead of actual hands, it had elongated fingers with thin sheets of skin between them.
"Keep watch during the night," Kyle/Tapir Undead ordered. "If you sense anyone coming, wake us up. I will give further orders then."
The Bat Undead nodded and planted itself in the middle of the clearing. Its ears were twitching as it took in all the sounds of the night. Sakura understood how he let one of the Undead watch their backs, but she was a little confused why he picked that specific Undead. The answer suddenly hit her when she realized that bats had excellent hearing and were naturally nocturnal. This Undead would be able to stay up all night and effectively guard them since it didn't rely solely on sight.
"Spirit!" Kyle's belt cried as he slashed his Category 2 of Hearts through it and returned to his human form.
Sakura had seen her teammate change dozens of times but it was still something to see every time. Feeling a little safer with a tireless guard, she turned her attentionback to Sasuke and Naruto, replacing the hot cloth on their foreheads with cooler ones.
A slight rustling noise came from a corner of the clearing and Sakura instantly reacted by throwing a kunai at the source. There was a loud squeak before she saw that the trespasser was just a small squirrel. The tiny mammal was quick to run away after being nearly skewered by the bladed weapon. The Bat Undead hadn't reacted to it since it hadn't felt like an enemy in any way while Kyle just ignored it, but kept a strict eye on the surrounding foliage.
"A little high-strung are we Sakura?" asked Kyle.
Kyle wasn't fooled, but he was pretending to be. He knew from the manga that the squirrel had an explosive tag on its back. It had been planted by the Sound Trio in some kind of sick trap. They had probably decided to use it to get close to the Konoha-nins before having the note explode and kill or injure them and finish off the survivors.
As the squirrel was running away, Kyle had spied the symbols of the explosive note that was stuck to its back. He had wanted to get the note off, but he knew that someone else was going to find it later and help it out. A certain disciple of Maito Gai to be exact.
The sole Rider knew that the three Oto-nins were probably watching at the moment. Zaku was most likely still angry about the 'sound slummie' and 'cheap tricks' comments. It would put a target on his back in the eye of the Oto-nin.
Sleep didn't come easy for either the Rider or Sakura. He was ready to go at a moment's notice while Sakura was still fretting over Sasuke and Naruto. Eventually they both fell asleep, feeling secure the Bat Undead was still standing strict guard over them.
--
Hidden under the veil of darkness and foliage, the Sound Trio was watching the camp grounds with analytical eyes.
"Just what the hell is that thing?" Kin grimaced as she examined the Bat Undead.
"Who cares?" Zaku growled. "I just want to kill that jerk who summoned it!" He obviously hadn't forgotten the cheap trick comment or the 'Sound slummie' comment.
"It doesn't matter," Dosu hissed. "We're here to do our job and that's it."
"So did Pinky see the explosive tag we put on that squirrel?" asked Kin. "She reacted pretty fast to it."
"Probably not," Dosu replied. "While she did react fast, she didn't throw the kunai until it started getting close to her. I think she set some traps and that squirrel would have set them off if it got close."
"What about the boy?" asked Kin.
"Stupid idiot probably never even suspected!" Zaku chuckled.
Dosu wasn't so sure. He had been observing the boy since they had gotten within viewing range of the Konoha team. While his words made it seem he was ignorant of the little trap they set with the squirrel, his actions were giving him away. Dosu prided himself on his sense of hearing which allowed him to learn a lot from hearing people's movements. One example was how he heard the pencil strokes during the first exam and determined what was being written. When the squirrel came running, his neck muscles turned slightly to see what was coming, but his entire body tensed when he stared at the squirrel. Usually when someone sees a squirrel coming, they don't tense up. The girl did for obvious reasons, but the boy was much less tense. He apparently didn't care about whatever traps were there, but he seemed to know something was up with the squirrel.
"Let's observe how they and that Summons act," Dosu commented. "We'll go for them in the morning."
--
Sunrise came and the two healthy members of Team 7 managed to get up without trouble. The Bat Undead was getting irritated from the sunrise so Kyle resealed it. While it may not have been able to die, it could still feel pain. No point in being cruel unless it did something to deserve it.
Sakura was already at Sasuke and Naruto's side, checking them for any changes that might have occurred during the night. Naruto seemed to have already recovered from any scratches or wounds he suffered yesterday, but Sasuke was still out cold and giving the odd groan from the marking on his neck. The pink-haired girl was still unsure what to do, but was thankful Kyle was there or else she might be worse off than she was now.
The Rider himself was keeping an eye out for interlopers in case someone else besides the Sound trio decided to make an appearance. It was unlikely to happen, but considering how some things already changed because of his presence, he wasn't going to take any chances.
"Any change with the sleeping beauties?" asked Kyle from his position as a guard.
"Not really," Sakura reported. "Naruto looks fine but Sasuke seems to be in pain still. I think he really needs some medical attention."
"Well, that's nothing you'll be needing to worry about," a new voice replied. "Since we'll be taking him off your hands."
Kyle and Sakura both turned to see who was talking and saw none other than the Sound trio. All of them looked like they were relaxed and that they were going to do a regular D-rank mission rather than face off against applicants in the Chunin exam.
"What are you talking about?!" Sakura cried out as she reached for her kunai. "I know a guy named Orochimaru is pulling the strings! What is it you guys want!?"
Kyle stood up and watched the three Oto-nins reveal their shock at hearing their leader had attacked the group of four. He knew that the three were ordered to assassinate Sasuke, but really it was just to get the Curse Seal to start working and give Sasuke a taste of the power he could get by going to him.
"So he didn't tell you he'd be here himself," Kyle smirked. "Since you all come from Otogakure, maybe you can tell us about a certain mark that Orochimaru put on Sasuke's neck. It stands to reason you'd know what it is."
Dosu's eye narrowed as he continued standing almost lazily. He seemed to be trying to think of an explanation, "Hmm. I wonder what Orochimaru is up to?"
"It doesn't matter! There's no way I can walk away after hearing that!" Zaku snorted. He then turned to glare directly at Kyle. "And I'm gonna get you for your 'Sound slummie' crack!"
Kyle just pretended to ignore the angry Oto-genin, which served to make the broom-headed boy even angrier. He was about to leap for an attack before Dosu held up his arm, stopping the attack.
"Wait, Zaku," he commented coldy.
"For what?!" Zaku growled.
"It's obvious," Dosu answered as he kneeled down. He reached to the grass and pulled it, revealing it to be a sheet of fake grass. "Freshly turned stones and exposed soil with grass growing where none could. Someone has been laying booby traps. Still, what's the point in laying them if you leave evidence behind?"
"It's amateurish!" Zaku laughed. "Guess you were right. She was throwing the kunai to keep the squirrel from springing the trap!"
"Well, the girl is no use, so we'll eliminate her first," Dosu spoke out coldly.
"Screw that!" Zaku snarled. "I want the guy's head!"
All thee Oto-genin leaped into action. They wet over the branches and the roots which were sticking out of the ground. It was their assumption that traps were laid on the ground. Sakura just smirked as she watched the three enemies approaching. Gripping her kunai, she slashed at the ground near her feet, cutting a string of invisible wire. Crashing sounds were suddenly heard above the three Oto-nins. They looked up to see a large log swinging down at them through the canopy.
'How she managed to move that is beyond me,' Kyle thought to himself as he reached for a card.
"The trap was above us this whole time?!" Dosu cried out.
Acting quickly, Dosu let his hand rest on the log before making a one-handed seal. There was a sudden pulse in the air before the log seemed to almost shatter like glass. The splinters of wood began to rain down as the three Oto-nins began to look down at their opponents. With their appearance running close, Kyle moved into action.
"Absorb!" the Joker Belt called as Kyle slashed the Category Queen of Spades through it. His body was engulfed in a static field before coming out as a strange goat-like form. Half his body was black white the other half was white. His left shoulder (the white half) had long horns sticking straight up. Trench coat-like fabric hung from his waist and almost touched the ground. Hs head looked like a goat's with red eyes and a mouth seemingly stitched shut. Either side of his head had another goat's head with a single horn sticking out.
"What the hell?!" Kin cried out.
"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Kyle/Capricorn Undead screeched, unleashing a blast of concentrated sound.
The three Oto-genin were knocked out of the air as the blast hit them. They all collided with the unforgiving dirt before skidding. Dosu was the quickest to recover since he had one of his ears covered, but Kin and Zaku were having a hard time recovering since the ringing in their ears was messing with their balance.
"Category Queen: Absorb Capricorn," Kyle/Capricorn Undead. "How did you like that sonic scream?"
Sakura just gazed at the form her friend and teammate had taken to fight the three Oto-genin. This was the highest level of Undead that she had seen Kyle use since she had met him.
"Damn," Dosu hissed. "This guy is not what we were briefed on."
"Who cares?!" Zaku growled. "He uses sound attacks so we know how his attacks work! We can take him!"
All three Oto-genin seemed to agree with that final statement. In a flash of movement, they charged at the two Konoha-nins in front of them with their killing intent pulsing. Sakura tried stay on her feet while the instincts of the Capricorn Undead were beginning to get excited by the killing intent Kyle was faced with.
"KONOHA HURRICANE!"
A green blur shout out of the forest and lay several kicks into the three Oto-genin, forcing them back a second time. When the attacking force came to a halt, Sakura and Kyle/Capricorn Undead were left staring at none other than Rock Lee. Of course, his presence was slightly turned funny with the squirrel on his shoulder.
"Just who the heck are you?" Dosu growled dangerously. The new arrival turned around and stared at the trio with unbridled confidence in his eyes.
"I am Konoha's handsome green beast, Rock Lee!" Lee introduced proudly.
The Taijutsu expert turned to face his crush and 'youthful ally' and gasped loudly when he saw the form of the Capricorn Undead.
"YOSH!" he cried. "IS THAT YOU, KYLE-KUN?!"
"Yes it's me, Lee-san," Kyle/Capricorn Undead sighed. "Glad you made an appearance. As you can see, we are outnumbered."
"I would be happy to assist a friend of the Leaf!" Lee smiled. "Also to protect the lovely Sakura-chan as to my oath to her!"
Sakura blinked from the mention of his promise to her. She recalled it from when they had first met, but she had never really expected him to take it this seriously. To actually go against dangerous ninjas just to protect her was an amazing thing to do for someone.
Dosu didn't seem nearly as impressed as he reached into his tunic, revealing and Earth scroll. He tossed it back to Zaku carelessly.
"You can have little Sasuke," Dosu ordered his fellow Genin. "Add that animal freak for good measure."
"Heh," Zaku smirked. "Music to my ears."
Dosu reacted first with a charge at the three Konoha ninjas. Sakura reacted quickly by throwing another kunai at the bandaged boy. She missed when he leaped into the air, but by the time he was coming back down, Lee was already. Dosu anticipated destroying the Taijutsu user with his tricks, but Lee did something strange. Instead of attacking, he slammed his hand into the ground. His hand actually went deep into the soil as Dosu came at him with his hand brought back into a fist. Lee frowned as he gripped something under the dirt and yanked it up.
The ground seemed to explode as a large tree root was brought into the sunlight as Dosu brought his fist down for his attack. The wood of the root was suddenly shredded in a large crater.
'He's…so strong!' Sakura gasped inwardly.
"I had thought your attacks were illusions until Kyle-kun mentioned your attacks were sound based," Lee spoke. "It would be stupid of me to let your attacks hit especially with the body being made mostly of water, which sound can travel through very easily. Wood on the other hand absorbs it."
"Hmph!" Zaku snorted. It was no skin off his nose since Dosu was stupid enough to show his techniques in open view at the first exam. Still, he was paying more attention to the goat guy watching by the sidelines.
"I see an opening!" he crowed as he flipped through seals before aiming his palms at Kyle/Capricorn Undead. "Zankuha!" (Decapitating Air wave!)
A blast of concentrated air pressure ripped through the air and was aimed directly at Kyle/Capricorn Undead. The sounds of the air coming at him along with the dirt being hurled away from the oncoming blast signaled its approach.
"Too slow!" Kyle/Capricorn Undead roared. "BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
The one bearing the power of the Capricorn Undead unleashed another sonic roar. It was just as invisible as Zaku's blast. Both invisible attacks collided with each other with a loud crack which echoed in the woods. Dirt was flying in all directions and dust was blocking everyone's sight.
"Did I get him?" Zaku asked openly, daring to hope that he had gotten the guy who had pissed him off.
He quickly got his answer when the cloud of dust was parted as Kyle/Capricorn Undead charged forward with a strange crescent moon shaped weapon raised. It was obviously sharp since the light was catching on the edge.
"Damn!" Zaku hissed as he attempted to get back.
--
As all this action was going on, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio was having their own team meeting in a smaller clearing.
"Gaaaaaaaahhh!" Ino shrieked. "How can we pick off the weak when there aren't any weaklings?!
More specifically, Ino was crabbing about their bad luck while Shikamaru was trying to ignore her with Chouji groaning about the lack of food. Ino had previously tried to seduce the scroll out of Neji Hyuuga's hands, but that flopped magnificently. Now they were getting desperate.
Shikamaru just sighed and decided to give his opinion on the matter, "You know, there is still Naruto's team."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU IDIOT?!" Ino shrieked, threating to bash Shikamaru over the head with her fist. "NARUTO AND SAKURA MAY BE TOTAL LOSERS BUT THEY'RE ON SASUKE'S TEAM! THE BEST OF THE BEST!"
"What about that Kyle guy?" asked Chouji. "We don't know anything about him."
Ino just went on crabbing about Sasuke's greatness but Shikamaru took a moment to think about what Chouji had said. Kyle was a newcomer to Konoha and he was put on Team 7 suddenly, which begged to ask just what he had done to be made a ninja so quickly. There had to be something about him that would have made the council pretty eager to make him a ninja as soon as he appeared in Konoha. It probably had something to do with how he changed his form into that lizard…thing. It sure freaked out enough people when he did it.
Ino continued to crab before something came hurtling through the trees and colliding with the tree between Shikamaru and Ino, embedding itself in it. It looked like a crescent moon that was gray with a razor edge.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" Ino shrieked.
"Some kind of weapon," Shikamaru sweatdropped. It seemed that way to him anyway.
"Hey, it's one of those Oto guys," Chouji suddenly pointed out. "And he's fighting some kind of goat thing."
Ino and Shikamaru turned to see what was happening and sure enough, they saw one of the Oto-genin facing off against a strange goat creature. His shoulder was bleeding, apparently from the weapon which was embedded in a tree between Ino and Shikamaru. Ino looked closer at what was happening and gasped at seeing Sasuke unconscious on the ground with Sakura fiercely protecting him.
"Sasuke-kun?" she gasped.
--
Lee had seen the assault on Dosu and was glad to notice that numbers were on his side. Kyle was keeping one of the Oto-genin at bay while Sakura was ready to leap in. The last Oto-genin was lying back, but that might end up being a bad thing if she was any kind of long-range specialist. The bandaged Genin in front of him was proving to be just as dangerous.
Lee was considering his options as he and Dosu stared each other down. This ninja had nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Since Sakura was dead-set in protecting Naruto and Sasuke and wasn't going to move, she was almost a sitting duck. If Dosu's attacks shot wildly, then she might get hit. Lee had to end this quickly.
'Gai-sensei,' Lee thought as he began unwrapping the bandages on his arms. 'Now is surely the time for me to use this forbidden skill that you have taught me, without restraint!'
Lee watched as Dosu began his attack before he darted into a crouch in front of the bandaged Oto-nin. Dosu's eyes widened before Lee used an upper kick which launched him into the air.
"I'm not done with you yet!" Lee frowned as he leaped underneath the flying Oto-nin.
Lee wrapped his arms around Dosu as the bandages bound him tightly. The bushy-browed ninja then yanked Dosu into a downward spiral which would have put Dosu's head into the dirt.
Kyle/Capricorn Undead looked up at the descending Lee and Dosu with satisfaction, 'Good. With me distracting Zaku, then there's no one left to save him. That puts Dosu out of the equation sooner and put us one step closer to beating these clowns. By finishing the fight, we might be able to keep the Curse Seal from activating.'
Zaku flinched when he saw the attack on his Teammate, but Kyle/Capricorn Undead brought his attention back to the fight by going for another tackle. It wasn't a serious attack, but it was enough for Zaku to pay full attention to him again.
"Take this!" Lee roared as he executed the attack. "Forward Lotus!"
A loud slam echoed through the air as Dosu met the ground with the force Lee put into the attack. The ground itself even cracked under the pressure of the attack. Zaku was stunned at the sight and even Kyle/Capricorn Undead gave a moment to admire the result.
The body of Dosu trembled slightly before he managed to pull himself out of the ground. He stumbled slightly before he collapsed onto the dirt and grass. As much as he tried to move himself, the strike to his spinal column and head rendered him unmovable.
'Just…what kind of…technique was…that?!' Dosu thought with exertion. 'I can…barely feel…my body. I'm…wiped!"
Lee was a little surprised to see Dosu get out of the hole, but was relieved to see him collapse again. It was good since the Forward Lotus technique brought some considerable damage to the user's body as much as the target's.
Zaku gulped before he turned to face his opponent before receiving a face full of a black fist. The second Oto-genin slammed into the ground before he skidded to a stop.
"Crap!" Zaku spat, leaving a small puddle of blood on the ground. "This guy ain't human!"
"How perceptive," Kyle/ Capricorn Undead grunted as he stepped in front of the downed Oto-genin. The broom-headed boy felt himself lifted up by the scruff of the neck. "Now, let's see where you put that Earth scroll."
Zaku had all his pockets searched before Kyle/Capricorn Undead pulled out the Earth scroll. The Oto-genin would have resisted, but he was still feeling loopy from the punch to the face. Satisfied that he had what they were after, Kyle/Capricorn Undead threw Zaku back to the ground.
"You can crawl back to your king snake Orochimaru and tell him he's not going to get his hands on Sasuke!" Kyle/Capricorn Undead spat. "If he wants a pair of Sharingan eyes then he can go after Itachi!"
Kyle turned to his teammates and friends. His eyes widened when he saw Sakura being held by the hair by the final Oto-nin. Sakura must have fought back but there were scratches over her arms. Kyle also took notice of some senbon needles with bells stuck in the trunk of the tree behind her. Kin must have used her single Genjutsu trick to get her.
'And since I have a partial immunity to Genjutsu in an Undead form I probably didn't notice her using it, and with all the sonics being thrown around I wouldn't hear her using it either,' Kyle cursed mentally.
"First of all," Kin snickered as she turned to Kyle. "You! Freak! Drop the Earth scroll!"
"Then what?" Kyle asked, trying to stall for time. He just needed single distraction before he could switch to a faster Undead form and get Sakura away from the bloodthirsty girl.
"Then my teammates can recover and we can kill Sasuke," Kin shrugged. "Right in front of everyone."
Sakura stiffened from the mention of the death of her teammate and how casually these three were talking about killing. She desperately wanted to help, but that Genjutsu had gotten her by surprise and she didn't want to move an inch or she might get the girl to attack her.
"What's stopping me from blowing you away with a sonic scream?" Kyle/Capricorn Undead asked.
"Besides the fact you might hit your teammate?" Kin smirked. "I may not be able to dodge, but I can slit her throat before you hit me."
Sakura wanted to whimper. This was exactly what she was talking about with Kyle before! She was a complete dead weight and was always getting in the way. Sasuke and Naruto might not have been as hurt as they were now, and Lee might not be in his condition now. Kyle wouldn't have to stand still, waiting for the other nins to wake up and attack him, even with the strong powers he had.
'I don't want to be useless anymore!' Sakura cried in her thoughts. 'I need to help the people I care about!'
Sakura reached to her pouch and drew yet another kunai. She flipped it around before pointing it at the Oto-nin.
"Oh don't try it," Kin smirked. "Your little tricks won't work."
"Wanna bet?" Sakura smirked before she went into action.
She slashed upwards and instead of cutting Kin, she cut through her own hair. Kin was left holding a bunch of pink hair while Sakura rolled away with considerably shorter hair. Kyle/Capricorn Undead acted fast by unleashing another sonic roar.
"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Kin was hit hard in the gut before she was knocked off her feet and slammed against a tree trunk.
"Gah!" Kin cried, feeling woozy from hitting her head on the tree.
Sakura stood straight as she took in the results of Kyle's attack. Kin was recovering from the blow to the head, Zaku was still seeing stars, and Dosu was lucky to be moving at all after Lee's attack.
Kyle/Capricorn Undead looked up at Sakura and the deadly serious look in her eyes. This was no longer Sakura the fangirl. This was Sakura the Kunoichi.
"Now this is the kind of girl Sasuke might go for," Kyle/ Capricorn Undead chuckled, catching the girl's attention.
"You think so?" Sakura smiled, still tired from the events.
"YOSH!" Lee cried in admiration. "SAKURA-CHAN! Your youthful beauty shines so greatly now that you have truly blossomed! OSSU!"
Over at the side, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were shocked to see what was happening in front of them. Ino was so surprised to see her rival fighting so hard. Shikamaru was still staring at Kyle/Capricorn Undead and memorizing its abilities while Chouji was just wondering if the goat-man still tasted like goat meat.
Around the trio, the three Oto-nins were beginning to get back up. They were bruised and beaten, but they weren't dead yet. Kyle/ Capricorn Undead looked at all three of them before he decided to speak up.
"Get out of here," he ordered. "And remember to give Orochimaru my message."
Zaku, having recovered enough of his senses limped over and slung Dosu over his shoulder. Kin managed to get her balance back before all three ninjas leaped into the trees and far away.
Sakura heaved a large sigh of relief as she let her legs collapse beneath her. Lee began to cheer loudly about their youthful victory. Kyle/Capricorn Undead simply reached to his belt and pulled out the Two of Hearts.
"Spirit!" the belt cried before Kyle was returned to his human form. His body trembled for a moment before he trembled violently and collapsed on the ground.
"Kyle-kun!"
"Kyle!"
The eldest of the trio found himself being lifted by his comrades and brought over to the fire. Sakura fretted again while Lee tried to discern what was wrong with him. Over in the bushes, Ino, started dragging Shikamaru and Chouji over to the group.
"But that guy is scary!" Chouji whined.
"Shut it!" Ino snapped. "I'm not going to miss the opportunity to nurse Sasuke-kun back to health!"
"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed.
Sakura watched her rival and her teammates walking towards the group. She decided that they had been watching the battle and decided to come out now that things were a little safer. Not that she could really blame them.
"Hey, is that guy okay?" Shikamaru asked when he saw Kyle. It was obvious that Naruto and Sasuke were resting, but Kyle looked run down.
"I'm fine," Kyle sighed. "Just changed too many times in a short amount of time. I just need some rest and I'm good as new."
"Those are some scary forms," Chouji commented.
"Yosh!" Lee cried out. "There is nothing to fear! They are merely the beautiful beast forms of Konoha's newest ally, Kyle-kun!"
"You call those freaky forms beautiful?" Ino gaped at Lee like he was nuts.
"Not in looks, but in function," Kyle sighed, trying to relax.
The group of Konoha-nins settled down around the fire and kept watch over Sasuke and Naruto. Lee was slowly recovering from the strain put on his muscles while Sakura was having Ino trim up her hair. Shikamaru snoozed while Chouji happily ate some spare rations that Kyle had in his own pouch.
"Hey, Lee!" a new voice spoke. "What are you doing lazing around here?"
Everyone looked up to see Neji and Tenten standing in one of the treetops, staring down at the group gathered around the fire.
"Oh! Neji! Tenten!" Lee cried out. He was immediately on his feet and staring up at his teammates. "I was recovering from a grand battle between us and the Oto-nins! I even had to use the Forward Lotus!"
"I see," Neji frowned slightly, seemingly recognizing the technique in question. Tenten had actually gasped when she heard Lee had to use it. Neji just took the news in stride before talking again. "Well, come on. We still have to get the other scroll we need."
Lee nodded swiftly and leaped up to his teammates. Before they managed to leave, Lee turned around and waved at Sakura, "I'll be a stronger man when we meet again! I swear it!"
"Yeah!" Sakura smiled in agreement. With a bright smile on his face, Lee left with his team. Returning her attention back to the fire, Sakura turned to look at Kyle. "That form you used was one of the high level Undeads, right?"
"That's right," Kyle nodded.
"But…why did you choose a Category Queen?" Sakura asked.
"Category Queen?" Shikamaru asked out of rare interest in something besides the clouds. "That form was female?"
Kyle groaned, "No. That was the only male Queen I have in my deck."
This answer let with some laughter. It was understandable since the form he had used was dubbed a queen but was still a male.
Kyle rolled his eyes. "Guys, please…" He didn't like being laughed at. If he had used the forms of any of the truly female Queens, it would've been a whole lot hilarious.
"Sorry," Sakura apologized. "I still want to know why you used it though. Were those three that bad?"
"It wasn't so much the level, but the ability," Kyle explained as he poked the fire with a stick. "Absorb Capricorn has the ability to fire sonic roars at any target he wishes. I figured what better weapon to use than the enemies own, right?"
Shikamaru shrugged while the other Genin gave nods. It all made sense to them. Still, Ino was looking at him with a speculative eye. Obviously, she still had some questions she wanted answered. With Ino, one always answered her questions before too long. Shikamaru and Chouji could testify to that.
"So just what exactly are those cards?" she frowned. "I've never heard of anything like them before."
Kyle smirked and decided to answer, "Well, these are the only cards of their kind. They are called the Rouze Cards. I'd tell you more, but since we're in the middle of a test you can understand why I'm tight-lipped about it."
The platinum blonde pouted/fumed at being given such a vague answer, but she remained quiet about it. Shikamaru accepted Kyle's answer, but couldn't help but wonder if the cards he had were the only ones, then how did he acquire and learn how to use them? Something didn't add up and for once in his life, he was getting interested.
Kyle allowed himself to tune out the conversation for a while. While he was tuned out, he took stock of the situation. So far, Orochimaru had attacked on schedule and managed to mark Sasuke. The Oto-nins got their licks in, but they were taken down before all the killing intent in the air activated the Curse Seal and get Sasuke to start yearning for Orochimaru's power. If things went well then they could get to the tower and have Kakashi seal the damned thing before the last Uchiha managed to get a chance to use it. There was also the concern of Kabuto sneaking his way into the group with his friendly act. He probably did it in the manga because he wanted to get Sasuke into the semi-finals so Orochimaru could watch Sasuke's progress himself.
Bringing himself back to reality, Kyle continued to watch the fire. No point in worrying himself about things at the moment. He just had to concentrate on getting him and his team to the tower before the five day time limit expired. There were probably a lot of teams left in the testing grounds that were getting desperate. Well, the ones Gaara hadn't killed anyway.
A soft groaning noise echoed from the hollow of the tree and everyone turned to see what it was. Ino and Sakura's eyes grew sparkly as they saw that it was Sasuke who was getting up from his slumber.
"Sasuke-kun!" the both cried as they dashed over to help him.
Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed as he ignored the squealing fangirls.
"I'll never know what they see in the brooding silent type," Kyle sighed. One would think that girls would appreciate a guy who talked to them beyond pointing out how bad they were at being ninjas.
The girls fussed over the last Uchiha and left Naruto alone in his snoozing. Kyle just shook his head and decided that it was high time they woke up the orange-clad boy and got a move on. The exam was going to end in another four days and they needed to get moving or else they were going to fail. Since they now had both scrolls, they were going to have huge bull's-eyes on their backs. Even bigger than when they started the exam.
Getting a sneaky idea, Kyle walked over to the snoozing Naruto and leaned down next to his head so he could whisper in the boy's ear.
"Hey, Naruto," Kyle whispered in the blonde's ear. "Sasuke is stealing all the ramen in the world and isn't going to let you have any."
"THAT BASTARD!" Naruto roared as he sat up. He looked in all directions wildly. "The ramen! Where did the Teme put the ramen! I'll kill him for this!"
Kyle grinned at the outburst and tugged on Naruto's jacket, "Relax already. The ramen is safe and out of Sasuke's hands. Besides, you're awake aren't you?"
Naruto blinked drowsily at Kyle before he frowned, "That was a mean trick, Kyle-nii."
"Maybe so," Kyle nodded. "But we don't have time to sleep right now. With that snake-freak Orochimaru still running around and his little Oto-nins likewise here, we can't afford to sit still."
"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "What do you mean, Kyle-nii?"
"Naruto, Orochimaru is still out there and he marked Sasuke with some kind of seal," Kyle explained. "I don't know everything about it but I can guess it won't be good for Sasuke or anyone around him. Orochimaru also sent that Oto team to kill Sasuke while you and he were asleep. We managed to fight them off, but who knows if they or Orochimaru himself will be back."
Sasuke flinched at the thought of going against Orochimaru again. While the girls were fussing over him, he had listened in on Kyle and Naruto. He was in no way prepared to go against someone like that snake again. They lucked out since he just marked Sasuke with the seal, but what did they know about it? The last Uchiha didn't want to think about it and he didn't want to provoke fate by fighting until he knew how the seal itself worked.
--
Meanwhile, Orochimaru was still in the middle of his recuperation. Though he'd marked the Uchiha, he hadn't expected to fight the Rider. He hadn't even expected the strange abilities the armored figure had. "Maybe I should've marked that card user instead." The body that the Rouze Card user had seemed to be immortal, something that Orochimaru wanted. He never got tired or winded during that battle. The same could be said for those summons he used. Even the wounds they did receive didn't slow them down and that made the snake Sannin tremble with excitement. With an immortal body, he would no longer need to transfer his consciousness into a new body, which would eventually decay and die. That was his life long dream. The perfect immortal body to accompany his god-like knowledge of all the jutsus in the world.
Kabuto was meant to collect data on the Shinobi but all information on the Rider seemed incomplete or vague to say the least. At least now Orochimaru knew what to expect in the future. What seemed to be a concern at the moment was how ineffective his killing aura was on the Rider. It actually seemed to do the opposite of what he intended. Rather than scaring the fellow, it seemed to get him even more intent on the battle. Stun tactics may not work on this one.
His musings were cut short when he felt the chakra of his former apprentice coming closer. Deciding to amuse himself with her, he started leaping through the trees. Kabuto could get any further information that was needed on the Rider in the meantime.
--
The night passed again with Team 7 on the move again. They had said their goodbyes to Team 10 and were trying to get to the tower. They were moving slow though because they didn't want to catch attention. That meant that their moves had to be slow and Kyle had to keep out of his Undead forms since they caught the most attention of all. At this moment in time, Naruto was thrashing around in the water wearing nothing but his boxers while Sasuke was throwing kunai at the stunned fish. Naruto had finally come up for air when Sasuke had nailed three of them.
"Bring those ones in, Dobe," Sasuke called to Naruto. "I want to have three piles so we have enough food to go around."
A large splash caught their attention, revealing a red and green creature which looked like it had a large shell for a head and left hand covered in small sea life leaping out of the water with its arms filled with fish. This was Kyle in the form of the Shell Undead.
"Got all the fish we need," Kyle/Shell Undead spoke up weakly.
Sasuke nodded as he watched the Rider in Undead form toss the fish onto the ground. While he was taking tally, Sakura came through the underbrush.
"I have the fire ready," she announced.
"Good," Sasuke nodded. "We'll take these then."
Naruto grumbled about Sasuke being high and mighty as he dragged himself out of the water. Kyle/Shell Undead shook his head before following. Some things were probably never going to change.
"Spirit!" the Joker Belt announced as Kyle resumed his human form. He looked over to the still grumpy Naruto. "Chin up, Naruto. We'll be on our way with full stomachs and we'll get to that tower by sundown."
"Yeah," Naruto nodded. He then got a big grin on his face. "And then we'll be one step closer to being Chunin!"
"That's the spirit," Kyle laughed as he and Naruto met up with the others as the fire, where Sakura had four fish roasting over the fire.
"It's been almost three days since this exam began," Sasuke spoke as he looked to his teammates. "That means the exam is about half over now."
"And we got both scrolls already!" Naruto grinned. "Man we're good!"
"Don't say it so loud, Naruto!" Sakura hissed as she bonked him over the head with her fist. Kyle just sighed. It was almost like she hadn't had a near-death experience since she was acting like the fangirl as always.
"We were lucky to survive Orochimaru and his assassins," Kyle added. "More to the point, the other teams who don't have a complete set are going to start getting desperate. Konoha may have the most teams entering these exams, but the foreign ninjas outnumber us with combined forces. Not to mention that they probably aren't going to be friendly."
"Right," Sasuke nodded. "We can't afford to keep going slow. Sooner or later we are going to get found out and we are going to get attacked. With our strength limited, we will have a hard time with it."
Kyle silently agreed with the last Uchiha. He had that curse mark on his neck which was going to keep messing with him until it was either sealed or he succumbed to it. Naruto's Kyuubi power was likewise sealed while Sakura was exhausted of her limited chakra. Kyle himself was getting tired from changing so many times in one day and only had a few more changes left in him.
One thing for sure, if he were to face Orochimaru again, it would not be as an Undead, but as a true Kamen Rider.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Hey everyone. I thought I'd update something at long last. My usual computer is in for repairs so I had to look for this before I posted it. I hope you all enjoy.