Whew! Let me tell you, this was a long chapter!
I wrote it all in one day too! First off, let me give you a soundtrack to listen to (if you so desire). This entire chapter is pretty much ONE argument and ONE fight scene, so I'm sorry if you get bored. But for the argument I recommend listing to The Vitamin String Quartet's covers of Paramore, especially "Decode". For the battle, I reccomend listening to Two Steps From Hell and their piece called "The Black Blade". Now, this chapter has a great deal of cleverly placed plot devices and I also bring to light a new Kekkei Genkai (for anyone interested in that sort of thing. This chapter is also primarily focus on Mavri, so anyone who likes her? Yay for you!
As always I love reviews. I request reviews. I live on reviews. Review make me write faster. In fact, you can thank everyone who reviews my new story "The Apprentices of Baker Street", because their reviews spurred me to write all 8000 words of this chapter. That ended up being about 21 pages in MSword. So, REVIEW! Much love!
~Sarai
Naruto: Kurashio
Chapter 11 - Murky Depths
"I keep telling you," Gaara muttered, crossing his arms as he sat bitterly in the Hokage's office, "I don't need you to guard me."
"No," Naruto frowned at him, "You proved that you need to be babysat when you snuck into the exam area. You're lucky you didn't get Kit's team disqualified."
"If the two of you go through this one more time," Tsunade warned, "I'm going to gag the both of you so I can get some peace!"
Gaara shot a withering glare in the old woman's direction, but he didn't dare mutter anything under his breath—he knew better. Naruto plopped onto the couch beside him with a huff, and crossed his arms as well, looking particularly unhappy. The Kazekage couldn't blame him. Naruto was supposed to be out there monitoring the exam, but, because of Gaara's rash behavior, the blonde was now stuck keeping an eye on him.
They both sat in silence, glaring at the Hokage—Naruto with indignant rage, Gaara with murderous intent. The mirrored postures and expressions were bound to be unsettling for the Leaf Village leader; Gaara figured as much, especially when he noticed the vein twitching in Tsunade's forehead. She was trying her hardest to ignore them, but it obviously wasn't working.
"Dammit to hell!" She shouted, throwing her hands up in the air, "Get the hell out of my office you two! And, Naruto," She pointed a finger at the blonde, "If he gets out of your sight, I'll have you sweeping the streets for a month!"
Naruto's jaw dropped, "But most of the streets are…"
"Don't. Let. Him. Out. Of. Your. Sight!" Tsunade snapped each word.
Naruto nodded his understanding and turned to look at Gaara, but the Kazekage was already opening the door and leaving. Gaara heard Naruto shout his name, but the redhead kept walking to hide a smirk. Sasuke was still out there in the mountains, and Naruto had to spend every minute keeping an eye on Gaara. This couldn't have worked out better for the redhead if he had planned it.
"Hey!" Naruto shouted, spinning the smaller man around, "What's your deal? You heard what the old hag just said!"
"Then keep up," Gaara said bluntly.
They walked in silence, exiting the Hokage tower just as Kakashi came striding up. Gaara eyed the silver-haired man with disdain, which caused Kakashi to raise an eyebrow.
"Good morning, Gaara," Kakashi bowed slightly, "To what do we owe the honor?"
"Monthly visit," the redhead said, as if it were completely obvious.
"Ah, yes…" the older jonin chuckled sheepishly, "I'm sorry that you're son will be… ah… absent for a majority of it."
Gaara nodded stiffly.
"Kakashi," Naruto greeted a bit too energetically. It was obvious that he was trying to distract the two men, "What brings you here?"
"Day two exam results," Kakashi offered, waving a scroll, "A couple of teams actually completed it last night."
"Really?" Naruto exclaimed, "That's pretty impressive."
"Yeah… it is," Kakashi hummed, "Considering Jira's team was one of them."
"No way!" Naruto literally leaped into the air, pumping his fist, "Take that Kakashi! Wait until Sasuke hears about this!"
"Yes, yes," Kakashi waved dismissively, "I must agree, you've trained them very well… but I'm afraid, if anyone gets bragging rights, it would be the Kazekage here."
Gaara's eyes widened just a bit in curiosity. If he had eyebrows, one of them would have raised ever so slightly.
"The remaining Suna team managed to make it to the tower at about… nine-thirty last night," Kakashi explained, "A good hour ahead of Naruto's team."
"Hm," Gaara mused to himself, "They did well…"
"Yes, they did," the silver-haired jonin nodded, "And that means there are only twelve more spots available… and three days left. Hopefully we'll see some more entrants make it through today. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Kakashi chuckled, "I think the Hokage is waiting for my report, and if you two have just left her…"
Gaara and Naruto shared a look which told Kakashi they had.
"…Well, then I think I'm going to have a lot of fun in there!" he gave the two of them a look, his eye twinkling with mischievous intent, and Kakashi walked into the Hokage tower without another word.
They stood there for a long while, alone in the street with nothing but a soundless void between them. Naruto still looked bitter, and Gaara didn't know what he could do to fix the mood. They had three days together, and, if the Kazekage had his way, he would rather spend those day enjoying his time with Naruto… not fighting. He needed to say something that would get the blonde talking.
"I want to kill him sometimes…" Gaara said, grumbling more than anything.
"Who?" Naruto looked at him oddly, apparently not realizing what prompted the statement.
"Kakashi," was Gaara's simple answer.
"Yeah, well… get in line," Naruto chuckled, "Tsunade's been wanting to do it for years."
"If something happens to Kit…" the redhead said lowly, his eyes glaring a hole into the side of a nearby building, "… I will kill him."
Naruto looked at Gaara dumbfounded, and then, without warning, the blonde exploded, "Is that all you every think about! Killing people? If it's not killing people, it's figuring out what people have done wrong to you! If it's not that, then you're waiting until they do something wrong to you… so you can kill them! Do you ever do anything that doesn't involve being a paranoid, murderous, crazy person?" Naruto stopped his rant. He was breathing heavily, his shoulders heaving up and down as he panted… he'd said the entire tirade in one breath, which was remarkably similar to the way the Hokage had yelled the other day.
Gaara looked at Naruto coldly, but he didn't say anything.
"Ugh!" Naruto threw his hands into the air, "Aren't you going to say anything…?"
The redhead glared at the other man, his brow knitting in frustration as he tried to understand where things had gotten even more screwed up. He didn't know what to say. Gaara had been trying to convey his concern, not only for Kit… but for Naruto as well. Kakashi had tricked Naruto into getting the kids in the exam, Tsunade had said that much. If Kit got hurt, then Naruto would be hurt, and it would all be Kakashi's fault. Kakashi should pay for that, shouldn't he?
Things with Naruto were always so complicated to understand, but when it came down to it… the solution was always simple. It's not like the blonde was an overly complicated individual. Naruto did what he thought was right, and he stuck by that fiercely—Gaara knew this. He needed to stop over-thinking and just find out what Naruto wanted.
"I'm not always a crazy person," Gaara muttered in annoyance.
Naruto raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"I'm not!" Gaara snapped.
Naruto snorted, "When are you not?"
"When we were together—" the redhead started.
"Don't even bring that up!" Naruto shouted, "You don't get to bring that up! We had enough of that last night, Gaara!"
"Well it's true!" he snapped back, "When we were together, everything was fine!"
"You were still kinda crazy," Naruto pointed, "Possessive crazy!"
"Like you weren't?" Gaara laughed harshly, "If I even looked at a woman you were afraid I was going to leave you! If anyone was crazy, it was you!"
"You did leave!" Naruto shouted, "I was right from the start!"
"You left first!"
"And I apologized!"
"Words don't make everything better, Naruto!"
"They can certainly help things recover!"
The two of them stood there glaring at one another, huffing angrily. Gaara's sand was rattling in its gourd and he could see flecks of red speckle Naruto's irises. They hadn't been this angry in a long time, Gaara could tell. In fact, they hadn't ever had this fight—now that he thought about it.
This was a fight long coming, and they were both getting their issues out. Last night had only covered a small portion of their problems… and today only served to show how deeply the issue ran. The thought sobered the redhead, and Gaara breathed out… most of his rage going into the atmosphere.
"I…" Gaara started, "I'm… sorry." He never liked saying that word; in fact, he'd only ever said it to Naruto.
"What?" the blonde growled. He'd obviously been expecting something else to come from Gaara.
"I'm sorry," the redhead said again, more clearly this time. "I'm sorry I left…"
There, he said it. The thing he'd been keeping to himself for almost ten years, Gaara had finally said aloud to the one person that actually mattered… who had been affected by the action. It was something Gaara felt ashamed of, but he had been too proud to apologize before.
Naruto deflated, visibly wilting as his anger disappeared, "Me too, Gaara… me too."
The silence slid in again, and neither man was willing to make eye contact with the other. Gaara avoided looking at the blonde because he didn't want to see what was shown in those blue eyes. If Naruto was sad, then it would be his fault again, and if he were hurt, or angry, or resigned to indifference… the redhead didn't think he could handle those either. It was better just to let the silence fill the space between them.
Except the silence was unbearable this time, and for someone like Gaara, who normally enjoyed the silence, it was unnerving.
"I'm also sorry for pulling you away from the exam," Gaara offered, trying to coax the blonde into talking. Silence was easier when Naruto was talking.
"Don't be," Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair. The blonde let out a sly laugh, "Besides, it's not like I was getting any action out there."
"Heh…" Gaara almost snorted, his mind coming up with several dozen lines he could throw out, particularly about "why Naruto thought he'd be getting any here?" or "wasn't he supposed to be keeping an eye on the exam?"; however, it was obvious from the look they shared that Naruto understood every lewd thought that was crossing his mind.
"Oh, no you don't, Gaara!" Naruto shouted, turning almost as red as the Kazekage's hair, "You get your mind out of the gutter this instant!"
"You're the one who put it there," Gaara responded craftily, "So I'll enjoy the trip, thank-you." At that, he left a blushing, sputtering Naruto to stand there, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, with no words coming out with which to refute the frustrating redhead.
The blonde hadn't even realized that the Kazekage was leaving, and, not wanting him to get into any trouble, Gaara turned, "Are you coming, or should I go buy a broom?"
Naruto shook his head rapidly, as if he could shake the thoughts and images from his head, and then he ran to catch up to Gaara. "Mental rapist…" Naruto hissed.
"It's not rape if you enjoy it," Gaara said bluntly, not missing how the blonde turned red again. The redhead merely shrugged and asked, "Ramen?"
Naruto's face did an immediate change and he nodded emphatically, "Yes, Ichiraku's!"
"Lead the way," Gaara said with soft smile.
[…]
Sasuke couldn't shake his feeling of dread. He hadn't run across anymore dead bodies—which he took as a good sign, but he hadn't been able to locate the trio of Shadow-ninjas either—and that was troubling him.
He'd spent the entire second day of the exam searching for them, but no matter how hard he looked, they weren't anywhere to be found. None of the other moderators had seen the Shady Trio either and added on to that… Naruto wasn't answering his communicator. Kakashi said informed him that Naruto had been reassigned by the Hokage, information which only caused Sasuke to worry more.
In fact, he was worrying so much; that the raven didn't even realize when he stumbled upon the very target he'd been looking for.
Sasuke burst out through a small pine grove and onto a flat, rocky mesa where two genin teams were faced off against the trio of Shadow Ninja. His sudden appearance caused all nine heads to turn in his direction. Sasuke locked eyes immediately with Cala, who was regarding him with cold indifference.
"What's going on here?" Sasuke ask sternly, trying to cover up his blunder with superiority.
"Nothing," Cala said with a smirk, "We were just having a polite conversation."
"Like hell, witch!" one of the other genin snarled, "You're going to hand over those orbs!"
Sasuke glanced in this boy's direction, noting that he was obviously from Kumogakure; in fact, both teams were from the Lightning village. According to the moderator reports, the Lightning Village teams were supposed to contain several impressive genin; though, Sasuke felt they would stand little chance against their current opponents.
"I would recommend you disperse," Sasuke said with authority, "This fight holds little purpose."
"Are you kidding?" one of the lightning village kunoichi practically laughed, "She has eight orbs! And you're saying we should just walk away. We'd almost be guaranteed to fail the exam!"
Sasuke's eyes widened in shock, and he turned to look at Cala. In deed, wrapped up in the sash she wore around her waist, the shadow ninja had four sets of gleaming, glass spheres proudly displayed for anyone to see. How he had missed them could only be attributed to Sasuke's personal distraction.
"If you had any intelligence," Cala said with a smirk, turning to face the Lightning Village genin, "You'd listen to this moderator. He's only trying to save your lives… even though he's obviously breaking the rules."
"Excuse me?" Sasuke bristled.
"This confrontation was initiated by the Lightning Village," Mavrí explained, "According to the proctor: any fight that has strategic value to the exam cannot be interfered with. They wish to take orbs from us… we wish for them to fail; therefore, this battle has importance to the outcome of the exam."
The raven grit his teeth, looking from one side to the other… and he knew perfectly well that he couldn't interfere. The Kumogakure genin were dead set upon fighting, and if he interfered—not only would the Lightning Village have a reasonable complaint to lodge, but so would this new Shadow Village. He couldn't allow that…
"If you are intent upon fighting," Sasuke said coldly, "Then you will do so under my supervision. Any one—"
"I think we've heard enough," Cala cut him off, going to stand before Sasuke. She was much shorter than he was, but her imperious look rivaled anything the Uchiha could muster. "Mavrí."
"Yes, Mistress?"
"I believe this fight is yours," Cala spoke, never once taking her eyes off of Sasuke, "Deal with the insignificants. I'll make certain the moderator here does his job… and nothing more."
Sasuke took a step forward, "Now, you listen—"
"No, I think it would be wise for you to listen, and pay close attention…" Cala said coldly, "You're going to want to watch this."
[…]
At a signal from Cala, Mavrí turned and strode toward the two offending genin teams. With a brilliant flourish, she undid the strap which held her sword inplace and brought a large blade over her shoulder, slamming the sheath upon the ground before her soon to be opponents. As the sword struck a loud rumble shook the ground and a cloud of dust kicked up in a small radius around the impact.
The sight of such a large blade, even though it had not been removed from its casing yet, caused several of the Lightning genin to take a step back. Mavrí planted both of her feet wide and locked her blood colored eye upon the children before her.
"Know this…" she said, her deep voice sounding across the distance between her and the enemy genin, "I am the bảo vệ. To fight Mistress Cala you must first go through me… all of you. Until then none of you are worthy of speaking to her." With one hand, Mavrí lifted the giant, black katana and held it out before her level with the earth, "Should any of you feel you are not up to the task… leave now."
[…]
"See…." Cala smiled coldly up at Sasuke, "She's done her duty. They've had two chances to flee. If they die now, it is because they have chosen death."
"What's the game?" Sasuke's voice was lethal, "You and I know they don't stand a chance…"
"So it was you I sensed on the first day," Cala smirked, "I must say I'm sorry to see you unharmed. Not many have survived that technique, and none of the survivors went unscathed."
"Many powerful people have made the mistake of underestimating their opponent," Sasuke fixed Cala with a cold, emotionless stare, "I'm not about to repeat their mistakes… are you?"
"You aren't claiming a little genin to be your opponent, are you?" Cala's right hand twitched in anticipation, almost as if she were begging the Sasuke to attack.
"I merely state a fact," Sasuke said, crossing his arms, "And I am only here to make certain nothing gets out of hand."
"Oh it won't…" Cala assured him, "I have everything under control."
"Six against one?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Even for a talented ninja, those odds don't favor anyone."
This was answered by a smile, a cold… vicious smile that took delight in the suffering of others. Sasuke wanted to flinch at the very sight of it, but he held back.
"Well…" Cala shrugged, "For a talented ninja you would be right, but Mavrí has… certain gifts. Her people are trained for this from birth. She's in no danger."
[…]
"It's one girl," a lightning ninja scoffed, "So what if she has a big sword?"
"Dude… that sword is taller than you, and she's holding it with one hand," another boy muttered, "I doubt you could even pick it up."
"There's six of us, and one of her. Do the math moron!" the other boy snapped back.
"Are we doing this or not?" the kunoichi from earlier snapped.
"But… they keep saying we're going to die," the kunoichi from the second team whimpered, "I don't want to die."
"They just want you to be scared," the first boy scoffed, "So what if they look tough… we've taken on tough already… and there are enough orbs there for everyone!"
Mavrí raised her other hand to the sheath of her sword, drawing the blade out an inch, "Am I to assume that, since you have not fled… you wish to fight?"
"Damn straight, we're gonna fight!" the boy shouted.
"But…" the whimpering kunoichi took a step back.
"Very well," Mavrí nodded.
She kicked off the ground, landing in the center of the genin like a blur, faster than any of them could react. Mavrí drew her katana, spinning it in a wide arc. The steel flashed as blade the color of midnight sliced through a pair of unprepared genin. The boys fell to the ground—bisected—with looks of shock and horror on their faces.
The other genin rebounded, drawing kunai and leaping away, launching their projectiles at Mavrí as they retreated. The tribal girl moved the large, black blade as if it were little more than a bamboo rod, batting aside kunai like flies. It took a second to locate the positions of her opponents, and then Mavrí leapt into the fray again.
With a massive toss, she threw her sword. The melee weapon went spinning like a black disc for the kunoichi with the large mouth, stabbing her in the chest and pinning her to a large rock formation, holding her several feet above the ground. The poor girl gripped the blade, trying to dislodge if from the rock—but it was in vain. She didn't have the strength to perform such a feat in perfect health, and, with each passing second, what little strength she did have flowed out of her and down the rock in a slow, trickling, crimson river.
Mavrí paid little heed to the girl, who was already dead; rather she carried her momentum on to the next opponent, engaging in close-quarters combat. The boy attempted to lash out with a kunai, but Mavrí ducked, her hand coming up to grab the arm holding the kunai. She dealt a swift strike to the boy's elbow with such speed that her arm was a distorted blur and, upon impact, felt a reassuring "crack" as the bone broke.
There was little time for another attack as she caught movement behind her. Mavrí spun, preventing the second boy from stabbing her in the back. With a leap straight up, Mavrí spun, dealing a sharp kick to both boys' chests and sending them flying onto their backs. As they went skidding across the dirt, Mavrí landed and turned to fact them again, "I promise you that running will no longer do you any good. If you flee… you will most assuredly die."
One of the boys didn't take her words to heart—the one whose elbow she'd just broken. Before Mavrí had even finished speaking, the boy turned and ran, fast as he could, but Shadow-nin's reflexes were faster. Her right hand whipped up, removing one of the throwing axes from her belt. She flung the projectile out-wide, and it hummed through the air, arcing as it came back around and caught the fleeing boy in the head. The momentum of the throwing axe knocked him off his feet, and the genin hit the ground as a corpse—a trail of his own blood raining down upon him.
Mavrí turned to the other boy who had remained. He was staring at her, totally horror-struck, with a kunai held in a shaking hand.
"You're not a ninja," she said bluntly, "You're a coward. Standing there and letting your friend die? Disgusting…
"You!" the boy sputtered, "What was I supposed to do?"
"You wanted to fight," she continued, "I'm only one girl… isn't that what you said?"
"You're not a girl!" the boy screamed, "I don't know what you are!
"I am bảo vệ, the lost people… the tribe of shadows. We protect the night. Have you any honor in you; then you will face death without fear," Mavrí held her hands out to her side, planting her feet wide as if offering him an opening, "Face me."
The boy looked from one side to the other, as if gauging his own chances of escape, but one look at Mavrí's belt, and the axes that rested there, seemed to make up his mind. His hand began to shake more violently than before; then, with a shout of rage, he threw the kunai at her. Mavrí dodged it with ease, not even moving her feet, and, as she righted herself, Mavrí noticed the boy form a hand sign.
"Kaminari Kurōn no Jutsu!"
Three spheres of violent, blue light and smoke erupted around the boy, and as the smoke cleared he was surrounded by three clones of himself, composed entirely of lightning. Mavrí raised a dark eyebrow, impressed by the level of skill required for such jutsu.
"Ha!" The boy laughed, no longer looking as frightened as he had before, "You say I'm not a ninja… I spent all year practicing this technique. Let's see you try to stop it!"
The boy leapt high in the air, the three clones surrounding him in a tri-formation, "Lightning Strike Tornado!" He turned at the height of his arc, and fell straight for Mavrí, spinning like a small twister. The three clones mimicked him, vortexing around his position until the entire attack looked like a huge cyclone made out of electrical energy.
The vortex struck precise—a crackling, roaring storm, aimed directly for Mavrí, but the tribal girl didn't flinch, nor did she move. Mavrí merely crossed her arms in front of her face, spread her feet wide to brace herself… and the attack struck.
The mesa exploded in a flash brilliant, blue light and a cloud of smoke which billowed up into the sky.
[…]
Sasuke watched in horror as the attack struck the tribal, shadow genin full-force. Mavrí hadn't even gotten out of the way. She'd just stood there. He couldn't understand why? She was obviously much faster than the other genin; in fact, she could have stopped him from performing the jutsu at all. What was her plan? Was she wanting to die? Cala hadn't taken her eyes off him once, nor had the dark-haired girl once shown any concern for her comrade.
Meanwhile, the gothic, doll-like girl was cackling maniacally as she watched dirt and debris come clattering through the cloud of dusty smoke which had begun to envelope them.
"I don't know what you girls are playing at, but this isn't a game!" Sasuke shouted.
"We know that," Cala replied coldly, "It's the other genin who need to learn this lesson."
"Your teammate needs help… she could be—"
"Mavrí is fine, jonin," the girl snapped, "Watch."
Sasuke turned his eyes toward the impact site, impatiently waiting for the smoke to clear. It didn't take long before the scene quickly became visible, and Sasuke was floored by what he saw.
Mavrí stood in a large crater, one arm held out before her, blocking a lethal strike from a kunai held in the hand of the Kumogakure genin. Her other arm was wrapped around the necks of the three lightning clones, holding them immobilized even as they created blistering whelps on her skin.
"A protective jutsu?" Sasuke asked, not expecting Cala to actually answer.
"No," the girl said, surprising him. For the first time, Cala turned to look at her teammate, "Mavrí has no ninjutsu or genjutsu… her entire skill set is melee: taijutsu and weapons skills, but her tribal blood does have a particularly interesting jinjutsu lying within it."
"A healing jutsu?"
"A benevolent art," Cala smirked, "It is both defensive and offensive…"
Sasuke focused on the tribal girl, unknowingly accessing his Sharingan.
"An Uchiha?" Cala's eyes squinted, becoming narrow as she looked at him cautiously, "I'm afraid you'll learn no secrets from Mavrí with those eyes."
"Why?"
"Because," the girl's voice was cold, "It's already over…"
[…]
Mavrí's head was hung low, covered by her forearm. She could feel the sting of the kunai; it had pierced her flesh almost completely through, and it hurt… it hurt immensely. Slowly, she could feel the pain begin to burn in her veins, filling her body with strength… and rage. She could feel the heat in her muscles.
With a sharp flex of her other arm, Mavrí snapped the necks of all three clones—they vanished in a cloud of smoke. As she turned her eyes up to face the boy, she saw his fear… she saw him let go of the kunai and back away quickly, turning to run. Mavrí didn't care. No matter how far he ran, she could find him. She had the blood scent.
She brought her wounded forearm up, looking at the kunai embedded there. Grasping its handle with her other hand, Mavrí ripped the weapon out in one, swift motion. The blood began to flow more freely—a hot, pulsing stream. She watched it in fascination, feeling the change taking place in her veins; every time this feeling thrilled her… filled her body with excitation.
Then she was away….
Mavrí dashed, coming to stop in front of the boy—effectively cutting him off from his escape route. Mavrí smirked as he came skidding to a stop before her. The tall girl's hand shot out, wrapping around the boy's throat as he looked up at her in fear. She lifted the genin off his feet with ease, bringing him to eye level. She saw herself reflected in the white of her opponent's eyes, and she could see the faint, pulsing, red glow that had taken over her irises.
Strangely enough, the boy wasn't even looking at her face; something else seemed to have him terror-racked. Mavrí follow his gaze, her eyes trailing down from his face, to her hand, and up her arm to the wound he had inflicted. There, where the blood was flowing, that's where his eyes were fixated.
Mavrí could see the vital fluid leaving her body, through it had slowed to little more than a trickle now. She could also see what had frightened the boy even more than her glowing eyes…
The blood leaving her body was boiling.
The bubbling, red cruor began steaming, evaporating off of her flesh in waves of heated mist; as the blood dried, searing away, it left behind completely healed skin—no trace that a wound had ever been existed, leaving her tattoo's perfectly intact.
"You tried well," Mavrí told the genin, "Now… die well."
She closed her fist around the boy's neck, snapping it like a twig. The boy made a harsh, haggard sputtering-noise, and then his eyes rolled back into his head. No longer alive, Mavrí had no desire to hold onto the body any longer, so she dropped the carcass to the earth without a second thought. That boy was the fifth kill, meaning one more was still left.
Turning her eyes to scan the barren rocks, Mavrí noticed the small whimpering kunoichi—the one who hadn't wanted to fight. She was still standing there frozen to the spot, looking as if she wanted to flee. Her mouth was hung open in horror, like a scream had somehow gotten trapped in her lungs, unable to escape.
Mavrí frowned and went to retrieve her sword. She sheared it from the rock where it had embedded, releasing the corpse of the dead kunoichi which slid to the ground with a drawn out "squelch" and collapsed. Picking her sheath up from the ground, Mavrí went over to the petrified girl and snapped her fingers, jolting her from her shock.
"P-p-please… d-don't kill me!" the girl cried.
"You were not a combatant," Mavrí hesitated, about to lower her sword, "But…"
Mavrí turned to look at Cala, waiting for the order. Whatever decision her mistress made, Mavrí would follow without hesitation.
[…]
Sasuke watched in horror as the girl's fate was left in Cala's hands. The cold look in those ice-blue eyes told the Uchiha exactly what the decision would be.
"This fight is over," Sasuke said in a commanding tone, "This girl didn't even take place in it… your teammate won. Now it's over!"
Cala regarded him with a lazy glance, "The fate of the individual is decided by the choice of the group. In war, no single life is spared and individual circumstance… every citizen is judged by the decision of their country… in this exam, it is no different. You suffer because of the decision of your team. The individual influences the group, as much as the group decides for the individual." With a sharp nod toward Mavrí, Cala signed her decision.
Sasuke barely had time to think, reacting upon instinct.
In an instant he was between Mavrí and the other genin activating Amaterasu. Black flames exploded into existence, burning a wall between himself and the tall, tribal genin. Sasuke pulled the Lightning Village girl back, away from the heat of the flames, but Mavrí's swinging blade carried her directly into the roaring, dark inferno.
Sasuke winced, knowing that the shadow genin would be cinders in moments…
…but Mavrí walked through Amaterasu like an ominous monolith, the black flames clinging to her form and dancing across her body. Her skin was charred, eaten by the black flames… but there should have been more damage. Dark, coagulated blood clung to Mavrí's frame, bubbling violently, and, to Sasuke's shock, the boiling blood began to eat the dark flames, snuffing them from existence.
As Mavrí drew closer, her eyes began to glow with intense light—a shimmering, sanguine brightness that over took her irises—and her skin began to mend itself almost instantly.
"So this is a kekki genkai… exhibited as a jinjutsu," Sasuke thought in horrific fascination, "Incredible…"
Mavrí swung her blade wide, slinging the leftover flames from Amaterasu towards Sasuke. This caught him off-guard, but with his Sharingan activated he had more than enough time to react, extinguishing the black fire before it reached him or the girl he was protecting.
"Stay as far away from us as you can," Sasuke warned her, "If you see a chance… run."
Before the tribal girl and her monstrous ability could get any closer to her target, Sasuke engaged Mavrí in close quarters. Her blade came swinging at him, and he blocked its momentum with a kunai. The blades struck together, spraying sparks, and Sasuke couldn't believe the sheer weight of the sword his opponent was swinging. The force behind it nearly dislocated his arm!
Not wanting to risk competing with such a blade, Sasuke deflect the strike and flipped, striking her sword hand with his fist while kicking the large weapon at the same time—effectively disarming Mavrí. Thinking this might give him and advantage, Sasuke twisted to send his kunai stabbing toward the girl's head, but Mavrí's own hand intercepted his attack. She grasped his wrist, performing an impressive grapple, simultaneously disarming him, in turn, and sending him flying.
The Uchiha managed to right himself in mid-air, landing roughly on his feet and coming to a skidding stop. He was impressed with the level of skill this genin possess… if she even was a genin, which he was having doubts about.
Mavrí was paying him little attention. She turned toward the Lightning genin, focused upon her orders. Sasuke lunged, catching the tall girl off guard with a knee to the head, which sent Mavri's tumbling. "Alright…" Sasuke grinned, "Perhaps she is a genin after all…"
Rolling to her feet, Mavrí turned her gaze fully upon Sasuke—her eyes blazing fully red now. In an instant, much faster than Sasuke had calculated, the Shadow-nin was upon him. Her fists shot out for his head, torso, and kidneys with blurring speed and incredible accuracy. The raven found that he was forced to fully block every blow, each of which had immense force behind them, and Sasuke was afraid they might shatter bone.
Apparently Mavrí was able to wield her huge weapon by sheer strength alone, unaided by other means. This was apparent to Sasuke by the extraordinary amount power she placed behind her punches. The Uchiha felt as if he were being pummeled by a locomotive, or a steam piston, and, as s Mavrí he continued raining blows against him, Sasuke was forced to push Sharingan to the limit… predicting where her strikes were going to land before she threw them—and then slapping them aside, deflecting her attack rather than blocking. A full block, he determined, could be just as damaging to him as a hit, and Sasuke wasn't willing to risk it.
Mavrí had Sasuke on the defensive for several moments, while he was trying to work out the timing and sense an opening. Cala hadn't lied when she said Mavrí relied solely upon melee combat; this girl might not have any jutsu to fall back on, but if she kept at her opponents like this, Sasuke could easily see Mavrí pummeling them into a bloody pulp.
Then he saw his opening: a chance for a grapple.
He knocked her next strike high, spun into her defensive zone, and struck her square in the chest with his other elbow. The strike sent Mavrí stumbling backwards. Sasuke's next attack was a wide, swinging punch sent directly for the tall girl's throat.
Mavrí's next feat was a move that almost defied gravity. Rather than try and block the blow, she bent her body with it, using Sasuke own force and momentum to push her body into an arm-free cartwheel. The blow didn't even do any damage to her, she flowed around it like water, and the next thing Sasuke knew—one of her feet was slamming him in the face.
As he went staggering backwards, Sasuke was marveled—and literally floored by the mastery of her taijutsu. She had not only nullified his grapple, but she had performed a counter attack within the confines of her defensive maneuver. Sasuke was glad Sharingan had been active, because he would definitely be reviewing that move for later study.
Getting to his feet, Sasuke quickly performed several hand signs, planning to end this fight before it escalated any further. Blue lightning arced to light in a circle around him, jumping into his outreached hand as he prepared to strike with the Chidori. Mavrí took a defensive posture, but Sasuke could see where she was going to evade, and he planned accordingly. If he managed to wound this girl enough… he could remove the Shadow team from the Exams.
Yes, he'd be punished and Konoha would probably be penalized—most likely by removing Sasuke's own team from the exams—but it would be worth it in the end.
Taking no time to second-guess himself, Sasuke lunged, throwing his hand at Mavrí's lower abdomen, aiming to severely wound the girl's bodily functions… hopefully beyond her own ability's rapid regeneration. Mavrí's eyes widened in shock as his attack intercepted her dodge, and Sasuke knew he had her…
…when suddenly, a hand gripped his wrist from out of nowhere. Sasuke frantically looked right to see Cala holding onto him. With her other hand she perform a series of hand signs, and then pointed her free arm to the ground. Her black iron fingernails sparked with static as the Chidori leapt from Sasuke's palm. The lightning coursed from Cala's hand on his wrist, through her chest harmlessly, and fired into the ground… completely neutralized.
With a rough shove, Cala threw his hand away with such force that Sasuke stumbled back a step. "That's enough, Mavrí. We're done here," Cala turned her back on Sasuke and made to leave.
The Uchiha wasn't about to just let that slide, "Wait… leave the girl be."
Cala turned her head slightly, giving him a look that said he was completely foolish, "She is no longer an issue. While you were preoccupied, Eira removed her from the equation. There is no longer a need for this conversation."
Confounded, Sasuke turned to where he had left the genin from Kumogakure. Sure enough, she was dead—her neck slit so fiercely that she was almost decapitated—and the Lolita girl was skipping back to stand at Cala's side.
Enraged, Sasuke turned towards the three Shadow-genin, "She was not a part of this… you didn't need to kill her."
"I have already explained this," Cala's voice dripped with boredom, "Not only will the exam committee rule in our favor, but if I brought up the little scene you just displayed… you would most likely be severely reprimanded. So, Jonin of the Uchiha clan, I recommend we both go our separate directions… and I suggest that you would be wise to follow us no longer."
"What you just did was murder," Sasuke snarled.
"What I just did was eliminate a leak of information," Cala countered, "Which any ninja would do, not only to protect their secrets… but also themselves from future retaliation."
The raven was furious, but the more he looked at it… he really had little course but to let them go. If he tried to detain them, Sasuke knew he'd be in for a fight. Not that he couldn't win, but was it worth the risk without back-up?
"This isn't over…" Sasuke warned them, his eyes cold and black as the Sharingan had long dissipated.
"Oh, I think it is," Cala said, turning her back and waving good-bye, "Or it will be if we meet again, Jonin."
As they disappeared off into the distance, Sasuke finally breathed out his tension. Quickly, he brought up the hand that had form the Chidori, removing his glove and pulling back his sleeve.
There was a burn on his wrist, red and sweltering and shaped like a gripped hand… he even saw the differentiation of fingers and palm—and where each fingernail should have been, the flesh was charred, burnt... blackened as if it had been set on fire. Looking at the sleeve of his jumpsuit, Sasuke could see that holes had been burnt through it in the same location… the same places that Cala's metal nails had touched.
"The Chidori hurt me when she redirected it…" he breathed, "Why was she still able to stand after it went through her entire body?"
[…]
It was the evening of the third day and Fuma still hadn't spoken a work about that first night. Ame was worried, constantly looking at him; Gemma acted as though he couldn't care less, but every time Fuma caught his eyes… he saw fear. Gemma couldn't even look at him without showing that fear.
The truth was that Fuma couldn't remember anything after he blacked out. He remembered them talking about doing something to his brain, he remember that horrible shrill noise… and then everything went red. Shortly after that he passed out, and when he woke up, Fuma had seen Ame. The very first feeling he'd had was relief. Fuma had been so happy to see his teammate, he had automatically thought they'd been the ones to save him, and he didn't care how brutally they'd done the job either.
Those Sound Village genin deserved what they got, but when Fuma learned Ame and Gemma hadn't done anything and when Fuma couldn't remember anyone else there, the logical conclusion drawn was: Fuma had somehow defended himself.
Ame's theory was that he'd unconsciously accessed Sharingan, something he said was logical because Sasuke had it. Fuma could accept this, because everyone expected him to get something from his dad's blood. Fuma would even have accepted this answer because he remembered seeing red, and he assumed that everything would look red through Sharingan, because his dad's eyes turned red when he used Sharingan… but if that was the case—shouldn't he remember something?
Sharingan was supposed to copy the moves of other ninja, saving them for use and study. Fuma still had no recollection of his ordeal, nor any insight into how the Sound genin had performed their jutsu… he didn't know anything more than he had before the attack. So, Fuma highly doubted it was Sharingan, as much as he wanted something to share with his father.
Gemma had suggested that Fuma was a psychopath… like Sasuke had been as a kid, claiming that his father had been a crazy murderer. This of course led to Fuma attacking him like a wildcat, literally beating the boy until Ame had pulled him off.
No one talked about his dads like that, Fuma wouldn't let them. Now that he thought about it, Fuma figured his reaction could be what was making Gemma afraid. Gemma had always picked on Fuma, boasting about how small he was… but Fuma had trashed him soundly—without jutsu or form, which made him think that Gemma was just a bully.
If they ever had to actually fight, Fuma now felt confident that he could take the other boy with ease, something he was quite pleased with.
"How are you feeling?" Ame asked, coming to sit by Fuma. The tall boy smiled warmly as he did so.
"I'm fine," Fuma stated.
Ame looked at him as if he didn't fully believe.
"Really," the smaller boy added with some enthusiasm, "Nothing hurts… I don't know how to explain it, but I think someone else may have saved me and moved on. Perhaps the Sound genin had an orb on them worth taking?"
"If they did," Ame sighed, "That means we missed out on an opportunity, and our job is getting harder."
"No luck finding a shrine?" Fuma asked dejectedly.
"None…" Ame nodded his own disappointment. "Gemma has had the hive out searching for miles. Any shrines they find have already been emptied. I have a feeling it's going to come down to skirmishes, especially this close to the end of the exam."
"Two more days…" Fuma muttered.
"One more if we're lucky," Ame chuckled.
"Ame…"
"Yes?" the boy turned to face the young Uchiha, his pale hair falling across his face, "Do you know why my dad, Naruto… not Sasuke… do you know why everyone is afraid of him?"
"I… don't know if it's my place to say anything," Ame said, trying to dodge a touchy subject.
"Jira knows," Fuma said bitterly, "I can tell. And I think Kit knows because Jira told him… but I don't. No one will tell me when I ask them either."
"Because," Ame said calmly, "It's something that's very private to your father… and it's something he should be able to tell you. Besides, what makes you think there's anything wrong?"
"It's the way people look at me…"
"Come again?" Ame said with a smile, "The village adores you."
"Yeah, but they still give me this look, when they think I can't see them…" Fuma explained, "It's the same look they give Sasuke… and even more people give it to Naruto. It's… it's like they're afraid. It's the same look we give to monsters in those movies… like they're afraid for their lives."
With a deep sigh, Ame brushed his hair out of his face and leaned back, "Has anyone ever told you that you're too observant?"
"Yes." Fuma nodded seriously, "Gemma says it's creepy."
"Well, never mind what that idiot says," Ame waved dismissively.
"I heard that!" Gemma snapped from the other side of the camp.
"Anyways," Ame continued, "People are afraid of things they don't understand. Take your Uncle Itachi for example. They give him the same look, don't they?"
Fuma nodded.
"Well, that's because he was one a Missing Nin, and he was a member of Akatsuki before your fathers destroyed it," Ame's face became serious for once, "Itachi is a good man… but people don't understand why he did the those things in the past. Because they don't understand, they chose to be afraid… and they chose to hate."
"It's stupid," the boy growled, muttering angrily, "Uncle Ita is hilarious."
"I agree," Ame's laughter fluttered into the night like butterflies, putting Fuma's mind somewhat at ease. They slipped into a comfortable silence, listening to the sounds around them. Cicadas, owls, the hum of insects… some of which probably belonged to Gemma… all the sounds convulsed into a midnight opus, a symphony of cacophonous sounds which somehow put the evening into a peaceful harmony.
"Are you saying they're afraid of me… because they don't understand me?" Fuma asked finally.
"They're afraid…" Ame said thoughtfully, "Because you're young… and they don't know what you can do."
"You said that I could get Sharingan from Sasuke," Fuma said thoughtfully, "Is there anything like that I could get from Naruto?"
Ame looked at the hope in Fuma's eyes, and the older boy was sad with his answer, "I'm afraid not. Sharingan is a kekkei genkai. To my knowledge, Naruto doesn't possess one."
"Oh…" Fuma said dejectedly.
"But, that doesn't mean you have nothing in common with him," Ame winked, "After all… you have his whiskers!" At this, Ame flicked the boy's face with his index finger and dart off across their camp before Fuma could retaliate.
Rather than chase his flighty teammate, Fuma sat there and looked up at the night sky, musing about the things Ame had said. He thought about how people viewed his family, and he felt very sad about it. Many people probably thought about Sasuke the same way Gemma did… he'd probably heard those things from his parents.
How did people talk about Naruto? Or Jira? … or even Kit? Did everyone talk behind their backs?
They were thoughts which threatened to depress him, so Fuma did what Naruto always suggested and thought about something else, something that would make him feel better. At that moment his stomach decided to growl, and Fuma realized just how hungry he was.
"See!" Ame called out, "You have more related to Naruto than you realize!"
Fuma laughed at this statement, noticing that it was very true. He got up and went over to where the packs were, opening up his own bag to pull out some rations, and there—shoved in between his spare jacket and his food sack—sat a blue orb. Fuma pulled it out gently and called out to his teammates, "Hey, guys… I think I found the Sound team's orb."
~A/N~
1) Jinjustsu is defined as a healing action or benevolent art, so in my story... all healing jutsu is going to be refered to as jinjutsu (I don't know if that is accurate for Naruto-verse, but I'm making it accurate for my story. Hope you can live with it).
2) For anyone who is interested, and because I'm probably not going to go into THIS much detail for the story. Mavri's Kekkei Genkai is called Gyeogno Bảo Vệ, which basically means "Protector's Rage". It is a powerful, passive healing jutsu that repairs any damage to Mavri and rebuilds the tissue stronger than before. That is why her people, the Bảo Vệ, carve tattoos into their skin (rather than using in). The bloodline activates at an early age and begins building their muscle to incredible strengths. This is also why Mavri can swing her huge sword with ease. Another affect of her Kekkei Genkai is that it pumps an overload of adrenaline, which increases her speed and strength while she is healing. So the more damage she takes, the more deadly she becomes... but it also uses up her blood for the healing process, leaving her severely weak afterwards. There is always the danger of her bleeding out, because while it heals her body... she does not regenerate blood at an advanced rate. Bảo Vệ are known to purposefully injure themselves in times of peace, to make certain that they are strong for when wartime comes.
3) Another intersting fact, Bảo Vệ are only assigned to protect apprentices of the Majokage and the Majokage herself (this is not a spoiler because Cala was revealed to be an apprentice of the Majokage when she first appeares in chapter 7).
4) Bảo Vệ is vietnamese for "Protector". Since Mavri's clan was brought to the land of the Five Nations by the Majokage, they obviously come from a country BEYOND. I felt it would be best to look for another asian language other than Japanese. Because of this, I found a beautiful for for Mavri... and I hope that you all come to enjoy her quirks as much as I do.
Ciao!