Please Enjoy and I only own Ami and her unique Justus. The chapters of the story will occasionally combined some episodes in to one
Chapter 11: - Killer Kunoichi, Shaky Shikamaru
The two girls stared down at each other, Lee and Guy cheered their teammate on, as the rest of us waited in silence for the match to begin. I was worried about Tenten, hoping that she would be alright.
"Begin," Hayate spoke. Temari made a motion and Tenten jumped back, giving her some distance.
"Alright Tenten keep her guessing," Lee called down. I flicked my eyes to them before looking back at the match, tension hung in the air as we waited for one of the Kunoichi to make a move.
Guy and Lee continued to cheer and I suppressed the urge to seriously electrocute then and permanently cripple them, even Naruto was getting annoyed with them. Hayate, out loud, wondered why neither of them were attacking.
"Huh. Guess she's waiting for me to make a move. Big mistake, because the first move I make, will be the last one you see," Temari taunted. She then stepped forward and Tenten stepped back, keeping her distance. "Come on, I don't want this match to be over too quickly. So why don't you go first, come on girl show me what you got," Temari pushed the girl.
"Ok if you insist. Remember you asked for it," Tenten responded. She jumped up into the air and threw some shuriken at Temari, however all of them somehow missed their mark, during the attack, I think I saw Temari flicker briefly.
"I missed her! There's just no way" Tenten cried out in shock. She was stunned as if this had never happened to her before.
"What was that? A warm up exercise, or maybe you're a little nervous and it's affected your aim. Is that it?" Temari taunted. I wondered why on earth Tenten was shocked, anyone could miss with a ninja tool, even me. "Perhaps I was hoping I'd at least work up a sweat, but forget that idea if this is the best you've got," Temari sneered. Her eyes briefly flicked up to me before focusing back on her opponent
"What is going on? How did she miss? It is incredible!" Lee yelled out. The same hocked tone that was in Tenten's voice was in his.
"It's impossible! Tenten's aim is perfect, she always hits her mark," Guy stated. I understood why they were shocked, Tenten had never missed thus it came as a surprise to them.
"Not this time, she didn't," Neji piped in. I wondered how on earth his team could stand the Hyūga boy, as I found him to be extremely annoying and a little demeaning.
"She never misses. There must have been something that made her miss," Guy stated. I knew that to be true, something had cause Tenten to miss… and it couldn't be stopped.
"Man this is embarrassing. Sand village wins again," Shikamaru stated. I nodded agreeing with the lazy boy.
"What are you talking about the match just started?" Naruto asked, confusion clear in his tone.
"It's over," Shikamaru protested.
"Give me a break. What makes you so smart? Why don't you explain it to me so that I understand?" Naruto demanded from the boy. However Shikamaru stated that he wouldn't explain if Naruto couldn't see it for himself.
"It's obvious like he said," Chōji piped in. But Naruto still didn't understand what they meant. Tenten measured her distance, as she tried to assess what had happened, Temari then reached back and touched the large black fan that was strapped to her back.
Tenten then began to circle around Temari looking for a weak spot that she could strike, Tenten then jumped into the air and pulled out a scroll.
"Alright try this on for size!" Tenten challenged. She opened the scroll and it began to swirl around her. It began to spin so fast that it ended up as a blur, weapons then flew out and straight towards Temari, however just as before all the weapons missed.
"No way! She stopped everything I threw," Tenten called out. Temari had a smirk resting on her face as she held her partial opened fan revealing that painted onto the blades was a purple circle. "What has she got in that fan of hers?" Tenten wondered.
"Take a look. This is the first moon, there are two more. When you see all three moons you'll, you've lsot the match," Temari explained. I rolled my eyes at this taunt.
"This match was lost before it began," I whispered. I want this battle to end, hoping that I could get on to my match soon.
"Tenten do not play your opponent's game. Maintain focus, maintain focus," Lee called out to her. Tenten then pulled out two more scrolls and her team seemed shocked by this move.
"She's… using that already," Guy questioned in surprise that this move. I wondered what was so special it was just a pair of scrolls.
"What's with the two scrolls? What's she planning to do with them?" Naruto questioned. Tenten bent down and placed the scrolls at an arm's length away from her body
"It won't work, whatever it is," Temari stated. Tenten ignored her and then she began to weave hand signs.
"Ninja Art – Rising Twin Dragons!" Tenten declared. Suddenly a large puff of smoke was released and then smoke dragons rose out of it and they began to twist around each other. The dragons were in fact the scrolls, then Tenten jumped up between the scrolls and began to hurl, weapon after weapon at Temari.
"Huh, doesn't matter how man you throw at me, it's all the same. Moon number two," Temari called out. She unleashed her attack and blocked the weapons with a wall of wind. The weapons, scrolls and Tenten all landed on the floor
"I'm not done!" Tenten shot back. She jumped into the air and then revealed that the weapons had strings attached to them, Tenten pulled the weapons back into the air and then tossed them at Temari, however it as in vain as Temari launched her wind attack again, blasting both the weapons and Tenten backwards.
"Moon number three," Temari stated. I knew it was over, Tenten couldn't do anything, especially if her only skill was in ninja tools. Temari then ducked behind her fan and both disappeared. "Over here," Temari called out to Tenten as she reappeared. She was flying on her fan as she approached the brunette, she landed and her hand furled up.
"Now it's my turn," Temari stated. She then unfurled her fan and held it in her hands. "Wind Style – Wind Scythe Jutsu!" Temari declared. A cyclone of wind surged out and it seized Tenten in its' grasp, dragging her up into the air, the wind was so sharp that it slashed open Tenten's skin.
"Temari's chakra is controlling the vortex. She fought well, but she'll never escape form that whirlwind, it's over," Neji stated. Tenten then began to fall from the sky, Temari caught her by forcing Tenten to land on her fan
"Wow that girl's really ruthless," Naruto stated, nervousness graced his normal confident face.
"Wasn't much of a match, kind of boring," Temari stated as she looked at the unconscious Kunoichi.
"To be able to stop every one of Tenten's attacks, like that," Guy stated, shock apparent on his face.
"I still cannot believe it," Lee added on. I waited for something to happen, Hayate declared Temari the winner, and then the blonde tossed Tenten off her fan and straight towards her weapons that were still scattered about. Before anyone else could react, Lee had jumped down and managed to catch Tenten before she was seriously hurt.
"Nice catch," Temari commented. Lee set Tenten on the ground and raise his head, glaring at the Sand Kunoichi.
"What is wrong with you? She may have lost but that is no way to treat an opponent who has done her best," Lee berated Temari. She responded by slamming the end of her fan onto the ground.
"Oh beat it. And take that sack of garbage with you," Temari ordered. This angered Lee who charged at her despite Neji's cries. He used Leaf hurricane but Temari was able to block it. "Not even close. You know what, you're as dumb as you look," Temari insulted.
"What did you say?" Lee asked. However Guy got down then and told him to stop, Lee attempted to protest.
"Temari forget them, the match is over so get up here. You won, so why are you wasting your time with that pathetic loser and his ridiculous mentor," Gaara called out.
"What?" Lee questioned. Gaara's comment had quite obviously annoyed the ninja.
"Just calm down Lee. A word of warning, you Sand villagers have no idea what Lee is capable of. Remember he still hasn't fought yet… so I'd be careful if I were you," Guy warned.
Tension hung thick in the air, until Sakura revealed that she was awake and gave some words of advice to Naruto. The panel then began to shuffle the names again, I looked at it nervousness flowing through me, however it wasn't my match this time, instead it was Shikamaru against Kin, as the lazy boy was walking by, I grabbed a hold of his wrist.
"Be careful, none of us saw Kin's abilities but we can only assume that they're connect to sound, so be on your guard," I told the boy. He sighed and nodded before claiming this was a drag and he headed down to the battlefield, which had luckily been cleared of the weapons that Tenten left.
"Oh man this is such a drag. I mean give me a break, I've got to fight a girl," Shikamaru complained. Ino had got to her feet and was cheering Shikamaru on in an incredibly enthusiastic manner.
"Yeah, you just keep thinking that way little man," Kin responded. Hayate began the match.
"It's all I've got," Shikamaru stated. He prepared his Shadow Possession Jutsu, but Kin cut him off.
"You're not trying that stupid Shadow thing again, are you?" Kin questioned, in a ridiculing manner.
"Shut your mouth!" Shikamaru yelled at her. I was shocked that the boy expressed something other than annoyance or boredom. "Ninja Art – Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru declared. His shadow then began to move forward.
"This that all you know? If that's the only trick you've got then this battle's going to be easier than I thought," Kin insulted. She then dodge and threw senbon which had bells attached but Shikamaru had managed to dodge them, I wondered why she used senbon as they were needle like weapons that did little damage unless aimed at a vital point.
"Bells? Heh oh please, not that old trick. Let me guess next you'll throw senbon with bells and senbon without bells at the same time. I'll react to the bells and while I'm focused on dodging them, I won't notice the silent needle coming at me, am I right. Good luck," Shikamaru taunted. Kin then charged at him.
"You sure talk a lot don't you?" Kin retorted. She then threw her senbon at Shikamaru who dodge them.
"Now I know to dodge all the senbon. Not just the ones with the bells," Shikamaru continued on his analysis. However a bell suddenly tingled, it turned out that the bells had wires attached to them which Kin pulled on to distract Shikamaru, as she threw her senbon at him which he couldn't dodge as the bell trick had worked.
"Shikamaru!" Ino cried out.
"Well that didn't take long," Naruto dryly commented.
"Hold on, don't be so sure he's not beaten yet," Sakura added in. I looked down to see the boy getting to his feet.
"One inch higher and that would have been a fatal hit," Shikamaru stated, as he pulled out the needles in his arms. I raised an eyebrow at this, not many people could identify a fatal hit, unless they were a medical ninja or had a good quality understanding of the human body.
"Ok now I get a turn," Shikamaru retorted as he turned back to face Kin.
"Sorry that was your turn," Kin responded. She pulled on the bells again, then something seemed to happen to Shikamaru it was like he got disorientated.
"What the, what's going on?" Shikamaru asked. His voice showed worry and nervousness, he then suddenly collapsed to his knees.
"You see, you don't ever ask for whom the bell tolls, because it tolls for thee. This bell sends off a peculiar sound vibration that travels through the outer and inner ear and then directly to the brain. First comes paralysis and soon you'll start hallucinating," Kin explained her battling technique. Shikamaru clamped his hand over his ears but kin simply laughed at this.
"It won't work. You can't block the sound out once it's inside your head," kin revealed. I looked at the others around me. It seemed that Shikamaru was the one who was affected by Kin's bells.
"I can't tell which one of them is the real one," Shikamaru choked out. I furrowed my eyebrows, but concluded that Shikamaru was trapped in a Genjutsu which caused him to see multiple Kin's.
"You can't move your arms or legs. And even if you could you wouldn't know which one of us to throw your shadow at. Face it, you're cooked little man, I'm going to cook you nice and slow over a hot fire," Kin taunted.
"You think it's that easy?" Shikamaru questioned the Kunoichi. Kin threw senbon at the immobile boy, they struck into him piercing his skin.
"That was three, next time I'll throw five. Each time a couple more until you end up looking like a hedgehog," Kin explained. I rolled my eyes thinking that she reminded me of a cat playing with her food
"Stop playing games why don't you. If you're so tough, get it over with, stop wasting my time," Shikamaru told the girl. She simply smirked at him.
"I'm sorry, so you're not a fan of my slow and painful method. Fine suit yourself, we'll do it the quick way then… and painful," Kin taunted. She prepared her senbon, but then something happened. "Wh-what's going on? I can't move my arm," Kin cried out. The arm holding the senbon began to be forcibly lowered.
"Huh, looks like my lame shadow jutsu was a success after all," Shikamaru stated. I looked down and saw that the wire Kin was holding was somehow casting a shadow which it shouldn't have been able to do, considering the height that it was being held.
"But you haven't thrown any shadows. No way I made sure of it," Kin protested as she looked about.
"You really still down see it?" Shikamaru asked. I wondered if the girl would see it without anyone pointing it out to her.
"What do you mean?" Kin asked.
"Look at that wire you're holding, don't you find it strange that it would even cast a shadow at this height," Shikamaru explained. Then the shadow warped and changed into the shadow that linked Kin to Shikamaru. "Of course you didn't notice it, because you were too focused on other things. Like killing me," Shikamaru taunted.
"His shadow spreading out around me and I didn't even see if coming," kin realised and berated herself.
"Right, I stretched my shadow along the line of that thread and followed it all the way back, now I'm attached to you," Shikamaru informed the Kunoichi.
"And now. So, we mirror each other's movements, so what. A cute trick but what do you gain by it," Kin asked. This however annoyed the lazy boy.
"Man you're annoying. Shut up and watch," Shikamaru told the girl. He then reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out a shuriken, Kin did the same.
"You must be insane. If you throw that shuriken at me, you'll just be attacking yourself," kin informed Shikamaru. I wondered that myself, it was obvious that Shikamaru wasn't the idiot everyone thought he was.
"Makes it kind of interesting, doesn't it?" Shikamaru asked as he prepared to throw the shuriken.
"You wouldn't, you couldn't," Kin protested, as she copied Shikamaru's movement
"Oh yeah. Like a game of chicken let's see who ducks first," Shikamaru declared as he threw the shuriken
"You're crazy!" Kin cried out, her shuriken also flying through the air. As the shuriken neared the ninjas, Shikamaru bent backwards easily dodging the shuriken. Kin went to do the same, however she was so far back that as she bent her head smashed against the wall, knocking her unconscious.
"And that's what I call using your head," Shikamaru stated. He then flipped himself back onto his feet. "The wise shinobi careful scouts the physical layout of the battlefield, and never loses sight of his position on it. That was your problem, I make sure she was so busy focusing on me, she didn't notice the wall inches behind her head. So when we both dodged backwards, kabomb! Now who's hearing bells?" Shikamaru explained.
He was declared the victor and I had to admit that I was impressed with Shikamaru's forethought. He had a keen strategic mind in hand, that made him a dangerous opponent and probably the most qualified to be Chūnin of those present. The panels then began to shuffle again and Naruto was chosen to fight against Kiba.