Ch. 19: Unpredictability

As soon as the proctor started the match, things got weird. Tsubasa had yelled something about a "dream state," then cast a genjutsu over Kazu. Except that Kazu started laughing hysterically, literally rolling on the floor. Tsubasa was in no better state.

Then came the thrashing and screaming. Tsubasa finally got up off the floor, watching Kazu with a satisfied look on his face. "Now that's a jutsu only the heir to the Dream Shinobi Clan could perform. Dream State Conversion to Nightmare State. Complete." Realization dawned in Deki's eyes.

"What?"

"He put Kazu to 'sleep,' searching through his dreams, then discovered the nightmares. So this genjutsu—"

"Is literally his nightmares," I finished. I paled as I realized something. "Listen carefully to his screams and the way he's moving. Don't they remind you of something?" I winced when a particularly shrill shriek pierced the air.

"Umm…" Yumi and the rest of her team were stumped. Of course, they weren't the ones who had to sleep in a tent next to him for the duration of an espionage mission, which, by the way, failed miserably. Not that we were going to blame him.

"Oh god," Deki remembered in horror. "The week after that."

I nodded. "I guess both Washi and Kazu may need some counseling after today. He's a goner."

"No—don't be so sure. Remember what happened after he shrieked?" Deki asked.

"He—started attacking anything with a chakra signature, even though he was asleep."

"And where is Tsubasa?"

"…Right in front of his face."

Kazu immediately began to lash out at whatever had a chakra presence and was in reach. So, in other words, Tsubasa. As Tsubasa fell, I caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were gold, fading back into blue.

"He's escaped."

Deki sighed in relief.

Almost immediately, Kazu's eyes popped open. "What did you do to them!" His voice was raw from both screaming and emotion. "Where are they! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THEM!"

"Is he talking about his—parents?"

"No," his eyes widened as he recalled what Kazu had confided in him, but not me. "He's talking about us."

The response was unanimous. "KAZU! We're up here!"

"We're both fine!"

"They are!"

"Kazu, the Fleeting Swan!"

Both Kazu and I stared at him in shock. He never approved of the moves or move names we made without consulting him. Yet there he was, yelling for Kazu to do the one move he despised the name of the most.

Kazu grinned widely, then saluted Deki. "Aye-aye, Cap'n!"

He took a defensive stance, right arm extended, his hand at chest level, left arm down, hand in front of his thigh. His left leg was in front of the right, and his knees were bent. I sat back, getting ready to enjoy the performance. Once he was satisfied with his footing, Kazu motioned with his right hand in the universal "bring it on" gesture.

Now it was time for the fun to begin.

Tsubasa rushed forward, ready to take Kazu head-on. But Kazu was gone—a second more, then he reappeared behind Tsubasa. He did a sequence of handsigns so fast I couldn't see them—at least since I wasn't holding the Sharingan Disk.

"Fleeting Swan Jutsu!"

One of Kazu's family-line skills was that he could find water from anywhere. He did so now, launching himself in the air, water sparkling as it followed the arc of his jump. He executed a neat flip and landed back in front of Tsubasa, then launched straight into a series of kicks, punches, and sideswipes, timed in a way so that each would hit as the water from the previous action muffled, blurred, or disabled each of his senses, so that he couldn't block. I think I even saw some slaps thrown in there.

Finally, the wet attacks slowed and came to a stop. It was time for my favorite part. Kazu leaped up once more, but this time, the water formed bird-like wings around his arms as he made a final few handsigns.

"Great Water Wing Attack Jutsu!"

The wings disintegrated into silvery feathers of water, with fine, sharp edges that cut through the skin as each swooped down and found its mark. Kazu gently soared back to the ground, landing softly in front of Tsubasa's teetering body.

"Congratulations, you win," Tsubasa said, smiling wryly. One swift hit to the back of his neck, and the heir to the Dream Shinobi Clan fell to the ground.

"Match goes to Nisi Kazuyuki."

We cheered him and consoled him when he joined us on the balcony, then waited for something exciting to happen.

It did. It happened quickly, too.

We glanced up at the nameplates that now read, "Shimi Deki vs. Masado Atsuko." Yumi had predicted correctly, but almost immediately, Atsuko became a surly, hostile creature of pure muscle. It was scary. And nearly instantly after the proctor called start, she had a chokehold around Deki's neck. This was not Deki's preferred style of fighting. He liked to sit back and observe his opponent instead of going up close and personal. His favored method was to plan a strategy instead of rush in headlong.

But he hadn't survived more than eight years around two slightly bipolar girls (with violent tendencies) without picking up some tricks. He used one now. He opened up his mouth, struggling to lift his hand up to his face, and gave his palm one nice, long, wet lick, making sure Atsuko saw. Then, he reached backwards to touch her, her grip temporarily loosened out of curiosity. It was only after he did that, that he announced to her, "I licked a piece of dog shit earlier today!" He opened his mouth again, attempting to lick her.

The response was swift. She shrieked, jumping away, ripping off her outer layer of clothes and throwing them away from herself, avoiding Deki like the plague. Behind me, I heard Washi chuckle.

"What?"

"I taught him that." He grinned. I grinned back.

I wondered what course of action he would take from here on out. Maybe he'd take advantage of the arena in order to knock out his opponent. Deki preferred to be resourceful and show off just how clever he really was.

After some time, he was ready. He reached into his hip pouch, fingering some shining ninja wire, then launched it. Atsuko dodged the shuriken attached to the ends, but was not prepared for the water clone that waited to trap her. Trap her it did, and Deki wound the wire around both of them, finally dispelling the clone when the wire tightened to the point of drawing blood.

Still holding the wires taut, Deki walked up to her, passing the wires to hold between his teeth, then making some handsigns. "Bloodwater Manipulation Jutsu," he muttered around the wires, not caring so much about stealth and secrecy. He twitched his fingers, and her mouth opened. He unclenched his other fist and sound came out.

"I…f-forp—pf—feh—ee—tuh."

Deki growled in impatience and tried again.

"I forfeit."

The proctor nodded.

"Match goes to Shimi Hideki."

Deki's face contorted into a nasty smirk before he dispelled the jutsu and released the wires. He walked over to her and picked up the coil of wire, watching Atsuko as she threw a temper-tantrum. He then took a finger, licked it, then touched Atsuko on the nose. She shrieked even more. As he joined us, he began to laugh.

"I don't care who's fighting next, we're leaving. NOW," I commanded, grabbing Kazu and Deki's wrists and dragging them. At the door, I stopped. "Where is the infirmary?" I asked the jounin stationed at the door.

"You must stay in here until the battles are all finished." He gestured back into the room.

"It's an order from the Hokage," a disinterested voice drawled out. I looked to see who it was.

Pineapple-ponytail? But he's an adult, not a kid!

He grunted. "I'm Shikamaru's dad. Call me Shikaku. Shimi, Nisi, Sou, Nanami, Riku," he acknowledged, nodding at each of us in turn.

"Hey, you know who we are?"

"Yes, it would seem that we both are acquainted with the goons up at the entrance security."

"Yeah!" Yumi exclaimed, grinning impishly. "You wouldn't believe what scaredy-cats they are!"

"You played a prank on them," Shikaku-san stated more than asked. Yumi grinned even wider. "How troublesome…"

"Well," he said, turning to the jounin, "The Hokage has instructed for that one," he pointed at me, "and 'Nekowa' to report to her office. Where is this 'Nekowa'?" he asked, turning to me.

"Tsubasa's in the infirmary," I said. "But—my teammates are coming with me. All of them," I said, gesturing to all five people behind me.

"Troublesome…" he muttered. "Fine. Now let's go, the Hokage is a busy man."

We smiled, nodded, then followed him out the door.

"So…" Yumi broke the silence as we followed Shikaku-san.

"Nara? Just how did your son get to be so lazy that he was late for our shogi match? Sure, he beat me, but how is he so lazy?" Deki asked. "And if he got it from you, how have you survived?"

"Don't know," he shrugged, "maybe because I've got a wonderful, but extremely strong-willed woman as a wife? I think she's just made our son a little resentful towards women."

"I sympathize with you," Washi muttered under his breath. I laughed.

When we arrived at the infirmary, Shikaku-san asked what room Tsubasa was in. Just as the receptionist nearly finished telling us, "He is not allowed to have visitors," Deki interrupted her.

"Room 215, right?" When the receptionist continued to stare openmouthed, Deki nodded. "All right guys, this way."

We reached the second floor, then the eighth door on the right. We walked in just as Tsubasa was about to leave.

"Hey Tsubasa!" Kazu greeted him, and they bumped fists.

"Well you're friendly, considering Kazu kicked your ass," Washi commented. Yumi smacked him upside the head.

"Sorry," I apologized on their behalf. Tsubasa just grinned.

"No problem. Hokage's Tower, right? So are we leaving or not? I heard you from down the hall."

We all looked at Shikaku-san, who shrugged, then began leading us to Sarutobi-san's office.

Once we were a few yards away from the infirmary, Kazu, Deki, and Washi all immediately turned on Tsubasa. Soon after a barrage of sharp projectiles, sharper words followed.

"Who the fuck are you, and what have you done with Tsubasa?" Kazu demanded.

"Yeah! Who are you?" Washi repeated.

"What are you talking about?" Tsubasa asked. Deki tossed a kunai that slit Tsubasa's arm.

"Deki! What are you doing to Tsubasa?" Yumi yelled. I glanced at Kaida, who had pulled out her katana, and then at Tsubasa, who—had assumed a taijutsu stance?

Suddenly, 'Tsubasa' charged at Yumi, who moved to dodge. Just as suddenly, the imposter froze.

"Shadow Possession Complete." Shikaku-san straightened up. "Explain yourself, or you will be interrogated, and that won't be fun," he recited boredly.

"I bet you'd just love to hear an explanation, wouldn't you, Mr. Genius?" Shikaku-san groaned, slouching, and causing the imposter to mimic his movements. Shikaku-san shot a look at Deki, who stepped closer, then nodded in understanding.

Deki took off, so we followed, with not so much as a glance backwards at the chunnin.

When we were a reasonable distance away, traveling by rooftops, Yumi voiced the question that was also on my own mind.

"How did you guys know?"

"Tsubasa would never bump fists," Kazu answered, as if it were obvious.

"And he didn't make a joke after I talked," Washi continued.

"We never spoke of our purpose within the hall, so he couldn't have heard," Deki concluded, naming the only reason us girls could understand.

"Huh?"

"It's a guy thing."

"Oh."

We sped along in silence for a bit. Upon encountering a particularly precarious rooftop, both Washi and I tripped. Yumi helped me up, but Washi and I laughed at each other.

"Nice going, Warami," Deki sneered. Wait, no, his mouth never moved. My head shot around to Kazu, who was wearing a nasty smirk I never wanted to see again.

With one swift movement, Kaida hit the back of his knee with the sheath of her katana. He fell, cursing, then suddenly went limp. Moments after, he was gritting his teeth at the pain.

"What the—" Deki muttered. Then he had a kunai up to my neck.

I barely caught up with the events in time to get a strong enough grip on Deki's wrist in order to keep him from going through with the action. Then a peculiar feeling came over me, and I was a prisoner in my own body, watching helplessly as I switched positions so I was behind Deki, holding the kunai up to his neck. And with my strength, he had no chance. Unless—

"Shadow Possession complete." Shikaku-san had captured all six of us, and Tsubasa as well, in his jutsu. I had the feeling of my body being left back to my control. Unfortunately, that meant someone else was about to become possessed. A moment passed.

Then Shikaku-san reached into his pouch with his right hand, then an imaginary pouch with his left to account for Kaida's left-handedness. We all had no choice but to do the same. Then up to our throats—the possessor meant to kill us all with one move. I struggled. Hard.

But the last thing I expected was for myself, and only myself, to be released from the shadow's grip. I looked up in surprise, only to see that the expressions of the seven still trapped were the same.

Help.

I turned, and sprinted in the direction of the tallest building in the village.

The Hokage's Tower.