Shalom! :D
Once again, thanks to NotAStalker for reviewing, those comments literally make my day :3
And I totally agree with you about love triangles! Hate those things, will never write about them :/
And just because you asked so nicely…here's chapter 11!
Jeez, can't believe this is already the eleventh chapter…wow :o and ass-kicking Shannon is back! XD 'bout time, too.
**Chapter eleven**
Shannon didn't have much time to recover from the shock of discovering her new-found…abilities. Her heart skipped a beat when a hand grabbed onto her ankle from below.
"I'm not done with you yet!" Hidan growled, ripping her away from Shikamaru and tossing her like a sack of potatoes across the road.
Shannon yelped, landing heavily on her side and sliding a few feet before coming to stop against the crumpled bulk of a train. The attack seemed to snap her out of her daze, and she scrambled to her feet, taking up a fighting stance, just like Lee had shown her.
With an animalistic growl, Hidan sprang up from his prone position on the ground, knocking the shocked ninja and civilians away from him and sending them flying in all different directions. Shannon gaped in amazement as the various puncture wounds in his body slowly sewed themselves closed, leaving nothing but bloody trails down Hidan's torso and holes in his tattered cloak to show that they had ever been there in the first place.
Before any of the Konoha nin could right themselves and help her, Hidan launched himself at Shannon with murder in his eyes. Narrowing her eyes and gritting her teeth, Shannon readied herself for the oncoming assault.
She blocked the punch that came straight for her head, countering with an uppercut of her own. Hidan, surprised at her actually being able to defend herself, left himself open and was knocked backwards slightly when the less-experienced girl's fist connected solidly with his jaw.
Shannon took the opportunity, while the Akatsuki member was still stunned, to sweep her leg out in a low roundhouse kick and knock Hidan's legs out from under him. He hit the ground hard, but didn't stay there for long. Before Shannon could land another punch to his gut, Hidan was back on his feet. While she was still trying to come out of her offensive stance, he kicked her in the back, sending her sprawling across the uneven ground. She grunted and rolled out of the way just as his foot came crashing down where her head had been mere seconds earlier.
Shannon smacked into a fallen pillar, trapping herself. She looked up in alarm as Hidan's foot came hurtling down to her head again. Acting on instinct, Shannon kicked upwards. There was a high-pitched grunt as the solid heel of her worn combat boots connected with Hidan's groin.
Smirking, Shannon scooted backwards as Hidan doubled over. She scrambled to her feet, ready for his next move. Well, the next move he could make after he recovered. Being immortal and all, it didn't take very long.
"You little bitch!" he growled, glaring at her as he crouched down. "You'll pay for that!"
Shannon's smirk just widened. She was actually reveling in the fact that she could hold her own in combat now, and not have to have any of the others fight her battles for her. Her taijutsu may have been very basic, but it seemed to be enough to handle Hidan when he was without his scythe.
While she and the silver-haired Akatsuki had been facing off, the rest of the group had gathered themselves up from their various scattered positions, Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Sai desperately trying to keep the torches burning.
Naruto's keen ears picked up a faint sound steadily increasing in volume. He held a hand for the others to be silent for a moment as he peered into the darkness. After a moment, his eyes widened and his mouth set itself in a fierce scowl.
"Naruto?" Hinata started softly, concerned. "What is it?"
"Creatures," he breathed, the panic evident in the subdued tones of his normally loud voice. "And a lot of them."
Pretty soon, the others could hear them too – growling, screeching, roaring Creatures rapidly closing the distance between themselves and the group of humans.
"The torches are still burning," Sai pointed out, seemingly un-phased.
Naruto shook his head, starting to make his way towards the end of the street, where a large expanse of land had been cleared by comets and who knew what else. "Torches won't be enough to keep these ones away."
Then they heard it – a mighty, earth-shaking roar, loud enough to rattle the pebbles of concrete littering the ground and resonate between the fallen buildings, making even them seem like they were trembling in fear. Gigantic footfalls pounded towards them from the darkness, making the ground vibrate under their feet.
The rest of the group turned and ran as the first Creatures appeared from the murky darkness – six-legged canines, with elongated snouts bursting with razor-like teeth and tens of murderously-glinting red eyes.
"Shannon!" Lee shouted to his team mate some couple of yards away, "Leave the idiot! It's time to move!"
Shannon cried out when one of the canine Creatures launched itself at Hidan just as he was about to land another blow to her stomach, man and beast rolling over the ground. Hidan yelped and tried to rip the snarling beat off of him, but the rest of its pack soon arrived.
Without hesitation, Shannon fled with the rest of her squad. She glanced up at the sky – the shadows were rapidly disappearing, replaced by increasingly bright sky. She glanced behind her as another mighty roar shook the very foundations of the ground she ran on. Out of the shadows, she could see a massive monster appear – built like a tank, two stories tall, with a short muzzle bristling with teeth easily the size of her torso – bounding after them in hot pursuit.
"Drop the torches!" she screamed, doubling her running speed as she rapidly dodged past rubble and other pieces of destroyed humanity.
The torch-bearing members of the squad risked a peek over their shoulders as they ran. Almost immediately, they flung the make-shift torches to the ground and bolted for all they were worth. They all turned their sights back to the lightening sky ahead of them. If they could keep going for a little while longer, they would be out of the shadows of the decrepit buildings and out into the sunlight.
As the twelve of them reached the threshold of the clearing, time seemed to slow down, like it was being dragged through syrup.
Twelve pairs of boots pounded over the cracked ground, kicking up clouds of dust. Their bodies seemed to be paused in mid-flight, legs and arms outstretched, varying degrees of fear and determination etched across their features as they gave that one final desperate burst of speed.
The gargantuan creature had seemingly been suspended in mid-air as it launched itself at its fleeing prey, jaws open wide in another deafening roar. Then sun was slowly making its way above the buildings.
And then, almost as if someone had pressed play on a television remote, everything suddenly and violently came back to life.
Sunlight spilled over the ragged rooftops, illuminating everything below it. The twelve companions sprinted into the clearing as the bright light hit the terrifying Creature behind them full-on. With a high-pitched scream of pain, the monstrosity burst into a cloud of black ash, spilling over the humans as the bolted out of the line of buildings.
All twelve of them burst through the black ash cloud, and didn't stop running until they were in the centre of the clear expanse of land, completely bathed in sunlight.
Shannon and the others crashed to the ground, panting and utterly exhausted. They lay there for a few moments, reveling in the fact that they were alive and breathing. Shannon glanced at the others lying haphazardly around her, chests heaving and limbs twitching. She looked back at the settling dust cloud that had almost eaten them alive. And then she started laughing. It started out as breathless gasps, and soon turned into full out screams of near-hysterical laughter.
They were alive. They had escape the Akatsuki for what must have been the second time (or third, in her case), and had avoided being eaten, maimed or mauled by a whole myriad of despicable creatures. And despite all the odds stacked against them in this ruined country, they were very much alive.
Shannon felt that if she didn't laugh in relief, she would cry tears of sheer happiness. And she had never been one for tears.
Shikamaru, who had collapsed next to her, tilted his head and gave her a quizzical look. "What the hell are you laughing at?" he asked, a small disbelieving laugh of his own creeping into the statement.
"We're alive," she snorted, gasping for air. Suddenly, she threw her arms around the brunette ninja next to her. "We're alive!"
Slightly shocked at her sudden boldness, Shikamaru was paralyzed for a moment or two. Shannon continued to laugh so hard her sides ached. Pretty soon, the rest of the group found her laughter contagious. Shikamaru startling chuckling along too, wrapping his arms around Shannon's petite form.
The twelve of them just lay there, after having escaped death twice in the space of a few minutes, laughing their lungs out, and just generally rejoicing that fact that they were alive and breathing.
Woohoo! Chapter eleven done and dusted :D
If anyone has any ideas on what they would like to happen in the next chapter, let me know!
And don't forget to review if you want to see chapter 12! :3