UGH. So. I absolutely cannot fight scene. /cries AND LIKE THE LAST CHAPTER WAS FIGHT SCENE ALL THE WAY. DOUBLE CREI. But on the bright side, DID YOU GUYS SEE THE COVER PICTURE? I DREW IT MYSELF! SO PROUD. I mean, not exactly one of the better artist on the block, but at least I tried, amirite? And yes, that's Mononoke. Like what you see? Don't like what you see? Either way, that's her, live with it LMAO
Anyways let's say the plot from now on is going to be a different to what you know. Obviously I've run out of motivation to catch up to original (of-fucking-course) so I'm just going to use what I remember. OBVIOUSLY. SO LET'S SEE HOW THIS GOES.
And some fluff. Of course there's going to be fluff. Mono has a harem. How can there not be fluff. I LIVE FOR THE FLUFF. I AM THE FLUFF.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Between Wounds
Mononoke bit her lip to stifle the pain as Shikamaru rubbed a salve over her badly bleeding temple. She looked around the clearing, hoping to distract herself. She took a piece of dried meat from the bag the wolves got for her earlier. It's a good thing she thought ahead. The girl's going to need her energy.
Nibbling it, Mononoke exhaled out of her nose in content at the savoury taste. Yum.
Her eyes flickered around, studying everyone's movements.
Chouji was standing over Naruto, who just recently woke up and flailing about. The chubby boy just sighed at the sorry sight.
Ino was combing Sakura's sporting new hairstyle for her. As far as Mononoke could tell, those two seemed pretty passive. Or maybe aggressive, judging by their face expressions. She doesn't even know.
Sasuke was scanning the area, his eyes unsettling. Mononoke wondered why was he so fidgety. His entire body language just screams anxiety. Does he have ants in his pants?
Lee was still out cold as Tenten tried to shake him awake. Neji, however, was taking turns glaring at Sasuke and Mononoke. What a-
Another press over her wound made her flinch.
"Sorry." the sound of uncertainty in Shikamaru's voice made her laughed. She could get used to seeing him like this.
Looking up at him, Mononoke pressed her fingers on her wound, brushing against his as they touched the same spot.
The Nara heir wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion as the smaller girl grinned at him. Before he could say anything, frost prickled under his fingers as it formed above the scab. "You know, I can more or less heal scratch wounds like this with ice."
"But you only admit it now? I wasted two plasters on you already." Shikamaru frowned at her mockingly and she laughed again, the sound warming his body.
"You started it without a word. I would've let you continue but you're terrible at this."
"... Remind me to not interrupt your next life-or-death battle."
Mononoke snickered at this before tilting her head at him, "But what would I do without you?"
He just snorted at her, even though he could feel his heart picking up speed as she nudged her head against his chin in apology. Typical Mononoke. Always with her puppy eyes.
Pushing her away, Shikamaru propped his chin up against his palm as he looked at her lazily, trying to act as nonchalant as he could. Mononoke smiled at this. Shika is such a bad liar. She could see the blush on his cheeks, but she mistook it as simple embarrassment.
But it could've been something more than that, if Shikamaru admitted it, to himself, that is. He will never say it out loud. Over his dead body.
Then Mononoke pricked up, as if she remembered something. Fumbling her back pouch with her eyes still on him, she asked, "So which scroll are you missing?"
Shikamaru watched her for a moment before he replied, "Heaven." He had feeling he know what's going on.
And voila, out of her pouch and in her hand was the Heaven scroll from the Sound trio before. Mononoke smiled at him, "Less of a drag now, huh? So all you got to do is get to the tower quickly."
He sighed gratefully and took the scroll from her before keeping it in his own pouch, "Yeah. But it's going to be troublesome either way. Most of the other teams would be lurking around there by now."
Mononoke hummed, tapping a finger to her lips thoughtfully, "True enough. It would be easier to ambush and steal it from someone who already has both scrolls. It's a fool-proof plan."
"And that's what we're going to do." Sasuke said as he settled beside her. His teammate lifted the boar-skin bag to him and he accepted a piece of meat from it reluctantly. But one look from Mononoke made him eat it. Before she shoves it down his throat for him.
Uchiha Sasuke wasn't afraid of the small girl, but he doesn't doubt that she would try.
Shikamaru glanced at the gloomy looking Uchiha, who was watching Mononoke with an unreadable expression as he chewed.
The Nara boy began to busy himself with keeping the medicine away. It was Mononoke's idea for him to take it along, in case of emergencies. She said if she ever needs it, she could always hunt him down.
And thanks to past experiences, Shikamaru knows to trust her suggestions.
The pineapple head stared at them from the corner of his eye as the girl reached over to Sasuke and pushed his collar away to reveal his neck. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she touched the puncture wound. Strangely, the Uchiha allowed her, his onyx eyes still on her as she placed a tentative finger on the wound.
Sasuke relaxed a little at the girl's soft brush against him. It was as if she knew his body's temperature was rising. That was why he was walking around. He was trying to dissuade the heat. But her fingers were coated with frost and was cool to touch.
Mononoke bit her tongue as she rubbed the side of the wound with her thumb.
Something ticked her off.
And Duckbutt's scent was unsettling as well. It had somehow took a darker turn, but she can't see the mark Sakura had pointed out before. Sighing, Mononoke pulled away before meeting his eyes, "How are you feeling?"
"... Better." he replied, a weird look still in his eyes.
Shikamaru noticed how Mononoke's nose flared a little as she breathed in, leaning closer to the Uchiha. Sasuke realized this too, noting how the fire in her eyes began to glow brighter as she glared at him knowingly. He stared back at her expressionlessly.
Of course she knows it.
Sasuke wasn't that dumb to hope he could hide anything from her. He did felt a change but he didn't want to discuss it out in the open. And he didn't need the Nara boy here, that's for sure. What was Shikamaru even doing here anyway?
Thankfully, the moonlight haired girl shrugged before standing up, "Come on. Out in this open, we might as well be sitting ducks." Walking away from the two boys, she went to check on Lee. They were being too tense for her liking. She's not stupid. She saw how both boys constantly exchanging looks. It was pissing her off.
Lee was sitting upright now, and looking better albeit a little out of focus.
"Tenten? Neji? Where am I?" he asked before Mononoke reached them. Neji snorted, crossing his arms, "You came here acting like a hero."
"At least he isn't a prick, unlike someone I know." Mononoke mused as she crouched beside Lee, ignoring invisible daggers shooting at her out of Neji's eyes as she looked over him, pressing two fingers on his wrist as she felt for his pulse. It was pretty steady, no internal wounds and his chakra is flowing smoothly.
"How you feeling, Mini Gai?" she asked him as she looked up from his hand.
Lee gave her a toothy grin, "I'm alright! Thank you for your concern." Mononoke nodded, smiling in relief. The fight wasn't even related to him and yet he chose to come and help her team. He certainly have a heart of gold. Just as she was about to stand, Lee piped up again, "May I ask for your name?"
Mononoke blinked in surprise before she replied jovially, matching his grin, "Mononoke."
He nodded once before giving her a thumbs up, "I will never look down on you again! Please fight me in the future!" She laughed at his honest challenge before tilting her head, her smile never wavering, "Sure thing. I'll look forward to it."
Tenten sighed before looking apologetically at the other kunoichi, "You might probably regret that. He can be very persistent." The girl lifted her shoulders casually, "Well, who am I to turn him down? It'll be good practice for me anyway."
The brunette returned Mononoke's smile before Neji butted in, "Let's go. We're wasting time here." Tenten got the cue before shooting Mononoke another apologetic look before lifting Lee up.
Then the trio left.
"We should probably leave too. But this is such a drag." Shikamaru said as he came up behind her. Mononoke turned around to face him and grinned deviously, "Don't die out here, Shika. I don't know what I'm going to do without you."
He snorted in disdain at the very idea. He's not that bad a ninja to die in a training ground. But her last sentence made him smile a little.
The pineapple head smacked her forehead gently, "Whatever, shorty." The smaller girl whacked his hand away and pursed her lips, "Oh, get out of here already, Nara."
Shikamaru chuckled at her pout. She's such a sore loser sometimes.
"Shikamaru! Come on, we gotta go!" Ino's voice boomed at him and he sighed a complaint, the look on his face made Mononoke burst out giggling. He looked pretty cute like that.
She blinked. Wait, what?
Shikamaru raised a hand to rub his neck, groaning, "Troublesome woman. I'll see you." She recovered quickly and Mononoke punched him in the arm, giving him an encouraging look and a hum of agreement. Whatever that thought before was.
After that, they left too, leaving Team Seven on their own.
The four teammates exchange looks and all nodded, leaving the clearing themselves and heading for the trees.
A few miles later, Mononoke kept stumbling as they leaped through the forest, her wounds getting the better of her. But she never voiced it out, always lagging at the back so nobody would realize her lack of vigour. However, Sasuke noticed this.
"Hold on." his voice was soft but clear enough for the other two to hear. Naruto and Sakura paused, the former using his arms to swing up from a branch like a monkey and turned his head around, "What's up?"
Sasuke faced Mononoke, who was a branch behind him. She was panting, but did it so subtly, Sakura and Naruto couldn't see how exhausted she was. But standing this close to her, Sasuke could see the exhaustion in her eyes. But she forced a smirk at the Uchiha, "Getting tired already, Duckbutt?"
He snorted at her before joining her on her branch, "You're in no condition to go on."
His comment irked the girl as she glared up at him, "I'm fine, Uchiha. Let's move." She took a step forward but a strong hand grabbed her elbow. Mononoke turned around to protest but his onyx eyes silence her. The silverette sucked through her teeth and looked away, muttering angrily, "I said I'm fine."
"Your wounds are hurting, aren't they?" his voice was low and gentle, which made her tense up. What's his problem? But she refused to look into his eyes. Sasuke grunted at the silent confirmation before crouching in front of her, "I'll carry you."
"But Sasuke-kun! You just recovered yourself! I can carry Mononoke." Sakura piped up, her voice tinged with concern. Mononoke almost snorted out loud. She didn't even know what to think about her pink haired teammate. Sakura can't possibly be jealous of her now. Sasuke just looked at her blankly, "You need to recover. The fight before has already taken a toll on you." Sakura bit her lip at the facts. She was in no position to carry Mononoke with her own body being weak.
Naruto already has his hands laced behind his head, squinting at Mononoke with a pout, "I could do it." Sasuke just gave him a look, "You'd probably drop her." The blonde snarled at him, shaking his fist at the dark haired boy, "Whaddya say?!"
"I can walk fine by myself." Mononoke retorted, a little apprehensively, drawing Sasuke's attention to her again. Why is she so stubborn to accept some help?
He gave her a sharp glare, "Come on, we're wasting time. Before someone ambushes us."
Mononoke gave another huff. Two heartbeats later, she obeyed, obviously already figured she's going to slow them down and crawled onto his back. Her hands gripped his shoulders firmly as he lifted her up, a strong grip on her thighs.
Sasuke pushed her up his back, getting used to the extra weight, before nodding at the other two, "Let's go."
As they sprinted across the trees, Mononoke couldn't help but breathe in Sasuke's scent. It was so different than to his own smell before. His scent was always tinged with loneliness and frustration but he always had a sense of goodness, a normal kid, albeit a little unfriendly. But now, it was brooding, filled with angst. So much darkness was awaken, although one could say it was drowsy, barely awake, and unable to do much damage. But she sense that something had clicked inside the Uchiha. It made her twitch with suspicion and, she hate to admit it, fear.
Sasuke leaped off a branch that was a little too low, causing the girl to yelp in surprise. The sudden fall broke her thoughts. Her hands moved to grip his chest as she tried to stay on his back. "I almost dropped off, baka!" she scolded, her face pressed against his ear. Mononoke swore she heard him chuckle, as he replied in amusement, "Don't worry. I'll never let you fall."
Mononoke didn't know what to reply him, unsure why his comment made her flustered. She was silent as she pressed against his back, hiding her face into his shoulder. Sasuke could barely hear her next comment, even though her mouth was so close to his ear.
"Baka."
They managed to get to the tower on the fourth day without much of a cinch. Nothing eventful happened so far, thankfully. Sasuke wasn't sure if Mononoke could handle it anymore. She was so tired that she kept lolling off to sleep. Even when they stopped to rest for the night, she kept sleeping. She wouldn't have any food until Sakura force feed her, but after that, she would crawl somewhere to sleep. Mostly beside him while he took the first watch as the others rest, with her back against his legs as she curled into a foetal position.
Not that he was complaining.
There was something about the clanless girl that soothed him. He didn't know what but it simply did. It was comforting to just have her around.
Especially on his back as he skimmed through the training ground.
Mononoke had a strong scent about her but it wasn't unpleasant. It's the kind of scent you could bury your face into and just stay like that forever. But Sasuke was sure the only people she would allow that honour were Kakashi, Kiba and maybe Shikamaru. It was obvious enough. She doesn't touch or communicate with other people like those three. If anyone else dared to hug her around her shoulders, they probably end up with a broken arm encased in ice.
Maybe it was him, but Mononoke seemed more keen to be friends with males instead of females. He can't recall the last time he saw her with another girl except for Sakura, even then, they grew close with each other only after they were in a team together. It's not like he noticed her a lot but many kids talk about her back in the Academy. They were loud enough for him to hear, even though he has no interest in knowing.
A lot of the girls disliked her, due to her boyish interests although she was as pretty as a princess. Even Sasuke couldn't deny the fact Mononoke was easy on the eyes. But still. She was such a boy when she was younger, with her pixie cut and baggy clothes. And since she liked exploring Konoha's forests a lot, she got a lot of scrapes and injuries, even as a kid, so it was rare to see her without a bandage or two. Sasuke remembered seeing her a few times in the forest where he went to train as a kid.
The girl's head almost fell off when they landed and Sasuke nudged her up, waking the girl. Mononoke rubbed her eyes before squinting around. Realizing where they were, she sighed in relief.
That's when the air around Team Seven seemed to crack and the other three were surprised to see thin shards of clear ice shattering and falling to the ground around them.
Naruto stared dumbly at the shards as he picked one up. But Sakura immediately looked up at the worn out girl on Sasuke-kun.
Mononoke had been protecting their presence the entire time.
That was why no one attacked.
Even the few times a team of ninjas crossed their path on the ground below, Sakura just thought they were moving too fast that no one noticed them. How naïve of her to think it that way. They were ninjas but other ninjas would've definitely caught their movements.
Sasuke realized this too as he lowered the girl to her feet when she protested. But she was still weak as she leaned against him for support. "Why did you do it? You were hurt." he asked lowly and she gave him a weak smile, patting his shoulder, "Because I can, dumb-dumb. Without that shield, we would be dead meat. And only I could do it. I couldn't risk it."
Without another word, she raised her hand in front of her, palm facing the ground. The shards shivered before, one by one, they floated up and went to her. Surrounding Mononoke in a vortex, with Sasuke beside her, the ice shards danced around before flinging themselves at her. Instead of stabbing into her flesh, as the other three thought, they just entered her body, like stones dropping into water in ripples. She wrinkled her eyebrows as the shards returned into her.
Then the creases on her face smoothed out and she opened her eyes, aquamarine eyes glowing. She lets out a breath, and frost condensed into a small swirl of mist from her mouth. After that, it was gone.
Mononoke stood straighter, moving away from Sasuke. She shook her head, her tiny ponytail waving as she cleared her head. Sakura watched in awe as the little girl grinned at her comrades, a little more like her usual self, "What're we waiting for? Let's go!"
Then she walked into the building as if nothing happened.
When Team Seven got in, they came to an empty room, with nothing on three walls except for the one before them held a large scripture.
After reading the portrait, Mononoke hummed in wonder, truly impressed by its wisdom. They waited for something to happen and had been for the past five minutes. The four of them were prodding around, looking for clues. So Mononoke ended up trying to decipher the writing. Because obviously that's the clue.
And she got it. Mononoke hit her fist against her palm in realization and exclaimed, drawing the others attention.
"Try rolling out the scrolls. Heaven and Earth must come together for a ninja to truly show his shinobi ways." she suggested, looking at her team. Naruto and Sakura turned to her in surprise, but Sasuke nodded, "That's probably what they want us to do. It's the safest bet."
Mononoke handed the scrolls to Naruto, smiling, "Perhaps you should do it, Naruto." He took them with some hesitation, "M-me?" He wondered why she would want him to do it. His silver haired friend smiled kindly at him, "It's a hunch."
Obediently, Naruto took the scrolls. Looking down in his hands, he couldn't help but feel the weight of the scrolls in his hands. What if Mononoke was wrong? No, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. Mononoke wouldn't be such a coward to push him as an experiment. Finding his courage, Naruto rolled out the scrolls.
The moment the Heaven and Earth scrolls unfurled, both exploded in a puff of smoke.
"Congratulations, Team Seven! You've passed!"
AND HERE WE GO. So 110 reviews?! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! (it's so close to 111, it's like something I can use for a wish making chance) /virtual confetti To think so many of you actually stuck around to read my fanfic, even though its not one of the best. THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT SO FAR!
Also, I'm closing up the trivia for the time being. Because frankly I've already spewed enough stuff about Momo and anymore might throw off spoilers. So NO MORE FACTS FOR SOME TIME. Its temporary because I might get some new stuff along the way. You never know.
EXTRA NOTES! PAY ATTENTION!
SO ANOTHER ROUND OF DESTINY POWER FOR YOU GUYS! Choose Mononoke's fate!
Prelims: Who is Mononoke going to fight? Kabuto or Dosu?
(I'm going to need at least 6 votes. Can't be that hard, right? PM, Review, JUST VOTE OMG I CANT MAKE UP MY MIND.)