Warrior
Author Notes: Thank you all again for your reviews, they have been noted. Just to put this out there and make it clear; This will be a single pair and it will be with a girl from Freezing.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Freezing.
Chapter 3: The Carnival Begins
It was still gloomy when Naruto woke up. The light of the new day had barely begun to creep into the world and as he rose and looked out of the window the world was coloured only in shades of grey and blackness. He was still tired but after waking up on a day like today there was no chance of his resuming sleeping again. After all, today was the day of the carnival.
As soon as the water from the shower hit him he began to feel his senses come online for the day. Barely an instant seemed now to have pasted between Chiffon making her announcement and this moment, yet he had doubt that it might feel like an eternity before the carnival began. He had been trying to make notes of his classmates but it was impossible to say from looking at most of the what their various strengths and weaknesses were, especially since they had begun to wear uniforms. He knew Sasuke to be strong. Forget that he was the head of the ninja academy and far ahead any of the people riding in second in each category, Naruto knew it in his bones that Sasuke was his rival. No, in fact to date Sasuke was nemesis, as he had never once beaten him at anything at all.
He raised his head and closed his eyes to allow the water to crash onto his face. There was also his former love interest, Sakura to think about. He never really knew much about her actual combat abilities, but regardless he was aware she had been studying under Tsunade over the past few years which meant she had all the opportunities that he himself had. Well that wasn't quite true, but it was close enough to count.
He began to think of all the people he knew about and they would all prove to be difficult in different ways though none of them alone would compare as a threat to Sasuke. What he really had to be mindful of were those he did not know. Though each a threat to him it was a different game entirely when he knew someone's abilities. When he didn't though was when it became a dangerous game.
He stepped out of the shower and his body began to move on its own. As he finished dressing he looked at himself in the mirror. Even if they were friends he had to go all out, and hold nothing back. After all to go easy on anyone would not only be foolish to his personal safety but there was nothing more disrespectful he could do to them. With a deep breath he turned and made for the door.
He walked through the campus with no particular destination in mind. It was too early for breakfast yet, even now the sun had yet to peek over the horizon. He soon found himself in the track stadium. He moved towards the benches and sat himself down at the back on the top, looking over the stadium. If he had any, he realised right about now he would be calling his parents, he would freak out over the phone and ask them their advice. Even though he couldn't he found just the idea of it settling. His mother would rage right back at him for waking her so early in the morning, she would tell him she'd give him something to be scared of. His father would mediate between the two and impart some encouraging words before hanging up and trying to settle his mother.
He smiled to himself. Well whatever they might have said to him, he would just have to make them proud and tell them the story in the next life. At that moment the golden rays of the sun shone over the horizon. He raised a hand to cover his eyes as his smiled widened.
"Watch me, mom, dad. I'll carry on your legacy"
As he finally made his way to the cafeteria he saw it surprisingly full for this time of day. Looking about he realised most people present were the first years. Many of the older students were in conversation to the juniors, likely giving advice. As he looked about for someone to sit by he found himself grinning when he saw Sasuke. He was sitting alone and seemed to be absorbed by a newspaper. With a smirk Naruto approached him.
"Ah, Sasuke, good morning" he greeted innocently. Sasuke looked up and returned the smirk
"Well, well, if it isn't the dobe" he said mockingly. Naruto faked a laugh
"So funny. So what's that you have? Soup?" he asked, pointing at Sasuke's breakfast. Sasuke glanced at it before looking back at Naruto suspiciously.
"No, it's broiled fish..." he said uncertainly despite himself.
"You're not having soup? I think you should try the soup" Naruto said with a furrowed brow, folding his arms in apparent confusion. Sasuke was lost but aware he was on his way towards one of Naruto's lame jokes.
"Why would I have soup?" he asked, the confusion now in his eyes as well as his voice as he shook his head slightly as he spoke.
"Well I figured you might want to start getting used to eat soup. After all, that's all you'll be eating for weeks after today!" Naruto finished with glee before proceeding to walk off in search of his own breakfast. Sasuke closed his eyes and shook his head, silently ashamed of himself for calling that his closest friend.
Naruto looked about the place, wondering what he felt like eating. As he did so his attention was drawn by the large queue for the Burger Queen. He let out a low whistle, silently judging the people who actually wanted a burger for breakfast with a downcast headshake. As he beheld it however suddenly there was a commotion as people began to scurry out the way. As he looked around for the source of the commotion he saw Satellizer approaching. She acted calmly as though people were not in fact fleeing for what seemed to be their very lives before her. To Naruto it was quite a scene. He looked around the hall to see if anyone else was seeing this. But to his amazement it seemed they either weren't or rather they didn't seem to care. She simply walked through the now parted crowd, said something to the girl working the till, money exchanged hands, then food did and off she went. The crowds resumed a jostling crowd a dozen orders being made at once. It was quite a spectacle. Satellizer was half way out of the door before Naruto began chasing after her.
He caught up with her on the roof. She sat around the corner eating her food in the shade. Naruto had to admit that was pretty strange.
"Satellizer-sempai?" he asked. She looked up surprised to see him.
"Oh, it's you" she said in a way where Naruto could practically feel her deflate.
"Y-Yeah" he said nervously, moving towards her and sitting beside her "Look I just wanted to apologise about the things I said the other day. I realise now that I was out of line to speak to you the way I did" he said apologetically
"Anyway I was wondering if you could forgive me for that" he asked, looking at her. She met his eyes for a few seconds before looking away.
She couldn't even remember now why she had been so mad at him. She knew she had been, she hadn't felt that angry in a long time. But the subtleties of the reasons why now eluded her.
"Fine, was that all?" she asked, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.
"Great, thanks. Friends then?" he said with a grin, offering her a handshake. She looked at his hand like it was an previously unseen animal. Naruto found himself blinking at her reaction.
"No?" he asked beginning to feel embarrassed.
"I don't shake" she replied, looking up from his hand, her cool expression returning over her surprised expression.
"Oh, sorry." Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head "Sorry, slipped my mind." Satellizer turned again to face forwards, away from the wall she sat against.
"Look, you seem nice. I appreciate what you're trying to do but…" she began. She was going to tell him to leave her alone, she wasn't the friend he was looking to make but strangely she found herself unwilling to carry out the order.
"But?" Naruto asked , an eyebrow raised. There was a pause between the two before Naruto got to his feet.
"I get it. You think you're fine on your own right?" he asked as he brushed his pants where he had sat. "But I'm sorry, that's a load of crap, plus you seem nice. Though don't get me wrong I'm now curious why you cause mass panic, but I suppose that's because nothing I have seen is anything other than… well nice" he said turning and beginning to walk away "I'll see you later, Satellizer-sempai" he said with a smile before disappearing through the door and down the stairs.
Satellizer sat there in the silence of her own company unsure of what to think. At first she was thinking how annoying that kid was, but her thoughts soon did a one eighty and she found herself wishing he had stayed a little longer.
She clenched a fist. She hated being touched. She detested the feeling more than almost anything else. She didn't notice however until having met that boy however how much her loneliness had been suffocating her. She only felt lonely when someone who could really see her, was looking at her or was walking away from her. She bent her knees up and rested her arms across them, laying her head across her folded arms.
'Being alone sucks' she thought to herself glumly.
All too soon Naruto found himself lining up as they were leaving the facility. There was an airship outside that would be taking them to the forest of death. Around them many had come to see them off. To his left he saw Elizabeth and Arnett who gave him a nod and a thumbs up respectively. He returned them with his trademark grin. To his right Chiffon and Ticy stood and offered him a wave which he returned.
"Alright maggots, attention!" barked an order from the front. All at once all people in front and behind him straightened up, arms falling sharply to their sides.
"You will board the plane, you will take the furthest available seat, you will address me as Ma'am and you will pray to whatever god you think is going to save your worthless behinds five minutes ago, do you understand!?" the voice barked.
"We understand, Ma'am" the group shouted as a group
"You all might want to grow a pair in the next five minutes if that's all you got. Alright move out!" came the harsh voice. Naruto had to resist a smirk to her comment as he began to jog forwards. As he came out of the building he noticed the instructor was a fierce looking woman, with she purple hair held up, a tan long coat and skirt and a fishnet and leggings. The airship was revving it's propellers as it sat in front of the building in the large courtyard. Across which a figure caught Naruto's eye. It was Satellizer who he could just make out gave him a nod of her own. He grinned before jumping into the ship and buckling himself up. Around him were nervous faces as they looked about them. It was clearly a western vehicle. Konoha didn't own anything like this.
The instructor jumped into the ship and slid the door shut behind her. In the next moments Naruto felt an uncomfortable sudden jerk as it rose into the sky.
"In exactly 3 minutes many of you will be entering the Forest of Death, the rest of you get to listen to the screams and wait your turn like good little girls" the instructor barked at them as they all sat, bolted into their seats within aircraft. "You should already know but I'll go over it one more time. This will be a live combat exercise, you will fight with killing intent, everyone else is your enemy, you will fight anything on two legs, do not hesitate and you might get to leave not in a body bag, you hear me?!" she barked.
"We hear you Ma'am" came a unanimous chorus from the ship. The noise from the ship was so loud that Naruto could barely hear himself think. He felt the adrenaline rush into his body, the world was moving so quickly around him yet noiselessly due to the ship drowning out all other audio. He could see people with their eyes closed, others were crying. Sasuke caught his eye and they both grinned at each other.
"This is the captain speaking, prepared for drop. D in 10 and counting" came a voice over the audio. The instructor grinned a smirk that made Naruto's skin crawl.
"Alright ladies, you're on an express elevator to hell. Going Down!" she laughed.
At that movement Naruto felt his seat click, in the next moment he was falling through the floor he was falling bolted into his chair through the now open air. Above him the ship surge onwards, small dots falling behind it, presumably other students. In the distance he could hear a mixture of screams and excited yells. Suddenly his seat clicked and above him a large parachute sprouted causing him to suddenly slow his fall. He sailed silently over the forest as he began to fall below the tree line.
'Let the games begin' he thought, struggling for freedom from his seat. As he did so it clicked again, and the harnesses spread. Looking about him for a branch to leap to, he slid out from the straps and leapt for the trees.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Llleeeeeet's get ready to Ruuuuuumbllllle!" Arnett squealed as she sat herself down in front of the large screen. The screen came to life with several images on the screen, each live feeds following a different student. The side of the screen shown a list of what Elizabeth predicted to be about half of the students, presumably the active ones.
She was quite surprised by how publicised they were making it. Normally the carnivals were only viewable from one angle and it was the one where you rarely saw anything. The footage only became available on the academy's intranet after it had been edited. She would dwell more on that later, for now she fumbled with her remote and found she had more camera's to browse. She looked down the list of names. Both Naruto and Sasuke were active. Pressing on their names she found two of the four available angles switched to view them. She saw Naruto leap out of his seat as it fell into the tree's, meanwhile Sasuke was still falling.
"Jeez! They were thrown out of that ship?" Arnett practically cackled "That's insane" she added gleefully.
"It certainly is a step up from the sort of thing we're used to" Creo commented.
"I'm beginning to think to expect anything in this Carnival would be unwise" Elizabeth added nonchalantly.
"Agreed" Attia piped "So far they haven't done a single thing in the traditional way"
Just then the door opened and Chiffon and Ticy appeared through it.
"Do you mind if we watch the Carnival with you girls? Everywhere else seems to be at capacity" Chiffon asked, her ever present smile on as always. Behind her Ticy had the confidence of a timid mouse.
"Of course" Elizabeth said with a gesture "Please take a seat" she offered gesturing around. Her reputation had afforded her the luxury that no one in her year or below would have the nerve to ask. But Chiffon was always an exception, as she was to many rules. Besides, she wasn't so uncouth as to deny the student body President even if she wasn't her favourite person in the world.
"Oh, I see you girls have taken an interest in Uzumaki-kun and Uchiha-kun" she said gesturing at the screen. Elizabeth considered for a moment in playing it down but she had no intention of changing her focus on the screen.
"We are. Who isn't curious to see what Itachi-sempai's brother can do" she replied coolly.
"And Uzumaki-kun?" Chiffon pressed. Elizabeth couldn't help but think it was quite uncharacteristic of Chiffon to press for details. But then, she had a pretty good idea as to why in this case.
"Oh, Arnett has a crush on him" she said with a smile. Arnett who had been eagerly watching the screen snapped her head around, her cheeks practically glowing.
"What?!" she yelled.
Naruto climbed to the highest point of the tallest tree immediately around him. As he looked around he saws parachutes in every direction falling from the sky.
'Great, I'm at the epicentre' he thought, well aware his fighting style wasn't exactly subtle either. 'Still there's no good in complaining about it now, let's see whose around then shall we?' he thought forming his signature seal.
With a poof of smoke several clones surrounded him. With a wave of his arm then each picked a direction and ran and leapt off. As he did so he reached for a scroll from his pouch . Pulling it out he opened it a little and activated the seal, summoning two elongated chakra blades. Useful tools he had learnt to use, if nothing else they served simply to deceive the enemy of his fighting style. Re-pouching his scroll and taking a blade in each hand he scanned around himself. To the west there was a river and north up the river was the center tower. Whether it was part of the 'active terrain' or not it was likely to be explored by many parties and so while he was fighting fit, it would be an idea to head toward it.
He leapt down from, his perch towards the river. Behind him a clone poof'ed out of existence and revealed that Shikamaru was in that direction. He didn't alter course, partly not wanting to fight an old friend if he could help it, partly knowing fully well Shikamaru could have set up a trap for him to fall right into.
As he ran and leapt forwards through the tree's he became aware of a spot in the sky. As he looked at it it seemed to hover soundlessly meters above the trees but looking at him. It took a minute before he realised it was a camera. Another poof brought him back to reality. Sasuke was north and dispatched the clone with a sword before it was able to release itself. Naruto grinned.
"Game on Sasuke!" he said to himself. At that moment a flash came from the left. He kicked off at an angle twisting himself to avoid sharp blades that hissed as they cut through the air. Landing on the next branch he looked at the source.
"As expected, nice dodge Naruto-san" Shino said. Naruto knelt looking down at another old friend. This one had allowed the clone ahead to go on. He was pretty astute. But Naruto was no fool either. He rose and looked around
"Got friends around these parts?" Naruto asked "I'm betting that you have" he said taking a stance.
"As expected, your training with Jiraiya-sama has broadened your knowledge and experience" he said stoically. As he finished Naruto noticed things emerging from the shadows of the trees around him. There were several of them, they had to be at least six feet tall. They resembled an insect Naruto knew as the praying mantis but their mouth area was much more fierce some than their smaller cousins.
"Well of course, we wouldn't want things to be too easy" he said with a grin. Leaping down he landed in the middle of them. Shino leapt up and back, unsure of what Naruto was planning he didn't intend to be catch up in it. Naruto took his stance and turned his head to see what was behind him.
The first bug swung a huge bladed limb at him. Naruto darted under the swing and slashed at the creature, cutting into its body and causing it let loose a hiss of pain. Meanwhile Shino let loose a spray of kunai, causing Naruto to weave his blades to deflect what he could, leaping out of the way of the others. I mid-air he flourished his blades to deflect the next swing of the bug now upon him, using the weight behind it's swing to change his momentum, bringing him back down to the ground. He leaned forwards as another bladed limb swung at him this time from behind, as he did so he moved his right leg forward and ducked below the first bug's arm, turning he drove one of his blades into where he was hoping it's heart was. He darted around the falling creature's body and stabbed the one that had tried to attack him from behind through the side. He then immediately leapt up back into the trees.
Shino look tried to follow him but lost him in the branches and leaves. He looked down and saw the remaining insects leaving. He wasn't surprised, they weren't stupid. Naruto had proved to be surprising adept in close quarters though he was never Shino's first choice as an enemy.
Naruto shot forwards out of the branches in front of him blades drawn. Kunai met blade as Shino parried the slash, only for Naruto to let of the blade and seized Shino's wrist. Naruto's second blade found it's mark in Shino's chest. However Shino disperse into a thousand bugs who swarmed Naruto who quickly also burst out of existence.
The real Shino watched as this happened and began to send out bug in every direction to find Naruto. He began to weigh his options, fighting Naruto though exhilarating he deduced had only one outcome. He would put himself in a better position to find another opponent. Rather than one he could not win against.
Too late he heard the rustles behind him, he turned just in time to see a blue ball of swirling chakra collided into him. The force send him hurtling into a nearby tree with a bone shattering smash.
Moments late lights shone on the now unconscious Shino and Naruto could hear the faint sounds of a spinning blades approaching. With a sudden though Naruto looked up, and realising the sky was blocked by the tree's he leapt higher. Upon reaching the top he scanned the skies for another parachute, but didn't find one. He frowned, now totally unsure how new combatants would be entering the Forest if not in that way.
'Still, I suppose that would be a suicide drop for someone' he thought not loving the idea if it were him that several people would immediately swarm to his position, maybe even shoot him out of the sky whilst still bolted in.
And then it happened. He heard the sound that had occasionally haunted his nightmares and in the past caused his balls to retreat back inside his body.
"CHHAAAAA!" he turned only in time to see a black gloved fist collide with his torso. He felt every atom of air leave his body before being sent literally flying backwards through the forest behind crashing into and then through a tree branch before free falling from there. His body felt like it had been pinched flat by some almighty giant. His spine rang with pain, he felt a deep and painful throbbing at his chest and warm liquid fill his mouth.
He squinted to focus his blurred vision to see the pink haired bitch leaping right toward him. As she swung again for him he jerked his head back, avoiding what could have been his deathblow by a hair's breadth. He felt her fist brush past his cheek. He didn't wasted his chance and using his motion of his head spinning down and his legs coming up he kicked her face as much to create distance as to attack her back. He grabbed onto the first branch he came to and swung around it to send him back up, and then landed on it. Sakura had landed on an opposing tree and was wiping her face, her expression hard, but satisfied. She knew how good that first hit had been. Naruto was still wheezing and he clutched his chest when that moment that turned his day into a bad day occurred. A light caught his eye from his right. He turned to see several fireballs hurtling toward him. With some effort he leapt upwards to avoid the explosion that consumed the branch he had been standing on as foot came out of the branched and hit him in the exact place Sakura's fist had been seconds ago.
'Come on!' he mentally screamed in anguish. His eyes widened in pain and blood flowed from his open mouth. Blue eyes momentarily met red ones as Sasuke's smirking face emerged too. Sasuke snapped his other foot and dealt Naruto a kick to the side of the head that sent him spinning through the leaves and branches.
Sasuke landed on a Branch and turned to see Sakura looked right back. For a moment her expression lifted, before it steeled over once more.
"Seems like we're having a little reunion here" Sasuke said with a smirk.
"I was just thinking that" Sakura said, her serious expression unwavering.
"I was just thinking that you guys are assholes" Naruto yelled breathlessly from below.
As Naruto dispatched his first opponent Arnett loudly screamed at the screen.
"Yes! Come on Naruto!" she cried with delight.
"He's quite talented" Chiffon commented to Ticy who merely nodded with a smile.
Elizabeth said nothing but inside she was quite impressed with how skilfully he had handled himself. Of course those insects would be child's play to a Pandora such as any of those in the room that had mastered Accel Turn. However even without it he had done it seemingly effortlessly. She was even more interested in his spherical ability, what she deduced was the 'shape manipulation' part of his description and even more so with his shadow clones. Using them to scout around him was an intelligent move. He wasn't stupid at all.
"Even so, those bugs are going to haunt my nightmares now" Attia said weakly "I didn't know such things even existed" she muttered. Before anyone could commented however they all fell silent, all eyes glued to the screen as Sakura dealt a powerhouse blow to Naruto. Elizabeth leant forward, her eyes wide.
Fortunately he was able to gain distance from her before she could finish him. At first Elizabeth thought it would simply be a gut punch, but after seeing how far it knocked him, her own battle experienced told her that it was an earth shattering blow. In fact she hadn't even seen Creo knock someone that far away before.
It was then she realised that the two images on the screen began to show the same picture. Naruto was barely able to avoid the flames but unable to avoid Sasuke who at first seemingly finished it in that instant. Arnett clambered up to screen
"Oh, no no no no no no!" she said over and over desperately
"Get down you idiot!" Attia yelled, pulling the red-head off so they could see.
"Who knew we'd get our answer this quickly" Creo thought aloud.
"No fair, that frumpy bitch just decked him one!" Arnett whined from Attia grip.
"Still counts" Attia pointed out with a smug grin
"It's unfortunate for Uzumaki-san to be caught between the 1st and 2nd rated rookies" Chiffon said sadly.
"1st and 2nd rated?" Creo asked with a frown.
"Yes, Sakura is the apprentice of the Konoha hokage, Tsunade-sama, while Sasuke is the now sole pupil of the infamous Copy-cat ninja, Hatake Kakashi. Together they are thought to be among the strongest students sent to this academy by Konoha since Itachi-sempai. They are even considered more prominent than Neji-kun." She explained, her face one of worry for once.
Elizabeth absorbed this new information and looked back at the screen. Neither one had budged an inch. This must have been the battle no one thought would happen until someone challenged someone in their new Amphitheatre. But here it was, among the first fights of the entire year and Naruto was caught right in the middle. Elizabeth took a deep breath and tried to focus instead on Sasuke. This would be her best chance to see his true capabilities. But even if she told herself that, she still found herself glancing at Naruto.
Naruto's breathing eased slightly as they remained still. No one willing to make the first move as they each knew it would expose them. But all that worked out just fine for Naruto. The longer they waiting the more damage he could heal.
'Come on you stupid fox' he thought to himself as his eyes shifted between the two. Like him Sasuke's onyx eyes flickered from Naruto to Sakura. Sakura looked from Sasuke to Naruto.
Half a minute passed with the standoff going nowhere when Sakura smiled. Both eyes fixed on her when she shot backwards forming a seal as she disappeared into the bush. Sasuke shot downwards towards Naruto who was one just able to react in time, so distracted by Sakura. Sasuke shot several swift jabs and kicks, most of which Naruto was able to avoid, but still winded and against the Sharingan wielding Sasuke he wasn't quite able to keep up. He leapt backwards forming his shadow clone seal. As he did so Sasuke rushed through his own seals then releasing a gout of flames that engulfed everything before him. As quickly as they had been made, Naruto's clones were incinerated, but then at least had enough time to thrown Naruto himself above the destruction.
As he ascended he turned to see Sakura coming for him and in mid-air he had no way to avoid her. Quickly her seized a handful of shuriken from his pouch and hurled them at her. From below several kunai intercepted them, cancelled their momentum and sending the freefalling downwards. Naruto braced himself for another bruised when a thunderous explosion from Sakura's side sent her smashed into a tree and away from Naruto. Sasuke smirked as his explosive tag had gone unnoticed.
Naruto himself was send backwards by the blast. Using his arms he spun in the air to face the direction he was moving and quickly grabbed onto the tree. No sooner had he done so and looked down when Sasuke was upon him, sword draw. Naruto plucked a chakra blade from his leg strap and met Sasuke's blade head on, parrying it. Using brute strength he force Sasuke's back to create some distance between them. He panted, his wheeze still affecting him and Sasuke knew it. Sasuke was composed and unscratched. He had the luxury to carefully analyse his situation and attack when it suited him.
A thud from the tree across from them, a little worse for wear, Sakura landed and cracked her knuckles. Her forehead seal was active, her flesh was already sizzling as it healed rapidly.
"Scary, scary Sakura-chan. Your healing is even better than mind" Naruto said calmly. "Between than and you're being stronger, and Sasuke being faster what have you guys left for me?" he said feigning disappointment with a smile.
"Well you don't have looks, that's for sure" Sasuke mocked, his smirk resurfacing.
"You don't have talent" Sakura added
"Or a sense of fashion" Sasuke continued.
"You do have B.O." Sakura offered
"That's true, it's very distracting actually" Sasuke commented
"It makes my tears well up" Sakura finished. Naruto face faulted.
"Why are you two ganging up on me?!" Naruto whined. Sasuke shrugged and Sakura didn't budge an inch. "I ought to be used to this by now" Naruto grumbled.
In his mind he was desperately trying to think of his options. Sakura was trying to capitalise on her early advantage, unfortunately the two people who knew about his regenerative abilities were his enemies. They would be coming after him first because of this. But still they were each other's enemies too, as proven by Sasuke they would attack each other whenever such an opportunity presented itself. He had to create an opportunity for Sakura to attack Sasuke. Sakura's healing was even more potent than his own so attacks of opportunity would probably be meaningless to her. Every scratch Sasuke suffered however would matter. He'd have to go for a battle of attrition.
Sakura made the first move again and leapt right for Sasuke. Naruto didn't waste the chance and made some shadow clones. Sasuke responded with a barrage of kunai at Sakura, who they passed right through. It was a clone. Naruto formed a rasengan and charged for Sasuke while one copy when up, the other down. Sasuke gritted his teeth and leapt away, frantically looking for the real Sakura his eyes flared red once more as they scanned all directions as he fled from the Naruto hot on his heels. He sheathed his sword and rushed through more seals, again he send a fireball at Naruto, who responded by holding his rasengan ahead of himself. The orbs scattered the flames causing Sasuke to scowl.
"CHHAAAA" came that horrifying noise right before bone-crunching pain ensued. This time it was Sasuke who was looking at the wrong place at the wrong time. His head spun around to behold the pink haired kunoichi as her fist shot forward. Faster than Naruto however Sasuke was able to intercept her, grabbing her wrist he flipped himself overhead kicked her in the back to push her into Naruto and himself away. Sakura's eyes widened and Naruto grinned as he thrust his rasengan forward.
Sasuke landed on the side of a tree, using his chakra to stick to it. He turned and watched the impact which again sent Sakura flying. As the sound of splintering wood filled the forest he was barely able to hear the sound of the second rasengan. Again his sharingan saved him and he was able to leap away from the tree as another Naruto nearly fell on him, rasengan in hand. As he flew through the air the familiar sound of a kunai cutting through the air caught his attention from below. His sharingan active he was able to see the explosive tag clearly. He threw a kunai of his own to deflect it away from him, they the clanged in mid-air he could still hear that whirring.
'Oh, Shi-' he began to think as the second one he didn't see from above exploded.
The three Naruto all joined in the middle level of where their battle had been taking place. He looked at either enemy. Sakura was already rising to her feet, though that hit had been as good a hit as he could ask for and even she was shaken from it. Sasuke was burnt and searing, though he was more in pain than actually injured. Even so, he definitely had the advantage for now. The icing on the cake was he was beginning to feel less strain from breathing now too.
Sasuke struggled to his feet but then something else caught Naruto's attention. On the ground level several people had come running, an alliance perhaps of some sort. It was only then Naruto realised how loud their battle must have been. He looked at Sasuke; he was in no condition to battle further this very minute. He bit his lip. Another minute and he'd have won, but he wasn't about to surrender his victory to some people who had decided to group up. He looked over to Sakura who was already leaping away, she looked back and their eyes met briefly. She was in no condition to fight either but she was good enough to run. Naruto looked back and the group had begun to ascend to Naruto and Sasuke.
"Fine then!" he yelled as much to the random chance that had brought them here at this exact moment as to anything else. One clone darted towards Sasuke as Naruto throw smoke bombs to cloud their vision. At least from below they didn't know Sasuke's exact position or condition. The clone grabbed Sasuke and lifted him onto his back.
"Wha-What are you doing, idiot?" Sasuke hissed through gritted teeth.
"When you are beaten, it'll be me that does it, and no one else. I'll get you away from these opportunists for now, but you better pay me back by lasting long enough to come back and lose properly!" the Naruto clone said, with a grin. Sasuke just stared at him as they fled through the smoke, toward the river
"You are such an idiot it physically hurts me that I hang out with you so much" he groaned.
Naruto dropped down and as he fell he drew both his chakra blades once more. He talked tough to Sasuke but he wasn't sure there would be a rematch now, before the smoke obscured everything he counted seven of them. That meant seven of them at least, who knew how strong they would be. He kept the other clone active and hid him for a potential all important save. He fell out of the smokes mist and onto the ground with a thud. Before him four of them had remained on the ground level. He didn't immediately recognise any of them which told him they were probably westerners. He took his stance, he'd never actually battled a Pandora before.
"Down here!" one of them yelled. Naruto watched as three came down through the smoke.
'Seven, perfect' he thought sarcastically to himself, though glad he didn't have to worry about further surprise attacks. He counted six girls and one boy who he gathered possessed different abilities.
"So you guys are Pandora" he said giving them a hard look "You strong?"
"What do you think? One shot back.
"I think seven on one is unfair" he replied honestly.
"Seven on three" she corrected pointing upwards
"No, seven on one, the other two legged it" Naruto corrected. As he said so they traded looked and the boy nodded.
'You're the sensor then, eh?' he thought.
"It's a commonly used tactic" she defended.
"So then that makes it not unfair?" Naruto said with a grin. She frowned.
"No it- look I – You-" she stammered
"Don't get sucked into his sophistry" another said "He's stalling" Naruto looked at her blankly
"My what?" he asked, his expression blank
"Enough! Attack!" she snapped. Suddenly they each materialised a weapon. Naruto looked from one to the other.
'Volt weapons, eh?' he concluded. "Very well, let's begin" he said beginning to run right at them. Their expressions changed as he did so going from a determined scowl to wider eyes as they instinctively moved away save the closest two.
The first swing her sword at Naruto's head from his left side which he parried with his right, then keeping their weapons locked dragged it away from her body as he slashed her body with his left weapon. The blood splattered into the air, and seemingly unified the group. An overhead swing from the middle was too slow for Naruto, he continuing his run forward leaped around her side and jabbed a blade down her shoulder. Behind him now the boy extended his arm. Naruto didn't know what he was up to but threw one of his blades into the boy's body. A spear from his right, he darted to the side and seized the spear, holding it firm her dragged her forward and slashed at her too, then throwing the spear as it began to disintegrate at a new attacker from his left, instinctively she ducked and Naruto kicked the dirt in her face slashing her down in that instant of befuddlement too.
There were two left now, they traded petrified glances as all around them lights engulfed their allies, acting as the beacon for medical evacuation.
The two remaining girls screamed as they charged at him and a thud behind him told him that there was another among them. The first girl swung at him with a spiked mace, which he deflected in the direction she swung it, dragged her behind him, he turned to deflect the sword for the other the brought her blade across her body eliminating her too. A rough swing back of his arm brought his elbow colliding with the first girls head, disorientating her for a moment as he turned to face the hidden girl who lunged at him with her weapon, he darted to the side and gripped her in his arm in a headlock as he spun to slash and the mace wielding girl, as he did so he released the headlock and brought his blade back and cut her down to in his final motion.
Naruto panted heavily the adrenaline surging throughout his body he looked about him at all the fallen comrades. The lights enveloped them all now and he could hear the whirring of the blades of the helicopters coming to take them. Unable to stand the sight of it, and knowing they would be saved any moment, he turned and ran away. Nausea caused by the thick smell of blood and the screams and wails and cries began to settle deep into his soul.
The girls watched the battle rage on with bated breath. Emotions were high in the room, infact the tension was positively palpable Elizabeth thought. She was almost amused at how evenly the three fought, at any one moment the one who had the upper hand, had it by who was attacking who. Still she had to say, Sasuke was clearly more adapt than the other two in battle finesse. The girl who revealed to have healing powers that would probably even impress Roxanne however had that to make up for such an advantage. Naruto also seemed to be far more durable than he looked. Beyond that fact that their combined attacks should have floored him to begin with, he was quick to not just recover, but seemingly heal from the injury. This combination of strengths and weaknesses made for a battle she found herself on the edge of her seat in watching.
Sasuke was the most skilled it seemed but he was also the only one who had no ability to recover from injuries which was a very rare gift in itself but when both enemies possessed it, his not having it turned it into a weakness. He was able to get by from sheer speed and she imagined that at times it was actually his sharingan that saved him but even so, if he didn't end things fast enough he couldn't stay in it against those two.
Sakura was clearly the strongest physically and her ability to heal was almost as frightening as her physical power, however those were the only things in her corner against the others. If Elizabeth had to say she would put Sakura as the weakest of the three from what she had seen so far based purely on her lack of diversity compared to the others.
Lastly Naruto was, despite all logic, reason and expectation, seemingly the most intelligent fighter. He had it rough in the beginning as they both obviously targeted him, which she supposed was only natural to try to finish off someone before they could recuperate. Sasuke's little sneak attack on Sakura however clearly triggered animosity which cost him the skirmish. While not as durable as Sakura seemed to be, Naruto was still very tough compared to Sasuke and conversely while not as skilled as Sasuke he was very skilled compared to Sakura. This made him the most rounded fighter which in this particular type of battle, made him the strongest in Elizabeth's eyes. Though she wasn't sure he could best Sasuke one on one, that would be a very interesting battle.
As Naruto seemingly emerged victorious if only temporarily Arnett squealed with delight
"See?! Told you, told you!" she insisted down Attia hear, who covered her ears up and scowled.
"Shut up, he hasn't won yet!" she retorted, clearly annoyed.
"But as the only one with a knockout he is ahead by the points" Creo pointed out.
All eyes now turned to the score board. At the top is Inuzuka Kiba with 40 points, a few places down Naruto is in 4th with 20. Sasuke and Sakura are both further down with 10.
"They only have points for using abilities so far." Creo pointed out.
"Looks like trouble" Chiffon said, pointing at the screen. Attention shifted back to the screen as Sakura fled, and a Naruto took Sasuke and fled. Below them the screen shown several new enemies.
"What a time... wait, what is Naruto doing helping Sasuke?!" Arnett shouted, pointing at the screen.
"Protecting his friend" Chiffon said simply. All eyes turned on her for a moment. "They are best friends and they were having a good battle where they went all out. It makes sense for Uzumaki-kun to want to win like that. Not have his hand forced due to others." She explained.
"But is that okay?" Ticy asked uncertainly "I mean, there are only a few I can think of who as first years could take out so many at the same time" she said looking back to the screen, resisting the memory of that dark day she saw first-hand when someone did.
"For Uzumaki-kun this desire to preserve the honour of that battle is more important than how he is defeated." She said with certainty. Then realising how she sound she laughed nervously "Well that is what I think may be how Uzumaki-kun feels" she stammered. Elizabeth looked back at the monitor silently agreeing with Chiffon.
'Well, you've got guts Naruto. I like that' she thought, allowing herself a smile 'Even if you lose here… I want you' she decided with a small nod to herself. A deep warmth of happiness that she might finally have found 'him' radiated from her heart and caused her smile to grow uncontrollably.
On screen the new battle began. The group watched in silence as the other side of Naruto's battle style was revealed. Elizabeth looked on in silent shock.
'His speed… this skill… has he really healed so much in such a short time from fighting Sasuke and Sakura' as she watched him cut them down, one by one she shook her head to herself 'No, that's not it he's no faster or skilled now than before, it's his ferocity.' She concluded. Whatever training he had done in the past was surfacing now. The way he moved was so fluid, it was like watching someone who had done it a thousand times. He weaved in an out of attack ranges, manipulating the inexperience of his enemies to cut them each down with a single strike.
As she continued to watch she came to realise the difference in battle styles was the difference in desperation. Against the others who were in the same league as Naruto himself it was a struggle just to hold on. All his training was potentially moot because he would be force into situations he'd never been in before; ones a person cannot train for. But against these who were actually far beneath him in terms of sheer skill. It wasn't a question of his being faster or stronger than they were. She could see in how he was moving he was still having problems breathing properly and so this was clearly not the case. But they were so inexperienced compared to him that it became a slaughter. Compared to their clunky and hesitant moves his movements were like poetry.
After the bloody skirmish was concluded Arnett let out a low whistle.
"Let's see Sasuke do THAT!" she said with a sadistic laugh. "See that, Elizabeth? Our boy has got moves!"
"That was impressive" Creo admitted "His speed needs work, but he expertly exploited the flaws of his enemies" she said folding her arms. Arnett began frantically pointing towards the shifting leader board.
"Hey, Attia can you read who is at the top, I can't see very well" she asked feigning complaining as she squinted at the screen with her hand over her eyes to shield them from an imaginary light.
"Shut up…" Attia growled. Now leading the board Naruto sat on 460 points, a high amount awarded for defeating so many enemies at once.
"Uzumaki-kun really is incredible" Chiffon said in awe "To earn so many points at once…" Ticy nodded
"Who'd have thought it…" she added, staring at the screen. Elizabeth had to actively resist rolling her eyes. She didn't want to hear THAT from Chiffon of all people. Still, however hypocritical that statement was, Chiffon was correct. It was rare for even a high ranking third year to score so many points in one game, never mind in one skirmish. Still, it was far from over and he fought evenly with Sakura and Sasuke. It was still all to play for.
Author Notes: Well I had wanted to write the Carnival in one chapter but it is already pretty long and I guesstimate that it's at least plus half as long as this one already is. Feedback is welcome, please make it constructive. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and continue to enjoy!
P.S. - Some of you noticed I'm certain about the spelling and grammar mistakes, just saying, still looking for a proof reader! PM me! Thanks!