Hello people sorry for not updating in a while, but I've been a bit busy with some school work. Anyways, thanks to ruler of dragons, ForeverInTheMoment, Uchiha Sasha, lovingo0Kawaii0oGirl, Hibiki-chan, japcherryblossom14, and Lyris88 for reading and reviewing. Please review, the sooner you review the sooner I update and the more reviews I receive the more I write. Now on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the lovely and clumsy Rei, the dashing, but cowardly Okoru, the childishly charming Zakyo, and the arrogant yet loyal Yu.
Chapter Forty-Seven
"The next fight is between Rei Hatori and Zakyo Zatsunen."
Zakyo arrived at the arena and smiled at Rei. Rei frowned slightly before smiling back.
"Are you ready, Zakyo-chan?"
Zakyo nodded.
"Yep, just don't hold back, Rei-san."
"I won't."
The proctor announced the start of the fight and Rei took out a kunai just as Zakyo disappeared. Rei looked around to see where she had gone, but couldn't find her. Suddenly, she sensed someone close by and jumped away just as a large amount of water splashed down on the spot she had been standing on. She looked around and found Zakyo standing a few feet away.
"Well, you've gotten stronger, Zakyo-chan."
"Yep, I've been training hard ever since you left and Okoru-baka even taught me a few tricks."
"Hmm, I have a feeling I won't be particularly amused by these tricks."
Zakyo just grinned in response. She ran towards Rei who made some quick hand signs.
"Earth Style: Earth snakes!"
Two snakes formed from the ground surrounding Rei and headed towards Zakyo. She tried to dodge them, but they were too quick and managed to catch her. They wound themselves aroung her and Rei frowned slightly before tightening the snakes' hold on Zakyo. She wasn't surprised to see that the Zakyo she had caught was a clone.
"You know, you should have seen that one coming, Rei-san."
Rei sighed and smirked.
"Yeah, but I figured you wouldn't come out until I got rid of your clone."
Suddenly Zakyo jumped away as several shuriken stuck to where she had been standing. She looked at Rei and realized that she was also a clone as there was now a cloud of smoke where she had been standing. She turned around and saw Rei who punched her sending her back down. Zakyo hit the ground and rolled away as she saw Rei heading towards her. She punched the ground where Zakyo had been laying and crated a rather large crack. Zakyo stood up and threw some kunai at Rei who dodged them as she ran towards her opponent. She tried to hit Zakyo, but she blocked Rei's attacks. Rei drew back as Zakyo took out a kunai. Zakyo then made some hand signs and some water began gathering around her. Rei watched as the amount of water increased and recognized it as Okoru's technique.
"Now, I'll show you what I've been working on, Rei-san."
"Oh, great, I'm dying to see it." Rei said sarcastically.
As Rei and Zakyo stood there two more people joined the crowd watching the fight. Sasuke watched the fight and smirked. He had to admit, it was quite interesting. He could tell that Rei had gotten faster while he was gone.
Meanwhile, back in the arena, Zakyo made some more hand signs and Rei frowned as she got ready to defend herself. She recognized the technique that Zakyo was using and wondered why she had chosen to use it as it had failed before.
"Water Style: Hundred Snakes!"
The water around Zakyo took the shape of several snakes and Rei frowned. She was glad she had worked on improving her speed. Still, she wondered why she was using that attack. She knew Okoru wouldn't have wasted his time teaching her a technique that had failed before. There had to be something different with it.
"Get ready, Rei-san." Zakyo said cheerfully.
Sasuke watched Zakyo's technique curiously.
"What kind of technique is that?" He muttered.
"It's the same technique that was used against Rei in the preliminary rounds." Kakashi said.
"But why would they use it again if it didn't work before?'
"Maybe it's not the same."
Sasuke frowned and looked back at the fight.
Rei dodged the snakes as they tried to hit her. She jumped away as a snake came close to catching her. She ran up the wall of the arena and made some hand signs.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"
She got rid of a few snakes and then ran along the wall as more went after her. She jumped off the wall and threw some kunai before landing back on the ground and hitting some more snakes. She jumped away, but a snake appeared behind her. She raised her arms to block the attack, but the snake bit her. She flinched, but noticed that the bite of the snake didn't have the same crushing force as the ones Okoru used. She got rid of the snake and got away from the others. She made some hand signs before the snakes got too close.
"Wind Style: Wind Barrier!"
The wind began to spin around her, preventing the snakes from attacking. She looked at her injury and say that it looked like an ordinary snake bite. She frowned and looked back up at Zakyo.
"You should give up. Rei-san. You've already lost."
"What do you mean?" Rei said in a calm voice.
"I added a little surprise to the attack."
"And what may I ask is this surprise?" Rei sighed.
Zakyo smirked as she heard the frustration in her friend's voice.
"Well, when Okoru-baka was helping me train he realized that I couldn't give the snake bite the same strength his had so he came up with another way to make my attack as deadly as his."
Rei frowned. She didn't like the way things sounded. She knew Okoru, and she knew that he was good at analyzing and improving his attacks. He would always find a way to make his attacks stronger and that was why he was such a formidable opponent. If he had helped Zakyo then she was sure the new addition to the already dangerous attack would be very bad for her.
"And what is it that makes this attack so dangerous?"
"The poison in the snakes' bite. Even a small scratch can be fatal if it is left alone for too long."
Rei frowned, but then grinned.
"I guess you really have gotten stronger. I should probably take you more seriously now."
Sasuke watched as Rei let the wall of wind around her disperse. He frowned as he watched the fight go on as Rei dodged the snakes while getting rid of some. He hoped the fight would end soon as she needed to have her injury looked at before the poison took effect. He wondered how long she had before it was too late.
Rei continued dodging and slashing at the snakes, but her arm was beginning to throb with pain. She flinched as the pain began to spread farther along her body. She stumbled, but regained her composure and jumped away as a sanke lunged itself at her, but it managed to scratch her leg. She flinched and cursed as her leg began to hurt. Her limbs felt heavy and her vision was getting blurry.
Sasuke frowned as he watched Rei struggle to dodge the attacks. She missed badly as she threw some kunai and he could tell that she was getting slower. He wondered how long she would be able to keep fighting. He just hoped she wouldn't be too careless and fight for too long, but he knew she wouldn't give up, she was just too stubborn.
He had the urge to help her as he watched her fighting, but he knew she would kill him if he did. Even as he watched her struggle, he knew she would be fine, she was strong, and she wouldn't give up until she won the fight. He just hoped she wouldn't do anything reckless.
Rei moved as fast as she could and had managed to get rid on most of the snakes, but with less snakes to control, it was easier for Zakyo to use them so their movements were faster and more precise. Rei, on the other hand was getting slow and clumsy as the poison spread.
She managed to get away from the snakes and sighed as she knew what she had to do. She knew it would take a lot of chakra, but she would be able to get some of it back before she had to fight again, or so she hoped. She knew she couldn't afford to lose, if she did Sasuke would make sure to remind her and so would Okoru. She grinned as she thought of those two and of how much fun they would have if she lost. She sighed and flinched slightly as she raised her arms and made some hand signs.
"Wind Style: Raging Whirlwind!"
The wind surrounding Zakyo and the snakes began to spin quickly, trapping them. Rei made some more hand signs.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"
The fire combined with the wind and surrounded Zakyo and the snakes.
The crowd looked at the attack in surprise as most people there didn't expect a Genin to be able to use such strong attacks. Sasuke looked at the fight and smirked. The attack was sure to have finished the fight. He was anxious to talk to Rei. Even though he wouldn't admit it even if he was tortured by an entire ANBU squad he had missed her. He wasn't the only one that wanted the fight to end.
Okoru was watching the match closely and wondered if Zakyo would be taken down by Rei's attack. He watched as the fire began to die down and hoped that his cousin was fine.
Rei watched as the flames subsided. She frowned and put her arms up in defense as Zakyo emerged, ready to attack. Rei was thrown back, but she stood up and continued to block Zakyo's attacks. She managed to land a few blows, but she was getting tired. She kicked Zakyo and sent her back a bit. She made some hand signs before Zakyo could stop her.
"Wind Style Taijutsu!"
Zakyo frowned as Rei rushed towards her. She tried to dodge, but she knew it was of no use. She flinched as she received a few cuts from the chakra infused wind surrounding Rei's fists. Zakyo flinched as she received a particularly large cut on her arm. Rei saw this and took advantage of the situation by kicking her. Zakyo hit a tree and Rei made some more hand signs.
"Earth Style: Binding Vines!"
Some vines emerged from the ground around Zakyo and wound around her. She flinched as they tightened around her bod.
"Alright, you win! I give up!"
Rei smirked and released the girl. Zakyo sighed and leaned against the tree.
"The winner is Rei Hatori!" The proctor announced.
Rei grinned and looked around at the crowd as they cheered. She sighed and let herself fall to the ground. As she sat there she felt the pain from the poison spreading. She heard someone approaching her and looked up. Although her vision was blurred she recognized Sasuke as he kneeled before her. She grinned at him.
"Sasuke you jerk, you finally showed up."
"Shut up you idiot." He sighed.
Yu and Naruto appeared next to them. Okoru walked over to them dragging an injured Zakyo.
"Well, you look like crap." Okoru said calmly.
Rei grinned, but Sasuke scowled and glared at the redhead. Okoru noticed this and sighed. He handed Sasuke a small bottle.
"It's the antidote. She should be fine after drinking this."
Sasuke opened it and handed it to Rei who drank it quickly.
"Oh, God, you couldn't make it taste better? It's like I just ate some of your cooking." She complained.
"Just be glad Zakyo didn't forget to bring it." Okoru said annoyed.
Zakyo grinned at this.
"Well, I guess you really are strong, Rei-san."
Rei smirked.
"Yeah, well you're pretty strong too, Zakyo-chan."
"I hate to interrupt, but we should get out of here." Yu said.
Sasuke helped Rei up. She grinned at him.
"You better win you jerk."
Sasuke smirked.
"Of course I will, you brat. Just rest for now."
Rei stuck out her tongue and left with Naruto's help. Once they were back with the others she leaned against the railing and looked down at Sasuke. She frowned as she saw Gaara enter the arena. She had a bad feeling about the fight and she hoped that she was wrong.
End Chapter Forty-Seven
Hope you guys liked the chapter and sorry for taking so long to update. Please review, the sooner you review the sooner I update and the more reviews I receive the more I write. Sayonara!