Finally got this chapter done! I had so much fun writing it and I hope you enjoy it. Also, I'm not sure how but I'm hoping to be able to post a drawing of Meng Ka! =neko-niki drew it and it's awesome! The eyes are a bit bluer than what I had in mind but I still love it so much and I hope to get more art from her soon! Here's her deviant art page: neko-niki .deviantart And here's the picture: neko-niki .deviantart art/Commission-Princess-Nefertiri-396005709 Let me know what you think about both the story and the picture! Thank you for all the favs, follows and reviews!
"We're getting closer." Kiba said after Akamaru barked and Neji quickly looked ahead of them, searching for more traps.
"That's strange. We havn't ran into any more traps lately." He said as he couldn't find anymore and then looked up at Meng Ka, "What do you think Meng Ka."
Meng Ka didn't even bother looking back, "It's simple. They didn't expect us to live and come this far."
Shikamaru nodded in agreement, "We're being underestimated. Those guys think the only one following them is that big guy. They don't need to set a trap on their man."
"How dare they underestimate us!" Naruto said angrily as he looked ahead determined.
"It seems you're right." Neji said, "We are being completely underestimated. However, this is our chance."
"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed, "We'll take them by surprise."
Smiling to herself she stayed close to Kiba and Akamaru as they trailed behind and Shikamaru went ahead disguised as the big guy from before. Her ears perked up as she heard them talking to each other.
"What took you so long?" The blue haired one asked as he looked back.
"Sorry," Shikamaru said, "It took me a while to eat the scums' chakra."
The girl in the group looked back then, "Hey fatso, don't you dare drag!" She said sharply, "Hurry up and carry the coffin. That's your job, you vulgar swine."
"I know." Shikamaru said emotionlessly and Meng Ka bit on her lip. It was a great plan but something didn't feel right. Maybe Shikamaru should argue a little or something instead of acting like a robot.
"What, Jirobo, you're awfully easygoing today." The six armed guy said as he looked back at him around the coffin.
"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked and Meng Ka would have smacked herself. If anything he could have just come up with an excuse rather than ask why.
They suddenly landed on a tree branch and the six armed guy continued to speak, "I'm just saying I'm not handing you the coffin. Because you're not Jirobo!" He said as he threw the coffin to the girl, who caught it easily. "This time I'm going to do it. Sakon, Tayuya! You guys go ahead!" He called as Shikamaru jumped at him.
He thrusted his knife at him but the guy easily caught it with a smile as the other two ran off. "Jirobo always corrects Tayuya's choice of words." He said as he started to chew on something in his mouth.
Shikamaru changed back to himself and quickly tried to kick him, "I see." He simply said as the guy caught his leg.
"Ninja art: Spider web net." He said as his cheeks filled up with something and he spit out a net right at Shikamaru, making him stuck to the tree across from him.
That's when Naruto jumped out of the trees with his shadow clones, "You!" He yelled as the guy jumped down and then formed a larger spider web to catch Naruto and his clones. They effectively got stuck but this was already planned for as now the guy was in midair.
Kiba and Akamaru quickly attacked with their fang over fang while Meng Ka went to help the others in the web. The six armed guy however quickly moved out of the way using his string. Kiba stopped and looked up at him, "I won't let you go!" he yelled at him.
The guy only laughed, "That was my line. Look at your feet." He said happily as Kiba looked down to see his feet covered in his web. "You!" he yelled this time. "It's too soon to think that you have captured us with a thing like this."
The guy only smirked, "Shut up." He said simply getting a bit cocky himself as he laughed some more. Neji suddenly jumped out behind him and almost hit him too but the guy quickly fell out of the way and soon trapped Neji in his web as well. Meng Ka having no luck getting the others out of the web, getting her hands slightly stuck to it as well. He soon wrapped Neji in the web like a cocoon and Meng Ka grinded her teeth as Tinktink burned the web off of her hands. Something she wouldn't be able to do to the others without burning them since Meng Ka was born from the phoenix flame, it didn't harm her.
Naruto cursed as he tried to cut through the web but it was no use, this web was filled with chakra and so can't be simply cut through. It was like a web version of the other guy's earth dome. Meng Ka quickly jumped at the guy from behind, hopping to get a hit in like Neji had tried but he jumped out of the way once again. As the guy shot out more webs, Meng Ka forced the wind to twist her around and out of the way, landing next to Akamaru. Tinktink quickly burned the web off of her feet and she dodged another shot of web coming at her.
As she landed on a branch next to Shikamaru she looked around, the guy having disappeared. Tinktink landed softly on her shoulder as the two listened for any movement but suddenly something shot out from behind them and caught Tinktink by the wing, nailing her to the tree. "Tinktink!" Meng Ka cried and jumped towards her but webs from every angle suddenly shot out and caught Meng Ka in midair. The six armed guy finally showed himself and only chuckled as he saw everyone caught in his web.
He lowered himself before Meng Ka with a smile, "I wonder how happy Orochimaru will be when I bring him the child from the Phoenix flame to him. He's been searching for you for a long time." He smirked as Meng Ka glared over at him and struggled with the webs that were holding her in place. He only smirked and then wrapped her in a cocoon as well but let her face remain free. "I won't you to watch as I play with your friends, it'll be great fun!" He said as he looked over at Naruto and then suddenly pulled out six long tan strings that hardened as they came out of his mouth.
"I'm going to play a game and find out which one of you is real!" He called down to Naruto, "What did you say?!" Naruto called back as everyone tensed at the threat. Meng Ka struggled in her cocoon as Tinktink struggled as well, unable to burn through the tan stuff or she would end up putting the forest on fire and effectively putting them in more danger.
The six armed guy continued to throw the stuff at Naruto's clones until finally it was only him left. The guy was a bit shocked at his luck but smiled anyways, "Well, it was a fun game but now the game is over." He then threw the stuff at the one remaining, "Die!" He yelled but then to everyone's shock, it was a clone as well. "What?!"
Naruto then suddenly jumped out and attacked him, pushing him off the tree as the two of them stumbled forward. The guy looked up at Naruto frustrated but stood up, holding a string in his hand, "You're at the end of the line!" He yelled as he pulled and Naruto fell forward. Suddenly though Neji jumped out and cut clean through the web with his hand. "What?!" The guy yelled again as he looked at Neji with pure shock. Now he seemed furious as he looked over at the two of them, "You…how?!" he asked.
Neji helped Naruto over to where the others were freed as Meng Ka tended to Tinktink's wing. She would be alright but she just needed rest for now. Neji looked down at the guy, "Anything with chakra base. It's meaningless in front of gentle fist that destroys by pouring chakra through. That guy's jutsu, evidently I'm the only one who can fight it. Go! I'll take care of this."
Everyone looked at him shocked, "Do you remember Iruka's words at the third hokage's funeral?" He suddenly asked, "Look, Sasuke is heading towards Orochimaru. We can't let him get ahold of someone from our village. Absolutely not."
Meng Ka stood up with Tinktink resting on her shoulder and put her hand on Neji's shoulder. He looked back at her from the corner of her eye, "I don't know why Orochimaru wants you but the fifth hokage trusted you to do this mission with or without us. And…" he paused as he looked over at Naruto, "Naruto, you're eyes are better than mine. Right now Sasuke is in the darkness." He turned around, facing the six armed guy but still spoke to them, "Hurry up and go. I'll catch up with you all."
Shikamaru got up then and nodded, "Ok, let's go."
Kiba smiled over at Neji, "You along with Choji be sure to catch up!"
They then took off through the trees and just as they did, more webs came racing for them but Neji quickly cut them down, "That Neji is something." Shikamaru said as they continued to race forward towards Sasuke.
The sun was setting by time they got close to them once again, "There are only two of them left," Shikamaru said, "It's four against two. We might be able to do it with one more contact if we do it well."
"All right," Naruto said excitedly, "All right! Let's do it!"
"No!" Kiba said, "It's six against two!" He called back as Akamaru barked his agreement and Tinktink chirped softly, flexing her wing.
"Ok, ok." Chuckled Shikamaru, "I'm sorry. Counting Akamaru and Tinktink, it's six against two."
"Let's finish it quickly with our new technique next!" Kiba said with a smile as he led them through the trees, Meng Ka once again slightly higher than them.
"Say, say. If necessary, I'll do an awesome shadow clone, so it'll be okay!" Naruto added.
Shikamaru looked back at him, "That's reassuring," he said sarcastically. "But my strategy comes first. Got it?"
The three of them nodded their heads; all the while Meng Ka remained silent. If they failed again she would be forced to leave them behind and go after Sasuke alone. But she felt torn as she thought of the idea, she couldn't leave them alone. Sasuke chose this path and it was his decision to leave the village and putting them in danger was reckless but it was the only thing to be done. Just what was waiting for them at the border though? Was there back up for them since they knew that they would have been chased, after all, Sasuke was a part of the village and family. Meng Ka sighed and shook her head, she wouldn't think on such things until the matter was at hand. If worse came to worse, she knew she would leave Sasuke to his fate and protect her squad first and foremost.
"We have to catch up before the sun sets." Shikamaru was saying as she listened back into what they were talking about.
Kiba smiled, "I know. Full throttle!" He said as he picked up the pace and Meng Ka fell back in line, matching his pace along with the others.
But soon night fell upon them even with their quicken pace and they had yet to catch up to them, "Darn! We still haven't caught up!" Mumbled Kiba as he glared ahead of him.
"No, this is good enough," Meng Ka finally said after remaining quiet for the whole run. "We'll maintain this distance and continue the pursuit." She spoke softly but the three of them heard her clearly, Shikamaru nodding his agreement.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked as he looked over at her.
"She means, we're delaying the attack until dawn breaks." Shikamaru answered for her.
"Get real! We can't afford such leisure!" Naruto said angrily.
"That's right!" Kiba said as well looking back at Meng Ka, "Besides, if we are going to attack anyways, isn't it more advantageous to use the darkness and attack?!" he asked furious with Meng Ka's and Shikamaru's thinking.
"For us," Shikamaru began to explain calmly, "the darkness works to our advantage only the moment we launch the attack. It'd be close to impossible to grab Sasuke, get away and escape to a safe place just in that one moment. If we couldn't get Sasuke back in that one moment, they'd most likely just focus on guarding the coffin. If that happens we won't stand a chance in the darkness."
He shook his head and continued to explain, being long winded as he usually was, "On the contrary, for the part where they wouldn't have to move needlessly, suddenly they'd get the advantage. It'd be a different story if we still have Neji's byakugan but maybe Meng Ka has something that will helps in the dark." He suddenly turned the conversation on her as he looked over at her and Meng Ka just looked ahead. "After all, not much is known about how powerful you really are."
"Hey, come on." Kiba cut in before she could say anything, "Aren't you forgetting Akamaru's nose and mine as well?"
Shikamaru looked over at them, "I was sure to include your senses of smell in the calculations! Even so, up ahead they have the geographical advantage. Plus if I can't use my jutsu and Meng Ka remains to hide her true strength, it'll be of no use. Even if I can seal off their movements, the effect will be reduced by half if clouds were to cover the moon. It's a drag but there are too many dangers and uncertain elements."
"But-" Kiba said but was cut off quickly.
"I got it!" Naruto said
"Naruto?"
"You're the leader," He said with a smile, "I'll follow your instructions Shikamaru."
Meng Ka nodded her head in agreement, she may be of higher rank but the hokage put Shikamaru in charge of this mission, "I as well."
"Right. I'm counting on you." He said to Naruto then looked over at Meng Ka, "Will you tell me your jutsu then?" He asked but it really wasn't much of a question.
Meng Ka looked over at him, "I can light the way if that is what you are asking but even then we will be at the disadvantage. Can I take them both on at once, possibly but not for certain. As for my true power, the less you know the safer you'll be. I don't like fighting, personally, and if it comes down to it I will much sooner take ya'll back to safety than go against something that Sasuke has decided for himself."
She looked Shikamaru in the eyes and he quickly looked away with a sharp nod, Naruto grinded his teeth as he glared ahead, being reminded that this was Sasuke's decision in the end. Kiba looked over at her with a look of worry on his face; he'd been keeping an extra eye on her ever since they left the village. Something Meng Ka had been worried about herself since he seemed to have named himself her protector on this trip. This was going to be a long night.
"We caught up!" Naruto said happily to the two of the remaining members with the coffin in front of them. Shikamaru, Kiba and Meng Ka standing behind him at the ready as the four of them looked over at them.
The blue haired one spoke first, "All right, I'll take of this nice and quick." He then suddenly jumped at them and Shikamaru and Kiba jumped forward, giving Naruto time to form his new jutsu.
Blue hair quickly punched Kiba and Shikamaru away but it gave Naruto the time he needed as he moved forward with his rasengan ready. But suddenly blue hair grabbed his hand and the rasengan disappeared, "There's no point if I catch you before you do it."
Suddenly Kiba came at the guy with his tunnel fang going right through Naruto's shadow clone. Blue hair dodged it but Kiba kept going on after the coffin which the girl was protecting. The guy looked behind him, "You think you succeeded just with that?" He yelled as he jumped after Kiba just as Shikamaru caught the girl with his shadow jutsu.
As Kiba got closer he suddenly stopped spinning and Meng Ka jumped from his back, grabbing a hold of the coffin as Kiba gripped onto her waist and pulled her back with the coffin. "Thanks for the coffin!" Meng Ka saidly with a smile.
"Tayuya! What're you doing idling away?" Blue hair asked her as he raced towards them. "Why do you move forward?" He asked as Shikamaru had her walk towards him, making them collide with one another just as he let go of her.
Kiba dangled from a tree limb with Meng Ka held close to his chest, he swung up and then back and Meng Ka threw the coffin to Naruto, "Here you go!"
"Nice, Meng Ka, Kiba, Shikamaru!" Naruto said as he caught the coffin and then jumped away, Meng Ka close behind as Kiba called out to Shikamaru to get moving.
The four of them race away as the other two regained their standing. Shikamaru sighed happily, "Having too much ability individually is also a problem."
"It went well." Naruto said, practically shaking with excitement.
"Yeah, just in terms of teamwork, ours was better." Shikamaru agreed
"We're not out of danger yet though." Meng Ka reminded them quickly; they were a day's run away from the village and wouldn't be safe until they passed under the village gates. "We need to stay on high alert." The three agreed with her as they got back into formation and raced off.
Kiba suddenly looked back with a growl, "They're fast." He said as the others looked back just in time to see the remaining two catching up to them.
Akamaru barked up ahead and Kiba landed next to him, "Hurry up with that paper bomb and come quickly!" He said rushed as he raced on, clearly worried about Akamaru but the dog simply barked back and looked over at the other two catching up on them. He had gone ahead and set paper bombs all along the trees. Tinktink had tried to go with him but her wing was still in pain and she rested securely on Meng Ka's shoulder.
As the first paper bomb went off, making blue hair fly back the others stopped and looked back, "Yes! It worked!" Naruto said happily as he held onto the coffin.
"Good work, Akamaru!" Kiba called back proudly as a few more went off.
Suddenly blue hair jumped out from the smoke with a glare, "Messing with me!" He said angerly at Akamaru.
Akamaru barked and jumped but landed awkwardly on a branch and fell, "Akamaru!" Kiba called out as he looked back.
"Don't you 'arf' me, you mutt!" Blue hair yelled as he raced towards him. Suddenly reaching out and wire flew from his arm and wrapped around Akamaru and the tree. "I'll waste you!" He yelled.
Kiba jumped through the trees and landed next to Akamaru just as the paper bomb near him went off. A huge cloud of smoke covered the three from Shikamaru, Naruto and Meng Ka as they looked worriedly. "Kiba! Akamaru!" Meng Ka yelled out and moved to jump forward but Shikamaru grabbed her and pulled her back.
"You idiot, you'll only get lost in that smoke!" He yelled as he looked from her to the cloud just in time to see the three of them falling over the small cliff.
"What's happening?" Naruto asked as he looked down.
"You punks!" The girl suddenly yelled as she came into view and the three of them quickly looked up.
"Where are Kiba and Akamaru?!" Asked Naruto as they still stood there.
"Another one's come!" Shikamaru reminded him. "We have no choice. I'll take care of this so you two take the coffin and go on ahead. Meng Ka, you'll naturally be in charge now."
"Shikamaru…" Naruto said as he looked over at him.
"Go already!" he yelled as the girl got closer.
The girl, however, suddenly stopped on a branch and looked up, "What are you doing here?" She asked as someone suddenly fell from the sky and landing on the coffin. He then kicked it off of the tree and took off with it. Shikamaru and Naruto yelled as Meng Ka was still in a bit of a daze as she looked back at the cliff that she had spotted Kiba falling down.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. Meng Ka." The sound of Shikamaru's voice brought her back to them and she looked over at the new comer. "It's my miscalculation."
Meng Ka's ears twitched as she heard the girl behind them mumble, "Kimimaro."
The guy stood by the coffin looking back at the girl, "You were taking too long, Tayuya. And what happened to the other three? Being none other than those of the former "Five Ninja".
"What are you?" Her voice trailed off as Meng Ka looked back at her a bit shocked. The girl seemed not only surprised but a bit scared as well. If this guy could scare someone as strong as this girl seemed then this guy meant trouble. "Your body…your body's no longer…" it was like she couldn't even form the words as she stared over at him.
"I'm not moving with the flesh anymore. It's mental power." He simply replied his face emotionless as well as his voice.
"Man, you cheater of death." The girl said as small smirk formed on her lips.
"I understand that feeling now of being information that has escaped from the prison of the flesh." He said as the two seemed to have forgotten all about the other three in the middle of them. "The feeling of experiencing a taste of Lord Orochimaru's dream. This vessel is an important vessel for the dream. But you guys were a bit too late."
Suddenly Naruto stood up, "You jerk!" He yelled at the new comer, "What're you babbling nonsense?! Give back Sasuke!" He yelled as he jumped forward only to punched down by the girl as she jumped forward as well.
Shikamaru and Meng Ka quickly jumped down and caught him, setting him down gently a Meng Ka quickly looked him over and the other two talked among themselves while Shikamaru kept an eye on him. The guy suddenly jumped up and took the coffin with him as he jumped through the trees.
"That punk!" Naruto said angrily as he watched him leave.
"Calm down, Naruto." Meng Ka said as she looked over at him.
"How can I calm down?!" I asked as he looked over at her furious. "At this rate, Sasuke will get far away again!"
"Damn punks!" The girl said, "I'll finish you this time." She angrily as she pulled out a flute.
"Naruto, Meng Ka. Listen up," Shikamaru said without taking his eyes off the girl, "Please move according to the plan I am going to tell you." He spoke softly for a few seconds telling them his plan and then looked over at them, "You got it?"
"Yeah." Both Meng Ka and Naruto said as Tinktink chirped softly on her shoulder, a bit frustrated with being unable to fly and help.
"Come on already, you punks!" The girl yelled at them.
"It's three against one." Shikamaru called back as he stood up with a danger in hand. "We have the upper hand. It's an opponent we can beat if we team up. Let's go, Naruto, Meng Ka!"
"With garbage like you jerks," The girl replied with a wide smile, "it doesn't matter how many of you are there."
"Don't underestimate our teamwork." Shikamaru calmly replied while the girl seemed to get worked up a bit by the bantering.
"Let's go!" Called out Naruto as the three of them leapt forward and raced towards her.
Shikamaru moved to hit her with the dagger but she blocked it with her flute, "Now, Naruto, Meng Ka!"
"I'll blow you away!" Yelled Naruto as the two of them jumped over her and Meng Ka rolled her eyes. What kind lame saying was that? The girl looked back at them confused as Naruto smiled over at them, "Gotcha! The strategy is a success. Farwell!" he yelled and then smacked his butt and stuck out his tongue.
"Naruto!" Meng Ka yelled at him and glared at him as he looked over at her, suddenly remembering that she was here, "Let's go already." She said with a sigh and the two of them raced through the trees after the other guy who had Sasuke now.
"Meng Ka!" Naruto called after her, "I know you're in charge but…" His voice trailed off as he looked ahead of them, his face set into a determined look as he thought about what was on his mind. "I don't want you to interfere when we catch up with this punk."
"What?!" Meng Ka asked more shocked than angry really.
"I need to defeat him on my own. I promised Sakura I would get Sasuke back." He looked over at her, "I need to do this on my own. If things look like they're getting bad then you can jump in but at least give me a chance."
Meng Ka looked ahead of them as she thought about this. Naruto couldn't stand up to this guy on his own. His chakra was different, it wasn't normal and Meng Ka didn't like it. She knew Naruto's chakra is strong and when he taps into the nine tail's chakra he's even stronger but still she didn't know what to expect from this guy. "Fine. I'll remain hidden in the trees and us surprise when I feel your life is in danger."
As they came to a clearing, Meng Ka stopped in the trees as she let Naruto continue and confront the guy. Tinktink chirped sharply next to her as they watched them fight, not liking that they were hanging back and not interfering but it was something that Naruto wanted to do. She understood though, he was always trying to prove himself to the village and if he could bring Sasuke back on his own, then even he himself would know what he was capable of.
Meng Ka stood up suddenly as she felt another chakra coming towards them. Looking over her shoulder she focused on it and with shock she noticed that it was Lee's chakra. Biting on her lip she turned back around in time to see the coffin open and watched as Naruto yelled at Sasuke, desperately trying to get through to him that he needed to come home. But Meng Ka already knew the outcome and she shook her head as Sasuke left Naruto to be killed where he stood. Thankfully Lee was close enough and kicked the guy out of the way and Meng Ka raced forward to check on Naruto.
She didn't care about the mission anymore. Sure the hokage would be angry with her about not going after Sasuke and bringing him back but it was his decision to leave the village, damn it. And she wasn't going to force someone against their will to come back to a place they were trying to get away from. Naruto was fine for the most part but he would need a doctor soon and a lot of bed rest later.
"Who are you?" The guy asked as he landed a few feet away from them.
Rock Lee stood proudly in front of the two of them, "The rejuvenated Leaf village's handsome devil," he took in a deep breath and glared at the guy, "Rock Lee!"
Naruto gazed at him in shock, "Bushy brow?" He asked a bit dazed as they stood in the grassy plain. "What about your body?!"
"More importantly, Naruto, Meng Ka. Go get Sasuke." He said as he looked back at the two of them.
"I'll stay, you go Naruto. Lee most likely still needs a healer to look after him." Meng Ka said calmly as she looked over at Naruto. "You're the only one here who could maybe talk some sense into him anyways."
Naruto looked at her and was about to say something but then nodded, "Be careful. He uses his own bones to attack."
"Quickly!" Lee said, "Go!" He gave Naruto a thumbs up but still had his eyes on the other guy as Meng Ka stood next to Lee.
As Naruto turned to leave, the bone guy suddenly jumped forward and started to attack Naruto but Lee quickly blocked the blow, "Please don't ignore me." He said with a smile on his face as Naruto ran after Sasuke.
Meng Ka smiled and jumped forward, "Don't let your guard down!" She yelled as she got his attention and he moved to block her blow but Lee jumped up and kicked him hard on the shoulder as she kicked him on his back.
Meng Ka and Lee attacked together, moving together as Meng Ka read his movements and backed him up but she was more worried about Lee than this bone guy in front of them. He had just had surgery and now he was fighting. It wasn't good but she was thankful that he had come to help. They went on like this but with each attack, Lee seemed to be getting slower.
"You're rather flexible and agile." Lee commented to the guy as they stood in front of each other.
"You're too straight forward." He replied and then looked over at Meng Ka, "You are need alive, Meng Ka."
Meng Kar glared over at him as Tinktink ruffled up her feathers, "I'd rather not be needed at all." She said as she ran at him, Lee taking her lead and does the same thing but this time they didn't move as one and instead got in each other's way as they stumbled over one another. "It's over." The guy said as he lifted his bone knife.
"Please wait!" Yelled Lee as he held up his hand and the guy looked at him with no emotion. "It's about time I take my medicine. I have to be sure I drink it, so excuse me a moment." He said as he reached behind him, all the while Meng Ka looking at him like he was crazy.
The guy watched him carefully and stood back a little as Lee took out his medicine and drank the whole bottle of it, worrying Meng Ka a bit since she wondered if he had to take all of it at once. Lee suddenly started to stumble back and for as his legs became weak and both Meng Ka and the bone guy looked at him strangely as he got into a fighting pose once again. But this time it was a bit sloppy and his cheeks were rosy and his eyes were droopy.
"Who are you?!" he asked suddenly as he looked at the two of them. "Hey! Geez, acting cool, so irritating." He mumbled as he stumbled towards them.
He suddenly fell a little bit on the ground and Meng Ka moved to help him up but Lee looked up at them with a glare, "Don't you stare at me!" he yelled as he ran towards the both of them, faster than he was before. Meng Ka quickly dodged one of his kicks as he fought the two of them at once, though Meng Ka wasn't attacking him she was trying to attack bone guy. She didn't know what was wrong with Lee but for some reason he thought he had to fight her as well.
Meng Ka jumped back a little bit of a distance between her and the bone guy as they both looked over at Lee. What was in the medicine that would make Lee act so strange? Meng Ka was at a lost as she had never encountered a medicine that would do this to anyone. Perhaps Lee just reacted to medicine differently? Sighing Meng Ka looked up at Tinktink as she flexed her wing and winced slightly. It was still sore and as much as Tinktink wanted to join in and help she couldn't. Looking back over at Lee, Meng Ka bit her lip as she stayed off to the side and watched as the other two fought.
Lee was faster, that's for sure but just what was it that Lee had drunk? It couldn't have been medicine, what kind of medicine would do that? Spotting the bottle not too far from her, she moved slowly over to it and picked it up. Looking at it, she tilted her head to the side and took a sniff from the top. She flinched back as the alcohol smell burned her nose and made her sneeze slightly. She blinked and then looked over at Lee just as he punched the bone guy, sending him rolling in the grass and losing his bone knife. For a drunk, Lee was a rather good fighter.
She remembered reading about Drunken Fist in one of her medical books but had never actually seen it before. Even though, Lee is stronger now he still needed to be looked after, even more so than before. He won't know his limits while drunk and worst of all he won't notice when he's hurt badly enough to back down. Meng Ka set Tinktink down and stood up as she watched the two of them closely. If only she could get Lee and run, that seems like the safest rout to take but they needed to keep this guy distracted long enough so that Naruto could get to Sasuke and who knows how long that will take.
Suddenly the guy's bone ripped out from his chest and cut Lee on his cheek as he stumbled back and fell. Meng Ka quickly jumped in between the two of them as Lee seemed to be getting back to his regular self. "Are you alright, Lee?" She asked softly as she looked back at him over her shoulder, Tinktink having hopped over to him was looking at the cut. It wasn't that deep so he should be alright.
"Yes-" he suddenly cut off as he gripped his head and grinched as a headache formed, "My head is pounding and what is with this cut? It seems I was drunk..." He trailed off as he looked up at her. Nodding her head, Meng Ka expected that as it was what she had read in the book but she didn't have time to look him over as she looked back at the other guy.
"Just rest for now, Lee. Your body can't handle as much as it used to." She said as she took out her daggers.
"It seems you have sobered up, this is my Kekkei Genkai." The bone guy said as he moved his eyes from Lee to Meng Ka, his face remaining emotionless. "My Kekkei Genkai freely controls osteoblastic and osteoclastic cells. It even controls the concentration of calcium. It's an ability to form bones." He continued to say as Meng Ka looked at the bones coming out of his chest and his forearms; it was a freaky sight, for sure. "Basically, there are over two hundred bones in the human body. But for me, that's not a set number."
"But still." Lee said as he stood up, "Bones are bones!" He then ran at the guy and Meng Ka yelled after him but it was too late, as the guy had even more bones come out and he spun around, hitting Lee multiple times with his bones. Lee then fell back onto the ground as the guy stopped and Meng Ka quickly landed beside him. He had many wounds now and Meng Ka bit her lip as she noticed a lot of them, he needed a hospital and rest to heal. Something Lee wasn't very fond of.
Looking back at the guy, Meng Ka stood up and glared. The looked at her and then turned to leave, "Like I said before, you are needed alive." He said as he started to walk away. Meng Ka could feel the anger in her rising a little as now the outline of her eyes were gold and the air became thick. Taking in a deep breath, Meng Ka calmed herself a little but raced forward towards the guy. All her frustrations from the past few days now building up and she wasn't going to let this guy win.
Bone guy quickly turned around and blocked her blow but Meng Ka gripped onto his bones with her hands and sent chakra blasting through the bones, watching as they shattered and bone guy quickly jumped away. Her gaze steady as he looked over at her, not even shocked. "I will kill you if you force my hand Meng Ka. You may be the key to Lord Orochimaru's dream but there are other ways to finding your village's secrets without you." He stated calmly as he looked over at her.
"Then how about you do just that and leave these other villages alone. Ninjas are here to keep the peace, not to start trouble." Meng Ka said angrily as she watched him and the two of them stood there silently in the grassy clearing as the wind stood still and thick. Chakra was racing through Meng Ka's veins and she could feel the bone guy's chakra as well. But what frightened her the most, was that she could feel the air around him, she knew that she could take it away, keep air from going into his lungs as her eyes narrowed at the thoughts racing through her mind.
Power was a dangerous thing, and it was something that Meng Ka had never lacked in. It was just something she was never used to as her true power only wakes when she is angry and looked back at this guy; she knew that she could kill him without moving. With just a simple thought she could control the air around him and either has him crushed by the weight of it or simply having him suffocate. She shivered as the dark thoughts race through her mind and the air seemed to thicken even more as bone guy started to breathe heavily but he didn't move. Meng Ka looked up at him, their eyes locking and she saw something there. Almost as if he wanted her to kill him, waiting for her to snap and prove him right. But prove him right in what? What was going on? She wasn't like this, she didn't like to fight, and she didn't like to kill. She is a healer, not a murderer.
With a hiss she ribbed her eyes away from his and turned around, taking in calming breathes as she looked down at Tinktink. She chirped softly and rubbed her head against her leg to help calm her down. She balled her hands up into fist as she thought about other things, taking her away the now and into memories. Memories of Uncle Shi and Asume as they helped to not only train her but to raise her as well. She always saw them as brothers even though they weren't and they were always there for her, for every bruise, for every cut, for every nightmare. They were the ones who raised her to be who she was, never forcing her to become a ninja like the hokage had, never expecting the impossible from her. Remembering those memories brought a smile to her face as tears ran down her cheeks. She was such a child, she thought annoyed as she whipped them away. Looking over at Lee, she bent down and focused on healing him, saving someone was what she had to do right now, not kill someone.
The bone guy narrowed his eyes at her as she ignored him and it seemed like something had snapped. She didn't know what but anger took over his actions as he looked over at her, "Is that it? The girl that Lord Orochimaru talks so fondly about, says how powerful she is and how she is the key to our dreams. Is that as far as your power goes? You won't even kill when it's your right to kill. How does Lord Orochimaru expect you to make his dream come true?" He angry but he still held a calm demeanor, it was a bit unnerving really but Meng Ka continued to ignore him and heal Lee. "Die!" he yelled suddenly as he came at them reached out as a bone began to form out of his hand and just as he was about to hit Meng Ka right in the side of her head, sand suddenly exploded between the three of them, forcing them away from each other.
Meng Ka looked up shocked as she held onto Lee, who had woken up and sat up, looking over at the person Meng Ka was looking at as well. Meng Ka sighed and smiled, "Well, it's about time you got here Gara. I can finally get a nap in." She was thankful that Gara had shown up, or else she didn't know how long she would be able to hold back her anger.
Gara looked down at her, "Are you alright?" he asked softly and Meng Ka nodded her head.
"Who are you?" Bone guy asked as he looked over at them.
"A sand shinobi, ally to the Leaf village." Gara said just as emotionless as bone guy.
Meng Ka tilted her head back, "Since when did you become a shinobi?" She asked a she looked over at Gara. He had grown a bit since last they saw each other and it didn't surprise her that he was a shinobi now, his chakra was just as powerful as Naruto's and Sasuke's. Those two had just been slacking about going up the ranks, that's really the only reason why they weren't of higher rank yet.
"Gara?" Lee asked as he looked up at him in shock, remembering the last time they had encountered one another, he had almost killed him. Gara didn't answer as he continued to look up at bone guy and walked forward, putting himself in between them.
"Gara." Bone guy said as he seemed to stretch a little, "Is that who you are?" He suddenly shot out bones from his fingertips but Gara's sand shield quickly blocked them from their target.
"Impetuous," Gara said as he looked over at the guy, "You." He said as he looked back at Lee, "When we fought, you had more speed and sharpness."
Lee looked up at him in shock but then stood up, "Easy to say, it's not that I'm holding a grudge. But because of you I kind of had a tough time of it."
Just then the sand started to go back into his bottle and Meng Ka picked up Tinktink, putting her back on her shoulder. "I see." Gara said without moving.
"But why you?" Lee asked as the two of them remained behind Gara.
Gara looked back at them, "I owe a lot." He simply said before looking ahead again.
"Alright, please back me up then." Lee said as he ran forward but Gara caught him with his sand, making him fall forward, "Gah, I got sand in my mouth! Please let me go!" he called back to Gara as Meng Ka sighed and shook her head.
Lee flinched then as Gara walked past him, "You wouldn't be able to do anything in your present state. I'll do it. Meng Ka, see to it that he doesn't do anything to get in my way."
Meng Ka nodded her head even though he couldn't see it and went to check on Lee. Like she thought before, he was going to need a hospital soon and rest, lots of rest. "Be careful, Gara. He can form bones that he attacks with." Meng Ka called out to Gara.
"Gara of the desert." Bone guy said as Gara continued to walk towards him. "You use sand as the name implies, huh." Gara suddenly attacked with his sand as bone guy attacked with his fingertips once again, back and forth they went, seeming to test each other.
"Gara of the desert," Bone guy called out, "a dopey nickname. You can't do anything if you don't have sand."
"Sand shower." Gara simply said as sand started to fall from the sky over him. Bone guy went to move but couldn't as sand had wrapped around his feet. "As long as I have sand, I can do anything. You're the one who's dopey. It's easy for me to do things like create sand from dirt." He said as he finished wrapping the guy up in sand.
"You did it!" Lee said happily.
"Not yet." Gara said as he closed his hand into a fist and the sand tightened around the guy, blood leaking out. "I'm reminded of that man when I look at that guy. Sasuke Uchiha. He had the same eyes as that guy."
"The same eyes?" Meng Ka asked as she thought about it but she really couldn't tell what Gara was saying.
Just then, bone guy broke through as lines ran down his body kind of like the others when they were reaching for their max amount of power. "It's a troublesome body, isn't it." Lee said as they looked over at the guy.
"I underestimated you, but I won't get caught by your sand again." Bone guy said as they looked at each other and Meng Ka could feel the tension in the air.
Gara quickly moved as he formed signs with his hands and then a whole wall of sand formed in front of them going after bone guy. Getting caught in in, bone guy disappeared under the sand as it flooded into the trees, knocking over many of them. Gara kneeled down and rested his hands on the sand, making the ground shake with the force of his chakra that was running through the sand. He frowned then as he looked at the sea of sand, "This guy is persistent."
A tail rose out of the sand and Meng Ka tilted her head to the side, "What is that?" She asked as the three of them watched it closely. Then bone guy came out of the sand and Gara quickly started to wrap more sand around him, trying to get him trapped in his sand coffin but bone guy was able to force his way out of it. He was completely in a different form as he had a tail now and was gray in color. Thick bones stuck out from his back and he had two horns on top of his head as he ran right for them.
Gara kept trying to capture him as he formed a thick wall of sand in front of them but bone guy ran right through it and hit Gara, forcing back a few feet from them. "Gara!" Meng Ka called out as she ran after him.
"So that's the extent of the rumored absolute defense." Bone guy said as he looked over at Gara. "How disappointing." He added.
Meng Ka helped Gara and was about to check him over when she realized that he was covered in sand. Of course, how could she have forgotten? Gara looked back at bone guy with a glare just as Lee started to attack him. Seeing that he was about to get hit Gara quickly tried to protect him but bone guy's tail went right through his sand and Lee was flung far in the other direction. Bone guy then looked over at Gara as he stood in front of Meng Ka, "You're first, Gara." He said as he pulled out his spinal cord to form a whip. He then formed more bones around his hand as he swung the whip around Gara and his sand, coughing up blood lightly as he then ran at Gara with the bone spear in his other hand.
Gara then formed a sand defense in front of him, stopping bone guy as he looked up at it. But wasting no time, he flung his bone into the sand and tried to force through but the bone around his hand soon shattered. "I gathered minerals of great hardness from the ground. Applied pressure with chakra and mixed it in with the sand. You, that unusual jutsu, it's like Kekkei Genkai, right?"
"The Kaguya clan," Bone guy replied, "The ability which now I only possess."
"The last one of the clan, eh?" Gara asked as he glanced over at Meng Ka, "Then it'll die out here today."
"Indeed, that might happen," Bone guy said, "Due to sickness, my body will not last long. But the clan will not die out. Besides, I'm not alone." Suddenly bones sprung from the ground and Gara quickly lifted them up with his sand as they looked down at the forest of bones. "Lord Orochimaru understands me!" They suddenly heard bone guy say as he came out from one of the bones as he went for Gara. Meng Ka quickly went into action as she brought her dagger up and clean through his heart, making him stop just millimeters from Gara's eye. Bone guy coughed more blood as Meng Ka felt his chakra slipping away, "I'm sorry." She whispered to him as she went a shock of chakra through her danger into his heart and stopping it completely.
"He's dead?" Lee asked as he looked over at Meng Ka, she had moved so fast, he'd never seen her move that fast before. The bones then disappeared as Gara set them down and Meng Ka gently laid bone guy on the ground and cleaned her danger in the grass.
They then stood up as Meng Ka petted Tinktink, she then plopped down in the shade of a tree and Gara and Lee sat next to her. "I would have been completely hammered." Gara said as he gently placed a hand on Meng Ka's head.
"That's not the case." Lee said, "My sensi said it often, luck is always a part of strength."
"That backseat driver?" Gara said as he looked down.
"He's not a backseat driver!" Yelled Lee as he looked over at Gara, "It's because I wasn't good enough at the time. I'm grateful for you saving us." He said with a frown but was serious. "But please, don't talk like that about my sensi."
"You, too?" Gara suddenly asked, "When you feel that the honor of someone you revere has been hurt, you yourself are hurt badly and become enraged. The more important the person you revere is to you, the greater the feeling. Fighting for the sake of someone important to you. He was also the same as Naruto. But the person who is important to oneself might not always be virtuous."
"I wonder," Said Lee, "There's no way someone evil can be thought of as an important person."
"No," Gara replied, "Even if you know they're evil. People can't defeat solitude."
The three of them remained silent as they sat in the shade, lost in their own thoughts but Meng Ka soon sighted and stood up. "We had best start heading back. Something tells me they can use all the healers they've got in the village right about now."
Gara looked up at him but didn't say anything as he stood up himself and Lee nodded. Meng Ka helped him stand up and Gara had him rest on sand as they ran back to the village.