I'M BAAAAAACK! Yep, that's right, I got my second wind on this story and to celebrate the fact that Sayuri is back in business I've got a double update for you! I still don't know how often I'll be able to update, but I'm going to try and go for at least every two weeks, maybe more if I have some free time. I've been applying for college lately and adulting and... you don't care, do you? you just want to know what's going on with Sayuri. So yeah, I hope you enjoy!
Truth: Together, they would do it!
The month was gone in blur of sore muscles and new tricks and before Sayuri and Miyako knew it, they were standing in a line in the arena with the other competitors who had made it this far. The Hokage was there with the Kazekage at his side, presumably to support his kids. Nobles filled the stands along with civilians, shinobi who weren't out on missions filling the seats as well. It was probably the biggest event in Konoha in a while.
"Welcome all, and our deepest thanks for coming all the way to Konohagakure for this year's chunin selection!" the Hokage said, opening the tournament. Sayuri stood proudly next to Naruto, head held high before all of the spectators. At her side was Miyako, whose back was straight but incredibly tense, and she was shuddering slightly in fear.
"We have come to the final competition of the nine candidates who made it through the competition!" the Hokage continued. "We ask that no one leave until all the matches have been completed. Now everyone enjoy!"
"One last thing," said the proctor. He pulled out the bracket for the fight. "There was a slight change of plans, so take a good look at who you're fighting now." It seemed Dosu was gone.
"Hey, question!" Naruto said, thrusting his hand in the air.
"What?"
"What'll happen to Sasuke? You know, if he's not here on time?"
"If he's not here when his name is called, he forfeits the match. Now listen up. The terrain is different but the rules are the same. The match continues until one candidate acknowledges defeat or dies. I can step in and stop a match if it's going nowhere, and no arguments allowed. Understood? Now, the first fight is between Neji Hyuuga, and Naruto Uzumaki. The rest of you can go to the waiting area."
Sayuri and Miyako trooped up to the balcony with the others and leaned on the railing to observe the fight below.
Naruto's fight was rough. The byakugan was a nigh-unstoppable technique, that Sayuri knew well, and Neji was a master of it. Even when Naruto came at him with shadow clones, he easily dismantled them. Neji surprised them all with the story of how his father died and his hatred for the main house. Neji bluntly told Naruto the fight was over after sealing off all of his chakra points with a staggering technique. However, Naruto shocked them all, none more than Neji himself, when he got up and kicked Neji's butt, coming out the victor.
The crowd began to grow tense. They'd tasted blood and they wanted more, but Sasuke was still absent. Normally he would have been disqualified, but the Hokage was no fool. He knew very well that the crowd was really here to see Sasuke and Gaara, the two heavy-hitters from this year's competitors, fight it out. To default on the promise of the fight might drive the crowd into a frenzy. So, the match was postponed.
Next came Shino's fight with Kankuro. Shino turned and made his way to the arena, only to hear Kankuro's voice calling out.
"Proctor! I withdraw! I withdraw, so please advance to the next match!"
"Is he serious?" Naruto demanded. He'd joined Sayuri and Miyako by the railing after his fight. "What's he doing?"
"It would seem he's withdrawing," Sayuri said, musing thoughtfully. "I can see how his puppets might be at a disadvantage against Shino's bugs, but… he doesn't have to win to become a chunin."
"So why'd he quit?" Miyako mused.
"That's a very good question," Sayuri said, back tense.
Genma sighed. "Due to Kankuro's withdrawal, Shino Aburame wins by default."
Shikamaru's battle with Temari was interesting to say the least. At first it seemed like he wasn't even going to fight, but then he proved himself to be a tactical genius. A lazy genius, but a genius nonetheless. He tricked Temari into his shadow possession jutsu. Everyone thought he had won, but only for him to turn around and surrender, claiming chakra exhaustion.
Genma pulled out a watch. "The time limit had officially passed," he announced. "So I'm calling this match-"
Leaves flew in all directions as Sasuke and Kakashi appeared in the ring in a swirl of wind.
"Sorry we're late!" Kakashi said casually. "You wouldn't believe the traffic!"
"And you are?" Genma asked Sasuke.
"I'm Sasuke Uchiha," he said confidently.
"I was thinking you wouldn't show up because you were too banged up!" Naruto shouted down to him.
"So how late are we, exactly?" Kakashi said hesitantly. "Sasuke's not… disqualified, right?"
"Heh, like master like pupil, right down to your bad sense of timing," Genma snorted.
"Well, what about it?"
"You were so late we extended the deadline, twice in fact, and you just made it. No, he's not disqualified."
"Whew, good! You had me worried there for a minute!"
Genma raised his arm, started the match, and this time he leapt back as soon as he called it. He knew better than to get involved in this. It was a good thing he did too, as Gaara's sand began to coil out of his gourd. Sasuke jumped back, eying it warily.
Gaara doubled over suddenly, clutching his head. "No, please don't be angry with me, mother," he pleaded with no one. Sasuke's expression read confusion. "Earlier I… I know, I made you taste such awful blood. I'm sorry. But this time… I'm sure… that it'll taste so very good.
Sasuke threw shuriken but Gaara's sand deflected it, a clone of himself seeming to crawl out of the sand. Sasuke attacked it, and it seemed to catch him for a moment, but the Sasuke punched his way through it. Sasuke threw a punch at Gaara and the sand rose up in the path of the hit.
"So that's your sand armor, huh? Come on!" Sasuke beckoned. Gaara remained kneeling there, flanked by his sand. "If you won't do it, I will!"
Sasuke came at him twisting and dodging around Gaara's sand, landing hit after hit. Gaara stood up and they faced off once more, but then Gaara made a hand sign. Sasuke blinked and the sand began to curl up around Gaara, forming a sphere. Gaara vanished inside and Sasuke seemed to realize he was losing his chance to get his opponent and ran at him, punching the orb. Spikes shot out, poking holes in his temple and leg.
Sasuke jumped back, staring at the orb of sand as the spikes sank back into the surface. It would be difficult to get through. There was no place that was better to attack than any other, and even with Gaara sealed inside, striking would send spikes flying out in an attack. If Sasuke couldn't back up fast enough, he could take a jab to a vital spot.
His situation got even trickier as a sand eye formed outside the ball. Gaara could see Sasuke, but Sasuke couldn't see Gaara. He had no idea what tricks Gaara was planning inside his shell, but Gaara could watch and now the moment Sasuke decided to try an attack.
Sasuke threw kunai, but, as expected, they just glanced off. He attacked, taking the hits form the spikes, and then jumped back when the hit did nothing. Sasuke dodged frantically as the sand lashed out at him over and over with spikes.
Sasuke lunged back and hit the arena wall, skidding up it. He began making hand signs. Miyako and Sayuri watched in awe as a sound like a bunch of birds chirping filled the air and blue chakra crackled in Sasuke's palm. He yanked his hand back and tore through the wall before sprinting down, heading for Gaara.
Sasuke dodged as the spikes drove for him and jabbed with his chakra-infused hand. It drove into the orb, throwing sand in all directions. He looked up and smirked, and it was visible even from the balcony.
Gaara screamed. "Blood! It's my blood!"
Sayuri cringed at the sound of that scream. They knew from Kankuro he'd never been hurt before, and the first time was always the worst. Seeing the blood, feeling it drip, the burning pain of a wound… What a time to experience it.
Sasuke struggled to pull his arm free. The limb sparked with chidori and Gaara screamed in pain. Sasuke pulled back, but a long, sandy limb came with him, covered in blue marks. It was sucked back into the small hole in the orb as Sasuke hit the ground on one knee, holding his arm and panting.
The orb cracked around the hole and then began to sift down, away from Gaara. He stood there, looking completely human, but for the look in his eye, which held some kind of madness. He was clutching his left shoulder, which was bleeding through the strap holding his gourd in place.
Sayuri's eyelids began to feel heavy. She felt to her knees, leaning weakly against the railing. She'd never felt this sleepy, even when she stayed up late several nights in a row. She was always able to push aside any weariness or hunger if she had something to do. But now…
Ah, of course.
"Release!" Miyako cried next to her. She'd sensed the genjutsu even before Sayuri.
"Release!" Sayuri echoed, her strength returning.
Miyako whirled around and Sayuri looked up sharply at the sound of an explosion. Smoke exploded around the platform where the Hokage and Kazekage were seated with their bodyguards. Around the stands, a few ANBU guys leapt into the air, going for the Hokage. Four split off to protect the nobles and another four went to the Hokage's aid as the Kazekage's guards came at them from out of the smoke. They were quickly killed.
"Gaara!" The two sand siblings leapt from the balcony for their brother.
The bodies of the slain Kazekage guards suddenly shot apart into four people, crouching at the four corners of the roof as the Kazekage shot from the top of the smoke, holding a kunai to the Hokage's throat and dragging him along. The ANBU tried to get to the Hokage, but the four guards, now revealed to be from Otogakure, put up some sort of barrier. One ANBU agent connected with it and fell back, consumed in flame.
"What do we do?" Miyako asked softly, taking in the destruction going on around.
"We find Kiyomi," Sayuri said, rising to her feet slowly. "We find Kiyomi, we wake her up if she's not already. And then we fight."
"But… Sayuri," Miyako breathed, trembling in fear. "We don't… we can't… We're not strong enough!"
Sayuri grabbed her shoulders and swung her around so that they were facing. "We have to be!" she snapped. "Look, what else can we do? I know you hate doing it, but Miyako, if we're going to be of any kind of help, we have to figth with everything we have. Everything," she said intensely.
"Saiketsu," Miyako whispered, a violent tremor going through her at the word. "I-I ca-"
"Yes you can!" Sayuri insisted. "You have to! You're a shinobi, Miyako, and these people are invading our home. Are you going to let them get away with that? The time to make a stand is now!"
Miyako paused, Sayuri's words sinking in. She was right. Konoha was under attack. Would she be able to live with herself if she just cowered in fear while everyone else fought to help her? No, she wouldn't. She'd hate herself more than she would for using Saiketsu.
"O-Okay," Miayko nodded weakly. She forced her voice to be stronger and repeated herself. "Okay."
Sayuri nodded, pleased. "Then let's go."
She shot off of the balcony towards the direction of Kiyomi's chakra signature. They found her slumped among the crowd next to her father, who was snoring loudly. Miyako placed her hands on Kiyomi and quickly removed the genjutsu. Kiyomi's eyes flickered open and she sat up, looking around blankly.
"Wha-?"
"Sand has betrayed us," Sayuri said grimly, looking down at her. Kiyomi's eyes widened and she stood up sharply.
"Should we wake your father so he can get to safety?" Miyako wondered, looking at the snoring man hesitantly.
"Leave him," Kiyomi said coldly, pulling a kunai from her pouch. "Where's Ayano? We need to get to her."
"That way," Sayuri said, pointing in the direction of the sound of clashing weapons. Across the way they would see Gai, Kakashi, and Ayano fighting the enemy shinobi.
"Where are you going?" Kiyomi demanded as Sayuri took a step in the opposite direction.
"To wake Satoru," Sayuri explained.
"Let me, I'm better at genjutsu," Miyako begged. Sayuri pondered that for only a moment before nodding.
"Over there, third row, a few seats from the left," she instructed, pointing in the right direction. "Once he's awake, bring him to us."
"Right," Miyako nodded, jaw tight with determination as she shot off in one direction, Sayuri and Kiyomi in another direction.
"Girls!" Ayano exclaimed when Kiyomi and Sayuri landed in front of her. "Where's Miyako?" she asked worriedly.
"Waking Satoru," Sayuri explained, bone sword sliding into her palm as she took a stance.
Ayano's eyes widened in fear and she paused, glancing around the arena. "Satoru…" she whispered, eyes worried.
"Ayano, get in here!" Kakashi shouted to her as he danced past them, parrying the strikes from an enemy before sending him flying with a punch.
"Clam it Kakashi," Ayano snapped, spinning around a sending one enemy slamming into the wall with a strong kick to the chest. "You girls, be ready to fight," she ordered.
"Ayano!"
Satoru bounded into the bleachers, Miyako hot on his heels.
"Are you ready?" Ayano asked him, eyes dancing with relief and the excitement of the fight. Satoru gave her a weak smile in response.
"Born ready," he replied.
"Ayano, what are your orders?" Sayuri asked calmly.
"Don't get killed. Take out the enemy. Defend the Hokage," Ayano said bluntly between attacks. She spun, tiny bolts of lightning flying from her fingers and nailing a shinobi in the chest. He dropped to the ground, twitching.
The three kunoichi took their places, pressed back-to-back into a triangle. They never felt more powerful than back to back with their teammates, knowing you had someone you could trust defending you. Miyako's nerves faded, Sayuri's walls lowered, and Kiyomi's jokes vanished. They had a job to do, and together, they would do it. That was the truth of the matter.
"One," Sayuri counted.
"Two," Kiyomi smirked.
"Three!" Miyako cried.
Miyako's hands flew out, snatching control of the blood stream from two Suna shinobi who were foolish enough to get within range of her hands. She jerked them around and sent them flying forwards, impaling each other with their kunai. Kiyomi engaged another shinobi and blocked his kunai with her own, shoving it aside and jumping into a powerful kick. He went staggering and Kiyomi threw her weapon, getting him in the chest. Sayuri deflected blows with her sword, swinging the razor-sharp edge expertly and slicing her opponent's jugular. Blood sprayed in an arterial spurt. It passed around her and collected around Miyako's fingertips, flowing out like ribbons. She twisted and snapped and wrapped them, entangling and tripping any shinobi that tried to sneak up on Ayano or Satoru. All her reserves about using this ability were gone as she attacked, cold determination etched into her face.
"They're good," Kakashi commented as he darted past Ayano to take out a shinobi heading for the trio of young kunoichi.
"Well, they aren't running around with a chidori… Really, what were you thinking?"
"I was thinking- Incoming!"
A green leg came out of nowhere, kicking the attacking shinobi into a wall.
"Gai, you're too much," Kakashi sighed.
"You almost hit me!" Ayano snarled, throwing a kunai and taking out Gai's newest opponent.
"Why… are all the jonin… completely insane?" Satoru demanded between grunts as he engaged a Sound-nin. "There's a reason… I never… tried to advance… Hah!" Satoru took his opponent out with an elbow strike across the face, spinning him around so that he slammed into the wall.
"Kiyomi!" Sayuri called as a shinobi grabbed her and put a kunai to her throat.
"Drop your weapons or your teammate dies," he sneered. Sayuri bent forwards and Miyako rolled over her back, blood whips flicking out from her fingers and wrapping around the man's arms, an enraged expression on her face. His eyes widened.
"You drop your weapon," she snapped, twisting her fingers. His arms were ripped away from Kiyomi, who bent forwards, braced on one hand, and kicked back with both legs. The shinobi went flying over the railing and into the ring.
"Thanks!" Kiyomi called as she lunged at another opponent.
"Kids, get out of here!" Ayano ordered, turning a kicking a shinobi in the chest directly over his heart. He dropped, spasming as electricity coursed through his body. "Go find Ibiki at the edge of the village and take your orders from him. We've got this."
"Are you sure?" Miyako asked worriedly.
"Go!" Ayano shouted.
The three genin wasted no time and took off, following their teacher's orders.
"How you doing?" Ayano asked, pressing her back to Satoru's as two shinobi came at them from each side.
"Never better," he replied, and Ayano could hear the smile in his voice. "Just like old times, huh? Us fighting together."
"We should do this more often."
"… Ayano, much as I love your enthusiasm, we should really hope that invasions don't become a daily thing."
"Killjoy."
Ibiki wasn't hard to find. The gigantic snakes that had crashed through the walls around Konoha made his location pretty easy to guess. He was on top of a roof, directing the forces gathered around him against the snakes.
"What do you want?" he snapped when the trio landed beside him.
"Ayano sent us to see if we could help," Sayuri recited, snapping to attention.
"You want to help?" He threw out an arm, pointing into the trees. "Some of your fellow genin went running in there not long ago with some Sound-nin on their trail. We're busy here. Go help them out."
"Yes sir," Sayuri nodded, gesturing for her team to follow her. They dodged around the shinobi rushing this way and that, trying to take out the snakes, and made it into the trees.
The farther they went, the less they could hear. By the wall and in the arena it had been almost painfully loud. You had to shout to be heard over the sound of fighting. Now it was silent but for the soft sounds of their footfalls and breathing.
"Sayuri, do you sense anything?" Miyako asked quietly.
"Shikamaru's up ahead," she nodded. "He's got about a dozen shinobi headed for him, and another dozen headed past him, after Naruto and his team."
"We should help Shikamaru," Kiyomi said immediately.
"No," Sayuri said, shaking her head. "Naruto's headed right for Gaara and that will take all of their time. We need to take out the other group. We can't leave Sakura's team to face a dozen enemy shinobi, plus Gaara. We just have to trust Shikamaru can handle himself."
Kiyomi looked mutinous, and she opened her mouth to argue.
"We'll go to Shikamaru's aid once we finish with our group," Sayuri assured her. "We won't leave him alone, but this is more important right now."
Kiyomi still looked like she didn't agree, but she nodded. "Okay."
They picked up the pace and soon the group of Sound-nin were within range. Miyako announced their presence with a genjutsu that snared one of them weakly, tripping him long enough to be hit by the hail of weapons that followed immediately. The group stopped on their branches and immediately swung around, turning to face this new attacker.
"It's just a bunch of genin," sneered one of them.
"Fireball Jutsu!" Kiyomi roared. They all dodged and Sayuri grunted as one of them tackled her to the ground. A kunai bit into her chest over her heart, her bone membrane keeping it from doing any real damage. She shoved the startled shinobi off of her and hurled him into a tree, pinning him there with a bone skewer that connected an instant after him. He hung against the tree limply, blood running down the trunk from a wound in his chest.
"Summoning Jutsu!" she shouted, biting her thumb and slamming it to the ground.
"You called, baby cakes?" Dokumo asked, appearing in a puff of smoke. Sayuri restrained herself from raging at the nickname, focusing on the Sound-nin that was coming at her now. She parried his hail of shuriken, her bone strong enough to cut through it, and knocked him back with a kick. She used the brief seconds to grunt out, "Do what you can!" before engaging the man again.
Up in the trees, Miyako had heard what Sayuri used. She followed her example. "Summoning Jutsu!"
A crane the size of your average teenage girl appeared and lowered its head.
"Yes ma'am?" asked Kurendo, one of Miyako's personal summons. "What have you gotten yourself into now?" Miyako winced at the crane's berating.
"Fly above the tress," Miyako panted out as she flung volley of weapons after volley of weapons. "Dive them. Distract them."
"Peck their eyes out?" Kurendo asked hopefully. Miyako looked at him in horror. The crane sighed and shook his head. "Soft," he complained as he flew off above the treetops.
The Sound shinobi now had to deal with two summons, one on the ground and one in the air. Dokumo was working well with Sayuri, defending her flank. His bite had a kind of poison in it that deadened muscles and prevented coagulation. Not fatal, at least not immediately, but without proper treatment the bite would continue to bleed until you lost too much blood and passed out or died.
Kurendo was instrumental in disorienting the shinobi from above. He'd come flying down through the smallest gaps in the leaves, battering them with air from his wings and squawking before shooting back up through the canopy, only to reappear again several feet away to harry someone else. Against Miyako's orders, there was some definitely pecking going on, but their eyes were safe.
Kiyomi was having the most trouble. Miyako was keeping people back with hurled weapons and Sayuri had taken advantage of the fairly open ground beneath them to use some of her more flamboyant sword dances. Kiyomi, though, had five of them on her at once.
"Fireball Justu!" she shouted, burning one of the Sound-nin that came at her to a crisp, only to feel a pair of kunai slam home into her back. She screamed, the force of the hits knocking her into the trunk of the tree she was standing in. She spun around frantically and blocked a kick from one of them, only for another kunai to bore into her thigh. Her leg wavered and she ripped the weapon free, hurling it towards the person who first threw it, who dodged with a laugh.
"Larch Dance!" Sayuri shouted on the ground, spinning as two Sound-nin came at her from opposite directions, thinking to overwhelm her. The inadvertently impaled themselves, her spinning opening puncture wounds on critical places across their bodies.
Kiyomi struggled against the four Sound-nin she was still dealing with. One went down under a sudden barrage of shuriken from behind him, courtesy of Miyako, who saw her struggling. As Kiyomi glanced at Miyako thankfully, a fourth kunai slammed into her, taking her in the gut, just above her right hip. The momentum carried her off of the limb she was balanced on and she fell towards the ground, thrashing as she tried to right herself.
"Kiyomi!" Miyako screamed in fear. Sayuri looked up, hissing in pain as the distraction cost her a long cut across her arm. She snarled and kicked the one who'd cut her away, directly into Dokumo's jaws. The komodo dragon bit down sharply on the man's shoulder, deadening his limb before ripping it off entirely in his strong jaws, leaving his screaming. Dokumo reared up and brought his bulky weight down on one foot, smashing the screaming man's head into paste.
Kiyomi thought she was going to slam into the ground, driving the kunai in deeper, maybe into something critical. Instead she landed on a feathery back. Kurendo had heard Miyako's cry and swooped under the leaves. He'd immediately spied the falling girl, riddled with weapons, and dove towards her, catching her on his back.
"Find Shikamaru! Take them to the hospital!" Miyako screamed the order.
"I can still fight!" Kiyomi protested.
"Get her out of here!" Sayuri agreed from the ground. Kurendo flew off in the direction first of Shikamaru, and then Konoha, despite Kiyomi's loud protests that she was still capable of fighting.
Sayuri dispatched the last of her opponents and Miyako did the same, callously ripping the blood out of him through a cut in his arm. It curled around her hand and she made a face at the feeling of the warm liquid surrounding her fingers like a clawed glove.
Sayuri and Miyako both turned towards the last shinobi, the one who'd taken Kiyomi down off the branch. He gulped slightly. He'd seen his companions fall against these two girls and their summons. The crane might be gone, but the komodo dragon was still there, bloody saliva dripping from its mouth.
"You hurt Kiyomi," Miyako said, sounding furious enough that anyone who knew her would have done a double take to see if it really was sweet, shy Miyako speaking. "You're not allowed to do that. You hear me? You can't do that!"
Miyako lunged forwards, a bone skewer speeding along with her. The bloody claws on her fingers dove into the man's chest at the same time as the bone. His scream was choked off abruptly in a bloody gurgle as Miyako released the blood, letting it pour down around him and mix with his own blood as she pulled her hand away.
"That takes care of that," Sayuri said softly. "Let's get back to Ibiki."
"Do you think she'll be alright?" Miyako asked softly, looking at the blood-stained kunai on the ground that Kiyomi had pulled from her thigh and hurled back at the enemy.
"She'll be fine," Sayuri assured her. "She wasn't wounded too badly, I don't think. She should be fine."