p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"strongSasuke Retrieval; Disturbedbr /br /strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Silver, White and Grey, ninja of the Leaf, crashed through the forest in search of their mission's end. A mission that had already been delayed by the attack on Gaara of the Sand. Branches snapped and the trees fluttered by in a blur, their view of the world around them stood still while they rushed ahead endlessly./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Time was short and Arisu, a ninja tracker, knew they could not wait for the Sand ninja to catch up. "I'm over here, try and keep up!" She shouted back to her fellow Leaf ninja, resting her hand against a tree to catch her fleeting breath to the pace she had set. "The ninja of the Sand will have to find their own way if they plan on helping." She gritted her teeth before pushing ahead once again./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Do not expend yourself so readily, we have an enemy still to face!" Fuma the slowest of their group, lugged his legs ahead like lead weights. "I am injured and so is my team, do you really believe this is the best course of action?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Arisu galloped alongside her wolf hound. "What?! I can't hear you!" Stopping once more she shouted to the loudest extent of her voice. "Keep up!" Then panting with her wolf hound she held a whisper to her breath. "Kiba, I promise we won't be late to save you." Her nostrils flared and still further to the distance Katsumi, Arius's hound, perked her ears to the unnatural sounds coming from the forest. "Get moving!" she yelled, her voice pitched with distress./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The earth underfoot vibrated lightly to the deep impacts ahead. The air shimmered ever so slightly to the scent that was smelt. The bird calls and the animals that fled in terror, they all spoke alarm to the senses of a ninja tracker. Despite what her instincts told her she could not runaway but confront the danger, because Arisu knew./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""That is where my cousin Kiba is"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Amoroto sat flat down on the ground, hiding himself behind a tree while he listened to the fight he excluded himself from. His injuries weren't physical or mental, they were almost spiritual. "I wonder if this is the cost of inspiritment, when the one I enchant with my mystic songs isn't someone I personally care for." He lifted his hands up to the light as they quivered despite the warmth of the day. "I feel… exhausted, as if at any moment I might lost the energy to live." His voice creaked as he swallowed down the pain in his throat, the tears welling up in his eyes to the hurt that coursed through his body. Physically there was nothing wrong, emotionally… "I feel like I'm dying"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Still, listening to the sounds of battle, his back pressed up against the tree as he let his mind focus ahead to their concerns rather than his own. He wondered how he might be able to help./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Into the battle his mind drifted, detaching himself from his pains and woes./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Argies, Hakari and Lee battled their foe with unshaking determination. In less than seconds, Argie's retreat was filled with sharp bone piecing the air of where he had been. Covering Argies retreat Hakari braced herself against the attack, her crystal shield cracking to the drumming of bone that was harder than her rock. From the side of the Sound ninja, Lee the green hurricane of the Leaf phased into existence to slam a kick to their enemies face. Even before his foot could make contact to the side of their foe's head, bone grew and protruded, spiked and defensive, and yet still Kimimaro was pushed back./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Don't worry" Lee bounced around on the spot, nursing a sore foot he nevertheless came between their foe and his friends. "I will not let Kimimaro hurt you." Inspecting the bottle in his hand, his face a slight sheen of red. He turned the bottle of special medicine upside down to his lips but nothing came out "It doesn't matter, I will still win because I have the power of youth and my friends at my side!" He throw away the empty bottle with a proud boast of a smile on his face, with empty hands he continued to fight./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Special medicine?" Argies jumped further away from the fight, placing his hands in the confrontation seal, a mist of energy began to form around him. "The bottle clearly says wine… Hakari!" His hands came out of his focusing seal as worry startled him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Don't worry I've got this" Hakari reassured him with a smile. "I will keep Lee protected from injury" Moulding crystal in her hand like it was made out of a liquid that hardened to her touch, Hakari throw off precisely shaped stone to fit the worst of the bone ninja's spiked body. "My rock will slow him down and make him less prickly" She smiled over her shoulder at blood ninja behind her. "Don't you think my crystal makes him look pretty" The rock jammed in Kimimaro's bone, hindering his movement but gleamed in beautiful blue as the sun reflected through Hakari's crystal and refracted light. "You keep doing whatever you are doing, but don't take too long…" The air chimed to the sound of disappointment on her face, crushed the light fading and canopied the grass in blue. Her smile dropping with the release of a sigh. "You know crystals don't come cheap!" Hakari held a fist to the air in rage before plunging ahead./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Kimimaro is too fast for me," Taking a kunai out from its holster, Argies cut a delicate wound across his palm. "but I can still provide support from afar… my jutsu is mid-ranged after all" His dreaded half smile faltered, instead he grimaced. He stared at the tendril of blood he held up before himself, shaking as something inside him cracked. As he watched his comrades fight for their lives and the missions success, his mouth parted open in objection but he whispered instead "Is this truly what it means to be a ninja?" Dropping his kunai with numb fingers to his intent, he closing his eyes for a moment as he foresaw what they would all endure. Gripping his shoulder, his fingernails ran white as all the blood pressed out, his hand clasping an old wound in a death grip of fears as fresh blood ran once more. What he could see forced his eyes shut because he did not want to open them and face that reality, but finally closing a hand into a fist he pushed on ahead as his eyes shot open and tears streamed down. "Blood Siphon Jutsu!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Descending down into the valley, a fault in the earth with no grass or trees to carpet the rock and dirt, Arisu tried to make sense of all the signs smells and sounds around her./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""This is where Kiba fought" She whispered to no one in particular, Fuma and his team were still sliding down the side of the gravel and rock face that lead to the river she crossed earlier. Katsumi sniffed around before stopping with a bark. There on the ground was a kunai… covered in blood./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Falling to a knee Arisu steadied herself against the back of her hound, the fur comforting under hand as she stared down at the kunai "That scent… that is kiba's blood" she hovered a hand over the weapon for a moment, questioning if she should pick it up or… "No I should carry on searching, this doesn't mean he is dead. There is no use collecting momentous of the dead when they are still alive."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Flapping her wings before delicately coming to a stop to be caught by her two team mates, Taka limped before resting her weight on her least injured leg. "Agh…Did you find something?" She shrilled with a wince as they came closer to where Arisu knelt, the pebbles and smooth rocks did not help her hide the throbbing agony in her swollen ankle. "Genjuu made sure to mark the trees, while I watched from the skies insuring they could see the path we took, the Sand ninja will find their way here."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""This is Kiba's kunai" Arisu held the blade up, the blood on her fingertips spread to the rest of her hand almost as if the weapon itself was bleeding. Gripping the kunai in her hands unconsciously she pressed out the blood in the bandaged handle she held so tight. Dropping the kunai with a gulp, for some reason she felt the blood on her hands was because she had stabbed him. "We should hurry, he can't be far and this time I have his scent and Akamaru's dynamic marking." She hurried over to the river, a little water would wash her hands of this deed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Removing his Fukumen Genjuu smiled down eerily to Arisu who looked up at him in shock. "We cannot save your cousin" He wheezed, Arisu said nothing, frozen her pupils dilated and she held her breath. "We…" He stretched the word as smoke left his breath, waving it away quickly he circled his hands around in front of his team. "We should go after Argies, you can find your brother" His grey teeth shining through the dim light of the chasm they were in./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Taka pushed back Genjuu and he applied his mask once again, she spread her wings partly before speaking "You can travel much faster on your own. Go and find your cousin but leave enough of a trail so the Sand siblings can find you. We will find the other teams, we have a mission to complete after all."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Without another word needing to be said, Arisu and her hound were off, Taka took flight and the rest of their team headed towards the sound of trees crashing and birds chirping in escape./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The songs I have sung,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"what lies have I spun,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"To speak of comrades and hold them high in my esteem./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"I look at a face with love in my eye,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"what a wicked lie,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"To say that I care for them is but a dream that hasn't begun./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"My commander,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"My Sensei,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"My fellow teammate./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"I do it for you,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"but you are so few,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Now I sigh with what little strength I have left./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"To love through the face of strangers./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Motion, the world around us, echoes in a storm that is life. We sound like lightning strikes, loud and proud about our own ambitions and meaning but our flash of thunder never lasts in the grand scheme of the tempest. There is always rain, dark clouds block out our life and make it harder to strive for our achievements, but what is life without that struggle for success, could we even call our accomplishments a feat without the shadows to mark our faces with days of dark dismay. Our tears become streams, our self-pity regardless of who or what we cry for fill out into rivers, and soon our collective mourning becomes an ocean of misery. Then to the sky our hopes and aspirations float, steaming off from our pain by the kind warmth of the sun, only to collect and be caught in our high ambitions never met. Our dreams drifting off like clouds, they become nightmares because we can never truly reach further than the sky of our goal, to be hotter than the sun./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Argies!" I yell, my own voice sounding estranged to me so I cough to try settle the lingering ache of my words. "Hakari… Lee" I let out an unsteady breath, struggling to regain the energy I needed to speak./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Amoroto, are you alright?" Hakari's voice sounded as clarified butter, so soft and genital and yet there is a safety and strength in that voice that comforts me from the dark place I have descended to./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I'll be alright Hakari san, but hear me carefully." Clearing my voice, I placed my hand on the ground nuzzling the soft grass and appreciating the dirt under my fingernails, there is so little to find joy in this place of battle. "The foe you face, Kimimaro, I can hear his soul in the way he fights. The dance of his footsteps a melody of sounds that speak his sorrows and loyalty" The battle did not stop to my words, yet feeling my own soul wan I could not waste the time I had to speak. "Kimimaro, you know you are dying, I can feel the rhythm of your heart beat, how weak your hold on life is."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Sorrows?" Kimimaro words held stern, like the tree I rested my back to he stood thusly neither swaying or bending to the wind or the fight around him. "My only regret is that Lord Orochimaru will not be able to use my body as his vessel, my life's purpose is to serve Lord Orochimaru and while I still have life left in me I will procure him a new body in my place." I could hear the air around me, the symphony of sounds change as he increased his strength and speed. "I will server Lord Orochimaru to the end, I won't allow you to take Sasuke back to the Leaf for he shall become the new vessel of my Lord!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Argies…" A new thought entered my mind as I spoke. "It is likely that his death will coincide with how much stress you can inflict on his body, and how much he exerts himself. I don't think he has much time left, outlast him and you will win."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I think he is right" Hakari, how beautiful her voice can be, her words vibrate through me and give me hope. "I realised there was something odd about his movements before and his eyes. When he attacked my shield his arms trembled ever so slightly and his eyes, they're percolated because they are about to glaze over in death."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Right…"Argies cast his voice over in Lees direction, I know this by the strikes I can hear echo through the bark of my resting place. "Lee don't hold back, he can't outlast us so there is no need to reserve any of your strength"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Right! I will not be holding back any more. Leaf Hurricane!" Lee, I will not forget the youth in his voice, more than any other ninja he isn't ashamed of who he is. There are no pretences or mocked esteems of rank or age. He even lets Argies call him 'Lee child' even though Lee is older than him./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Good job Amoroto, it is good to know Hakari and I aren't the only ones reading our medical books" Ah Argies, I'm so sorry for the way I behaved when I didn't know you and then the way I acted when I did know you. Even now I wonder if I have committed some mistake against you, acted some other way that isn't myself or am I still running away in shame of myself. You would never have judged me or at least I believe you would have confronted my faults and allowed me to be better than I am. It is too late now, if only I was honest with you and honest with myself, maybe we could have been that team… the strongest Ninja team in the Leaf./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Yeah I'm not totally sure Amoroto got all that from hiding behind a tree." Hakari you could always bring humour to our lives, even now in this the worst of all the situations we have ever faced. During the HFO mission you turned the horror of the owl spirit into a multi dyed monstrosity of colours. If we were given the time I'm sure your resilience and thirst for life would have rubbed off on me, or at least I can only hope I wouldn't have remained the sad withdrawn spirit I am. Above all others you were the one who taught us how to be a team, both in how we were to act in battle and in the company of each other. I'll keep on holding on, but if I don't make it… know that I will always love the you both./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"You know what? I'm glad that fart horse Argies called Katsumi and I for this operation. Without me there would be no one going to save Kiba now. I just wish Yori and Neko were here, although I can do it alone with Katsumi by my side. Still, without our the rest of my squad it will be much harder, but at least they won't be slowing me down while I try to get there in time.../p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Kiba you always were a sneaky little brat, I know you are older than me but sometimes I felt like in the clan you were the youngest pup of the litter. You will never be head of the clan because you are male, but if you were… I can't help smiling at that image. Your Mother certainly wouldn't be happy that is for sure, or maybe she would because then it wouldn't only be her trying to get you out of bed. In a way I always felt like I could look up to you, even though we both lost the Chunin games you were that little bit ahead of me. Teaching me the Fang over Fang technique so I could destroy Argies was a little misguided and I appreciated you for that, because even though I fully planned on using it on Argies I never did. I suppose… it is because you trusted me with our clan's technique. If I learnt it on my own the great Kami knows I would have slaughtered Argies long ago, then we wouldn't be here would we?/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"You are also lazy, so really all the qualities that I can look up to. I remember your academy days, setting little challenges among your peers but only the challenges you knew you would win beforehand. Basically what they were was a trap, because whatever your bet was already yours even before the game began. I wonder if you would ever even accept a challenge? Well if you are still alive when I find you, I hope you are ready to accept mine. I will defeat you Argies, you and Kiba both./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Katsumi, we are getting near I can smell it" I stuck my claws into the tree just ahead of me, the moss side of the tree allowed me to agilely slide down silently alongside Katsumi. We were in stealth mode because our mission never really detailed the enemy. Still my footsteps couldn't help rush my pace as I darted from tree to tree, my wolf hound by my side./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"If sensei Akira were here I bet she wouldn't be too keen on my technique, but right now Kiba's life is more important than the enemy over hearing my untidy trend over dried leaves. Akira was never really a good sensei, but then I guess it wasn't her fault. The massacre of the Uchiha meant that she couldn't remain our teacher without risking her life. She presented the Chunin games like our only hope of escaping the title of Inter-village ninja, without a teacher that is what we had to become. Still I wonder if she is any safer in the ANBU, Itachi was part of that organisation too. However as a part time sensei Akira wasn't half bad, at least she isn't sexist like I hear the copycat ninja is. She treats our whole team as equals, and I've never had trouble learning the basics of ninjutsu./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Blinking away my thoughts I stood motionless, my back against a tree as I peered around the trunk. "There is someone coming, Katsumi" My hound crouched down low to the ground, her jowl lifted in a snarl but she made no sound… we are ready. Whoever it was the direction they took was from where I had already been. Circling around the tree trunk while Katsumi followed, stalking my every step, I waited for them to pass./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The ninja Looking around himself, he placed each foot ahead with a purposeful subtlety. Searching around for an enemy that wasn't there, every sound even from his own foot falls caused his ears to perk. The Leaves rustling under foot and overhead in the trees, even the absence of sound startled him, the silence of the trees as the wind blew passed without a single bird call. I could feel the tension in the air suddenly grow tight, my breath feeling hot on my lips and movement feeling viscous. If I act now I will not have enough information about my enemy before I strike, but if I wait… they might catch up to Kiba and then it will be too late. Snapping my fingers I got his attention./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Who…" He spoke but then lowing his voice he whispered instead. "Who is there?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Stepping out, Katsumi just behind me covering our exit , I placed a finger to my lips "Shhh… keep walking Kiba, I'll handle this guy"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""…but Arisu" Kiba crouched down with an arm around his gut, the wound through his jacket still red but no longer bleeding, he stepped closer. "How did you find me here?" Akamaru rested on his head, the pup looked injured as well but I wasn't sure how… I don't see any blood./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I followed Akamaru's scent, but wait…what happened to your jacket?" My eyes bulged and the world around be grew white hot. "Why is Akamaru's scent coming from behind us, I… you are wet I can't smell either of you"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Yeah that is right" He whispered getting in behind me, defending our exit along with Katsumi. "I fell into the river so that the current could carry us, but the water also blocked my nose which is why I couldn't smell you." Gulping before he could continue, he looked me in the eye, his tattoo standing out against the pale colour of his skin. "The reason why you could track us is because of Akamaru's dynamic marking, but it wasn't us you were smelling…"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""It was me!" A Sound ninja wearing Kiba's jacket appeared just above us, I don't know how long he was standing in the tree upside down but… the jacket he wore explained why I couldn't smell him, still that means there is two of them. One with kiba's jacket and another marked with Akamaru's urine. I should have known, Akamaru's dynamic marking isn't used to leave a scent trail for him but for the enemy. With teal coloured lips he simply leered at us, flashing a grin that showed no fear for what I am capable of./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Fang over Fang!" I crashed up through the trees, splinters and bark flying like kunai flung in battle, but there was no soft meaty splat. I missed him, somehow./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Arius No!" Once I landed Kiba pulled me back by the shoulder. "Good, it is only his brother that can invade your cells"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""What?" I held my face in disgust, my nose flaring out as I looked to where he had landed. "His fast, Kitsumi again!"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""No!" Kiba tightened his grip on my shoulder, his fingernails biting in… it hurt. "These guys are close to Jounin, don't attack, we need some kind of strategy."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""A sharp sense of smell and a set of claws are not going be enough to beat me." Cracking his knuckles and arching his neck, the sound ninja got ready to fight. "Face it, you're in over your head, little dog!"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""You already said that!" Kiba barked, stretching his arm in front of me in defence or rather to hold me back. "Arius, please run." I looked at him, his mouth showing fang but he was acting like a injured pup whining before I even had the chance to really attack./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The Sound ninja broke my face away from Kiba's fear "I said it to you but not your sister" Turning his head towards the scent of the other Sound ninja, the one smelling of urine, he folded his arms waiting. "There's no time for games, Sakon. They all die now!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Out of the forest another Ninja came, I flinched when I could see him. The one side of his body was covered in ash grey scales, with the other side covered by the same type of sheet like cloth they were both wearing. His skin was taut and red, and his face was caught in a permanent smile with a horn on his head which reminded me a lot of a devils mask./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I'm not leaving you here Kiba" My voice shook, weak not because I feared fighting these two but because the thought of leaving him hurt. "I can't just let you die."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Turning to face me over his shoulder, Kiba gritted his teeth and Akamaru snarled at me. "This isn't like your games with Argies, if you lose to these guys you will die" Facing the sound ninja again he wince, the pain in his side bending his body slightly. "Now run Arisu" They stood next to each other waiting/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Ninja chop sticks, are you insane!" I stepped in front of him, pushing him back. "Katsumi and I will handle this, you and Akamaru can sit this one out" He fell back in pain, with not enough strength to stay upright there was no way he was getting back up./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Letting out a satisfied rattle, the demon twin sighed. "Agh how touching, they are fighting over who gets to die first"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Katsumi growled to the sound of his voice, waiting for me to give the word. "Katsumi, beast human transformation" Katsumi puffed away and a duplicate of me stood on all fours waiting for my next command. "Double Wolf Fang!"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The team of Silver, White and Grey new they were near. With confirmative nods to each other they split off into pre-assigned tasks. With shadows falling over his mask, only his eyes peering out from the dark, Genjuu whispered his killing spell. Taka taking to the sky, looked down on the forest and its multitude of tree tops, her eagle eyes sparkling with the enemy in sight. Fuma took the more direct path, standing in the middle of all the chaos of trees spilled over like toppled cups of tea with their leaves cascading down from the recent battle./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Towering over the boy with silver skin, three giants with each a different grotesque weapon stood. At first they dragged their weapons behind them, slowly, pensively, getting closer to him, but now finally standing over him they merely waited holding their weapons up high. Fuma unleashed his weapon from sealing, the staff with a blade on its end the Guan Dao, and from there he began his attack. Leaping to the air he cut the shoulder of the first beast, the demonic creature let out a cry before puffing away in a mist of chakra smoke. Falling from the air Fuma tore the second beast from its chest to its navel. Then landing he cast off a single kunai which exploded in the face of the last./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Three giants all felled, all nothing more than a ghost of a memory in the mist that scattered as the phantoms dispersed. Staying right where he was, his form unmoving, Fuma waited for the creatures to appear once more and appear they did drawling their way to him in groaning grunts of breath and displeasure./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Shikamaru" Fuma voiced, not looking around himself or giving direction to who he spoke to. "You have had to wait a long day for us to arrive, so rest and do not give away your hiding place, we will deal with the strategies now." Cutting down the demons that came again, a voice rang out to the sound of the flute that played in the background of their battle./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I can do this all day you moron" The voice of the sound ninja spun and twisted around him, caught in a rhythm of sounds the forest turned into a painted pattern of colours made muddy./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Beating a hand to his chest, the same hand that held his blade staff with a fist, Fuma announce aloud to the world of illusions around him. "Your spells will not work on me wretch, for my mind is disciplined and my body hard." The illusion broke, phasing out as Fuma's Guan Dao rung its red steel through the air, the metal rings chiming and bringing harmony back to the world of vision all around him. With his senses returning to him he saw the three giants towering over him again, their weapons already in motion to crush him but broken of the spell of illusion he was too fast to be caught within their trap. Returning once again to his feet, his stance to be place back in waiting for the giants to return, his throat suddenly hardened as his larynx began to depress./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""You idiot, did you really think I had all day to waste on you" A Sound ninja with a hard shelled cap on her head, held Fuma off the ground by his throat. "I have plenty of things to kill today, so why don't I start with you"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Now Genjuu!" Taka came screaming down from the sky, using her remaining good foot to land a kick on the Sound ninja's back./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"From the extent of pain caused by a kick landed from the sky, Tayuya the sound ninja released her hold on Fuma, turning instead to blow her flute with her killing intent facing Taka…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The three demonic beasts returned into being with the sound of their mistress's flute, but before she could carry on singing an arrow made of smoke struck her in the leg. Nonetheless the demons persisted, lashing out wildly without the sound of the flute to lead or instruct them. Tayuya fell from standing, her lips still blowing and music still leaving her yet now her mind fighting against sleep and the hallucinations of Genjuu's spell./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Nightmarishly, like a creature that could not die, Tayuya straightened herself from falling and with a grunt she yelled "You are all trash!" Briskly returning to her flute, her fingers fell into pattern and so the demons struck!/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""My Wing!" Taka collapsed to the ground clutching a broken mantle of feathers and skin while Genjuu jumped from hiding to step in front of her and the demon that struck./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I summon the souls of all my ancestors" With this claim respired into the air a world wind of smoke enveloped Tayuya while Genjuu collapsed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Fuma looked to his two team mates, the one bleeding to death from an injured wing and the other unconscious in the company of demons, gripping his Guan Dao with fierce determination he confronted the foe of four./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"But…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"A shadow crept underfoot and caught hold of Tayuya. "I'll deal with her, you take care of your team mates" With the sound ninja caught in Shikamaru's grip the demons were dispelled./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Looking down on his team mates Fuma only had one question to ask himself "How do I mend a broken wing and heal a shattered soul?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"There is still so much I wanted to learn from this world before this mission could come to be. My guardians were as much an inspiration as my desire 'to gain power I could call my own'. With my Uncle's genjutsu, though I didn't have a taste or talent for the art myself, I wanted to build my own illusion techniques to explore what could be done with genjutsu. My Aunts knowledge of herbs would have been a brilliant pass time, I day dreamed about opening up a clinic to explore what illnesses I could cure while learning how to turn remedies into poisons to use against my enemies. Then there was my personal conviction to reshape the meaning of inter-village ninja into a title of honour and pride./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The inter-village ninja, we are an under used resource and unappreciated just as much. Though we complete tasks that the village otherwise couldn't run without, we are a menial taskforce. That would have changed, or at least I hoped I could shape that change. I wanted to introduce Ninja games alongside Shikamaru, that Chunin and off duty ninja could participate in to hone their skills. The message would have been that even if we are inter-village ninja, we can still train and learn to be stronger better ninja than yesterday. Out of the rough I know I could have found more ninja like my team. Every inter village ninja on this mission is filled with brave and strong shinobi who given time could have outclassed anyone in battle… but now that is all just a dream that has faded away like a heart sore memory./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Hakari, your footsteps match what I saw in vision which only makes me understand what I must do. Is there truly honour in sacrifice, or in leaving those you love behind do you replace your heart ache with theirs? If we die for your people, isn't that an admission that it would pain us too much to live in a world without them so instead of feeling that pain you shift it to them without you. Maybe I should be asking Kiba these questions, or for a more rounded answer I might ask Shikamaru the same question hoping that his IQ could explain it a little better than Kiba's attitude. I wonder what was going through Chouji's head when he gave up his life, if it wasn't for Amoroto I'm sure he would be dead by now. Sighing I feel weightless for where is the unease in choice without the time it takes to regret it./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"If I had mastered my Fuuinjutsu maybe this outcome would have been far different… but at least this way I can honour my promise to Kosuke, I won't let my comrades die./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Hakari hardened her shield the further on our battle lasted against Kimimaro, the walls of her shield thinning out as the Sound ninja hardened his bone and increased his speed. She readied herself, standing firmly on the ground with her feet ploughed in to resist against his impact, protecting Lee as he retreated. This time was the last time that tactic would work, but only because…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Argies…no!"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"I stood in between./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Arisu reached down for her kunai holster, her body shivering as she tried to control her arm despite the pain. Slipping a finger through the ring of her Kunai she lifted it up, her fingers limp but her will strong. Bending her arm she brought her kunai to soft flesh, her throat, but before the blade could be slipped across delicate skin it was taken away./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Squirm and scream all you want." Sakon shivered in ecstasy to the sound of her screams and Kiba's protest as he was held back and forced to watch. "My brother and I are inseparable, as long as I am by his side you won't be able to slip away from his attack so easily." He held up the kunai he took from her hands, pressing it against Kiba's throat instead./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Now I will suck the life out of her right in front of you" Arisu raved in pain to Ukon's words, his demonic mask sticking out of her body with a smile on his face./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Her eyes shut and her body convulsing, she gritted her teeth saying "I'll…Kill…You!" but she could not speak another word, foaming at the mouth in agony. The demonic twin infecting her like a parasite as he invaded her body at the cellular level./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"With a hand around his throat and another crossed over his arms, Sakon held Kiba back "Serves you right for all the trouble you caused us" Kiba thrashed in pain as Sakon pressed an elbow into his wound, the twins laughed as the kin pups yelped./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Struggling to be free Arisu's neck twisted, a sickening crack, her wolf hound howling out to her mistresses death before dying as well with the butt of a kunai sticking from her ribcage./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Stop your prattling, you little weakling" Holding a Kunai over Kiba Sakon was about to deliver the final blow to the last of the Leaf ninja, but then…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Kiba was never meant to die, to his dismay Kankuro arrived insuring Kiba would live to mourn his cousin./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The darkness wrapped around Tayuya like thick ropes of black shadow. Her pink hair flowing freely, the only part of her escaping Shikamaru's binding as slowly he stepped closer with his hands in the rat seal./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"A droplet of sweat trickled down Shikamaru's face "Keep struggling and I'll be forced to use my paralysis jutsu" Leaping to make his way to where she stood surrounded by down trees, Shikamaru assessed the unconscious Taka and Genjuu before nodding to Fuma. "I've got her, get your team out of here." Fuma frowned, his eyes questioning, but Shikamaru reassured him. "Don't worry the closer I get to her the stronger my Jutsu becomes."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""For trash you are not bad" Fuma and Shikamaru shifted their attention to Tayuya, her smile peeking through the shadow stitching. "But if you knew shadow paralysis you wouldn't need to threaten me with it. Oh and one other thing…" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, standing in front of her his hands trembling to hold her in place. "I don't totally believe you've got me." In a heartbeat that could be felt rather then heard, Fuma and Shikamaru watched a pattern the colour of molten lava stretched across her face and arms. Through the binding of shadows more of her could be seen as her body expanded to fill out with bigger muscles and horns atop her head./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Compressing around her the shadow sticking grew tighter squeezing, but their grip was not enough, snap!/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"With his Guan Dao in hand Fuma rushed forward, but with the buckling of her arm from the shadows she hit him aside. Fuma tumbled down, his body rolling over the fall trees with branches breaking as his body expended its momentum. Standing up he held on to his blade staff for support with one hand, his other arm limp at his side./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Shikamaru formed his hands into seal once again, however with Tayuya striking an arm across his face, he was unable to complete his shadow possession falling a distance away too./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The Sound ninja stood over Genjuu with a foot held over his head "You should have listen to the brat" She smiled at Fuma before bringing her foot down, crunch, she walked over to Taka next. Her right foot making an audible splat as she approached Fuma's last teammate "If you took at least one of your team mates to safety, this wouldn't have happened"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Leaping up from where he stood, the world slowing to moments as Tayuya's foot came down, Fuma's Guan Dou chimed through the air. Crunch, but he was too late. His blade staff made contact with Tayuya but he was not fast enough, with a single kunai she stopped his attack and forced him to leap back./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Their…" Standing in front of their killer Fuma bent over winded by the loss of his team, their brains dashed like yoke from an eggshell smashed under foot. "…" Jumping into the sky once more, Fuma came down on her hard but cast aside once again by her powerful fists he looked away from his team and fled./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Still with a Kunai in her hand Tayuya cast it out and as if guided by an evil spirit the blade impaled deep into Fuma's skull./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Standing in front of Hakari's shield stood Argies. His red sash blowing lightly in the gentle breeze, his walker beads knocking against his body to the impact's reverberation. Sunlight shone down on him from parted clouds as the world sighing a breath, his necklace of a flower holding a single gem spilled over his shoulder shining light over the claw marks scratched in flesh./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Hakari stood thusly, her hands steadfast against the weight of Argies body and the lance that pieced through it. Her crystal shattered around the piercing of her shield, falling to the ground like stars glistening in the sky. The bone forced through Argies dripping blood down the curvature of her crystal, she pulled back but the foreign object would not come out./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Kimimaro placed a hand on Argie's shoulder, his knuckles running white as he forced his bone lance further through. The tip of the spear vying for Hakari's heart while she hardened her shield to protect it, and yet her heart was already pieced through as she watched. Argies though he could not pull in strength through breath, although he could not tighten his grip with the beat of his heart, and even still with his time short, clasped his hands around the instrument of his death./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The blood ninja Argies, with teeth no longer white but dripping with blood, called on his spirit gripping Kimimaro and the bone that pieced him… he held tight. "Blood siphon… jutsu" The warm blood gushing from his body, soiling the sand and painting the grass, lifted as if gravity had pulled it back to where it had fallen from and to who had spilled his blood. Touching Kimimaro's skin the crimson storm fumed, suffocating him it bubbled as he fought for breath, blinding him it burnt as he tried to pull away from Argies clutches./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Hakari watched in horror and heart ache, she hears Argies grunt's and gargles for breath, she feels the heat of his body grow cold through the looking glass of her crystal, she smells the scent of his cloths and it forces a lump into her throat for soon that scent would be lost, and finally she sees his hands grow limp and his blood fall once more dripping to the ground./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Kimimaro pulls out, his bone leaving Hakari's shield and leaving too the body of Argies to slump to the ground./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Argies…" Lee's mouth partly opened, he looked to Hakari before facing Kimimaro, returning to battle his punches cried with anger and his kicks with frustration./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Swallowing down the pain in her throat Hakari fell into the puddle around Argies, his cloths caked in his own blood and the ground around him damp in his life run dry. "Argies… Amoroto, someone please, help me bring him back." Lying him flat on his back, Hakari set his flower blossom necklace to the centre of his chest, her fingertips printing the petals red as tears streamed down her face./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Hakari…" Amoroto came near, with his body swaying he collapses to his knees. Argies eyes were still open but the light had already faded. Softly Amoroto begins singing a song, the words ancient and lost to translation, his pray seal scroll unfolded over the length above Argies body./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Slowly the wounds on Argies shimmer and close with blue light sparkling off the glint of his blood. With hope returning to her eyes, Hakari wiped away her tears. "Amoroto it is working, don't stop now" she watched Argie's wounds slowly close, the light of Amoroto's chakra lining the gaping holes and moment by moment slowly stretching and sealing the skin./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Then Amoroto's light flickered, sparking like a dying fire it suddenly went out. "An end to it all" Amoroto looked to Hakari with rings under his eyes. "I'm sorry, that was all I had left" Turning over onto his back next to Argies, Amoroto lied himself down next to his friend. "I was already dying, I thought that if I could at least save him… it would have been worth it but I… failed."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" "What, no… no not you too!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Saving Chouji and then Neji took more of my spirit than I thought it would, then helping Shikamaru… I thought I could do it, but it was only a fools hope." Exhaling Amoroto never took another breath, dying alongside his friend his eyes closed watching the last living member of their team weep and hearing her sob./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"'An end to it all' Is that what Amoroto said, before he told me he was dying too? Is that all our mission is, our end… We have been on so few missions together, this cannot be how it all stops being. How we stop being teammates, how I stop being their friend, how they stop being all together. As soon as Amoroto died Gaara of the Sand arrived, it was almost as if life was mocking us. That help only arrived to save the Shinobi Lee but not to save us. The inter village ninja./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Without them what am I? Will I simply return to being a D rank ninja bringing in injured Jounin level shinobi and getting paid less than a wine bottle's worth of yen. Will I allow myself to be reduced to so little once again after I have experienced what it is to be a real ninja? Our first sanctioned mission outside of the Leaf and this is what happens./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"I have Argies blood on my hands, and Amoroto's voice whistles in my head. Though his body runs cold, my fingers keep his blood warm, though his words will never be sung my mind will hold on to his song. For them there was nothing I couldn't accomplish because we could see more of each other through the worth of our team, and now… now I only feel anger and disappointment./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"What happened to my Village, the dream I had built? To create a place I could call my own and run it by my own rule and the will of my heart. A dream I had had since I was a little child but with my team by my side I could see that vision of a Village grow stronger and more tangible than ever before. I know it was farfetched but with them it might have been possible, only now it will never happen. I'll never be able to open a door to refuges, a safe haven for criminals and thugs so that I could purify the World of its wicked. Like the rage that burns in me now, those that come into the boarders of my Village and break my rules, will fall under my wrath or repent their evil ways. A place of forgiveness but my Village would show no lenience to those who murder, rape and take the lives of the defenceless./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"It would have been a first among the elemental Nations. The first Village that no matter where you come from, whichever clan you belong to, you are welcome. Without tribute, without sacrifice, you could join my Village and find safety and happiness. As long as we all worked together, we would have been the strongest Village in the World. A Village built on kindness, growing stronger with every war because we would let in the injured and even folks other nations would call an enemy we would call friend. A ninja Village made of enemies, a shinobi force dedicated to stripping vengeance from pitiful feuds between clans and instead focusing on the one true enemy, hatred. A ninja Village of love and righteous anger./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"A waterfall cascading with mist, the grass lands below and the rock face of the mountain around them, in all a beautiful place for blood to be spilt. The statues of the founders of the Leaf watched on, not only the creators of the Leaf but the inspiration for all Ninja Villages and yet they too fought here in this place. Ninja, a word meaning to endure and endure they must. For the will of their way, for the beliefs in their heart, for the courage of comrades, for the death of so many./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Their voices lifted up to the sky, echoing up over the ridge of where the waters began to fall down into the Valley of the End. Naruto and Sasuke stood on the surface of the water below, the orange clade ninja wore scorched cloths and the raven black haired ninja held a scowl to his face as he was scolded by the love of a friend./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""…but why, why would you do this?" Naruto bit his lip looking way from the anger in his teammates eyes before looking back with rage in his own. "Just tell me that, tell me why would you abandon the Leaf and all your friends and give up all we had." He slapped the air to all that Sasuke had thrown away, his hand casting behind himself to the distant Leaf Village in what was given up./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Sasuke spat his words as he swung his hair around like a dirty cloth. "Friends, do you think that any of them care for you." He raised his voice locking his eyes with Naruto. "Do you think they cared for me! The Leaf has only even been concerned about power. During the tournament Kakashi focus his training on me because he thought only I could win. Back when we had our first mission in the Land of Waves, when we practised our tree walking for the first time, Sakura mastered it instantly but look down." Sasuke looked down along with Naruto, at the ripples in the water they stood in now. "Kakashi never even bothered trying to teach her the next step, water walking, because he only wanted to focus on my training even then."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Naruto's looked down once more, his voice quivering but his face still hard with rage. "I'm not going to let you leave the Leaf."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Open your eyes Naruto" Sasuke straightened himself, staring at Naruto from the side of his face before glimpsing in the direction of village one more time. "Kakashi's mission as our Jounin is to train me, do you think that it is a coincidence that the only other ninja with a Sharingan was recruited to train us?" His scowl softening he turned to face Naruto once more. "This is the only time I have to leave the Village, while he is away on a mission. Come with me"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""What?!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Don't you think it's weird? Your academy training was pathetic but now that you have shown some skill you are suddenly being trained by the Sanin Jiraiya. The only time the Leaf cares about its shinobi is when they can see power, so I ask you again Naruto. Come with me."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""You are wrong Sasuke, the Leaf isn't like that, and besides you don't even know Orochimaru so why would you join him?" Naruto dived forward at an incredible speed, but Sasuke could see it coming dodging his punches with ease. Jumping back. Naruto's breath caused his shoulders to fall and raise as he regained his wind. "I'll never abandon the Leaf!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Then I have no choice but to kill you, Chidori!" Lightning ignited around Sasuke's hand, his other hand bracing against the heat of his technique. Cutting forward, his hand like an open blade vied from Naruto's chest but…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"In the distance between them a Large blue rock fell from above like a piece of the sky. The rock fell into the river between them and before anyone could move. Ka-boom! It suddenly exploded firing crystals out in all directions. The impact shook the river under foot, causing the water to shoot up into the air as the rush of force coming from below filled out into the sky./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Plummeting to the earth once again the waters cleared from the sky like rain. With his vision obscured Naruto waited and watched for the river to settle and the rain fall to stop while he searching for Sasuke. Then slowly two figures began to appear from behind the curtain of rain. Sasuke's Chidori still burnt with lighting, and a new figure stood in front of him, his hand was through her chest./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Now you die…. Sasuke!" Hakari plunged the last of her crystal into Sasuke, her pink fingernails turning white as the blood drained out of her but twisting the crystal she embedded it deep. Sasuke watched, his eyes twitching, his hands shaking, his mouth hung half open at her gall, but even so she pressed it further into his chest and before his blood could flow Hakari said her last words. "Goodbye forever, you cruel and uncaring Ninja world"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The crystal in her hand flashed and exploded consuming the both of them in a torrent of crystal and fire./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Goodbye forever./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"strongAuthors Note:/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #fffffa;"strongspan style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: 13px;"This is not the end of the story! No, to find out what happens next vist my a title="Next Chapter" href=" precipitous120/art/Naruto-Fan-fic-Realitie-s-Remedy-769667226"DeviantArt page/a where I update the story more often than /span/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Silver, White and Grey, ninja of the Leaf, crashed through the forest in search of their mission's end. A mission that had already been delayed by the attack on Gaara of the Sand. Branches snapped and the trees fluttered by in a blur, their view of the world around them stood still while they rushed ahead endlessly./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Time was short and Arisu, a ninja tracker, knew they could not wait for the Sand ninja to catch up. "I'm over here, try and keep up!" She shouted back to her fellow Leaf ninja, resting her hand against a tree to catch her fleeting breath to the pace she had set. "The ninja of the Sand will have to find their own way if they plan on helping." She gritted her teeth before pushing ahead once again./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Do not expend yourself so readily, we have an enemy still to face!" Fuma the slowest of their group, lugged his legs ahead like lead weights. "I am injured and so is my team, do you really believe this is the best course of action?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Arisu galloped alongside her wolf hound. "What?! I can't hear you!" Stopping once more she shouted to the loudest extent of her voice. "Keep up!" Then panting with her wolf hound she held a whisper to her breath. "Kiba, I promise we won't be late to save you." Her nostrils flared and still further to the distance Katsumi, Arius's hound, perked her ears to the unnatural sounds coming from the forest. "Get moving!" she yelled, her voice pitched with distress./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The earth underfoot vibrated lightly to the deep impacts ahead. The air shimmered ever so slightly to the scent that was smelt. The bird calls and the animals that fled in terror, they all spoke alarm to the senses of a ninja tracker. Despite what her instincts told her she could not runaway but confront the danger, because Arisu knew./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""That is where my cousin Kiba is"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Amoroto sat flat down on the ground, hiding himself behind a tree while he listened to the fight he excluded himself from. His injuries weren't physical or mental, they were almost spiritual. "I wonder if this is the cost of inspiritment, when the one I enchant with my mystic songs isn't someone I personally care for." He lifted his hands up to the light as they quivered despite the warmth of the day. "I feel… exhausted, as if at any moment I might lost the energy to live." His voice creaked as he swallowed down the pain in his throat, the tears welling up in his eyes to the hurt that coursed through his body. Physically there was nothing wrong, emotionally… "I feel like I'm dying"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Still, listening to the sounds of battle, his back pressed up against the tree as he let his mind focus ahead to their concerns rather than his own. He wondered how he might be able to help./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Into the battle his mind drifted, detaching himself from his pains and woes./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Argies, Hakari and Lee battled their foe with unshaking determination. In less than seconds, Argie's retreat was filled with sharp bone piecing the air of where he had been. Covering Argies retreat Hakari braced herself against the attack, her crystal shield cracking to the drumming of bone that was harder than her rock. From the side of the Sound ninja, Lee the green hurricane of the Leaf phased into existence to slam a kick to their enemies face. Even before his foot could make contact to the side of their foe's head, bone grew and protruded, spiked and defensive, and yet still Kimimaro was pushed back./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Don't worry" Lee bounced around on the spot, nursing a sore foot he nevertheless came between their foe and his friends. "I will not let Kimimaro hurt you." Inspecting the bottle in his hand, his face a slight sheen of red. He turned the bottle of special medicine upside down to his lips but nothing came out "It doesn't matter, I will still win because I have the power of youth and my friends at my side!" He throw away the empty bottle with a proud boast of a smile on his face, with empty hands he continued to fight./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Special medicine?" Argies jumped further away from the fight, placing his hands in the confrontation seal, a mist of energy began to form around him. "The bottle clearly says wine… Hakari!" His hands came out of his focusing seal as worry startled him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Don't worry I've got this" Hakari reassured him with a smile. "I will keep Lee protected from injury" Moulding crystal in her hand like it was made out of a liquid that hardened to her touch, Hakari throw off precisely shaped stone to fit the worst of the bone ninja's spiked body. "My rock will slow him down and make him less prickly" She smiled over her shoulder at blood ninja behind her. "Don't you think my crystal makes him look pretty" The rock jammed in Kimimaro's bone, hindering his movement but gleamed in beautiful blue as the sun reflected through Hakari's crystal and refracted light. "You keep doing whatever you are doing, but don't take too long…" The air chimed to the sound of disappointment on her face, crushed the light fading and canopied the grass in blue. Her smile dropping with the release of a sigh. "You know crystals don't come cheap!" Hakari held a fist to the air in rage before plunging ahead./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Kimimaro is too fast for me," Taking a kunai out from its holster, Argies cut a delicate wound across his palm. "but I can still provide support from afar… my jutsu is mid-ranged after all" His dreaded half smile faltered, instead he grimaced. He stared at the tendril of blood he held up before himself, shaking as something inside him cracked. As he watched his comrades fight for their lives and the missions success, his mouth parted open in objection but he whispered instead "Is this truly what it means to be a ninja?" Dropping his kunai with numb fingers to his intent, he closing his eyes for a moment as he foresaw what they would all endure. Gripping his shoulder, his fingernails ran white as all the blood pressed out, his hand clasping an old wound in a death grip of fears as fresh blood ran once more. What he could see forced his eyes shut because he did not want to open them and face that reality, but finally closing a hand into a fist he pushed on ahead as his eyes shot open and tears streamed down. "Blood Siphon Jutsu!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Descending down into the valley, a fault in the earth with no grass or trees to carpet the rock and dirt, Arisu tried to make sense of all the signs smells and sounds around her./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""This is where Kiba fought" She whispered to no one in particular, Fuma and his team were still sliding down the side of the gravel and rock face that lead to the river she crossed earlier. Katsumi sniffed around before stopping with a bark. There on the ground was a kunai… covered in blood./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Falling to a knee Arisu steadied herself against the back of her hound, the fur comforting under hand as she stared down at the kunai "That scent… that is kiba's blood" she hovered a hand over the weapon for a moment, questioning if she should pick it up or… "No I should carry on searching, this doesn't mean he is dead. There is no use collecting momentous of the dead when they are still alive."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Flapping her wings before delicately coming to a stop to be caught by her two team mates, Taka limped before resting her weight on her least injured leg. "Agh…Did you find something?" She shrilled with a wince as they came closer to where Arisu knelt, the pebbles and smooth rocks did not help her hide the throbbing agony in her swollen ankle. "Genjuu made sure to mark the trees, while I watched from the skies insuring they could see the path we took, the Sand ninja will find their way here."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""This is Kiba's kunai" Arisu held the blade up, the blood on her fingertips spread to the rest of her hand almost as if the weapon itself was bleeding. Gripping the kunai in her hands unconsciously she pressed out the blood in the bandaged handle she held so tight. Dropping the kunai with a gulp, for some reason she felt the blood on her hands was because she had stabbed him. "We should hurry, he can't be far and this time I have his scent and Akamaru's dynamic marking." She hurried over to the river, a little water would wash her hands of this deed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Removing his Fukumen Genjuu smiled down eerily to Arisu who looked up at him in shock. "We cannot save your cousin" He wheezed, Arisu said nothing, frozen her pupils dilated and she held her breath. "We…" He stretched the word as smoke left his breath, waving it away quickly he circled his hands around in front of his team. "We should go after Argies, you can find your brother" His grey teeth shining through the dim light of the chasm they were in./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Taka pushed back Genjuu and he applied his mask once again, she spread her wings partly before speaking "You can travel much faster on your own. Go and find your cousin but leave enough of a trail so the Sand siblings can find you. We will find the other teams, we have a mission to complete after all."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Without another word needing to be said, Arisu and her hound were off, Taka took flight and the rest of their team headed towards the sound of trees crashing and birds chirping in escape./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The songs I have sung,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"what lies have I spun,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"To speak of comrades and hold them high in my esteem./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"I look at a face with love in my eye,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"what a wicked lie,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"To say that I care for them is but a dream that hasn't begun./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"My commander,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"My Sensei,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"My fellow teammate./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"I do it for you,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"but you are so few,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Now I sigh with what little strength I have left./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"To love through the face of strangers./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Motion, the world around us, echoes in a storm that is life. We sound like lightning strikes, loud and proud about our own ambitions and meaning but our flash of thunder never lasts in the grand scheme of the tempest. There is always rain, dark clouds block out our life and make it harder to strive for our achievements, but what is life without that struggle for success, could we even call our accomplishments a feat without the shadows to mark our faces with days of dark dismay. Our tears become streams, our self-pity regardless of who or what we cry for fill out into rivers, and soon our collective mourning becomes an ocean of misery. Then to the sky our hopes and aspirations float, steaming off from our pain by the kind warmth of the sun, only to collect and be caught in our high ambitions never met. Our dreams drifting off like clouds, they become nightmares because we can never truly reach further than the sky of our goal, to be hotter than the sun./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Argies!" I yell, my own voice sounding estranged to me so I cough to try settle the lingering ache of my words. "Hakari… Lee" I let out an unsteady breath, struggling to regain the energy I needed to speak./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Amoroto, are you alright?" Hakari's voice sounded as clarified butter, so soft and genital and yet there is a safety and strength in that voice that comforts me from the dark place I have descended to./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I'll be alright Hakari san, but hear me carefully." Clearing my voice, I placed my hand on the ground nuzzling the soft grass and appreciating the dirt under my fingernails, there is so little to find joy in this place of battle. "The foe you face, Kimimaro, I can hear his soul in the way he fights. The dance of his footsteps a melody of sounds that speak his sorrows and loyalty" The battle did not stop to my words, yet feeling my own soul wan I could not waste the time I had to speak. "Kimimaro, you know you are dying, I can feel the rhythm of your heart beat, how weak your hold on life is."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Sorrows?" Kimimaro words held stern, like the tree I rested my back to he stood thusly neither swaying or bending to the wind or the fight around him. "My only regret is that Lord Orochimaru will not be able to use my body as his vessel, my life's purpose is to serve Lord Orochimaru and while I still have life left in me I will procure him a new body in my place." I could hear the air around me, the symphony of sounds change as he increased his strength and speed. "I will server Lord Orochimaru to the end, I won't allow you to take Sasuke back to the Leaf for he shall become the new vessel of my Lord!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Argies…" A new thought entered my mind as I spoke. "It is likely that his death will coincide with how much stress you can inflict on his body, and how much he exerts himself. I don't think he has much time left, outlast him and you will win."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I think he is right" Hakari, how beautiful her voice can be, her words vibrate through me and give me hope. "I realised there was something odd about his movements before and his eyes. When he attacked my shield his arms trembled ever so slightly and his eyes, they're percolated because they are about to glaze over in death."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Right…"Argies cast his voice over in Lees direction, I know this by the strikes I can hear echo through the bark of my resting place. "Lee don't hold back, he can't outlast us so there is no need to reserve any of your strength"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Right! I will not be holding back any more. Leaf Hurricane!" Lee, I will not forget the youth in his voice, more than any other ninja he isn't ashamed of who he is. There are no pretences or mocked esteems of rank or age. He even lets Argies call him 'Lee child' even though Lee is older than him./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Good job Amoroto, it is good to know Hakari and I aren't the only ones reading our medical books" Ah Argies, I'm so sorry for the way I behaved when I didn't know you and then the way I acted when I did know you. Even now I wonder if I have committed some mistake against you, acted some other way that isn't myself or am I still running away in shame of myself. You would never have judged me or at least I believe you would have confronted my faults and allowed me to be better than I am. It is too late now, if only I was honest with you and honest with myself, maybe we could have been that team… the strongest Ninja team in the Leaf./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Yeah I'm not totally sure Amoroto got all that from hiding behind a tree." Hakari you could always bring humour to our lives, even now in this the worst of all the situations we have ever faced. During the HFO mission you turned the horror of the owl spirit into a multi dyed monstrosity of colours. If we were given the time I'm sure your resilience and thirst for life would have rubbed off on me, or at least I can only hope I wouldn't have remained the sad withdrawn spirit I am. Above all others you were the one who taught us how to be a team, both in how we were to act in battle and in the company of each other. I'll keep on holding on, but if I don't make it… know that I will always love the you both./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"You know what? I'm glad that fart horse Argies called Katsumi and I for this operation. Without me there would be no one going to save Kiba now. I just wish Yori and Neko were here, although I can do it alone with Katsumi by my side. Still, without our the rest of my squad it will be much harder, but at least they won't be slowing me down while I try to get there in time.../p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Kiba you always were a sneaky little brat, I know you are older than me but sometimes I felt like in the clan you were the youngest pup of the litter. You will never be head of the clan because you are male, but if you were… I can't help smiling at that image. Your Mother certainly wouldn't be happy that is for sure, or maybe she would because then it wouldn't only be her trying to get you out of bed. In a way I always felt like I could look up to you, even though we both lost the Chunin games you were that little bit ahead of me. Teaching me the Fang over Fang technique so I could destroy Argies was a little misguided and I appreciated you for that, because even though I fully planned on using it on Argies I never did. I suppose… it is because you trusted me with our clan's technique. If I learnt it on my own the great Kami knows I would have slaughtered Argies long ago, then we wouldn't be here would we?/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"You are also lazy, so really all the qualities that I can look up to. I remember your academy days, setting little challenges among your peers but only the challenges you knew you would win beforehand. Basically what they were was a trap, because whatever your bet was already yours even before the game began. I wonder if you would ever even accept a challenge? Well if you are still alive when I find you, I hope you are ready to accept mine. I will defeat you Argies, you and Kiba both./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Katsumi, we are getting near I can smell it" I stuck my claws into the tree just ahead of me, the moss side of the tree allowed me to agilely slide down silently alongside Katsumi. We were in stealth mode because our mission never really detailed the enemy. Still my footsteps couldn't help rush my pace as I darted from tree to tree, my wolf hound by my side./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"If sensei Akira were here I bet she wouldn't be too keen on my technique, but right now Kiba's life is more important than the enemy over hearing my untidy trend over dried leaves. Akira was never really a good sensei, but then I guess it wasn't her fault. The massacre of the Uchiha meant that she couldn't remain our teacher without risking her life. She presented the Chunin games like our only hope of escaping the title of Inter-village ninja, without a teacher that is what we had to become. Still I wonder if she is any safer in the ANBU, Itachi was part of that organisation too. However as a part time sensei Akira wasn't half bad, at least she isn't sexist like I hear the copycat ninja is. She treats our whole team as equals, and I've never had trouble learning the basics of ninjutsu./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Blinking away my thoughts I stood motionless, my back against a tree as I peered around the trunk. "There is someone coming, Katsumi" My hound crouched down low to the ground, her jowl lifted in a snarl but she made no sound… we are ready. Whoever it was the direction they took was from where I had already been. Circling around the tree trunk while Katsumi followed, stalking my every step, I waited for them to pass./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The ninja Looking around himself, he placed each foot ahead with a purposeful subtlety. Searching around for an enemy that wasn't there, every sound even from his own foot falls caused his ears to perk. The Leaves rustling under foot and overhead in the trees, even the absence of sound startled him, the silence of the trees as the wind blew passed without a single bird call. I could feel the tension in the air suddenly grow tight, my breath feeling hot on my lips and movement feeling viscous. If I act now I will not have enough information about my enemy before I strike, but if I wait… they might catch up to Kiba and then it will be too late. Snapping my fingers I got his attention./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Who…" He spoke but then lowing his voice he whispered instead. "Who is there?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Stepping out, Katsumi just behind me covering our exit , I placed a finger to my lips "Shhh… keep walking Kiba, I'll handle this guy"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""…but Arisu" Kiba crouched down with an arm around his gut, the wound through his jacket still red but no longer bleeding, he stepped closer. "How did you find me here?" Akamaru rested on his head, the pup looked injured as well but I wasn't sure how… I don't see any blood./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I followed Akamaru's scent, but wait…what happened to your jacket?" My eyes bulged and the world around be grew white hot. "Why is Akamaru's scent coming from behind us, I… you are wet I can't smell either of you"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Yeah that is right" He whispered getting in behind me, defending our exit along with Katsumi. "I fell into the river so that the current could carry us, but the water also blocked my nose which is why I couldn't smell you." Gulping before he could continue, he looked me in the eye, his tattoo standing out against the pale colour of his skin. "The reason why you could track us is because of Akamaru's dynamic marking, but it wasn't us you were smelling…"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""It was me!" A Sound ninja wearing Kiba's jacket appeared just above us, I don't know how long he was standing in the tree upside down but… the jacket he wore explained why I couldn't smell him, still that means there is two of them. One with kiba's jacket and another marked with Akamaru's urine. I should have known, Akamaru's dynamic marking isn't used to leave a scent trail for him but for the enemy. With teal coloured lips he simply leered at us, flashing a grin that showed no fear for what I am capable of./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Fang over Fang!" I crashed up through the trees, splinters and bark flying like kunai flung in battle, but there was no soft meaty splat. I missed him, somehow./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Arius No!" Once I landed Kiba pulled me back by the shoulder. "Good, it is only his brother that can invade your cells"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""What?" I held my face in disgust, my nose flaring out as I looked to where he had landed. "His fast, Kitsumi again!"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""No!" Kiba tightened his grip on my shoulder, his fingernails biting in… it hurt. "These guys are close to Jounin, don't attack, we need some kind of strategy."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""A sharp sense of smell and a set of claws are not going be enough to beat me." Cracking his knuckles and arching his neck, the sound ninja got ready to fight. "Face it, you're in over your head, little dog!"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""You already said that!" Kiba barked, stretching his arm in front of me in defence or rather to hold me back. "Arius, please run." I looked at him, his mouth showing fang but he was acting like a injured pup whining before I even had the chance to really attack./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The Sound ninja broke my face away from Kiba's fear "I said it to you but not your sister" Turning his head towards the scent of the other Sound ninja, the one smelling of urine, he folded his arms waiting. "There's no time for games, Sakon. They all die now!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Out of the forest another Ninja came, I flinched when I could see him. The one side of his body was covered in ash grey scales, with the other side covered by the same type of sheet like cloth they were both wearing. His skin was taut and red, and his face was caught in a permanent smile with a horn on his head which reminded me a lot of a devils mask./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I'm not leaving you here Kiba" My voice shook, weak not because I feared fighting these two but because the thought of leaving him hurt. "I can't just let you die."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Turning to face me over his shoulder, Kiba gritted his teeth and Akamaru snarled at me. "This isn't like your games with Argies, if you lose to these guys you will die" Facing the sound ninja again he wince, the pain in his side bending his body slightly. "Now run Arisu" They stood next to each other waiting/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Ninja chop sticks, are you insane!" I stepped in front of him, pushing him back. "Katsumi and I will handle this, you and Akamaru can sit this one out" He fell back in pain, with not enough strength to stay upright there was no way he was getting back up./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Letting out a satisfied rattle, the demon twin sighed. "Agh how touching, they are fighting over who gets to die first"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Katsumi growled to the sound of his voice, waiting for me to give the word. "Katsumi, beast human transformation" Katsumi puffed away and a duplicate of me stood on all fours waiting for my next command. "Double Wolf Fang!"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The team of Silver, White and Grey new they were near. With confirmative nods to each other they split off into pre-assigned tasks. With shadows falling over his mask, only his eyes peering out from the dark, Genjuu whispered his killing spell. Taka taking to the sky, looked down on the forest and its multitude of tree tops, her eagle eyes sparkling with the enemy in sight. Fuma took the more direct path, standing in the middle of all the chaos of trees spilled over like toppled cups of tea with their leaves cascading down from the recent battle./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Towering over the boy with silver skin, three giants with each a different grotesque weapon stood. At first they dragged their weapons behind them, slowly, pensively, getting closer to him, but now finally standing over him they merely waited holding their weapons up high. Fuma unleashed his weapon from sealing, the staff with a blade on its end the Guan Dao, and from there he began his attack. Leaping to the air he cut the shoulder of the first beast, the demonic creature let out a cry before puffing away in a mist of chakra smoke. Falling from the air Fuma tore the second beast from its chest to its navel. Then landing he cast off a single kunai which exploded in the face of the last./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Three giants all felled, all nothing more than a ghost of a memory in the mist that scattered as the phantoms dispersed. Staying right where he was, his form unmoving, Fuma waited for the creatures to appear once more and appear they did drawling their way to him in groaning grunts of breath and displeasure./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Shikamaru" Fuma voiced, not looking around himself or giving direction to who he spoke to. "You have had to wait a long day for us to arrive, so rest and do not give away your hiding place, we will deal with the strategies now." Cutting down the demons that came again, a voice rang out to the sound of the flute that played in the background of their battle./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I can do this all day you moron" The voice of the sound ninja spun and twisted around him, caught in a rhythm of sounds the forest turned into a painted pattern of colours made muddy./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Beating a hand to his chest, the same hand that held his blade staff with a fist, Fuma announce aloud to the world of illusions around him. "Your spells will not work on me wretch, for my mind is disciplined and my body hard." The illusion broke, phasing out as Fuma's Guan Dao rung its red steel through the air, the metal rings chiming and bringing harmony back to the world of vision all around him. With his senses returning to him he saw the three giants towering over him again, their weapons already in motion to crush him but broken of the spell of illusion he was too fast to be caught within their trap. Returning once again to his feet, his stance to be place back in waiting for the giants to return, his throat suddenly hardened as his larynx began to depress./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""You idiot, did you really think I had all day to waste on you" A Sound ninja with a hard shelled cap on her head, held Fuma off the ground by his throat. "I have plenty of things to kill today, so why don't I start with you"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Now Genjuu!" Taka came screaming down from the sky, using her remaining good foot to land a kick on the Sound ninja's back./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"From the extent of pain caused by a kick landed from the sky, Tayuya the sound ninja released her hold on Fuma, turning instead to blow her flute with her killing intent facing Taka…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The three demonic beasts returned into being with the sound of their mistress's flute, but before she could carry on singing an arrow made of smoke struck her in the leg. Nonetheless the demons persisted, lashing out wildly without the sound of the flute to lead or instruct them. Tayuya fell from standing, her lips still blowing and music still leaving her yet now her mind fighting against sleep and the hallucinations of Genjuu's spell./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Nightmarishly, like a creature that could not die, Tayuya straightened herself from falling and with a grunt she yelled "You are all trash!" Briskly returning to her flute, her fingers fell into pattern and so the demons struck!/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""My Wing!" Taka collapsed to the ground clutching a broken mantle of feathers and skin while Genjuu jumped from hiding to step in front of her and the demon that struck./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""I summon the souls of all my ancestors" With this claim respired into the air a world wind of smoke enveloped Tayuya while Genjuu collapsed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Fuma looked to his two team mates, the one bleeding to death from an injured wing and the other unconscious in the company of demons, gripping his Guan Dao with fierce determination he confronted the foe of four./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"But…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"A shadow crept underfoot and caught hold of Tayuya. "I'll deal with her, you take care of your team mates" With the sound ninja caught in Shikamaru's grip the demons were dispelled./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Looking down on his team mates Fuma only had one question to ask himself "How do I mend a broken wing and heal a shattered soul?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"There is still so much I wanted to learn from this world before this mission could come to be. My guardians were as much an inspiration as my desire 'to gain power I could call my own'. With my Uncle's genjutsu, though I didn't have a taste or talent for the art myself, I wanted to build my own illusion techniques to explore what could be done with genjutsu. My Aunts knowledge of herbs would have been a brilliant pass time, I day dreamed about opening up a clinic to explore what illnesses I could cure while learning how to turn remedies into poisons to use against my enemies. Then there was my personal conviction to reshape the meaning of inter-village ninja into a title of honour and pride./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The inter-village ninja, we are an under used resource and unappreciated just as much. Though we complete tasks that the village otherwise couldn't run without, we are a menial taskforce. That would have changed, or at least I hoped I could shape that change. I wanted to introduce Ninja games alongside Shikamaru, that Chunin and off duty ninja could participate in to hone their skills. The message would have been that even if we are inter-village ninja, we can still train and learn to be stronger better ninja than yesterday. Out of the rough I know I could have found more ninja like my team. Every inter village ninja on this mission is filled with brave and strong shinobi who given time could have outclassed anyone in battle… but now that is all just a dream that has faded away like a heart sore memory./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Hakari, your footsteps match what I saw in vision which only makes me understand what I must do. Is there truly honour in sacrifice, or in leaving those you love behind do you replace your heart ache with theirs? If we die for your people, isn't that an admission that it would pain us too much to live in a world without them so instead of feeling that pain you shift it to them without you. Maybe I should be asking Kiba these questions, or for a more rounded answer I might ask Shikamaru the same question hoping that his IQ could explain it a little better than Kiba's attitude. I wonder what was going through Chouji's head when he gave up his life, if it wasn't for Amoroto I'm sure he would be dead by now. Sighing I feel weightless for where is the unease in choice without the time it takes to regret it./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"If I had mastered my Fuuinjutsu maybe this outcome would have been far different… but at least this way I can honour my promise to Kosuke, I won't let my comrades die./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Hakari hardened her shield the further on our battle lasted against Kimimaro, the walls of her shield thinning out as the Sound ninja hardened his bone and increased his speed. She readied herself, standing firmly on the ground with her feet ploughed in to resist against his impact, protecting Lee as he retreated. This time was the last time that tactic would work, but only because…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Argies…no!"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"I stood in between./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Arisu reached down for her kunai holster, her body shivering as she tried to control her arm despite the pain. Slipping a finger through the ring of her Kunai she lifted it up, her fingers limp but her will strong. Bending her arm she brought her kunai to soft flesh, her throat, but before the blade could be slipped across delicate skin it was taken away./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Squirm and scream all you want." Sakon shivered in ecstasy to the sound of her screams and Kiba's protest as he was held back and forced to watch. "My brother and I are inseparable, as long as I am by his side you won't be able to slip away from his attack so easily." He held up the kunai he took from her hands, pressing it against Kiba's throat instead./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Now I will suck the life out of her right in front of you" Arisu raved in pain to Ukon's words, his demonic mask sticking out of her body with a smile on his face./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Her eyes shut and her body convulsing, she gritted her teeth saying "I'll…Kill…You!" but she could not speak another word, foaming at the mouth in agony. The demonic twin infecting her like a parasite as he invaded her body at the cellular level./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"With a hand around his throat and another crossed over his arms, Sakon held Kiba back "Serves you right for all the trouble you caused us" Kiba thrashed in pain as Sakon pressed an elbow into his wound, the twins laughed as the kin pups yelped./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Struggling to be free Arisu's neck twisted, a sickening crack, her wolf hound howling out to her mistresses death before dying as well with the butt of a kunai sticking from her ribcage./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Stop your prattling, you little weakling" Holding a Kunai over Kiba Sakon was about to deliver the final blow to the last of the Leaf ninja, but then…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Kiba was never meant to die, to his dismay Kankuro arrived insuring Kiba would live to mourn his cousin./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The darkness wrapped around Tayuya like thick ropes of black shadow. Her pink hair flowing freely, the only part of her escaping Shikamaru's binding as slowly he stepped closer with his hands in the rat seal./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"A droplet of sweat trickled down Shikamaru's face "Keep struggling and I'll be forced to use my paralysis jutsu" Leaping to make his way to where she stood surrounded by down trees, Shikamaru assessed the unconscious Taka and Genjuu before nodding to Fuma. "I've got her, get your team out of here." Fuma frowned, his eyes questioning, but Shikamaru reassured him. "Don't worry the closer I get to her the stronger my Jutsu becomes."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""For trash you are not bad" Fuma and Shikamaru shifted their attention to Tayuya, her smile peeking through the shadow stitching. "But if you knew shadow paralysis you wouldn't need to threaten me with it. Oh and one other thing…" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, standing in front of her his hands trembling to hold her in place. "I don't totally believe you've got me." In a heartbeat that could be felt rather then heard, Fuma and Shikamaru watched a pattern the colour of molten lava stretched across her face and arms. Through the binding of shadows more of her could be seen as her body expanded to fill out with bigger muscles and horns atop her head./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Compressing around her the shadow sticking grew tighter squeezing, but their grip was not enough, snap!/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"With his Guan Dao in hand Fuma rushed forward, but with the buckling of her arm from the shadows she hit him aside. Fuma tumbled down, his body rolling over the fall trees with branches breaking as his body expended its momentum. Standing up he held on to his blade staff for support with one hand, his other arm limp at his side./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Shikamaru formed his hands into seal once again, however with Tayuya striking an arm across his face, he was unable to complete his shadow possession falling a distance away too./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The Sound ninja stood over Genjuu with a foot held over his head "You should have listen to the brat" She smiled at Fuma before bringing her foot down, crunch, she walked over to Taka next. Her right foot making an audible splat as she approached Fuma's last teammate "If you took at least one of your team mates to safety, this wouldn't have happened"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Leaping up from where he stood, the world slowing to moments as Tayuya's foot came down, Fuma's Guan Dou chimed through the air. Crunch, but he was too late. His blade staff made contact with Tayuya but he was not fast enough, with a single kunai she stopped his attack and forced him to leap back./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Their…" Standing in front of their killer Fuma bent over winded by the loss of his team, their brains dashed like yoke from an eggshell smashed under foot. "…" Jumping into the sky once more, Fuma came down on her hard but cast aside once again by her powerful fists he looked away from his team and fled./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Still with a Kunai in her hand Tayuya cast it out and as if guided by an evil spirit the blade impaled deep into Fuma's skull./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Standing in front of Hakari's shield stood Argies. His red sash blowing lightly in the gentle breeze, his walker beads knocking against his body to the impact's reverberation. Sunlight shone down on him from parted clouds as the world sighing a breath, his necklace of a flower holding a single gem spilled over his shoulder shining light over the claw marks scratched in flesh./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Hakari stood thusly, her hands steadfast against the weight of Argies body and the lance that pieced through it. Her crystal shattered around the piercing of her shield, falling to the ground like stars glistening in the sky. The bone forced through Argies dripping blood down the curvature of her crystal, she pulled back but the foreign object would not come out./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Kimimaro placed a hand on Argie's shoulder, his knuckles running white as he forced his bone lance further through. The tip of the spear vying for Hakari's heart while she hardened her shield to protect it, and yet her heart was already pieced through as she watched. Argies though he could not pull in strength through breath, although he could not tighten his grip with the beat of his heart, and even still with his time short, clasped his hands around the instrument of his death./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The blood ninja Argies, with teeth no longer white but dripping with blood, called on his spirit gripping Kimimaro and the bone that pieced him… he held tight. "Blood siphon… jutsu" The warm blood gushing from his body, soiling the sand and painting the grass, lifted as if gravity had pulled it back to where it had fallen from and to who had spilled his blood. Touching Kimimaro's skin the crimson storm fumed, suffocating him it bubbled as he fought for breath, blinding him it burnt as he tried to pull away from Argies clutches./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Hakari watched in horror and heart ache, she hears Argies grunt's and gargles for breath, she feels the heat of his body grow cold through the looking glass of her crystal, she smells the scent of his cloths and it forces a lump into her throat for soon that scent would be lost, and finally she sees his hands grow limp and his blood fall once more dripping to the ground./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Kimimaro pulls out, his bone leaving Hakari's shield and leaving too the body of Argies to slump to the ground./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Argies…" Lee's mouth partly opened, he looked to Hakari before facing Kimimaro, returning to battle his punches cried with anger and his kicks with frustration./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Swallowing down the pain in her throat Hakari fell into the puddle around Argies, his cloths caked in his own blood and the ground around him damp in his life run dry. "Argies… Amoroto, someone please, help me bring him back." Lying him flat on his back, Hakari set his flower blossom necklace to the centre of his chest, her fingertips printing the petals red as tears streamed down her face./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Hakari…" Amoroto came near, with his body swaying he collapses to his knees. Argies eyes were still open but the light had already faded. Softly Amoroto begins singing a song, the words ancient and lost to translation, his pray seal scroll unfolded over the length above Argies body./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Slowly the wounds on Argies shimmer and close with blue light sparkling off the glint of his blood. With hope returning to her eyes, Hakari wiped away her tears. "Amoroto it is working, don't stop now" she watched Argie's wounds slowly close, the light of Amoroto's chakra lining the gaping holes and moment by moment slowly stretching and sealing the skin./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Then Amoroto's light flickered, sparking like a dying fire it suddenly went out. "An end to it all" Amoroto looked to Hakari with rings under his eyes. "I'm sorry, that was all I had left" Turning over onto his back next to Argies, Amoroto lied himself down next to his friend. "I was already dying, I thought that if I could at least save him… it would have been worth it but I… failed."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" "What, no… no not you too!"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Saving Chouji and then Neji took more of my spirit than I thought it would, then helping Shikamaru… I thought I could do it, but it was only a fools hope." Exhaling Amoroto never took another breath, dying alongside his friend his eyes closed watching the last living member of their team weep and hearing her sob./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"'An end to it all' Is that what Amoroto said, before he told me he was dying too? Is that all our mission is, our end… We have been on so few missions together, this cannot be how it all stops being. How we stop being teammates, how I stop being their friend, how they stop being all together. As soon as Amoroto died Gaara of the Sand arrived, it was almost as if life was mocking us. That help only arrived to save the Shinobi Lee but not to save us. The inter village ninja./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Without them what am I? Will I simply return to being a D rank ninja bringing in injured Jounin level shinobi and getting paid less than a wine bottle's worth of yen. Will I allow myself to be reduced to so little once again after I have experienced what it is to be a real ninja? Our first sanctioned mission outside of the Leaf and this is what happens./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"I have Argies blood on my hands, and Amoroto's voice whistles in my head. Though his body runs cold, my fingers keep his blood warm, though his words will never be sung my mind will hold on to his song. For them there was nothing I couldn't accomplish because we could see more of each other through the worth of our team, and now… now I only feel anger and disappointment./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"What happened to my Village, the dream I had built? To create a place I could call my own and run it by my own rule and the will of my heart. A dream I had had since I was a little child but with my team by my side I could see that vision of a Village grow stronger and more tangible than ever before. I know it was farfetched but with them it might have been possible, only now it will never happen. I'll never be able to open a door to refuges, a safe haven for criminals and thugs so that I could purify the World of its wicked. Like the rage that burns in me now, those that come into the boarders of my Village and break my rules, will fall under my wrath or repent their evil ways. A place of forgiveness but my Village would show no lenience to those who murder, rape and take the lives of the defenceless./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"It would have been a first among the elemental Nations. The first Village that no matter where you come from, whichever clan you belong to, you are welcome. Without tribute, without sacrifice, you could join my Village and find safety and happiness. As long as we all worked together, we would have been the strongest Village in the World. A Village built on kindness, growing stronger with every war because we would let in the injured and even folks other nations would call an enemy we would call friend. A ninja Village made of enemies, a shinobi force dedicated to stripping vengeance from pitiful feuds between clans and instead focusing on the one true enemy, hatred. A ninja Village of love and righteous anger./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"…/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"A waterfall cascading with mist, the grass lands below and the rock face of the mountain around them, in all a beautiful place for blood to be spilt. The statues of the founders of the Leaf watched on, not only the creators of the Leaf but the inspiration for all Ninja Villages and yet they too fought here in this place. Ninja, a word meaning to endure and endure they must. For the will of their way, for the beliefs in their heart, for the courage of comrades, for the death of so many./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Their voices lifted up to the sky, echoing up over the ridge of where the waters began to fall down into the Valley of the End. Naruto and Sasuke stood on the surface of the water below, the orange clade ninja wore scorched cloths and the raven black haired ninja held a scowl to his face as he was scolded by the love of a friend./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""…but why, why would you do this?" Naruto bit his lip looking way from the anger in his teammates eyes before looking back with rage in his own. "Just tell me that, tell me why would you abandon the Leaf and all your friends and give up all we had." He slapped the air to all that Sasuke had thrown away, his hand casting behind himself to the distant Leaf Village in what was given up./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Sasuke spat his words as he swung his hair around like a dirty cloth. "Friends, do you think that any of them care for you." He raised his voice locking his eyes with Naruto. "Do you think they cared for me! The Leaf has only even been concerned about power. During the tournament Kakashi focus his training on me because he thought only I could win. Back when we had our first mission in the Land of Waves, when we practised our tree walking for the first time, Sakura mastered it instantly but look down." Sasuke looked down along with Naruto, at the ripples in the water they stood in now. "Kakashi never even bothered trying to teach her the next step, water walking, because he only wanted to focus on my training even then."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Naruto's looked down once more, his voice quivering but his face still hard with rage. "I'm not going to let you leave the Leaf."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Open your eyes Naruto" Sasuke straightened himself, staring at Naruto from the side of his face before glimpsing in the direction of village one more time. "Kakashi's mission as our Jounin is to train me, do you think that it is a coincidence that the only other ninja with a Sharingan was recruited to train us?" His scowl softening he turned to face Naruto once more. "This is the only time I have to leave the Village, while he is away on a mission. Come with me"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""What?!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Don't you think it's weird? Your academy training was pathetic but now that you have shown some skill you are suddenly being trained by the Sanin Jiraiya. The only time the Leaf cares about its shinobi is when they can see power, so I ask you again Naruto. Come with me."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""You are wrong Sasuke, the Leaf isn't like that, and besides you don't even know Orochimaru so why would you join him?" Naruto dived forward at an incredible speed, but Sasuke could see it coming dodging his punches with ease. Jumping back. Naruto's breath caused his shoulders to fall and raise as he regained his wind. "I'll never abandon the Leaf!"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Then I have no choice but to kill you, Chidori!" Lightning ignited around Sasuke's hand, his other hand bracing against the heat of his technique. Cutting forward, his hand like an open blade vied from Naruto's chest but…/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"In the distance between them a Large blue rock fell from above like a piece of the sky. The rock fell into the river between them and before anyone could move. Ka-boom! It suddenly exploded firing crystals out in all directions. The impact shook the river under foot, causing the water to shoot up into the air as the rush of force coming from below filled out into the sky./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Plummeting to the earth once again the waters cleared from the sky like rain. With his vision obscured Naruto waited and watched for the river to settle and the rain fall to stop while he searching for Sasuke. Then slowly two figures began to appear from behind the curtain of rain. Sasuke's Chidori still burnt with lighting, and a new figure stood in front of him, his hand was through her chest./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;""Now you die…. Sasuke!" Hakari plunged the last of her crystal into Sasuke, her pink fingernails turning white as the blood drained out of her but twisting the crystal she embedded it deep. Sasuke watched, his eyes twitching, his hands shaking, his mouth hung half open at her gall, but even so she pressed it further into his chest and before his blood could flow Hakari said her last words. "Goodbye forever, you cruel and uncaring Ninja world"/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"The crystal in her hand flashed and exploded consuming the both of them in a torrent of crystal and fire./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"Goodbye forever./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;"strongAuthors Note:/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #fffffa;"strongspan style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: 13px;"This is not the end of the story! No, to find out what happens next vist my a title="Next Chapter" href=" precipitous120/art/Naruto-Fan-fic-Realitie-s-Remedy-769667226"DeviantArt page/a where I update the story more often than /span/span/strong/p
