"All Kill Landing Edge"
By Nes Mikel
Acknowledgment;
I hereby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. I hereby also acknowledge that while this story is mostly based on Kishimoto Masashi's "Naruto", crossover elements from other fictitious sources also exist, which will be named as they arise. Thus, I acknowledge that the original story concept and ideas, while heavily altered for the sake of the crossover, are copyright of all its associates.
For non up-to-date readers, this fiction will contain spoilers up to the latest Naruto manga chapters.
With that said, enjoy.
"All Kill Landing Edge"
- Chapter Two -
"Vivum"
Latin – "Alive"
A few hours before the young girl had gotten wind about her friend's awakening, two young boys were shivering in the cold, hidden underneath the white sheets that hid them from view.
Not surprisingly, it was cool on top of the Hokage Monument. The cloudy day that had promised its snow probably had something to do with it, not to mention the brisk and pumped up winds that swept across the village from top to bottom. Below, where villagers, crowded with ordinarily civilians and their ninja protectors alike, scuttled about as they rushed to pack themselves in for the day, as the sun was nearly settling itself in as well.
"This is the worst idea ever." The blonde boy growled to his partner-in-crime next to him as they continued to lie flat on top of the snowpack that piled on top of the monument.
"Shut up." The other boy growled right back. "This was your idea, idiot."
"Hey, we both agreed to it, didn't we?"
Although he would never admit it to the other boy lying next to him, the blonde had thought the snowpack looked inviting at first. Not to the unwary eye, he now knew, as his eyes were hard and full of hate and regret behind its snow-covered goggles. Accustomed as they were to the winter weather given the frequency they found themselves outside, despite his orange jacket, his partner's fur-trimmed parka and their thick mittens, they still felt the ice settling into their bones and muscles.
Resisting the urge to chatter his teeth like woodpeckers knocking on wood, the blonde boy held the thick scarf his other friend had given to him almost a year ago. He laid the extra layer of insulation across the whisker-like scars on his cheeks, and his sharper eyes turned softer at the warmth. He recognized the irony of it all instantly, and snorted at the thought.
Given the proximity, his partner wasn't one to miss out on such noise. "What's so funny?"
Pushing up the hem of his scarf so his partner could take a better look at it, he replied. "She gave this to me, you know?"
"Really?" Inuzuka Kiba asked, not looking all-that surprised as he shifted about slightly. "Which one?"
"Ino-chan." Uzumaki Naruto's smile was invisible to the eye, hidden underneath the scarf. He motioned his chin to the dozen or so snowballs laid out in the snow in front of them, packed tightly in dense, hard spheres. They were all that remained of their 'weapons' after they'd assaulted their targets in the first wave. "So I just thought it was kinda funny that I'd be using something she gave me to keep myself warm so I can pelt her with cold."
Cautiously raising the outer hem of the white canopy, Kiba gave a quick look around the surroundings to ensure that their targets haven't found them yet. He turned back to Naruto. "Your sense of irony is weak."
"What makes you say that?" Naruto asked.
"If anything, the greater irony would be with Tenten." Kiba pointed out as he closed it back down. "She's the one that showed us the advanced throwing techniques from next year's class, and what do we repay her with? Pelt her and Ino with snowballs using those exact same techniques." He sighed. "She looked really pissed, you know?"
"We both know it was totally worth it." Naruto laughed back at Kiba when he remembered what the two girl's snow-encased faces looked like when they assaulted the pair after the Academy closed down for the day. Snow and prankster went hand-in-hand, and the two of them were natural partners-in-crime when it came to such mischievous acts. Even when it meant that in their escape, they were forced to flee all the way to their current encampment in the snow, it was worth it indeed. And as if to prove the point, Kiba smiled back at him with a sneer.
Right now, they were just as well hidden under the white canopies of the sheets they'd brought with them. Although the trek to their current positions had been exhausting, especially moreso because of the slippery rocks that came with the chilly climate, they were confident they'd evade the torrent of rage they'd stirred up as long as they were up here. At least, until the sun had finally set down and darkness came, which they'd figured would be enough time for the girls to give up their chase.
One thing they didn't bank on, though, was the cold was colder than expected up here. They'd also forgotten to bring proper rations with them – they'd already exhausted their small supply of candy bars hours ago, and the cold was stealing their heat and energy quickly and relentlessly. Both of them were starving, and home was looking to be a mighty interesting piece of real estate. A bowl of hot soup and ramen would've been perfect right now. But not yet. Until darkness set in, they couldn't risk getting exposed.
Naruto lifted the sheet again and quickly scanned the trail that crept up to the monument. The trail was the only 'legitimate' way of climbing all the way up, and as long as they've camped themselves in this relatively out-of-view position they'd be able to gain the upper hand on anyone who came across. He settled back down, and using the snow itself for insulation from the biting winds, nestled himself back in.
His thought was about to drift off into wondering exactly what the current temperature was when a flicker of movement caught the corner of his eye. Scarcely daring to breath, he slowly elbowed Kiba into awareness as the flicker repeated itself. It wasn't that far away, but it was a little hard to make out in the dimness where the rays of light were choking out its last breaths.
The movement drew closer, revealing itself to be a tall girl clad in white, floundering along the trail on oval-shaped snowshoes like the ones strapped on Naruto and Kiba's feet. Those properties alone wouldn't have been enough in identifying the girl, but the two bundles of hair wrapped in small black buns told them more than enough.
"Tenten." Kiba whispered underneath his breath. "Shit." He swore as he silently reached for the snowballs in front of them. "Why is she here?"
Naruto didn't reply as he gritted his teeth and stuffed the palm of his gloved hands with two balls of snow. They weren't discovered, not quite yet anyway, but with Tenten's appearance it told them that the girls had suspicions that the boys were up here somewhere. It was only going to be a matter of time before they were found, so the best way to avoid their terrible fate was to attack now lest they-
The sheets above them were suddenly pulled away, revealing two standing girls, smiling brightly down on the two boys who still lay flat on the snow-covered ground. Not so far away, the 'Tenten' they had spotted earlier vanished in a cloud of smoke. The remains of a cloning technique.
They were fooled, totally fooled.
"I hope you two are ready to pay for what you've done." Ino said, her smile unwavering.
For a brief, still moment, Naruto stared at the two girls in total silence, aghast as he knew what was about to happen here on top of this high, icy monument. He looked at Tenten first, and then Ino, and he noticed that their smiles were the snarls of hungry predators. He waited a single heartbeat longer, and although he knew it'd be futile he tried to throw his tiny ball of snow at Ino from his compromised position.
Instead, Uzumaki Naruto's face met headfirst with the fist of his first and best friend, Yamanaka Ino.
The quartet of Academy classmates and friends continued to walk down the streets of snow-covered Konoha village, the overcast now dark, the candle-lit lanterns and the fireplace-lit houses their only sources of illumination as they treaded home.
"I never expected to do some rock climbing in January." Ino said, rubbing her hands together, not sounding happy in the slightest. "Normally those exercises are reserved for the summer classes, not to mention they're optional. If it weren't for the fact that it's good practice and training, I would've strangled you two to death!"
"So is that how you two climbed the monument without using the trail?" Kiba asked as he rubbed the sour parts of his cheek. Unlike Naruto, his extended punishment was only a slap, albeit it was hard to enough to leave a red palm-imprint on his white cheeks. "All the way from the base?"
"If you climb from the western end, where the walls are, it's actually not that hard." Tenten said, swinging her backpack from shoulder to shoulder. "We got permission from Inoichi-san to use the watch towers to get easy access, and used these-" She shifted the pack again. In it contained the equipment she and Ino used to climb the face of the monument. "To get us on top of the walls. That alone had cut the workload in half, so the rest was pretty easy."
"That's cheating!" Naruto complained, not caring that his nose was still bleeding slightly.
"Cheating?" Ino growled. "Who do you think is the one at fault here, Naruto?" She pinched both corners of Naruto's cheeks and pulled in opposite directions. "You're in no position to be complaining!"
"Ow, ow, ow! It hurts, Ino-chan! Leggo of me!"
Kiba rolled his eyes. "The guy never learns. But you know, I never thought of it that way, starting the climb from the walls." He turned to the girl who was walking shoulder to shoulder with him. "Was it your idea, Tenten?"
"It was Inoichi-san's idea, actually." Tenten admitted.
"Inoichi-ojisan's?" Naruto asked, now released from the torture.
Ino shrugged. "When we still had no idea where you two took off, Daddy came to me, asking us to go fetch you from the top of the Hokage monument." She explained. "But knowing you, I knew you were probably watching the trail, so I asked Daddy for any ideas on scaling the walls so we can do an ambush. Said it'd be good training too." She sighed. "Rock climbing in January..." She trailed off, sliding into silence.
Tenten chuckled at the way Ino was handling herself with the unexpected exercise. "Come on Ino, it was fun!"
"It would've been more fun it we didn't have to deal with these two morons here, Tenten-san." She pointed at the accused, but allowed herself an outer smile. "But yeah, I guess it was. Especially when I got to punch the idiot in the face after all the hard work. A well deserved reward!" She laughed heartily.
"Ino-chan, you're so mean!" Naruto lodged the complaint almost instantly, although the ensuing complaint only served to fuel the boiling laughter from the remaining two in the quartet. His mood turned sour, and as Naruto huffed in protest he turned away.
After parting ways and waving their goodbyes to Kiba first, and then Tenten, the remaining duo continued to walk towards the compounds of the Yamanaka clan households.
"So what did Inoichi-ojisan want from me?" Naruto asked after Tenten turned a corner and faded from view, his tone serious. It was a sharp contrast from the goofy attitude just previously.
Lowering her hand and looking a little worried, Ino shook her head sideways. "I don't know. All he told me was that there was something important he wanted to discuss with me... discuss with both of us."
"He didn't say what he wanted to talk to about?"
"No." Ino confirmed, fondling her fingers in a little fit of nervousness. "Just told me to invite you over to our house for dinner and a night over."
"Well," Naruto shrugged. "At least I get to enjoy your mom's cooking!"
"Naruto..."
He pretended he didn't hear his friend's concerned voice. "I mean, did I ever I tell you that I adore what your mother does with the food she prepares?" He smacked his lips loudly. "Mm, mm. Oh man, can't wait! I never would've known anything other than ramen if it wasn't for your mother! I gotta say, the stuff she puts in the nabe is so delicious it's like-"
"Naruto. Please."
His attempt at reassuring her evaporated with those words. He couldn't ignore her a second time, he just couldn't. He stopped.
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, trying to act cheerful and all for me." Ino continued. "But this could be about you, about your-"
Both Naruto's and Ino's eyes unconsciously drifted towards Nartuo's stomach, towards where the seal was located, the seal of which both of them knew perfectly well for what it did and what it was.
The shiki fuujin seal.
The mark of a jinchuuriki.
"All Kill Landing Edge"
- Chapter Two -
-END-
Author's Notes:
Chapter two.
The goal here is that in exchange for each chapter being short, the updates in exchange will be frequent to a point where I'll try to publish one almost daily. Of course, this all depends on my motivation and real-life schedules, but after reading "The Eyes Have It", a relatively recent completed fanfic by Shana the Short, it was a source of inspiration. The author of that fanfic had published daily chapters constantly for a month, and as a result created a fantastic story. It is my sincere hope and dream to replicate such success with this one.
Thanks for reading!
- Nes Mikel
All Kill Landing Edge, Chapter Two "Vivum", First Edition: February 17th, 2013, Last Edit: February 24th, 2013