Well, it took me a bit to update this... sorry bout that... it's not only my fault really, but I'm not gonna blame anyone... the point is I managed to finish it finally.
Thanks for all the reviews from the last time. I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter and that you'll like this one at least as much. Since there weren't many questions last time, I guess I can get to the chapter right away… or maybe I could, but I have a special announcement before that.
REAALY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'd like to announce the beginning of the first ever, Next Generation Character Popularity Contest which will give you the chance to make your favorite characters get a bigger part! Please take part in it. Details at the end of the chapter (you should read them before participating). And there's also a surprise prize for those who'll give their votes (maybe nothing special, but…)
And now, lets get this show on the road:
Chapter #44: Sand Legends
Title Page: the beach: Kai is sticking his head from under the water with goggles on his eyes, Kumiko and Kusari are playing beach ball, Ibuki is lying in the sun and Takaru is buying some ice cream in a nearby stand
"For you to fell for such an old trick… is a little disappointing…" stated Hizoku as his smile widen seeing his blade near Ibuki's throat. "And in a shinobi world, such mistakes cost you your life…" and with that said he looked at the young assassin for a moment, only to retreat his blade again. "Keep that in mind and don't make such mistakes, otherwise someone might chop off that pretty head of yours…" and at this point he threw his weapon onto his shoulder.
The weapon mistress gave the grass-nin a puzzled look, but it was Kai who asked first: "What the hell! What kind of a dirty trick is this? You had Ibuki just where you wanted her and just like that you're letting her escape with her life?"
"Stop sounding disappointed, idiot!" yelled Kumiko, hitting the blonde on the back of his head. "But he does have a point… why did you spare her?"
"I told you already…" replied the redhead simply. "I like you guys and I don't see a point in fighting against you… and if you're thinking about attacking me, let me inform you that I don't have any scroll with me, so you it won't do you much…"
"So why are you all by yourself?" asked Takaru without lowering his kunai, still suspicious. "Shouldn't you and your teammates be looking for the scrolls?"
"We are…" responded Hizoku calmly. "That's why we split up… I ended up by myself… I did encounter some rain-nins few meters away, but those guys were already robbed, so no luck for me that time…"
"And with what you just said we're suppose to believe you have no interest in our scroll?"
"Believe what you want…" replied the grass-nin, keeping his calm. "But to speak the truth, I was even thinking about joining forces with you guys… considering I'm all alone and others probably set traps around the tower where I'm suppose to met with my teammates, my chances in doing that are lower then I'd like… so how's this sound: I'll help you guys get the scroll you need, but in return you'll let me get with you guys to the tower…"
Takaru was about to say 'no', but before he managed to do that, Kumiko covered his mouth with her hand and whispered into his ear: "It's not a bad idea… our strength for the time being will increase and we're not really risking anything… we'll just have to watch out and don't reveal our thumb cards before him… besides, if he did wanted our scroll, back when he cornered Ibuki, he had a perfect occasion to complete that goal, so I don't suppose he's after that…"
The son of Tsunade just muttered something like 'whatever' and turned away from the redhead as the kunoichi held out her hand and the grass-nin shook it. At the same time Kusari ran towards the young assassin with his hands held out in front of him: "Ibuki-chan, you must've been scared! You want a hug!"
And at the same moment the young Tanken lifted her leg up, making the chain master's face crush hard against her foot, leaving his fingers inches away from the pissed Ibuki: "Touch me and die…" she said with a stone face, sending shivers down her teammate's spine.
---Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Forest---
Torune took a bite on her apple and started chewing as she looked around at her teammates: Takai was sitting under the tree with both his legs and arms crossed. He had his eyes closed and didn't pay any attention to his companions. Tarakudo had his legs wrapped around a tree branch and was hanging with his legs down like a bat, Honemaru stood with his back turned at her, observing the forest in front of him and Aoru was polishing her wavy blade.
"I hate to be the one complaining…" she finally announced, but as it seemed she only got the attention of Aoru and Tarakudo, as Honemaru and Takai didn't move an inch. "But we already have the scroll we need… why aren't we heading straight towards the tower?"
"Where's the rush?" replied the bandages ninja with a smirk appearing behind his 'mask'. "There are still some shinobi we could eliminate before finishing this test… those metal-nins we took the scroll from were just pathetic… they were no challenge at all…"
"I thought we were suppose to pass this exam, not look for adventures…" noticed Aoru calmly as she got back to polishing her weapon. At hearing that Tarakudo jumped down on his feet and was about to say something, but at that moment Takai stood up and stared in the direction Honemaru was looking.
As all eyes turned towards the scythe user, he only announced coldly: "Finally, they came…"
In the next second Sabure appeared in the clearing they were standing along with her teammates. The gourd carrying girl glared at Takai and for a longer while their glances meet. Tarakudo barely held back his happiness as he noticed the look on his teammate's face. There was no doubt about it: he wanted to fight the daughter of the current Kazekage.
Hari, also sensing what was going on, stepped between the two and asked no-one in particular: "How're you guys doing? Got the scroll you need already?"
"Move…" was all Takai said as he kept glaring at the redhead girl almost as if his sight could go through the short blonde. The Sand kunoichi felt a single drop of sweat falling down her face, yet she didn't move an inch.
Horamaru's smile widen as he caught a glance of Tarakudo. The blonde boy moved his fingers slightly, making something in his hand deflect the sunlight for a split second. Dekai prepared himself to reach for his sword and kept observing Aoru, who stopped polishing her blade and kept throwing glances at Sabure and her teammates.
"Okay, that's enough!" announced Torune angry as she joined Hari. "Takai, we got the complete of scrolls… we don't have a reason to fight other teams, especially those that are from our own village! I have just about enough of that sick obsession of yours, so either you'll calm down or I'll send you to the other end of this damn forest, got it!"
The scythe user only threw his companion a quick glare and after taking another look of Sabure he turned his back towards her and got back to sitting in his spot. Both, blonde girls let out a sigh of relief and exchanged worried glances. The only ones disappointed in how the situation was handled, were Tarakudo and Horamaru.
"So you guys really got both scrolls already?" Karame broke the uncomfortable silence, gaining most people's attention. Torune only nodded, still unable to say a thing as her throat got dry. "Looks like Suna will have at least two teams in the fourth exam then, since we got a complete as well…"
"How about we head to the tower together then?" purposed Hari. "It's not like it matters, but if we were to join forces, I don't suppose anyone could take those scrolls away from us…"
"The girl has a point…" announced Aoru calmly as she got back to polishing her wavy blade.
"If we are to do this, then lets get going…" stated Dekai a little less tensed, but still on guard. "The sooner we'll finish this exam, the more time we'll have to prepare ourselves for the next one…" and with that he turned towards the finish line.
"Why not…" responded Torune and soon all ten of them headed in the direction of the tower. As they jumped from one tree branch to another, Horamaru located himself near the blonde girl and asked with a disappointed smile:
"Why didn't you allow them to finish their little quarrel? Got scared Takai might've lost?"
"Don't be ridiculous…" replied Torune a little angry. "You know just as well as I do that when it comes to Takai… there's no way someone could defeat him, even if we're talking about Sabure…"
"No-one's undefeated…" stated the snake-faced boy. "Only some are harder to beat then others… Takai is a monster… but he can be taken down… that much I'm certain off…"
"You're wrong in both cases…" announced the blonde girl. "He's not a monster… and he cannot be taken down… I've seen with my own eyes during our missions… no matter who the opponent is… the moment he gets to fight Takai… his fate is decided…" and with that she looked at her teammate and lowered her sight as a sad expression appeared on it.
---Later that day at the tower---
"Excuse me, Kiba-san…" a chuunin walked into the room the dog jounin and Naruto were playing cards in and bowed slightly. "Two more teams has just finished the third exam… both are from the Hidden Sand Village…"
"Thanks…" replied Kiba with a tiny nod and so the chuunin was gone. The dog ninja gave Akamaru another piece of meat and said to no-one in particular: "Two, more teams… that's five already and this is only the second day…"
"What surprises me even more is that only one team from Konoha manage to get here…" added the blonde calmly. "It'd be rather shameful for the Leaf as the exams are held in our village this year… and that kinda reminds me: did you informed Shino his subordinates passed the exam already?"
"Yes, but he said he had things to take care off, so he'll show up after this exam is over…" and after that silence felt between the two. None said anything for several minutes, until Kiba decided to speak again: "Naruto, those shadow-nins…"
"Yes, I know…" the blonde interrupted him with a little worried expression showing on his face. "Their chakra is not natural… especially that one with the headgear… I can't place a finger, but he gives me the creeps…"
"What do you suppose his ability is?" asked the dog jounin, looking at his companion from above the cards he held in his hand. The whisker-marks only raised his eyes to meet his friend's glare and after a moment of hesitation, he replied:
"I have no idea… but whatever it is, I don't suppose any of my students will be able to counter it… and I'm not sure if I myself would be able to…"
---That time, elsewhere in the tower---
"Why didn't Shino-sensei show up!" Taki kept asking a little annoyed as she walked from one wall to the other. "What could be more important then his subordinates!"
"He's a jounin…" Horohoro reminded her calmly as he sat on a chair with his feet on a nearby table. "People of Shino-sensei's status have many duties… besides, I'm kinda glad he's not here, coz he'd probably force us to train before the next test and I have no intention of doing anything related to workout during those three days…"
"You're just being lazy…" noticed Funbo with a tiny smirk and looked at Akira who seemed to be meditating in the corner of the room.
"That too…" replied the blue-haired boy with a laugh, but instantly quiet down as he saw a team of sand-nins walking through the hallway.
While the Suna shinobi walk on by, Takai stopped and look in the direction of the leaf-nins. His eyes stopped for a moment on Hitomi, who was observing him with a stone face and a psychopathic smile appeared on his own face for a split second before he followed his companions down the hall.
"So those guys made it too…" concluded Horohoro with a single drop of sweat appearing on his face. "That scythe guy… this is not good…"
And so this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed reading it at least as much as I writing it.
Once more no jutsu encyclopedia… but there should be some before the third exam ends. To make it up to you guys I can only place another character profile and since I promised, this time it's Miaka's turn:
Name: Tora Miaka
Name Origins: her clan's name means simply 'tiger'… considering she's from the clan of cat users (like Inuzuka are dog users) I figure this'll fit perfectly… as for her first name, I choose it before even checking what it meant (after a character from a certain manga that I read long, long ago)… but to those who are interested, her name is close to 'mimiaka', which means 'earwax' (cats have a great sense of hearing) '
Age: currently 16 years old (just for the record, Kai and other rookies are 13 now)
Birth Date: 11th of April
Blood Type: 0
Height: 154,4 cm
Weight: 53,7 kg
Favorite Food: no data, she adores milk though
Village: Bakufu (Hidden Waterfall)
Current Rank: gennin
Team: her teammates are Azarashi Kawa, Abura Tetsu, Makko Shita and Rein Kasui
Bloodline Limit: none
Family: no information
Techniques (used so far): none
First Appearance: 29th chapter
POPULARITY CONTEST DETAILS: okay, to those who actually decided to do me (and in a way themselves too) a favor and take part in the voting, I'll give you the rules and details concerning the contest. To start off I have to say that it's different from before, coz this time you can vote for ANY character that appeared in the story so far, including the character from the original manga… in that last case however, I would like to ask you to base your choice on my fic only (I tried to keep the original crew close to their manga design, however some of the characters differs a bit, thus if you want to vote on Hinata, do so because you like how she is in this fic and not because you liked her from the manga/anime please).
Another thing is how the voting will look like. Considering there are quite a few characters (and since you really can't vote more then once to keep it fair) I've decided to allow you to choose more then one character. Here's how it'll look: each of you can vote for five characters overall (but you don't have to use all the spots… nothing stands in your way to cast your vote on just one character), but there is some extra info to that… I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I've decided to do it like this: those who'll decide to give their votes I ask to give them in the form of a list… by that I mean make the list with numbers from 1 to 5 and write the character you want to give your vote for next to the number. BUT be aware of the fact that the character that you'll write as number one will get 5 so called points (which in a way will be equal to the votes). My English isn't that good when it comes to explaining, so I'll give you an example of a cast vote:
1.Senkou Hatake
2.Hizoku Wanabi
3.Hinata Hyuuga
4.the bold, metal-nin with an axe
Now, in this case Senkou would get 5 points/votes, Hizoku would receive 4, Hinata 3 and the metal-nin (Reiji) – 2… in the example above the voter decided to vote on only four characters, even though he/she still could've given one vote. But when I'll display the results, I'll also write how many people cast their vote on a certain character (after all, with the system as it is now, it could be that one character will get 5 points with only one person voting for him/her and another will get 3, but getting one point from three people).
Also, to make it easier, I placed the list of ALL the characters you may give your votes for bellow (please note that Gaara and Lee are not an option yet as they didn't appear in the fic so far). If you can't recall what was the name of your favorite character (even with the list bellow) give me some details about him/her (if it's a shinobi then perhaps what village he/she is from, what he wears, his abilities or character… I should be able to figure out who you mean as I created everyone except the charas from the manga). So here's the list and after that one, final information for you guys:
Konoha:
Murasakki Kumiko, Tanken Ibuki, Gekido Takaru, Hagane Kusari, Haisha Kai, Uzumaki Naruto
Konpaku Rei, Rikoteki Kogane, Amagasa Toku, Debano Kitsune, Gusoku Hanamaru, Nara Shikamaru
Igaku Mikka, Inuzuka Tsume, Benda Kokoro, Hatake Senkou, Kobushi Galu, Hyuuga Hinata
Hamano Taki, Hyuuga Hitomi, Manako Akira, Tanken Funbo, Horohoro, Aburame Shino
Others: Hyuuga Tenten, Uchiha Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, Tsunade (she did appear in the flashback), Akimichi Chouji, Hatake Kakashi, Hyuuga Neji, Inuzuka Kiba, Uchiha Sasuke, Umino Iruka, Tanken Satsu (Ibuki's father from the flashback)
Suna:
Aoru, Torune, Honemaru, Takai, Tarakudo, Temari
Hari, Sabaku no Sabure, Dekai, Horamaru, Karame, Kankuro
Kusa:
Hokku Tobane, Kanraku Nezumi, Kuchibashi Taka, Kyohaku Tokame, Wanabi Hizoku, Hamaru (Nezumi's rat)
Others: Zassouku (the huge sundew summoned by Kiro), Kiro (the leader of the Grass team that Kumiko fought during the second exam)
Ame:
Kasano Youji, Nokogiri Karei, Eshaku Ryo, Furikuzu Tsuino, Hebereke Nazaa
Bakufu:
Azarashi Kawa, Tora Miaka, Abura Tetsu, Makko Shita, Rein Kasui, Torabaku (it's Miaka's tiger)
Tsuki:
Junsei Teela, Tenka, Chishio Nobu, Chishio Kumo, Kihako Tasuki
Kane:
Naginata, Ono Reiji, Futatsu, Hogosha, Sentou
Yuki:
Nadare Aisu, Sutaru Kuri, Sarumaru Yari, Urufu Kato, Yamazaru
Kumori:
Raina, Tenma Saiken, Bakara, Fuma, Kyuu, hooded man (the one that worried both Kakashi and Kankuro)
Other: Momochi Kataki, Togatta Ryu, Fugou, Kouba, Karuto, Deji, Recca, Takashi, Gamabunta, Rubiku, mysterious figure #1 (Rubiku's partner), mysterious figure #2 (the hooded man that entered Konoha in chapter #41 and Shikamaru spoke about him with Chouji in the previous chapter), Manda
Okay, last information considering the voting: those who want to participate should know that they DON'T have to give their votes yet! The results will be displayed in the 50th chapter (I give you that much time in hope that everyone who'll wish to give their votes will manage to do it) so you can wait with the decision until then (I'm not sure when that chapter will be uploaded, but I believe that gives you something around 6 weeks time at least).
Also, it'd be preferable that you'll give your votes in the reviews, so that there won't be any accusations about me changing the results. Those of you, who'll give the vote for the characters will have a chance to win that 'special prize' I told you about (it's not money, but you may be satisfied with it anyway… at least I hope you will)... more about that after the results will be displayed (since I'm not sure in what way the winner will be chosen yet).
If you have any questions considering the voting, do ask (be it by review or a PM). Also, this is a first time in any of my fics making something like that, so if you have any ideas as to how to make something like this better in the future, do not hesitate about telling me. Probably the rules of THIS voting won't be changed to not confuse anyone, but the future ones will be prepared with your ideas taken under consideration.
I guess that's that for this chapter. Please participate in the voting.
Best wishes, thanks to everyone who'll decided to vote and until next time, hopefully.