Took me a bit longer then I thought it will, but I've done it and I'm quite please with the final result (for once... still, it's not like I don't think I could've done better :D). With Kitsune and Kumiko's fight reaching its climax, who'll come out on top? Read and find out!
Also, I wish to thank everyone who sacrificed their time to review. I wasn't able to reply you all, but I do appreciate it.
THIRD POPULARITY POLL: as usual, I'm reminding everyone that the Third Character Popularity Poll is still active and ANYONE can cast their votes, if the feel like it. The rules are given in chapter 142, along with the full character list. The closing time of the contest is drawing nearer and nearer, so you should keep that in mind.
Chapter #145: Miscalculation
Title Page: Taki in a bikini (though still with a mask covering her mouth) is surfing on a high tidal wave
"Time we end this" Kumiko stated as she reached for another kunai. With a sudden spring, he lunged upwards making the sky turn a deep, purple color. Kitsune's body began vibrating as it split into atom while faces began appeared all around, each letting out an ear-tearing scream.
In a matter of moments the mouths opened wider, sucking in all parts to which the young blacksmith split, shutting them in an endless, dark void, leaving nothing more then the boy's consciousness in tact. Or so it seems as in the next instant the world spun, returning to how it was with Kitsune still in one piece, his hands forming the right seal.
Alas the real attack was already in motion as Kumiko unleashed her kunai, tossing one after another, bringing down a rain of knives. The young blacksmith reacted immediately and grabbed his weapon again, using its massive blade to deflect the projectiles, making metallic noise echo through the stadium as the they fell to the ground.
With the last kunai coming, Kitsune swung his weapon roughly, throwing the knives way off course and shifted his eyes to the kunoichi, who landed few meters away from him, with the projectile dropping besides her. Pointing the tip of his weapon at her, he charged, only to freeze the next moment while the girl flipped her hands. His eyes widen as thin, metal strings tightened around him, blocking every inch of his body.
"Gotcha" Kumiko smirked under her nose, pulling her arms back; a motion that literally brought her adversary to his knees. "Really, you thought I'd just keep tossing knives at you aimlessly?" she questioned with a hint of disappointment in her voice. Her eyes narrowed though as a cloud of smoke covered the boy's body.
"Figures" she concluded, jumping to the side as Kitsune and the kunai switched places, allowing the young blacksmith to swing his weapon from point-blank range. The assault missed by inches, managing to cut the kunoichi's outfit only, leaving a small rip in its side.
"Really, you thought I'd just charge you blindly?" the boy mocked with a serious face as his opponent came to a sliding stop with a wide smile on her face: "No... I just needed you to get where you are" she announced and quickly brought her hands together, releasing the technique: "Ninpou: Arashi Wana!"
In a blink of an eye electricity formed a triangle around Kitsune, spreading through the ground. Before the young blacksmith could react, the shook took his body, frying his muscles as he let out a yelp. A blinding flash covered the battlefield, followed with the boy dropping to his back, his skin burnt, barely breathing.
"Never expected it'd be that easy" Kumiko announced as she walked over to her opponent slowly, noting he gasped for air. "I admit you hold on longer then I've anticipated, but from the start you were under my illusion. And I'm not talking about genjutsu; I'm not stupid – I knew there was no way I could beat you with weapons... I also couldn't rely strictly on genjutsu. To that end, I asked Naruto-sensei for some ninjutsu training. Sadly, it turns out I'm a raiton type... but, for this fight, that was perfect... after all, iron is a conductor and your body as an extra amount of it; I believe it was Hitomi-san who said you had iron in bones and blood. With that, it'd stand to reason you're even more vulnerable to electricity then normal people. That was the very basis of my entire strategy; I had you concentrate on knives and genjutsu to believe that was my way of winning. In reality, that was a double smokescreen aimed to make you relax and get into my electric trap. From the beginning, all I needed to win, were three kunai..."
"Impressive" the young blacksmith nodded weakly as the girl crossed her arms before him. "But with so many genjutsu barriers that you set... it seems you missed one" and with that he pointed his weapon at her, releasing a lighting from the tip. The sudden charge hit the kunoichi with full force, blasting her few meters back, while all the burns on the boy's body disappeared as if by magic.
"Your mistake was to believe I stick to using weapons" now it was Kitsune who began explaining as he rose back to his feet. "All the damage you done just now... that was a henge to have you come closer!" he announced, making his opponent widen her eyes.
"Ironically, it seems the very things Kumiko saw as her weakness turned against her, but in a very different way then one could predict" Naruto analyzed quickly, angered that he allowed himself such a oversight. "By concentrating on extending her range of techniques, we had to cut down on genjutsu... if not for that, she would've saw that henge just now..."
"I was well-aware of my weakness even before the exams" the young blacksmith went on with a stoic face. "It's a weakness all Debano have. It is specifically because of it that I made this" here he raised his weapon. "Raijin is a perfect tool for my clan; you see, it acts as a lighting rod, collecting any electricity that strikes the body of its wielder, nullifying any damage that might be inflicted that way. Just like you learned from my elimination fight, I learned from yours... I knew that you're smart enough to know I won't be beaten with weapons and illusions... but my weakness was so apparent, it'd have been hard to imagine you not wanting exploit it. When you started throwing kunai around, I knew that was a decoy and thus prepared Raijin. I, very literally, turned your own strategy against you..."
To that statement Kumiko lowered her head in shame, yet the boy continued like nothing happened: "It was a good fight though. Certainly you gave me a run for my money more then once. Frankly, if you knew any, other ninjutsu skill, I doubt the result would be the same..." he added as the medics entered the field, while Lee walked towards the two:
"Still, being able to come up with a strategy that much in advance and predict his opponent's intentions... both of them led this fight specifically to the point meant to give them victory... honestly, only Shikamaru can be THAT scary" he smiled to himself at the memory of his old friend while he raised his had, pointing at the boy: "Winner: Debano Kitsu..." but just as he was about to make the announcement, the young blacksmith stopped him, rising his hands up: "Hold on a second, Lee-san... this match... you you make it a tie?" he asked, making the jounin fell over.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Kumiko snapped, her eyes becoming pupiless. "What the hell do you think you're doing, dumbass?" she yelled, making the boy sweat drop at her behavior as he explained: "You think I wanna fight that Sand chick next round? You saw what she's capable of. I may be a good strategist, but my techniques are still mostly weapon-based... from her fight with Ibuki and that Grass girl just now you can tell that won't do against her sand. Frankly, the result of the match is decided before it even began..."
"You can never know who'll win unless you fight" the kunoichi responded seriously, calming down. "This is why you fight to begin with. Besides, if you end the tournament like this, I'm gonna pound you" she added as the medics took her away.
"So?" Lee urged, gazing at the young gennin, who only let out a sigh, heading towards the stairs, giving the Green Beast a clear indication: "Winner: Debano Kitsune!"
"I cannot believe this" Kai announced in disbelief. "Kumiko actually lost! And to that guy?" he underlined with his eyes blinking. Toku only sighed at this, shaking his head: "You simply underestimated Kitsune; he may not look it, but in terms of out-maneuvering opponents, I doubt there's a gennin more capable then him..."
Takaru however didn't react; he was in stead busy watching Kusari, from whom he expected a scene, considering the outcome of the fight. To his surprise, the chain master gave little indication he even registered what just transpired. He was too busy gazing at the arena, awaiting the next bout...
"Way to go, Kitsune!" Kogane cheered, thrusting her fist to the sky. "That shown them!"
"Wow, he really won" Rei nodded with acknowledgement. "I mus admit that's pretty... zzzzz" the sudden doze off made the other gennin sweat drop as the kunoichi instantly began drooling on the seat before her, making Tsume, the unlucky one occupying it, jump: "Hey!"
"Quite surprising indeed" Ibuki admitted, keeping her calm, while the young alchemist already shook her snoring teammate: "What the heck is wrong with you? The one who beat you is about to fight! Aren't you at least a bit interested?"
"Let it go, Kogane-chan" Hanamaru asked peacefully, resuming his munch on the chips. "That's just how she is" he reminded, making the blonde settled down, crossing her arms: "Well, it's still annoying" she spatted with a snarl.
Shikamaru on the other hand smirked under his nose as his student disappeared on the stairway. Hinata, who sat beside him, smiled weakly to her companion with a word of praise: "You know, that boy reminds me of you in so many ways, Shikamaru-kun..."
"Well, it's not exactly laziness that stops him from moving forward" the shadow user replied, relocating his toothpick. "But I suppose you have a point."
"They both did admirably" Shino proclaimed, adjusting his glasses. "In conclusion, the victor of this match doesn't really matter..."
"Well, that much should be expected from the guy who beat me" Tasuki announced with a smirk, while Hinami only threw him a quick look before glancing to the right, where Nobu and Kumo just appeared: "Right on time" she stated simply as the twins took their seats. "Teela's match is about to begin..."
To this the blond sibling glanced at the arena, where the medics were taking Kumiko off, while Kitsune slowly walked towards the stairs to the platform. Before he could reply to his instructor's late comment though, the swordsman's voice reached his ears: "So, how is Tenka doing?"
To this Nobu gazed at his teammate, shock written all over his face. He never got to answer that either, as his brother beat him to it: "She has internal damage and is chakra-drained... it'll take some time, but eventually she'll be fine..." he added, to which Tasuki made no, noticible indication. The blond twin still smiled at the occurrence: "Yes, this trip certainly wasn't a waste..."
"Say, Kusari, it's almost time for that chick of yours fight" Kai noted, turning to the chain master. "But she hadn't return from the medical wing yet. Think she forfeited?" he asked teasingly, but his friend didn't laugh at the joke.
"That is most unlikely, considering the match-up" he responded just before a familiar voice reached his ear: "I'll be awaiting your in the next round, Kusari-kun" the statement announced the arrival of Teela, who just passed by everyone and jumped down to the arena without another word.
"So, my turn" Nezumi nodded, petting Hamaru gently. "Any advice you'd be willing to give me concerning that one?" she asked with a grin, also turning to the young leaf-nin, but also this time Kusari remained focused: "Just one; don't push yourself and if things gets serious... forfeit immediately."
"Oh?" the rat girl reacted, a bit hurt. "I'm being underestimated, it seems" she noted, turning to her squad. "Guess I'll need to show them" she added, following in the blue-haired kunoichi's footsteps. Tokame however knew what her smirk meant and couldn't help but worry: "Don't tell me she's even considering using THAT!" he wondered, turning to Hizoku, who remained still, just like Kusari.
"I've been meaning to ask you this, Satsuki-dono..." Kakashi began as the two females headed for the center of the stadium. "That girl's last name... what's her relation to Unabara?" he demanded with a stoic face, yet the Tsuki leader grew grim at the question.
Quickly she regained her cheerful exterior and patted the cyclopean ninja on the cheek, giving him a wide grin: "Now, now, Kakashi-chan... how would it look for a village leader to reveal secrets of her own organization? Also..." she went on, lowering her voice, making only Gaara able to hear what she spoke next to the Hokage: "You should know that is one name I do not wish to hear..."
"Eleventh fight!" Lee announced, breaking the slowly forming tension. "Junsei Teela from Tsuki against Kanraku Nezumi of Kusa!" he raised his hand as the crowd silenced, all eyes set on the two kunoichi. "BEGIN!"
-the two are about to unleash their true strength!-
And so this chapter ends! Hope you enjoyed it. I must say that with Kumiko vs. Kitsune behind him, I breath easier – don't get me wrong, I like them both, but writing their fight was one HUMONGOUS pain in the rear. And yes, from the very beginning they both had their tactics in place, I just wanted to execute them properly so to not give away too much before the actual conclusion, which was the hardest part. I do hope that it turned out at least okay, coz they both were supposed to resemble Shikamaru in their tactics (in case I haven't explained it yet, that's the reason behind Kitsune's name, which means fox... and foxes are generally associated with 'cunning' :D).
Konoha #7 (Naruto): Tanken Ibuki, Gekido Takaru, Hagane Kusari, Haisha Kai
Konoha #3 (Shikamaru): Konpaku Rei, Rikoteki Kogane, Amagasa Toku, Debano Kitsune, Gusoku Hanamaru
Konoha #4 (Hinata): Igaku Mikka, Inuzuka Tsume, Benda Kokoro, Hatake Senkou, Kobushi Galu
Konoha (Shino): Hamano Taki, Manako Akira, Tanken Funbo, Horohoro
Suna #1 (Temari): Aoru, Torune, Tarakudo, Takai
Suna #2 (Kankuro): Sabaku no Sabure, Hari, Dekai, Karame
Kusa (none): Hokku Tobane, Kanraku Nezumi, Kuchibashi Taka, Kyohaku Tokame, Wanabi Hizoku
Tsuki (Hinami Hoshiru): Junsei Teela, Kihako Tasuki, Chishio Kumo, Chishio Nobu
Kane (unknown): Futatsu
Kumori (Tategamaru): Saiken Tenma
Fight 11: Junsei Teela (21) vs. Kanraku Nezumi (22)
Fight 12: Horohoro (23) vs. Hagane Kusari (24)
Fight 13: Aoru (25) vs. Hamano Taki (26)
Fight 14: Torune (27) vs. Hari (28)
Fight 15: Amagasa Toku (29) vs. Kyohaku Tokame (30)
Fight 16: Kobushi Galu (31) vs. Karame (32)
Fight 17: Takai vs. Wanabi Hizoku
Fight 18: Tanken Funbo vs. Gekido Takaru
Fight 19: Benda Kokoro vs. Tarakudo
Fight 20: Manako Akira (automatic win)
Fight 21: Sabaku no Sabure vs. Debano Kitsune
Ninpou: Arashi Wana (Ninja Art: Storm Trap)
Also, I just recently realized I may have forgotten to mention the meaning behind the character names... coz there is one for nearly everybody! To that end, I'd like to right my wrong and thus this author's note will be a bit longer... there's really no point in hiding it anymore, since you know these characters quite well now... here is the "secret" behind the naming of all, important gennin, separated to two parts for my convenience; this time I'll give you all of Konoha youth and next shall come Suna, Kusa and Tsuki:
Kai Haisha – as it was elaborated on throughout the entire series, "haisha" can be translated as "loser, the defeated" (ironically, it can also stand for "dentist" though :D), while "kai"can mean "low rank"... truth is, there's a lot of meanings to the word "kai" in itself and the fact is Kai's name really is a reference to something else, only even Kai himself doesn't know that. What is it reference to? Well... why should I tell you, when you can wait and find out ;
Kumiko Murasakki – written with a single 'k', her last name stands for "purple, Violet", which is the main color of her outfit and is a reference to a Dragonball character, a ninja who used tricks in battle, kinda like our heroine does. Kumiko is a traditional, Japanese name for girls and generally it means "forever beautiful child", which is a direct allusion to her looks;
Takaru Gekido – as stated, "gekido" is the name Takaru choose for himself, standing for "rage". His first name is a slight play on "takara", which in turns mean "treasure"... but "takaru" in itself means "to gather, to swarm";
Ibuki Tanken – her clan's name means simply "dagger", which is a typical, assassins' tool... but, it can also mean "narrow view", although in this case it's mostly a reference to the rest of her clan, not Ibuki herself. Her first name is also a traditional one, which can mean both "breath" and "mighty blow". Interestingly enough, "buki" itself stands for "weapon" and "female dancer";
Kusari Hagane - "hagane" means simply "steel" and it is the last name of his father. "Kusari" on the other hand stands for "chain", so by putting the two together, your roughly get "steel chain" :D
Senkou Hatake – I had little choice with his last name, but it does mean "field". His first name however stands for many things, but in his case, I was going for "flash" (a reference to his speed), "lord of the previous generation" (kinda a twist as he aims to be the lord of the future generations) and "leading, going first" (this mirrors his attitude);
Mikka Igaku – coming from a medics' clan, her last name means "medicine, medical science". Her first name stands for "third day of the month" or "three days", that last one being a somewhat twisted (and ironic) reference;
Galu Kobushi – being a taijutsu expert, his last name stands for "fist", but can also mean "a veteran". His first name was actually assigned even before I made an effort to prepare meaningful names (he's one of the few characters I've decided to keep the original name), but still, if you write it with "r" - "garu", it means "to represent a third party's apparent emotion", which is kinda what he does;
Tsume Inuzuka – as most of you may know, "inu" means "dog", "zuka" means "a small hill", while Inuzuka itself is probably a tribute to the samurai of the same name from "nansou Satomi Hakkenden", a novel about a dog samurai. Among many, canine-related names, I choose "tsume", which means "claw"... completely forgetting that was also the name of Kiba's mother... oops ^^'
Kokoro Benda - "benda" means "bender", while stands for "mind", thus together his name means "mind-bender" (no relation to a G. character :D);
Kitsune Debano – generally there's no meaning behind "debano" as a whole, but "deba" itself stands for "knife" (an allusion to him being a blacksmith), "one's turn" (a reference to his attitude, as seen in the recent flashback) or "overbite". Kitsune, as you all probably know, means "fox"... and, if you write his name like this "Deba no Kitsune" it roughly means "protruding tooth of a fox";
Kogane Rikoteki – her last name has just one meaning - "selfish", which is also the impression I wanted you to have of her upon her debut (I do hope you saw her true colors by now). Kogane generally refers to money (the most common translation is "gold") and has two-fold reason, one being a play to her clan's name and that they're alchemists... the other hinting "heart of gold";
Hanamaru Gusoku - "gusoku" can both mean "armor, fully equipped" (a reference to the shield he used to carry) as well as "son", which directly is an allusion to him being the only child of a single mother and the first in his family to become ninja. Hanamaru on the other hand is composed of two words - "hana" (which, in this cases, mean "flower"... an ironic play of the fact he stinks :D) and a suffix -maru, often added to boy's names (which disappears as the grow), usually meaning something in full;
Rei Konpaku – her clan's name mean "ghost, soul, spirit", a direct allusion to their bloodline limit. Rei, for most part, has the same meaning ("soul"), but can also be translated as "command, order", so by putting it together, you get "command of the soul" (roughly);
Toku Amagasa - "amagasa" means simply "umbrella", refering to his weapon of choice. "Toku" on the other hand stands for "shelter, shield" (associated with how he uses his umbrella), "to unite" (that you'll understand later), "to explain" or "profit, benefit, advantage";
Akira Manako - "manako" has various meanings, most associated with eyes as it can stand for "eyeball, pupil", but can also be translated as "insight, perceptivity" or "field of vision"... in some cases it can also mean "center, core, essence". His first name is among those (there are 7 such cases in general) that was chosen before I bothered to look for meaning behind the names... still, in some cases, "akira" is translated as "anchor";
Hitomi Hyuuga – her clan's name can mean "a place in the sun" or simply "in the sun". I choose her first name regarding that all hyuuga at the time (Neji aside) had names starting with 'h'. To that end, aside from being a popular, Japanese, name, "hitomi" also means "pupil of the eye", "human body" or "the feeling of being watched";
Horohoro – generally, his name is a tribute to a character from "Shaman King", after whom Horohoro's design was greatly inspired. The most common meaning of his names is "by ones and twos", but can also be translated as "melting";
Taki Hamano - "hama" in itself means "shore, beach, riverside", while "taki" stands for "waterfall" (allusion to her abilities). If you write her name like this "Hama no taki", you roughly get "beach with a waterfall". Interestingly though, "hama" can also mean "exorcism", refering to her attitude and constant tries to change Funbo;
Funbo Tanken – I already explained his clan's name, but "funbo" stands for "grave, tomb";
And with that, I'd like to close this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and do review, telling me what you think; it'll certainly give me more motivation for the next update.
Until then!