Author's Notes. The song sung by the three miko was Coro di Dea- Voices of Goddesses sung by Belldandy, Skuld, and Urd in the Oh! My Goddess! Movie.
—oo000oo—
The man stepped through the halls of this fort in a forgotten land, the first stranger in a very long time no doubt. He must have appeared as strange to them as he thought they appeared to him. They were many and they were warriors, having been isolated for a very long time to hone their skills. They were the Highlanders. One of the monkey like men dropped down in front of him but jumped away just as quickly as another warrior followed weapon held for a spar. The women looked no different from the men that he had seen, except for the obvious chest area. Monkey like but they did tend to wear clothes more revealing than a human would wear.
He stayed calm and looked forward. He had learned of this place through an ancient scroll his village had kept for hundreds of years. No one ever understood it, especially the figures of animals walking on two legs and fighting with weapons. At least until a few short years ago when many of those figures were appearing. The scroll called them different names than what they went by now, their ancient names like the Grassrunners, a race of canine like humanoids from dogs to foxes. The Creeping clan, a hierarchy kingdom of frogmen. The Forest Clan, a wolf like people with pack mindset that cared for the forest and nature. The Grassmen, actual moving plants that shaped themselves like humans to pass unnoticed as they gather knowledge. The Highlanders, a race of warriors and mercenaries. Said to be the strongest army in their time.
The man came to the throne room and bowed to the one sitting on the seat. "I am honored you let me within these great halls, sir."
"The honor is ours," their leader replied. It was a male with black fur and a scar across his nose and the right corner of his lips. "Welcome, Akahoshi, leader of Hoshigakure, to Highfort, home of the Highlanders, the strongest mercenaries in the world. I am Ashram, the wielder of the Demon Sword, Soulcrusher." Ashram wore heavy armor and the sword set before him, glowing an ominous red. "What can we do for you?"
—oo000oo—
The day before the finals and it was like a festival had started there in Konoha. There were booths with food and games. Children running around in mask, some of spirits while others of ANBU. People were arriving from all over to participate and have fun. And it seemed like half of Uzu had arrived with them. You couldn't walk ten feet without seeing someone with wings, fur, or shell plates. In truth, the clan heads of Uzu had decided to allow anyone that wanted to go to Konoha as well as a couple hundred warriors. Konoha outnumbered them ten times that much but they didn't see a problem.
This was the sight that greeted Hyuuga Hiashi. It would seem he had been a bit mistaken about the Uzu as they were not all animal like. He had seen what they referred to as the Touched and the Prince and Princesses. Of the Uzumaki, they were almost all furred like large jungle cats, tigers, leopards, and panthers. Of the Touched Uzumaki, they were as cat like as you could get without being one. Cat smirks and even pseudo whiskers on their cheeks like Naruto used to possess. In the sky you could see the Sora flitting about though they weren't the only ones up there. Even if they were so high you couldn't tell the wings apart, you could always tell which was which by how they flew. The Ryu moved straight, slow and steady while enjoying the breeze. The Sora on the other hand made dives, sudden turns, and could spot something of interest from where they were to the other side of the village. Their touched also reflected how they looked and moved. The Ryu seemed normal enough but had a certain grace to them. They enjoyed sunning themselves and would just sit on benches in the sunlight. The Sora had larger than normal eyes with the tendency to move about quickly. And for the Rand clan, there was no mistaking them. Prince or Touched, they were all tall and strong.
He had been under the impression that they were all warriors of some kind but seeing as most here were just families showing their children how things were elsewhere, he admitted his mistake. That being said, even among the family there were those that wore some kind of armor and carried of weapon of some kind. A good number seemed to like the staff but they didn't appear strong enough to use them in combat so he didn't know why they had them.
He was watching one of these, a woman holding a staff with the lower body of a snake, when he had bumped into someone. Looking down at them, he saw an Uzumaki princess about thirteen stepping back and looking to him. Her hair was purple like an eggplant and her fur tiger striped with pale blue eyes. Her clothes were rather odd looking; her hair was gathered into a long thick pony tail by a band decorated with the faces of dice. A choker with a bell on it was around her neck, a favorite of the female Uzumaki and even some of the men. She was wearing a skirt that stopped above her knees, with the suites of cards on it. Her blouse was slim on her with no sleeves; instead she wore armguards that had the Ace, King, Queen, and Knave on them.
The girl looked unsure what to do upon seeing him before she bowed and said, "Hello sir. It seems chance has brought us together."
He tilted his head and said, "Aren't you going to apologize for walking into me."
She smiled and said, "Nope. You walked into me."
That was something he didn't like about them. They were far too presumptuous. He was Hyuuga Hiashi, no one said he was wrong. "Mind saying that again?"
"Certainly! You," she pointed at him. "Walked." She made a walking motion with her fingers. "Into," she dropped a dice into a cup, coming up six. "Me," she finished, pointing at herself. "Understand me this time, 'Lord' Hyuuga?"
"You insolent child! If you were my daughter…"
The girl got angry at that. "Everyone in Uzu knows how you treat your daughter, Hyuuga! Touch me and Ecaflip have mercy on you because I won't!" They glared hard at one another before she began to smile again. "We could settle this a different way," she offered while motioning to the stall. It was a chance game and from the look of the prizes around her, she had been winning a lot. "How about it, a match between you and me, loser admits they were wrong."
"Why should I," Hiashi growled.
"Because…I was just standing here behaving and you bumped into me and started acting like an ass."
"That is what happened," the stall manager told him.
"Stay out of this," Hiashi growled.
The man held up his hands so the girl smirked. "I know! You must stink at these games, I see, I see. How about this?" She reached into a bag on her side and pulled out a deck of cards, two cups, and some dice. "We'll play a game of our own. Hmm?"
"Like what?"
"Something simple perhaps?" She took up the cards and started shuffling them. She was whistling as she did, making the bridge and then sliding them along the table. Lifting up the first and last card, she caused them all to flip over to show their face before she straightened them again and made a few more shuffles. "Split the deck," she said, setting it down. Hiashi lifted a third of the deck, took the middle third out from it, placed the top third on the table, the bottom on that, and the middle on top. "Good, now without looking take any card from the deck. Higher the card the better."
Hiashi took one from the middle of the deck and got the Knave of spades. "Looks like I won."
"Sorry," the girl said, holding up her card. "My lady the Queen of hearts beats your knave of spades. Better luck next time." She had this smirk as she waited. "Oh the Queen of hearts she made some tarts all on a summer day. The Knave of hearts he stole those tarts and took them clean away," she said in a singsong voice. "The King of hearts called for the tarts and beat the Knave full sore. The Knave of hearts brought back the tarts and vowed he steal no more."
Hiashi looked away and noticed he had drawn a crowd. "Again."
"Oh fine, fine," she said, gathering the cards again. Dropping five dice in a cup, she shook them up and set them on the table. "Liars dice. You try to guess the numbers of the dice and how many, yours and your opponents'. Example I say there are three fours. You can call me a liar and we reveal the dice. If you are right and I was wrong, you win. If you are wrong and I was right, you lose. If you decide to keep going, you have to increase the numbers like four fours or three fives or five fives. You can't lower it. Oh, and don't let me see your dice. Understand?"
"I do and I'll start." He looked under his cup and saw a one, two threes, a five and a six. "…Three threes."
She looked under her cup and rubbed her chin. "Oh, what the hell, six sixes."
"Liar," Hiashi called, pointing at her and pulling up his cup and her own. "See…!" There, under her cup were five sixes, making a total of six sixes.
"Wow he is bad at gambling," someone in the crowd said.
Hiashi had dropped his jaw at seeing that and stared for a moment before picking her dice up and dropping them again. They came out completely different. "Well, 'Lord' Hyuuga?"
He stood there a moment before shaking his head. "Again."
"Nope," she told him, gathering it all back up. "I won twice already, my prize."
"I refuse to be beaten by a child."
"If you want more, you have to gamble for more than an apology."
"I have Ryo…" he started to say.
"No, no, no, not interested." She began to circle him, looking him over before coming to the front and spotting something. She reached to his neck and pulled out a necklace. "That."
It was a simple blue agate stone on the end of a silver chain. Hiashi hesitated upon seeing that. It had belonged to his wife before she died. "No, nothing you have could be worth that."
"Oh no?" She held up her cards. "I can read the future in these cards, Hiashi. I could tell you who to bet on for tomorrow's finals. I could read your future or your pass." She pulled a spade from her armguard and dropped it on the ground, where it was covered in smoke and changed into a gambling table. "I'll demonstrate." Taking her seat in the dealers position, she placed a diamond on the ground that changed into a safe that she put her prizes so far into. "You miss, what's your name," the girl asked, looking to a woman in a trench coat.
"Anko."
"Anko, I'm going to look into your past and a bit of your future. Past is easier but I'm not skilled enough to go beyond a week in the future so bare-with me." She shuffled her deck, raised her hands and deck up in the air, and brought her arms down spread out. Cards floated above her as she prayed before shooting down on the table. "…Mitarashi Anko, your teacher and first love were the same person. You parted from him in a land surrounded by ocean with your heart full of hatred and betrayal." She looked over the last piece and smirked. "And last night you fell asleep cuddled up to a teddy b…" Anko slapped her hand over her mouth.
"Ok, I believe you on the past," she hissed. "Finish saying that sentence and I'll de-pelt you."
She crossed her heart so Anko pulled her hand away. "And for your future…oh dear."
"What?"
"No no, I couldn't tell you."
"What!"
"It might just push you along to it."
"What is it!"
The girl sighed and said, "You're going to fall in love with someone from Uzu. Well, first it'll be lust."
"That's impossible," Anko dismissed. "When is this supposed to happen?"
She looked over her cards again, checked the time and said, "You'll meet him right about…now."
"Hello, Hina-chan, robbing gamblers blind I see," one of the Touched said, coming up to her. He was Sora Vincent, kind of a dark guy but not intentionally. His eyes were red, his skin a bit pale, hair was silky black, and he had a face that had most women seeing hearts. His clothes were black save for a tattered red cape he wore around his neck. On his left hand was a golden, clawed gauntlet and he wore greaves the same color. At his waist were a few daggers and a sword that could split apart to make two single edge blades.
"Right on time, Mister Vincent," she said to him.
"Oh?"
"Yes, look at her." He did and he saw Anko looking at him like she actually wanted to eat him.
"I miss something?"
"No. Have fun."
Vincent shrugged and walked away. "Hey! Tall, dark, and handsome, wait up," Anko said, chasing after him.
"Wow, she can do it," someone muttered before people began asking her to read their future.
"Sorry, people, not going to happen. You want that, you got to win it." She shuffled the cards again as she motioned to chairs. "Ante up, five card draw, heh heh, and jokers are wild!" She looked to Hiashi, waiting for his reply. "Pay up and walk away or ante up."
Hiashi thought hard about it, it sounded like though she was so young she was an experienced gambler and had routinely done this to people but as she could tell the future a little, what she could tell him would be of value. "I want to know where my missing daughter is."
"Place the necklace down," Hina told him. "Alright people, take your seats, no ryo accepted here. Each person will be give ten chips. If ever you lose all of them, you lose your deposit. Items must be something I will accept." Hiashi set the necklace down gently and Hina gave him ten chips.
Next to Hiashi sat down Jiriaya. "How about this," he set a book on the table.
Hina took it and saw the title Icha Icha Furry. "What's this?" She opened it up and looked through it a bit before slamming it shut, blushing.
"Prerelease," Jiriaya said proudly. "Signed, of course, by the author."
She took another peek before shutting it again. Still blushing, she set it aside and gave him his chips. "And you want?"
"To know what it will take to get my godson to accept me."
"That isn't something I can tell you."
"His future then." She nodded to that.
Getting to the others, she started looking through and dismissed most of them. "Ooh, jade teapot? No, sake pot that only pours the amount for the cup, nice. That'll look wonderful on my shelf." Ten chips there. "No, don't want a katana. I don't care who the maker was. Pearls? Nah, got enough of those."
"How about a kunai that once belong to the Yondiame Hokage?"
She looked to see a silver haired jonin walked up to the table and set a large, heavy kunai down. She snatched it up, placed it on the table, and several cards flew up and encircled it. "…Okay, so it is." Picking it back up, she spun it around her hand a few times, trying to imagine what it would have been like to use. "Yes, this will do, and you want?"
"I want to see the past again, not just remember it or be told. Can you do that?"
"…I can."
"Can I try?" A woman sat down next. In her hand was a painting. "This is my most cherished possession. My student made this for me before she disappeared. I want to know what happened to her and who it was done by."
Hina hesitated upon seeing Kurenai and the painting. "It's beautiful…It is worth the price but…"
"You won't do it."
"Hiashi has already asked for that," she tried to wright off. "Two chances for the same thing, no no. Not when if you win the other will find out anyway."
"Then whisper it to me and not him."
She frowned but consented. "Very well. Ten chips for the painting. With that the table is full. Ladies, gentlemen, the rules of this is simple, I have ten chips for each of you. Your goal is to get them. If you do, you win. If I get yours, you lose. To win a chip, you must beat my hand, it doesn't matter if you beat the others. Let the games begin." She tossed everyone their cards and looked to her own. "Cards?"
"I'll take three," the ANBU with the teapot said, pushing the others back to her. Hina quickly flicked her the replacements.
Hiashi looked his over a moment before saying, "One." He pushed back the card and grabbed the new one.
Jiriaya schooled his face upon seeing his hand and said, "I'm good."
"Two," Kakashi stated.
"…One," Kurenai finished up.
"…Dealer takes one." Hina placed the card down and grabbed her own. "Okay, ante up," Hina told them, placing a chip in front of each before shifting her cards around. She looked to each and waited, a smirk on her face.
"I bet two," the ANBU said to her.
"I meet your two and raise you one," Hina countered.
The ANBU thought about it a moment, met it, and said, "I call."
Hina faced Hiashi. "How about…" Hina began to scowl, grab the necklace, and shouted, "Get away from my table!" She looked to be baring her fangs at him and growling. Hiashi blinked several times as she jumped to her feet, pointing at him. "Did you honestly think I didn't know about those blasted eyes! With how you brag about them, did you honestly believe I would not know! You gamble before the Lady of Chance Ecaflip and you think you would get away with it! Get away from my table and get out of my sight!" She rounded on the others. "Be grateful I don't kick you all away! I know you sensed that chakra spike from him!"
Hiashi threw the cards down and stood up. "My necklace."
"You lost it when you decided to cheat," Hina growled at him.
"Give it here," Hiashi demanded in a much harsher voice.
"Why should I! If you wanted it so badly, then why gamble it away or risk it cheating!"
"I want to know where my daughter is, damn it," Hiashi snapped.
Hina's gaze softened a little but she said, "Then pray to whatever god you worship for answers. You will not get them or this from me." She slipped it around her neck and sat back down.
"I can't leave without that and knowing where my daughter is."
"All telling, you could barely stand your daughter when she was here, why the sudden interest?"
"…Doesn't matter, does it? You don't care or want to know. I'm not leaving without my necklace."
Hina frowned at him before taking the necklace and held it out in a hand that was encircled with fire. "I will destroy it before returning it." She held his gaze as they waited to see if the others were bluffing. When he stayed there, the fire increased and started pulling in. "Don't!" Hina began to smirk in victory. "Just don't destroy it, I'll leave." He backed up for several steps before turning and leaving.
Hina put it back on and looked to Kakashi. "Well?"
"…Two."
Hina studied him a moment before saying, "I hate that mask. I'll meet your two and add two more."
Kakashi looked at his hand again and added the needed chips. "Call."
Hina looked to Jiriaya who smirked and said, "All in."
Hina raised her eyebrows at that but nodded and pushed the stack in. "And you, ma'am?"
"I'll raise you three."
"I'll meet three and raise you three as well."
"Might as well go all in then," Kurenai said adding the rest of her chips.
"Very well then." Hina placed her cards face down, "Miss ANBU?"
"Three of a kind," she said, setting her cards down.
"Kakashi?"
"Aces and eights." He had the Ace of Spades and Clubs.
"Not bad Kakashi, just not good enough," Jiriaya said to him, setting down a straight, two through six of diamonds.
"…You two are good but I have to dash your hopes away," Hina said. She flipped over the King of Hearts, the queen of hearts, the knave of hearts, the ten of hearts, and the nine of hearts. She grabbed the book, put it in her pouch, and took Kakashi's chips. "I'm sorry for interrupting," she said to Kurenai while Kakashi gaped and Jiriaya cried. "You're hand?"
"….Royal Flush in spades," Kurenia said, showing she had all the cards but the Ace, instead she had a Joker.
"Well, Ecaflip must want you to know," Hina said with a smirk. "Very well then." She grinned wickedly at the others. "Dovie'andi se tovya sagain."
"Which means," the ANBU asked.
"Time to toss the dice," she said with a cat grin while gathering cards and chips for another hand.
—oo000oo—
One book, teapot, and kunai richer, Hina folded up her table, put her cards away, and led Kurenai somewhere quiet. "First off," Kurenai said when they were alone, "I want to know why you cheated so that I will win."
"Nya? Me, cheat? Just bad luck is all. Ecaflip, our lady of luck, let this one know what will truly make her wise, the past." Spreading the cards out in the air, they spun around before coming to the ground before her. "…She was attacked by Kumo, set on the path by one of her own elders."
"Which one," Kurenai asked angrily.
"…Her grandfather. They found her alone at a river where they attacked. But they never made it to Kumo, a one eyed man and a boy intercepted them and killed them."
"And Hinata?"
"They offered her the chance to go with them and be happy. She accepted and she is happy."
Kurenai sighed in relief. "Where did they take her?"
"Their homeland, an island out on the ocean where she became one of them."
"And?"
"And she became a student of their faith and is even now giving a fortune."
Kurenai blinked a few times, "She's what?"
"Giving a fortune," Hina repeated.
Kurenai stared at her for several seconds not saying anything. "Tell me, did those men happen to get Hinata out of Konoha?"
"The cards don't say."
"Did the 'one eyed man' happen to have wings? Was the boy tiger striped or a raccoon-dog or a knight in armor?"
"Didn't say that either."
"How about this, is Hinata fur covered now? Tiger fur with purple hair?"
"That is oddly specific, is there something you know that I don't?"
"…Just answer the question. Wait, let me guess, the cards don't say."
"Hmm, maybe you're a card reader too? Look here, the king with the queen beside him and two queens below surrounding the Ace of Hearts. That means she was adopted by a man and wife with a daughter already. The king and queen are both in hearts, they fill their lives and others with love when they can. The sister is in Diamond, a girl of adamant character. And the girl herself is spades, a suit above all. Like this it means she is more than what she was. And the ace means they love each other very much."
Kurenai looked at that and sighed. "I guess it would be wrong to take her from that…"
"Maybe…but she does miss you."
"And I miss her."
She was silent a moment before saying, "I have to ask you not to reveal this to anyone."
Her reply was silence as she looked at Hina before walking over and hugging the girl. "Goodbye Hinata."
She gave up pretending and hugged her back. "Goodbye, Kurenai-sensei. I'll love and miss you for as long as I live."
"Just…be happy, please." Reaching a hand down, she wiped a tear away from Hinata's eyes.
"I will be."
"What was that with your father?"
"I ran into me and refused to apologize is all. But when I got the chance to get mother's necklace back, I took it. I was a little surprise that I could do it to him but…there is nothing they can't teach you. They taught me I don't have to be afraid, especially of him."
"What else did they teach you," Kurenai asked, sitting down.
"So many things and it's so wonderful there, sensei." Hinata could barely begin to describe her life now.
—oo000oo—
"Ladies and gentlemen, honored guest," the Hokage said from his booth above the stadium. "We will begin the Genin Exams shortly."
"Before we begin," Lady Aoi called, standing next to the Hokage, "three of Uzu's own mikos would like to sing and bless everyone here."
Three ladies, one fourteen, one eighteen, and the last in her early twenties came forth. "May the sisters of time cast their favor upon everyone here," they said at once. Taking a deep breath, everything froze as from behind them there was a circle of wind came forth before what looked like three women with wings coming from their backs appeared. But everyone knew just seeing them that they were no Sora.
The Eighteen year old and her angel started singing. "Felicitas cum amicis communicata est." The others began to sing now. "Tristitia est communis dolor cum omnibus amicis. Per aspera vita beata est. Causa vivendi omnibus. Invenire credere magni momenti. Fores aperiendi. Fores aperiendi, tempus est, certe."
By the time they had finished most everyone that could hear them was crying, even those that thought they had shed their last tear long ago. With the song done, the angels withdrew and the three singers bowed once more. "Thank you for letting us sing for you." The three women had such a presence about them as they smiled that if you weren't smiling back, you were cheering and asking at least one of them to date you.
Sarutobi raised a hand to his eyes to wipe away the tears and looked at them on his fingers. "…How did they do that?"
"They are spellsingers," Aoi told him, smiling at the memories the song had brought out. "The best spellsingers and each of their songs is better than their last. Just by singing, they can inspire the army of Uzu to fight harder, more skillfully, and with utmost confidence. But really, they sing because they love it."
He looked to the retreating women and to the new Kazekage, Baki, as he entered. "That singing was the most beautiful I have ever heard, Hokage-dono. Are they your singers?"
"They come from Uzu," Aoi told him.
"Uzu? I was under the impression that all from that island have wings or something."
"Many are like the sisters. Shall we not begin?"
"Yes, of course of course." He motioned to the Jonin judge in the ring, Genma.
He nodded to him and called out, "We will now begin the Chunin Exams finals. These at the best chosen from over a dozen ninja villages, here to fight for you. The first match, Uzumaki Konan versus Rock Lee is the first match." As he said their names, they walked out onto the field. "Fighters ready? Hajime!"
Konan and Lee sprung at each other, going into a high kick. Hitting the other's leg, they spun back around into a punch, hitting their attacks once again. Lee went into a high kick and Konan leaned back, missing it. In counter she made a fast five strike combo aiming for Lee's chest. Moving as fast as he could, he blocked or guided them away. He didn't move fast enough to get away, Konan had started her chain of attacks and there was no stopping them. Even as the last punch pulled away, she planted a foot on his chest and did a kicking somersault. Landing on the ground, she crouched and did a waterkick, sliding a foot on the ground to knock him from his feet. Grabbing him while he was falling, she pulled him back to land face first on the ground, "Meteor drive," she said to him, gearing up for more as she pushed him into a flip. While in the air she did a jumping uppercut called a dolphin blow. The attack threw him into the air where once again she was waiting. "Meteor strike!" Her fist met his stomach, launching him back to the ground. He hit it and bounced up where he met Konan's final attack, a spinning roundhouse kick. "Final Heaven!" There was a crack when that hit from the blow breaking the sound barrier. Lee was thrown into the wall and broke it, leaving a crater. There was silence for several seconds before Konan said, "Nya, enough of the drama! I know you aren't done!"
Lee pulled himself from the crater and began to dust off. "Nice combo. And yet, I feel as if you weren't pulling your all."
"Ah, ah, ah, warm up first," Konan said, wagging a finger at him. She reached down and tightened her greaves while keeping an eye on him.
"I guess we need to do that," Lee said before sprinting forward. Coming right before her, he went on the attack this time. "Jaken…Rock!"
"Paper," Konan countered, holding out an open hand catch his fist.
Lee jumped back but came back in. "Paper," he called and Konan already start to move to catch a chop. But he did rock instead, getting through her guard and pushing her aside.
"Ooh! That's mean," Konan called when she stopped sliding back. "Calling paper when you did rock!"
"Rock is my lucky choice," Lee said with a smile.
"Nya, that's it, no more miss nice kitty!" She came at him again and Lee fell into his stance. "Burning knuckles!" Fire covered her fist, hitting Lee with an explosion. "Wind's razor!" A kick and a blade of wind followed her foot, cutting the ground and anything else that got in its way. Jumping and ducking out of the way, Lee got to the other side of the arena unscathed.
"It is time to let loose, yes?" He looked up the stands at his jonin instructor, Maito Gai.
"…Lee, you have found an opponent, the opponent, take them off and fight at full strength!"
Lee looked held up a fist and shouted, "Yosh!" Pulling on the orange leg warmers, he grabbed the weights and dropped them. "I am afraid now you have no…chance." He trailed off as Konan had stars in her eyes.
"Look at them all! So much weight and you were moving so fluidly!" She giggled a moment and said, "Those would hurt if you hit someone with them. Nya, that means I can only do the same!" She went to her greaves, unclasped one, set it aside, and took off her other. "Nya," she said, having not yet set her foot down. Lifting the greave up into the air, she dropped it and when it hit the ground, it broke through it much like Lee's weights. "Now that we are both without restraints…" She dropped her foot and vanished. Konan was continuously using boots that are heavier and heavier because she was getting stronger. As long as she has them on, you have a chance of victory, now you just have a chance of survival. Setting her foot down had launched her into the air and she was now coming down on him.
—oo000oo—
Naruto smirked when Konan took off her boots, expecting this match over already but he was shocked when Lee vanished as well just before Konan landed when he had been, breaking the ground. In that instant she landed and hadn't been moving, Lee attacked with a heel drop catching her on the shoulder. Pushing her to the ground, Konan twisted around, swinging her braid around and wrapping it around Lee's leg. Pulling him from his foot, he started to fall before both vanished again. The rest of the fight he couldn't even see except for flashes of them hitting one another and the breaking of rocks and trees when their attacks missed. He never once felt worried for her before but he did now. Before he could watch and help. Even if he can't help no he could at least watch before.
A glance up and he saw that many from Uzu were still able to keep up with their speeds, showing that Naruto still had many years to go yet to be a true warrior of Uzu no Kuni.
CRACK! A billow of dust from the far edge of the arena followed by a whisp of smoke going up the wall. It was right behind the trail of broken tiles as someone was slammed against it face first and dragged up. Almost to the top, the person doing the dragging jumped off and one of them got thrown down to the ground with the other following in a dive stomp. "Konan!"
Dust covered the impact zone but someone was walking out. When it was Lee walking out, without even a cut on his face, Naruto almost felt his heart stop. "Get back here," Konan called, tackling him from behind and dragging him back in the dust. There came the sounds of something being smacked around. When it cleared up, Konan was lying on Lee's back, holding him in an armbar. "Tap, tap!"
"Ow, ow, okay, okay, OKAY!" Lee slapped his hand to the ground a couples while asking her to let go.
Konan let him go and headed back upstairs, swaying to a song only she could hear. She entered the contestants' box and sat down next to Naruto. "Heya!"
"Knew you would win," Naruto bluffed.
"Oh," Gaara asked. "I didn't hear you go 'Konan!' then?"
"Nope."
"Nya, Naruto was worried about me," she asked happily before grabbing his arm. "You were worried! NYA!"
"I wasn't," he lied.
"So what if he was," Din said. "Not like it means anything."
"Sure it does," Konan replied. "By the way, you're turn."
Din watched her a moment longer before stepping off the railing and floating down where Zaku was. "I'm going to clip your wings, little bird," the Sound ninja growled.
"Just start the match," she replied.
"Haji…"
PUFF!
"-me…" Genma looked to where Zaku had been only to stare at the newt he had been turned into. "…Uh…Zaku is unable to continue, the winner is Sora Din."
Din snapped her fingers again, returning him to normal as she flew back up. Sitting down on the other side of Naruto and grabbing his arm, she said "Our next match is between you and me, Konan. And I'm not going to give up."
"Nya, then neither am I!" Naruto looked between the two as they stared so hard at one another there was a wall there. His tail came up and was stopped by it. He really wished he could make a copy of himself so he could escape.
"Shikamaru and Talon, please come down here," Genma called.
"Man, what a drag," Shikamaru said as he looked to the mousy girl. She barely looked like she could hold that staff of hers, much less fight with it.
Sakura caught his arm as he was going down stairs. "Whatever you do don't startle her."
"There's no rules," he replied.
"I know but she takes it personal."
Shikamaru arched an eyebrow and headed down to the arena. Once there, he looked at Talon again, wondering if he missed something about her. "Troublesome, why don't you give up."
Even if she seemed to shake like a leaf, she shook her head. "I-I rather not," she stated. "A-Any time you're r, ready, sir."
Genma looked at her suspiciously before stepping back. And again and again before reaching the wall. "Fighters ready? Hajime!"
Shikamaru opened up by throwing a kunai at her. Talon knocked it aside with her staff and shot back a bolt of lightning. Shikamaru barely ducked it and looked back just in time to see her hands glowing brown and her making the motion of pulling something from the ground. Spikes shot up from the ground with razor sharp tips all trying to spear Shikamaru. Skipping between them, he got to the back of the arena and ducked among the trees. Looking after him, her hands began to glow green and blue, being raised to the sky. It had been a clear day but now a storm formed overhead. It started a downpour, quickly flooding the arena. "What else can go wrong," Shikamaru muttered as the water rose to chin level and he was floating now.
Talon, standing on the water, looked about for him only a few moments before she called out, "Auril, lord of ice and all things frozen, reach out your hand and strike down the heat." She touched the water with one hand and like ripples ice spread out and down. Seeing the danger of that, Shikamaru tried to pull himself up out of the water but still had his calves in when it froze. He was stuck there and Talon could now see him. Walking over, she said, "Yield."
"…Afraid I can't do that."
He started on handsigns as she melted the ice beneath him, dropping him down once more before freezing it again. Shikamaru hit the ice surface trying to break it but it was over a foot thick. Seeing the stairway flooded but open, he started for that. He was almost there when he remembered that if he left, he was disqualified. Sinking to the bottom, he sat there a moment, trying to figure out what to do. Folding his hands together, he spent a bit thinking about it.
—oo000oo—
Talon looked down at him, praying he would leave or signal he gave up but he just sat there. She could see him moving still so he wasn't dead but he didn't have a lot of time. "Ano…shouldn't you call it?"
"He can still continue, I cannot," Genma replied.
"But he…he…" Talon looked to her arms as they came up together on their own, mimicking Shikamaru's stance under the ice. What she couldn't see was that his shadow had stretched through the building, down the side, and connected to her shadow. It was hidden because her storm had covered the arena in shadows. "What is he…" Her hands came up and gripped her chest. "…EEP! PERVERT!" She transformed immediately into her dragon form, filling up the arena and breaking the ice. As she reached down trying to find him to crush him, Shikamaru broke the surface and took a deep breath. "THERE-YOU-ARE!"
Diving back under to get away from her, he was just able to miss the claw swiping through the water. Roaring in anger, she climbed up onto the building and took a deep breath. A beam of extreme heat and light cut through the water, instantly boiling what it touched away. "Wow, someone can make her mad," Naruto mused, looking down at the glassed arena.
"Told him not to startle her," Sakura moaned. "Is he dead?"
Shikamaru came out from behind Genma, already planning on giving up. "Sorry!"
"Oh-no-you-don't! Die!"
"Talon has left the arena, the winner is Shikamaru," Genma called out, making her freeze a moment before lowering her head down to glare at him.
"What?"
"You are atop the building, not inside the arena, thus you lose," he said a bit less confidently. She didn't sound happy and she did have fangs the size of daggers.
"Really, you're-going-with-that-to-stop-me-from-eating-him?"
"You're going to eat me," Shikamaru asked.
"Eat-you, disgusting. I-may-chew-in-self-defense-but-I-never-swallow." She got close enough for him to look right in her eyes and snorted. "...I-will-remember-this." Talon spread her wings before flying up and landing on the mountain.
Shikamaru looked after her and muttered, "I should've just quit. Troublesome."
—oo000oo—
Kabuto looked down at his name being called and then to his opponent, Temari. She was laughing among her siblings and didn't look concerned at all. Considering how they have performed to this point, he could understand why. She stood up and jumped down so Kabuto followed. "Forgive me if I don't fight very well, I'm not much of a fighter."
"That right? Well, then I guess this will go from a few seconds to a heartbeat."
"Well, I think I'll last longer than that."
"Hajime."
"Fireball!" Kabuto's half of the arena exploded in fire. "Fire storm!" With her at the center, fire burst out in a gush moving much like rain in a storm. "Ice Hurricane!" Spears of ice came flying through the air next. "Thunder…"
"Temari, I think you won," a voice cut through the wind and fire. Aoi sat back down and waited.
Temari looked up to her and then back to Kabuto. He was singed and smoking, pinned to the wall by two spears going through his shirt and was currently holding himself up in the air as a third spear would've hit his crotch if he hadn't picked himself up. "I surrender!"
Temari smirked and said, "Ah, overkill is underrated." A small hop and she went back up into the stands.
"Uzumaki Aisha and Yamanaka Ino."
Ino stood up and she walked down the stairs. "Don't just sit there," she said a bit angrily.
"Oh, you are really going to get it little girl."
Genma looked between the two and the words catfight entered his mind. Might have been because of Aisha but he digressed. "Fighters ready?" They nodded. "Hajime!" Ino started to do handsigned but had to duck as Aisha swiped her claws at her. She jumped to the other side and against started her handsigns. Aisha instead reached down to the patch of glass Talon made, grabbed the edge, and pulled it up. She may not have been as strong as Perrin but she worked out. Using it as a shield, she blocked whatever jutsu Ino had planned before pulling back and heaving the glass at her. It slammed into the wall, missing Ino by inches. As she looked to it, Aisha took her chance and sprinted at her, hitting the girl with a fist to the stomach. Ino had been angry the whole month and that motivated her to train harder. But while she might have been a match to Sakura or maybe one of the others from Konoha, Aisha was a warrior of skill. She cut her teeth on others of Uzu and demons summoned to test themselves and keep them sharp. She was strong and she doesn't hold back.
When she realized that Ino wasn't resisting anymore, Aisha stood back up and glared at her. Ino was curled up, trying to protect her head, stomach and chest as a few bruises formed on her face and body. There were no cheers for Aisha, it had been a one sided beating with no mercy. Growling once more at Ino, she grabbed her by the hair and said, "I want you to remember this moment, little girl, and how it should have gone and didn't. Your precious Sasuke kept pushing. Keep it up and you'll end just like he did." She pulled Ino's headband off and walked away.
Genma was about to call it her fight when Ino stood back up. "Give it back," Ino demanded.
"No."
"I said give it back!"
"Listen to me, little girl, quit! Give up this exam, give up being a ninja, go home, meet a boy that actually matters, and raise a bunch of fat babies! Look around you! You are in a business that sells death! I could kill you right now and they wouldn't stop it, that is how much life matters anymore to them! Give up!"
Ino began to limp over to her. "No, I refuse. Maybe Sasuke was a bastard that deserved to die. Maybe I was and possibly still am delusional for caring for him." She stood in front of Aisha finding a steel inside herself she never thought there before. She was afraid of Aisha. She knew the difference now. "But damn it all, I'm not leaving this arena without my headband and you're not leaving it yet because the match is still going."
"Back down," Aisha snapped, baring fangs and her eyes growing small with anger.
"Make me!" The two stared at one another for several moments before Aisha began to chuckle. It picked up a little until she was straight out laughing.
"Very well, little girl, you convinced me you have the mettle to continue this life. Come to Uzu some time, I'll train you at my Lodge." She must've surprised Ino because she just gaped as Aisha tied the headband around her head but with the metal plate reversed. "But until then…" Before Ino could even blink, Aisha reared back a fist and hit the headband hard enough to stamp the Konoha leaf on her forehead. "The match was still going," Aisha finished saying to the unconscious girl.
—oo000oo—
Aoi smiled in surprise and said, "I didn't expect that. To be offered to be trained at one of the Lodges is a great honor. I would never have thought she could be given the chance."
"The lodges," Baki asked.
"Yes, the lodges are places where a small group of our people are trained in a…rather effective fighting style."
"Which is," he pressed.
"They are berserkers. They enter a rage and fight until they can't anymore. Back when we fought more, a single berserker could hold back an entire line of swordsman. Such was their rage. Their training is intense, physically and otherwise. Some make it a regular training regime to stand in ice cold water until they pass out or until they are there for an hour, no exercise, no clothes."
"Sounds like a hardy bunch," Sarutobi stated.
"Oh, they are. A berserker is well feared and respected. Some of them can even use their rage for something else."
"And that is," Baki asked.
"And that…is a secret," Aoi said with a smile. "Just watch, I imagine when she fights Temari she will be forced to use it."
—oo000oo—
"Will Gaara and Tenten please enter the arena?"
Gaara stood up and offered his hand to Tenten. "I can help myself," she said as she rose from her seat.
"Oh, I'm sure of that," Gaara replied. "I just thought I would offer, after all it is the polite thing to do."
She blinked and looked at him oddly. "Manners? You know them?"
"Oh yes, always the last place you look, like stockings." He chuckled at his own joke. Walking onto the field, walked to the center and grabbed a handful of the dirt and began to say something very softly.
"Hey, we're about to start," Genma called to him. When Gaara didn't reply, he shrugged and said, "Hajime."
"Ragh!" Tenten pulled an axe out and rushed him, planning on cutting Gaara in half.
"…And in the dust to which we came, amen," Gaara finished before spinning around, catching her axe with his own. In that moment, his bamboo hat shifted around, changing color and form. It became a helm just as dark as the rest of his armor with deep, dark hole for the eyes, two white orbs over his mouth, and two vents to the side of them that purified the air he breathed. "May those that die, die well before Ladon," Gaara told her, holding her back steadily. His free hand came back around, holding a knife that was aimed for her neck. Tenten twisted back and broke contact with their blades.
They were about to continue when something rolled onto the field. Unfurling to reveal a lanky jester wearing a mask, he man laughed. "Such fun, such fun, Jack feels he should have been invited to play, no fair not asking Jack to play!"
"Who are you," Gaara asked coldly.
"Jack, the knave," he said with a bow. "King of jesters and jester to king. Ah such a grand arena deserves a performer such as I!" Holding his arms up and out, he spun in a circle before laughing again. "The balance of power a wonderful game, your weapons and blood you lend! But the balance has shifted; the time has come for reign to end! I call the Knave, I call the Knight, the Queen and King once sore! The Court of Blades, the time has come, for these lives to live no more!" A circle of blades shot off him as he jumped up in the air, shedding the clothes of a jester. He landed on the roof wearing a red cloak and cowl with plate armor protecting his body and an assassin's dagger in his hand. Three others landed next to him and struck down the ANBU that even then was moving in. One wore heavy armor with a shield and mace. The next was a women in a gown holding a whip that cut flesh as cleanly as any blade. The last was a man with a scepter and crown. All with the emblem of a blade dripping blood.
"The court of blades," Aoi said in shock. The four faced them to reveal themselves Highlanders. "You're being attacked," she shouted at Sarutobi.
Below them Gaara was getting off the ground and looking at his attacker, the Knave of Blades. Tearing his gaze away from him, he looked to the two down below with him. Genma was holding his side where a dagger had pushed through his armor and side. He had been covering Tenten. Seeing them unharmed besides that, he looked up at Knave and his allies and asked, "Who would be dumb enough to attack now with us here?" Whomever they were they had friends as around the village ninja and highlanders descended, intending to leave their mark on the ninja village of Konoha, Suna, and Uzu.
—oo000oo—
Author's Notes. This one took so long to get out because I had originally planned to get farther into the invasion than just this. I had three more pages when I realized just how long it was getting. Still I kept working at it, reading over it, and working some more when I realized that this spot would be the perfect cut off point.
I give to you the Court of Blades. Inspired by a story I have planned, called the Knave of Blades, each member is the pinnacle of a certain style of assassinations and are the head of a whole house. The four of which makes of a guild, the Unseen Blade. To be able to summon their guild to fight, much less the Court requires a great deal of gold, no refunds or exchanges, satisfaction not guaranteed. Agents will be dispatched from the closest convenient point and someone will die, be it the target or the Blade members. Warning, the Unseen Blade does not protect against a counter targeting being purchased on you for targeting someone else. Money is to be paid up front in full. Thank you for choosing the Unseen Blades.
The Highlanders are ruled by a hierarchy with the current leader being given the title Mercenary King or Mercenary Queen. But where other Hierarchies are from parent to child, this is from the strongest leader to the next strongest, blood ties or none. The determining factor is Soul Crusher, the Demon Sword. This blade was used to strike down Deathevan, the World Destroyer. He meant to only die for a time and be reborn but that was not to be. Ryu, wielding this sword and one a powerful holy artifact, the Holy Sword of Ladon, struck Deathevan with Soul Crusher and entrapped the demon within. Even should the blade be destroyed somehow, Deathevan would not likely be able to escape from his prison. But it is not a perfect prison. Without the presence of the Holy Sword of Ladon to counter it, Soul Crusher would begin to impose its will on the wielder. The first to beat Demon Sword's will was Ryu himself, second was Sten, his friend and companion. Giving the sword to Sten to keep the two separate and preventing any from wielding both and growing too powerful, Ryu passed the Holy Sword to his children. Sten would pass Demon Sword on to his successor, a woman that defeated the will of the Demon Sword and became the first Mercenary Queen. With Demon Sword at their side, the Mercenary Heirarchy has been all but invincible in combat.
Just as Holy Sword can quell Demon Sword, so can Holy Sword counter it. By using the power of both blades, the Demon Sword and Holy Sword can destroy even each other. The Mercenary Kings and Queens have sworn a blood oath that never should these two blades be used together or against one another.
…Okay so I really like the Legend of the Lodoss Wars. I used the blade as the reason the Dragon Clans were able to leave their underground city. As there was no Deathevan to be reborn, there was no reason to stay there and prevent him from breaching the surface. With the full might of the Dragon Clan on the surface, Myria could not purge what few remained on the surface originally and begin Breath of Fire III. An army of dragons that spent at least five hundred years below ground fighting the strongest demons on earth is one army I would not like to fight, wouldn't you say? To put it lightly, a thousand like Garr from BoFIII could not beat them for a very simple reason. While the others may have been pacifist, these were warriors through and through.
Speaking of which, does anyone know just why the Brood didn't fight back? Obviously it wasn't because they were listening to Myria. So why? I don't think they ever explain it in the game aside from that undead dragon talking to someone saying to hold back.
The song sung by the three miko was Coro di Dea- Voices of Goddesses sung by Belldandy, Skuld, and Urd.