Nagi looked at the girl before him in bewilderment. He had never seen anything like this before. Not even in the war had he seen a Shinobi activate such a jutsu. He was intrigued to say the least.
The wound in her side had stopped bleeding, and he could practically feel the Chakra oozing out of her. And of course there was her eyes as well.
He couldn't stop the enormous smile lighting up his face.
He hadn't felt so alive since his fight with Madara during the war.
Akari kept her green and yellow eyes on the man for a moment longer before she acted. Words were pointless now. All she wanted to do, all she could do, was kill this man.
Her speed was as incredible as before, in the blink of an eye she closed the twenty meter gap between them aiming a clawed hand for his neck.
He rolled back from the swing and sent a kick into the girls' ribs where her wound was.
Akari's eyes once again glazed over as an excruciating wave of pain flooded through her body. She let out a high pitched yelp as he blow connected and she was thrown sideways. The force of the impact caused the wound to re-open, her blood running freely down her side once again.
But as quickly as it had opened the blood flow was halted. She felt strength welling up inside of her like before urging her into action, using it she got back to her feet.
After a quick scan of the battle ground she saw her wakizashi lying a few feet away from her, as well as one of her shuriken. She took a deep breath and once again turned her eyes back to Nagi. She hissed at him and charged him dead on.
"Katon: Ryū no dangan." He sent over a dozen head sized fireballs at her, each one locking in on her Chakra and altering course to make contact. She rolled and leapt through the onslaught, picking up her wakizashi in the process.
She came in swinging at him, only for him to side step every strike. Her speed had indeed improved, but her mode of attack was to linier, easy to avoid.
He made a series of hand signs and stomped against the ground. "Doton: Chikyū yari!" The ground cracked a little under his force and a moment later half a dozen spears shot out of the ground and Akari was forced to leap back from the sudden assault.
She suffered a few glancing blows, but nothing serious.
Nagi popped his neck left and right before he picked up two of the spears from the ground. They came free with a soft 'crack' and he gave them an experimental swing, testing their weight.
It'll do. He said to himself as he closed in on Akari. She pulled out her second last demon wind shuriken in response and the two clashed again.
The heavy 'clang' of metal on stone rang out as the two Shinobi traded blow for blow.
Nagi swung a spear tip for her neck, but she ducked under the blow stabbing out with her wakizashi. He shifted his weight to the right, letting the stab sail over his shoulder harmlessly. He reversed the grip of the spear he had swung for her neck and stabbed at her with the butt of it.
She parried the strike with her shuriken, dragging the spear to the side she stepped in with a kick to the man's leg, bringing it out from under him.
He used the trip to his advantage and sent a kick at her head, forcing the girl to jump back. Immediately he followed through with another spear thrust at her chest. She ducked under the blow just a moment to slow as the edge of the spear bit into her shoulder. She let out another cry of pain as she felt the sharpened rock hit bone.
Nagi smiled and pushed down on the spear, he wouldn't be able to cut through bone without momentum but he would be able to hold the girl there.
He aimed his second spear for the girls heart and stabbed down.
Akari bit down the pain in her shoulder and ran forward under the second spear. The first tore through her shoulder while the second cut down her back. She screamed in defiance of the pain raging through her body and stabbed for Nagi's neck. He stepped back just in time to avoid his jugular vein being fully slice open.
The blood ran down his neck and shoulder and he felt himself breathing harder as the warmth of his blood spread down his body.
He tightened the grip on his spears and flexed his shoulders, forcing yet more blood to flow from the wound in his neck.
"Step it up kid. You can't beat me with just taijutsu." He told her. "Didn't you say you were going to kill me?"
Akari glared at him through multi coloured eyes and forced herself to calm down. She held her hands together in a seal and focused her Chakra.
"You're right, I did say that." She said quietly. She looked at him with a cold smile on her lips. "Time to die," She said.
Nagi smiled and began making hand signs. Before he had finished Akari vanished. A split second later he felt a handful of sharp impacts in his gut as Akari appeared beneath him, all six stone spears rammed against his gut.
A faint crack split the stunned silence as the spears broke apart against Nagi's skin. He smiled as he skin slowly faded to grey.
"Doton: Yamahada no jutsu." He smiled as the jutsu took full effect. He slammed a hand into her head and sent the girl staggering back under the blow.
Akari's head was spinning as she tried to gain her balance, but he left her no such chance. Nagi leapt forward bringing a knee into the girl's stomach. She gasped in pain as the blow connected but Nagi didn't relent. He rained down on the girl with a series of rock hard blows.
He sent a kick into her side and sent the girl slamming against the mountain side.
He smiled at her as he jumped up to deliver his final blow. "Time to die," He mocked as he came in.
Akari smiled and healed her hands in the same seal as before. "Senkō: Hayai no mai." She vanished from view the split second before Nagi shattered her rib cage.
He looked back to see Akari standing a few meters away, wakizashi in hand. She focused her Chakra into her hand and forced the change in nature.
Lightning arched up and down the blade and she looked Nagi in the eye. The unspoke message hung in the air for a moment before Nagi nodded his consent.
He took a deep breath before charging again. Once again Akari focused her Chakra and formed a seal with one hand. "Senkō: Hayai no mai." She vanished from view and Nagi felt pain consume his entire body as cuts erupted all over his skin.
The lightning charged blade in Akari's hands was slick with blood as she appeared behind him, blade held out to full extension in her hands. She opened her eyes and stood up slowly turning to face him once again. She'd meant to dismember him with the last justu, but she was still unable to control herself properly as such high speeds and so had only managed a dozen glancing blows.
Blood ran free don his body from over a dozen cuts, none of them lethal, but all excruciatingly painful. He glared at her as he tried to raise himself off his knees, but she'd managed to cut several tendons in that last attack and now he could barely move.
She offered him no words as she took another readied stance, prepared to attack again.
This time however she made a series of hand signs before she attacked.
Please let this work. She begged to whoever was listening. She held the still lightning charged wakizashi before her and moved. "Senkō: Kagayaku raimei-kiri."
Akari covered nearly thirty meters in the blink of an eye. Sword held out behind her.
Nagi's head fell a moment before his body followed suite, hitting the ground with a soft 'thump'.
She let out a deep sigh as she stood up fully. She tried to take a step but her whole body was seized in pain and she felt to the ground with a silent gasp.
Her jutsu had caused her wound to open again and blood pooled around her body. But even as she felt the cold hands of death close in on her she felt completely calm.
"Taki," She breathed, "I hope you're safe." She said as the darkness filled her vision.
Don't die now child. A soft voice purred from somewhere in the back of her mind. You have fought well, and I cannot let such courage go unrewarded. I shall give you my Chakra, so rest now, I expect much from you. The soft voice purred before Akari felt the sweet embrace of sleep take her.
Naruto landed next to her a moment later. He'd seen the events play out from afar as he came to the aid of his student, though right now she needed a different kind of aid. He rolled her over gently and looked at the injuries she had sustained. They were sever but he could see the faint traces of chakra healing closing the wounds on her body, however the one on her side was a bit to sever for just raw Chakra to heal alone.
He let himself give way to a deep sigh as he released Kurama's Chakra. She would live, but he had to handle her transportation carefully. He bit his thumb again and made a summoning.
Fukasaku gave him a quizzical look as the smoke cleared around them. "Naruto-boy, what did ya summon me for?" The old toad asked.
"I need help with her." Naruto said inclining his head to Akari. The old toad turned around and inspected the girl's injuries silently, "She needs a medic, boy, and you know that's not me." He said.
"I know, there is already a medic back with the rest of my team I need to get her there without moving her too much, if I do then the wound to her stomach will open and shell be dead before I got back.
Fukasaku nodded, understanding what Naruto was saying. "Then what did ya summon me for?" He asked, still not sure why Naruto had summoned him here to help with the problem. "I'm going to throw you back to the rest of my team." Naruto explained to him. "Once you're there you can summon me back to them." He said.
"But the Kuchiyose doesn't work like that. I can only use the revers summoning to bring you back to Mount Myōboku." Fukasaku said.
Naruto shrugged. "That's the revers summoning, but Ma was able to summon us back to Konoha using just an ordinary summons." Naruto retorted.
The elder toad put a hand to his chin as he thought, "You're right." He said as he looked back at Akari. "It could work, but the Kuchiyose was never meant to be used by the summoned so summon the summoner." He said.
Naruto shrugged, "I'm kind of out of options, and this is the only thing I can think of to get her to a medic in time, unless you know the Hiraishin." Naruto added with a smirk.
Fukasaku shook his head with a chuckle then nodded. "Alright, let's give it a try."
The panther had just finished giving Taki her medical treatment, and was about to get back, when a toad, roughly here size landed next to the small group.
They looked at the old creature in bewilderment as he nodded to them. He made the signs for a summoning and with a puff of smoke Naruto appeared in between them.
He looked at the panther with hard eyes as he laid Akari down on the ground. "Her condition isn't as sever, but if she doesn't receive treatment she won't be able to make a full recovery." He said.
The old panther gave a sigh as she hopped onto Akari's chest. "Very well." She said in a wiry tone. "It's not like I can let such a courageous young child die."
When Akari awoke she was in a warm and soft bed, underneath a heavy blanket. Her vision was hazy and her whole body was stiff and sore. She tried to rise but there was a weight on her chest.
Confused she looked down to see a large black cat curled up and sleeping on her. As she made to move the cat woke up, looking at her with hard yellow eyes. "So you're awake." The cat said.
Akari froze and stared at the cat with wide eyes, she had to be hallucinating, cats weren't supposed to talk. "What happened?" She asked the cat.
"You were in a fight." The cat told her as it moved off her, allowing her to sit up. It stretched its legs one by one and began flicking its tail left and right. "You sustained severe injuries, and so you were brought here."
"Am I dead?" She asked the cat fearfully, the cat gave her an amused chuckle and shook its head.
"Far from it child." It said. "You are in a village at the other end of the pass.
"Oh," Akari said relieved.
The cat's ear twitched slightly in a motion Akari was all too familiar with. She reached forward and began scratching behind the cat's ear.
The cat let out a happy purr and closed its eyes as Akari scratched. The door into the room opened and a woman stepped in, closely followed by Naruto and Tsugashi.
"I see you're awake." Naruto said with a grin.
Akari let herself smile as she saw them, the sight of her teacher filling her with a sense of relief.
"Sensei, Tsugashi." She said with a smile bigger than any of them had ever seen.
The woman walked over to her as she tried to stand up. "Don't, you need rest." She said. But Akari just waved her off as she stood up and stretched, it felt wonderful. Her knees were a bit weak at first but soon she found herself working out all the stiffness that sets into one's muscles after a day if bed rest.
She groaned as she sat back done on the bed again. The woman looked at her quizzically as she sat back down again and moved closer to her, examining the wounds – or more accurately where they were the day before.
"Well I don't know how you did it, but you've managed a full recovery." She said as she stepped away from Akari.
Naruto let an all knowing smile spread across his face at the doctor's words.
Akari gave her a confused look before she looked down at her completely bandaged body. Her cheeks reddened and she pulled the blanket over herself. "Don't suppose I could have my clothes back." She said, more than a little embarrassed. Naruto nodded and reached into his back pay pulling out a set of clothes.
She smiled her thanks as the two men walked out of the room to give her some privacy.
With the doctors help she soon had all of her bandages remove and her normal clothes back on. As she got up the black cat moved with her. She looked down at it, then back to the doctor.
Sensing the question she spoke. "Your friend summoned it to keep an eye on you." She said.
"Oh," Was all Akari could think to say as she walked out followed by the panther. It did explain why it could talk though. She mused to herself as she met up with Tsugashi and Naruto. "Where are the others?" She asked them as they stood up. "Taki's resting," Naruto told her. "She's not as fast healing as you so it's going to take another day for her to be good to travel, meanwhile Azuko's back at the inn sleeping off a severe case of Chakra exhaustion."
Akari nodded and looked at Taki's room.
"I'm going to head into the market with Tsugashi and get some supplies for the road. You stay with Taki, let me know if she wakes up." He said.
Akari nodded and walked into the room.
It was a carbon copy of the one she had woken up in, with a chair, bed and bedside table which doubled up as a desk.
She pulled out the chair and sat down next to Taki, the panther curled up at the foot of the bed looked at her as she entered, but upon seeing the other panther with her went back to sleeping.
As Akari sat down her escort curled up on her lap and she smiled to herself as she began petting his soft fur.
There was a content silence in the room for a few minutes before Taki's eyes fluttered open with a soft moan.
She looked about herself, confused with her new surroundings. When her eyes finally fell on Akari she smiled at her. "Hey," She sighed in a quiet voice through half close eyes.
Akari stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to say, but eventually settled with a simple 'Hi'.
Taki tried to rise but her eyes screw shut tightly and she let out a gasp of pain, both hands holding her side. Akari put a hand on her shoulder and guided her back down to the pillow. "Rest," She said calmly.
Taki did as she was told and lay back down on her bed. Once again a blissful silence fell over the room as the two girls sat there.
After a while Akari broke the silence. "Um, thanks." She said suddenly, gaining Taki's attention.
"For what?" Taki asked shimmying up the bed a little into a more comfortable position.
"For protecting me." Akari said quietly. "When you jumped in between us I was so scared." He voice began to falter and she gripped her pant legs tightly. Despite all her effort she couldn't stop the tear form falling as she remembered the other day.
Taki smiled at her and put a reassuring hand over Akari's. "It's okay Akari." She said softly. "I'm alive, you're alive, everything turned out okay."
"But if I hadn't," Akari began.
"Enough." Taki said forcefully. "I don't blame you for what happened; I did it because I wanted to protect you, because we're friends. You'd do the same for me right?" She asked.
Akari couldn't bring herself to look into her eyes, so she hung her head and nodded as the tears ran down her cheeks.
Taki smiled wirily at the crying girl before her. What am I going to do with you? She asked herself.
She put a hand to Akari's face and made her look up. Their eyes met and Taki pulled the other girl closer into a hug. "It's okay." She soothed as Akari once again started to cry. From the window Naruto allowed himself to smile.
She had made such progress from the jaded and distant girl she had been nearly two months ago. And as a whole they had made great headway as a team. Knowing that there was nothing more to be said between them that he was entitled to hear he left to go find Tsugashi.
It was late at night when Akari woke up again; she had fallen asleep on Taki's bed she now looked about herself in the dark room.
Pale moon light drifted in from the open window bathing the room in a delicate sliver glow. She looked over at Taki who was once again sleeping soundly.
She stepped off the bed quietly, gaining the attention of both panthers, currently curled up at the foot of the bed.
She held a finger to her lips and motioned for them to stay. Obediently the two cubs laid their heads back down on their paws and closed their eyes again.
Outside Akari took a walk through the deserted town, it was a little past mid night and she was the only one walking through the sleeping streets.
She reached the edge of the village and found a large bolder resting in the ground just off the path. She hopped up to the top of it and pulled her knees into her chest as she looked out of over the Land of Planes, bathed in the silverly light of the moon.
It would be forever etched into her memories as one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen in her life. Wide open silver-green fields stretching out in all direction. The only feature on the land was the occasional farming house and the distant outline of the next village on the horizon.
She heard his approach long before he actually reached her, and so wasn't surprised when he spoke. "Beautiful night isn't it." Naruto said from the ground.
"Yea," She replied with a soft grin.
He joined her on the rock and sat down next to her, resting his head on his knees. There was silence between the two for a long moment before Akari finally spoke.
"Sensei, what does it mean to be a Shinobi?" The girl asked quietly. Naruto looked at the girl quizzically, "Why do you ask?" He asked her, wondering what happened during her fight.
"Well the guy we were fighting, Nagi, he said that even though we were kids, we were still Shinobi of Konoha, and I've been wondering what that means. I thought I knew back when we graduated to Genin, but after the fight, after the way Taki sacrificed herself for me it's made me realise that I don't know. I don't know who I am, or what I'm doing. I feel like I just some kid playing at being a ninja." She said as she started to cry. "I feel like I'm just a husk of a person walking around doing things for no reason."
Naruto smiled at the girl as he began to rub her back calmingly. He didn't answer her immediately. Instead his mind drifted back to the philosophical teachings Jiraiya and Kakashi had given him during his training.
"Well some people will tell you a Shinobi is a tool for combat, to be devoid of emotions, cold and effective, like the weapons we wield. Personally I don't like that idea. To me a Shinobi is someone who endures through hard ships, who never gives up. They are people that never surrender and never go back on their word. Or at least that's the Shinobi I try to be." He explained. "And I also think it's important for someone to develop their own Nindō. To find their own reason for being a ninja and sticking with it, not matter what lies ahead. Does that make sense?" He asked. Realising he was asking a thirteen year old to do some soul searching he hadn't truly understood until he was twenty.
Akari nodded as she looked up at the moon wiping away her tears. "I want to be someone that protects their friends." She said after a pause. "I want to help people and be a strong person for them to lean on, to depend on." She said quietly. "I want to be like you I guess." She said looking at him. "Someone people respect and admire someone that can protect their friends from whatever tries to hurt them." She said with a smile.
Naruto smiled as he gave the girl a hug. "I think that is a splendid Nindō." He said with a grin.
Awww wasn't that a nice chapter, full of blood and soul searching, all the good stuff. So yea I actually give the Lade of Planes two more chapters, basically they get their and then solve the problem of Isalla, cause you know I still have to have those Yoru-Nin show up again and do something plot related.
But I hope you enjoyed this Chapter, it took a while but I think its a nice solid chapter. So yea, only little bit more to go in the Land of PLanes before we get back to Konoha for the Chunin selection examinations.
Jutsu in order of appearance are:
"Fire style: Dragon bullet."
"Earth Style: Earth spear."
"Earth Style: Skin of the mountain"
"Flash: Quick dance."
"Flash: Shining thunder cut."
Also there will be an explanation of Akari's justu later, it was that one she was practicing in chapter four. So yea none of this whole previously unexplained McGuffen button that you just added cause she was gonna die whining. I had indicators.
Also Chapter updates might became a weekly thing soon, seeing as I have to start looking for a job and be a functioning member so when that happens I will try to keep a weekly chapter at best, but we'll see how this plays out.
Until next time I wish you all the best.
Yours truly.
Nicolai Grey.