Azuko moaned as he regained consciousness. He had a splitting headache and his vision was blurry, but other than that he felt fine.
He got to his knees slowly taking in his surroundings. The explosion had taken him for quite a ride, flinging him deep into the Forest of Death. He tried to stand but his leg gave out. When he looked down he saw that his ankle had been broken, his foot bending at a rather alarming angle.
He drew his leg in slowly, wincing at the pain that was now all too evident to his mind.
He gripped his foot gently with both hands and suppressed a scream as he bent his foot back in place. He snapped off some branches next to him and lined them up with his leg as he pulled out a roll of bandages.
He got a smaller stick and bit down on it hard to keep himself quiet as he began to splint his own foot. After a few minutes and more than a few failed attempts to keep himself quiet Azuko crawled over to the branch next to him and used one of his kama to hack off a longer branch to use as a walking stick.
He looked about himself trying to get a feel for his position. He didn't recognise anything so he guessed the blast had thrown him into a different section of the forest than the others.
He sighed and began limping through the woods, looking for something to eat and drink, after that he'd figure out what to do about his team mates.
He spent a few minutes negotiating a rather thick tree root that had at some point or another been ripped out of the ground and broken apart before he noticed the other body. She was lying on her side her long dark hair strewed about her head and shoulders.
He inched ever closer to the girl, kama in hand.
He knelt down next to her and thought for a second. She was his enemy and before they had been scattered by the explosion she had attacked him. He was so fixated on the girl before him and what to do about her that he completely lost all sense of his surroundings.
Eventually Azuko came to a decision, she was his enemy and she had attacked them, so he would do what he had intended to do then and kill her. Quickly and cleanly, eliminating the competition and all possible threats was a Shinobi's primary objective. He raised his kama to strike and a kunai hit the ground between the two.
Azuko's breath caught as his arm dropped and he looked up. Standing not ten feet away was Taki and the other Yoru Nin.
They stood side by side glaring at him.
"I'll do to this one what you do to her." Makabi warned, raising a kunai to Taki's throat as he spoke.
Taki glanced at the boy but he kept his eyes squarely on Azuko. Azuko sighed and dropped his kama. At the same time Makabi let his arm down and the two of them moved closer. Azuko got to his feet shakily and backed off a bit as the two came closer.
"You're hurt." Taki said concerned as she noticed his foot.
Azuko brushed it off. "I'm fine." He said coldly. Truth be told he wasn't but he wasn't about to ask for help over just a broken ankle, he didn't need her concern. He could still fight. Taki frowned slightly and backed off a pace at her team mate's cold tone of voice.
Meanwhile Makabi knelt down next to Hina shaking her shoulder gently. "Hina," He said softly. The girl stirred but didn't wake. Makabi sighed and made a series of hand signs before initiating a basic medical Ninjutsu to do a body scan of her cheeking for any damage.
He found that she had a minor concussion and after a quick healing session the girl began to wake up.
"Makabi," She breathed as she looked up at her team mate. The boy smiled at her reassuringly as he helped her sit up.
"Hey," He said with a warm smile. "Easy," He cautioned as she began to sway.
Hina brushed his hand off gently and shook her head. "Water," She said. Makabi nodded and handed the girl her drinking bottle. After a rather big mouthful Hina took a deep breath as she looked about herself.
"What happened." She asked.
"We got attacked." Makabi told her. "Judging by the style of attack I'd guess Toriko and his team."
Hina turned to look at him sharply. "Are you sure?" She asked him.
Makabi nodded. "He was known for his use of high powered paper bombs."
"Fuck," Hina moaned lengthily. She looked up at Azuko and Taki and her eyes immediately fell to the splint on Azuko's right leg, while he had applied it as good as anyone applying their own tourniquet could have, to a medical specialist like Hina it was a sloppy job.
Looking at the two of them she stood up and walked over to them. "Let me look at that," She said gesturing to his ankle.
Azuko's eye twitched and he turned away from her. "I'm fine." He said as he began limping. Hina and Taki let out an identical sigh before Taki forced Azuko to sit on a tree root.
"Juts take the help Azuko." Taki said irritably. "Neither of us knows any medical Ninjutsu but they do." She said gesturing to the two Yoru Nin behind them. "So let them help you." She said.
"Why should they?" Azuko challenged. "They were just attacking us."
Hina sighed and buried her head in her hands exasperatedly. Good God this boy was difficult in the extreme. "Two thing's," She said. "One, you moved on us first. And two, we're going to need to stick together of we're going to survive this." She said.
The two Konoha ninja looked at the girl before sharing a glance. "Survive what?" Azuko asked.
"The guy that attacked us is a Shinobi from our Village." Makabi explained. "He's an explosives expert with a world class inferiority complex. If he's targeting us he probably targeting you too." He told them.
If Azuko objected in any way it was completely ignored by his current company as Hina moved forward and healed his ankle, resetting the bones.
"There," She said as she took off the splint. "The bones have set properly, but it will still be a bit uncomfortable for the next day or so." She told him.
Azuko said nothing as he got to his feet abruptly testing out his newly healed ankle. He had to give it to the Night Kunoichi, she was good.
He looked at Taki. "We need to find Akari." He said in a matter of fact tone as he began walking.
Taki brightened up immediately upon hearing Azuko's statement. "You're right," She said following him. "I hope she's okay too."
"It's not her I'm worried about." Azuko said without looking back as he touched a hand to a tree sensing the vibrations before moving off.
"Hu, what are you talking about, what else is there to think about." She asked a bit confused as she followed him.
"She had the scroll," Azuko said pointedly. "That's more important right now."
Taki stopped dead at the matter-of-fact tone Azuko had just used. Her head hung there weakly as she looked at her feet. "So's that it?" She asked him. "You don't care about anything other than this exam."
Azuko stopped and looked at her, for a moment there was silence between the two. "I only care about becoming a Chūnin," He said blankly, "I won't let you or that dunce Akari hold me back."
Makabi and Hina who had been following just behind the pair balked in shock at the blatancy of his words and his uncaring tone. Azuko moved on and Taki just stayed there looking at her feet. The silence seemed to stretch on forever before Taki moved.
In the blink of an eye the girl was in front of Azuko, feet spread, bent and braced. She brought her fist into his face as hard as she could, breaking his nose and sending the green eyed boy sprawling across the ground.
Hina made to intervene, but a hand from on her shoulder stopped her. She looked back at Makabi and the boy shook his head. "Don't interfere." He said simply.
Azuko got to his feet quickly but before he'd done anything else Taki sent another powerful punch into the boys jaw, breaking it. He stumbled for a moment before Taki grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the tree.
She was crying but all the same her eyes showed more rage than Azuko though the girl was capable of.
"So are we just nothing to you?" She asked angrily. "Are Akari and I just so insignificant? For fuck sake Azuko she gave you a roof over your head when you had none! Has none of it meant anything to you?"
Despite her over bearing anger Taki still felt more sadness than anything else. She began to sob as she spoke, tears running down her face in quick succession. "After all we've been through, All the missions we've gone on together, after all of the training we've done as squad nine was it all so meaningless to you?"
Her eyes dropped from Azuko's as she cried but her vice like grip on the scruff of his shirt never relented.
It was the silence that hurt Taki the most.
With his jaw broken speech was a bit beyond him at this point. When she looked into his eyes she saw that nothing had changed. There was no sadness there was no remorse there was just emptiness.
And it was that that killed Taki the most inside. She couldn't bear to see Azuko so heartless. He'd always been an asshole, all throughout the academy and their training as cell nine. She'd accepted that, it was just how Azuko was, a stuck up elitist, but even so she'd moved passed it to see a dedicated and resourceful Shinobi.
To see him so dead inside was more than she could take. She sobbed even louder, as Azuko tried to remove her hand she looked up at him, the anger back in her eyes. With her free hand she reached up and ripped off his head band. He tried to mumble something about it but she glared him into submission.
She had wanted, more than anything else, to have a normal team, a team that could laugh together and share in each other's pains. Seeing Azuko as she did now she knew that would never happen.
"Don't you dare!" She growled menacingly as she took his head band from him. "Shinobi of Konohagakure wear these hand bands as a mark of pride and as a testament to our Village. You don't deserve this head band. And don't ever let me catch you calling yourself a Konoha Shinobi. You're too pathetic."
The rain began to fall over them, the soft pitter of water meeting earth the only sound round them. For a long moment the two Genin stared at each other in silence. Eventually Taki turned away, letting Azuko slump against the tree.
Makabi and Hana watched them with quiet sorrow; the fact that their team was so fractured was a shock to them. Konoha was renowned for having caring and powerful Shinobi who would do anything for their fellow Villagers.
Taki's shoulders shook as her tears kept flowing, mixing with the rain on her face.
A branch snapped and put the four of them on high alert as they looked about them selves'.
Eight in total, Three from Kusa, three from Ame and two from Yoru.
By the feel in their chakra and the way they looked down on the four Genin their intention was clear.
Taki sighed and wiped her eyes clear of her tears. "Just so you know," She said over the rain. "I'm not in the mood to deal with anyone right now. So if you insist, then I won't play nice."
There was a general chuckle from the eight Genin that surrounded them, the gall of the gril amusing them.
"So be it," Taki said as she reached into her weapons pouched, drawing out a hand full of shuriken.
The first Nin made his move, one of the Kusa Genin. He jumped off the tree branch aiming for Taki, blade in hand.
"Ninpo: Shuriken no arashi!" She threw her hands wide, sending an uncountable number of Shuriken flying at the young man. He raised his arms to shield himself from the attack but it was hardly a defence as the shuriken either tore deep gashes in his flesh or lodged fast after a solid hit. His body jerked back and fell to the ground with an unceremonious 'thud'.
Without wasting a second Taki spun on her heel pulling out a pair of kunai and rushing the team from Ame.
The quiet scene exploded into a violent melee as Azuko, Hina and Makabi took up arms to fight as well, jutsu going off left right and centre.
Despite the words that had passed between them Azuko and Taki fought back to back as they fought off the onslaught from the enemy Nin.
With the exception of the Grass ninja Taki had dropped with her first salvo the enemy held their own with ease, their numbers and their level of skill making it easy for them to hold the four of them at bay, toying with them before they inevitably killed them.
One of the Yoru Nin sent a fire ball at the four of them, leaving them with no choice but to scatter outwards.
Azuko landed heavily and the bones in his ankle – still weakened from being broken – snapped again.
The boy let out a gurgled scream of pain from his broken jaw as he hit the ground, the enemy Nin falling on him in his moment of weakness.
One of the Yoru Ninja led the charge, his obsidian blade swinging down for Azuko's throat.
The blade bit deeply into the exposed flesh before it, cutting a deep gash.
Blood sprayed over Azuko, hot fresh blood almost burning his face as the rain tried to wash it away.
For the second time since they had become Genin, Taki willingly gave her life for a team mate. Throwing herself in front of the blade without so much as a second thought.
As her body fell into Azuko the paper bombs she had planted blew up, sending the attacking Nin flying backwards.
Azuko looked at the girl in shock as he held her bloody body.
"W-why?" He mumbled though his broken jaw. Taki's eyes were blank and unfocused, but even so she looked at him.
"Because even if it meant nothing to you, it meant something to me." The girl breathed.
Hina and Makabi rushed over to the two of them as fast as they could, sliding through the forming mud.
Her head band had come lose in the attack and gently Azuko reached for it, taking it from her with care. the two looked into each others eyes for a long moment before Azuko tied Taki's headband to his forehead.
She smiled at him.
Azuko limped back and allowed Hina to heal Taki; he looked at Makabi and gestured to his ankle. The boy nodded and built up healing Chakra in his hands to fix the broken bone, moving next to his jaw and nose.
"Thanks," Azuko muttered darkly as he stepped forward and picked up his kama. He held them so tight his knuckles went white.
"You two," he said to the Yoru Nin behind him, not taking his eyes off the seven remaining enemy Shinobi.
"You protect her, understand." His voice was low and full of murderous intent. "If she dies, so do you. You heal her and you keep her safe if any over them manage to get past me."
"What about you?" Hina asked as she looked up.
"Me?" Azuko asked, his voice sounding almost amused as killing intent began to ooze out of him. "I'm going to kill every last one of them."
FUCKING FANFICS!
Good God this is getting annoying! I have like eight different ideas for other fan fictions to write after this one all of them Naruto too. Two of which I thought of while heading to work to day. I'm not complaining about all the good ideas but for fuck sake will they leave me alone until I have the ability to write them. I'd like to finish at least one of my fic's before moving on to a new one.
UUURRRGGGG
Anyway.
Sup friendlies?
I honestly had to points that I could have left this chapter, but I'm glade I added a little more to it. Sure it's short for what I normally do but it was a good place to end it for the sake of the scene.
And so now we have a dilemma.
What to do next?
this is a Choice I leave entirely up to you, my 'Loyal' followers. :P
leave me a review saying which epic beat stick fight you want to see first. And trust me, there will be an epic amount of action in the two chapters that come, someone may or may not be exploded. Literally.
I'll leave this little pole open for one week.
So for those of you to lazy to math.
Until the 20/3/2014 or 3/20/2014 if you're from the States which I'm sure most of you are, considering my view breakdown my country.
The Chapter that gets the most request will be up dated first, followed by the next, same day. I mean, I have a week, the least I could do is have them both ready.
Jutsu used was.
Ninpo: Shuriken no Arashi - Ninja art Shuriken Storm.
Looking forward to see which fight you want first.
Until next time I wish you all the best.
yours truly.
Nicolai Grey.