The labyrinth darkened, shadows crossing the floor of the stone prison. Footsteps echoed through the winding corridors. Water dripped from the ceiling at a steady pace, creating a large puddle. The darkness swallowed up the shapes and forms of the labyrinth, leaving only a consistent sameness to each step, each form within the shape.
Kōju glanced from side to side. She proceeded forward at an even, measured pace, placing each foot in front of the other one by one. Her green eyes narrowed. "Hrm." She grasped the hilt of the sword at her back tightly. "All right. You can come on out now."
The corridor remained silent. No motion answered the request, nor a voice from the endless shadows.
"Ah." Kōju sighed. "You won't come out, hm? In that case, I'll have to use some more direct measures." She slammed her palm into the earth. "Earth Style: Earth Molding Technique!"
The walls rushed backward rapidly, forced away by Kōju's palm. The walls rapidly sculpted themselves into a shape comparable to an arena, girded by high, unbroken walls.
Shikamōto stood in the open, halted by the sudden motion around her body. She frowned. "Hah~. You are an opponent that if possible I'd have liked to avoid." Her hand brushed across her forehead. "How troublesome. Whatever. I'll eliminate you as well." She walked toward one side of the arena, her shoes pushing up sand.
"Techniques can also be used like this. Keep that in mind for the future." Kōju raised her arm. The sword slid rapidly out of its sheath. Her personality really is like the Vizier. It's like that evil spirit crept into her body, or somehow changed her thinking. Tricky, therefore dangerous. She's probably the closest to a genuine shinobi I've ever met. Completely committed to her mission. Kōju exhaled. This'll be instructive, then. As dangerous as she is, I can learn something from her devotion to missions.
"How did you realize I was there?" Shikamōto questioned briefly. She leaned against the far wall, her posture relaxed and almost slumped against the solid stone.
"It's poor etiquette to tell a kunoichi's secrets." Hearing, of course. I heard her breathing, and that worked fine. She fought evenly with those two, so I should be capable of taking care of the problem myself. Kōju glanced around the arena. It looks like those rogue Akatsuki members are occupied, Mizuki and Shikamōto are either lost or occupied, and chances are that they don't have too many people guarding the body. Given that everything else has gone so well, Naruto should be able to collect the body and get out of here. She smiled. We can win this! We're going home with Gaara. Soon. She creased her brow. No, that's no good. I'm still taking things too lightly. I have to survive and win, too. That's not guaranteed. No matter how relaxed she seems, she's not stupid enough to risk losing this kind of secret to me. She brushed the heel of her shoe along the ground, creating a small line in the sand of the stone.
"I'd guess that it's hearing. No need to worry; it's not like it matters to me. That aside, that's an interesting sword, isn't it?" Shikamōto remarked, her eyes narrowed. "That looks like one of the chakra transmission swords. A new smithy, from the last time I was in Hidden Leaf. It's just so big. So I guess I shouldn't get cut by it~." She giggled quietly, hiding her mirth behind her hand. She moved carefully around the edge of the arena, her feet pushing over the sand on the ground.
Kōju's brow furrowed. The way she's talking, it seems she's still not too concerned with the situation she's in. She tilted her head to one side. Even if her skills are pretty extraordinary, she shouldn't take me so lightly. In a fight between shinobi, the loser is almost always the one who underestimates their opponent or makes a mistake first. She's starting with that mistake.
"It's really a shame that your abilities are known to me." Shikamōto's eyes narrowed. "If you'd kept a few of them a secret, I'd be a lot more concerned."
Kōju nodded. "Yes, that's so. Even so, you've done the same. Both Naruto and Sasuke fought you seriously, and you showed quite a lot on both occasions. I have all the data, meaning that I should be able to handle you with some difficulty."
Shikamōto snorted. "Do you seriously think that I showed everything I could do in battles lacking so much gravity? Both of your friends are as incompetent at being shinobi as fish trying to become birds. Meanwhile, someone like me has experience! Of course they couldn't force me to reveal anything important about my abilities, idiot~!" She leapt upward in the air, her hands spinning together shadowy threads.
A faintly irritated expression crossed Kōju's face. She kicked off from the ground, leaping through the air rapidly toward Shikamōto.
The shadows slashed toward Kōju's feet, twining and coiling like a cloud in the sky. Their breadth aimed toward blocking her path.
Kōju twisted her body rapidly, avoiding the strike with some ease. She landed on the ground, her eyes narrowed. The line sat several feet behind her.
Shikamōto scowled. What is she doing? The shadows collapsed to the ground, lacking their forward motion as the energy behind them ran out.
"To be frank, I didn't show all my abilities against Mizuki either." Kōju glanced over her shoulder. Her sword swung in a mighty circle, cutting a deep curve into the ground.
Shikamōto's lips curled upward briefly. "I get it. Dynamic vision, right? That's something a sword user should have."
Kōju inclined her head.
"Defensive, and offensive. The two simultaneously. Existing only in the moment of attack or defense." So I won't be able to capture her that easily. Interesting. She's entirely focused on me, so I won't be able to do things that escape her sight. Her perception entirely grasps me; surprises won't work so easily. Shikamōto raised her hand to her thumb. Using multiple opponents, then. How would she do against a summon?
One of Kōju's hands formed a triangle against the sword, the seal appearing across the sword rapidly. White light flashed up along the blade.
Shikamōto's eyes widened. She raised her arms defensively, her fingers spinning rapidly together.
Kōju vanished in a flash of white light, reappearing with her arms descending in a downward swing. The white sword crashed down against Shikamōto's guard.
Shikamōto blocked the blow with a latticework of shadowy threads. Iaijutsu? No, it's imperfect. But something like it at least.
"Techniques like this weren't much use against Mizuki," Kōju continued. She drew up the sword. "But against a shinobi like you, it's just fine."
Shikamōto's eyes narrowed. In that case, it'll depend on how many shadow threads it'll take to break her. I'm not incapable of finding a way out of this situation, for now. She gestured rapidly. Shadowy threads rushed upward from the floor.
Kōju jumped backward. Not pausing for an instant, she rolled backward, staying out of range of the threads.
For now, it doesn't look as though she's attacking. Shikamōto glanced around the floor. That's certainly strange, though. If she's really fighting me with the intention of winning. Her eyes flickered toward the sides of the arena. What's she really aiming for right now? I can react, sure, but, I can't do too much more damage with these unless I reach her. She is fast, I'll give her that.
Kōju glanced down at the floor. Her eyes narrowed. So far everything's going okay. What should I do from here?
I'll need to surprise her somehow. Hm. Shikamōto's lips curved upward. She slashed rapidly with one arm. An enormous cloud of shadows rushed toward Kōju, filling the arena entirely.
Kōju ducked downward, covering her head. An attack? Her eyes widened.
Shikamōto grinned. Try again. For the time being, I've disrupted that dynamic vision of yours.
Kōju leapt upward. The threads passed around her body as she twisted and wove through the threads. "See? I've beaten you!" she declared, a grin crossing her face. "It's my victory here!"
Shikamōto's finger pointed upward briefly, coiled around the tip of her finger. A single shadowy thread burst out of the earth, tearing with it a small clump of earth.
"What?!" Kōju shouted in shock. Her green eyes widened as the shadow twined toward her foot.
"This is my win!" Shikamōto grinned broadly. Her finger turned the coiling thread to one side, allowing it to rush through the gap in Kōju's toenail.
Kōju's eyes narrowed. "Do you really think so?" she asked in a soft voice. Her green eyes stared at the shadow.
Shikamōto smirked. "Course I do. Once I penetrate my opponent's flesh, it's over." The shadow rushed up along one of the veins of Kōju's leg.
Kōju lowered her hand. "I confirmed it earlier," she stated in a soft voice. Her palm flattened out rapidly, forming a knife-like shape.
Shikamōto's brow furrowed. She glanced toward the shadows. "Confirmed what?" she demanded in a harsher tone.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you're wrong about what you said just now." Kōju's hand glowed with bright green light. She slashed across the thread rapidly. "Chakra Scalpel!"
Shikamōto blinked in shock.
The thread fell in two pieces, neatly severed by the hand. "If a medic-nin can't even sever something based on chakra, they're a pretty poor example of their profession," Kōju remarked. Her lips curled upward. "Particularly something as fragile as a shadow." Her hand lowered to one side. "I confirmed earlier that I could cut those threads. I'm sure you realize that I had no way of dodging them all, so I had to use some other method. The important thing was to make sure you didn't figure it out immediately."
Drops of sweat ran down Shikamōto's forehead. Damn Mizuki. Why can't you figure out something even this basic? She adjusted her posture, her eyes narrowed. I shouldn't have to take this opponent seriously, but because you used only strength to win, you didn't force her to reveal any of this! Now I actually have to fight her to the death! Her eyes narrowed. "But even so. I'm not going to lose here. You're a little unfortunate, Kōju-tan. If you'd been a little weaker, I could have let you live." Shikamōto's eyes narrowed. "That's the difference. At the moment your blade carries weight. Your friends don't have that weight. At the time I fought them, at least, their strikes held no weight."
Kōju balanced her weight more evenly between her feet. "Weight?" she questioned. Her eyebrows furrowed.
"Yeah." Shikamōto paused. "To put it another way, it's the seriousness of the burden they were carrying. Their will to win, in other words. Neither of them had refined it or fully accepted that burden." She hesitated, then went on. "Right now, your will to win is superior to theirs. And that's why I say it's unfortunate." The space between the two darkened with sudden shadows. A host of shadowy threads swelled up around the clearing, dancing around Shikamōto's fingers. She smirked faintly, her fingers extended. "If your will to win had been weaker, I could have finished you off without needing to kill you." She sighed heavily. "You shouldn't be so quick to take actions that will result in your death. All this time, what have you been trying to do?"
Kōju's eyes narrowed. "A coward like you doesn't understand it, but I have been living. I have taken full joy in life, even as I veer toward death. To return to something you said earlier. If I were a little weaker, I'd curse my misfortune until I died. I can live as long as I like with my head bowed. But I'll never grow any taller if I do. As it is I have the power to avenge your foolish words," she responded briefly. "You said earlier my friends were incompetent as shinobi. Both for Naruto and Sasuke, you insulted them deeply. For those words, I can't let you escape my blade." Her foot pressed against the line in the sand, she waited, sword held high. Will to win? Her mind returned to a long-distant battle, in the Forest of Screams. That was the difference, she thought, hand clasping the hilt of the sword. The will to win came through something wholly external. It was, in a word, birthed through something beyond human. The knowledge of how much one would lose to achieve a goal and acceptance of that. That was the will to win. She adjusted her weight forward, and prepared herself for the inevitable onslaught of shadows.