Chapter 36
I head for the starting point, where we parted company with Kakashi, a small plain surrounded by forest. As I pass the last tree and bush, I finally catch sight of him. Alone in the center of the plain, reading a book. He notices me immediately, but waits until I'm close enough to speak.
"This is our first competitor. Surprising, I would have thought you'd try a dirty trick or something."
"When you say that, you're referring to..."
"To your adoptive father, of course. Emiya Kiritsugu. I dare imagine he taught you a few things though?"
"Yes, Kiritsugu taught me a lot, but he wasn't the only one. This attitude of facing my opponents one-on-one without a trick comes from someone else." I explain, stretching.
"I see. That's very honorable of you. But do you really think you can take me on?"
"Of course." I fix my gaze on his, showing him my determination.
"Perfect, I expected nothing less from such a good student." He said, turning the page of his book.
Curious, I look at the front cover, which reads 'Icha Icha Paradise Volume 2'.
(An erotic book, seriously?)
"Um... Are you really going to fight me with a book in your hands?"
"Well, normally I would, at your level, I don't need to be focused on you to kick your ass. But since you're the son of Kiritsugu, the greatest mercenary of our time, I wish to see how well he trained you, him and that other person for that matter."
He stows his book in his saddlebag and faces me, announcing that he's giving me his undivided attention. It's the moment of truth. I bend down slightly, concentrating. All I can see is him, all my senses on alert. I charge up my magic circuits and strengthen my body, seeing this, I see him raise an eyebrow.
I dash towards him and raise my fist at the last moment to strike. But he simply dodges to the side and trips me, sending me rolling for a few meters. I get up immediately and this time switch to a kick, but just as I'm about to strike he disappears. I turn around by reflex and protect myself with my arm, blocking Kakashi's fist.
"That's good, you've got your back."
Without waiting, he grabs my arm and throws me into the air, landing in the river further on.
(Boy, he's not messing around. I figured, just the reinforcement isn't enough, so...)
I concentrate and create two swords underwater, which is much harder than doing it on the ground. Then I fire them at high speed at Kakashi. He pulls out a Kunai and parries them, sending them flying further away.
(Damn, he's not as strong as Raynare... But he, compared to her, doesn't underestimate me one bit. In any case, there's no turning back now!)
I stagger out of the water, coughing to force the water in my lungs out.
"So? What are you up to? I'm reminding you that if you don't catch a bell by noon, you'll be deprived of lunch!" He said, waiting for a reaction from me.
"I know." I get to my feet.
"You have a solid martial arts base, good reflexes and very good reaction time. But you clearly lack experience, which is normal but in your case, limits you and deprives you of being able to fight properly."
"Thanks for the analysis, but you forgot to mention that I didn't eat breakfast!" I feel hunger creeping over me.
"Out of fuel? What's it going to be like in the field, when you don't get a chance to eat?" He says, standing still under the roar of my belly.
(I'm starving... I'm clearly not strong enough... But I've got to keep going, to give Sakura a chance, so I can get a bell. I absolutely must have one! Because I've got to keep moving!)
Suddenly, a dozen of my clones leap out of the water and rush towards him. He is surprised for a few seconds but immediately regains his concentration, ready to defend himself.
"I see, they're not just reflections, they're real clones." He dodges one, then kicks another, sending it waltzing off and disappearing further away. "You can create as many clones as you like, Senji, but that's not the way to get me."
Seeing that he no longer has his attention on me, I concentrate on one of my swords on the ground that he has blocked, the one closest to him, and heat up my magic circuits. My sword also begins to glow and suddenly we switch places. Without waiting, I jump and land on his back, surprising him.
"Wha... what?! From the back?!" He can't believe it.
"Now the bells are mine, go ahead and grab them!" I order my clones, who comply immediately, immobilizing him by firmly holding him lower legs.
Just as one of my clones is about to pick up a bell, Kakashi transforms into me, surprising me. Because of our size difference, we fall and the clone that dashed towards us falls on top of us. I free myself from this situation and, in a moment of confusion, look at my clones, not really knowing what to do.
"What the fuck am I doing!" I make them all disappear, leaving me alone. "He obviously had time to escape during my confusion."
(He used the permutation technique. If I remember correctly, this consists of substituting an animal or plant in place of one's own body to make one's opponent think that one's attack has worked, and then attacking them while their guard is down. That means he swaps one of my clones in place of his own body...)
"Not only did he get away with it, but he turned my attack against me. Well, at least I learned something." I look around, waiting for a surprise attack.
"I warned you that you had to use everything you had to use for this test, so why don't you take it out?" I turn to see Kakashi coming down from a tree a few meters away from me.
(So that's where he was hiding...)
Knowing exactly what he's talking about, I touch my left hand, hesitating.
"How do you know?" I ask.
"I always like to get to know my students before I meet them, and then it wasn't very discreet what happened at the Church."
"You know a lot of things... Between that and Kiritsugu..."
"Hmmm? Oh I knew your adoptive father well, we worked together many times, his death is truly a loss. But that's not all, you know what I mean? I read this book."
I lower my gaze and clench my fists, gripped by a slight anxiety.
"You're afraid to use this power on me, and in front of your new comrades who are probably watching us right now. I understand perfectly, but here no one will judge you, no one will mock you or call you a monster. My role is not to judge you, but to help you. You have the ability to evolve, to become stronger. So show me what you've got and show them how wrong they were."
I look up slowly, my eyes wide. When I meet his, I can see a calm, soothed gaze and a smile sketched behind the fabric covering his lower face.
"I've still got a long way to go haven't I?" I wonder sarcastically.
"These are wounds that will never really heal, but you have the strength to grow with them and make something better out of them, I'm sure."
At these words, I let out a long sigh and resumed my posture, concentrating once again on Kakashi, ignoring everything else, my negative thoughts, my family humiliating and belittling me. Now, nothing matters, except these bells.
"I prefer that." He said, seeing me serious again.
"Sorry Kakashi-sensei, I will do my best."
"I don't doubt it. Now come to me, and no holding back this time."
My forearm begins to glow with a bright red light, then my gauntlet appears, letting off steam for a few seconds. The jewel in the center also begins to glow. [BOOST] That's the signal, I suck in the energy around me, increasing my power even more.
Then, with an impulse in my legs, I dashed towards Kakashi, who I saw preparing a move. I stop right in front of the horizontal punch I was supposed to take, which surprises him. I place my right leg forward and throw my left fist straight into his torax. He protects himself by placing his arms in a cross in front of him. The impact is so powerful that a gust of wind is created, and makes Kakashi step back, surprising him even more.
I don't wait for him to recover and try again, but this time he doesn't take any risks and dodges by jumping to the side. Then it's his turn to lunge at me, but I lunge at him too, our fists collide, then a series of high-speed punches and kicks, but he manages to parry or stop them all.
(If I can't get him on technique, then I'll get him on raw strength!)
[BOOST] Feeling the power surging through me, I free myself from his grip and project a sword, which I bring down on him. He pulls out a Kunai and the two blades clash, creating sparks. I exchange a few blows, only to see my blade break. I throw it away and create another, a scene that repeats itself several times.
(Damn, kunai are blade destroyers! How annoying!)
My blade breaks again, I'm about to create another, seeing this, Kakashi rushes forward and tries to knock me out. But instead of creating one in my hand, I create several over my head, and he widens his eyes.
"A feint?!" He notices that I was pretending to create one in my hand.
[BOOST] With a wave of my hand, I bring my blades down. He jumps up and retreats, dodging the swords that fall around and in front of him. I concentrate on drawing my last blades, then set off in pursuit, running at full speed to catch up quickly. Kakashi suddenly turns and parries the last blade, sending it flying over him, and when I get close to him, recovers the falling blade and brings it down on me.
I wait until the last moment to make it disappear, surprising him and create one in my left hand, which he parries with his kunai.
(His left side is completely open, now's the time!)
[BOOST] I don't hesitate and throw myself forward, reaching for the bells and when I touch them with two fingers, I'm pushed violently by Kakashi, rolling several meters, forcing me to stop by stabbing a sword into the ground.
"Shit!" I'm starting to lose my patience.
I cast my gaze towards him, who resumes a defensive posture, seemingly more on guard. Then, a pink color draws my attention further away, in the wake of the forest. It's Sakura, I see her hesitate.
(Now's not the time to get worked up, if I'm going to succeed, I've got to keep a cool head.)
"You impress me Senji, you weren't far from winning, but you're going to have to do more than that for this."
"Thanks for the compliment, but it's not over yet." I stand up passing my sleeve over my sweaty face.
"Yes, there's still a long way to go. Which reminds me, what are the other two doing? You guys got something planned?"
"Sorry but I have no idea, they decided to play solo."
"I see." He said in a disappointed tone.
(Now's not the time to hesitate Sakura, he's starting to suspect something.)
"Okay! It's now or never!" I say aloud to motivate myself, also indicating to Sakura to take action.
[BOOST] I lunged at him and brought my blade down vertically. He placed his kunai in such a way as to make both our blades slide, letting me pass to the side. I swing my free fist at his face, which he blocks. I free myself immediately before he grabs my wrist. I turn around, grab my two-handed sword and try to make him drop his kunai, but he holds on and breaks my blade. I turn the handle and use the pommel as a weapon, aiming for his ribs, but he blocks with the palm of his hand.
I make the weapon disappear, step back a few meters before sending more swords in his direction, hurtling towards him like missiles. He only parried the only one that actually hit him and dash towards me and brings down the kunai vertically towards me, I take a step to the side to dodge then he repeats this time horizontally. I block his blow at the wrist, leaving the kunai very close to my face.
(He finally starts to fight back? It's going to get more complicated.)
I strike his wrist, forcing him to drop his kunai in pain. But he retaliates immediately, hitting me with his other hand, and I take it in the ribs, having no time to react.
The strike is so strong that it sends me reeling backwards, sliding a few meters on the wet grass.
I immediately pull myself together, run and leap on one of my swords planted in the ground for support, then lunge at Kakashi to kick him.
He stops the attack with his left forearm and right hand, firmly holding the front leg. I twist to strike him in the face, which he dodges, releasing me at the same time.
No sooner had I risen to my feet than Kakashi attacked me in turn. I can only dodge or parry, but the more I do, the more complicated it becomes. Despite the fact that I've strengthened my body and received several boosts, I feel each of his blows throughout my body, which weakens me more and more, and when I try to attack, he simply deflects the attack, leaving me completely open for another blow.
Just as I'm beginning to lose patience and hope, I see her, running at full speed in my direction. Kakashi is far too focused on me to notice her, so I have to make the most of it. I start projecting swords above me. Seeing this, he backs away, but I stop immediately and suck in energy, which I gather in my left arm, emitting a bright white light and white steam.
"Raw energy?" Kakashi gasped.
"You said it yourself, didn't you?" I feel blood dripping from my nose but ignore it. "You have to give it your all!"
I pull out the raw bundle of energy, whistling loudly in his direction. He makes some sign with his hands and places them on the ground, creating a wall of earth. The impact creates an explosion of energy dispersing in all directions and the wall shatters, raining earth for a few seconds. I run and jump over what's left of the wall, seeing that Kakashi is waiting for me.
But what a surprise when he noticed Sakura, very close to the bells. Time seems to slow down, and I can see his eyes widen and Sakura's hand rest on the bells. But all of a sudden, Kakashi grabs Sakura's wrist and uses it to throw her at me, sending us tumbling to the ground.
"No! I'm sorry Senji, I was so close!" I can see in Sakura's eyes how much she blames herself.
"Well, too bad, it's a bet that didn't work out, but we can't give up now, can we?" I look her straight in the eye, resting my hands on her shoulders.
She nods, rising to her feet.
"So I was right, you were planning something, it was a nice try but a little late Sakura." Kakashi is behind us.
I turn around as quickly as I can, but too late, he pulls a rope out of nowhere, wraps it around me, locking my arms, and ties the rope to a tree branch, suspending me above the ground.
"And that's for lying to me Senji, now you rest, you need it." Then he turned to Sakura. "Now it's just the two of us."
She starts to panic, breathing heavily and trembling, but soon regains control of herself. Suddenly, a bluish aura begins to surround her, and golden electricity emanates from her hands. She moves into position, ready to fight.
Seeing this, Kakashi raised an eyebrow and Sakura began to run towards him. She creates two clones, which when close enough to Kakashi, disappear creating a small screen of smoke, large enough for her to pass through and attempt to strike Kakashi.
Her movements are rigid and amateurish, but she does it with such intensity against Kakashi, who is slower than before, that it forces him to dodge carefully, taking care not to be hit by her hands.
It's over in a few minutes, Kakashi grabs both her wrists and looks her straight in the eye. Sakura suddenly freezes, and when he lets go of her, her arms fall like a threadless puppet.
"What the...?!" I exclaim in surprise.
"Genjutsu. A little illusion spell, rather effective against her." Kakashi explained.
Suddenly, Sakura began to move again, her empty eyes regaining their color. She looks around as if lost, then fixes her gaze on a point, her face changes, distorted by horror, and she screams before falling unconscious.
"What did you show her?" I ask, jaded.
"Hmmm, maybe I went a little hard." Kakashi said simply, placing his hand on his chin. "Besides, we're going to have to find a solution to those side effects you suffer when you use your abilities Senji."
"I know I'm working on it." I sigh, frustrated.
Suddenly, from the treetops, 6 shurikens are hurled and land in Kakashi's face.
(He went a bit too far...)
I watch the scene without disgust, knowing full well that he's already swapped places and is heading for Sasuke. And indeed, by blinking, Kakashi is replaced by a tree trunk.
Several minutes passed, allowing me to breathe a little and calm down. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Sakura starting to fidget. She opens her eyes and leaps to her feet, looking all around her.
"Sasuke!" She shouted.
"He's probably fighting Kakashi-sensei." I reply.
"Huh?" She turns her gaze to me, and makes a face, seeing me still tied up. "Hold on Senji I'm coming, I'll get you down from here."
"No need, go help Sasuke instead, we mustn't leave him alone against Kakashi."
"Why? Sasuke is very strong, I'm sure he can take care of himself."
"Why do you think they put us in teams of three? Maybe Sasuke is strong, but he's clearly no match for Sensei."
"*Sigh* Okay, fine, let me do it! I'll support Sasuke however I can!"
Suddenly, a large fireball could be seen further away. Not waiting any longer, Sakura dashes off and heads for it, rightly thinking that this is where Sasuke is.
"Something tells me that if it goes on like this, we won't pass the test, bell or no bell."
"Why? The goal is to get one to succeed."
"Indeed, but it's impossible to get one on your own, do you see where I'm going with this?"
"Teamwork is essential... But there are only two bells."
"There are two possibilities: the first is that if one of us doesn't have one, he's out of here. The other is that it's done on purpose to stir up trouble, as heroes and shinobis often come to work together. It's probably to see if we can help each other achieve victory, which we've completely failed to do."
"That means the one who's more likely to fail is this Sasuke."
"I think we're all going to lose it if this keeps up. Sakura's surprise attack went completely awry and I lost my patience so we can't say our teamwork with Sakura was a complete success."
"Then you know what you have to do, and hope they follows."
"Yeah... I wondered why he was so suspicious of a surprise attack... Simply because he expected us all to attack him together and forget that there are only two bells." I project a sword and pull it on the rope, which cuts it and I land with no problem. "We've been focusing too much on the reward, completely forgetting about the quest. Kiritsugu wouldn't be proud of me."
[BOOST] I run in the same direction as Sakura, through the forest, until I land in another open area, with Sakura trying to hit Kakashi, who has resumed his reading while dodging her attacks with ease. I turn my gaze to see Sasuke waiting for an opportunity to attack.
(I see I'm the only one who thinks like that.)
I create a bow and arrow and shoot in Kakashi's direction, but miss on purpose, not to hurt Sakura unintentionally and just to get noticed. Which works, because all eyes turn to me.
"There's only a few minutes left! This is no time to give up!" I shout at the top of my lungs.
I reshape my bow with three red arrows and fire, this time straight at Kakashi, who dodges but is surprised to see the arrows take an impossible angle and follow Kakashi, who starts to run.
(Seeking arrow, now hope they follow me).
I look at Sasuke and Sakura, who seem to be hesitating, their defeatist looks showing that they no longer believe. I dash forward, following Kakashi at a distance, replace my bow with a sword and conjure up two clones. I see him getting ready to parry the arrows. Then I jump in his direction and just as he launches his attack, I make them disappear, surprising him and leaving him in a weak position.
My first clone grabs his arm and uses all his weight to stop him moving. My second does the same for his legs, immobilizing him. I land in front of him, using the sword to help me land and avoid slipping, and reach for the bells.
He made my first clone disappear by planting a shuriken in his back, and seeing this, my second one stepped back, allowing him to kick me in the stomach, stopping me dead in my tracks.
"Senji!"
Suddenly, Kakashi retracted his foot and took up a defensive position. Small projectiles hit him, pebbles surrounded by that energy Sakura had earlier. I turn to see her running towards us, out of breath. She's closely followed by Sasuke, who's still hesitating, I can read his conflict on his face.
(Acting solo is easy, but when it's a team effort, he doesn't know what to do? He's going to screw things up if this keeps up!)
"Maybe having warned him of the situation would have helped."
(To warn him is to give him the choice, and there's no time to choose! So...)
"Sasuke! If you can still breathe fire, then do it! Now!" I throw my sword at him a few centimeter from his feet.
(No way was Kakashi the cause of that fireball, it was far too uncontrolled and irresponsible, especially in a forest.)
He understands immediately and pulls himself together. He runs and uses my sword as a springboard. He makes some sign with his hands, then spits out another fireball. We part with Kakashi, a wall of fire separating us.
On the other side, I can hear Sakura engaged in the last battle of despair, joined by Sasuke. I nod to my clone, which transforms into a sword. I pick it up and throw it through the flames. It de-transforms in one fell swoop, surprising Kakashi, but is immediately intercepted and disappears.
I let out a long sigh and leapt through the flames, forgetting the heat and pain, I leapt forward to grab the bells. Seeing Kakashi's sudden movements, I imagine he didn't expect me to leap through the flames to reach them, but he's cornered by Sakura and Sasuke, leaving me free to retrieve them. That's it, they're in the palm of my hand, all I have to do is close it...
"Nice try but..."
Kakashi tackles me to the ground with an elbow, but the force causes my arms to thrust out, releasing the bells and taking off into the air. With a leap, Sakura and Sasuke grabbed one each, signifying the end of the test.
Seeing this, Kakashi releases me, stands up and claps his hands, officially announcing the end of the test. As for me, I lay on the ground in total despair.
Ten minutes later, giving me time to digest the situation and rest, we meet in the same place as this morning. As expected, since I didn't get any bells, I find myself tied to a trunk. I remain completely motionless, as I'm starving and still reeling from defeat.
"Say, your stomachs are making quite a racket." Kakashi remarked. "That's enough joking. I need to tell you something about this ordeal."
(It's the moment of truth... I guess I'll have to find a new school.)
"All three of you have failed."
I remain unchanged, already knowing the result of our poor attempts. But Sakura's decomposing face and Sasuke's look of hatred proved to me that they hadn't understood the purpose of the test. It was lost in advance.