Chapter 23: A stroke of luck
Golden eyes brightened at the sight of his name on the electronic board.
Finally...
He'd spent the last couple of days stuck inside this sorry excuse of a tower with the bunch of weirdoes from other countries that managed to finish the exam in a decent time. Not that he saw much of others since Miroku insisted they should stay away from anyone else as much as humanly possible. The Taisho clan had secrets many would disregard the rules of the exam to get their hands onto.
Of course, his bastard of a brother did not count as part of the team. So, he got to go out of the stupidly tiny room and walk around the place and speak to other people.
He liked his friends; he really, really did.
But that didn't mean he was happy to be locked up with them in a small room without even a single fucking window. Especially once the fake monk's cursed hand began acting, and Sango's patience was holding by a thread.
"Oh dear, it appears you got quite the opponent." There was a slight warning hidden beneath Miroku's light comment.
Inuyasha looked back at the screen, Zaku Abumi, the name sounded vaguely familiar. At his confused look, their weapons expert made a quick motion towards a definitely familiar face. The Oto nin that had been stupid enough to take credit for hurting the small heiress was now looking at him like he wanted the Taisho's head on a stick. His grin widened.
"Remember, Inuyasha, we are here..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." And even if the con-artist hadn't said a word, one look at Sesshomaru's dark glare was enough to remember he couldn't lose his temper and just go and show everyone the techniques their clan protected. "If I couldn't beat someone who already looks half-dead without them, that bastard would have my head anyway."
"Well, go on then," Sango added, pretending not to notice the underlying message. "That guy's already down."
The teen clicked his tongue loudly and turned to walk down. Trust his team to scold him before sending him to a fight...why was he friends with them again? Shaking his head, the teen allowed his eyes to glance at the reason they were all here. Some meters ahead of him, another genin was wrapping new bandages around her arms. But those were getting stained as soon as they were placed on the wounds. It looked like she didn't get enough rest after all. In fact, she looked worse now.
"Good luck."
Surprise was evident on his face as he looked back at the unexpected whisper, and then, he smiled again. "I don't need luck."
"Uhh...all right, everyone, it's time for the second match of the prelims to begin." The man's coughing was going to become really annoying, really soon. "If none of you has any complaints, you may begin."
"Say, I don't mind it at all or anything, but..." he scoffed, arms crossed as he looked at the Oto nin in front of him. "Can you even fight like that?"
Taisho's were well known for their love of battle; Inuyasha himself was always happy to jump into a fight, never particularly worrying about his opponent's future health. As his eyes landed on the bandaged arms, though he almost winced. It had been done in a way that was way too brutal, even for people from his clan. The sheer joy on the Uchiha's face at his enemy's pain was unnerving...yet he had to admit he didn't feel the least bit sorry for the Sound genin who'd laughed as he ganged up on a younger girl.
"Heh, and miss my chance to pay you back for interrupting my fight?" The guy was arrogant, too arrogant for the state he was in. "Besides, looks like this arm still has some life left in it...and I'm betting I can take you with one arm behind my back."
Inuyasha made his best effort not to grimace as his opponent managed to move his arm upwards in a jerky motion. Damn, that looked way too painful. And the Taisho was sure his back also had to hurt from all the force used to push the Sound nin down, and yet, Zaku insisted on continuing the fight.
"If you're so sure, man. Don't blame me if you end up losing more than just this match."
In a single fluid motion, he took his sword out of its scabbard, letting it rest against his shoulder. A clear message to his jerk of a half-brother and his teammates, he wasn't planning on using any of his father's heirloom techniques.
He still needed some sort of weapon though, his ear had kept on ringing for well over a day after the Higurashi girl found it funny to let him get blasted by that first attack without warning. Oh, well, no matter how destructive those things were, if the guy couldn't aim, then Inuyasha was in about as much danger as he'd be fighting against little Rin.
Now the only thing that was left was to figure out how to actually attack. Going all out was a no go, and he'd been warned to go easy with their sort-of allies. The teen groaned; of course, their orders had to be so freaking contradictory.
Don't go all out.
Don't make us look bad.
His father just couldn't pick one, could he?
"After you, I'll get back at those two as well."
There was an ugly smirk on the Oto nin's face despite the pain he had to be in. Inuyasha frowned; he had a good idea of what the fucker was thinking. They'd taken enough C and B-ranks to face some really disgusting enemies. And while not really at that level, this particular member of Orochimaru's ragtag team was similar enough to them for the silver-haired genin to feel justified in maybe not going that easy on him.
A feral grin parted his lips as his gaze fell on the symbol on his opponent's forehead protector.
Would you look at that; now that he thought about it, the Taisho clan didn't have any kind of treaty with Oto, did they?
"Keh, you couldn't hit me when you had two arms, and now you want to win like that?"
If his limbs weren't as damaged as they were, like back in the forest, maybe then, knowing when an attack was coming wouldn't be so easy. The violent spasms were pretty good indicators. He jumped as his enemy's wrist moved. Seriously, he'd feel bad if the guy wasn't such a piece of trash.
In a single second, he was behind the Oto nin.
"Who do you think you're talking to?"
With a jerky motion, his opponent's arm began to rise. Really, this was way too easy; Inuyasha wasn't really sure it could even be considered a fight anymore.
His blade cut through with as much ease as always. The unique steel going through flesh and bone as if there was only air. The dull thud of it hitting the ground sounded overly loud in the deadly silence that had fallen upon the room.
"See, told you to give it up." Golden eyes found his frozen opponent; the boy's gaze was shakily locked on his now severed limb ou can still save the other if you want."
Blood was filling the floor at an alarming rate. Honestly, even if he did nothing, the other teen would probably pass out from blood loss soon enough. A piercing scream shattered the silence as the pain finally hit him.
The Taisho cringed; for all the usefulness of having a sensitive hearing, it did have more than a few downsides. Inuyasha hadn't quite figured out how the rest of his family dealt with that; a part of him wondered if he even wanted to know.
With a huff, he turned; this was it. There was no way that guy keep standing like that, let alone actually fight. Absentmindedly, he listened to the proctor declare his win over the other teen's enraged screams as the medics rushed and tried to heal him. Really, this whole thing had been a farce; taking a quick look at Sesshoumaru gave him nothing. Which meant, at the very least, the icy bastard wasn't likely to complain about his performance.
"Good work there."
"Keh, you'd have to be useless to lose to a guy like that," he scoffed but still nodded to Sango.
"Regardless, it was a good show." There was a too-familiar tone in the fake monk's voice, a signal that he was speaking about something more. "The less of that team there is to go after this round, the better."
"You think they'll try something else." If so, at least they could pass the responsibility of how to react to his half-brother. Not trusting himself not to show any reaction, the second heir of the Taishos leaned down on the rail, pretending to care that the new names were being selected. "I mean, they have to be on high alert, right?"
"They were already supposed to be," Sango added. "But we're not talking about a random stranger sneaking in."
The red-clad teen frowned. Unlike the other two, he really didn't bother paying too much attention to all the complicated political stuff. Even the Bingo book was something he largely dismissed unless his family got asked for a retrieval or clean-up mission. Was this Orochimaru guy trouble enough to warrant such responses from his teammates?
"Say, Hinata-chan, what does that guy even do?" Naruto-kun asked, entirely missing her elevated tension at the name shown to the side of Aburame Shino's.
After watching Sasuke's fight against Kabuto's teammate, Kagome's suspicion about the older teen had only grown larger. In fact, they were less 'suspicions' and more predictions by this point. The older genin's interactions were just a little bit too convenient for her to ignore. Just as convenient as it was that one of his partners had the exact kind of jutsu that would force the Uchiha to do the one thing that would activate the curse.
Not to mention how lucky the white-haired genin had been to stumble into them after being injured...oh, the wounds were real. And, if the girl were to bring that up, Naruto (kind, naive Naruto-kun) would probably tell her she was getting infected by Sasuke's paranoia. Azure orbs landed on the crimson tainted wrappings around her arms. Those injuries were real too, but not unavoidable or dangerous. With her knowledge, Kagome could replicate Kabuto's wounds without any sort of risk.
"W-well...Shino i-is really strong when he wants to..." The Hyuuga heiress blushed as she answered. "H-he usually fights with b-bugs."
"Wha...That's gross!"
"The bugs are summons, Naruto-kun," Kagome added; it wouldn't do to look too absent-minded right now. "His whole clan works with them, as far as I know."
"Summons?" Right, the blond was almost as isolated from the rest of the village as the two of them were; there was little chance for him to know about other clans' techniques. "I thought those were supposed to be useful. What can you even do with bugs?"
"Oh, they are useful, alright." The girl almost jumped at the sudden voice coming from behind her; she was too tired if she couldn't feel Kakashi-sensei coming back. A million questions stuck in her throat; she couldn't say them, she couldn't ask a thing, or it would be impossible for her to remain in this room. "Especially in the right environment."
His unexpected reappearance was enough to divert their attention back to the fighters that had just agreed to battle. Taking advantage of the moment, the girl focused solely on Shino's opponent as she followed up on her teacher's lackluster explanation. "The Aburames are an old family, maybe not as ancient as ours," she waved her hand at Hinata and herself. "but really respected regardless."
"Hmmm..."
The blond's next words died down with the start of the fight. Kabuto's teammate had jumped towards their former classmate with no hesitation or time to spare. His body morphing and bending unnaturally as it wrapped around the bug-user like a snake...
Yet another curious coincidence.
"O-oi, what the..."
Kagome forced a reassuring smile to her face as she patted Hinata-chan's arm; the other boy looked entirely too calm to be in any sort of real danger. The girl may not know much about the quiet teen, but she knew enough to know he wasn't reckless. When the loud crack of bone breaking in the newly silent room, the Higurashi heiress wasn't all that surprised to see the body dissolve into dozens of bugs that hurriedly crawled all over his opponent.
Appearing on the other side of the battle floor, Aburame Shino stood, looking like nothing had even happened. She could hear the cheer from Naruto as he saw his former classmate alive, as well as feel the Hyuuga's frame relax, but her own mind was far away from the fight in front of her. If she was right then...the Oto nin were not all the pawns Orochimaru had in his hands, which made things worse than they already were. The man, if she could even call him that, had very obviously been interested in the two of them and had done something to Naruto's seal...something she still had to tell her teacher as soon as there were no ears around. Even if the girl couldn't trust him about the Uchihas' secrets, the Kyuubi was a different matter, one in which Kakashi-sensei could probably help, or at the very least, get someone who could help.
Her attention was pulled by the blond as he gagged beside her; Kagome turned back to see Kabuto's teammate fall to the floor as he tripped in his desperate attempt to escape from the bugs. The insects the clone had been made off had never off him and were now reaching his mouth. A cold, dispassionate explanation of how easy it would be for him to order his summons to eat his chakra from the inside offered by their former classmate was all that was needed to declare his victory.
Kakashi-sensei had been right; the Aburames were not to be underestimated...and as far she knew...they were also unerringly loyal to the village.
"Ugh, this exam is full of weirdoes!" Naruto's screams stopped her from getting lost in her thoughts. "Ah, no offense, Hinata-chan, you're actually pretty nice."
The shy heiress blushed to the roots of her hair before turning and mumbling congratulations to Shino as he climbed up the stairs. Kagome herself could only offer a polite smile. Her attention way too focused on the screen and the state of her own body.
Under normal circumstances, she'd feel confident going against almost anyone in this room. Trying to fight an S-ranked rogue shinobi and then fighting his underlings had really done a number on her; as it was, she wasn't sure who she could handle in her condition. Even gripping rails had been enough for her injuries to reopen...she'd never felt so drained in her life. Slender fingers toyed with a strand of raven hair she'd been too tired to tie up. It didn't matter if she was tired; she had to win. The only reason she was here instead of in the hospital room Sasuke was being held at was that she had to win her fight.
"Oh, well, look at that." Worry was hidden beneath Kakashi-sensei's airy comment. "You up for it, Kagome-chan?"
Bright azure eyes remained locked in the electronic screen. The urge to laugh forcefully pushed down as azure eyes read the kanjis next to her name. A loud cheer from a familiar pink-haired kunoichi reached her ears, and the girl couldn't stop the smile forming on her lips.
"I think I can handle it, sensei."
"Yeah, you've got this!" She forced a grin to fit Naruto's cheer.
"G-good luck, Kagome-chan."
Offering a light thanks to the other heiress, the girl walked down the stairs, her eyes falling on the fired-up pinkette who'd jumped to start their match. To be fair, Kagome knew she looked terrible, her clothes tattered and clearly revealing the bandages covering most of her arms, even those were already stained from the effort she'd done earlier. If there was a time she ever looked weak, this was it. Then again, Haruno had never managed to connect even one hit against her during their academy days.
"Do both of you agree to this match?" The proctor coughed as both of them reached the center of the room.
"Of course," Haruno Sakura answered, haughtiness dripping from her every word.
"I suppose I do."
"Then...the fourth match of the preliminaries...can begin!"
"Say, Haruno-san," Kagome spoke before the other girl could even move. "Is there any chance I can convince you to forfeit?"
"Huh?"
"It's just, well, as you can see, I'm actually quite injured." The heiress pulled a long strand of raven hair behind her ear as she continued. "I haven't really been able to sleep all that well for the last few days, and to be honest, my chakra is almost depleted. If we insist on continuing with this fight, someone could get badly injured."
It was so easy to see; the moment the pinkette realized she hadn't even bothered to tier her hair up. A violent shade of red rushed to her face before racing towards her, no form or control whatsoever.
Still, so slow.
Moving behind her took no effort at all, the swing of the other girl's arm so wide, the Higurashi would have to be trying to get hit for it to connect.
"Of course," she added, her voice low this time, making sure her words wouldn't be overheard. Not by the proctor, nor anyone else. "the only one to get hurt...would be you."
Dull pain throbbed up her leg as her kick connected; her opponent's sent forwards with less force than she would've liked. She really was way too tired for this.
"Please, reconsider throwing the match."
"Like hell," Haruno panted as she rose up, anger flashing in her eyes in response to the calm tone in Kagome's voice. "I will beat you, and once I do, Sasuke-kun will..."
Rage flowed through her, filling her veins as the girl who'd survived two massacres listened to the delusions in her former classmate's mind. How long had she had been forced to hear those selfish wishes, listen to her insults as the other kunoichi spoke about her loved ones as if they were nothing more than objects. Haruno and the others too, most people in this village were just like that...This was what Itachi had sacrificed himself and the clan for...
Revulsion.
That was what she'd felt earlier in the exam.
Revulsion for those who spit on the sacrifice the few people she adored were forced to go through...
This time she didn't move; the pain was not as bad as she thought it would be, even as crimson flowed from her skin, drenching the stained bandages. It was fine; she could handle this pain just fine. Kagome barely registered the shock on the pinkette's face as she transitioned from blocking to a high kick. The sole of her feet sunk into the soft flesh of her opponent's stomach, pushing her back once again.
Azure eyes watched the dripping blood from her arm as she jumped back to regain her distance. "Seems like I really can't use my arms at all for now."
This is taking too long, the thought came lightly while the pink-haired genin doubled over, trying to regain her breath, I better finish this quickly.
"Haruno-san, I really don't want either of us to get hurt." It took some effort; to make sure nothing but apprehension was reflected on her face, her voice a perfect imitation of someone genuinely worried.
Unsurprisingly, that was enough to set the other girl off, rushing towards her again, not noticing the simple flick of her wrist that placed a delicate-looking senbon between her fingers. The slight scratch made on the back of her neck as Kagome danced her way to her back also went unnoticed.
"Do you really think he'd waste his time with you?" Something was infecting her voice, something Kagome didn't quite recognize but didn't care enough to worry about anything apart from not being overheard. "That he'd ever come to care for someone as useless as you?"
This time, her kick connected to her head, not strong enough to hear the loud crack of breaking bones, but more than enough to send her opponent to the ground. Honestly, she could have this fight stopped right now, and yet...
"You..."Haruno panted. "You think I'll let you have him!"
Forcing back a twisted sense of satisfaction, Kagome dodged again, careful to not let anything slip through her mask. She was in public; raising any alarms would be counterproductive, especially with the Hokage himself watching her. Instead, the heiress sighed, a carefully constructed expression on her face as she once again danced her way out of Haruno's slow hits.
Physical strength had never been a talent of hers but injured and weak as she was, there was no way for her to end the fight with taijutsu. That said, she could still target the most painful spots on her opponent's body while keeping her cat and mouse routine. Each kick leaving behind dark pleasure that the heiress had to keep from her face.
If there was one good thing about being raised by a treacherous clan, she supposed, it was being taught how to keep her emotions from showing almost since she learned how to talk. It had taken some time, her feelings way freer back then, but the lessons had sunk in. Keeping her reputation as clean as possible was essential if they wanted to leave the village with the least amount of hunters behind them. Something that was less likely to happen; if they stopped thinking about her as the pacifist that could try to reign in Sasuke's violent impulses. Burying her smile, Kagome continued, delivering three more kicks.
Haruno was stubbornly trying to rise from the ground once more, her long, pink hair a tangled mess. Apparently, her kicks weren't strong enough to give her a concussion.
"I think this is more than enough." Her body was starting to move slower despite not using even half of her speed; she was running out of stamina. "Shiranui-san, could you please stop this fight?"
"Kagome-chan!" Naruto-kun's outcry was swiftly ignored.
"What...?"
"Are you giving up then?" the proctor asked, a confused expression on his face.
"Oh, not at all, but with as much as Haruno-san's been moving, we really should stop this fight." It took less than a second to have the crimson-stained needle between her fingers again. "Could you check the back of your neck?"
Her opponent's hand flew to the spot she asked, coming back with a slight stain in her fingers.
"So what?" Haruno panted. "This is just a scratch."
"It's poisoned." Kagome paused, letting the weight of her words fall as color drained from the pinkette's face. Careful with her tone, the Higurashi heiress continued. "I had to use a fairly potent one, I just couldn't let the fight go on, or I'd be too tired to even stand. The symptoms should start showing any moment now, and some of them have secondary effects that are hard to get rid of unless you get immediate attention.
"Oh, but I do have the antidote, of course." With another quick motion, a small vial was between her fingers. "I really don't want any of us to get hurt."
"Y-you're bluffing." If not for the fact that the girl was so annoying, Kagome might have admired her bravado. "It's obvious you're just lyin..."
Whatever Haruno was going to say next was drowned by the pained groan as she doubled over, the symptoms finally making their appearance. Without wasting a second, the Higurashi heir threw the vial of antidote to the proctor.
Poison wasn't a particularly popular tool for shinobis; its usefulness often ignored in favor of flashier jutsus. Not to mention the bitter reaction of knowing that with the right substance, one drop would be enough to kill an opponent no matter how talented they were. Itachi's insistence on teaching her was the only reason Fugaku allowed her to learn it in the first place. It had negative connotations, without a doubt; the slightest hesitation in providing the antidote could be interpreted as sadism.
"Please, give it to her; she really needs it." Again, she forced worry in her voice.
The proctor gave a quick look at the blue liquid inside the vial, probably trying to ascertain it was the actual antidote before nodding and quickly declaring her the winner. Fighting back the urge to twist her lips into a smile, Kagome took a deep breath and turned, making sure the only thing she showed was the very real exhaustion she felt.
"You bitch!"
She was turning before she even thought about it, her hand rising, fingers closing around the hilt of the thrown kunai, manipulating the weapon to twist in her grasp.
Everyone was watching her.
With a start, the girl tilted her wrist, the blade flew and pierced the wall beside Haruno with a dull thud. A trail of crimson flowed from the pink-haired girl's cheek.
Shit.
"Oh, gods." The panic that tinged her words, at least, was not a lie, even if it was caused by something else. "I'm so, sorry. I'm sleep-deprived, and my reflexes just kicked in..."
"Haruno-san, you've lost the match." There was an unexpected harshness to the coughing proctor's voice. "Please, stay put so we can administer the antidote. Higurashi-san, go ahead and go back up unless you wish to get medical attention."
Kagome shook her head. Honestly, she wanted nothing more than to find where Sasuke was being kept, but Naruto hadn't had his fight just yet, and gathering as much info right now was the most useful thing she could do. Giving one last glance at her opponent as she was lifted in a stretcher failed to prompt in her any sense of regret. They would need to keep her in observation for a while. Forcing her tired body to obey, she climbed up the stairs.
"That was great, Kagome-chan." There was barely any time to think before the blond jumped at her for a congratulatory hug. "You had the win from the start!"
"Y-you're bleeding again, K-Kagome-chan."
"Sure you don't want those looked at?"
"Give me a couple of weeks, and there won't even be a scratch." She struggled to match the light tone of her teacher as she answered. "I only need a little rest; besides, I want to see the other matches."
With that, she let herself fall to the floor and allowed her back to rest against the wall. For once, she did not care too much about appearances. Looking tired would only help her keep her story consistent anyway, and drowning the unexpected dark emotions swirling inside her was draining away what little energy she had left. The heiress really needed some time to rest; her head was a mess thanks to the non-stop string of information and realizations they'd found in the last month. Her feelings were jumping around, and she wasn't entirely sure how to handle them.
"D-do you want me to help you with that?" Hinata-chan's surprisingly steady voice brought her back to the present.
"Would you?" she gave a sheepish smile at the hurried nod she got as a reply. "Thank you, I don't think I can wrap them myself."
"Are you really that hurt, Kagome-chan?"
"More depleted and tired than hurt." There was guilt beginning to well up in the prankster's cerulean eyes, and the Higurashi wanted to nip that in the bud if at all possible; Naruto was the last person that needed to feel like that. "Trust me, I know my limits rather well. Plus, you shouldn't worry too much about me when you still have your fight to focus on."
"We'll up your taijutsu training starting next week." Kakashi-sensei drawled. "That way, you'll be able to recover your chakra."
The girl opened her mouth only to close it again; there was some truth to their lazy teacher's words. Resorting to poison was not something she'd been happy to do; there was way too much risk when it came to using it against someone from the same village. Had her physical strength been even just a bit less depleted, it would've been preferable to finish the match without using it. Not that she planned on focusing all of her efforts on taijutsu, the original assessment of her abilities was still accurate. Her real talent lay in her speed and her bloodline techniques; spending too much time on anything else would be a waste. As long as she could keep it somewhat balanced to be able to have something to default in if her chakra and reiki were lost, it should be ok.
"Of course, thanks for being so considerate, sensei."
"Oh, looks like the next match is starting."
Accepting Hinata-chan's help, the Higurashi heiress rose from the floor, her eyes flowing to the electronic screen only to force herself not to scoff. Now that was a bad match if she'd ever seen one. There was no way Yamanaka Ino would be able to beat the Suna kunoichi.
That feeling that things were spiraling out of his control was very much still there. From one thing to another, nothing went as he thought it would be, and it was getting infuriating. Hatake Kakashi allowed himself to study his one female student.
The girl looked even more tired than she did after their mission on Wave; while there were fewer wrappings around her limbs, she looked way readier to fall than she had back then. The fact that she'd dropped to the floor in a room full of potential future opponents couldn't make it more obvious...and Kakashi was sure his student had been a few cm away from killing a former classmate.
Oh, it looked like an entirely accidental reaction to being taken by surprise, especially after she hurried to give apparently heartfelt apologies. The elite copy ninja had spent too much time watching her practice to believe her aim could be affected in any way despite her exhaustion. He'd managed to see it, the slight last-second change on her wrist that betrayed her complete control over her movements. He had to wonder, had he been less familiar with her attacks...would he have missed it?
Still, the girl managed to spin things in her favor; anything anyone would remember about the incident was that it was Haruno who attacked an unarmed opponent on their back. A memory of her unaffected voice as she continued after taking her first life flickered through his head, only to be pushed away.
Shinobis were not good people.
And if they wanted to remain alive, then it was better for them to adapt fast to that realization. After all, even if their strength was growing at a tremendous speed, they had to keep advancing. Even if the ANBU somehow managed to keep Orochimaru out of the village for what was left of the Chuunin exams, the brats would inevitably face the insane Uchiha prodigy. And he wasn't sure any of them was anywhere close to the level they'd need to survive that confrontation, not physically nor mentally.
And right now, he really should focus on what was going on on the lower floor. With two out of his three brats already guaranteed to pass to the next phase, it meant that any of the next combatants were potential opponents.
The slightest hint about what they could be facing could prove useful.
Particularly considering if Naruto managed to pass his match, it would mean he'd have three genins to give special training to...and Kakashi wasn't sure that was even possible to accomplish.
Forcing back a groan, the copy ninja moved his attention back to the next pair of fighters.
"That's a really bad match." Kagome's analysis was spot on.
"Huh?"
"The Yamanaka is a genuinely strong clan, but not in one on one combat, let alone against a complete unknown." And the whole team the Suna kunoichi was a part of just reeked confidence. Still, apparently, the Uchiha kept a very nice record on the village's clans if his student had access to that bit of info. Not that it changed a thing, the jounin wasn't sure the rookie genin would be able to get her opponent to become serious at all. The downside of having a team with talents that complimented each other so thoroughly was that it was stupidly easy to become overreliant on team attacks and forget to hone their own individual talents. If those members ever happened to be by themselves, they'd often end up defenseless.
No matter how he saw it, this was not a fight the Yamanaka girl could win.
Kagome probably thought the same, considering the disinterested look on her face as she fought to keep the pain under control.
It was almost painful to see the young kunoichi try to bluff as she agreed to the match. She looked almost lost in the center of the makeshift arena. The empty remarks thrown to unsettle the Suna girl were having no effect whatsoever. In fact, Kakashi was sure Ino was getting more flustered by her opponent's answers; if anything, she was hurting herself with them. The former ANBU almost winced when the foreign genin, Temari, finally took out the weapon strapped to her back. A war fan.
If there was one kind of enemy a Yamanaka was weak to, were the long-distance attackers. The clan was the embodiment of the subtlety ninjas were known for, and they acted best when their opponents weren't even aware they were there. Even then, when faced with someone who favored hand to hand, they still had a chance to trap them in place with some clever scheme. If their enemy could keep their distance and move as they attacked, though...
The sound of a body hitting the wall after a single swing of the massive fan was a hard one to ignore. Accepting he wouldn't really get much from this, Kakashi focused on his student's reactions, harsh as it may be, there was no point in watching something that could hardly be called a match. Expectedly, Naruto was wincing in compassion, and Kagome's bored expression refused to change even when a second hit of wind (this one leaving cuts behind) crashed her former classmate to the opposite wall.
Once more, Kakashi couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something. Something just as important as Orochimaru's interference, something that could easily break the balance they were living in.
The call of victory in favor of Temari wasn't surprising. Other than the other blonde clearly had a preference for wind-based techniques, he'd gotten nothing from it. Asuma really sent his team too early.
The next set of names on the screen almost got a reaction from the Higurashi heiress. After one look, Kakashi couldn't deny being somewhat interested either. Unlikely as it was that this Taisho would show her cards, at least they could get some insight from the fighting style itself.
His uncovered eye flickered quickly to Guy, unsurprised to hear him screaming blessings for his female student. It would be interesting to see how a member of the best genin team handled herself.
A/N: I'm so sorry for the long delay but the holidays are here (my exams were stressful but successful) and I'll be able to write more consistently, my batch of backup chapters was getting dangerously low. I'll also finally have the time to finish that second part for Death's Inspiration that I've been working on for months, but anyways, what matters is...
The story is back! And definitely changing now, though honestly the Sakura vs Ino fight was really, really boring and I needed to change that. I mean how do we go from the emotional rollercoasters that were the Gaara vs Rock Lee and Neji vs Hinata fights were we get to see those characters with a lot more depth than anyone expected to "we both liked the same boy so we can't be friends anymore!"? Seriously, they were children and Sasuke didn't pay attention to either of them so how come it destroyed a friendship? Anyways, at least like this it helps push Kagome's feelings a bit more towards the path Sasuke wants to take and in the condition the girl was in she couldn't have won against pretty much anyone else other than probably Ino and the girl from Sound.
I do want to clarify that I don't hate Sakura's character though, I kinda pity her honestly. She was never given any sort of character development, granted basically no female character had much development but at least there were some changes. Tsunade starts as a completely bitter woman but turns out caring towards Naruto and protects the villagers with everything she has; Hinata goes from shivering in front of Neji and almost fainting anytime Naruto was near to being able to face Pain without hesitation even knowing she was likely going to die and being able to remain level headed after Neji's death even calming Naruto, but Sakura...she pretty much stays the same only becoming a Tsunade clone in the fighting style department...really couldn't she have her own unique techniques? Sasuke and Naruto have them, why not her?...as for her attitude, yeah it wasn't handled all that well either, because, yes, Kagome overused the S-word when she was frustrated in canon but there was one big difference and that was that Inuyasha screamed right back at her (sometimes he started the screaming match, sometimes it was her, not the healthiest relationship but at least Inu never tried to kill her when in his conscious mind) if she insulted him, he insulted her, he acted arrogant and conceited so when she finally shouted the S-word it could be used as comedy relief without it looking that cringey (and yes, I recognize that there were some times when she did it unprompted but those weren't the norm), Naruto on the other hand never insulted Sakura, never yelled back at her but he still got hit for things like jokes or stupid comments, that she was supposed to be a main character only made the situation worse, but well, I'm working with what I've got.
As always, thank you guys so much for reading and any review/criticism/comment is greatly appreciated.