A/N: I can't be bothered to explain myself. I must be fanfiction's biggest procrastinator. If you are reading this for the first time, please don't expect me to update very fast. If you are reading this from last year, or even two years ago, I salute your patience and I hope this is enough to pay back for my horrible timing.
6 months plus since I updated. Enjoy chapter 25!
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Hurting
Seki leaped into the air and stretched her arms and legs, watching for her opponents movements as she did so. A long haired boy mimicked her actions, and allowed Seki to quickly assess her threat.
Kiiro, like his name wore yellow all over. Even his face seemed to glow yellow and the only contrasting colours were his dark blue hair and matching eyes. He wore something like a diver's suit with a weapons pouch strapped to his waist. From her view, Seki couldn't see his back, but she noticed twin metal rods sticking out behind him.
Not one to make rash decisions, Seki moved forward quickly, switching places to seem intimidating when all she wanted was Kiiro to make the first move. She was intelligent, and had learned to use it to her advantage during a battle. It wasn't the same during her individual assessment, where time had been a factor, so Seki was glad she had a full hour to showcase her abilities both physically and psychologically.
Kiiro narrowed his eyes and swiftly dug out two kunai and shurikens each, flinging them in Seki's direction. Unlike the friendly banter the previous pair of Jounin wannabes had shared, Seki and Kiiro didn't seem to want to talk at all, letting their body and actions explain to each other how much they wanted to be promoted.
The audience began to mutter among themselves. Kiiro Tonbo, from Kumogakure and Seki from Takigakure, were both unknown to the majority of the mass of people present. Simply fighting each other with the use of normal shinobi weapons was not interesting at all, yet it was human nature to be curious about the two. Seki, fully black except for the orange on her pant leg and hair moved in a blur, so quickly the audience only knew where she was after she had leaped onto another pillar. Kiiro on the other hand, didn't move much from his position at all, simply reacting to whenever Seki appeared near him as fast as he could.
Seki soon realized he had thought of the same thing she thought of. Neither were willing to show their skills yet, preferring to assess the other before choosing a strategy. Seki couldn't help but smirk at the thought and paused on a pillar directly in front of Kiiro, causing the boy to stop his flinging as well. He raised an eyebrow at his opponent, and lowered his hands.
"You know, doing this is not going to get us promoted."
"And yet here I stand, staring at you," Kiiro replied Seki in a sarcastic tone, but his eyes proved that he meant no offense. Seki smiled slightly at his hidden friendliness and cocked her head to the side.
"Let's make a bet."
"What?"
"Whoever gives up first, pays for dinner tonight."
"Are you asking me out?"
"I thought you were more perceptive than that."
Kiiro let out a burst of laughter, a sincere smile reaching his eyes. This is interesting, Kiiro thought to himself. Had he been training too hard and not realized his own charm? He pretended to consider her offer, while Seki waited patiently in front of him.
"Alright, you got yourself a deal."
"On the count of three, we fight."
"Show me something worth watching, ponytail."
"Oh, trust me I will," a mischievous grin pulled the sides of Seki's lips and she crouched into a feline-like position. Kiiro smirked at her pose, wondering if this was part of her flirt and prepared himself as well.
"One-"
"Two-"
"Three!"
-
"It is Seki!" Temari shouted excitedly, ignoring the irritated stares from the audience around her. Kankurou remained silent, mouth agape as he watched her body fly around the stadium arena. The atmosphere surrounding her opponent and her had changed significantly; kunais and shurikens were being thrown at each other with more ferocity and eagerness than before, all signs of wariness disappeared after Seki's proposal. It seemed like the two of them were enjoying themselves, and that disturbed Kankurou a little. He looked up at the topmost circle seats where the Kages sat, and frowned at it.
"Kankurou, where are you looking?! Can't you see her? Don't you rem-"
"I remember her clearly, Temari. I'm just wondering if someone else does."
Temari followed her brother's gaze at where Naruto was sitting, the latter chatting enthusiastically with the Raikage as his hands gestured wildly towards the fighting shinobis below.
Gaara's chair was empty.
-
Seki counted down thirty seconds as she deflected Kiiro's shurikens with her kunais. She noted the increase in strength and speed behind them, inwardly glad she had made that bet. Flirting wasn't exactly her original plan, but after watching his eyes take in her figure, she decided to take advantage of his desires. Hopefully, she was right about them and he would fall for the bait she would put out later.
Stupid, have more confidence. He will fall for it, Seki thought fiercely and ended her count down as she landed on a stone pillar nearest to the walls of the arena. Kiiro was currently leaping towards her and she pretended to hesitate in the direction she would go.
"What's the matter? Trapped already?" Kiiro yelled from a distance, taking out five shurikens at once and flinging it swiftly in her direction. Seki stared straight at Kiiro with a scared expression, and for a moment, the boy was disappointed at all that hot air she let out earlier.
"As if."
Her words were quiet, lethal. Kiiro thanked himself for not blinking as he saw Seki's face change into a smirk. Her body turned 180 degrees and she jumped, feet making contact with the wall and running up the side before flipping over. Kiiro barely had time to admire her lithe body twisting in mid-air as she sent a growing typhoon spiraling towards him.
"Futon: Rensei Taifuu!"
Rocks split and crumbled in the path of the typhoon, flinging debris into the audience. The yelps of the audience sitting nearest to the wall didn't distract Seki as she landed on a rock pillar and controlled the typhoon around the rocky terrain.
"Shit, I can't see anything," Seki muttered to herself and decreased the size of the typhoon. Several objects that were sucked in from the audience now dropped to the ground and Seki ignored the cries of protest, concentrating on her senses for Kiiro's chakra.
"Looking for me?"
Seki's head flicked upwards, her eyes seeing a yellow body riding the typhoon with ease, thanks to a pair of metal wings. Seki, feeling annoyed, clicked her tongue, realizing she was well matched in this situation. Kiiro circled the typhoon one last time before using the wind to boost himself towards Seki.
"Don't underestimate me!" Seki yelled as she brought her typhoon closer to herself, and shifted her hands that controlled her chakra in the typhoon. Kiiro looked behind and widened his eyes as the typhoon seemed to tip itself sideways, its end drilling towards him. Kiiro swerved in the air and tried to form some hand seals, Seki chasing him with her typhoon as he did so.
"Suihou no justu!"
Seki would've cursed as her sharp eyes watched Kiiro form a protective bubble around himself just as the typhoon made contact. She released her jutsu and recalculated her options, knowing now that Kiiro possessed water-nature chakra. Her mind whirled in the matter of seconds that Kiiro took to fall to the ground, his water bubble of air splashing on the ground and his wings retracted. Kiiro reached over his shoulder and expertly spun his poles that his wings were kept in as Seki jumped to the ground.
"How are you with taijutsu?"
Without waiting for a reply, Kiiro fought Seki pole-hand, both of them intensely strong and unable to break the other's defence. The audience were on the edge of their seats, some were already shouting for the one they were rooting for. Seki performed numerous leaps, using the rock pillars to her advantage to get behind Kiiro.
Unfortunately, Kiiro had his own skillls that were enough to counter Seki's moves. His poles released and retracted his wings at Kiiro's will, occasionally swinging within a hair's breadth away from Seki's face. Seki utilized every bit of her dance experience in avoiding his attacks, and soon it became obvious that Kiiro was gaining the upper hand.
"Hey, it ain't fun when you start running away!" Kiiro exclaimed as Seki sprinted away the next time Kiiro tried to release his wings at her face. Flitting in between the rock pillars, Seki was barely visible without her speed. Kiiro suppressed a curse and released his wings, swinging it onto his back and lifting off the ground, all done in a short three seconds. Following the wind, he flew above the rock pillars and spotted the brown-and-orange haired girl, diving quickly until he landed gracefully in front of her.
"Who said I was running away?" Seki panted slightly, hands pulling out a kunai to deflect Kiiro's pole. Kiiro chuckled and continued fighting hand to hand with Seki as her exhaustion became more and more obvious. It was about 10 minutes before time was up that Seki finally collapsed to the ground against a rock pillar and shook her head.
"I'm done."
Kiiro stopped in his movements and looked incredulously at her.
"What?"
"I can't go on. I'm too tired."
"You're joking, right?" Kiiro questioned, only to receive a tired look from his opponent. He threw his arms in the air in exasperation. This is the jounin examinations! How did she get through!? Kiiro's thoughts raged as he frowned, his eyes forming a look of disgust at the failure before him. Seki pouted at his stare, standing up slowly while maintaing eye contact.
"You're pathetic."
"But you like pathetic, don't you?"
Kiiro's mouth fell open in confusion as Seki leaned on the pillar and traced the outline of her figure. The boy knew this was probably a trick, but he had to admit that Seki had a good body. He pretended to be disinterested in her until one of her hands gently cupped his face. The shock of their contact made him drop his pole, but Seki didn't reach for it and moved backwards instead. By instinct, Kiiro reached for her, then seeing her laughing face, flushed at his own weakness. He was still looking at Seki when he felt his arms grabbed by an iron-grip and twisted behind his back.
"Oh, and I am joking," Seki whispered into Kiiro's ear. Kiiro turned his head in shock, and met the pointed edge of a kunai. Turning back in confusion, he watched 'Seki' fade away into the wind. He listened to the cheers erupting from a particular section of the audience and gritted his teeth.
"Fine, you win."
Seki raised an eyebrow as their referee descended in front of them. Kiiro glared at the expressionless shinobi who was examining their situation, before raising his arm to announce the results.
"Wait!" Seki shouted, stopping the referee as he was raising his arm. Kiiro suddenly felt a hand on his lower back, moving slowly downwards. Even though he knew she was in every position to slit his throat at the slightest movement, he couldn't help but shudder at the feel of her slender fingers.
"You're such an ass," Seki whispered once more, and Kiiro barely had time to feel awkward at the close contact her lips were to his face before Seki flipped Kiiro over her head, slamming his body against a pillar. Both Kiiro and the jounin yelled in protest, but Seki ignored them as she twisted her opponent's arms tighter and used her other hand (that was traveling down his back) to pull out a needle that was sticking out of a back pocket. Seki threw it a few meters away, a drop of the incapacitating poison the needle was coated in, leaking onto the ground.
-
Naruto nodded his head as the emcee jounin pronounced Houseki Raion the winner of the match. Zehi noted the rise in volume as audience members were excitedly replaying the events to each other. Some of the jounins seated below the Kages' circle seats were praising her cool demeanor that didn't get cocky once she had seemingly won the fight.
"Neither of them called for their back ups. Time just flew by," Naruto commented, noticing the loud murmurings of the crowd seated around him. Zehi chuckled.
"Or maybe both of them didn't want to call their back up."
"But don't they know that the teamwork would be taken into consideration?"
"Yes, but sometimes, people are stubborn," Zehi said, giving the Hokage a knowing glance as he watched Kiiro and Houseki leave the arena.
"People like to be recognized for their strengths, not their weaknesses. What most of them don't like to accept is that letting someone help them, is a kind of strength on its own."
Naruto grinned slightly at those words, related memories flicking through his head. He turned to agree with the Raikage, but paused at Zehi's face frowning at the arena.
"Maybe she wasn't stubborn," Zehi mumbled to himself. Naruto cocked his head in query.
"What?"
Zehi snapped out of his reverie and glanced at his friend. Smiling nervously, he shook his head.
-
Seki sat silently inside a room with white wash walls and a clean bed. Although she wasn't injured, she had not expected to use so much taijutsu in a single match; she was tired, but not too much. Seki wasn't interested in watching the other competitors, but got off the bed anyway. Neji had met up with her and Kiiro, informing them that they were only free to leave after the tournament was over, since they might still be someone else's back up.
Seki glanced at the light bulb similar to the one in the holding room, positioned over the only exit. It wasn't blinking, but she opened the door and walked down the hallway leading to the arena. She could hear the sounds of audience members shouting, and rocks crumbling as she approached another wooden door. She sat down and breathed a couple of times before pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket.
"Kiroku Kasou?" Seki whispered. She knew the person that was called after her was Hana Taikou, so she sat down and pulled out a necklace from under her top, the shuriken hanging from it reflecting off the light from the white room.
"I wish you could see me," Seki murmured to nobody.
-
Gaara walked back to his seat from his talk with Hinata, realizing that it was already in the middle of another fight as he sat down. The kunoichi had called for him when a message from the council members in Sunagakure arrived via a hawk. It meant that it was an emergency and Gaara had to spend some time deliberating over his decision. After he had sent a reply, he somehow ended up conversing with the Hyuuga girl longer than he expected. She was no longer shy and nervous around strangers, much less Gaara. The red-head had enjoyed their conversation, feeling rather proud that he had managed to sustain one without the help of his blond friend.
"Hey, sand boy! You missed an awesome fight just now!"
"Really, dobe? Who were the competitors?"
"Houseki Raion, and Kiiro Tonbo," Zehi answered for Naruto as the latter got distracted by an unusually large flower blooming in the middle of the arena. Gaara, who was halfway turning towards the fight, spun his head back so fast his sand armor crack at the neck.
"Houseki... Raion?"
"And Kiiro Tonbo. The boy lost, but didn't give up until the very end. He had water abilities, while the girl had wind, although they fought more with taijutsu. Oh, and neither of them called for their back ups. I supposed they were being stubborn, Naruto thought they had run out of time; what do you think? Gaara?"
The Kazekage's turquoise eyes widened, but they stared blankly at Zehi. The Raikage waved his hand in front of the sand-master, puzzled at his reaction.
"Gaara?"
"My apologies, I was thinking of something else. What were you saying?" Gaara regained his composure, hiding his expression completely. Zehi was suspicious at the rare sight of the shinobi zoning out, but brushed it away.
"I said, why do you think the previous two didn't call for their back ups?"
Memories of Seki suddenly filled his mind, replaying more vividly than the night he thought he saw her. Gaara wondered if it was because he missed out another chance of seeing her properly after so long.
I don't know if it was her, and I don't know if I could stand relieving the memories.
His eyes blinked at the recollection of his own words, but that still didn't stop him from remembering the times he had trained with Seki. Her tornadoes and wind abilities blasted around his brain.
"I actually thought more about it, and its possible-"
"Maybe, they were afraid of hurting their back ups."
Zehi smiled slowly at the red head, even though he wasn't meeting the Raikage's gaze. Unknown to them, Naruto had been silent for a while, and a hidden smile was forming as his eyes were watching the fight happening below. He kept his face averted from both Kages, pretending to be still distracted by Hana Taikou's abilities as Zehi replied quietly.
"Exactly."
-
"Winners of the match: Hana Taikou and Keishi Kakaru!"
Seki let out a snort, surprised the judges had not created a method to prevent people from picking each other as back ups. Hana and Keishi already knew each other's abilities and were no match for their opponent. The other jounin-to-be actually tried to fight both of them off by herself. Seki shook her head as she peeked through the wooden door and watched the poor kunoichi be carried off on a stretcher.
"They are the reasons why kunoichis are looked down upon," Seki grumbled to herself. The walls around her shook as the arena was rebuilt to its original state. A fleeting thought crossed Seki's mind as she suddenly wanted to meet the shinobi who created the terrain. It would require a lot of chakra for an area of this size. Did he do it himself, or was he accompanied by others? In any case-
"Fourth match between Kiroku Kasou and Niji Kujaku, start!"
Seki stood up immediately at the emcee's voice, Kiroku's name resounding in the her head as she saw the splash of red light from the light bulb coming from the room.
"He's calling out his back up the moment the match starts?" Seki heard her own disbelief bouncing against the walls, but opened the door to enter the terrain she had left not too long ago. The emcee announced her arrival, just as she felt a person's presence beside her.
"Hello, Houseki."
-
A/N: Cliffhanger? Or not? I like Seki's fight scene, although I don't think it showcased her physical and psychological abilities very much. I think I should change the rating, since there was some sexual tension up there between Seki and Kiiro. Heh.
I have a request for anyone who's interested. I'm trying to concoct a flashback for the second test but I'm at a loss. You all know what's the first - it was mainly about how people worked at their best; with motivation. I need a second test to get the ten finalists, something that has to do with time and probably something rather intelligent.
It would be nice to hear from people, but you're not absolutely required to give a suggestion of course. Until next time XD
Suihou no Jutsu – Water Bubble Skill
-JE