A/N AngelLucifel won the last round so you should read her entry for Kyuubi to see what officially happened last round. She is a brilliant writer and I'm glad that she was the one I lost to if I had to lose.

Round 5
Orochimaru vs. Vexen

Orochimaru's wounds were finally healed. After days of being bedridden and pumped full of medicine the ninja was able to walk around the mall and spar with Kabuto, Orochimaru was nearly back to full strength by the time the next round's match ups were announced. He was fighting a man named Vexen; their fight was near the middle of the round so Orochimaru had time to prepare.

"Well?" He turned to Kabuto when Death-by-Chocolate had finished listing opponents. "Who is this guy?"

The boy still had scars across his face from Kyuubi smashing him into the glass last round, but he had been busy as soon as he had healed continuing his research on all the contestants. "He's rather mysterious."Kabuto said, "I'm not sure where he comes from or if he's even human. However, I do know a good deal about his fighting style. He controls ice, and the temperature of his environments to create his weapon. For defense he uses a shield. Every round that he's won in this tournament has relied on a trap, he fights with his intellect."

Orochimaru grinned. "Sounds like a good match."

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Orochimaru prowled down the hallway of one of the mall's many spokes, meticulously aware of each store entryway and every opening in the ceiling above his head. In the half crouch of a hunter he searched for his opponent. He caught a movement in one of the clothing stores to his right; a shadowy figure darting past the racks of evening gowns and prom dresses. Orochimaru snuck over to the edge of the entry way to get a better look.

When he heard the sharp crack overhead Orochimaru realized he was no longer watching the ceiling. The ninja somersaulted forward and broke into a run as Stalactites of ice crashed to the floor around him. Orochimaru dove into a cookware store, knocking over a display of crock-pots and regaining his feet just as a man wielding an overly complicated weapon ran in after him. Orochimaru had seen Vexen at the round announcements before, this blue-haired boy wasn't him.

"Oh great," Orochimaru sighed, "a team effort."

The boy smirked and struck out with the pointier end of his weapon. Orochimaru dodged it and threw a kunai at the boy before jumping to the ovens. The boy knocked away the kunai and followed.

Orochimaru thrust his arms toward his opponent. They transformed into snakes, one writhing around the complex weapon and the other squeezing the boy's legs together. As the boy fell a large snake, as thick around as a tree's trunk, appeared behind him and slowly rose, ready to strike. Orochimaru kept hold of the boy and reached out to snake mentally, sure he could turn it to his will.

Orochimaru blinked, and then turned smirking to the boy as he realized the true nature of the serpent. "You picked the wrong illusion to frighten me boy." He laughed, lifting the snake arm that entangled the boy's legs Orochimaru slammed his opponent into a shelf of iron skillets.

Orochimaru stopped short at the entrance to the store, listening in case anyone was waiting outside. He heard breathing.

The ninja turned on his heal and hurried to edge of the display window, peeking through it to see what he was up against. There were two men outside the store, though one was as big as two men. One was Vexen, he could tell by the blond hair, the other was a burly man with a simple, large tomahawk. It looked like they had both noticed the lack fighting noise in the store.

Orochimaru moved out of sight and quickly unwound three feet of wire from his pack, snipping it quickly. Then the Sannin crawled up the wall and onto the ceiling, using his chakra to keep him in place. Vexen walked in first followed closely by the other man. As they passed under him Orochimaru dropped behind and let the wire fall over the bigger man's head. Keeping his legs tucked up Orochimaru's falling weight brought the wire sharply against the man's throat.

Vexen turned sharply as he heard his companion thud to the floor. Orochimaru stood behind contemplating his victory.

"He's still alive." Orochimaru decided and then looked up smirking at Vexen. "So are you ready to fight me or do you have more friends?"

Vexen scowled. Ice spikes formed in the air and launched themselves at Orochimaru. Orochimaru dodged to the side and struck out with his snake arms and struck Vexen's shield. Orochimaru pulled the snakes back then extended them up and over the blond to attack from behind. More ice spikes formed in the air, this time flying towards the snakes. One of Orochimaru's snakes was pierced through the head, the other Vexen again blocked with his shield.

While Vexen was thus distracted Orochimaru's tongue coiled around Vexen's ankle and lifted him high in the air. Vexen flailed but couldn't get loose. After a while though, Orochimaru felt his legs numbing and recognized that he too had been distracted. Ice was steadily climbing up his legs, encasing him in a growing pillar.

Vexen's shield collided with Orochimaru's head and the ninja's tongue slackened, dumping Vexen on the floor. The blond scrambled to his feet, retrieved his shield and retreated several feet. Ice continued to climb up Orochimaru's body, now reaching his hips. The Sannin tried to chip it away with a kunai but it grew back faster. His arm that had been pierced by the ice spike hung useless at his side and the ice started to envelope that too. Orochimaru gave an exasperated cry and glared at Vexen who was watching and smiling from a safe distance.

"Don't be so smug." Orochimaru spat at him. Vexen just raised an eyebrow, as if asking why not.

In answer Orochimaru twisted his good arm behind his back and dislodged a scroll from the ice. Spreading it with a flick of his wrist Orochimaru draped the scroll over his shoulder. Then he bit his thumb and completed the blood summon. A snake appeared in a cloud of smoke, this one slightly larger than the blue-haired boy's illusion.

Vexen jumped and prepared to attack, but the snake ignored him. Without instruction it began coiling around Orochimaru, who was now covered in ice to his throat. Vexen paused, not sure if the snake was hurting or helping Orochimaru. The snake constricted tightly and the ice around Orochimaru shattered. The Sannin gasped as the ice shards cut against his skin, but then the snake relaxed its hold and the ice fell away.

Vexen attacked with another volley of ice spikes. The snake hissed as the struck, but appeared only slightly hurt, Orochimaru had stepped behind the serpent and remained untouched.

"You think you've won?" Vexen asked, "I'm nowhere near finished yet!"

The blond pulled a flask from his coat and threw it at the snake. It smashed in the snake's face and the creature hissed as the chemical solution burned it. The mixture ate through the snake's skin and soon the snake was so wounded it unsummoned in another cloud of smoke.

Orochimaru rushed forward to attack and Vexen pulled a second flask from his coat. "Take this." Vexen cried as his splashed the contents on Orochimaru, drenching the ninja with its acidic contents.

Orochimaru stopped in his tracks, acid dripping from his clothes and hair. Vexen smirked and formed a large icicle in his hand to finish the job. Orochimaru launched forward and wrapped his tongue around Vexen's neck. Vexen tried to strike Orochimaru with the Ice spear but the angle was too awkward.

"But, my potion…" The blond managed to gasp before Orochimaru twisted his tongue sharply and Vexen went limp. Orochimaru let his opponent crash to the floor.

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Earlier

"One other thing," Kabuto had continued, preparing Orochimaru. "Vexen is a proficient chemist. He's created a variety of potions and gases. Luckily I was able to isolate a common factor in his experiments." Kabuto pulled a vial of green liquid from his pack. "Rub this on your skin before you fight him and you should be immune to his chemical attacks."

Orochimaru grinned. "And how did you accomplish all this? Before you even knew I was fighting him too!"

"I infiltrated his lab. It was difficult to go through his notes and run some experiments of my own while he was fighting. As for the timing, I made it a priority to investigate people using poisons first."

"That's why you're my best." Orochimaru laughed.

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Kabuto walked casually over to Orochimaru's side. "Is he dead?" He asked.

"Nah," Orochimaru shook his head, "His neck is just broken. He's fine."

Kyuubi nearby called out, "Really?" in a sarcastic, doubting voice.

Kabuto leaned over Vexen and checked him for breath. "As long as medical attention get's here in a few minutes he won't die."

Satisfied Kyuubi turned and walked out of the store.

"I'll see to that." Death-by-Chocolate said, appearing to survey the latest damage. "Orochimaru wins the match." He announced, then left to attend to the next match.

A/N I hope I did alright on the characterization, I didn't have time to research Zexion or Lexaeus much before writing this but it didn't seem like they wouldn't be part of the fight since they were already at the mall. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the fight.