Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Little Green Leaf ❯ Disabled ( Chapter 3 )

She sped gracefully through the trees, muscles tense, slightly damp from sweat and only scarcely battered from the fight, throwing kunai without hesitation. As predicted, they hit their target, but it didn't cease its pursuit. She hadn't expected it to. She had finally come to realize that she could by no means stop Karasu with weapons, as it had no vital organs to hit; however, she could very slowly dismantle it, piece by piece. Then, Kankuro would be left with no weapon at all, and she would have the advantage. But as long as He remained hidden, fighting from the shadows with his life sized marionette; as a martial artist and melee expert, she did not have as high a success rate. Even though she knew the best way to destroy a puppet was to destroy the puppeteer, she was also forced to admit that eight times out of ten she could not FIND the bastard. Kankuro was pretty clever when it came to hiding, and because of that, she had lost many fights.

Karasu appeared suddenly before her and slashed a poison-tipped dagger at her, barely missing her throat as she dodged the attack. She threw forward a kama, and it thunked into one of the dummy's four wooden arms at least halfway. With a tug, she pulled an invisible wire and the kama flew back towards her, spraying sawdust like blood. Tenten smirked, catching the weapon. Another hit to that spot, and she would undoubtedly be able to take out that arm. In previous fights, she had been able to disable two arms and a leg, before Kankuro had found some miraculously way to render her immobile and win the fight.

As promised, Tenten had been returning to this same wooded area between the borders of Fire and Wind at this same time every night for the past two weeks, as late spring slowly melted into early summer. And, as promised, Kankuro had been there every night to greet her. Every night she swore that this would be their last fight, that this time she would defeat him and get past this ridiculous preliminary match so that she could move on to the boss fight with Temari... But, every night, he managed to find some way to win. It had at some point for Tenten stopped becoming humiliating and become a challenge, an obstacle she had to overcome to attain her goal. By day she trained, and by night she fought, hoping every time that this time she would stand over her fallen foe, victorious, and with a self righteous smile, force him to acknowledge her strength at last.

It couldn't possibly be much longer until that day. Even Kankuro would have to admit that she had been getting better, and started catching up to him in skill. Since she had stopped bragging and started taking him seriously, she had been able to keep up.

But, in the end, she still lost.

Tenten dislodged a handful of shuriken at Karasu, aiming for the crack she'd made with the kama. Karasu dodged awkwardly, and only one made it in- but one was enough. She carefully aimed a kunai at the shuriken sticking out of Karasu's wooden arm, and smiled broadly when it hit, forcing the shuriken further in, causing the arm to snap and fall to the forest floor.

“Stop that!” She heard Kankuro's disembodied voice demand, “That's annoying to fix!”

“If you didn't want your dolly broken, you wouldn't play so roughly with it,” she teased.

“You're the one who's breaking it,” he replied, and she thought she heard the slightest hint of a pout. “I'll just have to repay you in kind!”

“You'll have to catch me first!” She laughed, pulling out her ever-famous scroll of summoning and unraveling it with a flick of her wrist.

“Oh no you don't, I know what that is. That's that Scroll of Bad Shit.” Kankuro grinned, as Karasu came towards her, weapons out. “I'll slice you up before you can finish your technique!”

She whirled the parchment around her as the puppet raced towards her, but just as it's bladed wrist was about to make contact with the paper, it fell under the crushing weight of a spiked morning star.

It was too late. The parchment spat out weapons in all directions. Kankuro swore silently. He had already learned that he could not defeat her while she was in there, he could not get close; but if he could perhaps destroy the scroll before too much came out, she would not have as many toys to play with.

Karasu tore its hand violently out from under the morning star, and continued forward, suffering the many blows of her arsenal. The danger was minimal, since Karasu could still move even with a katana sticking out of its head, but the damage ended up being costly. She had at some point learned that she could tear Karasu to shreds with her weapons, and since then, Kankuro had spent every morning repairing his marionette (much to Temari's curiosity).

A sword came flying towards Karasu. Kankuro manipulated the chakra strings, and with a swift motion, the puppet managed to catch the instrument mid-air, and slash at the offending scroll.

As it tore into two halves, the spell was broken, and Tenten found that she no longer could summon her weapons. But that was fine; she had a different plan in store. She had only barely been aiming for Karasu; if she had, he'd be firewood by now.

All around her, the surrounding trees and shrubs were impaled on any manner of shining, silver weapons. Even the ground was completely spiked. But she didn't miss, and she hadn't been aiming haphazardly. Carefully, she scanned each of the instruments, while keeping an eye on Karasu who had just reeled back slightly, apparently preparing for it's next attack. She didn't have much time now-

There, at last! Slightly northwest, barely ten yards away. Just as Karasu came forward, Kankuro jerked his arm to pull the puppet's strings. Tenten caught his slight movement in the reflection of one of her scattered kunai. She smirked. Perfect… just as she had planned it. Memorizing that spot, She leapt out of the way of Karasu's attack. Now, she had her own puppetry to perform. Landing atop a tree branch, Tenten pulled the invisible wires attached to many of her weapons. As the scythes and swords and kamas and flails came rushing back towards her, she swung her arms, and they all changed direction, aiming for the marionette. The wires swung around it, left and right, faster and faster, encircling the puppet until they ran out of wire to tie and instruments thunked into his wooden body. Karasu was now completely immobile, as the wires and weapons held it tight in their prison.

Using this opportunity, Tenten lunged forward, scooping up a katana as she did so, racing towards the spot where she had seen Kankuro's reflection. With a yell, she slashed hard at the shrubbery he was hiding behind, and at the sword's powerful stroke, the helpless leaves scattered and flew pitifully to the forest floor.

Gripping the katana fiercely, Tenten clenched her teeth. For a moment, the forest was silent.

Not there. That little sneak had disappeared again. She was so sure this time, too. The plan was perfect. How could he have caught on? Where did he go?

Still, his puppet was still useless now. It was just a matter of hide-and-seek.

She turned slowly, surveying the area. Her weapons will still scattered, she could still catch a glimpse of him in the reflection. Her eyes narrowed, studying. The forest was so silent now… unnervingly so.

He was spying on her from somewhere, watching her every move. The longer it took her to find him, the more time he had to formulate his next plan. She had to act fast.

From above her, she heard the sound of leaved rustling. Her face blanched. “Shit!” she swore, turning her head upwards quickly, “Above me!?”

But it was too late, as Kankuro swept down from the branches, ambushing her. In one swift movement, he landed behind her, grabbing her around the waist, pinning her left arm to her side, and gripping her hand around the hilt of the katana, twisting it upward so that it met her own neck.

“Tag,” he grinned lowly, with a soft chuckle. Tenten scowled, Barely daring to move. She couldn't see his face from this angle, but she was sure it was twisted with sick pleasure.

“Doesn't mean you've won,” she hissed. “I could get out of this.”

“Oh, really?” he smirked. “Then you must have forgotten that I can do this.”

Without releasing his grip, he pointed his finger at Karasu, making a strange gesture. The puppet's head spun around eerily with a sickening clacking sound, and its head detached and flew forward, opening its gruesome mechanical mouth to reveal a spinning drill.

Tenten unconsciously winced back into Kankuro, sucking in her breath and squeezing her eyes shut as the doll's head flew towards her face. While her eyes were closed, she felt Kankuro make some kind of gesture with his hand. Nothing happened. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Karasu's head was dangling inches in front of her eyes, its face still open to reveal that terrifying drill. The head rocked and swayed, tied to a branch above it with a chakra string, looking horrifying in the moonlight. Disgusted, Tenten tried to back away from it, but found she could only back further in Kankuro, who still held her tight.

“Still think you can win?” He grinned evilly. “Make any movement at all, and either Karasu or I could rip you to shreds.”

“…How?” Was all she could manage to ask.

“You aren't the only one with good eyes,” he replied. “I could see my reflection in those kunai, too. As soon as your eyes fell on me, I knew how you found me. So while you tangled up Karasu, I relocated.”

Her muscled tensed even further when she felt the blade being pressed a little closer to her flesh. But it was nothing compared to the heat of his mouth next to her ear as he whispered menacingly “By the way, what you did to Karasu was very clever; but a real nuisance. That's going to take me forever to untangle. Maybe I should do the same thing to you?”

“I wish you luck,” she hissed, as a hot blush spread across her face and down her neck. She needed to get out of here, but she was caught and surrounded. Karasu's disembodied head hung disturbingly in front of her. It was a wretched image, and distracted her from thinking clearly. She squeezed her eyes shut to avoid the sight of it. Surely from his angle, Kankuro would not be able to see that. She had to concentrate, to think of a way out of this. But instead of a clever escape route, Tenten found that without her eyes, she could only seem to concentrate on the sound of his breath in her ear, the smell of his clothes, and the rising and falling of his chest pressed to her back as he breathed.

Why the hell wasn't he loosening his grip? It was obvious that he'd won. She had no chance of victory. Maybe he was waiting for her to admit it?

She suddenly started to feel claustrophobic. She needed to get out of there. She did not want him to touch her anymore- could not handle him being this close. It was not the first time he'd been forced to attack with his own hands, but it was certainly the first time he'd grappled her. If she did not get him to let go soon, she was going to panic.

“Fine,” she admitted, her eyes still shut to avoid the sight of Karasu. “You win. Let go of me.”

He smiled deviously. Of course he had won. He would always win. And he very well intended to keep it that way, if he ever wanted to keep around his favorite toy. After all, if he was not having any fun, he would not have bothered to come back every night for the past two weeks. He didn't have THAT much conviction. He would rather have the evenings to himself.

But as it so happened, he rather liked Tenten, the way a cat liked a mouse. He liked to let her think she was clever, think she had finally escaped his reach; and just as she felt safe, he came forward with his claws and snatched her up. The entertainment he got out of it was far greater the cost of repairs on Karasu. It was his driving ambition for training in the daytime. He needed to stay on top, to continue his winning streak, before The Mouse learned how to break his claws.

Kankuro tightened his grip around Tenten, savoring his win, and found himself surprised at how very small she actually was. He had known she was lithe and petite, but somehow in his grasp, it felt like he could break her. His hand was clamped atop hers on the hilt of the katana, and her fingers were amazingly small and thin…. She really was just like a mouse. Complete with little round buns as ears atop her head.

Her muscles were tense, and her breathing was heavy. He could tell she didn't like being caught in his grip, but was equally averse to the katana at her neck and the drill in front of her eyes, those being the reasons she had not yet escaped. She seemed to be trying to pull away from them, but could only seem to press her back further in Kankuro's chest.

He couldn't help but notice, as his heart rate increased ever so slightly with her movements. She was warm, a little damp from perspiration, and she smelled like polished steel and shampoo.

A light blush spread across his face as he quickly banished those thoughts, deciding that he had held her in this pin long enough, maybe too long, in fact. But there was one more thing he wanted to see before he let her go. Kankuro closed his eyes and concentrated on the chakra string connecting him to Karasu's ghoulish floating head. In his mind, an image blurred into focus, as he moved his vision from his own head to the eyes of his puppet.

He wanted to see the look on her face. And what a surprise he got, to see that her eyes were squeezed shut.

His mouth upturned into a coy smirk, then lifted into a grin, as he leaned forward again, whispering eerily into her ear; “Why are your eyes shut?”

At that statement, Tenten's eyes flew open in shock. How could he tell from behind? He could not… he could not possibly see through Karasu's eyes!

He felt her wince at his words; a short gasp escaped her lips. With a menacing laugh, he asked “Are you afraid?…”

“Yeah,” she replied bravely. “I'm afraid your stupid doll is going to stab my eyes out. I've already lost, so why do you feel the need to torment me?”

“Because you keep breaking Karasu,” he replied. “You don't seem to realize what kind of a pain it is to have to fix him every morning.”

“That comes with having a great big toy as a weapon. If you didn't want him broken, you'd fight with something practical.”

“'Practical' or not, I've been defeating YOU just fine, haven't I?”

Tenten shifted uncomfortably, trying to break his grip. His hold on her was slowly driving her insane.

“Let go of me!” She demanded. “Or I'll start to think you LIKE this.”

“Are you getting uncomfortable?” He mused, “Am I making you nervous?”

“No,” she replied sharply, “You're getting makeup in my hair.”

Kankuro rolled his eyes. “Its not `makeup',” He corrected, “It's ceremonial Kabuki paint.”

“Then you're getting ceremonial Kabuki makeup in my hair, and it's pissing me off! Let go, already!” She snapped. Kankuro shook his head sadly, and finally released her. She leapt quickly out of the way, relieved to finally be free from his awkward hold on her, to be embraced only by the suddenly very strikingly cold night air. A decidedly safe distance away, she faced him, her arms crossed over her chest defiantly. Across from her, he sat down lazily on a tree stump, watching her through his squinted feline eyes, smirking. He didn't say anything, just watched as she was suddenly struck with curiosity.

“Why do you wear that paint, anyways?” she asked. “Especially when it's just us. There's no one else around. Why are you hiding?”

He was silent for a moment, and she noticed his face fall into a slight frown. He then turned it back into a coy smile, as if his expression had never changed at all.

“I was wondering when you would ask that,” he admitted. “Most people ask by the second day they know me, or even the first. You have better manners, it seems.”

And he meant it, too. He heard that question a lot. He knew that someday she would ask about it. After all, it obviously was not any kind of clan marking, as she had seen his siblings and they had nothing of the sort. It was all personal choice. And as long as she continued to see him every night, it was only a matter of time until questions arose, when pure fighting became tiresome. For her to wait two weeks before asking anything about him… she must have expected to get past him much sooner, and not have to bother with personal affairs.

She must be finally viewing him as an individual opponent, as opposed to an obstacle in her path.

“I didn't know you were expecting me to ask,” Tenten stated, sort of curiously, “Or that you had me timed. Was there a pool? I hope you won a bet.”

“Nothing like that,” he replied casually, waving his hand dismissively. “I'm just impressed, is all. Why are you curious, all of a sudden? It doesn't seem like something that would interest you.”

“I just want to know what's behind the mask,” she said, sort of softly, lowering her arms to her sides, as if trying to see through him at that moment. Kankuro's lips lifted into a small smile, a genuine smile.

“Maybe someday I'll tell you all about it.”

“I'll defeat you before `someday' happens.”

“And then you'll never see me again?”

Tenten was silent. She had no response. There was no reason for her to continue seeing Kankuro after she had defeated him; after all, that was the whole basis of their relationship. She had no interest in Kankuro. Temari was her target.

But at the same time, after she defeated Temari, there was no reason why she would never see Kankuro again.

“Let me see your face.” It wasn't a demand; it was more like a question in fact.

“Why?” He asked, a coy smile on his face.

“To know who you are,” she replied simply. “To see who I'm fighting.”

“Maybe that's none of your business,” He stated. Tenten frowned at him, and her face became visibly offended.

“Fine,” she rolled her eyes. “It was a stupid question, anyways. Forget it.”

“What will I get, in exchange?” He broke her off, his face still coy, curious. Tenten raised an eyebrow at him.

“In exchange?”

“I don't show just anyone my beautiful face. I have an image to maintain, after all. I'll show you. If you make it worth my while. Now, what do I get in exchange?”

“What do you want?” She seemed a little skeptical, sort of suspicious. Kankuro laughed.

“Nothing BAD. Maybe a gesture of kindness. As opposed to your usual barrage of weapons.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. What kind of gesture of kindness could she offer to someone like him? She had never felt any inclination to do anything nice for the person she was trying to defeat in combat. She looked around, trying to think. It wasn't important even, just sort of a suggestion at the time. She had been a little curious at the moment, and she could drop it any time. But now she somehow found herself concentrating on what she could do for Kankuro, in exchange for something she had wanted to know on a whim.

This is stupid, she thought, glancing towards the still tied and how headless form of Karasu wrapped in wires and weapons. And at that moment, just before giving up and telling him to forget the whole thing, she thought of something.

“I'll help you untangle Karasu,” she suggested. She was surprised when Kankuro laughed in response.

“You were going to do that anyways. You think I'm letting you leave with him looking like That?” he chuckled. Tenten stuck out her lip in a mock pout.

“Then how about I go easy on him next time?” She asked.

“Don't do anything that will end up costing you a victory,” he grinned. She scowled at him.

“What, then?” she demanded impatiently. This game was getting irritating.

“How about you wear your hair down,” he suggested without the slightest hesitation. Tenten paused, for a moment confused. Her hair? He was interested in her hair? She was not even interested in her hair. She just put it this way to keep it out of her face. It never for a moment crossed her mind that someone might care what it looked like. It was really the only style she knew how to tie it in.

“…That's it?” she found herself asking, however silly it may have sounded when it was said aloud. Kankuro nodded astutely.

“Yeah. That's it.”

“Sure, that's fine,” she said with a hint of a laugh. What did she care if she wore her hair down for a night? If that was all he wanted, she had no complaints. “I'll wear my hair down tomorrow, and you wipe off your makeup. And leave the hat.”

“The hat was never a part of this,” he smirked.

“It is, now!” She commanded. “It's a dumb hat. You look like a bat.”

“I like this hat!” He defended with a hint of a whine in his voice.

“You can go ahead and like it, but that's part of the deal. I get to see your WHOLE face. You can't hide behind anything.”

“Fine,” he agreed with a smile. What a demanding woman she was. “Then it's settled. Tomorrow night. Now,” he stood up off the tree stump, “Help me untie Karasu, or you aren't leaving tonight.”

“Fine,” she agreed. “I wanted those wires back, anyhow. So don't cut them, I'm taking them home.”

“Right. I'll treat your weapons the same way you treat mine.”

“Don't you DARE!”

He laughed in response.