Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Version 2: My Life as Haruno Sakura ❯ Battle Royale ( Chapter 6 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Everyone Like Me 
The two kunoichi battle it out to see who advances to the next round.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Martial Arts / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.23.2009 | Pages: 5 | Words: 9.1K | Visits: 143 | Status: Work In Progress
The two kunoichi battle it out to see who advances to the next round.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Martial Arts / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.23.2009 | Pages: 5 | Words: 9.1K | Visits: 143 | Status: Work In Progress
The room was silent. No one made a sound. A lip twitched as green eyes read over the names again, hoping that it was just a mistake and the computer was just being a silly, silly machine again. But there was no mistake. Her eyes were seeing just fine, much to the girl's displeasure. "I have to fight... Hinata-chan for reals..." Mayu thought, frowning. But why...? That's definitely not what happened in the original plot. First off, it was Sasuke who was supposed to be fighting this guy with a name that looked like 'yaoi' first. Second, Sakura was supposed to fight Ino. Third, and most important of the three, Hinata was supposed to fight her cousin.
Why was this so important to the girl from another world? Simply because Neji and Hinata's fight sparked the NaruHina movement! That fight initiated the campaign for NaruHina fans world wide! If that fight didn't happen, that spark wouldn't happen! "Now that I think about it..." Mayu gulped. "I should totally slap myself for this! I've changed way too much, that's the only answer as to why it's this way!" She bit her lip.
Hayate coughed, interrupting the dreadful silence. "Now, these two, please step forward." Mayu sighed heavily before doing as she was told. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hinata slowly making her way to the front. Mayu sighed again. She must be dreading this match up as much as her.
The two girls turned and faced each other. Mayu had her shoulders hunched over. Hinata, looking as shy as ever, stood a few feet away from her. She was fiddling with her two index fingers. A slight blush was on the Hyuga's face as her pearl-like eyes stared at her opponent's feet instead of their face. "The two participants in the first fight are Hyuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever been!" Mayu gave a wry grin.
"Ano... H-Hai..." Hinata nodded her head.
Dark eyes narrowed at the two girls, though it was mostly aimed at the multi-colored hair one. Sasuke frowned as he continued to watch his teammate. She was still holding on to her arm as if it pained. “Mayu, you moron…” His eyes fell to the floor. “And because you’re so stubborn, all I can do is watch. I don’t know anything about that other girl’s abilities. Further more, you don’t know either. You stupid reckless idiot!”
Mayu sneezed.
“We will now be starting the match.” Hayate gestured towards the left and right balconies. “Will everyone except the two participants please move to the upper levels so that we may begin?” The eighteen remaining genin moved quickly up the stairs to either the left or right. Mayu watched them go, silently wishing that she and Hinata were apart of them. Green eyes locked on onyx. Sasuke had mouthed something to her.
“Use it,” he had said.
Mayu turned her head back. “Use it? Use what?” she thought, confused. The girl heard her loud teammate greet Kakashi in a very loud way. This caused her head to snap up. The jounin was about to walk right pass her.
“Don’t push yourself too hard, Sakura. If it goes too far, I will jump in and stop it.” And then he continued on his merry little way. Mayu sighed. She supposed that that was a little encouraging. It wasn’t like he had to do something like that for this match, unless…
A sharp, but quiet gasp escaped her mouth. “He knows that I got it instead!” Mayu bit the bottom lip. “He better not stop this match! Even if it is Hinata-chan, I don’t want to lose just because of a default!” Mayu stared at Hinata’s awkward posture. “The real problem is…”
“I never thought… that we would fight each other here, Sakura-chan.” Hinata’s soft voice interrupted Mayu’s thoughts.
“You have no idea how much I thought the same thing, Hinata-chan.” The kunoichi grinned. “Even so…”
“Yes, even so…”
“I couldn’t bear to look weak in front of those I admire,” Mayu murmured. “Lee-kun, Panda-chan… and…” An image of Uchiha Sasuke appeared in her mind. “You, more than anyone, can understand this, right?” Hinata nodded and took a glance up at Mayu’s blond teammate.
“Naruto-kun…” she thought, blushing. She turned her pearl eyes back to her fellow Leaf kunoichi.
The boys of Team 7 warily stared down at the two kunoichi. “Hey, hey, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto caught the jounin’s attention. “What’s with her eyes? They’re strange. I’ve noticed them before, but I never asked Hinata personally.”
“Yeah, they’re also the same eyes as that guy,” Sasuke commented.
“Oh, the one apart of fuzzy-brow’s team!”
“Sasuke, I’m surprised that you don’t know about the Hyuga clan.” Kakashi looked back towards Hinata’s eyes, ignoring the angry snort from the Uchiha. “The Hyuga family is often regarded as Konoha’s most illustrious clan. Among the Hyuga, there is unique taijutsu passed down through the generations.”
“Taijutsu…? Well, that’s okay! Sakura-chan is the best when it comes to taijutsu!” Naruto exclaimed. “She’s even taught me a few things!”
“No, Naruto, the Hyuga’s taijutsu is very different from what you’re used to.” Kakashi continued. “Normal style of taijutsu is basically hitting and damages the outside of the body, but the Hyuga style is all about damaging the inside of the body.”
“The inside?!”
“That’s right. With those eyes, a Hyuga can attack internally, leaving the body, as a whole, affected. Sakura’s style of taijutsu and Hinata’s style of taijutsu will clash in this match.”
“So that guy–he’s a Hyuga, too?” Naruto questioned.
“Yes, most likely, the two are cousins.” Sasuke narrowed his eyes. It was another advanced bloodline. Would his teammate stand a chance against it?
“Now… please begin.”
Neither kunoichi moved. “Before we start, Hinata, I have something to say to you.” Mayu’s voice caused Hinata to look directly into her eyes. Everyone else paid attention as well, including Neji. “Don’t hold back just because we’re friends!” Hinata’s eyes grew slightly wider. “I know you’ve gotten stronger since the last time and I’ve gotten stronger, too. If you hold back, even a little bit, I’ll crush you! I won’t show any mercy! You will fight with everything you’ve got! Don’t pretend this is one of our spars, you’ll only get hurt!”
Several people raised their eyebrows in surprise. They did not know that Hinata and Sakura sparred with each other. Not even the girl’s own teammates knew. “When did she meet a Hyuga?” Sasuke thought. “That little sneak already knows about the Hyuga’s abilities then?”
Hinata dropped down into a basic stance of the Gentle Fist. “Byakugan…!” Veins bulged around the girls eyes. Mayu smiled. This had to be the worst opponent she could have received. Not only was it not right, but in this match, Mayu would have to rely on only taijutsu. She had remembered that Kakashi had told Sasuke not to use his Sharingan in the original plot. Also, in his match, Sasuke hadn’t used a single jutsu.
“That’s not good.” Mayu broke out into a cold sweat.
Above the two, Neji snorted. “She’s going to lose,” he murmured. Naruto’s ear twitched. Sasuke’s head turned towards the haughty Hyuga.
“Hey…! Don’t underestimate our teammate!” Naruto shouted while pointed a finger. “I’ll kick your ass if you insult Sakura-chan again!” Neji merely scoffed, feeling that the blond was inferior to him. And yet he still chose to explain.
“I didn’t mean your teammate,” he said, crossing his arms. “I meant Hinata. She will lose.”
“And what makes you so sure?” Naruto asked, calming down somewhat.
“Because she is nothing but a failure.” Neji did not notice the way Naruto’s eyebrow twitch. “She too nice and kind. She’s easily swayed by others. Hinata was never meant to be a ninja. There is no way she will win this fight, regardless of your teammate’s abilities, or… lack thereof.”
“What’d you say?!” Naruto shouted. Sasuke had to hold him back.
The blond growled as he glared at Neji. Sure, he had confidence in Sakura’s abilities, but this guy did not have to tell the results of the fight before they even started! It pissed him off that the arrogant Hyuga stating that his own cousin will lose like it was a scientific fact. “And just because he thinks of her as a failure…! I would so pay to see Hinata kick this guy’s ass and show him whose boss!” Perhaps what had pissed him off more was the fact that Neji called Hinata a failure. “A failure… something I was always called…”
“Defend yourself!” Hinata’s soft voice was picked up by Naruto, causing him to focus on the beginning battle. The two girls stared each other down before racing towards one another. Hinata attacked first. With a battle cry, her palm reached for Mayu’s chest. Luckily, the girl had ducked, successfully dodging Hinata’s attack. The two seemed to be dancing at a fast pace, attacking and dodging. So far the two had not landed any hits. “This isn’t working…” Hinata thought, blocking another kick from Mayu. “She knows what I will do because she is used to my movements.” Unbeknownst to the Hyuga, Mayu was thinking similar thoughts. “I need to do something different if I want to actually hit her.”
Mayu delivered a roundhouse kick. The heel of her foot connected with Hinata’s chin. The sound of her foot colliding with bone was a cracking sort of noise. The Hyuga rolled away from the girl. Mayu slowly put her foot back down. “Her defense… Did she let me do that?” Green eyes narrowed as they watched the Hyuga heir stand.
“As I first thought,” Neji began. “Even with her apparent advantage, she still couldn’t stop someone from actually landing a hit on her. Truly pathetic.” Naruto almost growled. He was getting sick of hearing that arrogant tone. It was bad enough he heard it from Sasuke from time to time. His hands clutched the railing as his blue eyes stayed focused on the two girls.
“Your kicks… have gotten stronger, Sakura-chan,” Hinata remarked. She rubbed her chin, trying to dull the pain she felt. Mayu nodded. That wasn’t the only thing. She had noticed that it took little time for Hinata to stand up from that. The first time she was hit in the face, their secret training session was over. No one had ever hit Hinata in the face with a lot of force before. That was understandable, so Mayu had let it slide that day.
“Hinata… Her body has gotten tougher!” The kunoichi grinned again. “Good, that means I won’t hold any of my punches.” Mayu dropped down into her standard stance. Hinata, however, remained straight up.
“Ano… I have something to show for this fight,” Hinata started. She played with her index fingers, twirling them around in that ultra cute way. Mayu almost squealed. It was more or less a weakness. Good thing the Hyuga didn’t know about it. “I believe–I believe that I will have to do something different because you know my fighting style well.” The girl dropped one of her arms; the other arm reached behind her. She pulled something from her back pouch. The girl held it up for all to see. Mayu blinked in surprise. “This is my very own weapon.”
Her weapon was actually two weapons. The pair looked similar to shuriken, but the spikes were curved and there were more of them. The color was pure silver. They were also bigger–much bigger–than the average shuriken. Hinata placed one of the weapons in her other hand. Her fingers clutched its middle. She held her arms crossed. “Prepare yourself…!” She flung the metallic weapons at Mayu. They sliced through the air with a distinct whirring noise.
Sasuke smirked. Mayu’s speed might’ve been lower than his at this point in time, but when it came to objects flying at her, they never hit. “Weapons, even ones I’ve never seen before, won’t work on her.”
Inner Mayu: I’m the Dodge Ball Queen back at school! There’s no way I’ll get hit!
The weapons zoomed towards the girl. It practically happened in slow motion. The sharp objects were inches away from her face when she leaned backed. Her hands touched the ground. Green eyes watched the spikes whizz centimeters pass her face. “Good thing this body is flexible.” Mayu’s eyes widen when she saw that the spikes had lodged into the wall behind her. They had created a huge dent. Just how heavy were they?! With a grunt, Mayu forced her upper body back up. Again, her eyes grew wide when she saw Hinata rushing at her, ready to strike.
She heard Naruto calling out her name right before Hinata’s palm made contact with her abdomen. The force of the hit caused the girl to go flying back. She rolled away from the Hyuga and ended up sprawled on the floor. Mayu panted heavily. “Shit…! I can hardly move now! This stupid curse mark is causing me too many problems! I can’t even use jutsu…!” A sudden buzzing noise filled her ears. She barely had dodged Hinata’s weapons in time. Mayu looked at her opponent from her crouched position. The girl had the two weapons in her hands again. “She… controls them?”
Hinata had a small frown on her face. She dropped her arms to her side. “I don’t understand,” she murmured. “Are you holding back? Why do you keep underestimating me, Sakura-chan? You say all those things about not holding back just because we’re friends, and yet… you won’t take me seriously. I… I tried to become stronger. I think–I think I truly have become stronger. Because of you and–ano–someone else… I feel that I’m slightly more… certain of myself. I was… hoping I could show you… and–and… everyone that I’m stronger, but… ho-how can I do that when you’re underestimating me? It’s like you said before… ‘If you hold back, even a little bit, or I’ll crush you.’ I find your words… appropriate for this match. Are you–are you going to let me continue to attack you?” The Hyuga dropped down into a stance.
Mayu continued to pant as she stared at Hinata. She could tell her words were true. She also noticed the disappointed tone in her voice. Her fingers curled into a tight fist. “I’m sorry, Hinata. I really haven’t been my best and it’s all because I’m afraid I’ll use this curse mark.” Green eyes focused on the floor. “If only I wouldn’t have taken that hit for Sasuke…!” Mayu slowly stood, the body shaking from the strain. Hinata’s attack did more than just knock her down.
Sasuke watched this all happened through narrowed eyes. His hands clutched the railing. A frown was also on his face. He could not understand why Mayu was being so… weak! It couldn’t have been that curse mark, could it? Mayu was usually smart while in the heat of battle. By now, she would have already figured out a way to defeat an opponent, friend or not. The longer Sasuke stared at his teammate getting hitting hit with Hinata’s Gentle Fist, the angrier he got. Sure, she was blocking and dodging some of the time, but it still wasn’t right. Luckily, Hinata had put those weapons away. At least, she didn’t have to worry about more attacks. But then again, the girl was already weakened. Naruto was unusually silent during the almost vicious beating. Once more, Mayu was knocked to the ground.
“Sakura-chan…” Naruto whispered. Sasuke took a glance at his blond teammate, and then turned back to the fight. He growled.
“What the hell is this?!” His shout caused Mayu to turn towards him in surprise. Hinata had stopped walking towards Mayu because she, too, had looked up. In fact, everyone’s heads were turned to him. “Is this truly all you have in you?!” Sasuke glared down at the girl, not caring for the stunned look she was giving him. “This is stupid! How can anyone look at you with respect when you’re acting like such a weak little girl, Sakura…?!”
Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. When Sasuke had said his teammate’s name, he couldn’t help but notice that it sounded much like an insult. His eye moved over to his female student. She was glaring up at him. She had seemed to take it as an insult as well. “I wonder why…?” he thought. He watched his student’s body tremble as she looked down at the ground. Her hands were, once again, curled into tight fists.
“Sasuke…!” Mayu grind her teeth together. As she stood up, her head also rose. Hinata watched her friend’s movements in slight surprise.
“Her eyes… have changed.” The Hyuga went into her stance again. A smile graced her features. “It seems I’m not the only one who draws strength from another…”
Mayu clutched the cursed arm again. Right now, she didn’t care about the consequences of her actions. If she was going to continue to fight, she would need jutsu to help her out. “Sasuke… how dare you call me that…?! I’ll show you weak little girl, Sakura!” She rushed towards the Hyuga. Hinata impulsively shot her palm out. Her strike was quick and precise. The force behind her attack shattered the replacement log into pieces. Her Hyuga eyes widen at the sound of a familiar sizzle.
“Explosive notes…?!” Hinata quickly jumped away. Just in time, too. The notes exploded not a few seconds later. The blast sent Hinata flying back. The girl bared her teeth as she tried to stop herself from slamming against the wall. Her hand slid against the ground; eventually she came to a stop. “That was fast…” Her pearl-like eyes darted to and fro, trying to locate the kunoichi. “To the side…!” Hinata barely had time to recognize the hand signs. Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger…
“Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!”
Mayu inhaled heavily. A large fireball seemed to spew from her very mouth. Several audience members’ eyes grew wide. “Whoa…! When did Sakura-chan learn that?!” Naruto shouted, watching the ball of fire. Sasuke smirked as he watched the fire head straight for the stunned Hinata.
“So she did master it.” It wasn’t as big as the one he created when he first learned the jutsu, but from the size of it, Sasuke could tell that it could get the job done.
“When did–ah… That’s why she had those band aids around her face on some days.” Kakashi smiled behind his mask. “I wonder if Sasuke was the one to teach her.”
Back to the match, Hinata had quickly stood and decided to meet the attack head on. “Protective Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!” Her arms moved in a combination of complex movements. It started off slow, but then gradually picked up in speed. The giant flame seemed to engulf the Hyuga heir. Mayu relaxed her stance.
“Hinata… she wasn’t hit, was she?” Green eyes watched the flames. They enlarged when the flames suddenly transformed. They flames seemed to actually become bigger and spin around a certain point. It was a fire vortex. “Hinata…!” The Hyuga might have been her opponent, but the fact remains the same. The girl was her friend. Before attacking, Mayu was sure that Hinata would dodge it. But now it seemed like the girl hadn’t done that.
Suddenly, a slightly familiar buzzing noise entered her ears. Green eyes grew wide in shock. Mayu instinctively ducked. Luckily she did. If she hadn’t, she most likely would not have a head anymore. Mayu watched the weapon returned back to its master’s hand. Hinata was in a standard Hyuga stance. The flames around her had either died down, or were beginning to. “How did…?”
“It’s an attack that I created myself.” Hinata smiled. “It can act as my defense and my attack. Like I said before, I won’t hold back and I won’t… run away… because that is my-my ninja way!” Blue eyes were wide. Moments later, a smile appeared on a certain ninja’s face.
“I had no idea… that Hinata was so gutsy.”
“There’s no way…! She can’t be talking about the one from that episode, can she?” Mayu thought. “She wasn’t supposed to learn that yet! The timeline is seriously messed up now! Hinata is so much stronger than she’s supposed to be right now! I don’t think I can beat her, and yet I can’t let her win. If that happens, she’ll probably have to fight Neji in the finals… I have to end this in a draw somehow.” She bit her bottom lip. The pain in her arm was already started to come back. “And I need to do it quickly. I can feel the mark spreading on this arm.”
Mayu stood up straight, trying to concentrate on her opponent rather than the cursed arm. “SAKURA-CHAN…!” The girl almost groaned at the shout. Of course, it meant something. Damn, she had forgotten about Hinata’s other weapon. Mayu moved her head at an angle. The blade whizzed by a split second later. With a thud, the weapon had returned to Hinata’s other hand.
“That was something else, Hinata-chan. I’m truly impressed, but… weapons like that won’t work on me. You missed.”
Hinata shook her head. “No…” she began. “I did not.” As soon as the last word was spoken, her opponent’s ear split and a thin red line appeared on her cheek. Seconds later, blood seeped through. Mayu cried out as she grabbed her injured ear and cheek. “You see, Sakura, I forced my chakra into these weapons. When I send them flying, that chakra is released. It’s being pushed out of tiny tunnels, causing it to become thin and sharp. Even if the blade doesn’t get you, the chakra will. Because of my abilities, I can see and control how much chakra is let out of those tiny holes.” Hinata frowned. “If it had gotten any bigger, you would have been decapitated.”
“She can see it…?” Mayu pressed a hand against her cheek with more pressure. The hand was now bloody. “That’s… pretty amazing, Hinata-chan. But… where on Earth did you get that?” Her voice sounded intrigued. Hinata blushed and looked away.
“I picked it up from one of my missions. I’ve never seen something like this before, so I took it home with me. It wasn’t long before I figured out how to use it effectively.” Her eyes turned back to Mayu. “Only those who have my eyes could possibly dodge this attack, but then again… you did dodge it before.”
“That’s right… The chakra only comes out of the spikes, so that’s why I was able to dodge it before.” Mayu narrowed her eyes. “But even with that info, it’s not enough seeing as how she can control the weapons’ movements.” Her eyebrows knitted together in thought. “What the hell am I going to do now?” Realization suddenly dawned on her. She slowly removed her hand from her face. "If I can't see it to dodge because of my eyes... then I'll just get some new eyes." Mayu frowned, hoping that the jutsu actually worked. Quickly, her hands ran through the hand signs, stopping on the ram sign. "Ishikari Style: Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Once again, several pairs of eyes grew wide when they heard that, including the Hokage’s.
“It… can’t be…” He had to stop his mouth from dropping open.
“Mind Transfer Jutsu…?! No effin’ way…!” Ino repeated in her head. Her hands gripped the metal bar in front of her. Her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, used to tell her some things about another style of the Mind Transfer techniques. He had said that although it was similar, it was considered to be quite different from their family’s jutsu. Primarily, the Yamanaka’s jutsu were used for undercover missions. It was often regarded as a great spy technique. But the jutsu her father had told her about was different. It could be an actual attack against another. And even then, the jutsu was no longer usable by anyone. “But other than those details, how can Sakura use the mind transfer jutsu? Anyone outside of the Yamanaka clan can’t use it, so how can she?!”
Down belong, both girls’ bodies had limped. Their heads were tilted downwards as if their souls had left. The entire room was quiet, waiting for something, anything to happen. Suddenly, Hinata’s head inclined, showing her pearl-like eyes. “It didn’t work…?” Sasuke looked confused. “It worked fine with Haku.” That’s when he noticed the un-Hinata-like grin on the Hyuga’s face. A smirk tugged at his lips.
Sakura’s head also moved up. Startled eyes darted to and fro. Green eyes zoned on the person opposite of her. A pink blush appeared on the girl’s face. “Sakura-chan…?!” Hinata’s voice came from Sakura’s body.
“Hell yeah…! It worked pretty well!” Sakura’s voice came from Hinata’s body.
“But… the Ishikari clan was…” The Hokage’s thoughts were interrupted by a scream. All eyes were on Sakura’s body. They watched the girl claw at her arm as if something was crawling in her skin (these wounds, they will not heal! Fear is how… -cough- sorry…).
Another scream from Hinata echoed throughout the giant room. “Hey, what’s happening to Sakura-chan…?!” Naruto asked. He didn’t quite understand the whole Mind Transfer Jutsu thing well.
“That’s actually Hinata in Sakura’s body, dope.” Sasuke was quick to correct, causing the blond to momentarily glare at his rival. His blue eyes turned back to the screaming girl.
“Okay, so what’s wrong with Hinata, then?”
“I… don’t know…” His dark eyes went from Sakura’s body to Hinata’s body. Hinata’s face looked distraught, guilty, and utterly afraid. “It’s that mark again, isn’t it? Hinata can’t handle it at all! Pretty soon, Mayu’s going to release the jutsu because of the pain that it’s causing Hinata.”
“Hinata-chan…” Mayu murmured, dropping the weapons from her hands. They fell to the ground with a clang. She watched her friend dropped to the ground, still screaming. The Hyuga’s blood-curdling screams literally gave the girl goose bumps, and not the good kind. “Damn it…! How does Ino do it?!” She shifted her feet a couple times before finally remembering. Hinata’s palms slapped together. “Release…!” The two minds were put back. This caused Mayu to receive the full pain of the curse mark. “Nngh…!” She slowly moved into a standing position.
Hinata had clawed the bandages right off, leaving the curse mark exposed and bloody. “That…” Hinata panted. “That was terrible…!”
“You’re telling me…” Mayu tried covered the mark, but that was a little hard to do because it had spread again. It covered most of her arm now. “It was worse seeing you in that pain. I will never do that again unless I have to.” The Hokage watched with interested eyes.
“Did it really work?” he thought as he studied Haruno Sakura’s appearance closely.
The Hyuga heir finally got her breathing under control–as did Mayu–and picked up her discarded silver weapons. “Shall we continue?” She stared at her opponent, still a bit shaky from that… dreadful torment. She briefly wondered how her opponent could handle it.
“Of course,” Mayu answered. She smirked a bit. “How do you do it…?” she murmured. Hinata’s eyes widen when she noticed that the girl’s pinks roots had changed colors. Her eyes had flashed colors as well. Finally, the colors of her friend stopped. Hinata’s mouth dropped opened. The heir wasn’t the only one, though. Neji, as well as the other rookies, stared in disbelief. To them, and everyone else in the room, it seemed as though…
Haruno Sakura had the Byakugan.
“What…? Bu-But that’s impossible!” Hinata’s voice was almost frantic. She shook her head a few times, and then looked back at her opponent. Mayu’s appearance stilled looked similar to a person belonging to the Hyuga clan. Neji clutched the railing, watching the newly pearl-eyed girl.
“What is this…?” He narrowed his own lavender eyes.
A certain Sound ninja smirked, and then licked his lips with his abnormally long tongue. “How interesting…” he thought.
“So how do I turn these things on?” Mayu asked; Hinata was too stunned to answer. “I think I just force some chakra into my eyes, and then–whoa! This is what you can see…? Amazing…” Mayu cracked her knuckles, and then did an imitation of the Hyuga stance. “I may not know a lot about the Hyuga way, but I’ve fought you enough times to get the basics down. Bring it on, Hinata-chan.” The girl didn’t move. “Fine, I’ll come to you!”
Mayu wasted no time in dashing towards Hinata. The Hyuga heir, by then, had snapped out of it and threw her metallic weapons. The two deadly blades zoomed at the oncoming girl at a faster speed than before. Using her chakra, a burst a speed sent Mayu airborne. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Her body went pass the two weapons. She had successfully dodged the blades, as well as the chakra. Her hand touched the ground. Her body tilted; using the momentum, Mayu landed back on her feet.
Hinata began to attack Mayu, using her Gentle Fist. The two girls attacked, dodged, blocked against one another. It almost seemed like they were in some type of dance. Burst of chakra emitted from their hands each time an attack was made. “Her speed matches mine…! Her attacks match mine as well…! We’re too evenly matched! This battle could go on forever!” Hinata dropped down and swung her foot around, causing Mayu to stagger. Hinata took this chance to drive her palm up against Mayu’s chin. The imitation Hyuga fell back and rolled away. She planted her feet, and then pushed herself forward to prevent from sliding back more.
Mayu panted heavily as she stared at Hinata through blurry eyes. “I can’t keep doing this…” Once again, her body started changing colors again. The dark roots were replaced with pink, and her eyes returned to green. Hinata was also panting heavily. “She won’t stop… I have to finish this now!”
“She’s wasted too much chakra,” Kakashi thought. “Using the Hyuga’s abilities took a lot out of her.”
“This battle is incredible! I never thought Hinata could fight like this! Look at her go…!” Naruto remarked with a grin.
“Idiot, you’re supposed to be rooting for your own teammate!” Kiba muttered. His statement went unheard by the blond, who continued to cheer for Hinata.
Mayu turned to her loud teammate in surprise. “That’s it…!” She turned her head back to her adversary. “It’s over… Hinata, no matter how much stronger you’ve gotten; you still won’t survive my next attack. One last chakra based attack… That’s all I think I can do.” The mark had spread up her arm; it was now at her neck. “Before it spreads to this face, I have to end it. Once my chakra is all gone, this body will automatically take from the cursed mark.” Mayu groaned. The mark had begun to spread again, causing the kunoichi to cry out.
“Damn it…! What the hell?!” Sasuke clenched his fist as he stared at his teammate, who was still crying out. He could actually see her veins bulging at the strain. “Hey…! Get it together already! Are you really going to let yourself go?! SAKURA!”
“SAKURA-CHAN…!” Naruto called out to her.
Mayu clamped her teeth together. “No! I can’t let this thing take this body over…” Green eyes grew wide. “Not when I’m the first in control!” Again, Mayu cried out, but this time it was more like a battle cry. “WHO NEEDS THIS SHITTY POWER, ANYWAY?!” The curse mark glowed a fiery red, and then slowly retracted back to its original spot on her arm. The color also returned to black.
“What…?!” Anko stared down at the girl in surprise. “The curse mark receded!” Mayu smirked. She, too, was surprised, yet glad that the curse mark went back into place.
“And the beat goes on!” Mayu shouted, causing Hinata to become alert. “Get ready, Hinata, this is my final attack!” The kunoichi quickly ran through some hand signs.
“Not yet…!” Hinata rushed towards Mayu, palm at the ready. Her lightning quick strike made contact with the girl’s body; only to have the body disappeared with a popping noise. “Oh no…!”
“Oh yes…!” Mayu’s voice came from behind Hinata. The Hyuga girl gasped. “Transform!”
A collection of gasps were heard all throughout the room. Hinata slowly turned around to meet the ‘final attack.’ Her mouth dropped open. There, standing before her, was a naked Uzumaki Naruto. Okay, so he wasn’t naked; he did have one some underwear. But this version of Naruto was older, more muscular, and just down right gorgeous. “Ah…!” Hinata squeaked.
“WHAT THE FUCCKKK!!”
“You wouldn’t hurt me, would you, Hinata-chan?” The older Naruto spoke. He leaned in towards the girl. “I’ll give you a kiss on the cheek if you don’t.”
“No… No fair…!” Hinata squeaked as she fell backwards. Her creamy skin had turned a brilliant shade of red. Her eyes had transformed into spirals. A drizzle of blood came from her nose. Two dull clangs were heard. The two weapons, that have been hovering the entire time, had fallen to the ground. The older Naruto gave a foxy grin and a victory sign.
“I knew that would work!” In a cloud of smoke, the older version of Naruto had transformed back into Mayu. “Sexy Jutsu… successful!”
Sasuke slapped his forehead and dragged his hand over his eye. “I can’t believe she did that…” he thought. “But wow… She learned something from both me and Naruto.” His eyes turned to his blond teammate, who was currently blushing. “She is a little sneak…”
Down below, Hayate coughed. He looked at both girls. Mayu, although still grinning, was panting a great deal. She looked down at Hinata’s fallen body through one eye, since the other one was closed. Hinata, blushing mad, was out cold. “I’m declaring this match over…” Hayate coughed. “Haruno Sakura, as winner of the first preliminary, will advance to the next stage of the chuunin exam.”
“YEAH…! WAY TO GO, SAKURA-CHAN!” Naruto shouted. “But you didn’t have to use the Sexy Jutsu on Hinata…” He murmured, frowning a bit. “And you really didn’t have to use me either.” Mayu tried to control her breathing, but really couldn’t. But it didn’t matter.
“I did it…” she thought, gasping for air. “I did it…” A distraught look suddenly appeared on her face. “I COMPLETELY CHANGED THE PLOT AGAIN!” Mayu grunted, and then fell back. A pair of arms caught her before she hit the ground, though. She turned her head back to see Kakashi, her sensei.
“Hm… Not bad, Sakura.” His tone of voice told the kunoichi that he was mildly impressed. She gave him a tired grin.
“No sweat, right?” Mayu continued to pant. Her two teammates jumped over the banister and rushed over to them.
“Sakura-chan, you were so cool!” Naruto gushed. He turned. “And so was Hinata! She sure did put up a fight!” He saw that Hinata’s sensei, Kurenai, had picked up the unconscious girl. He turned back to his own teammate. “Wasn’t she awesome, Sasuke?! Man, I can’t wait for my own match!” He laughed out loud.
“If… it… wasn’t for you two… I probably wouldn’t have… kept going…” Mayu smiled. “Thank you, you guys. And Hinata-chan, too… If I hadn’t been her sparring partner, this fight would have turned badly for me.” Mayu felt a pain in her chest as she continued to breathe heavily. “But her strikes… Man, I don’t want to tangle… with Hinata like that… again.” A hand rested on her head. She looked up; her vision was starting to become blurry again.
“Nice job, cocoon.”
“Shut up… bird brain…” Mayu grimaced a bit.
“A person that can copy a bloodline…?” The Sound jounin thought with a twisted smirk on his face. “I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t just seen it with my own eyes.” His tongue slithered out over his lips again. “That girl… very fascinating… Perhaps it was fate that she took the mark instead. Magnificent.”
Sarutobi lowered his eyelids, watching Team 7 down on the arena floor. “That girl… isn’t Haruno Sakura.” He deduced in his head. “It can’t be. Has another Ishikari been alive all this time? I must speak with that girl.” Hinata was seen being carried away by a stretcher. Another medic came over to the team of four.
“Haruno Sakura, please come with us so that we may treat your injuries.”
“That is not necessary. I will take care of her.” Kakashi stated.
“But, sensei…!” Naruto began. The special jounin dropped down to Mayu’s level. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
“You’re coming with me right now.” Mayu opened her mouth to protest. “I know you want to see Naruto and Sasuke’s matches, but we need to seal that mark.” Mayu looked slightly dejected before nodding her head in defeat.
Sasuke held out a hand. Mayu gratefully took it. Her eyes widen as she was pulled off the floor. Green eyes stared into onyx eyes in surprise. The Uchiha released her hand, and then shoved both hands into his pockets. “Let’s go.”
“I would, but my legs won’t move. You’re going to have to carry me! Hahaha!” The girl was promptly thrown over Kakashi’s shoulder. “Ahh! Hey…! I was just joking! Put me down!” The girl struggled.
“Sorry, no can do.” Kakashi began to walk away, fully ignoring Mayu’s shouts of protest. Sasuke and Naruto watched with frowns on their faces.
“Aww, man…! I wanted Sakura-chan see me kick ass!” The blond whined loudly.
“Mayu… You better come back to see my match.” Sasuke watched her departing back.
“Okay, let’s move on to the second match.” Hayate coughed again. Naruto and Sasuke turned their attention to the giant screen, as did everyone else. The screen light up, and then began flashing names again. The two ninja who were to fight next appeared on the screen.
Why was this so important to the girl from another world? Simply because Neji and Hinata's fight sparked the NaruHina movement! That fight initiated the campaign for NaruHina fans world wide! If that fight didn't happen, that spark wouldn't happen! "Now that I think about it..." Mayu gulped. "I should totally slap myself for this! I've changed way too much, that's the only answer as to why it's this way!" She bit her lip.
Hayate coughed, interrupting the dreadful silence. "Now, these two, please step forward." Mayu sighed heavily before doing as she was told. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hinata slowly making her way to the front. Mayu sighed again. She must be dreading this match up as much as her.
The two girls turned and faced each other. Mayu had her shoulders hunched over. Hinata, looking as shy as ever, stood a few feet away from her. She was fiddling with her two index fingers. A slight blush was on the Hyuga's face as her pearl-like eyes stared at her opponent's feet instead of their face. "The two participants in the first fight are Hyuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever been!" Mayu gave a wry grin.
"Ano... H-Hai..." Hinata nodded her head.
Dark eyes narrowed at the two girls, though it was mostly aimed at the multi-colored hair one. Sasuke frowned as he continued to watch his teammate. She was still holding on to her arm as if it pained. “Mayu, you moron…” His eyes fell to the floor. “And because you’re so stubborn, all I can do is watch. I don’t know anything about that other girl’s abilities. Further more, you don’t know either. You stupid reckless idiot!”
Mayu sneezed.
“We will now be starting the match.” Hayate gestured towards the left and right balconies. “Will everyone except the two participants please move to the upper levels so that we may begin?” The eighteen remaining genin moved quickly up the stairs to either the left or right. Mayu watched them go, silently wishing that she and Hinata were apart of them. Green eyes locked on onyx. Sasuke had mouthed something to her.
“Use it,” he had said.
Mayu turned her head back. “Use it? Use what?” she thought, confused. The girl heard her loud teammate greet Kakashi in a very loud way. This caused her head to snap up. The jounin was about to walk right pass her.
“Don’t push yourself too hard, Sakura. If it goes too far, I will jump in and stop it.” And then he continued on his merry little way. Mayu sighed. She supposed that that was a little encouraging. It wasn’t like he had to do something like that for this match, unless…
A sharp, but quiet gasp escaped her mouth. “He knows that I got it instead!” Mayu bit the bottom lip. “He better not stop this match! Even if it is Hinata-chan, I don’t want to lose just because of a default!” Mayu stared at Hinata’s awkward posture. “The real problem is…”
“I never thought… that we would fight each other here, Sakura-chan.” Hinata’s soft voice interrupted Mayu’s thoughts.
“You have no idea how much I thought the same thing, Hinata-chan.” The kunoichi grinned. “Even so…”
“Yes, even so…”
“I couldn’t bear to look weak in front of those I admire,” Mayu murmured. “Lee-kun, Panda-chan… and…” An image of Uchiha Sasuke appeared in her mind. “You, more than anyone, can understand this, right?” Hinata nodded and took a glance up at Mayu’s blond teammate.
“Naruto-kun…” she thought, blushing. She turned her pearl eyes back to her fellow Leaf kunoichi.
The boys of Team 7 warily stared down at the two kunoichi. “Hey, hey, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto caught the jounin’s attention. “What’s with her eyes? They’re strange. I’ve noticed them before, but I never asked Hinata personally.”
“Yeah, they’re also the same eyes as that guy,” Sasuke commented.
“Oh, the one apart of fuzzy-brow’s team!”
“Sasuke, I’m surprised that you don’t know about the Hyuga clan.” Kakashi looked back towards Hinata’s eyes, ignoring the angry snort from the Uchiha. “The Hyuga family is often regarded as Konoha’s most illustrious clan. Among the Hyuga, there is unique taijutsu passed down through the generations.”
“Taijutsu…? Well, that’s okay! Sakura-chan is the best when it comes to taijutsu!” Naruto exclaimed. “She’s even taught me a few things!”
“No, Naruto, the Hyuga’s taijutsu is very different from what you’re used to.” Kakashi continued. “Normal style of taijutsu is basically hitting and damages the outside of the body, but the Hyuga style is all about damaging the inside of the body.”
“The inside?!”
“That’s right. With those eyes, a Hyuga can attack internally, leaving the body, as a whole, affected. Sakura’s style of taijutsu and Hinata’s style of taijutsu will clash in this match.”
“So that guy–he’s a Hyuga, too?” Naruto questioned.
“Yes, most likely, the two are cousins.” Sasuke narrowed his eyes. It was another advanced bloodline. Would his teammate stand a chance against it?
“Now… please begin.”
Neither kunoichi moved. “Before we start, Hinata, I have something to say to you.” Mayu’s voice caused Hinata to look directly into her eyes. Everyone else paid attention as well, including Neji. “Don’t hold back just because we’re friends!” Hinata’s eyes grew slightly wider. “I know you’ve gotten stronger since the last time and I’ve gotten stronger, too. If you hold back, even a little bit, I’ll crush you! I won’t show any mercy! You will fight with everything you’ve got! Don’t pretend this is one of our spars, you’ll only get hurt!”
Several people raised their eyebrows in surprise. They did not know that Hinata and Sakura sparred with each other. Not even the girl’s own teammates knew. “When did she meet a Hyuga?” Sasuke thought. “That little sneak already knows about the Hyuga’s abilities then?”
Hinata dropped down into a basic stance of the Gentle Fist. “Byakugan…!” Veins bulged around the girls eyes. Mayu smiled. This had to be the worst opponent she could have received. Not only was it not right, but in this match, Mayu would have to rely on only taijutsu. She had remembered that Kakashi had told Sasuke not to use his Sharingan in the original plot. Also, in his match, Sasuke hadn’t used a single jutsu.
“That’s not good.” Mayu broke out into a cold sweat.
Above the two, Neji snorted. “She’s going to lose,” he murmured. Naruto’s ear twitched. Sasuke’s head turned towards the haughty Hyuga.
“Hey…! Don’t underestimate our teammate!” Naruto shouted while pointed a finger. “I’ll kick your ass if you insult Sakura-chan again!” Neji merely scoffed, feeling that the blond was inferior to him. And yet he still chose to explain.
“I didn’t mean your teammate,” he said, crossing his arms. “I meant Hinata. She will lose.”
“And what makes you so sure?” Naruto asked, calming down somewhat.
“Because she is nothing but a failure.” Neji did not notice the way Naruto’s eyebrow twitch. “She too nice and kind. She’s easily swayed by others. Hinata was never meant to be a ninja. There is no way she will win this fight, regardless of your teammate’s abilities, or… lack thereof.”
“What’d you say?!” Naruto shouted. Sasuke had to hold him back.
The blond growled as he glared at Neji. Sure, he had confidence in Sakura’s abilities, but this guy did not have to tell the results of the fight before they even started! It pissed him off that the arrogant Hyuga stating that his own cousin will lose like it was a scientific fact. “And just because he thinks of her as a failure…! I would so pay to see Hinata kick this guy’s ass and show him whose boss!” Perhaps what had pissed him off more was the fact that Neji called Hinata a failure. “A failure… something I was always called…”
“Defend yourself!” Hinata’s soft voice was picked up by Naruto, causing him to focus on the beginning battle. The two girls stared each other down before racing towards one another. Hinata attacked first. With a battle cry, her palm reached for Mayu’s chest. Luckily, the girl had ducked, successfully dodging Hinata’s attack. The two seemed to be dancing at a fast pace, attacking and dodging. So far the two had not landed any hits. “This isn’t working…” Hinata thought, blocking another kick from Mayu. “She knows what I will do because she is used to my movements.” Unbeknownst to the Hyuga, Mayu was thinking similar thoughts. “I need to do something different if I want to actually hit her.”
Mayu delivered a roundhouse kick. The heel of her foot connected with Hinata’s chin. The sound of her foot colliding with bone was a cracking sort of noise. The Hyuga rolled away from the girl. Mayu slowly put her foot back down. “Her defense… Did she let me do that?” Green eyes narrowed as they watched the Hyuga heir stand.
“As I first thought,” Neji began. “Even with her apparent advantage, she still couldn’t stop someone from actually landing a hit on her. Truly pathetic.” Naruto almost growled. He was getting sick of hearing that arrogant tone. It was bad enough he heard it from Sasuke from time to time. His hands clutched the railing as his blue eyes stayed focused on the two girls.
“Your kicks… have gotten stronger, Sakura-chan,” Hinata remarked. She rubbed her chin, trying to dull the pain she felt. Mayu nodded. That wasn’t the only thing. She had noticed that it took little time for Hinata to stand up from that. The first time she was hit in the face, their secret training session was over. No one had ever hit Hinata in the face with a lot of force before. That was understandable, so Mayu had let it slide that day.
“Hinata… Her body has gotten tougher!” The kunoichi grinned again. “Good, that means I won’t hold any of my punches.” Mayu dropped down into her standard stance. Hinata, however, remained straight up.
“Ano… I have something to show for this fight,” Hinata started. She played with her index fingers, twirling them around in that ultra cute way. Mayu almost squealed. It was more or less a weakness. Good thing the Hyuga didn’t know about it. “I believe–I believe that I will have to do something different because you know my fighting style well.” The girl dropped one of her arms; the other arm reached behind her. She pulled something from her back pouch. The girl held it up for all to see. Mayu blinked in surprise. “This is my very own weapon.”
Her weapon was actually two weapons. The pair looked similar to shuriken, but the spikes were curved and there were more of them. The color was pure silver. They were also bigger–much bigger–than the average shuriken. Hinata placed one of the weapons in her other hand. Her fingers clutched its middle. She held her arms crossed. “Prepare yourself…!” She flung the metallic weapons at Mayu. They sliced through the air with a distinct whirring noise.
Sasuke smirked. Mayu’s speed might’ve been lower than his at this point in time, but when it came to objects flying at her, they never hit. “Weapons, even ones I’ve never seen before, won’t work on her.”
Inner Mayu: I’m the Dodge Ball Queen back at school! There’s no way I’ll get hit!
The weapons zoomed towards the girl. It practically happened in slow motion. The sharp objects were inches away from her face when she leaned backed. Her hands touched the ground. Green eyes watched the spikes whizz centimeters pass her face. “Good thing this body is flexible.” Mayu’s eyes widen when she saw that the spikes had lodged into the wall behind her. They had created a huge dent. Just how heavy were they?! With a grunt, Mayu forced her upper body back up. Again, her eyes grew wide when she saw Hinata rushing at her, ready to strike.
She heard Naruto calling out her name right before Hinata’s palm made contact with her abdomen. The force of the hit caused the girl to go flying back. She rolled away from the Hyuga and ended up sprawled on the floor. Mayu panted heavily. “Shit…! I can hardly move now! This stupid curse mark is causing me too many problems! I can’t even use jutsu…!” A sudden buzzing noise filled her ears. She barely had dodged Hinata’s weapons in time. Mayu looked at her opponent from her crouched position. The girl had the two weapons in her hands again. “She… controls them?”
Hinata had a small frown on her face. She dropped her arms to her side. “I don’t understand,” she murmured. “Are you holding back? Why do you keep underestimating me, Sakura-chan? You say all those things about not holding back just because we’re friends, and yet… you won’t take me seriously. I… I tried to become stronger. I think–I think I truly have become stronger. Because of you and–ano–someone else… I feel that I’m slightly more… certain of myself. I was… hoping I could show you… and–and… everyone that I’m stronger, but… ho-how can I do that when you’re underestimating me? It’s like you said before… ‘If you hold back, even a little bit, or I’ll crush you.’ I find your words… appropriate for this match. Are you–are you going to let me continue to attack you?” The Hyuga dropped down into a stance.
Mayu continued to pant as she stared at Hinata. She could tell her words were true. She also noticed the disappointed tone in her voice. Her fingers curled into a tight fist. “I’m sorry, Hinata. I really haven’t been my best and it’s all because I’m afraid I’ll use this curse mark.” Green eyes focused on the floor. “If only I wouldn’t have taken that hit for Sasuke…!” Mayu slowly stood, the body shaking from the strain. Hinata’s attack did more than just knock her down.
Sasuke watched this all happened through narrowed eyes. His hands clutched the railing. A frown was also on his face. He could not understand why Mayu was being so… weak! It couldn’t have been that curse mark, could it? Mayu was usually smart while in the heat of battle. By now, she would have already figured out a way to defeat an opponent, friend or not. The longer Sasuke stared at his teammate getting hitting hit with Hinata’s Gentle Fist, the angrier he got. Sure, she was blocking and dodging some of the time, but it still wasn’t right. Luckily, Hinata had put those weapons away. At least, she didn’t have to worry about more attacks. But then again, the girl was already weakened. Naruto was unusually silent during the almost vicious beating. Once more, Mayu was knocked to the ground.
“Sakura-chan…” Naruto whispered. Sasuke took a glance at his blond teammate, and then turned back to the fight. He growled.
“What the hell is this?!” His shout caused Mayu to turn towards him in surprise. Hinata had stopped walking towards Mayu because she, too, had looked up. In fact, everyone’s heads were turned to him. “Is this truly all you have in you?!” Sasuke glared down at the girl, not caring for the stunned look she was giving him. “This is stupid! How can anyone look at you with respect when you’re acting like such a weak little girl, Sakura…?!”
Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. When Sasuke had said his teammate’s name, he couldn’t help but notice that it sounded much like an insult. His eye moved over to his female student. She was glaring up at him. She had seemed to take it as an insult as well. “I wonder why…?” he thought. He watched his student’s body tremble as she looked down at the ground. Her hands were, once again, curled into tight fists.
“Sasuke…!” Mayu grind her teeth together. As she stood up, her head also rose. Hinata watched her friend’s movements in slight surprise.
“Her eyes… have changed.” The Hyuga went into her stance again. A smile graced her features. “It seems I’m not the only one who draws strength from another…”
Mayu clutched the cursed arm again. Right now, she didn’t care about the consequences of her actions. If she was going to continue to fight, she would need jutsu to help her out. “Sasuke… how dare you call me that…?! I’ll show you weak little girl, Sakura!” She rushed towards the Hyuga. Hinata impulsively shot her palm out. Her strike was quick and precise. The force behind her attack shattered the replacement log into pieces. Her Hyuga eyes widen at the sound of a familiar sizzle.
“Explosive notes…?!” Hinata quickly jumped away. Just in time, too. The notes exploded not a few seconds later. The blast sent Hinata flying back. The girl bared her teeth as she tried to stop herself from slamming against the wall. Her hand slid against the ground; eventually she came to a stop. “That was fast…” Her pearl-like eyes darted to and fro, trying to locate the kunoichi. “To the side…!” Hinata barely had time to recognize the hand signs. Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger…
“Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!”
Mayu inhaled heavily. A large fireball seemed to spew from her very mouth. Several audience members’ eyes grew wide. “Whoa…! When did Sakura-chan learn that?!” Naruto shouted, watching the ball of fire. Sasuke smirked as he watched the fire head straight for the stunned Hinata.
“So she did master it.” It wasn’t as big as the one he created when he first learned the jutsu, but from the size of it, Sasuke could tell that it could get the job done.
“When did–ah… That’s why she had those band aids around her face on some days.” Kakashi smiled behind his mask. “I wonder if Sasuke was the one to teach her.”
Back to the match, Hinata had quickly stood and decided to meet the attack head on. “Protective Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!” Her arms moved in a combination of complex movements. It started off slow, but then gradually picked up in speed. The giant flame seemed to engulf the Hyuga heir. Mayu relaxed her stance.
“Hinata… she wasn’t hit, was she?” Green eyes watched the flames. They enlarged when the flames suddenly transformed. They flames seemed to actually become bigger and spin around a certain point. It was a fire vortex. “Hinata…!” The Hyuga might have been her opponent, but the fact remains the same. The girl was her friend. Before attacking, Mayu was sure that Hinata would dodge it. But now it seemed like the girl hadn’t done that.
Suddenly, a slightly familiar buzzing noise entered her ears. Green eyes grew wide in shock. Mayu instinctively ducked. Luckily she did. If she hadn’t, she most likely would not have a head anymore. Mayu watched the weapon returned back to its master’s hand. Hinata was in a standard Hyuga stance. The flames around her had either died down, or were beginning to. “How did…?”
“It’s an attack that I created myself.” Hinata smiled. “It can act as my defense and my attack. Like I said before, I won’t hold back and I won’t… run away… because that is my-my ninja way!” Blue eyes were wide. Moments later, a smile appeared on a certain ninja’s face.
“I had no idea… that Hinata was so gutsy.”
“There’s no way…! She can’t be talking about the one from that episode, can she?” Mayu thought. “She wasn’t supposed to learn that yet! The timeline is seriously messed up now! Hinata is so much stronger than she’s supposed to be right now! I don’t think I can beat her, and yet I can’t let her win. If that happens, she’ll probably have to fight Neji in the finals… I have to end this in a draw somehow.” She bit her bottom lip. The pain in her arm was already started to come back. “And I need to do it quickly. I can feel the mark spreading on this arm.”
Mayu stood up straight, trying to concentrate on her opponent rather than the cursed arm. “SAKURA-CHAN…!” The girl almost groaned at the shout. Of course, it meant something. Damn, she had forgotten about Hinata’s other weapon. Mayu moved her head at an angle. The blade whizzed by a split second later. With a thud, the weapon had returned to Hinata’s other hand.
“That was something else, Hinata-chan. I’m truly impressed, but… weapons like that won’t work on me. You missed.”
Hinata shook her head. “No…” she began. “I did not.” As soon as the last word was spoken, her opponent’s ear split and a thin red line appeared on her cheek. Seconds later, blood seeped through. Mayu cried out as she grabbed her injured ear and cheek. “You see, Sakura, I forced my chakra into these weapons. When I send them flying, that chakra is released. It’s being pushed out of tiny tunnels, causing it to become thin and sharp. Even if the blade doesn’t get you, the chakra will. Because of my abilities, I can see and control how much chakra is let out of those tiny holes.” Hinata frowned. “If it had gotten any bigger, you would have been decapitated.”
“She can see it…?” Mayu pressed a hand against her cheek with more pressure. The hand was now bloody. “That’s… pretty amazing, Hinata-chan. But… where on Earth did you get that?” Her voice sounded intrigued. Hinata blushed and looked away.
“I picked it up from one of my missions. I’ve never seen something like this before, so I took it home with me. It wasn’t long before I figured out how to use it effectively.” Her eyes turned back to Mayu. “Only those who have my eyes could possibly dodge this attack, but then again… you did dodge it before.”
“That’s right… The chakra only comes out of the spikes, so that’s why I was able to dodge it before.” Mayu narrowed her eyes. “But even with that info, it’s not enough seeing as how she can control the weapons’ movements.” Her eyebrows knitted together in thought. “What the hell am I going to do now?” Realization suddenly dawned on her. She slowly removed her hand from her face. "If I can't see it to dodge because of my eyes... then I'll just get some new eyes." Mayu frowned, hoping that the jutsu actually worked. Quickly, her hands ran through the hand signs, stopping on the ram sign. "Ishikari Style: Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Once again, several pairs of eyes grew wide when they heard that, including the Hokage’s.
“It… can’t be…” He had to stop his mouth from dropping open.
“Mind Transfer Jutsu…?! No effin’ way…!” Ino repeated in her head. Her hands gripped the metal bar in front of her. Her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, used to tell her some things about another style of the Mind Transfer techniques. He had said that although it was similar, it was considered to be quite different from their family’s jutsu. Primarily, the Yamanaka’s jutsu were used for undercover missions. It was often regarded as a great spy technique. But the jutsu her father had told her about was different. It could be an actual attack against another. And even then, the jutsu was no longer usable by anyone. “But other than those details, how can Sakura use the mind transfer jutsu? Anyone outside of the Yamanaka clan can’t use it, so how can she?!”
Down belong, both girls’ bodies had limped. Their heads were tilted downwards as if their souls had left. The entire room was quiet, waiting for something, anything to happen. Suddenly, Hinata’s head inclined, showing her pearl-like eyes. “It didn’t work…?” Sasuke looked confused. “It worked fine with Haku.” That’s when he noticed the un-Hinata-like grin on the Hyuga’s face. A smirk tugged at his lips.
Sakura’s head also moved up. Startled eyes darted to and fro. Green eyes zoned on the person opposite of her. A pink blush appeared on the girl’s face. “Sakura-chan…?!” Hinata’s voice came from Sakura’s body.
“Hell yeah…! It worked pretty well!” Sakura’s voice came from Hinata’s body.
“But… the Ishikari clan was…” The Hokage’s thoughts were interrupted by a scream. All eyes were on Sakura’s body. They watched the girl claw at her arm as if something was crawling in her skin (these wounds, they will not heal! Fear is how… -cough- sorry…).
Another scream from Hinata echoed throughout the giant room. “Hey, what’s happening to Sakura-chan…?!” Naruto asked. He didn’t quite understand the whole Mind Transfer Jutsu thing well.
“That’s actually Hinata in Sakura’s body, dope.” Sasuke was quick to correct, causing the blond to momentarily glare at his rival. His blue eyes turned back to the screaming girl.
“Okay, so what’s wrong with Hinata, then?”
“I… don’t know…” His dark eyes went from Sakura’s body to Hinata’s body. Hinata’s face looked distraught, guilty, and utterly afraid. “It’s that mark again, isn’t it? Hinata can’t handle it at all! Pretty soon, Mayu’s going to release the jutsu because of the pain that it’s causing Hinata.”
“Hinata-chan…” Mayu murmured, dropping the weapons from her hands. They fell to the ground with a clang. She watched her friend dropped to the ground, still screaming. The Hyuga’s blood-curdling screams literally gave the girl goose bumps, and not the good kind. “Damn it…! How does Ino do it?!” She shifted her feet a couple times before finally remembering. Hinata’s palms slapped together. “Release…!” The two minds were put back. This caused Mayu to receive the full pain of the curse mark. “Nngh…!” She slowly moved into a standing position.
Hinata had clawed the bandages right off, leaving the curse mark exposed and bloody. “That…” Hinata panted. “That was terrible…!”
“You’re telling me…” Mayu tried covered the mark, but that was a little hard to do because it had spread again. It covered most of her arm now. “It was worse seeing you in that pain. I will never do that again unless I have to.” The Hokage watched with interested eyes.
“Did it really work?” he thought as he studied Haruno Sakura’s appearance closely.
The Hyuga heir finally got her breathing under control–as did Mayu–and picked up her discarded silver weapons. “Shall we continue?” She stared at her opponent, still a bit shaky from that… dreadful torment. She briefly wondered how her opponent could handle it.
“Of course,” Mayu answered. She smirked a bit. “How do you do it…?” she murmured. Hinata’s eyes widen when she noticed that the girl’s pinks roots had changed colors. Her eyes had flashed colors as well. Finally, the colors of her friend stopped. Hinata’s mouth dropped opened. The heir wasn’t the only one, though. Neji, as well as the other rookies, stared in disbelief. To them, and everyone else in the room, it seemed as though…
Haruno Sakura had the Byakugan.
“What…? Bu-But that’s impossible!” Hinata’s voice was almost frantic. She shook her head a few times, and then looked back at her opponent. Mayu’s appearance stilled looked similar to a person belonging to the Hyuga clan. Neji clutched the railing, watching the newly pearl-eyed girl.
“What is this…?” He narrowed his own lavender eyes.
A certain Sound ninja smirked, and then licked his lips with his abnormally long tongue. “How interesting…” he thought.
“So how do I turn these things on?” Mayu asked; Hinata was too stunned to answer. “I think I just force some chakra into my eyes, and then–whoa! This is what you can see…? Amazing…” Mayu cracked her knuckles, and then did an imitation of the Hyuga stance. “I may not know a lot about the Hyuga way, but I’ve fought you enough times to get the basics down. Bring it on, Hinata-chan.” The girl didn’t move. “Fine, I’ll come to you!”
Mayu wasted no time in dashing towards Hinata. The Hyuga heir, by then, had snapped out of it and threw her metallic weapons. The two deadly blades zoomed at the oncoming girl at a faster speed than before. Using her chakra, a burst a speed sent Mayu airborne. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Her body went pass the two weapons. She had successfully dodged the blades, as well as the chakra. Her hand touched the ground. Her body tilted; using the momentum, Mayu landed back on her feet.
Hinata began to attack Mayu, using her Gentle Fist. The two girls attacked, dodged, blocked against one another. It almost seemed like they were in some type of dance. Burst of chakra emitted from their hands each time an attack was made. “Her speed matches mine…! Her attacks match mine as well…! We’re too evenly matched! This battle could go on forever!” Hinata dropped down and swung her foot around, causing Mayu to stagger. Hinata took this chance to drive her palm up against Mayu’s chin. The imitation Hyuga fell back and rolled away. She planted her feet, and then pushed herself forward to prevent from sliding back more.
Mayu panted heavily as she stared at Hinata through blurry eyes. “I can’t keep doing this…” Once again, her body started changing colors again. The dark roots were replaced with pink, and her eyes returned to green. Hinata was also panting heavily. “She won’t stop… I have to finish this now!”
“She’s wasted too much chakra,” Kakashi thought. “Using the Hyuga’s abilities took a lot out of her.”
“This battle is incredible! I never thought Hinata could fight like this! Look at her go…!” Naruto remarked with a grin.
“Idiot, you’re supposed to be rooting for your own teammate!” Kiba muttered. His statement went unheard by the blond, who continued to cheer for Hinata.
Mayu turned to her loud teammate in surprise. “That’s it…!” She turned her head back to her adversary. “It’s over… Hinata, no matter how much stronger you’ve gotten; you still won’t survive my next attack. One last chakra based attack… That’s all I think I can do.” The mark had spread up her arm; it was now at her neck. “Before it spreads to this face, I have to end it. Once my chakra is all gone, this body will automatically take from the cursed mark.” Mayu groaned. The mark had begun to spread again, causing the kunoichi to cry out.
“Damn it…! What the hell?!” Sasuke clenched his fist as he stared at his teammate, who was still crying out. He could actually see her veins bulging at the strain. “Hey…! Get it together already! Are you really going to let yourself go?! SAKURA!”
“SAKURA-CHAN…!” Naruto called out to her.
Mayu clamped her teeth together. “No! I can’t let this thing take this body over…” Green eyes grew wide. “Not when I’m the first in control!” Again, Mayu cried out, but this time it was more like a battle cry. “WHO NEEDS THIS SHITTY POWER, ANYWAY?!” The curse mark glowed a fiery red, and then slowly retracted back to its original spot on her arm. The color also returned to black.
“What…?!” Anko stared down at the girl in surprise. “The curse mark receded!” Mayu smirked. She, too, was surprised, yet glad that the curse mark went back into place.
“And the beat goes on!” Mayu shouted, causing Hinata to become alert. “Get ready, Hinata, this is my final attack!” The kunoichi quickly ran through some hand signs.
“Not yet…!” Hinata rushed towards Mayu, palm at the ready. Her lightning quick strike made contact with the girl’s body; only to have the body disappeared with a popping noise. “Oh no…!”
“Oh yes…!” Mayu’s voice came from behind Hinata. The Hyuga girl gasped. “Transform!”
A collection of gasps were heard all throughout the room. Hinata slowly turned around to meet the ‘final attack.’ Her mouth dropped open. There, standing before her, was a naked Uzumaki Naruto. Okay, so he wasn’t naked; he did have one some underwear. But this version of Naruto was older, more muscular, and just down right gorgeous. “Ah…!” Hinata squeaked.
“WHAT THE FUCCKKK!!”
“You wouldn’t hurt me, would you, Hinata-chan?” The older Naruto spoke. He leaned in towards the girl. “I’ll give you a kiss on the cheek if you don’t.”
“No… No fair…!” Hinata squeaked as she fell backwards. Her creamy skin had turned a brilliant shade of red. Her eyes had transformed into spirals. A drizzle of blood came from her nose. Two dull clangs were heard. The two weapons, that have been hovering the entire time, had fallen to the ground. The older Naruto gave a foxy grin and a victory sign.
“I knew that would work!” In a cloud of smoke, the older version of Naruto had transformed back into Mayu. “Sexy Jutsu… successful!”
Sasuke slapped his forehead and dragged his hand over his eye. “I can’t believe she did that…” he thought. “But wow… She learned something from both me and Naruto.” His eyes turned to his blond teammate, who was currently blushing. “She is a little sneak…”
Down below, Hayate coughed. He looked at both girls. Mayu, although still grinning, was panting a great deal. She looked down at Hinata’s fallen body through one eye, since the other one was closed. Hinata, blushing mad, was out cold. “I’m declaring this match over…” Hayate coughed. “Haruno Sakura, as winner of the first preliminary, will advance to the next stage of the chuunin exam.”
“YEAH…! WAY TO GO, SAKURA-CHAN!” Naruto shouted. “But you didn’t have to use the Sexy Jutsu on Hinata…” He murmured, frowning a bit. “And you really didn’t have to use me either.” Mayu tried to control her breathing, but really couldn’t. But it didn’t matter.
“I did it…” she thought, gasping for air. “I did it…” A distraught look suddenly appeared on her face. “I COMPLETELY CHANGED THE PLOT AGAIN!” Mayu grunted, and then fell back. A pair of arms caught her before she hit the ground, though. She turned her head back to see Kakashi, her sensei.
“Hm… Not bad, Sakura.” His tone of voice told the kunoichi that he was mildly impressed. She gave him a tired grin.
“No sweat, right?” Mayu continued to pant. Her two teammates jumped over the banister and rushed over to them.
“Sakura-chan, you were so cool!” Naruto gushed. He turned. “And so was Hinata! She sure did put up a fight!” He saw that Hinata’s sensei, Kurenai, had picked up the unconscious girl. He turned back to his own teammate. “Wasn’t she awesome, Sasuke?! Man, I can’t wait for my own match!” He laughed out loud.
“If… it… wasn’t for you two… I probably wouldn’t have… kept going…” Mayu smiled. “Thank you, you guys. And Hinata-chan, too… If I hadn’t been her sparring partner, this fight would have turned badly for me.” Mayu felt a pain in her chest as she continued to breathe heavily. “But her strikes… Man, I don’t want to tangle… with Hinata like that… again.” A hand rested on her head. She looked up; her vision was starting to become blurry again.
“Nice job, cocoon.”
“Shut up… bird brain…” Mayu grimaced a bit.
“A person that can copy a bloodline…?” The Sound jounin thought with a twisted smirk on his face. “I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t just seen it with my own eyes.” His tongue slithered out over his lips again. “That girl… very fascinating… Perhaps it was fate that she took the mark instead. Magnificent.”
Sarutobi lowered his eyelids, watching Team 7 down on the arena floor. “That girl… isn’t Haruno Sakura.” He deduced in his head. “It can’t be. Has another Ishikari been alive all this time? I must speak with that girl.” Hinata was seen being carried away by a stretcher. Another medic came over to the team of four.
“Haruno Sakura, please come with us so that we may treat your injuries.”
“That is not necessary. I will take care of her.” Kakashi stated.
“But, sensei…!” Naruto began. The special jounin dropped down to Mayu’s level. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
“You’re coming with me right now.” Mayu opened her mouth to protest. “I know you want to see Naruto and Sasuke’s matches, but we need to seal that mark.” Mayu looked slightly dejected before nodding her head in defeat.
Sasuke held out a hand. Mayu gratefully took it. Her eyes widen as she was pulled off the floor. Green eyes stared into onyx eyes in surprise. The Uchiha released her hand, and then shoved both hands into his pockets. “Let’s go.”
“I would, but my legs won’t move. You’re going to have to carry me! Hahaha!” The girl was promptly thrown over Kakashi’s shoulder. “Ahh! Hey…! I was just joking! Put me down!” The girl struggled.
“Sorry, no can do.” Kakashi began to walk away, fully ignoring Mayu’s shouts of protest. Sasuke and Naruto watched with frowns on their faces.
“Aww, man…! I wanted Sakura-chan see me kick ass!” The blond whined loudly.
“Mayu… You better come back to see my match.” Sasuke watched her departing back.
“Okay, let’s move on to the second match.” Hayate coughed again. Naruto and Sasuke turned their attention to the giant screen, as did everyone else. The screen light up, and then began flashing names again. The two ninja who were to fight next appeared on the screen.
Aburame Shino
VS.
Abumi Zaku
VS.
Abumi Zaku
“Would these two please come down?” Hayate called out. Sasuke and Naruto moved to go back up. The next two fighters made their way down to the arena. They walked in silence as they made their way to the staircase.
“Hey, Sasuke…” Naruto spoke.
“What is it?”
“I might be going a little crazy with excitement, but… Did you see those marks on Sakura-chan’s body during her fight?” Naruto asked. “And now their gone.” The Uchiha didn’t answer for a few moments as they continued to walk.
“I’ll tell you about it once we see Sakura again. She might be able to explain it better than I can.” Sasuke crossed his arms and pressed his back against the wall. “For now, let’s just watch the next match.”
“I really, really hope Sakura-chan gets back soon–oooh! And Hinata, too!” His blue eyes turned to Neji. “Say something about Hinata now, you snobby jerk!” He grinned when the Hyuga turned his eyes away from him.
****************************
Mayu walked behind her sensei. Kakashi had put her down as soon as they left the room. The two were now traveling through a very dark passageway. Mayu held out her hand. She stared at the object that Sasuke had, inconspicuously, given her. It was one soldier pill. “He wants me to see his and Naruto’s match that badly…? I guess it’s only fair.” She put the pill in her mouth and placed it under her tongue. “I’ll actually take it after Kakashi seals this mark.”
The jounin suddenly stopped and turned to his student. “We’ll do it here. Lay down on the floor.” Mayu nodded her head meekly, and then did as she was told. The floor was cold and hard, she noted. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to lay there for long. Green eyes watched Kakashi take out multiple kunai. With the kunai, he made several markings around his student’s body. Next, he forced the tips of the kunai into the floor around Mayu. The girl looked up at her sensei, wondering what he was about to do next.
Kakashi removed a glove from his hand. He bit into his thumb, and then pressed his index and middle finger against the bleeding appendage. He moved all around the girl and kunai, marking the floor with his blood. Mayu tried to see what the symbols were, but was quickly ordered by Kakashi to keep her head straight. Eventually, Mayu felt his warm fingers press and slide up and down the cursed arm. It felt as if he was drawing on her arm. Mayu flinched away at his touch, and then relaxed.
His fingers left her skin. “Alright… It’ll be over quickly.” He knelt down next to the girl, careful not to touch the markings on the floor. “You ready…?” Mayu nodded, watching her sensei closely. “Don’t wonder, Sakura. It will be fine. Look at the ceiling.” Green eyes focused on the ceiling. Kakashi nodded, and then performed several hand signs. This continued on for several moments before the jounin finally stopped on the Rat sign. “Curse Sealing!” He placed his uncovered palm on the pitch black mark on the girl’s arm.
Mayu tried her best to stifle her screams. She bit her bottom lip, unintentionally drawing blood. It slid down her chin as Kakashi’s blood markings seem to travel from the floor up to her arm. Finally, the pain stopped. Mayu slowly opened her eyes and blinked wearily before sitting up. She looked down at the arm to see that around the curse mark, there seemed to be a barrier of some sorts. She grunted as her hand moved to cover the mark. “This hur-hurts more than… getting stu-stung by ki-killer bees…!” The kunoichi gasped as another wave of pain washed over her. She breathed deeply.
“That should do it.” Kakashi’s voice made the girl look up at him. “The next time that curse mark starts acting up, the seal should keep it in check. But remember, this seal is only as strong as your will. If there is ever a time where you begin to doubt yourself, Sakura, the curse will be unleashed and by then you won’t be able to stop it.” Mayu moved her tongue around, trying to find the soldier pill. She felt that now was a good time to actually take it. After taking it, she instantly felt a little better.
“I… got it…” Mayu murmured, and then fell backwards. If she remembered correctly, the next part of the series happened to have Orochimaru in it. She definitely wanted it was appear that she was not conscious in his presence. She heard Kakashi chuckled.
“And here I was thinking she was going to get angry with me for questioning her iron will.” Mayu had to stop herself from grinning. Iron will, indeed, she thought. She heard movement.
“My… You have grown since the last time we encountered one another,” a new voice entered her ears. Mayu, once again, had to stop herself from making any actions. “To think you’ve become strong enough to perform the Curse Sealing Jutsu…” Footsteps were heard. Mayu could have sworn she heard creepy music playing somewhere in the background.
“You…” The tone in Kakashi’s voice was menacing. Mayu hoped that she’d never have to hear that voice directed her at.
“Long time, no see… Hatake Kakashi.”
“Orochimaru…!”
“N o offense Kakashi, but I did not come to see you.” Orochimaru took a step forward. Kakashi quickly moved in front of Orochimaru’s line of vision. He had been staring hungrily at his student’s body. Orochimaru chuckled. “My business is with that girl behind you.”
“He can’t be talking about me, can he?!” Mayu thought. “But why…?”
“What do you want with Sakura?” Kakashi almost growled out.
“Sakura…? So that is her name? I was quite entertained by her fight. It’s not every day you see someone copy an advanced bloodline. That girl has an amazing ability. You’re quite lucky to have that type of ability, Kakashi.”
“Is that why… Is that why you gave her the-”
“Oh, no, no, no… She simply got in the way of giving that present to Sasuke-kun, that’s all. It was very… selfish of her. I must admit I was quite angry to have my well thought out plans blow up in my face… quite literally, but after what I just witnessed… It appears that I have an ace in the hole. Sasuke-kun is my first choice, but now… he’s not my only.” Orochimaru took a few steps forward. This caused Kakashi to crouch into an offensive position.
“Stop…! Come any closer and I’ll destroy you!” Chakra gathered in the palm of Kakashi’s hand. Orochimaru actually seemed taken aback by the sight of it. The sound it made was similar to birds chirping. “I don’t care if you are one of the Sanin… Take one step closer to Sakura and one of us will die here!” Orochimaru smirked, and then chuckled. His chuckles turned into few blown out laughter as if he found it extremely amusing that Kakashi was standing up to him. “Oh, you think I’m kidding?”
The snake Sanin stopped laughing, but the face of mirth remained. “Poor Kakashi… Do you really think that that seal will stop the girl from coming to me on her own? I saw it in the forest of death; I saw it in her fight. She desires to be strong. She desires to have power because she can’t bear for people around her to think she is weak. Much like Sasuke-kun, she has an ambition, a goal. And to reach that goal, she, much like Sasuke-kun and I, need power. She shows similar characteristics to Sasuke-kun, which means only one thing… She, too, is an avenger and will stop at nothing to kill whoever it is she’s after. I wonder who it could be.”
“No, it can’t be! Not Sakura!” Even as he said this, he could not help but to think Orochimaru could be on to something. “Ishikari… Could it really be? And does she know about the massacre? … No! I refuse to believe that! Sakura isn’t like Sasuke when it comes down to it.” Kakashi narrowed his visible eye.
“You can’t stop it. At some point, they will both come to me.” Orochimaru smirked, and then turned away. “Unless of course… you really kill me. If that happens, that won’t have a power source to go to.” He walked away. “But you know you cannot kill me, don’t you?” He disappeared, laughing sadistically.
The chakra that had gathered in Kakashi’s hand had dispersed. The jounin stared at the spot where Orochimaru had disappeared. He took deep shuddering breathes. Before the snake Sanin had left, he had given Kakashi a dose of killer intent. The effect had got the job done. It literally scared the thought to kill Orochimaru right out of him. “One of us will die here…?” Cold sweat ran down his skin. “I must be going insane…” Kakashi stood up straight. They were brave words in the face of the snake Sanin. Next time, he might not have been so lucky. The special jounin sighed in relief.
Mayu choose this time to sit up. She did so quietly, not wanting to Kakashi to know that she was up so soon. “So now… because of what I did in my match with Hinata, Oro-teme believes I can help him with his ambition as well.” A frown became visible on her face. A growl escaped her lips as she glared at the floor. Kakashi turned around in surprise.
“Sakura…! You were up this whole time?” The jounin wiped his brow. Had she overheard everything? Mayu did not respond to Kakashi question. Instead, the girl turned to her superior.
“Sensei… I would never go to that man, never!” She gave her sensei a fierce, determined look. “If you ever doubt that fact… with these hands, I will execute the ultimate sacrifice. I will destroy Orochimaru’s plans by killing what he wants… me…”
“Sakura…” Kakashi murmured. The girl stood up, and then shoved a hand into her pouch. She pulled out a roll of bandages. She began wrapping up her cursed arm.
“It’s true that I want power. He was right about me wanting to kill someone and in order to do that–I need power, but I… I would never try to gain that power by any means. I will gain my own strength. I will not rely on something like this to help me achieve my goal.” She finished tightening the bandage. “Kakashi-sensei… I do what I think is right and going to him would not be right.” Green eyes finally looked up at the jounin, who looked a bit stunned.
Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. “There was no doubt in my mind,” he said. Mayu nodded, and then grinned. “Shall we go watch the rest of the matches since you seem to be fine?” Mayu shook her head.
“Actually, I want to check on Hinata-chan first.”
“But what should I tell Naruto and Sasuke?”
“Tell them… I got lost on the road of life.”
Kakashi gave his laughing student a flat look.
******************************************
Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter… NOT!
Next time: Top Ten!
“Hey, Sasuke…” Naruto spoke.
“What is it?”
“I might be going a little crazy with excitement, but… Did you see those marks on Sakura-chan’s body during her fight?” Naruto asked. “And now their gone.” The Uchiha didn’t answer for a few moments as they continued to walk.
“I’ll tell you about it once we see Sakura again. She might be able to explain it better than I can.” Sasuke crossed his arms and pressed his back against the wall. “For now, let’s just watch the next match.”
“I really, really hope Sakura-chan gets back soon–oooh! And Hinata, too!” His blue eyes turned to Neji. “Say something about Hinata now, you snobby jerk!” He grinned when the Hyuga turned his eyes away from him.
****************************
Mayu walked behind her sensei. Kakashi had put her down as soon as they left the room. The two were now traveling through a very dark passageway. Mayu held out her hand. She stared at the object that Sasuke had, inconspicuously, given her. It was one soldier pill. “He wants me to see his and Naruto’s match that badly…? I guess it’s only fair.” She put the pill in her mouth and placed it under her tongue. “I’ll actually take it after Kakashi seals this mark.”
The jounin suddenly stopped and turned to his student. “We’ll do it here. Lay down on the floor.” Mayu nodded her head meekly, and then did as she was told. The floor was cold and hard, she noted. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to lay there for long. Green eyes watched Kakashi take out multiple kunai. With the kunai, he made several markings around his student’s body. Next, he forced the tips of the kunai into the floor around Mayu. The girl looked up at her sensei, wondering what he was about to do next.
Kakashi removed a glove from his hand. He bit into his thumb, and then pressed his index and middle finger against the bleeding appendage. He moved all around the girl and kunai, marking the floor with his blood. Mayu tried to see what the symbols were, but was quickly ordered by Kakashi to keep her head straight. Eventually, Mayu felt his warm fingers press and slide up and down the cursed arm. It felt as if he was drawing on her arm. Mayu flinched away at his touch, and then relaxed.
His fingers left her skin. “Alright… It’ll be over quickly.” He knelt down next to the girl, careful not to touch the markings on the floor. “You ready…?” Mayu nodded, watching her sensei closely. “Don’t wonder, Sakura. It will be fine. Look at the ceiling.” Green eyes focused on the ceiling. Kakashi nodded, and then performed several hand signs. This continued on for several moments before the jounin finally stopped on the Rat sign. “Curse Sealing!” He placed his uncovered palm on the pitch black mark on the girl’s arm.
Mayu tried her best to stifle her screams. She bit her bottom lip, unintentionally drawing blood. It slid down her chin as Kakashi’s blood markings seem to travel from the floor up to her arm. Finally, the pain stopped. Mayu slowly opened her eyes and blinked wearily before sitting up. She looked down at the arm to see that around the curse mark, there seemed to be a barrier of some sorts. She grunted as her hand moved to cover the mark. “This hur-hurts more than… getting stu-stung by ki-killer bees…!” The kunoichi gasped as another wave of pain washed over her. She breathed deeply.
“That should do it.” Kakashi’s voice made the girl look up at him. “The next time that curse mark starts acting up, the seal should keep it in check. But remember, this seal is only as strong as your will. If there is ever a time where you begin to doubt yourself, Sakura, the curse will be unleashed and by then you won’t be able to stop it.” Mayu moved her tongue around, trying to find the soldier pill. She felt that now was a good time to actually take it. After taking it, she instantly felt a little better.
“I… got it…” Mayu murmured, and then fell backwards. If she remembered correctly, the next part of the series happened to have Orochimaru in it. She definitely wanted it was appear that she was not conscious in his presence. She heard Kakashi chuckled.
“And here I was thinking she was going to get angry with me for questioning her iron will.” Mayu had to stop herself from grinning. Iron will, indeed, she thought. She heard movement.
“My… You have grown since the last time we encountered one another,” a new voice entered her ears. Mayu, once again, had to stop herself from making any actions. “To think you’ve become strong enough to perform the Curse Sealing Jutsu…” Footsteps were heard. Mayu could have sworn she heard creepy music playing somewhere in the background.
“You…” The tone in Kakashi’s voice was menacing. Mayu hoped that she’d never have to hear that voice directed her at.
“Long time, no see… Hatake Kakashi.”
“Orochimaru…!”
“N o offense Kakashi, but I did not come to see you.” Orochimaru took a step forward. Kakashi quickly moved in front of Orochimaru’s line of vision. He had been staring hungrily at his student’s body. Orochimaru chuckled. “My business is with that girl behind you.”
“He can’t be talking about me, can he?!” Mayu thought. “But why…?”
“What do you want with Sakura?” Kakashi almost growled out.
“Sakura…? So that is her name? I was quite entertained by her fight. It’s not every day you see someone copy an advanced bloodline. That girl has an amazing ability. You’re quite lucky to have that type of ability, Kakashi.”
“Is that why… Is that why you gave her the-”
“Oh, no, no, no… She simply got in the way of giving that present to Sasuke-kun, that’s all. It was very… selfish of her. I must admit I was quite angry to have my well thought out plans blow up in my face… quite literally, but after what I just witnessed… It appears that I have an ace in the hole. Sasuke-kun is my first choice, but now… he’s not my only.” Orochimaru took a few steps forward. This caused Kakashi to crouch into an offensive position.
“Stop…! Come any closer and I’ll destroy you!” Chakra gathered in the palm of Kakashi’s hand. Orochimaru actually seemed taken aback by the sight of it. The sound it made was similar to birds chirping. “I don’t care if you are one of the Sanin… Take one step closer to Sakura and one of us will die here!” Orochimaru smirked, and then chuckled. His chuckles turned into few blown out laughter as if he found it extremely amusing that Kakashi was standing up to him. “Oh, you think I’m kidding?”
The snake Sanin stopped laughing, but the face of mirth remained. “Poor Kakashi… Do you really think that that seal will stop the girl from coming to me on her own? I saw it in the forest of death; I saw it in her fight. She desires to be strong. She desires to have power because she can’t bear for people around her to think she is weak. Much like Sasuke-kun, she has an ambition, a goal. And to reach that goal, she, much like Sasuke-kun and I, need power. She shows similar characteristics to Sasuke-kun, which means only one thing… She, too, is an avenger and will stop at nothing to kill whoever it is she’s after. I wonder who it could be.”
“No, it can’t be! Not Sakura!” Even as he said this, he could not help but to think Orochimaru could be on to something. “Ishikari… Could it really be? And does she know about the massacre? … No! I refuse to believe that! Sakura isn’t like Sasuke when it comes down to it.” Kakashi narrowed his visible eye.
“You can’t stop it. At some point, they will both come to me.” Orochimaru smirked, and then turned away. “Unless of course… you really kill me. If that happens, that won’t have a power source to go to.” He walked away. “But you know you cannot kill me, don’t you?” He disappeared, laughing sadistically.
The chakra that had gathered in Kakashi’s hand had dispersed. The jounin stared at the spot where Orochimaru had disappeared. He took deep shuddering breathes. Before the snake Sanin had left, he had given Kakashi a dose of killer intent. The effect had got the job done. It literally scared the thought to kill Orochimaru right out of him. “One of us will die here…?” Cold sweat ran down his skin. “I must be going insane…” Kakashi stood up straight. They were brave words in the face of the snake Sanin. Next time, he might not have been so lucky. The special jounin sighed in relief.
Mayu choose this time to sit up. She did so quietly, not wanting to Kakashi to know that she was up so soon. “So now… because of what I did in my match with Hinata, Oro-teme believes I can help him with his ambition as well.” A frown became visible on her face. A growl escaped her lips as she glared at the floor. Kakashi turned around in surprise.
“Sakura…! You were up this whole time?” The jounin wiped his brow. Had she overheard everything? Mayu did not respond to Kakashi question. Instead, the girl turned to her superior.
“Sensei… I would never go to that man, never!” She gave her sensei a fierce, determined look. “If you ever doubt that fact… with these hands, I will execute the ultimate sacrifice. I will destroy Orochimaru’s plans by killing what he wants… me…”
“Sakura…” Kakashi murmured. The girl stood up, and then shoved a hand into her pouch. She pulled out a roll of bandages. She began wrapping up her cursed arm.
“It’s true that I want power. He was right about me wanting to kill someone and in order to do that–I need power, but I… I would never try to gain that power by any means. I will gain my own strength. I will not rely on something like this to help me achieve my goal.” She finished tightening the bandage. “Kakashi-sensei… I do what I think is right and going to him would not be right.” Green eyes finally looked up at the jounin, who looked a bit stunned.
Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. “There was no doubt in my mind,” he said. Mayu nodded, and then grinned. “Shall we go watch the rest of the matches since you seem to be fine?” Mayu shook her head.
“Actually, I want to check on Hinata-chan first.”
“But what should I tell Naruto and Sasuke?”
“Tell them… I got lost on the road of life.”
Kakashi gave his laughing student a flat look.
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