(Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com) Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own Wedding Peach.
I do not own any great quantity of money or property. I'm a STUDENT; that's
why I'm poor, okay?
Author's Notes: :sigh: Only three reviews for the last chapter.
(Lady Light, Maya Amano, and Fwoggie, thank you! I always look forward
to people who are willing enough to give constructive criticism!) Was the
reference that Potamos and Usagi have the same voice actress giving away
too much? Or was it just too silly? Yeah, that was probably it.
HOWEVER!! I will NOT get depressed about it. I'm just going to make
things better. And now that our trio is in dangerous territory, some more
action will come in. (This for you, Maya Amano-san!)
Minoru pondered things to himself as he waited for the fiesta to die
down. Sakura was leaning against his left shoulder, while Potamos was curled
up in his lap.
'I don't get it,' Sakura thought. 'Why didn't he steal Tennyo when he
had the chance?'
"Hey, Potamos," the kunoichi whispered, trying to strike up some conversation.
"What exactly did you do when... that guy attacked us? Water-clone?"
The demon nodded quietly. She didn't feel like talking at the moment.
Who would, being tied up and taken prisoner of some mountain gang composed
of runaway humans?
Sakura quietly laughed. "Wow. You held it pretty well together for a
long time, even though it was stuck with darts. How long did it hold?"
"Mm," Potamos replied.
Sakura rolled her eyes: that was it. Not only Minoru, but Potamos also
showed early stages of Sasuke-syndrome, which was identifiable by the tendency
to use monosyllabic answers to any type of question or even better, no
answers at all. "Come on, Potamos. It's not over yet. We still have a chance
to get out of this dump."
"Like what?" the purple-haired girl managed to croak out. "They're gonna
feed us to the wolves in the morning!"
"Potamos"
"Shhh!" Minoru suddenly interrupted. He had only partially listened
to the conversation, because he was intently watching the bandits fall
asleep or pass out, one by one.
Potamos began to sob quietly in the elf's lap. It was bad enough that
she was caught by humans, but the fact that she could not escape because
of aura-sapping ropes: it was absolutely mortifying. "I don't wanna be
fed to the wolves!" she moaned.
"Don't cry!" Minoru hissed.
Potamos looked up, sniffing. Her jaw dropped at what she saw.
Minoru's hands were free from the ropes, and he was already working
on his ankles. "The entire gang is conveniently asleep, so don't waste
this chance!" he whispered with urgency.
"That's right, Potamos." Sakura nodded with a smile. Potamos' head darted
to her pink-haired friend, who was now throwing away the remains of her
own binding. "If you want to escape, now's the PERFECT time."
The human and elf got up, and quickly began to scuffle away.
While Potamos was still tied up.
"WAIT!!" the purple-haired girl squealed, a touch of panic in the height
of her voice. "Sacchan, Don't leave me behind!!!"
Sakura allowed her head to drop in exasperation, while Minoru turned
around with a scowl on his face. He lifted his index finger to his lips,
fiercely hushing the water-demon to be quiet. "SHHHH!!!"
Sakura retraced her steps, and stooped down to Potamos to help her with
the ropes. "The Nawanuke no Jutsu is a basic of ninja basics!" the kunoichi
quietly scolded. "Getting through the rope doesn't even require chakra!"
The water-demon's mouth formed a silent 'oh'.
Minoru began to collect their stolen items from various people in the
room. He found his pouch of supplies with one burly-looking man, his bow
and quiver was buried under the arms of another, the cloaks were used for
blankets, and the ninja gear had to be retrieved from the junk pile.
To make up for his lost arrows (which were nicely distributed among
the thieving brethren, thus making it impossible for Minoru to find and
retrieve all in a timely manner), the elf helped himself to some gold from
the treasury. He knew well that two wrongs never made a right but they
needed money for the trip. And the gang had plenty of money to spare; its
members were eating and drinking like kings.
Sakura and Potamos tip-toed to Minoru, and they quietly put on their
supplies and gear. They proceeded to escape through the open window which
was four meters above the ground outside. All three jumped, and landed
like acrobats.
An idea occurred in Sakura's head as they began to walk away. "Hey,
Potamos, why don't you scatter a few maki-bishi, just in case a few bandits
wake up and follow us? I don't have any on me, as I only have weapons."
"Ninja calthrops? Okay!" Potamos began to dig in her supply-bag. "Maki-bishi,
maki-bishi... Oh, here they are! I think."
She took out a pouch, pulled out the contents with her fingers, and
tossed them towards the castle.
The items exploded on impact.
This was not exactly helpful for a successful, quiet escape.
"...Was that supposed to happen with maki-bishi?" Potamos asked nervously.
"NO," Sakura huffed as she pointed at the label on the pouch. "You used
something else."
Potamos squinted, and sure enough, the bag held something completely
different from maki-bishi. The water-demon winced at her mistake. "Kanshaku-dama..."
she mumbled. "Exploding beads..."
"RUN!" Minoru hissed. Sakura and Potamos did not hesitate, as there
were voices coming from the thieves' hideout.
"How in the world could you mistake exploding beads for calthrops?!"
Minoru exclaimed in irritation. He turned around, seeing two distinct figures
chasing them. "We're being followed..."
The three managed to reach the forest. Sakura jumped into the bushes,
Minoru went up in the trees, and Potamos disguised herself as a puddle
of water.
And there, they waited.
SNAP.
The two thieves who were sober enough to chase the prisoners slowly
walked in the forest. They knew perfectly well that the three were hiding
here.
Sakura noticed the shape of the glinting objects the men held. One was
armed with a glaive, and the other had an ax.
The seconds ticked by.
The psychological agony of it all made the kunoichi's senses painfully
acute. The crinkle of dead leaves under their boots might as well have
been the steps of a giant. She wished that her heart did not pound so hard;
she almost believed that it would give her location away.
The human girl lay on her back under the bushes, trailing the thieves
with her green eyes through the foliage. Her fingers lightly touched the
hilt of Tennyo, ready to grip it and slide out the blade ready to slice
the bandits' throats if they laid a hand on Potamos, Minoru, or her...
She then realized that this was the wrong way to think. She was a ninja.
She needed a real plan, in the case she should be discovered. 'If they
find us... They'd definitely attack. If we put up a fight, they'd yell
for help, and then we'd have a whole army of outlaws to face unless the
rest are too drunk to hear.'
The axe-carrying thief walked toward a puddle or rather, what looked
like a puddle. The water began to ripple, despite the fact that there were
trees around that blocked wind.
'The devil-child must be nervous,' Minoru thought from the trees. 'Or
shaking from excitement. Whatever you do, don't attack them we don't
need a yell from them, Potamos...'
He would step in the puddle any second.
'Oh, no...' Sakura's eyes widened in panic.
His foot stopped an inch away from Potamos' disguised form. He then
turned around to speak with his glaive-wielding comrade.
Sakura wanted to sigh in relief.
"Let's go that way," the man said. "They're not here. Maybe they made
a right angle and took the trail through the bog area." In truth, he knew
that the prisoners were here somewhere but he was took ashamed to admit
that he couldn't find them.
"Let's just go; they're not ours, anyway," the glaive-wielder hissed.
"The young master should have killed them or sold them to the slaving party
that just passed us. The elf would have made a good price."
'I dare you to say that again, PUNK!!'
The kunoichi, elf, and water-demon waited five minutes after the bandits
had left. Minoru was the first to get down from the trees. Sakura crawled
out from her hiding place.
"That... was close," Minoru breathed. He turned to the puddle. "You
can come out now."
The pool shrinked together as Potamos rose out of it. She looked tired,
yet she was lazily smiling. "How long were we hiding?" she innocently asked.
Minoru shrugged. "Why are you asking?"
"I wanna know how long I stayed in that disguise," Potamos said groggily.
"My personal record is seven minutes and two seconds."
"It felt like forever in my mind," Sakura groaned. She then noticed
that demon's yellow eyes seemed to be glazed. "Hold it, Potamos... how
much chakra did you use in that disguise?" The water-demon answered with
a dazed and happy look on her face. Her foot clumsily snapped a twig, which
brought a nervous look from Sakura.
The elf rolled his eyes. "You've wasted too much aura, in addition to
having those draining ropes. I'm going to carry you, because you won't
be able to walk carefully enough."
Potamos seemed to have lost her pride as a demon or any feeling at
all. The purple-haired being glomped onto Minoru's back with gratitude,
and he lifted her up.
Sakura and Minoru jumped through the trees. Sakura took up everyone
else's packs, since Minoru strapped the tired water-demon to his back with
vines. Sakura put chakra in her feet, while Minoru utilized his normal
physical strength and balance as an elf to jump after Sakura.
They reached the other end of the forest. They could see a spot of land
that was covered by a mist. Potamos was now sleeping peacefully. Minoru
pointed to the fog patch. "Under there is the village we should get there
soon."
Something caught his eye, and he froze. A look of sheer amazement passed
his face. Sakura peered over to see what captivated him so much.
About ten meters away was a crack in the earth. And pouring out of it,
like lava, was a pale, yellow substance.
"Is that... what I think it is?!" Sakura asked breathlessly.
"The Energy Spring of Luna," Minoru said. "The ether must have forced
its way up through the mountain when it was covered. Sakura-san, give me
my supplies. And you don't have to whisper anymore, although you should
avoid shouting we're on the other side of the mountain." The elf wasted
no time in dropping Potamos gently off his back.
The elf pull out a pen or what seemed like a pen. He whispered a few
words over it, as if it were a microphone, and the energy-collector began
to pulse with light. Minoru stuck its end into the yellow ether seeping
out of the Energy Spring, and held it there.
"This will take about an hour," Minoru explained. He then glanced up
the mountain, and a cross look streaked across his face. "Oh, any time
excluding this one, please..."
Sakura turned around, and saw a dot move down the mountain through the
trees, heading towards them.
"The creep who caught us," Sakura growled. "And if we see him, that
means that he can see us, too." She folded her hands together in thought,
coming up with a plan.
Minoru recognized the look on her face. "Oh, no, Sakura-san, you are
not going to"
"I'll hold him up," Sakura said. "We have no other choice; you have
to stay there until that thing is done with collecting the energy. Potamos,"
Sakura pointed to the water-demon, who was sleeping against a tree-trunk,
"can't fight now. I'm the only one who can stop him."
Minoru bit his lip.
"Can you come up with a better plan?" Sakura lightly challenged.
He opened his mouth to say something, but he paused. "Fine, Sakura-san.
But if you have to fight, keep it quiet. And by all means, do NOT use your
aura."
"I know, the ropes." Sakura then turned her heels and walked back into
the forest.
The green-haired thief stooped to rest. It had been about a half-hour
walk. He knew that his teenage ex-prisoner was coming after him. In fact,
he was not after the elf or the demon they were too much trouble to dispose
of. He was good at catching aura-dependent beings, and had fun with them
yet this mountain currently was near an elfin village, and his group
of robbers had to lie low on this side of the mountain for the time being.
The last thing they needed was to have elves sense a death of their own
kind nearby.
He jumped to the side, a kunai barely missing his shoulder by a few
inches.
The thief drew out his sword, and blocked the back-attack Sakura threw
at him. She glared at him with her bright, green eyes.
"I want to compliment you on finding the weakness of those ropes," he
said, as Sakura attacked him again. The two separated, and he shot his
blade at her, which she evaded. "You even show sense in attacking me without
aura very good. I don't like girls tied down, anyway."
"What are you implying?" Sakura asked with disgust.
"I'm no pervert, but I do want something from you." He fingered the
hilt of his sword lovingly. "At least hear me out, little kitten."
Sakura carefully observed the man. She did not have to rush things.
In fact, she had to hold him up for at least half an hour. If he wanted
to talk, that simply bought the time Minoru needed to finish collecting
the energy. "Where are your minions?" she asked casually. "Oh, yeah, I
forgot they're too smashed up to do anything."
"Yes. And thank God." The thief grinned, almost charmingly. "Because
I want a dual with you alone."
Sakura blinked. "Dual?"
The green-haired man rolled his eyes. "Dual," he repeated, "noun. A
one-on-one combat, usually reserved for reasons of honor."
"I know WHAT it is, I was just wondering why the hell you want to dual
with me," Sakura said, obviously annoyed.
"Because I can tell you were taught by a master," he answered. "A good
one not any ordinary swordsman. You are human, yet your skills are good
at your age. The way you attacked me in the first encounter--"
"Why are you concerned with whom I train with?" she shot back. "And
you're not a very strategic thief: you usually have to attack your victims
when their guard is down."
The thief's brow creased. "Look, I know you're a human and a skilled
one at that. I want to dual with you to test my strength in swordsmanship.
Why do you think I didn't take you to my bed the second I brought you to
our hideout? That would have taken away your confidence as a fighter."
Sakura's face blushed in fury. "You sicko." 'SHAAANNAROOO!!'
The thief shrugged. "Hey, these are the Rifts and I haven't really
had anyone competent in swordsmanship a long time. I was going to challenge
you in the morning, when both of us were fresh, but you took an early start."
He pointed his weapon at her. "Ready?"
Before he said 'go', Sakura already blocked his incoming sword with
her iaido skills. She looked at him as if he were crazy.
"Nice," he complimented. "You don't let your guard down. You'd make
a better thief than some of the idiots in our hideout."
After blocking him about ten times more, Sakura twisted his sword out
of the way. "I really don't want to kill you," she said through gritted
teeth, frustrated. "Just let us go."
"I cannot risk our hideout location to be given away. This is a fight
to the death, little kitten." The man aimed for her side she moved away,
just in time.
He smiled at the horrified look on her face as she dodged it. She was
good, however reluctant. "So you realize that I'm serious; that's good.
You should feel grateful that you are the second human woman I challenged
to a sword dual. The other was an Amazon."
"Why the hell do we have to fight?" Sakura asked frantically, almost
indignantly. "I barely even know you!"
"Women!" he exclaimed. "Sentimental! Not knowing the enemy: that's what
makes killing easier and less painful, at least to the one who's doing
it. Don't you know the way of the Rifts? 'The strong are strong; the weak
are dead.' "
The pink-haired girl scowled. She despised that kind of philosophy.
But at the same time, she realized that if she died without killing him,
he'd probably go after Minoru and Potamos, who were currently tied at the
Energy Spring.
In fact, the more she thought about, the more she realized: it was her
own fault that Minoru and Potamos were here in the first place.
She was angry. Not only angry at this thief in front of her, challenging
her to a ridiculous dual, but at herself. Why was she putting her friends'
lives as risk like this, when it was clear that she had to stop this man?
She even TOLD Minoru that she would do it so why did she avoid putting
her words into action?
She raised Tennyo in a kendo stance. Its blade glistened in the moonlight.
"Fine," Sakura whispered. "Here's your dual." With these words, she lunged
at him.
"HAH!!"
The kunoichi aimed for his side, and he slashed it away. Only skill
and strength were her allies now. That meant: no jutsu, and no powering-up
weapons. She had to bring him down quickly, utilizing Tennyo with pure
kendo and iaido. If she, at any time, began to show signs of aura, the
thief would drain her more with his special material, thus making her lose
both aura and physical strength.
Sakura jumped and twisted out of his way, only flicking his sword off-course
when it got too close for comfort. She did not reach for her kunai or shuriken:
the combat was so fast, and he was too close. She had no time to reach
for extra weapons.
Their swords clashed again. The ringing of steel against steel become
louder and louder to the pink-haired girl it was too intense.
Sakura was running out of stamina. The thief smirked as the kunoichi
tripped over a root in the ground. She was tired, and her muscles ached
for oxygen. Even if she had the distance from her opponent, she would never
be able to mold chakra in this condition. He thrust his weapon, aiming
at her exposed torso he was ready to stab her, to ram his blade directly
through her heart.
Sakura's green eyes caught the nature of the attack, and she quickly
rolled over on the leafy ground. His sword sunk into the earth, giving
her time to swiftly thrust Tennyo into his side.
He cried out in pain as Sakura pulled away her katana.
The thief clutched where she had landed a hit. He slowly backed away
from Sakura's rising form. "You... are very good." The thief lowered his
head. A slight smile traced his lips.
"You too," Sakura said, panting. "I'm sorry..."
Her opponent suddenly thrust his weapon at Sakura, and she evaded it
with an elicit gasp. "A cut like that won't kill me!" he snarled. He performed
a series of cuts and slashes against her, all which she barely pushed away.
The sudden attack backed her against a tree. With a twist of the thief's
blade, he caused Tennyo to be thrown out of Sakura's hands. The kunoichi's
posture tightened, as she was unarmed, sitting against a tree totally exhausted,
and had a bandit pointing a sword at her face.
"You should have known, little kitten," the thief intoned at her trapped
form, "that the most aggravating thing you can give to a true warrior is
pity."
Sakura's tired green eyes watched, as the thief swung his weapon towards
her skull. All hope was lost. 'I've failed you, Minoru-san, Potamos...
I've failed everyone at home...'
A dull and sickening hit echoed through the trees.
Notes:
"Nawanuke no Jutsu" - rope-unbinding technique.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please tell me! If
I suck, by all means tell me. In an intelligent manner.
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