Book 1: Broken (Kiba Inuzuka Love Story)

Chapter 23

"Not yet!!" Lee wraps his bandages around Hunchback as I finish my cookie and then latches his arms around him. Then Lee sends the two spearing head first for the earth.

"Oh, no, Dosu!" Zaku says worriedly. "There's no way he can break his fall!" Zaku then performs hand signs.

"Take this! Primary Lotus!" Lee and Dosu begin spinning rapidly. Zaku punches his fists into the earth just as Lee leaps away from Dosu, and Dosu crashes into the ground, head-first.

"Heh! Got you just in time," Says Zaku. "That impact could've been much worse for you."

Lee lands on the ground in a crouched position as Dosu pulls himself out of the earth, shaking his head. "What?! This cannot be...!" Lee gasps.

"That is a frightening Jutsu," Says Dosu. "It nearly took me out, even though I landed on this soft dirt." Lee stands Ryo as Dosu faces him, pulling his sleeve up. "Now, it's my turn!"

Dosu dashes forwards and swings his fist. Lee steps back to avoid it but is hit with a blast of sound waves,

Sakura murmurs worriedly, "Lee, no...!"

"Your jutsu is fast, but ours is even faster because it travels at the speed of sound," Says Dosu. Lee drops to his knees as he breathes heavily. "Effort by itself does nothing. Now, watch. We're going to show you a little something called The Wall."

Lee suddenly vomits as blood leaks out of his ear.

Sakura calls, "Lee, what's wrong?!"

"Oh, I forgot to mention this little gadget I wear." Dosu grips his right arm, showing us the instrument. "You might be able to dodge my blows, but you can't get away from it." Lee clutches his bleeding ear. Dosu chuckles. "I don't need to strike you with my fists! I can hit you with the power of sound!"

"Sound?" Lee gasps.

"What makes it possible for the ear to hear things? What is sound, really?" Dosu questions.

Sakura says hesitantly, ".......... Vibrations."

"Give the little girl a prize! Yes, the vibration of molecules in the ear creates a sound wave. These vibrations are collected by the ear then directed to your eardrum. The human eardrum, it's tympanic membrane, ruptures when exposed to sound levels in excess of 159 decimals. Moreover, if the sound is powerful enough to upset the fluid within the deepest inner ear canals, it becomes impossible for you to maintain your balance."

"Just as I thought!" I think.

"Feeling a little dizzy? Nauseous? That's right! Best that you don't even try to stand up for awhile."

Zaku mocks, "You see, buddy, that old fashioned Taijutsu stuff won't work against us! Not that you're not pretty good at it, it's just that what's the point? Compared to our Jutsu, that stuff's totally yesterday's news." He pulls his hands from the earth, holding them in front of his body. "You see, I can manipulate ultra sonic waves and air pressure! I can do things you've never even dreamed of! I can obliterate boulders or make the ground itself as soft as a feather cushion. Face it, little man! You're up against the Jutsu of the future!"

Zaku holds out his palms to reveal any sized holes in the centers.

"Now, then, little girl! It's your turn!" Dosu exclaims as he runs around Lee to me, sitting beside Sakura.

"N-No...!" Lee exclaims, looking back at me.

I sigh in annoyance and use my enhanced speed to disappear from beside the pinkette, startling her and Dosu. "She's about as fast as the other one!" He gasps right before I reappear right behind him with my body coated in crystal armor, though it's transparent unless sunlight hits it.

I flow chakra to my left elbow and crack it powerfully against Dosu's back. He lets out a cry of pain as he's flung onto his face, hitting the ground hard. Sakura winces at the impact of my elbow striking his back.

I straighten as everyone is gaping at my sudden show of speed and strength.

I say with a hand on my hip, "You say your Sound is fast? Well, it looks like I'm faster! I've been watching you Sound ninja, and I figured out the little trick behind your Jutsu way back when you first attacked Four Eyes."

"You mean, you already knew?!" Zaku gasps.

"Of course. Why else would your friend fail to miss Kabuto's ugly face?"

"Your skin... the sunlight light is glinting off of it," Dosu grunts as he gets to his feet. "What's that Jutsu?"

"Oh, so you've noticed my Crystal Armor. It coats my body in a thin coat of crystal that's transparent, unless sunlight reflects off of it. It can protect me from blunt attacks and it enhances my own physical attacks. Your Sound Jutsu can't break it, but lightning chakra can," I explain. "I use it by activating my Seishengan, my original Kekkei Genkai."

Dosu then runs at me again, right arm pulled back. When Dosu swings it for my face, but I jump up and throw my left leg around his neck which is followed by my right. I then twist around his neck before I throw him back first to the ground with a heavy thud.

I stand up as he stutters, "Th-The Lightning Empress!"

"Huh?" Sakura utters, raising a pink eyebrow.

"That's the name you're known by! The Lightning Empress," Dosu says, slowly getting to his feet.

I ignore the Haruno gazing at me in shock.

Dosu decides he's fought me enough and instead, runs straight for my teammate, making me gasp worriedly. Sakura pulls out a kunai knife. However, Lee appears before her, but he's struggling to even stand upright.

"No!"

"What?!" Dosu gasps.

"Lee?!" Sakura and I exclaim in surprise.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee goes to swing his leg but winces as pain shoots through his body.

Putting his hand on Lee's leg, Dosu mocks, "Not quite as effective as before, is it?" He lands on the ground before launching for the ravenette again. "Still! It's impressive that you can move at all! We'll have to do something about that!" Dosu swings his arm forward and Lee raises both of his to block, but a massive sound wave is emitted. "Do you hear that? This device amplifies the vibrations of the impact, transforming them into a wave of sound!"

Sakura and I say worriedly, "Lee, no...!"

"A sound wave I can channel with my chakra. Focusing all its energy on any target I desire!"

Seeing my comrade freeze in place like that, I cry, "Stop it!!"

Dosu drops his arm and Lee collapses. Dosu says, "Alright, little man. Time to end it!"

Before I could attack the Sound ninja, Sakura exclaims as she flings three kunai knives at him, "That's what you think!"

Dosu raises his right arm and the kunai bounce right off of it. He murmurs, gazing back at my pink haired teammate, "Ah. I'd almost forgotten you."

I gaze at Sakura as I realise she's willing to fight him to protect the boys, who are still unconscious in the hollow of the tree. I think in surprise, "Sakura..."