Jumping Fox

Chapter 3: What is yet to come

AN: Well hope this gift finds you well on holiday. This chapter will likely satisfy some desires and also engender a generous amount of confusion among your ranks. Good luck with that. Also this chapter is not yet betaed in order to be out out in time for the holiday.

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What is Yet to Come

Flash Forward: Too quite a long time from when we just were:

The state of unconsciousness was quite unlike peace; even in the lack of awareness the darkness had a murky and suspiciously sinister feel. The awakening saw awareness return like a dissolvent poured unto spilled oil, the awareness of pain was the first to come. Even so the crimson spikes of violated nerves were preferable to the former state, as the pain helped burn away the last lethargy clogging her mind.

Ino's eye snapped open, only to slam shut as light poured in blinding her. She realized the sun had risen, and in the same second struggled to recall why that fact was so significant. Her mind was functioning but remained arthritic in its efforts to piece together what transpired.

"Good you're finally back," a familiar voice stated quietly. Her eye cracked open tentatively and she took in her surroundings. She had been lain down on a gigantic tree branch amidst the greenery, likely to help conceal her body. Shikamaru was leaning against the trunk as always giving the impression that he would much rather be somewhere else. The Special Jonin lit up a cigarette he had apparently been holding and took a drag.

"Sakura patched you up, says you should be able to fight but advises against it. I suggest you take it slowly and head back," the lazy Shadow user drawled. Acknowledging this information with a nod Ino pushed herself up onto her elbows and for the first time saw beyond the greenery, her eye widened in shock.

"Shika, what happened?" the chunin whispered. The lazy shadow manipulator took another drag on his cigar and exhaled the fumes through his nose before answering.

"Troublesome," he summed up the night's events in one word. Less than a kilometer away the Forest of Death came to an abrupt end in a vast crater, smoke still rising into the sky from the burning earth in the caldera.

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Six Seconds Later in Dimension 77777777#APFEL

The Sinister Fortress of Evil had see better days, the usually gothic/Japanese castle looked like a war zone. However in all fairness it quite recently had been a war zone, so perhaps a lack of décor is to be expected, if not approved.

The Dark Lord of Darkness cleaned the blood from his sword with a convenient rag, which was once part of a now dead minion's uniform. The menacingly tall and darkly clad figure was a bit worse for wear as well, but considered himself badass enough to pull off the worn ragged look. Glancing over to the white clad corpse of his enemy, the hero, he once more confirmed that this time he was in fact dead. Still, he made a note to send his giant ant eater to eat the corpse; you had to be careful, these heroes are like roaches flushed down the toilet, you think they are gone then they crawl back up while you're using the john and touch your ass. Seriously that is quite an unpleasant thing to have happen to ya.

Gathering his shuriken he returned to his battle ravaged evil throne room. It was a mess, even the ceiling was wrecked! How do you even wreck the ceiling in a martial arts battle? Not the throne too! How was he supposed to intimidate people with a boarded up throne room, and sitting on a fold out chair!?

Anyway, he saw the fight between his loyal left hand lieutenant and treacherous right hand lieutenant had, finally, ended. His faithful lieutenant actually looked cool for once; the usually overblown intimidating armor and battle mask rendered less ornate, and more effective, by the battle damage and broken bits.