A Growing Affection

Chapter 93: Sakura's Chance

She tore  free from the net, leaving bits of the back of her shirt and socks  behind. Jirobo ran forward to meet her, but Sakura was already signing  as she drove her fist into the ground.

"Doton: Epicenter Jutsu,"  she proclaimed, and the dirt and stone bucked out from her hand. The fat  warrior was caught by the technique, and knocked backwards, but his  teammates had the advantage of distance and mobility, and jumped over  the shock wave. But the quick witted young woman had anticipated that,  and Kidomaru found himself in the midst of a barrage of shurikens. While  the rotund warrior regained his feet, the spidery shinobi extracted the  throwing stars from his wounds, tossing them casually into the flaming  barrier. As her weapons were melted in a flash, Sakura noticed the  Kidomaru's injuries did not bleed, and closed as soon as the shurikens  were removed.

Tayuya's flute twittered again, and Sakura's balance  felt off as her her perception of time shifted. Jirobo charged her  again, and he seemed to her to be both faster and higher pitched than  before. His fist aimed for her face, and she was unable to dodge. She  tried to block, but her body did not respond like she wanted. She  partially interjected her left hand, but only the last two fingers on  the limb intercepted his punch, and they were painfully bent out of the  way. Only mildly deflected, Jirobo's fist impacted her right cheek  almost squarely, and drove her to the ground. As she fell, the Jonin had  the presence of mind to bring her palms together again, and intoned,  "Release."

Time and her body returned to normal, and she was able  to twist to the side and mostly avoid the trap Kidomaru had set for her.  She pushed away, leaving more of her shirt behind and some of her flesh  as well. Jirobo grinned as he caught a glimpse of her armored  brassiere. Sakura ignored the leering, and repaired her broken fingers  and stripped flesh as she slid around Jirobo's next attack. With her  wounds no longer interfering, though not fully healed, Haruno darted  towards Kidomaru. The spider quickly formed two kunai to throw, trying  to keep her away, but she deflected them. Jirobo closed in on her from  behind, however she was not surprised, and caught his jaw with a back  heel kick, returning the favor of crashing to the dirt.

"What are you doing, you fat, stupid oaf?" Tayuya shouted at her larger teammate, "Why didn't you knock her out?"

"Stuff it, Tayuya," he grunted angrily, "I have to hold back, since I can't kill her. And she's tougher than she looks."

"Fine,  I'll play a new song for her," the Sound Four's foul-mouthed second  commanded, "While she's under, grab her arms so she can't escape the  genjutsu. Hold her arms as tight as you can, even if you have to break  them. Lord Orochimaru won't mind, Kabuto can fix that easily enough.  Then Kidomaru can spray her down with so much goop she won't be able to  move, and I'll weave a few more illusions around her to keep her  docile."

Neither of her allies looked happy about being ordered  around, but both moved to comply. As another melody emerged from the  instrument, Kidomaru continued his retreat from Sakura while building up  a larger volume of saliva in his mouth. Jirobo began to move in again,  but this time more cautiously.

Sakura shook her head, placing her  hands together, and jumped sideways and backwards, escaping the  immediate threat posed by the overweight stalker. Kidomaru spit a narrow  stream of fluid at her, but she avoided it without unwrapping her  fingers.

"Do you really expect me to fall for your plan after you  just announce it like that?" Tsunade's apprentice asked scornfully, and  then tried to bait them, "Maybe you should use your Cursed Marks."

"We  don't have them anymore," Kidomaru admitted freely, unconcerned, "Not  that we need them. These new bodies are almost as strong as the level  two release, and never grow tired. And as for your knowing our plans..."