Recappy From the Last Chappy: Immediately, laughter rang from her throat. "Wait, this one remembers you! Is it Sasuke or Sauce-gay? This one isn't sure!"
He frowned, narrowing his eyes and corrected her. "Sasuke. I'm the one taking you to the Hokage, Loser, don't make me get us 'lost.'"
"That'd be pretty lame. You live here," she teased, making him seem to twitch angrily. Withal, he did not say anything else but "Follow me, Loser," and began leading her back to the Hokage Building. Smiling, Hayden Isabella Bos waved goodbye to Izumo and Kotetsu, obeying the shinobi.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Hate Me X Fight Me X TALK to Me
"Krystal, this is Hayden Isabella Bos of Britain," Zakuro said as she stepped inside of her daughter's room, being wary of a few things that still littered the carpet. Hayden stood in the doorway when Krystal looked up from rolling up a large scroll. "She is a foreign delegate here for diplomatic intentions and to study our Ninja Academy. The Hokage has asked that she stays with us."
The genin nodded and looked at Hayden, smiling. "It's nice seeing you again, Hayden."
"It's nice seeing you, too."
Zakuro frowned. "How do you two know each other?"
". . . ." When Krystal did not answer, acting as though she had not heard the question, Hayden did. "Krystal was one of the ninja from this village that helped this one and the rest of Lord Maboroshi's personal guard escort him to the Village Hidden in the Sand, safely," she explained, looking at Krystal questioningly.
"Oh, I see. I suppose I will leave you so you may catch up. Krystal, will you show Bos-san where the guest bedroom is?" Instead of answering, Krystal finished rolling up the scroll, ran her thumb along the side (this would activate a sort of sealing power to keep it from opening accidentally), and stood up, looking at the previous speaker emotionlessly. "Does that mean 'yes'?"
In response, Krystal raised a brow and then returned it. Obviously angered, her mother raised her hand and opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated and turned her hand into a fist. Her eyes closed, as well, and she shook her head whilst walking out the door.
"What was that about?" Hayden asked while watching her leave.
"I'm not talking to my mom. It's a long story," quickly explained Krystal. "Come on, I'll show you the guest room."
"Er . . . okiee dokiee, then . . . ."
.:Xx♥xX:.
When the sun had been in the sky for more than a few hours, the next day, a guest to the Hyuuga Estate laid in her bed, attempting to rouse herself out of the warmth and comfort of it; the first of which she had slept in for weeks, having slumbered with the stars as a canopy when traveling to Konoha. It must have been crawling toward the Winter season; morning was cold.
Tired as she was, from a case of insomnia that plagued her so, she sat up and rubbed her eyes, knowing it would not look good for Britain if its delegate was late because she had "over"-slept. With a little mental encouragement, she was up on her feet and standing at her pack (set on a waist-high, empty, double-drawer wide dresser), getting what she would need for the day.
"Hmm . . . maybe this one should leave this one's sword behind," she thought aloud once dressed, and shook her head, strapping on the belt with the sword attached to it. Although Konoha was a peaceful village that had welcomed her with open gates, she could not let her guard down. For additional protection, she had daggers fit snugly in comfortable sheathes on the inside of her boot, on her wrists beneath the sleeves, and one strapped to her skirt in the small of her back, all considered for easy access and well concealment.
After she brushed her hair and cleaned her teeth, remembering to do other important morning necessities, as well, she left the room. Outside the door, she hit a snag, looking both ways down the hall. Which way was this one supposed to take to find the Main Gates? she asked herself and took a guess in taking the left, which lead to another. Dead end.
Scratching an itch by her right eye, she turned back and went in the alternative direction. When she reached a crossway, she took a right and continued on through the next one. At another intersection of hallways, she turned left and, halfway down the hall ran into Zakuro, whom was exiting her room.
"Bos-san . . . what are you doing?"
"Well, er . . . this one is trying to find this one's way out of the estate. It's a maze!" she explained bashfully, and then noticed that Zakuro was already fully adorned in her ninja gear. Weird. "Is Miss Zaki going on a mission?"
"Zaki" grimaced at the informality of the nickname and the annoying innocence of which it was spoken, but seemed otherwise undeterred. Her eyes stared hard at an invisible something away from the young woman as she answered, "Of a sort," and told Hayden the correct way to leave the estate. Momentarily, she wondered if she should maybe escort her to where she needed to be, but dismissed the thought. A more . . . personal matter had to be dealt with.
"Ah, this one sees, thank you!" she said with gratitude and left.
"You are welcome."
In the direction opposite of where Hayden had gone, Zakuro commenced with her mission (of a sort.) Krystal's bedroom was its spawn point, and she did not hesitate in order to knock. Not wasting a moment, she forcefully opened the door, awakening the teen as she strutted in and pulled the sheets off of her. Krystal sat up and glared, opening her mouth, but then closed it, pinching Zakuro's nerves. Fine. I'll get you talking, soon . . . .
"Get up; grab your weapons and any other gear you will need to fight me. I suppose you may get can get dressed if you wish or if you feel you can move more deftly in daytime clothing. Two minutes, or else I will drag you out," she ordered hastily and crossed her arms, waiting for a response.
The genin sighed and stood up, quite sure that she knew where this was going. She replied with a nod in Zakuro's general direction and made her way to her closet; Zakuro left to give her privacy.
Bright orange burned in the corner of her eye and she swept all other jackets to the right, revealing it. She smiled evilly; the jacket had once belonged to Naruto, but she could not remember when she had borrowed it. Since there was fur at the collar, blue at the shoulders, and the sleeves were folded up to almost her elbows to bare the wrist, it must have happened before leaving Konoha.
She pulled it off of the hanger and slipped it on over her sports bra. On her teenage body, it left a part of her waist bare, stopped at her elbows, was loose enough to be comfortable, showed her neck and did not actually look all too bad. She found her kunai pouch, blue capris, sandals, and shurikon holster and adorned them in haste. When Zakuro opened her door after the two minutes were finished, she glared at the jacket, but only said, "Come. You are burning day light."
Why does she have the FOX BOY'S jacket! she mentally screamed when leading the way to one of the Hyuuga training halls. It irked her. When had they become close enough that she had his CLOTHES? Surely they had not-well, she was at that curious age and did not even tell about her crushes-the thought was shaken away from her mind. The mission was her current and main priority. She could address her daughter and the Fox Boy's possible-she shuddered-fling, later.
Inside the training hall, there were tatami mats laying on the floor, katanas collected in a bucket at the farthest corner, and there was one other paper sliding door exit besides the one they had used to enter. Zakuro stopped in the center, her back toward Krystal in the doorway.
"There are no rules, this time around," she announced. "All is fair. Killing, I suppose, would not be advisable, however. I will only back off when it gets too much for you and you say as such. Any objections?" Nothing was heard from her. Zakuro shook her head and began forming hand signs. As I expected . . . . Well. Expect no mercy with that attitude. Byakugan!
Veins popped out near her eyes as the special Kekkai Genkai of the Hyuuga Clan was activated, and she waited. "Well? Are you going to come at me, or not? You have this crazy abhoration for me now, this pent up frustration because you do not wish to vocalize your complaints . . . ." She turned around to face the adolescent who stood, scowling with her own byakugan. One wary hand was ready to produce a shurikon. Zakuro sneered and began pacing, a movement Krystal followed with her eyes like a cat.
"You are mad at me, are you not? I am a woman of scorn in your eyes? Then why have you not made the first move? Why have you not commenced fighting?" She stopped near where she had begun, waiting for a response. Sighing, she spun out a kunai, "-All right, fine! I suppose I shall do the honors-!" and lunged forward; Krystal pulled out a kunai, knowing it would hold up better than a shurikon in this situation, and blocked it.
"Good. You're serious." With a twist of the wrist, Zakuro's pinky went through the loop at the end of the kunai and the finger next to it helped pull it along as she tore it from Krystal's grip. Both kunai were thrown back some feet behind her as she then directed her attacks to Krystal's chakra network. Protecting her more vital organs, the genin blocked using her arms, trying to hit Zakuro's wrists and arms in order to avoid any of her chakra points being hit.
An opening presented itself, and Krystal drove chakra into a point on the coil around Zakuro's stomach, making her wince and hesitate just long enough for the former to roll away from the wall, thus, giving her more room for movement. The other Hyuuga quickly formed hand seals to produce three clones of herself that moved to surround her opponent; all four Zakuros continued with the Gentle Fist Technique.
Many of the hits from the clones landed on the tenketsu, or chakra points, and pathways of her chakra network, hindering her own ability to use the jyuuken and slowed her mobility. Every time she moved, sharp pains erupted from where the blows had landed-red blotchy areas marked the tenketsu in particular. Lack of chakra availability for use forced her byakugan to deactivation. Her left arm, which had all of its points hit, felt like dead weight; something about those clones had to be done, or else she would lose.
She would definitely not let that happen.
Quickly, she ducked under the thrust of another Zakuro and went into her kunai pouch with her right hand, finding another kunai that she maneuvered around to slice the shins of all four. Three disappeared in a puff of smoke and the last one skidded out of range; the wound was shallow, forming after the knife had cut through the zori. Mustering strength from the left arm, wincing as she tried to ignore the pain and difficulty of it, she pulled out two shukusen and held them defensively.
"Fans?" Zakuro raised an eyebrow. "Honey, even if you have somehow learned of nature-based elemental chakra and trained in them, there is not a way for you to utilize it. I've blocked your chakra."
Obviously, Zakuro had never seen shukusen before, and was unaware that they held blades, she realized with an inner smile and kept her thumb at the base, where there was a small device that would bring up the blades when the time was right.
Cautiously, Zakuro stepped forward and then noticed (with thanks to her byakugan) the slivers of medal embedded in the folds of the fan; she smirked and immediately felt foolish. Nearly, she had fallen for such a trick. Instead of proceeding forward with frontal assaults, she made the sign of the rooster with her hands. Momentarily, it seemed as though nothing had happened, and Krystal wondered if the sign was only a distraction, when piles of wet, rolled up tatami mats cascaded from the ceiling. These mats, in the condition they were in, put up the same resistance as the human body; it felt like such to Krystal as they fell on her and she was forced to the floor.
Happiness in this predicament was not something portrayed in neither her actions nor facial expression as she fought her way out of the mats, grunting from the pain at her tenketsu and mentally cursing Zakuro for using such a cunning device. As she bit back her tongue, a look to the ceiling revealed a gaping hole and partially intact tags that had helped melt it away; they were a type rarely seen in battle as they were more discreet, using no explosive force and rarely setting things afire. Its purpose was more to quietly set off traps.
"Dirty trick, huh? An unfair move?" Zakuro taunted smugly, guessing Krystal's thoughts, though a little disappointed they had not been spoken. "I set up that trap early this morning. There may come a time when you must infiltrate the domain of someone held in high regard, like the Daimyo, and therefore must expect traps like this. Remain cautious . . . ."
She ran forward and grabbed Krystal's arm, pulling her out the rest of the way from the pile and drove her palm into her stomach. The genin closed her eyes and coughed up a little bit of blood, wincing as she kneed somewhere (she was not sure) on her mother's torso, making the woman release her. Krystal took a few steps back, squinting.
Dammit! . . . . My chakra's still blocked . . . my insides feel like they're on fire . . . . She's taking this further, than normal . . ., she thought when straightening up. For a moment, she had thought Zakuro had made another clone, as double was seen in her eyes, but then they merged. Double-vision? Crap . . . I'm not done yet . . . I can't be . . . . No way, nuh uh! I'm not losing this battle, without hurting her, too!
Angrily, Krystal grunted and pulled her arm back, rebounding it in a forward motion as she lunged for it to meet Zakuro's cheek. She stumbled back, amazed as she wiped off the blood from her mouth with the base of her thumb. Her punch should not have held such force with the condition she was in. A bruise was likely to form.
She did not have time to dwell on that, however, as Krystal charged immediately after with more standard taijutsu. Her punch was caught in Zakuro's hand, as was the other one, and then she used this leverage to lift herself in order to kick her square in the chest. Despite light padding from the flak jacket, she let go of Krystal's fists right away and clutched an arm against her breasts. She frowned, turning serious once more and took a special jyuuken stance. In her eyes, she now stood on a Yin Yang symbol, and three rings surrounded her, kanji in-between. Krystal stood in one of those rings.
The movements of this next technique, the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms, felt at home in her muscle memory as she summoned the chakra to perform it. Fluidly, and in a quick manner, she attacked the few tenketsu left open in Krystal's chakra network, hitting more organs internally, in the process. It was as though her hands were jack hammers, what with the constant drilling, and hit her particularly hard with the final one. A pitiful sound of anguish escaped Krystal's lips as she tilted back and fell to the side, ultimately laying face-down.
"Remember: I will stop so soon as you tell me to do so," Zakuro reminded her, breathing heavily. Surely, she was going to break, soon. She knew her daughter that much. Any moment now, she would begin that pathetic whining-though, at present circumstances, that was desirable, compared to the silence. When Krystal did not say anything for a while, she raised a brow and asked. "Krystal, are you consciou-?"
She shut up. Miraculously, Krystal had tardily begun to show some life, moving her arm to support her as she tried standing. At first, all that she had the strength for was something like the position for pushups, except her abdomen was sunken against the floor. Then, with another grunt of effort and groan of pain, she slowly brought one knee up before the other could come parallel to it, having to exert just as much energy in the process.
She had no access to her chakra, which made her feel as though she had run twelve hundred marathons. Everywhere inside her body and on the outside where red blotches were felt inflamed, yet she still somehow moved into a crouched position, like someone at the starting line of a race. Don't give up . . . . Would Uchiha give up in a situation like this? Or Naruto-kun? Hell, even Sakura-chan wouldn't hold back. Maybe . . . maybe I can somehow . . . win this!
Zakuro stared widely at her daughter and finally found her voice. "Why don't you-Why won't you give up? Forfeit! Tell me to stop, and I will. You do not have to push yourself so-so hard . . .," she said in disbelief. "I am not going to be disappointed, if you do . . . ."
"But Mommy, why do I have to learn the jyuu-jyuu-joogen?"
"Jyuuken. So you may become a strong kunoichi, like I was. Copy my stance; you learned to activate your byakugan with Hiashi-sama, yes?"
"But I don't wanna be a ninja! I wanna be a music-person, like Daddy!"
"Stop such foolish talk. Pursuing music will get you nowhere, living in Konoha. You will train to be a ninja. Even if you do not like it now, you will come to, and you will find that it pays off in the end. Now, take the stance that I am in."
"Haaaaaaww . . . ."
"Stop whining!"
Krystal had her butt in the air, touching the ground with only her feet and fingertips.
"Mommy, can we stop now . . .? I'm tired . . . ."
"Not until you get this jutsu right, ignore how tired you feel. That is a sign of the weak."
"Ngh . . . . HAAAAAAAAAAAHH-Oof!"
"Raise up your guard a little bit."
She raised herself a little, into a slumped stance.
"Mom, I get enough crap about training from Kakashi-sensei, and I don't need it from you! I've gotta go, my team's waiting for me."
Her eye could be seen through a break in the curtain of hair, glaring. Give up? Hell no.
"I . . . I want to go with him, Mom. Naruto-kun, I mean. Ero-sennin and him are leaving the village for a year or so, to get stronger, so Naruto-kun can protect himself against the Akatsuki, and . . . maybe I can get better, too, by studying and training abroad."
"The Fox Boy? No-I absolutely cannot allow it-WILL not allow it! And who is this 'Ero-sennin'-A Perverted Hermit? What if he were to molest you!"
"He's one of the Legendary Sannin, Mom-Jiraiya-sama. Besides, he's more of the busty, voluptuous, grown-up woman type of guy . . . . Think of how much I can learn from this trip, training with a Sannin. "
"You can at least sound the least bit unsure about this-Why are you showing no emotion! You are speaking about leaving for a year. Or more! . . . I suppose you are right, however, this is a great opportunity, for you. Hn. We both know you have no interest in the training, though. Even so, I am sure you will learn more wether you like it or not . . . . All right. Fine. You have my permission to accompany them. When will you leave?"
"Tomorrow."
Zakuro gulped, watching her daughter's trembling figure with a blank mind. She stared in horror, knowing that she was the one responsible for it, but could not bring herself to do anything. All that she had wanted, her purpose in doing this, was simply to frustrate her daughter to the point of yelling, or talking in some form . . . .
And the strength her daughter was showing, the persistence made her heart swell. She had changed, was definitely stronger, in a sense, matured greatly . . . . The fact that she had still not uttered a word, she was sheepish to admit, portrayed strength, too. Perhaps, if the circumstances were a little more fair, Zakuro would be the one staggering as she brought up the folded Demon Wind Shurikon: Windmill of Shadows.
Coming to her senses, Zakuro set her stance to one of defense as Krystal opened the shurikon in one swift movement. You've pushed yourself too far, already . . . . I'm already proud of you, stop, she thought quietly. The star's blades were set to spin, which is how the shurikon obtained "windmill" in its name, and pulled it back as she jumped up, in order to gather momentum.
Intense, agonizing pains racked through her entire body just as she was about to throw the shurikon, and her conscious mind unwillingly turned off. With a heavy thump, she fell to the ground, slicing her arm with the shurikon's blade.
"Krystal!" In all possible haste, Zakuro bounded up to her fallen daughter's side and was careful in moving the shurikon, not wanting to land another single scratch on the genin. She placed two fingers at Krystal's neck and checked her pulse, confirming that she was still alive, but her breathing was shallow. "Oh thank God . . . ."
To the exit alternative to the one she and Krystal entered, she ran and slid the doors open, revealing two medical ninja she had kept in reserve, just in case something like this had happened; standard protocol, in her book.
"We have to get her to the Hospital, posthaste! I am
almost completely sure I did a lot of damage to her internal organs, and she collapsed!" she reported, and they rushed in with a stretcher. Zakuro helped them load her onto it and then followed, feverishly, as she was transported to the Hospital.
End of Chapter Twenty-Six
Next time on .:Roses are Red:.! Chapter Twenty-Seven: Youths' Love and Hate
Her face looked thoughtful again when she let her left hand fingertips tentatively touch where his abdominal muscles were; they twitched in a little, as though it tickled. "Sasuke . . . ."
.:Xx♥xX:.
Aki's Author Corner
Aki: Hello everyone and welcome to: -choruses with Yin and Yang- AKI'S AUTHOR CORNER! -end chorus- Now, for any perverts that were thinking so there will NOT, I repeat, NOT be a lemon, next chapter. This story is rated T for Teen, so although there is a little sexual content and it is implied, you will not find an actual lemon in this story or in any others of mine to come.
Yang: -wipes sweat of forehead- Phew! Thank goodness!
Yin: D8 Party pooper!
Aki: -glares at Yin- ANYWAY... I dunno about you guys, but Ace (my beta reader) was a little outraged that Zaki won the battle, but after I exaplined my reasoning, she was willing to go with it...sorta XD Well, she obliged after I sent her the next chapter, which... you guys have to wait a bit for -sheepish sweat drop- Well... that's all I've gotta say...
Yin: Hey! Woah, woah, woah-hold on a damn minute! WHY ARE YOU NEGLECTING US?
Yang: T~T Such small text time is making me sad...
Yin: Whimp.
Aki: -sweat drop- I am not! Sasuke just... doesn't show up too much here...
Yin and Yang: THEN ADD HIM IN MORE! -look at each other-
Yang: Oh, Yin... We hast begun merging thoughts!
Yin: . . . . -runs away and throws up- GROSS!
Aki: -sweat drops... AGAIN- You know, I never get tired at making Yang speak half-Elizabethan (basically, I merge Shakespeare-talk/language with her dialogue... Makes her sound so dramatic and weird! XD) That's it, so from all of us... bye-byes!
.:Xx♥xX:.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review! God bless you!