Third Person's P.O.V
Kimimaro didn't bother to move and pick his bone from the ground. Instead, he nonchalantly called forth another sharp bone out of his skin. Ayuda had to restrain herself from grimacing in disgust at the grisly view of him drawing his bone out of his pale dermis. Once he got it out completely, he pointed the sharp point of the bone to the girl and coldly asked, "Are you ready for your death?"
Ayuda had the urge to repeat the same question to him in return, but she felt like she would sound like an ignorant immature lady who truly underestimated her opponent, so she held her tongue. She instead said, "Come at me whenever you are ready."
The white-haired man stared at her with a vacant expression. He was able to discern the differences between the reckless blond boy and this purple-eyed girl. Naruto was doubtlessly a rash boy who charged at him blindly while this girl stayed still and analyzed his abilities in the shadow. Although Naruto was a lot stronger than her due to the mysterious orange chakra that he owned, this girl possessed the vibe that only the fearless girls have.
Once he maintained his focus, Kimimaro zipped across the field towards the silent girl. Ayuda observed his speed for a moment before she pulled two arrows out of the quiver and gripped them each in one hand. Kimimaro was bewildered upon seeing this and reminded himself to keep his guard on.
Ayuda honestly believed she was incapable of outrunning him if she tried jumping backward while shooting arrows at him. His speed is quick enough to catch me in his arm's length so it's pretty useless to run and maintain the distance between us. Plus, I want to know something else about this guy.
Once the white-haired man reached her, they immediately engaged in an aggressive taijutsu battle. Kimimaro was on the offensive side which was attacking her with his bone relentlessly, while Ayuda was on the defensive side which was dodging and blocking his assaults using her arrows. Kimimaro kept his emotionless mask on his face throughout the whole time, but on the inside, he felt bemused that this young girl was exceptionally good at eluding all of his attacks.
Kimimaro mused, 'Let's see if she can dodge this.'
He pulled his weapon to his side for a quick second to yell, "Tsubaki No Mai (Dance of the Camellia)!"
He thrust his short, bone-hilted bone sword chaotically and continuously with remarkable swiftness. He rammed in unexpected and unpredictable angles, putting grueling difficulties to Ayuda in evading his attacks. Though she was able to dodge half of his onslaughts, she still received small cuts here and there. She unquestionably felt the stinging pain, but she tried her best to ignore it and resume in eluding his strikes.
Kimimaro withdrew his bone abruptly and ceased his incessant assaults. He stood up straight and watched the girl trudging backward to safety. He discerned bloody wounds on her cheeks, neck, shoulders, and her waist. He became aware of the fact that those injuries were nowhere near her vital points which he desperately desired to hit. He thought in his mind, 'She may not be able to dodge half of my attacks, but she still knows how to protect her vital points. She also did not grant me an opening for me to strike her to death.'
Ayuda was panting heavily after spending a great amount of her raw stamina in eluding his savage technique. She made a mental note to avoid provoking him to use the technique again. She also reminded herself to think twice if she wanted to fight in a close combat with him because if she did, there would be a high chance that Kimimaro would perform the same thing again.
'But all of these injuries are all worth it...' mused Ayuda as she huffed and puffed, '...now I know what kind of fighter he is. He is a close-range type and that means... I have a great advantage here!'
She took a deep breath, attempting to steady her heavy breathing and creating a quick plan in her mind. Kimimaro glanced down at her arrows that she grasped firmly. The thin weapon shimmered in the glaring sunlight, adding more fuel to his curiosity. Believing that it was not harmful to ask, he spoke, "Your arrows... they are created with steel, am I right?"
The young girl stared intently at her opponent, contemplating if it was a good choice to tell him the truth. After a couple of seconds, she answered in all honesty, "That's true. And I bet your bone have the same solidness too, yes?"
"You are correct," replied Kimimaro, "This bone is compressed to maximum density and is as hard as steel. You should experience its hardness with your own body."
She curved her lips into a small smirk, "And what if you fail to hit me this time?"
"I will not fail. You shouldn't assume that you know my powers just yet after analyzing me for a short moment. You already witnessed the Tsubaki no Mai. I will show the other four dances for you."
Those were his last words before he sprinted over to the girl, tenacity clouding his features. His opponent pulled out a bow and clutched it in her left hand. Her vigilance soared as she waited in the wings. I need to catch him off guard first before I launch this technique!
Her emerald-eyed opponent reached her in a few seconds and straightaway shoved his bone sword at her. The dark-haired girl evaded some of his attacks when she detected an opening for her to perform a hasty plan.
Now that his front body was fully exposed, she stretched her right leg upward and slammed her foot on his chest. Gathering a big amount of force, she jumped and spun in the air gracefully, using his chest as a wall, simultaneously kicking him away and putting enough distance between them. But that's not all. While she was still in the air, she readied her bow and arrow and fired it straight at Kimimaro after a speedy moment of transferring chakra into it.
The white-haired man was caught off guard receiving the kick and also upon seeing an arrow rocketing towards him at full tilt. He hastily threw his arms up to chest like a barrier, bracing himself for the inevitable impact.
The shaft collided with his arms and, instead of exploding as usual, swept him backward with astounding force. Ayuda could vaguely notice that he tried to stick his feet in the ground to hamper the force, but since the arrow was terribly vigorous, he ended up skidding across the field.
After driving him toward the back ferociously, the arrow finally exploded, adding more excruciating damages to the enemy... at least that's what Ayuda hoped for. Something told her that one arrow wasn't enough and therefore she drew and prepared another arrow. Although silvery smoke obscured Kimimaro from my sight, she was still able to pinpoint his spot accurately and launched it.
The freshly-launched shaft winged its way into the thick smoke and detonated loudly. Ayuda trained my eyes on the smoke the whole time musing, "Did I get him...?"
"So that's how your techniques work, huh?" the unmistakable deep voice that belonged to the green-eyed man enacted from his spot, making the purple-eyed girl's hair stand on end.
The snowy smoke reduced to colorless air, presenting Kimimaro to her vision. He looked totally fine if she disregarded the dirt on his skin and a few weird holes on both of his arms. The holes showed white surface underneath his skin which bewildered her greatly. She faintly discerned tiny trails of blood seeping down those holes.
Kimimaro noticed the manifestly puzzled look on the girl's face and elucidated, "It looks like I underestimated you. If I didn't create a layer of bone right under the skin of my arms, I would've lost my limbs by now."
So that's how he survived the blast. He can freely manipulate his bone into doing whatever he wishes. His bone is surprisingly sturdy too. Hmph. His ability is something else. But if my arrows attack him when he hasn't created a film of bone under his skin, that would be the end of this battle, right?
Ayuda pulled a different arrow out of the quiver and organized it with the bow. She then aimed it to the sky. She could see Kimimaro furrowing his eyebrows in confusion from the corner of her eye. She paid no heed to him and shot the arrow to the blue and white sky. The both of them watched as it rocketed skyward until it vanished into the distance.
Ayuda took another arrow out and assembled it with the bow, directing it at Kimimaro afterward. The man immediately prepared himself, gripping his bone sword firmly and then charged posthaste at her. She fired multiple arrows at him rapidly and he undoubtedly dodged all of them skillfully.
The girl soon summoned five weak chakra arrows. These chakra arrows were made purely by one's own chakra. One normal chakra arrow will consume a lot of one's energy, so if she creates three chakra arrows, she would black out. But the ones she was using were the weaker ones that devoured a small amount of her chakra. Even though she could produce the weaker ones as much as she could without worry, their strength and speed would be quite similar to an ordinary arrow. Despite this unsatisfactory downside, there were some attributes that she liked about these weak chakra arrows.
And one of them is that she can manipulate them almost easily!
Ayuda shot each five of them one by one in various directions somewhere in the air above Kimimaro who instantly became wary of these arrows. When all of them were halfway there, Ayuda mentally manipulated them to change directions. There was a link between her and them since they carried her one and only chakra. The arrows rushed to the white-haired opponent in different routes.
Kimimaro finally grasped this unknown technique and ceased his sprint abruptly. He spun to his right side upon detecting an incoming arrow and blocked it with his bone. The arrow erupted but Kimimaro was left unscathed. He turned to his left side and hauled a bone at an arriving chakra-made weapon that blew up – upon crashing into his bone – a little far away from the green-eyed man. He did the same thing to the other two. The last arrow approached him from behind which he turned and flung another small bone towards it, activating its blast from a safe distance.
Now that Kimimaro's attention was elsewhere and his back was facing her, Ayuda took the opportunity to launch an arrow at him. The white-haired ninja shot his eyes over his shoulder and detected another arrow closing in. He simply threw his arm up and gripped the arrow with his bare hand. He cast his eyes to Ayuda and taunted, "Do you really think you'd be able to distract me so easily?"
Ayuda smirked, awakening trepidation in his mind. That's when the arrow he held in his fist blew up, inducing a subtle earthquake around the area. White smoke concealed the spot, causing it hard for Ayuda to see Kimimaro for the second time.
Suddenly, she felt a harmful presence approaching her at great speed. Kimimaro's voice enacted from behind her, "Nice trick, but that will be the last trick you will use. Now die!"
Kimimaro swung his sharp bone at her in a horizontal line, expecting her blood to smear his skin when unexpectedly he felt nothing collide with his weapon. He peered down and realized that the dark-haired girl had already ducked and evaded his onslaught. He was clueless to the fact that Ayuda was highly capable in evading attacks.
Ayuda took this chance to leap upwards and smash her fist into Kimimaro's jaw which she performed in success. Kimimaro was thrown rearward in the air but quickly regained his composure and brought his feet onto the ground heavily. He sent an unreadable look at his young opponent, ignoring the unpleasant pain on his jaw where she struck him.
Ayuda jumped away, putting a long distance between them. She clenched the fist that she used to punch him. Her hand was also in pain due to the strong punch she just delivered. She never thought it would hurt that bad once she punches another human.
She brought her gaze back to Kimimaro. Dirt could be seen on his clear skin and his clothes. Ayuda knew it was from the explosion her arrow previously ignited. A growing red spot slowly manifested itself on his jaw, the sight sending a small wave of content into her.
"Your arrows are specially made for battle," stated her green-eyed enemy, "Your arrows would explode upon contact and you can control a group of special arrows on your own will. Everything that I said was correct, right?"
The purple-eyed girl smirked, "You got me. But you shouldn't assume that you know my abilities just yet after all of that. I still have not used my full power yet."
Kimimaro replied, "Neither do I. By the time I finish showing you all of my dances, you will-"
His voice was jammed in his throat when he sensed an ominous gust from above. He shot his head up like a flash, his eyes widened with unconcealed foreboding. He was greeted by the sight of a profusion of arrows raining down on him. Just as he began creating a hasty plan, the numerous arrows finally impacted him and the ground beneath him, instantaneously blew up in a destructive scale, triggering a strong tremor around the area.
"Rain of Arrows..." Ayuda breathed out the name of the technique in slight exhaustion. It's just like the name stated, it was a technique of an abundance of arrows showering down a target. Remember that moment when she launched an arrow to the sky? That was the arrow that sparked off this skill.
She would first fill the arrow with as many chakras as she wants and fire it skyward. And then she would lure the enemy to stand on her spot. When she completes this, she would manipulate the energy in the arrow to split up into as many weak chakra arrows as those chakras could produce. Lastly, she would control every single one of them to shower her opponent.
Ayuda recollected that moment when she transmitted her chakra into the arrow. She thought, 'Oh yeah... I filled it with the same amount of chakra that is needed to create one powerful chakra arrow. So that's why I am exhausted all of a sudden. Rain of Arrows also devours a huge amount of my energy. That's why I cannot perform this technique more than twice. And now... I have enough chakra to create two more devastating chakra arrows. If I produce those two in a day, I would pass out right away.'
She stole a glance at the white smoke that shrouded Kimimaro, 'But I got him, right? Rain of Arrows is devastating enough to kill someone. I have a good feeling that he couldn't protect himself from the attack... unless he fills his entire body with strong bone, that is. But no... I took him by surprise and there's no way he could make a layer of bone under his skin in such a short time. Yeah... that's it. I got him this time. Now I have to catch up with Naruto and Sasuke!'
Ayuda turned around and jogged towards the thick forest when suddenly, she heard a faint swoosh noise behind her. Before she could have the chance to glance over her shoulder, something curled around her ankle and yanked her back towards the smoke. The unannounced wrench caught her off guard as her entire body fell onto the ground in an inelegant manner. Her heavy fall caused her bow and quiver of arrows to be detached from her back and she was dragged over to the smoke unceremoniously.
Overwhelmed by the mixed feelings of apprehension and bewilderment, Ayuda darted her gaze up to the tall figure in front of her. Kimimaro was on his feet before her with black lines spreading all over his body in contorting and parallel lines. Seeing him standing there surprised the girl very much. Plus, this view reminded her of the black marks that scattered throughout Sasuke's form which had transpired in the past. It dawned on her that, with his cursed seal activated, Kimimaro's abilities must have doubled at that moment. This idea summoned fear within her.
Kimimaro stared down at her with an impassive countenance and said, "I didn't expect that someone like you could force me into activating the first stage of my cursed seal. I underestimated you a lot."
Ayuda scanned his figure up and down. She spotted a spine-like whip in his grip and finally came to a realization that that was the one that wrapped around her ankle and tugged her there. She presumed it was made by his bone – his spine, to be precise. She stared back into his green eyes and questioned with a scowl, "How did you survive the blast?"
"I never drop the film of bone under my skin ever since I created it a few minutes ago," the man generously shed some light on her, "I predicted that you would attempt to throw more explosives at me, so I decided to keep it on. I must admit that your last attack would injure me severely if I hadn't activated my cursed seal."
Ayuda breathed slightly heavily musing, 'So that's how he survived. I didn't know he has cursed mark like Sasuke does. If I know about this earlier, I would've saved my chakra and avoid using such big skill.'
"It seems like you are out of chakra after using techniques that require a lot of chakras. Hmph. You may be strong, but you are still a naïve girl who loves to interfere with Orochimaru-sama's dream. And for that, I will give you a painful death."
The purple-eyed female watched with wide eyes and mouth agape as Kimimaro raised his right hand which held a bone sword and aimed its sharp point towards her. He drew his entire right arm backward while locking his gaze with her. Ayuda knew she had to do something before that bone could touch her, so she hauled her free leg – which wasn't grasped by his spine-like whip – to his stomach with great force.
She expected him to be shoved away due to her rough kick. However, she never even thought that there would be bones poking out of his stomach and ensnared her foot in it. The girl was dumbstruck and reflex quickly took over her as she tried pulling her foot out, but to no avail. The bones were unexpectedly strong enough to seize that tiny limb. It's like having ten hands gripping her foot tightly.
She threw her eyes back to the man above her. She was now utterly helpless. Her fear soared upon registering the fact that she was the one lying down on the ground beneath him with one of her ankles clasped in a spine-like whip and the other foot stuck in his ribcage-like bones. Not to mention that her bow and arrows were far away from her reach. She had never felt this vulnerable in her life.
She suddenly started wishing that she would be given another chance to proceed with her life – to carry on with her life with her family, teammates, and friends.
She recalled that she agreed to join in this mission with the sole purpose of retrieving Sasuke from the atrocious darkness. Now that she has fallen deep into this risky mission, is she going to die for trying to save the boy she cared very much for? Is she really going to die without knowing the reason why Sasuke did not tell her about his sudden betrayal? Without finding out the reason why he gave her his mother's necklace? Without literally saving him from Orochimaru?
'No... I can't die like this... I have a lot of questions to ask him and I must hear his answers first! I refuse to die this easily!'
She glared back at Kimimaro whose mouth curved in a gloating smirk. The contorting and parallel black lines on his skin reverted back to his cursed mark at the base of his throat. She began to wonder why he bothered deactivating his cursed seal but before she could think of a possible answer, Kimimaro swung his bone sword towards Ayuda's defenseless face at full speed.
Unfortunately for him, the girl swiftly moved her head out of the way and in return, got her left shoulder stabbed by the sharp bone. Ayuda cried out upon receiving the stinging pain. Her face – which was mostly seen expressionless by many people – was now twisted in a deep grimace. As soon as she heard the sound she just produced out of her mouth, she bit her lip roughly, preventing herself from emitting the noises that would possibly inflame Kimimaro's smugness.
"Oh?" said her emerald-eyed opponent, "There is still some resistance in you even when you are facing your death now. You are not only a naïve girl but also a rather foolish one. Do you really think you can defeat me in the first place?"
An idea struck Ayuda and she immediately initiated the plan without saying a word to her enemy. Ignoring the gnawing pain on her shoulder, she focused on her chakra, accumulating them in her right hand and summoned a weak chakra arrow. Without further ado, she pitched it towards Kimimaro's face and it was that moment that he finally noticed it.
Another explosion blew up between them, resulting in Kimimaro to release both of Ayuda's feet and the girl to take to her heels. The smoke cleared up in several seconds, allowing both of them to scan the other from a safe distance. Kimimaro earned more dirt on his face and chest while Ayuda received a bloody nose and a throbbing headache. The reason why Kimimaro didn't get any wound from the last blast was because he still had the layer of sturdy bone under his skin. Ayuda knew about this even before she threw the chakra-made weapon at him.
So she created another arrow from her chakra and let it detonate right in between us. Instead of me getting injured, it was her. She definitely knows that I won't drop this film of bone under my skin until I finish her off. She knows that I am still wearing the layer of bone, but she still persisted in producing one arrow and let it explode between both of us so I could let her go. She is indeed reckless... but fearless, I must admit.
Ayuda simply wiped the blood from her nose and rose to her feet. She trained her steady gaze at Kimimaro with an impassive mien, though this time it was vaguely different. Unfaltering courage graced her features as she spoke, "Of course, I fight you without knowing what would happen to me. I want to believe that I could defeat you, but now that I know what you are truly capable of, I'm starting to have doubts."
Kimimaro fell into profound silence as he became aware of the tone in her voice that indicated she's not done with her speech yet. Ayuda continued, "But you must make a mental note in your head that I won't stop rescuing Sasuke from your evil path. If your precious Orochimaru-sama keeps on trying to get his hands on Sasuke, I won't stand still. I heard Orochimaru's arms are sealed by the Third Hokage, so why don't I add more to his humiliation and rip his arms off of his body?"
Kimimaro narrowed his eyes menacingly, evidently offended by her words. Ayuda resumed, "I won't let you take Sasuke away. I came here and put my life on the line for him. So even if you manage to kill me here, I swear..."
Her voice dropped to a venomous tone that sounded as if a diabolical demon was going to emerge from within her, "...this is not a threat, but a promise – I will haunt you and Orochimaru to a suicidal point."
The white-haired man glowered at her in displeasure, "You came here and put your life on the line for someone else, huh? But what if that someone else doesn't even care about you and is actually willing to go to Orochimaru-sama?"
This time it was Ayuda who was taken aback, 'Is he... willing to go to that man? According to what Shikamaru told me, it did sound like Sasuke is defecting from the Leaf Village on his own free will. But does he even know the consequences of going to that repulsive man? Orochimaru will gladly use his body as a vessel for his immortality! Sasuke knows about this, right? Wait, no... I bet he doesn't. So he may be a willing victim, but he still doesn't know about Orochimaru's sickening plan.'
Ayuda maintained her purple orbs on her enemy and countered, "You must be one of Orochimaru's favorite henchmen, am I right? So why don't you answer my question first? What if Orochimaru, the man you think the world of, actually doesn't need you and will turn his admiration to Sasuke and sees you as nothing but trash?"
Kimimaro's emotionless mask finally shattered and revealed a thunderstruck expression on his features. Ayuda inwardly smirked, knowing that she hit a point. She added, "The moment when Sasuke reach him, he will erase every respect Orochimaru has for you. You would hate that, don't you?"
"Hmph," Kimimaro's poker face returned, "stop spouting nonsense. If I fail in this mission, he would be more disappointed in me and will see me as one of the trashes he abandoned. As long as I do everything he wishes me to do, I will always be blessed by his esteem."
Ayuda frowned, 'That bastard Orochimaru has brainwashed him pretty well.'
Kimimaro prepared his bone sword, "Are you done with your useless speech now? If you do, then fight me!"
Without giving her an opportunity to reply, he zipped over to her as fast as his legs could carry. His anger boiled within him due to the insulting words this girl uttered about the one man he extremely admired. He was absolutely hell-bent on punishing her for that. However, before he could reach her, a flash of green appeared next to him in the blink of an eye and delivered a hard kick to him, causing him to be shoved away from his purple-eyed target.
Kimimaro turned his gaze to the unanticipated newcomer who was now standing in front of Ayuda. He asked with a flat voice, "Who are you?"
"Revived from Konoha, as the admirable green beast," the new voice spoke up in a charismatic tone, "Rock Lee!"
The girl behind him widened her purple eyes in recognition. She called out in surprise, "Lee-san!"
Rock Lee who was standing in his fighting stance directed his black orbs to her and smiled, "Are you alright, Ayuda-san?"
The girl observed his leg and arm warily. She had heard about Tsunade curing his broken limbs and also the delightful news that the surgery went well. However, his unforeseen arrival made her anxious and mostly worried about him. She mused, 'Is he really fine enough to fight? Plus, he deeply relies on taijutsu combat that requires every limb on his body and a huge amount of stamina.'
She ignored his question, knowing that his well-being was much important than hers, and queried, "How's your body?"
"Don't worry about me," responded Lee, "I can tell from your wounds that you were having a rough battle with him. You need to rest, Ayuda-san."
Ayuda furrowed her eyebrows in irresolution, "But..."
Rock Lee averted his gaze to look at Kimimaro, resoluteness clouding his features, and he added, "Leave this guy to me. I'll be his opponent."
The youngest daughter of the wealthy Makino family couldn't help but recall his jaw-dropping match with Gaara. This particular flashback sent a gush of reassurance in her, putting her faith in him, believing that he could defeat Kimimaro who was undoubtedly stronger than the Sound Four.
"Be careful, Lee-san," Ayuda shed light on him, "He can freely manipulate his own bones to attack. He has several dangerous jutsus and he can create a film of bone under his skin. His taijutsu skill is also quite brilliant. He is extremely strong."
Rock Lee and Kimimaro commenced the fight while Ayuda started bandaging her left shoulder using a roll of bandages she had brought with her. She had already recovered her bow and arrows and set it beside her. She would often dart her eyes from her left shoulder to the two men, worrying about the bushy-eyebrows boy.
Everything went well until Rock Lee displayed his entire back to Kimimaro who was about to stab him with his bone sword right then and there when Lee shoved his open palm to the air, signaling his wish for an abrupt pause to the fight. Kimimaro surprisingly listened to him and halted his swing just in time.
"I'm sorry, but it's almost time to take my medicine," stated Rock Lee, "I must take it."
Ayuda sweatdropped, 'Do you really think an enemy like him will comply with your wish...?'
To her surprise, Kimimaro withdrew his weapon and took a step back, allowing Rock Lee to drink the medicine. Their only audience gasped in shock, 'He listens to him?! Wow, he has a great manner for an enemy.'
What puzzled both Ayuda and Kimimaro was the sudden change in Rock Lee's attitude. It's as if he was drunk. And later they found out he was indeed drunk. However, his drunken form was a surprising boost to Lee for his movements became too unpredictable and orthodox for Kimimaro to match. Lee managed to block and counter every one of Kimimaro's attacks. He amazingly landed a hit with his eyes closed.
Ayuda began to think that Rock Lee could actually win this match. But her wish was shattered as she watched Kimimaro using his rare Kekkei Genkai in order to snap Lee out of his drunken state, and his tactics worked. Lee sobered up after having his face cut by one of Kimimaro's bones.
Rock Lee, fully awakening from his drunken form, resorted to hard-hitting tactics to take down the enemy and decided to open the First Gate and used the Front Lotus. Unfortunately, it didn't go according to his plan since Kimimaro used the density of his bones to absorb the full effect of Lee's Lotus Kick.
Ayuda sprinted to the bushy-eyebrows boy who was lying down on the ground after being hit by Kimimaro. The green-eyed opponent raced towards his two opponents, now seeing the opportunity to kill them on the spot. With one sharp bone in each hand, Kimimaro swung them simultaneously, somewhat eager to finish them off.
However, his onslaughts failed once again when his bones were brought to a startling stop by sand which soon drove all of them away from each other in an explosive manner. Ayuda and Rock Lee were expecting to fall onto the ground with rough impact, but they were proved wrong when something soft yet rough cushioned their descents and brought them toward the back.
Kimimaro questioned the same thing for the second time that day, "Who are you?"
A deep, familiar voice called from behind Rock Lee and Ayuda, "An allied nation of Konoha – the ninjas of the Sand."
The dark-haired boy and girl turned their heads around and looked at the newcomer with wide eyes, extremely curious of who it was that saved them from their early deaths. There stood Sabaku No Gaara, clad in different reddish attire, crossing his arms over his chest with an emotionless look on his face.
***
Ayuda's P.O.V
Red hair, dark circles around his eyes, no eyebrows, and the kanji word for 'love' on his left forehead – it was undoubtedly Gaara, the boy who participated in the Chuunin Exam with his siblings, the boy whom I had a crush on, and the boy who was supposed to be the 'trump card' for the invaders during the invasion of Konoha.
What is he doing here?
Gaara moved to stand in front of the speechless me and Rock Lee. The both of us scrutinized his giant gourd that was, as usual, secured on his back. Lee called, "Sabaku No Gaara..."
"Gaara," spoke Kimimaro, "is that you?"
The white-haired opponent launched tiny bones (that came out of his fingertips) at us, mainly at Gaara who was still tight-lipped. Instead, his sand rose and made a wall in front of us three. The bones crashed into the wall of sand, stopping abruptly due to the thick density. The sand manipulator said to Kimimaro, "You're so hasty."
The redhead turned his head a little bit, looking at Rock Lee over his shoulder and spoke, "You... when we fought, you had more speed and spirit in your attacks."
I sweatdropped. Says the one who crushed his arm and leg.
Rock Lee got up to his feet. Now that they were standing close, the difference in their heights was pretty conspicuous. Lee was undeniably a lot taller than Gaara, though it's no wonder why Lee was taller because he was, after all, one year older than both me and the redhead. Lee replied with a genuine smile, "Whatever you say, I don't have a grudge against you or anything, but because of you, I had to go through some tough times."
It was hard to believe that Lee just forgave Gaara that easily. He crushed two of his important limbs and Lee sincerely didn't bear any grudge against him. I was dazzled at how kind and forgiving Lee was. Even Gaara took a quiet moment to register his words. The redhead simply responded, "I see..."
The sand around us glided back into his gourd. I rose to my feet and queried him with my eyebrows furrowing in wariness, "But why are you here?"
Gaara cast his eyes to me and replied, "I owe Konoha a big debt."
Rock Lee took a step forward, standing next to Gaara in his unique stance. Gaara gazed at him, eyeing specifically his arm and leg that were once squashed by him. His inscrutable mien was too thick for me to read what he was thinking about. After a moment of silence, he declared, "I'll fight him."
The bushy-eyebrows boy looked displeased, "No, I will have you as my backup."
Rock Lee dashed towards the enemy without waiting for Gaara's response. He didn't even make it halfway there when sand rushed over to him and seized his ankle. Due to the sudden halt, Lee pitched forward, but another blanket of sand flew to the ground beneath him, softening the impact of his fall. I blinked my eyes at this situation. I found it nice to see Gaara making an extra effort sending another wave of sand to cushion his unceremonious drop.
"The sand in my mouth..." from the sound of his voice and what he said, it was unmistakable that some sand slipped into his mouth when he fell flat on his face. Lee whipped his head to scowl at the redhead who restrained him, "Please let go!"
A spasm of pain suddenly came in and contorted Lee's face. Gaara sauntered onward, training his eyes on Kimimaro who witnessed everything in silence. The redhead stated, "You can't do anything in your current condition. I'll fight him," he paused as he shot his eyes from Kimimaro to me, "You stay out of this too."
I nodded my head in approval and elucidated, "Please be careful. His attacks consist of bones. Like before, he can shoot bones out and is also able to grow bones out of his body. He is able to freely control his bones."
It goes without saying that Gaara used his sand to fight Kimimaro who later believed that the only sand Gaara could control was the one in his gourd. The redhead proved him wrong by using the sand on the ground to restrain him and then used his infamous jutsu called Sand Binding Coffin and crushed the enemy within.
Kimimaro shocked us by surviving Gaara's attack that usually crushed his opponent to fatal death right then and there. It was then that we figured out that he created a film of bone under his skin, just like how he survived my archery skills. Contorting and parallel black lines scattered all over his body due to activating his cursed mark.
Gaara then summoned a terrifying sand tsunami, drowning Kimimaro in and also mercilessly changed the landscape into a sea of sand with several standing trees here and there. I was truly overawed at how strong he had become. Needless to say, he was a lot stronger than that time when he attended the Chuunin Exam. Seeing his frightening power gave me a mental note that I should avoid pissing him off. I did not want to feel what it's like to be his opponent.
He then used another skill that not only smothered Kimimaro but leveled the terrain as well. I foolishly believed that Kimimaro was positively defeated after underwent such two devastating techniques. But judging from the stern look on Gaara's face, I realized it's not over yet, to our great dismay.
Kimimaro stunned us by emerging from the sand but it was not his surprising ability to survive Gaara's attacks that startled us. It was his appearance that changed dramatically. He took on a dinosaur-like appearance complete with a tail. Several large bones protrude from his darkened skin.
Something told me that this was the last stage of the cursed seal and this nauseating thought sent a wave of horrifying dread over me. Sasuke has a cursed mark too. So does that mean that he will take on such terrifying appearance? Is this what he desperately wants? Is this why he defects to Orochimaru?
Kimimaro broke free of the sand and charged towards us like blazes. Gaara manipulated his sand to try to restrain his movements but failed since Kimimaro evaded them all with great speed. When he was reaching over to us, Gaara created a sand wall, but to our surprises, Kimimaro pierced through it and tackled the redhead, sending him flying toward the back.
He derided the sand manipulator about his absolute defense being so weak. His words didn't have any effect on Gaara, instead, it affected both me and Rock Lee. We were both offended by what he said about the one who saved us and lent us great help.
It turned out that Gaara absorbed the damage of Kimimaro's strike using his armor of sand which means that he's not physically injured. Lee appeared behind Kimimaro in a flash and delivered a few kicks which the enemy blocked way too easily. That's when his giant tail rose and swung in the direction of Lee. Seeing the dangerous situation he was in, Gaara produced a wall of sand between Lee and the tail, intending to impede the onslaught. However, it drilled through the sand wall and struck Lee with enough force to send him flying away.
I raised my arm to take hold of my bow and that small movement seemed to have lure Kimimaro's attention to me. He sprinted posthaste towards me and I immediately backpedalled with my bow in my grip.
I was struggling to keep the distance between us since his speed enhanced dramatically due to his cursed mark, but thankfully sand emerged from the ground and snatched his legs. However, the sand was not strong enough to obstruct it completely. Kimimaro broke free of the sand and resumed advancing towards me.
Despite the failure, Gaara kept on controlling his sand to hamper Kimimaro who succeeded in breaking away. This went on for a few seconds until thick, heavily-built sand sprang from the ground and entrapped his hands and feet, successfully immobilizing him.
Seeing how vulnerable Kimimaro was at that moment gave me a brilliant idea. I instantly drew my bow and generated one destructive chakra arrow. I lined it up along with the bow and aimed it at Kimimaro who was thrashing around in the sand's clutch. I fired the chakra arrow without delay and it rocketed straight to his chest.
The impact was very forceful that it swept Kimimaro across the field, ultimately breaking away from Gaara's sand. The chakra arrow drove him away from me, Gaara, and Rock Lee ruthlessly. Once he's far enough, the arrow blew up, igniting a strong tremor around us.
"Nice shot, Ayuda-san!" I heard Rock Lee chirp.
I heaved a sigh with a smile, his praise fueling glee within me. However, before I could completely succumb myself in rapture, exhaustion seeped in rather quickly and I finally realized how heavy most of my body parts were. I fell to my knees and rested my hands on the ground. I heard Rock Lee call out for me worriedly. He rushed to my side as soon as possible and asked, "Are you okay, Ayuda-san?"
"That arrow I specially made just now consumed a huge amount of my chakra," I clarified while huffing and puffing, "If I create one more chakra arrow, I will pass out for sure."
"Then don't create another one," a deep voice came in. Rock Lee and I looked up and saw Gaara approaching us. His eyes were fixed on me, "You don't have to push yourself too hard. I'll handle him from now on."
Those were his last words before he turned his back to us, looking back at our opponent. Rock Lee added, "He's right. You've spent a lot of your chakra on your previous battle with that guy, so you should rest up."
I couldn't help but remember my dear teammates – Kaito and Kazuki and also Shiori-sensei. I wonder what they're doing right now. I'm starting to miss them...
It's just as I expected, Kimimaro survived the blast with minor wounds. He pulled out his spinal cord, creating another spine-like whip, and used it to restrain Gaara. He then transformed his left hand into a bone drill in an attempt to bore through the redhead and kill him. Gaara summoned a toy-like replica of a demon that was roughly thrice the size of him. He created it with the hardest minerals in the ground and fused it into the sand with his chakra. Gaara called it Ultimately Hard Absolute Defense: Shield of Shukaku.
As the name implied, it was hard enough not only to prevent Kimimaro's bone drill from boring through but to shatter the bone completely. After a small conversation concerning Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai which was bone manipulation, Gaara remarked that Orochimaru had brainwashed him well and that he was nothing but a pawn.
Gaara then performed Prison Sand Burial technique to swallow Kimimaro and drown him two hundred meters underground under tight pressure. To our surprises, Kimimaro called forth thousands of bones to emerge from the ground and before we could get impaled by them, Gaara saved the three of us by elevating us above the giant bones with his sand.
I truly believed that this was the end of Kimimaro, and the other two boys were under the same impression as well. However, we were proved absolutely wrong when the same white-haired enemy sprouted from one of the tallest bones with a bone drill in hand. His eyes were murderously glued on Gaara, yelling in anger about how we didn't understand his feelings and thrust his bone drill towards Gaara's face.
But we were surprised and delighted that he abruptly halted his movements. The sharp tip of his bone drill was just a few inches from Gaara's eye. Thick trails of fresh blood poured down his mouth and it was then we realized he had an illness that got the better of him.
"I completely lost," admitted the redhead. Rock Lee and Gaara were sitting down under two trees, taking the weights off their feet, while I remained standing a little far away from them, gazing in the direction of where Sasuke and Naruto had gone off to prior to my battle with Kimimaro.
I tuned out their voices. Naruto and Sasuke haven't come back yet. Naruto should've caught up to him by now. Something must have happened. The total time of me, Rock Lee, and Gaara fighting with Kimimaro was almost over an hour, and a simple conversation couldn't possibly be that long. Could it be that they are fighting? Yeah, that must be it... just like how they fought on top of the hospital building. Plus, Sasuke is very stubborn. If he wants something, he will do anything to get it. If he wants power, he will do anything to achieve it, even if it means by joining Orochimaru willingly. And he longs for power so much because he wants to kill Itachi. His hatred is rapidly devouring him ever since that day he clashed with his brother and Orochimaru is definitely using that to his advantage and lure Sasuke in.
"Ayuda-san!" I was shoved out of my thinking cap upon hearing the loud voice that belonged to none other than Rock Lee. I whipped my head around and glanced at him. He and Gaara were eyeing me warily and Lee inquired, "What's the matter, Ayuda-san? You look troubled."
I brought my eyes downward as my face dropped in perturbation. I cast my gaze back in the direction of where Naruto and Sasuke were supposed to be and apprised them, "Naruto and Sasuke haven't returned yet. It's been an hour and they still haven't appeared. I'm worried that something bad is happening to them."
I heard a faint rustle behind me and looked. Rock Lee tried standing up on his feet with exertion, "Why don't we go there and... agh!"
I watched as Lee tumbled back down on the ground, wincing as he clutched his leg. That's right. Tsunade-sama just performed a surgery on him not too long ago and he immediately came here even though he's not well enough to fight. And Gaara... it goes without saying that he has spent a lot of his chakra battling Kimimaro back there. A warm smile curved my lips. Idiots. They told me not to push myself too hard, and here they are, taking their times to recover their energies.
"I'll go catch up with them," I spoke up, attracting their eyes to me, "You two go back to the Leaf Village."
Rock Lee queried with concern gleaming in his jet-black eyes, "Will you be okay going after them all alone?"
Nodding my head once, I flashed them a reassuring smile, "Don't worry. I'll come back safe and sound."
After receiving approving nods from them, I leapt away and zipped into the abundant forest on the other side of the clear field which was now filled with giant, protruding bones. I carefully dashed around the forest, not wanting to get lost in the middle of this greenwood.