The clang of metal filled the air between Aoi and the sand shinobi. Off in the distance the sound was echoed from others as they fought, and an overlay of explosions rocked the earth as paper bombs went off. Aoi's si were crossed, stopping the downward motion of the sword the shinobi held in his left hand. Hate filled eyes met Aoi's as the seemingly empty hand of the opponent swung. Not taking any chances, Aoi pulled up both feet while he dodged the low swing.
A current passed underneath Aoi's airborne form, much like a sword cutting through the air. Extending his legs, Aoi pushed off of the man's chest, causing him to stumble back a few feet. The man ran forward again, leading with his right hand this time. The hand was swung downward much as one would a sword. Aoi barely dodged, causing some of his hair to get cut as the invisible weapon slid over his head. Already the left hand was thrusting the solid sword, aiming for a gap in the ribs that would pierce Aoi's heart.
Bringing his hand up, Aoi spun as a brief clang of the weapons resounded again. Aoi crouched as he spun, his leg splayed out to trip the man with the motion. Seeing this coming, the man jumped up over the leg, swinging down with, what Aoi now discerned as, the invisible sword in his right hand. Using the motion he was already in, Aoi rolled to the side as a crack sounded behind him. Aoi stood at the end of the roll, si held at the ready. The tiles on the roof were all cracked from where the man's weapon had met them.
There was a slight lull in the fight as they both regarded each other. The man's dark, unfriendly brown eyes glared even harsher into Aoi's light, apathetic blue eyed gaze. With a sudden charge, the stillness of the moment was broken. With a flurry of movement, the left hand sword flashed in a dizzying display which would awe an onlooker. Aoi's hands were lightning quick as he blocked or redirected every stroke that the man launched. Trying to catch Aoi off guard, the invisible right sword joined the attack.
For a moment Aoi tried to block the strike. When he noticed that the hand went past where it would have blocked however, Aoi quickly sidestepped the strike, getting nothing more than torn clothing. The one hand attack continued on Aoi, keeping his hands busy to stop him from attacking himself or forming handsigns. With a quick step, the man tried to get behind Aoi. Through his training Aoi was able to keep up with the man, and blocked the diagonal strike from the man's left hand. The right hand swung low, in an attempt to disable Aoi's legs.
Aoi jumped forward, but not before a cut appeared on the back of his right leg. It wasn't deep, but the cut near the ankle of Aoi's lower calf sent a sharp pain shooting up his nerves. The pain seemed to snap Aoi into a fighting mood, though it wasn't noticeable. Aoi widened his stance, then a split second after launched forward.
The shinobi looked around, waiting for the appearance of the blue haired boy he had severely underestimated. There was a flicker of motion to his left, but when he started to turn and face it, there was a sharp stabbing sensation in the right side of his abdomen. Turning with a strike, the man swung blindly as the other hand went to his side coming back bloodied. Another flash of blue caught his eye, but this time it was stopped suddenly.
Aoi no longer held his si in the palms of his hands, instead his hands were rapidly forming handsigns. Trying to catch anything in the handsigns that would give away the jutsu, the shinobi miserably failed. Only moments later Aoi exhaled through his mouth and a fast paced stream of water appeared. The water shot through the air at a lighting fast pace, too fast for the shinobi to react. The water at the end of the technique formed a sharp point, instead of splaying out like most would.
The jutsu pierced the man's chest, exiting through the other side. Continuing on, the force behind the jutsu went on until it slammed against the side of a chimney that stuck up in the air. With the jutsu ended, the battle had too. The sand shinobi fell forward, then rolled down the slope of the rooftop until his body hit the ground below with a solid thud. Aoi watched this, lowering his hands as the jutsu finished.
_+_
When the other five rejoined Aoi, the only signs he had been in a fight was the cut on the back of his calf. No one questioned what happened, and so they continued on. It wasn't clear where they were headed, but soon they came to the edge of the village where the forest began. There they waited, most unsure as to why. Behind them, in the forest, there was a sudden crash, followed by the cracking noise of multiple trees being split. Turning to look, one could barely make out two giant figures in the distance, one a giant, red toad and the other a grey figure with blue vein-like lines running along it's body.
Everyone but Aoi turned and noticed this. Under his breath, Kodomo let out a low whistle. Noticing that Aoi was not at all surprised at this, he turned to the blue haired boy. "Aoi, who is fighting over there?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Aoi glanced at Kodomo. "That would be Naruto, as well as Gaara." Kodomo's eyes widened and he looked out over the treetops, staring in awe at the giant figures. Kaori's team watched the fight between the two, while Murasaki and Migota returned their attention to the town. The fighting soon disappeared as the giants did the same.
Moments later, the reason for their continued stillness made itself present in the appearance of two sound shinobi. One was rather larger, with sporadic orange hair covering his head. Around his neck was a leather strap with metal bars hanging from it. Like his companion he wore a white covering over black clothing tied back with a purple rope. His companion was slimmer, with black hair pulled into a tail at the top of his head.
"Look at that Jirobo, seems like experiment 279 was in Konoha after all." The thinner of the two noted after making out Aoi's form.
The man nodded. "It does seem like that Kidomaru. Should we take him back with us to Orochimaru as well as Sasuke?"
Kidomaru nodded with a sadistic smile. "It would be fun to see Tayuya ticked that we've done better than her. Remember that he's fairly tough though." So saying, swirling black marks crawled over his tanned skin, covering from head to toe. He pulled something out of his mouth, holding it in his palm.
Kaori, as well as her team, looked at the other three. It was obvious they were talking about a male, and soon all three were staring at Aoi's back, not having heard his past. As they stared, Aoi pulled out his si, holding them in a loose, familiar grip. Ryo noticed a dark stain of red on the left si, and soon identified it as blood. Though nobody had asked, Ryo had a sneaking suspicion before that Aoi had killed the man, and now those suspicions were proven. This only raised more questions, though now was no time to ask.
"Of course." Triangles took over Jirobo's skin, much like Kidomaru's swirls. Instead of doing something however, he just stood there, waiting. Kidomaru was the first to act.
He threw whatever he had spat into his hand, and it instantly spread out over the rooftop where they all stood. Everybody flung their bodies into action, Kaori's team jumping back into the trees whereas Migota and Murasaki went to the left and right respectively. Aoi rolled under the net as it fell and covered the entire roof they had been previously on. Kidomaru wasted no time, launching a second attack almost immediately and directly from his mouth.
Aoi rolled to the side, dodging the attack yet again. This time the follow-up attack was by Jirobo however, as a giant slate of rock was flung in his direction. Kidomaru had no time to assist, as Murasaki launched kunai at him. The violet eyed boy followed the kunai in the attack, but was shocked when Kidomaru not only blocked all the kunai, but raised a yellow substance, in the form of a kunai, and blocked with that. Before either moved, Migota was helping out in the attack, trying to slash the veins that ran in Kidomaru's neck. The sound shinobi dodged, and faced the two before him.
Jirobo had closed the gap between him and Aoi, and now was fighting the much smaller figure in taijutsu. The first time Jirobo had landed a hit, he had briefly clasped his hand on Aoi's shoulder. Even in those few moments however, Aoi could feel his chakra draining away into the sound shinobi. He knew it was probably the jutsu he used to augment his prowess at taijutsu, though his strength did that well enough. Aoi now ducked punches, and dodged the knees that would dart in trying to catch him in the gut. Every once in a while, Aoi would try to slip his si in, but he never got more than a scratch on the man.
After another block, Aoi jumped back as Kaori jumped forward, throwing a yellow liquid at Jirobo. "Cover your nose!" Kaori yelled, directing the instruction at Aoi. He immediately lifted an arm, but not before a sickly sweet scent filled the air. Coughing lightly at the smell, Jirobo staggered a little from the potency of it. In just a few moments, the man was staggering, having trouble to support his own weight. He began to scratch where the liquid had come in contact with his skin, but it was almost all evaporated. Kidomaru looked over when he heard a thud.
Noticing that his companion was lying on the roof unconscious, Kidomaru broke from the relatively easy fight with Migota and Murasaki. Both were breathing hard, but held their kunai tightly in preparation for an attack. In a blur of motion, Kidomaru disappeared from the two's sight, appearing again before Jirobo. He quickly picked up the man, jumping back quickly before anyone could attack him. "I don't know what you did, but you'll pay for that." Aoi began to go after the duo, but just as he was, Kidomaru shot one last web at him.
This time when Aoi tried to dodge, it caught his right leg. The extremely strong substance bound his foot to the rooftop, but did nothing to stop his motion. The force pulling on the leg was too much, and an audible snap was heard. Aoi grunted in pain as he fell to the roof, his leg keeping him from rolling. Not moving because of the pain, it took a moment before Aoi sat up slightly. He looked at his right leg where the pain was coming from as the other five surrounded him, having heard the sharp sound.
Aoi calmly ran a hand up his calf feeling nothing wrong with the front. When he reached the back however, there was a massive lump just below his knee, and it seemed the rest of the muscle below that had disappeared. Sweating slightly from the pain, Aoi couldn't think straight. He pulled at the thread that trapped his foot, and after a few minutes it began to fall away. Kidomaru was far enough that he let the thread crumble as he stopped the chakra and exited his curse seal mode.
A hand waved in front of Aoi, and he looked up suddenly at the motion. "Aoi, are you all right?" Kaori was the one who spoke, but they all wore a similar expression on their faces.
Feeling the back of his leg again, Aoi shook his head. "My tendon is torn." He looked up at their faces to see the expressions deepen. "What are you all feeling now?" Even through the moment, his notebook appeared in his hand, and Migota and Murasaki both sweatdropped slightly.
"Worry!" Kaori looked at him rather sternly. "You just sat there for ten minutes spacing out after those guys left! What did you think we would be feeling?"
Aoi ignored her question, writing for a moment in the notebook he held in his hand. "How would you describe worry?" By now Kaori, as well as Ryo and Kodomo, were staring at him with incredulity.
Migota placed a hand on Kaori's shoulder. "Aoi doesn't know much about emotion, and if you ask I'm sure he'll tell you, but for now answer the question so we can get him to the hospital." Her voice was no more than a whisper. Kaori sighed ever so slightly, in frustration, but nodded.
"I guess... There's a clenching feeling in your stomach. It isn't an actual action, but that's what it feels like. It happens when you care for someone, like a friend or a family member." Aoi wrote it down, but he did nothing to show he understood it. He stowed his notebook. When he looked up again, Murasaki was holding out a hand.
Aoi nodded, taking the outstretched hand. He was heaved onto his feet, or rather foot, and stood there trying to balance. Kodomo appeared on Aoi's other side and helped steady him. With a limping Aoi between the two, Kodomo and Murasaki managed not to argue, but every once in a while they would shoot each other a glare. With the threat looming above them gone, they were more relaxed, and their interactions with the other returned to normal.
_+_
Hey! Listen! It's the end of the chapter! I know, we're all crying here, because of the sheer amazingness... or Aoi's injury... I dunno... It was weird writing the last part. I already knew I was going to injure him, but at the same time, that didn't prepare me to write it. I like my characters so much and grow so attatched that I find it difficult to write about something bad happening to them. Does anyone else do that, or is it just me? Anyways, chunnin exams are pretty much over. I'm sorry I got lazy with the last fight there, but I didn't want to reread/rewatch the whole Sasuke retrieval arc to get their characters and fighting styles down. I don't have time for that, what with finals week upon me. I don't know why I have to know everything about Roman history for Latin, but it's gonna be killer. Not to mention spanish and all that. Enough complaints though. Riddle time! I like them.
What is always coming, but never arrives?
First correct answer gets a dedication. Anyways, if you didn't catch that, no updates for a while (probably) because I'll be having tests for the next week or two. Dedication to Nicki9700 for being an awesome reader by commenting and voting and whatnot, so yeah. Speaking of, vote/comment/fan! I hope you stick around!
-Nicky~