Chapter 6 - Sand and Leaf: Comrades in Arms
Submitted April 6, 2008 Updated April 21, 2008 Status Complete | Akai is now a genin and enjoying life in Konoha. But when a strange attack on his family ends with his sister's abduction, Akai will have to band together with new allies to find her.
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Chapter 6 - Sand and Leaf: Comrades in Arms
Chapter 6 - Sand and Leaf: Comrades in Arms
In the moonlight that came shining through the skylight, Akai and Taka looked at each other. Neither made any movement until Taka looked over at where Izumi was lying motionless on the stone table.
“I’m sorry, Akai,” she said suddenly, looking down to avoid looking Akai in the face, “if I had not been so judgmental of you, we could have been here sooner. I know how you must feel right now.” She hung her head as her shoulders dropped in shame. It was startlingly different to Akai from her normally very proud posture. Akai walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up.
“Thank you,” he said. Then, after a pause and glance at Izumi’s lifeless form, he added slowly, “I wish you could have been here sooner, but you made it just in time and helped me out. I am grateful for that.” He lowered his hand and looked over at the still blocked passage. “How did you get in here?”
“I stayed and watched when you summoned those two wolves,” she said, “then I followed you into the woods but couldn’t find where you and the others had gone.” She then turned and raised her arm to indicate the opening above, “then Washime found this chasm and led me to it. I arrived just after you had started to fight and was able to sneak down here without being noticed.”
“A sand ninja, huh?” came a familiar voice from the shadows, “and one of the Areno Clan none-the-less, given how you distracted me with that bloody pigeon. I should have known the brat wasn’t alone.” Akai looked about the room, but the Akatsuki agent was nowhere to be seen. He was too well hidden in the shadows. Taka, on the other hand, turned and stared off to Akai’s left, at a particularly dark mass of shadows.
“Why don’t you come out?” she said aloud, “the shadows only hinder you, since they can’t hide you from my eyes.”
“Huh, nice bluff, little girl,” the jonin said, “Who says that the shadows hinder me? And what makes you think that I would believe your claim that you can see me through these shadows?” The amusement was obvious in his voice, but Akai could still pick out a hint of caution, possibly fear. Next moment, the jonin was thrown from the shadows by another gust of wind, though he managed to roll to his feet.
“First, you should have known that I can see through the shadows because I was able to distract and attack you from them before,” Taka said as she started walking toward Akatsuki agent. “Second, I know that you are hindered by the shadows because if you weren’t, you would have noticed my earth clone waiting behind you.” Akai watched in amazement as an exact duplicate of Taka walked out of the shadows the jonin had just been blown from. He glanced back at the jonin, only to find that he had disappeared.
“Third,” said the amused jonin as he reappeared directly behind Taka, a knife drawn to her throat, “you should never gloatingly reveal your methods to an enemy jonin, unless you want to have him kill you.” He laughed when he saw Taka’s stunned expression. “You brats have been fun to play with, but it ends now.”
“Hey, you, Mr. Wants-Everyone-To-Know-He’s-A-Jonin,” shouted Akai. Angry at being mocked, the agent turned to face Akai.
“What did you call me?!” he shouted, only to realize that Akai was no longer there.
“Maybe you should learn to never focus on only one enemy at a time, even if all your opponents are just genin.” Akai’s voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, startling the agent and making him decide to go ahead and slit Taka’s throat, but just before the blade touched her neck, Akai appeared as if from nowhere, using the speed of his flicker to deflect the blade. The jonin was quick, however, and rather than lose the weapon from the force of the deflection, guided it right into Akai’s chest. Akai staggered in pain for a moment before disappearing in a burst of smoke.
*A Shadow Clone!* thought the jonin, startled. He then shifted his arm to make another attempt at Taka’s throat, but Akai flickered in front of him once again. This time, though, instead of blocking the blade, Akai grabbed Taka and flickered away, taking her with him. *What the…* before the jonin could react any further, he was blown backwards by a flicker kick to the stomach. Before he even landed, he was hit yet again, this time by Akai’s fist coming out of a flicker. After the agent had crashed to the floor and managed to pick himself up on his hands and knees, he looked up to see three Akai’s standing around the room, two in a ready stance and the other standing next to Taka. *More clones!*
“No one threatens my comrades and gets away with it,” said the three Akai’s in sync, but the jonin’s eyes were locked on the one next to Taka, the one whose eyes were now cutting into him. He was so focused on what he knew must be the real Akai that he did not even realize that Taka had disappeared until he heard a piercing whistle behind him. He barely managed to dodge it, his panic rising.
“What are you brats?” he shouted, looking around only to realize that even Akai and his shadow clones had disappeared now. “You must be demons or something!” When he heard two whistles this time, one on either side of him, he started spinning around frantically, trying to find his foes. Another pair of whistles, and the jonin stopped moving. “Show yourselves, you cowards! I’m not afraid of you!”
The cavern fell completely silent. Not a sound was heard, at this seemed to unnerve the jonin even more than the whistles had. After a moment he started to shake uncontrollably. Only then did Taka make her move.
“Hauringu Shikaze, Howling Four Winds!” From North, South, East, and West, four massive blasts of wind converged on the panicked jonin, smashing into him simultaneously. He remained standing, in spite of the attack, if only due to shock, and was suddenly grabbed on each arm by Akai’s shadow clones, while Akai himself appeared in front of him, his bokuto in hand and his head bowed.
“Agent of the Akatsuki,” he said as he looked up, showing the jonin the roaring rivers that were his eyes, “for everything that you have done to my family and comrades, you are the only demon I see here.” He grasped his wooden sword with both hands and raised it over his shoulder, causing the jonin to scream in manic fear.
“Suraisu Kazeken, Slicing Wind Blade!” Akai brought the bokuto in a downward arc and smashed it into the agent’s chest with the force of a small train, sending him flying into the rock wall behind him. As the dust settled, the jonin shuddered for a moment in the crater created by his impact before totally collapsing.
“I’m sorry, Akai,” she said suddenly, looking down to avoid looking Akai in the face, “if I had not been so judgmental of you, we could have been here sooner. I know how you must feel right now.” She hung her head as her shoulders dropped in shame. It was startlingly different to Akai from her normally very proud posture. Akai walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up.
“Thank you,” he said. Then, after a pause and glance at Izumi’s lifeless form, he added slowly, “I wish you could have been here sooner, but you made it just in time and helped me out. I am grateful for that.” He lowered his hand and looked over at the still blocked passage. “How did you get in here?”
“I stayed and watched when you summoned those two wolves,” she said, “then I followed you into the woods but couldn’t find where you and the others had gone.” She then turned and raised her arm to indicate the opening above, “then Washime found this chasm and led me to it. I arrived just after you had started to fight and was able to sneak down here without being noticed.”
“A sand ninja, huh?” came a familiar voice from the shadows, “and one of the Areno Clan none-the-less, given how you distracted me with that bloody pigeon. I should have known the brat wasn’t alone.” Akai looked about the room, but the Akatsuki agent was nowhere to be seen. He was too well hidden in the shadows. Taka, on the other hand, turned and stared off to Akai’s left, at a particularly dark mass of shadows.
“Why don’t you come out?” she said aloud, “the shadows only hinder you, since they can’t hide you from my eyes.”
“Huh, nice bluff, little girl,” the jonin said, “Who says that the shadows hinder me? And what makes you think that I would believe your claim that you can see me through these shadows?” The amusement was obvious in his voice, but Akai could still pick out a hint of caution, possibly fear. Next moment, the jonin was thrown from the shadows by another gust of wind, though he managed to roll to his feet.
“First, you should have known that I can see through the shadows because I was able to distract and attack you from them before,” Taka said as she started walking toward Akatsuki agent. “Second, I know that you are hindered by the shadows because if you weren’t, you would have noticed my earth clone waiting behind you.” Akai watched in amazement as an exact duplicate of Taka walked out of the shadows the jonin had just been blown from. He glanced back at the jonin, only to find that he had disappeared.
“Third,” said the amused jonin as he reappeared directly behind Taka, a knife drawn to her throat, “you should never gloatingly reveal your methods to an enemy jonin, unless you want to have him kill you.” He laughed when he saw Taka’s stunned expression. “You brats have been fun to play with, but it ends now.”
“Hey, you, Mr. Wants-Everyone-To-Know-He’s-A-Jonin,” shouted Akai. Angry at being mocked, the agent turned to face Akai.
“What did you call me?!” he shouted, only to realize that Akai was no longer there.
“Maybe you should learn to never focus on only one enemy at a time, even if all your opponents are just genin.” Akai’s voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, startling the agent and making him decide to go ahead and slit Taka’s throat, but just before the blade touched her neck, Akai appeared as if from nowhere, using the speed of his flicker to deflect the blade. The jonin was quick, however, and rather than lose the weapon from the force of the deflection, guided it right into Akai’s chest. Akai staggered in pain for a moment before disappearing in a burst of smoke.
*A Shadow Clone!* thought the jonin, startled. He then shifted his arm to make another attempt at Taka’s throat, but Akai flickered in front of him once again. This time, though, instead of blocking the blade, Akai grabbed Taka and flickered away, taking her with him. *What the…* before the jonin could react any further, he was blown backwards by a flicker kick to the stomach. Before he even landed, he was hit yet again, this time by Akai’s fist coming out of a flicker. After the agent had crashed to the floor and managed to pick himself up on his hands and knees, he looked up to see three Akai’s standing around the room, two in a ready stance and the other standing next to Taka. *More clones!*
“No one threatens my comrades and gets away with it,” said the three Akai’s in sync, but the jonin’s eyes were locked on the one next to Taka, the one whose eyes were now cutting into him. He was so focused on what he knew must be the real Akai that he did not even realize that Taka had disappeared until he heard a piercing whistle behind him. He barely managed to dodge it, his panic rising.
“What are you brats?” he shouted, looking around only to realize that even Akai and his shadow clones had disappeared now. “You must be demons or something!” When he heard two whistles this time, one on either side of him, he started spinning around frantically, trying to find his foes. Another pair of whistles, and the jonin stopped moving. “Show yourselves, you cowards! I’m not afraid of you!”
The cavern fell completely silent. Not a sound was heard, at this seemed to unnerve the jonin even more than the whistles had. After a moment he started to shake uncontrollably. Only then did Taka make her move.
“Hauringu Shikaze, Howling Four Winds!” From North, South, East, and West, four massive blasts of wind converged on the panicked jonin, smashing into him simultaneously. He remained standing, in spite of the attack, if only due to shock, and was suddenly grabbed on each arm by Akai’s shadow clones, while Akai himself appeared in front of him, his bokuto in hand and his head bowed.
“Agent of the Akatsuki,” he said as he looked up, showing the jonin the roaring rivers that were his eyes, “for everything that you have done to my family and comrades, you are the only demon I see here.” He grasped his wooden sword with both hands and raised it over his shoulder, causing the jonin to scream in manic fear.
“Suraisu Kazeken, Slicing Wind Blade!” Akai brought the bokuto in a downward arc and smashed it into the agent’s chest with the force of a small train, sending him flying into the rock wall behind him. As the dust settled, the jonin shuddered for a moment in the crater created by his impact before totally collapsing.
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