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Pic of Ashley  --->

Ashley’s POV

I feel Ace trembling below me, his head lowered and his ears flattened back as he eyes off the approaching fireball.

“H-Help me catch this Milady” Ace requests, panting heavily, “But please a-allow me to…..to control the tr-trajectory. I h-have a theory.”

Nodding my head, I raise up my right arm, palm facing the roaring ball of flames flying towards us. Activating my Katsuryoku once again, I stare at the white hot flames and focus my mind on manipulating them, wanting to bend them to my will. Ace’s visible eye once again lights up with a bright glow, signalling that he’s also activated his Katsuryoku.

As the fireball is about to hit us, Ace slides his feet across the ground and begins spinning, the speed of his rotations quickly increasing. The flames immediately follow his lead, our combined Kekkei Genkai causing the fire to spin around us in a white blur.

I can’t help wincing at the intense heat of the flames, the mere seconds it’s near me feeling more like an eternity.

As Ace finishes one more spin, with us now facing the Giant Centipede, I deactivate my Katsuryoku, allowing Ace to take control and fling the fireball back at the monstrous creature.

“Ace!” I cry worriedly, as the tired Wolf collapses to the ground beneath me, panting heavily. I immediately slide down from Ace’s back and kneel beside him, absentmindedly stroking the fur on his neck as I cast him a worried look.

He’d been dodging fireballs as best as he could for awhile now, and the ones he couldn’t dodge, we’d had to combine our powers to manipulate and divert their trajectory. He’s clearly exhausted himself and it’s all because I’ve got a broken hand. Now he feels like he has to protect me all by himself, as if I’m unable to fight. Granted it’s impossible for me to manipulate such fast barrages of fire with only one hand, I can still move on my own. He’s such an over protective Guardian.

“J-Just watch the f-fireball Milady!” Ace tells me urgently, chest heaving up and down as he breathes heavily. “We’ll see i-if I was c-correct.…”

Biting back the questions I have for my Guardian, I look up and watch as the white fireball shoots back up towards the screeching Centipede’s head. Upon hearing the approaching attack, the Centipede whirls around, pincers snapping open and closed. Just like the fireball Tanzaki had managed to deflect back to hit the Centipede, this one crashes straight into its immensely strong pincers. Some of the fire makes it past the pincers through, rocketing straight into the Centipede’s mouth and disappearing down its throat.

My brows furrow as the Centipede seems to freeze, the fire burning at its pincers slowly diminishing. What had Ace been getting at? We’d already seen that the Centipede was impervious to damage from fire, so I don’t understand why he’s copying the same attack as bef-

My eyes widen as the Centipede begins shrieking loudly, thrashing its body wildly and stamping its feet. If I wasn’t already kneeling down, I think I would have fallen over from the earth quaking so violently.

“A-As I suspected…” Ace chuckles wearily, closing his aqua eye and laying his head down in my lap. I glance down at him curiously, though I can’t help wincing at the awful noise the Centipede is making. It’s almost like fingernails on a chalkboard, although on a much, much louder scale. Not pleasant for the ears.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, though before he has a chance to answer, I leap to my feet and throw out my right arm. Waving my hand, almost in a dismissive fashion, I use my Katsuryoku to put out a small trickle of flames that had been travelling along the grass towards us.

As if fighting the Centipede wasn’t bad enough, it has been firing fireballs not only at us, but seemingly in any random direction it feels like. As a result, a good area of the forest around us has caught fire, and I’ve no doubt that there are spots fires even miles away from here as well.

Black smoke is billowing high into the air, giving it a somewhat ominous feel. The smoke makes it hard to breath and is making visibility above the tree tops rather difficult, though still possible. Red and orange flames burn everywhere you look, sending up heatwaves that distort vision down on the ground. Add all of this chaos to the high temperature and constant quaking of the earth, and we’ve found ourselves in a pretty shitty situation.

“H-Have you not realised it M-Milady?” Ace pants, eye still closed. “The c-creature cannot be h-harmed externally.”

“Uh, yeah I actually have realised that Ace” I reply dryly, unable to contain my sarcasm as I give the navy Wolf a dead pan look. This causes Ace to crack open his eye, an unimpressed look on his face.

“Your sarcasm is p-poorly timed Milady” he scolds tiredly, reclosing his eye. “My point is that the o-only time the Centipede……Seems to react, i-is when attacks are d-directed down its th-throat.”

I pause for a moment, eyes widening with realisation, before I slowly look up and stare at the colossal creature Tozoku had summoned.

‘Of course!’ I think with a smirk, wondering how I hadn’t come to this conclusion earlier myself. ‘Internal injuries are the way to go! Its body can’t be harmed, but its insides are just as soft and delicate as anyone else’s!’

“Good job Ace” I praise my Guardian as I glance back down at him, my determination renewed. “Now that I know its weakness, I just have to set a plan in motion……How can I get close enough to the Centipede to atta-”

“No Milady!” Ace suddenly barks, wrenching his head away from me and hurriedly trying to climb to his feet. “Do not be stupid! You are not going anywhere near that creature!”

“Stupid?” I question, scowling at my struggling Guardian. “How is trying to save all of our lives stupid Ace? For all we know, we’re the only ones that have figured its weakness out!”

“Kyoku is a smart woman” Ace retorts shakily, breathing heavily as he glares at me, standing unsteadily, “I have no doubt she will figure it out.”

“I don’t even know if she’s still alive!” I snap, jumping to my feet. “I can’t sense anything with these constant earthquakes! For all we know, Kyoku is dead! I have to try Ace!”

“You have a broken hand Milady” Ace reminds me, sounding just as annoyed and frustrated as I am. “You cannot fully use your Katsuryoku and you certainly cannot weave hand signs. You do not know any one handed signs either, do you?”

“No” I growl, “And thanks for reminding me of that fact too. I’m sorry for not being a super Ninja like Kakashi Sensei.”

“Again with your inappropriately timed sarcasm….” Ace sighs raggedly, ears drooping slightly. “We would be best to run and hide for now, just until the other Jonin arrive and are able to apprehend the red headed girl.”

“I am half Minami and half Uchiha” I state bluntly, glaring at Ace with determination, “Running away and hiding are not an option. Action is the only option for me. I won’t dishonour my lineage by running away with my tail between my legs. You should know by now what a strong will I inherited Ace.”

“I know what arrogance and pride you inherited Milady” Ace replies lowly, visible eye hooded. “S-Sometimes knowing when to s-stand down is….is….”

“Ace!” I cry, darting forwards as Ace’s trembling legs give out from underneath him again. I manage to catch his head in my arms, dropping to my knees and wincing as Ace’s head kind of squashes my broken left hand. I bite my lip however, and look down at my exhausted Guardian, feeling a little guilty for giving him grief.

“I…I am alright Milady” Ace sighs heavily, closing his eye. “I am just….Very…Very tired….”

“Don’t use your Katsuryoku any more Ace” I say gently, stroking the fur on his cheek. “And try not to move. You’ll just make it worse….”

My brows furrow as I stare at my half conscious Wolf, mind whirring with ideas for a plan to kill the Giant Centipede. It may be the wrong way for me to think, but since Ace is sort of out of commission, he can’t really stop me from going ahead and attacking the demonic looking creature.

‘How will I do it though?’ I wonder, glancing up and staring at the blackened forest around me. ‘It’s virtually impossible for me to perform any Jutsu….Unless I want to rebreak my hand……It would be a small price to pay in exchange for us keeping our lives…..’

My brows furrow further as the ground tremors violently, almost sending me tumbling straight over Ace. A small branch falls to the ground a few metres ahead of me, the leaves alight with tiny flames.

‘And how am I even supposed to get close enough to launch an attack into its mouth?’ I think seriously. ‘It would be possible if Ace had enough energy to get me up there like before, but now……’

‘I could always help…..’ an eerie voice suggests, chuckling quietly and causing me to blanch. ‘With my power, that Centipede will be dead in mere seconds….’

‘We’re on television Hakuba’ I reply wryly, resisting the urge to roll my eyes, ‘So that would be a pretty stupid idea. And besides, last time I used your power, I was out for about a week.’

‘That’s because you’re so weak’ Hakuba replies breezily, though I can see his narrowed red eyes in my head. ‘Besides, I was only trying to help…’

‘You may be a nicer than you used to be’ I inform Hakuba bluntly, ‘But there’s no way you just want to help me. There’s always a catch with you.’

‘……I see you still haven’t let go of your hate’ Hakuba laughs darkly, before abruptly falling silent and ending our short conversation. I blink a couple of times, before an annoyed frown finds its way onto my face.

Hate? He really wants to bring that topic up right now? I don’t hate Hakuba at all anymore, I’m merely wary of him due to his past actions. Is that really so wrong? Am I stupid for being wary of such a creature as spiteful as the Juubi?

Before my train of thought can go any further, I am interrupted by an ear piercing screech from the Giant Centipede. Turning my head, I am unable to suppress a gasp, my eyes widening at the sight of yet another incoming fireball. Doesn’t this monster ever tire?

I leap to my feet and run forwards, wanting to shield Ace from the blast. I glare up at the approaching fireball, biting my lip with indecision.

As much as I don’t want to break my hand again, this is Ace we’re talking about. He’d give his life in a second if it meant he could save mine. Breaking my hand is very much worth the pain, if it means that my loyal Guardian will live to see another day.

“Right” I mutter, raising up my arms. “Wind Style-”

“Water Style: Water Wall!” a voice shouts, interrupting me, as a huge torrent of roaring water is shot from my right. My eyes widen with surprise, as the chakra infused water suddenly surges up high, creating a strong wall between myself and the fire. I stare up at the wall of water, resembling a very high waterfall, when the Centipede’s fire ball collides with the other side of the barrier. It immediately explodes upon impact, spraying hot water in all directions on the outer side, while Ace and I are kept safe on this side.

I remain still as the incredible barrier of water suddenly drops from high above me, sloshing all around my feet and flowing across the blackened battle ground. I lift my right arm up without turning around, raising the earth underneath Ace to keep him above the water. The last thing I need is for my beloved partner to drown.

Despite the still shaking earth, I feel someone land behind me, their feet barely making a splash as they stand a top the still flowing water. Turning around, I find myself looking up at the face of a tall, silver haired man, one hand shoved in his pocket.

“Yo” he greets, saluting me playfully as he gives a cheerful closed eye smile. I instantly feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, new hope filling my body and causing a huge smile of relief to spread across my face.

“Kakashi Sensei!” I cry happily, bounding over to the Jonin, my eyes sparkling. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you!”

Kakashi Sensei opens his visible eye and glances down at me, head tilted to the side. He’s probably a little surprised to see how glad I am that he’s here, seeing as I normally don’t greet him so enthusiastically.

“Same here” he replies quietly, placing a hand on my head and scruffing up my hair. “I was afraid you’d be dead by now, but I guess I need to learn to have a little more faith huh?”

I don’t bother swatting my Sensei’s hand away, like I normally would, but rather giggle at his actions. I feel almost giddy I’m so relieved to have Kakashi Sensei here. He’d be able to help me with my plan to defeat the Centipede!

“Where’s Neji?” I ask, trying to act a little more serious. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah he’s fine” Kakashi replies, nodding his head. “The smoke was making it a little hard to see, but Neji could see both you and Kyoku since he had his Byakugan activated. She’s a little further away than you were, and since Neji said you were under attack, I decided to stop by and help you out.”

“Kyoku’s still alive?” I ask, eyes wide. As Kakashi nods, I close my eyes momentarily and let out a sigh of relief. Yet another weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

“You didn’t know?” Kakashi questions me, sounding slightly confused. I shake my head, opening my eyes and glaring at the ground with frustration.

“No” I admit. “We’ve been separated for at least an hour now, and it’s practically impossible for me to sense anything with all of the earthquakes that damn Centipede is causing. I’ve been wondering if Kyoku was still alive or not. There was a Mist Ninja with us too, but I’m not sure where she is now either.”

“Neji told me he could see another woman further along as well, so that must be her” Kakashi informs me, subtly glancing back at my Guardian, who still isn’t moving. “What happened to your Wolf?”

“He’s completely exhausted his power” I explain quietly, casting a solemn look over at Ace. “He’s been carrying me around, dodging fireballs and using his Katsuryoku to divert their trajectories.”

“And your hand?” Kakashi questions, raising an eyebrow as my head snaps up to face him. He nods towards my left hand, clearly noticing my injury. “You hesitated there for a moment before you decided to attack. Plus you’re holding your arm strangely.”

“It’s broken” I say flatly, not showing I’m impressed by my Sensei’s perception. “I bashed the Centipede on the head with as much power as I could. That was when I found out just how hard its skin is.”

“You attacked it head on?” Kakashi asks, eye widening slightly. “By yourself? I guess I should be surprised that you’re not dead, considering how reckless you are.”

“Well, we’re both going to have to be a bit reckless Sensei” I say seriously. “We’ve tried everything we can to injure this Centipede, and the only way we’re going to be able to kill it is if we attack its insides.”

“Its insides?” Kakashi repeats incredulously, not sounding too enthused by the idea. As I open my mouth to reply, I suddenly freeze, feeling some faint movement over near Ace. Well, it feels faint compared to the violent tremors in the earth anyway.

Whirling around, I bare my teeth and growl furiously, as I spot a girl running towards my half conscious Guardian, her sword brandished.

I scowl at the girl madly and launch myself towards her as fast as I can, feeling nothing but killing intent towards her. How dare she so brazenly go after my Guardian, especially when he can’t defend himself?!

As I dive between Ace and the girl, an infuriated roar leaves my throat, causing Ace’s eye to flicker open, the Wolf slowly trying to raise his head. The girl grins up at me manically, jabbing her sword forwards as I bare my sharp teeth at her.

“Kill the Wolf” the girl hisses, as I smirk darkly and shake my head.

“You won’t touch him!” I snarl back, raising my right hand to punch the girl in the face. Before I can hit her however, I am slugged in the stomach by a heavy force.  A horrible piercing sound echoes through my ears, the heavy force pushing me backwards.

“M-Milady!” Ace howls in distress, struggling to climb to his feet. I hear Kakashi running across the water hurriedly, not having noticed the intruder earlier due to the noise and chaos going on around us.

“Ashley!” he calls anxiously, his visible eye widening. I feel him skid to a halt beside Ace, holding the Wolf down and staring at the scene before him.

I stumble backwards, seeming to move in slow motion, as a large lump forms in my throat and causes me to cough. I see flecks of thick, red liquid come from my mouth, the remainder still in my throat and making it difficult to breathe.

Looking down, I see a pair of crazed, wide eyes staring up at me, the girl’s mouth turned up in a scary looking grin. She pushes her sword further through my mid section, all the while staring into my eyes, seemingly enjoying the moment.

“Revenge…” the blonde girl chuckles manically, “Kill Ashley!”

Third Person’s POV

Peikirin paces back and forth impatiently, one hand holding the hilt of her sword and the other tapping her chin. The tip of the girl’s sword drags across the ground, drawing lines in the dirt and showing where she’d already walked. From the deepness of the indents in the ground, one could tell she’d been pacing back and forth in the same place for quite awhile.

“Where is Tozoku?” Peikirin wonders out loud, pausing just long enough to glance up into the trees and frown. “She was supposed to meet up with me awhile ago. Maybe I should go and try to find our flag by myself?”

Peikirin sighs at this thought, her shoulders drooping as she resumes her pacing.

“No….” she murmurs, “Tozoku ordered me not to do anything that she didn’t tell me to. Maybe she’s already found it?..........Oh! Maybe she got stuck fighting with someone?.........I wonder if she summoned her Centipede yet?........Oh, I’m so bored!”

Peikirin throws herself down on the ground, crossing her legs and leaning her elbows on each knee before she props her chin up on her fists. She pouts childishly, wondering where her red haired teammate had disappeared to. She was sick of waiting!

“I hope that Centipede gets stupid Ashley good” the blonde girl mutters, smirking slightly. “Then Tozoku can get this Kiba guy and I’ll get revenge for the Chunin Exams!”

As Peikirin continues muttering to herself, something pauses amongst the trees behind her, eyes focused on the olive skinned girl’s back. It slowly begins creeping forwards, bending its four legs and keeping as low to the ground as possible. The creature begins growling lowly, the sound guttural and threatening.

Peikirin swiftly lifts her head, eyes blinking rapidly as she glances around.

“Am I hearing things?” she wonders out loud, brow furrowing with anxiety. “I hope I’m hearing things…”

The creature lowers its body, stomach touching the ground, when it suddenly launches itself forwards, bounding swiftly and silently through the foliage towards Peikirin.

The girl, hearing a twig snap behind her, leaps to her feet and whirls around, brandishing her beloved sword. Her pink eyes immediately widen with fear however, when she finds herself face to face with a large, black beast, its blue eyes glowing and full of maliciousness.

The tall creature pulls its lips back and growls at Peikirin, blowing a small puff of hot, stinking air into her face. The girl lets out a terrified scream and drops her sword, hands flying to her head.

The creature looms above Peikirin as she drops to her knees, watching as the girl seems to convulse and twitch strangely, muttering things under her breath. Memories and images flash through the girl’s mind, her fear of the creature before her triggering one of the complications of her brain damage.

A small brown Wolf disappears and reappears around her, laughing as he jabs kunai knives into Peikirin’s body. As blood drips from her wounds, a white Wolf bares its teeth before suddenly becoming electrified. Its body collides with Peikirin’s and sends the electricity into her body. She convulses in pain on the ground, screaming as the other brown Wolf tears at her bloodied limbs, ripping them to pieces and laughing evilly as the dismembered girl cries. Dark shadows with glowing red eyes and gnashing teeth float around her, growling nastily and creeping ever closer. The shadow of a familiar girl walks towards Peikirin, brandishing her own sword and pointing it at Peikirin’s throat. As the girl raises the sword and slashes at her throat, Peikirin lets out a terrified shriek.

“Revenge….” she whispers sullenly, opening her eyes and glaring at the ground, fingers still tangled in her blonde hair. “I will…..I will...Kill………Kill!”

Peikirin shakily reaches out and grabs onto her sword, slowly rising to her feet and chuckling quietly. The black beast watches on as Peikirin raises her head, her widened eyes shining with a psychopathic gleam.

Tilting her head to the side and smiling widely, Peikirin raises up her sword, chakra beginning to flow into the weapon.

“Kill!” she suddenly screams, lunging swiftly for the beast, her movements a lot faster than before. “Kill the Wolf!”

The beast gives a snort, before leaping to the side and easily avoiding Peikirin’s sloppy, though still fast, attack. Her sword hits the ground with a loud thud, as the black creature runs away, quickly disappearing back into the forest.

Peikirin hoists her sword back up onto her shoulder, smiling crazily as she turns around and begins strolling through the forest.

“Kill” she repeats cheerfully. “Kill………Kill Ashley…”

Ashley’s POV

A wave of horror washes over me, feeling like someone had just dumped a bucket of cold water all over me, causing me to shiver as goosebumps appear on my arms.

“Kill” Peikirin repeats gleefully, when a thunderous roar comes from Ace, making her look over. My Guardian leaps at her with his jaws agape, fury clear in his visible eye, before he tackles Peikirin and she is ripped from my sight.

“How dare you attack Milady!” Ace explodes, slamming Peikirin into the water and landing on top of her, crushing her throat with one of his large paws, claws digging into her skin. “I will kill you!”

“Kill?” Peikirin wheezes, seemingly asking a question. “Kill the Wolf!”

Ace bares his teeth in Peikirin’s face, breathing raggedly as he pushes her head down into the water. His legs shake with the effort of holding himself up, but his rage and determination to protect me are keeping him standing for now.

I stare down at the sword through my mid section, though all I’m able to see is the hilt. Peikirin had managed to push her sword the whole way through me, something that actually requires a good amount of physical strength to do. I know for a fact that Peikirin doesn’t normally have the strength to pull off an attack like this, so where had that sudden strength come from?

I shakily place my right hand on the hilt, my fingers feeling cold and robotic as they curl around it. What kind of injuries have I sustained? Will I be better off pulling the sword out or leaving it in? Rational thought tells me that I’ll further injure myself and bleed out if I remove the sword. But, seeing a large sword pierced right through me, I can’t say that thinking rationally is really going to happen. I don’t think it’s gone through my stomach at least, and my spine seems to be alright....

“Ashley?” Kakashi asks quietly, though I can tell he’s panicking internally, as he appears by my side. I slowly turn my head and glance up at him, my eyes still wide. I open my mouth to speak, but all that comes out is more blood. I feel it run over my bottom lip and trickle down my chin, thick and warm.

Kakashi’s eye drops down to my hand on the hilt of the sword, and he gently places his over the top, glancing back up to look me in the face.

“Don’t pull it out yet, okay?” he instructs, eyes searching my face, which is beginning to pale. “Okay Ashley?”

I stare at Kakashi Sensei for a moment longer, hearing his words but not really understanding them, when my knees suddenly give out and I fall down. Kakashi manages to grab me by my shoulders, lowering me down onto my hands and my knees, as my eyes squeeze closed, the pain now beginning to set in.

“Ughhhh…” I groan painfully, my head hanging as I bring my broken hand to my stomach, wanting to hold the blood in. I hiss in pain, crushing my broken fingers against my mid section, trying in vain to suppress the pain at least a little bit. Normally I’m sure I’d begin healing myself, but I’m in way too much shock and pain to even begin thinking about doing that….

“Kill the Wolf!” I suddenly hear Peikirin shriek, her voice swiftly followed by a sharp yelp. Painfully lifting my head, I crack one eye open just in time to see Ace fall down from the sky and collide heavily with the ground, the water not deep enough to keep him afloat.

“A…...A…Ace…..” I manage to croak, before I drop my head, gritting my teeth in pain. There’s no way to describe how it feels to be run through or stabbed. It feels pretty much exactly like it sounds. Like someone has pierced through your flesh and internal organs with a searing hot blade.

Ace remains lying motionless in the water, when he suddenly disappears in a puff of smoke. He’d clearly reached his limit, and wasn’t any match for Peikirin in her current powerful state. It’s like she’d performed some sort of Jutsu that enhances physical strength on herself……Back in the Chunin Exams, beating her had been a cinch. I’m sure she usually wouldn’t be any match for my Ace.

“Heehee, killed the Wolf” Peikirin giggles, cart wheeling across the surface of the water, heading towards me. “Now for revenge!”

As Peikirin lunges for me, Kakashi Sensei darts forwards, causing the blonde girl to skid to a halt, tilting her head and grinning at my Sensei with wide eyes.

“Kill?” Peikirin questions as she sways from side to side, her question somewhat rhetoric. I hear a loud sound that is a mix of chirping and shrieking coming from in front of me, Kakashi shielding me from Peikirin’s inevitable attack.

“Oh, there will be killing” Kakashi Sensei promises lowly, lightning sparking around his hand dangerously, the brightness of his Chidori lighting up his face.

“Kill Ashley” Peikirin giggles crazily, to which Kakashi Sensei shakes his head. He narrows his eyes at the girl, the blood red colouring of his now visible left one not seeming to intimidate her at all.

“Nope” the silver haired Jonin corrects darkly, “I’m going to kill you.”