Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. ~ Ronald Reagan
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"Your turn to convince me, is it?" Yukie muttered as I landed on the deck next to her. The ship crew had mostly gotten used to us jumping on and off the ship at whim and climbing up the mast and rigging without a safety harness.
"Would you like me too?" I asked practically. She hadn't listened to Sandayuu and he probably had a better understanding of the situation than the rest of us.
Didn't mean I wasn't going to try, just meant that the obvious route wasn't the one I was going to use.
She snorted. "It doesn't matter. Whatever you say, whatever you do, it wont matter in the end. You'll see."
"Why wont it matter?" I asked idly, leaning on the railings. I took out a kunai and flipped it, end over end, like I used to do with pens. Only, then I'd been more likely to drop it or catch the wrong end, and now I could do it with barely a thought. Hand eye coordination, muscle control, whatever it was that made the difference.
She lifted her chin. "You know the story. You heard what he did. He isn't a man that can be beaten."
"Everyone can be beaten," I said, because it was true. There was always someone stronger out there. It didn't do to forget that. "It's just a matter of finding out how. Why does he scare you so much?"
Because she was. So scared that she'd avoid an entire country, would drop her name and past… so very, very scared.
Her breath caught, jerkily. Then she laughed mockingly. "He killed my father himself, did you know that?" her voice hissed out, almost venomously. "I saw it. He just struck him down like it was nothing. The castle was burning, everyone was screaming… You can't possibly imagine…" she scoffed. "And you ask me why I'm scared."
I considered my kunai for a second. It was… well, fair enough reasoning I guess. But by all accounts, her father had been untrained in any sort of fighting ability. Didn't make it any less terrifying to a child's eyes, of course, and the impression of power was a lasting one.
"We can probably imagine better than you think," I said evenly. I'd been on the other side, getting struck down. But even Itachi Uchiha wasn't invincible… just almost. Kyuubi wasn't invincible, either, or he never would have been sealed. "But that kind of fear… you can't run away from it. It followed you this far, and it'll keep following you for a good long time. Even if we never go to Snow Country… that fear is still going to be there."
"And if we go there, we'll die," she retorted. "This isn't a movie. The hero doesn't win. There are no happy endings just because you try."
"No happy endings?" I echoed. "There are no endings at all. Things keep going. Day after day. If you want happiness, you have to make it happen. If yesterday didn't go your way, plan today and make tomorrow better." I shrugged one shoulder. "You've got to make a decision sometime, princess. Running only helps when you've got somewhere to go."
She turned away and left. I let her. That conversation wasn't really going anywhere.
The problem with Yukie was that she was lashing out blindly, with no real idea of what she wanted or didn't want. She was bitter, angry and afraid … and lost and confused. She had no goals, nothing to keep her moving on, nothing to aim for. Frankly, I was surprised that she'd managed to come this far, and it probably said more about the people around her than it did about her personally.
"What a mess," I said out loud. Maybe Naruto's personal brand of 'I don't care, I'll make it happen' would get through to her. Heck, maybe Sasuke could sympathise over their similar circumstances. Not that I expected Sasuke to share that, actually.
Things would go much more smoothly if she cooperated. You couldn't crown an unwilling queen.
Well, I reconsidered, you probably could. But it certainly wouldn't be a nice situation for anyone involved, and it really wasn't an outcome that I was looking forward too.
That second day on the water blurred into the third, and the weather started getting colder.
"There's so much empty space out here," Naruto said, standing on top the horizontal post of the mast. "I didn't realise just how ..." He gestured.
I stood beside him, cloak billowing dramatically in the wind, but failing to fulfil it's actual role in keeping me warm. "Just you, me and the wide blue sea," I singsonged.
"It's like you could keep sailing forever," he said, a little in awe of the sheer freedom of it.
I grinned. "Going to give up being a ninja to become a pirate?" I teased. "Kakashi-sensei already has an eye patch, and I think Sasuke would look spiffing in the hat, so me and you get to fight it out for the peg leg and hook hand."
Not that I would be particularly enthused about such a thing. This was a smooth and quiet trip and I still couldn't wait to get to land. If there had been any kind of storm… you could forget it.
Naruto laughed. "I'll never give up being a ninja," he said. "Not even to be a pirate."
"Didn't think you would," I admitted. "Have you talked to Yukie?"
"Yeah," he said with a sigh. "Even Sasuke has tried to talk to her. But I don't think she was even listening to me."
Sasuke had tried? Maybe I should ask him how it went.
"Maybe she'll change her mind once we actually get there." I shrugged. "You know, see the place, see the people and all that."
"I'll keep trying, anyway," Naruto said, determined.
I smirked. "You do that," I said before leaning back, past the point of balance, feeling gravity snag me, and cut the chakra to my feet. I fell and flipped over gracefully in the air, landing lightly on the deck. So it might have been a needlessly showy way of getting down, but it was fast, and sometimes, when you could do something like that, you just had to.
Sasuke was perched at the back of the ship, feet dangling over the sides and staring out at the water. Given that there was only so much space on the ship, trying to find a place to sit by yourself took a bit of skill.
"Hey," I said, dropping down next to him. "Heard you've been talking to Yukie."
He snorted. "I don't think talking is the right way to put it."
"That bad, huh?" I asked.
"I can't understand," Sasuke said softly, looking away. "How can she just… let him get away with it?"
I considered it. "Because it's easier than trying to fight? Because he's strong and in power and she's just one girl? Because she's scared? Because no one else did anything?" I shrugged. I was only guessing, but they were reasons.
He snorted. "If he's stronger, then you just need to work harder. If no one else will do it then you do it yourself."
I wondered if we were even talking about Yukie anymore.
I bumped my shoulder against his. "Or you find people like the amazing Team 7 to help you."
He smirked. "I guess that works too."
By late afternoon we were starting to pass small icefloes, and the next morning there were icebergs. One of them, a gigantic ice shelf right smack bang in our path.
"We'll have to go right around it," the captain said. "There's no telling how big that thing is underneath the water."
Yeah, we really didn't want to run into it Titanic style.
The Director stared at it for a long moment. "It's perfect!" He enthused. "It's the ideal location. We'll film here!"
Several people stared at him.
"Are you… sure?" the ship captain asked slowly.
"When the god of movies arrives you don't ask 'are you sure?'" he scoffed. "You have to take the chances that are given! Everyone, get ready to land!"
The captain turned away, shaking his head. I caught a mutter of 'crazy old nutters' but he did turn the ship to land on the iceberg itself.
It took sometime to get everyone organised, and the props together and the actors up to date on which scenes they were filming. There was a lot of equipment that had to be offloaded, and people were scurrying around everywhere. But there were heaters set up, so it wasn't completely unbearable.
The Director was seated in his foldable camp chair, which I was starting to notice he never went anywhere without, smoking on his long pipe and surveying the set up like a king to his kingdom.
I snorted in amusement at the thought and turned back to surveying the iceberg. It was flat on this side, with a rising cliff at the back, with huge spires jutting out of the ground. I couldn't see why this was any better location than what probably awaited us at the Land of Snow, but what did I know?
They were halfway through filming the first scene when I felt it. I jerked my head up in surprise.
We were in the middle of the freaking ocean. How the hell were there other ninja here?
"Sensei?" I whispered urgently. "Three chakra signals just landed on the ice. The other side of that cliff." Given the way the iceshelf was formed, we couldn't see the other side of it. If there was a boat, or if they'd run from a nearby location…
His eye widened, just a fraction, before scanning the surroundings. I had no doubt he would have noticed them too, because a second later he nodded. "Hidden Snow ninja, I expect. We'll see what they want." He looked at us all seriously. "If it comes down to fighting, your job is to protect the princess and make sure that everyone gets onto the boat."
We nodded, firmly.
They could have been scouting. Spying to see what we were up to. They could have been there for a lot of reasons. But it was safest to assume they were probably after the princess.
We spread out, moving away from the heaters to cover all the directions. I knew where the chakra was, but you should never get sloppy, because that was when there would be a secret attack from the direction you didn't cover.
The chakra itself was … odd. I would have almost said it had two layers but that was even more mystifying. How could chakra be layered? Some special jutsu or technique was more likely then.
They knew we were here. And we knew they were here. Now it was just a matter of who made the first move.
It was them, of course. Body guarding was mostly reactionary. You protected and you deflected, but you didn't usually go out of your way to strike at a threat.
On some cue that we neither saw nor heard, the three of them appeared in the open. They weren't close, not yet, but they had taken the high ground where they could attack easily from.
We darted into action, repositioning ourselves in front of the group. Kakashi-sensei took point, stepping out in front of the actors, facing a man with long blue hair. The leader, probably.
"Get back," Sensei said gruffly, and the actors wasted no time following his suggestion, scurrying out of the way.
"Welcome to the Land of Snow," the first ninja said. There was a mocking lit to his voice but at least we were starting with dialogue. That was a good sign.
"We welcome you, Princess Koyuki," the second said, a female with pink hair. At first glance, she appeared to be wearing a pale blue cheongsam but it appeared remarkably solid looking.
Sakura will be pleased to hear she isn't the only one with hair like that, I thought idly.
"Do you have the Hexagonal Crystal?" she asked.
I had no idea what a Hexagonal Crystal was, or why she thought Yukie would have it but it seemed they were here for Yukie in some form or another.
Yukie didn't say anything. In fact, she was looking remarkably weak kneed. Under the heavy stage makeup, she was incredibly pale.
"Get everyone back on the boat," Kakashi-sensei ordered in a low voice. He didn't take his eyes off the enemy ninja, but I could tell he was slightly worried. Depending on how willing they were to hurt random people, having the civilians here could hamper us enormously.
We nodded, dropping back a step to usher the crew away. Naruto brought out several dozen shadow clones to help move them off, which let us keep an eye on the enemies.
"Are you going to run away again, Kakashi Hatake?" the leader called tauntingly. "Like last time?"
They knew each other. Well. That could either be good or bad. There were a lot reasons that someone might disengage from a fight, because they were losing, because their objective was to get away, or simply because they gained nothing from fighting. He was attempting to imply it was the first, of course, but it might not be so.
And even if it was, well, losing a fight could still gain you valuable information for the rematch.
"Nadare Rouga," Sensei replied, identifying the man. He offered no other response though.
"Fubuki, Mizore," Nadare ordered, after the silence drew out for a few more seconds. "Get the Princess."
They leapt down from their positions, heading for us. I cast an eye around the crowd looking for their target, and found her. Struggling weakly against one of Naruto's clones and not heading back to the boat.
"No, no," she was whimpering. She looked terrified. I would have felt sorry for her, if she wasn't just putting herself in more danger.
Sasuke intercepted the second man - Mizore - with a barrage of kunai, only to have them and his fuuma shuriken shatter against his metal arm coverings.
Note to self; Don't get hit with that.
I intercepted the woman while Naruto went for Yukie, to try and get her moving. So far, everyone else was moving fine, and the other clones were herding everyone successfully back to the ship. The Hidden Snow ninja didn't seem interested in them at all, which was good.
"Don't worry," I heard him say. "I'll protect you, princess, just like in the movies." Hopefully he'd get her moving, even if he had to carry her.
My thrown kunai were batted away contemptuously and Fubuki raced through a quick hand seal.
"Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm Jutsu!" she cried.
Ice? I thought, then had to twist sharply and flip away as dozens of bird shaped ice needles flew towards me. I evaded, darting away, and they curved through the air following me. Oh, that's not fair. It wasn't just a straight line jutsu, then. It was controllable.
I couldn't bring up an earth wall, because there was no earth. I rolled again, underneath the jutsu and tried to keep an eye on her. If she kept me occupied with dodging this, then she had a free line to the Princess. It had a fairly wide turn radius and had to arc around, and I was plotting how I needed to move to force it to dive into the ice and when I ducked and found that I crossed paths with Sasuke. We shared a look, instant battlefield communication and switched opponents.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" he called, breathing out and blasting the ice with fire. There was a sizzling sound of ice melting, and a gust of hot air blew across my back.
I took a moment to assess my new opponent. Tall, thickly built. Heavy metal amour capable of shattering weaponry on his arms. I didn't want to get in close. He was moving fast, some kind of snowboard stuck to his feet.
I threw an explosive note in his path, disturbing the ice and knocking him from his board. He tumbled backwards from the force of it, but it hadn't been strong enough to damage him.
I spent the time he was down gathering the chakra, and he was only just back on his feet by the time I was ready. "Lightning Release: Striking Bolt!" Electricity leapt from my fingers, flying across the space between us. Ice didn't conduct electricity the same way water did, but it didn't hamper it either. That was good enough for me.
But the lightning bolt seemed to strike something before it hit him, fizzling out in thin air.
Not good.
He charged straight through the lightning, not even fazed by it. I dodged the first heavy punch, from an arm that looked like it had a cannon welded to it, and it shattered the ice where it landed. I flipped out of the way, not wanting to fight on unstable ground, hands running through the seals for a genjutsu, only to find that it had no effect.
The hell?
It wasn't unusual for a ninja to be unaffected by genjutsu. Even if you did get them, a simple 'Kai' was enough to break it, unless the caster was really good. I wasn't. But. But. That double layered chakra had flared, when my genjutsu failed. Probably when my lightning jutsu had failed, too.
Okay. So? It meant something. The trouble was working out what.
I lashed out with my shadow, intending to snare him the second he was in close enough. He either didn't see it or didn't care, because he didn't even try to dodge. I found out why the instant I connected.
I staggered.
It was draining my chakra at an alarming rate. I cut the connection, dropping the jutsu as fast as I could. It hadn't even made him pause.
My heart was pounding from the sudden surge and I could hear it thundering in my ears. I was gulping air and my throat burned from dryness and the absolutely frigid temperature.
There was a burst of heat and light behind us, as Sasuke used another fire jutsu. It was difficult keeping track of how his fight was going while still paying attention to my own, just in case we needed to switch again or they switched, or I needed to dodge something… Sensei was somewhere up above us, fighting Nadare.
I ducked under an attack, aware that I was fighting on the defensive and not liking it, and rolled across the ice again, slapping an explosive tag on the ice and got free, just before it blew, sending chunks of ice and steam into the air.
I wasn't out of options, not by a long shot, but I was cautious. There was some kind of absorbing property to their armour, most likely. It certainly had drained my of chakra when I had established an open connection between us. Genjutsu was ineffective. Ninjutsu was … limited.
I hadn't tried Taijutsu, but he was obviously able to dish out the damage and I wasn't sure I wanted to get in range of that. I'd been lucky so far, but he was faster than he seemed.
Something blurred at me out of the steam thrown up by the explosive tag. I blocked it with two kunai crossed together, prepared for sudden force, only to find them entangled in some kind of sticky string, fingers and all.
Shit.
I rolled as well as I could without stabbing myself, as a heavily armoured leg scythed through the air where I had just been. I needed to get some distance and get my hands free.
"Hey!" someone shouted and an orange blur roared past me, slamming full body into Mizore. Naruto.
I took the opportunity given and twisted the kunai around to free my hands. The string wasn't strong, and it cut easily now that I had a second to try.
I glanced up, taking a brief snapshot look at the other fights. Their was ice prisms pulled up in lines around Sasuke and smoke billowing into the air. Fubuki was … flying? There were wings stretched out on her back.
Kakashi-sensei and Nadare were further away. I was glad of that, because even as I watched, a huge whale made of ice burst forth and slammed down where Sensei had been. I felt a brief flash of worry, but his chakra was still strong, and of all of us, he was probably in the least danger.
The civilians were back on the boat, or almost. Good.
I blinked back to my fight and leapt forward with a sweeping low kick even as Naruto attacked high. We hit in tandem, blows raining down on surprisingly tough armour. But it wasn't negating them the same way it had my jutsu earlier.
Taijutsu, then.
But it was tricky. There was solid metal on his arms and shoulders and he was thickset and strong underneath that. The part of our hits that the armour didn't absorb hardly seemed to affect him at all.
It took only the briefest of missteps and Naruto took that solid metal arm straight to the chest. He flew backwards, slamming into the ice wall, slamming through it, disappearing from my sight.
Ouch. That had to hurt.
"Naruto!" Kakashi-sensei shouted, and it sounded slightly panicked.
I rebounded high off a spire, and lashed out, foot catching Mizore straight in the face, with as much force as I could manage. He stumbled.
I didn't back off, touching down and leaping back up into the air with a single quick movement before stomping down. The face makes a good target, sometimes. It's packed with sensitive nerves, delicate organs, and breakable cartilage. No one likes being hit in the face. I stomped down, again and again, using the downwards force to lift my other leg back up for the next kick.
Cascading Heaven Kick, it's called, if you're in to knowing the names of Taijutsu attacks, and it's hell on the thighs. Not exactly safe or stable, either, but if the circumstances are right, it works.
He reached up blindly, trying to grab my feet and throw me off and I decided it was enough, planting both feet firmly and flipping off. He slammed into the ground, blood gushing from what looked to be a horrifically broken nose. He was a ninja though, and it would take more than that to stop him.
"Everyone get to the boat!" Sensei shouted. Since the civilians were already there, I assumed he was talking to us.
Mizore was down but not out yet. He was staggering back to his feet. I chanced looking away for a second and found Naruto pulling himself out of the ice that he'd slammed into.
I darted towards him and grabbed his arm. "Come on!"
He nodded. I checked on Sasuke as we ran, and found him sending a parting fireball to Fubuki. It passed underneath her, but the sudden warm air currents made her spiral erratically about. It wasn't enough to take her out, but it gave him a second to disengage and head for the boat.
I felt the huge surge of chakra and checked over my shoulder to see two of the giant ice whales rising out of the ice.
"Faster is better," I decided, nervously. I was pretty sure that Kakashi-sensei had a plan to get us out of here, since he'd called the retreat and all. I just wasn't sure I was going to like it.
Naruto checked over his shoulder and almost stumbled. I shoved him along.
We barely made it to the boat before the two of them crashed into each other, then into the iceberg itself. There was a horrible rending crash and the water surged furiously, violent waves and swells battering us away from the iceberg. The boat listed and tilted and tilted back the other way. People started screaming, clinging to whatever stable surface was available. There hadn't been time to load things properly or tie them down and crates slid across the deck, clattering and clanging. More than one went off the side.
I really thought we were going to capsize.
"Well, that was interesting," Kakashi-sensei said, sliding his headband back down over his Sharingan and leaning heavily on the cabin wall.