Chapter 12 - Behind the Dreams (And the Fan char personality quiz!)

Sakura found Ekyt talking with Naruto. “Ekyt…I really need to talk to you…” she looked around nervously. “I’ll be right back Naruto.” Ekyt said immediately. Sakura led him out of the small hospital room into the hallway. “What happened?” Ekyt asked immediately. “I had another dream…this one was really bad…” She told him about everything; his death, the village, and Chakaro. She expected some reaction. She got one, but not the one she expected. “Alright. All these dreams have had one thing in common: Sasuke. That, and Naruto and I die. For now…for now I think it’s best if you get some REAL rest. Gemma Shiranui is going to relieve me. That leaves me free to guard the door.” “Huh? Guard the door?” “Sakura, if you think you’re having these dreams for a reason…it might be best not to take chances.”

Sakura went to her room and locked the doors and windows. Ekyt was sitting outside the door, just in case. Sakura changed quickly into her pink, two-piece short pajamas and laid down to get some sleep. Those dreams HAD kept her up, and she knew she should take the chance to sleep while she could. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, the next troubling dream began.

Ekyt and Sasuke were fighting. Sasuke hit Ekyt in the face with a punch that knocked them both back. Ekyt hit a tree feet-first and pushed off, his Dragon Ember Jutsu forcing Sasuke to move. “Pathetic.” Sasuke said as he swatted Ekyt out of the air. He seemed to effortlessly block every strike Ekyt threw at him. Another ninja, this one she knew as Hayate Gekko used a jutsu called the “Crescent Moon Dance.” Sasuke tore through it and attacked Hayate, shuriken stabbing for his eye. Sakura seemed to go inside Ekyt’s mind as he rushed to help Hayate. “Voluntary Pain Acceptance Jutsu!” he shouted. Sakura was then a bystander again. She had never seen this jutsu, but she guess what it did. As Sasuke’s shuriken stabbed down into Hayate’s eye, it wasn’t Hayate who’s eye started to bleed. It was Ekyt. “AGGH!” he folded to his knees, head down, hand clutching his eye. It was the already mangled eye, but the amount of blood coming from it suggested that the knife had penetrated deeply. “Sasuke, no! Fight it!” Sakura yelled. He looked over at her. “Shut up. Stupid girl. You’re no match for me. Now, be quiet while I kill him.” Sasuke’s Phoenix Immortal Flame Jutsu singed Ekyt’s body. He was already shaking with pain. Hayate shouted for more help, then attacked himself.

Sakura bolted upright, her hand grabbing for her kunai. She stabbed at the first thing she saw in the partially darkened room. Her lamp shattered.

Ekyt was studying his scroll when he heard the crash. “Sakura!” he pressed himself against the door. Praying she wouldn’t kill him for it, he picked the lock and went inside.

Sakura was standing over the destroyed lamp, her hand bloody from a piece of porcelain hitting hit. She was breathing so heavy her body was rising and falling in tune with it. “Sakura, it’s just me. Are you okay?” Ekyt asked. Sakura seemed to just register his presence. She let the kunai drop from her hand and threw herself at him. “Ooh!” he managed to catch her as she was sobbing, hanging onto him around his neck. Gently, he led her over to her bed, sitting her down. She was gripping his hand so hard her knuckles were turning red. “Tell me about it.” Ekyt said simply, knowing what had caused the problem.

“…And you used a jutsu…Voluntary Pain Acceptance. But you didn’t die…” After she recited the dream, she calmed down enough to look over at Ekyt. She loosened her grip on his hand, but she wasn’t willing to let go entirely. She noticed that he had pulled his mask off and tied it around her bleeding hand. “That means all the dreams have one thing in common now…Sasuke…” Ekyt muttered, talking mostly to himself. “No. They also had you in all of them.” Sakura said, finding her voice stronger now. “Sakura, you have to talk to somebody about this…Kakashi-Sensei, maybe.” Sakura realized he was right. “Hold on…” she got up and went over to her dresser, removing a red handkerchief. “Here, put this on, until you can replace your mask.” She tied it around his face, tucking the loose end into his shirt. “Thanks. Come on, we should really see Kakashi-sensei about this.”

Kakashi listened patiently. “You might just be overly worried about Sasuke. Or this means something… For now, there’s not much we can do, aside from look for a pattern. Sasuke and Naruto won’t be available for missions for a while. And since we can’t shut down just because we’re missing some ninja…Ekyt, Sakura…let me see, you’ll need another member to with your group…Hayate Gekko will do it.” Sakura gasped. “Kakashi-sensei, I forgot! He was in my dream too! He was almost killed!” Kakashi gave the situation some more though. “Iruka is to be the squad leader. Sasuke needs to be monitored, and right now that’s me. Ekyt…since all these dreams include you, I think it’s best if you stay with Sakura.”

Iruka looked at his squad. He had a brand-new, baby-faced genin (Ekyt), a relatively new medic (Sakura), and a seasoned exam proctor (Hayate). “This mission shouldn’t be too difficult. Our mission is observation and guarding. A group of rogue ninja, one each from the rock, grass, and sand village, are rumored to be planning an attack on the village warehouse. The warehouse holds top-secret materials, so we are not informed as to what it is we’re guarding. It’s not likely three ninja are going to try to attack a warehouse in the middle of the village, but we’re the insurance policy.” “Iruka-Sensei, I’ve been instructed by Kakashi-Sensei not to leave Sakura’s side for this mission.” Iruka nodded. “Kakashi mentioned that. For this mission, we’re staying together, except for one part, and we’ll be in pairs at that point, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Sasuke felt the curse mark, noticing that the burning sensation was picking up again. “Kakashi-sensei…the mark…” he said through gritted teeth. The pain was nearly unbearable.

At the same time, Sakura suddenly uttered a small scream. Iruka and Hayate spun around. Sakura’s eyes had rolled into the back of her head. “The curse…it’s beckoning Sasuke…he won’t hold out much longer.” Sakura said, but the voice wasn’t hers. “The boy…he knows…kill him, my slave.” Sakura suddenly threw two kunai at Ekyt.

Sasuke threw two kunai at Kakashi. “I can’t help it!” Sasuke shouted. Kakashi was clearly trying to figure out a way to stop this without injuring Sasuke. “I feel…so powerful…”

“…So powerful…die!” Sakura leapt at Ekyt, who leapt aside. When Sakura rebounded, he used a substitution jutsu, replacing himself with a tree branch. He was up in a tree, trying to sort everything out. Carefully, he peered around the edge. Iruka and Hayate were trying to stop “Sakura’s” rampage. But they couldn’t figure out how to do it without hurting her. Hanging onto the tree with his legs, Ekyt used a clone jutsu.

Kakashi blocked every attack “Sasuke” threw at him. “Sasuke, you’ve got to get control of yourself! Focus your chakra on fighting this off! I think I know what’s going on, and how to stop it. But you’ve got to fight!”

Sakura saw Ekyt leap from the bushes, in the opening stages of an attack. As she turned to deal with that, the real Ekyt landed silently behind her. Clasping his hands together and praying that he could do this right, he brought his hands down on the back of her neck, where her spine began. She was unconcious immediately. Iruka and Hayate gathered around her. “Iruka-Sensei…I think we need to help Kakashi-sensei…I’m not sure, but if I’m right, he’s in trouble.”

Iruka and Ekyt ran to where Sasuke was being kept. Hayate had taken Sakura to the hospital, where there was a team of specialists sealing the curse that was inhabiting her. It was a temporary fix, but it bought them all some time. “Ekyt, can you do that hold to Sasuke?” Iruka whispered. “Yes. Between you, Kakashi, and a clone, that should be enough distraction.” Iruka and Ekyt waited fro the right moment. Kakashi was talking down Sasuke, and it seemed to be having some effect. “You’ve really gotten better in the past couple of days. You seemed so nervous at that exam.” “I was sensei. I had…some problems…with a friend. Before the exam started.” Iruka looked sympathetic, then looked around the corner again. Whatever was controlling Sasuke had thrown off Kakashi’s words and was attacking again.

A brief, but fierce fight ensued. Kakashi was the only one unscathed. Ekyt and Iruka had shuriken, stars, and kunai sticking out of them. Ekyt clamped down on his hold. He was thrown off, only to have his clone punch Sasuke in the jaw hard enough to knock him out. “We’ll deal with Sasuke. You have your orders.” Kakashi said. He knew he was being hard on the young ninja, but it was part of learning. Ekyt bowed to them and raced off.

Sakura woke up, not feeling a whole lot of pain. “What…happened?” She saw Hayate Gekko talking with a couple of nurses. Ekyt was reading his scroll. “Oh, you’re awake.”’ He got up and came over to her bedside. “How are you feeling?” he asked. “That was awful! I don’t want that to happen to me again!” Sakura exclaimed. “There is a way to stop it, now that we’ve diagnosed the problem.” A doctor had come in the room. “Sakura, you are connected, via a mind link, with Orochimaru. He is connected with Sasuke, and somehow your strong emotions for Sasuke have roped you in on the ordeal. However, because it’s third-hand contact, we can help you. There’s a surgery…but it carries the risk of permanent injury…” Sakura looked over at Ekyt. She couldn’t see his face, but she could read his re-assuring personality. “I’ll do it.” “We can bring you in as soon as you’re ready.”

“You okay Sakura?” Ekyt had asked this so much, he was waiting for her normal response. It didn’t come. “I’m scared out of my mind…the surgery…and Sasuke…” “I doubt it’ll be much comfort, but I’ll be around.” Sakura gave his hand a squeeze. “Thanks. You’re really a loyal friend.” She couldn’t see his face, but his good eye was sporting a grin. “It’s what I do. And don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.” Ekyt had gotten a new mask put on, but kept Sakura’s handkerchief. Currently, it was binding a particular nasty wound high up on his arm shut. “Alright, I’m ready.” Sakura told the doctors.

“The curse sealing method alone won’t work.” Kakashi said in a low voice. “What about strengthening it with the forbidden jutsu Orochimaru used on Naruto?” “The Five Elements seal? Sasuke wouldn’t be able to control his chakra…unless we used an “even” seal. Five would cause an imbalance, but six…a six-pronged seal would hold it.” Kakashi said thoughtfully. “But” he added, “It will exhaust my chakra allotment for two days.” “I think it’s worth the risk Kakashi-Sensei.” Iruka said, being completely honest.

Ekyt was incredibly nervous for Sakura. He kept tugging at the handkerchief she had given him. I wonder how she sees me…It’s no secret her heart is set on Sasuke…so that makes me the loyal friend. Cool. And Linda…something’s really eating her alive…but she’s in good hands with Lee. Once this surgery is done, I can relax. Ekyt knew it wasn’t true. He really liked Sakura, but he couldn’t tell in what context. Most everyone here was friendly to him, despite him being so different.

The doctor came out, Sakura walking behind him. She looked unscathed. “You’re her…associate?” The doctor asked Ekyt. “I’m her bodyguard, more or less.” “Well, you’ll be happy to know she’s perfectly fine. We severed the link, and she’s perfectly healthy. These dreams should have ended.” “That’s great to hear. Thanks doctor.” The doctor did a double-take. “What happened to your eye?” “It was mangled by an attack.” “Let me take a look.” Ekyt showed the doctor his eye. “There’s not too much that can be done for that.” “It’s alright, it died a hero’s death.” Ekyt said, hoping that would end the conversation.

Kakashi pressed all the fingers on one hand and the thumb from his other hand in a circle around Sasuke’s curse mark. “That should hold it.” “Damn that Orochimaru…” Iruka said angrily. “He will be stopped someday Iruka. He’s got a few powerful followers, but even more powerful enemies.” Their gaze shifted to the unconcious Sasuke. “I hope this is one who won’t be a follower. Kakashi, you know how concerned he is about power…” “I know Iruka. But we can’t do anything else. If he makes that decision, he’ll make it of his own free will, not because of the curse mark.” “That’s not overly reassuring Kakashi.”

“Ekyt…I had another dream while I was in surgery.” Ekyt looked alarmed. Sakura, however, was calm. “It’s Sasuke…his curse mark is sealed.”

That night, Kakashi informed Ekyt he could get some rest. To Ekyt, that meant studying on his own. He chose the hot spring, hoping it would soothe his aching body. As the hot water washed over his countless cuts, Ekyt’s mind wandered back to Sakura. It was kind of…nice. In a time of desperation, she chose me as her security blanket. Was it because Sasuke wasn’t available, or because I was the best choice? I wish I knew what she was thinking; well, how she thinks of me anyway. I’d be a better friend if I knew what context she had in mind. Heck, maybe I’d better focus on my own emotions first. I don’t know how I feel about her. (laughs) Man, that’s kind of pathetic. What, do I have a crush on her? Ekyt stopped thinking about that subject. Partially because he was worried he was right.

NEXT ISSUE: EKYT’S GETTING THE CHANCE TO IMPROVE EVEN MORE: HE’S GOING TO FIGHT EVERY SENSEI’S TOP STUDENT. DON’T YOU WISH YOUR DAY WAS LIKE THAT?! PLUS, SAKURA AND TENTEN VS. LINDA AND KAYLA? UH OH! THAT INVOLVED EKYT, SASUKE, AND LEE. HOW LONG CAN THE FRIENDSHIPS LAST WITH FEUDING FRIENDS?


Hey, don’t stop reading yet! How about taking a quick quiz? Don’t worry, there’s no wrong answers. The ultimate question is “Which NG fan char are you?”


Question 1: A girl is being brutalized by a guy. What do you do?

1. Leave the situation alone
2. Find help
3. Warn the guy, then attack if he doesn’t listen
4. This really doesn’t concern you, but you’re mad anyway. Go stop it!


Question 2: You have a night off from training. What do you do with it?

1. Go be alone
2. Visit your gf/bf
3. No such thing as a night off. Study!
4. Study with your friends

Question 3: A girl (Or boy, if you are a girl) you like starts talking to you. How do you handle it?

1. Ignore them; what does a warrior need with love?
2. Drool at their looks
3. Be surprised, but appreciate, of the attention, then freak out privately.
4. Notice how shy the person is and tease them good-naturedly.

Question 4: It’s time to eat. What’ll ya have?

1. Vegetables with Wasabi
2. Chocolate, duh!
3. Maybe I’ll eat, maybe I won’t. Likely ramen and water.
4. Something healthy mainly, with a good desert.

Question 5: You just realized that you have a rival over your crush. What do you do?

1. I don’t have crushes.
2. WHAT?! I’m the better choice!
3. Maybe I’m not good enough…
4. A rival, great! I’m gonna win!

Question 6: What do you look for in terms of love?

1. I don’t need love, stop asking me.
2. Well, hotness! Duh! Brains are cool too!
3. A cute warrior who can think for her/him self, and is confident, but shy.
4. The goofy kid. You are a sucker for underdogs.

Question 7: You admire a bad guy (Everyone does, admit it!). Who is it?

1. Orochimaru. Nothing stands in his way.
2. Chakaro! He’s so cool!
3. Kabuto. At least he has talent. But I seriously hate evil
4. My ex-boyfriend/ girlfriend. He’s not evil, I just hate his guts.

Question 8: You see a huge fight. There are innocents being hurt. What do you do?

1. I don’t pick a side, and if the innocents get in my way, they die.
2. I get the innocents out and give them medical attention.
3. I get the innocents out, then help the “good” side.
4. I’ll do anything to reach the innocents, so I’ll trample both sides.

Question 9: If you were a sensei/jonin/master, who would you be?

1. Orochimaru
2. Kurenai or Tsuname
3. Kakashi, Asuma, or Iruka.
4. I’m already one.

Question 10: Who are your closest friends?

1. I have none, except power.
2. Linda and Hinata
3. All the senseis I like and their respective cells.
4. Lee, Kayla, and Guy

Question 11: What drives your training?

1. To be the most powerful.
2. To get the hot guy/girl and to help people.
3. To protect myself and others, to be the best and to force people to take me seriously.
4. To protect myself and others.



ANSWERS BELOW









SCORES:

If you answered “1” to 7 or more questions, then you are Chakaro Tamaki. You disdain anyone and anything that holds even a hint of weakness. You will follow the power, and you have a natural gift for them martial arts. You couldn’t care less what people think, they’re probably all dead in the end anyway.

If you answered “2” to 7 or more questions, you are Kayla Donalds. You’re a perky girl who appears shallow, but actually cares very deeply for your friends. You’ve got a thing for guys that want nothing to do with you. You’re going to pester them until they like you!

If you answered “3” to 7 or more questions, you are Ekyt. You’re very concerned with justice, and you’re somewhat dark and brooding. Even though you disdain emotions, you still get them. And you might have a thing for pink-haired warrior girls. You are 100% a good guy.

If you answered “4” to 7 or more questions, you are Linda Mawashi. You’ve got a thing for goofy boys that are clueless when it comes to romance (Or so they seem to be clueless). You’ve recently dumped your old boyfriend on good terms, but you suddenly decided to hate him for some strange reason. You’re an excellent fighter.

If you don’t fit in the above, leave a comment asking NG which char you are!

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