By the time the tempest of wind and light ended, Naruto and Tenten had been lifted several feet in the air by the intense updrafts. As befit future ninja they landed on their feet and immediately sprang upright, but just as quickly Naruto groaned, clutched at his stomach, and crumpled into a semiconscious heap.
"NARUTO!" Worried for her new friend, the girl crouched beside him, then did a double-take. "What... What happened to your clothes? Where did that jumpsuit come from? ... Why does my voice sound so strange?"
Reaching up to feel her face, Tenten discovered that she seemed to be wearing the same kind of helmet that had appeared on Naruto, and her hands had the same white gloves, attached to a similar body-hugging suit. Where his was bright orange, however, hers was light grey, shimmering and twinkling with bright metallic threads. A padded, triangular mantle covered the shoulders and upper body front and back, with matching armored boots plus a belt with many small compartments and bundles of shuriken held by straps, a weapon holster of some kind hanging at one side, and an oversized buckle that held their talismans behind a clear cover. She noticed that Naruto's had the number 'five' written on it but didn't take the time to check her own, too busy patting him down for injuries as her first aid training had taught and wondering what the twinkling lights flashing on the inside of her helmet's visor meant.
ALART! ALART! ALART!
Well, that one seemed fairly obvious, though the red arrow on one side pointing away didn't sink in until she heard the growl from behind her. Spinning and taking a defensive position, she automatically undid the snaps and grabbed two handfuls of shuriken from her belt.
RAZER SHURIKEN
CHARGING
CHARGING
CHARGING
READY
The words flashed by almost too quickly to read, and she was far too busy boggling at the creature that had appeared to pay attention anyway. It was a liquid, flowing thing in black and glowing purple, with red eyes that emanated a palpable aura of malice and evil. As it rose from crouching in the hole, it proved to have apelike oversized arms, and midnight black talons tipped fingers as thick as her wrists. Growling again, the thing sprang at the pair.
Painstakingly honed reflexes kicked in, and she flung the shuriken, one hand after the other in tight spreads to maximize hits on a single target. What she didn't expect was for those shuriken to turn into blazing yellow-orange bolts of energy, that burned deep gouges in the monster's goopy body before exploding in bursts of smoke and sparks. The monster was knocked back from its leap, but the huge tears and gouges left by the attack flowed back together as if they'd never been.
Worse, the show of resistance seemed only to have enraged the beast. It's pained grunts became a howl, then a roar of fury, and wispy red energy billowed around it like a miasma as it grew before her eyes. Tenten gave a quick prayer of thanks to her ancestors that Naruto was so much lighter than he looked as she heaved him over a shoulder and leapt away from a claw slash that would have sliced both of them into sushi, reaching for a third handful of Razer Shuriken.
That volley had much less effect than her fist, unfortunately, and she was forced to jump and flip away from several more attacks, even as the monster continued to grow. It was quickly reaching the height of the training ground's forest canopy, and while that made it easier for the fleeing girl to put obstacles between herself and her gigantic foe, a few trees seemed not to hamper it from following her movements, and proved little obstacle to the blood-red energy bolts the monster shot from its eyes.
Hampered by the weight of her comrade Tenten wasn't able to fully dodge, and yelped as a glancing blow lit up her side with burning heat as it knocked her spinning in a shower of sparks. Naruto was knocked out of her arms, only his helmet saving him from a nasty knock on the head as the duo fetched up against a tree.
Fear gripped at Tenten's throat as she struggled for breath and sat up. "It's no good... That thing, it's too powerful," she gasped.
"Steel Ranger, do not despair!" The voice crackled in her ear, sounding oddly flat like someone yelling from a distance despite obviously coming from the inside of her helmet. "I, the Ranger of Stone, will protect you with my full power!"
An instant later, another jumpsuited figure appeared, about her own height and with the same overall size, but with the major color being a dusky blue. He? She? Between youth, the shoulder mantle, and the helmet's voice changing properties it was all but impossible to tell - landed from the boughs above, taking a ready position in front of them. "Your companion seems injured, hurry and take him to safety. I'll deal with this."
"How can you possibly hope to deal with that thing!?" she demanded. It's huge; it didn't even notice those exploding shuriken after growing like that!"
Undeterred, the Stone Ranger gave a quick thumbs-up before beginning a series of motions like an open-hand kata, glowing streaks forming and hanging in the air until they formed the kanji for 'stone.' "I've had training from the former Stone Ranger." The words were clipped, obviously given only a fraction of the concentration as the technique being performed. "I know about the capabilities of the Ranger Armor... Like this! SUMMONING: GUARDIAN OF STONE!"
Under their feet, the earth trembled, and a roar of shifting stone filled t e forest. A massive chasm split open in front of the mysterious Ranger in blue, and a wall of stone rose out of it to block the beams as the monster attacked again, harmlessly exploding against it with a puff of smoke and a shower of sparks. No, not a wall, the head of a massive statue, a tiger fit to join the previous Hokages on the side of the monument. It continued to rise out of the ground until the full body was revealed, a single mountainous block of blue-grey stone carved as if sitting attentively.
Then, the huge effigy moved. Stretching up on its haunches it roared a challenge like the voice of a mountain, and the Stone Ranger leapt impossibly high to be swallowed in its gaping maw as the roar ended. Cascades of bright blue energy coursed over its form as it rose and unfolded, until a massive stone warrior stood in its place, its limbs thick and powerful, the tiger's head decorating its chest. The Stone Ranger's voice, amplified to suit the stone colossus's stature, rang out once more. "I'll handle of this now, so hurry, take care of your friend!"
Deciding that Naruto's collapse really was the most important thing, she gathered him back into her arms, and resumed course for the populated areas of Konoha where she could find help.
Behind her, the two titans faced off, the monster growling and trying several feints as it tried to circle and sidestep the newcomer, thwarted as it was matched step for step. In moments they were dashing sideways, huge strides that brought them to the edge of the large training area in mere seconds. With its attention on the challenger more than the ground, the monster stumbled as one massive foot tore through the fence marking the boundary.
The Stone Guardian immediately seized the opportunity, striking with a cry of "OBSIDIAN CLAW!" The tiger paw forming a guard on the back of its right fist flexed and long black blades extended over the knuckles, blades that dug deep gouges in the monster's chest and flung it bodily into the air with a burst of sparks. Leaping after it, the Guardian seemed to blur and leave after-images with its speed, despite shaking the ground with the mass of each step.
Four semi-transparent images surrounded the reeling enemy, announcing in unison, "CORNERS OF THE EARTH KICK!" before taking turns suiting actions to words and sending the monster to crash down in a rocky terrain training area made from an old open-pit quarry. Solidifying again as the special technique ended and hanging in the air at the crest of the leap, the Stone Guardian gathered energy in its hands and from the mouth of the tiger head on its chest, collecting it in a huge ball until it transformed into a massive boulder.
"METEOR SHOOTER!" it announced as it flung the oversized rock down on top of the monster, now struggling to get back to its feet. The missile detonated in a huge blast of flames, leaving the liquid beast a dark smudge at the core until it disintegrated with a final roar of frustration. Landing at last, the Stone Guardian crouched as the fireball rose and dispersed.
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(Posted Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:27)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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