"I was wondering why bother with a 'Jump' if you also have a 'Fly'," admitted Sasuke.
"Jump also allows you to land on your feet and gives you some protection from falling," said Naruto.
"Concentrate on what you're doing, Naruto," said Sakura sternly.
"I am," protested Naruto, nonetheless going back to work putting trails of ink down on Sakura's back.
"We needed to test this sometime anyway," said Sakura. "The card should also let me react a little faster. Not as fast as Dash, but fast - especially if I'm jumping out of the way. As ninja, we all know how to boost our jumps. The Jump card will make it a lot easier and I'll be able to go further by using Double Jump or change course in midair. The Fly card, on the other hand, seems meant mainly for long distance travel."
"Okay," said Naruto, stepping back and producing a card. "Jump card! Transfer!"
In the circle of ink on Sakura's back formed a single kanji.
"Good," said Sakura, sitting up with her shirt still held across her front and deliberately ignoring how flustered the whole thing had made Naruto.
"So, do we have any ideas where Freeze could be?" asked Naruto.
"Yeah, actually," said Sakura. "I'm pretty sure I know where."
"I didn't even know Konoha HAD a place like this," confessed Naruto.
"Upscale," noted Sasuke, a jerk of his head indicating the nearby residences.
"We were able to track Shadow, Mirror, and Jump by gossip and rumors," noted Sakura. "Until we heard from the Fight card, we didn't know about Freeze being loose. If some area had suddenly frozen over, I would have heard about it."
"Or Windy would have found something when I sent her off on patrol," noted Naruto.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. "Something is definitely here."
Sakura nodded. "I felt it just now too. Probably senses Naruto."
"How's the card feel?" asked Naruto, concern showing on his face.
"I really have to work on my chakra reserves," said Sakura. "It's one of the least chakra-intensive ones to use, but I'll only be able to use it for brief bursts as it is. Honestly, Naruto - how much chakra do you have anyway?"
"Uhm, I dunno," confessed Naruto. "Average, I suppose?"
"Have to ask Kakashi sensei what a unit of chakra is, find a way to measure it," mumbled Sakura as she flipped open the small notebook she'd started carrying around and wrote something into it before flipping it closed again and putting it away.
"It's coming," said Sasuke a moment before the temperature dropped fast enough that one breath was clear and the next blew a puff of fog.
Three ninja exchanged a glance, nodded, and went to their positions near the icehouse.
It was the Jump card. When captured, it had been a rabbit-like creature with wings. Currently it was a sigil on her back.
Sakura tapped into it, feeding chakra into the construct, and it responded.
What seemed like hundreds of ice shards sped out. Naruto stamped his foot and a wooden barrier formed to protect him and Sasuke.
As for Sakura, she was no longer there, having jumped straight up.
A fish, made entirely of ice crystals, came out of one of the windows of the icehouse - its attention focused on the presence of the cardmaster.
Which had been Sakura's plan.
She wasn't the best of her class in shurikenjutsu, but she had been the top kunoichi when you factored everything together. You couldn't get that position without being at the top or near it consistantly.
Kunai shot out, wires almost invisible as they trailed behind the projectiles.
Meanwhile, Naruto had just used Mirror and there were a dozen identical Naruto running around as an obvious distraction.
Sakura used Double Jump, shifting from straight up to down at an angle so that she could then launch off the side of one of the other buildings. Feeling a twinge as the necessary chakra was sent off - she made a further mental note about increasing her reserves before she tried one of the more powerful cards in this manner.
Once her foot tapped against the wall of the other building, a second group of kunai went out. Only three this time, but each had an explosive tag.
Caught by wires from the first and in the process of flowing its body mass around them, the Freeze card had a moment before the explosion hit and sent it to the ground.
"Fire Release: Grand Fireball!"
The ice-fish hit the ground, looking a little stunned.
"Capture complete," said Naruto, landing atop it with his dragon circling the scene.
As the fish shifted form to become a card, Sakura thought about what the next step should be.
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(Posted Thu, 18 Oct 2012 16:20)
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