[Activating. Heavy Metal Sakura.]
The shift flowed from the "watch" - altering skin to silvery metal. When it reached her head, hair altered to a pink-chrome look and became segments of flexible metal. Green eyes without visible pupil or iris blinked.
"Okay," said Sakura. Testing a theory, she walked to the side of the road and put her fist through a treetrunk. "So, I guess I'm stronger and harder to hurt in this form."
"Great," said Kakashi. "However, you're also heavier. Your feet sink into the looser dirt."
"They do?" asked Sakura, checking and finding that yes - she did leave deep-looking footprints in softer soil. Kakashi walked past her footprints without leaving a mark. "Oh."
Ting ting! went Naruto, tapping a segment of metal that was hair-colored.
"Cut that out," growled Sakura.
Naruto looked at Sakura, then at the tree she'd punched through. He backed away rather than tempt fate.
"Sakura, you do realize that if you punch Naruto in your 'Heavy Metal' form - you'd kill him," Kakashi pointed out.
"I'll be careful," said Sakura.
"Why am I getting a sensation of being doomed?" asked Naruto.
"Survival instincts finally kicking in," said Sasuke, smirking. "Good."
Just one look at the boat had been enough to get Sakura to drop the Heavy Metal form, and to watch as the mostly-red circle was replaced with a red hourglass. As she watched, a pixel of "sand" in the image dropped to the bottom of the hourglass and turned green.
The trip in the boat was relatively quiet, Naruto occasionally reaching out and trying to form little ice-shapes to let float out in the water. The third one actually looked like a little boat. On the fourth try he made a little sailboat, all of ice. That one turned out to be top-heavy and fell over.
"Naruto. That's really not-" began Kakashi softly.
SNAP!
"What was that?" asked Sakura.
"I'm not sure, but it had really really big teeth," said Naruto, whose hand was now inside the boat.
The boat's owner cleared his throat, keeping his voice very low. "That would be the Wave Devil. No one who has seen it has lived."
"What's it look like?" asked Naruto.
"No one who has seen it has lived," repeated the boat owner. "Only glimpses of sharp teeth, a body like a fish, a mouth like a crocodile, and soul-less black eyes."
"That's horrible," said Tazuna. "Also new. Wasn't here last time I was through. Anyone die?"
"Just a boatload of Gato's mercenaries. Took them all at once."
Tazuna paused and was quiet for a moment. "Well, maybe it isn't that bad after all."
"Land ho," said the guide after a silent (and somewhat nervous) period of time on the water.
Sakura checked her watch as they disembarked, took four steps onto somewhat harder ground than was at the shoreline, then activated her device. Again metal spread and she stood there in her armor coating.
"One hour on, then one hour off, with any activation counting as the full hour then," noted Kakashi.
"Looks like it's rough on your sandals though," noted Naruto.
Sakura checked her sandals and saw that they were beginning to get a bit tattered from where they pressed against her now-metal feet.
"I..." Naruto cocked his head, then threw a kunai into the brush.
"What was that about?" asked Sakura, drawing a kunai in one hand.
A little white rabbit jumped out into the path and then scampered away.
"I guess that Mokuton and such hasn't made you less of a loser," said Sakura.
"Duck!" said Kakashi abruptly.
"Where?" asked Sakura as everyone else dropped.
KA-KLANG!
"Kakas-" Thump! "shi Hatake. Hmmm, I didn't expect to kill one of your genin this quickly," said the newcomer, who'd leapt to a tree and then discovered his sword hadn't made it.
"Ouch," said Sakura, getting back up. "Note to self: armored form doesn't mean I can't get hurt."
"Uhm, Sakura?" Naruto hesitated to point this out because he KNEW that her forehead was something she could be a bit sensitive about. "You've got a humongous sword stuck against your head."
"Okay, I had this rehearsed and this is NOT how I pictured this going," confessed Zabuza. "Did your genin stop my sword with her forehead - and she's not only still alive but perfectly okay?"
"I have this horrible headache, if that's any consolation," said Sakura as she tried to remove the sword from her head.
Pop!
"That's my sword, brat, return it," said Zabuza in a hostile tone.
"It's got a dent in it," said Sakura. "Did it leave a mark?"
"Yeah, there's a mark about so big," said Naruto, holding thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.
"You scarred my forehead?" asked Sakura, angry at the missing-nin.
"Uhm, Sakura, you're kinda missing the point here," said Kakashi, noting that this situation was NOT covered in the ninja handbook for new sensei.
"Well, it was the biggest target on you - except maybe your mouth," replied Zabuza.
"Oh hell," said Naruto.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" asked Sakura, her voice sounding even more metallic when outraged.
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(Posted Sat, 09 Mar 2013 18:21)
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