Chapter 32: Sister Against Sister

Iri's POV

Nue and I began to go at each other with taijutsu. We were both equally good at it. I kept dodging and blocking her attacks. Though, I was little slow thanks to the beating I got from Nue earlier. She's really fast.

I'm surprised she fighting while she's injured. She must be fighting off her pain. I got kicked in the face and slid across the floor. "Wow. You're good." I said, getting up. Nue narrowed her eyes at me. I got up and quickly did some hand signs.

"Ice Style: Solid Spikes!" I created ice sickles and threw them at her; It was the same technique I used on her from earlier.

"It's pointless." I heard her mutter. When they were about to hit her, they completely fell apart. "What?! No way!" I said, shocked. "Your jutsu won't work on me, Iri." Nue said before running at me with the katana she summoned.

I summoned my own katana and we clashed, our weapons fighting for dominance. "Nue, look at yourself! This isn't like you!" I shouted at her. Nue frowned and we both jumped back. Nue ran at me and began to swing her katana at my head.

Is she trying to cut my head off?! I kicked her in the stomach and she fell on her back. Nue did a backwards roll and stood to her feet, glaring at me.

She replaced her katana with a trident and aimed it at me. If she's going to shoot lightning at me, then I'm screwed. Lightning shot out of her trident, dashing towards me. I ran off to the side, trying to get away from the attack.

I ran forward, dodging the lightning attacks that were coming at me. I saw Nue take out a kunai knife, so I kicked it out of her hand, making it fly up into the air. As Nue took out another knife, I caught the one I kicked out of her hand and jumped back.

The two of us panted as we were out of breath. "You sound out of breath, Nue." I mentioned with a smirk. "As do you." She replied, smirking back. Once we pulled ourselves together, we ran at each other again.

When we were close to each other, we stopped at the same time and raised our kunai knives at each other's necks. It's no use. We were both equally matched and Nue's definitely come a long way. "Nue, I know you're mad. But what Orochimaru said to you was a lie." I tried to reason with her.

"You should really stop talking, Iri. You're gonna get yourself killed." Nue said to me. She spun around, kicking me in the face, and jumped back. She snapped her fingers, making the knife in my hand disappear. "What?!" I said in disbelief.

Nue ran at me and tried to cut me with the knife she still had. I quickly did a backflip, getting away from the knife. When I landed on my feet, Nue swiftly punched me in the stomach. My feet skidded on the ground until I came to a stop.

'She's fast. I can't keep up with her' I thought as I panted lightly. I gasped when I saw her eyes glowing purple. "I gotta admit. You have gotten stronger." I said, smiling. Nue didn't say anything as she stared at me with a blank face.

"But still... I don't think you have a chance of winning against me." I said, taking a knife out of my weapon pouch. Nue laughed. "Always so determined, Iri. You won't beat me." She replied. "We'll see about that!" I said as I charged at her.

Nue laughed again. "Just don't come crying to me when you lose!" She yelled as she ran at me. When we close enough to each other, our weapons clashed. The next thing I knew, I was pinned to the ground with my little sister as she held her katana above her head, preparing it to come down on my face.

She sat on my stomach and had a hand holding down my shoulder while she stared at me with her purple, glowing eyes. I can't believe it... I lost to her. My knife was just a few feet away from me and there was no way I could get to it in this situation.

"Man, you really are good." I said, staring at her wide eyed. "I was taught by the best." Nue mentioned. "That's it, then. The match's over now, right?" She asked, quietly. "No, not yet." I replied.

"Huh?"

"It's not over until you swing that katana down on my head."

(Play Music) "But... I don't want to. Oh, Iri... How did it come to this?" Nue asked as tears began to swell up in her eyes. "Nue, I don't blame you for being angry. I understand your pain. But you have to believe me when I say this: I've never thought of you as a monster or a freak. Not even from the beginning. The moment I saw you, I knew we were going to be good friends. I got so excited when Mother accepted you into the family. I was happy. For the first time, I was happy. I was happy because you became my sister." I said, smiling up at her.

"Iri..." Nue's purple eyes faded back to her original red eyes as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "I get it now. You were just scared, weren't you? You were scared because you thought you were going to lose us, everyone you loved. Me, Mother, and Maria." I said.

Nue lowered her katana to her side as she stared down at me with teary eyes. "Why..? Why am I trying to hurt the people I love? I... I don't want to do that." She said, closing her eyes as more tears ran down her cheeks.

"It's all right now, Nue. I'm not going anywhere. Not me. Not Mother. Not even Maria. We're never leaving you. So, it's okay," I slid out from under her and gently embraced her.

"I know how it feels, Nue. It sucks to be alone. Believe me, I know. But it's all right now because I'm here with you. Whatever happens to you, good or bad, I'm still here for you. And I'd never abandon you. From now on, we'll be together." I said as I pulled away, smiling at her.

"You're right. I... I don't know what came over me." Nue whispered as her eyes went wide with realization. "I'm such an idiot!" She cried out. Nue hugged me tightly and began to sob. "I'm sorry! I'm so... weak!" She said between hiccups.

"I just wanted you to stay with me! I didn't want to lose you or Okaa-san or Maria! I was scared! I was scared I was gonna end up alone again! " Nue confessed as she held me tighter. I smiled and gently stroked her hair. I have my imouto back.

Nue took all that pain and anger inside her and let it turn her evil, made her lose trust in Mother and I. But to her, it wouldn't matter. All she wanted was a little comfort. Most importantly, she just wanted her family. "Hey, proctor," I turned my head towards him.

"I forfeit." I said and Nue looked with tear stains on her cheeks. "Since the opponent forfeits, the winner of the first match is Nue Houjuu Satori." He said. "But why?" Nue asked. I smiled at her.

"Because you're strong, silly. Plus, I wanna see how great you do in the finals." I said, petting her head. "Thanks, Onee-chan." She said, smiling. Nue winced in pain and grabbed her neck. I frowned. Damn curse mark.

"Maria." I called. "Yes, Iri-sama." She said as she was quickly beside us. "Take Nue to the infirmary," I motioned her to come closer. "But first, get that curse mark sealed." I whispered to her.

"Iri-sama, I don't know any sealing jutsu." Maria said. I dropped my head, feeling like an idiot. "But Kurenai does." Maria informed, smiling. "Okay, then. Let's go, Nue." I said, helping her up. "Where are we going?" Nue asked.

"You're going with Kurenai-sensei to get your mark sealed." I explained. "Please follow me, Nue-sama." Maria said. Nue nodded her head and followed Maria to Kurenai-sensei. 'I wonder if Nue has used it yet?' I thought. I shook my head, forgetting about it, and decided to talk to Lord Hokage.

Nue's POV

"Kurenai-sensei, where we going?" I asked. "We're going to a room where I can seal your curse mark." She said. "Will it hurt?" I asked. Kurenai looked back at me with a smile. "Only a little. You'll just feel a small sting." She answered.

We entered a weird looking room that looked like it's hardly been used. "Take off your cloak and shirt." Kurenai said. I was about to take them off until I stopped, remembering my wings and tails. "What's wrong?" She asked me.

"Um... I don't feel comfortable taking my cloak off in front of you, Kurenai-sensei." I said, nervously. She smiled at me. "Don't worry. It's just us girls here." She assured me. "That's not it, sensei. I can't take off my cloak because...Well, it's complicated." I said.

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Kurenai said, her voice full of confusion. "If I show you, will you promise to keep it a secret?" I asked. "You have my word." She said, wholeheartedly. "Okay." I hesitantly undid the button on my cloak and let it fall to the floor.

I stretched out my wings and tails, revealing them to Kurenai. Her eyes widened until they soon relaxed. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. You can trust me." She said, smiling kindly. I sighed in relief and smiled back.

"Thank you." I said, bowing my head to her. I took off my shirt and sat down on my knees. Kurenai bit her finger, making it bleed, and began to write down small inscriptions I couldn't understand with her blood. She wrote the small inscriptions on my body, then on the ground.

"Is it bad that I think this will hurt a lot?" I asked, looking back at her once she was finished writing the inscriptions. "No, it's perfectly normal." She replied. I turned my head back towards the front and heard Kurenai doing a hand signs.

When she was done writing it on me, I heard her doing hand signs. "Ninja Art: Curse Sealing Jutsu!" I felt her place her hand on the curse mark and I felt excruciating pain. I screamed at the top of my lungs, then gritted my teeth, trying to endure the pain as much as possible.

But it wasn't working. I don't think I've ever felt pain this intense. After a few seconds, the pain went away. I placed my hands on the ground and panted slightly. "That seal will prevent the curse mark from acting up." Kurenai said.

I turned my head so I could see her face, wanting to scold at her. She said I would feel a small sting. That was definitely not a small sting. I wanted to argue, but I felt too exhausted and weak. I fell on the ground, letting darkness consume me.

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Nue and Iri are pals again! But what does Orochimaru have up his sleeve? How long until Nue's secret is out? Chapter 33 coming soon. Don't forget to vote and comment! Sayonara!

Kureiji out~