the storm bringer | ✓

XVII

seventeen.

(—that scarlet red)

Dosu made the first move, swinging his arm around with sound waves blasting at Winter. She winced, stumbling back a few steps as her head started to pound and blood trickled out of her left ear. And yet she did nothing to stop it. The crowd's roar dulled to a murmur in her ears, as she was hit with a second sound wave, therefore, rendering her unable to hear. Finally, she dodged the next attack, both of her ears bleeding. Her gaze was focused on Dosu giving no sign that she cared her hearing was gone.

Dosu visible eye narrowed as he stared at the girl, giving her that split second to counter-attack. She was faster, faster than she'd ever been, and within seconds she was behind the Sound Nin. She grabbed out a handful of senbon needles, throwing them at him with deadly precision. One managed to hit his left arm making him curse and stagger back when he realizes it's poisoned. 

Winter smirks as her hearing starts to come back and dashes forward.

The horrible, screeching sound of metal grating on metal makes most in the audience cover their ears. Winter presses down firmly on his metal forearm, her twin katanas making deep cuts in the weapon. Snarling slightly Dosu lashes out, kicking her in the stomach and making the air rush out of her of her lungs. Coughing slightly Winter skids back and bends over starting to cough violently as Dosu sends sound wave after sound wave against her.

Blood pours out of her mouth and she wipes it away with a shaky hand. 

"Don't tell me that's all you got." Dosu says arrogantly. 

Winter flicks out several pure black kunai and Kakashi's eye narrowed in on them. "Those are..." He mutters and she jumps up, spinning around. 

The kunai land all over the arena and Winter lands in a crouch with a smirk on her face. "You like to play with sound, boy? Be the fastest person on the field?"

Her smirk turns almost demonic making Dosu falter. "Well let me you tell you a little secret." Her hands formed a single sign, "You aren't the fastest anymore." 

And she disappeared. Kakashi stiffened and leaned forward. "Where did she learn that?" He muttered appearing anxious. 

Winter appeared out of nowhere next to one of the black kunai by Dosu, sweeping her feet out and kicking his feet out from underneath him.

She flickers again and is behind him before he can even blink, her eyes dark. She crouches down and rams her fist into his ribs, a loud crack resonating throughout the arena. Dosu yells out and whirls around slamming his fist into her jaw harshly making her stumble back. Wincing, Winter rotates her jaw and glares at Dosu. The two suddenly spring forward, locking kunais against each other. They both strain to overpower the other, until Dosu suddenly produces a kunai from nowhere, managing to stick it deep into her stomach.

Hissing in pain Winter flickers away and appears on the other side of the arena vertically on the wall. She crouches down and does several handsigns an enormous black cloud gathering over the stadium, "Seishin shōkan māji: Minato!" She jumps down and lands in the middle of the arena as the yellow flash hits her straight on.

Gasps fill the arena and Kakashi stumbles back slightly as he catches a glimpse of someone dear to him, his former sensei. The smoke clears and Winter laughs almost madly, opening her eyes. The turquoise replaced by the same ocean blue Minato had. And the ends of her hair turned the brilliant blonde color his was. Dosu shakes slightly as he senses something different about the girl. 

"Run." She whispers.

And he does, he sprints away so he can try and gather his thoughts, come up with a counterattack. But he never reaches the small forest. A red kunai shaped like the Fourth Hokage's flashes over his head, only for Winter to flicker above him. Her body is rotating mid-air, lighting, and wind crackling into a small ball. "Shōmei-Rasengan!" Her voice is a shout as the ball slams into the back of Dosu.

For a split second everything is deadly silent, and then the explosion hits rocking the arena. Dust flies up, lightning crackling in the middle as a scream is heard. Murmurs break out and people lean forward in their seats, searching to see who would be standing. The dust slowly clears away showing two figures standing, before one slumps down to the ground.

The crowd roars in approval as Winter's hair and eyes fade back to normal as she breathes harshly, stumbling as she turns to face them. Gasps are heard in the roars as a kunai is seen sticking right next to her heart, and the girl grins a bloody scarlet red grin... before collapsing to the ground.

"WINTER!"