Author's note: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! You may have noticed that Itachi and Sasuke were a tad out of character. This was purposeful. Keep in mind that Sasuke's emotions are still wacky because of his return to Konoha and the dealie with Sakura. Also, he's found a new way to look at his situation with Itachi. But don't worry; Sasuke's attitude will be back soon enough. As for Itachi, he seems calm most of the time, but when dealing with his brother, he's quite hateful. He also came face to face with the weapon he used on his own brother that shattered his mind twice. Oh, well, you're probably already bored with this long, rambling note. On to the story!
Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
Chapter 9: The Chuunin exam, pt 2
"I forgot to mention, nice one on the summoning back there, Konohamaru!' said Naruto as the team leapt towards the tower in the center of the forest. "When did you learn to do it?"
"Ebisu-sensei taught me a few months ago. The primate-summoning scroll was passed down in my family… Gramps used to be able to summon the monkey king, King Enma of the Nyoi-bo!"
"I'm just amazed you were able to get it down so quickly. It took me forever to be able to summon frogs! For a whole month, I was just summoning tadpoles."
"He's just got better chakra control than you do, Naruto," inserted Sasuke, "But that's not saying much, considering that a rock has better chakra control than you do."
"What did you say, stupid?" asked Naruto angrily, clenching his teeth.
"Something a little too complicated for you."
"Gah!" yelled Naruto, trying to get at Sasuke while Konohamaru held him back.
Konohamaru struggled, but eventually Naruto calmed down. "Come on, boss! Let's just get to the tower and then you guys can fight!"
"Yeah, I guess," said Naruto grumpily, folding his arms and turning away from Sasuke. Each of them hid a smile from the other.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
As they entered the tower, the three reached for the scrolls and pulled them open in front of the chuunin directive. Iruka popped out of thin air and said, "Hey guys. You sure finished this one a lot faster than last time."
"Well, we've just gotten a lot stronger, Iruka-sensei!" said Naruto happily.
"Yeah, I see. I'll take you out for ramen to celebrate… I assume you guys remember what the chuunin directive means?" he said, pointing toward the scroll on the wall. As Sasuke and Naruto nodded, he continued. "Good, good. But what about you, Konohamaru? Have you figured it out?"
Konohamaru smiled brightly, displaying his chipped tooth. "Yeah! The chuunin directive was set down by the Third Hokage! It means that to be a great chuunin, you've got to have qualities of both heaven and earth, meaning that you need to be good in the body as well in the mind."
"The latter of which Naruto lacks," said Sasuke, seeing Naruto grumble.
Iruka nodded. "Very good. Ebisu has taught you well."
"Nah," said Konohamaru shaking his head, "Gramps used to talk about it a lot."
"I see," said Iruka, a nostalgic smile on his face. "Well, you three pass this portion of the exam, congratulations! Now head in, the next part of the exam is about to begin." The three continued onward, leaving Iruka behind them. "They've grown so much in the past three years… I can barely recognize them, and yet I still see their youthful faces," Iruka thought, "It makes me so proud to be a teacher."
"I wonder if we'll have prelims this time," said Naruto as they stepped into the room.
"Nah, I doubt it," said Sasuke, "This year's applicants don't seem as good as we were."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Prelims? What are you guys talking about?" Konohamaru asked.
"Well, when Sasuke, Sakura-chan and I first took the chuunin exams, we had a really good group," explained Naruto. "All nine of us from our academy years, and three from the year above made it to the finals. But because the rules say that the final can only have single digit figures for applicants, they held some preliminary rounds. But we think they're not going to have them this year."
Naruto was proven right when, including the temporary Team Seven, only eight applicants appeared in the area to meet Tsunade and their jounin. Kakashi was late, as usual. "Eight?" wondered Sasuke as he counted the rest, "Let's see… the three of us Konoha… three Sand, must be Temari's group, a cloud, and a rain. Their teammates must have died or gotten severely injured getting the scrolls."
"Alright, listen up," said Tsunade. "Congratulations on passing the first and second parts of the chuunin exam. We'll now move on to the final round," she paused for dramatic effect. "The tournament-style final!"
The three sand ninja, the cloud and rain-nin, and Konohamaru all gasped. Tsunade smiled at their surprise. "The reason it is a tournament is for you to showcase your abilities and talent for the various spectators there, such as the feudal lords, the Kazekage and, of course, yours truly. Therefore, even if you lose in your first round, you may still become a chuunin, depending on how hard you fight."
"And I bet most of you will," she thought, glancing at Naruto and Sasuke. "Conversely, even if you win the tournament, you may not become a chuunin at all. So hold nothing back! Let everyone see what you can do!" She gestured towards Anko who held the slip box. "Anko's coming around with the random lot-drawing, so take one when she comes to you."
The eight of them drew their numbers and called them out, one by one. "Two," said Naruto.
"Eight," said Sasuke.
"Five," said Konohamaru.
"Three," said the rain shinobi.
"Seven" said the cloud ninja.
The sand ninja each drew four, one, and five respectively. After Ibiki finished drawing the chart, he presented it to thee eight of them, saying "Memorize who you're fighting. The list is final, barring anyone who wants to drop out."
"The final is in one month. Train up, learn some new skills, and good luck," said Tsunade. "That is all. You're dismissed." The eight genin began to leave the room, but Tsunade stopped Naruto for a moment. "Naruto," she whispered. "What happened with Itachi?"
He smiled his foxy smile. "Don't worry. We've settled it."
She returned his expression. "I knew you would. Now go, find Kakashi, he hasn't shown up yet."
Naruto caught up with Sasuke and Konohamaru and the three walked out of the building. "Man, I'm fighting one of those sand-ninja! I bet Gaara'll be amused when I beat him!"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Gaara? Gaara of the desert? Why is he coming?"
"Oh, that's right!" said Naruto, snapping his fingers in realization. "Gaara's the Kazekage now."
Sasuke's eyes widened. "You're kidding."
"Nope. I was surprised too when I heard it. Those Akatsuki bastards took the Shukaku out of him, so he nearly died. But we were able to save him and everyone was glad for him to be back."
"So Gaara's achieved his dream," mused Sasuke, "I guess he must have changed after Naruto defeated him… almost everyone he's fought seems to."
Suddenly, a puff of smoke filled the hall as they were about to exit. Kakashi appeared when it subsided, book in hand and no emotion on his face as usual. "Yo!" he said, waving. "I see you guys made it. No surprise there."
"Sensei… not even a congratulation?" whined Naruto.
"Oh, alright. Good job, you three," he replied, smiling his one-eyed smile. "Now, Konohamaru, go and meet with Ebisu. He told me he wants to train you for the last part of the exam. I'll take these guys."
"Yes sir!" said Konohamaru enthusiastically and bounded off to meet his teacher.
"Now, you two," continued Kakashi after the younger boy had left. "Meet me in one hour at the place where you first became genin. I've got something to do before then."
"Meaning we should be there in about five hours," said Sasuke. Naruto chuckled.
"Clever as always, Sasuke," said Kakashi, "But I'll try my best to be on time this time, for sure."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Um…" said Hinata nervously, standing next to Sakura near the Hokage building.
"Did you say something, Hinata-chan?" asked Sakura.
"Er… I was just wondering what Kakashi-sensei wanted to talk to us about, that's all."
"I'm sure it's nothing… but he's late again!" Sakura complained, balling her fists in annoyance.
Sakura and Hinata's relationship had changed since their fight over the "big misunderstanding" as they now called it. The day after it, Sakura had found Hinata on the bench where Naruto had last talked to her, curled up in sleep, tear stains on her eyes.
"Hinata-san?" asked Sakura, seeing the other girl's sleeping form.
"Unh?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes groggily. She noticed that the woman she'd fought a hard battle with the day before was standing over her. "Oh, S-Sakura-san…" she quickly sat up, but stared at her feet. "I… I wanted to say that I'm sorry… I shouldn't have attacked you yesterday…"
Hinata felt a hand on her shoulder. To her surprise, when she looked up, she saw Sakura smiling. "Don't worry about it, Hinata-san. It was just a big misunderstanding… you were upset because you were about to lose what you love forever, right?" Hinata nodded slowly. "I know what that's like. When Sasuke-kun left three years ago, I was devastated… I wanted to cry and hit something too, but there wasn't anyone for me to do something."
"Sakura-san…"
"Let's not let this be the end of things, shall we? We're both friends with Naruto… I think we should be friends with each other, too." The pink-haired girl extended her right hand towards Hinata. "What do you say?"
Hinata was tentative at first, but shook the outstretched hand nonetheless. "Thank you… Sakura-san."
"Hey, don't mention it. Come on, let's get some food… you look like you haven't eaten since last night," said Sakura, lifting Hinata up. "Poor girl," she thought, "She's going through exactly what I went through… well, what I needed most back then was a friend, and I'll be damned if I'm not going to give one to her!" The two walked to a restaurant and ate happily.
"Hey," said Kakashi, appearing behind them.
Hinata jumped in surprise and Sakura screamed "Kakashi-sensei, don't do that to me!"
"Sorry," said Kakashi, though his voice displayed no amount of emotion. "Anyway, let's get down to the reason I'm here." His tone suddenly became serious. "I can't have either of you seeing Sasuke or Naruto during this month."
Both the girls' eyes widened. "What?" asked Sakura, "Why not?"
"Because both of them need to concentrate on the upcoming final," said Kakashi. "It's important for them to be focused."
"But, sensei," protested Sakura, "They're already much stronger than they need to be to be chuunin! So what if they don't get a bit of training in?"
"This isn't just about this exam," said Kakashi, "After this, I want them to become jounin and then ANBU." He looked Sakura in the eye. "You should focus on this goal too, Sakura. But your training needs to be different… consult Tsunade-sama. Medical ninja take a different exam for jounin and ANBU."
"Wow…" thought Hinata, "Naruto-kun, the ANBU? Amazing…" she sighed, imagining his body in the ANBU uniform.
Kakashi continued. "Anyway, I've got to get going. I need to reserve some tickets to a movie. I'll see you later."
"Wait, sensei!" called Sakura.
"Yes?"
Her voice lowered. "What happened… with Itachi?"
Kakashi smiled. "I saw them after the exam. Both of them looked better than I've seen them in years, so I'll assume everything's fine."
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
The smile still on his face, Kakashi bounded away, leaving the two girls alone once more. "Um… Sakura-chan?" said Hinata. "What did you mean, 'what happened with Itachi'?"
"Here… let's sit down, and I'll explain everything to you."
"Okay…"
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Ugh… where is he?" Naruto asked impatiently. It had already been an hour and a half, but Kakashi still hadn't shown up.
"Late, as usual," said Sasuke.
"Man… I want to go talk to Hinata… I need to tell her something."
"Sorry, Naruto, but you'll get no chance of that for a while," said Kakashi, appearing before them.
"Sensei! You're late again! You said you'd be here early this time!" Naruto yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the impassive Kakashi.
"Calm down, it's only a half hour."
"What's your excuse this time, Kakashi?" asked Sasuke.
"Well, they announced a trilogy of movies for the Make Out series, and I had quite a line to wait in," answered Kakashi, the book of the same name in his hand. "But that's not important. For this month, you will undergo training much more difficult than that of what you practiced for four months."
"Woah," said Naruto, "What kind of training is this?"
"It's simple, really. Naruto, Sasuke. Fight each other."
No one moved for a moment. "Fight… each other?" asked Naruto, confused.
"Why the hesitation? The easiest way to get better is to fight someone of around equal skill as you. For now, use only taijutsu. We'll work on the other stuff later."
"Alright then," said Sasuke, "Here I come, Naruto!" he yelled, throwing a fist at his teammate.
"Wah!" Naruto barely had time to dodge the punch before counterattacking.
The two continued like this for hours on end, never pausing, until Kakashi said. "Alright you guys, stop for a moment and let me join."
"Huh?" said Naruto, lowering his leg from kicking position. "You mean you're going to teach us some taijutsu moves?"
"Nah," said Kakashi, stretching himself out a bit. "It just looks like a lot of fun. Think fast!" Kakashi moved seamlessly, giving both of his students little more than a split second to react. After a few more hours of this, Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan and called, "Okay, now feel free to use non-devastating ninjutsu and genjutsu."
"Non-devastating?" asked Sasuke.
"No Chidori or Rasengan."
"Gotcha."
The three continued sparring, until they were caught in a triangle-stalemate; Kakashi had fist toward Sasuke, whose foot was an inch from Naruto, whose knee was close near to Kakashi's spine. As their eyes met, they each began performing hand seals, until finally, each of them thought:
"Katon (Fire release)!"
"Fuuton (Wind release)!"
"Raiton (Lightning Release)!"
The resulting explosion from the elemental collision blew the three backwards, leaving them sprawled on their backs, all smiling. "Whoo," said Naruto, catching his breath, "That was intense."
"Yeah," said Sasuke.
"Mm," agree Kakashi, pulling down his forehead protector back over his Sharingan. "That's it for today. The sun is going down, so rest up and be prepared for tomorrow. Meet me here at six o'clock next morning." Nodding, the two got up and left. "Wait a second, Naruto."
"Hm?" said Naruto, turning around as Sasuke kept walking. "Whatcha need, sensei?"
"I forgot to ask this a few days ago, but," began Kakashi, "When'd you come up with the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)?"
"Oh," said Naruto as he realized why Kakashi was asking this. "Eh, Ero-sennin told me about it during our training three years ago… I'd kept trying to do it, but I'd never really mastered it until that night."
"Typical Naruto," thought Kakashi, "always coming through in a pinch." "Well, once again, good job."
"Thanks, sensei!" said Naruto cheerfully. "Oh! There's something I forgot! Sasuke got that Mangekyou Sharingan thingy in the forest while we were fighting Itachi and Kisame."
"Ah. Let me guess," said Kakashi, "It looked like one of them had killed you, so Sasuke felt guilty and thought that, in essence, he'd done it, so he was able to unlock it."
"Uh… yeah," said Naruto, eyebrows raised. "How'd you know, sensei?"
"Something similar happened to me," explained Kakashi. "I take it Itachi's dead now?"
Naruto smiled. "Actually, no. At the last moment, Sasuke realized that revenge was worthless, I guess."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Though he did do something with his Sharingan to make Itachi fall unconscious on the ground. I guess that's expected."
"Indeed,' said Kakashi. "I'm very glad to hear that. And I'm proud of both of you."
"Both of us? Why me?"
"You helped out in the fight, right? I hope you didn't stand around while Konohamaru fought of an Akatsuki member."
Chuckling, Naruto responded, "Nah, he hid in the bushes. But I guess I did do well. I've sure gotten strong!"
"Yes, you definitely have," said Kakashi. "But what you don't realize is that it's your influence that stopped Sasuke from killing his brother. It was because of you that Sasuke was able to put aside his lust for Itachi's blood that he's held on to for eight years. You'll be a great Hokage, Naruto; in power as well as leadership."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The day of the tournament finally arrived. Sasuke and Naruto entered met with Konohamaru and the other applicants. They were led to the center of the arena by Shiranui Genma, who then announced the rules. "Listen up. The rules are as follows: There are none, essentially. You may fight using whatever skills you'd like until your opponent is dead or gives up. When there is a clear winner, however, I will stop the fight. Now, everyone except the applicants exit the field and go up to the waiting area."
"Good luck," said Sasuke as he passed Naruto.
"Won't need it." Both of them grinned.
The sand-nin and Naruto faced each other with Genma between them. "Applicants ready?" The two nodded. "Alright. Begin!"
With a quick look in each other's eyes, Naruto and the sand ninja flung kunai at each other that swiftly struck each other and flew to the side. "I'll put you down easy!" yelled Naruto, summoning a few kage bunshin.
"Only a fool talks like that!" returned the sand ninja.
Meanwhile, in the stands, Hinata and Sakura sat next to Shikamaru and Temari. "Your kid's got no chance," said Shikamaru. "I'd put all my money on Naruto."
"Well, duh," said Temari. "Naruto was able to beat Gaara. I don't think any genin out there could defeat him. Besides, our agreement is that my team won't be eliminated by a leaf."
"You two are betting on the chuunin exam?" asked Sakura disbelievingly. "Isn't that a little… underhanded?"
"Not when you know your side's going to win!" replied Temari, grinning slyly at Shikamaru.
"Yeah, so why did you bet?" returned the lazy shinobi.
"Oh, you're so clever," the blonde said mockingly.
The four of them were sitting next to Izumo and Kotetsu. "Oh, hey, isn't that that Naruto kid who defeated that Hyuuga boy three years ago?" asked Kotetsu.
"Yeah, I think so," said Izumo. "Looks like he's gotten bigger."
"Faster, too," commented Kotetsu. "He's not even using that chakra yet."
"Naruto-kun, do your best!" Hinata said quietly.
"Ah, don't worry, Hinata-chan," Sakura reassured her, "Naruto's way stronger than every one of these guys except Sasuke-kun. In fact, I'd worry more about that sand guy … looks like he's about to lose anyway."
As she said this, Naruto plowed into the sand-nin, yelling, "Rasengan!" As the sand ninja flew backwards into the wall, getting knocked unconscious in the process, the stadium went silent.
"Was… was that what I think it was?" asked Izumo, stunned.
"It… sure looked like it… and it had the same effect."
"Then… that was the Fourth's Rasengan?"
"I think he's passed already, don't you think, Kazekage-sama?" said Tsunade to Gaara in their special seats. "He's already shown skills up and beyond that required of a genin. He's used an S-rank and an A-rank move already."
"I don't really see why you had him take this test in the first place. It's obvious he should be at least jounin by now," replied Gaara. "And please, just Gaara is fine, Hokage-sama."
"Very well then, Gaara-sama. But you know how it is, regulation and everything. If I just made him a chuunin or jounin, there would be complaints, and I already have enough of a headache from people whining as it is."
"Ah," Gaara said simply, a slight amused smile on his face
Back on the field, Naruto called to Genma, "Hey, proctor! Can you announce the winner now?"
Genma closed his previously gaping mouth. "Oh, right… the, uh, winner is Uzumaki Naruto!"
Cheers broke out from the audience and Naruto ran around as he did three years ago, blowing kisses to his new fans. After a few seconds of this, he quickly leapt up to the waiting area.
"He did it!" cried Hinata excitedly. "I'm so glad!"
"See? Told you," said Sakura, "Naruto's got this thing in the bag."
"One down," said Shikamaru.
"Still two to go," Temari answered.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
A few minutes later, Temari's other student had been defeated by the rain-nin as well, though she did put up a very good fight. Her opponent was panting by the time their fight was over.
Shikamaru grinned. "Looks like that one hundred ryou is mine."
"Nah, just wait," Temari said confidently.
The next match began: Konohamaru versus Temari's last student. "Great, now that those two have failed, I'm the only one left," he grumbled, walking towards Genma and Konohamaru. "Oh well… this shouldn't be so hard."
"I can hear you, you know!" yelled Konohamaru angrily. "Ah, whatever! Proctor, start the match, already!"
"You got it. Begin!"
The stadium was filled with murmurs; people kept saying things like, "Oh, this'll be a good match, that's the third's grandson," or, "Oh, hey, Konohamaru's fighting! This should be good."
The match began. Konohamaru rushed up to his opponent, throwing a wild kick at him. He ducked, returning the strike with a dodged kunai strike. They traded blow after blow, no significant attacks being landed. "I'm getting tired of this…" said Konohamaru after a few minutes. Biting down on his thumb and performing hand seals, he bellowed, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!' A burst of smoke, and a four-foot monkey wielding a sword leapt towards the sand ninja.
"Woah," he muttered, dodging the sword just enough to only have his hair be cut. "Kuchiyose, eh? Not bad, but also not good enough." He too bit down on his thumb and performed the seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" This time, out of the smoke came the scythe-wielding weasel, which flung itself at the monkey. Their weapons clashed and they remained locked in combat.
"The kamaitachi?" questioned Shikamaru. "You taught him that move?"
"Surprised?" asked Temari.
"No, not really."
Eventually, the two summoned beasts jumped backwards and flew at each other once more. This time, when they clashed, they cut each other up, disappearing in a puff of smoke. The sand ninja took advantage of this, appearing behind Konohamaru, saying, "It's over."
"Oiroke no jutsu (Sexy Technique)!"
"What th-" He was confused. Moments before, his opponent had been there. And now, in his place, was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen… naked. "Wh-what's going on…?" he whispered, blood dripping down his nose.
"Fool!" shouted the transformed Konohamaru, reverting to his regular form and slamming his fist straight into his foe's face, rendering him unconscious.
As the audience realized what had just occurred, they broke into laughter. Everyone was roaring except for Temari, who stood with her mouth agape, and Gaara, who didn't really laugh much at all.
"Oh my…" said Hinata when she stopped giggling.
"That Naruto," thought Sakura shaking her head, "Who knew his stupid, perverted technique would actually come in handy?"
After Shikamaru finished laughing, he said, "Didn't your students get any emotional training?"
"Well, yes…" said Temari quietly, "But not for… those sort of emotions!"
"What can I say? A ninja must be prepared for absolutely everything. And now, I believe," Shikamaru held out his hand palm up, "You owe me one hundred ryou."
Temari grinned. "That's where you're wrong. Our bet was that my team wouldn't be eliminated in the first round by a Konoha genin. One of them was defeated by a rain shinobi." She held out her palm. "One hundred ryou, please."
Eyes wide, Shikamaru reached for his wallet, grumpily saying, "You are the most troublesome woman I've ever known, even more than my own mother, you know that?"
"Yeah, but you love me anyway," she answered teasingly, wearing a cheeky smile.
"You're right," said Shikamaru in completely serious tone. "I do."
Her expression faded, replaced by a blush. "Wh-what was that? D-don't say things like that unless you mean them!"
"I do mean it," he replied, "You're the most troublesome woman I've ever met, but I still love everything about you… you're beautiful, and smarter than almost everyone I know. You're practically as good a strategist as I am… Hell, you're probably the only thing in this world that gives me motivation besides Shogi." He smiled a true, genuine smile, not one of his clever grins. "When we first met, you were my enemy, Temari… but now, I wait for those days when you come from sand and meet with me."
"Shikamaru…"
"But… there are probably many great-looking, not-lazy guys in Suna. And though I don't mind the walk, you probably don't really like going from there to here, and, huh-?"
"Shut up," she commanded, having cupped his face in her hands, "And just kiss me, alright?" With a satisfied grin, he did as he was told.
Hinata and Sakura watched this scene, smiles on their faces, hoping that their futures would also be as fortunate.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"So, how do we want to do this?" asked Naruto.
"We should probably put on a show for these people," said Sasuke.
"Good idea." Sasuke had easily defeated his opponent, not needing to use Chidori, but using his Sharingan to its fullest without activating the kaleidoscope. Naruto had completely destroyed the rain ninja, having used his "Naruto Nisen Rendan (Naruto Two Thousand Barrage)." Konohamaru decided, after remembering how Sasuke had fought in the forest, that he really didn't stand a chance against him and would prefer going through the chuunin exam with Moegi and Udon after all. Now, it was down to the final.
"You guys ready to start?" asked Genma. "Right then," he decided after seeing their nods, "Go for it."
"Just like practice, eh?" said Naruto.
"Yeah."
"I have a feeling this will be great!" Sakura was on the edge of her seat for this match. Hinata agreed. "What do you think, Shikamaru? Temari? …Guys?" She looked over to where her friends were seated, but they were just holding each other's hands and looking into each other's eyes. "Oh well," she thought, sighing, "I guess I should just leave them be for now."
The crowd was in awe at Naruto and Sasuke's moves. No one could believe that two genin, even an Uchiha and the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki could perform like this. After they were certain that everyone was thoroughly amazed, Naruto and Sasuke met in the middle in a pseudo-clash. Naruto asked, "Want to end this?"
Sasuke nodded. "Let's finish this with a show. One last Chidori against Rasengan?"
"Sounds good."
Following their plan, the two leapt backwards, each using chakra to stick to one of the arena's walls. "Chidori!" cried Sasuke, powering his hand with electricity.
As Naruto filled his hand with swirling chakra, he yelled, "Rasengan!"
The clash was incredible. The two of them went flying away in an explosion of light and sound. After everything had subsided, they met in the center again, each with a hand in the air. Simultaneously, they said, "We give up."
Genma's eyebrow rose. "… what?"
"Yep. We decided it's too difficult to have just one winner," explained Naruto.
"So we both decided to lose," finished Sasuke.
Smiling, Genma made the announcement. "Both applicants have surrendered… therefore, the final battle of this chuunin exam… is a tie!"
Silence filled the stadium once more. Slowly, a low clap began, which escalated, rising into full applause and cheers. Naruto and Sasuke took a bow and headed away from the arena.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"We'll meet you at the restaurant for the celebration. Chouji, Ino, and Sai are already there," said Shikamaru outside the stadium.
"Alright," said Sakura. "See you in a bit!" With a wave, Shikamaru and Temari took off, leaving Sakura and Hinata alone. "Where could they be?" she asked impatiently. "It didn't take this long for me to get my flak jacket, that I know."
"Here they come now, look!" Hinata pointed towards the exit of the large building.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto walked outside, all three of them clad in flak jackets. "Haha, we did it!" cried Naruto, "Finally!"
"Calm down, fool," said Sasuke, "We're just chuunin."
"Aw, don't spoil my fun! You even got a new forehead protector!"
"Well, the Fifth thought my old scratched one didn't really suit me anymore…"
"The point is," said Kakashi, "You've both come a long way since three years ago."
"N-Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly, "Y-y-your… answer… you said you'd have it now…" she trailed off, pushing her fingers together nervously.
Naruto's smile became less wide. "… Yeah." He turned towards the others. "Guys, Hinata-chan and I will be right back in a moment." He took her hand and led her a few feet away.
"Well," said Kakashi after a moment. He gestured towards somewhere in the distance. "I'll be over there if you need me." Quickly, he bounded off.
Now Sakura and Sasuke felt the pain of an extremely loud silence. Gathering up his courage, Sasuke said, "Sakura… I'm sorry."
"Sasuke-kun?"
"I… I never meant to hurt you, to make you cry, none of it… I even regret when I left three years ago… I wish I could just erase it all. But since I can't, I can only apologize. Up until recently, I've been blinded by my revenge, and I haven't been able to see the most important thing in my life: You, Sakura." Sakura gasped, her eyes widening. "I've realized that throughout everything I've done, you've been there for me, understanding and helpful. I never knew it, but I wanted to do the same for you… because…" he looked into her eyes. "I love you, Sakura. I hope some day that you can forgive me for what I've done."
And there, without saying a word, Sakura kissed him. How long it lasted, neither of them knew. It felt like a blissful eternity had passed. As they parted, they held each other close, and she whispered in his ear, "You're already forgiven, Sasuke-kun. And you always will be."
"Sakura… Thank you," he said. But unlike when he said it three years ago, he did not knock her out and leave her crying. Instead, he held her, feeling the wonderful warmth she gave off.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Hinata," Naruto began after they'd stopped walking. "Before I give you my… answer… I need tell you something else."
"What is it?"
He breathed deeply. "Do you know the story of the Fourth Hokage and the Kyuubi?"
She nodded. "Everyone does… the great Fourth Hokage killed the Kyuubi by sacrificing his own life sixteen years ago… why?"
"Well, that's just the thing," answered Naruto. "He… didn't kill it… instead, he sealed it…"
"What do you mean, 'sealed'?"
"Maybe… it's better if I show you." He lifted his shirt and jacket to reveal his abdomen, eliciting a small gasp and blush from Hinata. As he molded chakra, there it appeared: The double tetragram seal used to hold back the demonic fox.
"N-Naruto-kun… what is that mark?"
"This," he said, lowering his shirt, "is what the Fourth used to seal the Kyuubi. It's a special seal that requires the sacrifice of one's life. Sixteen years ago, the Fourth performed this fuin jutsu (sealing technique) to trap the fox within… me." He clenched his fist as he said this, the memories of his past bubbling up.
"It's the reason that I was hated so much as a child… everyone's parents only knew me as 'that Kyuubi brat' and thought of me better off dead. They hated me for killing their hero, the most powerful shinobi ever to exist. So, now you know too, Hinata… do you hate me for it?"
Looking into her eyes, he saw not the frightened expression he expected, but a warm, loving smile instead. "Naruto-kun, I could never, ever hate you in one million years. I don't know any foxes. I only know the most incredible person in the world, the one person who taught me how to be happy when I was miserable, the one person who saved me from a life of pain… Naruto-kun, I wouldn't care if you looked had ears, fur, and fangs like a fox… you'd still be Naruto-kun, the man I fell in love with. Now please," she said, peering into his azure orbs, "Tell me your answer, so that I can stop wondering."
But he didn't tell her. He already knew his answer, and knew, after matching his sapphires to her pearls that she knew too. No more words needed to be said. Instead, he merely took her cheeks gently in his hands, leaned down, and crushed his lips against hers, eyelids closed. She closed her own eyes, overcome by the feeling of lightning shooting through her from her head down to her toes and back again. Everything she'd ever dreamed of was finally happening.
"Come on," he said after they parted, "Let's go celebrate." Once more he took her hand and returned to where their friends were waiting for them.
She knew at that moment, and knew that he knew too, that they would heal each other. They would finally mend the scars of the past, relinquishing it and looking only toward the future, where happiness and peace lie, waiting for them.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Whoo! Long-ass chapter, finally done! I wanted to get the rest of the exam done in one fell swoop… but man, three couples brought together in one chapter? It's difficult writing three "get together" scenes in one sitting (though I did have their basic outlines summed up in my head already). Oh well. You know the drill, guys. Review, review, and review some more, my wonderful readers!
