Yes! More people got it right! And thank you for liking the last chapter, 'cuz I kinda hurried through it, what with all the matches going on and stuff. And there are more…;-_-;
Disclaimer: The cops caught up with me! I don't own InuYasha or Naruto! *shoots machine gun and laughs like maniac* You'll never catch me alive, coppers!
"talking"
'thinking'
'Bijuu talking to host'
Chapter Nine: Preliminaries (Part II)
-o-o-o-
Ore tachi no ima ga
Omoi kasane, yume wo kasane, hibi wo kasane
Ase ni mamire, namida korae, chi wo tagi rase
Tatakau koto mo, aishi au koto mo
Haruka hikari no
ON THE WAY
This is our 'now'
Overlap our feeling, overlap the dream, overlap the days
Sweating, holding the tears, stirring the blood
Fighting and loving
It's just a far light
On the way
~ 'R*O*C*K*S' (Naruto Opening Theme 1)
Inoue Kazuhiko (1)
-o-o-o-
"Sakura-chan's at an advantage!" said Naruto excitedly as he watched hers and Ino's match.
"Baka," said Shikamaru.
"What did you say?" asked Naruto angrily.
"If you're not an idiot, you must be sleeping," said Shikamaru with his usual bored voice.
"Who's…" began Naruto, his ears starting to twitch when he heard another voice speak behind him.
"They're kunoichi, after all. Their physical combat skills are lower than normal," said the voice.
Naruto turned with anger toward Neji, who had spoken. Kagome eyebrow began to twitch with anger.
"Are you willing to bet that? Maybe you and I should have a fight right now, slug boy," said Kagome, clenching her fists.
"Don't call me that," said Neji.
"Slug boy! Slug boy! Slug boy!" chanted Kagome loudly, but Neji managed to ignore it somehow.
"It's not because they are kunoichi," said Tenten, also angry at her teammate.
"Huh?" said Naruto, forgetting his anger.
Tenten turned back to watch the match and said, "Those two are just soft against each other. Sex doesn't matter in battle."
She looked back at Naruto, who glanced at the match and back.
"Soft…?" he said, not really understanding.
Everyone watched in surprise when Ino slapped Sakura across the cheek, apparently by accident.
"That's why," said Kagome.
Sakura and Ino stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Sakura lifted up her chin and clenched her fists.
"Now that it's come to this," she said confidently, "I have no intention of fighting you over Sasuke-kun."
"What?" said Ino loudly.
"You and Sasuke just don't match! I'm also stronger than you now. You're not even a rival!" said Sakura spitefully.
"Sakura!" shouted Ino, thoroughly pissed-off, "Do you know who you're talking to like that? You crybaby, Sakura!"
Sakura just glared.
"Like… Like, I think Sakura-chan said too much. Ino looks scary with those eyes," said Naruto, glancing at Kakashi.
"Hmm, that's wrong," said Kakashi.
"Huh?"
"Sakura isn't the type who would brag about her power and hurt another without any reason. She doesn't want Ino to go easy on her," said Kakashi.
Kagome chuckled, making Kakashi glance at her.
"Iie, I just know how she feels," said Kagome, waving her hands in front of her, "I usually have to convince every person I battle that I'm not weak!"
"You're so tsuyoi (strong), Kagome-chan!" said Naruto for the billionth time that day.
"You keep telling me that, Naruto-kun, but I don't think so. That's why I train hard, to keep getting stronger and stronger," said Kagome, smiling nervously.
"Now, we should watch and see Sakura-san get stronger, ne?" she told him, wanting him to watch his teammate than talk to her.
Naruto nodded and turned back to watch the match, much to her relief. She hated it when attention was focused on her. It made her very self-conscious.
-o-o-o-
"Both are unable to fight," said Hayate, "Due to a double KO, no one passes the fourth preliminary match."
'They knocked each other out? That's kind of lame,' thought Kagome.
There were exclaims and clamors, and Kakashi and Asuma went down to retrieve Sakura and Ino's unconscious bodies.
"Now then," said Asuma, as he picked up Ino.
"Yare yare (oh, boy)," said Kakashi, and both went up to the balcony in a flash.
"Oi, Ino!" yelled Shikamaru, as he and Chouji ran to the other member of their team.
"Sakura-san!" said Lee.
"Sakura-chan!" said Naruto.
They all grouped around the unconscious girls, except Kagome, who hung back.
"Daijoubu ka?" said Naruto, sounding like he was about to cry.
Kakashi put a finger up to his covered lips and said, "Shh."
Asuma stood and said, "They don't even require medical treatment. They'll wake up in a bit. But I was surprised."
"Yeah," said Kakashi, "I knew that Naruto and Sasuke got stronger, but I didn't expect the unreliable Sakura to become stronger as well. A lot happened, but I'm glad, from the bottom of my heart, that I entered them in this Chuunin exam."
The screen flashed and it said 'Tenten vs. Temari'. The two opponents went down and faced each other, and Asuma's and Kakashi's teams went back to watch. Kagome stayed and crouched down in front of the two girls.
'So you were friends once, were you? I'm glad that you had each other when you were younger. I didn't have anyone,' she thought, and a familiar, suffocating pain came into her chest.
She clutched where her heart was and gritted her teeth. It was a feeling she had known all her life, and even after she had found people that cared for her, most of them, except maybe InuYasha, never really understood her. Hence the returning loneliness.
'I used to hate people like you, that had others to care for them. Even now I envy you. But you're not so bad, Sakura. I wish you would be my friend,' thought Kagome, standing with her bangs shadowing her eyes.
She stuck her hands in her pockets and sighed silently. Glancing at Naruto, she found that he was engrossed in the battle before him. She didn't really feel like staying over here anymore, but she hadn't to begin with. Over here, there were people with probing eyes. She began to walk the long walk back over to her team, and no one really noticed.
"What's the matter with you?" asked InuYasha when she approached him on the other balcony.
"Nothing. Just a familiar feeling, is all," she said, and sat down cross-legged on the floor.
She grasped one of the bars that connected from the railing to the floor of the balcony with both her hands, and leaned her forehead against it. Her eyes were far away, even though the battle in front of her was becoming quite heated and Gai and Lee were yelling their heads off.
InuYasha nudged Miroku and said, "Looks like she's in one of those moods again."
Not even looking away from her far away place, Kagome reached out two fingers and gave his leg a zap with her reiki.
"Go away. Don't talk about me. I'm sick of hearing about me," she muttered.
InuYasha didn't even say anything about the zap, despite that the area she had touched had gone numb. His eyes softened a little. He understood; she was feeling lonely, a feeling he knew as well. All throughout his childhood, he had had no one to play with, and his older brother had ignored him. Since he was a noble's child, he wasn't allowed to play with the 'common' children outside the gates of the manor, though the Inu no Taishou probably would have allowed him if he had known how lonely his son was. And then came Kagome.
It had taken a while, but they had become thicker than thieves, and started all sorts of mischief in Tsukigakure. They would get disciplined by the Tsukikage, and then they would all laugh about it later. The mischief was even better when Miroku came along with them, who had been hesitant at first, but found that he liked to play pranks, as well. And Kagome was always loyal and took the blame for all of them.
InuYasha sat down next to Kagome. He didn't say anything but just watched the match. She preferred to be left alone when she was 'moping', as InuYasha called it. After that, Miroku sat down on Kagome's other side. He didn't say anything either, but pretended that Kagome wasn't there. After a few minutes, a small smile appeared on her face.
"Arigatou," she said quietly.
-o-o-o-
Lee jumped down and caught Tenten as Temari hurled her from the end of her iron fan. He lowered Tenten to the ground among her scattered weapons.
Temari smirked and said, "Nice catch."
Lee shook his fist at her and said, "Why did you do that? Is that something you should do to someone that fought her hardest?
Temari slammed the end of her fan against the ground and said, "Urusai na. Take that piece of trash and leave."
Lee growled in anger and got up.
"Stop, Lee!" shouted Neji, but it was too late.
Lee ran towards Temari.
"Konoha Senpuu (Leaf Whirlwind)!" he said, twirling with his leg out.
Temari blocked his outstretched leg with her fan with a loud clang.
"Nani?" he said.
"You're just like how you look; you're stupid," said Temari.
"What did you say?" said Lee angrily, and he landed back on the ground.
"Yameru (stop), Lee," ordered Gai as he appeared in a flash near his student.
"Gai-sensei!" said Lee.
"Tch!" said Temari in annoyance.
"Temari," said Gaara from above, "come back here. You won. Stop dealing with that ugly guy who's with his guardian."
Kagome, who was no longer 'moping', shivered and thought, 'Kuso, I knew these guys were like this. They're pretty ruthless, no matter when.'
"Nani?" said Lee, glaring up at Gaara.
The two proceeded in having a glaring match. While Lee's was heated, Gaara's was as cold as the ice that Kagome could summon.
Putting his hand on Lee's shoulder, Gai said, "Just let it go, Lee."
Then Gai smirked and said, "Suna no shokun (gentlemen of the Sand), if I may warn you about one thing? He's tsuyoi. You better be prepared for it."
Gaara narrowed his eyes at Gai.
"Is he stupid or what? Is he trying to get himself killed?" said Kagome quietly.
"They're trying to pick a fight with the guys from Suna? I'll never want to fight them," said Kiba.
"They have amazing people," stuttered Hinata quietly.
Akamaru whimpered in his spot down Kiba's jacket. Naruto was glaring at the Sunagakure nin.
"Don't lose to them, Naruto."
"Huh? Sakura-chan?" said Naruto with surprise, when he saw the pink-haired kunoichi standing next to him.
"Sakura-chan, ne, are you okay now?" asked Naruto.
"Don't worry about that, worry about yourself," said Sakura.
"Huh? Me?" said Naruto, checking himself for injuries, "I'm not hurt."
"That's not it," said Sakura with exasperation, "If you lose here, you're going to be a disgrace. You won't be able to face Sasuke-kun."
"Okay," said Naruto, pouting.
"Also, thanks for before. If I didn't have your passionate support, I might've lost to Ino easily," said Sakura.
"Un, you're right," said Naruto a little bit stupidly.
"Damn him," growled Sakura, looking away with her fist clenched.
The screen flickered and said 'Nara Shikamaru vs. Kin Tsuchi'.
-o-o-o-
"Heh heh, one down," said Shikamaru, who was bent over backwards.
He had used his shadow jutsu to make Kin Tsuchi hit her head on the wall behind her, knocking herself out. Shikamaru flipped up from his position and stood upright.
"Shinobi need to grasp the landscape and situation, then fight. Even if we move the same, our distances to the walls are different. I just used the shuriken to get your attention away from the wall," said Shikamaru, scratching the back of his head.
"Winner, Nara Shikamaru," said Hayate.
"Oi, Kagome, you and him should play shogi (Japanese chess) sometime," said Miroku.
"Way to go, Shikamaru!" shouted Ino.
"You're cool!" said Chouji.
"I'm next, I'm next, I'm next," chanted Lee, wanting his battle to be next.
"He looks dull, but that was kind of cool. Kuso," mumbled Naruto.
"So I'm the only one remaining," said Dosu to himself.
"Now for the next match," said Hayate, and the screen began flickering again.
"Now we have one Oto nin, me, Hinata, Naruto, Chouji, Neji, Lee, and seven of those Tsuki nin. And that Suna guy. Please don't let me match up with that Suna guy," said Kiba, counting down on his fingers.
"It looks like I can have nice battles with the rookies this year," said Neji, and looked at Hinata.
He stared at her until she noticed. When she did, she gasped, and then looked away, her eyes moving frantically.
The screen beeped and said 'Hanagami Kikyou vs. Kumonosu Hakudoushi'.
"Aww, c'mon," said Naruto.
"I wasn't next. Sakura-san will call me fuzzy-brows and hate me. If I'm not next, Sakura-san…" said Lee.
'This Lee boy is just like the young him,' thought Kakashi, as he looked at Gai.
Gai noticed, and smiled a toothy smile while giving a thumbs-up. Kakashi sweatdropped.
"Don't lose, Kikyou," said Kouga.
Kikyou 'hmphed' and stuck her nose up in the air. She walked down. Kanna gave her twin a nod that said 'good luck', and Hakudoushi hefted his naginata (which was a pole weapon similar to a spear) while he jumped down.
"Oi! Kikyou-san! You're looking exceptionally bitchy today!" Kagome called down to Kikyou.
Kikyou gritted her teeth and glared up at Kagome, while Kagome had to dodge a punch from InuYasha. InuYasha had a crush on Kikyou, and the older girl just ignored him.
"Oi! Kikyou-san! Had any chocolates lately?" Kagome called down again, from a much further distance from InuYasha.
Kikyou turned a noticeable shade of green.
She looked up at Kagome and growled, "Urusai, you street gaki!"
Kagome mocked gasped and turned to Miroku, saying, "Did you hear that? Did hear what she called me?"
"That's because it's true," muttered InuYasha, who then gave a yelp of pain when Kagome dug her heel into his toes.
Kagome grinned and lay her head down on her arms on the railing in front of her. She proceeded in making various faces at Kikyou.
'That girl seems to take a lot of joy in pissing people off,' thought Kakashi, who had noticed a while ago that Kagome had returned to her team.
"Oi! Kikyou-san, do you–" began Kagome, but was interrupted.
"That's it!" said InuYasha, and actually managed to grab Kagome by the collar of her shirt and pick her up.
"Oi! Lemme go!"
"Let her go, InuYasha, before she does lasting damage to you," said Miroku nonchalantly.
As if to make a point, Kagome made her hand glow blue with her reiki, and InuYasha dropped her like a hot potato.
"Itai…" said Kagome, rubbing her sore bottom.
Sesshoumaru actually rolled his eyes.
-o-o-o-
"Taku, that was a boring battle," muttered Kagome.
Kikyou had won against Hakudoushi by using the twin hand fans she had stuffed inside her fighting kimono. She actually excelled in Fuuton (Wind Release). Hakudoushi's lightning jutsu hadn't been enough against her.
"Shaddup!" said InuYasha, aiming a fist at Kagome's head.
Kagome caught his wrist and twisted it. She let go when he made a sound of pain.
"Oi! Kikyou-san! I didn't know you were capable of winning. But we all know you cheated, so it's all cool," called Kagome.
Kikyou glared.
"Baka! There are no rules!" said InuYasha.
"It doesn't mean you can't play dirty," said Kagome.
The screen flashed and names began to sort through. Finally, it said 'Shizei Bankotsu vs. Taishou InuYasha'.
"Finally!" said InuYasha loudly, while Lee and Naruto looked like they were about to cry.
"You'd better not lose," Kagome threatened.
"Yeah, right. When I'm up against that dork," said InuYasha, waving a hand at Bankotsu, "there's no way in hell that I will."
Like Kagome, he jumped over the railing to get to the ground floor. He stepped up to Bankotsu and looked at the huge sword that resembled a halberd that the other was holding. InuYasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga, and it transformed into its released form.
"Those are huge weapons!" said Sakura, her eyes bugging out.
InuYasha looked from Tetsusaiga to Bankotsu's Banryuu (Prohibition Flow?) (2), which was the name of the other's weapon.
"I think mine is bigger than yours," said InuYasha.
-o-o-o-
InuYasha was using his katana for a support, panting heavily. Blood trickled out of both corners of his mouth, and he had various rips in his clothing. Bankotsu lay crumpled on his side, unconscious.
"Teme…the Taishou clan ain't pushovers," muttered InuYasha, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
Gekkou Hayate went forward and checked Bankotsu to make sure that he was out for good. Finally, he stood and gestured towards InuYasha.
"The winner of the eighth match is Taishou InuYasha," he said.
And it was at that moment that InuYasha chose to vomit blood. It splattered all down his front, which blended in quite nicely, and onto the floor before him.
"InuYasha!" cried Kagome, horrified.
Before anyone could stop her, she was over the side of the railing and next to her teammate in a flash.
"InuYasha! Daijoubu ka?" she said when she reached him.
"What are you talking about? I'm fine," panted InuYasha, before vomiting again.
"You have internal bleeding!" said Kagome, holding a hand powered with reiki over his stomach.
"I said I'm–" began InuYasha, before passing out.
Kagome caught him and held him up.
"Medics! Get in here!" she shouted over her shoulder.
The three medics came running in with two stretchers. Since InuYasha was in the direst situation, they loaded him up first. Kagome stared after InuYasha in disbelief. That was the worse she had ever seen him.
"You'd better come back alive, Taishou InuYasha!" she yelled after him, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.
Sulkily, she stomped her way back upstairs, carrying his Tetsusaiga, which had once again become small and rusty.
"Oi! Kagome-chan! Is he going to be okay?" asked Naruto from across the way.
"Hai!" said Kagome cheerfully, so not to worry him.
"I hope so," she muttered in a much quieter voice, once she was turned away.
The screen flashed and stopped at 'Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba'.
"My turn! My turn! My turn!" yelled Naruto excitedly, "Thank you for waiting! It's finally my turn!"
"Hell yeah! We got lucky! We can win against him for sure, Akamaru," said Kiba, and Akamaru yipped in agreement.
Naruto continued to yell and cheer in excitement, while Lee looked like he wanted to curl up into a nearby corner and bawl his eyes out.
"Do your best, Naruto," said Sakura encouragingly.
"Just leave it to me!" said Naruto.
'Saa (now), Naruto. Show me how much you've grown,' thought Kakashi.
"I'll do this!" said Naruto, clenching his fist in front of him.
"Good luck, Naruto-kun!" called Kagome from across the way.
Naruto grinned and chuckled. He went down to the stairs and stood across from Kiba.
"Ninth match, Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba," said Hayate.
"I'm tired from all that waiting! It's finally my turn to show off my moves!" yelled Naruto.
"That's my line!" said Kiba angrily and pointing at Naruto, "Drawing you as my opponent means I've already won! Ne, Akamaru?"
A yip came from Akamaru and a tick mark appeared on Naruto's head. He pointed at Kiba.
"Keep dreaming! You can't win against me!" he yelled.
"Why you–!" said Kiba, setting down Akamaru.
"Hora! Don't bring koinu (puppies) in here! He's going to interfere with the battle!" said Naruto.
"Baka yarou, Akamaru's going to fight, too," said Kiba, and Akamaru barked viciously in answer.
"Oi, oi!" said Naruto, turning to Hayate, "Is that okay?"
"Hai, animals and mushi (bugs) are treated as weapons. It isn't a problem," said Hayate, actually looking a bit irritated for a split second.
Naruto stared at him with disbelief and then said, "Oh, well! It's a good handicap!"
"Heh! Acting tough, eh?" said Kiba, smirking at Naruto.
"Then…" he said, standing and turning to Akamaru, "Akamaru, don't do anything. I'll do this alone."
Akamaru whined.
"Naruto! Don't lose to that guy!" shouted Sakura.
'It's finally his turn,' thought Kakashi.
'Naruto, ka?' thought Kurenai, 'Sorry to say this, but he can't defeat Kiba, Kakashi.'
'Naruto-kun, I want to cheer you on, but I'm on Kiba-kun's team, so Kiba-kun might be mad, demo…' thought Hinata.
'Naruto-kun,' thought Lee.
"Kiba's…lucky," said Chouji, and Shikamaru scoffed.
'Hmph. I don't know how much stronger he got after becoming a Genin… His original abilities were…' thought Kiba, picturing Naruto's feeble skills at transformation.
"I'll beat you in one hit out of pity," said Kiba.
"Oh? Whatever, but you can't defeat me," said Naruto confidently.
"I told you not to act tough!" yelled Kiba, and Akamaru barked in agreement.
Hayate looked at them and said, "Then…begin."
Kiba squatted and made a hand seal.
'Gijyuu Ninpou: Shikyaku no Jutsu (Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Four Legs Technique),' thought Kiba.
Chakra began to flow around him, and Naruto looked at him in surprise. Kiba went down on all fours, his nails lengthening into claws.
"Let's go," he said, and charged.
-o-o-o-
Naruto hit the ground with a thud, and lay facedown, unmoving.
"That's our difference in skill," said Kiba.
"I'm…going to become a Hokage…I can't lose here…" said Naruto.
"You? Hokage? When you're weaker than me?" said Kiba, chuckling, "I'll become Hokage for you! You know inside that you can't become Hokage, so stop acting tough!"
He began to laugh out loud with his head thrown back. Naruto couldn't stand it; the laughing reminded him too much of his Academy years.
'That's wrong, Kiba-kun. Naruto-kun…isn't that weak. Naruto-kun is different from me in that he believes in his own worth. I really think he's amazing. It's a very hard thing to do. I understand. But still, no one tried to look at the true Naruto-kun. No one tried to recognize the real Naruto-kun. But now, everyone is watching,' thought Hinata.
"Teme! Urusai na!" shouted Kagome.
Kiba stopped laughing and looked up at her.
"Urusai. This isn't your fight," said Kiba.
"The hell it isn't! How dare you say such things to Naruto-kun! How dare you try and ruin his dream! You had no right, you coward!" shouted Kagome, and Kiba gritted his teeth in annoyance.
She turned to Naruto and said loudly, "Stand up, Naruto-kun! Get up and prove to everyone here that you can become Hokage! I know you can do it! Get up!"
To everyone else's – especially Kiba's – surprise, Naruto began to push himself back up.
"Hai! Stand up, Naruto!" shouted Sakura.
'Everyone has recognized him,' thought Hinata.
Naruto stood up, his head bowed so that you couldn't see his eyes. There was blood trickling out of both corners of his mouth.
"If you compete with me over the title of Hokage, you're going to become the underdog," he said, looking up with a smirk.
"Yeah! Naruto-kun! Kick his ass!" cheered Kagome.
"Has anyone ever told you that you cuss almost worse than InuYasha?" Miroku asked her out of the corner of his mouth.
-o-o-o-
"Too slow! Take this!" shouted Kiba as he charged toward Naruto.
He charged around Naruto and aimed for the blonde's back end, but an unexpected sound went through the air. It was unmistakably the sound of a fart. Naruto made a sound of embarrassment and surprise, and Kiba froze and jumped back when the smell hit his sensitive nose. He held his nose and made cries of disgust. Everyone else gaped in disbelief, and Hinata even blushed.
Miroku noticed that Kagome's shoulders were shaking and leaned over to peer into her face.
"Kagome-sama…?" he said.
Then he noticed that she was biting her lower lip and her face was red. And she was also smiling. She was apparently trying not to laugh out loud.
'Fast movement and a keen nose… The Gijyuu Ninpou turned against him,' thought Kakashi.
'Kiba's sense of smell is amplified by a few thousand times right now,' thought Kurenai.
Kakashi watched Kiba hold his nose and thought, 'Maa, that fart must've been a coincidence, but he is the number one ninja in surprising people."
"Naruto!" shouted Sakura, "Now's your chance!"
Naruto looked up at her and back at Kiba, saying, "Kuso, I strained too much!"
He made a hand seal and said, "But this is the good part of my new move! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Four Kage Bunshin appeared next to Naruto, two on either side of him.
'Naruto-kun!' thought Hinata.
"Yoshi, I'll get you for what you did to me with this move!" said Naruto, his Kage Bunshin surrounding Kiba in a circle.
Kiba looked around for an exit, didn't find one, and thought, 'Kuso…'
One of Naruto's clones punched Kiba in the face and said, "U!"
The original Naruto jumped off of Kiba's back and flipped into a ball in the air. The other three remaining clones closed in on Kiba.
"Zu!" said one.
"Ma!" said another.
"Ki!" said the last clone, and they all kicked Kiba into the air at the same time.
The original Naruto had his kick outstretched, and he kicked Kiba's face as he came down.
"Naruto Rendan (Naruto Combo)!" said Naruto as he kicked Kiba.
Kiba was sent flying face first into the concrete with a good amount of force, and blood spurted everywhere. When Kiba didn't move, Naruto stood panting over his still body.
'New move, eh? He was watching Sasuke's move a while ago. And the naming is a copy, too,' thought Kakashi with exasperation.
Naruto dispelled his Kage Bunshin. Hayate walked up and rolled Kiba over so that he could see Kiba's face. Kiba winced in pain. Hayate looked at Naruto and coughed a couple of times. Then he stood and backed away.
"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."
Lee made some weird victory sound that was reminiscent of a dying chicken.
"All right, damn it! Good! Yatta!" shouted Sakura with glee.
"That Naruto beat Kiba!" said Shikamaru shakily.
"No one expected it," said Chouji.
"Un," said Ino, nodding and smiling.
'Yes!' thought Hinata, nodding as well.
"You did it, Naruto-kun! I knew you could!" shouted Kagome.
Naruto stood panting and staring at his hand. Kakashi smiled at his student, his one visible eye making a 'U' shape.
Naruto clenched his fist and thought, 'I've…become stronger.'
As the medics put Kiba on a stretcher, Naruto ran back up the stairs and was laughing to himself.
"Easy! Easy!" he said.
Hinata, who had taken out her jar of ointment, watched him approach and thought, 'What should I do…? What should I do…?'
Naruto strode confidently past her and she managed to say, "N-naruto-kun…"
"Huh?" said Naruto, stopping, "Hinata? Did you say something?"
Naruto watched a little impatiently as she twiddled her fingers.
"A-ano…" she said, and gulped.
She walked over to him and presented the jar of ointment.
'Hinata,' thought Kurenai.
Kagome came running up, a big smile on her face. She stopped by Hinata, and frowned in puzzlement, looking back and forth from the Hyuuga girl and Naruto. Then understanding dawned on her face and she smiled again.
"What's this?" said Naruto, squinting at the jar of ointment.
"An ointment," said Kurenai.
"Why me?" said Naruto.
Hinata turned red, and Naruto continued to stare at the jar of ointment.
"Just take it, Naruto," said Kurenai, not unkindly.
Naruto looked at Hinata's sensei, then nodded.
"Okay. Thanks! You're a good person, Hinata," said Naruto, taking the jar into his hands.
He began scratching the back of his head and Hinata smiled shyly. Meanwhile, Neji was glaring at Hinata.
'You seem so carefree, Hinata-sama,' he thought menacingly.
"Congratulations, Naruto-kun! I knew you would make it!" said Kagome, giving Naruto a careful hug – he had injuries, after all – much to several peoples' surprise.
"Arigatou, Kagome-chan!" said Naruto, chuckling.
"It's nice of you to give him an ointment. Did you make it?" asked Kagome as she turned to Hinata.
"H-hai," said Hinata, blushing and looking at her feet.
"Ano sa, ano sa, I want to go see Sakura-chan!" said Naruto, and tugged Kagome along with him by the wrist.
Kagome waved apologetically to Hinata and let herself get dragged off. She was finally let go when Naruto began talking to Sakura and Lee.
Sakura finally noticed Kagome and said, "Don't you have something else to do than bug us?"
Kagome frowned and pretended to be in deep thought.
"Eto…nope! Unless Miroku happens to be carrying around a shogi set, which I doubt," said Kagome.
She turned to her teammate across the way and yelled, "Oi, Miroku! You wouldn't happen to have a shogi set on you, by any chance?"
Miroku gave her a mischievous look and said, "Iie! But I do have this really interesting book, if you–"
"No, thank you!" said Kagome angrily, knowing that he was talking about his Icha Icha book.
"Hora (see)? I don't have anything else better to do," said Kagome, smiling cutely at a fuming Sakura.
Naruto unscrewed the lid of the jar of ointment and put some on his cuts he had gotten from Kiba. The cut steamed and healed up instantaneously.
"This medicine works so well," said Naruto, putting the lid back on.
He thrust it towards Sakura and said, "Here. Do you want to use it, too, Sakura-chan?"
"Hm?" said Sakura, staring at the jar warily.
'You're about the only guy whose wounds heal that quickly, Naruto,' thought Kakashi, 'The power of Kyuubi still amazes me.'
"Can I see it?" asked Kagome.
Naruto held out the jar to her, which she promptly opened. She took out a little bit on the end of her index finger, and to everyone else's confusion, sniffed it.
"Tochibaninjin (ginseng)…suikazura (Japanese honeysuckle)…tanpopo (dandelion)…and daiou (rhubarb)… Hinata-chan really covered everything," said Kagome, screwing the lid back on.
"How do you know what's in it?" asked Lee.
"Part of my training back home focused on learning herbs and their uses," said Kagome, rubbing the back of her neck.
"I had to learn how to identify them by sight, taste, and smell in all forms, like in tea. In ointment, smell is the most reliable. Kaede-sama, who taught me about herbs, was very strict when it came it memorizing herbs and their uses," explained Kagome.
"What happened when you got an herb wrong?" asked Naruto.
"She whacked me on the head with a stick," said Kagome, earning a few sweatdrops.
"She sounds like a scary onna," said Lee.
"Iie, she's actually nice most of the time. She was the one who gave me the kotodama no nenju (necklace of subjugation), the necklace that InuYasha was wearing. It was to help keep him in line while we were away from our country," said Kagome.
"'Kotodama no nenju'?" said Naruto, squinting and pouting.
"Ano, it made him crash to the ground when I said 'osuwari'," said Kagome, laughing nervously.
"Ah!" said Naruto, pounding a fist into his palm.
"Ne, Kagome-chan? Could your Kaede-sama give one of those rosaries to me?" he asked.
"Iie, if you're thinking of putting one on that Sasuke guy," said Kagome sternly.
"Awww…"
"I will now announce the next match," called Hayate.
Everyone became alert and watched the electronic screen. It stopped on 'Hyuuga Hinata vs. Hyuuga Neji'. Hinata looked quite shocked and scared, and Neji looked angry. But they went and took their places across from each other, anyway.
"I didn't think that I would be fighting you, Hinata-sama," said Neji.
"Neji-nii-san," said Hinata quietly.
"Nii-san?" said Sakura.
"Eh? Those two are siblings?" said Naruto with surprise.
"They come from Konoha's oldest noble family, the Hyuuga clan. But they aren't siblings," said Kakashi.
"Then how are they related?" asked Sakura.
"I guess they're related in that they come from Hyuuga's head family and branch family," guessed Kakashi.
"Head family and branch family?" said Naruto with a little anger.
"Hai," said Lee, holding up a finger, "Hinata-san is from the Hyuuga head family. In other words, the founders. And Neji is from the branch family, which carries the same bloodline."
"So it's a fight between relatives. It must be difficult for those two to fight," said Sakura.
"Hai, demo…" said Lee, and Naruto and Sakura looked at him with surprise.
"But I believe that a lot of things happened between the head family and the branch family in the past, and they are not really on good terms with each other."
"Huh? Nan de (why)?" asked Naruto.
"I don't know the details, but in old noble families like Uchiha and Hyuuga, they have special moves and abilities that run only in that clan. To pass those moves down, the Hyuuga family has a set of rules. But it seems that the rules are favorable to the head family," continued Lee.
"Huh?" said Naruto and Sakura.
"Because of those rules, a lot happened between the head family and the branch family," finished Lee.
"Must be a fight to settle the quarrels, then," said Sakura.
"Iie," said Kagome.
"Doushite?" asked Sakura.
"Just one fight isn't going to settle it, and family feuds last a long time. Also, Hyuuga Neji appears to hate Hinata-chan," said Kagome, her eyes narrowed downwards.
Naruto and Sakura glanced at Neji, but they couldn't find any difference in his facial expressions or posture. How did she know?
"Oh? It's going to start," said Kakashi.
"Please begin the match," said Hayate.
"Before we fight, let me warn you about one thing, Hinata-sama," said Neji, making Hinata gasp.
"Give up. You're not suited to become a shinobi."
Hinata gasped again, her pale eyes wide.
"You are too kind," continued Neji, "You seek harmony and avoid trouble. And you just go along and follow someone else's idea. And, you have no self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you thought it would be fine to remain a Genin. But you cannot register for the Chuunin exam unless there are three people. You couldn't refuse the offers from Kiba and your teammate, and the truth is that you are taking this exam unwillingly. Am I wrong?"
"You're wrong! You're wrong… I…I just…wanted to change myself, so I willingly…" said Hinata.
'Hinata… Hinata is trying to change herself in her own way,' thought Kurenai.
Neji stared at Hinata's wavering eyes.
"Hinata-sama," he began in a consoling tone, "You are indeed a spoiled child from the head family."
"Eh?" said Hinata.
"People cannot change. A failure is a failure. His personality and power will not change," said Neji.
Naruto gritted his teeth and made an ugly face.
'That guy…' he thought.
There was a creak of metal from his left from Kagome, and several people glanced curiously at her. There was no emotion on her face; her eyes were cold. Naruto's eyes went down to her hand gripping the rail, and saw to his astonishment that she had actually crushed it a little.
"People cannot change, so that's why terms like 'elites' and 'failures' exist," said Neji, "Everyone judges you by how good your face, head, abilities, body shape, and personality are. There are things that cannot be changed. People suffer due to their limits, and live. Just like how we can't change the fact that I am from the branch family and you are from the head family. My Byakugan has seen many things. That's why I know! You are just trying to be tough. You are really thinking about how you want to leave this place right now."
Hinata, who had been gaping in horror, said, "That's not true! I really want to…"
"Byakugan?" said Sakura, turning to Kakashi.
"It is said that if you look at the origin of the Uchiha clan, they come from the Hyuuga clan. Byakugan is one of the kekkei genkai that the Hyuuga family has, and is a special eye similar to the Sharingan. But if you look at it's ability of insight alone, it exceeds the Sharingan," explained Kakashi.
Hinata trembled in terror as Neji made a hand seal.
"Byakugan!"
-o-o-o-
Neji sent Hinata flying, causing her to cry out in pain. She fell to the floor, and he stepped forward.
"Hinata-sama, this is the difference in our unchangeable powers. It's the difference that separates the elites from the dropouts. This is the unchangeable reality. You were destined to regret this when you said that you didn't want to run away. You should be in despair right now," he said.
Hinata kneeled and panted all the while, blood trickling out of her mouth.
"This is your last warning. Give up," said Neji, stepping forward some more.
"I'm…" began Hinata, making Neji narrow his eyes, "not going to…take back…my…words… That's my nindou."
She managed to push herself up and stand while she said this. Hinata looked at Neji defiantly, and looked up at Naruto. She smiled at him.
"I didn't know that Hinata was so tough," said Naruto quietly.
"She's very similar to you," said Lee.
Sakura nodded and said, "Come to think of it, she's always been watching you."
"Eh?" said Naruto with surprise.
He and Lee looked back down at the two Hyuuga members.
'Hinata…' he thought.
Hinata summoned up her Byakugan again, and Neji moved in response.
"Come," he said.
Suddenly, Hinata's heart gave a painful jolt, and she clutched it. She gave a cough and blood spurted out of her mouth. Several people looked on with worry.
'She can't fight anymore. If she takes anymore attacks…' thought Kurenai.
Neji got into the traditional Hyuuga fighting pose.
'Neji's attacks strike the tenketsu and have completely stopped Hinata's flow of chakra. In other words, she is unable to use Juuken (Gentle Fist) moves which force chakra into the enemy. It's clear who will win. But, I didn't know that such a guy existed. Our Sasuke won't be a match for him,' thought Kakashi.
'Neji will most likely get through this exam. I guess a person at her level cannot win against him,' thought Gai.
"His eyes are scary… Hinata won't be killed, right?" Ino asked Asuma.
"His strength is, like, unfair. He's too strong," said Sakura.
Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched the jar of ointment in his hand tightly.
"Hinata!" he yelled, "Do your best!"
'Naruto-kun…' thought Hinata, determination filling her.
Neji blinked and thought, 'Power has once again returned to her eyes.'
Hinata attacked.
As she fought, she thought, 'I have watched you all this time. I have watched you for many years. I wonder why… I don't know why, but…when I watch Naruto-kun, I feel more courage within me. It makes me feel like I can accomplish something if I try. It makes me feel like I am worth something!'
She missed hitting Neji, who took his chance to use his palm to hit her on the chin. Hinata went flying backwards. Kakashi and Sakura gasped.
"Hinata!" cried Naruto.
Hinata winced in pain and began to cough again.
'Hinata,' thought Kurenai, 'you were used to giving up, but you started to try and change after some time. Of all people, I know that you trained a lot. But you made a lot of mistakes during missions. You weren't good in real-life situations and got depressed easily. But you're different today, Hinata. I've never seen her with those eyes.'
Hinata panted and then took off after Neji again.
'Naruto-kun, I have only been watching you. But I…I finally…Naruto-kun!' she thought.
Once again, she missed, and Neji dealt her deadly blow from which you could see chakra explode from.
"Hinata-chan!" gasped Kagome.
Hinata was unmoving, and then her Byakugan faltered. She coughed out more blood and began to fall. She fell on her stomach with her hand still outstretched as if to hit Neji. Neji stepped to the side and looked down at her. Everyone gaped, and even Gaara looked like he pitied Hinata a little.
"You are such a stubborn person. Your attacks had no effect on me to begin with. It's over," said Neji, and his Byakugan went away just before he walked away from her still body.
'Hinata, you've done enough. You lost the match, but are different from before. You did well,' thought Kurenai, closing her eyes.
Naruto thought of Hinata's words about changing herself and gripped the jar of ointment.
"That was a finishing move by Neji… He aimed for her heart. I feel sorry for her, but she cannot stand up anymore," said Gai, making Naruto clutch it even more.
Hayate stepped forward and said, "I am going to assume that she cannot fight anymore–"
"Don't stop the match!" interrupted a yelling Naruto, making everyone look at him with bewilderment.
"Don't stop the match!" he repeated.
"Chotto, Naruto," said Sakura angrily, "What are you talking about, baka? She can't fight anymore. She fainted…"
She trailed off when she noticed him smirking. Her eyes widened and she looked down. Several people gasped. Hinata was pushing herself back up. Shakily, she managed to get herself to stand, but had to stand with her knees together to balance herself. She held her side with her hand.
"Why did you stand up?" asked Neji, sounding irritated, "If you push yourself, you're really going to die."
'I can't show such an unsightly scene…in front of the person I admire…' thought Hinata.
"Why?" demanded Neji.
'…who has finally looked at me…' thought Hinata, looking up.
Neji shook with anger and summoned up his Byakugan again.
"I can still…" gasped Hinata with determination.
"There's no point in acting tough. You're barely able to stand up. I can tell with these eyes that you have carried the destiny known as the Hyuuga family. You cursed your powerlessness, and blamed yourself. But people cannot change. This is destiny. There's no need to suffer. Let yourself go," demanded Neji.
Hinata shook her head and said, "You're wrong, Neji-nii-san. Because I can see that you are suffering more than me."
"Nani?" said Neji, sounding puzzled.
"You are the one who is confused and suffering inside the fate of the head and branch families," said Hinata.
Neji narrowed his eyes and growled in anger. Hayate noticed what he was about to do and gasped. Neji actually lost his control and ran towards Hinata.
"Neji-kun, the match has ended!" said Hayate.
Neji yelled in blind anger. But before he could get any further, and before the other Jounin could get there, he was punched with enough force to send Gai, who was coming in from behind, scurrying. Neji hit the wall with a sickening thud, and the concrete cracked. He coughed up blood.
"Nani?" he gasped.
Naruto and Sakura blinked in disbelief. For standing where Neji had been before was Kagome. They glanced at where the girl had been before, but it was empty.
Kakashi, Hayate, Kurenai, and Gai gaped. The girl had moved faster than they had! They now stood in front of Hinata to guard her from attack.
Kagome was panting, though it was not from exertion. She was panting from anger. She stood with her head lowered a little, but her eyes glared murderously at Neji. She had activated her intricate Sharingan eyes, so the effect was even greater.
"If you even lay another hand on Hinata-chan," she said in a low, dangerous voice, "I will kill you, Hyuuga Neji."
"How dare you interfere–!" began Neji.
"Urusai na! I don't want to hear anymore bullshit on destiny or fate or whatever the hell you were talking about," said Kagome in the same tone of voice.
"Why you–!" began Neji again, picking himself up.
"Yameru, Hyuuga-san!" came a shout from above.
To the already confused people in the auditorium, this was even more confusing, since it was the girl's remaining teammate that had yelled. Miroku looked panicked, his eyes were wide. Even the girl's sensei looked a little upset.
"Yameru! She really will kill you!" shouted Miroku fearfully, gripping the railing in his hands.
Neji lifted up his arm to attack, but Gai appeared behind him, an arm loosely around his neck. Kakashi grabbed hold of his lifted arm, and Kurenai had a hold of one of his ankles. Hayate appeared in front, two fingers out threateningly at Neji's forehead.
"Neji, cut it out. You have made a passionate promise with me that you will not argue about the head family," said Gai.
"Why did the other Jounin come out?" asked Neji angrily, "Does the head family receive special treatment?"
Hinata's heart gave another painful jolt, and she fell to her knees, coughing. Kagome was there in an instant, one of her hands on the Hyuuga girl's heart.
"Hinata! Hinata!" said Kurenai, rushing to her student, as well.
"Hinata!" shouted Naruto.
"Hinata-san!" shouted Sakura.
Them and Lee jumped down and ran to Hinata, where Kagome and Kurenai were laying her down.
"Hinata, daijoubu ka? Oi!" said Naruto, kneeling beside her.
"Naruto-kun…" said Hinata.
"Un!"
"Watashi…" said Hinata, and then fell unconscious.
"She needs medical treatment! She's going to go into cardiac arrest!" said Kagome urgently, but Kurenai just stared.
She was this close to the girl with the Sharingan, and it was a fearsome sight. To see another person other than Sasuke – who was supposed to be the only remaining Uchiha in Konoha – with the Sharingan was worrisome.
"Tch!" said Kagome, and began pumping reiki into Hinata's heart to try and stabilize it.
Naruto looked down with worry at Hinata.
"Oi, the dropout there," came Neji's voice.
Naruto turned angrily towards the Hyuuga boy.
"Let me warn you about two things. If you're a shinobi, stop with that unsightly cheering for a stranger. And one more thing. A dropout is a dropout. They cannot change," said Neji.
Naruto stood and said angrily, "Do you want to try?"
Neji smirked, Naruto narrowed his eyes, and Sakura gasped. Naruto had taken off running toward Neji. Just in time, Lee dashed in front of Naruto to stop him, making Neji's smirk disappear.
"You…!" said Naruto.
"I understand how you're feeling, Naruto-kun. But you should fight in a proper match. A dropout will defeat a genius with hard work… The main matches will be exciting. But I may be his opponent. I will hold no grudge if you were able to match up with him," said Lee.
Naruto turned away hesitantly and sighed.
"Fine," he said, folding his arms across his chest.
He walked back to Hinata.
"You there, the one that isn't supposed to have the Sharingan," said Neji.
Kagome looked up, glaring.
"Stay out of other people's business. And stop cheering, as well," said Neji.
Before people could even blink, Kagome was gone from her spot once again. She appeared in front of Neji, who held his ground. Apparently, the punch hadn't convinced him of her abilities. Kagome slapped him, hard. Several people gasped, and Gai, who was standing beside Neji, made no move to restrain her.
"Who are you to give me orders, kouzou ('boy', derogatory)?" she said in a voice that reminded some of an heiress's, "I will cheer if I very damn well like, and, as I said before, I was born with these eyes. As to me getting in other people's business, you were about to kill an unarmed girl, so don't talk to me about crap like that."
Neji now looked truly shocked. He was touching the red handprint on his pale cheek. Kagome let the Sharingan fade from her eyes and bowed to Gai.
"Sumimasen for attacking your student twice," she said, and walked back to Hinata.
She got there in time, because Hinata gave a huge cough and blood spurted from her mouth. Several people looked back with fear. Kurenai unzipped her student's jacket and felt her pulse and her heart.
'This isn't good, she's going through ventricular fibrillation,' she thought, and looked glared at Neji, 'Was he trying to kill her?'
Neji didn't say anything; he was still in shock from being slapped.
"Chikushou! I didn't stabilize her enough!" said Kagome, reaching for the space above Hinata's heart.
"Get your hands off of her!" said Kurenai angrily, slapping Kagome's hands away.
An image flashed behind Kagome's eyes, too brief for her to see properly. A stab of pain went through her skull. Kagome flinched away from Kurenai and stood.
"As you wish," she said emotionlessly, and walked off towards the entrance of the auditorium, her hands in her pockets and her shoulders hunched.
"K-kagome-sama! Oi!" Miroku shouted after her, but she didn't even give the slightest pause in her stride.
'I was only trying help…' she thought.
Kurenai stared after her; she had only been trying to keep her from worsening Hinata's condition, that was all.
She said, "Medical team! What are you doing? Hayaku (hurry)!"
Kagome went around the medics running in.
"Sumimasen!" said one.
They unrolled a stretcher, and Naruto stared at the scene before him.
"Put her on the stretcher."
"Okay."
Naruto ran over to Hinata and looked down at her.
"Together…"
"She won't last ten minutes at this rate."
"Take her to the emergency treatment room."
"Hurry!"
"Okay!" said the medics, and carried Hinata off.
Naruto looked at her form as she passed, in shock. (3)
"Hinata…" said Naruto, and Neji, who had recovered, watched him.
Naruto kneeled down next to some of Hinata's blood that was at his feet. He put his hand in it and made streaks with it on the floor with his fingers.
"I promise…" he said.
He clenched his fist, and blood dripped off. He stood and faced Neji and held out the clenched fist. Neji cocked his head in puzzlement.
"…I will win!" said Naruto.
Owari
-o-o-o-
Omake: 'I Think Mine Is Bigger Than Yours'
"I think mine is bigger than yours," said InuYasha.
Bankotsu looked back and forth from the two weapons, as well.
"Yeah, well, mine's thicker!" he said.
He looked at the two weapons again.
"Actually, mine's bigger than yours. It's both longer and thicker than that teeny thing you have!" he said.
"Are they actually having this conversation? Don't they realize how wrong it sounds?" said Kagome.
Miroku sweatdropped and shrugged.
"Well, they are boys," he said.
"That's not an excuse," said Kagome, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Well, mine has a bigger blade than yours does!" shouted InuYasha.
'Finally something that doesn't sound dirty,' thought Kagome.
"What mine lacks in length, it makes up in width!" yelled Bankotsu.
'Or not.'
-o-o-o-
Author's Notes
(1) I know that this song was originally by 'Hound Dog', but I like the version with Inoue Kazuhiko, Kakashi's seiyuu (voice actor), better
(2) I looked up the meaning of the kanji for Banryuu, and that's what I came up with. Weird…
(3) They focus on Hinata's boobs in this scene. It's almost like Naruto's realizing she's a girl! LOL
-o-o-o-
Phew! Kinda angsty, but we need angst once in a while. I saw a spectacular fireworks display last night, so I'm feeling pretty good, though I did wake up from a headache from all the bangs and whistles.
By the way, ventricular fibrillation is when the heart muscles tremble rather than contracting, and is a medical emergency (duh, we could tell).
Ja ne!