I Do Not Own Naruto.
As we stood before Lord Hokage (who was talking about the whole point of these Chunin Exams: improving relations with other villages and all that) I couldn't help but be shocked at the number of three man squads that made it to the tower. When we first started, there was so many teams surrounding the forest when we were getting our scrolls. Thousands of teams were reduced to a number that could be counted on your fingers: nine. That includes us rookies, the fresh baked cookies of the Leaf Academy. My team was in between Ino's and Kiba's. Hikaru was first in line, I was second and Soramaru was third. When Lord Hokage would answer someone's question, I would whisper to Shikamaru and ask him how it went on his side. That was until I felt someone staring at me (Yukio-sensei). He stood between a woman with long black hair and a man dressed in a green jumpsuit... (ew).
Yukio-sensei narrowed his eyes at me and placed his index finger in front of his lips.
I merely pouted.
Then suddenly, someone appeared before the Hokage. A man who introduced himself as Hayate Gekko. He kneeled down before our village's leader and asked permission to talk about the next exam...
What he said made me question life.
"This time around, perhaps because the first and second exams were easy, there are far too many people you see."
Wait. Wait a minute. Does that mean...THIS NUMBER OF TEAMS IS LIKE... KINDA NOT NORMAL FOR THEM?
"In accordance with the rules of the Chunin Exams, a preliminary will be held in order to reduce the number advancing."
Good lord.
Hayate continued explaining the reason for it. Since there will be guests attending the final exam, it would be wise to give them a show. Meaning pick the best ninjas out of this exam in order to not waste time and show pointless matches. So, if anyone was not in tip top shape... it would be best if they forfeit from the upcoming fights. In the end, that Kabuto guy and some rain village ninja left... leaving two squads with two members instead of three. As for Seijuro teammates... they were too injured to keep moving on so they left too.
I turned around and looked at Soramaru worriedly. I looked at the red spot on his green shirt...
He merely waved his hand to dismiss my worry.
"Are you sure you don't want to forfeit... we understand if you need to..." I reassured him.
"I'll be fine Katsuko... I just have to be careful."
I frowned. "If you say so..."
"Alright, we'll be doing a quick bathroom break so if there are any of you who need to go, then go. You have ten minutes." Hayate announced from the lower floor of the arena.
Katsuko breathed in deeply and turned around. She accidentally bumped into Choji.
"Ah sorry Choji." She quickly apologized and patted his shoulder as she quickly walked past him. She didn't look back as she took long strides.
Squad 10 watched her slightly stumbled on her way to the stairs, was it just them or did she look drained?
"What's wrong with Katsuko?" Choji asked to no one in particular.
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at her distant form, "I don't know but ever since we started... she's been looking exhausted."
Ino scoffed, "She probably got it from you... getting tired by watching I mean." She joked.
The lazy male rolled his eyes at her joke.
Hikaru who heard their conversation turned his head to look at his teacher. Yukio must have been thinking the same thing as him based on the worried look he had on his face.
A minute after Katsuko left, Sakura decided to use the lavatory as well and followed after her.
Ino followed after her.
After doing my business, I button my pants and pulled up the zipper. Suddenly I felt another sharp pain, I hissed in pain. I placed my arm on the stall's wall and leaned my head on it. I guess this is what I get for studying those fights. Kankuro and Shino's fight weren't really leaving anything on me... it was mostly Sasuke's fight that's been draining me out. I pushed myself off of the wall and shook my head lightly.
Alright, I'll stop studying the next four fights... that should give me enough time to recuperate...
I flushed the toilet and swiftly exited the stall. To my surprise, Sakura was there staring at herself in the mirror.
She seemed equally surprised.
I grinned sheepishly as I approached the sinks. I turned the cold handle to the right and washed my hands with soap. While cleaning my hands, I glanced at Sakura who seemed to be staring at herself in the mirror. The way her eyebrows furrowed seemed to show that she was thinking hard about something... I turned off the water and rubbed my hands against my jacket to dry my palms.
"What's bugging you, Sakura?" I asked, breaking the silence between us.
My old classmate looked at me at my sudden question. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you look like you're thinking about something." I replied without looking at her. I started pulling my sleeves to cover my hands so I could dry the top.
She frowned and looked away, "I... I." She started but then stopped. She breathed in and exhaled, "It's nothing." She reassured with a small smile. I cocked up an eyebrow, clearly showing that I doubted her answer. I then leaned back on the sink counter as I shoved my hands in my sweater's pockets.
"You cut your hair, huh? What happened? Naruto accidentally threw a kunai in the wrong direction in the forest?" I joked to lighten up the mood. Although, judging by how she flinched and how her eyes widened... I got the opposite of what I wanted. I felt heat crawl up my neck out of embarrassment.
I pulled out my right hand and rubbed the back of my neck. "Er... sorry of course that wouldn't happen..."
"But... your hair is short. That means you took the initiative to protect something important..."
Sakura turned her body to face me, "Yeah, I guess you could call it that... but it didn't matter anyway... I couldn't-"
"Sakura. You know your long hair is important to you. We've all known each other for a long time. I may not like Sasuke the way you and Ino do but I do get along with him at times. I was bound to figure out why suddenly every girl in class stopped getting a haircut. Everyone kept their hair long because they found out Sasuke liked girls with long hair." I explained while suddenly finding the tiled floor interesting. "This long hair thing applies to you too. However, look at you... you now have short hair." I said before looking up with her with a straight face.
"The fact that you cut your hair means that something amazing must have happened. You put aside what you treasured and thought was important, and took the initiative to protect something that would probably have been sacrificed if you didn't sacrifice your hair!" I said with a small grin. I gave her two thumbs up.
Sakura seemed surprised by my words. I don't know what happened in the Forest of Death but my words seemed to have an effect on the matter. She looked at herself in the mirror and fisted her hands. "And yet... I still couldn't do it... It wasn't enough!" She said while narrowing her green eyes at herself in the mirror.
I sighed and pushed myself off of the counter. "Y'know what Yukio-sensei once told me? It was during one of my first missions with Squad Eleven. We were doing a quite easy mission... but something unexpected happened. A couple of dangerous bandits attacked Hikaru, Soramaru and I. Yukio-sensei was absent for just that one moment. We almost died together if it were not for my quick thinking... I risked my life to protect those two until Yukio-sensei returned." I talked about that one mission while slowly undoing her fists.
"But anyway, after getting the living daylights beaten out of me." I chuckled, "Yukio-sensei praised me... he said the bravest action is to take the initiative to protect what is dear instead of waiting and deciding to remain in one peace. And you know? I think he was right because otherwise my two childhood friends wouldn't be here..."
I patted her shoulder as I began walking out the bathroom. "I'm proud of you Sakura, and anyway you look nice with short hair. It suits you well."
I guess you could say I was running away! I don't even know if I had the right to say all that! OH CRAP WHAT IF WHAT I SAID WAS NOTHING RELATED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?! OH SHIT! WHAT IF SHE JUST WANTED A HAIRCUT?! NO! I AM GOING BACK TO THE ARENA!
As I left, I saw Ino waiting outside by the entrance. Eh, whatever happens between them is really none of my business.
Honestly, I didn't know what to think of Sakura and Ino's match. It seemed like some personal score settling and stuff. But Ino's jutsu did keep me on the edge, I mean her team was freaking out about the consequences if she missed! Anyway, by the end of it, it ended with a double knockout. They both put up a good fight.
Okay. Gaara's family members are either badass or are others just (dare I say) weak? I mean Kankuro is a freakin' magician with his puppets! Appearing outta that cocoon! And Temari flying down on her fan when I didn't even see her get on! AND let's not forget the way Tenten landed on her fan! R-U-T-H-L-E-S-S!
As for Shikamaru's fight... MAN I KNEW HE WAS GONNA WIN! He's the smartest kid here! Strategy wins against that Kin's genjutsu any day! I won't lie, I gave this boy a big hug despite his numerous attempts to push me off.
Hikaru leaned on the railing as he watched Kin get carried out of the arena. Poor girl probably got a concussion, Hikaru chuckled with a smirk.
As for Soramaru, he couldn't help but feel anxious about his match. His placed a hand to where his injury was and breathed in deeply.
Yukio, who noticed this, crouched next to his anxious student. "If you're unsure about this, you can leave. No one will fault you for forfeiting." He said quietly so his other wouldn't hear.
He brown haired boy shook his head, "No, I have to do this."
The candy lover merely sighed. "Injuries will only slow you down."
Soramaru gritted his teeth, "I'll be fine. If I can't do it in the finals, I'll prove I'm worth something here."
"Hey, hey. What's with this 'worth' talking?"
"You don't understand sensei... you guys from our Five Promised Clans were able to use your ability with ease. Then you have me, the useless member who can't seem to tap into my ability for the life of me." Soramaru scowled.
Yukio hummed once he was enlightened on the subject. Now he understood his problem.
"In our Five Promised Clans, being able to not use your ability is seen as odd and kinda embarrassing... or just not normal in the slightest. I've been told that those who weren't able to use their ability were thrown aside like trash... like as if they didn't belong. I don't want to be thrown aside. I am not trash." Soramaru clenched his fists tightly.
He looked at his two teammates who were talking about a random subject. "I want to be able to prove that I will be worth something. I want to be able to stand next to them in the future without shame. I want to be seen as a ninja and not judged because I can't use Flash Forward."
Yukio's eyebrows raised once saw a spark of chakra emit from his student's fist. "... Sora..."
The said boy looked at his teacher, "Yes?"
"Keep up that resolve, alright?"
"Of course."
That way, you're getting closer to Flash Forward.
"Now, if the next combatants would please step forward: Shinsaku Osaka and Soramaru Natsui." Hayate called out once the screen projected their names.
Both males stepped forward and faced each other. Shinsaku smirked at his opponent with knowing look on his face. Soramaru kept a straight face as he stared back at him. He instead clenched his fist tightly.
The rest of Squad Eleven were up there growling. Their teammate's opponent was a rain ninja. Not just any random one. This one was part of the squad that they stole the Earth Scroll from. The same squad that stabbed Sora. This wasn't the same person who stabbed him, that person forfeited since he probably got a too much beating in the forest ffom fighting other teams for a Heaven and Earth scroll. However, this doesn't change the fact that this person knew that Soramaru was injured... and knew just where to aim if he wanted an advantage...
"This is the worst..." Katsuko hissed.
"Yeah, no kidding... this isn't fair." Hikaru gritted his teeth.
Complete silence fell upon the arena.
"Now, if you are both ready."
Soramaru readied himself while Shinsaku didn't move at all.
"Begin!"
"Let's have a fair match, shall we?" Shinsaku chuckled before pulling out a dagger from his pouch. He took a step forward and ran to Soramaru.
The Natsui narrowed his eyes and did the same, this asshole... he must be planning something.
Shinsaku flipped his dagger backwards and swung near Soramaru's neck. The brown haired ninja moved back an inch before ducking down. He pulled back his leg before quickly aiming for his opponent's feet. The rain ninja jumped back while Soramaru readied himself once more before throwing up a leg to strike, unfortunately missing by a few inches.
"Tche." Soramaru glared at his opponent. He's pretty nimble.
He lowered his leg and noticed that Shinsaku had performed a hand sign while jumping back.
"Water Style: Homing Wave!" Shinaku spewed out an incredible amount of water from his mouth which was directed to Soramaru. The Leaf Ninja quickly made a run for it across the arena. Meanwhile the waves kept following him around with no signs of stopping until they caught him. While running, Sora winced and was forced to slow down for a moment, his wound was telling him he was moving too much. When he noticed the waves were getting closer, he managed to move away before he got enveloped by the water.
Hayate began backing up a little when he noticed that the arena was slowly going to becoming full with water.
"Heh, you're going to look like a porcupine when I'm done with you." Shinsaku laughed. He pulled out senbons, bigger than the norm, and threw it into his water. All the senbons scattered in the water making it look like a sea of needles.
Soramaru cursed under his breath and continued avoiding the water, "Damn it if I get caught in it..." He didn't even wanna finish his sentence. "First... gotta make him lose concentration..."
He quickly created a wide enough distance before kneeling. "Wherever there's earth elements... I should be fine..."
Suddenly, the Natsui's body became the same color as the floor arena and he sunk into it.
"THE HELL HE DISAPPEARED!" Naruto yelled.
"Seriously, Naruto? Have you forgotten that the Natsui clan are experts in Earth Style?" Sakura groaned in annoyance.
"... Of course I knew. I just forgot."
"... Riiight."
Back with Squad Eleven, they were feeling a little relieved once they saw their teammate use their Earth Style. For them, it was common knowledge to know the weaknesses of different Styles. Water is weak to Earth. This had Hikaru grinning ear-to-ear while Katsuko was feeling all giddy.
Meanwhile, Shinsaku looked around carefully. He could no longer sense Soramaru's presence. He was no longer on the surface but somewhere beneath him. What he didn't know was that Soramaru broke a hole from the ceiling and was making his way down at full speed. Legs encased in a large chakra concentrated rocks, he landed behind Shinsaku and flipped backwards to slam his legs upwards onto the rain ninjas body, sending him up in the air and shattering the rocks upon impact.
"The fu- when?!"
Soramaru jumped away from Shinsaku. He pulled out a kunai and threw it at one of the rock fragments. "Boom!"
He had hidden paper bombs within the rocks and exploded them when the fragments were close enough to the rain ninja. The water that was being controlled dropped once the explosion happened and along with the senbons scattered everywhere across the floor. All behind Soramaru.
His opponent landed on the ground and rolled over onto his back. He winced from the impact and from the new pain he was receiving from the paper bombs and the rocks. The most noticeable pain for him was his head, that was bleeding, probably from one of the fragments. Shinsaku slowly got up on his knees and smirked once he realized where Soramaru was standing.
"Heh, stupid kid."
He pulled threads.
Katsuko gasped when she saw all the scattered senbons suddenly fly towards her teammate. Effectively piercing the back of his body everywhere.
He cried out in pain and fell forward onto his knees only to intensify the pain with his body movement. He had threads on the senbons the whole time...?! Soramaru groaned in pain as he started removing the ones on his arms and shoulders. These hurt more than regular needles... probably because the diameter is bigger...
He noticed that Shinsaku was making his way towards him. Sora clicked his tongue and tried getting up on his feet only to feel a surge of pain in his legs because of the needles. Damn it... if only I had it...
Shinsaku kicked Soramaru onto his back.
Hikaru winced as he heard his friend cry out in pain. He could literally feel the needles being pushed inside of him. Katsuko covered her ears and flinched as his screams echoed in the arena.
"Oh my god..." Ino covered her mouth with her hand.
"Asuma-sensei is that even fair?" Choji asked worriedly.
"Unfortunately, yes. As long as Soramaru doesn't forfeit the match or isn't knocked out... then the match will continue." Asuma explained.
"That sucks." Shikamaru scowled.
Yukio stared at his wounded student who had Shinsaku's foot on his body and was pressuring him on the floor. He expressed no worry for his student but only an expectation.
"Get... off of ME!" Soramaru yelled as he held tightly Shinsaku's foot. He was doing his best at keeping his foot in place despite the amount of pain he was feeling.
"Hey, how's your wound?"
Soramaru's eyes widened when he felt an impact on his stab wounded.
"That bastard aimed for Sora's wound! HE FREAKING PUNCHED IT!" Hikaru growled.
Shinsaku looked over his shoulder and set his eyes on Hayate, "You can call the match, he won't be getting up anytime soon."
Hayate coughed and stared at the struggling rookie.
Soramaru continued struggling against Shinsaku's foot.
DAMN IT WHY CAN'T I USE FLASH FORWARD?!
It was back when Soramaru first entered the Academy. He and his older sister, Rika were training at the barracks in the Natsui area. He was training his taijutsu and sharpening his ability. However, he never once told his sister that he couldn't use it.
Rika jumped up and kicked towards her brother who blocked with his forearms. She landed and pulled back her right fist and aimed for Sora. He caught her fist and pulled her forward.
"Uwah!" She stumbled forward, "Just kidding." She paused and quickly crouched down and knocked him on his rear.
"Ughh... that hurt." Soramaru moaned in pain. He sat up and rubbed his painful spot.
"You're getting better, Sora."
Feeling happy from being praised, he beamed a smile. "Thank you onee-chan."
"But how come you weren't using your ability? You could have easily weakened my fist by taking chakra..."
Soramaru took a few seconds to reply, "... Why were you using yours?"
Rika grinned, "Of course. Calculation comes in quite handy in any situation!~"
"Ah, really?"
"You didn't answer my question, Sora."
"Oh, well. I just... I just wanted to train without using it! Can't rely on it too much, y'know? There are drawbacks! Soo yeah, I'm trying not to dependent on it too much."
"Hmm, really?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's fine too. But you have to work on it too or else it won't develop. You know what happens if it doesn't develop right? It's like you don't have it... which is weird."
Meaning I'm damaged goods for the Five Promised Clans. Soramaru nodded slowly, "Yes, Don't worry onee-chan."
"Good! Well~ Shall we go home? Mom is making yakisoba for lunch!" Rika cheered before heading for the exit.
Soramaru merely stared at his sister with a sad look. He honestly felt forsaken. He didn't understand why he couldn't tap into his ability. His relatives could tap into theirs and even his sister! So why couldn't he?! It just wasn't fair. Ever since he learned about how people like him were treated after people found out... he lived with fear lingering in the back of his mind. However, this only strengthened his resolve to grow as a ninja without his ability.
Soramaru felt a tear roll down his face as he struggled. But I want it... I want to use my ability.. It's not fair I have perfect chakra control so why...
"Heh! Feeling so helpless that you're crying? Pathetic!" Shinsaku laughed, he focused his chakra onto his foot. "I'll knock you out so you won't have to forfeit yourself!"
"Damn it...!" Soramaru cursed as he felt chakra being concentrated above his hands, making him nervous about the impact he could possibly have if he were to let go.
"Honestly, if you are this weak how are your teammates? They won't be coming to help you this time."
He had struck a nerve inside Sora. "Better than me that's for sure! And I won't tolerate you even thinking they're weak too!"
Soramaru grasped his foot tightly to the point where he was close to crushing the bones.
Yukio smirked at the sight of his student. "There we go, that should have broken down the first wall." He chuckled.
The other Squad Eleven members looked up at their sensei with question marks above their heads. "Huh? What are you talking about sensei?" Hikaru inquired.
"You guys want to see Flash Forward? Look I think he's about to use it." Yukio said while throwing his arms around both of his students and pointing down at Soramaru.
Soramaru couldn't believe it, he was actually feeling it. He was actually using Flash Forward. Shinsaku cried out in pain and jumped away from Soramaru's body. The moment he landed on his feet, he fell forward since he felt no strength in his right foot.
"What the hell...?"
Soramaru got on his knees with a pained expression. He reached for a handful of needles stuck on his back and threw it at Shinsaku's leg. Feeling a surge of strength and determination, he began removing all the needles off his body and throwing them away behind him. He even made sure to cut off the threads attached to them while Shinsaku removed the needles from his leg with a scowl.
Shinsaku didn't understand why his foot was acting up like that. He looked up from his leg and glared at Soramaru as he stood up.
Although it may be invisible to the eye, those who belong to the Five Promised Clans were able to see what was going on. Those with special eyes like the from the Hyuga Clan were also able to see it.
A certain pale genius with long black hair narrowed his eyes. What was that? Tubes?
Soramaru raised a hand towards Shinsaku. The rain ninja waited for the attack.
Soramaru lowered his hand. Nothing happened.
"What's going on...? Why isn't Soramaru attacking...?" Sakura asked to no one in particular.
Yukio blinked. "What are you talking about, pinkette? He kinda just did."
"All he did was lift up his hand and lower it... As for as I know that's no hand sign." Lee muttered.
I'm sure I can win now... but if I do what's the point of advancing to the finals? I don't know how to use Flash Forward correctly... I need to learn how to use it. But for now...
"GOOO SOOORRAAAA!" Hikaru cheered loudly while throwing his fists in the air.
At the same moment, Soramaru charged at his opponent with lightning speed. Shinsaku, who had no time to react, was assaulted by a flurry of physical attacks. With every hit he landed on his opponent, the slower the other one got. He was staggering every time he tried to get into a stance or even retaliate.
But for now, why not enjoy it?
Then finally Soramaru punched him upwards in the air and jumped up to kick him down. Shinsaku landed on his back and got the wind knocked out of him.
The Rain Ninja tried to get up but he couldn't feel an ounce of strength in his body. Soramaru kept his distance just in case. He watched Shinsaku carefully.
"YEAHHHH!" Hikaru hollered next to a certain blonde ninja.
"AGH! SHUT UP!" Naruto hollered back.
"Since Shinsaku is unable to continue... the winner of the 7th match: Soramaru."
The brown haired raised his hand to interrupt the proctor. "Um... excuse me... Since I won the fight... that means I have the right to participate and advance to the finals right?"
"Yes, those are the rules."
"Okay. I forfeit."
"...What?"
"If I remember correctly, these preliminaries are being held to eliminate those who would put up pointless matches in the finals. After all, important figures are going to be watching. And I can assure you that If I advance to the finals... I will be putting up a pointless match."
Hayate was at a loss for words, "Um..."
Yukio grinned. He jumped down and skipped over to Hayate. He stopped next to him and leaned closer. He held up and hand to speak next to the proctor's ear. Soramaru sighed in relief. He was grateful that his sensei was bailing him out.
Hayate nodded, "I see... you're right. Alright. The winner of the 7th match is Soramaru but he will not be advancing to the final rounds."
Ignoring the comments as he went back up, Soramaru approached his friends with a huge smile.
"Heh, you seem to be happy despite forfeiting... what's up with that?" Hikaru grinned.
"Usually that's a smile for like a winner, ya know?" Katsuko chuckled.
"I'll tell you guys later. Oh! But first!" Soramaru looked back at the arena. Two medics were currently walking away with Shinsaku on a stretcher. Suddenly the Rain Ninja bolted up into a sitting position.
Those medics actually asked him if he wanted to get his wound treated. Soramaru kindly refused.
"Ayee! Look he's okay now!" Katsuko laughed in her sleeve.
"Thieves?" Sakura repeated.
Kakashi nodded. "That Natsui Clan used to be a clan of thieving ninjas. Their jutsu Flash Foward was a great asset to them. They are able to steal the physical abilities of anyone they touch. For example speed, raw strength or speed. It's a mix of ninjutsu and taijutsu: Nintaijutsu. When Soramaru got a hold of Shinsaku's foot, he stole speed. Then when Soramaru landed physical attacks on his body... he sapped away all his strength."
"Whaaat? That's cheating! So you're saying that he can get strong by stealing-" Naruto started but he was cut off by a shout.
"SORA?! Sora are you okay?!" Hikaru shouted.
"Get a hold of yourself, man!" Katsuko scolded.
"No, the stolen physical abilities return once the user decides to give it back. However, their body gets heavy..." Kakashi said with a sweat drop.
Soramaru returned what he stole which resulted in him falling backwards with a tired look.
Everyone watched as the names on the screen scrambled for the next match. Soramaru was placed in the same sitting position as Sakura and Ino when they finished their match. Poor boy was unconscious and really out of it. Thankfully he didn't need any medical attention.
Katsuko felt her heart beating fast. She was soo nervous about her fight...
So the only people left now are... Kiba, Hinata, Choji, mummy-dude over there, some other dude, Naruto, Lee, Gaara, Neji, Hikaru, me and... oh god. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD... DO NOT PUT ME UP AGAINST SEIJURO! PLEAAAASE!
Katsuko began sweating bullets. OKAY DO THE MATH... CALCULATE THE PROBABILITY... UHHH...
The names stopped.
The young Igarashi tensed and read the names carefully.
Her eyes widened.
...
...
...
SEIJURO FUKUYAMA VS HIKARU SHIROKAWA
Hikaru's eyes were as wide as saucers.
Yukio chortled in his hand.
Katsuko slowly turned towards he teammate.
"Well... it was nice knowing you." She said while saluting him.
This match is going to be very quick.
Yeah... I lost the script for this story... felt discouraged... but now I'm ready to do it again? Reviews are appreciated~!