So I'm sorry this took so long, but I've been lacking internet at the times I keep thinking to post this. I also apologize...that it is the preliminary matches. This chapter is so long because I'm trying to get them all out in one shot so we can get on to the more interesting things like the invasion and Gaara getting some sense beaten into him.
Posted - 1/11/11
Disclaimer - Nope, I don't own Naruto, as much as I wish I did. *Abducts Tsunade, Temari, and Shikamaru*
Previously -
"I get dibs on the biggest bed." Before Kankurou could protest, she darted inside the suite, quickly checking all three bedrooms before placing her claim.
"Aw, come on Temari, that's not fair!" Kankurou proclaimed coming to stand in her doorway as she flopped on her bed.
"Sure it is!" she told him, rolling over to lie on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm the oldest, so I get the biggest bed!"
"Let it be, Kankurou," Gaara told his brother as he passed on his way to one of the other two rooms. "You get that room." He pointed to the one directly across from Temari.
"What?" Kankurou moaned, looking at the other room. "But that's the smallest! Gaara…" he pouted.
"It's your fault for taking so long and complaining," the redhead told his brother ruthlessly. "Take what you are given."
"Fine," Kankurou grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest and sulking into the small room. He shut his door slightly harder than necessary, eliciting a giggle from Temari at his childish actions. She heard Gaara's door shutting as well quietly.
"Good night!" she called to her two brothers, before closing her own door and preparing for sleep.
Chapter Nine – To Battle for Glory
Five days later, all of the passing teams of genin had assembled in the huge arena that the genin had previously been banned from. Only seven teams all told had passed, and Temari was surprised to see all three teams of rookie Konoha genin, as well as two other teams of Konoha genin, one of which was that of Kabuto. Only two foreign teams had gotten to the Third Exam – that of Suna, and that of Oto. Most of the genin had marks, dirt, and wounds all over their body. Only the Sand Siblings and the other team that had arrived the same day as them were clean and unharmed.
The teams lined up in formation, a three by seven box, with each genin in line with those in front and next to them. In front of them were the proctors of the exams on either side of a dais in the center of the room, four per side, angled in towards the Hokage who was standing on the semicircular dais. Behind the Hokage stood the seven sensei of the genin teams. And in back of them was the largest statue of hands Temari had ever seen; they were folded into a hand sign Temari knew was used for holding jutsu.
Anko stepped forward out of line. She was wearing a headset to make her voice heard throughout the huge room. "First off, congratulations on passing the Second Exam," she announced to the genin, then paused. As the silence stretched on, Temari could hear the genin whispering to each other, observing the people around them. "We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama," Anko finally continued. "Everyone listen well." She turned to the red-robed man. "Hokage-sama, please do the honors."
The Sandaime Hokage paced forward to the edge of the sage. "The Third Exam will begin," he stated, gazing out over the genin. "But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you. It's about the true purpose of this exam. Why we do a joint exam with the allied nations." He lowered his hat over his eyes, showing his seriousness. "'To maintain good relations with the allied nations' and 'heighten the level of the shinobi', do not let those reasons deceive you. This 'exam', so to speak, is…" he paused, blowing out a puff of smoke from his pipe on a sigh, "the epitome of a war between the allied nations."
"What do you mean?" gasped a Chinese-looking girl from the back row of genin.
"If we go back through history, the allied nations right now were neighboring countries that have fought each other over and over again," the Hokage explained. "To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight. That is the beginning of the Chuunin Selection Exam."
"Why do we have to do that?" yelled Naruto, apparently angered by such a decision. "We're not doing this to select chuunin?"
"Yes, this Exam does examine those who are worthy of the chuunin title," the Sandaime responded, replacing his pipe in his mouth. "But, on the other hand, it's also a place where shinobi fight and carry their country's dignity." His eyes bored into those of the genin. "In this Third Exam, feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests. And feudal lords from countries with hidden villages and shinobi leaders will see your battles. If there is a significant difference in power, the strong country will be flooded with jobs. If a country is seen as weak, their jobs will decrease. And at the same time, countries are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them."
"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" growled the boy with the dog in his jacket.
"A country's power is the village's power," the Hokage replied ruthlessly. "A village's power is the shinobi's power. And a shinobi's true power is only born in a life-or-death battle." Temari was impressed with his response. Her first impression of the man had been a benevolent grandfather, but apparently he had an iron will when it came down to it. "This Exam is also a place to show off the shinobi power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight for your life on a line, it has a meaning. And your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chuunin Exam because of it."
"But why do you say it is to promote good relations?" asked the same oriental girl.
"I told you at the beginning not to get it confused with that," the Hokage reprimanded. "The custom of showing one's life and fighting to maintain balance…that is the good relation in the world of the shinobi. This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and village's dignity."
There was a pause among the genin, then Naruto said, "Hah. I understand now!"
"I don't care," Gaara sneered right after him. "Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam." His voice echoed slightly in the large room.
The Hokage nodded, apparently not taking offense at his tone. "Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but," he broke off to cough, and as he did so a Konoha shinobi shot down into the arena, landing in a crouching bow before the dais.
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama," the man said in a soft voice, "I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."
"Please do," the red-robed man instructed, looking down at the kneeling figure.
The man straightened, but did not turn around. All Temari could see of him was that he had a blue bandanna similar to that of the First Exam proctor, and one of the flak jackets all of the Konoha jounin seemed to wear. "Everyone, it's good to meet you," the proctor began in a soft voice, before breaking off to cough. He looked over his shoulder at the group, and Temari could see the man looked worn down. He had bags under his eyes and his face was lined. "Everyone, before the Third Exam, there's something I want you to do." Yet another cough. Is this man sick? Should he even be our proctor then? Temari thought in astonishment. How is he supposed to intervene in a life-or-death situation if he's coughing?
"Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance to the Third Exam's main battle," Hayate stated.
"Preliminary matches? What do you mean?" shouted the lazy genius genin, lunging forward.
Sakura also leaned around from her point at the back of the line and added, "Sensei, I don't understand what you mean by preliminary matches. Why can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining examinees?"
Hayate heaved a sigh. "In this case, it must have been because the First and Second Exams were too easy, I don't know…" Temari could see both Ibiki and Anko tense at that, and Anko in particular was giving Hayate a death glare, "but there are too many examinees left. According to chuunin regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam." Great. More fighting before the real fighting. What is with these Exams? Temari wondered exasperated. They don't seem to be able to weed out the number of genin they want to.
"As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama," Hayate continued, "there are many guests for the Third Exam, so we cannot just have a lot of matches. We are limited on time as well. So those who aren't feeling well…" he trailed off, emphasizing his statement with his own coughs, "excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation, please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately." Temari brightened up after hearing that. She and her brothers had rested for five days, and were completely fresh and ready to fight, while she could tell most of the genin had only arrived that day, maybe only hours prior. So we have the advantage in this.
"Immediately?" the dog boy roared, glaring daggers at the proctor. What is he protesting? He rested just as much as us, Temari thought scornfully.
"But we just got through the Second Exam," the blonde girl whispered, horrified. Her two teammates were just as annoyed. "Mendokuse…"
"I forgot to mention this, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out," Hayate added, watching the genins reactions. "So please withdraw if you wish."
After a long pause, a hand went into the air. "What is it?" the Hokage asked, looking at Kabuto.
"I'll quit," he told them pleasantly with a smile on his face.
"Let's see," Hayate coughed, holding up a brown clipboard and flipping through some page. "You are Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun?" He looked up at the genin in question. "You may leave then."
"Kabuto-san, why are you quitting!" Naruto exploded, turning to watch the boy go. "Why?"
Kabuto turned back to look at the younger genin. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but my body is completely worn out already. Even before the First Exam, after I had that quarrel with the Oto guys, I couldn't hear anything in my left ear. I can't fight right away, especially if it's a life-or-death battle."
The blond boy looked completely devastated by Kabuto's answer. Why did he get so attached? Temari wondered, watching the two. You don't make friends in an exam like this, only enemies. Sentimental Konoha.
Up at the dais, there was a discussion going on amongst the Hokage, Ibiki and Anko. Temari couldn't hear what was being said, but they looked as though they were wary of something.
What she could hear, however, was a soft interchange between Kabuto and his teammate.
"Don't act on your own," the teammate cautioned. "Did you forget Orochimaru-sama's orders?"
Kabuto turned back to glance at his teammate, a malicious grin on his face for a second before it was wiped away, replaced again with that open smile. "I'll leave it to you two. Especially you, Yoroi-san. You will have no problems with your special ability. It's your chance to show what you're capable of, since you're irritated because I got ahead of you."
"So you're Orochimaru-sama's favorite. Don't get cocky, gaki," the masked genin warned Kabuto, malice in his tone.
"Okay, senpai," Kabuto replied, again in that light-hearted tone.
Orochimaru. Temari turned that name over in her mind. He had been the man the Kazekage had told them was the head of Oto. So these three are his spies in Konoha, and in the Chuunin Exam, along with his own team. They must be pretty good to not have been detected yet, although it seems as though the proctors are at least somewhat suspicious of Kabuto.
Just before he walked away from the group, Kabuto turned to smile and wave once more at Naruto, geniality written all over his face. Most of the genin turned to watch him go, before their attention was caught by yet another cough from Hayate.
"May I assume there are no more people who wish to retire?" he asked the group. No one raised their hand, although there was some form a disagreement happening between Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto. Temari couldn't hear what was being said, but it was rather heated. Another argument was happening up on the dais, but it was over rather quickly, with Anko subsiding.
"Then, let's begin the preliminary matches," Hayate declared softly. "It will be a one-on-one match. In other words it will be like real combat. Now that we have exactly twenty people, we will have ten matches. The winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until either the other person dies, is knocked out, or admits defeat. If you do not want to die, please give up immediately. However, if I judge that match to be over," yet another cough, "I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths."
Temari could feel Gaara's annoyance at that statement. She had no doubt he would work to kill his opponent as quickly as possible then. No doubt most of the genin in the room would fall easily to Gaara, no matter how strong they had to be to get to this point.
"The thing that will hold your destiny," Hayate continued, looking back at Anko who uttered a command, "will be this." He pointed to a black screen that had been hidden behind one of the huge purple wooden panels on the wall behind the giant hands. "This electric bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match. Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."
Temari hoped that it would not pit teammate against teammate. That would be completely unfair, as teammates knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, and the fight could last for hours. Also, if she or Kankurou had to fight Gaara…she shuddered.
All the genin looked up at the board as it flashed yellow for a second, before scrolling through random characters until it stopped on two names. Akadou Yoroi vs Uchiha Sasuke. It looks like Gaara won't be getting to fight him this round, Temari thought, trying to observe her brother's reaction. Gaara's body displayed no emotion however. But he will be able to see how strong the boy is.
"Those whose names were displayed, step up," Hayate instructed firmly. As the two moved forward, he raised his hands. "The first match's fighters are Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?"
"No," stated both fighters, and nothing came from the ranks of genin.
"We will now begin the first match," Hayate sighed. "Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up there," he pointed to the catwalks which ringed the room. Stairs leading up to them were located at the back of the room, near the large doors the genin had entered through. The jounin instructors went up the stairs as well, following their teams.
Once they reached the top of the catwalk, Kankurou leaned against the railing, grinning. "So we get to see your interest fight, eh Gaara?" he asked his brother.
"He's not my interest," Gaara told Kankurou in a monotone. "He is my prey. He is strong, and if he cannot fight me, he will die."
Temari looked over at Baki to judge his reaction to those words, but found his face impassive. Gaara says that word so many times….that people are his prey. I just hope we never end up having that word associated with us, or he will try to kill us for sure.
"You may begin," Hayate said. With a blur of shuriken, the fight started. Temari didn't pay much attention to the fight, other than to note any special moves the combatants possessed in case she ended up fighting them later. Yoroi could suck chakra, but Sasuke was unnaturally good at taijutsu. At one point, some sort of fiery flame-like pattern took over his body just before he slammed Yoroi into the ground, but other than that, there was nothing special. Eventually Sasuke ended up winning the match by completely incapacitating Yoroi.
As Sasuke was escorted out of the arena and Yoroi carried out on a stretcher, Hayate stepped forward to announce, "Now, we will begin the next match." Everyone again looked to the board as it cycled through random characters. Zaku Abumi vs Aburame Shino.
Temari relaxed again, a bored expression on her face. Again, it wasn't any of her team, but it should be interesting to see the Oto boy fight, as both his arms were in slings.
"Who's the other weakling?" she heard him ask from his team's position next to her. With a leap he had descended from the walkway and arrogantly moved forward to face Shino in front of the proctor.
"Fighters, please step up. We will now begin the second match," Hayate proclaimed.
Just before the fight began, the sensei of the Oto team disappeared in a puff of smoke. Temari had only seen Konoha shinobi use that technique, and had no doubt it was considered a Konoha secret technique. She had a strong suspicion the Oto jounin had once been a Konoha shinobi, possibly even Orochimaru. How do these Konoha shinobi not see this?
The match wasn't even close. The Konoha boy was in control of the match the whole time, controlling bugs and using logic to explain to his opponent why he wouldn't win. Although Zaku put up a good fight, he was disabled from the start, and ended up blowing holes in his arms after attempting to blow air through holes in his hands. Again the loser of the battle was taken away from the arena on a stretcher.
"I regret your loss, Zaku," Temari heard the boy's teammate say as he looked down from the balcony.
"Why did Zaku's arms become like that?" the other Oto genin, the girl, asked her teammate.
The porcupine-backed genin looked sideways at the girl. "That Shino boy…he must have stuffed bugs into the air hole," he explained. "If he fires the Air Slicer in such a state, the energy accumulated will seek an exit and expand. Zaku's arms were like a barrel, and they were accidentally discharged. Now they are useless."
Temari winced in sympathy. To have your arms blown from the inside out would be incredibly painful, even more so when they're your only form of attack.
"I would like to move on to the next march, now," Hayate told the genin. Again the board spun. Tsurugi Misumi vs Kankurou.
Temari saw Kankurou grin widely. "It's finally my turn." He quickly made for the stairs, and walked confidently into the middle of the arena. Across the arena, one of the masked Konoha genin came as well. Temari noticed he was one of the two who Kabuto had been talking to. They are Oto spies. I wonder how this match will go down?
"Unlike Yoroi, I won't go easy on you just because you're a kid," the Konoha genin announced. "Let me warn you. Once my move gets a hold of you, it's over. Then give up. I will finish this quickly too."
With a swift move, Kankurou loosened the bandages holding his puppet to his back and slammed it on the ground next to him. "I'll finish this match quickly, too," he declared.
"Then," Hayate began, "now, begin the third match."
The moment Hayate stepped away, Misumi lunged at Kankurou, swinging in a back fist. "Victory goes to the swiftest!" he called. Kankurou easily blocked him, but started in surprise as the Konoha boy's arm began to extend, wrapping around his own arm. In another quick move, Megumi was behind Kankurou, wrapping his own pegs around those of the black-clad Suna genin, and his other arm under Kankurou's then around Kankurou's neck to completely incapacitate him.
It's as though he has no joints at all! Temari thought in surprise.
"I can take my joints off their hinges and use my chakra to control my loosened body," Megumi explained to Kankurou as he slowly tightened his limbs. "That's why I can strangle you until your bones break," he whispered to the puppeteer. "Unless you give up, I will continue strangling you. I don't know what tool you use, but there's no point to it if I immobilize your body like this. I can break your neck as well. Hurry up and give up!"
Temari smirked. He's underestimating Kankurou. Just because his body can't move doesn't mean he can't do anything.
"No," Kankurou replied, smiling slightly.
"Do you want to die?" Megumi yelled, tightening his grip further.
"Baka. You're the one who's going to die," Kankurou told his opponent, his voice slightly altered by the pressure against his throat.
With an almost audible snap, Megumi broke Kankurou's neck, until his head lolled lifelessly forward at a right angle to his body.
"How stupid," Gaara spat, looking at the scene. The proctor seemed to be slightly in shock.
"Damn it, you idiot," Megumi fumed, looking at the back of Kankurou's head. "I got carried away and broke it.
But suddenly there was a cracking sound, and some paint flakes fell to the floor. With a whir, 'Kankurou's' head spun around and stared directly at Megumi, except now all could see that it wasn't Kankurou. Instead a white wooden eyeball surrounded flaking paint looked at the Konoha genin.
Megumi started back in shock. "What?"
"Now it's my turn," Kankurou's voice rasped out from the puppet's mouth. Wooden arms shot out from the black sleeves and wrapped around Megumi, immobilizing him, as Kankurou had previously been restrained. The arms tightened and the head jerkily raised to stare at Megumi with its three eyes.
"A marionette!" he exclaimed in horror, trying and failing to get away from the wooden puppet. From the wrapped bundle on the ground, a hand creeped out, and pulled at one of the linen strips until the whole thing unraveled. In a rather cool movement, Kankurou was revealed crouched in the middle of a circle of bandages that were settling to the ground. Show-off, Temari thought affectionately, watching her brother. You may be an annoying brat, but you can still fight.
From Kankurou's hand, glowing blue lines extended to the back of the puppet. Those were his chakra strings with which he controlled Karasu. He tightened his hand slowly, and the puppets arms tightened as well.
"I give…" Megumi groaned, looking over Karasu's shoulder in panic at the proctor.
"You can become softer if I break your bones," Kankurou grinned harshly, tightening his hand once more. Karasu fell to the floor on top of Megumi as the genin collapsed.
"Since his opponent is unable to fight, the winner is Kankurou," Hayate announced. Kankurou pumped his arm once in the air, then swiftly wrapped up Karasu and practically leaped up to the balcony where his siblings were.
"Show-off!" Temari smacked Kankurou on the shoulder as he almost pranced up to them.
"Hey!" he cried, rubbing at his injured arm. "It's not my fault he underestimated me!"
"But you didn't have to draw the match out like that. And that flair at the end? Completely unnecessary," Temari chided, although slightly affectionately.
"Yeah yeah," Kankurou muttered, turning his attention to the again flashing board. Haruno Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino.
As the blonde annoying girl from the barbeque joint and the know-it-all pinkette made their way to the center of the arena, Temari sat against the wall with a sigh. Neither of the girls had shown any significant power, and seemed to have some sort of petty rivalry with each other, which would only make the fight more tedious.
Temari didn't pay attention to the fight as the girls punched at each other, always missing, and boasting to their rival. However, when each took off their hitai-ate, Sakura from the top of her head, and Ino from around her waist, and tied them to their foreheads, she sat up straighter. Apparently such an action signified that each was getting serious about the fight.
However, the fight continued to drag on as the girls kept hitting at each other. Finally, Ino trapped the pinkette by running chakra through her hair, and using a technique called 'Shintenshin no Jutsu'. The blonde's body slumped to the ground as soon as the technique was released.
From what Temari could hear from Ino's teammates, the fight was pretty much over because Ino invaded and took over the victim's mind. Sakura froze, and slowly began raising a trembling hand after a few seconds. But then, she seemed to be fighting with herself. The possessed pinkette grabbed her head in agony, shuddering, until she slammed her hands together, fingers messing as she shouted, "Disengage!" A stream of chakra flowed from Sakura back over to Ino, and Temari had no doubt it represented Ino's mind.
After a few more minutes of taunts and punches, the two girls knocked each other out, and Hayate called the match as a tie, disqualifying both girls. Their respective sensei appeared on the bottom floor and took both Sakura and Ino back up to the balconies where they could recover. Both teams rushed forward to check on their teammates, something Temari found kind of sweet. My team wouldn't do that to me though, she thought derisively.
The board for the matches whirred again, and this time Temari perked up. Tenten vs Temari. Finally! It's my turn to fight. She strolled casually down the stairs to arrive in front of Hayate, facing the girl in the Chinese-style top, with her brown hair up in two buns. Tenten's team was already cheering, while her own looked down silently from the balcony.
"Fifth match, Tenten and Temari, step up," the proctor ordered. Each girl took two steps forward, closing the distance between them to about ten feet. "Begin."
Temari's eyes grew hard as she prepared her strategy for the fight, and Tenten's own eyes widened as realized the match had started. She jumped back quickly, putting much more distance between the two girls. Her distance is exact for both attack and defense, Temari thought, analyzing Tenten's position. I have to be careful. She's an experienced fighter.
"What's wrong?" Hayate asked, looking between the two girls. "Please begin."
"Hmph," Temari taunted Tenten. "You want to observe what I do? This is just a warning, but if I start attacking, you're going to be finished in a second." What she was saying was actually true, but it always helped to try to psych out an opponent. Tenten took a step backward, and Temari took one forward, keeping the distance between them the same. "You're not skilled enough to see how I'll attack. Stop trying to look good." She knew she was coming off as arrogant, but again, it was a good psych technique. Temari poked her chest with her thumb, a clear 'come and get me' sign. "I don't mind, come on."
"You sure seem confident," Tenten retorted, tensing slightly. "Then I'll go without hesitation." With a chakra powered jump, she sprang into the air, and sliced a handful of shuriken directly at Temari. The Suna genin raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed against her will. She hadn't even seen the girl pull out the weapons.
But the attack wasn't good enough. Temari thrust her chakra into the air around her, and the shuriken were deflected easily. To the casual observer, it seemed as though Temari had flashed out temporarily and the shuriken had simply fallen to the ground.
"I missed? That can't be!" Tenten exclaimed, shocked.
"What's wrong? Was that attack just to test me?" Temari asked the other girl, bored. "Or did you shrink up with fear and can no longer aim? I thought that I would have more fun, but it seems that I can't expect much from you."
From behind her on the balcony, she heard Kankurou remark, "She has a friendly attitude, just like usual."
"This is pointless," Gaara responded flatly back. Temari smirked at her brother's attitude. Unless he was fighting, Gaara didn't enjoy sitting around watching matches.
She watched as Tenten gazed at the floor intently before looking back up at Temari. She's measuring the distance between her and me. Next attack must be a big one. Temari reached back to grab her kyodai sensu, preparing to deflect the brown-haired girl's attack, and possibly send one of her own.
Without warning, Tenten began running a wide circle around Temari, but the Suna genin didn't follow turn to follow Tenten. When Tenten reached her starting point in front of Temari, she launched herself into the air again, flipping acrobatically and pulling out a scroll. "How about this?" she cried as she unfurled the scroll in the air in front of her, then whipped it around in a large spiral until it encased her body in a loose cocoon. The cocoon spun faster and faster until it was a blur, and weapons began shooting out of it directly at Temari. This time she sent more chakra into the air around her, but used her fan to make the deflection more powerful to compensate for the increased velocity of the weapons. When Tenten landed, Temari had her kyodai sensu propped on the ground next to her, leaning on it in the same manner as Kankurou did his puppet. The fan was opened to one purple circle.
"What! My weapons…" Tenten trailed off as she saw them scattered around Temari and not a scratch on the girl. "Is there a trick to that fan?"
Temari smirked at the oriental dressed girl. "This is the first star," she explained. "There's two more. When you see three stars, you're going to lose."
Her opponent closed her eyes briefly, before pulling out two scrolls from behind her, and holding them out towards Temari. The blonde girl watched as Tenten balanced each of them on the ground carefully, then laughed. "No matter what you try, it's useless."
Tenten knelt between the two scrolls, then ran through some hand seals. "Soushouryu!" she yelled, crossing her arms in front of her chest. An explosion of chakra radiated out of her position, causing Temari to shield her face slightly. Out of the smoke shot two dragons, who wove around each other in a spiral. Then those dragons turned into the scrolls Tenten had placed on the ground.
As Temari braced herself for the attack, Tenten shot up through the middle of the scrolls until she hung at the top of the spiral. She began grabbing weapons out of her scrolls and launching them at Temari.
"Even if you increase the numbers, it's still the same," Temari called, looking up at the floating girl. She flicked her kyodai sensu open to another purple circle. "Second star!" She swung her fan behind her head, then swiftly forward to create a huge wave of air to deflect all of the weapons flying towards her.
The metal crashed to the ground in a line in front of the now kneeling Temari, and Tenten landed lightly, kneeling as well, as her scrolls crumpled into two piles.
"I'm not done!" Tenten shouted, shooting into the air once more. Temari stood, readying her kyodai sensu in front of her in preparation. From Tenten's hands sprung nearly invisible wires, and the weapons lying on the ground flew into the air, pulled by the lines. The brown haired girl hung in the air in a swan dive, her weapons arranged in front of her. With a yell, Tenten's hands shot forward and the weapons flew towards Temari.
Hah. Too slow! Temari thought, swinging her fan forwards once more, blowing Tenten and her weapons out of the air. The girl crashed to the ground, skidding a few feet before coming to a rest surrounded by her armaments.
Temari held her kyodai sensu behind her with both her hands, all three stars showing. It was larger than her arm span, and so she had one hand on its base, and the other on its rim to keep it upright.
"Third star," she told Tenten grinning. She swung her kyodai sensu in a circle in front of her body, and it seemed as if it disappeared into thin air to Tenten. Actually she had launched herself into the air as the swing was completed, fast enough that the eye could not keep track of her speed.
"Where is she?" Temari heard the brown haired girl mutter as she glanced around the arena.
"Here," Temari called down. She was flying on her fan far above the weapons girl, the three stars pointing down towards the ground. She passed over Tenten, enjoying the fear and surprise in the girl's eyes as the shadow of the kyodai sensu passed over her. As the fan grew closer to the ground, Temari jumped off, catching the fan in her hand as it folded up.
Without giving Tenten time to collect herself, she began her attack. "Ninpou Kamaitachi!" she murmured, opening her fan fully and swinging it forward. A circular tube of wind shot towards Tenten, engulfing her into a tornado. The sharp winds cut the girl as she hung suspended in the middle of the cyclone, high above the floor of the arena. Finally the girl fell out of the winds, and Temari ruthlessly propped her kyodai sensu on the ground and caught Tenten violently on the top edge of her fan. Tenten was bent almost fully backward over the fan, and the force of impact forced some blood from her mouth as she exhaled harshly.
"That was boring. Very boring," she told the weapons mistress. The crueler she came off here, the less likely people were to want to face her later. All for the better during the invasion.
"There's no way we'll lose here," Kankurou remarked from the balcony.
Hayate approached the two girls from behind almost tentatively. "Fifth match winner, Temari."
With a grin she didn't quite feel, Temari drew back her fan and shot Tenten off parallel to the ground at high speed. Apparently one of her teammates saw it coming, for he jumped down to the ground and caught the girl as she flew towards him.
"Nice catch," she smirked at him, more at his green spandex than the situation.
"Is that something you should do to someone who fought her hardest?" he yelled at her, laying Tenten on the ground while supporting her head to shake is fist at the Suna genin.
Temari slammed her kyodai sensu on the ground. "Urusai! Take that piece of trash and leave." That sparked the boy's temper.
"Argh!" he yelled, running forward. "Konoha Senpuu!" He swung around in a kick, but Temari raised her fan and caught the kick firmly on the length of the rib.
"What?" the boy started, surprised by the quick reaction.
Temari regarded at him around the fan. "You're just like how you look; you're stupid."
He glared at her. "What did you say?"
Behind him appeared another green spandex-clad person, almost the exact twin of the boy in front of her. "Stop it, Lee," he told the genin.
"Gai-sensei," the Lee exclaimed, looking at his mentor.
Then Temari heard Gaara's voice from the balcony. "Temari, come back here. You won. Stop dealing with that ugly guy who's with his guardian." A staring match commenced between said 'ugly guy' and Gaara; the redhead regarded the genin apathetically, while Lee was glaring daggers at Gaara.
"Just let it go, Lee," Gai advised solemnly, resting a hand on his charge's shoulder. Then he smiled. "Gentlemen from Suna, if I may warn you about one thing?" Up on the balcony Kankurou and Gaara looked impassively down on him. "He's strong. You better be prepared for it." Gaara's eyes narrowing were the only sign that he registered what the man said.
Temari turned her back on the scene of the fight, heading for the balcony again. Behind her, the two spandex-clad shinobi picked up all of Tenten's weapons as medic-nin came to take Tenten away on a stretcher.
When she got back up to the balcony, Kankurou greeted her. "You took it a bit far, but that was awesome," he told her, grinning almost catlike. Temari was glad her brother couldn't read the uncertainty and pain in her eyes. She had hated injuring the girl that much when the match was already decided, but she had to keep up the fear people were now associating with the Sand Siblings.
She heard the board whirring again, and saw the names Nara Shikamaru vs Kin Tsuchi on the board. Temari saw the lazy genius genin slouch forward to meet his opponent, the girl from the Oto team. Again, she didn't really pay attention to the match, but it went pretty fast, Shikamaru using his analytical skills to trick Kin into not noticing his shadow.
"Now for the next match," Hayate said, looking up at the board. Uzumaki Naruto vs Inuzuka Kiba. The only match Temari was interested in now was Gaara's however, so she zoned out for most of the fight, only paying attention when Kankurou stated, "I don't care who wins, just settle the match," as he glared down at the arena.
Naruto was attempting to mold chakra when Kiba, the dog boy, lunged behind him to attack. But…he farted. Naruto farted. And Kiba reeled back, clutching at his nose in pain, completely incapacitated.
Naruto brought his hands together into a hand seal, calling "Kagebushin no Jutsu!" Suddenly, there were five Narutos, all exact replicas of each other. They ran out in a circle around Kiba, surrounding the still debilitated boy.
"U-zu-ma-ki," shouted the four clones running forward and attacking Kiba, before kicking him up into the air. The flying dog boy was met with an axe kick to the face by the fifth Naruto, "Naruto Rendan!" he finished. Kiba was slammed face first into the ground and lay there, knocked out.
Hayate walked over and rolled Kiba's body over, checking him for consciousness. Finding the boy to be out, he declared "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto." Three medics came over and lifted Kiba onto a stretcher as the board spun again. Hyuuga Hinata vs Hyuuga Neji.
"I'm going to the bathroom," Temari told her brothers before walking away along the balcony. She didn't really have any desire to see yet another boring fight, and the matches were dragging on. When she got to the bathroom, it was empty thankfully. She took her time washing her hands and redoing her hair after the fight, even going so far as to brush it and carefully divide it equally to take up more time.
By the time she got back out to the arena, the Hyuuga match just ended, with Hinata being carried out rapidly on a stretcher. She mounted the steps and stood on the other side of Gaara from Kankurou, coolly observing all the remaining opposition. She could feel the dark chakra radiating off Gaara, and she had no doubt it had something to do with the puddles of blood on the floor of the arena. She could also hear the ragged breathing issuing from his mouth. This isn't good. He's getting worked up. Whoever his next opponent is had better be quite strong.
Kankurou began walking along the balcony, passing Temari and Baki. "Kankurou?" she asked, stepping back to let him pass.
"I'm going to go on a little recon mission," he replied, raising his hand as a 'goodbye'.
Temari watched as he walked to the other balcony, and began talking to the blond, orange clad genin over there. Naruto turned to face Kankurou fully, and they seemed to be slightly stand-offish. Their attention was diverted by a cough from the proctor however.
"We will now resume the matches," Hayate announced. The board once again began flashing through random characters, before settling on the next match-up. Before the board had even settled, Gaara had formed a hand sign, gathering sand around himself and disappearing in it, only to reappear on the arena floor.
"Hurry up and come down," he deadpanned towards the balcony. Gaara vs Rock Lee, the board announced. How did he know? Temari wondered, but quickly gave up that line of thought. Gaara was just too mysterious.
After a very awkward scene with his mentor, Lee leapt over the railing of the balcony and landed lightly on the ground in a crouch. From his spot on the ground, Lee stood up, and settled into an odd fighting stance where he held is right hand out at Gaara in an almost 'come here' gesture, and the other tucked behind his back. "I'm very happy that I can fight you so early," he told the redhead. Gaara's only response was to stare impassively back at the boy.
Up on the balcony, Temari looked down at the two combatants. He has speed, but his kick wasn't that great, she thought, remembering when he had attacked her.
Suddenly, a thwap was heard, and Lee's free hand shot out catching something. "Don't get so hasty," he told Gaara, dropping the cork from the Suna genin's gourd onto the ground where it bounced slightly. Again, Gaara only glared at Lee.
"Now, let's begin the ninth match," Hayate said hoarsely, raising his hand. He dropped his hand slightly. "Begin."
Lee shot forward in a sprint towards Gaara to begin the match, spinning around in a kick while he called, "Konoha Senpuu!" But his foot only slammed into Gaara's automatic defense of sand. More sand shot out, creating a wave that tried to crush Lee, but the spandex clad boy jumped backwards in a flip, evading the attack. As the onlookers watched, the sand trickled back into Gaara's gourd, although no one had seen it come out.
Gaara's unique technique. His control of sand cannot be replicated by anyone in this room. And I bet its boggling the minds of some of the shinobi here, Temari thought, not bothering to look around for reactions.
As Lee shot forward again, sand poured out of Gaara's gourd, blocking each of the boy's attacks automatically without Gaara even moving his arms. Then the sand moved to attack Lee, and he slashed at the tendrils, keeping it from grabbing him. At the end of that skirmish, sand was spread across the floor, and Lee was even further away from Gaara than when he started.
Because of that automatic defense of the sand, Gaara has never been hit, or hurt in any way. Except for his tattoo. This fight is already over, Temari thought, watching as Lee panted for breath.
"Is that it?" Gaara asked, not looking at his opponent. "Let me enjoy this a little more…there isn't enough…blood!" Not good not good not good…he's losing it, fast!
The sand shot towards Lee at high speed, catching Lee's leg as he jumped into the air to avoid it and swung him around into the wall. He recovered quickly, jumping to attack Gaara again only to be blocked by the sand. The sand lunged for him again, and Lee began back flipping away, until he landed on some sand and fell to the ground. The sand fell on top of the spandex clad genin in an attempt to smother him, but Lee jumped up into the air, somersaulting until he landed lightly on the tip of the finger of the stone hands at the front of the room.
The two combatants glared at each other, each analyzing the moves their opponent had used.
Out of the balcony where Lee's team was, his sensei shouted suddenly, "Lee! Take them off!"
The boy looked startled, gazing at his mentor in confusion. "But, Gai-sensei, I thought that was only permitted when protecting many important people!"
Gai stuck his thumb out in a completely cheesy gesture. "I don't care! I will allow it!"
First realization, then excitement, flowed over Lee's face. He sat cross-legged on the stone finger, pulling off both his garish orange leg warmers to reveal weights with seal characters on them. No way…he's been handicapped so far? Temari thought in disbelief.
"All right! I can move easier now!" Lee declared, holding out both weights then dropping them. Taking off some weight won't enable you to catch up with Gaara's sand though. However, when the weights landed, they created huge explosions, sending up dirt and stone into the air. Temari's mouth dropped open in astonishment. So much weight! How could he move that fast with that much resistance!
"Go Lee!" Gai declared, pointing two fingers at Gaara.
"Yes sir!" Lee shouted back, leaping off the stone fingertip to disappear and land in front of Gaara. I didn't even see him move!
Gaara was just as startled, as Lee's punch broke through his sand guard, even if he didn't even touch the redhead. The taijutsu boy disappeared again, reappearing only to kick at Gaara, then vanish. Gaara was looking around stunned, trying to find his attacker.
All that could be seen of Lee was a green blur bouncing around in Gaara, while the sand attempted to keep up. Gaara was turning in circles, not sure where Lee was going to come from next, an almost scared look on his face. The last time Temari had seen that expression was when Yashamaru died.
In a final move, Lee jumped into the air in a somersault, and delivered a fierce axe-kick to the top of Gaara's head. He hit Gaara! He actually landed a blow on Gaara!" A gash ran down Gaara's cheek, oozing blood, and his right eye was closed. I can't believe it. Gaara got wounded…
Again Lee ran towards Gaara, but this time the boy directed the sand with his hand, making it move even faster than before now that he was consciously controlling it. Again Lee was a nearly invisible blur as he flew around Gaara, only to deliver a right hook to Gaara's face. The Suna genin sailed through the air to land on the ground, skidding a few times with his arms flung out in front of him. throw
Gaara slowly stood up, sand pouring from his gourd. His head was hanging down, and clumps of sand were falling off of his face to dissolve on the ground. When he did look up, his whole body was covered in sand that was cracked, with only his eyes, nose, mouth, and cheeks visible through the sand. He's losing the sand armor…and that look in his eye. This is NOT GOOD!
Gaara was grinning maniacally, his eyes wide open with the pupils dilated. The sand on the ground began swirling in a circle around him, before sending up tendrils to replenish the sand that he had lost from the sand armor. I felt that he had become more unstable during this Chuunin Exam, but I didn't think it had gone this far!
Finally the sand armor was complete, and regained the same colors as the Gaara under the layer of sand, making it seem as though the sand wasn't even there. Normally the armor wouldn't be there. Since he's forced to use it, that means he's being pressured right now. I just hope he doesn't crack completely. That Lee guy is pretty strong. But the outcome of this match is clear. He cannot defeat Gaara.
"Is that all you've got?" Gaara asked again, his arms folded once more.
Temari watched in confusion as Lee smiled slightly, before beginning to unwrap his arm bandages in response. "Prepare yourself," he ground out, before launching forward to run quick circles around Gaara.
In the middle of the circle, Gaara stood unfazed. "Hurry up and come," he ordered the Konoha genin.
"As you wish!" Lee shouted, rushing in to deliver an upper kick to Gaara's chin. The redhead flew into the air from the force of the blow, his sand armor cracking.
"I'm not done!" The spandex clad genin launched off the ground to deliver a harsh blow to Gaara's stomach, then kick him further and further into the air. The sand tried to follow, but wasn't able to keep up with the flying duo.
Unexpectedly, the white bandages Lee had unraveled from his arms wrapped around Gaara, completely immobilizing him in a cocoon with Lee behind him grasping the cocoon firmly.
"Take this! Secondary Lotus!" Lee yelled, quickly spiraling himself and his victim in a headfirst fall towards the ground, spinning like a drill. The two crashed into the arena floor, splintering the stone and creating a huge crater. Lee was crouched a few feet away panting heavily. When the smoke cleared, Gaara was revealed lying in the middle of the crater, unmoving. No sand was seen around him, and the sand armor was cracked all over.
As the proctor approached to determine if the match was over, a small piece of the armor cracked off…and fell into Gaara. He wasn't in the armor! He must have switched out right before the attack.
Slowly the shell crumbled into sand, as the onlookers watched in disbelief. From behind Lee rose Gaara, sand pouring off of him, revealing the deadly expression on his face as he laughed maniacally.
"That's…Shuukaku. He's awakened," Temari whispered. "This is really bad."
With a grin, Gaara formed a seal and sand radiated out towards Lee, charging towards him and knocking to the ground. Behind Gaara, a wave of sand formed, and crashed to the floor of the arena, sweeping Lee along with it until he crashed into the wall heavily. When the dust from the impact cleared, Lee was seen with his arms crossed in front of his face as a barrier.
He grinned, something Temari didn't understand, and ran forward to confront Gaara once more. Lee was obviously pushing his body to the limits already, so why did he continue to battle?
As Gaara's sand tried to catch Lee, the boy flashed from spot to spot, leading the sand on. Finally the two combatants stopped moving again, simply looking at each other. Then Lee crossed his arms in front of his face once more, and power shot up around him.
"I don't know what you're trying to do, but you're going to be finished here," Gaara said harshly, forming another hand seal.
"Yes," Lee replied unexpectedly. "Either way, the next move will end everything. I cannot be the only one who loses here!"
Power began radiating from Lee, ruffling his jet black bowl-cut, as he crossed his arms in front of his face. Even pieces of stone began to rise into the air as the power shot up, and blue chakra tendrils emanating from his body. He uncrossed his arms and threw his head back, his skin tinged bright red. " Now is the time to abide by and protect my nindo!" he shouted as a green silhouette encased his body. "Third Gate: Life Gate, open!"
A crater began to form around Lee from the force of his power. Lee crouched down, his clothes and hair being blown back. "Now for the Fourth Gate: Wound Gate…open!" he cried, releasing another blast of pure power.
He tensed, then shot forwards faster than even sound could keep up with, leaving a broken trail of stone in his wake. Gaara's head snapped up and back from the impact of Lee's foot to his chin. Even the bystanders were caught by the wake as winds and chips of stone flew past.
For a few seconds, the two combatants were nowhere to be found, and then Temari spotted Gaara flying up towards the ceiling, but she couldn't find Lee anywhere. In a flash, Lee appeared in front of Gaara and began to play Gaara pinball, kicking him around and appearing before him to kick the redhead in a new direction.
As Lee rushed forward once more, he shouted "Fifth Gate: Forest Gate…open!" He flashed blue for a second and rammed a fist hard into Gaara's stomach, then grabbed his white sash to prevent his downward movement away from the black haired genin. Behind the two, the sand was attempting to catch up to the two, but couldn't match their speed. The shield of sand cannot catch up. Most of his armor has been peeled off as well…not good.
"Primary Lotus!" Lee screamed as he yanked Gaara towards him fiercely. But as the move initiated, an orange electricity crackled over Lee's arm and leg, and Gaara's gourd collapsed into sand. He's using his last bit of sand!
Lee rolled out of the smoke that obscured the site of impact, lying on his side. Gaara…are you alive? As the smoke cleared, sand was visible surrounding the redhead as he lay in yet another crater. Gaara reached a trembling hand out towards where Lee lay, and his sand formed a giant hand that swooped towards the black haired boy, who tried to crawl away. But he couldn't move.
The sand grasped Lee's arm and leg, and Gaara tightened his hand in a fist. "Sabaku Sousou!"
Lee screamed as his two limbs were completely crushed by Gaara's sand. He fell backward to the ground, almost unconscious while some sand remained around his limbs, obscuring the damage.
More sand shot towards the genin, as Gaara intoned, "Die," from his position on the floor. The sand coalesced into a huge ball, and the redhead sat up to see if he had actually killed Lee. Did he do it? What will the ramifications be?
But the sand was thrust away by the boy's clone, his sensei, Gai. He stood with his hand out, pushing the sand away, and his jounin vest opened slightly and flapping from the force of deflection revealing his hitai-ate on a red belt, just like his student.
The sand user stared in disbelief, seeing his victim lying on the ground behind the jounin. Then suddenly he clutched at his head, groaning. "Why? Why did you help him?" he asked, perplexed.
"He's…" Gai began seriously, then pausing," an important subordinate I love."
"A subordinate you love?" Temari repeated, confused. What is he talking about? Gaara won't understand it.
The redhead stood back up, his gourd reforming behind him from sand. Without looking at the two green clad shinobi, he walked away calmly. "I quit."
"Winner, Gaa –" Hayate began, raising his hand, only to cut off as Lee stood up. Even though his arm and leg were dripping blood, and his whole body was shaking, he was in a ready position for combat, although his eyes were half closed and unfocused. Gaara turned to face him again, ready to finish the fight despite his earlier words.
"Are you trying to prove your nindo even after you're unconscious?" Gai asked his subordinate softly, although everyone could hear it. He's unconscious? How can he even stand up, let alone direct his body to that position? It defies all logic.
"Winner, Gaara," Hayate finished, as Gai enveloped Lee into a hug. Temari saw Gaara stare at the scene, his eyes narrowing. Yes. He wouldn't understand that. To him it would make no sense, to have someone care for you. I'm sorry Gaara.
Even though she felt badly for the genin, he would never be able to fight again, Temari grinned slightly. "There's no way you can beat Gaara," she said to no one in particular.
As Gaara walked towards the stairs that would take him back up to his team, the blond boy Kankurou had gone to visit jumped over the rail and ran towards Lee, looking intently at Gaara as he passed. Something in his eyes must have caught Gaara, for he turned to watch the orange-clad boy run past, then walked again towards the stairs. But as the medic-nin passed him by with Lee on a stretcher, he seemed moved slightly, and his face was conflicted. Finally, he simply gathered his sand around himself and teleported back to where Temari and Baki stood.
"Welcome back, Gaara," Temari said softly to her brother, walking over to where he stood. He simply looked at her askance, although not with the normal derision and hate in his eyes. Did this fight change him slightly?
Temari didn't pay attention to the last match at all, too busy trying to analyze the change in Gaara. At one moment he had been almost completely taken over by Shuukaku, and was bloodthirsty and trying seriously to kill Lee. But after Gai had protected Lee, his demeanor had changed. When he had grasped at his head, was he receiving flashbacks from when was young. Did he remember how she cared for him?
Now Gaara was staring at nothing, an unusual pensive expression on his face. What is he thinking about? I wish I could read your mind, Gaara.
So now the chapters should begin to get shorter again - I don't want to create any false expectations in length! They should usually bounce somewhere beween 3k-6k =) Next up are the final exams! And I am sincerely working to not follow canon so heavily.