Hello, darlings...
Disclaimer: Naruto is Kishimoto's toy. I'm just playing with it.
Warning: Language. Truly & sincerely.
The two days waiting for the Third Exam were relatively uneventful. The room we stayed in was fairly large and food was delivered to us. We had no reason to leave said room, and so we rarely did. When we did, we didn't—or at least I didn't run into any of the other teams. Which in all honesty seemed a complete load of bs, because seriously, what were the odds?
Yes, I understood that tower was huge; yes I understood most teams were probably trying to avoid each other so we didn't have to fight, or so we didn't have a chance to properly analyze each other, but still… I would have thought for sure I would have run into at least one other person.
Apparently not.
Anyway, so our time in the tower was relatively uneventful. During that time we mostly rested up and did minimal exercise—we didn't want any of the other teams being able to see our battle style or how strong we were. We weren't going to take the risk.
Sasuke was pretty quiet during the two days, though he often woke up in the middle of the night, clutching his neck. I had done my best to ease away his pain, but in the end I just decided knocking him a better solution. He didn't seem to care so long as it didn't hurt him anymore.
Naruto was extremely restless the longer we stayed in the room, after the first day I decided it would probably be for the best if Naruto and I took an extremely long, and tiring, walk around the tower right before breakfast and after dinner. Sometimes Naruto took said walk before and after lunch as well.
Me? Well when I wasn't rereading one of the only three medical books I had brought, I was napping away or keeping Naruto occupied.
Overall… Very uneventful.
But, finally! At long last! The Third Exams had arrived…
( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)
We were all gathered in that single, poorly lit, giant-ass room. You know, the one with the cracks in the cemented walls and permanent blood stains on the stone ground. The room that screams 'fights to the death happen here—a lot.' All the examinees were lined up and stood before the examiners, as well as our sensei and the Third Hokage himself.
I noticed Kakashi and resisted the urge to wave my arm around like an idiot and scream: WOO-HOO! I PASSED, SENSEI! LOOK AT ME, I PASSED! WOO-HOO!
You only wanted to do that so he would praise you.
That's not… okay so maybe a little.
You're a very shallow person.
Damn it, what are you, my conscience?
No…
Well then…
"First of all, congratulations on passing, everyone," Anko stated, her voice echoed across the room. "We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama. Everyone, listen well."
The Hokage stepped forward, clearing his throat in the process. "The Third Exam will begin, 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. 'To maintain good relations with the allied nations' and 'heighten the level of shinobi'… Do not let those reasons deceive you. This exam, so to speak, is the epitome of a war between the allied nations."
"What do you mean?" Tenten asked.
"If we go back through history, the allied nations right now were neighboring countries that have fought each other over and over again. To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight… That is the beginning of the Chūnin Exams."
"Why do we have to do that?" Naruto demanded, his face screwed up in a mix of disbelief and anger. "Weren't we doing this to select Chūnin?"
"Yes, this exam does examine those who are worthy of the Chūnin title," The Third Hokage allowed. "But, on the other hand, it's also a place where shinobi fight and carry their country's dignity. 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's 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?" Kiba growled.
"A country's power is the village's power. A village's power is the shinobi's power. And a shinobi's true power is only born in life-or-death battle. This exam is also a place to show off the shinobi power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning and your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chūnin Exam because of it."
"But, why do you say it is to promote good relations?" Tenten asked.
"I told you at the beginning not to get confused with that," The Third reminded. "The custom of saving's one life and fighting to maintain balance… That is the good relation in the world of shinobi. This is a life or death battle for your dream and the village's dignity."
Naruto scoffed, "Heh, I understand now."
"I don't care," Gaara muttered, his gaze focused intently on the Hokage. "Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam."
The Hokage nodded his head. "I will, but first…"
Hayate appeared before the Hokage, kneeling. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama. I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."
"Please do," Hiruzen said.
Hayate stood up, turning towards the group. "A pleasure, everyone. But, before the Third Exam, you'll need to fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance to the Third Exam's main battle."
"Preliminary matches? What do you mean?" Shikamaru demanded, stepping forward and glaring.
Hayate sighed. "In this case, it must have been because the First and Second Exam were too easy, I don't know… but there are simply too many examinees left. According to Chūnin regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam. As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama, there are many guests for the Third Exam, so…"
He coughed. "We cannot just have a lot of matches. We are limited on time, as well. So those who aren't feeling well… If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation please let me know. The preliminary matches will be immediately."
"Immediately?" Kiba repeated, his voice breaking off into a growl.
"But, we just got through the Second Exam," Ino muttered, looking crestfallen.
"How troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled.
"Ah, I forgot to mention this, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out. So please withdraw if you wish."
At the mention of withdraw, Sasuke winced and grasped his neck in front of me. I glanced at him, frowning. I leaned forward and whispered, "Are you going to be okay?"
Sasuke grimaced. "I'll be fine. The intervals before the pain are just increasing, though."
"I figured," I muttered. "Do you need to withdraw?"
He was quiet for a moment before he shook his head. "No. No, I'll be fine."
"And there's nothing I can say or do to make you think otherwise, Duck-Ass?"
He smirked slightly then winced. "No."
I sighed and raised my hands up in mock defeat. "Alright, I won't say anything more, but when the preliminaries are over, we are hunting down sensei and having him check out your… neck, promise me?"
Sasuke glanced at me and smirked again. "Deal."
Kabuto's hand raised into the air. "I'll quit."
"K-Kabuto-san?" Naruto asked in disbelief.
Hayate glanced at his clipboard. "You are Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun? You may leave then."
"Kabuto-san, why are you quitting?" Naruto demanded.
Kabuto paused, glancing back at Naruto. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but my body hasn't recovered from the Second Exam and I'm afraid I simply wouldn't be much of a challenge for anyone."
Kabuto smiled and waved before he walked away.
I felt a twinge of disappointment at the prospect of not getting the chance to kick his ass. Not that I thought I could kick his ass… yet.
"May I assume there are no more people who wish to retire?" Hayate coughed. "It will be a one-on-one match. Now that we have exactly twenty people, we will have ten matches… and the winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out or admits defeat."
"I will be the judge to decide when it's over. I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny…"
He motioned over to the monitor that magically appeared. Just kidding. It actually came out from the wall. "Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."
Everyone looked up to the screen.
Akadou Yoroi
Vs
Uchiha Sasuke
I reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck, Duck-Ass."
He scoffed at me.
"Those with their names displayed, please step forward," Hayate said.
Sasuke and Yoroi walked to the front of the examinees.
"Are there any objections to this first match?" Hayate asked.
"No," Sasuke and Yoroi said.
All we can do now is watch.
Goody. How boring.
"We will now begin the first match. Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up there," Hayate said, motioning towards the balcony.
As everyone began to move away, Naruto and I stayed behind with Sasuke as Kakashi approached.
"Kakashi-sensei!" I greeted before Naruto had the chance.
Kakashi dipped his head, walking towards us and stopping to murmur something to Sasuke. When he was finished he began walking towards the balcony as well, Naruto and I followed right behind him.
Once everyone was safely on the balcony, the match began.
Come on, you know how it goes.
Yoroi launched his shuriken, Sasuke countered them with his kunai before his Curse Mark throbbed and caused him to lose his balance. Yoroi appeared behind Sasuke, Sasuke rolled out of the way and kicked Yoroi's feet in. Then Sasuke pinned him with his legs. Yoroi grabbed him with his special chakra hand, sucking away Sasuke's strength before breaking free of the pin.
Yoroi then grabbed Sasuke's forehead, pinning him to the ground and sucking away his strength. After a few seconds of struggling, Sasuke finally managed to kick Yoroi off of him. Yoroi flew across the room before landing a little ways from Sasuke. Yoroi charged at Sasuke, Sasuke ducked his blows, evading all attacks. But, he was still weak from his curse seal and the major strength sucking jutsu.
"Sasuke! Is that all you got? Is that all the great Uchiha Clan has to show?" Naruto had shouted. Sasuke turned his gaze up to the balcony, looking at Naruto before his gaze fell on Lee who stood beside us.
Yoroi charged again, but Sasuke evaded his attacks with more ease, now that he had a plan in his mind. Finally he sidestepped him, before dropping to the ground and slammed his foot up against Yoroi's jaw. Yoroi flew up into the air and Sasuke jumped up, appearing behind him. While he was in the air though, his Curse Mark activated, threatening to take over. But, Sasuke resisted it, forcing it dormant again.
Sasuke feinted a kick at Yoroi's side before slamming into his chest and driving him into the ground. The force drove Sasuke off and away from Yoroi where he laid on the ground, momentarily unmoving. Yoroi had died at the impact though. Sasuke slowly sat up.
"The first match winner is Uchiha Sasuke," Hayate declared.
Kakashi appeared from behind Sasuke, keeping Sasuke from falling back and hitting the ground again from exhaustion due to the curse mark.
Kakashi then escorted Sasuke off to seal the curse mark.
When they had left, Hayate declared the next match.
Abumi Zaku
Vs
Aburame Shino
Shino and Zaku stepped down from the balcony to the center of the room. Hayate began the match.
Zaku charged with his one good arm—his right arm. Shino blocked Zaku's hit with ease. Zaku used his air slicer hit, blowing Shino back. Shino rolled on the ground before straightening back up.
That's when the bugs started crawling out from his body. The bugs marched right towards Zaku from behind, forcing Zaku to use his left arm and attack both Shino and the bugs. But when Zaku tried to attack, his chakra ruptured his arms. And that's when the bugs that Shino had hidden earlier on Zaku made themselves known, crawling out from Zaku's skin and holes in his hands.
Shino completely bitch slapped Zaku, knocking him to the ground and effectively winning the match.
Just before Hayate started the next match though, Kakashi reappeared.
"Yo," Kakashi said, appearing from behind us.
"Kakashi-sensei!" I cheered. "Welcome back. How's Duck-Ass?"
"He's asleep at the hospital right now," Kakashi responded, completely unaffected by my nickname for Sasuke.
I sneaked a peak at the next match.
Tsurugi Misumi
Vs
Kankurou
Oh psh, I'd much rather talk to Kakashi than watch that match.
Don't be so rude.
Oh, you know you do, too.
…That's beside the point.
"Kakashi-sensei?" I asked, whilst the two contestants stepped into the center of the room.
"Mm?" Kakashi murmured.
"What did you do while we were in the forest?"
Kakashi paused a moment before answering, "Things."
"What kind of things?"
"Things that I do."
"And what exactly do you do?"
"Things."
"…Do these things involve missions?"
"They might."
"Do they involve danger?"
"They might."
"Do they involve reading a certain favorite mature series?"
"…They might."
"Do they involve completely goofing off?"
"…They might."
"Are you ever going to answer one of my questions with a straight answer?"
"I might."
I gave him a look, clearly stating I was not amused.
Meanwhile, back down below us, Kankuro had already finished his match, having forced Misumi to give up via strangulation from his puppet.
Short match.
"Two against one is unfair. Is that allowed? Is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto had asked once the match was over.
"It's not unfair. It's just a doll after all," Kakashi answered.
"A puppet to be exact," I clarified. "He controlled the doll with his chakra. It's merely a tool, like a shuriken."
The screen whirled and finally the fourth match was up.
Haruno Sakura
Vs
Yamanaka Ino
"My turn," I said, grinning hugely. I turned towards Kakashi. "Wish me luck, sensei."
"Good luck, Sakura-chan," Kakashi replied.
"Ne, ne, be sure to win, Sakura-chan!" Naruto chirped, grinning hugely.
I gripped the metal handrail tightly before I swung myself over it and dropped to the stone ground.
Stairs were for people with no imagination.
I walked towards the center of the room, and grinned up at Ino who was heading down the stairs towards me.
Now here's a slight screw up in the storyline coming up because there was no way in hell I was going to allow myself to lose. I was going to give this match my all, and if I won fantastic.
If I didn't win, oh friggin' well. At least I tried.
But either way, I wasn't going to let this slide.
When Ino reached the center with me, my grin softened down to a smile and I nodded at her. "Ino-chan, let's both do our best."
Ino smiled at me. "Alright, Sakura. But, when I win, try not to cry too hard."
I chuckled.
Inner, you're gonna give me a hand me a hand too?
Well I am you so, naturally…
Excellent.
"Begin," Hayate intoned.
Ino charged towards me, I pulled out my kunai and lurched back, away from her. Ino pulled out three shuriken before throwing them at me. I bent backwards, dodging them before I threw my kunai at her. She dodged it, rushing towards me.
I rushed forward to meet her. Her right fist swung out, I deflected it with my left arm before swinging my right leg up at her. She quickly disengaged, leaping back and away from my kick.
I almost smirked.
I had been fighting strictly with taijutsu with Hinata, the Hyūga Heiress—the clan that excelled in taijutsu. Not to mention my own personal experience with jujitsu. There was no way Ino could beat me with taijutsu.
Ninjutsu, most definitely, as I didn't know any.
Genjutsu? We'll see…
But, taijutsu? Bitch, please.
I pushed chakra into my feet, forcing me to leap forward at her. Her eyes widened in surprise briefly and she twisted out of the way of my upcoming left fist. I swung my right leg, catching her by surprise and kicking her in the side.
She whirled away from me, rolling onto the ground. I somersaulted in the air, still carrying off force from my lift off, before I hit the ground, sliding. I wasn't down for more than a second before I was back up on my feet and running towards her.
She had flipped back on to her feet, pulling out another kunai. My hand flew to my sack, pulling out a kunai as well. The moment we were in range, I swung my kunai down at her, she blocked it with her own. She swung her left leg out towards me and I poured chakra into my feet before kicking off into the air. She kicked off from the ground and into the air right behind me.
She grinned as she swung out her leg to connect against me when she was in range, but I twisted into the air, grabbing her leg. Her eyes widened briefly while I grinned. I gripped her leg tightly, swinging my own body and using my left leg to slam against her chest, pouring in as much chakra as I dared.
My hand released her leg milliseconds before my leg connected.
She rocketed towards the ground, and the moment she connected she forcibly coughed blood, the ground around her cracked under my force, leaving a small crater around her.
I fell towards the ground, somersaulting to land properly. Once I landed I rushed over to her, only to find her unconscious in the ground.
I stared at her. I blinked at her. I looked back up at Hayate who was walking towards us.
He nodded at me. "Sakura is the winner."
Well… that was anticlimactic.
You're telling me? I was so looking forward to her possession jutsu just so you could make your appearance. Damn it, what a letdown.
Well… Ino was kind of… not super-de-duperdy strong like the other shinobi and kunoichi here…
…Still…
And the only two people who had extra training were you and Hinata, so naturally the only two people who would have different results would be you and Hinata.
I know, but… I don't know, I guess I just expected something a bit more. I was planning on using one of my explosive tags too and being all 'Katsu!' and shit, but…
There, there.
Sarcasm noted.
"Yahoo! Good job! Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered.
I grinned and waved up at him.
"Excellent work, Sakura-san!" Lee second.
I pushed chakra into my feet before kicked off from the ground and landed up on the balcony between Naruto and Lee. I turned to look at Kakashi.
He dipped his head. "Nicely done, Sakura-chan."
I beamed at his praise.
P—
DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT! I HAVEN'T BEEN PRAISED BY KAKASHI IN OVER FIVE DAMN DAYS! YOU. WILL. NOT. RUIN. THIS. FOR. ME!
… Damn.
I turned to look down at Ino who was being carried off by the medical unit. I looked back at Kakashi. "Be back."
I hopped off from the balcony, just as the next match was about to be called, and hurried after Ino.
Ino's eyes fluttered open as she laid in the stretcher, the moment they had carried her out of the room. I followed behind her, smiling. "Good match, Ino-chan."
"Sa… I lost…?"
"Mm," I murmured, placing a hand over her forehead and feeling the warm rush of chakra flow through my hands.
She wasn't severely damaged, just fatigue and a few bruises. Possibly a concussion. As we walked—them carrying her and me walking by her side—I kept my hand over her forehead and eased away her fatigue. She relaxed under me, her eyes drifting closed.
"I have to go back, I don't think we're allowed to leave the building yet," I said softly. "I'll visit you in the hospital the moment I can. Do you want me to bring anything?"
"Yes," Ino whispered. "My favorite book—it's on my nightstand at home—and something good to eat. You know what I like."
I nodded my head, smiling. "No problem, Ino-chan."
My hand fell away from her forehead and I stopped walking. I watched as they carried her out the doors and to the hospital, out of sight, before I turned back on my heel and returned to the preliminaries.
( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)
Shikamaru and Chōji were with our group now when I returned, as was Asuma. When they noticed me, Shikamaru asked, "How is she?"
"She'll be fine," I said with a smile. "Very mild concussion and a few bruises; she's mainly just exhausted. Though, I imagine she'll be sore for a bit, she should be up for visiting hours by the time the preliminaries are over."
"They were able to tell you all of that?" Chōji asked, wide eyed.
"No," I replied. "I told myself that after I examined her."
"You're a medical-nin?" Asuma asked, glancing over at me. At his words, Gai looked over at me as well.
Kakashi answered for me, "Sakura-chan has been training by herself for the past months for medical training. She's been doing exceptionally well."
I beamed at his praise.
…Praise-whore.
Damn straight.
"Only a few months, you say?" Gai asked, leaning towards me.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I had help from Hinata-chan."
At Hinata's name, Neji glanced over at me, his eyes narrowed. I looked right back at up, completely indifferent.
All of our eyes snapped back to the room when we heard the sickening snap of Tenten's bones against Temari's fan.
"Fifth match winner, Temari," Hayate said.
Oh, shit that's my cue.
I double doused my feet with chakra, pushing myself off the balcony and down to the center of the room. In the same instance, Temari smirked, throwing Tenten off the blunt of her fan. Tenten slowly fell away, but before she hit the ground, my arms wrapped around her waist and she landed into me.
We slid a few feet away.
"Nice catch," Temari said, smirking.
"Thank you, I pride myself in my catching skills," I declared, placing a hand over Tenten's forehead.
Gai was beside me in a flash, looking down at me. I looked back up at him. "Sorry, did you want to catch her?"
Gai gave me his signature grin. "Excellent reflex, student of Kakashi's. I'll take her."
"Be my guest," I said. Gai swooped down, grasping Tenten and lifting her into his arms, just as the medic-nin arrived. He placed her on the stretcher while I stood up and waved my hand at Temari.
She smirked again before we both turned away and I launched myself back onto the balcony.
"Wow, Sakura-chan, that was a quick reaction," Naruto said, grinning hugely.
I shrugged.
"Thank you for helping my teammate, Sakura-san!" Lee said, quickly cutting in front of Naruto.
"You would have done the same," I assured him, side stepping him and moving to lean against the wall, next to Kakashi.
Kakashi dipped his head at me and I allowed myself a tiny smile.
Nara Shikamaru
Vs
Kin Tsuchi
Shikamaru sighed as he headed down to the center of the room.
Hayate called the match to begin and they began. Shikamaru started with his shadow possession, Kin claimed she saw it coming. She threw her needles, after tricking Shikamaru, she finally hit him in the left elbow.
She then used her 'trick' from before , forcing him into a genjutsu through the sound of bells tied to her needles. She hit him with more of her needles. He caught her in his shadow possession jutsu. He knocked her out after bending over quickly—thus making her bend over quickly as well and hit her head against the wall.
Shikamaru was the winner.
The next match was decided.
Uzumaki Naruto
Vs
Inuzuka Kiba
"My turn! Finally! My turn!" Naruto cheered
"Eh? Do your best, Naruto," I chuckled.
"Just leave it to me!" Naruto exclaimed, fist pumping the air. Naruto grabbed the handrail, and swung himself over to the side and landing in the center of the room.
Kiba smirked and followed his example. The two stood facing each other in the center.
"I'm tired of all that waiting," Naruto shouted. "It's finally my turn to show off my moves."
Kiba glared. "That's my line! Drawing you as my opponent means I've already won! Right, Akamaru?"
Akamaru barked in his little adorably high pitched voice.
I squealed slightly. Kakashi glanced over at me. I turned back to him. "The puppy is so cute!"
He rolled his one eye.
"Keep dreaming, you can't win against me!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Go, Naruto!" I shouted.
Naruto turned up at me, giving me a thumbs up and a grin.
Finally, the match began. Kiba began with his best mimicking jutsu, rushing forward and jabbing Naruto in the stomach with his elbow. Naruto flew back, slamming into the ground a little ways from him. For a while, he laid there until he pulled himself back up and declared to never underestimate him.
Akamaru joined in the fray, Kiba launched smoke bombs into the room. In the smoke, he launched a furry of attacks at Naruto.
When the smoke cleared 'Naruto' was slumped onto the ground unconscious. Kiba opened his arms to embrace his dog, 'Akamaru', when 'Akamaru' lunged himself at Kiba, biting him in the arm. 'Akamaru' then revealed himself to actually be Naruto.
Kiba tossed the real Akamaru a special pill, turning his fur red and causing him to become more aggressive. Kiba swallowed another pill, turning into a more bestial form—a cross between a wolfish-dog and human, minus the fur. Then, he turned Akamaru into an exact replica of himself through a jutsu.
The two launched themselves at Naruto, with Naruto barely managing to dodge. Thus began the barrage of teamed attacks against Naruto, with Naruto just barely managing to dodge most of them. Kiba and Akamaru managed a critical hit, seemingly to have won the match until Naruto stood back up, shakily.
Kiba and Akamaru attacked again, Naruto just barely dodging. After a while of multiple attacks, Kiba threw in another smoke bomb and began another barrage of attacks. The smoke cleared. Akamaru and Kiba charged with another 'final' attack, throwing in another smoke bomb. Finally the smoke cleared, revealing…. Three Kibas!
Kiba declared he could scent out the real Naruto and attacked… one of the fake Kibas. Only for it to be revealed as Akamaru. He attacked the other one… and that one was Akamaru, as well!
Le Gasp!
Finally, the first Akamaru turned out to be Naruto, who attacked Kiba from behind. Naruto declared he would finish the match with his new move. Kiba charged, Naruto dodged his attacks. Kiba landed a few hits, knocking Naruto around, and once again just when Naruto was thought to have lost… he got back up.
Kiba charged again and again until finally Naruto grabbed him and flipped him over. By now, Naruto was extremely bruised and battered with multiple scratches bleeding profusely.
Kiba charged again, Naruto barely dodged… Kiba charged again, only this time he came from behind, his nose particularly close to Naruto's ass right before he prepared to kick him… Naruto farted.
Kiba, with his oversensitive dog nose, immediately reacted badly, clutching his face and grunting and muttering under his breath. Naruto finally had time to try his final move—shadow clone jutsu. And finally each of the clones completely kicked Kiba's ass in a very epic fashion.
Naruto won the match like the main protagonist he was.
Naruto cheered before running up the stairs back to us. But, before he reached us… Hinata stopped him. She gave him ointment for his bruises and he thanked her before heading back over to us, grinning hugely.
I leaned over him and gave Hinata a thumbs up and winked. She blushed brightly and abruptly turned away. I giggled.
"Congratulations, Naruto," I said.
"Ehehehe," Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head then wincing.
"Need some help?" I asked, stretching out my hand and placing it on his forehead.
"Yes, please! Thank you, Sakura-chan," Naruto said.
I nodded my head, easing away his fatigue. "Just be sure to take extra care of that ointment, Hinata-chan gave you. It's a very good medicine that will seriously come in handy if a medic-nin isn't nearby."
"Really?" Naruto asked, glancing down at the small box of ointment in his hands.
I retracted my hand, my green chakra flickering once before dying out. I nodded my head. "Mm-hmm. It's very expensive, too. Hinata-chan must have really thought you deserved it."
Naruto grinned hugely. "Really? Me?"
"Yep," I sung, turning my head back to the board.
It was time for the next match.
Viola.
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See you Friday/Tuesday.