Chapter 11: Chapter 11
Well hello again : ) fancy meeting you all here.
Soo, I updated again : ) that's twice in one week, and do you want to know why? It's because I have such amazing readers and reviewers. Your need for this fic drives me to write more, I only hope you won't be disappointed.
I mean, in this chapter Sakura starts her match against Gaara… yeah, kinda boring : P Jussst kidding : )! Thanks for all the reviews and alerts and favorites.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Edited: 8/27/18
Sakura thought Sasuke's entrance was a bit melodramatic. He and Kakashi both appeared in the arena within an instant; the only warning she had was the slight blow of the wind, and the flicker of their chakra signatures before they appeared. The two figures stood with their arms crossed looking increasingly indifferent.
As the wind died down from their transportation jutsu, Sakura shivered slightly when she noticed Sasuke's sharingan eyes were staring directly at her. Sasuke whispered something to Kakashi then, and the older male's eye was drawn to her soon after.
The idea that both of them were looking at her made her even more nervous than she already was. She could practically feel the judgment sent from the twin stares. When Kakashi appeared before her, his form leaning on the balcony looked rather aloof, but Sakura knew better, the pinkette almost flinched.
"What are you doing down here, Sakura?" Kakashi said as he tilted his head slightly while asking the question. She didn't really understand; she had seen Kakashi at the arena when she had beaten Ino... what did he mean?
Shaking her head in response, Sakura could only sigh. "If you had come on time Kakashi, I would have explained it to you," Anko called from the arena floor. Sakura's eyes followed her voice, and she noticed that Sasuke and Naruto were talking heatedly while Neji's unmoving body was being carted off by some med-nins. Sakura knew Neji wasn't severely hurt; Naruto would never do that to an opponent unless he had to. Sakura assumed Neji's pride hurt him more than anything else.
After Anko's comment, Kakashi tilted his head to the side, so he could look back at the purple haired woman. The silver haired nin raised an eyebrow in question. "Sakura Haruno is fighting in today's exams. She is taking the place of the sound ninja."
Kakashi nodded and looked back to the pinkette. "I remember you were the one to win the fight against Ino," Kakashi said easily. "But I also thought you would know your own skill level Sakura. If you had any common sense, or any will to live you would have dropped out of the competition and let Sasuke take your place. He's ready to fight Gaara."
Sakura could only stand there frozen in response before Kakashi pulled her closer to him. Sakura wasn't used to being this close to her ex-sensei; he was gripping the front of her shirt tightly and was looking her in the eyes with a weird expression. If Sakura could recognize that look it would be one of pity. "You should drop out now," Kakashi whispered to her. "There's no way you could last a minute against Gaara; believing so would make you insane. I don't want to see one of my students die today."
Kakashi's words seemed to hurt Sakura more than scare her into submission. She had already been nervous about her fight against Gaara (he was a lot stronger than she was), but she too had a few tricks up her sleeve. She wasn't going to quit just because Kami had dealt her the wrong cards.
But Kakashi really didn't help when he said that; he in fact, was playing right into the insecurities Sakura had already felt. Sighing, Sakura gave Kakashi a sad look before walking away from the balcony and most importantly him.
She was finished with team seven's lack of faith in her. She never once questioned the boys' strength, and it wasn't fair for them to question hers… Hayate and Genma never questioned her strength though, they only helped improve it.
Maybe after this invasion stuff was all over, she would ask the Hokage to be put on a team with both Hayate and Genma. It was rather unconventional, she knew. A genin being placed with two jounin, but Sakura hoped that the Hokage would allow it. Hayate and Genma were her teachers anyway, she was supposed to learn from them, and how could she do that if she was stuck on a team with Kakashi?
Smiling slightly at the thought, Sakura ignored Sasuke as he and Naruto both appeared before her. Maybe one day she would be on par with both of these boys in front of her, but to do that, Sakura knew she would have to follow her own path to get there.
Giving Naruto a smile, Sakura told him good job. She was happy that he won, but she wasn't going to do more than that for him. Even if the blond sought out praise, Sakura knew she shouldn't be the one to give it.
Looking back to the two she knew would be next, Sakura watched as Shikamaru sighed. The brunette shrugged before he looked to the Konoha shinobi that were in the balcony.
"It looks like it's my match then," Temari said as she withdrew her large fan. Opening it, Temari leaped on top of it, and soared down to the arena floor. Sakura looked to the blonde before turning to see Shino and Shikamaru's interaction.
Before she could wish the Nara good luck, Shino's hand was on his shoulder. "Not too much chakra," Shino whispered quietly into Shikamaru's ear. Shino's voice was quiet enough so the sand ninja couldn't hear him, but both Sasuke and Naruto looked at the mysterious nin in question. Sakura really didn't have the patience to tell either male right then, so she just shook her head and walked to the balcony to watch Shikamaru's match.
Besides, she had more important things to worry about. One of the most important ones was the fact that her match was going to be up soon, and Sakura could only pray she was ready for it.
XxxX
Hayate's eyes were set in a glare as he sat in his seat. Genma just had to be annoying today, of all days. The brown haired male was screaming like a banshee and was twirling the streamer in the air like it had a life of its own. Hayate really wanted to tell his friend that Sakura's match wouldn't start for two more matches, but he didn't have the heart to spoil his friend's fun.
Looking to the booth where the examinees stood to wait for their next match, Hayate sighed slightly when he looked to his pink haired student. He was worried, and nervous, and he couldn't understand why Genma was being so cheerful. If something went wrong with Sakura's match would he be able to save her in time?
In the past few weeks the little pink haired girl had grown on him, how couldn't she after having saved his life twice? But it was more than just being thankful for her saving him; he had started too really like her. She was a sweet girl, was quite funny, and could handle both he and Genma almost too well. Hayate was aware that Genma and his antics probably weren't the most normal, or the easiest to deal with, but Sakura seemed to fit in well with him and his life style.
For the first time in a very long time Hayate could actually say that he was happy with where his life was going. He had a great best friend (even though he could be more annoying than helpful at times), and he had a student that he was devoted to.
Hayate's train of thought stopped when he felt a familiar chakra signature appear a few rows up behind him. He had witnessed Sasuke and Kakashi's little entrance, and finally understood why Sakura could easily get annoyed with the two shinobi. It was obvious that Kakashi felt like he owed the Uchiha boy, and that in turn made it harder for both Naruto and Sakura.
Standing from his chair, Hayate gave Genma a nod before making his way towards the stairs. If Kakashi wanted to talk to him, Hayate had no problem with telling the copy-nin everything. This included how stupid Hayate felt the copy-nin was for treating his students the way he did.
Walking up the stairs, he met the silver haired ninja's eye and grunted a greeting; he didn't even care that Kakashi looked angry for some reason. He could only imagine why after finding out Sakura really was going to go through with the match. Wait, did that mean Kakashi cared for the pinkette?
"What's going on Hayate?" Kakashi asked as he tipped his head backwards. The meaning was for the two to find a more private place to talk, and Hayate understood that right away. Before Hayate answered Kakashi's question, the two headed into one of the empty halls just outside of the seating area.
Now, Hayate had to think on how to answer Kakashi's question. Was Kakashi questioning what was going on with Sakura, or what was going on in general? Because Hayate really didn't want to talk to him at all, but Kakashi could be a little more direct in his questioning.
"Do you mean with my student, orr-"
"Don't act stupid like Genma, Hayate," Kakashi's tone of voice left no room for disagreement, but Hayate glared at the male anyhow. How dare Kakashi call him Genma-like.
"Well then direct your questions better," Hayate said with a shrug. "Sakura is in the exams because of the sound ninja's unfortunate death. Because of this event, the Hokage asked for Ino and Sakura to have a rematch. Sakura won hands down."
Kakashi's eyebrow rose slightly, but then he sighed. "That wasn't the thing I was asking about; I saw Ino and Sakura's battle, and I was here for the announcement from the Hokage. What I want to know is why the hell is she fighting a monster like Gaara? There's no way she'll be able to win."
"I don't think she even wants or expects to win at this point either," Hayate said with a nod. "Sakura is trying to protect her village the best way she knows how."
"Protect her village?" Kakashi's questioning tone was heard almost immediately after Hayate finished his sentence.
"So you were too distracted with Sasuke's training then to attend the jounin meeting," Hayate mused with a nod. "Suna and Sound are going to try to attack Konoha sometime during the exams. We don't know when exactly it will come, but we know it will be soon.
"Right now, Sakura's just trying to buy us time in her upcoming match against Gaara. There's something off about that kid, and I'm assuming he's more important in this plan than we know."
"We're being invaded," Kakashi's tone was almost breathless, before he was able to recover swiftly. "I'm assuming the Hokage already knows?"
"He does," Hayate said as he leaned slightly against the wall of the hallway. Keeping his eyes and senses alert, he became slightly nervous when he felt a familiar chakra signature in the audience.
"And I'm assuming this all has something to do with you becoming Sakura's teacher?"
"It does," Hayate said as he slipped off the wall, and headed back into the seating area. Looking to his right, Hayate could see an anbu ninja standing guard at one of the entrances. Only, the anbu ninja had a chakra signature very much like the one of Kabuto. Why wasn't Kabuto hiding his chakra signature as well as he should have been? It was almost like the ninja was asking to be caught.
"Do you sense it?" Kakashi asked as he too followed Hayate's line of sight. Before Hayate could respond a loud gasp was heard throughout the audience. This caught the attention of the two jounin, and both looked to the match that was occurring below them.
They had not noticed before what had been happening, but as they looked now, they knew Shikamaru was about to win. As the brunette raised his hand, his voice was heard throughout the arena.
"I forfeit," Shikamaru drawled out boredly as he allowed his shadow to leave Temari's body. The sandy haired kunochi's eyes were wide, and it looked like she was completely surprised that the Nara genius had given up the fight just when he was about to win. "I only had enough chakra to hold onto that a few seconds longer."
Anko, nodding her head slightly, called the match then. "Temari from Suna is the victor," she said as she watched Shikamaru slowly slink back to the booth.
And that's when Hayate started to get nervous. The reason for his nervousness was because his precious student's match was almost up, and she was going to have to fight a monster.
"Kankuro and Shino," Anko growled to the remaining contestants; it seemed Shikamaru's forfeit had increased her impatience and had seriously worsened her mood.
Looking to the balcony, Hayate raised an eyebrow as he watched Kankuro and his sister interact. He looked at her, and the blonde quickly shook her head. Whatever this interaction was, Hayate did not like it.
"I forfeit," Kankuro said before he had even left the balcony. The idea of someone forfeiting before they even fought was ludicrous, especially in the final rounds of the exam… Hayate was worried. This meant that his precious student's match would be sooner than he would have hoped.
Looking to the arena floor, Hayate watched as Anko's eyes danced with mistrust. "Shino Aburame is the winner then," she said while she kept her eyes trained on Kankuro and Temari. "That means Sakura Haruno and Gaara no Sabaku must come down to the arena floor."
"Oh Kami," Hayate breathed as his eyes watched his student. Sakura nodded to the purple haired kunochi before launching herself from the balcony to the floor. She landed on the ground with a feminine grace that she had only showed within the last few weeks of her training. He assumed he had Tsunade to thank for that.
"You watch the match," Kakashi commented from beside him. "If anything smells like foul play stop it. I'll go after our friend over there."
Hayate was too nervous to even speak, so the brunette nodded his affirmation to Kakashi before walking back to his seat.
XxxX
Sakura stood beside Anko as she waited for her opponent to arrive before her. It had taken a lot of courage from Sakura to not just run away from this fight, but Sakura knew there really wasn't any other option than to face Gaara head on.
If she could hurt him somehow, or get through his ultimate defense, then maybe, just maybe, she could help save a few more lives. This red head that she was facing scared the shit out of her, but that wouldn't stop her from trying to harm him with any means necessary.
Sakura could feel the red head's stare as he appeared before her in a whirl of sand. That sand… that sand could be a problem for her. Sakura wondered how hard the sand that was under his control could get. Would it be worth it to try her earth staff, or would she have to try and break down his barrier with her fists?
She had other things that she could try, but she wasn't as well practiced in those. Hayate had only given her a few lessons, and even though she understood the information and the jutsus perfectly well, Sakura didn't have as much faith in them as she did her others. She just hadn't practiced them enough, but that didn't mean she wouldn't use them if she got into a pinch.
Sakura sighed before cracking her knuckles while she waited for her match to begin. She assumed the more she waited, the more nervous she would get, so she looked over to the purple haired proctor. Seeing the kunochi give her a wary look, Sakura nodded before bringing chakra into her fists. Before another second went by, Anko's voice spoke throughout the quiet arena.
"You may begin."
With that said, Anko jumped out of the way almost as if she was expecting something to happen, but it didn't. Sakura stood in the same position she had been in, and Gaara stood with his arms crossed looking completely indifferent.
After a few minutes of just standing there, almost sizing each other up, Sakura felt it was necessary to begin her plan of attack.
Pumping chakra into her legs Sakura flickered towards where the red head stood. Rapidly doing hand signs, Sakura summoned an earth staff before appearing behind the Suna nin. Swiping her staff at the red head, Sakura watched as a sand barrier appeared around him in the spot she had swung.
Flipping backward to dodge the sand that he had sent her way, Sakura raced towards him again, only this time her intention was to add more weight to her staff to see if that would change the effect it had on his protective sand.
Before she could, however, Gaara sent a wave of sand barreling toward her. Jumping left and then right, Sakura narrowly avoided her whole left foot being caught in the sand. If any part of her was caught in that sand, the results could be disastrous.
Watching as the sand seemed to follow her every move, Sakura frowned when she realized the sand was pushing her further away from Gaara. It seemed Gaara was a long ranged fighter, and that probably wasn't good for Sakura. Sakura only really had short ranged attacks in her arsenal. Gritting her teeth together, Sakura moved the staff into one hand while summoning chakra into the other.
Slamming her chakra laced fist into the ground, Sakura watched as the sand fell into the new crevice she had just made. Taking this opportunity to (hopefully) catch her opponent off guard, Sakura brought more chakra into her earth staff. Shaping the staff head into a spear, Sakura launched her staff towards Gaara with a great amount of speed.
Before the staff was even close, Gaara's sand grabbed the staff from the air and broke it in two.
"Damn it," Sakura cursed slightly as she flipped backward and away from her spot. It seemed Gaara always had her on the move with his damn sand coming after her. If she didn't do something to stop this soon, Sakura knew she was going to tire herself out before the match really even got good.
"Fine," Sakura commented. "If that's how you want to play, then bring it."
