Trouble in the ICU…
Chouji lost his very short match. Mayonaka didn't blame him. Those Sound ninja were really tough. After his match, all the genin were called back down into the arena and informed that those who were continuing would be given a month to train for the actual matches. They were then told who they would be up against and what order the matches would be in. First, it was Naruto vs. Neji, then Sasuke vs. Gaara, Amatsu vs. Kankurou, Shikamaru vs. Temari and finally, Mayonaka vs. Dosu. Because they had all learned each others' moves and fighting styles, the month of training would give them time to come up with new techniques.
As soon as they were allowed to leave, Mayonaka found Ama-chan. "Hey, Ama-chan, do you want some help training?"
"Sure, why not? I usually get up pretty early and go to training ground 4 for the whole morning. If you meet me there we can train together. I've needed a good sparring partner for ages now. Neji's afraid I'll barbeque his ass and Lee…Lee is too 'youthful.'"
"That reminds me; earlier you said Shika-kun knew about Suzaku. How many people actually know?"
"Well, my whole team and all of my friends. They know all about my past. Anyway, it's not really all that big of a deal." At that point, Naruto came running up to Mayonaka.
"Mayo-chan! Can you believe it?! We're gonna be chuunin!" Just watching Naruto jump around with so much energy made Mayonaka even more tired.
"Naruto, how the hell do you keep going like that?" Suddenly, Mayonaka noticed something was wrong. "Naruto-kun, where's Sasuke-teme?"
"Why do you care? You hate him."
"Uh, he's my teammate and it kinda matters if he spontaneously combusts while I sleep or something because that would be bad. It would be really funny but it would still be bad."
"Don't worry. He didn't die or anything. Right after he won his match, Kakashi-sensei came and took him to the hospital or something. It doesn't matter. He's fine." Mayonaka shrugged. If he was with Kakashi he was probably fine. As they were all escorted out of the building and outside of the forest, Mayonaka realized how hungry she was. It was already late in the evening and Mayonaka had only had cup-ramen at eight in the morning. Usually she would've slowed her metabolism, but it had slipped her mind. And with her period, frankly, she felt like she was starving.
"Hey, guys, I'll catch ya later. I'ma go home, eat and crash." Mayonaka sprouted the Tokage-jigoku's wings, leapt into the air and made a beeline for her apartment. She just hoped none of her leftovers had gone bad. She got to the complex in record time and landed just outside the front door which she then ripped open to sprint inside and up the stairs to her apartment. Mayonaka had to dig through her pockets for a while before she found her key. As soon as the door was open, Kurohyou jumped into her arms. "Hello there. I bet you're hungry."
Mayonaka had asked the landlord to feed Kurohyou whenever she didn't come home, but the poor man wouldn't remember his own head if it wasn't attached to his shoulders. Mayonaka carried the purring creature into the kitchen where her food dishes were and sure enough, they were empty. "Damn that man. Next time I'll staple a note to his forehead." Mayonaka set Kurohyou down as she began rummaging through the cupboards to find some cat food. She found the last can of salmon, opened it up and put it in the bowl on the floor for Kurohyou. The cat attacked it as if it hadn't eaten in months.
Mayonaka then went through her fridge, grabbed everything she thought was food, and found ways to make it edible. About an hour later at 10:00 and halfway through her dinner, Mayonaka heard a knock on the door. She muted the TV so she could hear and called out, "Who is it?"
"Take a guess!" Mayonaka quickly wiped her face with a napkin and bounded over to the door. She could tell from her voice that it was Ama-chan. Mayonaka pulled open the door with a smile and greeted her friend.
"Hey Ama-chan! What's up?" Naruto opened the door to his apartment a crack to find out who was making all the noise.
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come to Ichiraku's with me. My treat."
Naruto beamed and pulled his door wide open. "Hey, Mayo-chan, can I come too?"
Mayonaka let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry guys. I already prepared tons of food for myself. You're welcome to come eat dinner with me. I don't think I'll be able to finish all my food and there's this movie on TV. I haven't really been paying much attention, but it seems interesting." Mayonaka opened her door so Naruto and Ama could see all the food spread out on her coffee table.
"I'm in!" Naruto ran in, jumped on the couch and grabbed all the food within reach.
"Me too!" Ama followed suit leaving Mayonaka in the doorway giggling at how energetic the two could be. Mayonaka closed the door and plopped down on the couch between Ama and Naruto, grabbed the remote and unmuted the TV. While they ate, all three began to make fun of the cheesy effects on the movie. When the movie was over and they had all finished stuffing their faces, Ama and Naruto went to their apartments and Mayonaka began cleaning up the mess. When Mayonaka finished putting everything away, it was about 3:00 am. Going to bed now wasn't a very good idea. She would wake up at noon or later.
Mayonaka sighed and crawled out her window onto her roof. Unfortunately, the moon was blocked by a taller building. Without the moon, sitting outside would just be boring. Mayonaka climbed onto the roof of the taller building only to find someone already there. Fortunately, the person hadn't seen her, but they would if she moved. Mayonaka activated her metsuki-kyoudai to see better in the dark and mentally gasped; it was Gaara. Mayonaka felt a blush forming on her cheeks, hidden by the night. She was stuck; if she moved, Gaara would see her and most likely try to kill her. Mayonaka invaded his mind and heard ferocious roaring and yelling that belonged to Shukaku; he longed blood. Mayonaka's face paled and her heart rate quickened.
Mayonaka's hand slowly traveled up to her necklace as she broke contact and began playing with the pendant. 'I've really found myself a fixer-upper haven't I? What he needs is someone to love him, but that won't happen until he learns to accept love.'
Suddenly, Mayonaka's foot slipped, her shoe scraping along the side of the building. She was able to catch herself, only to be surrounded by Gaara's sand. He lifted her into the air, engulfing all but her face with his sand, until he could see her clearly. Mayonaka struggled against the sand that bound her, but to no avail as her heart rate quickened in fear. She had seen what this sand could do. "What is your purpose here?"
Mayonaka tried to say "I couldn't sleep," but she couldn't get any sound out. She was absolutely terrified as she continued to fidget and loosen the sand that constricted her. That's when the sand began to harden, covering her face and blocking her airway. Gaara had obviously made his decision; she was a meaningless waste of his time so he would kill her. Mayonaka panicked. Her eyes began to glow red as she drew from the Tokage-jigoku's power. The problem was that since she was in a panic, she had less control over the demon.
Her teeth and nails grew sharp and as she sprouted wings and a tail, the pressure the new appendages put on the sand forced it to burst, setting her free. She flew high in the air, desperate to get away from the death threat. She looked back down at Gaara and saw the confusion and bewilderment in his eyes. As she calmed down, Mayonaka gained more control over her demon. "Sorry, I'm not going to be killed that easily." Mayonaka flew off into the night, away from her apartment, looking for somewhere else to spend the night.
She thought of Amatsu. She lived alone. Mayonaka flew over to the only other apartment complex in Konoha. Amatsu must've been staying there. She activated her metsuki-kyoudai and saw Amatsu on the fourth floor, sound asleep on the couch. Mayonaka perched on the balcony just outside Amatsu's apartment and rapped on the window. Ama stirred but didn't get up. Mayonaka tried again and when Ama finally sat up and looked out her window, she smiled sheepishly, shifting her tail and wings to keep from falling off the small balcony.
"Mayo-chan? What are you doing here?"
"Um…mind if I stay the rest of the night? I know it's 3:30 in the morning but …something…happened in my complex so…can I stay?"
"Uh…sure. I was planning on getting up soon anyway. Just let me undo the lock and I'll let you in." Ama unlocked the window so Mayonaka could come in. Mayonaka hopped into the room, abandoning her wings and tail in the process. "So, mind telling me what happened? And don't say it was nothing because 'nothing' doesn't terrify people."
"Who said I was terrified?"
"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you; I can read people's emotions. Surprise! Now tell me what happened."
"Fine! You know that Gaara kid?"
"The one you're crushing on?"
"How—never mind. Yeah, that one. And if you tell anyone, I will hang you by your own intestines. Got that?!"
Ama put up her hands defensively. "Okay! My lips are sealed!"
"Good. So, anyways, I decided it would be better to just not sleep tonight; otherwise I'd wake up at noon or later. So I went on the roof but I couldn't see the moon because this other building was in the way. I climbed up that building, but when I got to the roof, Gaara was already there. I slipped and Gaara saw me. He did his whole sand coffin thing, I panicked, escaped, and so now here I am. End of story."
Ama's eyes doubled in size from shock. Suddenly, she bowed her head and started chuckling to herself, confusing Mayonaka. Ama looked up and said through her giggling fits, "Well, at least you got his attention!" She couldn't hold herself back anymore and started laughing hysterically.
Mayonaka's jaw dropped as she stared at her friend in disbelief. "Are you fucking serious?! I just about died!!"
Ama only laughed harder. "Well you didn't so there!" Mayonaka shook her head and walked over to Ama's bathroom to shower. Every time she ran her hand through her hair, sand would fall out, and seeing what Gaara had done to that guy in the forest, she didn't even want to know what else was mixed in with the sand. After both girls got ready for the day, they headed for the training grounds to prepare for the final chuunin exam.
The exam was in two days and at the moment, Mayonaka was Ama's sparring partner. In the month that had passed, Ama's speed, strength and stamina had all increased with Mayonaka's help. She had also learned a couple of new jutsu. Mayonaka was confident enough that she would win so she merely helped Ama train. Every time they got in a sparring match it would end in a tie, a truce, and a shared box of pocky.
Every day, the two girls visited Lee in the hospital during the afternoon. He was usually unconscious, but Mayonaka could tell when he was doing well. She just didn't want to break the news to him that it was unlikely he could be a ninja when he woke up.
After visiting Lee, Ama would go help Neji train. During this time, Mayonaka didn't have much to do. She couldn't find Naruto, and Sasuke was training secretly with Kakashi-sensei, and everyone else was training to no end. On one of these afternoons, Mayonaka heard that Naruto had been knocked unconscious in training and was in the hospital. Mayonaka rushed over immediately and found Shikamaru with a basket of food next to Naruto's bed. "What are you doing here?"
"Chouji got severe indigestion and had to be hospitalized. Ino brought the food but the nurses said his meals had to be rationed."
"So do you know what the imbecile did this time?"
"No. All we know is he's unconscious." Mayonaka sighed and sat down next to Shikamaru to wait for Naruto to wake up. As the hours crawled by, Mayonaka tried to find something to do. She found an old Shougi set in the closet and challenged Shikamaru to a game. "You're going to lose."
"Says you. Here, I'll even make a bet. I win…and you buy me all the ramen and pocky I can eat at Ichiraku's."
"No way! I've seen how much you can eat. That'd cost a fortune!"
"Does someone sound like they doubt their ability to win?"
"Fine! But if I win…. No, let me rephrase that. When I win…you have to do my chores at my house for a week."
"That's all? I can do that!"
"My parents make me carry my own weight. It's more difficult than you think."
"Well I think you're just being a lazy-ass." Shikamaru shrugged and they started the game. Several hours went by and it looked like Mayonaka was winning. Looked is the key word here seeing as in the next second, Shikamaru won. Mayonaka's jaw dropped as she stared at the board in disbelief. "No way! How the hell did you do that?!"
Shikamaru looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already 8:30 in the evening. "You can start tonight. C'mon, my parents'll be expecting me." Mayonaka glared up at Shikamaru who was grinning smugly.
"Fine. You beat me at Shougi. But in a regular fight we both know I'd win!" Mayonaka got up and followed Shikamaru out of the room, a steady stream of curses leaving her mouth.
The next day, Mayonaka finished Shikamaru's morning chores and went to the training grounds to meet up with Amatsu. They trained for the morning and then went to visit Lee and Naruto, both of them still unconscious. Ama left to train with Neji, but Mayonaka stayed with Naruto when Shikamaru came in after visiting Chouji. An hour later, Naruto finally woke up. "Hey…what happened?"
"You got knocked unconscious dumb ass. By the way, the exam is tomorrow."
"What?! But…I need to train more!"
"Too bad!" Mayonaka could only laugh at Naruto's predicament.
"Hey, Shikamaru, why are you here anyway?"
"Chouji got indigestion."
"I only came here to visit Lee and you for like…fifteen minutes. I'm still here because I'm bored."
"Wait, so Lee's still hospitalized? Let's go visit him. I haven't seen him at all."
"You guys do that. I'm gonna check on Chouji. I haven't seen him yet."
"Okay Mayo-chan." Naruto and Shikamaru went to visit Lee while Mayonaka visited Chouji. As soon as Mayonaka got to Chouji's room, he walked out, released from the hospital.
"Hey Chouji! Feeling better?"
"Yeah. I'm gonna celebrate with some ribs. You wanna come with?"
"Nah, I'll pass. Thanks anyway! I'll see ya later." Mayonaka headed in the direction of Lee's room to catch up with Naruto and Shikamaru. As soon as she opened the door to Lee's room, Mayonaka's brain started working overtime. A wall of sand was hurtling towards Naruto and Shikamaru. Naruto was scared stiff, Lee was unconscious and half covered in sand, and Shikamaru was using his shadow jutsu on Gaara, the source of the sand wall.
Mayonaka jumped in front of Naruto and Shikamaru, blocking the sand with her arms as it cascaded down. The sand immediately sliced a gash in her right forearm and blood began to drip on the floor. The flow of sand stopped and Mayonaka glared up at Gaara's blank face as she began to lower her arms. "What the hell is your problem?! What did Naruto and Shikamaru do to piss you off so much?!"
"They got in my way." Gaara's voice sounded more like a deep-throated growl coming from a rabid dog.
"They got in your way?! Of what?!"
"Of feeling alive." The sand around Lee shifted slightly, catching Mayonaka's attention. Finally, she put two and two together.
"You were here to kill Lee? What the shit did he ever do to you?! You won the match! What would you gain by killing him you bastard?!"
"I would be fulfilling my purpose in life, which is to erase every existence but my own."
"So let me understand this. Your purpose in life is to kill everyone but yourself? What the shit?!"
"I am merely an experiment conducted by my village to create a stronger ninja. A demon was sealed within me before I was born and to complete the jutsu, my mother was sacrificed at my birth. When I was six, my father realized I was a failed experiment and hired several assassins to eliminate me before I became too dangerous. I am merely a monster." Mayonaka remembered what she had seen of Gaara's past and her heart broke. That had been nothing compared to what she was hearing now. Mayonaka fell into a stunned silence as Naruto snapped back to reality.
"Well guess what, I have a demon and it's just as real as yours!" Mayonaka was pulled out of her trance. 'When did he find out?!' The look on Shikamaru's face would have been really funny if they weren't in this situation. It was the very definition of shock as he stared at Naruto in disbelief. He obviously hadn't known that Naruto was a jinchuuriki. Mayonaka decided to back up Naruto. Gaara would never be intimidated by the hyper blonde.
"And he's not the only one. You're up against two jinchuuriki now. Think you can handle it?" Now it was Naruto's turn to look shocked. Shikamaru only seemed surprised that Mayonaka had said it aloud, but Naruto gaped at her like a stupid-looking fish. At that moment, a tall man in a green jumpsuit identical to Lee's walked into the room. Not only were his clothes the same, but he also had the same bowl-cut and thick eyebrows. 'This must be Gai-sensei. He looks like he could be Lee-san's father!'
"What's going on here?" Shikamaru released Gaara form his jutsu and Gaara withdrew his sand and walked towards the door. Before he walked out, he looked over his shoulder, glaring at the other genin.
"I will kill you all." With that he left.
"So, Mayonaka, you're a jinchuuriki?"
"For the hundredth time, yes Naruto."
"Mayonaka, why didn't you tell me Naruto was a jinchuuriki? Don't tell me you didn't know because you obviously weren't surprised."
"Sorry Shikamaru, but the Hokage asked that I didn't tell anybody. I didn't know that Naruto knew about it though."
"Mayonaka, why didn't you tell me you were a jinchuuriki?!"
"How was I supposed to know whether or not you would accept me? But now I know most of Konoha doesn't care."
"You didn't think a fellow jinchuuriki would accept you?!"
"Again, I didn't know if you knew or not."
"Wait! Did you know Gaara was a jinchuuriki?"
"Yes, Shikamaru."
"How?!"
"My kekei-genkai. When I read the mind of a jinchuuriki, I hear a faint growling of the demon in the background."
"So are there any other jinchuuriki I should know about?"
"Sorry Naruto, I promised them I wouldn't tell anybody. Now am I done being interrogated?" Naruto and Shikamaru nodded. Mayonaka sat down on a stool at Ichiraku's. They had been talking about this since they left Lee's room and had ended up here.
"Okay, so you're a jinchuuriki, right Mayonaka?"
"Naruto, if you ask me that one more time, I'll pull out your intestines with a crochet hook."
"Okay, but, what about your past? I still don't—"
"Nope."
"Aw c'mon!"
"Nuh-uh."
"Please!" Mayonaka thought it over while their ramen was being cooked.
"Okay fine. But only if you pay for my ramen and pocky. Besides, don't you remember when Shikamaru told you about my past when I first came here?"
"You're evil and no I don't remember that."
"Geez you've got a bad memory. And about the whole being evil thing, I was born on the 333rd day of the year." When their ramen arrived, Mayonaka explained her past to Naruto. After several hours and bowls of ramen, Mayonaka finally finished; Naruto had kept interrupting. Naruto went back to his apartment and Mayonaka went with Shikamaru to take care of his evening chores. After that, Mayonaka went back to her apartment and went to bed. Tomorrow was the final exams and Mayonaka had the strange feeling that she was going to need her rest.
A/N:
me: Hi everyone! This would be Zenaku speaking! (no that's not my real name I just like it better because too many people have the same name as me) I'm really glad you've read my story so far. Oh yeah! disclaimer time! I do not own Naruto or the main plot of this story. The only thing that I own is Mayonaka Tenshi. My friend, ryuu-bushi (search for her and read Amatsu's POV when she posts. She has to rewrite a bit so give her time), owns Amatsu. Well, I'm finally leaving an actual author's note now because, I won't be able to post until the end of May.
Mayonaka: What?! But my story must be told!! You must post!
me: Shut-up! I'm not done talking yet!!
Mayonaka: Give me one good reason why I should listen to what you say!
me: I'll give you two! One: who has complete control over what happens in your life? and Two: I'm still older than you!
Mayonaka: That's only because you haven't written Shippuuden yet!
me: Do you want me to continue writing your story or not?
Mayonaka: shuts up
me: Good girl. Now you get a cookie.
Mayonaka: YAY COOKIE!! X3
me: Okay, anyways, yeah, I won't be able to post until the end of May because I'll be going to New York, then Chicago, and then it's finals week, and then it's summer vacation on the 31st. I really appreciate that you've read my story up to this point. I'm very proud of myself for actually getting this far. If it weren't for those people who read it, I would have quit this a long time ago. It is currently about 140 handwritten pages long in my notebook (I need a new one soon). I would really appreciate it if you tell me what you think so far. Leave some reviews for me! I like to know what people think. Again, thanks for reading and I'm sorry it will take me so long to post again. I will continue to write but I also have to work on another story for my friend Lauren or she will eat my face. Until then, hasta luego!!
offstage
Mayonaka: By the way, about your "Good girl," comment, good girls are only bad girls who don't get caught. XD
me: OI! THAT'S MY LINE DAMN YOU! YOU CAN'T USE IT!! For that you will be in pain the next chapter!
Mayonaka: pales Sorry Zenaku-sama!! Gomenasai!!
me: headdesk What will I do with you?
Mayonaka: hopefully Give me a cookie?
me: Why don't you go beat up Sasuke-teme?
Mayonaka: YAY!! leaves
me: BTW, HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO EVERYBODY!! It isn't Mexico's Independance Day! See ya later and good luck on finals! peace sign XD And again, oh yeah! November 29th (Mayonaka's and my birthday) is in fact the 333rd day of the year! We're half evil! That's your random fact of the day XD