Okay, I hope you guys liked that last chapter, especially since I worked so hard on it, hehe. Since the next few chapters are almost completely action, the story will be updated slower than usual. Sorry!
Also, I hope that some of you noticed how Kouseki addressed Akina when she was heading over to the main battle. I will not bother translating it for you since there are several online Japanese-English translators that you can use for that. Google it online or something.
"Talking"
Thinking
"Telepathy through mind seal"
("Animals talking" / "Telepathy with animals")
"Demonic language"/ Demon thinking / 'Demon talking telepathically to their jinchuuriki'
'Miscellaneous things such as signs, ANBU sign language, letters...'
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto-sempai owns Naruto.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
::;Seeing the Truth;::
Chapter 12: Confrontations in the Tower
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
"We have two Heaven scrolls and one Earth scroll," announced Sasuke once he had checked all of their supplies. Akina merely nodded while rolling up her sleeping bag and putting it away.
"Naruto has to wake up for us to enter the tower…"
"Hn."
By this time Kouseki had gotten very annoyed at the lack of verbal conversation. She cast a withering look at the quiet pair before trotting over to Naruto and laying down near his head. Kouseki poked his head a bit before sighing.
The panther that was nearest to their hideout motioned for Akina to come over, looking serious about something.
("Akina-sama,") she said as the girl neared, ("A few hours ago some ningen tried to get to your position, but were deterred by the traps. They will most likely try again today.")
Akina nodded at the report, already knowing it but appreciating it all the same. During the night she kept on drifting in and out of sleep, as her demonic side started to become more active. Kouseki said that this would happen soon, now that the seal had been taken off when she met with her father's family.
Afterwards, the amount of element manipulation she could do before the mental strain was too much had increased.
"Were they the Oto-nin?" This caught Sasuke's attention as memories of the battle the day before flashed across his mind's eye.
The cat nodded grimly, absently cleaning her whiskers. Sasuke had already finished packing his stuff long ago, and was now walking the perimeter, looking at the complicated traps that surrounded the area.
Kouseki looked up, seeing that Sasuke was busy doing something else, before looking at the seal on Naruto's stomach. Her golden pools narrowed at the additional kanji. I might not be much of a Sealer, but that is definitely not good for his chakra, not to mention the kitsune's. The thought of the nine-tailed bijuu sealed inside the small boy made her remember something she wanted to try out for a long time. She looked up to double-check that Sasuke was distracted, and then positioned her muzzle next to Naruto's ear.
"Wake up. We need you awake…both of you," she whispered.
Akina sat down next to the entrance, recognizing the demonic tongue and trying to clear the fogginess in her mind. The last time she heard that language…was before she crossed the Gate and gave up her memories. Her body and mind remembered her skills from before the transfer, but she didn't have access to those memories. Most likely if anyone tried to pry those memories out of her mind, they would find it impossible. No one could challenge the will of the Gods.
Naruto's body shifted slightly before settling down again. Kouseki sighed at the failed attempt, shaking her head. I guess it didn't work…
("What are you trying to do, kill me?!") The voice was shrill, indicating that it was probably from a rodent.
This was followed by a muffled curse and the bushes rustling. Sasuke jumped back towards Akina, standing next to her with a kunai drawn.
("Akina-sama! The Sound genin tried to stick an explosive tag on my back! Kick his tail for me!") squealed out the squirrel as it dashed through the clearing and away to safety. Kouseki sweat dropped.
In the distance, they heard one of the traps go off, making one of the panthers cringe once they recognized which one it was. This particular one unleashed a series of small Housenka jutsu and, for some reason, stink bombs at strategic places where the invading ninja was likely to dodge.
"I will muffle their sound attacks for us."
"Hn."
Sasuke quickly blocked a kunai that had been thrown at him when the Sound team jumped into the clearing, panting slightly from the effort they had to make to dodge all the fireballs and stink bombs (though, from the smell, they didn't fully escape the clouds of stinky gas).
The one in the middle, with bandages covering his head, spoke for his team. "We're here to kill Uchiha Sasuke."
("Well that was idiotic. Right away we know what their goal is. Baka,") mumbled Kouseki from inside the tree trunk. Both kids inwardly agreed but didn't say anything. They could use any information they can get.
Behind them, Naruto had started to wake up, but he stayed still, unconsciously sensing enemies in the area.
"…nuh?"
The two teams stood stock still, wearily eying each other now that it was assured that they could not avoid a battle. It stayed like this for a few more seconds, before Sasuke just smirked at them. Almost immediately, Zaku scowled at him.
"What the hell are you smirking at?!"
If anything, the smirk widened. "You."
Zaku's eyes narrowed, and he raised his arm and aimed his palm at them. "I'll show you…" The two felt chakra circulating inside his arm, already putting their plan into action.
"Zankuuha (Decapitating Air Wave)!"
A large burst of wind hit the spot where the two where standing, sending dust everywhere. Zaku smirked as the dust cleared, showing that Sasuke and Akina were nowhere to be seen.
"Look at that…I got them both in one shot…"
Dosu frowned at his teammate. "Don't be so arrogant…"
A pair of hands burst from the ground underneath Kin, and they grabbed her ankles, dragging her into the ground. The same was going to happen to the two boys, but they dodged just in time. Kin struggled to get out of the earth, but it was useless.
Two Akina's and Sasuke dug their way out of the ground. One of the Akina's (one of them was apparently a Kage Bunshin), tilted her head slightly at the other girl. "I reinforced the ground around her with chakra. She won't be getting out anytime soon."
She manipulated the earth slightly in this pause in battle, pushing a pressure point on the girl's neck and knocking her out of the battle.
Zaku sneered at her. "Pathetic."
One of the panthers, who had taken refuge in the trees high above, shook his head at him. ("It seems that those in the Sound do not care about their own comrades. Disgraceful.")
His sister, who was sitting beside him, chuckled at the head sticking out of the ground. ("Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation). You know, I checked in on them last month and found their entire training area covered in holes. They really had fun with that technique there.")
Her brother just shook his head as he sensed Naruto using the technique as well, tunneling underground to use a sneak attack on them later.
Dosu charged at Sasuke, leaving Zaku to attack Akina.
Sasuke ducked under Dosu's punch, not affected at all by the strange device on his arm. Dosu gasped, surprised by this. Why doesn't it affect him?!
While he was distracted, Sasuke delivered a strong punch to his stomach, knocking the air out of him, before grabbing his arm and slamming him into the ground again. Dosu grunted, rolling in the dirt and skidding to stop a few seconds later.
He got up, spitting some blood out of his mouth and cradling his injury slightly from the force he was punched with. Chakra-enforced punch… He watched as Akina dodged some more wind blasts, flipping in the air as if she belonged in it.
Kouseki had appeared on the opposite side of the panther siblings, nearer to the side that the other Konoha genin were approaching from. As a half-dragon, she should feel comfortable in the air. It should be in her instincts to wish to fly. That's why she flips so much while fighting.
Zaku gritted his teeth. I have to get her to stay still…the damn bitch won't stop moving! With that thought in mind, he ran towards the place where she would land, not giving her time to jump again. He punched towards her stomach, but in the last moment she bent her body like a cat and dodged, flipping over him and grabbing his shoulders in the process. She flipped his body, slamming him into the ground and creating a small crater. She landed silently, going into her usual starting stance.
At this point, another pair of arms burst from the arm, dragging Zaku underneath. Once his head was the only thing visible, Naruto climbed out of the earth, frowning and panting for some reason. What the hell is wrong with my chakra?
Akina disappeared and reappeared behind his head, tapping the back of his neck and sending a burst of chakra, knocking him out just like his teammate. Now, only Dosu was left, since both he and Sasuke had stopped to watch their battle.
By now, Team Ten had arrived, and was hiding in the bushes, watching as the other Oto-nin was knocked out. Ino and Chouji were staring wide-eyed at the ease at which they defeated two out of three of their opponents, but Shikamaru was thinking back on the small talk he had with the blind girl the day before.
A truce… His half-lidded gaze went to his teammates, and Chouji recognized what he wanted. He tapped Ino's shoulder, and she scowled, but reluctantly agreed.
Shikamaru made a hand seal, looking at Dosu. He sent chakra into his shadow and willed it to extend. Dosu wouldn't know what hit him until it was too late. When the shadow connected to his, Shikamaru announced his presence by standing up and walking out of the bushes, with the Oto-nin imitating his actions.
"Kagemane no jutsu…success." His teammates walked out behind him, and Akina got out of her battle stance, nodding in thanks to them. She walked towards Dosu, reaching into his ninja pouch and taking his scroll. Ino looked at it and found it to be the one that they needed.
"Hey, that's…!" Akina seemed to notice, and tossed it towards her. She caught it, surprised. "What…? Why?"
Takamaru Akina wrapped her small hands around Dosu's neck, nodding towards Shikamaru. Right when he released his hold on the other boy's shadow, Akina sent a burst of chakra into his neck, knocking him out just like the rest of his team. Dosu dropped onto the ground, unconscious.
"Mutual benefits…" she murmured, moving back as Sasuke came over and tied Dosu up with wire. Naruto idly rubbed his stomach before walking over to Shikamaru and Chouji, grinning at them.
"Yo! Shikamaru, Chouji! So what do you think of the "Forest of Death" so far?" He used air quotes when saying the name of the forest, not at all intimidated by it. The Nara just sighed.
"Troublesome…"
"It's all right…but there's not much food around here…"
Naruto just nodded at them as the panthers came back into the clearing. Ino and Chouji glanced at them wearily, but Chouji quickly relaxed when he saw that Shikamaru didn't look worried at all.
Five panthers stepped forward, lying down in front of them. Akina climbed onto Kouseki's back, signaling the others to get on the big cats' backs as well. "This will help cover our tracks better."
Shikamaru got on without a word, inwardly happy that he didn't have to move anymore. He laid his head on the black cat's back, finding a comfortable position and promptly started to doze off.
Ino picked the only female panther, still cautious. When they were all settled, Akina nodded, and the group of animals. They took off without another word, and most of their stomachs jumped at the speed they started at. Shikamaru, however, didn't move a muscle, merely sleeping on. Ino sent him a slightly annoyed look before sighing, clutching the panther's fur in fear of falling off. At the height that they were, it was highly likely that if she fell, she'd go, in Naruto's words, "splat."
Naruto himself, however, reacted differently. "Whooo-hoo! Man, this is cool! Can we go faster?"
The panther he was riding on laughed loudly, and the sound came out as roaring. ("This Uzumaki Naruto is a lively cub, isn't he?")
Kouseki just laughed in her bark-like way, not caring whether not Naruto heard, since he was right there and could understand. ("You should know better by now.")
This made the rest of the animals chuckle as well. Naruto's panther nodded, not at all winded by the run. ("I suppose I should…now, let's see if we can't go faster?")
The others nodded, and Sasuke prepared by getting a better grip. Naruto noticed as well, as the big cat's muscles tensed. "Oi! You guys better hold on! We're gonna have a blast!"
Team Ten hastened to obey the order, though Shikamaru did it while grumbling, since Naruto's loud yell of happiness had woken him up.
("Okay!")
In a gust of leaves, the six beasts literally disappeared as they all raced towards the tall tower in the middle of the forest.
Ino's stomach flipped at the sensation, and Chouji muttered about a stomachache. Akina, however, was smiling, though the other humans were too busy hanging on to notice. It felt great to fly through the air. Kouseki, however, did, and grinned. Let's see if I can make the pup happier.
She sped ahead of the group, putting more and more distance between them, yet still staying in sight. As they passed by, Naruto and Sasuke saw her look of happiness, and felt slightly honored that she would let them see her like that, being such a secretive girl.
("Come on you guys, let's get these pups to the Tower,") barked Kouseki. The panthers replied with a series of happy roars of agreement, and they went to catch up with the wolf.
So this is what it feels like to be Akina… came Ino's idle thought. Someone or something is always there to keep her company and help out. And she was always a silent one, too…
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Teams Seven and Ten stood in front of each other, in front of the tower. Ino stood in front of her team, and Akina hers. Ino grunted in an un-ladylike way, waving the scroll they gave her at them.
"…thanks."
Naruto blinked in surprise. Ino hated Akina's guts. So for her to thank the other girl was really a change. Akina's lips twitched into a small, and barely noticeable smile.
"Your welcome." She said it loud and clear, more louder than her usual quiet murmur, to show that she meant it and was happy to help her former classmates. Ino blinked as well, nodding slightly and turning around. Her team followed her as they walked to their doors.
"Ino."
The blond stopped, turning back and looking at the girl. "Yeah? What is it?"
Akina's smile disappeared, and Ino knew she was serious now. "If we fight, I want it to be a good match…wear your hitai-ate with pride like a true kunoichi."
Ino glared at her, good mood now ruined. Is she saying that that I'm not a true kunoichi?!
Shikamaru and Chouji cringed as they thought of how she would burst later on due to that one statement. They shuffled over to their gate, edging away from their teammate. Team Seven walked into their own pair of doors.
Kouseki led the way inside, pushing the doors open with her snout and breaking the seal on it. ("That's good advice, Akina-chan…she's not taking her role as a ninja seriously enough…she's using her time chasing after the gaki here instead of training…")
Sasuke ignored this insult since he agreed with what she said, though his eye did twitch slightly. Kouseki was like that. She had a nickname for each member of their team. Naruto was bakayaro-chan. Sasuke was gaki. Akina was pup. And Kakashi's was scarecrow. Since the boys had gotten the seal, they discovered that the wolf was indeed a "potty mouth," and had a large sense of sarcasm.
Naruto interrupted his thoughts by pointing at the sign on the wall, high above them. "What's that?"
Sasuke looked up at the sign, and read the Sandaime Hokage's quote. All three genin took out their scrolls, and Akina and Naruto nodded to each other. As one they opened their scrolls and threw them down as they started smoking.
In a burst of ninja smoke, a familiar face appeared.
"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto jumped and hugged the tan chuunin, laughing in happiness since he already figured out the reason why the teacher was here.
"Naruto, whoa—!"
Iruka awkwardly hugged the orange-clad ninja back, patting it a little before he let go. He blinked at their conditions, expecting them to be a lot worse off.
"Wow…it's not even 24 hours after the start of the second phase, and you're already here…!"
Naruto scanned the chakra signatures in the tower, automatically recognizing Kiba's. He pouted. "That's not fair! I wanted my team to be first!"
Iruka sweat dropped. "Well…that one Sand Team with the red-head came in first…around one hour after the exam started."
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, and Naruto scowled. The same thought went through their minds. Sabaku no Gaara…
"Anyways…we chuunin are to welcome the examinees at the end of this Second Exam. I was given the duty to pass the three of you a message by chance. Everyone…congratulations on passing the Second Exam. I'd like to treat you to ramen at Ichiraku, but…"
Kouseki's eye twitched. I think he forgot what the words 'ramen' does to bakayaro-chan…
Naruto interrupted him by glomping him again. "ALL RIGHT!"
"Whoa, wait! Let me finish!" Naruto let go and stepped back, pouting.
"My other mission is to explain to you what the sign on the wall means…unless someone else here already knows what it means?" He looked pointedly at Akina. If Naruto were in her situation, he would have pointed to himself, blinking innocently.
Ever since Iruka tested Naruto on whether or not he could take the Chuunin Exams, Iruka had taken it upon himself to find out whatever he could about the quiet girl, and find out just who she was. This was a perfect opportunity to see just how smart she was.
("It seems that someone is interested in you, pup,") chuckled Kouseki. Akina nodded and decided to oblige to her former sensei's small request.
"This is Hokage-sama's principal on what we should remember as chuunin. Heaven is the head of the person. Earth is the body. If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge by studying and be prepared. If you do not possess Earth, 'run through the fields' and train your body, seeking strength. If you have both Heaven and Earth, any dangerous missions will become safe…even easy if you train enough…the missing character symbolizes a chuunin."
This was the most Akina has ever said at once, no matter how quietly she said it, and Iruka blinked at how clearly she explained the sign. It was also clear now that she was not going to talk anymore.
"…right. A chuunin is a commander-class. He has a duty to lead a team. Deeply inscribe into your heart the importance of knowledge and strength in missions. Never forget that chuunin principal, and go on to the next step. That's all I was ordered to tell you." He smiled at them all.
Naruto nodded and saluted to his big brother figure. "Yes sir!" Iruka's gaze fell on him for a few moments before his worries got the better of him.
"But don't push yourselves in the Third Exam. Especially you, Naruto…I'm worried about you the—"
"Iruka-sensei," cut in Naruto, "When I got this Konoha hitai-ate, I graduated from the academy. You don't have to worry. And this is the proof you gave me to show I'm not a child anymore, right Iruka-sensei? I'm not a kid anymore. Right now…I'm a ninja."
The two stared at each other for a few more seconds before the chuunin nodded and smiled apologetically. "Sou ka…gomen, Naruto."
The jinchuuriki just nodded in understanding, grinning again.
"Say…you wouldn't happen to know what the big flame tornado was, do you? It was coming from this direction…almost everyone in the village saw it, and it took me 10 minutes to calm my class down, especially Konohamaru."
Sasuke and Naruto pointed to Akina. The more energetic of the two explained the strange occurrence. "There were all these explosive tags around the forest," here he waved his arms around as if it would give Iruka an idea of how many there were, "And when the hebi-teme tried to bite Sasuke-teme, Akina-chan got in the way and replaced herself with a log covered in more explosive tags, and he went 'boom!' Akina-chan used her bloodline to make it a tornado! Man, I missed it!"
On the way to the tower, Kouseki re-told what had happened in the battle in the tower, half doing it for her own amusement at the cats' reactions, and to explain what happened to Naruto, who was unconscious for the event.
Iruka blinked at the mention of Akina's 'bloodline,' and decided to think about it later.
"You have four days until the next phase. There are rooms upstairs—one for each team. Go ahead and get some rest. There are training rooms and a cafeteria elsewhere, so feel free to look around," he paused, looking at them all again, "And good luck."
Everyone nodded, and watched the scarred chuunin disappear in a puff of gray smoke.
Naruto smiled at his team. "Come on come on! I wanna go see our room and go explore the tower!" He grabbed Sasuke and Akina's hands and pulled them through the door, dragging them upstairs. Sasuke attempted to get his arm back, but Naruto's grip only got stronger, and he sighed silently, going along without another complaint.
They all skidded to a halt in front of a door that led to an empty room, and Naruto finally let go of his teammates' hands and opened it.
Inside were three plain beds with small end tables next to each of them and a low table with three cushions. There was a balcony, and that was it. Naruto jumped onto the bed closest to the window, claiming it as his, while Sasuke took the one in the middle, putting his sleeping bag onto it.
("Come on bakayaro-chan. Didn't you want to look around the tower?") He nodded in response, dropping off his stuff as well. He made an attempt to grab his teammate's hands again, but Sasuke pulled his back at the last moment, smirking at him.
"Not this time. I'd rather not have my arm torn off."
Naruto pouted, and settled for grabbing only Akina's hand before leading the way once again through the tower. Sasuke followed at a calmer pace with Kouseki, who was now snickering at Naruto's sudden burst of energy.
As they made their way through the halls, Naruto avoided the room where Team Ten's chakra signatures were, knowing that Ino needed time to think about what Akina had told her. He suddenly snickered inwardly when he thought about what the two boys had to put up with up there. I don't want to be in their shoes…
They heard barking from the cafeteria (as it was now around noon), and Naruto decided to get some grub before continuing with his exploration. He let go of Akina's hand as he opened the doors, immediately spotting Team Eight.
Kiba looked up from eating and waved slightly to them, quickly swallowing the food in his mouth. "Yo, you guys finally got here huh?"
The first thing Naruto did when he reached Kiba was smacking him in the back of the head. "Not everyone had it so easy!"
Kiba smirked at Naruto. "Or maybe it was because my team was more skilled than yours."
Akina ignored the usual bantering between the two animalistic boys and walked over to Akamaru, who was still shaking from what he saw yesterday.
("Blood…demonic…sand…") He kept on repeating those words over and over again, gaining the attention of Sasuke, who had gotten some food while everyone else was greeting each other. He sat down at the table next to Team Eight's.
"Sabaku no Gaara…"
"Yeah."
Naruto smelled the food on Sasuke's plate, stopping his argument with Kiba with a palm. "Hold it! I need food!"
With that, he ran over to the small buffet laid out by the kitchen area, with Kiba laughing behind him. Akina gave a reassuring pet to the small dog's head before following Naruto's example.
Kouseki sighed and lie down, putting her forearms protectively around the puppy. She picked him up by the scruff of his neck and put him on her front legs, lowering her head, completely covering Akamaru, yet giving him room to breath.
Hinata smiled at this sisterly side of the usually tough wolf. Shino just watched for a while before continuing with his salad. Naruto and Akina sat down at Sasuke's table, digging in. Naruto, of course, chose to eat ramen (he had jumped into the air in happiness when he saw it).
Once Akina had taken a few bites, she tilted her head at Kiba, who on instinct knew that she wanted. His face turned serious.
"It was that red-head with the gourd. What he did back in the forest…" He stopped there, thinking back on the blood and gore, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Naruto was paying attention also, though he was still eating, even if it was quieter. "It was a massacre. He totally destroyed those Rain ninja, and he didn't even break a sweat."
"Who didn't break a sweat?" Everyone looked towards the door to see Team Ten walking inside, drawn by the smell of food after a stressful trip in the forest.
"So, the whole Rookie Nine made it by the second day…" said Kiba.
Ino scowled and shook a fist at him. "Don't doubt our team! Of course we made it! And don't change the subject!"
Chouji had immediately gone for the small buffet, piling all the food he can get onto multiple dishes before balancing them and bringing them to a table next to the other teams, completing the triangle shape. Shikamaru had done the same, though he had gotten a considerably less amount than his best friend.
When they all sat down, Naruto explained what Kiba had been talking about. "That Sand Team made it here in less than one hour, and completely scared Akamaru out of his wits! Kiba said the scene the red-head made was all bloody and gory and stuff!"
Ino scrunched up her face at the description before looking around a bit. "Say, where is the puppy?"
Naruto answered again, since the others were either too lazy to answer, too busy eating, didn't want to answer, or were too quiet to be expected to answer. That left Naruto, who should have been eating his ramen, but he didn't want Ino to get mad or anything.
He pointed down at the floor that was in between the three tables. "Down there. Kouseki-chan, lift your head a bit."
The wolf grumbled a little before lifting her head, revealing a curled up and whimpering Akamaru. Ino peered at him before frowning. "It scared him that much?"
Kiba just muttered a little bit. "It's because he can smell the guy's chakra…"
"So I guess we should try to avoid him, right? How troublesome…"
Some of the others nodded at this, and Kouseki put her head back down.
Akina sensed that Ino had not taken any food and picked up an apple, tossing it to her. She caught it on reflex before blinking. Yamanaka Ino stared at the enigmatic girl, reminded about what she had said to her just about 30 minutes ago.
Kiba's eyebrow rose ever so slightly, and Shikamaru just sighed in response, managing to get his meaning across without actually saying anything.
Ino frowned before biting into the apple, ending the tense staring. Akina's head inclined a little, before she went back to eating. The others followed their example and soon the sound of Naruto's slurping, Kiba's gnawing, and Chouji's chewing filled the room.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Naruto walked in front of the rest of his team, patting his stomach in contentment. Behind him walked Sasuke with his hands shoved into his pockets, and Akina was beside him. Kouseki brought up the rear.
"So…whatcha guys think of Gaara?"
"…I want to fight him."
They got no response from Akina, and Naruto walked backwards to pout at her. "Come on Akina-chan! You were the one that showed us how to connect our minds, so you might as well use it by at least giving us an answer!"
Sasuke looked at her sideways, silently wanting an answer as well.
"…He seems lonely…"
Both boys blinked at her. That wasn't exactly the kind of response they were expecting. They knew that she probably wasn't going to be saying anything else, so they didn't bother asking.
They reached the hallways that contained the doors to the training rooms and took a look inside the first one they found, and the first thing they noticed was the statue in the back of the room of hands in a hand seal. There were stairs to an upstairs section where people could view any fights.
("We're probably going to be fighting in the next round…")
The kids nodded, silently agreeing that they would come back to the training rooms later.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Team Seven was in their room, each doing their own thing when someone knocked on the door. Naruto looked up from checking over his equipment, recognizing the chakra signature of the person standing outside. He stood and walked over, opening it to reveal the Sandaime Hokage.
"Old man?"
The 'old man' chuckled at the nickname. "Hello to you, too, Naruto-kun."
From inside the team's room, Sasuke and Akina nodded respectively, murmuring an "Ohayo, Hokage-sama."
Sarutobi nodded back before looking seriously at the small genin in front of him. "Naruto-kun, I need to talk to you in the office upstairs."
Naruto blinked before waving a little at his team, following the aged shinobi outside into the hallway and closing the door behind him.
"He knows…" said Sasuke, still looking at the door. Kouseki nodded.
("It's just like the Hokage to know every little thing that happens in his village. Besides…it was kind of hard not to miss the gigantic tornado of fire tearing up a chunk of Area 44.")
Outside, they saw one of Naruto's Kage Bunshin having some fun setting up traps for whoever made it to the tower. Kouseki cast a weary eye towards it before sighing and shaking her head.
The reason why Naruto had not carried the scroll in the first place was because his ninja pouch was already filled with summoning scrolls that held all the tools he needed for his traps. Being a former prankster, he had a lot of experience in the trapping area, and took it upon himself to become the trapping master for the team.
("I do not want to be whoever didn't get into the tower already…") mumbled Kouseki when she heard one of the Kage Bunshin cackle like a mad scientist that had made one of his creations live.
"BUAHAHAHAH!"
Upstairs in the room where all the security cameras were, Naruto sat down in front of the Hokage on a couch, with two ANBU guarding the door to the room.
"So…what do you want ojii-san?"
Sarutobi chewed on his pipe for a while before answering. "Yesterday, your team faced a dangerous shinobi, correct?"
Naruto nodded, frowning. "Yeah, the hebi-teme. He said his name was Orochimaru. I wanted to talk to you about that, old man. He put a weird seal on me and it's messing up my chakra control."
Sarutobi smiled when he heard that Naruto already knew what had happened to him. "Take off your shirt and jacket, and channel some chakra so that I can see your seal."
He did as commanded, putting his hands into the ram seal and concentrating on his chakra. The seal that contained the Kyuubi no Kitsune appeared, and a few seconds later, an odd-numbered seal appeared around it. Sarutobi nodded to himself when he recognized the work of his old student. He looked up at Naruto. "This might hurt a bit."
The demon contained just nodded, not afraid of pain. The Sandaime Hokage held out his open hand towards the boy, and blue flames with kanji appeared on his fingers. In one swift move, he thrust his palm onto the seal that Orochimaru had placed on Naruto.
"Gogyou Kaiin! (Five Elements Unseal)!"
Naruto flew back onto the couch from the force of the hit, grunting slightly as the air was knocked out of his lungs once again. The extra seal on his stomach disappeared, and Naruto felt his chakra steadily regenerating itself again. He smiled at the familiar feeling.
"Thanks ojii-san!"
Sarutobi nodded, smiling back. Naruto got up and went to the door. "Ah, before you go Naruto-kun. Tell your teammates not to tell anyone about Orochimaru. We don't want to trouble them unnecessarily, right?"
Naruto stopped with his hand on the doorknob, turning his head back and grinning back at him. "Don't worry, we won't!"
The grin was still on his face as he walked back towards his team's room, after a minute, another pair of footsteps joined his, and he stopped as none other than Sabaku no Gaara rounded the corner. Both boys stood still and stared at each other.
Akina-chan says that he seems lonely… Naruto's blue eyes studied Gaara's teal eyes, trying to see if he was really as evil as the others say he was. Gaara stared back, instinctively trying to find out if Naruto was a threat or not by seeing if there was any malice or hatred in his eyes.
What Naruto found surprised him. Those eyes…they're just like mine… Deep inside those eyes were loneliness, pain, hatred, bitterness, and once you got past all those barriers and slight insanity…a longing for acceptance. Demonic chakra…is he…like me?
Gaara hated what he saw in Naruto's cerulean eyes. Behind the layers upon layers of guarded happiness was sadness, anger, pain, and…understanding. Gaara's eyes narrowed. No one could possibly understand what I'm going through…no one… Once again the Ichibi no Shukaku started acting up again, whispering words into his mind.
'KILL THE FOX…YES…SILLY LITTLE KITSUNE…HE GOT SEALED AWAY INTO A FLESH BAG! BUAHAHAHA! THE GREAT FOX, REDUCED TO HAVING A HUMAN BODY…!' Gaara gripped his head in pain, and Naruto's hand went to his stomach on reflex when he felt the spirit in the seal react slightly. Those eyes…insomnia…his demon isn't letting him sleep…and from the way his brother and sister act around him…they're scared that due to the demon's influence, Gaara would attack them at any moment…
Shaking slightly, sand started to pour out of the gourd on Gaara's back as he raised his hand towards Naruto. "Yes Mother…I will kill…the fox for you…"
Naruto took a step back, looking apprehensively at the sand. He decided to try something out, now that he was sure that the boy in front of him had some connection to a demon. He made sure that no one would be able to hear them first. Looking into Gaara's eyes, Naruto spoke quietly, mentally keeping track of the moving sand. He might…be able to understand me…
"What do you want with the demon inside of me…?"
All movement stopped for a moment as Gaara's eyes momentarily widened in surprise. The words "demon inside of me" repeated in his head as his gaze went to the hand the boy put on his stomach, the same place where his own seal was located.
Naruto was starting to hope that Gaara would understand that they were the same when the other boy started glaring at him.
"Don't lie to me…" he growled lowly.
The orange-clad boy shook his head, making sure that any security cameras weren't around before revealing his stomach, channeling chakra. The seal appeared, and Naruto let Gaara get a good look at it before he put his shirt back down.
Both heard foot steps coming from down the hall, and cursed inwardly at the interruption. Naruto wanted to talk some more, and Gaara wanted to interrogate the other boy.
They stared sternly at each other while the sand went back into Gaara's gourd, silently promising to talk to each other later before continuing to the destination they were going to before, walking past each other.
Naruto turned the corner, seeing that the people they heard walking around was Team Ten. Ino spotted Naruto, and beckoned him to come to over to her. He obeyed, wondering it was that what she wanted.
Ino smirked at him as she talked. "Tell Akina that I'll put my hitai-ate on my head, as long as she pushes up her hitai-ate so that we can see her eyes!"
The boy cringed slightly at the request. Asking Akina to reveal her eyes was like asking Kakashi to take off his mask. Even he hadn't seen her eyes, and he's known the girl ever since she started living in Konoha six years ago. The other boys seemed to know this as well, since Chouji was eating a faster rate and Shikamaru was sighing repeatedly.
"Uhh…Ino?" Gotta handle this situation carefully… "I don't think it should take Akina showing her eyes for you to just put your headband on your head…"
Ino scowled. "If putting my hitai-ate on my head is such a little request, then so is pushing her headband up a bit!"
Naruto started sweating a little bit. "Er, that's not what I meant…you don't reveal anything by putting your hitai-ate on your head, but Akina would have to show everyone a secret she's kept for years!"
The other blond was being stubborn. "What does she have to hide? It's just her eyes! Unless she has a scar or something like a mutation…"
A sweat drop appeared on the back of Naruto's head as he suddenly imagined Akina taking off her headband, only to reveal that one eye was drooping, or had a huge scar on it. In the awkwardness of the situation, he had accidentally let the image slip into the mind seal, but had managed to cover it up so that only Sasuke saw it.
"…What the hell?"
"Ah, sorry, sorry! Ino was saying that if she wanted her headband to be on her head than Akina had to show had to show to show her eyes but I know that Akina would never show her eyes since I've known her since we were little and she's never even shown me her eyes so why should she show it to her rival? Everyone in the Rookie Nine knows this, plus Lee for some reason!"
Sasuke had not understood half of what his teammate had been babbling because of how fast-paced he had been thinking.
"Ino…Akina…eyes?"
Naruto seemed to sense the Uchiha's confusion. "Ah, just don't tell Akina-chan, okay?"
"Hn."
The boy took it as a yes and sighed in relief, when he realized that Team Ten was staring at him. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Ah, sorry. Bad image…"
Ino nodded slowly, still not fully believing the shinobi. "…Right…Anyways, pass that onto Akina, okay? Okay, see ya!"
With that, she grabbed her teammates' arms and dragged them away, escaping before Naruto could get a word in. He scowled.
"Damn."
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Naruto had just explained Ino's request to Akina, and was now waiting nervously for her answer. It wasn't that he was afraid that she was going to hurt someone or something like that; it was just that Akina seemed to be kind of touchy about her eyes.
Sasuke on the other hand was pondering on what she was hiding beneath the headband, and trying to get the weird images of what could be under it out of his mind. Both boys already saw what her face looked like, when they gave each other mind seals—just not her eyes.
It was a little too quiet for his comfort, so Naruto repeated the last thing he had said. "So, will you do it?"
Akina had made no reaction so far, sitting on a cushion at the low table. "Hai; it is important for Ino to take the life of a shinobi seriously…"
Naruto, Sasuke, and Kouseki blinked, shocked at her answer. She was actually going to reveal what was hidden underneath the hitai-ate? The orange-clad ninja suddenly grinned.
"When? When?!"
Akina took a sip from her water bottle. "If we do battle."
The grin grew wider, and he jumped into the air, excited that he would finally find out her secret.
"YATTA!"
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Three days later, the teams that had made it through the Forest of Death had gathered in the Main Arena, which Team Seven recognized as the first training room that they had seen. Everyone lined up according to their teams, and in front of them all stood their jounin-sensei and some Chuunin Exams officials.
Sarutobi stepped forward and coughed slightly to get their attention. All talking immediately stopped, showing everyone that even in his old age, the man still had an air of wisdom that one just had to respect.
"First off, congratulations on passing the Second Exam."
At this point, Anko was a little awed at how many had passed. I said that I would cut the number of people in half, but what I really expected was for about 10 people to pass…not 21.
Gai looked out at all the genin. "Your team is pretty good. Perhaps they were lucky. But as long as my team is here, they can't go on any further. Since, in the next stage, personal abilities will be critical. Youth is sweet and sour, and sometimes, strict, Kakashi."
He looked sideways at Kakashi, expecting some sort of reaction. Kakashi turned his head. "Did you say something?"
Gai slapped his hands to his head, inwardly screaming to the gods. Oh, my god! He lowered his hands and clenched his fist. That was pretty good, rival Kakashi. That attitude is somewhat hip, and pisses me off.
From the arena floor, Tenten looked at the scene, smiling slightly. So that's Gai-sensei's eternal rival. Gai-sensei completely loses to him in looks…
There was some slight killer intent coming from the Sound Team, and Kouseki sweat dropped when she remembered why.
("Oh yeah, the Oto-nin are probably still mad about being knocked out so fast with two of their ninja almost all the way under the ground. Hehehe…")
Kiba raised an eyebrow, idly calming Akamaru down with his petting hand. Kouseki just shrugged.
("Nothing, nothing…")
The Sound jounin smirked at Kabuto, and the silver-haired genin responded by standing a little bit straighter. Akina noticed, but didn't say anything. Both she and Kouseki recognized his scent, despite not smelling it for four days. Demonic senses came in handy.
So this many remained…and most of them are new, thought Sarutobi, looking back at the jounin sensei of Konoha. No wonder why they recommended them.
"We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama. Everyone listen well," said Anko.
"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 do we do a joint exam with the allied nations. "To maintain good relations with the allied nations" and "heighten the level of the ninja"… Do not let those reasons deceive you. This "exam", so to speak, is…
…the epitome of a war between the allied nations. 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 Chuunin Selection Exams. Yes, this Exam's purpose is to select who to promote to the chuunin level.
But, on the other hand, it's also a place where ninja 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 ninja 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 pressures on them. A country's power is the village's power. And a village's power is the ninja's power. And a ninja's true power is only born in life-or-death battle. This Exam is also a place to show off the ninjas 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 Chuunin Exams because of it. To show good relations in the world of ninja…is the custom of showing one's life and fighting to maintain balance.
This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and village's dignity."
("The old man sure likes to beat around the bush, huh?") mumbled Kouseki.
"I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but…"
A jounin dropped in, bowing in front of the Hokage. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama…I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."
"Please do."
He stood up and turned around. "Everyone, it's nice to meet you. Before the Third Exam…(cough cough) There's something I want to do…(cough cough) I need you to fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance to the Third Exam's main battle."
There were some complaints in the crowd.
"We need preliminary matches because the First and Second Exams were too easy, I don't know…but there are too many examinees left. According to Exam regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam because the important people attending don't have time to watch you all fight.
We are on limited time here as well, so those who aren't feeling well…(hacking cough)…"
"He seems like the one who's not feeling well…" commented Naruto.
"Excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation…Please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately. (cough cough) I forgot to mention this, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out. So please withdraw if you wish."
Here, Kabuto raised his hand, gaining the attention of the Konoha adults in the room. "I'll quit."
Hayate nodded and looked onto his clip board. "(cough cough) You are Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun? You may leave, then."
"Hai."
He walked towards the exit, stopping to chat a bit with his teammates before leaving. Akina listened in on the conversation, remembering it so that she can tell her superiors later. Anko, Ibiki, and Sarutobi watched, now sure that he was a spy, since he had taken the Exams many times, and always quit a this point.
"(cough) May I assume there are no more people who wish to retire?" Silence. "Then let's begin the preliminary matches. It will be a one-on-one match. In other words, it will be like real combat. Since we have exactly 20 people, we will have 10 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. If you do not want to die, please give up immediately. However, if I judge that the match is over…(couch cough) I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths. The thing that holds your destiny…"
He nodded back to Anko, who did the same. She spoke into a small device. "Open it."
A panel on the upper left side of the two arms in a hand seal slid open, revealing a black screen. "…will be this. This screen will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match. Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."
The screen flashed through all the names of the examinees, and Naruto watched anxiously, half wanting to see his own name, and half wanting to see Ino and Akina's name.
Speaking of Akina, she couldn't sense what was on the screen because it was flat, and when different images or names were shown, the change in the heat of that area of the screen would be so minuscule that she would have to put all her concentration onto it and use her manipulation abilities. It would just be easier to have Kouseki or one of her teammates read it to her.
'Akadou Yoroi VS. Uchiha Sasuke'
A smirk slowly made its way onto Sasuke's face. "Right off the bat, eh?"
Kouseki grunted. ("It's Akadou Yoroi VS. the gaki.") said Kouseki, for Akina's benefit.
"Those whose names were displayed, step up." Sasuke and Yoroi walked forward, stopping to face each other in front of Hayate. "These are the fighters for the first match. Are there any objections?"
"No."
"We will now begin the first match. (cough cough) Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up."
The crowd separated, with the foreigners going on one side, and the Konoha-nin going on the other. The Hokage walked to the area in the middle. Team Seven met around Sasuke for a bit.
Naruto clapped a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "You better not lose, teme!" Sasuke brushed his hand off.
"I won't. You better not lose either…I want to fight you, too."
Naruto grinned at him before being the first of them to go up the stairs. Akina nodded at him, and both Kakashi and Kouseki wished him good luck before following Naruto up the stairs.
Akina sat down against the wall next to her sensei's feet, and Naruto and Kouseki were up by the railing, looking down excitedly at the arena.
When they were all off the arena floor, Hayate looked between both fighters, seeing the ready. "Hajime."
Akina let half of her attention rest on her teammate's battle, leaving the rest to watch over the Tower.
Since the beginning of the battle when Yoroi made his hand glow blue, Sasuke had been weary of it, and saw that he kept on making grabs for him to hold onto. He had dodged them all while landing a few punches and kicks in between, being careful to stay away from the hand. Eventually Yoroi was lured into a trap by trying to attack a Kage Bunshin while Sasuke appeared behind him and knocked him out with a hit to the neck.
Team Seven had traded techniques, and Naruto was proud to teach them Kage Bunshin. Sasuke taught them Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu (Grand Fireball) . Akina taught them how to release chakra in their attacks to make them more harmful.
Hayate coughed again when he saw that Yoroi was unconscious. "The winner: Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasuke smirked again before walking up to his team. Naruto grinned at him, and Akina inclined her head slightly to show her approval. Kouseki barked a bit, and Kakashi just eye-smiled at him.
The judge coughed, and the panel started to randomly select names again, and stopped at:
'Aburame Shino VS. Abumi Zaku'
This one was rather short, where Shino outsmarted the Oto-nin by having his kikai bugs appear on the other side of him, trapping the boy between the two opponents. When he tried using both his arms to use his Zankuuha, the insides of his arm blew up because the bugs had clogged the holes.
Several genin on the Leaf side scrunched up their faces at how his arms turned up. There were holes in his arms. Kurenai commented on how coldly Shino had defeated him. When Shino passed by Team Seven, Akina congratulated him with a quiet "Smart thinking, Shino-san."
He stopped for a bit to nod at her in thanks before walking over to his team.
Hayate coughed again, leading Kouseki to come up with quite a few theories about him. The screen flashed again.
'Tsurugu Misumi VS. Sabaku no Kankurou'
Her teammates didn't say anything, so she assumed that it wasn't anyone they knew personally.
In the beginning of the battle, the last member of Kabuto's team had stretched much like Orochimaru's neck had in the forest, wrapping around the Suna-nin and squeezing his neck until it cracked. The skin cracked off, revealing that it was really the puppet. The bandages of the object that had dropped unraveled themselves to reveal the true Kankurou, who manipulated his puppet to knock out the Leaf-nin.
"The winner is Sabaku no Kankurou," Hayate coughed out, as the screen selected another pair of names.
Naruto blinked when he read the names aloud. "Yamanaka Ino VS. Takamaru Akina…Akina-chan, it's just like you said!"
Akina stood up and hopped onto the railing, jumping off and easily landing on the ground near Gekkou Hayate without a sound with Kouseki beside her. Ino smirked and did the same, landing on the side opposite to her.
"Hajime!"
Both girls didn't move. "So, it really is the two of us, huh?"
Akina nodded.
"Did Naruto tell you my end of the deal?"
"Hai. I agree, but you must follow through with your end first."
Almost everyone in the arena was left confused at the conversation. It seemed the only ones that knew what they were talking about were the genin of Teams Seven and Ten.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Deal?"
Naruto shushed him, leaning anxiously over the railing. "You'll see, Kakashi-sensei. You'd better watch closely, too."
Ino nodded, untying the Leaf hitai-ate around her waist, and relocating it onto her forehead, where it was supposed to go.
Asuma blinked. What got her to be serious about being a kunoichi?
The Sandaime Hokage was interested as well, not remembering Ino to be a person that would do such a thing.
Ino pointed to Akina. "Now it's your turn."
She nodded, raising a hand to her headband, and slowly started to push it up. As one, all the Rookie genin from Leaf leaned forward, waiting in anticipation. Kakashi's eye brows raised more. Oh? The other jounin sensei watched in amusement.
Akina pushed her headband all the way up, keeping her eyes closed and revealing that there was in fact nothing wrong with her face. Every Leaf genin but Naruto and Sasuke carefully studied her face, wanting to remember what it looked like because they knew that this would probably be the only time that Akina would show them her face willingly.
They waited for a few more seconds before Ino got impatient, tapping her foot slightly. "Well? What about your eyes?"
Akina tilted her head slightly in question, still keeping her eyes shut. Ino frowned. "Your eyes! Are you going to show us your eyes?"
"I don't recall any part of the deal that told me to do that."
The higher-ranked shinobi caught onto what she was doing and chuckled inwardly. Kakashi grinned underneath his mask. She twisted around the words and found a loop-hole, smart…
A scowl made its way onto Ino's face. "Yes it did!"
But Akina just shook her head slightly. "Your exact words were: Tell Akina that I'll put my hitai-ate on my head, as long as she pushes up her hitai-ate so that we can see her eyes. In no way did you say that I had to actually open my eyes."
Beside the small girl, Kouseki grinned, seeing the disappointed faces up on the Leaf genin.
Ino huffed and put her hands to her headband. "Fine! Then I'm putting this back on my waist, where I want it to be!"
Akina frowned at this. "Hold it. The only reason I asked you to put that hitai-ate on your forehead was to tell you to take your role as a ninja more seriously."
Her hands stopped, and she glared at the shorter girl. "I am taking my job seriously!"
The frown grew deeper. "You're not. You spend your time trying to win Sasuke's heart and making yourself look as beautiful as you can when you could be using that time better to train. You don't seem to realize that later on you might even lose your life because you didn't train yourself enough, or even worse, it'll cost your teammates' lives. Do you want that?"
Ino frowned. "Of course not!"
"Then stop being so foolish."
The Yamanaka flinched, lowering her hands. Up on the catwalks, Sasuke was hoping that Ino would listen to Akina. That would mean one less fan girl to worry about. Shikamaru and Chouji shifted uncomfortably. That was the most that Akina has ever said around them at one time. It meant that she was dead serious about this.
Her words were a little harsher than it should have been, but she said what was needed to be said. Besides, it was necessary with such a stubborn girl.
Akina shifted her body into her starting stance, wiping any signs of the subtle emotions she had earlier off of her face. Beside her, Kouseki raised her hackles in preparation for battle.
Ino saw this and did the same, clenching her hands into fists. "You're just saying this because you want Sasuke-kun for yourself!"
Kouseki stifled a groan. ("She's denying everything.")
"If you really think that way…then you should think about the reason you became a shinobi."
Ino was about to retort, but was interrupted by a volley of shuriken. She brought out a kunai to block them, but right when the first one made contact with her blade, they exploded into a large cloud of black ninja smoke.
"Eek!"
Akina jumped into the smoke, and the arena grew silent. Kouseki looked into the shroud of smoke and sat down, knowing that she won't be needed anymore. When she was sure that the silent scuffle inside the smoke was over, she howled loudly at it, blowing away the smoke while also making a couple genin jump because of the sudden noise and the fact that it sounded creepy.
The ninja smoke was blown away, revealing a knocked out Ino being supported by Akina, who didn't look like she had a problem holding the taller girl up. Her hitai-ate was also back over her eyes.
Hayate nodded at her. "The winner is Takamaru Akina."
Akina shifted the blonde's body so that she was carrying her bridal style, and walked up the stairs, with Kouseki following behind her.
As she walked by Neji's team, Tenten stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Ah, wait up a bit…"
The younger girl stopped (it was obvious who was older, since Akina was more than a head shorter than the weapons master) and bowed her head a little respectively. "Yes sempai?"
Tenten looked a little surprised at being referred to in such a way. Then she remembered something Lee had said about the girl while in the Forest. He said that she was always polite whenever she spoke, even if it was rare.
She waved her hands a little, feeling awkward. "Ah, you don't have to call me sempai—just Tenten. Anyways…I agree with you. Kunoichi should take their job more seriously just like shinobi. We don't want to be shown up by the guys, right?"
Akina sensed that Tenten felt really strongly about this and simply nodded. Tenten smiled and let go of the girl's shoulder, letting her walk by. Neji watched her, having used his Byakugan to see through the smoke. She had easily knocked out the other girl. It seems that she doesn't want others to find out how strong she really is…
Lee grinned and flashed his teeth, clenching his fists and somehow creating a genjutsu of fire behind him. "YOSH! AKINA-CHAN IS SPREADING HER FLAMES OF YOUTH TO INO-SAN!"
Tenten sweat dropped, embarrassed that she was on their team. Neji closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as Gai joined into Lee's shouting.
Hayate coughed, and the screen started to randomly pick the names for the next match. Kouseki pointed to him with her large paw. ("I knew it! THAT SCREEN IS COUGH-ACTIVATED!")
Naruto's head slammed into the railing as he fell anime-style, but missed the floor and ended up hitting the metal bars. Kiba started laughing loudly, and Akamaru (who was inside Kiba's jacket) chuckled a little.
"Ahahaah…cough-activated screen…ahaha…"
The other genin smiled, now that Kiba had translated what the wolf had said, and finding the statement funny as well.
Akina felt Ino shift slightly and hurried over to where Team Ten was standing, placing her down against the wall next to Asuma. She nodded to him in respect before walking back to her team, where Naruto was rubbing his head and laughing at the same time.
A beep from the screen called them to attention.
'Ama Tenten VS. Sabaku no Temari'
((AN: Due to the fact that Kishimoto-sempai has not told us her surname, I will be assuming that this is her last name since in some foreign subtitles, they have been referring to her as this, even though they do not mean that Ama is her last name.))
Akina once again sat down against the wall, since she couldn't see, she might as well not lean over the railings as Naruto had been doing.
From the place where Team Eight was standing, Hinata faced Akina, whispering a small "Congratulations Akina-chan." The girl heard through all the racket (Kiba and Naruto were still laughing a little) and nodded briefly in her direction.
The sickly looking jounin looked at both of the kunoichi, and saw them ready.
"All right, hajime!"
Okay! A new record for me! I typed up two long chapters in one week! (jumps around) YOSH! And this is my longest! I broke the 10k barrier people!