Lee gave a high kick in the air. "It worked like a charm!" He cheered. Kumiko gave him a rude look. "I knew if I said I wanted to be last, I would be next! I simply applied the principle which states that sometimes the surest way to hit something, is to stop trying to hit it. It is a form of reverse psychology!" Gai cheered too.

"That's my student!"

Kumiko deadpanned as she rolled her eyes. "That's my idiot."

Lee laughed loudly as he threw his fist in the air. "I absolutely was not going to be last, no matter what!" He cheered. "I sure fooled them, did I not?" Fooled who?

"Now then, listen carefully, a piece of advice before you begin," Gai said as he leaned close to Lee. Kumiko leaned closer too as she wanted to hear. "Look, you see that gourd Gaara's wearing? Watch out, there's something weird about it." Kumiko sweat-dropped hearing him. No shit, Gai-sensei.

"Good advice sir!" Lee said. Kumiko was about to turn away when she noticed Lee doing something.

"Don't write it down you moron!" She shouted as she kicked his butt, which sent him flying into the railing. "It's not like you'll have time to read notes during the match! Besides, Gai-sensei, everyone knows that gourd is odd!"

"Oh, more good advice!" Lee said as he stood up and wrote that down too. Kumiko was about to kick him again but Gai stopped her.

"Now rock…and roll!" He shouted as he pointed up.

"Yeah!" Lee cheered as he jumped over the railing and onto the battle area. Sakura quickly latched onto Kumiko's arm.

"How do you put up with them?!" She questioned in awe, genuinely curious. Kumiko laughed hesitantly as she patted Sakura's hand.

"You know the saying, 'if you can't beat them, join them'?" She asked. Sakura nodded. "Well I just beat them, physically." They shared smiles, which then abruptly disappeared as they looked down.

Lee could be seen saying words to Gaara, but Kumiko couldn't hear. She stared at her friend. It was honestly really hard to tell who would win. Lee was amazing at taijutsu, but couldn't do ninjutsu nor genjutsu, which in a way, put him at a disadvantage. Gaara was carrying a large gourd on his back, which would slow him down, therefore meant he doesn't use any taijutsu, which puts him at a disadvantage too.

She just really hoped Lee makes it out okay.

Lee's hand grabbed something that was flying towards him. "Why are you in such a hurry?" He questioned, and opened his fist, showing the small object that was in it. Kumiko glared at the red haired boy when she realized that he had thrown the cap to his gourd at Lee. What the hell? The match hadn't even started yet!

"Alright then, if you're both ready, begin." Hayate said.

Immediately, Lee took off running for him. "Leaf Hurricane!" His kick was blocked though, by a huge shield of sand. Kumiko's eyes widened. So he could make a shield out of sand?

Wait, the sand was moving. It crept up into the air, and tried closing in on Lee, but he was able to dodge it. Oh, so he can move sand willingly. Where'd the sand come from though? The gourd? Lee stared for a couple seconds, but then took off again.

Kumiko leaned over the railing, gripping onto it tightly. This just got slightly harder. Lee tried repeatedly hitting Gaara, but the sand always blocked him. Kumiko turned to look at her sensei.

"He's not even moving and yet his sand's able to block! Isn't this cheating?" She asked. Gai shook his head.

"Not exactly. It's a type of jutsu, and these are anything goes battles." He told her. She sighed as she stared back down. The sand was trying to surround Lee, but he pulled out a kunai and tried slashing through it. It continued like that for a couple seconds.

"As fast as Lee is, he can't get anywhere close to him!" Sakura said as she stared in awe at the battle.

"It's the sand. It's shielding him from taking damage." Kumiko told her as she also stared down there, annoyance showing on her face. "He doesn't even have to move to be able to block Lee's moves."

"Well, is that all?" Gaara asked as Lee stared at him. Kumiko raised an eyebrow. Those are the first words Gaara's said since the match started. "I hope you haven't finished entertaining me. We haven't had enough…blood."

Suddenly, the sand shot out quickly towards Lee, who tried jumping to dodge it, but his foot was caught, and it flung him around until he hit the wall. Kumiko cried out his name as she stared down in horror. Thankfully, Lee was able to quickly recover and ran up to Gaara again, but still, the sand continued to block him.

"I don't get it, he's only using taijutsu." Sakura said. "Can't he see it's never going to work? Why doesn't he get some distance, and use ninjutsu?" Kumiko sweatdropped. He probably would, if he could.

"Yes that might be an idea. That is, if he had any." Gai said. Sakura made a 'huh' sounds and Kumiko turned to look at her.

"Lee has no ninjutsu or genjutsu skills at all." She told her, then frowned. "Didn't you notice that he only used taijutsu when he tried protecting you from the sound village people?" Surely Sakura's not that dense.

"You're kidding!" Oh, guess she is.

"Oh that's nothing. You should have seen how hopeless he was when I first met him. No talent whatsoever." Gai smiled. Kumiko rolled her eyes and turned back to the match. She gasped as Gaara's sand grabbed Lee's foot again, but this time, Lee fell on the floor. The spot he was in was filling with sand, but thankfully, Lee was able to dodge it. He jumped so high, he landed on the tip of the statue.

"A ninja who can do either ninjutsu or genjutsu is certainly a rarity. Lee has only his taijutsu to rely on." Gai spoke.

"Gai-sensei mainly uses taijutsu too, and is actually really amazing at it. It's why he took such a liking to Lee." Kumiko butted in with a nod. Gai gave her a look for cutting him off, to which she rolled her eyes. Well it's true!

"Anyways, some might consider that a disadvantage, but that's what makes him a winner." He finished. "Alright Lee, take them off!" Kumiko grinned at this. That means the real party is about to begin.

"Don't worry," She told Sakura as she noticed the suspicious look on her face. "He doesn't mean his clothes."

Lee looked stunned. "Uh, but Gai-sensei…you said that was only a last resort when the lives of very important people were at stake!" He stuttered. Gai gave him a thumbs up.

"That's right I did! But this is an exception!"

"Really?"

"Just do it Lee! It'll help you win!" Kumiko said as she waved her arms around, annoyed that Lee was hesitating.

"Really?!" Lee repeated, this time grinning. He then didn't wait to crouch down and take the weights off his legs.

"Leg weights?" Sakura questioned as she turned to Kumiko, who smirked.

"Not just normal leg weights." She told her, then pointed to Lee, who was holding one weight in each hand. "Just watch."

"Ah, that is better." Lee stated as he smiled. "Now I will be able to move freely."

"I don't see how losing a couple pounds will make him move easier." Sakura mumbled. Lee dropped them, and when they hit the ground, they caused a huge crash, and a giant wave of dirt.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Kumiko was giggling at their faces. Gai gave a salute to Lee.

"Alright, now go!"

"Yes sir!" Lee shouted as he jumped down at amazing speed, and appeared in front of Gaara, almost like lightning. Gaara, who was not prepared for the sudden burst of speed, turned to look where Lee appeared. His sand almost wasn't fast enough to block the punch. Lee continued throwing punches and kicks, which the sand was almost able to not block.

"I could see that Lee had no aptitude for ninjutsu or genjutsu, so he skipped them, and focused all of his time and energy into developing his taijutsu." Gai praised his student. Kumiko looked down in awe of how fast Lee was. She'd been there when Gai had given them to Lee, and when she tried putting them on as a joke, her legs were almost crushed. That's how heavy they were. "That way we turn his disadvantage into a blessing. Now he doesn't need those other things to win, because he's transformed himself into the world's greatest taijutsu specialist."

Lee jumped up into the air, and stuck his leg out. He was able to finally hit Gaara on the head. Everybody gasped. Kumiko's heard before that Gaara's never been injured nor touched once during the exams, so the fact Lee was finally able to land a kick, was amazing.

"Yes Lee!" Gai shouted. "Let the power of youth explode!" Lee shouted his agreement and ran at Gaara again. Lee started taunting Gaara, and was able to hit him again.

"He's just, too quick!" Sakura grinned. Kumiko cheered besides her. "That sand can't keep up with him! Lee you nailed him!"

"Yeah! Go Lee!"

Gaara stood up, and the sand was pouring out of the gourd. Lots of it. But, it looked like there was stuff falling from Gaara's face. Kumiko shivered as she watched it.

"Holy crap, is he okay? I think his face is falling off!" She exclaimed as she grasped her sensei's arm. Neji, who had been quiet the whole time, just stared. To be honest, Kumiko had actually forgotten the boy was even there. Gaara lifted his head up, and the sight was rather fearful. His face and neck seemed like it was made of broken sand pieces, and his eyes were wide, along with his grin.

"That's so weird." Sakura stated as she and Kumiko stared down.

"It's terrifying to look at." Kumiko mumbled quietly.

"It's like a suit of sand armor." Kakashi told them as he glanced at the two kunoichi. "It's only logical that since the sand automatically bends to his will, that it'd make a hard suit of armor, in case he got hurt."

"Well is that all?" Gaara taunted. Kumiko glared slightly. This kid's not even taking the offensive. Is he hoping that Lee will get tired, and then he'll finally be able to attack? Because if so…then they'll all be here for days. She saw Lee look to their sensei, who gave a smirk and nod.

"Gai-sensei?" She asked as she looked to him, wondering what was going to happen. She then noticed Lee unwrapping some of his wrapped bandages, making her freeze. "You gave him permission for the Lotus?! Taking off his weights is one thing, but the Primary Lotus?!"

"Don't worry. Just believe in Lee." Gai said as he gave his nice guy pose.

She stared down at her friend, who then began running in circles around Gaara. She couldn't even see him anymore! Then, he went in, and kicked Gaara up, repeatedly. Lee was able to wrap Gaara around in his bandages in the air, and began doing the Primary Lotus as they spun. After a couple seconds, they hit the ground, making Kumiko's eyes widen. A giant owl of dust appeared, and she couldn't see either person.

Finally though, she spotted a green jumpsuit. She sighed in relief as Lee landed safely on the ground, and Gaara was practically in shambles in a pile of rocks.

"It is over, I got him." Lee breathed heavily sigh a grin.

"Right on!" Gai cheered.

"Way to go Lee!" Kumiko also cheered as she waved her arm around. She stopped cheering though, when she noticed Gaara's body seemed to be breaking. It was just another sand armor… "What?!"

"But how? When did he do it?" Gai exclaimed, confused.

"It was when you closed your eyes to pray." Kakashi deadpanned. Kumiko glared at her sensei. Dammit, can't you do anything right Gai-sensei?! "It was that moment that Lee closed his eyes too, because of the pain. That's when he did it."

"Lee," Kumiko muttered. Her eyes widened as a huge pile of sand appeared behind Lee. Gaara came out of it and smirked. He sent sand flying towards Lee, and it knocked him back. He couldn't get up, and Gaara sent a wave of sand towards him. "Run Lee!" She screamed. He didn't though, and was caught up in it.

"I don't get it! What's Lee doing just standing there?!" Sakura exclaimed. "With his speed he should easily be able to get out of the way of those blast! Why doesn't he dodge them?"

"For a very simple reason." Gai said. "He can't dodge them."

"Huh? Why is that?" Kumiko ignored them as she stared at her friend.

Gaara threw his sand at Lee, which was digging into him. Kumiko cried out Lee's name as she heard his scream of pain. He was able to get back up and started running around, trying to dodge the sand, but he got caught in it again.

"I pity the kid," She heard Kankuro say. She looked over at him, and jumped when she realized that he was standing next to Naruto. How long had he been there? "Gaara will just toy with him until he begs for mercy." Kumiko scowled as she looked at him.

"Well than," She started as she caught their attention. "Gaara's in for a long match because that will never happen." They made 'huh' sounds.

"Lee doesn't know how to give up." Gai told them. Kumiko flinched as Gaara dug more sand into Lee's back. He stood up again.

"He can't go on!" Sakura screamed. "Make him quit before he gets himself killed!" Kumiko frowned and put her hand on Sakura's arm, trying to comfort the younger girl. She didn't like it either, but Lee was still standing, so he was still going through with it. Lee smirked, and moved around the sand Gaara was throwing at him, quickly.

"Lee's smiling. He's running for his life but he's still smiling!" Sakura said in awe.

"Yes, but now it's Gaara's turn to run!" Gai said as Sakura turned to look at him. "The Leaf Village lotus, blooms twice."

"I've heard that somewhere before." Sakura spoke. "Yeah, Lee told me that." Oh yeah, when they had to save Lee during the second exam, he did say that to Sakura.

"But, no," Kakashi said, as he looked at Gai, stunned. "Gai you didn't…" Kumiko glanced at the two jounin in confusion. Wait, didn't what?

"Yes Kakashi, I did." Gai said as he smirked. Kakashi glared at the other jounin.

"So that genin, that boy, is able to open the 8 inner gates and use the Hidden Lotus?" He questioned. Kumiko's eyes widened and she kicked her sensei in the leg.

"You idiot! You taught him the 8 inner gates?! Are you trying to get him killed?!" She snapped as Gai held onto the leg that his student just kicked. Kumiko was trying to ignore the slight throb in her foot. She accidentally kicked one of his weights. Oops.

"That's correct. Well, the teaching him part." Gai said, trying not to cry out in pain. Yeesh, he sure has an abusive student! Wonder where she gets it from!

"Well, if that isn't the most…" Kakashi was trying hard not to be angry with his 'rival'. "Okay, so how many inner gates is he able to open now?"

"5 gates." Gai admitted. Kumiko gasped and turned to look at Lee. 5 gates?! He wasn't going to try and open all of those right? She ignored the others as they explained the gates to Sakura.

Of course Kumiko already knew what they were. She's slightly into using taijutsu, and Gai-sensei had explained to her what they were already a couple months back. But he never told her that he was teaching them to Lee! She overheard Gai tell Sakura that the Hidden Lotus required the third gate, which made Kumiko slightly happier. Well, at least it won't be as big a problem as all five.

"Opening all 8 gates, means you die." She heard Kakashi say, making Kumiko freeze. Well, Lee didn't know how to open all 8…so he's okay for now. "I don't know what this boy means to you Gai, but I shouldn't have to tell you that we never bring our personal feelings to play. I wouldn't have thought that you were capable of this."

Kakashi was so not happy with Gai.

"You have no right. You know nothing about him. Nothing at all!" Gai snapped, making Kumiko pause. He was angry with Kakashi berating him and his teachings. Well, Gai is Lee's sensei, and you don't see Gai trying to berate Kakashi on how he teaches his team…

"Gai-sensei…" Kumiko mumbled as she stared at her sensei.

"That boy has something important to prove, and he's determined to prove it, even at the cost of his life." Gai ranted. That's right, Lee's dream is to prove that taijutsu users are just as powerful as ninjutsu and genjutsu. "And I am determined to help him reach his goal. Not for his sake, but because that goal is worth reaching."

She stared down at Lee. He was staring at Gaara, but then crossed his arms and closed his eyes. No, he was going to start it. "I am not going to be the only one to lose here!" She heard Lee say. "Gai-sensei, please let this work. It is now or never."

"Gai-sensei is not a God, Lee! Quit acting like he is!" Kumiko snapped, fed up with Lee always begging to Gai-sensei for things to work. Maybe that's why things never do. He ignored her.

"The third gate, Gate of Life: Open!" Lee shouted as he threw his arms down. Kumiko could feel such a huge power emanating from her teammate. It was strong. Lee's body was a shade of red. She expected Lee to attack, but Gai rejected that idea. "The fourth gate, Gate of Pain: Open!"

Kumiko's eyes widened. "No! You only need the third gate Lee!" She shouted. He didn't say anything, probably didn't hear her, and ran off for Gaara. Kumiko didn't even blink as Lee had already hit Gaara. His speed was amazing!

"Where did they go?!"

"Up there!"

"There's Gaara but what happened to Lee?"

There was a lot of confusion as everybody was stunned with what happened. The sand wasn't fast enough to protect Gaara. Lee appeared in front, behind, beside, under, everywhere with Gaara, and was beating the crap out of him. Amazingly, Gaara was still in one piece.

"His muscles are tearing themselves apart." Kakashi said amazed.

"The fifth gate, Gate of Closing: Open!" Lee shouted. Kumiko's eyes widened once more. He doesn't need these many gates open! He's getting too cocky! She noticed the stunned look on everyone's, even Neji's, faces. Lee hit Gaara, which sent him towards the ground, but Lee caught a small part of Gaara's clothes. He yanked it towards him, and punched Gaara.

"Hidden Lotus!"

The crash was loud, and there was so much dust everywhere, that nobody could see anything. Lee was thrown to the side. The dust had cleared, and Kumiko could hear heavy breathing. Gaara was, amazingly, still alive. Lee was trying to get up, but was struggling. Kumiko tensed, getting a bad feeling as Gaara picked his sand up, and was moving it towards Lee.

"Come on Lee! Move it!" Kumiko screamed. He couldn't though, and the sand covered his left arm, and left leg. "Lee!" He screamed in pain.

"Sand coffin."

Lee gave off an even louder yell, and there were loud crunches. Kumiko felt her heart stop. Lee was flung back, and seemed unconscious. But that didn't stop Gaara as he sent more sand towards his opponent.

"Do something Gai-sensei!" Kumiko screamed, seeming to realize what was happening. "He's going to kill Lee!" Gai didn't even hesitate to get down there and stop the sand. Kumiko's heart was pounding a mile a minute. Gaara seemed confused as he held his head in pain.

"But why? He failed." He muttered, a disgusted look on his face. "Why save him?" Kumiko didn't hesitate to jump down and run to Lee, crying out his name. It was obvious that he had lost, so it shouldn't matter if she entered.

"Because he's, he's my student, and also because he's precious to me." Gai told the young child. Kumiko finally reached Lee and picked his head up and laid it on her lap. Her eyes widened in horror as she looked at his arm and leg. They looked smashed, almost as if there were no bones in them. A simple medic-nin wouldn't be able to heal them! Kumiko didn't notice the look Gaara was giving her. Gai did though, and stood so he was blocking her from Gaara's sight.

Gaara stared at them for a couple seconds, then stood up and started walking off. "I quit." He stated, his back turned. Kumiko stared at the boy with her mouth wide open. She gently laid Lee's head back on the ground and stood up.

"You can't just quit, you asshole! You practically broke him! Even if he did win, he wouldn't be able to participate in the finals due to his injuries!" She screamed as she waved her arms around. She felt her eyes getting watery. "He's broken." Gaara turned to look at her with a glare. Gai shoved his arm out in front of Kumiko, ready to protect her from the boy.

Gaara took note of the protective stance. "Is she precious to you also?" He rhetorically asked Gai, a glare etched on his face. Gai tried his best not to give him a dirty look.

"All of my students are precious to me."

Hayate decided to intervene, finally. "The winner is-" Everyone made gasping sounds. Kumiko looked around to see what caught their attention, but turned around when she noticed that's where they were looking.

There was Lee, standing on very shaky legs, looking like he was still ready to fight.

"It can't be." Kumiko stated in horror as she looked to her friend. "He's knocked out!" Gai hurried to his student.

"No Lee, it's alright. It's all over now." He said. "Anyway you're in no condition to-" He stopped when he realized that what Kumiko said was true. Lee really was unconscious. "Lee, oh Lee." Gai started crying, which in turn made Kumiko start crying. "What have I done?"

"Gai-sensei…" Kumiko whispered. The guilt her teacher was feeling, must have been huge.

"Look at you, not even conscious, and still determined to show the world what you can do." Gai spoke.

"His willpower's too strong." Kumiko mumbled as she stared.

"Lee, you've already proven it." Gai cried. He then pulled his student into a hug. "You are a splendid ninja."

Hayate decided then to ruin the moment. "The winner is Gaara." Kumiko sobbed quietly for her friend as she rubbed her eyes. Poor Lee.

"Hm, I knew he couldn't beat Gaara." She heard Temari say. She looked at the older girl, who was smirking. Instantly, a burning sensation appeared in Kumiko's chest. Anger. All she could feel at the moment, was anger. That girl was going to pay for putting her friend down!

Naruto jumped down and ran to them. He stopped when Hayate said that Lee needed serious attention. Kumiko bent down to get closer to Lee. He was going to be okay, he had to be! "Bushy Brow..." Naruto whispered.

"Naruto..." Kumiko quietly said as she looked up to the boy, tears streaming down her face. She felt so useless. A ninja isn't supposed to show emotion, and yet, here she was, showing all of hers. Naruto stared at her for a couple seconds, but then put his hand on her shoulder. It felt so comforting.

"You're his teacher, aren't you?" One of the medic-nin asked Gai.

"I am, what is it?" Gai questioned. The medic-nin stood up.

"Will you, come with me?" He asked gently. Kumiko automatically stood up too, trying to follow Gai, but he stopped her.

"Maybe you should wait here." Gai said as he put his hand on her shoulder. Kumiko shook her head.

"But Gai-sensei-"

"I won't be long." He cut her off, and followed the medic-nin without a second glance. She frowned, but stayed put nonetheless. The medic-nin were putting Lee on a stretcher.

Kumiko didn't know what to do, so instead she looked towards the medic-nin handling Lee. "Please be careful with him. His body isn't stable." She whispered. They gave her sympathetic looks but did so.

"The boys breathing is faint," She over-heard the medic-nin telling her sensei. She and Naruto turned to look at them. "Steady. There are bone fractures and muscle tears throughout his body. He's facing a long and difficult rehabilitation. But I'm afraid, that's not the worst of it."

Worst of it? Gai already seemed horrified! How worse could it get?!

"His left arm and leg in particular have suffered massive damage." The medic-nin explained. Kumiko gasped. It was from Gaara's sand coffin. She knew there was something particularly wrong with them! "I'm sorry, I know how much it means to you both, but he'll never fight again. His days as a shinobi are over."

Kumiko's heart dropped.

"No." She whispered, holding her head, not knowing what to do.

"He's wrong." Naruto stuttered. "He's wrong, it can't be true!" Naruto also seemed distraught with what happened. Gai walked over to them, and stared down at Lee.

Kumiko's face scrunched together as she noticed tears threatening to fall from her sensei's eyes. His shoulders were shaking. Kumiko had to look away. It's always the worst, when someone who you've never seen cry before, cries. Especially Gai-sensei, since he's supposed to know how to, and be great at keeping his emotions in check.

Naruto seemed in denial over the news. "It's not true. It can't be true. It's easy for you to say it's over, but what about Bushy Brow?! What's he supposed to do now?" Kumiko stared at the boy. She didn't know Naruto truly thought of Lee as a friend. "Failure? I thought you said we could win? I thought you were gonna show how a failure can win! It was all a lie, wasn't it?!"

Kakashi appeared and grabbed Naruto, covering his mouth to keep him from talking. "That's enough Naruto."

"But sensei, it isn't fair! All he ever wanted, was to prove himself against Sasuke and Neji."

Kumiko couldn't hear them. Her ears were pounding so hard and her nose was stuffy. "Oh Lee." She mumbled, rubbing her arms uncomfortably.

Kakashi walked over to Gai. "Gai, what I said earlier. It was out of line. I was being a self-righteous fool. I realize now, that if I had been in your shoes, I probably couldn't have stopped him either." She knew what he was doing. He was trying not to let Gai feel so guilty. "Come on Gai, let's go up. They can't start the next match with us standing here."

"Right." Gai said quietly. With that, the two jounin headed up. Naruto walked over to Kumiko, whose sobs were gone but her face was still red.

"He's my best friend and I couldn't stop him from getting hurt." Kumiko said quietly as she looked at Naruto. The boy smiled sadly at her.

"He's a shinobi. It's what happens." He said. Kumiko rubbed her eyes, but paused when she noticed a hand in front of her. "Let's go up." She smiled her own sad smile, and took his hand.

What a cool kid. Why'd she avoid him before?

When the area was clear, it was time for the final match. It was Chōji and Dosu.

The battle was a quick one. A very quick one. Chōji had lost. Kumiko was too distraught with the previous match to actually watch it.

"And with that match, the third exam preliminaries, are now finished." Hayate said. Finally!

The eight genin (Sasuke wasn't there still), who had passed walked down to the battle area and stood in front of Ibiki, Anko, Hayate, and the Hokage. Everyone else stayed on the upper level.

"I commend those who advanced to the finals for the third level of the chunin exams. Well, there's one person missing, but still. Congratulations." Hayate said. Kumiko sighed as she looked at her sensei, who had been quiet since the end of Lee's battle.

"Don't be so hard on yourself Gai-sensei. Lee knew what he was getting into." She tried comforting him. He looked at her with a frown.

"He knew, but that doesn't mean I couldn't have stopped him. After all, I did keep giving him permission to do the things that I've forbidden him from in everyday life." Gai said. "It was my being irresponsible that caused him to end up like this." Kumiko didn't know what else to say, so she looked away.

"And now I will begin the explanation of the final round." The Hokage said.

Long story short, they all had a month to prep for the final battles. The first battle would be Neji and Naruto, the second; Gaara and Sasuke, the third; Shino and Kankuro, the fourth; Shikamaru and Dosu, and the fifth was a bit weird, so it'd be the winner of the fourth fighting Temari. It was a tournament, but different.

There were to be judges, who would decide on whether someone could be a chunin, even if they lose. How lucky of them.

She felt Gai put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on Kumiko, I'll walk you home." He softly said. She stared up at him, then nodded.

"Right."

You guys! I am so excited for the next few chapters! Trust me when I tell you, you will not want to miss them! Kumiko gets to meet a certain pervy sage ;) and has lunch with someone who's supposed to be the enemy. So, I noticed that I tend to show Kumiko's friendship with Lee more, but trust me when I tell you, those two are practically siblings. Nothing will happen between them.

Fun Fact: Kumiko is a quick healer. Usually if her injuries are small, they heal within a shorter amount of time than the usual shinobi.

Question: Who's death was the saddest in your opinion? (Warning: Mine may have a spoiler if you haven't caught up in the anime/read the manga: Neji's was the worst for me, just cause if he had enough time to block those spikes being thrown, he had enough time to push Hinata out of the damn way, and she definitely should have had enough time to push Naruto. Like, his death was totally useless to me)