Naruto glared at his teammate as Izo entered the building, quickly catching up to Akahana and Yuri.
"Don't win, huh," he muttered under his breath. "Yeah, right. I'm not a quitter and I won't lose just because someone tells me to. Just wait and see."
Nails digging into his palm and teeth clenched, Naruto trailed his team into the building.
This Day of Trials was incredibly well organized, Naruto had to admit. Just by looking around, he could see different stations set up to keep track of which shinobi was participating in which event. Hisano and Michio were there to direct him to the shinobi he needed to talk to.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Michio said in a short voice. "Participating in the challenge."
Naruto's eyes widened. He had been told that only the strongest shinobi of each clan participated in the challenge. Did Hisano and Michio really consider him to be that strong?
Hisano glanced at the suddenly tense boy and drew him off to the side, letting Michio complete the rest of the registration process.
"The fox clan doesn't have very many in the way of numbers," she explained. "The few shinobi we have in our clan are participating in trials by combat. The others we have are too young or too inexperienced right now, so there's only you and Daisuke to compete in the challenge."
Naruto nodded in understanding. Hisano looked away from the younger shinobi.
"Don't worry," she added as she began to walk away. "For you to advance very far would be considered a miracle. We aren't expecting very much."
Naruto pulled a face as she turned her back on him. Michio tossed him an amused glance, as if he knew what the vixen shinobi had said. Naruto approached when the man beckoned in his direction.
"How many are competing?" Naruto overheard Michio asking the proctor, who glanced down at the papers in front of him.
"So far? Sixteen," he announced. "And since we're done with registration in a quarter of an hour, it'll probably stay at that number."
Michio's eyes narrowed.
"So few?" he asked. The proctor shrugged.
"A few of the clans were spooked off by the attacks, I assume," he informed the auburn-haired man. "And a few have refused to answer because they either have no chance at claiming the title or because they think that the challenge is rigged.
Naruto's eyes widened but he bit his tongue. A rigged competition? Michio nodded in understanding.
"Yes, I can see where they could form that opinion," he said in a conversational tone. "After all, the past Soshikage's have been from either the cat clan or the wolf clan for the past dozen or so Day of Trials."
Naruto's eyes narrowed as he quickly did the calculations. If the Day of Trials happened every two years, then that would be over twenty years. Yeah, he could see where the other clans got that opinion as well.
"The names will go on the board when registration closes," the proctor informed Naruto. "You'll find out who your opponent is then."
Naruto nodded curtly and turned away. He spotted his teammates standing off to the side, looking in his direction expectantly. Upon catching his gaze, Izo beckoned him over.
"All set?" Yuri asked as Naruto approached the three. The orange-haired shinobi nodded.
"So do we just wait now?" he asked. His teammates nodded and Naruto's head dropped a centimeter in disappointment. He hated waiting.
"Shouldn't be too long, though," Yuri said. "The proctors are careful about keeping everything on time. The trials start in the outside arena in fifteen minutes and the challenge will start soon afterward."
Naruto blinked in surprise.
"There's an outside arena?" he asked. Akahana rolled her eyes.
"Pay attention to your surroundings," she muttered acidly. "Just be lucky Hotaru hasn't been summoned. She'd want to flay you alive right now." Izo snorted and Naruto glared at the redheaded girl, who scowled back.
"Get along," Yuri muttered. "We're a team so let's look like one to the rest of the village."
Izo nodded in agreement. Akahana gritted her teeth and turned away.
"Should we make our way to area set aside for us?" Yuri asked when it became apparent that no one was going to say anything else. "I'm sure there are others already there."
Without waiting for a response, she took the lead. Izo quickly caught up to her and Naruto began to trail behind. He glanced back at Akahana who hadn't moved.
"Coming or what?" he asked. Akahana scowled
"I'll catch up," she said sharply. "I just need to do something first." She spun on her heel and walked away, ignoring the looks shot in her direction. Naruto just sighed at her testiness. Why did he always end up having to deal with the testy females? Was it just a girl thing? But then, that didn't make sense because Naruto could never remember Hinata being irritable.
When Naruto stepped into the waiting area, thirteen pairs of eyes focused on him. On the opposite side of the room, a red-haired man nodded at him. Naruto returned the nod, recognizing the man as Daisuke, the other fox clan member participating in the competition, and settled next to the door, trying not to shift uncomfortably under the attention. Eventually the attention shifted away from him.
"Is the roster up yet?" someone asked to break the silence. Naruto's gaze snapped to the speaker. He vaguely recognized the speaker as Miyu, a member of the wolf team. Naruto took a careful glance at the shinobi in the room. His eyes widened as he realized that he knew all of them. He had trained against them all at one point during his stay.
The door slid open and Akahana quietly stepped in, barely sparing a glance at the room's occupants. Following behind her was someone Naruto didn't recognize. Izo's eyes narrowed upon sight of the newcomer.
"Saya," he muttered. "Snake clan."
The woman following Akahana nodded.
"Glad to see you still remember me," she said in a chilly voice. "It's been a while since we've sparred, hasn't it?"
"Yes," Izo agreed. "Why is it that the snake clan hasn't been seen lately? We feared that you had been attacked as well."
Even Naruto could pick up on the false tone in Izo's voice. The woman, named as Saya, narrowed her black eyes. Naruto peered closer at her. She seemed familiar with her thin face and sharp angles, though Naruto couldn't place her face.
Akahana stepped away from Saya. She seemed more nervous and testy than ever.
"Is the proctor here yet?" she asked Yuri, who shook her head.
"Any minute now," she said quietly. "Are you—" Akahana cut her off with a curt nod.
"Nothing happened," she muttered quietly. "I just needed to take a breath and unfortunately ran into Saya." Yuri gave her a skeptical look but said nothing. Naruto felt confused. Was all of Akahana's irritability a matter of nerves? That didn't seem like the girl at all.
Akahana rested against the wall next to Naruto. The orange-haired shinobi could hear her muttering under her breath.
"Atsuo, Rikiya, Saya, Izo," she was listing off. "This won't be like four years ago. It won't be nearly as easy."
Her words brought back a memory for Naruto.
"She brought our clan great glory four years ago," Yuri had said. Had Akahana won the competition back then? Or had she done something even greater?
The door opened one last time. A pair of shinobi stepped in and quickly counted the members in the group.
"Since all of you are here, we can begin," the first shinobi said. "The first battle will become momentarily, so I hope you're prepared. I'll call out the roster and my partner will send you out when it's your turn."
Everyone nodded.
"Miyu of the wolf clan against Tobikuma of the dragon clan," the proctor announced. "Atsuo of the wolf clan versus Daiki of the eel clan."
The second proctor stepped up to announce the next two battles. "Saya of the snake clan against Yuri of the cat clan. Izo of the cat clan against Shiyo of the frog clan."
"Naruto of the fox clan versus Fukuyo of the wolf clan," the first proctor continued. "Kotori of the bird clan against Daisuke of the fox clan." Naruto shot a glance at Fukuyo. She was a relatively nice girl and Akahana seemed fond of her, despite the rivalry between their two clans. Fukuyo had been one of the first to truly accept Naruto, besides Yuri.
"Finally, Rikiya of the wolf clan against Shouta of the dragon clan and Akahana of the cat clan against Kazuki of the bear clan," the second proctor finished. "Represent your clans well."