Naruko blinked open her eyes, and ended up staring into the blinding fluorescent lights of the hotel room. She groaned and rolled over, shoving her face into the pillow and shutting her eyes tight. She felt a soothing hand rub her arm, and she moved her face sideways to peek out of her lids. Her mother had taken a seat on the bed next to her and was stroking her arm.
"Naruko honey, wake up." She said.
"Kaa-chan?" She whispered, rubbing her eyes. "What happened?"
"We were eating dinner and you had a panic attack because the Kyuubi was talking to you." Kushina said. "We rushed you back here so I could look at your seal myself, and it seems to have weakened recently. So I touched it up here and there, and when I resealed it, you passed out from the shock."
"Really?" Naruko asked, rubbing her head. "I don't remember it at all. I only remember tou-chan picking me up at the ramen stand."
"It makes sense that you don't. The seal modifications must have been a shock to not only your torso, but to your chakra coils as well. You've only been out since last night though." Kushina said.
Naruko sighed and dropped her head back on the pillow. "Why do I keep passing out and having panic attacks?"
"Because you're dealing with way more than a kid your age should have to." Kushina said. "Most kids don't have to deal with the Chunin Exams, a biju, and an unwanted marriage contract all at once."
"Gaara does." Naruko said. "Yet he's doing fine."
Kushina chuckled. "You really think Gaara's fine? Maybe outwards, but he's been going crazy over your constant state of passing out and over this whole thing with Sasuke. He's worrying himself to death."
"I should probably talk to him." Naruko said, shifting to get out of bed. She winced and gasped as a sharp pain shot through her stomach.
"Oh no, young lady." Kushina said. "You are spending the rest of the day in this bed recovering. Gaara will be back soon – he just went to get something to eat. You can talk to him then, and Matsuki will be here later today too. I'll stay out of your hair as long as Gaara doesn't tell me you've been trying to do too much."
"Okay."
Just then, the door swung open and Gaara stood in the doorway, but as soon as he saw that Naruko was up, he made a beeline for the bed.
"I'll leave you two alone to talk." Kushina said, getting up from the hotel room bed to leave her daughter and her boyfriend alone.
As soon as the door shut behind Kushina, Gaara immediately locked lips with Naruko. To say she was surprised would be an understatement. The kiss had a certain force that was unknown to her, as her and Gaara's usual kisses were soft and gentle. But this kiss had fire, and was demanding; and she had to say, it felt pretty amazing.
Once they separated, Gaara leaned his forehead on hers. They both breathed heavily, and Gaara rested his hands on both sides of her face.
"I've been so worried. What's going on with you?" Gaara asked.
"I don't know." Naruko said, shaking her head. "These past few weeks have just been... I don't know, really trying and terrifying. I mean, first I find out that my tou-chan isn't actually my REAL tou-chan and that I'm the host of a biju. Then I get to the Chunin Exams, and not only are they hard, but I find out that my biju can forcibly talk to me and give me emotional breakdowns. And then we have the war coming up and now I have a marriage contract to someone I don't want to be with while we're trying to get married and-and-and" Naruko took a deep breath and then sobbed into her hands. "This is all too much! How is one person supposed to be able to deal with all this?!"
Gaara held her in his arms as she sobbed herself out, and once she finally ran out of tears, she wiped her eyes and sniffled. "And now I'm just being a stupid crybaby."
"You are not being stupid or a crybaby." Gaara said. "Most girls our age cry because they gained 10 pounds; they don't have to deal with the shit you do."
"But-"
"No, no buts." Gaara said. "You shouldn't have all of this piled on your shoulders, and you don't. Because I'm here, and I'll help you."
"Gaara, you have the same things I have to deal with!" Naruko said. "You can't deal with your problems and mine!"
"Yes, I can." He said confidently. "I'm your fiancee, its my job. I will help you with whatever you need regardless of what I have on my own plate, because I love you. Naruko, you are the one person I truly care about, and I'm not willing to let you berate yourself over these problems. I'm here to help – whenever you need me."
"Gaara." Naruko whispered. "I love you – so much."
"I love you too." He whispered back.
"Gaara." Naruko said. "I don't care what that dumb marriage contract says – I will never marry Sasuke. I plan on being Mrs. Sabaku – not the matriarch to the stupid Uchiha clan."
"Trust me, I don't plan on letting that ass marry you either." Gaara said. "Now, enough about how stressful our lives are – it's time for you to rest."
"But I was just asleep for over 12 hours!" Naruko protested.
"I don't care; the final exam of the Chunin exams is tomorrow, and I'll be damned if you aren't healed enough to participate." He smiled and then laid down next to her. "Here, I'll even hold you as you fall asleep."
"Fine." Naruko said. But for all her protests, she actually did feel very sleepy. Within 5 minutes, the girl was already back in dreamland.
The deafening sounds in the arena made it hard to hear the fuzzy words of the person next to you as everyone kept raising their voice to speak so that the people they were talking to could hear them. The booming voices sounded against the cold, concrete walls and only proved to amplify the sound.
Naruko, her chopped red hair hanging to her shoulders, stood out from even the rest of the small crowd in the middle of the arena. Unlike the neutral blacks and browns of the other contestants, her and Gaara stood out the most. Their distinctive Suna clothes and shocking red hair made them stand apart from even their own teammate.
Matsuki was at the end of the line, with Naruko next to her and Gaara next to Naruko. After that, there were a couple leaf ninjas and one from sound. While they were working with sound, it seemed as if while they didn't make an effort to get to know the sound boy, he put in the same amount of effort to get to know them.
Naruko nervously tapped her foot against the hard packed dirt of the arena, and nervously chewed on her lip. The invasion was supposed to start during Sasuke and Gaara's battle – the very first battle. So that meant she didn't even have one fight before they betrayed Konoha's trust.
Suddenly, a man shunshined in front of them. It was a brand new proctor. "Although your last proctor, Hayate, was supposed to lead this event, he has unfortunately passed away in the past month. Therefore, I will be your new proctor. My name is Genma and you are now in the final section of the Chunin Exams. Any questions?"
One of the leaf boys raised his hand. "This is troublesome, but since no one else will ask, I will. What about Sasuke?"
"Should he not show up on time for his match, he will be disqualified." Genma says.
Naruko's eyes widen. "But sir." She speaks up. "Isn't he in the first match?"
"Yes, he is."
"But won't he not make it on time then?"
"Well if he isn't at the speed he's going, he better hurry up." Genma said.
Naruko chewed her nails. If Sasuke didn't show up, that meant no fight between Gaara and Sasuke. And no fight between them, meant no signal for the invasion. What are they going to do!?
"Now," Genma said, "here are the matches again, in case any of you have forgotten."
Match 1
Gaara Sabaku
vs.
Sasuke Uchiha
Match 2
Naruko Hatake
vs.
Neji Hyuga
Match 3
Matsuki Nadaho
vs.
Shikamaru Nara
Match 4
Shino Aburame
vs.
Dosu
"Now, will everyone except for the people in the first match go up to the competitors box?" Genma said, chewing on the toothpick in his mouth.
Naruko ran an arm down Gaara's arm as she passed and they locked eyes for a moment before he nodded subtly. She looked him up and down and mouthed 'good luck' before heading up to the competitors box with Matsuki.
Once up there, she could already tell Matsuki was as nervous as she was. The girl was twisting her brown hair around her fingers and glanced around erratically. She leaned over to Naruko.
"What are we gonna do?" She whispered.
"Hope he shows up." Naruko whispered back. "If not, I don't know."
They waited around in the competitors box, Gaara standing alone in the arena. They could hear the crowd getting restless, and soon enough, people were yelling out.
"Hey, when's this actually gonna start!?"
"I took a day off work to see this!"
"Where's the Uchiha?!"
"Get it started already!"
"If one kid isn't here – MOVE ONTO THE NEXT MATCH!"
People were starting to get irate at Genma, but the man simply shrugged it off. But after 15 minutes, even he was starting to sweat.
"Stay here." He told Gaara before he shunshined away.
- The Kage Box -
"Lord Hokage." Genma addressed as he appeared, bowing in front of the man. "What shall we do? The Uchiha is still not here and the crowd is going crazy."
"Well, since the boy still isn't here, I suppose we will have to cancel the match." The Hokage stated.
"Lord Hokage, if I may interrupt." The Kazekage said. "Many people have been awaiting this match more than any of the others – and I know some of the higher ups have come for this match only. The crowd may get angry if we cancel it. Why not just postpone it?"
"I suppose that could be arranged." The Hokage said. "Genma – start with match 2. Move match 1 to the last match of the first round."
"Yes sir." Genma said, before shunshining away.
"Good choice, Lord Hokage." The Kazekage said.
- Back to the Arena -
"Ladies and Gentlemen." Genma announced, raising his voice. "As one of the participants has not arrived, Match 1 will be moved to the last match of the first round. Instead, we will start with Match 2."
"Why wasn't he eliminated?" Matsuki asked.
"There's always special treatment for the Uchiha clan." Naruko muttered. "Well, I guess it's my match then."
"Good luck." Matsuki said.
Naruko started out of the box and down the stairs to the arena, and on the way, she passed Gaara. He gave her a reassuring smile and a nod of the head as they passed each other, and Naruko took a deep breath.
It was time for her unexpected match.
She exited the archway, and found herself in the bright, sunny spots of the arena. She took her spot across from her opponent and their proctor cleared his throat.
"Now, the first match. Neji Hyuga versus Naruko Hatake. Let the match, begin!"