Here's another chapter~ Hope ya like it. And i realized i made a mistake in the previous chapter... dunno how many of you noticed it... but i'll be editing it soon. Haha. Anyways... who's your fav OC so far?
A/N: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be writing this fanfic
Chapter 14: Playing
"Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well."
... What the hell, Shukaku. Go away. I wanna watch Temari and Tenten fight,I told the sand demon when he asked me to play shogi with him.
What's so great about watching them fight? Play shogi with me.
Get out, Shukaku! Sheesh, Kurai-ko. You should've told him you want nothing to do with him! Why on earth did you have to give a reason for not playing shogi with him? Your words imply that if not for the match, you wouldn't have minded playing shogi with that mongrel!Yami yelled, outraged. All of a sudden, I felt like irritating her. After annoying me for so long, it was time to get back on her.
Shukaku, if I play shogi with you... I paused to let the idiot finish cheering like a madman. You'll owe me a favor.
No. Winner owes loser a favor. How about that? Shukaku said. I agreed. Ignoring Yami's protest, I retreated into my inner world where Shukaku conjured up a shogi board and chess pieces out of sand.
No cheating,I warned him. He just grinned at me.
...
"Oi, Chii-kun. It's Naruto-kun's match!" Huh? I put my third shogi game on hold (I had won the first game and the sore loser had demanded for a best-of-three game instead) and brought myself back to 'reality'.
"Wait. What did I miss?" I asked Akirai.
"Well, Temari-san won over Ten-chan. And following that, Shika-kun defeated Kin-chan in their match. Now it's Naruto-kun vs Kiba-kun."
So I missed two matches. Oh well. Who cares. At least I wasn't going to miss this important match. Naruto against Kiba (and Akamaru). Fox
vs Dog. I had no idea who might win. I was supporting Naruto of course.
The match began with Kiba using his beast-effect ninpou quadrupled no jutsu and his speed immediately increased. Then he promptly smashed Naruto into the wall.
"WTF. Naruto-kun, if you don't get up, Chii-kun won't be treating you any ramen for the rest of the year!" Aki-chan muttered beside me.
"And... He got up despite Kiba telling Hayate that 'he won't be opening his eyes any time soon'. Hah! Never underestimate Naruto!" Great. Don't tell me Akirai's gonna start a running commentary on Naruto's match.
"Akamaru attacks Naruto-kun and they hit the wall in a cloud of smoke!" Yes, she is. Sigh.
"Oh. Naruto-kun's lying on the floor while Akamaru is happily barking away... Has Kiba-kun won? Wait, Akamaru bit Kiba-kun! It turns out to be Naruto-kun in disguise! Good use of henge no jutsu and kage bunshin no jutsu, Naruto-kun!" the thing was, no one else could hear her except Hanaha and I. But she's right. Naruto's skills have gotten better since he graduated the Academy.
"Kiba-kun pops something into Akamaru's mouth and Akamaru's fur turns red! It is a soldier pill! Combined with their beast-human-bunshin and quadrupled no jutsu... they attack Naruto-kun together! Kiba-kun sees an opening and uses his Piercing Fang technique on Naruto-kun!" it occured to me that if not for the many trainings we've spent with Kiba's team, we probably wouldn't know about all these techniques that Kiba was using at the moment.
"Crap. Naruto-kun is injured! He lies on the floor spitting blood! Oi! You want to be a Hokage don't you? And Pinkie is actually useful for once! She yells at Naruto-kun to get up and he gets up slowly. Everyone's eyes are on Naruto-kun n-"
"Will you please shut up," Hana-chan finally snapped. Aki-chan mumbled something unintelligible and kept quiet. Now I can watch the match in peace.
Kiba kept attacking Naruto with his Piercing Fang while we kept waiting for Naruto to do something. Anything. And then, he does it. Naruto transformed himself into Kiba, so there were now three Kibas (including Akamaru). It should be useless, since Kiba had the nose of a dog, but Naruto did something unexpected. When Naruto got hit by Kiba, he immediately transformed into Akamaru and tricked Kiba into attacking the real Akamaru. Poor puppy.
"Think before using a jutsu or it will get used against you. And also don't fall for such obvious traps, idiot," Naruto said to Kiba. Now why did that sound so familiar? Then I saw Kakashi-sensei's ha-ha-very-funny face (somehow, it was still possible to see his expression even with more-than-three-quarters of his face covered) and remembered that it had been Kakashi-sensei who had said the very same thing to Naruto a long time ago.
When Kiba finally calmed down and started to get serious, Naruto announced that he had a new special technique. Kiba didn't give him time to execute the new technique and attacked him. Coincidentally, Naruto farted at that moment and hurt Kiba's sensitive nose. It was quite hilarious, but I guess that's Naruto for you. Then Naruto, taking advantage of Kiba's momentary distraction, made four shadow clones and the five of them executed Naruto's 'new special technique' which turned out to be a copy of what Sasuke had done in his earlier match. When Hayate announced Naruto as the winner of the match, everyone (Shikamaru's team, Sakura, Hinata etc) cheered. It seems like Naruto has grown quite a lot. Still an idiot, but less of an idiot. I must remember to treat him to ramen when this test is over.
The next match was between Neji and Hinata, the Hyuuga cousins. I didn't know much about the tension between the main house and the branch house, but it seemed like Neji seriously disliked Hinata. And I wondered, byakugan against byakugan, who would win?
No offense, but I think that White-kun stands a better chance of winning as compared to White-chan.
... White?
In reference to their eyes. What White-chan needs is more self-confidence and training. What White-kun needs is... Nevermind, he's tastier the way he is.
Who cares about the Hyuuga! The Uchiha would probably tastes a lot
better.
Dibs on the Uchiha. Go find your own prey, mongrel.
Blasted shadowtail! The Uchiha's mine!
Is our shogi game still on?
Yes, and remember, if I win, you'll owe me a favor.
Kurai-ko, you were the one who agreed to play shogi with that sonofabitch. So you had better win. If you lose and owe him a favor... I'll kill the both of you before the mongrel can get a bite out if you,
Yami growled.
Hai. Hai, I replied absent-mindedly. I was sure I could win. I had won the first game, almost won the second game (but didn't), and I'll win this last game.
"What are you doing?" I turned to find Aki-chan and Hana-chan staring at me.
"You seem to keep spacing out during the matches," Hana-chan said.
"Oh. I was playing shogi with Shukaku," I replied and waited. And waited. Until the words sunk in.
"You were doing what?" Hana-chan whisper-yelled.
"How is he?" Aki-chan asked. I shrugged.
"Not as good as Shikamar-"
"STOP DECIDING THINGS FIR PEOPLE, IDIOT!" Naruto again?
"KICK THAT BASTARD'S ASS, HINATA! STAND UP FOR YOURSELF!" Then again, if he didn't do all that shouting, he wouldn't be Naruto at all.
"I wonder, will Hina-chan be able to do it?" Akirai asked worriedly.
"I doubt it," muttered Hanaha from the other side of her. "But at least she's trying her best. What worries me more is that there are seven other genins left. That means three or four matches more, unless we are to participate too. And up till now, the screen has yet to announce any of our names."
"What if they really count us out?" I asked. There was a possibility...
"Then at least we had some fun in this test," Aki-chan said. "Damn. Hina-chan's getting beaten up by Neji-kun!"
"Almost everyone looks beat up, including those who haven't fought yet," I noticed. "Except for Gaara."
I heard Shukaku snort. You're one to speak. Look at your own team.
I looked at Aki-chan and realized that she too, did not have a single scratch on her. Probably because any leaf or thorn that touched her skin got incinerated by her heat. And Hana-chan had no scratches too, for the plants were her friends. None of us have gotten into combat in the forest either. Unless trying to escape from giant creepy crawlies is counted. But none of those creepy crawlies managed to touch us. Unlike Hanaha and Akirai, I should have gotten scratched a bit by the plants when we were in a hurry to get away from those monstrous leeches and whatnot.
Wth Yami. I thought you only healed me with your chakra when I get severly injured or sunburnt or something.
Didn't you know that the shadowtail is extremely vain? She always believes that one should be presentable for a fight. As if looking good is vital for survival.
I do know that you're gonna lose. Ote.(A/N: 'Check' in Jap)
Crap!Ouch. I certainly didn't like demons yelling in my head.
Gambatte,muttered Yami. I could hear the smirk in her voice.
"Chii-kun, behind that wall are more electronic screens right?" I didn't like the sound of that.
"Do you think I could connect it to my video camera and display for all to see Neji-kun and Lee-kun's personality swi-"
"Seriously? No," Hana-chan cut in before Aki-chan could say anything else.
"But Neji-kun is hurting Hina-chan really bad. That video clip will be my revenge," Akirai protested. "Look! She's spitting blood everywhere!"
Smells good, doesn't it, Yami?
Yeah, it does. But I think I'll still prefer having White-kun for lunch instead of White-chan. By the way, Shukaku...
... Yes?
Checkmate, I muttered, as I moved my Horse to trap his King. I got a horrible headache when Shukaku started raging in my head. Sigh.
You owe me a favor,I reminded the demon before trying to focus back on the match which was already beginning to end. Hinata was lying on the ground having been critically attacked by Neji. Yes. Revenge sounded good.
"DON'T STOP, HINATA!" yelled Naruto. As much as I loved his characteristic encouragement, I had a feeling that pushing Hinata at this stage could be fatal to the poor girl.
She'll survive. If she doesn't, I could do the honors of giving White-kun nightmares for the rest of his life, Yami assured me. Right.
"She's... Standing up!" exclaimed Aki-chan softly. Indeed she was, and Neji was once again criticizing her. Honestly, that guy should just give it a rest! Him and his fate.
Then Hinata said something I couldn't catch, but whatever it was, it made Neji real mad and he charged at her. Thankfully, Hayate, Kurenai-sensei, Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei stopped him in time, before he could kill her. Then Hinata collapsed and Lee, Naruto and Pinkie leapt down to check on her.
"Hey loser," Neji spoke up. Was he talking to Naruto? That $& !£¥#%! "If you're a shinobi, cut out the pathetic cheering." Sheesh. What's his problem? Naruto's cheers are awesome. Then he proceeded to talk about fate and losers.
Fate? Ha! If I wanted to, I could change his fate right now! By ending his life. Arrogant prick,muttered Yami in disdain. My thoughts exactly. And apparently, Naruto thought so too. He tried to attack Neji but Lee stopped him. Then Naruto ran his hand through Hinata's blood and raised his blood-stained hand in front of him.
"I promise you... You're going down!" he said to Neji. Then I heard Kankuro say to Temari, "He's so clueless it's funny. He hasn't noticed the difference in ability." Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Kankuro?
Then Hinata was quickly brought away to the emergency medical room due to her injuries. I watched as Naruto walked up the stairs leading to the second floor and Kankuro went up to him. What was that puppet-guy up to?
"Hey," Kankuro greeted him. "You're funny. I like you."
"You're not funny. I don't like you," retorted Naruto. "What do you want?" Akirai snorted beside me.
"It's about that Hyuuga Neji guy but-"
"I'm gonna kick his ass!"
"No.. Nobody asked you that..."
Funny conversation there. Oh. Hayate has announced that the next match's about to begin. Who's next, I wonder.
I hope it's us, Shukaku said eagerly. I think he's starting to get high on the smell of blood... But I also wonder what Gaara's match would be like.
"Oh. Kami. That's-!" I looked down to see what Hana-chan and Aki-chan were so shocked about. Then I saw the electronic display screen.
Fukuro vs Hanaha.
... Akirai's POV...
Oh! Oh! Oh! So they haven't counted us out of the exams yet! And Hana-chan's playing with Hoot! Good thing we did our research.
"What now?" Chii-kun asked the two of us as the other genins below looked kinda shocked. Bet they're still wondering why Hana-chan's name is up there. Hoot is already in the arena waiting for her absent opponent.
"We make our entrance," Hana-chan replied with a smirk. I watched as she released her chakra hold on the ceiling and dropped down onto the arena below like a stone. Then she somersaulted in midair and landed lightly in front of Hayate-san and Hoot.
Cue the collective gasp. Now it was our turn. Chii-kun silently descended behind Pinkie, Neji-san, Lee-kun, Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei, while I descended behind Naruto-kun and Kankuro who were still standing by the stairs.
"This should be interesting," commented Chii-kun casually, just as I cheered, "GO HANA-CHAN!"
Everyone (except Kakashi-sensei) got a shock. Gai-sensei actually jumped and Kankuro squeaked. Yes! He squeaked! Uh-huh~! Oh yeah~!
"Eh? Akirai? You guys are here?" Naruto-kun exclaimed. I loved their reactions.
"We've been here since... Hmm," then I kept quiet and left my sentence hanging. This was something I learnt from Yami-chan and Chii-kun. How to irritate people with carefully manipulated words.
"Wait. Does that mean you were here before us?" At least he caught that implication in my sentence.
"Hai! And I was here before Kank-nevermind," I said hastily as Kankuro narrowed his eyes.
"You were here before my team?" he asked icredulously. I gave him an innocent look.
"I didn't say that."
"Somehow, you denying it makes it more believable. What's your name?" Kankuro said. I blinked. Then bowed.
"Akirai from Konoha," I said as I bowed in mock-courtesy. I couldn't resist adding, "Would you ever consider being a puppet?" (A/N: for those who have forgotten... Remember the prank she played on him?)
"You..." Kankuro began, frowning. I just grinned and turned my back to him.
"HANA-CHAN!" I yelled, an idea suddenly popping into my head and Hana-chan looked up just as Hayate-san was about to start the match. "STAY UNKNOWN!"
She nodded. I looked over at Chii-kun to see if she got my message too. She grinned back at me. Good. I bet after this, everyone's gonna take note of everyone else's abilities so that they may use the info for the next test. So the best thing to do was to reveal as little of our abilities as possible.
The match began and Hoot immediately unrolled her cloth. Then wind kicked up and the cloth spun in the air around her. Hana-chan just stood there, her pale golden hair whipping in the wind, looking quite zen. I had no doubt Hana-chan will win.
It made sense that being an 'owl' and a Suna nin, Hoot could use wind release techniques. The cloth edges appeared to sharpen as it made a cut in the walls of the arena when it spun in the air. Hana-chan would be sliced to pieces if the cloth edge touches her. Who knew cloth could be so dangerous.
Hana-chan didn't move an inch throughout Hoot's demonstration of her weapon's ability, making her a stationary target. In no time, Hoot's cloth had wrapped itself around Hana-chan, binding her as it appeared unnecessary to attack her when she made no attempt to do anything.
"You're weak!" laughed Hoot as Hana-chan continued to stare at Hoot with a hint of a smile on her face. I learnt long ago when I was small, that roses though sweet and pretty, had sharp dangerous thorns.
Then Hana-chan disappeared into a poof of smoke. Oh, so it was a clone after all. Good one, Hana-chan!
"Eh?" Hoot said as she whirled around to see Hana-chan standing behind her, still looking as zen as ever. Hoot instictively leapt backwards to put sone distance between her and Hana-chan. Seems like she's a long-range fighter. Then she spun her cloth again and the cloth shot out towards Hana-chan again, this time with the intent to cut instead of bind. Just as the cloth was about to touch Hana-chan, it went limp and fell to the ground. Hoot stood there gripping her right hand that was bleeding.
"What did you do?" shouted Hoot as she stared at her cloth. The end of the cloth nearest to her was also stained with blood as it was where she had originally held the cloth.
"Probably something with thorns," I muttered. Then Hoot picked up the cloth with her other hand (the idiot didn't seem to learn her lesson) and tried to attack Hana-chan again. Once again, she had to let go of the cloth abruptly as her left hand too, began to bleed. Yep. Definitely something with thorns. Now that both her hands were injured, what was she going to do?
"Give up?" Hana-chan asked as she strolled towards Hoot. Hoot resolutely picked up her cloth in one hand and a held a kunai in the other. This time, it happened so fast, all we saw was a spray of blood. Then we saw Hoot was clutching her left hand and gritting her teeth in agony. There were punctures in her hand, indicating that many somethings had pierced right through it. Probably really long and sharp thorns.
Then Hana-chan gently placed a kunai at Hoot's throat. "I repeat. Do you give up?"
Hoot quickly leapt backwards and out of Hana-chan's reach. "I'm not done yet!"
Hoot began to spin and dance in the middle of her coils of cloth that rose up in the air as she danced. Seemed like she could manipulate the cloth using wind, without touching the cloth itself. But seriously? You can't escape from plants.
Hana-chan chuckled, then she began to walk towards the spinning cloth and Hoot. More blood splattered and the wind died down as Hoot went on her knees and the cloth flopped onto the floor around her, lifeless. She had no other visible wounds other than the ones on her hands though.
"What did you do?" Hoot demanded for a second time after she vomited more blood. Hana-chan just smiled.
"Give up. If I wanted to kill you, I could have done so a long time ago. Plus, I think the poison is starting to take effect..." Hana-chan said.
"Who is she?" asked Kankuro looking quite shocked while Naruto just stared at Hana-chan.
"A really good friend. Just don't become her enemy and you'll be fine," I told him as I laughed at how dangerous Hana-chan appeared to be now, as compared to her more amiable nature before the match started.
"Is Fukuro her enemy?" Kankuro asked. I shrugged.
"We don't really like her or her teammates. That's all. Besides, Hana-chan didn't really injure Hoot much. Her hands should heal in a few months and I doubt the poison's lethal. Why? Do you like Hoot?"
"Hoot?" Kankuro gave me a weird look. "You mean Fukuro? Nah. Not really. Quite an irritating girl actually. But she's the nicest in her team I think. And the most sensible one too."
"I think Temari-san's the nicest in your team. And the most sensible one too," I said to him.
"Really?" His frown got deeper. I couldn't tell if he was feeling suspicious, curious or angry.
"Yeah. Her fan's cool," I replied. "Definitely cooler than that roll of cloth Hoot has."
Hayate ended the match when it became evident that Hoot needed a cure for the poison in her blood. Hana-chan was the winner of course.
"What about my puppet?" Kankuro asked. I pretended to look thoughtful.
"Well... Usefulness-wise, it's okay. Artistically-wise, it's horrible," I replied. "Hey, the Desert Boy has sand-body-flickered into the arena before the screen displayed his name!"
"Desert B-Gaara?" Kankuro's turned his head so fast I swear I heard his bones creak.
"SAFE!" yelled Choji as the electronic screen displayed Lee-kun's name with Gaara-kun's.
"Bushy Brows," I heard Naruto-kun say. Kami, for a moment, I had forgotten that he was there, mainly because he had been silent throught my conversation with Kankuro.
I watched as Lee-kun jumped off the second floor and landed in front of Gaara-kun. This should be interesting. Green Monkey playing against Desert Boy. On one hand, Lee-kun's speed and taijutsu is awesome. On the otherhand, Gaara-kun had that supercool sand and a demon.
"I don't know what kind of attack that bowl head does but there's no way he can beat Gaara," Kankuro was saying to Naruto-kun.
"True. The Desert Boy will probably win this match, depending on how fast his sand is," I said to no one in particular. That's right. I wasn't talking to myself. Only crazy idiots talk to themselves. I wasn't a crazy idiot. (Me: yeah right. Aki: did you say something? ( Me: nope ^_^)
"Sand? Is that what's in that big thing on his back?" Naruto-kun asked.
"Yeah. It's supercool. If it rains needles, he can turn into a giant porcupine," I replied. Naruto-kun gave me a weird look.
"Raining needles? Giant porcupine?"
"Yeah, you know, when it rains needles, the needles get stuck in that shell of his and stick up everywhere like the quills on a porcupine," I explained, recalling the scene where Gaara-kun's sand defense had blocked the needles from reaching him.
"Why would it rain needles?" Kankuro suddenly asked. Wait a minute. I forgot! He doesn't know my team was there when Gaara-kun killed those Ame nins!
"Because my prey decided to be suicidal," I muttered. I remember wanting to blow those Ame nins up, but no! Chii-kun had to stop me. And then they ran into the Desert Boy and got themselves killed!
"What-a cork?" Naruto said as something flew straight at Lee who swiftly caught it with one hand and dropped it onto the ground in front of him.
"From his gourd. Funny. I thought the cork was made of sand too. So there shouldn't be an actual need to take out the cork to use the sand inside right?" Hana-chan commented as she approached us. I shrugged.
"Let the tenth match begin!" shouted Hayate-san.
As soon as the match started, Lee-kun darted towards Gaara-kun and aimed a kick at the Desert Boy. Sand poured out from the gourd leapt up to block the kick and swirled around the two of them. Lee-kun was fast enough to dodge the sand.
For awhile, all Lee-kun did was try to kick and punch Gaara-kun but the sand blocked all of his attacks. And the only part of Gaara-kun that moved was his eyes that watched Lee-kun all the time.
"The attacks aren't working at all!" exclaimed Naruto-kun.
"All physical attacks are useless against Gaara. Because regardless of Gaara's will... The sand becomes a shield and protects him. That's why up to now... There's never been a single person who's even put a scratch on Gaara," Kankuro explained as Lee-kun leapt onto the tallest point of the hand statues at the front of the arena to escape Gaara-kun's sand.
"... So if it rained needles, the sand would form a shell and..." Naruto-kun trailed off.
"So you finally got it," I said to him just as Gai-sensei yelled, "Lee! Take them off!" Take what off?
Then he started to take off those horrible leg warmers off. Seriously, both teacher and student had no fashion sense whatsoever. Then I saw Lee-kun take off a series of weights off his weights. Ah. But will that be enough?
"Alright! Now I can move so much easier!" Lee-kun exclaims and drops the weights which crashed into the ground below with a loud explosion of sand and dust. Yeah... I think that'll be enough. I didn't know Gai-sensei was this scary. I don't think I wanna be his student. But why does he focus so much on taijutsu? Couldn't Lee-kun use ninjutsu?
"Lee! GO!" Gai-sensei shouted.
"YES!" yelled Lee-kun with his usual enthusiam and leapt off the statue finger. For a moment, he was just a blur, then the blur disappeared, then he reappeared behind Gaara-kun. That speed was so cooool!
And then Lee-kun began to attack Gaara-kun at a much faster speed than before and many of his attacks almost hit before the sand stops it. And the Desert Boy was definitely moving now. No longer in his stoic arms-folded-across-chest you-can't-beat-me pose. Lee-kun was so fast, I don't think even I can keep up with that speed. And I'm the fastest in our Rookie Twelve. Well, I guess I don't train with weights on my legs (and have absolutely no intention of doing so)...
Everyone gasped when Lee-kun suddenly appeared in the air above Gaara-kun and kicked the Desert Boy hard on side of his head. Ouch. That must hurt a lot, especially for someone who has never been injured before. I wonder what Chii-kun is thinking right now. She cares for Gaara-kun right? Poor Shukaku. He'll probably face hell from her later for not protecting Gaara-kun well enough. Now Gaara-kun had a cut on his cheek from Lee-kun's attack.
"Lee! Explode!" Gai-sensei yelled. Explode? (hey! Don't blame me if I instictively brightened up at the word 'explode!) Then Lee-kun sped up and suddenly appeared in front of Gaara-kun and whacked him hard with his hand. Gaara-kun was sent reeling across the floor and landed in a burst of sand that broke his fall. Double-ouch.
"This is bad..." Kankuro started saying as I watched sand start to fall from Gaara-kun's face. Then cracks started to appear as if Gaara-kun was a porcelain doll that has been hit.
"Its an armour of sand?" Hana-chan asked and I realized that Gaara-kun's crackef skin had turned a sandy color and beneath the cracks was his normal skin color. Wow. And that crazed expression. He looked liked a madman.
"If that boy gets caught by Gaara now... He'll be killed for the fun of it..." muttered Kankuro. I exchanged glances with Hana-chan.
"Really?" the both of us turned to Kankuro. He stared at us.
"Yeah... What's with that look on your face?"
"Oh. Nothing," I said and we both turned our eyes back on the match. I was surprised that Gaara-kun enjoyed killing though. From what I saw with the Ame nins, I had assumed that he was the type who killed without feeling. Was that just a mask? Like that armour of sand? Well at least we all know now that Lee-kun hadn't actually been able to scratch Gaara-kun earlier.
"But does that sand armour require Gaara's conscious effort to remain there? Cuz if it does, then doesn't it deplete his chakra supply and stamina fast?" Hana-chan asked. Kankuro nodded.
"All that sand must be heavy," I commented. That gourd on his back definitely looked heavy.
Then Lee-kun started to unwind some of the bandages from his arms and suddenly ran around Gaara-kun in explosive spurts. Suddenly, he appeared right in from of Gaara-kun and kicked him up into the air from under the chin. He did this repeatedly until he finally bound Gaara-kun with bandages in midair and then the both of them spun downwards at a shockingly fast speed, head-first. They crashed into the ground with a loud explosion of sand and dirt and the floor cracked and caved in somewhat. Lee-kun leapt away as soon as they reached the ground while Gaara-kun was left lying unmoving in the dent in the floor.
"Is he dead?" Naruto-kun asked. I snorted.
"Unlikely." As if to prove my point, the body that was supposed to be Gaara-kun cracked and started to turn into sand. The real Desert Boy appeared behind Lee-kun with a crazed grin and sand pouring down from him.
Lee-kun was suddenly assaulted by a hell lot of sand and somehow, he didn't seem to be able to dodge the attacks. Did he run out of energy already? At this rate he was going to be pounded to death! And it seems like Gaara-kun had yet to take this opportunity to crush Lee-kun with Desert Coffin. Does that mean that Gaara-kun's just toying with Lee-kun at the moment? And I thought he was more merciful than Chii-kun. (I believed in mercy killing.)
"Lee-san! Anymore and you'll die!" Pinkie shouted as sand got ready for another attack Lee-kun. Funny, I found her irritating even though I was a little worried for Lee-kun. At that moment, Lee-kun's speed seem to return as he began to run again. Then he seemed to gather himself and at the same time, his skin started to turn red and his expression changed. What's going on? That didn't look like a healthy color to me.
Then Lee-kun kicks Gaara-kun super hard with superfast speed. So fast that it sent rocks and stones flying everywhere with the wind. The both of them disappeared as a cloud of smoke and dust blocked them from our view.
Then I saw them high above us in the air. Not the best view from below, so I sped up the walls and back to the ceiling where my team had originally hid. Ah. A bird's eye view was usually the best. I could see Gaara-kun being repeatedly attacked and Lee-kun was so fast he was invisible. All I could see was Gaara-kun being seemingly thrown about in the air like a ragdoll.
Lee used his bandages again to aid with his major punches. Then the both of them fell to the ground. The floor split into large chunks of rock upon impact. A burst of sand behind Gaara-kun cushioned his fall and revealed that his gourd had also been made of sand. Lee-kun also collapsed onto the floor nearby.
Gaara-kun then reached out a hand and sand leapt towards Lee-kun. He didn't escape fast enough and the sand grabbed his left arm and leg. When he screamed and the sand exploded, I knew that Gaara-kun must have used Desert Coffin then.
I sped back down the walls and returned to my spot between Kankuro and Naruto-kun, just as Gaara-kun's final wave of sand got countered by Gai-sensei who had stepped in to save Lee-kun. Lee-kun was unconscious now. Then Gaara-kun winced and cluthed at his head as if he had a bad headache. Was it because of Shukaku?
I turned to look at Chii-kun who was kinda far away with Pinkie, Kakashi-sensei and Neji-san. Her face was expressionless. Totally blank. Most people's eyes reveals what their faces do not. But Chii-kun's eyes were as blank as the rest of her face. It was kinda scary. Because that was the closest thing to emo-ing I've seen Chii-kun get to before.
Then almost everyone gasped and I turned back to watch the end of the match. Gaara-kun had stood up and was walking away as Hayate-san announced him the winner of the match. And Lee-kun was standing up again, but he still looked half-dead.
I didn't know what was going on when Gai-sensei hugged Lee-kun. Then Hayate-san called the medical team over and have them check on Lee-kun. Naruto-kun left us to check on Lee-kun too. Then the medical team whispered something to Gai-sensei and Naruto-kun began to shout something about what Lee-kun was supposed to do. Apparently, the damage on Lee-kun's body was so great it threatened his ability to remain a shinobi. Kakashi-sensei flickered down to cover Naruto-kun's mouth before he said anything that might hurt Gai-sensei even more. Then Gaara-kun flickered back amongst his teammates using sand, while Kakashi-sensei, Naruto-kun and Gai-sensei returned to the upper floor to make way for the next match.
"Hey Kanky," Hana-chan suddenly said. "Shouldn't you be with your teammates?"
Hah! If he thought my name-calling was weird... Kanky. Hahahahaha. Kankuro's face was hilarious. He looked like he was torn between disgust and amusement. I turned to look at the electric signboard just in time to see my name on it. Akirai. Without my family name. And who had the pleasure of playing with me? Takoyaki.
That's all for now... Next up, another of Aki-chan's memories. Please Review!