Alright sorry for the wait guys this one took a bit of editing to do.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
0o0o0o0o0o
As the day went on more groups returned from the forest, some displeased while others smiled in victory. In the end only four groups did not make it, which had the instructors and elder talking. With the third portion of the tournament starting tomorrow almost every group was resting from today's events, some longer than others.
By the time Naruto woke up it was well into the evening. The sky had turned a brilliant orange like his fur as the sun began its descent into the horizon. Still dazed Naruto yawned, stretching his long limbs. He drowsily looked to his right to see Sasuke and Sakura still asleep. Blue eyes shifted to the sleeping Uchiha, observing the way his body would rise and fall slowly with each intake of breath. How his ears would flick the tiniest bit and how relaxed the features on his face were. His lips curved into a smile the longer he gazed at the blue wolf. He then felt the sudden urge to get closer to where their bodies touched. Naruto decided that he'd give in to his urges just this once as he inched himself to where he felt Sasuke's fur brush against his own. He kept inching until they were flush against each other, blushing once he felt the amount of heat radiating off of the Uchiha.
Still, this was not enough to quell the aching in his chest. Naruto listened to what his instincts told him to do and drew in closer and closer to Sasuke's muzzle. Time seemed to stand still as Naruto refrained from getting any closer or else their noses would touch. Instead he took this time to observe the rare peaceful face of Sasuke. His eyes were closed with no traces of annoyance hindering his relaxed state. The male looked so...vulnerable and here he was trying to take advantage of the situation. Closing his own eyes Naruto slowly retracted his muzzle and sighed softly. He couldn't do it, not like this. Naruto wanted his first non accidental nosing to be with Sasuke when he was conscious and receptive.
Frustrated, he rose to his paws and stretched. He needed to clear his mind and a nice walk sounded very tempting, especially with an unfamiliar area just waiting to be explored. Walks always seemed to help him in his time of need. He frowned, no that wasn't it. Walking with Sasuke is what always helped, but the Uchiha was sleeping and he wasn't about to wake him. He shook his head and headed to where the tree line began. 'I'm on my own for this one, better late than never to try and fix your own problems.' he thought sullenly.
Naruto entered the forest but didn't go too far in, in fact, he stayed where he could vaguely see other pups. He just didn't want to be seen at the moment. Naruto wandered aimlessly around the edge of the woods, too absorbed in his surroundings to even notice that he was being followed. Eventually Naruto grew tired and sat down near a large tree root where a few birds just happened to be feeding nearby. They instantly became disinterested in the worms and chirped happily in his direction. He smiled sadly at them, ears lowered. "What little guys, want to know what's wrong me?" he had meant it sarcastically, but ironically the birds chirped and hopped closer to him, which made him chuckle, "Well you see, I'm interested in someone...someone very special to me. He saved my life more than once, and was even my first friend when no one else really seemed to care." he paused a moment to blink away the tears gathering in his eyes. The birds chirped worriedly at him, encouraging him to continue. "Anyway, I'm just worried because...he might not be interested in me."
The birds chirped to each other, then chirped at him. They flew up to where they rested on his head and hopped up and down as if they where patting him on the head reassuringly. Naruto laughed softly. "You're right, I am stressing about it too much, but I can't help it you know?" his ears flattened more. "It's painful to want someone and them not return your feelings." he mused sadly. The birds chirped again and pecked his head gently. Naruto's ears perked forward as he gasped, "Ack, hey easy there. My head's not made of wood you know." Seeing that the pup's mood was lifted, the birds flew off to attend to whatever business they had, making him smile softly as he rubbed the top of his head with a paw.
"Maybe I shouldn't worry about it too much. I mean, Sasuke's interested in a male so...I have a chance and that's more than I ever thought I could have with him. I'll just show him when I turn two and if he isn't interested in me, I'll just have to try harder." he declared determinedly.
"I take it you've decided then." a raspy voice muttered.
Naruto spun around to see Gaara sauntering over to him. Had it not been for his sensitive ears he wouldn't have even heard the male.
Sighing Naruto hissed, "Gaara you scared the hell out of me." his tail flicked irritably.
The male smirked and uttered an apology that caught Naruto off guard. His ears slightly fell then drew back once he remembered Gaara's previous statement. "N-no I-I haven't figured it out...yet." he stuttered.
Gaara's smirk increased, his tail flicking. "Oh but I believe you have." He eyed Naruto closely, watching for how close he could get without the orange pup flinching. Once he found the distance Naruto was comfortable with he sat down with only three feet in between them and continued. "I would say males but more specifically it's that friend of yours."
Naruto stiffened as Gaara hit the nail on the head. He shamefully averted his gaze to the ground. Was it that obvious or did Sakura say something to him? He didn't know but either way it was embarrassing.
Noticing how humiliated the pup seemed Gaara's eyes softened a bit. "It's nothing to be ashamed of really. If you haven't already guessed it, I'm interested in males as well. We're alike you and I, in more ways than just interest orientation. We're both omegas."
Naruto gasped softly. The fact that Gaara was an omega had Naruto looking at the other like he was insane. 'How is he an omega?! His entire demeanor gives the impression of an alpha, not to mention his scent! It's so...powerful and overwhelming!' "H-how are you an omega? How did you even become an omega?!" he questioned frantically. He couldn't fathom how Gaara was an omega like him. It didn't make any sense.
Gaara's smirk faded into a thin line as he locked eyes with Naruto. "Just like you, I was ranked at an age that social status shouldn't be applied. I was a bit younger than the others, and I didn't know what to do exactly when it came to fighting. Thanks to some bullies I was given an omega rank and constantly tormented for it. I was beaten, battered, and almost killed countless times for a status I shouldn't have had. I had no other friends except my siblings who tried their hardest to be with me at all times."
Naruto's eyes dulled, ears lowering once again as his surprised look melted to one of sympathy. Yes he knew what that was like because it happened to him. How Gaara knew of his story eluded him completely, but he bet his fur that Sakura had something to do with it.
"Naruto fidgeted after Gaara stopped talking, the silence becoming too much for him to bear. "So...what happened?"
Gaara cocked his head slightly.
"You know...to the pups that tortured and tried to kill you." Naruto pressed on.
Gaara looked away from him as he muttered, "I killed them."
"What?!" Naruto shouted. He didn't expect that answer at all. "Why?" his tail flicked around nervously after hearing that.
Gaara turned back to him. "It was the only way they'd finally stop. I had to train already to reverse it and when it came time, I showed them all that I was not the weak omega they claimed me to be. I became ruthless, though they were the ones foolish enough to try and kill me one last time before I took their lives, and because of that everyone in my pack fears me; even the alpha fears me as well as my own siblings. Everyone outside my pack fear me too...but not you."
Naruto pawed at the ground nervously, "Are you sure I'm not scared of you?" he asked cautiously.
Gaara smirked at him, "I'm very sure that you're not scared of me. You're more nervous than anything. Nervous at the fact that I'm interested in you."
Naruto gulped, once again Gaara was right. "Why me though?" he asked softly.
Gaara got up to move closer to Naruto. "Because you're not afraid to talk to me. You're stronger than you think you are Naruto and you don't deserve to be treated like a pathetic omega." he leaned in close. "I'd treat you like you deserve to be treated. I wouldn't let anyone tease you ever again. I'd protect you and show you the love a mate should receive." he came even closer and nuzzled Naruto's neck gently.
Naruto pulled away instantly and shook his head slowly, "I'm sorry but I'm not interested in you like that. I'm interested in Sasuke and he already does all those things...well except for the mate thing." he added shyly.
Gaara recoiled at the rejection, but did not falter. "You're aware that while he may be the perfect friend he might not reciprocate your feelings as a mate?" he countered.
Naruto winced at that and sighed, sorrow evident in his voice. "Of course I know that, but I have to try...just like you took a chance on me I have to take a chance on him."
Gaara narrowed his eyes, circling him, "Has he ever shown that he may be interested in you? Like say, tried to claim you?" Naruto's tongue stumbled as he tried to find the right words to counter Gaara, while the male smirked, "If I were him, I would have claimed you as mine already." his dragged itself across Naruto's body in a suggestive way.
Naruto's eyes widened, "But we're not even two yet!"
Gaara stood, his patience wearing thin. "What does that have to do with anything? It's only the average age that wolves start to look for a mate. There are always early or even later cases of mating and this is no exception. If he wanted you as a mate as badly as I do, he would have done so already." he flashed his teeth, making Naruto worry.
He stood as well, not liking the look in Gaara's eyes. "I already said I'm not interested so stop." he meant to sound threatening but instead it came out wavered.
Gaara chuckled at Naruto's feeble attempt to intimidate him and moved to nip an orange ear. Naruto pulled away and growled, "Cut it out!" his ears drew back and tail raised as a warning.
That heinous smirk grew. "See? This is also why you'd be a perfect mate for me." Gaara said, moving to bite him on the neck.
Blue eyes narrowed as he easily side stepped the assault and countered it with a sharp headbutt to Gaara's chest. The force of the impact knocks Gaara off his feet with a grunt as he collided hard with the ground.
"You think that just because we're alike you can force yourself on me?" he growled. "Well you're wrong! That doesn't exactly make me want to become your mate. On top of that we're not exactly the same, you think I don't have more friends? Sasuke was the first friend I had and best one now but not the only one. Most of the pups from here are my friends except a few, and they don't care that I'm an omega, nor do I need to kill the ones who did this to me to show that I'm not a pathetic omega. All I have to do is challenge and beat them to neutralize my rank. Even if they have their statuses when I beat them, that just means I move up from omega to whatever they were." he snarled, taking on a defensive stance. "I don't need to be ruthless like you to show them I'm strong." he declared. "And if there's one thing about Sasuke that I know that you don't, is that unlike you he wouldn't force himself on someone. He'd rather be alone his whole life than force someone who didn't reciprocate his feelings."
Gaara stood there with eyes wide. Silence ensued, neither of them talking for almost a minute. Gaara then lowered his face and chuckled darkly. "That's too bad."
Naruto stiffened once their eyes met again. Those teal eyes held dark intent that made Naruto fear for his well being.
"You see because of my reputation I've become accustomed to getting what I want." He bared his teeth, tail raising. "And I want you." with a snarl Gaara launched forward to subdue Naruto, who jumped back out of range.
He snarled fiercely, "Then I'll resist you until I die! I refuse to ever willingly be your mate!" he raised his tail high and drew back his ears, snarling more.
Gaara was taken aback by how sincere Naruto was and smirked dangerously, "You are definitely a match for me."
He lunged at Naruto with such force that it sent them tumbling to the ground. They snarled, bit, and clawed at each other, one in defense and one in dominance. Naruto made sure to headbutt him really hard in the sides, but it seemed to have little effect on him, never fazing the male like it did a minute ago. Gaara lunged forward and clamped hard onto Naruto's ear, making him whine and cease his struggling. Distracted, Gaara removed his teeth from the bleeding appendage to dash around until he was behind the whimpering pup. He then wrapped his paws around Naruto's sides as he positioned his fangs right above Naruto's neck, where he would clamp down to hold him still. Just as Gaara was about to sink his teeth in he felt the wind being knocked out of him and pain as he tumbled to the ground.
An all too familiar growl caught Naruto's ears and he couldn't help but feel relieved as Sasuke stood protectively beside him, snarling fiercely at Gaara.
"Sasuke!" Naruto cried out.
The Uchiha responded by stepping closer to him, eyes still glaring viciously at Gaara. "Don't you ever touch him." he warned before lunging at Gaara.
The two males snarled furiously at each other as they fought wildly. Naruto tried to help but the fighting was too intense for Naruto to even jump in.
"Hey!" a deep voice barked. "Knock it off!" The two males were knocked over and separated by none other than Ibiki. He growled at them with a raised tail and drawn back ears. The two instantly ceased their violence and became silent. "Save it for tomorrow you two." he growled lowly before escorting them back, barking when they lagged too far behind.
It wasn't long at all before the males emerged from the woods and went their separate ways, but before he was out of sight Gaara smirked at Sasuke while uttering, "I'll see you at the tournament." he then turned to Naruto, his smirk widening. "And I'll see to it that you're mine after."
Naruto glared at him, growling low while Sasuke gave him a startling snarl. Gaara chuckled as he walked away from the pair. With the threat finally gone Sasuke relaxed somewhat then turned to Naruto.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
Naruto huffed, "Yeah I'm fine, but my ear hurts." he showed Sasuke the ear, grunting when it would twitch.
Sasuke leaned in close to the damaged ear and upon further examination he noticed the blood that covered the sensitive appendage. Not even hesitating, Sasuke opened his mouth and let his tongue lap up the blood staining the ear. The simple gesture sent shivers up Naruto's spine as he indulged in the warmth of Sasuke's tongue licking his ear. It was so soothing that he hummed lightly, causing a small smirk of pride to form on the Uchiha's lips.
Once Sasuke was done he stared blankly at the orange male, which made Naruto uncomfortable. "What were you even doing talking to him alone?"
Guilt interlaced with Naruto's scent while his ears dropped. "I was just walking by myself and talking to some birds when he just appeared out of nowhere. He was actually talking to me very calmly until he started saying that I should become his mate and I tried to tell him no but he said that he'd just take me." he said bewildered.
Sasuke felt relieved and angry at the same time. Relieved that Naruto wanted nothing to do with Gaara regarding mating, but angry that the male would force himself on Naruto. He placed a paw on Naruto's shoulder blades and pulled him into a tight hug.
"How dare he, one should only be claimed if they want to." he uttered angrily.
Naruto rested heavily against the Uchiha, relishing in the warmth that lulled him into a secured state. "Ditto."
Unaware of their surroundings at the moment, they failed to notice Sakura watching the entire scene taking forth. With tears pricking at the corner of her eyes she clenched teeth and rushed back to den unnoticed. There nothing she could do. She couldn't report to Neji, there was no point any more since Gaara wasn't under their control. All Ino would do is the same thing she's doing now, and TenTen would be of no help since she only follows Neji's orders. Her last hope was if Gaara forcibly took Naruto away, but even that seemed unlikely with how Sasuke intervened. It was like he had a sixth sense whenever Naruto was in danger.
0o0o0o0o0o
By the end of their hugging session, Sasuke thought it was high time they get back to the den before Iruka began to worry like the mother hen he was. The trip back was filled with talking about their expectations of the next test and Sasuke teasing Naruto with his nickname. For the most part the orange pup's face was bright red, with the Uchiha chuckling every now and then.
Upon entering the cave they saw that no one was there. Sasuke and Naruto looked to each other then smirked, tails swaying.
"Guess they took Sakura hunting." Naruto said.
The Uchiha collapsed to the ground with a sigh of relief. "Good riddance."
Naruto laughed, missing the mischievous smirk that played on Sasuke's lips. "Ack!" Naruto was suddenly tackled to the ground by none other than the Uchiha himself. Naruto hmed and lightly kicked Sasuke off of him. The orange pup then quickly pounced onto him and started nipping at Sasuke's limbs. He retaliated by growling softly and nipping at Naruto's uninjured ear. The action sent shivers down Naruto's spine, distracting him long enough for Sasuke to push him off. He pinned Naruto down and growled lightly. "Give up?" he asked softly.
Sasuke was suddenly pushed to the ground and pinned once again beneath Naruto who was grinning. "In your dreams!" he growled playfully, tail swishing. "Last request?"
Sasuke smirked, "Lean down."
Naruto eyed him suspiciously but leaned in like the Uchiha requested. He was startled when something wet ran along his cheek.
Naruto's face flushed red as he instantly pulled away and gasped. Sasuke grinned evilly and knocked him to the ground with a tackle. Naruto instinctively whimpered submissively, curling his tail and baring his neck as Sasuke leaned in close. "I win." he breathed before getting off of him.
Naruto lay there for a while until the realization of what just happened finally sunk in, turning his face very red. "Ch-cheater." he muttered nervously.
Sasuke chuckled as his sensitive ears picked up the remark. He just licked Naruto and got away with it.
0o0o0o0o0o
The next morning the remaining six teams returned to the edge of the forest ready for their final test, but instead of just the elder and two previous wolves, there was another one who would cough every few minutes. Naruto figured that maybe he was just sick, but according to Kakashi and Iruka he was always like that even as a little pup.
The elder stepped forward and barked, making everyone quiet down. His eyes shifted to all the pups before speaking. "The time has come for you all to finally put your fighting skills to the test. Each of you will be matched randomly by Hayate here."
The wolf known as Hayate stepped forward sluggishly and coughed into his paw. Naruto noted that he looked a lot like Kakashi with the exception of black eyes, a brown stripe running from the bridge of his nose to his tail, and tan front paws.
Hayate grunted, "Though his will be a one on one showdown, this does not decide your ranks in the pack. Those of you who win today will be allowed to join adults in the hunt no matter what pack you belong to, however, there are a couple rules to keep in mind. The winner is determined once an opponent falls and doesn't get back up, if you're struggling to get up you have two minutes to do so before you're declared the loser, and lastly you may not kill your opponent, otherwise you will be the one who loses. Got it?"
Everyone nodded, making Hayate clear his throat. "Then by all means, pups step forward away from your group leaders and then I'll pick the first two combatants." he stated closing his eyes. He waited a moment before sauntering over blindly to the pups. Once he thought he was close enough to one he reached his paw out to touch the first competitor only to be met with air. He then heard someone trotting towards him.
"Hayate you're still so far away, let me guide you to them at least." the alpha advised, nudging him in the right direction.
"Ah, sorry elder." he uttered.
Once the elder stopped nudging him, Hayate took that as his cue to reach his paw out, and this time he actually made contact with another. Opening his eyes revealed pale white eyes looking at him irritably.
"Alright you stand over there." he motioned with a paw.
The pup smirked, "Gladly."
Naruto and everyone else besides TenTen, Ino, and Sakura glared as Neji took to the center of the area. Hayate closed his eyes once again and moved around to pick the second competitor. His paw landed on another who gasped softly. Opening his eyes revealed a very timid female, quivering with fear.
"And you go over there next to him."
She reluctantly and shakily made her way over to Neji, gulping when he flashed her an evil grin that made her shudder with unease. Naruto and the rest were outraged that she of all the pups had to go against him, but no one was more upset about it than Shino, who looked like he would maul the Hyuuga if he got the chance. His teeth were bare, which wasn't something that the Aburame did, his ears were drawn back aggressively, and anger interlaced with his scent. Naruto's ears twitched at the sudden growl Shino let out and thumped his tail against the male.
"Shino?" he asked worriedly. The gray pup whipped his head around and calmed slightly once he recognized it was Naruto. "Is he going to try and kill her?" he asked timidly.
Shino snapped his head back at Hinata's quaking form and growled lowly. "Yes. He'll bring her as close to death as he's allowed to."
Naruto's ears fell slightly, "But why?!" he whispered loudly.
Shino glared at the Hyuuga's form. "Because she reeks of omega, and he can smell it. In their family those who become omegas are punished severely, because they believe omegas to be too weak to do anything. They only want alphas or betas and unfortunately Neji follows that creed to the bone." he seethed.
Naruto knit his brow and returned his eyes to Neji and Hinata, who shook uncontrollably with fear. All too soon was she next to Neji while Hayate spoke with the elder.
After a moment he coughed and cleared his throat. "Let the battle between Neji Hyuuga and Hinata Hyuuga commence."
Hinata was instantly charged at and being the timid pup she was around him, she couldn't react fast or efficient enough even with her amazing senses to evade or defend against his bombardment. Naruto observed how quick Neji was on his feet. He would lunge at Hinata, land a hit, touch the ground for only a moment, and then with lightning speed, repeat the process while landing a multitude of scratches on her body. It was like he had more than two paws! The attack was done as quick as it began with Neji standing behind her with a glare in place, then his lips curved into a wicked smirk.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Hinata shrieked unusually loud, making most of the wolves plaster their ears to their skulls as her shrilled cries echoed throughout the forest.
Naruto and the others watched in horror as the simple cuts that should have only leaked, spewed blood as if they were very deep. Several seconds later her screams finally died as she collapsed onto her side with an audible thud. Hayate immediately began counting down in his head so that if the female decided to stand she would have a second chance of redemption.
"Come on Hinata get up!" Naruto shouted encouragingly.
"Yeah, come on Hinata show him what you've got!" Kiba joined in. He was just as infuriated as Shino was. It was ultimately unfair that his teammate had to go against Neji, but the least he could do was show her some support.
Even Shino desperately wished that she regained consciousness to show Neji that she wouldn't go down without a fight. "Come on Hinata." he mumbled quietly. Unlike the other two he was not about to shout.
Nearing the two minute limit Hayate stepped forward only to stop abruptly in his tracks. Neji's smirk faded as his ears picked up a faint groan. He slowly turned his head in disbelief to see Hinata staggering to her paws, grunting and whining from the immense pain. Naruto, Kiba, and Shino as well as the others sighed with relief while Neji gave her an icy glare. He growled and turned to her fully with his tail raised and flicking with annoyance. Did she have a death wish?
"You fool, you should have stayed down." he threatened coldly as he strode towards her. "You're going to get hurt even more."
Hinata bared her teeth slightly and let a small growl escape her throat. "No." she panted. "I won't go down without a fight." she declared weakly.
He narrowed his eyes at her and swiped a paw at her. She gasped sharply as her body made impact with the ground again. "Pathetic." he growled out. "It's obvious you can't win, so stop trying to delude yourself." he sauntered over to her struggling form. "You are destined to fail our family, you're destined to fail as a beta, and you're destined to fail this fight." he lectured, placing a strong paw on her neck.
She gasped for breath as the paw applied a great amount of pressure, suffocating her. Her jaws instinctively lashed out and chomped down on his paw. The sudden attack had the Hyuuga yelp in slight pain. He countered by using his other paw to deliver a powerful swipe to her chest.
"Ngh!" she cried out as the force of his attack sent her rolling along the ground.
Neji lapped up the blood that trickled down his arm and glared at her limp form, annoyed by the fact that she was able to actually inflict damage to him. He sat patiently and waited for the two minutes to run out, knowing that there was no chance of her getting up again. Sadly those two minutes were up quicker than it seemed as Hayate cleared his throat of his coughing fit.
"The winner of this battle is Neji Hyuuga. Please, sit next to your group leader so that I don't lose track of who won and lost." he declared emotionlessly.
Kurenai was suddenly at Hinata's side along with Shino and Kiba, sniffing at the damage done to her. Once she was sure that her pup was alive and breathing, she gripped the fallen pup's scruff in her mouth and tried to lift her on top her back. She found there to be a problem though as she came to the realization that her pups were no longer small anymore to where she could just plop them on her back by herself. Sensing their sensei's need of assistance, the two males helped hoist Hinata onto Kurenai so she wouldn't fall and begrudgingly went back to where the other pups were. Kurenai then trotted off towards the main cave to get Hinata the help she needed.
Neji simply smirked and walked away so the next fight could take place. Naruto and the others were so transfixed on glaring at the cocky Hyuuga, that they didn't even notice that Hayate had already selected the next fighters until they heard their names being called out.
"Let the battle between Temari and TenTen begin."
"Arrah!" TenTen cried out, leaping right into battle.
At this point Naruto didn't really care who won because both females weren't exactly all that friendly to him. No his main concern at this point was if Hinata would be alright. He looked over to Shino and Kiba ready to ask, but hesitated once he got a good look at their sullen faces. Shaking his head he turned to Sasuke, who was still glaring at Neji.
"Hey Sasuke."
The Uchiha's ear swiveled in his direction, urging Naruto to continue. "Do you think she'll be alright?" he asked quietly.
Sasuke was quiet for a moment as he balanced his attention between Neji and Naruto. "She'll live." he mumbled bluntly.
Hearing that was enough for Naruto to put his worry for the female aside for now and observe the battle occurring.
TenTen was the one leading the attacks, but trying to land a single hit on Temari proved to be futile as she would automatically be struck by the female's tail. 'Just like Haku.' Naruto noted. Unlike Haku though, Temari added a variety of flips and spins to her lethal attacks that one could only assume would make her a great hunter and alpha one day.
Temari effortlessly dodged another swipe and dove right underneath the confused female. "Gyaah!" TenTen shouted as Temari suddenly threw her into the air with her head. The smirk remained on her chops as she leaped up and spun around. The spinning motion combined with her erect tail acted as a razor sharp fan that cut up every inch of TenTen's fragile body. Temari landed perfectly with a backflip and smirked as TenTen's frail body crashed into the ground without a single cry.
Naruto along with a few others had their mouths agape at how quickly TenTen was taken down while others were simply shocked by Temari's finishing technique. They hadn't expected the fight to be over so quickly. It was even quicker then Neji and Hinata's! The only ones who even gave her any sort praise were Gaara and Kankuro who chuckled darkly.
Hayate hesitantly looked over at TenTen's body and when there was no movement whatsoever he piped up, "The winner of this fight is Temari." before breaking into another coughing fit.
Temari exited the arena and went to sit by her trainer, who look somewhat pleased at her performance.
Hayate closed his eyes once again as he selected the next two fighters. Not being able to see he stumbled over his own paws and bumped into one of the pups. He opened his eyes to apologize to whoever he ran into. "Ah sorry there uh..."
"Sakura and it's ok." she replied, getting up and shaking the dirt from her red fur.
Hayate coughed, "Since it's my fault, if you want you don't have to be in this round." he offered, tail swishing nevously.
"N-no, it's alright I don't mind." she responded politely, making her way to the middle of the area.
Hayate grunted another apology before shielding his eyes again. His paw quickly found another body and instantly opened his eyes to see light blue ones alight with detest. He didn't even get to ask the female her name as she was already at the battle field glaring at Sakura. Hayate trotted over to the elder and talked with him briefly before announcing the fight.
"Let the battle between Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka begin."
Both females glared intently at each other, neither moving even though the fight had already begun. The stalemate seemed to go on for a few minutes before either of them said a word.
Ino humphed, "Let's settle this once and for all Sakura." she lowered her body and took an attack stance, her tail raising high and ears drawing back. "Whoever wins gets the right to court Sasuke." she growled, baring her teeth.
Sakura smirked, getting into an attack stance as well. "And whoever loses has no right to interfere ever again." she retorted, growling back fiercely.
Sasuke groaned and flicked his tail as he grumbled something about them being stupid. Naruto smiled sadly at him and thumped his tail against Sasuke, who returned the favor. After their back and forth game, they decided to pay attention to see who would be stalking Sasuke from now on.
Ino snarled and lunged at Sakura who easily evaded the attack by jumping and twisting her body in the air. Ino gawked at the maneuver and quickly snapped out of it when Sakura landed a couple feet behind her. Ino used her paws and moved them along the grass, hoping to sweep Sakura's paws and knock her down. Sakura easily kept up, figuring out what Ino was trying to do and countered with twists and jumps. Eventually, Sakura gained some distance between them and panted to catch her breath now that she was out of Ino's short ranged attacks.
Snarling, both females barreled towards each other head on and began a constant dance of biting limbs, dodging, swiping paws, using their tails, and snarling. Neither female gave in even though they were both bleeding and panting, from the blows. Suddenly Ino slid underneath Sakura, knocking her off her feet and falling face first. With her rival disoriented, Ino quickly placed her front paws in front of Sakura's front paws and her back paws behind Sakura's back paws and stretched the limbs to where Sakura was in a compromising position that would not allow her to move or get up. She then sunk her teeth in Sakura's neck and braced herself for the struggle that was soon to come next.
The bite alerted Sakura that she needed to move, but when she went to get up she couldn't. She tried moving her front paws and paled when they wouldn't budge. 'What's going on?' she tried moving her back legs only to realize that they won't move either. 'I can't move!' What the hell Ino!' she thought angrily. Green eyes widened as panic set in making Sakura thrash around wildly, ignoring the throbbing pain from her wounds as she struggled to release herself from Ino's clutches.
Ino smirked, there was no way for Sakura to get out of this, even her own teammates had trouble getting out of her hold. The two minutes would run out and she would win both the fight and the right to have Sasuke. "Give up Sakura, unlike Shikamaru, you aren't smart enough to get out of my hold." she taunted.
Sakura growled and continued her fruitless effort.
Frustrated, Sakura ceased her struggling and went limp, waiting for the time to be up.
Naruto watched with mixed feelings as Sakura lied there helplessly. He didn't want either of them to really win, but he definitely didn't want Ino to win. Sakura was a lot nicer now but her motive was still a mystery. Regardless if anything he should at least motivate his own teammate to win, even if she doesn't.
Mind already made up Naruto opened his mouth and shouted, "What are you doing lying around Sakura! Get up and fight back!"
Both Sakura and Ino groaned at the sound of Naruto's voice, their ears flattening against their skulls. Sakura turned her head as best she could to yell at him but was cut off from doing so.
"The Sakura I know wouldn't go down that easily!" he encouraged.
Sakura's eyes widened then narrowed. Naruto was right.
Her body suddenly tensed and began wriggling around even more so than before. "Inoooo!" Sakura snarled, thrashing her head around until she could clamp down on Ino's paw.
The purple female wailed as she staggered backwards, releasing Sakura from her prison. Too preoccupied with her injured paw, Ino was too slow in preventing Sakura from climbing onto her back. She embedded her claws into the purple fur and attacked anywhere she could reach with a barrage of painful bites. Ino whined as she desperately tried to buck the angered female off her back. Naruto laughed and cheered Sakura on as she held on to Ino. Several tries later and Ino was finally able to successfully fling Sakura off of her. Sakura's body slid across the ground with Ino closing in on her quickly. She waited until Ino pounced to use her hind legs to kick her back. Both staggered to their paws, panting heavily with eyes full of malice. With their last bit of strength they sprinted forward and launched into the air with each of their paws poised to strike the other down as a last resort. As soon as they met in the middle, they swiped, sending them both crashing to the ground on their backs. Blood stained the grass as it trickled from their various wounds, neither moving a muscle.
Hayate observed them both closely for any sign of movement to declare a winner. When it was close to the two minute mark without movement from either of them, Hayate stepped forward and cleared his throat. "With both of them out cold, I'm afraid to say that it is a tie and that they both lose." he coughed violently.
Kakashi and Gai were both suddenly on the field gathering their fallen pups. With them being larger and more muscular they had a much easier time hoisting the females up on their backs than Kurenai did. Just as the hunters were to leave, Kurenai returned and talked briefly to each of them before continuing on their separate ways.
Naruto looked to Sasuke. "At least they didn't win. Now neither of them get to have you."
Sasuke hned, "Yeah but they'll still try and you know it. They don't take losing too well." he replied irritably.
Naruto watched Kakashi's retreating form. "That's true, at least they leave you alone when you tell them to though."
Sasuke hned and nipped at his ear playfully. "Hey!" He smirked when Naruto gasped.
"Alright." Their ears twitched at the instructor's voice, bringing back their attention to Hayate. "Let the battle between Shino Aburame and Zaku Abumi commence.
0o0o0o0o0o
Alright I'm gonna stop their for now, cause the next chap is going to be filled with the rest of the fights.