Sunday, November 24th, 2013.
Hey guys! Short chappy today - as in, less than 3k words (not counting ANs).
This is just the Final Exam chapter.
When I wrote this chapter, I had no idea what to write and just ended up doing this. When I checked out the AN chapter a few before this I forgot that I was deciding whether or not to put a little break chapter between the last and the Finals one, but since I was already finished with the Finals one, I decided to just screw it all and just keep this short one.
I wrote this yesterday.
I neither had the time nor patience to write a whole new chapter to post today.
Oh, and it rained for just over 24 hours Friday to Saturday. Which is insane over here. And if it couldn't be any weirder, it was cold.
Of course, it was because of a storm system that is making its way from here in the Southwest to the East Coast by Tuesday, but that's still weird. Cold and rain in November? In my city? Insane! (Yup. It's usually warm down here. Unless you're up in Flagstaff. It actually snows a couple annually like a normal city.)
News/Fun Fact: I started reading the SnK manga from where they left off in the anime. I totally forgot about it, and decided to read it instead of waiting for the next season, whenever that my come out.
Oh, and I watched Durarara!
Rec.: Anime: Durarara!
It's a story about the lives of quite a few characters in a part of Tokyo called Ikebukuro. The protagonist, however, is Mikado Ryugamine, a high school student who moved from the quieter, country-side to this big and bustling city to attend high school with his best friend, who has lived here for a couple years.
But despite Mikado being the main character, most of the main cast each get their focus and their story told.
There's the easily-angered and super-humanly strong Shizuo; the douche of an info broker with a God-complex (an odd complex, and even though he's an ass, I love him) Izaya, who has a hate-hate relationship and rivalry with Shizuo; mysterious "Black Rider" Celty; the doctor she's lived with for 20 years who's obsessed with her, Shinra: Mikado's girl-crazy best friend Masaomi; Mikado's love interest Anri; the Black Russian who sells sushi Simon; and many more.
A lot of insane characters here. Like, legitimately and hilariously crazy, I think.
The first half, I think, was better than the first, because the ending was okay, but... Anyway.
I watched the dub. Why? B/c I remembered when I first watched a few eps of DRRR! like a year or two ago, that Yuri Lowenthal (Sasuke) voiced one of the characters.
So, I watched the dub.
And guess what else famous VAs were there?
Johnny Yong Bosch(Ichigo), Steve Blum(Spike Spiegel), and Crispin Freeman(Itachi). With Yuri Lowenthal. *squeal*
And who else? Patrick Seitz (Germany), Liam O'Brien (Juushiro; I knew him as Nanashi; it drove me crazy hearing his voice b/c I knew it but couldn't figure out who it was) and Michelle Ruff (Rukia), damnit. (Laura Bailey (Lust & Maka) and Sam Reigel (Zaku from Naruto and Shiro from Fate/Stay Night) had a few minor characters; but Sam had a LOT of minor characters. A LOT.)
What more could you want?!
Never seen so many famous VAs in one freaking anime.
Anyway, yeah. It's the first anime that shocked me as much as it did with its secrets and reveals. It will make you think, "Holy crap, I NEVER expected that!"
Loved it, though I'll admit the 1st half was better than the 2nd.
And the director's the same guy who directed Baccano! (haven't seen but know is famous).
There are even characters from Baccano! in DRRR!.
And if you've seen DRRR!, and want to be a Dollar (no, not as in US currency), there's a real Dollars site: w w w . dollars . b b s . o r g. You can Google the password if you don't already know. I'll PM you if you just can't find it.
Disclaimer: If I owned this, I would've made sure there were a few Naruto-One Piece crossovers by now. But there isn't. There's OP-DBZ-Toriko and an OP-Toriko one, but no OP-Naruto.
Dedication: andshewasahurricane. My friend that I told you about that wrote on TeenInk finally has a ffn account. She's written something for The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. (haven't read yet, but not that eager to because it's sad) Also to AnimeLoverHaruka and TehNicksterBoi.
AotW: Forgot it last time.
Content & Warnings: No warnings, honestly. And this is the entire section of the Final Exams. The Invasion starts in the next chapter but this one's the Final Exams leading up to the Invasion.
Couples: SasuSaku, some NejiTen, ShisuiMura (I'd say ShiMura but that's Danzo's last name) and GaaMatsu, and mentions of ShikaTema.
Guest Review Responses (GRR):
Sayaka: She has, but she can't be just as strong as she was in the future right now. I explained it as her body and brain being unable to process training, abilities, chakra, etc., it never had so she has to re-train nearly everything and slowly re-build strength. I also hate it when she's super strong in time travel stories like this, so I didn't want that here. I didn't intend to make her seem weak, but I'm sorry that's how she came across to you.
Osiria Rose: Pretty name. And thank you. :) I'll be updating DoOver this coming weekend. Likely Sunday. I do it every two weeks, like this one.
Chloe: Thanks. :)
Length:
AN: ~4k+.
No AN: ~2.7k+.
I hope you guys enjoy this short, less-than-mediocre chapter
And by the way, it seems that the Invasion is going to end up a lot alike the Invasion in DoOver. Whenever I think about what I'm going to write about it, the one in DoOver keeps popping up. So yeah.
But I'll make some things a bit different. I don't want them to be exactly the same.
Chapter 25: Final Exam
Sakura POV
"Ready?" I looked at Shisui, who was sitting to my right, his girlfriend on his other side.
I nodded. "I'll have to be, won't I?"
He shrugged. "Guess so."
"Sakura-chan! Shisui-kun! Mura-chan!" I looked over to my left to see Mikoto walking back towards us with two large popcorn boxes in her arms.
"They're nice and hot!" As she sat, she gave one to Shisui and one to me. "One for Sakura-chan and I to share, and one for the couple to share."
"Thanks, Mikoto-san," Mura said as she popped a kernel into her mouth.
"Yeah. Thanks, Mom." Shisui ate some as well.
"Thank you, Mikoto-san." I said, sighing at the delicious smell of hot, buttery popcorn.
"You're welcome dears." She replied, a sweet smile on her face. "By the way, when does Sasuke-kun's fight start?"
"Any minute now." I answered.
Today was the day of the Final Exams, and it was now Sasuke's turn to fight.
Somehow, Temari convinced Kankuro not to forfeit (Hinata asked her, so Shino could have his chance to fight him and give him the chance under the proverbial "spotlight" that he deserves) and, just like last time in the forest, he lost against the Aburame.
Unsurprisingly, Naruto won his fight as well.
Neji now sits beside Tenten, each wearing an ear bud whilst listening to music from one of their phones. I'm not sure who's. They've been switching from one to another, I think.
No, this doesn't mean their argument has been resolved and they're talking again – Tenten, true to her promise, hasn't said a word to Neji.
She's hardly even looked at him.
Neji himself has only muttered Tenten's name lowly in surprise when she held out an earbud when he sat down. Other than that, he's been lost in his thoughts, their music, and maybe the battles.
But despite their fight, there's no rule that says Tenten can't express that she cares about him and is there for him when she wants to show it. They look so cute together… Tenten's head resting on his shoulder and his own head on hers…
Lee was obviously thinking the same thing -clad in an outfit from the hospital that resembled a pair of pajamas- because he hasn't stopped smiling since the two started listening to music together. I wonder if that grin is gonna rip his face in half if he keeps it up much longer.
Also, the other participants in the Finals came back up here to the stadium as well once their fights were over.
Naruto took a seat beside Hinata, while Temari and Shikamaru sat together. "Coincidentally", as they claim. Denial.
Of course, Ino, Asuma, and Chouji teased them for it.
Moving on.
During the past month when everyone was training for the Finals, I spent my time doing my own training as well. Albeit privately or with Sai when he was available as opposed to with the whole team or with a specific sensei.
Naruto and Sasuke were preoccupied with Jiraiya and Kakashi respectively.
However, Gaara had come in contact with both during this time period, just as before. And once again, Shikamaru was with Naruto to find Gaara trying to kill Lee again when they went to visit him. They heard Gaara's back story, and later on, Gaara had appeared where Sasuke was training.
Matsuri's keeping a close eye on him, but resisting interference for now. We want to let history re-run its course a little bit.
Although, she did stop Gaara and Baki from killing Dosu and Hayate respectively. However, the two are still in the hospital, both unable to attend the Finals.
I could tell Baki was incredibly angry with her, because he kicked out of the residence where the Sand Crew (as Naruto calls them) have been staying in Konoha until Gaara brought her back the next day.
She slept at Hinata and Ko's place in their extra bedroom that night.
Part of me is afraid that Baki might try to kill her for interfering, and for being against the Invasion (I'm sure he knows she is) to get her out of the way, but her relationship with Gaara, whatever it may be, is probably all that's keeping her alive right now.
It wouldn't surprise me if Baki sent others to kill her so he wouldn't have to do it instead… but again, she's close to Gaara, who'd more or less protect her if necessary, and I'm pretty sure Baki does care for not only the Sand Sibs, but Matsuri as well.
He just doesn't show it.
At least, I think so.
But for now, the fact that Gaara wouldn't let Matsuri get hurt (unless he did it himself) reassured me… somewhat.
Hayate seems to be doing well, though, and his fiancée, Yugao, has been visiting him every day she was free from ANBU duties. I remember last time, she harbored hatred and a grudge on her heart for Hayate's death.(1) She reminds me too much of Sasuke… I'm glad he's alive this time.
I've been doing combat training, and medical training with Karin, Ino, and Hinata. Every day, we had a routine of morning training, lunch while studying medical texts, a bit more combat training, then medical ninjutsu training afterward until I went home to sleep (I ate dinner wherever I was training); whether at the hospital or otherwise.
We've been working a few hours at a time at the hospital, so the staff is used to us by now and help us often whenever we need it.
Karin, Ino, Hinata and I also taught each other with our different levels and experiences in medicine and medical ninjutsu. Hinata, for instance, taught us how to make that ointment she gave her teammates and Naruto during the Preliminaries. Ino and I taught the others more medical techniques.
I was steadily getting stronger, and I was proud of myself for it.
Though I didn't see Sasuke during that time as much as I'd like, we did spend time together either alone, with Naruto, or with Naruto and the rest of the team when available. No matter who we were with or where we were, it was fun.
Though I was glad I could safely consider Sasuke and I "close friends", part of me still thirsted for a bit more.
But I couldn't help it. So sue me. I blame it on love.
You blame a lot of things on love.
They're justified.
So because of that, I was elated to see signs of Sasuke being attracted to me:
He held my hand often when we were alone; he almost always sat close to me and didn't move away when I moved close to him, even with our teammates around; he blushed sometimes when we spoke alone together; I've caught him staring multiple times; he seems more protective of me than usual; he was more open with me; and more, etc..
Kyaa~!
But I did my best not to get my hopes up – I may just be reading him wrong – Sasuke-kun liking someone? Me, no less?! And that's not what I care about much right now anyway. If he does, that's great, but I my priority is for him to stay here and be happy with us. As long as that happens, I'll be happy. He doesn't need to love me back; that would be more than enough for me.
But despite the circumstances under which it happened, I still couldn't get the kiss we shared in the Forest out of my head… Sasuke-kun…
*Cough*
Anyway.
Back to the present.
Using the scrolls and other modes of communication, I, with the rest of the time travelers, including Shisui, Hana, and Jiraiya (because he had died in the future, he has his memories; we suspect that Asuma should, too, but judging by his behavior, he may only have bits and pieces of it, so we shouldn't involve him until we know for sure) managed to figure out a plan for today; the day Sand and Sound attack.
Here's what we came up with:
Once Gaara leaves the arena, Matsuri and I follow him, while I make sure Naruto goes as well. If Sasuke comes, that's okay, but Naruto must be the one to ultimately fight Gaara.
The Sound Ninja 4 will be kept occupied – if we can get them out of the village long enough for Orochimaru and the Third's fight to finish, we don't need to do anything else. Engaging in a fight will probably be necessary, so every target will have a pair to fight them.
Tenten and Neji go for Kidoumaru; Ino and Chouji fight Jirobo; Temari and Shikamaru after Tayuya; and Kiba and Kankuro are to be led by Hinata to fight Sakon and Ukon. If Hinata is able to, she will fight with them, but we won't count for that.
She's still recovering from her fight with Neji, and we have no idea about her heart condition – he did strike her near the heart, and she's been having weird instances where her heart stops but the rest of her body is functioning like normal.
We don't want to risk anything.
We had the boys fight who they did before for the hope that they may be able to do it again, especially with help. We can't let them get to the states they were last time…
If they get away, however, it doesn't matter as long as Orochimaru and the Third's fight is over. We don't want them to trap the two together and let the Third die the way he did before. He may end up dying soon enough, according to the scrolls;(2) but we don't want it to happen the way it did last time.
Also, Tenten will fire some arrows at them to initially stop them from starting the jutsu that would trap our Kage and their leader together. The attack team will hurriedly make their way to them and separate them all before they can try again.
Meanwhile, with all the commotion and with Danzo here, Shisui and Sai will sneak into the ANBU and ROOT HQ respectively. Shisui will copy any documents pertaining to the Massacre and the Uchiha with his Sharingan in the ANBU headquarters and then go to assist Sai in stealing similar documents from ROOT.
Immediately afterwards, they would leave and depending on their health, assist the village in dealing with the Invasion, which is what Sasuke and I will be doing once Naruto's gone fighting Gaara with Matsuri.
Karin would take care of Kabuto. We wanted one of us to fight with her, knowing how difficult an opponent he is, but she insisted that she do it. We can have someone watch her just in case, but unless absolutely necessary, Kabuto is hers and hers alone. 'It was about time she expressed how much she hated him', she said to me privately.
I was worried, but didn't try to stop her. "Don't worry, Sakura," she had told me. "I'm not planning on dying. There's a bunch of stuff I still need to do. I'm not going down just yet."
That reassured me. She's finally truly acknowledging herself as one of us. I'm glad.
Any of us that had pets already gave them to Jenti, a veterinarian woman we know that takes care of them when we're gone, because we couldn't bring them with us nor could we just leave them alone at home.
Hana, though, has her triplets with her because they're ninja dogs. They're supposed to fight.
"Hey." I felt a nudge against my side.
It was Shisui again.
"You might want to stop spacing out," he said. He motioned over to the arena. "Almost time."
"Yeah, sorry." I apologized. I stood up and made my way to the edge of the stadium, as we were sitting in the third row.
I looked over and at Sasuke and Gaara's battle.
Sasuke was firing up his Sharingan at the opposite wall at the stadium.
As if feeling my gaze on him, he looked up. When we met eyes, I smiled and mouthed, "give him your best shot", knowing he'd be able to read my lips from this far away with his Sharingan on.
In response he nodded before giving me a cocky smirk-grin combination (that he's been giving Naruto and I lately) and winking.
I tried to suppress the uncontrollable wave of heat that was making its way up to my face as Sasuke charged Gaara's sphere of sand. That… smirk…
Moments later, while I was still spaced out, –what's with me today?– Gaara's scream pierced through the air and through the eardrums of all of the spectators.
Any time now… he just needs to transform... come on...
I looked over to Matsuri, who sat in the front row, to find her standing at the wall of the stadium. She gripped it tight enough to make her knuckles white and the tips of her fingers bleed from the tight grip and friction she they had with the wale. She bit her bottom lip harshly, and she trembled. My eyes saddened. This must be killing her… she can only watch as all of this happens to Gaara, not interfering.
I took a breath. But soon, she will be able to do something.
I looked for Tenten and found her standing, ignoring her teammates' questions and pulling a bow and arrow out after giving her phone and earbud to Neji.
We met eyes. "Ready," she mouthed.
I nodded to her, to let her know I was, too.
Then, Gaara finished his transformation and soon escaped the arena.
"Now!" Someone, I'm not sure who, shouted.
We sprang into action.
Karin cancelled Kabuto's genjutsu that would have put everyone to sleep and led him away from the spectators.
Tenten shot the arrows almost impossibly accurately at the hands of the Sound Ninja 4 after jumping on the roof of the stadiums for better aim. ...This is the first time I've seen Tenten truly in action.
Damn! They weren't exaggerating her accuracy skills!
From here, I saw them stop their hand seals, and grip their hands painfully as blood dripped from them.
The girls got their pairs together and they escaped, briefly telling their sensei that they're going to fight those four ninja that were about to trap our Kage and a certain Sannin.
Temari lingered to gave a bit more of explanation, saying that the Invasion of her country and Sound had begun before dragging Shikamaru out of the arena. (Temari already told everyone ahead of time about the Invasion, and her involvement in it. She herself is against it, but her brothers are a part of it and she's going to help us fight against it.)
After that, all the sensei and some other ninja took up the role of evacuating everyone.
Konohamaru, his team, and Hanabi, who were also watching the fights, were ordered to evacuate the people outside the stadium in the village. They, Konohamaru specifically, argued initially, wanting to help fight, but after some words from Naruto -who left immediately after his mini-speech and ruffling his younger brother figure's hair- they left to do their job with pride in their hearts.
I ran to Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei, I-"
"You're going after Naruto and Sasuke, right?" I nodded.
He summoned Pakkun. "I thought so. I don't know when you planned this, but here's Pakkun. Go after them."
I nodded, a bit touched at his readiness to send me after them, regardless of being slightly suspicious of me. "Thanks, Sensei."
I gave him a quick hug before Pakkun and I escaped into the forest.
"You're welcome, Sakura." I heard as I left.
As I sailed through the tree branches to my teammates, I tried to mentally prepare myself for what could would happen next. This is going to be the most difficult thing since I've gotten back to the past, I thought.
But I can get through this, with the others.
I nodded to myself.
I can do this. I will do this.
And with that thought, I was ready to fight.
(1): Yugao is an actual character and an actual ANBU. All that stuff is true. She bore a grudge against the Sand because one of them (Baki) killed Hayate Gekko, her fiance. In Shippuden, they did a filler episode where he was brought back to life and she had to fight him. Sakura was there and saw them.
(2): Remember earlier on in the story where I had the chapter with the scrolls that listed all the differences in this world? This may have explained when Itachi casted the jutsu, but some deaths from the original timeline are unavoidable and WILL happen one way or another in the current one. Like with the Third - he'll die. I'm not sure how yet, but he'll die.
But no, Hinata, Asuma (as far as I know right now) and Neji will not die. I want them to have an effing happy ending, okay?
QotW: Thanksgiving plans?
I still need X-Mas ideas for DoOver.
Also, any suggestions for couples would be nice. Like, couple-y moments. What you want to see between your favorite couples. Or even between characters that have a platonic relationship - like between teammates or something.
Love,
Cherry.