AN: Quick note, first up, thank you guys for your recent reviews. In particular I would like to give a quick reply to ssscds, I would normally reply via private message, but ssscds doesn't appear to actually have an account, so I can't PM them. I just wanted so say thanks for your words. I find it really flattering that people are starting to binge read my fic and honestly, if a bisexual Naruto is the only problem you have with the story, I'll take that as a win and thanks not only to you but to everyone who doesn't particularly like the yaoi for sticking with it regardless.
Secondly, I was asked a very good question recently by a reader that I think should be mentioned publicly, I was asked if Naruto being named after his father had lead to any assassination attempts. The answer is yes, but only sort of. Naruto grew up in the Uchiha compound as a young child, literally surrounded by high level shinobi, a few of the more stupid people with grudges against his father did try to kill him, for the most part, they died horribly without Naruto being any the wiser. After the Uchiha died, there were a few more attempts, but Naruto was being closely watched by the likes of Kakashi, Jiraiya, the Hokage, Ebisu and Sasuke, so again, people who tried anything never even got close.
All that being said, on with the fic.
Hinata:
Hinata returned from the medical room just in time to hear her name called, wiping her eyes to clear away the tears as she approached the others.
"Next fight," Iruka said into the silence, "Hinata Hyuga versus Gaara of the sand."
Hinata felt her heart plummet. Slowly, the dark haired girl turned her head to face the pale sand shinobi. Oh god, why, why did it have to be me? For his part, the red headed boy gave Hinata a shy smile, raising his hand to waist height in a small wave. The kind gesture did not make Hinata feel any better, she swallowed a lump in her throat and tried to force herself to calm down.
"It's okay," the pale boy spoke, moving towards Hinata and stopping just a few feet away, "No matter what happens, I promise I won't hurt you, okay?"
Hinata looked into Gaara's eyes, steeling her resolve "I-I'm fine," the girl said timidly, "D-don't go easy on me, I want to win or lose on my own strength."
The boy nodded hesitantly, seeming almost as scared as Hinata felt, "O-okay… I think I can do that."
The two made their way down to the arena in awkward silence, both more than a little uncomfortable in the proximity of a stranger and both too polite to say anything. Both young ninja stood across from one another. Again, Iruka stepped a distance away before beginning the fight.
"Ready… fight." He swung his arm down and the fight began.
Sand began to flow from the gourd at Gaara's back, pooling around his feet and forming into a vague circle around him. Hinata took up a fighting stance, calming her mind. She was not weak, she knew this. Her father had made her much stronger in the last month, new techniques, greater speed, she was ready. Hinata channeled her chakra, activating her byakugan.
The first wave of sand flowed forwards toward Hinata, growing from the circle around Gaara like a thin tendril. Hinata channeled a small amount of chakra into her hand and swatted the sand away, taking a single step forwards. It was not gentle fist, gentle fist relied on projecting thin blades of chakra from the body like scalpels or acupuncture needles, this was more straightforward, she had simply reinforced her whole hand. The sand tendril reformed itself, moving to attack Hinata a second time, this time from behind, Hinata swatted it aside once more, taking another step towards the boy. A second tendril rose from the small circle, moving for Hinata in unison with the first, she deflected again, taking another step closer, she only needed to get close enough for one strike, it was fine to stay on the defensive until then. The sand changed tactics, reshaping from its two thick, grasping tendrils, to at least a dozen tiny little whip like strands. Each one jabbed towards Hinata in perfect unison, impossible to block them all unless…
Hinata let herself go limp, relaxing her body, this was the first of the techniques her father had drilled into her over the last month, Hinata allowed herself to spin gently, emanating her chakra from every point in her body.
The tendrils struck against the spinning blue orb of energy, dissipating as the wildly moving stream of energy threw sand in every direction, concealing the girl from view. Hinata burst forwards from the cloud of grit, emerging just a foot or so in front of Gaara. Hinata moved with all the speed she could muster, her palm encased in more strengthening chakra, Gaara's sand moved to defend, but the blow pierced through the impromptu defense, striking the boy in the chest.
The result was not as Hinata had hoped, the boy did not react, what should have been a one hit knock out barely even seemed to faze him. As the sand moved to trap Hinata's arm, she wondered where she had gone wrong. Then she realized, her byakugan showing her what should have been obvious from the start. She saw the thin shell of solid sand that covered Gaara from head to toe, infused with just enough chakra to be nearly indistinguishable from his skin. Hinata cursed herself, she had been so focused on blocking the incoming attacks that she hadn't noticed the trap. Hinata let out a small gasp of pain as the sand continued to tighten around her wrist, tendrils reaching out to ensnare her feet and other hand. The sand around her striking hand continued to tighten, seemingly indifferent to Hinata's pain. Gaara's fist struck the squeezing sand full force, dissipating it and allowing her to pull her hand back.
"I am sorry she hurt you." The boy muttered quietly, seeming genuinely upset "We are trying to get better, but I think she forgets sometimes. I'm afraid you do lose though. I could have used that blow to crush your trachea. Do you concede?"
Hinata hesitated, then nodded, "I concede," the girl said quietly. The sand around Hinata's ankles and wrist began to loosen, allowing her to step backwards out of range.
From the sidelines, Iruka called out "Winner, Gaara of the sand."
The two made their way back to the viewing platform, talking quietly to one another as they walked.
Iruka watched the two go before reading his next item "Next fight, Sakura Haruno versus Kosuke Maruboshi."
Sakura:
Sakura glanced across at the old man, a little piece inside her head screaming a little, this was a worst case scenario. How was she supposed to fight someone like Kosuke? In the first round no less, he was the only opponent she hadn't been able to devise countermeasures for. Her panic was short lived. Kosuke smiled gently, raising his hands to his mouth to project his voice as he called out "I forfeit!"
The genin all around the old man stared, Haku and Kimimaro looking up at him in shock. Kosuke chuckled a little, "Now now, do you kids really think someone as strong as me is still a genin for no reason? I never wanted to pass this exam, I only signed on to give young Haku and Kimimaro a chance at becoming chunin."
Down in the arena, Iruka shrugged a little. "Winner, Sakura Haruno." He called out "Next fight, Shikamaru Nara versus Haku Yuki."
Haku:
Haku and the tired looking boy gazed at one another appraisingly for a few seconds, Haku knew Shikamaru by face, he was one of Naruto's friends and the two had spoken once or twice. After a few moments, Shikamaru groaned "Well this blows, I hate having to fight girls." Haku's eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance, he looked over at Naruto for confirmation. The blonde boy shrugged, making a 'whatever' sort of a gesture.
"Actually," Haku said in a voice of chipped politeness, "I'm a boy, Shikamaru."
Shikamaru seemed genuinely surprised at this "Wait, really? Aren't you and Naruto dating though?"
Haku sighed, this boy had no tact, "Yes, and?"
Shikamaru considered this for a second or two, then gave a tired shrug, "Ahh great, now I feel even weirder fighting you. Whatever, let's just go fight, okay?"
"Sure." Haku said icily. He had made his decision, it might not be kind, but he was going to DESTROY this boy.
The two ninja stood opposite one another. Between them, Iruka raised a hand, he didn't move out of the way this time, which Haku took as yet another annoyingly insulting barb. A small part of him pitied this dark haired young man, he was only deserving of a small portion of the impending beat down.
"Ready… Fight."
Haku wasted no time, he knew about Shikamaru's shadow technique, having seen it in action once during the elimination round, it could be an issue if not handled swiftly. Haku lunged forwards, racing towards Shikamaru with a speed that dwarfed all but Lee's inhuman agility, Shikamaru had barely completed the hand sign when the first tiny needle jammed itself into his hand, sliding neatly between muscle strands and veins to pierce only flesh, his shadow ability dissipated as quickly as it had formed, his focus broken.
Haku did not hold back, perhaps this was not very kind, but he did not feel very kind in that moment, the yelping form of Shikamaru disappeared under a continuous barrage of precise, high speed strikes, his every attempt to retaliate countered by another needle lodging itself in the offending limb. Shikamaru may have been an exceptional tactician, but there was no reacting to an assault of such sheer speed. The boy crumpled to the ground in a heap after less than thirty seconds.
"Winner, Haku Yuki." Iruka said from behind them.
Before walking casually back to the observation stand, Haku turned to Iruka with a slight smile, "Sorry, but would you mind taking a step or two back next time? I don't want to catch you in the crossfire."
Iruka gave a small chuckle, then nodded.
The small group of gathered genin watched as Haku slowly made his way back to them, Naruto grinning in amusement.
Kankuro broke the silence first, "So…" he said, giving Naruto a sidelong look "Your boyfriend's kinda cool."
There were one or two chuckles around the small room.
Iruka spoke once again to the stadium at large, "Remaining combatants, Rock Lee, Naruto Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha, Gaara of the sand, Sakura Haruno and Haku Yuki. We will now commence the second round. Any combatant who received injuries during the first round have been allowed the choice between continuing after exactly five minutes medical attention in order to simulate battlefield conditions, or forfeiting and receiving more complete immediate treatment. All candidates have chosen to continue after limited medical care. First fight, Gaara of the sand versus Sakura Haruno."
AN: I may have made myself laugh a little when I realized that Haku basically beat Shikamaru, the master strategist, with the equivalent of a Zerg rush. It made me chuckle. And just as a point, Shikamaru is not homophobic, he was attempting to get Haku irritated enough to make mistakes, it backfired.
As always, thanks for reading, feel free to review as I use your words to validate my pitiful excuse for an existence. Love!