Deidara made it into the arena a little before Aprilio wandered down. Seeing his opponent taking his time, Deidara decided to glance up at the crowd. There were people here from all sorts of backgrounds, though they were to far away to see clearly. He could see his friends from the academy still, all of them waving or cheering for him. He waved back, his smile still on his face.
"How the hell am I going to lose to this kid and make it good?" Aprilio had been watching Deidara's antics, and up until that point, hadn't given losing a second thought. Surely Junio was kidding. However, knowing Junio, he wasn't. In fact, if Aprilio won this match, he was sure that he wouldn't be alive long enough to enjoy it. "Crap...what the hell am I going to do?" Deidara turned, noticing Aprilio staring at him.
"Ready?" Aprilio nodded. He stuck a hand into his pocket.
"I can't use that technique now. Great. All that hard work and I get screwed." Taking a kunai from his pocket, he readied himself. Deidara eyed him cautiously.
"Why is he bringing out a kunai? He knows elemental jutsu's, right? Why isn't he going to use one of them, un," he said to himself. He wasn't about to argue, sticking his own hands into his clay pouches. Bushio stood in the waiting section, gripping the rails tight.
"Come on, Deidara...beat this guy!" Deidara turned, waving back. The examiner walked in, eyeing the two lazily before putting his arms and hands up.
"Very well. The next match between Deidara and Aprilio Zamahedo will now begin! Are you both ready?" At the nod from both competitors, the examiner dropped his hands, and the match began. Aprilio decided to start it off, throwing his kunai with deadly accuracy. Deidara simply dodged below, bringing his hands out of his pouches as the mouths on his hands began to process the clay.
"Well, come on! Fight me!" Aprilio began to jog towards his opponent, bringing his hands up and making a hand sign. Suddenly, he stopped mid-sign. "I can't use that," he said to himself, under his breath so that the boy in front of him wouldn't hear. He lowered his hands, but brought them up again, making different hand-signs than before. "Water Release: Geyser Eruption!" His hands shot into the ground, and Deidara took a quick glance below him as water erupted from the stadium floor. Aprilio stood, watching the cascade of liquid as it shot high into the air. After a minute or so, the technique dissipated, and the flood waters began to leak back into the ground. However, Deidara wasn't in sight. "Shit...was that to much? Did I flatten him?" Aprilio began scouting the arena, trying to locate the foe he was supposed to lose to. A small object fell down from above, and he looked at it. It seemed to be a small worm, wriggling in front of him. His technique often drove the creatures to the surface...but never did one fall from the sky. He picked it up, studying it and momentarily forgetting that he was still in a match. "What the hell kind of worm is this?"
"Explode!" He gasped as the worm emitted a bright light, exploding in his hand and sending him flying backwards. Coughing, Aprilio looked up, eying Deidara as the boy flew on his clay bird, well above any techniques that he could muster. "Hey...you look like an ant from up here!" Aprilio cursed slightly under his breath. The boy was better than he thought he'd be. Standing, he glanced around, and then took off, hopping onto a pillar for momentum and height, and then jumping to the main arena floor, where spectators were watching him. He leapt once more, making for the upper levels. After achieving the highest point in the arena, he stood, watching Deidara as he made a dizzying spin and leveled off in front of him, about where the middle of the arena floor was.
"Cute trick," Aprilio taunted. Deidara simply huffed.
"A lot better than your buddy Junio could do, un!" Aprilio, stung, leapt out towards the boy and his bird. Deidara simply moved back to avoid the leap, but Aprilio was already going to work, making hand-signs in mid-air. He finished.
"Fire style: Nine Flames of Chaos Jutsu!" His hand shot to his mouth, and fire erupted from the portal, catching Deidara by surprise. He winged upwards, chased by the fire coming from Aprilio. He was still going as the flame dissipated, and Aprilio hit the arena floor, catching himself. Deidara glanced over the side of his bird.
"Whew...that was close!" Winging down a little, he laughed. "Is that all you have? I could do better in my sleep, un!" Aprilio sighed, staring down at his hands as if they held the answer to his woes.
"Well...I suppose I shouldn't do this...but then again, this kid is pissing me the hell off!" He brought his hands to his chest, creating more hand-signs.
"Water Fire Combined Style: Dragon Water Flame Jutsu!" Inhaling, the boy slammed his hands into the ground, feeling out with his chakra. Deidara watched as another geyser erupted. However, before it got to high, Aprilio flung his hands to his mouth once again, breathing fire into the liquid. It steamed, twisting and turning as he melded fire and water together. The result: A demon, dripping flame and exhaling steam. Aprilio smiled as his newest technique flew through the air, straight at the hapless Deidara. Deidara gasped, turning and rocketing away as the dragon jutsu began tearing a path through the sky. Soon, Deidara found himself at odds, traveling this way and that in his attempt to be rid of the technique, but to no avail. The watery inferno stayed right behind, decreasing the distance between them.
"It's no use. The dragon will stay on you until you die of exhaustion. This is my newest, most powerful technique. You won't win! You won't!" Aprilio was beside himself with glee, staring up at the boys desperate attempt to get away.
"This isn't good, un!" Deidara dropped suddenly, careening towards the ground, but pulling up a second later. The dragon was still directly behind him. Suddenly, it it began hissing steam, creating a fog bank around the arena. Deidara couldn't see it, and didn't know if it could see him. He went on running, trying his best to outmaneuver his attacker. Going full steam up out of the cloud, he turned his head, grimacing as the dragon appeared, still on the hunt. "I don't know what to do! What do I do?" He began trying to make up ways to beat it, but none seemed to work in his mind. An idea popped into his head not a second later, and he smiled. "That's it!" Turning, he sent his bird careening down, straight into the dragon's open mouth!
Aprilio stood on the ground, staring up through the foggy haze, trying to see what was happening. "Did...did my dragon get him?" He was full of questions, but knowing the nature of his beast, he allowed it to do his thinking for him. There was a sudden crash, followed by a loud explosion, directly over the stadium. Aprilio grinned. "Got him! So much for that runt!" He lifted his hands, waving at the crowd, but they were still watching the sky, which began to clear as a soft, supple breeze played on the afternoon air.
"Aprilio...you were supposed to lose. If I get my hands on you, I will kill you." Bushio glanced over, eying Junio suspiciously as the boy ranted to himself. "I will cut your throat with a kitchen knife and leave your body on your living room floor. I will kill your family, and all..." but his thoughts were interrupted.
"Junio! Get ready, our match is next!" Junio glanced over at the boy on his left. Rotas gave him a glare before returning to the match below.
"Do not worry, my friend. Our match will come soon enough," Junio replied. He turned again to the arena, watching his teammate staring up into the sky. "I will vent my frustration out on you first!"
Aprilio still couldn't see Deidara. If the boy had blown up on his bird, then parts of him would be raining down, wouldn't they? His dragon was gone, but the explosion would have splintered the technique anyways, so that wasn't a big deal. But...where was Deidara?
"Looking for me, un?" Aprilio's eyes widened, and he whipped around, staring at the arrogant boy in front of him.
"But...how?" Deidara smiled, laughing slightly to himself.
"The fog was a good trick, but it works on two levels. It hid me, as well as your dragon. All I did was make a clone of myself out of the clay I had. I substituted my clone and I, and jumped to safety on a pass into the fog, un. It's to bad your dragon couldn't figure out the real me from the fake me." Deidara grinned again, making Aprilio's blood boil.
"You insolent little worm. How dare you make fun of me! I'm going to rip you apart!" Aprilio put his hands up, about to hand-sign once more. However, Deidara was to quick, throwing his own hands up.
"Nope...you lose! Explode!" Aprilio had time for one gasp as the earth exploded beneath him. He flew into the air, his lungs full of smoke and his eyes watering. Then, he descended towards the earth again, hitting the ground with a thud, causing him to cough involuntarily. Deidara grinned again, pointing to where Aprilio had stood.
"Sorry. I forgot that I had placed six worms in the ground from my first fight. I only used five of them. But then again, waste not want not, right, un?" Aprilio gasped, his lungs on fire. He didn't know how much damage he had sustained in the fall, but he couldn't be sure. His insides felt like jello, and his chakra reserves were low.
"Well, Junio. I guess this is about the time, huh?" He coughed again, and lay back on the ground, staring up into the sky. "Examiner...I quit!" The examiner turned, nodding.
"Are you sure?" Aprilio sighed again. He could get up, fight some more. Possibly even beat the boy. He wasn't sure if he could, but he was sure that Junio would wipe the floor with him if he did.
"Yeah. I'm sure. I'm done." He stood, coughing again as he held his stance. Then, he smiled over at Deidara, waving. "You're good. I'll give you that." Then, he turned, stumbling towards two medic nin as they ran out to run tests on him. The examiner gave another nod as he threw his hands up.
"Very well. The winner of this match, Deidara!" The crowd erupted into uncontrolled applause, and Deidara blushed slightly as he waved back. He was going to the next round, but he would have to fight...He glanced up at Bushio, who smiled at him. They both nodded. The next match would be...interesting. Deidara turned, walking from the arena and back to the waiting balcony as the examiner called the next match. "The next match will be between...Rotas Tubaki and Junio Mezanuchi!" Junio smiled, turning and walking by Bushio, who gave him a glare. On the steps, he bypassed Deidara on his way back up.
"Good job. But, I am much better than Aprilio. As I have said before, you won't survive a match with me." Deidara scoffed, turning his head.
"We'll see about that, un!" Junio smiled, his teeth showing. Then, turning around again, he headed into the arena. Rotas was on his way down as Deidara grinned at him. "Kick his ass, un!" Rotas smiled, nodding.
"Yeah. No problem." Then, he made his way to the arena, where Junio was waiting. Bushio greeted his friend at the head of the stairs.
"Well done, Deidara. Now, we just need to hope that Junio wins this match. Then, one of us can take a whack at him, hopefully." He turned back to the arena, prepared to watch the next match. Deidara sighed. The match after this was he and Bushio. Could he...fight his friend?
Sorry this was so long in the coming, you guys. But, I am neck deep in salmon, and I am trying my hardest to type, go to work at night, and fish. But, never fear! I will type as fast as my limbs allow! Thanks for reading!