'Normal thought…'
"Kyuubi/Bijuu speech…"
"Normal speech…"
Jutsu name…
Chapter 37- "Finally it's my turn!": The fight Naruko vs. Kiba begins!
"Me, eh?" Shikamaru sighed as he walked down into the fighting area.
"Shikamaru! Don't lose! Show us that you're a man!" Ino shouted at him. "Go Shikamaru! Win!"
Choji looked at her. 'Ino's gotten more energetic…' He began to sweat. 'I don't know if this is a good thing or not…'
"Hai, hai…"Shikamaru sighed again as he and Kin faced each other. "How troublesome… On top of that, it's going to be tough to deal with a girl…"
"Then, I'll end this match quickly." Kin glared at him.
Naruko looked at the incoming fight. 'Shika, I hope you're not going to give up just because this match is troublesome…' She narrowed her eyes. "Shika! When I see that you're giving up this match, we have a lot to talk about…" Naruko shouted at him.
Shikamaru shivered slightly. 'There's no way I want to have this 'talk' with Naru…let alone get her angry…' He looked at Kin seriously. 'I do know the abilities of these guys from the second exam incident… but I have no idea what her abilities are whatsoever. To add onto that, she has seen my jutsu already…' He sighed. 'Mendokuse.'
"Sixth Match… Shikamaru vs. Kin." Hayate coughed slightly. "Begin!"
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and did a hand sign.
"You can only use one thing like an idiot?" Kin laughed cheekily.
"Shut up!" Shikamaru tsked. "Ninpou: Kage Mane no Jutsu!" His shadow began to expand towards Kin.
"As long as I look at your shadow movement, I have nothing to fear from that jutsu!" Kin said cheekily and jumped away from his shadow. While in air, she threw two senbons with bells on them towards Shikamaru.
Shikamaru ducked down, to dodge the senbons. He looked at them and smirked. "That sure is a classic trick. Next, you're going to throw a senbon with a bell and one without a bell, right? If I react to the sound of the bell and dodge it… I will not notice the senbon without a bell and it'll hit me. Right?"
"You talk too much!" Kin shouted cheekily and threw senbons towards him again.
Shikamaru dodged the senbons. "I just have to be careful and not fall for your Shadow Needle technique…" His eyes widened in surprise as he heard a twinkle from behind him. "Wha? Behind?" He turned around, just to see that chakra strings were attached to the bells. "Shoot!" He turned back around in distress.
"Too late!" Kin shouted and threw senbons at him. Shikamaru couldn't really dodge the senbons anymore and so was hit by them.
"Shikamaru!" Ino shouted in worry.
"He got directly hit…" Naruko bit on her lip in concern. 'I know Shika is clever enough to beat her… but first he has to figure out what technique this Kin is using, so he can plan a counterattack.'
"No, look closely." Sakura scolded her.
"Huh?" Naruko blinked in confusion.
Shikamaru tore the senbons out. "I dodged a critical hit." He looked seriously at Kin. "Now it's my turn!"
"I won't let you!" Kin smiled and let the bells on the senbons tinkle hypnotically.
"W-What's going on?" Shikamaru felt the ground tilting underneath him. He sank to his knees.
Naruko narrowed her eyes. 'What's going on with Shika?'
Kin laughed darkly. "Those who listen to the sound of the bell become like that. This vibration from the sound of this special bell works directly on the eardrum up to the brain. Then, it will show you an illusion."
Shikamaru gritted his teeth and covered his ears.
Kin smirked cheekily. "That's useless. You can't shut out my bell's sound with that."
Shikamaru tsked as multiple Kin's appeared in the illusion, he was caught in. "Damn it, which is the real one?"
"You can't move at all, huh?" The Kin's said cheekily. "You don't even know how to stretch your only hope, your shadow. Now, I'll tenderize you slowly." All the Kin's grabbed three senbons.
"Damn it, she's underestimating me…" Shikamaru said annoyed. The Kin's threw the senbons at him and Shikamaru got hit by three of them.
"Now, I'll throw five. Next, seven. I'll continue until you look like a hedgehog."
"You deceitful wench." Shikamaru looked at her annoyed. "You said you would end this match quickly."
"I see." The multiple Kin's in his illusion shrugged. "You're in so much pain that you want to be relieved of it quickly." The bells tinkled again. "Then, I'll finish you off with this. It's the end." She took out three senbons. Suddenly, she couldn't move. "Wha? My body?" She said in surprise as she had to put down her hand.
Shikamaru sighed in relief and stood up. "My Kage Mane no Jutsu finally succeeded."
"What are you talking about?! Your shadow is nowhere near me!" Kin shouted at him in disbelief.
Shikamaru smirked. "You still haven't noticed?"
Naruko's eyes widened and she giggled amused. "I see what you did there Shika, I knew you would outsmart her!" She smiled brightly.
"What?" Sakura looked at her surprised.
Kin's eyes widened in realization as the shadow from her chakra string thickened and she saw how it was connected to Shikamaru's and her shadow.
"There's no way a string at that height will make a shadow. I can stretch and shrink my shadow."
Kin looked at the shadow on the ground. 'Damn it, the shadow is getting fatter and fatter…' "This wasn't the shadow of the string?" She said angrily.
"Yes, I thinned and stretched out my shadow to make it look like the shadow of the string. Then, I attached it to you." He pointed his finger at Kin, and Kin had to do the same movement.
"Then, how are you going to win now?" Kin said through gritted teeth. "All I'm going to do is move the same way as you."
"Shut up and just watch." Shikamaru said calmly and opened his shuriken pouch on his leg.
Kin had to do the same movement and so opened her shuriken pouch too. She looked at him in shock. "Are you stupid?! If you attack like that, you're going to get hurt, too."
Shikamaru and Kin took out a shuriken simultaneously. "I know." Shikamaru smirked.
"Are you planning to…?" Kin said surprised.
"We are going to stab each other with our shuriken now. How long will we last?" He grinned and threw the shuriken towards Kin.
"Stop this nonsense!" Kin shouted as she had to throw her shuriken too.
Just as the shuriken was about to hit Shikamaru, he began to dodge it by leaning backwards.
Kin smirked cheekily. 'So, he was just bluffing-' But then she hit her head hardly on the wall.
Shikamaru laughed. "One down."
Kin fell to the ground, unconscious.
Shikamaru jumped up. "Ninja need to grasp the landscape and situation, then fight. Even if we move the same, our distance to the walls are different. I just used the shuriken to get your attention away from the wall."
"Winner, Nara Shikamaru." Hayate declared.
"Way to go!" Ino cheered.
"You're cool!" Choji shouted at him.
"I'm next. I'm next. I'm next." Lee chanted seriously.
Naruko giggled cheerfully. "There we go! Good job, Shika!"
The last Sound ninja, Dosu, narrowed his eyes seriously. "So, I'm the only one remaining…"
"Now for the next match." Hayate said as the electric bulletin board began to choose the next fighters.
"Now we have one Sound ninja, me, Hinata, Naruko, Choji, Neji and Lee. And that creepy Sand guy." Kiba noticed seriously. "Please don't let me match up with the Suna guy."
"Looks like I can have nice battles with the rookies this year." Neji said seriously and then glared at Hinata.
Hinata noticed that and looked nervously away from him.
Then, the next match was chosen: Uzumaki Naruko vs. Inuzuka Kiba.
"Yatta! My turn! Finally!" Naruko jumped up and down in excitement.
Kakashi shook his head in fondness. 'As energetic as ever…'
"Hell yeah! We got lucky! We can win against her for sure, Akamaru!" Kiba shouted cheekily. Akamaru barked in agreement.
Lee sank to the ground, depressed. "I wasn't next… Sakura-san will call me fuzzy eyebrows and hate me. But at least, Naruko-angel is going to fight now."
Kakashi shook his head as he looked at Lee. 'This Lee is just like the young Gai…' He looked at Gai.
Gai noticed that and gave him the nice-guy pose. Kakashi sweat dropped. 'And looks like this Lee likes Sakura and Naru-chan… Wait, what?' His eyes widened in realization and he glared at Lee. 'You will not get Naru-chan, you can be sure about that!'
Sakura smiled at the cheering Naruko. "Do your best."
"Yes!" She giggled amused.
Kakashi shook his head to dispel the jealousy. He petted Naruko's head one last time. "Show me how much you have grown, Naru."
"Sure!" Naruko smiled at him and then walked towards the stairs, which are leading down to the fighting area.
Gaara looked at her and a small, unnoticeable smile slipped onto his face. 'Let's see, if she's a suitable mate. What do you mean, Mother? ...So, you think she's perfect… Well, we will see.' Unnoticed by everyone, Gaara began to send a bit of sand towards Naruko, who just reached the last steps of the staircase. Just as Naruko took another step, Gaara's sand wrapped itself around Naruko's ankle.
Naruko's eyes widened in surprise as she suddenly fell forward. "Kyaa!" She shouted surprised as she ripped the sleeve of her jacket on the handrail and fell to the ground.
"Huh?!" Lee, Sakura, Choji and Ino shouted surprised.
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. 'Something isn't right… It looked like Naru already got to the next step of stairs, but then she suddenly fell…There isn't something to trip on these stairs either…'
Naruko jumped up. Just then she noticed the tear in her jacket sleeve. "NOOO! Not this jacket too!" In panic, she took off her jacket, to inspect the tear.
The boys all blushed in surprise as they looked at Naruko, who was now wearing a white tank-top, where you could see her orange bra shimmering through.
Gaara blushed unnoticeable too and then grinned satisfied. 'She really isn't bad looking…'
Kakashi's narrowed his eyes at that and he slowly began to panic, as he noticed the boys staring at her. 'Nooo! That's my worst nightmare…' "Naru, what are you doing?! Put your jacket back on, now!" He shouted at her.
"B-But Kashi-sensei…" Naruko looked up to him with a pout, tears glittering in her eyes. "This is the last one of my favorite jackets. I-I don't want it to get destroyed too."
Sandaime, who watched this exchange, sweat dropped. 'That's Naru-chan for you… Only caring for her jacket in times like this…' He couldn't hold back the amused chuckle.
Kakashi began to sweat. "Just put it back on, Naru!"
Gai looked at him surprised. 'My eternal rival seems upset. And this is the first time I ever saw Kakashi shout at somebody…'
Naruko's pout deepened. "No! I'm not going to put it back on when it's only going to get destroyed again!" She took the jacket and put it down on the handrail. "Don't worry jacket, I'm going to come back for you later."
Kakashi sighed. 'It's no use…' He narrowed his eyes as he noticed the sand going back to Gaara and the smug expression on his face. Rage built up inside him and he gritted his teeth behind his mask. 'So, it was this smug bastard from Suna, who made Naru-chan trip…' He glared at him darkly. 'If I ever see him near Naru-chan, I will fucking kill him!'
Shikamaru looked at Gaara, seriously, as he noticed the sand too. 'What does this guy from Suna wants from Naru?' He sighed. 'This is all getting too troublesome…'
Naruko nodded satisfied, as she was sure that her jacket was safe there and then she walked towards Hayate and Kiba, who were already waiting for her.
Naruko and Kiba with Akamaru faced each other.
"Seventh match, Uzumaki Naruko vs. Inuzuka Kiba." Hayate coughed.
"Yay, now I'm ready to fight! I was slowly getting tired, but now we can finally fight, huh, Kiba?" Naruko smiled at him cheerily.
A tick mark appeared on Kiba's head. "That's my line! Drawing you as my opponent means I've already won! Right, Akamaru?" He shouted at her annoyed. Akamaru barked in agreement.
Naruko sighed and waved with her hand dismissively. "Hai, Hai… I get it, nobody can win against the great strong alpha-wolf…" She taunted him.
"Why you…!" Kiba glared at her and sat Akamaru down to the ground.
Naruko poked her tongue out at him.
The Sandaime sweat dropped and sighed. 'Does Naru-chan has to be so childish right before a fight…?'
"Anyway, is Akamaru going to fight too?" Naruko looked at Akamaru in interest.
Kiba tsked. "Maybe. But I alone will be enough to beat you!" He smirked cheekily. "Akamaru, you will only fight when I tell you, okay?" Akamaru looked at him confused, but then barked in agreement.
"Naruko! Don't lose to that guy! Shannaro!" Sakura shouted at her, utterly annoyed from Kiba.
Kakashi took a deep breath to calm himself down. 'I have to concentrate on Naru-chan's fight now. She would be angry when I didn't really watch her fight…'
Kurenai looked at the two. 'Naruko, eh?' She looked at Kakashi. 'Sorry to say that, Kakashi, but she can't beat Kiba…'
Hinata bit on her lip. 'Naruko-chan, I want to cheer you on, but… I'm on Kiba-kun's team, so…'
Lee looked at Naruko. 'Naruko-chan…'
"Kiba's…lucky." Choji said.
Shikamaru tsked.
"Huh?" Ino looked at him in surprise.
"We will see about that." Shikamaru said seriously. 'As long as I know her, she is the only one I can't figure out…She's an unbelievable unpredictable and troublesome woman… But this fight should be interesting.'
Kiba smirked cheekily. 'I don't know how much stronger she got after becoming a Genin, but…' "I will beat you in one hit out of pity."
Naruko just shrugged. "Whatever… But you can't defeat me."
A tick mark appeared on Kiba's head. "Don't act so tough!"
Naruko just narrowed her eyes seriously. 'So, what's my strategy? I think I should first observe, then attack…'
"Then… Begin." Hayate said seriously.
Kiba crouched down and did a hand sign. 'Gijyuu Ninpou: Shikyaku no Jutsu!' Chakra began to surround him and he crouched down onto four legs, while his nails grew longer. "Let's go!"
Naruko watched in interest. 'Fine, show me what you got.'
Suddenly, Kiba vanished and appeared right in front of her. Naruko's eyes widened in surprise as Kiba rammed his elbow into her stomach.
"He's fast!" Sakura shouted in surprise.
Naruko gritted her teeth, as she crashed hardly onto the ground.
"Geez, she's weak…" Kankuro sighed disappointed.
Gaara just narrowed his eyes. 'Was that all you got…?'
'Naruko-chan…' Hinata thought in concern.
Sakura bit on her lip and looked at Kakashi.
As Kakashi noticed that, he just eye-smiled. 'Naru-chan isn't going to go down this easily.'
Sakura's eyes widened and then she looked back at the fight, determined. 'That's right. Naruko isn't the loser girl anymore…'
Naruko stood up and smiled at Kiba cheekily, as blood run down her mouth.
Kiba's eyes widened in surprise and he gritted his teeth angrily.
Naruko wiped the blood away and narrowed her eyes, determined. "Was that all you got? You better not underestimate me."
Lee cheered in excitement.
Shikamaru smirked and shook his head in fondness. 'Tough girl, eh?'
"Get him, Naruko!" Sakura cheered her on and Hinata smiled relieved.
"You're bleeding, so stop pretending to be cool!" Kiba shouted at her annoyed.
Naruko just looked at him seriously. "This was nothing. Why don't you stop acting so tough and begin to go all out!" 'This disgusting snake of this Orochimaru girl/ guy hit a lot stronger… When he doesn't go all out soon, this is going to be easier than I thought.'
Kiba glared at her. "You're going to regret that… Let's go, Akamaru!" Kiba shouted and they both began to storm towards her. Kiba took out two smoke bombs.
"Smoke bombs?" Naruko narrowed her eyes as Kiba threw them to the ground and she began to be surrounded by purple smoke. 'I see. So, this is his tactic. If I can't see him, I can't dodge.' She thought calmly.
Suddenly, she was being punched in the stomach. 'He thinks that I will try to get out of the smoke, but he underestimated one thing…' She smiled and dodged one punch he threw at her. 'I can hear him.'
'What?!' Kiba thought in surprise, narrowed his eyes and began to throw even faster punches at her.
'Damn it, I can't see a thing… There's the chance to figure Naru out…' Shikamaru sighed in disappointment as he looked at the purple smoke cloud.
Inside the smoke, Naruko got an idea, as suddenly Akamaru attacked her. 'I can try it…'
Kiba jumped out of the smoke and slowly, the smoke cloud disappeared. Kiba smiled happily, as Naruko lay on the ground, seemingly unconscious, with Akamaru next to her.
"Good job, Akamaru!" Kiba shouted happily as Akamaru ran towards him. Just as the dog jumped up into his arms, he transformed into Naruko and Naruko punched him in the face.
"Wha…?" Kiba shouted surprised as he landed on the ground. He jumped up and glared at Naruko. "You…transformed. Where's Akamaru?!"
A clone of Naruko appeared, with Akamaru in her arms. "Here~"
"Akamaru! Damn it…" Kiba gritted his teeth. Naruko giggled and poked her tongue out at him as she hugged Akamaru to her chest, who didn't seem to mind.
"No way…that's Naruko?" Ino gaped in surprise. "She's on equal grounds with Kiba… No, she might even be better than him."
Shikamaru shook his head. "Only Naru would do something like this…"
Temari smirked. "She's good at using her jutsus at the right time."
"She's better than I thought…" Kankuro said surprised.
Gaara just looked at Naruko sternly. 'Not bad… but that's not enough…'
Neji looked at her in interest. 'She sure is interesting, although she's a bit childish.'
"N-Naruko-chan, that was ama-" Hinata tried to say.
"That was amazing, Naruko!" Sakura shouted at Naruko and so interrupted Hinata.
Kakashi looked at the fight in amusement. 'She isn't even going all out… Looks like she's just playing with Kiba… Naru-chan really has grown more during this exam.'
"Looks like you've gotten a little stronger." Kiba smiled cheekily. "But it's over. I'm going to get serious now."
"Finally." Naruko said as she petted Akamaru.
The Sandaime chuckled amused. "That's the Naru-chan I know."
Kurenai blinked surprised. 'Is that really the Naruko that was an all-time failure?'
Asuma looked at Naruko. 'What did Kakashi do?'
Kiba tsked annoyed. "Get ready!"
Hey guys! So, that was chapter 37. How did you like it? :) We finally got to Naruko's fight, yay! :D And in the next chapter, the fight is going to be continued, so be excited! There are going to be some really funny scenes that I already have in my mind. (*insert evil laugh here* ;) ) Anyway, I'm really sorry that I didn't upload a chapter last week, but my internet was gone for a whole week until my stupid internet provider could fix it… :( *sigh* But now, everything is back to normal and I can upload chapters like usual! :3 Please don't be too mad about that, I'm really sorry…
See you next chapter and have an awesome rest of your day! :D
Ninpou: Kage Mane no Jutsu = Ninja Art: Shadow Imitation Technique
Gijyuu Ninpou: Shikyaku no Jutsu = Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique
Review
'00-SilentObserver-13': NOOOOOOOOOOOOO A CLIFFHANGER T_T
shikamaru is either scared of angering Naruko or he's afraid of her giving him a talk if he didn't put effort or all of the above and Kakashi's mood swings in this chapter especially when other people notice too XD I'm definitely looking forward to the next chapter when Naru finally showing some of her real skills and shocking a bunch of people! keep up the awesome job as always
I'm sorry for the cliffhanger... XD And I think Shikamaru was scared of both, Naruko being angry and her having a looong and annoying talk with him about not being enthusiastic enough. XDD I'm looking forward to write next chapter too ;). Oh, and I don't know yet, if Naru is really showing her real skills or if she's waiting till the 'real' exam. But either way, the people are definitely going to be shocked. (*insert evil laugh here*) I really look forward to write about what I have already planned~ ;3 (*more evil laughter*) Anyway, you will have to wait till next chapter for that! ;)