Author's note: Sorry for the long absence. College takes up a lot of my time now and I also have my novel to deal with. Looking back at the quality of previous chapters isn't helping me feel better (between the typos and subpar writing, I'm really embarrassed). Hopefully I can write better now and find the time to fix things up a bit. In the meantime, please tell me your opinion on whether the filler Chunin Exams and/or the Gaara Hiden should be considered canon for this story or not.

The stadium is much less crowded than the one in Konoha was, but the turnout is still pretty impressive considering what happened at the last Chunin Exams I saw. It's a relief that the sun also decided to attend today. Gaara and Temari are going to have enough to deal with today without having to worry about without rain making things even more difficult for them and I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed getting soaked and having to sit that way for hours either. The recent storm left us a reminder of what we barely missed in the form of an inch or so of water resting in the fighting area. The terrain definitely isn't in Gaara's favor, but I'm sure he'll figure something out. At least he has his gourd to work with.

My seat is not the best, but I'm still close enough to have a good view of the action. At least I get to sit next to Baki. The empty seat next to me is unpleasant enough without me being completely alone. Escaping the issue isn't going to happen today though; it takes Baki less than a minute to bring it up.

"Gaara told me about what happened to Yashamaru. It's unbelievable that Sasori had the nerve to do something like that." He puts his hand on my shoulder. "If you need to talk to someone, I'm here for you," he says.

That's nice and all, but I doubt I could confront that can of worms without crying more than Kumo's annual rainfall or wanting to hunt Sasori down and stab him to death with a thumbtack. Actually, doing both at once would be even more appealing. I should at least wait until I don't feel like letting all of my emotions explode out at once. "Thanks, but could we please talk about something else?"

Baki nods. "Of course. Everything has been hectic around here ever since the first phase ended, so there are plenty of topics hat could keep us busy until the fights start. Not that we'll have to wait long." The flow of people entering the stands has slowed down to a steady trickle, so we have just a little time left before they let the combatants enter. "What bothers me is that Temari has barely spoken to Gaara or Kira."

"Would you happen to know why that is? Gaara doesn't seem to know."

Baki's eye widens. "He didn't tell you? The chunin who interrogated Temari managed to convince her that Kira was involved in an assassination attempt that was supposed to be made on Gaara during the second phase. She tried to warn Gaara, but he didn't believe her. Temari claims that she tried to investigate the matter on her own during the second phase and got separated from the team in the process," Baki grimaces. "This Kira girl had better stay away from my team after the exams are over. She's giving everyone high blood pressure."

Why wouldn't Gaara mention any of this to me? Damn it, this girl is driving wedges between everyone. It is only when Baki clears his throat that I realize I've been spacing out. "I wouldn't put it past Kira to try something like that. She wouldn't stand a chance against Gaara on her own though. If Temari is right, there must have been some backup involved."

Before Baki can respond, the contestants begin marching into the arena. It looks like most of the genin are from Konoha again. There is a sprinkling of people from other villages though. Contenders from Kumo, Iwa, Kiri, and even Ame managed to reach the final round. The applause that greets them is so loud that it almost seems like another storm is coming.

Once the crowd has quieted down, the match-ups are announced. Most of the contestants seem unfazed, but the Kiri genin looks like he's already prepared to rip his opponent, Kira, limb from limb. Judging from the muscles bulging under his sleeves, he could do that literally if he tried hard enough. Kira fidgets under his glare while Riu kneads the ground with her paws. Gaara reaches over and gives Kira's hand a squeeze. She whispers something to him as Temari scowls from Gaara's other side.

Before the tension can get any worse, the proctor sends all but two of the genin to their seats so the first fight can begin. Gaara is up against Shino, an Aburame. I'll never understand why Sasori wasn't at least a little bugged about how disturbing the Aburame are. Working with poisonous creatures probably helped, but it's still impressive. The mere thought of what must go on behind Shino's glasses is enough to make me shudder. Thankfully, I don't have to think about it long. The match is fairly quick. Once he realizes that Gaara's sand has too much chakra for his insects to absorb, Shino attempts to overwhelm Gaara with a swarm while using the rest of his bugs to help him evade Gaara's sand. Try as they might, none of the pests can get past Gaara's sand as it darts to and fro as it defends him. Hundreds of insects must have died by the time Gaara managed to pin his opponent down and end the match.

The second match isn't quite as lopsided. The genin from Ame fights against a genin I don't recognize from Konoha. Both of them rely mostly on their weapons. The air is filled with metal as the two go at it. The Ame genin's sole weapon is an umbrella, a strange choice but rather fitting considering where he is from. It becomes far more intimidating once he unleashes a shower of senbon from it. The cascade of needles overwhelms his opponent with its sheer size. She fails to block them all although the variety of weapons she summons from her scrolls repel much of the onslaught while also landing a few hits. The senbon almost make it look as if it is pouring rain as they land on the pool of water covering the area. Both opponents are covered in scratches within seconds. Similar barrages are exchanged again and again until I'm convinced that these two have enough weapons to arm a small village. Each time, the girl from Konoha becomes increasingly sloppy.

"He must have used some kind of poison," whispers Baki as the match continues. Great, another reminder of what Sasori did. Is anything going to happen that won't bring him to mind?

Moments later, the Ame genin is declared the winner after his opponent finally surrenders. Both of them are panting heavily and are covered in so many scratches that it looks like they tried to kill each other with paper cuts.

The third match is between Kira and the Kiri genin. The proctor can barely get out of the way fast enough to avoid being caught in the middle of some of the most vicious fighting I've seen in a long time. The Kiri genin immediately launches an assault with his two swords only to be interrupted by Riu as she launches herself at his arm, wraps her paws around it, and begins clawing him. She gets thrown off quickly, but not before Kira creates some distance between them. Kira's opponent uses a jutsu that shrouds most of the area in mist. I can't see much of what happens next, but I can make out silhouettes. At least one of them uses a clone jutsu. The human shapes quickly merge into a mess of limbs as they grapple with each other. The swords will be tricky to use at such close range.

A white glow shines from the middle of the stadium. Kira charges out of the mist with Riu right behind her, turns around, and unleashes a burst of fire straight from her mouth as a fur ball is hurled above the mist with a shriek. The water in the arena fizzes as two screams of pain burst through the rapidly dissipating mist. What I had expected to be the real Kira poofs out of existence, leaving behind one horrifically burnt, swearing genin facing Kira as the white chakra condenses to form claws extending from her fingers as she shields what I'm guessing is at least one broken rib. Riu lands squarely on the man's head and tears into his scald with her claws. Kira strikes out and slashes down her opponent's right arm to his hand, forcing him to drop a sword. Blood seeps from a gash in Kira's forehead and from a series of cuts running down her back, but it is clear who will win now. With a cat screaming obscenities and clawing at his eyes, the man can only land a few glancing blows before he starts taking more hits than he gives. Kira yells for Riu to get out of the way before finishing the Kiri genin by clawing his face with her free hand.

With blood running down his face and into his eyes, the young man surrenders. I was beginning to think someone might actually die in this fight. Kira limps off to her seat with Riu trailing her. Temari and a genin from Iwa are next. This match can only be described as a wipeout. Her opponent attempts to use a variety of earth jutsu, but Temari is too quick to be caught by any of them. She doesn't even seem to break a sweat as her jutsu toss her opponent around like a leaf in a tornado. That's my girl!

Next, two Hyuga face off. The arrogant genin I recognize from the last Chunin Exams maintains an edge the whole time although he is kept on his toes by his opponent. The two exchange blows so quickly that I can barely see how many times they strike at each other. The frailer looking of the two, the girl, ultimately loses after taking one hit too many. The two bow to each other after the match. Looks like that Naruto kid must have beaten some humility into the boy.

The next match involves the weirdest looking kid I've ever seen fighting a local genin. I never thought I'd see the day a boy with a bowl cut and wearing green spandex would pummel the opposition into submission in less than a minute. He even left behind a small crater in the wall when he kicked the man into it. What kind of steroids is that kid taking?

An Akimichi and a pink haired girl are up next. Forget the green oddball, this girl is the one who should scare people. One of her punches left such a deep fissure that her opponent got stuck after rolling into it with his jutsu. He tried to widen it enough to escape until another ground splitting punch convinced him that he'd better surrender instead. Who could blame him when he's fighting Tsunade 2.0?

The final fight is between a Yamanaka and an Inuzuka. I could barely concentrate on the fight the second I saw a giant dog getting involved. It's about the size of a small horse! The Yamanaka does successfully land her trademark jutsu. It doesn't do her much good though. Without backup, she can't do much against two opponents. She manages to cause some confusion and get her opponent a bit bruised, but she didn't stand a chance really. Once the obvious winner is announced, the first round officially ends.