Hey, it's finally tournament day! Let's go!


Naruto didn't know how long he'd been running, but he wasn't getting closer to his prize. Every time he rounded a corner, the shadow that he chased was already disappearing around the next one. Blood pumped in Naruto's ears, and his lungs ached as he sucked in a breath and shouted, "This is my mind! There's no way you can escape!" A tremor ran through the floor, and as Naruto's foot dug into the waterlogged floor, the walls began to move. The stone masonry leaped out of Naruto's way and slid along itself like a retracting tape measure. But Naruto didn't hear the splashing steps ahead of him slow down at all, even as he willed the walls to form a dead end to capture the interloper. As he turned the final corner, Naruto growled, "There's nowhere else to run. You're mine!"

"What? Where'd they go?" Naruto glared down the empty hall, and widened his stance, "There's no way I missed. They have to be here!" His nostrils flared as he willed the lamps on the walls to ignite. The candles roared to life in an instant, their flames burning brightly as they licked the ceiling and engulfed the walls. Flanked with sheets of fire, Naruto charged forward, "There you are!"

A figure had pressed itself up to the wall, an identical color to the bricks that made up Naruto's mind. Their form stood clearly stood out against the flames, and their back was exposed. They were turning around, but it was too late. They wouldn't be able to turn in time to stop Naruto's blade.

As Naruto closed in for the kill, what he'd at first thought was hair splayed out to the sides of the intruder's head like ears, and the face that he saw stunned him.

"K-ah!" Naruto's foot caught on an elevated tile and his body pitched forward. As he tried to regain his balance, a beam of light outlined a rectangle in front of him. The figure extended a clawed hand and the space within the shape folded open like a door. Blinding light erupted from the door, and Naruto threw out his arms to stop himself from falling in. He caught the edge, but something whipped around from behind the figure and slammed Naruto's fingers. Then an intense wind picked up and Naruto couldn't hold on as it dragged him into the light.

Naruto reached for the doorway, a receding rectangle of fire on a blank canvas. Then that spot of color was filled with the form of a person-sized Kyuubi standing on his hind legs, "Goodbye, Naruto." Then the door closed, the color disappeared, and Naruto was left.

Alone.


A stack of coins clattered into a tray, "The village feels completely different from usual. I hardly saw anyone on my daily stroll today." Nezuna stood in front of a register at a store counter, opposite of a wrinkled woman.

The woman smiled as she set a stack of leafy green vegetables into a paper bag, "It's not really surprising. After all, everyone always closes early to watch the last part of those chunin exams. I heard they're doing a tournament again this year."

"Yeah, It's not surprising that everyone would want to go watch it. The exams are hardly ever held here in the village for them to see." Nezuna took the bag with both hands, "Are you going to watch the event as well?"

The woman shook her head slowly, "No, all that fighting is getting to be too much for me in my old age. I heard all of the participants are only children, too. At that age, I couldn't even handle the attention of the boy I liked, let alone having the whole village's eyes on me. It's frightening."

"They'll be fine. They wouldn't be ninja if they couldn't handle this much." Nezuna departed from the grocery store with a wave.

She picked through the empty streets of Konoha at a meandering pace, and on her way up the stairs to the apartment, her thoughts turned toward the one who laid inside, "It's been a month and still, this kid hasn't woken up. Out of all the times I've scanned him, I haven't found anything wrong. It's surprising how little his muscles have atrophied. So what could've put him into a coma like this?"

With one hand she pushed the key into the lock, and rattled it open with a twist of her wrist. Then she pushed the door in and strode inside.

There was nothing obviously out of place, but something in the air was different. Nezuna crouched and wrested the grocery bag on the floor. A handful of steps brought her to the bedroom door, and she immediately swung it open. Nothing was out of place. Her charge was still there, the blankets were still bunched around his legs, the curtains were still lopsided from where she'd pulled them open.

Then, in an instant a pair of arms wrapped tightly around Nezuna's neck. As she struggled against the strong grip, the boy in the bed disappeared in a cloud of smoke right before her eyes. A clone? Nezuna's mind raced as she reached for something, anything she could use as a weapon. She cursed herself for getting too comfortable in her civilian clothes, her hidden weapons were all on the couch. Still, she was able to wrap her fingers around the door handle, and she quickly used her hips to whip her assailant around and slam their head between the door and the doorjamb.

The pressure around her neck completely dispersed and Nezuna fell, hacking. She looked around, but she was alone in the apartment. She coughed again, "Jiraiya needs to hear about this."


In the Kage viewing box high above the Konoha stadium, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat alone. He sucked on his pipe as he stared at the field below, "Has he still not arrived yet?"

From the shadows, one of the Hokage's guards kneeled, "Sir. Reports say that while the Kazekage is on his way, he is running late. Two of the contestants have yet to show themselves as well. It is already time to start the third exam, what should I tell the proctor?"

Hiruzen blew a cloud of smoke, "We will start when the Kazekage arrives. As for the two who are missing..." He drew deeply from his pipe, "They are in the first half of the bracket. So we'll reverse the order of the fights. If they still don't appear in time, there will be no other choice but to disqualify them."

"As you wish, Lord Hokage." The ninja bowed and disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

Hiruzen didn't move his gaze from the field as he muttered, "Damn it, Jiraiya. What are you doing?"


On the outskirts of the Konoha hot springs, there was an old man sitting on a toad by the decorative pools.

Jiraiya was hunched over a notepad with an ink brush in hand. He carefully dipped the tip of the horsehair strands into his ink pot, insuring the perfect draw of black liquid into the brush. With a steady hand, he brought the brush down to the page, and, "Ha-choo!" Sneezed. He sniffed and rubbed his nose, "It can't be. I can't catch a cold, there aren't even any beautiful ladies to care for me in my declining heath. They're all too busy going to that tournament to watch all the baby genin fight." A sigh escaped Jiraiya's lips, then he perked back up, "Now then, where was I?" He looked down at his pad and let out a small gasp, "No, my manuscript!" The page he'd been working on had a violent slash of ink across the writing. Jiraiya's large shoulders sagged, "Well that's it. This day can't get any worse."

"Jiraiya!"

Jiraiya sprung from the back of the large toad and struck a pose, "What's this? A beautiful woman has emerged to comfort this lonely man?" Then he saw who it was, "Nezuna? As charming as I can be, I didn't think you would abandon your duty just to see me."

"This isn't the time for jokes. That kid, Naruto-"

"Naruto? Is something wrong?"

"He's gone. When I came in to check on him, I was ambushed. The attacker definitely used a shadow clone."

"You said a shadow clone?" Jiraiya's booklet was already tucked away, "This is bad. I have to go, now." Having spoken, he climbed onto the toad's back.

Nezuna caught Jiraiya's sleeve, "I'm going, too."

"Your job is to report what's happened to the hokage." With a blank expression, Jiraiya peeled Nezuna's fingers off of him, "Tell him I'm finding Naruto myself." He didn't look at her even once, "Let's go!" In an instant Jiraiya and the toad were soaring high above the rooftops of the bathhouse district.

Nezuna's arm hung as she watched him go, then she slapped her cheeks, "This is serious. Get it together, girl!" Then she disappeared in a swirl of leaves.


At the floor of the arena, the contestants had lined up and were waiting for the start. Eight genin, each one ready to fight for a chance at promotion, looked back at the gathering crowd above them.

In is black suit, Kankuro stood next to Temari, "Man, Ryuto's really cutting it close. I guess it was too much to hope for a chance to talk before this all goes down."

Temari pulled her eyes away from the crowd to stare at her brother, "What would you even talk about?"

Kankuro shrugged, "I dunno, Ryuto's the one who can make a conversation about dirt interesting."

"I know what you mean," Temari's shoulders drooped and she showed a little smile, "As annoying as he can be, there's just something about him."

Hunched a little way away from the two sand siblings, Shikamaru watched them, "Man, this is such a drag. I don't know where Sasuke is, but Ryuto's got the right idea not coming. I would've stayed home myself if my mom didn't force me to come."

"Really?" Tenten was looking at Shikamaru, "You fought your way all the way here, how could you not want to take advantage of the situation?"

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck and heaved a sigh, "Standing out is too much work. I just want to live a slow, easy life. The kind where I can watch the clouds without someone expecting something from me."

Tenten shook her head, "I have no idea what to do with you. Still," She followed his line of sight, "I'm not sure how to deal with them. There's no way the one in black would poison his own teammate, I heard their siblings. That means after I beat you, I'll have to fight her. I have a plan, but..."

"What a drag, you talk like you've already got me beat." Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his neck more.

"With your attitude, I practically do."

"What a drag."

While Tenten and Shikamaru grumbled at each other, Lee stared at Neji. He clenched his wrapped fists, "How fortuitous. While I had been looking for a different fight, the one that I have anticipated for my entire life came to me instead. Truly, this is my springtime of youth!"

Neji kept his eyes closed as he tried to maintain his meditation.

Gaara stood passively away from the other contestants, but still faced toward them. Perhaps someone would comment on his new face paint. Kankuro had shown him how to do it over the past month.

Shino pushed up his glasses.

When the proctor appeared in a swirl of leaves, all the genin turned to him. Lee stepped forward, "Sir, Ryuto and Sasuke have still not arrived?"

The man sucked on his senbon, "About that, those two seem to be running a bit late, Lord Hokage has seen fit to reverse the tournament bracket. That means you two are first," He pointed at Shikamaru and Tenten standing next to each other, "After the announcements, get ready. The rest of you will scram up to the contestant box over there. Got it? Good." He faced then crowd, "It's about time we get this show on the road."


The Kazekage had finally arrived with his guards. As he took his place next to Sarutobi, he remarked, "It seems the procession was halted because of me."

Sarutobi smiled, "It wouldn't do to start without the guest of honor, would it?"

"Hm." The Kazekage peered down at the genin, "It appears two of yours are missing. The famous last Uchiha as well as another."

"Indeed." Sarutobi eyed his peer, "If they are not present when the time comes, then they will have forfeit their place in the tournament."

"It would be such a shame for everyone who has come just to see the fabled power of the Uchiha."

"Indeed." Sarutobi signaled to the proctor, who launched into an introductory speech, "Still, even one such as yourself may be surprised at what might happen."

"Oh? You know something?"

"Why spoil the show? Let's watch."

The two Kage focused on the two genin left in the arena. The fight was about to start.


In the stands, Choji paused in his snacking, "Hm? They're starting without Sasuke, or Ryuto?"

Ino nodded, "Weird, right?"

"Look," Sakura pointed, "Shikamaru and Tenten were supposed to go last. Why are they first, now?"

Ino shrugged, "Does it really matter?"

Sakura leaned on the railing, "I guess not."

"It does matter."

Ino looked over, "Why do you say that, Choji?"

"Shikamaru's jutsu relies on shadows, right?" Ino nodded, and Choji pointed his empty snack bag at the arena floor, "It's midday now, the time with the least amount of shade. Right now is the worst time for him to fight."

"You're right." Ino blinked, "Grr, this isn't fair! That lazybones is gonna be torn apart! Hey, this is poor treatment-!"

Ino's protests were drowned by the roar of the crowd as the first round of the tournament began.


When the proctor's hand came down, Shikamaru and Tenten both leaped as far back as they could. They both thought, I have to create distance!

Tenten hid a hand behind herself and yelled out, "I'll show you not to underestimate me because I'm a girl! There's no way I'd lose to someone like you!" Then her hands moved in a blur as she launched a wave of weapons at Shikamaru.

She's aiming for my legs! But if it's only this, I can still make it to the trees! Shikamaru curled his body and kicked off of the ground again, "Tch!" As he dodged the first volley, he was surprised by a fast flying kunai aimed at his face. He barely managed to block it with a knife of his own, but he stumbled when he landed. Another kunai had embedded itself in his leg, "Crap!" He was on the ground, and kunai were already flying at him.

"With this, it's my win."

Shikamaru curled up and rolled over, letting the kunai bounce off of his back. Then, he ran and darted behind a tree.


"Huh? How did that happen?" Ino pitched forward from her seat to try and get a better look at what was going on.

Sakura stared down at Tenten, "She doesn't want to kill him, so she turned the kunai around for the final blow."

"What? You saw that?" Ino glanced at Sakura. We're so far away, all they look like to me are little black blurs.

Sakura nodded, "The other one was like that, too. That must be when he noticed it." She turned to Ino, "Even if there's no punishment, who would want to kill a comrade? After watching his fight in the preliminaries, Tenten decided to fight him from a distance. Throwing weapons is her specialty after all. But because of that, she can't stop it in time to avoid permanently hurting him." Sakura sighed, "She's handicapping herself, but all he can do is run and hide. She's got him at the perfect distance, too, where she can attack all she wants without worrying about a counter attack. I guess I should be proud that the one who beat me is doing so well." She clenched her fist, "Even so, when we finally have our rematch I'll be the one standing at the end."

Ino blinked, "Wow Sakura. You sound like you've known her forever. You know I'm your best friend, right?"

Sakura spun her head to look down at the arena floor, blushing, "Shut up, Ino. Get ready to console Shikamaru or something, the match is basically over!"

"Hey, hey, don't count Shikamaru out just yet." Choji crushed his latest snack bag, "His shadow can reach farther than you think."


Shikamaru took a moment to catch his breath. He let out a steady hiss as he yanked the kunai out of his leg. Then he tied off the wound with his light vest. He let his head roll back against the tree bark and stared up at the leaves, "This is such a drag. Why can't I just be a cloud? Drifting wherever the wind takes me without dumb responsibilities sounds pretty nice right now." He sighed, "Whatever. Dreaming won't get me out from under my mother's thumb." He tested his leg before shifting to a crouching position and touching his fingertips together.

Like a gentle breeze, the world fell away and left only Shikamaru's thoughts.


Tenten stood alone in the center of the arena, "So you're not gonna come out, huh? That's fine." Tenten summoned a windmill shuriken, "Someone as lazy as you wouldn't understand the struggle to improve. Lee and Guy-sensei may be geniuses of hard work, but I'm no slouch either. This is your warning, I'm about to get serious!" She jumped back before running forward and launching herself high into the air with a twirling acrobatic leap, "There!" At the height of her jump, she spotted the pineapple head she was looking for and let her shuriken fly. Without missing a beat she grabbed a full brace of kunai and shuriken in each hand and launched them in quick succession.

The little stars arced around Shikamaru's position, while the kunai sailed directly at him. Tenten watched the boy duck out of the Kunai's trajectory and had already launched a new brace of kunai by the time one of the shuriken had lodged itself into his shoulder.

Tenten landed in a crouch, while Shikamaru was forced to dive out of his cover to escape her knives.

Without getting up from his position, Shikamaru called out, "Shadow possession jutsu!" And his shadow stretched across the arena toward Tenten without a sign of stopping.

"No way! It can stretch?!" As the shadow came closer, Tenten launched herself back in a series of bursts.

Shikamaru smirked. I can't make it cover any more area than it does, but I can use any other shadows that I connect to. He wiggled his toes that were still in the shade of the trees.

"Damn, it's catching up." With another mighty leap, Tenten hurled a Kunai at Shikamaru, "It's time for you to stop!"

Shikamaru struggled to get out of the way, but it stuck into the ground next to his head. He watched Tenten, "I agree. Looks like you're more tired than you thought! It's over!" His shadow had already reached the next place she was gonna land.

Before touching the ground, Tenten waved her arm before pulling it back in a tense motion, "That's right!" Then her feet touched the ground.

From where he was on the ground, Shikamaru sighed, "Shadow possession, complete. Wait." He looked at Tenten, "What did you mean just now-?"

As Shikamaru was talking, the windmill shuriken embedded itself in the ground right over his neck with a clang. The edge barely bit into his skin, drawing a thin line of blood. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw that the windmill shuriken had been stopped by the kunai that was stuck into the ground next to his head. The blade had cut completely through the ring and partially into the knife's tang.

A cold sweat dripped from Shikamaru as he focused back on Tenten, and he noticed something glint in the sunlight, "A wire? If you were off by even a centimeter I would've-"

Tenten smiled at Shikamaru, "Died? Yes, your head would've rolled away like a ball."

Shikamaru's shadow receded from Tenten and the proctor called the match.

"Winner, Tenten!"


What a dramatic finish!

So Tenten is moving on to the next round, but before that Neji and Lee are gonna duke it out for real. I already have a strong image for how this fight will go, so I'm excited. They never got to do this in the show either, so I'm extra excited.

About Naruto... Well, he's awake and the shitstorm's a-brewin'.

Everything is coming together.

Let me know what you think, and I'll get to work on the next one. See ya!