Of course they're late... I thought as I stood with my black gloved hands behind my back. My feet were shoulder-width apart, and my back was straightened to perfection. My head was tilted up just enough to give off an aura of power, but not so much as to make me seem overconfident and cocky.

My black, sleeveless turtleneck fit my body perfectly, and my black shorts went just past my knees. My black headband was around my forehead - the proper place for it to be. I lacked my usual arm and leg warmers and training weights, but that was part of the plan. I wasn't supposed to wear or carry anything that would add unnecessary weight.

I still had my tantō on my back, along with its sheath. My kunai holster was on my right thigh as usual, and my ninja pouch was filled with different seals, wire strings, and weapons. I even brought along my sealing scroll in case everything went to shit as it most definitely was going to on this day.

I pushed all of those negative thoughts aside as I glanced at the people that were to my right.

Uzumaki-kun was at my immediate right. Down the line, it then went Shikamaru-san, Shino-san, and Dosu. To my left, it went Neji, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari.

The missing asshole with the teacher that was famous for being a late douchebag was, as you may have already guessed, Uchiha "Duckass" Sasuke.

In front of me stood the shinobi that I had picked out of the crowd about a month ago with a senbon hanging from his lips. In case you forgot, he was the guy who had burst out laughing upon me announcing that Kakashi-sensei was a porn-reading asshole.

"So, on a scale of minor inconvenience to the end of the world, how bad do you think today will turn out?" I asked Uzumaki-kun.

"Hah! This day isn't going to be bad at all! I'm going to kick ass!" The blonde idiot declared.

"Shikamaru-san?" I questioned as I looked at the member of the Nara clan.

"It'll be super troublesome," he answered while giving off an aura that practically screamed, "I'm only here because my mother made me."

"Shino-san?" I asked as I looked towards the last Konoha rookie.

"It could be worse," he answered shortly.

I turned to Neji, who had narrowed his eyes at nothing in particular. "And what about you?"

"What will happen here is simply destiny. It's undefiable," he answered, spouting out his fate bullcrap again.

I gave a small hum before looking ahead. "I'll settle with nice battle royale that will end with a dumpster-fire of disasters unlike any other."

"...You're not betting, are you?" Uzumaki-kun asked warily. Yes folks, he finally understood my ungodly abilities of prediction.

"I'm not betting on anything but matches today." A shit-eating grin suddenly took over my lips as I looked down at the blonde. "Speaking of which, how much do you want to bet Duckass will only show up a millisecond before he's declared too late to qualify?"

The whiskered boy looked up as me with narrowed eyes. "So basically, Kakashi-sensei will be that late to the finals?"

I pouted at the kid. "Hey, come on. I was going to collect actual money off of that bet."

"Didn't Kakashi-sensei-"

"He's not going to know because you're not going to tell him," I stated as I glared down at him, a shadow crossing my face as it does with Tenzō-taichō.

The boy released a small shriek and jumped away from me. "H-hey! That was scary! What the heck, Haruno-kun?"

"I don't like to rule through fear, but I will do it if necessary," I replied as I maintained eye-contact.

"Okay! Just stop! It's really freaking me out!" Uzumaki-kun exclaimed while looking away and flailing his arms about.

I chuckled darkly as I got back into the proper position. Thank you, Tenzō-taichō, for your wonderful teachings. I then glanced back at the idiot and asked, "Who'd you train with?"

His face scrunched up in disgust. "A huge pervert. You?"

"A thirty-year-old closet pedophilic virgin," I answered without missing a beat.

We silently nodded, agreeing that the luck of Team Seven with senseis was bad at best.

"You learn any new jutsus?" I inquired.

"One," he replied back glancing at me with those striking blue eyes of his. "You?"

"About five," I explained, earning a shocked expression. "I'm not allowed to do anything too flashy until needed though. So for the first round, I'm going to do the basics."

"So, who do you think will get promoted?" The blonde questioned with a sly grin.

I gave a simple shrug in reply even though I had already picked out the one person that would be promoted - Shikamaru-san.

"Hey guys, stop moving around. Face the customers," the man before us said while glancing back at Uzumaki-kun and I. "In this main tournament, you guys are the stars."

"Puh-lease. Everyone and their brother is here to see Gaara fight against Sasuke. There's no need to bullshit us," I stated with a neutral expression.

"Hey!" Uzumaki-kun yelled at me.

"That's were all the real betting money will be," I replied as I spared him a glance. "No offense."

"Right, you're the kid Raidō entrusted his betting pot to," the man in front of me noted with a soft chuckle.

"Exactly. And I have already placed my bets. It's a shame you can't bet on your own match though." I gave a small sigh. "Kami-sama knows I would have made a fortune."

"So who's going to win at the end?" Uzumaki-kun questioned eagerly.

I paused for a split-second before looking down at him seriously. "It depends on your definition of winning. Today won't turn out the way you expect it to."

His lips became pursed as his eyes displayed annoyance loud and clear. "Hey, what kind of answer is that?"

"An honest one," I replied as I looked away. My vision turned to the place where Hokage-sama and the so-called Kazekage sat side-by-side. I forced myself not to show any sigh that I knew about their plan.

Eventually, Hokage-sama stood up and walked a few steps towards the railing, his hands behind his back. "Thank you everyone for coming to the Konohagakure chûnin selection exam! We will now start the main tournament matches between the 10 participants who made it through the preliminaries. Please stay and watch until the end!"

"There's something I'd like to tell you before the matches," the man in front of us said as he turned around. He pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to us.

It was a bracket match where only one winner could continue on after each match. The first matches went as such: Uzumaki Naruto vs Hyuuga Neji, Suna no Gaara vs Uchiha Sasuke, Kankuro vs Aburame Shino, Temari vs Nara Shikamaru, and Dosu vs Haruno Ren. The first two winners of the previous matches would fight, along with the last two. The winner of the third match would then fight the winner of the second round's first match. Then, the remaining two winners would fight. Well, if things went as planned at the very least.

"There have been some minor changes to the tournament. Check once again to see who you're fighting against," the shinobi advised.

I gave a small hum before glancing over at Dosu. I then gave a small smirk while looking down at the ground. Little does he know that I've been given permission by Hokage-sama himself to go all-out whenever I feel like it.

Uzumaki-kun suddenly raised his left hand in the air and yelled, "Hey! Hey!"

"What?" The man asked, slightly annoyed with the rudeness.

The blonde dropped his arm down. "Sasuke isn't here yet. What're you gonna do?"

"If he doesn't appear by the time of his match, he will receive a default loss," the new proctor explained.

The blue-eyed idiot rubbed his chin while looking over at Gaara, his eyes narrowed slightly.

I internally sighed, but kept on a neutral expression nonetheless.

"Alright guys. This is the final test," the man with a senbon between his lips stated as if we didn't already know. "The arena is different, but the rules aren't the same as in the preliminaries - there are none. You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat. But if I determine that the fight is over, I'll step in and stop it. You got it?"

Like the assholes we all were, we didn't verbally answer.

"Now, the first fight... Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji. These two stay here while the rest of you go to the waiting room," he said while motioning towards the doorway we had to take.

"Question," I stated, earning the brunette's attention. "What's your name?"

"Call me Genma," he replied before waving us off.

I gave a small hum before leaning in close to Uzumaki-kun. "Don't be afraid to use the kyūbi's power early on. There's an abundance of it, so I know you can use it for a long while."

He nodded as determination filled his blue eyes. His hands clenched into fists as he glared at Neji. Uzumaki-kun was ready to win and fight against his so-called fate.

I patted the shoulder of his ugly-ass jumper before turning heel. I silently walked to the waiting room, which was actually a room that allowed us to view the arena about halfway up one of the walls. I stood next to the railing for a moment before giving a deep, annoyed sigh. "Ugh, the winner is already written all over these walls."

Shikamaru-san gave a small snort. "That's right. No matter how much Naruto trained, he can't beat someone like that guy."

I looked over at the Nara with a raised brow. "Uh, I don't know what kind of drugs you're on, but clearly Uzumaki-kun is going to beat Neji. I'm willing to bet everyone's lives on that."

"No way. Your betting senses are off," the laid-back individual said with disbelief all over his face.

"Bitch, my betting senses have never been better," I stated while waving the peasant off. "Use your Nara brains or something."

He released an annoyed noise before looking down at the two. "Let me guess, he's going to will-power his way through this."

"Actually..." I replied while looking at him with a shit-eating grin. "He's going to actually use his brain."

A brow raised up high as the Nara looked over at me with a face that could only be summarized in one word: seriously?

"I shit you not," I replied before slapping my hands together. "Anyway, this is going to be a long and boring fight, so I'm going to hit up the food stands."

"Eh? Boring how?" The boy with an abnormally high IQ inquired.

"Lots of talk about destiny and birds and other boring bullshit. Everything important will happen within the last five minutes if the fight, so I'll be sure to be back by then." I gave a deep sigh as I rubbed the back of my neck, my other hand waving lazily as I walked off.

"What a pain..." Shikamaru-san grumbled as I took my leave.

I decided to take stroll down to where the betting pots were being held. "Any last minute add-ins?"

"A bunch," Mozuku-san replied as light glinted off of his glasses, hiding them away from sight.

"You know, you're going to have to give a bunch of that back," I said while giving him a raised brow.

The man nodded, already knowing about the shitstorm that was going to go down. "Yes, but the remaining of this is still going to be in our favor."

"Well, as long as I still get my share of the winnings, I'll be fine," I said with a sly grin.

"Of course. After all, you're the Betting King," the man replied with a smirk.

I chuckled at the nickname that every better had heard at least once before. "Careful, or else people will know who I am."

"Ah, right. It'd be a disaster if Konoha's secret weapon was revealed," the member of the Torture and Interrogation Force noted.

"Economically more so than anything else," I pointed out before taking a seat on the table. "So where has Tobitake-san run off to?"

"You know how Shimon is," the man replied while waving me off.

"Yeah..." I agreed before looking over at Mozuku-san. "Hey, how come Ibiki didn't know who I was? I thought everyone in TI was involved in the betting pots in one way or another."

"Well you two have never really talked face-to-face face before," he pointed out, "And everyone always refers to you by your nickname anyway."

"Ah, true," I agreed before leaning over to see what numbers he had down. I snickered at how many people expected me to lose. "Ah, I'm going to win my match in less than a minute, yet all of those fools have bid against me."

"I heard that Tenzō had his arm twisted by Kakashi and taught you," Mozuku-san stated as he glanced at me curiously.

"You heard right," I said as I looked over the other numbers on the tally sheet. I then pointed to Uzumaki-kun's side and asked, "Who the hell voted for him?"

"Hm... Some guy who called himself Ero-sensei," the torture and interrogation expert replied with a small shrug.

I stared blankly before slamming my hands down onto the table. "Damnit! When the fuck did Jiraiya-sama get here?!"

"Jiraiya?" The man repeated questioningly before his eyes widened. He looked back down at the sheet before cursing his stupidity.

At that moment, Tobitake-san and Hijiri-san came back into the betting room.

"Fucking Jiraiya-sama is here! Someone needs to find him and get his ass in on the plan STAT!" I yelled at the two, causing them to pause for a split-second.

"Doesn't he already know?" Hijiri-san asked as he turned his head towards Tobitake-san, a shadow over his eyes as usual.

The man with bandages covering his eyes with his Konoha hitai-ate over his bandages gave a nod. "Morino-san said so."

"Why the fuck wasn't I told?!" I exclaimed as I threw my arms into the air.

"Probably because you won't be fighting alongside him," Hijiri-san replied bluntly.

My arms dropped down as an annoyed expression covered my face. "Well I'm sorry for being concerned about the plan. It's only the lives of hundreds of thousands of people at stake."

"It's not that much," Tobitake-san said as he turned his head towards the door by a fraction of a degree.

"Puh-lease. All of this betting money could feed all of the people in Konoha if it's used properly," I debated with a roll of my eyes.

"You're too young to bet, so it doesn't really concern you. Get lost, kid," Mozuku-san demanded while motioning for me to go.

"No way-" I was picked up and shoved out of the room by Tobitake-san. I turned around to object, only to get the door slammed in my face. I then turned my gaze to the two men who had stopped right before they could bump into me. "Do I look too young to bet?"

The men exchanged glanced before nodding.

I gave an annoyed click of my tongue before stomping off like some spoiled brat. I inwardly patted myself on the back for my award-winning performance. I then decided to actually go down to where food was being sold. I swept in to order myself a second breakfast and ate it with no rush at all. I then took a leisurely stroll back to the area I was supposed to wait in.

I took one look over the balcony before falling to my knees. They're still fucking going?! How fucking long is this goddamn thing going to take?! Fuuucking fuck! I flopped over onto my side with an annoyed groan. "I'm going to die an eternal virgin at this rate!"

"This is taking a long time," Shikamaru-san agreed with a bored expression.

"Want to go vandalize some stuff?" I asked as I lifted my head up off of the ground.

"That's even more troublesome..." The Nara grumbled, not at all sparing me a glance.

I gave a deep sigh before standing up. "You're all fucking losers." I then brought my foot up onto the railing and looked down at my teammate. "Oi, Uzumaki-kun!"

The blonde glanced back at me.

I grinned before putting my hand on my stomach, right where a seal would have been if I was Uzumaki-kun.

His blue eyes widened before he gave a nod. He turned his focus back to his opponent before getting into a position to call forth his chakra.

"What did you do now?" The boy with an intelligence that rivalled my own questioned as his face scrunched up. Clearly the word "troublesome" was bouncing all around his brain as he watched Uzumaki-kun do his best to summon forth his special chakra.

I gave a laugh as I brought my foot down. "Me? I ensured my teammate's victory." I chuckled darkly as the joints in my left hand moved about, causing bones to make cracking sounds while rubbing against other bones. "Do you see that power? Can you imagine how amazing that'd be...?" I held my hands to my cheeks as a blush overtook them. "Just imagining the beating I'd get makes me absolutely ecstatic."

"You should probably tone that down," Shikamaru-san advised.

"I've had to keep my masochism under wraps for the past month because it made my sensei uncomfortable..." I glared over at the Nara before declaring, "Today is the day of ultimate masochism!"

His expression never changed as he looked at me. "Well could you at least take your masochist excitement elsewhere. It'll get awkward if you get too excited."

I snorted at the boy before looking away. "Funny you should mention that... I don't think the idiot down there ever got the talk."

"He has to know by now," the black-eyed boy argued.

"Thinking about it logically, he has no parents to tell him, and it's not like Iruka-sensei would ever be comfortable enough to tell him. I mean, sure he knows about perverts and such, but I seriously doubt he knows more that what's at the surface level," I explained, causing him to hum softly before just giving an annoyed sigh.

"I'm not explaining it," the boy finally stated.

I grinned deviously as I began to rub my hands together. "Perfect."

"I don't think you should do it either. Kami-sama knows you'd scar him for life," the Nara jabbed, causing a non-existent arrow to slam straight through my heart.

"Come on. I'm not that bad," I said as I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes.

His black eyes glanced over at me as his face gushed out unamusement.

"Oh, fuck off," I demanded as I crossed my arms. I then turned my attention down towards the arena as a loud explosion echoed out. I whistled at the large smoke cloud that covered both Neji and Uzumaki-kun.

Two craters were revealed as the smoke began to clear a bit, but most people were unable to tell who was who.

A pale hand suddenly reached up and grasped the side of the crater, causing me to release a distasteful click of my tongue. Neji slowly pulled his body up while coughing and rubbing the side of his mouth.

"Looks like you were wrong," Shikamaru-san stated with a small smirk as he watched Neji walk shakily towards the crater that had an "unconscious" Uzumaki-kun lying in it.

I chuckled darkly as shivers went down my spine. My hands clutched the railing as my sadism seemed to spike up. My back arched out slightly while my chuckles grew louder. "It's a good thing we didn't bet, Shikamaru-san."

Uzumaki-kun suddenly came from the earth below Neji. He swung his fist up, hitting Neji's jaw without any restrictions.

Said Hyuuga spit out blood at the force of the punch before flopping onto the ground pathetically.

"Ah, it's a shame I couldn't be the one fighting. To get Neji chipped down to that state would be amazing. I wonder if I could have broken his pride down to nothing beforehand." I released another fit of sadistic giggles before getting myself under control.

"Aren't you supposed to be a masochist?" The Nara asked while looking at me with slight worry.

"The air is pretty electrified. It's hard to not get into the swing of things," I replied with a blank expression, my hand waving him off lazily. I leaned my upper body against the railing and sighed softly upon feeling pain in my chest. It's been a month, but it still hasn't healed. Kakashi-sensei is going to be furious at me once he finds out I intend on getting myself even more fucked up.

Uzumaki-kun walked over to Neji as his hands bled from digging his tunnel to victory. His kage bunshin disappeared, showing the hole he had began to dig right after landing.

"Ugh... To quickly use a kage bunshin in that situation... Your main ninjutsu, eh? How careless of me..." The powerful Hyuuga commented as he looked up at his opponent.

"I... I failed the academy graduation exam 3 times..." My teammate explained as he looked down at the boy he had just beaten. "That's because, unluckily for me, the ninjutsu test on the final exam was always decided as... Always decided as my weakest ninjutsu... The bunshin no jutsu... was my worst ninjutsu..."

Neji looked shocked at the declaration.

"Destiny can't be changed, blah blah. Stop whining about stupid crap like that..." Uzumaki-kun demanded before a bird took flight into the sky. "Since... You're not a loser like me."

Genma-san smirked and gave a single laugh before announcing, "Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Fuck yes!" I cheered as I pounded my hands together eagerly.

"Oi, keep it down," the boy with an IQ over 200 demanded.

"Shut it," I demanded simply while sparing him a single glare. I then continued to cheer for my teammate that was finally gaining some recognition.

The little blonde idiot threw up a peace sign before prancing around the arena, practically showering himself in the praise yelled out by the audience. He even had the audacity to start throwing out kisses.

I snorted before teleporting down to the doorway we were to use. "Oi! Kiss-ass! Get over here!"

He looked over at me with the expression a child makes when they're told to go to bed. "But Haruno-kun-"

"Do you remember whose match is next?" I asked seriously, causing him to straighten up.

"Is he here?" He asked as his blue eyes stared deeply into my amber ones.

"No," I answered honestly, causing him to frown and look around. "He won't be disqualified. They'll move on and wait for him."

His shoulders slumped down a bit before he walked over to me. The whiskered boy was practically dragging himself over to me.

I gave a sigh as I decided to meet him halfway. "Go get yourself checked out by the medical ninjas. You won't miss anything but boredom."

"Are you sure?" The blonde asked while eyeing me suspiciously.

"Positive," I assured him while patting his head.

Uzumaki-kun gave a huff as a small blush sat on his cheeks. His blue eyes looked away from me before he decided to follow my orders.

I watched him walk over with a hand on my hip. Little idiot had the nerve to blush at me and then walk away with a grumpy expression. Kami-sama help me if Sakura somehow managed to see that from her spot in the crowd. I chuckled softly before returning to the waiting room. I sat on the railing and swung my legs back and forth without a care in the world.

The host of the kyūbi soon came back up still dirtied, but with healed wounds. He leaned against the railing next to me with annoyed expression, his eyes trained down at the arena.

The crowd around the arena was getting impatient, desperately waiting for the next match to start. They were yelling angrily, demanding answers loudly.

"What the heck is that guy doing? Is he planning not to come?" The boy with a fishnet shirt questioned, slightly annoyed with all the "troublesome" occurrences happening around him.

"Confucious said, "The wise do not approach the dangerous." A wise decision, perhaps?" The member of the Aburame clan inferred.

I made an annoyed face before pointing at the boy who always had his eyes hidden away by his tinted glasses. "Oi, Shino-san, don't go insulting my team! Hiding like a coward is pathetic, and my team isn't pathetic."

"Haruno-kun is right. He's definitely going to come!" Uzumaki-kun declared before he and Gaara glared at each other.

"Ugh, why haven't the ANBU found him and drag him here by now? How slow could they possibly move?" I grumbled as I stared down at the arena.

The blonde next to me didn't answer for a moment. His blue eyes suddenly widened as realization lit up his face. He turned his head to me before exclaiming, "You can find Sasuke!"

"Huh? Me?" I asked while pointing at myself.

"Yeah! With your weird teleporty jutsu!" The idiot yelled as he pointed at me.

"Ah, that..." I gave a simple nod before sitting criss-cross, my weight perfectly balanced as I sat on the railing. I closed my eyes and blocked everything out as I began to summon forth my chakra. I carefully picked through all of the chakra seals I had placed over the last month before finding the one I desired. My eyes shot open as I managed to transport myself over that large distance.

Uchiha rushed past as if he didn't notice me. The little fucker was performing Kakashi-sensei's chidori as if he wasn't late to the goddamn chunin finals.

A kunai was suddenly placed at my throat before a man growled out, "Who are you, and why are you here?"

I chuckled before turning my head slightly. "Now you can't say it was instincts, Kakashi-sensei~."

"R-Ren!" The jônin explained before withdrawing his kunai from my neck. He spun me around so I could look him in the eyes. "What are you doing here?"

I gave a sarcastic hum as I brushed his hands away. I looked up towards the sky before asking, "Oh, yes. For what reason could I possibly be here? It certainly can't be for the Duckass that is so late, a riot is about to start at the arena. It most certainly can't be because my sensei is too busy to bother with alerting the ANBU about his whereabouts. It certainly can't be because I'm worried about my teammate and sensei either."

His black eye showed his unamusement, but he should have thought about that before.

I smacked his chest as hard as I could before yelling, "Bitch, why the fuck do you think I'm here?! How much longer is it going to take you?!"

"We'll be just a few more minutes," Kakashi-sensei assured me before the Duckass released his clan-famous 'hn'.

I gave a dramatic sigh before transforming myself to look like an average Konoha shinobi. I then used the hiraishin jutsu to teleport myself to an area just outside of everyone's sight.

Raidō-san felt my presence and shunshined over to me. His eyes narrowed as I motioned him over with a finger on my lips. The scarred man did so anyway despite some obvious mistrust.

I leaned in close before whispering, "Hatake Kakashi has requested 45 more minutes before bringing Uchiha Sasuke."

The brunette released a soft noise that was filled to the brim with annoyance. "There's no way we can provide that."

I paused for a split-second before an idea came to mind. "What if we were to change up the schedule? If we bypass his match, the other three matches should provide enough time for them both to arrive. We do need their skills."

Raidō-san remained silent for a moment before making a hand motion that signalled for me to wait there. He quickly moved to where Hokage-sama and the "Kazekage" were waiting.

Just before anyone else could say anything, the "leader" of Sunagakure released a small sigh. "Hokage-dono, please wait a little while longer before making a decision. The majority of the shinobi leaders and lords, myself included, are here mainly because we wanted to see this next match. He is, after all, a member of the Uchiha Clan... And we, as Kaze no Kuni, would also request that our Gaara be given the opportunity to fight him."

A silence filled the air as everyone's suspicions were confirmed by the actions of the so-called Kazekage.

Raidou-san whispered my suggestion softly into Hokage-sama's ear, allowing the man to come to a firm conclusion.

"Very well, we will make an exception and have the match later on," the member of the Sarutobi clan decided. "Inform the examiner."

"Yes sir," Raidō-san agreed before shunshining down to Genma-san.

I also departed, but headed back to the waiting room. "Kakashi-sensei has decided that he's going to take the long way back to Konoha with Duckass."

"What?!" Uzumaki-kun yelled angrily while Temari and Kankuro seemed relieved.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Genma-san yelled, gaining everyone's attention. "The contestant for the next match hasn't arrived yet! Therefore, we will push this match back and begin the next one!"

"Hey, this means my match just got one closer!" Shikamaru-san yelled out, totally annoyed at the sudden turn of events. He wanted to remain as lazy as possible after all.

"And now, the next match!" Genma-san announced, "Kankuro and Aburame Shino! Come down!"

"Shoot..." Kankuro cursed softly before glancing over at his sister.

They communicated through their eyes before Kankuro yelled down, "I forfeit!"

"Haha! Your match is this one!" I exclaimed as I pointed at Shikamaru-san with a large, shit-eating smirk.

Temari clicked her tongue in annoyance before pulling her fan off of her back. She opened it up all the way, revealing the three circles that were already present. She waved the fan, creating a wave of air. She then jumped onto her fan and rode the wind down to the arena floor.

I snickered at her eagerness before poking Shikamaru-san's face. "You could always quit yourself if it gets too troublesome."

Uzumaki-kun wasn't having any of that though and shoved Shikamaru-san over the railing. "Alright, Shikamaru! Go for it!"

"Bitch, are you insane?!" I screeched as the Nara went plummeting down towards the ground. "From this height and that velocity...!"

The Nara summoned chakra to his feet and used that to show down his rate of falling, but still crashed into the ground pretty hard. And then, the black-eyed boy just laid there with an expression that clearly read: 'I don't want to be here'.

"He's totally going to quit," I said with a grin.

"No way! Shikamaru! Good luck!" The blonde next to me yelled down at his friend.

"He has no motivation, and he doesn't like fighting girls. He's totally going to give up at the end," I pointed out with a small snicker before taking my spot back on the railing. "I bet he'll be right on the edge of winning and then give up because it's too troublesome."

"He better not!" The blue-eyed boy yelled, clearly upset with how things were turning out.

"Relax, relax. Don't forget my match is after this one," I said while motioning for the little idiot to calm down.

"You're not going to quit either, are you?" The kyūbi host interrogated with suspicion clear in his voice.

"I've been training hard for the past month. Why the fuck would I waste all of that time and forfeit?" I asked blankly, internally wishing he'd actually use his brain more.

"Just making sure," Uzumaki-kun replied before looking back down at the arena.

Temari suddenly charged for Shikamaru with her fan closed. "If you won't come, I will!"

"Hey! I didn't start the match yet!" Genma-san yelled at the girl.

Just before Temari could strike the Nara with her fan, the boy shoved two kunais into the wall and hopped up on them. As the smoke cleared, the boy declared, "Ya know, I really don't want to fight, and I don't care whether I become a chûnin or not, but I'm not going to lose to a girl!"

I chuckled as I closed my eyes. "This will surely be an entertaining match."