A/N: Just a heads up, I'm going to try switching perspectives in this one to make it more interesting.
Last time:
"Okay! The next match is Temari of the Sand vs Ino Yamanaka!"
Hanara's eyes widened, 'Ino has no chance.'
Now:
Ino's Perspective:
"Ino," Hanara whispered, "She's a Wind user, too. Be careful."
"Yeah, yeah," Ino brushed her off, making her way to the fighting area, where Temari already stood.
"Now, if there aren't any objections, you may begin," the proctor said.
They both stood there for a moment, sizing each other up.
"Let me just warn you. Once I start my attack, it's game over," Temari smirked.
Ino's eyes narrowed, 'Cocky, aren't we. Let's just see how good you are.'
"Hmph. It's not healthy to think so highly of yourself," she said before running towards her opponent with a punch ready.
And then, even though Temari didn't do anything but lift the fan strapped onto her back, Ino was suddenly forced back.
'This isn't good.'
"So you can manipulate the Wind without hand signs then? Okay..." Ino muttered, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to come up with a plan.
'Dammit, coming up with plans is more of Shikamaru's forte,' Ino thought, 'Besides, my techniques rely on the fact that there's someone else there to help me. Unless I find a good way to trap her, I'm not going to win this match. And if she has a summon or something... I'm done for. Let's hope she doesn't...'
"As always, you're being disagreeable, Temari," Ino heard the puppet specialist say.
'She's like this all the time? That must mean this isn't taking any effort... Dammit! Why can't I think of anything? I use a close-range to mid-range combat, she's a long-range fighter that is capable of pushing me back. In other words, she's my worst enemy. She'll knock away any shuriken or kunai I throw at her, just like Hana did with Tenten... How can I trap her if I can't even touch her?'
"Are you thinking about forfeiting, Blondie? It's in your best interest to do that, you know. We wouldn't want you to end up in the hospital," Temari said, forcing Ino out of her thoughts.
Hanara's Perspective:
"It's another win for the Sand, isn't it," Hanara sighed.
'If Temari is good enough to manipulate the Wind without using hand-seals... Ino, you don't stand a chance. If I remember correctly, she can use the Wind Scythe Jutsu right now. If that's the case, she's right, it's in your best interest to forfeit.'
"Yeah," Shikamaru responded, leaning onto the bars, "This is embarrassing. The Sand shinobi are all powerhouses while we... we're just a bunch of rookies with luck."
"Hey! We don't know that yet!" Naruto exclaimed indignantly.
"You wouldn't understand," Shikamaru said lazily.
"Then one of you explain!" he demanded.
"Idiot... as if I'd do such a troublesome thing," Shikamaru drawled.
"It would be better for you to just watch and learn," Hanara added.
"These guys are so hard to understand," Naruto muttered.
Ino's Perspective:
'Don't let her get to you. Focus on coming up with a plan. Traps are my best shot now. What types of traps did we use for those capture-the-cat missions? Mainly Shikamaru's shadow jutsu. That's what we usually used. I obviously can't use that now but... maybe I can recreate it? What can bind people? Usually, ropes. But ropes are too obvious and I don't have them anyway. What if-'
"Are you just going to stand around there all day?" Temari asked, annoyance seeping into her tone.
'I got it!'
"I can't keep waiting forever you know," she continued.
"UGH! You're insufferable, you know that? Acting so high and mighty... who do you think you are anyway?" Ino asked, her body language revealing the anger she felt, "You act like you're so special just because you can do some simple chakra manipulation. Well, ninjutsu's not the only thing that makes a shinobi, stop acting like it is! Relying on that isn't going to always save you, so cut the holier-than-thou attitude!"
"Ha!" Temari laughed, "That's funny. A little girl like you telling me how to be a shinobi? You're the type of girl I hate the most. All you care about is your looks. I mean, just look at the state of your hair compared to the state of your taijutsu! You're telling me how to act when, in reality, you're the one who's got it all wrong. Acting like a pretty little princess isn't going to do anything. It's a cute little act when you've just started, but there's no way you're becoming a Chunin when you haven't realized that skills are more important than how you look. No enemy is going to be defeated when you're just sitting down and looking pretty."
"Why you- you think that I care more about my beauty than I do about being a ninja?!" Ino screeched, "Hmph! Well, I'll show you!" she said, using her right hand to flip her hair over and using the kunai she took in her left hand to cut off the majority of it. She calculated it perfectly, causing the fallen hair to act like a pathway between her and Temari.
Hanara's Perspective:
"Oh no, she's mad now," Hanara shook her head, "All sense of rationality is lost to her now."
"Yeah. If she wasn't in hot water before, she sure is now," Choji said.
"This is going to be such a drag," Shikamaru groaned, "She's going to regret cutting her hair later and that's all we're going to hear about for weeks."
"Hm... do you think I should cut my hair," Hanara wondered.
"Huh? Why would you want to do that?" Choji asked.
"All it ever does is get in the way," she responded, "Besides, if I don't cut it too short, I can keep the bangs and they'll still do their job. The only thing I'm worried about is if they'll look bad..."
"Troublesome woman. If you're comfortable, why does it matter what other people think? All you women are the same..." Shikamaru grumbled.
A light blush formed on Hanara's face, 'Aw... that was so sweet! I sort of want to hug him now. EH! Why would I want to do- oh forget it, this is all so complicated.'
"Oh, uh, right. That's true. Thanks 'Maru!" Hanara exclaimed, "I'll do it right after the preliminaries."
"'Maru?" Shikamaru questioned.
Hanara's blush deepened, "New nickname. Do you not like it?"
"Ah no. It's nice."
"Quit it both of you. Look at the match!" Asuma-Sensei said.
Ino's Perspective:
"H-How?" Temari stuttered as she attempted to move her feet.
Ino smirked, "It was an act. Me getting angry at you and throwing a fit. I do it all the time anyway, so no one up there would have questioned it and accidentally give me away. I realized that I was never going to get close to you myself and that anything obvious, like kunai and shuriken, would have been blown away, so I tried to throw a fit and trap you. And what's more unthreatening than pieces of hair? So when I was ranting I was actually channelling chakra into my hair to strengthen it and use it as a rope to trap you. And now that you can't run away, I've finally got you."
Ino put her hands in the signature Yamanaka hand sign, "Ninja Art: Mind Transfe-"
Temari's hands moved faster than Ino had ever seen anyone move before as she grabbed her fan, flicked it open, and swung, "WIND SCYTHE JUTSU!"
There was a huge blast of wind that cut up everything in sight, including Ino, her clothes, and the makeshift rope on the ground. Once it cleared, Ino could see Temari smirking.
"I admit, you got me there for a moment, but what you didn't know was that, if you can control the element well enough, wind can cut through anything. Next time you want to trap someone, try to make sure that no part of them can move, not just their legs."
Ino just stared at Temari dumbly, 'I was an idiot. That rope only was able to stop her and keep her still. I should have realized that Temari could make hand signs or reach for a weapon! And seeing as her jutsu was so strong... if I don't forfeit I'll be in the hospital for 2 days at least...'
Ino saw Temari reaching for her fan.
"Well, after that, there's no way in hell I'm letting you almost get me like that again," Temari said.
Ino sighed, 'I know when I'm beaten. I guess it's now or never...'
She raised her hand and sighed, "I, Ino Yamanaka, forfeit."
"Okay, Temari of the Sand wins," the proctor declared, "You both can go back to the viewing area.
Ino could feel the questioning looks she got as she went back up the stairs.
"Ino, you pig! How could you have forfeited just like that?!" Sakura exclaimed as she walked past her team.
"I would have lost anyway and then I'd be stuck in the hospital," she muttered as she kept her eyes on the ground.
"That was a brave move you made there," Ino heard Hanara's voice say from beside her.
"What do you mean?" Ino questioned as she focused her gaze onto her closest friend.
"It takes a lot of guts to admit when you're defeated. I'm proud of you," Hana smiled as they both made their way back to the rest of their team.
"The next match is: Shikamaru Nara vs Kin Tsuchi!"
That was all it took to snap Ino out of her depressive state.
"Yeah, Shikamaru! You better kick her ass!" Ino declared, "All you have to do is tell yourself 'I cannot lose' and you'll win! Come on! You can win this no problem!"
"I think he gets it, Ino..." Hana sighed, "But really 'Maru, listen to her. You better actually get up and do something!"
"Just do your best," Choji said through a mouth of chips.
"What a drag..." the lazy male sighed, "Guess I better go down there then..."
'Good luck, Shika!'
A/N: Not gonna lie, this chapter was a lot more fun to write since I was switching perspectives. Hope y'all had as much fun reading it as I did writing it! Instead of summarizing the rest of the matches, I'll just switch perspectives. If y'all like it, I might just do that for all the fights that Hanara isn't in.