Chapter 29
Chuunin Exams: Part 11
Kiba v. Chōji
you ever just wanna float facedown in a bathtub for however long you can hold your breath? yeah.
so. by popular demand, here i am back again with another chapter!
anyway, does anyone actually care about these fights? like, would you rather...
- the chapter focus around the actual match, or...
- the match still go on, but more in the background while the actual chapter focuses more on naruto and his adventures?
vote now:
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now, back to your regularly scheduled programming...
Recap:
Hayate stepped forward. "Tenten is disqualified, and Hyuuga Hinata will be continuing on to the next round," he coughed, "Congratulations."
Naruto was still staring while Hinata went to go pick up her Naruto-duckie, and Rock Lee and Neji went to pick up their teammate. Neji had this strange look on his face as he passed his cousin. He looked almost...frightened. Hm.
Cough. "Next up, is Kiba versus Chōji. Contestants, prepare yourselves."
End Recap.
"Damn," said Naruto. "Okay."
Off with the rest of the genin, Kiba was staring off into the distance, dazed. "Wow. Did you know Hinata could do that? Wow..."
"Are you okay," asked Shikamaru.
"I'm more than okay."
"O...kay..."
"Anyway," Ino interrupted loudly, "Match? Chōji?"
Chōji sighed. "But I just opened a bag of worm chips."
"Worm... chips?" Ino's face was absolutely expressionless. "Worm chips. That's just...great. Great."
Shikamaru sighed dejectedly. "Medokusai, na..."
"Chōji," Ino said, "I will literally pay you to eat anything else. Please. I will buy you all the barbeque you can eat. Just, please... never, ever, ever eat that in my presence ever again. Or anywhere."
"Mm..."
"Chōji, so help me god."
"...okay, I guess. As much as I can eat?"
"Yes," she stressed.
He sighed, "Fine."
"Um," Hayate coughed, "The Exams are still going on, ya know?"
"Oh yeah." Shikamaru turned back to Kiba. "You good?"
"I am so good right now..."
"...yeah. So anyway...Chōji?"
"Yeah," he chewed.
"It's your match, buddy."
"Can I finish my chips first?"
"No, Chōji."
"Chōji, no—"
"—worms—"
"Are we ever gunna start this damn match," Sakura muttered.
"You heard the lady," coughed Hayate, "all fighters participating in the next match please head down now."
Chōji chips were ripped from his hands as Ino spun him around and pushed him in Kiba's direction. "Both of you, go—NOW."
Shino sighed, slipping past Ino and Shikamaru to grab Chōji and Kiba by the arms and drag them to the stairs.
Meanwhile Ino stared in disgust at the bag in her hands, only to take a closer look when she spotted something...odd about the writing on the bag—"W.O.R.M. Chips," it said, with a period after each letter.
Below "W.O.R.M. Chips" it read "Watermelon Orange Radish Marshmallow Chips," and...Ino didn't even fucking know anymore. It was? Better than actual worm? I guess?!
But at what cost.
Meanwhile, back with Shino, Chōji, and Kiba...and Akamaru, who was really not appreciating being forgotten, really...
Shino had dropped them both off in the middle of the, er...fighting-place-area, whatever. Chōji had mysteriously produced another bag of chips, which—quite frankly?—no one wanted to know anything about. Honestly, it's sickening. What the shit, Chōji. Just eat some normal flavors, dammit. Why are you like this.
Kiba was...still pretty out of it. Or at least he was until Akamaru swatted him in the face. Violently.
"Wh-what?" He blinked, eyes finally coming into focus. "Where's... where's Hinata? No, wait...where am I?! What—"
Chōji cronched loudly. "Hinata is standing by Shino. He dragged you down here. We're supposed to fight to the death or something."
"No, no," Hayate stressed, choking, "Naruto, goddammit, nO."
"What," he whined.
"Stop influencing the—" hack "—the children, dammit."
"But Hayate-senpai... I'm a child, too..."
"Your entry in the Bingo Book says 'flee on sight' and 'do not engage,' kohai."
"Irrelevant."
"It's really not."
"Um," Chōji interjected, "are we ever gunna fight? Ino promised to buy me barbeque after this..."
Hayate sighed, or tried to at least. In reality he just choked. Seriously, someone should get this guy a cough drop or something.
Whilst Hayate was busy hacking up a lung, Naruto lazily waved a hand. "Fight, start."
Down in the fighting area, both opponents finally turned to face one another.
Kiba couldn't help glancing at Hinata out of the corner of his eye. She caught his eye as she looked up from her Naruro-duckie, and smiled softly at him. Shifting the duckie to one hand, she raised her other hand up and gave a bloody thumbs-up. Kiba flushed.
Chōji cronched at him.
"C'mon Akamaru, let's go," Kiba growled, transforming Akamaru into a clone of himself.
Chōji stared impassively. Or, he did until Ino was heard calling from the viewing deck that she'd give him five dollars for the vending machine if he won this match.
Suddenly, a fire was lit in Chōji's eyes. He would crush Kiba (and Akamaru), whatever it takes.
A similar fire was alight in Kiba's eyes, as he thought back to the way you could hear the crack of bone when Hinata sucker-punched Tenten in the face, and he resolved that he would not let his (unexpectedly badass) teammate down.
For a moment, everything was still.
Then they launched at one another.
Meanwhile, in another area of the arena, Shikamaru was heard muttering to himself.
"Oh no," said Ino.
"Hm, what?"
"Why. Why are you muttering. Do I even want to know?" Ino looked beseechingly at him.
Shikamaru sighed heavily, and Ino despaired. "It's just..."
"Yes...?"
"Well, you know how Naruto and that redheaded creep wandered off earlier?"
"Yeah..." Ino winced, while Sakura glanced over at hearing her reluctant sorta-ex-teammate's name.
"Well... Naruto came back shortly after, but... where's the redhead?"
"What."
Sakura and Ino stared blankly at him, unwilling to comprehend what he was saying.
"The Suna shinobi. The one with the blood-red hair? Where is he? He never came back," Shikamaru continued, absolutely without mercy. "We last saw him talking to Naruto, but...well, it's not even just that..."
He paused consideringly, and Sakura and Ino did their best not to cry.
"Well. Naruto's new, uh, genin team, and Team 7's new...teammate. Well."
"Don't say it," Sakura pleaded, despairingly.
"Well," he continued, mercilessly ignoring her pleas, "they're gone, too."
"Kill me," Sakura babbled towards the ceiling, "I can't take this anymore. Why is my life like this. Why. What did I ever do to deserve this. Why couldn't I have a normal genin team. Why."
Sakura despaired, meanwhile Ino was sat on the floor with her face in her hands and the bag of W.O.R.M. chips discarded a couple of feet from her.
Across the room, leaning against the wall besides the Hokage and Hayate Gekko, Naruto wondered if any of his teammates—or anyone in general—would ever manage to recall that Naruto has... significantly above average hearing. Seriously. It's not the kinda thing one should forget.
Turning his attention away from the relentless gossiping of his ex-classmates across from him as well as the brutal battle going on down on the ground floor, Naruto wondered how Gaara was doing, and whether he'd made contact with Bunny X and Team Chili, yet.
Oh, well. He had faith.
'That makes one of us,' Kurama murmured in his mind. 'I really don't know what you see in that brat, kit.'
Trust me, Naruto thought back. He's a jinchūriki, like me. We have felt the same pain. And that's why I know without a doubt in my mind that we can trust him.
'Alright, kit,' Kurama quietly rumbled back, 'If you feel you can trust him, then alright.'
Thanks, Kurama-nii.
'Always, Kit.'
To be Continued...
End of Chapter 29.
Ja ne!
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seriously! i started writing this in early 2012! i was thirteen! i'm twenty-two now! holy shit?!
seriously tho. thank you for all your support, and i really hoped you enjoyed this chapter
i'm trying to get back into fanfiction writing, so hopefully i'll update soon—preferably within the week if all goes well.
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juni.
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just wanted to give you guys a heads up and let you all know ahead of time
till next time!