Sorry for the month wait. In case you guys didn't know I'm in nursing school and that alone takes a big tole on me physically and mentally.
Xample: Uh...wow I didn't even realize that to be honest. I don't know whether to be embarrassed or happy haha. Good eye you got there. Anyways, thanks for the review.
Road Camelott: We'll see more of Garra soon (just not in this chapter). Thanks for the review by the way!
TheBeauty: Thank you as always! I appreciate it! :)
Anyways here the next chapter. If you have any nice things to say (or bad) feel free to let me know. I can take the criticism I promise lol.
Naruko-ナルコ-
Chapter 16
Preparing for the Chunin Exams
"Morning everyone."
"You're late again!" Sakura and Naruto yelled in unison.
"You didn't get lost on the path of life again did you sensei?" Naruko asked jokingly.
"No, this time I actually forgot to set my alarm...I apologize for making you all wait."
"He's actually being honest for once," Naruto whispered, covering his mouth.
"What's he up to?" Sakura wondered.
"Anyways, I know this is sudden, but I recommend you all for the Chunin Exams this year," Kakashi stated after being an hour late. "Here are the applications. Its all voluntary, so if you don't feel ready you can just wait till next year."
"Awesome! Kakashi sensei you rock!" Naruto chanted as he tackled Kakashi.
"Hey don't slobber on my vest!" he told the hyperactive knucklehead "Anyways, if you're interested then just sign your names in the application then come to room 301 at the academy. Its at 3pm, five days from now."
"Chunin Exams, Chunin Exams!~" Naruto sang. "I'll be up against different ninjas!"
"Like those Sand Shinobi from yesterday," Naruko pointed out.
"Yeah! I'm totally going to kick that one guys butt! The one with the mummy on his back!" Naruto stated as he pumped his fist up in the air.
"That explains why Konoha's been more crowded lately." Sakura added on.
"Hn." Sasuke simply said.
"Whats up?" Naruko asked as she caught Sasuke staring at her. She could tell from the look on his face he was thinking hard about something.
"Oh man! I'm so excited!" Naruto continued to cheer.
"Besides that, I'm afraid today will be a short day. Since we didn't get any missions I expect you guys to do some chakra training until then. You're dismissed." And with that, Kakashi disappeared through the sudden cloud dust that covered his body for a brief moment.
"You know what, that was totally worth the wait! I can't wait! We're going to take the exams!" Naruto shouted.
"Sasuke? Hey, whats wrong?" Sakura asked. Ignoring her Sasuke walks past the group and takes off. "Sasuke if something is wrong I could lend you a hand to help."
"Ah forget him! Hes just being grumpy," Naruto told her.
"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted again. Turning his head towards her, he glared at her with an annoyed look.
"I swear, you're just as annoying as Naruto." he told her before walking off. Naruko looked at her comrade to see her look upset and embarrassed.
"Uhm...hey," Naruko began.
"What?" Sakura pouted, glaring at Naruko with the same expression Sasuke had given her.
"Don't take what he says to heart," Naruko replied "Besides. Sasuke isn't exactly the warmest person, in case you haven't noticed."
"I know that! Don't treat me like I'm an idiot like Naruto!"
"What?!" Naruto gasped, feeling insulted by her comment.
"I was just trying to help!" Naruko immediately regretted any sympathy she had towards Sakura "And don't insult Naruto like that! Hes a great asset to the team!"
"Well its true!"
"Awe come one guys, quit fighting." Naruto told the girls. It was already bad enough that they didn't like each other.
"And what have you done?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you! What have you done for this team besides standing on the sidelines?"
"..."
"Exactly! Maybe if you spent more time training and less time chasing Sasuke around or doing your hair you'd be a better kunoichi. Seriously Sakura, you're going to get yourself killed."
"Naruko..."
"No Naruto. Sakura needs to hear this." Naruko began. "Sakura. If the only reason you became a ninja was to get a boyfriend then don't bother taking the chunin exams-"
"...B-brother?" Naruko stuttered in surprise.
"Thats enough Naruko," Naruto spoke, looking away from his sibling.
Bringing her hand up to her cheek, Naruko could feel the stinging pain radiate. He...he slapped me...
"Don't talk about Sakura like that! Sure she may not be the strongest but shes trying! You know just because you can do all of these awesome jutsus and stuff doesn't make you any better than any of us!"
Naruto...The shock of her sibling slapping her quickly subdued only to feel guilt. Naruko then looked up at Sakura to see her head lowered down with her hair covering her face. And for a moment, Naruko could've sworn she saw her younger self.
He's right...I was once weak too but...
"Sakura...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Ignoring her apology, Sakura walked away leaving an awkward silence behind.
"N-naruko?...Naruko!" Naruko was suddenly then brought back into reality from the touch of a cold hand.
"Huh? Oh, sorry Hinata. I didn't mean to worry you."
"No...its not that...Y-you're food is growing cold." she pointed out. Naruko had only taken two bites of her food, something Hinata found to be out of character for her.
"Oh geez you're right!" Naruko gasped as she nearly shoved the whole stick of dango into her mouth.
"Whats wrong?" Hinata asked, getting straight to the point.
"Its...Sakura..." Naruko replied slowly.
"Sakura?"
"Yeah, we got into another argument today."
"Another?"
"Yep...another.
"W-what was it about...i-if you don't mind me asking that is."
"Sasuke. What else is new though."
"Oh...that doesn't sound good..."
"And to make things worse she thinks I like him."
"Uhm...D-do you like Sasuke?"
Naruko nearly spit out her drink. For a brief moment she felt paranoid that Sakura might have heard their conversation, even though she was completely no where to be seen.
"Wow that came out of no where! D-do you think I like him too?" Hinata immediately started to chuckle softly at flustered Naruko was becoming.
"I'm sorry," Hinata covered her mouth, trying to stop herself from laughing "I-its interesting seeing you like this. Normally you would always be teasing me but now its the other way around."
"Hey that's different!" Naruko pouted. As uncomfortable as she felt, she was at least glad Hinata was able to come out of her shell.
"Sorry," she apologized again with a smile "But...yes. I always thought you liked Sasuke..."
"I..." Naruko began to think "Maybe...but if I did then...what would happen to our friendship?"
"Eh!...N-naruko..."
"I don't want to be classified as another fangirl."
"Naruko."
"But if I do like him then I guess I that makes me one."
"Naruko!"
"Hinata?" Naruko replied, curious as to why her tone sounded so forceful "Whats wrong?"
"So this is where you've been."
"Eh...?" Naruko snapped her head around and saw the last person she expect to see here.
What the hell?! Whats he doing here?! Whats he doing here?! Naruko could feel her heart racing with paranoia. Did he hear what we were talking about? Oh god I hope not.
"S-sasuke..."Hinata mumbled.
"Hey."
"Ahahaha... what brings you here?" Naruko laughed nervously.
...Whats with her? Sasuke wondered, he had noticed she was acting a little weird lately but he didn't think now was the appropriate time to bring it up.
"I was looking for you. Your brother said you were out so I came here. Anyways, I need a favor from you."
"A favor?" Naruko started to calm down "Sure what kind of favor?"
"Naruko...I want you to fight me."
"Fighting?" she repeated. That would explain why he dragged her away from Hinata and out into the middle of the woods.
"Yes...I didn't want to ask this in front of your brother earlier because I knew he would've thrown a fit." Sasuke began as he stopped in his tracks.
"Since when did you care about my brother's feelings?" she asked as a smile formed on her face. "Sounds like you two are becoming good friends after all...Anyways, are you sure about this?"
"Yes I'm sure. And don't hold back."
"Well I'm more than willing to help...but why do you sound so hostile all of a sudden?"
"Its because you're the strongest member of the group, if not, just as strong as Kakashi. If I'm going to take the Chunin Exams, I need to see just how strong I am."
"Well Sasuke..." Naruko began. Within the blink of an eye she disappeared from Sasuke's view and then immediately behind him with a kunai pinned against his neck.
Shes so fast!...And close... Sasuke noticed, almost feeling anxious.
"I don't think fighting is going to help exactly. I don't want you to get hurt when the Chunin Exams are only a few days away-" Before Naruko could finish her sentence Sasuke attempted to attack her. However, before he could do any damage she used the replacement jutsu and re-appeared in front of him.
"Tch!" Sasuke flinched as Naruko jabbed his forehead with two fingers.
"Gotcha," she smiled.
"I said don't hold back!" he growled.
Immediately Naruko gasped, as she looked into the Uchiha's eyes "You're eyes...When did you-?"
"It happened during my fight with Haku."
Naruko paused and started into Sasuke's red eyes. They looked all too familiar to her and for a brief moment brought back memories she'd rather forget.
But its different...his eyes are different, she told herself.
"Wow Sasuke. I'm impressed that you have the sharingan now...but..."Before Naruko finished her sentence she escaped Sasuke's peripheral view only to re-appear underneath him. She attempted to kick him in the gut. Sasuke, while dodging Naruko's attack at the last possible second, then clumsily attempted to dodge her following attacks.
"If won't do much good if your opponent is faster than you."
Dammit! When did she have time to create a shadow clone? Turning his head, Sasuke finds himself knocked to the ground by Naruko's shadow clone.
"Fire Style: Inferno Waltz!" Instead of aiming for something vital, Naruko then used her jutsu to hit Sasuke's hand. Crushing her foot onto his hand she then uses his hand and bounces up into a tree, creating distance between them.
Naruko almost felt guilty as she watched Sasuke struggle to move his fingers to create a jutsu sign.
"Hey! Put that sharingan to good use. Copy me," using one hand Naruko creates the hand signs for the fire ball jutsu.
"Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!" Sasuke and Naruko shouted in unison. As their jutsu clashed with each other, Naruko used the opportunity to try and sneak behind Sasuke again. However to her surprise she found herself pinned up against a tree.
"Nice!" she complimented him "Its important that you learn to create jutsu with just one hand. It can help you get out of sticky situations."
"...When are you going to stop holding back? Do you really think I'm that weak that I can't take you on at 100%?!"
Naruko could hear his anger rising in the tone of his voice so she didn't respond, instead her eyes dropped to feet. She was aware Sasuke had abit of a pride issue, but she wasn't sure what to say exactly.
"Answer me!" he shouted.
"...If I went all out. You'd be knocked out already."
"What?" Because he could continue he looked down to see a kunai knife pinned at his neck.
"You forgot about my shadow clone," Naruko smiled.
Damn it...Sasuke mentally cursed at himself. She had him cornered and he didn't even realize it till she pointed it out.
"You're not weak Sasuke," Naruko began "Get that out of your head. You're alot stronger than you think...but of course you don't need a crybaby like me to tell you that."
"...I don't need a crybaby to tell me to be strong,"Sasuke immediately recalled the words he had said to her years ago at the lake near his house. It almost felt like deja vu to him...but this time it was different.
"That seemed to calm you down-" Naruko felt stupid for not seeing what came next. As skilled as she was, Naruko could never anticipate one of Sasuke's jabs to the forehead.
"But...thanks," he smirked.
Whats going on?...It wasn't just the situation that was different. It was him, and how his body was reacting. My hearts racing, but I'm not out of breathe...Then he noticed how close they were and found himself observing little details he normally wouldn't even think twice about. Like how her face was slightly rounder than Naruto's, and how innocent she looked with her ponytails.
"Awe, young love. Isn't that adorable?" Immediately Sasuke jumped back and saw a foreign ninja standing about ten feet away from them.
"Who are you?" He asked defensively.
"Why does that matter then you're both about to die!" Immediately the hidden mist ninja charged at Sasuke.
His chakra...it feels familiar...Naruko observed as she watched Sasuke fight off the ninja.
"Stay out of our village," Sasuke told him as he kicked him onto the ground.
"Heh, we'll see about that. Just you wait till the chunin exams!" the ninja laughed.
"...Iruka?" Naruko what she could tell the chakra belonged to an adult, it wasn't as powerful as Kakashi's but it was definitely stronger than a chunins.
"What are you talking about?" asked the hidden mist ninja.
"That is you?" she confirmed, catching the ninja's body tense "Are you practicing your transformation jutsu?" she wondered.
"Iruka sensei?" Sasuke asked in a are-you-joking kind of way.
"I have no idea what you're talking about! But if you better be ready for whatever happens!" And as fast as he came, the hidden mist ninja disappeared.
"That wasn't Iruka," Sasuke told her. The ninja was all talk and no bite, a trait that his previous sensei never had in him.
"Are you sure? His chakra felt familiar...Hm..."
"Look out!"
"Huh?" Before Naruko could react her ears began ringing and she found herself tossed onto the ground.
"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked as smoke began to cloud their vision.
"What was that?!" Naruko exclaimed "A smoke bomb?"
"Lets hope it was just a smoke bomb."
Naruko sighed "Man, and I didn't even see that coming. Looks like your doing pretty good with that sharingan of yours."
"Next time I see that guy I'm going to take him down."
"Now thats the spirit!"
"Anyways, lets call it a night." Sasuke said while stretching his arms.
"Yeah, sounds good to me."
"By the way...," he began as they made their way out of the forest.
"What is it?"
"Why do you wear your hair like that?"
"In ponytails?" she asked, perplexed by the random question "Well, at first it was to keep my hair from getting in the way of training but eventually it started to grow on me so I added the bows."
"Hn..."
"What, you don't like it?"
"Honestly I don't care what you do to it, its your hair."
"It was supposed to be a yes or no question," she replied, crossing her arms grumpily.
"Hn," he smirked as enjoyed watching Naruko get annoyed.
"Whatever duckbutt."
"Rather be a duckbutt than a crybaby."
"I'm sure you would."
"Yeah, that way I don't have to worry about flooding the village with my tears."
"Hey! I don't cry that much."
"That much?"
"You know what, just forget it." It was times like these that would baffle her seeing Sasuke joking around. Never around others would you see him so relaxed, yet when it was just the two of them it was different. And as much as she got annoyed from the teasing and him pushing her buttons...
"Forget what? That you're a crybaby?"
"You're a real jerk you know that?" Naruko wouldn't change anything.
Naruko-ナルコ-
Chapter 17
Lets go! Enter the Chunin Exams