Mia kept her eyes on the boy in the back, they were going to win but underestimating them was something she wanted to avoid; the rules were simply a pair had to win either by ring out or knock out, Aju was taking charge as she predicted; while Fukō was preoccupied with Aju she'd take care of whatever Masuo was cooking up. At least that was her current plan, when the white-haired boy appeared in front of her she abrupted stopped. In the back of her head, she figured he would try to feel her out first, that meant Aju had a clear shot at Masuo. "You should surrender," Her speech was cut off as he threw a quick jab, a simple twirl enough to evade. She knew his skills were better than before, but part of her despite warning herself undervalued him. So as she jumped to the side, she was shocked he was able to keep up. No, she was stunned to see the satin bow falling in front of her; his hands wrapped in her small ponytail forcing her head to follow his movements.

Aju watched from the side as Mia got tangled up, her lips smacking as she debated on taking out Masuo. In the relative sense, helping her partner was the top priority. The titles she stood on cracked as the wind tangled in one direction, in seconds she was next to her partner and the male. Her palm latching onto his arm, it was over. At least, from her perspective. Lifting him up with one hand, she failed to take in the hold he had on her partner which resulted in both being in the air. After a second of seeing, she released the male-only to watch as he used Mia's body to break his fall. On impact, he released her hair and immediately threw his head back to dodge Aju's death-striking kick. "Nice reaction!" Her words didn't match the fist that came down onto the male, she felt the hard sensation of bone-cracking or so she thought. Her punch cracked the ground around them, dust flying in the air.

The area cleared, and the tile she was on before was smashed into pieces. Mia finally finding herself standing, a headache forming as a result of being swung around and having herself used as a shield. "That was dirty..." Aju listened to her partner, she never expected the fight to go down this way. Fukō had a few tricks up his sleeve, it made up for the years of training they had on him.

"Aju, don't focus on him...target Masuo." Mia voiced her thoughts, not enough time passed for him to start his little show which meant with Aju's speed she should be able to take him out relatively fast. "I will handle the one that got out unscratched." With a plan set, the two girls split going in opposite directions.

Fukō knew he wasn't going to be fast enough to save Masuo, he had to worry about the girl charging in front of him.

Aju being the fastest on the field stopped at Masuo's body, "I suggest you stop whatever you are doing and forfeit." Her hand came down and went right through his body. The image of him oozing away with a gust of air, "Shit." Turning, she watched as he stood across the field.

Masuo already finished what he was preparing, his hands clasped together. Kasumi Jūsha no Jutsu (Mist Servant Technique) a heatwave ran across the stage, normally twenty was supposed to spawn, but he applied more chakra to increase the amount.

xXx

(In the crowd)

"Wow, the fact they were able to draw out enough time to get this plan into effect proves some promise in this little duo." Reina was surprised at the whole battle, to start the Aju girl's strength and speed were amazing and it didn't look like she was breaking a sweat. Kei's brother showed out for a second also, using the enemy as a shield especially controlling them with their hair?

"I think all that effort was in vain, the two girls haven't shown their cards." Kurenai's hands rested on her hips as she watched as around fifty illusions rose from the ground, "That Masuo kid has a good take on Genjutsu, at a young age and he seems capable." Her eyes scanned around the area before settling on the real one, "Now, let's see how they execute this."

"Wasn't Mia the top Kunoichi? I haven't seen anything spectacular from her as of yet," Reina meekly yawned, her hands coming up to her mouth.

"She's still finding her footing, especially in this predicament. The changes are going to hinder her." Jiei gave his insight on the top Kunoichi at the moment before going back to the fight, being blind was a pain.

In the student section, Naruto was waving his hands applauding the two boys for winning so far, "I thought they would've lost by now, but it looks like they can hold their own!" His cheers grew louder, as everyone tried to shush him.

"I have to agree, I thought the girls would take without a challenge; but we are witnessing teamwork over individual play." Shikamaru chimed in, only to zone back into the fight. It looked all messy, but the boys were in favor at the moment. That didn't mean they should doubt the other players, letting a sigh out he crossed his arms.

Before, anyone could offer more to the fight. Everyone watched as Mia dodged the army of Masuo's and clashed with Fukō

xXx

(In the stage)

Fukō's arm shook as he blocked Mia's leg, both of them locked eyes. "Next time, I will rip your hair out." Not falling for his words, in the end, she pushed him back dust climbing on his heels as he stayed up. Moving in again, she jumped over another clone before landing on the male's arm. Heel pushing out, her legs plopped on his shoulders her thighs coming around his neck.

"Shut up, and surrender." Fukō mind traveled to her trying to break his neck, it took a second to realize she was trying to block the airflow to his brain; she threw her weight back her legs locked him in, and as her hands hit the floor the male found himself in the air, the world upside down. Releasing him, she flipped back to her feet. The boy flew in the air for a second before he rolled across the ground, dazed he could already taste the hateful comments Kiba would throw at him for having gone through that.

Aju jumped over Fukō ducking one of the clones and then punching another. No matter how many she defeated they would grow back, like some fungus? To make matter's worse she lost track of the real one, she attempted to lessen one of her senses and heighten her hearing but that didn't work since everyone had a heartbeat. Taking out a few more, she watched it turn into a black substance. Jumping back from the ones surrounding her she came into contact with someone which made her turn and grab onto the human. Sadly it was only Mia.

Mia watched as she was freed, the dangerously glue-like grip gone, "We are surrounded, I take it this is part of their plan." The clones filed in a large circle and zoned in to keep them still, "Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?" Looking at Aju, she soon regretted her decision. The shine in her eye, enough to explain.

Ishiyagi Style: Crumbly Quack, Raising her hand she poured all of her strength into her arm her veins coming into play as the pressure felt suffocating. Her hand came down and as it came to contact with the ground, the floor in the radius cracked, each of the cracks meeting in the middle. The tiles each came into the air, dust and wind pushed out from where she struck diminishing the clones.

The two boys were luckily out of the radius, but that didn't mean the wind didn't hit. Masuo lost footing and was almost blew out of the ring until Fukō grabbed his ankle his other hand dug inside one of the cracks in the tiles to keep a balance. As it calmed, he released Masuo only for the boy to stand and rub his back. "That was our ace, do you have any plans?" Masuo stuck his hands in his pocket, he was down with giving up now.

"Yea, but it involves you."

Mia stood shocked watching the outcome, her eyebrows rising as she slowly looked at Aju. On one hand, her strength wasn't to be taken lightly...on another note; she was positive her hand was broken or fractured. "Can you still go own?"

Aju shook her head, the pain wasn't ending but she could keep going. She wasn't a lightweight, she was kinda pissed they have been on the defense for so long but that should change starting now.

Her thought went down the drain as she saw Fukō's hands moving, she couldn't read what he was doing but it was no doubt something that would hurt.

The bell rung which concluded the battle, Reina came to check up on the girls while Kakashi checked up on the boys.

"Nice job, everyone agrees with you two showing promise together," Closing his book, he glared at the hand-sign Fukō stopped at. "That's a dangerous jutsu, did you really plan on using it?"

"I was bluffing, I messed up halfway anyways." Masuo looked at his teammate with a confused expression, granted he wasn't paying attention he was curious as to what Jutsu they were speaking about.

Reina escorted Aju to the medic nearby, while Mia followed. She was annoyed, they were declared the losers although they couldn't finish the battle. She even bought up, how Fukō used her hair as a means to fighting and she was met with some half-assed speech about no rules to fighting for your life.

Jiei declared the boys the winner and gave the students a ten-minute break before continuing.

xXx

Masuo caught himself peeking at the one he was partnered with, nor despite the difference they had and sported. They did work well together for a start, but anyone can do that. Watching as he removed his jacket, the boy noticed the scar he had on him. Forgetting he was showering, he moved to get a closer inspection. His hand coming into contact with the pale boy's skin, "How di-" Blinking, Masuo rose a brow. "Why is your skin so cold?"

Fukō moved his shoulder, taking his hair out of its messy bun he pushed the strands and bangs back, his silver eyes coming to look at Masuo his snowy hair reaching past his shoulders. "I rarely get that hot, my brother jokes that I'm cold-blooded." Taking off the rest of his clothes the kid moved to the shower, just because they fought together that didn't mean they were friends or close. Maybe, this shower would help with his headache.

"That's strange, I haven't heard of humans being cold-blooded." Masuo knew it was a joke, but it sounded plausible. Going back to finish washing himself up, a sense of calm ran down his spine. Relaxing with the hot water, his mind went blank. During the fight, he was trying to keep up with what they were thinking, how to counter and all. His mind was working overtime, this was very much needed. 'We were lucky the fight ended there, in any other circumstance we would've lost.'

xXx

Mia watched as they examined Aju, this loss was her fault. She didn't expect them to be so advance, the moment she was in the ring she pushed away all thoughts of them being able to work together. It was her fault, Aju played her role perfectly...she'd take all the blame.

"You don't have to put yourself down, it's not like we were expecting them to do that. Mia-chan, we were caught off guard from the start; from the moment we were attacked it was a losing battle, if anything I'm happy that they have such a dynamic on the field." Aju blinked taking in Mia's plain expression, she was hard to read but anyone could see she was blaming herself.

"It's my fault, under normal circumstances...we would've lost still. One of them wields a weapon, which was banned during this session, on the off chance it wasn't I'd most likely be dead again." She was annoyed, she lost to someone that was more so near the bottom of the rankings. "This only makes me wonder, how far they could go with an appropriate third member."

"Well, I think having both of them together is kinda like cheating...they both are relatively smart in different aspects, so if you combine them I think they can compare to Shikamaru maybe." Aju was reaching, and as the medic finished tending to her the next battle started.

Shinobu exhaled as he crouched, his hair hitting the floor. The stadium was messy, no one bothered to fix it; which more or less worked in their favor. Turning to look at his teammate, he found himself thinking of ways to end this battle. Kiyoshi was someone with top marks, but they were facing against a duo that was just about undefeated. "Hotaru and Sasuke are going to attack us head-on, I've watched both of them fight before...speed is a heavy factor in this." Placing his hands together, he gathered his chakra. Taking a note from the battle before his lips parted, "If you buy me enough time, I can make our odds greater."

"Alright." The short reply disappeared into the air as Kiyoshi was gone, dashing forward he stopped in the midsection. His hand out blocking Sasuke's leg, using his other arm he tried to block Hotaru but ended up getting hit in the side. In the process Sasuke switched up his footing and kicked him in the face, the strength from both of them making him slide back.

Kiyoshi figured this would happen, taking on two people that relied on speed was extreme and although he wouldn't admit it Hotaru was feats faster than him. Regaining himself, he took a defensive stance; he could switch it up. If both were going to attack him, he'd try to use it to his advantage. One hand came out, his legs spreading as his feet dug into the ground. Sasuke without thinking much about it came out with another high kick only to miss, Hotaru came from behind the male using him as cover to hide her movements delivered another hit this time to Kiyoshi's face.

She watched as the male wobbled, 'He's resilient, but the body can only take so much.' Hotaru didn't want to participate in this, but the Jonin were curious about her skills; after the battle before she figured they'd want more. Her teammate wasn't bad either, if anything she could work off of him; using him as a distraction to get close. She already figured out what was going on, they were trying the same tactic that was presented last round. It would've worked if she wasn't present.

"We are almost towards the middle, are you ready?" Sasuke's voice came out in a quick manner, she didn't expect him to listen to her plan. Yet, here he was. Not replying Hotaru watched as Sasuke pressed onwards, only to get countered disciplined. Reaching the center was easy from here, well in the beginning she could've but getting Kiyoshi's attention was the start.

Kiyoshi watched as Hotaru teleported in front of his eyes, one second she was here the next wasn't he couldn't sense her. Turning to look at Masuo, he noticed she wasn't next to him; coming to the center he watched as she was crouched placing some type of tag on the floor. He failed his task, not letting it end he started for her only to be stopped by Sasuke.

Hotaru channeled her chakra into the art, the square seal glowing until Shinobu interrupted with a dangerous kick to the face. She fell onto her back, her vision dazed. "No, you don't!" Grabbing onto the seal he ripped it into two, his body outlined blue; the chakra he had drained.

"My Osaeru: Chakra-Suppressing Seal works like a charm, eh." Lifting up, she ignored the blood rolling down her forehead, standing up she looked at Shinobu. "I knew you'd try to stop whatever I was doing, it was bait." Dipping her head to the side, then back she found herself sighing. "You were looking to use some jutsu but I ruined it for the next ten minutes, you should forfeit. I don't want to fight any mo-" Moving to the side she tripped the male, and stepped on his back.

Sasuke grinned as he narrowly escaped Kiyoshi's grasp, in the short time frame he sustained some damage while the other attacker was still fresh. He knew Kiyoshi was a good fighter, but this was over the top. "Looks like I have to end this," His hands began moving, Fire release: Goukakyuu (Fireball) air left his cheeks and as it went through his hand a ball of fire was made.

Kiyoshi was ready to dodge, but Jiei came down and used his blade to cut the fireball in half. "Sasuke and Hotaru are disqualified due to illegal use of jutsu meant to kill."

xXx

(In the crowd)

"That Kyokai child is a genius," Kei looked towards his brother near the exit, only to catch him looking towards the girl. "She has to be special, any information about her?"

"You aren't even taking a team this year, but I heard she's one of the rare special genius kids this year. Some say she surpassed Neji in terms of thinking and skills." Anko's voice scared everyone around, "If I had to pick, I'd say there are some special students here."

"You aren't wrong, do we have enough time for one last battle? I want to see that lazy ass down there go against the blonde whiskered face kid." Asuma used his fingers to point at Shikamaru and Naruto.

"I think that's time, we have more than enough opportunity to place these students against each other." Anko clapped her hands, and as the bell rang, the children came running from the stands to congratulate the people who fought.

xXx

(In the stage)

Hotaru was bombarded by an influx of people many asking her about the paper she created, Sasuke being forced to her side as they kept going. Some flocked towards, Shinobu and Kiyoshi and it was like the first battle didn't happen.

"This is new, I never would've guessed they would completely forget about the first battle." Mia looked at the number of girls that kept pulling at Hotaru and Sasuke, "They lost, but with Sasuke that doesn't matter; the fight they put up won the crowd." She didn't say anything, but they looked like good partners.

"I guess, I was moving with meaningless hope." Fukō didn't mind the girl that popped up next to him, "Admit it, you wish you were in that position surrounded and being praised."

"Yep," Her answer didn't shock anyone, she was as blunt as ever. "That doesn't mean I would take it from them, she is my rival...I want her to grow as I do." Was she happy that Hotaru was getting recognition? She couldn't explain it. "You should be mad, they aren't flocking towards you asking you how you won."

"I'm glad they aren't when you have eyes on you...everyone expects something from you which..." Leaving his speech there, Fukō turned his head to the side. "which makes them end up like you."

Fiddling with her bow, she stopped at his words a clueless expression writing on her face. "What's that suppose to mean?" Crossing her arms, she looked up at the male.

"You two had a nice fight, I didn't think it would carry out of the stadium." Kirayari randomly joined in, getting both of their attention. "I was quite surprised you pulled off the win-Kira." Holding her hand out, she formally introduced herself to her classmate.

Fukō kicked himself off of the wall, "It wasn't hard, I'd win against whoever I need to; considering I was handicap I think I did well." How long did he plan on socializing? His brother's eyes were glued onto him, he needed to wait until they left. Taking her hand, he fought the need to sigh.

"I agree, during the exam, he wielded a blade. If he was allowed to use it here, the outcome would've been set from the start; I see no future where Aju and I won unless you make the terrain different." Shaking her head, she turned back to Fukō. "If there is a next time, you won't win." Her lips thinned, she meant what she said with firm belief.

Fukō turned back to the shorter girl, looking into her eyes he yawned. She wasn't scared, he was sure he released some killing intent. Either it didn't affect her, or something else was in play. "You're an odd girl,"

"You're also odd, unorganized, dysfunctional, strange, lacking, but most of all a mystery." A fly buzzed around only to be swatted away by Fukō, Mia's words not doing much to him. Kirayari on the other hand stood looking at the two, she couldn't tell if they were enemies or rivals.

"Anyways, Mia! Can you show me where Aju is?" Grabbing onto her hand, she started dragging her away.

"So, we had a look at some duo battles any input or insight from anyone? Before, we had an idea how they fight does anyone have any cells or people that would be a nice fit?" Leading the conversation was Kei, although he wasn't taking a cell he could offer some points.

"I think I'd take Hotaru Kyokai as one of my picks, but then I'd have to build off of her; I don't have any ideas of who can work with her. During the little battle today, we saw her play off of Sasuke's aggression that wasn't teamwork it was clear bait." Reina stayed straight, her posture as formal as it could be. "I'd like to hear everyone's first pick before I start explaining my team." Clearing her throat she looked around the table waiting for someone to continue.

Kakashi figured it was now or never, eyes still glued on the same page of the book. His lips moved underneath his mask, "Sasuke, is my choice...and I'd like Naruto to balance everything. I can't find who'd fit the middle, but maybe after some more searching I can come to a conclusion." Reina marked off the two boys in her mind, as did everyone else. Kakashi's choice wasn't going to switch, his mentor would've wanted this; it's the least he can do...and if he was being honest he saw a hint of Minato in the boy.

"Mia, Masuo, and Fukō. Masuo and Fukō can change regarding the team anytime, but I'd like to keep Mia as the person to build off of." Jiei's voice didn't flatter as he spoke, in all seriousness he wanted all three of them, each had potential from what he felt, if they learned to work together and grow they'd make for a dangerous combo.

"It's a narrow line between Kirayari and Hinata for me, I'd love both of them but putting them together won't mesh well; unless I start thinking in other ways." Kurenai couldn't figure how the two could work off each other, then again you can't know what fits until you test it out. Tapping her nail against the table, she turned to Asuma the sole person left to answer.

"That Shikamaru brat has my eye, but so does Kiyoshi Narukami." Finding the need to place one of his cigarettes in his mouth, his brain stopped his actions; any other circumstances he would've been placed one disregarding all that pleaded, but with Kurenai being close he was thinking otherwise. "It's simple, if I were to have Shikamaru I'd balance it out with two close-quarter fighters; the other kid I'd need to think more about it."

With the first picks out there, Reina finished the statement she started. "To balance off of Hotaru, I think Aju would be a good fit; topping it off with that quiet kid most likely, not Sasuke. That's rude...I am thinking off," The name was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't find it. She knew they had one key pick, or at least she figured with the way everyone spoke. "In the end, the Hokage may listen to us...or he may throw a curveball anything is possible these days," The bitter taste in her mouth caused her to exhale.

"On that topic, has anyone heard any news regarding anything? The Hokage hasn't been making moves," Kei entered the discussion afresh, Iruka was still in the same condition and the Hokage hasn't made a public appeal to anyone. It was as if he was brushing it off, of course, he wasn't trying to ridicule the old man, but someone had to point out the flaws scared or not. The silence he received was enough to put a damper on his thoughts, loyalty was important if any of them took his words the wrong way; he'd be looked at even more. With the newfound atmosphere, the school day ended many students sticking around or heading to speak with some Jonin.

Seiko followed down the path, normally they weren't allowed to leave the village but he's been sneaking out to harvest a set of herbs that grew in the wilderness. It was a key ingredient in everything he worked on, crouching down he started to carefully pick at the plant; he ignored all the sounds that happened to come out. The wild was always unpredictable, sometimes he'd catch a snake chowing down on a bunny; the next it could be a bird making a nest. Using his fingernails he dug some of the dirt, the clear edges soon harboring brown particles.

Luckily, he hasn't encountered a predator as of yet. Most wild animals tended to stay away from the village in fear of losing its life, the skin was useful for clothing as well as the meat for obvious reasons. Tapping against the soil, he thought back on Shino's little situation. Of course, Seiko loved the animals he took care of. Who wouldn't? Though, he knew nature was nature...some things were wired and couldn't be changed. Shino's little insects were in the right if they did, take the bird's life; it's something that couldn't be avoided.

Standing, he dusted off his knees. "What's out there?" A rabbit came rushing out of the bushes dashing right through his legs, that was odd. He had, a gut feeling it was someone. The hair's on the back of his neck stood as a result, it wasn't normal. It felt like he was being hunted, protecting himself against a wild animal was easy; that didn't mean he wanted to fight one. Looking up he took note of the sun, the angle it was in telling him the time. "A-ah, I need to return home!" Gathering whatever he needed, he started running.

Perhaps if he was paying closer attention he would've noticed the tracks the bunny was supposed to leave behind were nonexistent, the direction the bunny ran ended with a kunai in the bark. A slender hand latched onto the handle before yanking the metal object out, a gust of wind blessing the forest the mark in the tree obvious to the naked eye.

xXx

Masuo stood at the entrance of the academy, school was just about over. Mizuki's betrayal led to the third period being closed, lately, he hasn't been keeping an eye on Kiyoshi as he promised. Of course, that would change once he had more free time. Not being inclined to analyze everything he pondered if he should head to the park. A student shorter than his height brushed past, an unfamiliar set of curly hair bouncing. "Hey, who are you?"

Turning at the voice, Akira didn't say a word his hands glued into his pockets. "The new student." The three sets of words made Masuo scratch his cheek, a new student nearing the end? Now, this was new. What exactly was going on

Ah, the fight went in a strange way but let's all sit here and think how strong Aju really is like damn can't forget how Hotaru just about outsmarted Shinobu. With that said, we are slowly nearing the start of the real adventure.

Yea, Aju is lowkey scary. Don't worry more fights soon to come, also Masuo being Masuo would try to get Seiko to take off his mask.

Now, the new student will show up shortly, thanks! Yea, the seating arrangement is something to help mingle a tad more.

Nice insight on that, who knows how Fuko was able to do it, or why. He has been shown to move silently, our good boy has secrets but I don't think he is the only one. Interesting, you got it right in a way, Fuko surely did use a new move called hair grabbing. Honestly, given a different setting, I think the fight would've gone differently; the boys had an advantage with Masuo's Genjutsu...although if Fuko would've never tied up Mia like that the girls would've won.

Hmm, nice theories all-around. I think because out of everyone they knew she'd listen, with Mia all she'd get was a blunt stop whining and proceed or something haha; Aju wasn't going to let any of them boys do it especially after Fuko and Masuo, Masuo didn't find a need to hold back; he felt guilty at first then he realized it's partially her fault. Thanks!

Got to some pm's among other things, feeling better. I Will try to get to more until next time thank you and have a good day, the next chapter will be in two weeks!