==============================
Chapter 08 : An Unexpected Conflict
==============================
Sakura gasped.
Team 07 froze.
All eyes were glued on the screen in shock. Yet the letters stood there, clear to all. Uzumaki Naruto VS Haruno Sakura.
She slowly tore her eyes away from the screen to look at her opponent. His eyes were already on her, holding her firm in his gaze.
¡§You don¡¦t have to fight, Sakura.¡¨ He said softly. ¡§You know that, right?¡¨
¡§I know.¡¨ She replied. ¡§But I still want to.¡¨
He sighed. ¡§It¡¦s your funeral.¡¨ He said, disappearing from her sight and reappearing in the arena.
==============================
¡§Wait, Sakura.¡¨ Ino called after her friend/rival, ¡§You don¡¦t have to do this.¡¨
¡§I know.¡¨ Sakura said, never stopping her walk toward the stairs. ¡§I know.¡¨
¡§Then why are you doing this?¡¨ she asked angrily. Then, lowering her voice, ¡§You can¡¦t win.¡¨
¡§I know that too.¡¨ She said, finally pausing her steps. ¡§I just want to see if Naruto has really changed.¡¨
¡§What do you mean?¡¨
Sakura turned her head to look at her friend. ¡§If he hasn¡¦t really changed, he won¡¦t able to fight me.¡¨ She said simply. ¡§But if he wins... that means that he¡¦s moved on.¡¨
==============================
¡§This isn¡¦t possible!¡¨ Ino blurted out angrily. ¡§Members of the same team can¡¦t fight each other! Can they, Kakashi-sensei? Can they?¡¨
¡§Well, actually, yes.¡¨ Kakashi said. ¡§Technically, Naruto and Sakura aren¡¦t even on the same team anymore so that¡¦s probably why they were sorted this way.¡¨
¡§But...¡¨ Sasuke started, looking worriedly at the pair of fighters below. ¡§Naruto will...¡¨ //He¡¦s too strong.// Sasuke thought, keeping his glance on Naruto. //His chakra... I can feel it. It¡¦s way too powerful. If he was already capable of defeating me when he left, who knows how strong he is now. Besides// he grimaced, //If I don¡¦t stand a chance against him, how will Sakura be able to defeat him?//
==============================
¡§Start anytime you¡¦re ready.¡¨ Gemma said, backing up, but keeping a firm gaze on Naruto. Personally, he was perhaps, just a little eager to see Naruto¡¦s development from the loudmouth stereotype. //Whatever happens,// Gemma thought, //He¡¦s not going to be digging his way to victory.//
==============================
¡§Sakura.¡¨
¡§Yes?¡¨
Naruto seemed to be thinking something over, mentally debating something. Finally, he said:
¡§I¡¦ll tell you what. If you can do some damage to me within a minute into this match, I¡¦ll forfeit. But if you cannot even touch me within the given time, expect an instant KO.¡¨
Without responding, Sakura immediately retrieved her kunai from her holder and threw it at him as fast as she could. The kunai traveled over the short distance... and ripped right through his head.
¡§What?¡¨ Sakura gasped as the now useless weapon dropped to the floor. Naruto had created a Bunshin, but it wasn¡¦t his signature Kage Bunshin. The head had dissolved into sand.
¡§Sabaku Bunshin no Jutsu.¡¨ Came his voice to her left. ¡§Created from all the sand Gaara left behind.¡¨ His dim chuckle came from behind her, and suddenly, his voice came from the right. ¡§You¡¦re going to have to try harder than that, Sakura.¡¨
//Come, now, Sakura.// he thought. //Show me what you have learned.//
//He¡¦s throwing his voice.// Sakura thought, whirling around. Turns out, she was half right. There were three Narutos, all dressed in black with that red scarf. One was standing to her left, one on her right, and one was sitting on the index finger of the huge Hand Seal statue.
//I didn¡¦t think I¡¦d have to use this so quickly.// Sakura thought, reaching back to her hip pouch. //But I have no choice.//
She implanted the shurikens up with invisible chakra, then she threw all three of them at the Narutos. They dodged all of them with ease, but what they did not expect, was for the shurikens to suddenly turn around and charge straight at them again.
¡§Chakra-seeking shurikens.¡¨ Sakura called out to the Narutos who were attempting to dodge the miniature weapons as they kamikaze-ed themselves at him. ¡§I learned it from Shizune-sama.¡¨ She continued, more to herself than him. ¡§Tsunade-sama was too busy being a Hokage to try and teach me anything.¡¨
¡§That¡¦s good.¡¨ Naruto 1 said as he finally stopped moving and allowed himself to be sliced in half. It was a Kage Bunshin.
¡§Extra tutoring can help a lot.¡¨ Naruto 2 said as the second shuriken injected itself deep in his stomach. It was a Sabaku Bunshin.
//That¡¦s the one!// Sakura thought as the reached into her holder to retrieve another Kunai. With her on his front and the Shuriken on his back, there was no way he could not take damage. //Sorry, Naruto.//
She threw the kunai.
Naruto stopped...
And both shuriken and kunai seemed to reach the destination at the same time, and the collision of the two with Naruto in the middle caused quite a big amount of smoke.
//That should do it!// thought Sakura anxiously. //There¡¦s no way that he could have escaped that! It¡¦s not a Kage Bunshin, and it¡¦s not a Sabaku Bunshin. There¡¦s not enough sand around here to produce another clone. It HAS to be Naruto. It HAS to!// When the smoke cleared, and to Sakura¡¦s relief, there laid Naruto. ¡§Thank goodness.¡¨ She muttered. ¡§Looks like I win.¡¨
But suddenly, Naruto dissolved into water.
¡§What?¡¨ Sakura gasped, staring at the puddle that had taken his place.
¡§Gomen ne, Sakura.¡¨ Naruto¡¦s voice came from behind her. His voice was soft and with just a bit of regret. ¡§But time¡¦s up.¡¨
She felt a sudden jolt in her side, then she knew nothing.
==============================
¡§I see.¡¨ Kakashi said.
¡§How did he create a Mizu Bunshin with no water around, sensei?¡¨ Ino asked, torn between staying up here, and going down to help Sakura.
¡§There was water there.¡¨ Came Naruto¡¦s voice from behind them. They started, and he grinned. ¡§Ibino and Suzuka from the Mist Village have each created a mist, and if you condense the fog enough, it becomes water.¡¨
==============================
¡§Naruto-kun.¡¨ Hinata said softly. ¡§Are you alright?¡¨
This time, unlike last year, instead of shrugging her off with a simple ¡¥Uh-huh¡¦, he actually turned around and gave her a big smile, causing the usually pale child to blush deeply.
¡§I¡¦m fine.¡¨ He said mildly. ¡§Thanks.¡¨
¡§I¡¦m glad.¡¨
==============================
¡§Kakashi-sensei.¡¨ Sasuke said, keeping his eyes on Naruto, who was conversing merrily with Neji, Lee, Hinata, and a just-awoken Ten-Ten.
¡§What?¡¨
¡§How strong is Naruto, really?¡¨
Kakashi sighed. ¡§It¡¦s hard to say.¡¨ Was all he said, but inside, he was thinking that if he fought Naruto right now, he probably couldn¡¦t win.
Ino listened to the brief conversation between the two, glanced at a slumbering Sakura, and couldn¡¦t help but think how long and hard Sakura had trained just to shorten that rift between her and the rest of the original Team 07. Now, Naruto comes along, and with one jab, completely lengthens it to its¡¦ original state. She glanced at the slumbering Sakura.
¡§Gomen nasai... Sakura.¡¨
==============================
AN: YAY! REVIEWS! Thank you everyone! Special thanks to Remco Van de Wittenboer and Claire Selene for your EXCELLENT comments. :-D Thank you!
I¡¦m not trying to romanticize Sakura. This is how I think she¡¦d act if she was that age, 16. And yes, all the original Gennins are 16. If that counteracts with the plot line, then I¡¦m sorry. You can consider it AU if you want, but...they¡¦re 16.
Q/C: you know what to do. icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com
-Yume
Chapter 08 : An Unexpected Conflict
==============================
Sakura gasped.
Team 07 froze.
All eyes were glued on the screen in shock. Yet the letters stood there, clear to all. Uzumaki Naruto VS Haruno Sakura.
She slowly tore her eyes away from the screen to look at her opponent. His eyes were already on her, holding her firm in his gaze.
¡§You don¡¦t have to fight, Sakura.¡¨ He said softly. ¡§You know that, right?¡¨
¡§I know.¡¨ She replied. ¡§But I still want to.¡¨
He sighed. ¡§It¡¦s your funeral.¡¨ He said, disappearing from her sight and reappearing in the arena.
==============================
¡§Wait, Sakura.¡¨ Ino called after her friend/rival, ¡§You don¡¦t have to do this.¡¨
¡§I know.¡¨ Sakura said, never stopping her walk toward the stairs. ¡§I know.¡¨
¡§Then why are you doing this?¡¨ she asked angrily. Then, lowering her voice, ¡§You can¡¦t win.¡¨
¡§I know that too.¡¨ She said, finally pausing her steps. ¡§I just want to see if Naruto has really changed.¡¨
¡§What do you mean?¡¨
Sakura turned her head to look at her friend. ¡§If he hasn¡¦t really changed, he won¡¦t able to fight me.¡¨ She said simply. ¡§But if he wins... that means that he¡¦s moved on.¡¨
==============================
¡§This isn¡¦t possible!¡¨ Ino blurted out angrily. ¡§Members of the same team can¡¦t fight each other! Can they, Kakashi-sensei? Can they?¡¨
¡§Well, actually, yes.¡¨ Kakashi said. ¡§Technically, Naruto and Sakura aren¡¦t even on the same team anymore so that¡¦s probably why they were sorted this way.¡¨
¡§But...¡¨ Sasuke started, looking worriedly at the pair of fighters below. ¡§Naruto will...¡¨ //He¡¦s too strong.// Sasuke thought, keeping his glance on Naruto. //His chakra... I can feel it. It¡¦s way too powerful. If he was already capable of defeating me when he left, who knows how strong he is now. Besides// he grimaced, //If I don¡¦t stand a chance against him, how will Sakura be able to defeat him?//
==============================
¡§Start anytime you¡¦re ready.¡¨ Gemma said, backing up, but keeping a firm gaze on Naruto. Personally, he was perhaps, just a little eager to see Naruto¡¦s development from the loudmouth stereotype. //Whatever happens,// Gemma thought, //He¡¦s not going to be digging his way to victory.//
==============================
¡§Sakura.¡¨
¡§Yes?¡¨
Naruto seemed to be thinking something over, mentally debating something. Finally, he said:
¡§I¡¦ll tell you what. If you can do some damage to me within a minute into this match, I¡¦ll forfeit. But if you cannot even touch me within the given time, expect an instant KO.¡¨
Without responding, Sakura immediately retrieved her kunai from her holder and threw it at him as fast as she could. The kunai traveled over the short distance... and ripped right through his head.
¡§What?¡¨ Sakura gasped as the now useless weapon dropped to the floor. Naruto had created a Bunshin, but it wasn¡¦t his signature Kage Bunshin. The head had dissolved into sand.
¡§Sabaku Bunshin no Jutsu.¡¨ Came his voice to her left. ¡§Created from all the sand Gaara left behind.¡¨ His dim chuckle came from behind her, and suddenly, his voice came from the right. ¡§You¡¦re going to have to try harder than that, Sakura.¡¨
//Come, now, Sakura.// he thought. //Show me what you have learned.//
//He¡¦s throwing his voice.// Sakura thought, whirling around. Turns out, she was half right. There were three Narutos, all dressed in black with that red scarf. One was standing to her left, one on her right, and one was sitting on the index finger of the huge Hand Seal statue.
//I didn¡¦t think I¡¦d have to use this so quickly.// Sakura thought, reaching back to her hip pouch. //But I have no choice.//
She implanted the shurikens up with invisible chakra, then she threw all three of them at the Narutos. They dodged all of them with ease, but what they did not expect, was for the shurikens to suddenly turn around and charge straight at them again.
¡§Chakra-seeking shurikens.¡¨ Sakura called out to the Narutos who were attempting to dodge the miniature weapons as they kamikaze-ed themselves at him. ¡§I learned it from Shizune-sama.¡¨ She continued, more to herself than him. ¡§Tsunade-sama was too busy being a Hokage to try and teach me anything.¡¨
¡§That¡¦s good.¡¨ Naruto 1 said as he finally stopped moving and allowed himself to be sliced in half. It was a Kage Bunshin.
¡§Extra tutoring can help a lot.¡¨ Naruto 2 said as the second shuriken injected itself deep in his stomach. It was a Sabaku Bunshin.
//That¡¦s the one!// Sakura thought as the reached into her holder to retrieve another Kunai. With her on his front and the Shuriken on his back, there was no way he could not take damage. //Sorry, Naruto.//
She threw the kunai.
Naruto stopped...
And both shuriken and kunai seemed to reach the destination at the same time, and the collision of the two with Naruto in the middle caused quite a big amount of smoke.
//That should do it!// thought Sakura anxiously. //There¡¦s no way that he could have escaped that! It¡¦s not a Kage Bunshin, and it¡¦s not a Sabaku Bunshin. There¡¦s not enough sand around here to produce another clone. It HAS to be Naruto. It HAS to!// When the smoke cleared, and to Sakura¡¦s relief, there laid Naruto. ¡§Thank goodness.¡¨ She muttered. ¡§Looks like I win.¡¨
But suddenly, Naruto dissolved into water.
¡§What?¡¨ Sakura gasped, staring at the puddle that had taken his place.
¡§Gomen ne, Sakura.¡¨ Naruto¡¦s voice came from behind her. His voice was soft and with just a bit of regret. ¡§But time¡¦s up.¡¨
She felt a sudden jolt in her side, then she knew nothing.
==============================
¡§I see.¡¨ Kakashi said.
¡§How did he create a Mizu Bunshin with no water around, sensei?¡¨ Ino asked, torn between staying up here, and going down to help Sakura.
¡§There was water there.¡¨ Came Naruto¡¦s voice from behind them. They started, and he grinned. ¡§Ibino and Suzuka from the Mist Village have each created a mist, and if you condense the fog enough, it becomes water.¡¨
==============================
¡§Naruto-kun.¡¨ Hinata said softly. ¡§Are you alright?¡¨
This time, unlike last year, instead of shrugging her off with a simple ¡¥Uh-huh¡¦, he actually turned around and gave her a big smile, causing the usually pale child to blush deeply.
¡§I¡¦m fine.¡¨ He said mildly. ¡§Thanks.¡¨
¡§I¡¦m glad.¡¨
==============================
¡§Kakashi-sensei.¡¨ Sasuke said, keeping his eyes on Naruto, who was conversing merrily with Neji, Lee, Hinata, and a just-awoken Ten-Ten.
¡§What?¡¨
¡§How strong is Naruto, really?¡¨
Kakashi sighed. ¡§It¡¦s hard to say.¡¨ Was all he said, but inside, he was thinking that if he fought Naruto right now, he probably couldn¡¦t win.
Ino listened to the brief conversation between the two, glanced at a slumbering Sakura, and couldn¡¦t help but think how long and hard Sakura had trained just to shorten that rift between her and the rest of the original Team 07. Now, Naruto comes along, and with one jab, completely lengthens it to its¡¦ original state. She glanced at the slumbering Sakura.
¡§Gomen nasai... Sakura.¡¨
==============================
AN: YAY! REVIEWS! Thank you everyone! Special thanks to Remco Van de Wittenboer and Claire Selene for your EXCELLENT comments. :-D Thank you!
I¡¦m not trying to romanticize Sakura. This is how I think she¡¦d act if she was that age, 16. And yes, all the original Gennins are 16. If that counteracts with the plot line, then I¡¦m sorry. You can consider it AU if you want, but...they¡¦re 16.
Q/C: you know what to do. icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com
-Yume