Disclaimer: Refer to Chapter 1
The Hirashi ChroniclesChapter 5: The Competition
Iruka looked across at the 38 students who had risen up to the challenge. He hadn't expected so many to join the competition. Then again, they had nothing to lose and everything to gain. The winner of the competition would score bonus points for the graduation exam, not only for himself, but also for the entire team.
I must be biased to think that only a boy would win this competition, but it seems that most of the girls had opted out of it. The competitors were standing before a field approximately a 100metres across and 50 metres wide. On the opposite side of the court were 10 wooden circle targets, each with a bright red dot of paint in its' center. Different coloured rings circled the dot, denoting different points for each region. Those students not participating sat in the shade of trees on the field's left, in the general direction of the clearing they had come from.
Iruka cleared his throat. "Well, it seems we won't be going for lunch anytime soon." He joked. "There will be 3 parts to this competition. The first component deals with accuracy. The second component tests your speed, while the third combines both these elements."
"I am only in charge of the first component of this competition. You will proceed to another venue if you pass this round." He looked into the nervous, confident, cool, passionate, cocky eyes of his pupils. Iruka knew they would do him proud.
"As you can see, there are 10 targets. Each of you will be given a number and a shift. This is usually unnecessary due to the small number of participants. However, I am glad that this class is so enthusiastic." Iruka smiled broadly as his students clapped and cheered.
"Every candidate will start at the 20m mark and work backwards towards the 100m mark. You are only allowed to throw two kunai at each stage. I will personally record the points accumulated by each individual. The 8 who accumulate the most points will proceed to the next stage of the competition." A buzz of discussion erupted as competitors realized that more than ¾ of them would be ousted.
"We don't have all day. Let's start quickly." Iruka raised his voice to quell the rising tirade.
"Wait!" The shout managed to quell all but the softest of whispers. "Allow me to speed up the competition, Iruka- sensei." Hirashi flexed his arm muscles and stretched his neck. Removing a kunai from his belt with his left hand, he strode confidently towards the targets and stopped at the 60m mark. Hirashi looked over at Iruka, seeking for permission.
What is he trying to do? Iruka gave a hesitant nod of assent. Immediately, the kunai left Hirashi's hand, flying straight and true, the sharp tip hit the 6th target's red dot perfectly. The kunai did not even quiver on impact.
"Nice shot, Hirashi." Iruka was only slightly surprised, as he had seen Hirashi's potential before. His classmates, though, had not, and were staring at him with wide-eyed admiration and awe. All prejudice against him had been erased in that instant. "I didn't know you were a left-handed thrower."
"I'm not." Hirashi answered. The simple statement broke the spirits of many competitors and soon, only 17 remained on the field.
"I suppose that did speed things up." Iruka concurred. "Let's not waste anymore time and begin."
"You know, that wasn't really very impressive." Serra criticized as she and Hirashi walked towards the 85m mark.
"The others didn't seem to think so." Hirashi replied coolly. He looked around. There were only three other contestants who were keeping pace with them.
One was a boy of average height with bushy eyebrows and a mop of black hair. He wore his forehead protector around his waist and was wearing a green ninja outfit. Another was a pretty dark-haired girl whose hair was tied into two buns. Hirashi recognized her vaguely from a project they had done together for the academy last year. She was one of the few girls who did not shun him away. What was her name? Ah yes, Tenten. The last was Hyuuga Neji. The boy who hated him the most. The one who considered him an abomination of his clan. It would be fun defeating him. He went back to observing Tenten, noticing her slim figure and attractive eyes for the first time. Their eyes locked and she gave him a tentative smile.
He missed his next shot.
Iruka looked at his score sheet. Tenten, Neji and Serra sported perfect scores. Hirashi had only missed once, while Lee was on par with three others who were also two down. There wasn't much competition after the last girl, Hitomi. The next highest had missed four targets entirely.
Well, it seems that the first 8 are determined already. I wonder who will survive the next round. Serra certainly seems to have received first-class training from the village of the Mists. Iruka smiled to himself. He could not wait for the result of this one.
Iruka stood before his students, who were standing smartly in files of 3. "I shall now announce the names of the semi-finalists. They are, in no particular order, Lee, Tenten, Serra, Hitomi, Hirashi, Neji, Kasumi and Doff. Well the 8 people please step up to the front." A thunderous applause greeted the semi-finalists.
"The rest of you will need to practice harder. For the next part of the competition, I would like all of you to proceed to training ground 17. Dismissed."
An enormous pink turtle greeted the eight who arrived at the site first. "So you're the crème de la crème of Iruka's class. Let's see how fast you are."
The eight students were thrown to the ground in quick succession. "Not very swift it seems." A puff of smoke revealed a tall, gangly man with thick eyebrows, much like Lee's. The pink turtle had disappeared.
"I'm Maito Gai and I'll be your sensei for the next stage of the competition. Please feel free to ask me any questions." The man gave them a wide grin, which revealed shiny teeth, and a big thumbs up. Serra rolled her eyes, but Lee seemed to be in awe of the jounin.
Gai's expression became serious. "Let me explain to you the rules. Behind me, is a forest path that goes in a roundabout route to the exit on your right. The objective of this round is to go through the path as fast as possible, while hitting the targets along the way. The targets can be anywhere so keep a sharp eye out. The speed at which you complete the course and the number of targets you hit will determine who makes it to the next round. Only 4 will be allowed to proceed from here."
"Will the first competitor please step up. Let's end this quick."
When it came to Hirashi's turn, he was nothing short of totally prepared. As he went into the first stretch, he noticed that there were an absurdly large number of targets along the path, so much so that he had to pause occasionally to ensure that he had hit them all. This can't be the way it's supposed to be. We're being tested on speed and not skills of observation. There must be an inherent trick to this game.
As he made relatively slow progress, he found that certain targets were large and easily seen, while others were well hidden and hard to hit when on the move. He paused to examine an example of both targets. Each target had a small number scribbled next to it. Points?
But the bigger targets had larger numbers than the smaller targets. That wasn't right. Shouldn't it be the other way round? But what if it was meant to be that way? Think like the examiner, Hirashi!
A test of speed! Why didn't I think of it before? How fast mattered more than how many targets I hit. So I only need to hit as many as I can! Hirashi sped up, moving as fast as possible and hitting only the large, easily visible targets.
He was going to win this. He knew it.
When Hirashi finished 2 minutes before the fastest of the previous 7 timings, Gai knew he was the only one who had understood the game early. Gai had expected the Hyuuga boy to get it, but had been disappointed, even though he had clocked the second fastest timing before Hirashi. Tenten had been the fastest. Coming in forth was the exchange student from the village of the Mists. Interesting. Gai decided he would stay to watch these finals.
"Let's do away with the drama. The top four are Hirashi, Tenten, Neji and Serra. You have all done well, but these were the best. The venue for the next level of the competition is training ground 20. Be there." Gai treated the students to yet another of his trademark smiles and thumbs-up as they left.
Strangely, there was nobody on training ground, so the finalists waited. And waited. And waited even longer. Neji was giving Hirashi the death glare, while Hirashi pretended not to notice. He was looking at Serra and Tenten show off their acrobatics. The training ground held six targets, 3 on the left side of the field and another 3 directly opposite them.
"I wonder if Gai-sensei gave us the right location." Tenten said as she did a triple somersault in the air and landed gracefully between Neji and Hirashi.
"Sorry, I'm late, guys." A silver-haired ninja squatted atop the branch of the tree Hirashi was sitting under. "I was caught up in traffic." He chuckled.
The four finalists stared in disbelief at their sensei. The jounin had funky spiked hair and was dressed in the normal Konoha ninja fare. A thin, black fabric covered his nose and mouth, while his forehead protector was worn diagonally, such that it covered his left eye.
"I'm Hatake Kakashi. In this final round, you will be pitting your skills against each other. Each competitor will defend 3 targets on his or her side of the court. The first person to have a total of five kunai on the opponents' targets wins. Shall we start with the ladies first? Tenten, you're on the left. Serra you're on the right." Both girls moved to the center of their respective playing fields and took up their fighting stances.
"Begin."
Kunai and throwing needles flew across the court, none of them striking their targets. Each girl was sizing her opponent up.
I have the advantage on the offensive. My throwing needles are thin and harder to deflect than the larger kunai, but Tenten also has an advantage in that respect. I have to move physically to block every kunai she throws at my targets. Serra considered her options. I need to strike quickly before she realizes my weakness. 5 throwing needles left Serra's left hand and headed towards the target on Tenten's left. She can't possibly block all five.
Tenten shifted her grip on the kunai in her left hand. Instead of throwing it straight, she threw it such that it spun in an arc through the air. The kunai became a spinning disc. The larger surface area it blocked easily deflected the five needles. Taking advantage of her opponent's shock, Tenten swiftly threw two shuriken at the targets on both sides with her right hand.
Serra dashed to her right to save the target, simultaneously throwing a needle to deflect the shuriken on her left. The needle knocked a tip of the shuriken with enough force to change its trajectory and spin in a wild arc. However, that was not enough. A sharp tip buried itself at the edge of the target. Two direct hits on the central target followed. Tenten had taken advantage of the exposed target as Serra rushed to defend her right target.
I'll use that tactic one more time and Serra's finished.
I can't let her attack again! I'll have to try a risky maneuver.
Serra threw a fresh volley of throwing needles at all the targets, Forcing Tenten to concentrate on blocking her attacks. Then, she rapidly launched herself upwards and threw her remaining needles at a sharp angle towards the targets.
Tenten looked up to see six needles advancing upon her targets. Five to win, so I'll just have to block two! She spun a double-bladed kunai upwards to deflect the needles aiming for her centermost target and then threw four shuriken towards Serra's targets, before she could land. Serra barely had the time to deflect 2 shuriken, but the damage had already been done.
"Tenten wins the match against Serra. 5-4." Kakashi announced. "Will Hirashi and Neji please take the left and right position respectively?" He waited patiently for the boys to prepare themselves.
"Let's begin."
The two competitors wasted no time in getting into the heat of the competition. The sounds of kunai and shuriken colliding filled the air. Both were very determined to win.
I need to find his weakness. The thought crossed both their minds. The constant volley stopped as both competitors had few weapons left and none dared to let his eyes stray from his opponent to pick up those on the ground.
At the sidelines, Serra caught Tenten staring intently at Hirashi. "Stop staring at him!" She demanded protectively.
Tenten looked at her strangely. "What's wrong with looking at the fighting style of future opposition? You would be doing the same if you had win the match." Tenten giggled. "Besides, he does have a great body. Cute too."
"What makes you so sure he'll win? You can look at Neji too!" Serra accused, jealousy flashing in her eyes.
"Just watch. He's made up his mind." Tenten smiled knowingly. "I would think you'd know him better after all that time you spend with him."
"You got that right! He's mine! So don't try any funny business with him."
"Oh, I don't know. HE is rather attractive." Tenten laughed as Serra clenched her fists and threatened to kill her.
At that exact moment, Hirashi began his assault. He ran straight at Neji and vaulted over him before the Hyuuga could react. He released the five shuriken between the fingers of his right hand in mid-air. The weapons hit home as Hirashi landed gently on the ground. "Checkmate!"
"That was a fluke and you know it." Neji hissed.
"Being a ninja is all about surprises." Hirashi replied.
"Hirashi wins against Neji. 5-0." Kakashi proclaimed amidst the applause of the students. "The final match will be between Hirashi and Tenten. Competitors please take your positions. You may begin."
"I won't go easy on you just because you're a boy." Tenten teased.
"I wasn't expecting you to." Hirashi laughed.
Hirashi had decided to go for another quick win by using his previous strategy early to surprise Tenten. He sprinted towards the lone girl. Unexpectedly, Tenten also charged at him. She caught his right hand with her left and twisted it behind him. Their bodies collided and Hirashi, who was out of balance, reached out to steady himself with his free hand. He clasped Tenten's body towards him to secure himself.
Their lips touched and Hirashi felt a burning sensation run down his throat as he felt Tenten's tongue exploring his mouth. His pants tightened as he felt her entire body pressed against him. Hirashi's eyes widened when he heard 5 thuds of shuriken burying themselves into his center target. Tenten had used her own free hand to remove them from his holster and throw them, while he was still floundering in their kiss.
"Boys are so predictable." Tenten chided lightly, smiling coyly at him. "That was very nice, though. We should do it some other time." She released his right hand and stepped away from the shell-shocked boy. "By the way, that was my first."
"What in the world were you doing?" Serra pounced onto Hirashi's back and pounded him on the head. "I won't forgive you for this, Tenten."
Kakashi laughed to himself. He had been through that period before. "Tenten wins Hirashi 5-0 and is the champion for this competition!" All the girls cheered, while most boys were sulking either in jealousy or contempt. "The finalists are all invited to have dinner tonight at the 'Ichiraku Ramen' with Iruka. The rest of you are dismissed."
It had been a fun competition. There was no doubt about that. Kakashi made ready to leave.
"Leaving so early? We haven't even fought yet!" The challenge arose from Gai, who had been watching the competition from a nook in the tree.
"Always ready to fight you, Gai. Let's start." Both jounins went into their respective fighting stances before their 3 targets.
It was just like the old days.
Author's note: I wonder who they're going to meet at "Ichiraku Ramen'? Any suggestions besides our favourite demon?