A/N: It's been a while but certain things kept me busy. Public examinations tend to do that, but now that those are out of the way, I can give my attention to the story. So I've decided that for these prelims, I'll simply be giving the views of the others regarding the fights that I won't be playing around with from canon. For the most part I'll probably skip over those fights we can all agree aren't relatively important to the outcome of the fic on a large scale. It also comes down to personal preference too I suppose, so there's that. Anyway...


"Temari of the Desert vs Kin Tsuchi,"

Temari glanced across the arena to see Kin already making her way down to the battlefield. The blonde felt no need to rush her appearance, carefully gauging her opponent. Even the slightest misstep was noted. It was not that Temari was worried. No, not in the slightest. It was simply a

habit of hers to be so meticulous, to study the enemy before usually ensnaring them. She shivered internally at her own thoughts. They sounded too much like Gaara's for her liking.

She shifted on her heel and grabbed onto the railing of the balcony, her fan in one hand before smoothly jumping into the arena a few steps away from Kin. The Oto girl flinched a bit at the close proximity and it had her opponent holding back a scoff, though only barely.

"There's really no need for me to repeat the rules. The fight is over only when either your

opponent is unable to compete, surrenders or by some fatality, die. Only in rare cases will I step in to stop a match myself. Everything else from this point is up to you."

Both competitors nodded as they closely watched Hayate's hand go up. He coughed once, his hand going down in that same moment.

The two females pushed off the ground with their feet and created a considerable distance

between one another. Temari grasped her fan but made no move to open it as of yet, with Kin reaching into her pouch. Temari watched her like a hawk, eyes waiting to see what would emerge. She was answered as a volley of multiple senbon were thrown her way.

The Suna kunoichi pulled back, increasing the distance between the two but further pushing towards the arena walls.

Kin smirked as she charged forward, needles wedged in between her fingers as she attempted to close the gap, releasing her weapons in an effort to distract Temari. As the blonde dodged attack after attack, it became apparent that she was unfazed by it all. There was no worry on her features, just a simple annoyance with something that most could not decipher. Kin grinned as she stepped within radius and she fished out another stream of deadly senbon. Temari sunk into position, putting all her weight into her hind foot as she unfurled her heavy metal fan, her wrist easing around to hold it steady.

Kin noticed the action but it was too late to draw back, so she continued with the thrust of her attack and took her shot first. Upon release, she took notice of the moon like shape that took form on the fan as it unfolded. Temari drew back and with one swing, the arena shifted.

It was sudden, coming out of seemingly nowhere. A gust blew throughout the ring, reaching up to those standing by the balcony. It swept up everything it could and it was Kin that felt the full effects of it, taking a close range hit that sent her careening into the wall. The thud of her body against the concrete was audible and the crunching sound was extremely sickening. Temari adopted a straightened posture as she waited for the smoke to clear up. Coughing could be heard

from within the clearing shroud and Temari held back a frown. She sealed up her fan and

stepped closer to Kin, who was slowly emerging from the rubble. She had lacerations all over her abdomen, her legs taking less of the damage, while a giant gash adorned her cheek. She looked disoriented and Temari would have felt sorry if she did not take joy in her actions.

Kin raised her hand and single senbon flew past Temari. There was no need to dodge it, with the weapon being so far off course. Temari raised her fan to smack Kin away with the blunt side of it, but there was a sudden ringing in her ears, and she was forced to use the fan to stabilize herself. It left Temari vulnerable but Kin was in no condition to take advantage of the situation.

Temari hopped back to recreate the distance.

Kin fell to her knees. She was unable to even move and facing Temari was impossible at this point. The Oto kunoichi tried to regain her bearings but Temari's voice stopped her.

"Genjutsu, that's pretty nifty, I must say. It almost had me," Kin panicked but she could still tell that the voice was coming from right behind her. Her head swiveled, only to be met by heavy metal, a few teeth being knocked out upon impact. Temari stalked forward, her eyes cold and uninterested. She was ready to end it all.


Up on the balcony, people were still trying to process what they had just witnessed. Suki watched with keen eyes, though the sharingan had not been called into action as of yet. She narrowed her eyes at Temari, but made no comment. Naruto was first to speak.

"It's getting hard to watch." He muttered and Suki raised an eyebrow at that comment. "You would think that after the beating you took in the forest you would be immune to seeing this kind of thing." She mused out loud. His answer was not one she expected.

"It's hard to watch when it's others getting hurt, you know."

Suki could not find the words to answer him nor did she have the will to. His answer had

shocked her or at the very least, had surprised her. She could not say she knew all of him but the Uchiha heiress could safely assume that it was she who knew most about him and how he operated. He was quieter, more reserved at times but he could still be overly obnoxious. Just now he had shown that he still held care for even those she would have deemed worthless had she been in his position. Some part of him was still soft. It actually worried her a bit. He was not supposed to feel empathy for their enemies, not in a place like this one.

"That fan though…" He switched topics but she was more than happy to oblige with it.

"To think that it could inflict that much damage, close range or not. Worse yet, I'm certain that she wasn't using its full power just then." Suki cupped her cheek, her elbow resting over the railing of the balcony. "It must have hurt; I saw you flinch when she hit the wall. That and when that senbon went off." She trailed her eyes over to him. It was not by design, but she had noticed how receptive he was to the battle taking place below. Sound would always be an issue to him.

"It did. I'm surprised she's still standing after all that, though that may be it,"

From across the arena, Samui watched as Temari toyed with her opponent a bit more, all the while wondering how Temari had countered the genjutsu Kin had cast on her with such ease before it took effect.

"Did she know it was coming in advance or was she imply able to overpower her weaker

opponent?"

Samui leaned against the wall as she observed Kin get thrown around the ring like a ragdoll,

Temari's devil winds slicing her open. Her clothing was disheveled, her hair uneven and the blood was drying all over her. She was being shown no mercy till the end of it all.

"It could bethat it her ability to manipulate the wind saved her or maybe I'm pulling at straws."

Omoi looked over at her but made no comment on the fact that she was talking to herself. It was bad enough that their sensei was absent for the prelims, but the chances all three of them would pass seemed slim when they considered that there were still two jinchuriki around and a host of other

unknowns to factor in. Omoi was about to speak, but Samui silenced him.

"Watch, it's about to end."


Kin landed on her back with a heavy thump, her body bouncing off the surface of the arena floor. Temari stood over her fallen body, a condescending smile gracing her lips. She opened up her fan wider, her hands itching to release what she had in store. At this point, Kin could do nothing to avoid it. Her legs were marred by scars, her eyes unable to see. She already had one foot in the grave. The fan was raised just as the proctor moved to end it all.

"Wind Scythe!"

Dust filled the arena along with the agonizing screams of a defeated Kin. Everyone took a step back as Temari launched forth and swung at Kin's falling body, sending her crashing into the balcony in between her teammates. It was intentional mockery and there was precious little that the Oto team could do about it. There was no need for the proctor to call the match. The victor was clear

"Next time, bring actual fighters." Temari's smirk was one that invited confrontation, an open challenge for Dosu and Zaku to fulfill. Suki saw Naruto grit his teeth as his hand tightened around the railing. She knew that he was hardly going to let such a thing go.

"Naruto, save it." That was Kakashi that cut in and it had Suki breathing out a sigh of relief. The blonde groaned and punched the wall behind him, his knuckles bleeding out a bit. "It's scum like them that get off on this kind of stuff that need to be punished. What kind of teammates are they?"

It took a moment for the rest of team seven to process that statement and it had them

turning to see the Oto team. Neither of them had moved to assist her or even offer any words of console. The medics were left to see to her. For a brief moment, Suki imagined what it would be like to be in Kin's position. Glancing back at her teammate, she knew that would never happen.

He was different, loyal to a fault and she feared one day that would get him killed.

"Naruto, I get why you're so worked up, but this isn't something a fight will solve. If by chance you face them in the ring, then be my guest, but not here. Not now." The copy ninja placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and shook his head. It simply was not the time for it.

The display board lit up again while the rest of the cleanup crew evacuated the arena. Naruto looked at the Oto and Suna teams. Either one was god enough to be a punching bag. Scum was scum, whether to others or their own. The reason did not matter. They had just gotten on his bad side.

"Uchiha Suki vs Dosu."

Immediately eyes shifted towards the two of them and Suki stood up straighter, her mood

suddenly serious. She did not waste time trying to stare down her opponent. He was already afraid of her as it was. Naruto grabbed her wrist and the look in his eyes was clear.

"Get a few hits in for me while you're at it." He nodded as he let go of her. "You better win this one Suki."

She nodded as she quickly descended down the stairs, careful not to overexert herself. Her eyes were firmly set on her opponent as she made her way down. She looked apathetic on the outside, but a lot of emotions were swirling in her head. The proctor looked at them both and he wasted no time.

"Hajime!"

She shifted her weight onto her weaker foot and shot off her stronger side, her aim to get as close as possible. Dosu shifted his own weight, turning to avoid any form of direct contact with the heiress. Suki spun on her heel and followed, her body instinctively following her commands. She laid down her foot, the strong blow coming into contact with the solid ground as Dosu managed

to get out of the way. It became a game of cat and mouse with the Uchiha trying her very best to catch her nimble opponent. Suki shifted once more, this time to her left and her left fist whizzed past Dosu's right ear. She was becoming frustrated by it all and she let her focus slip for a moment, with her knee being caught halfway through. She spun and went for his head with the other leg, but he simply threw her up, the opportunity for the counter finally presenting itself.

He held out his hand and the familiar shockwave erupted from it. There was no time to dodge, no time to think. Suki blocked the attack with her bare hands, her forearms taking the blunt force of the attack as she tumbled to the ground. Her hair was in the way, but she could see her opponent making her way towards her. She rolled on her stomach, avoiding his assault before

hoping back on her feet. Just as she did, it was his turn for his fist to narrowly miss her, the blow by-passing her face, but the soundwaves accompanying it dealt enough damage.

"Ahh!" She clutched her ear, a bit of blood dripping from it as she staggered back a bit, her mind completely disoriented by the sudden sound. Dosu smirked and moved in to finish her before she could regain her bearings. He did not intend on sharing the same fate as Kin. His movement was

swift and as he reared his fist back, he failed to notice the slightest shift in her posture. His aim was dead on, but he still missed, the girl sidestepping at the last second, but she was unable to capitalize on it, her body not reacting fast enough to take advantage. Dosu turned, his head swiveling in disbelief and he came face to face with chilling blood red eyes.

On the balcony, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. For a second, she had had him worried and he had feared she simply had not been up to the task. It was no secret that they had not fully recovered from their time in the forest, both physically and emotionally, but he had not expected

her to be so impacted even after all that rest.

"There has to be something else going on here."

"For someone you hardly like, you worry for her greatly."

It was the fox again and this time Naruto was more than prepared. He was not shocked that the being had spoken, not this time.

"You wouldn't get it."

"You speak as though you yourself understand it any better."

The fox had him there. He had failed to comprehend the interactions he shared with his Uchiha counterpart and it was not for a lack of trying. In the end, he had simply come to call it an understanding of sort. They were past the point of petty loathing, but there was hardly that mutual liking. They were used to each other, yes, but they hardly wished for that. They were simply bonded in ways others would never grasp. That was what the situations in the last few months had done to them.

"Right now, I don't have to."

No reply was forthcoming from the fox and the blonde figured that he had nothing to say to him. That was fine though, the fox's opinion hardly mattered anyway. Not right now. The blonde turned his attention back to the fight that was about to reinitiate down below.


The sharingan spun rapidly, the twin tomoe swerving in a hypnotic motion. Dosu stepped back, remembering the last time that such power had been used. Suki's breathing was heavy, her sight still a bit blurry. She clutched her left ear and went down on one knee to try to stabilize herself. Centre of gravity and mass, Iruka once said. She could not believe the academy actually taught something useful.She assessed the situation a bit more, her eyes scanning the whole arena.

"Right now, my body isn't fully recovered, so I'll have to end this quickly. Drawing it out won't end well with my condition."

She sighed, her breath becoming even once more as she locked onto a target. She blitzed forward, pivoting off her right foot and pulling out a hurricane of shuriken. Dosu leapt back and Suki trailed him, not keen on letting him go. The shuriken all missed but Suki seemed unconcerned, cocking her fist back. The shuriken followed her motion and Dosu had to be extra alert as he dodged. That momentary slip up let the girl beard down on him and she wasted no time trying to capitalize.

She was more fluid, better positioned, simply better. The exchange was quick, with Suki knocking him across the face before he kicked her upward to recreate the distance.

She spun midair, her hands going through a familiar set of hand seals as she settled on the tiger

seal.

"Katon: Gokkakyu no jutsu."

The arena turned a fine shade of orange, the hues of the flame covering everything. The fire was merciless in its descent, threatening to consume everything. Dosu was forced to use his soundwaves to deflect the flames, but the heat was becoming unbearable. From within the flames, Suki burst forth, her leg careening into the side of Dosu's head as he flew back at the intrusion.

Suki landed a few feet away from him and took a moment to readjust. Something did not quite feel right. She took a step forward, but halted at the intense pain she felt. She felt weak, like all her energy was being sucked out of her.

"What the hell?" An intense pain shot out from her neck and reflexively grabbed onto that piece of skin. She fell to her knees and struggled to focus on anything else but the intense pain. She could not understand what the issue was or why it was happening now all of a sudden. She tried and failed to get up and she felt that mark expand just a bit. Her sharingan seemed to turn a shade deeper yet it burned brighter all the same. That same voice was back again, telling her to give into that power, to simply share a will.

Suki watched as Dosu got back up. He looked worse for wear and his clothing was burned nearly to a crisp. He looked pissed off, but that worry was back on his face again. Suki forced herself into a standing position and assumed the Uchiha inceptor fist, but her body refused to do anything past that point. The situation did not seem ideal.


From the moment he had stepped into the room that would be hosting the preliminary round of the Chunin exams, Gaara had been anything but interested. He held no fascination for the fine statue that stood by the walls nor did he have any curiosity held within for all the faces in the arena. No, he did not care about that kind of trivial stuff.

Not even Temari's fight had garnered

his attention. Yes, she had been brutal, perhaps drawing out her fight till it was excruciating to wait past a certain point, but it hardly caused him to give her more than a second glance.

It was only when Suki stepped into the ring that he lifted his eyebrows, his gaze tittering on uncomfortable for anyone paying attention. He made it known that he held an active interest in the Uchiha and Uzumaki, did not see the point in veiling his newest hobby. It had been a disappointment though. She was sluggish, slow and held no lethal bite to kill. She could hit hard, but that hardly meant anything to someone like him. Only when he felt that dark aura did he

step forward and rest his elbows over the balcony to get a better look.

There was something there, lurking deep within her. It yearned to be free, to cause strife and havoc. It excited him, evoked something he was not sure of. Above all, he wanted to see what it was. Suki seemed to do her best to suppress it, fighting with every inch of her will to stay in control and he could see she was failing for the most part. Sooner or later, she would lose that

battle of wills. It was either that or she would suffer at the hands of her opponent first.

"Show me Uchiha, what I left the desert for."


Kakashi watched with narrowed eyes as Suki battled over the control of not only her mind but her body with an entity few knew of. He could tell by all the confused faces of all the other rookies that they had no idea what was going on. He chanced a glance at Naruto and saw the concentration he was giving the girl below. He knew about the curse mark, that much was certain. The copy ninja saw him grip the railing, the metal folding under the pressure of his grip.

It was a bit concerning, especially with all the changes that had been occurring with the blonde. That was an issue for another time though, because Kakashi's main worry was the development threatening to take place down below in the arena. He knew that in the end, it was simply going to be a matter of whether Suki was strong enough to avoid the usage of such a power. It also came

down to how she would handle two enemies on her own, one being her own body. He raised his headband and let his sharingan come into view. He wanted a more in depth look at it.

At his side, Naruto was unsure what he was looking at, but it was not easy. He remembered this feeling, the aura that he had sensed back in the forest when he went searching for her, yet this was undoubtedly different. It felt too much like Orochimaru and it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Kakashi-sensei?" The questioning in his voice was easy to detect and Kakashi spared him a glance.

"Try not to worry yourself too much alright. She's tough, so don't go counting her out yet." Naruto hoped the older man was right.


It was futile. Suppressing the curse mark only seemed to drain her and Suki was tired of being onthe back foot. Worse yet, she knew that the longer this dragged on, the less likely she was to win the fight. The heiress stepped back and tried to assess the situation to the best of her ability.

"I can't win, not like this. Even using the sharingan in my condition suicidal. I may have no option."

She stopped her internal debacle and let herself go. She could feel the artificial feeling of foreign possession taking over her body, but she refused to let it run rampant on her conscious. There were limits. She simply did not know how well she would be able to maintain them with her horrid condition.

"This has to end while I'm still in control." She whispered to herself and Dosu held down his fear and stood firm. The mark spread, from the epicenter of her neck till it reached down to her left arm and leg. It spread to part of her face and it seemed to glow for a second. Her leg twitched and she suddenly was not there, her body appearing above Dosu as she readied to thrust the full force

of her weight upon him. There was simply no time to dodge, forcing Dosu to stand firm. It was a heavy blow, one that sent Dosu reeling as the ground beneath him cracked under the pressure.

Suki shifted to the side and she spun herself, pivoting her leg and driving her knee into his jaw.

"Ah…dammit." Dosu stumbled back and tried to readjust, but she was everywhere now. He felt her presence and he looked down on instinct. He was not even sure how she got there.

"Katon: Bashonen."

The coils of fire, a golden hue in nature, wrapped around his legs and spread up his immobile body. He was stuck and the flames licked at him dangerously. Dosu tried to wriggle free but to no avail. Like a constrictor, the coils tightened around him and the smell of burning flesh filled the

arena.

Suki smirked, her eyes shadowed by her bangs, but she took a certain amount of pleasure in it.

Once she could no longer uphold the jutsu, it imploded in on them. The arena went up in flames and it was impossible for the naked eyes to see through all the smoke.

Both fighters were stuck in the midst of the smoke, but Suki's eyes countered that adversity quite easily. The conditions were forcing Dosu to rely on his sound the vibrations.

"It's a pointless ability you know. If you can't hear it, then you surely can't stop it. On the off chance that you do here something, what if you can't stop it, if you simply aren't fast enough."

Dosu's lone eyes widened at the sound of her voice and he found himself paralyzed in fear. She was right there behind him, her breath passing by his ear and her hand laid around his neck like they were friends of sorts.

He turned and took a quick swipe at her, but her reflexes proved faster. He barely had anytime to register how her hand had wrapped around his throat. She looked up at him and her uncaring orbs showed a lack of interest. She was bored of him and with each passing moment, any semblance of her conscious was slipping. Then the markings spread and she tightened her grip. The smoke was clearing up, but that did little to deter her.

"I've always had a fascination with

this kind of stuff if you must know." She smiled at him. "The concept of choking I mean, to simply watch the life drain out of someone. It feels…surreal."

Dosu hacked and squirmed, but her

grip was like a vice.

"Suki!"

There was that voice again. She turned her head and her eyes locked onto those of Naruto.

Unintentionally, she burned the image of him into her memory, his features disapproving,

concerned and apprehensive. For a moment, she forgot where she was and her arm dropped Dosu to the ground. No words were exchanged, but it was clear Naruto wanted her to stop, yet; she herself was uncertain what she wanted to do.

In her unsuspecting state, Dosu took his shot, pumping chakra into his arm and releasing it in one blasted, the impact sending the Uchiha into a wall.

"There, that should do it." He was panting, heavily out of breath and extremely exhausted by the fight. It had been draining to say the least. Hayate raised an arm and as soon as he was about to bring his arm down, Suki spoke.

"I'll admit, that actually stung a bit but…" She emerged from the miniature crater and stared at Dosu before she went through a combination of seals, twenty-six in all. "I haven't mastered this one and it works better with the aid of a futon user but…"

"Katon: Senka no en."


It's been a while since I've written anything, so there was a need for some readjistment as i worked out what direction i wanted the story to take as it shapes up.

Leave a comment if you can and tell me what you can