Disclaimer – Nope, don't own Naruto.
Rated K
Through These Crimson Eyes
Chapter Two – The Prelims
"None of them seem to be of any interest…" The blonde-haired shinobi whispered to his two team-mates, stealing glances at the ninja around them.
"Except for…"
"Yeah, I know." The blue-haired nin responded before the blonde managed to finish. The third, whom had spiky, red hair, nodded.
"Uchiha…Itachi. Hmm. This is going to be a lot more…challenging than any of us had hoped for."
"So…he possesses sharingan. Will he be too much?"
The red-haired ninja remained silent, but looked at the blonde from the corner of his eye, waiting.
"…There's no definite way to be sure, not yet at least…but according to my own personal research, he is a prodigy, even in a clan as gifted as Uchiha. No doubt he could beat anyone here, besides ourselves, of course, easily."
"Hmm. Interesting indeed." The blue-haired ninja nodded. He remained silent for a moment.
"Is he…really that strong? I mean, no doubt this year's crop of genin isn't exactly the most promising to date, but still…"
"Oh. Yeah…in fact, I'm probably underestimating him." The blonde replied, his eyes hardening as he turned his gaze toward Itachi. He didn't seem to notice, or otherwise didn't care. He remained as expressionless as ever, staring off into space.
"He could have qualified as a chuunin two years ago…maybe even while he was still in the academy. This kid graduated with perfect marks after half a year, and went on to master sharingan afterwards. He's definitely something, allright."
"Okay, listen up." The blonde turned his attention to his two comrades, he were immediately alert.
"Zakin." He said, catching the blue-haired ninja's attention.
"You go on ahead and carry out phase one. When you've achieved proper status, contact us via a slight twitch in your chakra signature, got it?"
He nodded, vanishing behind a cloud of smoke.
"Arami…" He said a little quieter, turning to face the red-haired ninja.
He didn't respond, but he knew his leader by now, and knew that he had Arami's attention.
"Since your chakra far outstrips either of ours, you're going to proceed with the matter of phase two…you'll be the first one up in the prelims, and there's a high chance you'll be chosen to fight against the Uchiha kid this way. They say that computer picks matches at random, but…"
Arami nodded, and he took that as a confirmation that he understood.
"What about you, Harachi?" He asked, catching the blonde slightly by surprise. He wasn't used to hearing Arami talk all that much. The guy was practically a mute.
"Oh, I think you know where I fall in here." He said, then vanished.
Arami simply stood there, staring at the wall on the other side of the room.
That one seems to have the most chakra… Itachi stared across the room at the red-haired ninja, who was at this time alone.
But there's something else about him, something that just doesn't fit.
The proctor clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention. Itachi snapped out of his thoughts and stared at the proctor.
"Allright…you've had the brief respite I talked about earlier…"
So that's why everyone had been standing around doing nothing. Itachi hadn't listened to what the proctor had said before, so he had been rather impatiently waiting.
"Now, our first match up…if there are those who wish to forfeit, please step outside now. A jounin will help lead you back to the village."
A couple people left. When it was certain that no one else was planning on leaving anytime soon, the proctor nodded and continued.
"Now then…we've made some modifications to the computer system, so that instead of choosing fights at random, it will set up matches in such a way that the opponents should be even. This way, we know the strengths and capabilities of a certain person of a certain level compared to a different person of a completely different level. Instead of narrowing down the best of the best, this year we're aiming to take a more fair approach…somewhat."
Itachi mentally scowled. That was stupid.
"So anyways…without further ado, the preliminaries shall now begin!"
He waved his arm, and the computer flashed to life and names began to flash across the screen in an indistinct blur. Itachi wasn't paying any attention to who was chosen, because he knew it would not be him. Not yet.
He had a feeling he knew who he was going to fight. He glanced at the red-haired ninja, who remained planted in the same position, staring off into space.
"Saraka Hyu Versus Ichimo Kurosaki…"
The first match of the preliminaries caused Itachi to stew in impatience. They had to be starting at the lowest level ninja and building their way up, it seemed…these two were incredibly weak.
Saraka Hyu seemed more concerned about her opponent (and the condition of her attire, as lacking as it was…she wore the traditional translucent, webbed undershirt of kunoichi, but most covered themselves with a vest, at least…) than she did herself, much to Itachi's disgust and irritation.
"Ichimo-Chan!" The girl squeeled, jumping up and down. Many of the other boys seemed to be intently staring at her…one kid who was standing next to him actually seemed to be drooling, and he was about to nudge Itachi in the ribcage for some reason before Itachi fixed him with a scathing glare that almost caused the older child to soil himself. Itachi was glad he wasn't at the age in which he would find himself flipped head over heels by a girl because she dressed like a slut. The teenage mind was something that Itachi did not understand, and he doubted very much he would, even when he found himself at that age. The girl…in the name of kami, showing off that much skin and whatnot…first off, her "outfit" didn't offer much in the matter of protection…she risked her life to look appealing to the opposite sex?
Itachi looked away. People like that couldn't be called ninja. What a disgraceful match…
The prelims continued in an uneventful fashion. Itachi found himself gradually growing tired, not due to exhaustion or lack of sleep…but because he was bored out of his mind, by this point. He sighed, looking at the pitiful match-up in front of him (two genin who could hardly even throw a kunai properly) and shook his head in indifference. This was just pathetic.
Finally, the match was over, and the proctor stood up, signaling the choosing of the next match.
The computer whizzed past an assortment of names as it did every time before choosing a match up, and…
UCHIHA ITACHI VERSUS ARAMI KASAGI
Arami?
He was in the middle of the ring in an instant, rather eager to fight after so many previous letdowns. He waited patiently for his opponent to arrive…and he was just a little bit startled when the red-haired ninja who he had had his eye on earlier slowly made his way to the ring, staring past Itachi as though he was not there.
So…that's Arami, hm? He's as strong as I am? This matches are supposed to be even, after all…
He looked into Arami's eyes. The red-haired ninja still wasn't wearing a forehead protector, and Itachi couldn't help but wonder where the guy had come from.
Arami avoided his gaze for a minute longer, than finally returned, his eyes as unwavering as Itachi's.
"Begin!"
The two were already in mid-air.