(Final chapter. Yay! Sorry this is such a long chapter guys but I got really into it lol. I have a really bad habit of doing that. But at least it's detailed right! So I hope you enjoy it! Also I'm putting up a pic of my OC Nikomi at Fanartcentral! She's preeeeeetty lol. I was damn proud of my drawing of her. Anyway…Look for Sailorme120 and she'll be there shortly! Oh yeah...REVIEW!)
A month had gone by and the final Chuunin exam was at a fifteen minute intermission. All together 10 genin had managed to get to the finals. The first several matches had been intense, and all the fighters were worthy opponents. But now it was time for the last match of the day. The whole crowd was excited to see the last two fighters, Nikomi and Keeran, fight it out.
Gaara sat up in his respected spot next to Tsunade-sama watching the matches closely, trying to feel as objective as possible. It was difficult though. He hadn't seen one particular candidate who he hadn't gotten rather close to in a while. He found that he couldn't help but silently root for her during her matches.
"These things take so long," Tsunade stated, taking a quick swig of sake. "I'm glad it's almost over."
Gaara didn't react at all. In all honesty he completely disagreed. Once the matches were over he would go back to the Sand village. He had gone back during the month before the matches and it was the longest month of his life. But he couldn't tell anyone that. He was afraid it would be looked down on if any one found out about his relationship with a candidate, since he was one of the ones who got to choose who became a chuunin.
Tsunade stood up and yawned once again. "I'm going to go walk around for a minute." She told the other people sitting near her.
Nobody really acknowledged her. They all just stayed seating, fixed on the battle arena. Tsunade shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to head out of the seating area.
Gaara kept glancing down where the fighters were to see if he could maybe get a glimpse at her, but although he could clearly see the others standing there, she was no where in sight.
"Kazekage-sama," one of his rather unwanted escorts came up to him and whispered. "The Hokage has requested you go down and walk with her. She says she wants to talk about something important."
Gaara nodded and stood up, not verbally agreeing to it but doing it anyway. He followed his attendant out of the seating area and down the hall. The attendant gestured to Tsunade half way down the hall, bowed then left.
Gaara shook his head and sighed. What could she possibly want? He walked the rest of the way down then noticed someone else, much shorter and younger then Tsunade, standing next to her.
Gaara's entire demeanor changed in a heart beat. He could feel himself smiling on the inside, although still not showing it outwardly. He tried his hardest not to show his excitement, but that was hard for even him.
He approached the two women standing there and bowed his head. "Hokage-sama." He said in a very formal matter. He then looked down at Nikomi, and didn't say anything, he just took in her face. She was grinning ear to ear and her eyes looked bright just like before.
"I want to speak to you about this candidate. I thought it was important that she be here for this discussion." Tsunade began. "I've already decided that she will become a Chunin, so this final match is purely for the entertainment of the audience. Her efficiency in battle shows that she is capable of leading her own missions."
Gaara knew Tsunade was just running her mouth. There was another underlying purpose to this meeting.
"As the Hokage of Konoha I'm putting in a formal request that she be sent to the Sand village as a liaison between the Sand and Konoha." Tsunade explained sounding rather proper about it all.
Nikomi turned sharply to look at Tsunade. This was completely unexpected of her. There was no real need to send someone to the sand. She was just making it up.
Gaara looked at her intently, a little confused about this sudden decision.
"I normally would not send anyone with her condition too far from the village. But since you are aware of her condition I feel she would be in good hands. Do you accept my request?" Tsunade asked.
Gaara still didn't know what to say. He was feeling a little flustered and embarrassed, knowing that Tsunade was simply doing this so they could be together, meaning she knew about it the whole time.
Nikomi looked back and forth between the two kages. Her patience was growing thin. She wanted an answer. "Well?" She finally said, putting her hands on her hips and looking straight at Gaara.
Gaara nodded, "I accept your request. She will officially be a guest in the sand as soon as these matches are finished."
Nikomi couldn't contain her excitement anymore. She threw her hands into the air and let out an astounding, "YES!"
Gaara looked at her in shock. He didn't think she would react like that. It had completely broke the serious atmosphere.
Tsunade chuckled and shook her head. "I'm going back to sit down. The matches will start again shortly." At that she walked away, leaving the two of them alone.
Gaara stood there staring at Nikomi as she danced around in a circle. This was the most energetic he had ever seen her. He had no idea how to react to it.
Nikomi stopped and looked at him. "You know…being in the sand for that month made you all serious again. You were starting to lighten up when you left."
Gaara huffed trying his hardest not to laugh. He didn't want to show his emotions in a place like this. People were already staring because of Nikomi's crazy antics, so if he suddenly showed emotion they would be in serious shock.
"Jeeze, lighten up. Just cause you're in all your fancy Kazekage get up doesn't mean you have to distance yourself from me." Nikomi said pointing at him.
He looked down at his wardrobe. He hated wearing this outfit, but it was the official Kazekage uniform, so he had to when he went to events such as these.
"I'm going to have to start calling you Gaara-sama, or better yet Kazekage-sama, if you keep this up." Nikomi said, continuing to harass him.
"You're match is going to start soon." He told her bluntly.
Nikomi looked at him confused. This wasn't the way she remembered him. He was being so stern and serious.
Gaara turned and walked off, leaving Nikomi standing there baffled.
"Gaara?" She asked in a sad confused tone. "Gaara-sama?"
Gaara continued to walk away, ignoring her calls for him. He couldn't show his emotions here. He had to be strong. He was the Kazekage after all.
Nikomi watched as he walked away from her. He hadn't even said hello to her. It was like he didn't want to acknowledge her at all. It made her angry. It made her feel like she had always felt, rejected and alone.
She turned and walked back down to the candidate's area. She was completely lost and her frustration was slowly turning into anger.
The break ended and she was called down to the arena. Her heart felt like it was cracking in two. With every moment that passed she grew more and more angry.
In the arena she stood face to face with the little boy, Keeran. He was younger than anyone else at 10, but he was vicious. His life was already jaded despite his age. There was no naivety in his dark brown eyes at all.
"You know the rules," Shikamaru, the examiner for this match, stated. "This is the last fight of the day so make it quick. This is far too troublesome. Ok….begin."
He stepped out of the way and the match began. Both candidates stood there staring at each other for a moment, sizing one another up.
"You took out the number one rookie, you're good. But I don't think you can handle me." The little boy told her in a very dark voice, while glaring at her.
"Whatever. Let's just go!" Nikomi shouted, still very angry.
"He reminds me of someone." Tsunade whispered to Gaara.
Gaara looked down at the redhead boy, who stood there with his arm crossed and an aura of death. "I know," he said simply.
Nikomi twirled her stick and slammed it onto the ground, sending negative chakra into the earth causing it to crack beneath the little boy.
Without any difficulty Keeran jumped out of the way. He landed softly in a squat without making any noise at all. He rose back to standing and assumed normal armed crossed position once again, not saying a word.
Nikomi didn't react either, she had assumed that he would dodge it, but that was her plan.
Suddenly a huge rumbling could be felt from underneath the ground. Keeran realized what was going on, but it was too late. Out from the earth came a huge blast of negative chakra, sending him flying through the air then landing hard on the ground.
"Wow," Tsunade said. "What did you do to her?"
"I gave her an edge." Gaara said, eyes fixed on the match.
Tsunade gave him a side ways glanced then shook her head. What an odd way to show someone you care. She thought to herself, realizing what he meant.
Keeran looked up at Nikomi as he pulled himself back onto to his feet. It was a good shot, but not enough to keep him down. His eyes were crazy now. He wasn't going to just take this as a nothing match anymore.
A wicked smile shot across his face as he staggered to regain his balance. He looked like he was about to snap. How could a ten year old be this warped?
Nikomi narrowed her eyes at the little boy. She couldn't see his crazy expression that well so it didn't phase her. "You think you're slick shit don't you?" She asked then laughed. "You're nothing."
She went running at him swinging her stick around, twirling it, and jabbing at him. He dodged left and right, avoiding every hit. He knew that if he got hit by that thing it would be the end.
He jumped back, getting a good amount of distance between him and her. Nikomi rushed at him with more conviction then ever. He formed two seals then slammed his hands onto the ground. Immediately the ground cracked and roots began to shoot up, surrounding him.
Nikomi stopped quickly, her feet skidding across the ground. She could see the branches surrounding him, meaning they were infused with Chakra. She laughed and again twirled her stick then jabbed it into one of the roots where the chakra flow was the highest.
She began to release her negative chakra into it, making it crumble before her. It wouldn't be protecting him for much longer.
She smirked as his barrier collapsed, but once she could see inside her smirk faded into confusion. The boy wasn't there.
She felt something hard slam into her back and went flying through the air then falling hard onto the ground. When she could move, she looked behind her to see the boy standing there, again his arms crossed, and a root sinking back into the ground.
Gaara cringed when he heard her hit the ground. It was a hard hit.
Nikomi staggered to her feet and went right back into a fighting stance. "Not bad. But I can do better."
At that she stood up straight and tucked her walking stick under her arm. Keeran gave her an odd look. She looked as if she were just going to stop fighting, right there. But he knew that couldn't be the case.
Nikomi ripped the bandages at her wrists with her teeth then unwrapped them leaving her hands exposed.
Keeran's eyes grew wide when he saw the girl's bare hands. They were covered in the negative chakra. And as more time passed more and more seemed to be seeping out.
Nikomi grinned wickedly at him as the last bandage fell to the ground. "There…that's better." She said with a hint of cockiness in her voice.
Keeran glared at her once again. "You really think that will make a difference?" He asked, confident in his skills.
Nikomi shook her head. "As I told your team mate…don't…underestimate me!"
She then formed one hand sign which made her hands glow completely purple, then slowly knelt down and placed her hands on the ground.
Keeran watch fixedly. Whatever it was she was doing, he was confident he would be able to negate it.
The negative chakra began to flow out her hands and into the ground. It flowed in odd lines, zig zagging all over, with no obvious reason behind it. Nikomi then stood up, grimacing a little from using that much of that chakra.
"What was that?" Keeran asked a little annoyed.
"You'll see." She said smiling at him.
Keeran braced himself for another explosion. He formed his hand signs again and slammed his hands onto the ground just like before. But to his dismay nothing happened. He formed the signs once more and tried once more, but again nothing. He looked up in horror at Nikomi. "You filled all the roots with that negative chakra!" He yelled.
Nikomi had a look of satisfaction on her face. She had completely erased his defense. Now he would be open for attack and wouldn't be able to hit her with those roots anymore. "Now what will you do?"
"Tch. You think that's all I have?" Keeran asked irritated by her overconfidence. "I haven't even started!" He yelled. He then formed four other hand signs and yelled out his jutsu.
Out of his body wooden spikes began to form and shoot up through the air in every direction. "You can't avoid them if you can't see them!"
He was right, Nikomi couldn't see them. They weren't infused with chakra. But she didn't have to see them.
Nikomi quickly knelt down again and placed her hands onto the ground, sending chakra evenly through the earth, then up and around her.
The shield of chakra deflected every last spike and Nikomi stood up unharmed.
Keeran growled then formed a few more hand signs. "I'm not done just yet." He yelled. He parted his arms, trembling as if something was fighting back at him, his fists clenched.
The spikes that were laying all around Nikomi began to move again. Nikomi watched the boy in horror. She couldn't see the spikes, but she could see the chakra moving out from his body.
Nikomi tought for a second then noticed his eyes were closed and he was completely unarmed. She decided this was her last chance.
She stepped towards him but, before she could take a second step, screamed out in pain. She grabbed her arm and pulled out one of the spikes. I see. You don't need a defense because if I move the spikes attack me. But you're not the only one with tricks like that.
Nikomi formed two hand signs quickly then shot her hands out to the side. Purple chakra started to pour out of her hands and turn to mist, filling the air. It made the arena unseeable to everyone else. But with this jutsu, she could see just like a normal person. Now she saw his every feature. He looked so much like Gaara that it made her furious.
Keeran opened his eyes and realized that he couldn't see. He dropped his hands and put his guard back up, but it was too late. In front of him he saw Nikomi come flying at him, avoiding every spike that flew at her. She quickly spun her stick around then jabbed him in the forehead with it. "It's over," she said as he fell to the ground.
There was silence from the audience. Nobody could see what was going on. They all waited with anticipation to see what had happened.
As the fog of chakra cleared, and everything around her faded, Nikomi heard a loud roar of applause, cheers, and screams. She looked up, scanning the people in the crowd and smiling. She had always felt strong and confident in her abilities, but now everyone else knew it too.
As she looked up at the Hokage's seating area, her smile faded. She searched for Gaara's chakra but couldn't find him. She squinted and looked harder, but he wasn't up there. Had he missed the whole thing? She looked down at the ground, her happiness from just a moment ago fading away.
"Winner, Ikio Nikomi." Shikamaru said sounding rather relieved that it was finally all over.
The crowd cheered even louder now. They were thrilled at the outcome. Who knew that everyone had been rooting for her? But it wasn't enough to make her cheer up again. Did Gaara really not want her around anymore? Her he seriously decided that it just wouldn't work? She didn't know. All she knew was that he wasn't up there watching her, and that he seemed to not want her anymore when she spoke to him earlier.
Nikomi swallowed, pushing back the urge to cry then put on a fake smile. She looked back up to the crowd and waved then headed out of the arena.
The other candidates that were steal able bodied stood at the entrance, clapping for her. As soon as she was out of the crowd's sight she dropped the act and stormed past the other fighters.
They looked at her confused but didn't try to stop her. They figured it probably wasn't a good idea to bother her when she looked that pissed and just got done fighting.
She was finally by herself, storming through the stairwell. She needed a moment to breath. She would have to go back out there in a minute for the closing ceremonies, but until then she just wanted to be by herself.
She sat down on the stairs with a huff. She was fuming. She no longer wanted to cry, she wanted to hurt something.
"That bastard!" She yelled out, not being able to contain her anger anymore.
"That's not very nice." She heard from behind her.
She turned sharp, and saw Gaara standing behind her in his usual stance, looking rather serious.
She glared at him. "What do you want?" She snapped.
Gaara walked down the stairs to stand in front of her. "I wanted to congratulate you personally. I mean before the ceremony."
"Well thanks," she said irritated. "But I don't see why."
Gaara sat down next to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off, stood up, and turned to face him.
"You think you can blow me off, not watch my fight, then come in here and act like everything's fine and dandy. I don't think so!" She yelled at him.
"Answer me honestly. If I hadn't blown you off up there, and acted overly happy to see you, do you think you would have done as well?" He asked.
Nikomi stuttered, searching for an excuse. But she knew he was right. "No." She said still angry.
"And do you really think I didn't watch your fight?" He asked.
"You weren't up there!" She yelled.
"I was up until the fog cleared and then I headed down here to see you." He told her.
Nikomi disposition brightened just a little when she heard that. "So then…you saw me?" She asked.
Gaara nodded. "Of course."
"And you just blew me off before because…because you didn't want me to be distracted?"
"You sure do ask a lot of questions. But yes, that's why. I didn't want to be the reason you lost." Gaara explained to her. "So will you please put on a good face for the crowd?"
"No," she said flatly.
He looked at her in shock. He wasn't expecting that response. "Why not?"
"I need something first." She said very seriously.
"What?" He asked her, completely lost as to where she was going with this.
"I'm not sure if I can get it though."
"Well what is it?" He asked a little afraid.
Nikomi sat down facing him on the stairs. Her face looked troubled.
"Are you ok?" He asked concerned. "Do you need the shot?"
Nikomi shook her head. "Nope…I'm fine. I don't have any chakra left, not after creating that fog."
"Well then what do you need?"
"This!" She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
He fell backwards onto the steps. I should have seen that coming. And he should of. It was so obvious.
Nikomi was practically on top of him, which was fine by him, except that he could hear foot steps coming down the stairs.
Gaara gently pushed her away and stood straight up not a moment too soon. The other leaders of the allied villages, including Tsunade, were heading down the stairs.
"There you are Gaara." Tsunade said, having spotted him on the steps.
Gaara regained his composure and looked up at Tsunade as she headed down the steps. "I was waiting for you." He said completely straight faced.
"Well the both of you need to get down to the arena so we can start the closing ceremony." Tsunade instructed.
Gaara nodded then grabbed Nikomi's hand. "Let me help you down the steps, they're pretty steep." He was just making up an excuse to hold her hand.
Nikomi smiled. "Thank you."
As they stepped down the last stair they let go of each other, not trying to draw attention. The leaders walked out first, as it was customary. Then the fighters all followed behind, Nikomi leading the bunch of them.
Tsunade made her speech, talking about how they are formidable ninja and all the formal things. They recapped the matches, then introduced Nikomi as the winner and last explained that they would meet to decide who was to become a chuunin.
The crowd cheered for a while then the ceremony ended. Everyone left the stadium, going their separate ways. After about an hour the stadium was quiet and empty, as if nothing had happened at all.
Nikomi sat on the outside steps all alone. Night had fallen and the cool air felt good against her skin. She stared into the sky, even if she couldn't see she could still feel the stars were bright tonight.
She sighed, knowing this would be her last night in Konoha. But more importantly it would be her last night of loneliness.
Gaara had left with the other leaders to discuss who was to pass. Tsunade would inform all the other leaders that Nikomi would be heading to the sand village to work as a liaison. Gaara would probably sit in the meeting silent most of the time, giving simple yes or no answers.
"Can I join you?" Gaara asked.
"Why aren't you in the meeting?" Nikomi asked confused.
"It's been two hours, the meetings over. Have you been sitting here the whole time?"
"Ha! I guess I have." Nikomi giggled out. "I wish I could see the stars." She told him.
"The ones up their aren't all that great. They only come out when it's dark and the moon is at its dimmest." Gaara explained. "But now that you'll be with me, I think they'll come out more often."
Nikomi smiled then elbowed him in the side. "You're so corny."
"I was trying to be poetic." He growled out.
Just then Nikomi felt a drop on her face. "I knew it would rain."
Gaara looked over at her and then he too felt a drop. "How did you know?"
"The air is thicker. It's more moist then normal." She explained to him.
"I didn't feel anything."
"When you don't have your eyes to tell you what's going on you learn to rely on your other senses." Nikomi told him, holding out her hand feeling the raindrops.
"Maybe we should go inside. It's starting to get heavier." Gaara said as he stood up.
Nikomi nodded and reached her hand to him.
Gaara took it without question and hoisted her up off the ground. The two of them ran back into the deserted arena.
"Man, it sounds like it's really coming down out there." Nikomi said, pointing out the obvious.
"I like it. It doesn't rain much in the desert." He told her.
"Yeah…I guess that's right. So you should enjoy the moment." She told him, staring out into the rain.
"You're right." He turned to face her and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. He could see the reflection of the stars glowing in the rain in her eyes. He smiled then leaned down and kissed her.
She relaxed and placed her hands gently on his stomach and worked her way up his chest, to his shoulders, then around his neck.
He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her even closer. Again they were lost in the moment. And this time there was nothing to interrupt them. It was just them and the stars.
Tsunade walked down the street past the arena, umbrella in hand, heading out to get some more sake when she felt the presence of two people. She looked over at the arena entrance and she could see the silhouettes of two people locked in an embrace. Sitting next to them was the shadow of a long stick and a large gourd.
Tsunade shook her head and chuckled then continued to walk, leaving them to each other.
