The Next Dimension Over
Chapter Nine
"Before the tournament begins, there is something important that must be done."
She frowned at him, suspicious. In the time that she'd known him, she'd begun to think he was actually more perverted than Naruto or the late toad-hermit Jiraiya. It didn't instill very much faith in her over what he might deem 'important'. Or why he'd consider it her business.
"Come with me quickly, we'll speak as we walk."
...She still didn't trust his intentions, but if it was a time sensitive matter, she had little choice but to follow him. And do him harm if it turned out to be some sort of frivolous attempt at peeping on whatever few females were present.
"What is it? What did you want?"
He turned his gaze up to her again. "I need you to enter the tournament."
(*)
He felt sick to his stomach. It was probably best he didn't eat anything on the plane after all. All the confidence he'd felt on the island when he'd been weightless and moved things he'd never imagined moving before had steadily drained since he'd arrived at the tournament and seen all the impressive and scary looking opponents.
After all, even if they were able to jump high and hit hard, the old turtle hermit hadn't taught them any martial arts. And that had been what he'd been expecting most from the training. The people wandering around the building sure looked like they'd been trained with secret techniques and finishing moves that would pass in the blink of an eye.
That attack his master used on Sakura the first day he'd been on the island would have been useful, even.
Somehow. Probably.
He sighed as he stared at the match ups on the wall.
"I've made a terrible mistake..."
Goku, who had been staring down at his paper, glanced up immediately. "What?"
"I uh..." He frowned. Saying it out loud where someone could hear it made it sound worse somehow. Especially when his company seemed so excited and not really scared at all. "Let's...hope we don't fight each other in the preliminaries, right? That way we've got a chance to both make it to the finals."
Supposedly, anyway.
Goku beamed. "Yeah! I'm sure we'll both make it, and then we can fight in the finals!"
He gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah...the finals."
One of the referees shouted across the building. "Combatants Sixty-nine and Seventy!"
"Oh! That's me!" Goku turned and sprinted off toward the ring.
For some weird reason, Goku's excitement was getting to be infectious.
(*)
She frowned. Tournaments and competitions weren't really the kind of thing she liked. The Chuunin exams hadn't been the best of experiences for her either time she'd taken them, and...except to keep up with the others, she'd never had the same competitive spirit as Naruto and Sasuke. If she was strong enough to do what she needed to do, it was enough. Competing in a tournament meant for the denizens of an entirely separate dimension was even less important to her.
Yet, here she was doing exactly that instead of spending that time searching the city. Maybe she'd thought about watching Goku and Krillin's matches, as many as they might have, but competing was an entirely different level of trouble.
As much as she knew this was just another step in his endless attempt to figure out exactly how far her skills and abilities stretched, it was also the most aware she'd ever seen him behave when it came to the capabilities of his actual students.
"They've become much too strong too quickly," he'd reasoned, "if they defeat the people in that tournament so easily, they'll stop training and squander it all."
She wasn't so certain that was the case, or that it would be a problem...
But she'd lived through seeing just how much more powerful enemies could become without warning. Eventually, someone like Kaguya, or even Madara, might arrive in the dimension. Those were beyond the level any normal tournament could present. She understood the lesson he wanted to impart.
It wasn't really her problem, all the same.
She stood inside the tournament hall all the same.
The disguise part made sense as well. If they knew it was her fighting them, it wouldn't have the same effect as a strange opponent appearing out of nowhere. She'd refused to even look at what disguise he picked out, though. Instead, she simply henge'd into...Ino.
Her fingers twined through strands of long blonde hair without even really realizing it. Every other time she'd been in a tournament like this Ino had been there. It made sense if Ino was this time, too.
They were in different blocks, but Krillin and Goku weren't so far that she couldn't watch them while she waited for her own battle. The way that Goku had moved, and how quickly he'd managed to send his opponent out of the ring (it looked like he'd barely touched him) spoke volumes for what Roshi had said. The children were geniuses. They learned and improved at a speed she could only envy.
It would be a waste if they failed to reach their potential, and a tragedy if their overconfidence ended in their death one day. If she had to beat them up once to stop them from killing themselves, then she would.
She squinted at Goku, as he stared down at his hand.
If she could.
As the two chattered excitedly between each other, two other men approached them, wearing clothing similar to what Krillin had worn before the trip. The din of the tournament around her drowned out anything they said, but the body language between them and Krillin made the intent of it clear.
She'd never mistake that kind of behavior. Just by watching, she could hear what they were saying after all.
"Are you having fun pretending to be a ninja?"
"Don't you think it's funny that she's trying to join the academy?"
"Just remember, you'll never be special, got it?"
At some point, she wasn't sure when, she collected some of the straw that had piled up on the ground (presumably those came from the man dressed up as a scarecrow with straw stuffed up all of his sleeves and pants) and crossed the distance over to where the men and boys stood.
While she didn't remember when she'd decided to approach them, she didn't hesitate to throw it at the two men once they both opened their mouths to laugh (at a joke that wasn't at all funny). The sharp strands hit straight on their mark, colliding with the back of both of their throats. Naturally, their laughter immediately turned into coughing fits.
"Wh-what the hell-?" The taller one recovered first, and glared up at her with a level of killing intent that probably wouldn't have frightened one of Konoha's cats.
"Oh! I'm sorry." She waved her hand and smiled. "It's just that your two heads were so empty and wide open I mistook you for garbage bins."
The tall man spat the remainder straw out finally, and the other one tossed his to the ground, both taking a step toward her. "You think we look like garbage?"
In front of her, the startled younger boys, who hadn't yet said a word, moved defensively in front of her. Well. Goku moved defensively, Krillin's actions were somewhat more indecisive, as if he were contemplating hiding behind her instead.
She understood that feeling under the circumstances. Very much.
"Why else would I throw them?" She jutted her thumb over her shoulder. "I couldn't just leave them there when they came off that guy back there. Can't you tell how much they smell?"
Their gaze flickered in the direction she indicated. And then stayed there. A moment later, the two broke down into choking and gagging, stumbling backward and then running away. Presumably toward whatever kind of wash room the tournament had.
She sniffed (air only slightly tainted by the monstrously vile creature on the other side of the building). It didn't surprise her at all that they'd be unobservant and weak-willed enough to be so easily convinced the straw came from him, just because she'd said so. "Pathetic morons."
She'd always kind of suspected it did back when Ino had done the same for her...and now she knew she'd been right. Doing that felt pretty damn good. Even years after she'd so much as seen those other girls.
"Wh...what...?" Krillin's voice cut through her thoughts, dazed and suspicious.
She was beginning to think the suspicious tone was just part of his voice.
"Don't put up with people putting you down." She turned her gaze down at them. Unsurprisingly, neither one of them showed any spark of recognition in their eyes. She might not have been her master, but she liked to think she was pretty decent at henge anyway. One of them seeing through it would have been a true shock. "Pathetic people like them don't even deserve to be in a place like this."
His expression hardened with a familiar kind of self doubt, before he turned his gaze after where the two men were hunched over at a far wall. "If people as strong as him don't belong here...then maybe I should forfeit entirely..."
"What are you talking about?" Goku spoke before she could say anything, fists clenched in front of him. "You can take him! Just go all out on him and you'll see!"
She would have said something as well, but one of the coordinators called out her number. For the moment, the two were engrossed in a pep talk with each other anyway. It was the perfect excuse to escape before either of them thought to get an identity out of her, or find a reason to suspect her of not being who she appeared to be.
It wasn't likely they would, under the circumstances, but a ninja didn't succeed by taking pointless risks.
Unless they happened to be named Naruto.
Her lips quirked into a tiny smile as she made her way to the stage.
Somehow, it was the first time she'd thought of him, or of home, and not felt a stab of pain.
(*)
He felt amazing!
Every once in a while, he felt a little worried or doubtful, and then Goku would send someone flying over his head and out of the ring. They were totally unstoppable! It was really, actually happening. His dream of never losing again, his dream of becoming famous and powerful, it didn't even take one year, much less five.
He felt pretty pumped, honestly. It was a little weird to think that just earlier that day he'd been so unsure and so close to dropping out. If it wasn't for Goku and that strange girl who appeared out of nowhere, he might...actually have run away again. He wasn't particularly proud to think that.
He did feel proud to be standing in the ring on the final fight to determine if he made it to the finals, though. Just a year ago, he almost couldn't bring himself to imagine himself standing this far, and now...he was confident he'd make it to the finals. It'd be him versus Goku squaring off in the ultimate test and showdown of rivals.
Sure, he'd ultimately beat Goku...
He ducked a clumsy swing of his opponent.
But Goku would put up a good fight!
Another swing missed him without him even really needing to move.
He'd look impressive! Master Roshi would congratulate him, Sakura would have to admit he succeeded at something she was too afraid to even try to do, and...
He landed a kick square in the middle of his opponent's large chest, sending the furry creature spiraling out of the ring.
He'd be the Tenkaichi champion!
"Yeah!"