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Knowing that's never going to change
That's what keeps me going
Knowing I can just call your name
And your arms will open
It's all the strength I need,
Just knowing you love me
-Just Knowing You Love Me - Jimmy Wayne
Everyone who had won their matches, minus Sasuke, stood in front of Hayate, Anko, and Ibiki who were standing in front of the Hokage. The genin were all in a line: Dosu, Naruto, Temari , Kankurō, Gaara, Shikamaru, Neji and then Shino. Everyone one else was still up in the balconies.
"I commend all those who've advanced to the finals for the third level of the chunin exams." Hayate said. "Well there's one person missing but still, congratulations."
"And now I will begin the explanation of the final round." The Hokage said. "In the final rounds each of you will put your battle skills on display. You demonstrate the power and control you've received in your respected disciplines. Accordingly the final battles will commence one month from now."
"Wait, we're not gunna do it right here and now?" Naruto asked.
"This is to supply a suitable period of preparation." The Hokage explained
"What do you mean by that?" Neji asked.
"Simply this in addition to announcing the conclusion of the preliminary matches to each county's leaders, we must also have some time to prepare and distribute the summons for the final selection. Not to mention that you examinees are going to need time to prepare for something that is this important.
"Look I don't really get what you're tryin'a say." Kankurō said. "What's the point of this?"
"I mean that to know your advisories and prepare yourself you need time. Even though up to this point all the battles have been real battles as I'm sure you can all attest. They were conducted on the premise that you were fighting an unknown enemy but that's no longer the case now that you've battled each other. So in order to make the finals fair and just, we're giving you this month. Each of you must embrace the opportunity to practice hard and learn some new tricks. Because by now everyone here knows your techniques, so using your own tired tricks is a sure way to lose in the finals. And remember to get some rest as well. Now, with all of that behind us, I'd like to begin winding things up. But before we can bring this to an end first there is one more important matter to take care of for the final round."
"Let's get on with it!" Naruto said. "I mean come one, how long do we have to wait until we start training?!"
"In a calm orderly fashion all of you are going to take one slip of paper from the box that Anko is holding." The Hokage said.
"Everyone just stay where you are, I'll just come to you." Anko said. She walked up to Dosu. "Just take one." Everyone took out a paper. Naruto opened his to see a one.
"Huh?"
"Good now everyone has one. Going from left to right tell me the number that's written on your slip of paper."
"I've got eight." Dosu said.
"Number one of course." Naruto said.
"Seven." Temari said.
"Five." Kankurō said.
"Three." Gaara said.
"Nine." Shikamaru said.
"Two." Neji said.
"Six" Shino said.
"And that means Sasuke will be number four." Ibiki said.
"Right." The Hokage said. "Very good, Now I'm going to tell you about how the final selection tournament is going to work."
"Ehhhh?" Naruto looked confused.
"Is that what the numbers are for? Drawing lots?"
"Ibiki, you may reveal which ninja have been paired up." Hokage said.
"Yes sir." Ibiki turned the clipboard her was holding around to show a chart. Naruto gulped. The order went as follows: Naruto vs Neji, Gaara vs Sasuke, Kankurō vs Shino, Temari vs Dosu and who ever won that match would go against Shikamaru.
"May I ask you a question?" Shikamaru asked raising his hand.
"You may." The Hokage said. Shikamaru pointed one finger up.
"Alright if this is a tournament, does that mean that there's only going to be one winner? I mean only one of is going to be able to become a chunin then?"
"Actually it's quite the contrary. There are going to be several judges for the final rounds including myself, the shinobi leaders and the Kazekage, the lords from the various countries that ultimately will be assigning your missions to you. Through this tournament these judges will be able to make a thorough evaluation of your abilities. They will then decide whether any or all of you possess the qualities required of a chunin. Even if someone loses the first round they could still become a chunin."
"So there's actually a chance that every one of us who competes in the selection could become chunin." Temari said.
"Correct, but conversely there's also a chance that none of you will be chosen." The Hokage said. Naruto gulped. "The advantage in fighting more rounds in the tournament is in getting more chances to display your talents in front of the judges who will decide your fate. Does that answer your question, Shikamaru? I thank you all for your patients. Now let us adjourn until next month."
"I'm so tired." Rin said as she sat on the hotel bed.
"You're tired?" Kankurō asked. "You didn't do a thing!"
"Cheering is hard work." Rin said crossing her arms.
"Didn't hear ya cheerin for me." Kankurō muttered.
"I wished you luck and you said you didn't need it so I figured you didn't need my cheering either." Rin said putting her hands on her hips. Kankurō rolled his eyes.
"But you thought Temari would need it?" Kankurō teased looking at his sister who was shaking her head.
"I won by a long shot." Temari said. "Why did you only cheer for me?" Temari asked turning to look at Rin. Gaara, who was putting his gourd down at the end of the bed, started to pay attention. "I can understand not cheering for him," she jerked her thumb at Kankurō who frowned.
"Well," Rin looked down. "I was gunna cheer for Gaara," Gaara turned his head to look at her. "But I didn't want to embarrass him." she shuffled her feet slightly. Temari started to smile and Kankurō rolled his eyes. Gaara let out a silent sigh.
She was cheering for me, he thought. He remembered hearing her scream his name whenever Lee got a hit in. She cares about me more than that green suited loser.
"Dibs on second shower after Gaara." Rin said.
"The other room has a shower you know." Kankurō said. "Use that one."
"Temari's using that one though." Rin said. Temari smiled. One good thing about Rin pretty much sharing a room with the boys is that Temari got the shower all to herself.
"Thanks Rin." Temari said before going to her room through the connecting door.
"You go ahead, Rin." Gaara said. Rin blinked.
"You sure?" Rin asked. Gaara nodded. "Okay. I won't take long." she said with a smile before she skipped into the bathroom. Kankurō sighed.
"You forgot your clothes." he said. Rin skipped out, humming, and went into Temari's room to get her PJs. Gaara faced away from Kankurō and let a small smile slip through. A moment later Rin came back in and went into the bathroom. The door closed and Kankurō started taking off his jumpsuit. He tossed it on his suitcase and sat on the bed in his boxers and the white shirt he had on underneath. Gaara sat on his bed and watched Kankurō look around for something before he got up. Kankurō walked to the bathroom door and knocked. "Hey, ya think you could give me my-" The door opened and Gaara saw Rin's arm pop out holding Kankurō's make up remover. "Thanks." Kankurō mumbled as Rin shut the door.
…
A few minutes later Rin came out of the bathroom in her PJ's with her towel around her neck. She looked at Kankurō, who was sitting on the bed, and shook her head. Rin let out a sigh making Kankurō look up.
"What?" he asked.
"You missed a spot." she said. Kankurō frowned.
"Where?" he asked as he started wiping his hand around his face. Rin took a corner of her towel and held his chin so he'd stay still while she wiped the remaining purple from his forehead.
"You're welcome." she said.
"Yeah thanks." Kankurō muttered. "Would've come off in the shower anyways." He pointed out.
"Yeah but it could've run down into your eye and that would've hurt." Rin said. Kankurō chuckled.
"Didn't know you cared so much, twerp." Kankurō said patting her on the head.
"Kankurō." Gaara said making Kankurō tense. "Go ahead and shower." Kankurō nodded silently before he grabbed his clothes and headed into the bathroom. Rin walked over and sat next to Gaara.
"What's wrong? You don't want to shower?" Rin asked. Gaara shook his head.
"Rin?"
"Mhm?"
"Did I… Did I scare you today?" he asked. He wanted to look at her but he didn't want to see her expression.
"Why would you have scared me?" Rin asked as she tilted her head. Gaara glanced at her.
"My match… that boy…"
"Lee?" Rin asked. Gaara nodded. "You… you didn't mean to hurt him that badly, right?" Gaara turned his head to fully look at her. "No one's ever landed a hit on you in battle. It was a heat of the moment thing." Rin said with a shrug. Gaara nodded.
"Yeah… that's what happened." he said. "I just didn't know if you-"
"Nothing you do will ever change my opinion of you, Gaara." Rin said with a smile. She slipped her hand into his that was on the bed between them. Gaara gave her hand a squeeze and nodded. "I'm glad you passed though." Rin said before leaning over and pecking his cheek. Gaara allowed himself to smile at her as Rin let out a small yawn.
"You should get some sleep." he said.
"I can't sleep without my Gaara-bear." Rin said with a small giggle. Gaara's cheeks went pink and he looked to the bathroom door. The shower could still be heard running. "He can't hear." Rin said rolling her eyes. Gaara shook his head with a small smile.
"I told you not to call me that unless we were alone." Gaara said quietly.
"We are alone." Rin said with a giggle. "Don't worry; I wouldn't ruin your bad boy reputation." Gaara raised his brow and stared at her.
"My what?" he asked. Rin started giggling.
"I'm just teasing you." she said as she moved to get under the covers. Gaara shook his head and moved under the covers as well. "Whacha wanna do tomorrow?" Rin asked as she moved close to Gaara and put her head on his chest.
"I wasn't planning on doing anything." Gaara said. Rin smiled as his voice vibrated throughout his chest.
"I'm gunna see what kinda shops they have here." Rin said. Gaara frowned slightly. "Don't worry; I won't make you come with me. I'll bring you something back though. Maybe Temari will want to come with me. I overheard a woman talking about a hotsprings here. That sounds like fun, doesn't it Gaara?" Gaara chuckled and put a hand on her head.
"Go to sleep, Rin." he said. Rin giggled and snuggled closer before closing her eyes.
Rin walked through the village holding her hands behind her back as she looked around with a smile.
"Hey!"
"Huh?" Rin stopped and turned her head to see Naruto running towards her with a big smile.
"Hey!" He stopped behind her as she turned completely to face him.
"Good morning, Naruto-kun." she said with a smile.
"G-good moring, Rin-chan."
"Just Rin is okay."
"Oh okay!" Naruto said with another big smile.
"What's up?" Rin asked.
"Um.. I was just wondering if you might wanna maybe… if you're not busy," Naruto pushed two fingers together as he looked down at his feet. Rin tilted her head. "Do you wanna maybe get some ramen with me?"
"Sure! I haven't had breakfast yet anyways." Rin said.
"Great! Let's go! I know the best ramen place it's gunna be the best ramen you've ever had!" Naruto said as he started to lead the way to the ramen shop.
"I've actually never had ramen before." Naruto suddenly froze midstep and Rin blinked as she turned to him. "Naruto-kun? Are you okay?" Naruto turned to her slowly with wide eyes.
"You've… never had ramen?!" he shouted making Rin jump and shake her head.
"It's not that popular in Suna. Hot things in the desert and all." Rin explained. Naruto suddenly grabbed Rin's hand and started running towards the ramen shop.
…
Naruto watched Rin pick up her chopsticks as they sat in Ichiraku Ramen. Rin glanced at him as she picked up some noodles. Naruto looked excited and was bouncing in his seat.
"Go on." he said. "Try it." Rin nodded and turned to her bowl before taking a big bite. She blinked and Naruto leaned forward. "Well?" Rin swallowed the bite and turned to Naruto with a big smile.
"This is awesome!" she said before she started eating more. Naruto laughed.
"Ichiraku Ramen is the best!" Naruto cheered as the shop owner placed his bowl in front of him. Rin glance over and saw that Naruto was almost done with his bowl.
"Wow." She said. Naruto stopped mid-slurp and glanced at her. He blinked and swallowed what he had in his mouth before sitting up with a nervous chuckle. Rin giggled. "You really like ramen, huh?"
"Yep!"
"Thanks for showing me this place." Rin said.
"No problem." Naruto said with a grin before he started to eat the rest of his ramen, a bit more slowly.
…
By the time Rin finished her bowl Naruto had finished his second and the owner had placed a third in front of him. Rin reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet.
"This is on me." Naruto said.
"Huh?" Rin blinked. "You don't have to do that." Naruto blushed.
"Think of it as a welcome to Konoha gift." he said. Rin giggled.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yeah!" Naruto said. "But only if you have ramen again with me later." Rin smiled.
"Of course."
"Awesome!"
"So what do you do for fun around here?" Rin asked.
"Uh I mostly train or eat ramen." Naruto said scratching the back of his head. Rin chuckled.
"What do other people do then?" she asked.
"Well…" Naruto frowned as he thought. "There's the hot springs."
"I heard someone talking about those." Rin said with a nod. "I think I'm gunna see if Temari wants to come with me later."
"Uh… is that the blond girl?" Naruto asked. Rin nodded.
"Mhm she's Gaara and Kankurō's sister." she said. Naruto simply nodded with a frown. "He didn't mean to hurt Lee." Naruto looked at her as she looked down at her feet. "He's never been hit in battle, I think he got scared and his sand lashed out." Naruto's expression softened when he saw how tears were coming to Rin's eyes.
"Hey, you should get some souvenirs!" Naruto said.
"You're supposed to save souvenir shopping to the last few days of a trip."
"Says who?" Naruto asked. Rin shrugged. "That's stupid." Naruto said shaking his head. "Come on, how about I just give you a tour that way you'll know where every shop is when you want to get souvenirs."
"That sounds great!"
Rin spent the whole day with Naruto and they ended up back at Ichiraku Ramen. Gaara thought Rin would've returned to the room by then so he went out looking for her. He heard her laugh and followed the sound to the ramen shop. Gaara saw Naruto with her and he frowned.
"Rin." Gaara said as he walked up to them. The two turned around and Naruto frowned while Rin smiled.
"Hey Gaara, wanna join us? You should try this, it's really good. I think ramen is now one of my top five favorite foods." Rin said with a grin.
"It's late." Gaara said. Rin tilted her head and looked at her watch.
"It's not that late."
"You've been gone all day." Gaara said.
"She's been with me all day." Naruto said. Gaara glared at him.
"I told you I was going to be exploring the village today." Rin said. Gaara gently grabbed Rin's wrist and started to pull her away from the loud blond. Naruto quickly grabbed her other wrist.
"Hey wait!" he shouted. Gaara turned to glare at him. "She doesn't have to go with you!" Gaara's face softened as he turned his head to look at Rin.
"Rin." he said. Rin looked back and forth between the two boys. She frowned and settled on looking at Gaara.
"I want to hang out with Naru-kun." she said. Gaara's eyes widened a fraction and he let go of her wrist before he walked away without another word.
"Come on, Rin." Naruto said as he started to pull her back to the ramen shop. Rin pulled her hand free. "Huh?" Naruto watched Rin run after Gaara and stop in front of him. He didn't meet her eyes.
"You're still my best friend and I asked if you wanted to join us. I want to hang out with Naruto cause we leave in a month. You see me every day; I don't know when I'm going to see him again after the end of the exams. I don't know why you're upset but I don't think it's fair so I'm going to hang out with Naruto and… and you can just deal with it." Gaara's eyes were visibly wide. Rin was glaring at him.
Rin? Why?
She walked past him and back over to Naruto who looked between the two.
"Everything okay?" Naruto asked.
"Fine." Rin snapped. She stopped and cringed. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay; ramen will make you feel better." Naruto said. Rin let out a light chuckle and nodded.
Rin returned to the inn she and the sand sibs were staying at but before she could touch the door handle the door opened and she was pulled inside.
"Whoa!"
"What did you do?" Temari asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Rin asked.
"To Gaara." Kankurō said. "He's been on some roof for hours; he looked ready to kill someone." He muttered. Rin frowned and lowered her head.
"It's my fault." Rin said. "I wanted to hang out with Naruto and Gaara got upset." Rin said.
"Of course he got upset. You're his only friend." Temari said. "He doesn't want to lose you."
"But he knows he's my best friend." Rin said.
"Rin, he's never had anyone but you besides…" Kankurō trailed off.
"Where is he?" Rin asked.
"Last we knew he left through the window and was jumping roofs." Temari said. "Fix this."
"I plan to."
Gaara sat high above a roof, wind chimes below him sounded.
"Well well… look at this." Dosu said as he approached. "Don't you even sleep at all?"
"Why are you here? What do you want?" Gaara asked.
"I was planning on attacking you while you slept." Dosu said. "If I fight and defeat you now then in the next round I can battle the one I really want to face. Sasuke. I already know all about your sand attack. I wonder which is faster, your sand or my sound." Dosu said.
"When the moon is full... Its blood boils." Gaara said as his sand came out of the gourd and attacked Dosu.
"Huh, wha- what in the world are you?" The sand attacked Dosu and killed him in a manner of seconds. Gaara was bent over on the roof, panting so heavily that he almost didn't hear the gasp come from behind him. His head snapped to the sound and his eyes widened.
No, his mind screamed. Why? Why now? Why did you have come here now?! Rin stared at Gaara with wide eyes; her hands had flown to cover her mouth. Gaara felt his heart pounding in his ears. She'd seen him. She'd seen what he'd done, what he was capable of doing. He couldn't breathe. All this time he'd managed to control himself around her when it came to killing. He never felt the need to around her. He didn't want her to ever see that side of him and now she had.
"Rin." He took a step towards her, expecting her to run but she stood there frozen. "Rin I-" She wasn't moving, not even her chest. His eyes widened and he ran over to her. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Rin!" He couldn't hide the panic in his voice. She sucked in a gasp and her legs gave out. Her hands moved to grip his shoulders as he lowered her slowly. "Rin?" She didn't say a thing, couldn't say a thing. Her throat felt dryer than Suna itself and when she tried to swallow it felt like there was a clump of sand in her throat. Gaara pulled her to him. She was tense against him but her arms had gone limp and hung at her sides. Gaara rested his forehead on her shoulder. "Don't hate me." He whispered, his voice cracking, as he gripped the back of her shirt tightly. Rin's arms felt numb but she wrapped them around him.
"I could never hate you." she whispered. Gaara's grip around her tightened and Rin, in turn, pulled him closer. She kissed his temple before she put her hand on the back of his head and stroked his hair gently. "You're my best friend. Forever and always, right?" she whispered. Gaara nodded against her shoulder.
"Forever and always." he said, his voice coming out as a broken whisper.
Just realized we haven't had a "Forever and always" moment since chapter 10. Let me know what you guys think. ^_^
Also I don't want to skip the month between now and the final matches so if anyone has any ideas for activities/events to happen. I have a few so far like the hot-springs I keep mentioning but the ideas I have only use up a few days not even a week. I always give credit for ideas so feel free to comment/review or PM me.
Another big THANK YOU for everyone who reads this story. Knowing how much you guys like this story keeps me motivated ^_^