Harbinger

by tigerowl

Naruto's friendship with his teammates Gaara and Haku is put to the test as they prepare to deal with the threat of the Akatsuki. The secrets Jiraiya has kept come to a head, and Naruto must shoulder the responsibility of protecting much more than the Leaf Village. Continuation of Forlorn. AU NaruHina, GaaSaku, NejiTen, ObiRin, OCs *Taoism, Self-Indulgent World Building, longfic

31. New Exam: Genin Takedown!

Note: Malikmi95, dreaddragonknight, Red Wings, fiveflyingsquirrels, samsaraknight, LordGraygem, angelic charity, imnotadriana, and you other fab commenters: thanks for your reviews! The wait is over.

Chapter Soundtrack: "Freaks" Instrumental by Timmy Trumpet

Chapter 31- New Exam: Genin Takedown!

She exhaled.

'Calm down, girl. Lee had the first match at the previous Chunin Exam. He won! That sets a pretty good precedent for my team.' Tenten considered as she descended down the private stairwell, 'And it's probably best to get this out of the way…'

She was surprised by the number of thoughts that were drag-racing in her head. The clop of her heeled sandals echoed in the narrow space.

'I've dealt with Rock ninja before.'

Well, if bisecting them and blowing them up counted, she definitely had.

Tenten frowned thoughtfully, 'I don't know if that's the tone I want to set in the first match. Killing is against the rules anyway. The quicker he folds the better.'

It probably mattered that Lee had reported the Rock Genin team to be "highly unstable and dangerous." Even Neji had been overly concerned about it and that, of course, never boded well.

But hell, after the year she'd had Tenten would bet her opponent might think better of pushing her too far, if he had a clue. She survived a great multitude of things. Like rent. Working hand-to-mouth. Small business operations. Orphanhood and ill-advised romance. Teamlessness. Clashing with nukenin in the Marsh Country while Lee and Neji were disabled in ways only a comedian could envision, and perhaps worst of all, she shuddered; the interrogation and demands of her kunoichi friends. It didn't get much scarier than that.

'He's toast.' She decided as she stepped through the doorway.

Tenten squinted in the bright light of the arena, timing her breaths calmly as she entered. Shikamaru looked bored and she took that as a good sign. Ga-Fen stood a few paces away from him, a leg tapping anxiously for the word start to be spoken. His crazy eyes locked onto Tenten and he grinned again.

Something about him seemed big for his britches, Tenten estimated.

Shikamaru glanced between the two competitors, "If you're both ready," He raised his hand for a signal, "You may begin!" He was prompt about darting away and returning to the safety of the observation area.

About as fast as Tenten could snap open the large scroll at her back, Ga-Fen was flashing through hand signs, 'We're starting with Ninjutsu, eh?' The kunoichi made an acrobatic flip to avoid the… 'I hope that's dirt.' Mud. It was surely mud that the puckish Rock Genin was spitting out in a stream. Tenten summoned a volley of kunai and shuriken, clipped his shoulder once, and watched the rest of the projectiles stick into the Earth Release debris.

Ga-Fen took a breath and then unleashed another jet of earthy muck. Tenten leapt with nearly the full stretch of her scroll in an arc, letting a barrage of weaponry slip from paper and off her fingertips. In the same moment her opponent spat and hardened a shell of rapid-drying mud, Tenten tapped a seal for a chain-net bomb, 'Good luck trying to hide from this!' She let it drop, bounce on the top of the crusty dome, and it detonated with a rumble.

The rattling tink tink of empty chains warned her ears that Ga-Fen had not been caught. As the smoke settled, Tenten landed on her feet and braced a fold of the tool-scroll over her arm. The dome was reduced to rubble, but Ga-Fen had crafted several wall-like structures and paths with his spitting technique in a moment of distraction. He charged from the blind spot on her left, too close, and as he lashed down with an axe kick Tenten let a point-blank burst of razor darts loose from her scroll. The young man was shredded like a doily, but a second later loped over into a pile of sludge. 'He's quick with Earth Clones…'

From the cover of a dirt wall behind Tenten, Ga-Fen sprayed a length of scroll parchment with mud. Before she could attempt to salvage her prized encyclopedia of weaponry, he dove in with merciless Taijutsu in the next instant. She backed off with a frustrated cry and abandoned it, pulling Hok free at her back, 'Oh he is SO paying for that! That compilation took a month to seal and two-thirds of my arsenal!'

"Heh!" The Rock Genin's grin was simmering with satisfaction.

He held a Seal of Confrontation as he gathered chakra and it was then Tenten noticed the steel-tipped claws on his hands. They were not the decorative rings she recognized from dance performances of the Thousand Hand Guan Yin at childhood festivals. They were anchored firmly to the knuckles and each wrist, equipped specifically for ripping, 'Those sure could hurt…and I know he put those on while he hid behind me…' She frowned in concentration, 'But I have longer range than him using my sword.'

The footing and evasive maneuvers between the earthy structures Ga-Fen had created was treacherous. Tenten easily outmatched his attacks with her jian, the red hilt-tassel whipping widely as she slashed. When the Rock nin lacked space to counter her he continued spitting jets of mud to keep her at a distance. 'So much for my range advantage…' He was fast. Faster than most of her peers, save for Lee, she estimated.

Ga-Fen had gotten behind her in the Mud Labyrinth and nearly stuck his claws into her like a rake in a leaf pile, but she was thinking of Lee and his first match. His victory and his quickness. He'd set the precedent, so surely she could honor her team and do equally as well. Tenten deflected the strike she sensed from behind and fell into a backwards somersault. She kicked a foot up with force, barely missing the young man's groin, hitting the hip bone, and then stabbed the tip of her sword neatly into the back of her opponent's calf. While he screamed she continued to roll, 'Be proud of me, Lee!' so her second kick knocked him off balance. Tenten almost had him splayed out, miserably caught by the acrobatics, but he defended against the next thrust of her jian. His steel nails krang'd off of her blade.

She did not dare to look, but could tell that Gai was crowing excitedly from up above. She'd cut a line across Ga-Fen's cheek as he ducked frantically away from her, cursing in Hanwen, and then she was tackled. The Mud Clone's ambush sent her headfirst through a dry earth wall, crashing through it, and the kidney-punch that followed made her eyes water in agony. The real Rock Genin and his bloodied leg were hastily closing in. 'Ugh. Nostrils. Breathe. Can't mouth-breathe, too much dirt.' Another kidney-punch. 'Air! Now!' Somehow she inhaled and bucked free from the hold.

Tenten punctured the Mud Clone's stomach with Hok and hauled herself to her feet, spying her ruined tool-summoning scroll a few meters away. Oh mercy, what a waste… Such a shame she couldn't use that new fleet of morning-star spike balls to rain down on him. 'It would've been beautiful.' The clone dissolved and Ga-Fen came barreling at her with a new bombardment of Earth jutsu, folding the walls and collapsing them around her. A jet of pressurized mud nearly took her head off, but she tumbled out of its way.

As Tenten skidded, she realized she had played into exactly what he'd been hoping for. At the edge of the arena, one of the acute-triangle gaps in the floor was a mere step away from her. She had been corralled by Ninjutsu towards the hole. Before she could oxygenate enough to leap away, jets of mud careened for her, and the painful, filthy splash shot her off the ledge.

Be aware of your environment, bitch. The Rock Genin scolded in Hanwen, And we thought you Leaf shinobi were the biggest threat!

From the railing above, Gai and Lee were fit to burst with indignant howling (Lee especially, having heard the comment.) Neji held up an arm to them while he watched with his Byakugan, "Easy now. Falling does not constitute loss." He reminded them and they deflated a little, calmer, so he added, "She's going to make this very painful for him now."

And on cue, Tenten had swung up from the gap on the opposite side; as did three Shadow Clones from each of the arena's gaps. She certainly did look angrier. Ga-Fen did not immediately understand that her clones were solid replications and not a Supplementary farce, that was, until they began to dash and swirl around him. Blades caromed against his steel claws and his heart began to pound, 'They're real! I got stuck in a match with someone who can use Kage Bunshin?' With proper timing, he severed the head of a shadow clone with a deadly claw-strike.

Unfortunately, he stepped right into a counterattack as her Dance of the Crescent Moon concluded. Two shadow clones stopped their swords at the front and back of his neck. Tenten stood in front of Ga-Fen, expecting his surrender, but he had prepared another jet of mud to spit at her. She ducked away from it. One of her clones prudently pinned Ga-Fen with a blade through the foot. He screeched and swung at it, foolishly, as the second clone's sword cut in an upward motion beneath his right hand. Three of his fingers were severed and plopped to the floor, the steel rings falling away uselessly. Right about then his fighting spirit evaporated.

Very appropriately, Shikamaru had returned to the messy arena floor with his thumbs jammed in his ears to block out a 101 decibel scream.

Ga-Fen had fallen to his knees and Tenten dismissed her Shadow Clones, wondering if she had perhaps disqualified herself. 'I don't know…Shikamaru said nothing about maiming in the rules. And all of us did sign those waivers a few days ago…'

The referee squatted down beside the crumpled Genin, "Yo…I'm going to call it unless you get up and defeat her." Shikamaru inclined his head towards Tenten, "That was legal, by the way."

"Oh. That's good." She kept Hok ready in her hand.

Ga-Fen tilted his head to look at Shikamaru, rasping, Get fucked you ugly motherfucker, you and this bitch. If it wasn't against the rules I would have killed her at the start!

Shikamaru blinked at him and then stood, "Great. Didn't know we'd have to call in a translator for any of these matches. What's he speaking?"

"Hanwen." Tenten informed him, "He called you ugly. And some other things…"

"Eh?" He was mildly surprised, "Right. You and Lee speak that, I've heard. Got it." Shikamaru raised his hand towards Tenten, "Tenten is the winner of this match."

Ga-Fen's wailing grunts got the attention of the uniformed medic-nins rushing into the arena, but not the attention of his team. His sensei, Sekieima, and his brother Qin watched him from the rails but made no move to go to him. Huo was too busy staring at Tenten to give a damn about what had happened. One medic collected the discarded fingers and the other escorted Ga-Fen away.

Tenten stowed Hok at her back and retrieved her now useless tool-scroll, 'Well I did it…but I kind of had to. He wasn't the type to give up without some serious persuasion.' Her back ached from the brutal punches, 'God, what an asshole. I don't feel that bad about it…but I wonder if they can reattach his fingers?' She was genuinely curious if it could be done. Tenten climbed the staircase back towards the top floor, dusting dried mud from her white cheongsam, 'This probably won't wash out.'

She emerged at the observation deck to the loud, excited utterings of her Leaf compatriots. Lee, of course, was the loudest as he squeezed her shoulders happily.

Hinata was tugging on her sleeve and looked to be near tears, "Onee-san, your back…"

"I'll be fine, Hinata." She smiled at the younger girl, "But do you mind looking at my head? I hit it pretty hard." Tenten bent to let the Hyuga princess press healing hands against her scalp. 'Ah, that's better. No more wall diving for me.' The fall had also messed up her chignons and her hair was all over the place, half-tied, 'I'll put it up again in a little while…'

Gai probably did not realize he had stepped in front of Neji and cut off his comments. "Excellent form and showmanship, Tenten! That was precisely what I expected of my student."

"Thank you, Gai-sensei." She said as Hinata worked.

The man took the muddied and destroyed scroll from her hands, "Hmm. I will have this replaced prior to your final matches."

"I'll replace it sensei, it's expensive."

"Accept my gesture or I will take it as an insult!" He warned.

Tenten gave in, "Fine."

Gai moved on to gloat directly in Kakashi's face (The first match was my team's triumph once again!) and Neji finally got a word in edgewise to his girlfriend, "Let Hinata-sama examine your back as well."

"Really, I feel okay. Just my-"

"There is damage." His tone got stern.

Tenten let her shoulders sag and she gave an imperceptible nod to Hinata. The younger girl finished her work at the crown of Tenten's head and moved to her lower back, laying her hands over the area gently.

"He throttled me a little." Tenten admitted quietly, "He was faster and stronger than I expected."

"He adapted quickly to your style and tried to sabotage your techniques and ranged attacks." Neji shrugged, "He was outclassed, regardless."

"Thank you. Did I look beautiful crashing into things and getting covered in mud?"

He grunted, "Hardly."

"Yeah." She sighed, mentioning, "Thanks, Hinata. That's a lot better."

"I'm glad. Let me know if it starts to bother you again." Hinata straightened and patted the older kunoichi on the arm, whispering, "I saw Neji-niisan flinch when you were struck."

"Did he?" She kept her voice low, seeing that the Hyuga heir had turned back to lean on the rail and watch the screen as names cycled.

'It's been a long road, but here you are, Neji…letting people witness empathy we never thought we'd get out of you. Not even Naruto could make you do that.' A smile tugged at Tenten's lips, 'Thank goodness your improvement has been cumulative; otherwise you'd probably think people combust when they kiss. Now you know better, don't you?'

Over the top of Hinata's head she could see Sakura, Ino, and Tama down the length of the walkway, waving and pantomiming congratulations to her. 'We can do it girls. We may have to castrate some people today, but we are going to the final rounds.' She grinned back at her friends.

Shikamaru's voice drifted up from the arena floor, "The second match will be between Akimichi Chouji and Korekiyo Kimori."

Tenten squeezed herself between Neji and Lee at the hand rail, all craning their necks to watch Chouji hand off a bag of chips to Fujita and give assurance to his team. Once he entered the closed stairwell, Tenten looked across the room to the team of Cloud Genin. It was evident that the toothpick-thin boy, Kimori, was nervous, likely more because of stage fright and less because of the appearance of his portly opponent. 'Watch out there, Chicken-Neck, Chouji can pick you up and play croquet with you.' Tenten thought to herself.

Beside her, Lee deduced as he held his chin, "Chouji-kun will win."

"You seem so sure, Lee."

"Attitude reveals much about a match. That Genin has been sulking since his team arrived. The Forest must have given them difficulties."

"Hm. I suppose you have a point there." Out of curiosity she asked, "Hey, how was my attitude before my match?"

Lee turned to her with a smile so wide it crinkled his eyes, "Courageous."

That did it. Tenten hugged his arm tightly and thanked him. On her opposite side Neji spoke, "There was no one better to lead us into these matches. Even I did not feel prepared."

"Now that I don't believe. You've got…they're like…carbon-steel nerves." Tenten insisted, "You'd have been fine, Neji. Shikamaru just announced it abruptly, was all."

He made a soft sound of disagreement before they turned their attention to the arena floor.

Chouji had arrived first, and though Shikamaru made a valiant attempt to restrain himself, he smiled at his best friend. A low chuckle rumbled from the hefty young man. They had both deduced that the wafer-thin Cloud Genin was a first-time participant. Kimori had lollygagged and hesitated all the way down the stairs, eventually turning up to stand face-to-face with his older, larger Leaf ninja opponent.

'Seems to me…' Shikamaru thought to himself, 'This kid's biggest threat is his own nerves.'

He flagged his hand down, "Begin!" And then he returned to the observation area to enjoy Chouji's imminent thrashing of the inexperienced twerp.

Chouji waited for Kimori to make a move, grimacing in confusion when the boy slipped his hand to a thigh holster, palmed a kunai and then froze. His knees were quaking as he stood.

'Shit, Chouji's not that scary is he?' Shikamaru glanced over to Asuma and then Tsunade, noticing that they were plainly puzzled too, 'The Cloud kid has stage fright to the max…'

Chouji took a moment to reflect on an appropriate way to handle a terrified first-timer in a fight. As he was a compassionate soul, he wanted to end it mercifully, 'I don't exactly want to snap his fingers off like Tenten did earlier…' But waiting for an awkward signal to attack was going to draw out a tooth-cringingly bad match. 'I'll give him a free shot. Yeah. Poor kid could probably use it…'

"Hey," Chouji waved at the other genin, whose eyes had glazed over, "It's your first match ever, right? I totally understand." He pressed his thumb against the swirl on his cheek, "Go ahead and try to hit me. I won't make a move until you do."

He heard Ino groaning reproachfully in the background.

In response, Kimori went wide-eyed with shock. A moment later, as if it were an involuntary action, he hurled the kunai with force and it pinged off of Chouji's armor chestplate, clattering to the floor. Chouji stood there and glanced at the wasted weapon, discouraged. 'He just squandered a free shot…'

Shikamaru covered his face with a hand, beginning to feel embarrassed by watching, 'If he can't capitalize on Chouji letting his guard down then he deserves to lose…'

While the proctor was chagrinned by the young Cloud Genin wobbling and sweating in the arena, other spectators had a healthy dose of schadenfreude. The older Grass team was hooting in delight.

"Grow some balls!" The Grass team's tallest young man jeered.

The Grass kunoichi chimed in, "Need a change of pants down there?"

They guffawed wildly until their sensei, Mahoto, angrily shushed them.

Many of the Leaf Genin were sympathetic but watched in respectful silence. By the time Chouji made a running charge towards Kimori and prepared his Multi-Size technique, the infectious laughter of the Grass team had spread to other spectators.

Kimori was on the verge of tears as he hurled a full barrage of kunai, which Chouji blocked as a true professional blocks; with a giant arm bracer. The Leaf ninja was now over six meters tall and it appeared hopeless.

"For fuck's sake! You're faster than him, Kimori!" One of his teammates shouted down from the rails, "Don't think about what you saw before—look at what's in front of you!"

That encouragement was the spark of sense that motivated Kimori to dive out of the way of a sweeping, meters-wide palm strike. It stamped a hand-shaped crater in the arena floor, crumbling the last of the Earth jutsu debris from the first match. Kimori rushed hand signs and produced a crackling static field that stretched the length of the room. All it seemed to do was stand Chouji's hair on end.

Kimori's teammates were hollering encouragement, trying to combat the laughing of other teams. When another palm-strike came careening down the Cloud Genin leapt like a grasshopper, grew a spine, and ran up the giant's arm, ducking beneath another behemoth hand swiping at him. Shikamaru was impressed that some bravery had mobilized the newcomer.

Chouji got a grip on Kimori a mere moment after two paper-tag nodes were slapped on his mammoth neck, and the resulting Lightning-Style shock stunned him. Kimori slipped out of his grasp and fell to the floor, retreating as his enormous opponent toppled. Chouji's Multi-Size jutsu wore off, and as he shrank he was still clearly in control of his faculties after Kimori's attack. The zap had not been strong enough to stop him. Chouji rolled forward in an effect of his Bullet Tank technique, built speed, and then propelled himself behind Kimori.

The younger Genin was swiftly contorted into an arm-lock at his back (the next shock-tag fluttered to the floor) and Chouji flattened Kimori, pressing his face into dirty tiles until he wheezed. Actually, Shikamaru thought, Chouji looked quite elegant right there; having pinned Kimori as he waited on bent knee, holding a kunai in warning to the boy's throat, 'Stylish! Chouji's obviously been working on his flourish while I've been away. I don't give points for that though.'

Kimori slapped the floor with his free hand, turning blue. His teammates above were clamoring in frustration while Shikamaru called the match, "The winner of the second match is Chouji."

Chouji stood and released the toothpick-Genin who rolled over, gulping down air. The laughing spectators had quieted, and that was probably because Kimori had at least tried, in spite of his predictable course his team was going to be disappointed he lost to a fat guy, but as Kimori trudged out of the arena he noticed a friendly wave from his Leaf opponent as he returned to the stairs. Maybe there were worse people to fight, he figured. Chouji had not wanted to humiliate him, and Kimori planned to keep that in mind.

Shikamaru's mood elevated slightly. It was a bit of an ego trip to see his best friend have a fast and flashy win. He caught Asuma grinning and muttering excitedly to Ino up above. Fujita was still clapping. 'These matches will probably all be relatively one-sided, I bet. Leaf has the strongest competitors.' Shikamaru tapped a small remote in his pocket to cycle through participant names again on the screen.

By the time Chouji and Kimori had reappeared on the floor above to spectate, two new names were selected on the digital readout. Shikamaru made the announcement, "The third match will be between Tenro Masugama and Rock Lee."

The "Woo!" of excitement was piercing, and immediately followed by Lee and Gai shouting words of fortitude at each other. Tenten watched them with a sheepish look as Neji tuned out the youthful warbling, looking across the way to where the Dream Genin, Masugama, was calmly adjusting his belt and bracers. Shikamaru could tell by the look on Neji's face that, more than likely, Masugama was not among weak candidates of this round.

'I don't know much about Dream ninja. They obviously like bright colors.' It was a very private and secluded hidden village. Shikamaru had heard a statistic prior to the First Stage stating that the chance of encountering a Dream shinobi on a mission within the Fire Country is about 3 percent, and outside of the Fire Country, less than 1 percent. 'They don't get out much.'

He watched tepidly as Lee did an acrobatic, vaulting somersault off of the rail and landed neatly beside him. "Shikamaru-kun, I hope to be representative of our village's distinction in this match! Please wish me luck." Lee was making a fist, wide-eyed and hyped.

Shikamaru sighed softly, "Lee…you probably won't need it…but good luck."

Masugama descended the stairs in a red and pink, fur-trimmed gi. He was a rather handsome fellow; brunette, pale-skinned, and amber eyes with red paint swiped across the bottom lid. His Yumegakure headband was fitted on a black, happuri-style face plate, with the top prongs rising above his head as if they were animal ears. Masugama smiled amiably at Lee for all of one second before the expression vanished completely.

Shikamaru was quickly getting impressions and making predictions, 'This guy likes Leaf ninja, probably. He's happy to be here. And…he definitely is not afraid of this match.' He seemed tough and intelligent, but Shikamaru had noticed Masugama the day before having animated conversations with Hatake Sato, of all people, 'So what the hell does that mean?'

Lee faced his opponent with calm confidence and a tiny smile on his face, like always. Shikamaru kept his eyes on them as he retreated from the arena, "Begin!"

And they met like two battering-rams an instant later, vibrating the room with force.

'Well shit.' Shikamaru thought. Lee had gotten himself a serious opponent.

He observed Lee's full-powered punches and kicks, which were the stuff of legend these days, be countered blow-for-blow. Masugama was a Taijutsu expert.

The regulation Leaf Whirlwind was aimed squarely for Masugama's head, but the Dream ninja took the blow, buffering it with an arm, and as he tumbled his own kick caught Lee's shoulder. They parted, recovered, and then resumed their mirror-like brawl. There was a long period of exhausting, bone-crushing blows that made the less experienced Genin spectators cringe in fright. The techniques used told the Leaf and Dream combatants a lot about one another.

Ah, this one is strong. He has trained for a long time!

Wow, great kick.

He has a youthful spirit!

He's fought someone like me before. He isn't making mistakes…

I can already tell he wants to use Ninjutsu! He looks stressed!

Yeesh…this person needs a shower. Or…is that me who stinks? Damn that Forest of Death.

Without warning, Lee assessed that the match up was unfavorable, and thusly swapped his Iron-Fist style for something far less conventional. Shikamaru gawked in shock when Rock Lee bent almost 90 degrees to avoid a wall-shattering punch. He flattened, rolled, rose up on his shins, and then spun the Dream genin like a top with a twin-knuckle strike. Masugama was spread-eagled on the floor for a moment and his teammates gasped. Surprised, Masugama leapt back to assess his now-tottering opponent, who swayed as if intoxicated.

Shikamaru was somewhat privy to what was happening, 'Ino told me about this. She said Lee and Neji have been training with Lee's grandfather…who is a master of the most bizarre martial arts this side of the world has seen…

His ear perked up when he heard a titter of laughter from Tsunade, who was not expecting Drunken Fist to be employed while sober. 'She better not offer Lee that sake flask in her back pocket or I'll expel her from the tower…'

Unfortunately for Masugama, none of his attacks came close to landing after that point. Lee shimmied and whirled around him with ease. Masugama's teammates roared in a fury from above, demanding that he "make mincemeat" of the silly Leaf ninja.

Neji was watching with a smug expression, as if he knew something that no one else did. Tenten's grip on the handrail was tightening, and she tried not to blink for fear of missing one of Lee's gymnastic miracles, 'Holy-! He's like rubber! And Lee didn't even drink anything.' She chuckled excitedly to herself, 'Wong Leung…I wish you could see Lee in action right now…'

Masugama was twice bashed in the face in quick succession after Lee capably evaded him. It stoked his anger. After being tripped, kicked, face-planted, and nearly getting trapped in Lee's attempted chokehold, Masugama let out a cry of rage, "If I'm gonna fight a noodle then prepare to get eaten, you scrub!"

Masugama pricked his thumb on the sharp edge of his armor and swiped a blot of blood onto Lee's jumpsuit. The Dream ninja then snapped a scroll off of his belt, and front flipped away from his Leaf opponent as the parchment unfurled. Lee rapidly deduced it was intended for a kind of Ninjutsu. The notion was reinforced when he heard some chattering erupt between Kakashi and Gai from the observation area.

Lee kept his distance, but made Masugama dance and evade with well-aimed kunai. Of course, by then, Masugama had added blood to the scroll's parchment. It swirled and then rolled shut as the Dream ninja pressed it to the floor, "Doton: Tracking Fang jutsu!"

There was a soft rumble, and the way the tiles of the arena floor cracked and displaced was surely a sign that something was on its way up from below. 'Troubling! But I will try to avoid it!' Lee could have sworn he heard something about "it'll bite you" from the rails above before he made a circus-leap away from the eruption in the floor, where a set of jaws shot up in an effort to catch him.

A tawny, white-footed wolf exploded onto the scene and locked-on to the scent of blood on Lee. It raced on a path parallel to its master's, synchronized with Masugama as they charged.

Lee was reminded of Kiba's combined efforts with Akamaru, albeit the wolf was wearing a vest with two large axe-blades secured to its back. Pretentious, Lee wanted to call it. He could guess why Masugama had not strutted around with a weapon-strapped companion canine throughout the Exam, 'It would have left very little to the imagination…'

Lee evaded with all of the speed and flexibility he could muster, bending away from Masugama's furious punches and the wolf's spinning blade attacks. For all of his grandfather's training and guidance with Drunken Fist, it was no longer enough to avoid his opponent completely. He was forced into close-quarters against two threats. Masugama finally landed a punch to the stomach just as Lee dropped a heel-kick on the Dream ninja's head, watching with slight satisfaction as the happuri face plate was knocked akimbo; the headband slid down over Masugama's eyes. In the embarrassing moment Masugama retreated to clear his vision, he got a mouthful of Lee's second kick. Masugama skidded over the floor, bloodied, but made a yip sound to his wolf.

The summoned creature stopped its twisting attacks and lunged at the opportune moment. It bit into on Lee's left hand. Lee swallowed a cry of hellish pain, eyes watering, and with his free hand reached into the storage pouch at his back, 'Agh! This is no disrespect to you, majestic creature!' He drew out his nunchaku, rotated it around his arm, and cracked the bar over the wolf's head. The jaws tearing into his flesh loosened a little. Lee could hear Tenten shrieking up above.

He could tell Masugama was on his feet again and ready to take advantage of his entrapment. With precise timing, Lee fell to his back and somersaulted; the wolf still attached to his hand, and let Masugama run headlong into the blades on his wolf's back. All fell in a tangled, bloody heap, devoid of elegance. The Leaf ninja had to smash the wolf between the ears once more before he was free. Bleeding profusely, Lee staggered away. At that point, the wolf was suffering some significant cognitive damage.

"Beppu!" Masugama was snapping his fingers in front of the wolf's face, "You okay boy? Oh man, just stay down! I'll finish this!" The dizzied wolf stayed on the floor, whimpering.

The Dream ninja stared at Lee furiously, "I'm not letting you get away with that! You hear me?" He flashed through hand signs rapidly, chakra flaring, and began to undergo a transformation.

Lee turned inward for a moment to reflect on his foolishness. The first two matches he had watched had lured him into a false sense of security, thinking he would not have to expend too much energy in his own fight. He had felt confident that the new skills he'd acquired would be sufficient for a preliminary match, 'I should not have underestimated an opponent I have never faced before. He is a tremendous shinobi!' Lee meant that literally too: Masugama had expanded his form and bulked up into a pink-and-purple wolf beast; ears, teeth, muzzle, tail and all.

It had been a good call to open two of his Inner Gates by that time, as it afforded him just enough speed to avoid the wrecking, colorful hulk that came baying for him. Lee bent and slipped through the beastly Masugama's legs, lashing out at his ankles with nunchaku, and then rolled away when deadly claws thundered down beside him. Lee wrapped a leg around the transformed ninja's beefy arm and sidled up, Drunken Fist grace sparing him from harm, and pulled the threshing chain taught around his enemy's neck. It was a very thick neck and Masugama was not struggling to breathe at all. Not a wise move in this instance, Lee determined too late.

The man-beast rolled, squashing Lee flat on the floor on his back, and then reached to pull the winded Leaf ninja off. Masugama snapped his pink and super-powered arm, hurling Lee across the room like a play thing. He hit a wall and slid down slowly to the floor, barely staying on his feet. Lee's vision was blurry. He remembered to breathe, pushing past physical pain and threw open the Third Gate, his skin flushing red. 'I must push back against this opponent! Like Tenten did before, she could not expect to be handed a victory in her match! I must take it.'

When Masugama came loping, closing the distance between them, Lee took off at an untraceable speed. He zipped along a wall, flitted to the opposite side of the room, and then came crashing back, using Masugama's head as a springboard. He rocketed off, knocking the wolf-nin sideways, and Lee scaled the height of the room towards the tower's ceiling. Growling, Masugama made a mighty, pink-furred leap, ignored the terrified squeals of the Rain team as he passed them at the rail, and climbed after Lee.

Neji still knew what few others in the room knew. He had a good idea of what Lee planned to do next, and that was because he had spent many weeks with Lee as they honed their skills without Tenten's company. Gai had provided several melee weapons for Lee to reward his practice in their handling. Accordingly, Neji had sealed a few of those new tools into a scroll for his friend, which of course he was prohibited from providing Lee with in a one-on-one match. But Lee was not using a standard-issue nunchaku, Neji recalled. He had packed a modified version for the first day of the exam.

While monkeying around in the top rafters, too fast and nimble for the lumbering Masugama to catch, Lee tenderized his opponent with aerial kicks. As soon as a retaliating claw came swiping for him, Lee made his move. He extended the chain between the nunchaku's bars, and snared the Dream ninja's large wrist in it. Lee vaulted from a support beam, too slippery to catch, and secured the beast man's other arm. Half a moment later, they were flying into a Drunken-Fist-Front-Lotus as Masugama thrashed, and just made his entry into the tiles of the floor more painful. The impact rattled the room again, and a cloud of dust and crumbled plaster wafted up.

Sounds of awe punctuated the quiet of the dusty room. Below, one of the combatants was still moving.

Lee untangled his weapon from Masugama, his transformation broken, and stumbled away from the small crater. Shikamaru descended curiously and fanned the dust cloud from his face. Lee bent double and caught his breath. Nearby, Masugama was unconscious. Shikamaru noted the wolf named Beppu a few meters to the right, panting tiredly on the floor as blood trickled from its ears. 'I hope Lee didn't hurt that thing enough to end its life…he'd be morally devastated. Better hurry this up.'

He crossed over to Masugama and crouched down, speaking loudly, "You awake?"

No answer.

"Hell of a fight, though." Shikamaru conceded to the colorful ninja, then stood and announced, "Lee is the winner of this match!"

Lee laughed jubilantly. Many Leaf ninja were cheering with residual excitement, all except for Neji. With folded arms, he was watching his friend with a look of approval.

A medic-nin checked Lee's bitten hand and took a minute to doctor it up. Two other medics scurried over to Masugama and used smelling salts to wake him. He jerked into a sitting position, sputtering, and a medic-nin braced his neck and asked him to hold still while he was examined. Beppu was taken out of the tower to receive treatment for severe head trauma. Once the third match's combatants were cared for and cleared, they both returned upstairs to the observation deck.

Shikamaru frowned at the disheveled and chipped arena floor, 'They've made a mess already. By the time these matches are over we'll have to do a complete renovation…'

He cycled through names on the screen again and waited before making the next announcement, "The fourth match will be between Yanagisawa Aota and Paik Minho."

Shikamaru paused and glanced around. They were obviously the names of newcomers and not Leaf ninja he recognized. He could see one of the older Grass Genin moving towards the stairwell and, a short distance away, another of the Cloud Genin was also preparing to make his way down. From what he could glean with a superficial look, Shikamaru guessed that the Cloud team were trainees that had only just left the Academy maybe eight to ten months ago. The Grass team, on the other hand, looked as though they had the same amount of experience as Leaf genin participants, or potentially longer than that. 'They're cool as cucumbers. They were kind of acting like assholes to the younger Genin too, which means they probably have the chops to back it up.'

The Grass ninja, Aota, arrived first. He was tall and olive-skinned, dressed in a dark forest-camo gi, black pants and boots. He had an easy smile and odd pearl-pink eyes. At his back, Shikamaru noted, was a stack of four different tool scrolls, 'Yeah. That's no Academy graduate…'

The younger genin, Minho, descended with a determined look on his face. To his credit, he was not as wimpy-looking as his teammate Kimori had been, but he wasn't much bigger. His pale hair stuck out under from his bandana. Minho's track suit was the typical black and white of Kumogakure.

Shikamaru looked between the two as they stared each other down, assessing, letting ego flood them with resolve and adrenalin. Making sure he would not trip over a dislodged tile on the floor, Shikamaru signaled to them, "Begin!" And then took his leave of the arena.

Minho immediately hurled a smoke bomb. He disappeared into a dense cloud of black gas that consumed the entire arena floor. Some spectators complained about the visual blackout that lasted for over a minute, but the faint chinks of kunai clashing could be heard. Neji reported sidelong to his teammates that "nothing interesting" was happening.

When the smoke cover had cleared, the Grass genin, Aota, was still attacking wildly with a long dagger. Any spectator would guess that he had been ensnared in a Genjutsu, and that Minho had used his cover to layer an illusion within it.

Before Aota had the chance to snap himself out of it, Minho had been able to slink up behind him. The smaller boy plunged two kunai into his opponent's back with a war-cry. When he pulled his knives free, the older boy fell to his knees and crumbled into a tower of pond lilies. Within the smoke distraction, Aota had left behind a Flower Clone.

A sharp whistle sounded from across the room.

Mouth agape, the Cloud genin whirled around when he was addressed. Aota was standing confidently and poised to strike, "It's Minho, right? Weren't you paying attention, Minho?"

The older genin leapt high from his hiding place in a floor gap. He thrashed open a tool summoning scroll and let weapons fly down en masse at the youngster. Minho blocked a fair portion of the barrage, but weapons that scattered down all around him were wrapped with small green buds. The buds burst into sprouting, thorned vines, and wound quickly up Minho's legs. The Cloud team was hollering its concern, futilely, as the young Cloud ninja fumbled in his next attempted jutsu.

With a playful laugh, Aota leapt again, clearing out the full volume of a second, crueler tool scroll. A variety of expertly aimed weapons shredded the helpless Cloud nin. The room was hushed into silence after witnessing the decisive attack. The jounin sensei of the Cloud team gave a pointed look to Shikamaru, imploring that he step in. Below, sounds of pain squeaked out of Minho as he fell at an awkward angle, stuck-full like a training dummy in a weapon practice yard.

Aota walked calmly across the room, rolling the scroll shut, "Kid, that's what happens when you get into a fight over your head. You ought to know when it's better to surrender. You're lucky I wasn't serious…"

Shikamaru held an arm up in front of him, "Stay back for now." He approached Minho who was groaning, slouched over, "Can you continue?" He got an eeerg in response.

Shikamaru supposed, "Guess that's a no." He turned around and extended a hand towards Aota, "The winner is Aota."

Aota waved up at his grinning teammates while proceeding to the stairwell. Medic-nin carefully guided Minho from the arena, who just barely had strength left to walk.

On the observation deck, Tenten had pressed her thumb to her lips, thinking hard about what she had just seen, 'He's…well, he's obviously a Weapons Master like me. AND he modified his weapon summoning with some kind of plant jutsu…' She tapped anxiously at her mouth, 'That was inspired. Great…maybe I need to work on my own technique, which was honestly sub-par today. I don't want to lose another scroll because of a competitor again. It was careless and stupid! Aota made it all look so easy.'

Neji nudged her silently, coaxing her out of her contemplation. She noticed his knowing look, with a single eyebrow arched, advising her to not fretfully compare herself to another Weapon-Expert. Tenten let out a cleansing breath, muttering her thanks to him.

Shikamaru had begun the selection for the next match's opponents. As soon as Sato's name blinked up on the board a huge smile spread on his face, and he patted Hinata and Shino's shoulders on either side of him. "I'm gonna look hot." He decided.

Hinata replied in a soft reprimand, "Sato-kun, please focus! You might have a difficult opponent like Lee-kun did."

"That'd be even better, Sunshine, honestly."

Shino indicated who his competitor was with a turn of his head, "You are fighting that foreigner over there."

Hinata and Sato followed his line of sight back to the Grass team, who had gotten a consecutive match to compete in. The genin who had just parted for the stairs looked to be a capable ninja. Maybe what Shino meant by "foreigner" could have had something to do with the genin's unusual name; simply, Noé. No surname was visible on the digital board beneath the characters reading Hatake Sato. Or maybe it was that tall Grass ninja's appearance: light hair and eyes, strong and lean, with clothing that was oddly reminiscent of a pirate. In any case, Sato was excited.

Kurenai stood behind her three pupils, exuding a tranquil energy, "You'll be just fine, Sato. Bring back our team's first victory."

"I will, Sensei!" Chipper, he hopped over the handrail and into the arena below.

Upon his arrival, Shikamaru gave Sato a: don't do anything unnecessary look, as he often did. Though he had discovered in the last few months that he got along well with Sato, and on some days even had the same sense of humor as the Hatake… 'He has a way of putting his foot in his mouth if he isn't careful. Do NOT disappoint me here.'

"Gotcha." Sato breathed quietly. He got the message.

Noé stood tall and sturdy in the arena, with a vertical sword scabbard on his back. One could make an educated guess about how he liked to fight. Likewise, Noé had the same consideration of Sato while spying the two short chakra-sabers tied at his hips.

Shikamaru looked to them both briefly before raising his hand, "Let the fifth match," And dropped it, "Begin!"

Noé pulled a zip-string from his leather coat that shot a clip of small razor kunai at the Leaf ninja. Typically, Sato took evasive maneuvers and elected to fight passively. He was better at responding to attacks than initiating them. He blocked and rolled as projectiles came soaring for his head. With two hand seals and a sneaky finger-waggle suggestion, Sato had cast a subtle Genjutsu, letting it steep slowly into Noé's consciousness.

After ducking beneath a deadly sword swipe, he spared a hint of chakra to summon Aree and Aroo. The two tiny owls hooted in greeting but did not put themselves to immediate use. They circled around and swooped, aware that Sato would signal when he needed something. Noé initially paid them no mind.

As ranged attacks with weapons had gotten him nowhere, Noé drew his worryingly long sword and charged. His Grass teammates were barking reminders at him from up above. Sato accordingly parried with a short sword and let his illusion strengthen. White, downy feathers began to float in a swirling storm around the arena. Noé could see them fluttering down from the ceiling like snow, and also puffing up in tufts from gaps in the floor. He felt them brushing his cheek. He mistook it for a Ninjutsu, 'Shit! Did those birds do this? I should take them out…'

Sato flitted in and out of sight, blended and distorted by the feather illusion. It only reinforced Noé's mistaken notion of what the problem was. With impressive speed and footwork, Noé successfully knocked Aree out of the air with a slash of his blade, severing a few contour feathers. She plopped to the floor, alive, and her brother owl circled in tooting fright.

Before Noé could skewer Aree, Sato flashed forward to parry again in her defense. With his free arm he pulled Noé into a pseudo-handshake, "Hi there!" And tripped Noé in a dance like move across his extended leg. Noé went crashing to the floor on his face, listening to the Leaf ninja scold, "Be nice to these birds, please. They're like my kids."

Aree had hopped away to safety, grounded. Noé hurdled to his feet and swung his sword with two hands, "Don't bring precious lives into battle!"

"Dude! Sometimes you have no choice!" Sato countered with both of his sabers, "What about your teammates, huh? They aren't precious?"

"They watch their own backs." Noé struck with a blow so hard it flung Sato across the room a ways, "When a team is able to take care of themselves separately,that's what makes it a great team."

Sato conceded, from his spot on the floor, that he kind of had a point. He gave a hand signal to Aroo above.

His feather illusion had granted him a few seconds of safety, as the not-so-astute Grass ninja was still having difficulties spotting him through the Genjutsu. Aroo flew in circles, releasing bursts of real feathers to mix with the imaginary storm. It was what Sato liked to call a practical illusion, a term Kurenai had coined after she had seen it in use. Layering real distractions with Genjutsu made it harder for an opponent to judge what was false. Eventually, Noé did find him and took another swing as his head.

And while in the middle of the fight, to Shikamaru's disdain, Sato did stick his foot in his mouth.

"So, are you really a foreigner? What does your name mean?"

Noé's temper ticked up a fraction.

Sato ventured, "Looks like you're dressed for one of those geek conventions…"

And then Noé snapped, roaring furiously, and landed an unexpected, tall-person kick that leveled Sato. The chakra saber slipped from Sato's hand and spun across the floor. Noé took a flying leap in the hope of chopping him as one does a wood stack. Sato back flipped several times to avoid the vicious sword swipes, and after a round-off he rushed hand seals. He was preparing a new clone technique he had wanted to demonstrate for his uncle.

Noé took that millisecond to pull a dastardly-looking mushroom from his pocket, and in a practiced motion, used the tip of his sword to fling it into Sato's open mouth. Noé kicked him again, lost sight of him in the feather-whorl as Sato tumbled, but could hear Sato choking on what he had accidentally ingested.

"Enjoy that, you tactless dishtowel…" Noé sneered.

Hacking, Sato cleared his throat and stood, "…it's Sato, actually. Maybe you misheard…"

Eyes furious and wide, Noé swore in terms the Hatake could not decipher, Bête comme ses pieds!

The clone that Sato had produced with seals earlier pounced on Noé from behind. He swung his broadsword and cut it down the middle, balking in shock when the clone burst on him like a broken water balloon. It degraded in to a black, sticky mass. Weighed down with a sword coated in the stuff, Noé made the effort to run and break loose, but found himself stumbling in the substance.

Aroo flew by and let a dusting of white down feathers fall on the trapped Grass ninja's head. Sato finished choking and stowed his blades away. He spoke directly to his opponent, "I'm sorry if I made you angry, but give up now. You can't get away from a Tar Clone."

"Foutre le camp, abruti!" Noé continued thrashing, "I'm not losing to an uncultured fuck like you!"

While Sato took a moment to let the insult sink in, Aree had clambered up to his shoulder and perched. He was frankly amazed that Noé had still not realized he was under a Genjutsu. 'I mean, it's okay for him to be upset, but if he overlooks something so crucial how does he expect to win?' By then, Noé was tarred and feathered and many Genin watching were laughing their heads off. Noé's self-esteem was plummeting.

"Surrender, or we can do this the hard way." Sato warned him again, holding a hand seal.

"You think you're going to live after swallowing that mushroom, you idiot?" Noé hissed, "That came from Hidden Grass' poison forest. Let's see who drops dead first!"

And Sato thought, 'Well that does it.'

He completed hand signs for a miniscule fire jutsu, "Katon: Lighter Thread!"

The burning spark lit up the tar that Noé was coated with. The Grass ninja continued to be stubborn for a few seconds before he began screaming bloody murder, essentially a human bonfire.

Shikamaru descended quickly to call the match, "The winner of this match is Sato." He turned to the Hatake and added sternly, "Medic-nin are to your right. Don't die. You left me a big enough mess as it is…"

"Sorry…" Sato gave an apologetic wave before meeting a medical professional at the edge of the room. His owls both poofed back home at his request.

Shikamaru realized the burning genin was going to be a problem because:

A) Stop, drop, and roll via Shadow Bind was not working while Noé was stuck to the floor.

B) The Grass team's sensei, Mahoto, had used a water jutsu that failed to put out the flames (Guess not all tar is water soluble, fuck, Sato, why did you do that?)

C) Other concerned Jounin were puzzling about what to do.

D) Tsunade was not doing much of anything to help.

E) Gaara was about ready to douse the kid in sand (Which could accidentally kill him anyway, Kazekage-sama) and…

F) Kakashi said he had a weird, new technique he could try, which did not make Shikamaru feel any more comfortable with people trying to get close to assist.

Chouji spoke sidelong to Fujita at the rails while watching the mayhem, "Sato screws things up sometimes."

Abruptly, the flames flickered and went out.

Noé's screams ended. All heads turned to follow Shikamaru's gaze as the proctor had sensed who had gotten involved. They noticed Huo at the observation rail, glowering as he lowered his hand. An eerie silence hung as many realized he had extinguished the Grass genin, but hardly anyone knew how.

"Did you want him to keep burning?" Huo sniped at the incredulous looks directed at him, "You're all wasting time. Let's get on with this."

At about that point, Shikamaru felt a niggling, wary feeling about that particular Rock ninja. 'How the hell did he just do that? He barely even moved a muscle…'

Things calmed down and medics were able to escort Noé away on a stretcher. His sensei, Mahoto, worriedly followed after the medic-nin and left the room. Aota and the kunoichi of his team remained, speaking in hushed tones to each other.

Tama had begun fidgeting between Kiba and Sakura. After Sato had been escorted away to be treated she felt a tightness in her chest. 'I know he'll be fine, but...I've always found it difficult to watch Sato-kun fight. I worry even when I know better!'

Kiba could tell what she was thinking about, "He'll be back in a few minutes, Tama. Poison sure as heck isn't as bad as being burned alive, don't you agree?"

"Kiba-kun," Sakura spoke testily, "We'll all do whatever it takes to win these matches. That Grass ninja is going to live too, you know."

"It was still gruesome." Kakashi chimed in behind them, flipping a page of Icha Icha Paradise, "I need to have a talk with my nephew about the concept of excess."

"I said that Grass ninja will be fine." Sakura repeated, hoping to prevent a wave of guilt from crashing into Tama, "So that tar will be hard to clean up— but treating burns is one of the first things medic-nin learn to do around here. We live in the Fire Country!"

"It's alright." Tama assured her quietly, "I guess I'm a little nervous. I've never done this before and these matches are nothing like what I expected."

"They never are." Kiba agreed.

Tama reached down to pat Akamaru's head, starting to relax. Sakura went on to discuss how Noé would have fared better if he had poisoned Sato at the start of the match. Kakashi concurred that it was a blunder, and that Sato had distracted Noé at the beginning of the fight; likely making Noé forget about his option to cripple a strong adversary. And, not surprisingly, Sato's prodding remarks had also goaded Noé into stupid mistakes.

"If someone is still susceptible to trash talk at this point in the Exam, and messes up because of it, I don't think they'd make Chunin anyway." Kiba observed, eliciting a nod from his sensei.

The announcement for the next match made Tama reach out and hold Sakura's arm in surprise.

"The sixth match will be between Srisati Tio and Haruno Sakura." Shikamaru called.

"That's a Rain genin." Kakashi updated Sakura quietly, subtly pointing out a small boy in a rebreather mask to the far left of the observation deck, "And if I do say so…he looks like a greenhorn to me."

Kiba chuckled in delight.

"Well," Sakura tugged on one of her gloves, "I better teach him a thing or two." She gave Tama a confident smile before walking towards the stairwell. She was also certain she could feel Gaara and Tsunade tensely staring at her.

'Don't worry Gaara-kun, Tsunade-shishou…' Sakura raced down the steps, 'I won't give that guy a chance to set up against me. Watching all of the matches before mine…gave me an idea of how to do this right.'

She and Tio entered the arena at about the same time, and Shikamaru was there with his hands in his pockets, looking slightly careworn after officiating Sato's match. He only spared a short glance towards Sakura from the corner of his eye. Sakura determined his lack of concern was a good thing.

"Begin!" Shikamaru quickly excused himself.

Tio drew a kunai, his voice garbled by the mask he wore, "Gosh you're pretty! Miss, I wouldn't want to-!"

She was already flashing through hand signs for a Grand Fireball. With a chirp of alarm, Tio threw the kunai, missed as she rolled aside, and Sakura exhaled a plume of flame at the Rain ninja. He was quite acrobatic, using a high leap to avoid the attack and forming his own seals. Sakura aimed another fireball at Tio, positioning him close to a gap in the floor. Interestingly, he had enveloped himself in his own Water Prison orb, and defended against the next fire technique that struck him.

Still steaming, Tio made the mistake of charging at Sakura for close-quarters combat.

Above, Kiba flinched when Sakura's chakra-precise punch connected with Tio's stomach. The force of it made particles in the air tremble. The Rain genin gurgled in horror at the pain, momentum reversing, and he was catapulted across the room and into the wall, shattering the plaster and stone behind it. Tio then slipped through the triangular gap in the floor, falling towards the next level stories below. Shikamaru cursed quietly and dove down to rescue him.

A minute passed and Sakura adjusted her gloves again, silently enjoying the whispering and looks of spectators. Many were blatantly aghast that a pink-haired beauty had just knocked the soul out of another genin.

"Hey, excuse me!" A brazen and very muscular Cloud genin called down to Sakura, "Are you single?"

She frowned reflexively, refusing to answer, and stole a glance at Gaara who stood placidly beneath the digital display with Tsunade and Matsuri. Sakura was relieved that he let the crude comment go. 'Very mature of you, Gaara, thank you.' It was Kakashi who had politely asked the Cloud sensei to "Shut up his trainees and save their socializing for after the Chunin Exam." Asuma and other Leaf Jounin snickered at the Cloud Jounin's mortified face. His student was promptly silenced.

Eventually, Shikamaru returned with Tio slung over his shoulder. The boy was weeping, his broken ribs causing him to gasp in pain with each breath. Shikamaru ushered over the medic-nin hovering in wait, speaking after a heavy sigh, "That was too fast for my taste…Sakura is the winner of this match!"

Ino was the first to cheer, "Yeah, Forehead Woman! You beast!"

Tama and Kiba had also gotten noisy with their excitement.

She could not help but smile as she walked. As Sakura reflected on Shikamaru's quip, she hoped that he understood her haste. Surely he knew that she had no desire to drag things out when it was the Final Round that would determine her promotion. She was far too practical, at this point in time, to delay her own success. Sakura waved at the Hokage who grinned lopsidedly at her, and then ascended the stairs with her chin held high.

Simultaneously, Sato returned to the observation deck with a plastic cup in his hand. He looked okay, by most standards. He stopped in the space between Team Kakashi and Team Kurenai, greeting, "Yo! Who just fought?"

"Sakura-chan won with a single punch!" Hinata filled him in.

"Damn. Good thing none of us had to fight her." Sato then turned to Tama, "Are you still feeling okay, Tama? Don't have the jitters about your match yet?"

"Not yet." She then asked him, "Sato-kun, how did the treatment go?"

"Like you'd expect it to. I got taken to the breakroom and spoonfed some ipecac syrup. I missed the trash can at first and the medic got mad at me. It was a lot of puke." He shrugged, tipping the cup back to suck on ice chips, "You know they have a refrigerator back there? It's only filled with ice pops and other frozen stuff."

"How strange." Tama tapped her chin.

"Glad to have you back." Kakashi patted his shoulder, "Please, refrain from torching people in the future, Sato, unless you have a way to put them out."

"Shoot, you guys couldn't put him out?" Terrified, Sato looked around wildly for Noé.

"He was eventually extinguished, but you did cause him unnecessary pain." Kurenai informed her student, "We'd appreciate it if you did not do that, going forward."

"10-4, Sensei!"

Kiba rolled his eyes.

Sakura returned and was quickly squeezed into a hug by Tama and Ino. A few teams down, Lee was also giving her a thumbs-up, and he had convinced Tenten to do the same to congratulate their friend. Neji stood by peacefully and seemed to be pleased with the outcome of her match.

"Well done, Sakura." Kakashi commended her, "You struck fear into the hearts of all the young contenders here."

"It was my pleasure!" Really. It was.

Hinata had quietly sidled up to her friend and expressed her admiration, "Sakura-chan, you reminded me of Tsunade-sama, a little bit."

"Thanks! That's the idea. All of my hard work wouldn't have paid off if I didn't resemble her by now." She adjusted her headband at the top of her head, fixing her pastel hair, "I bet you'll be way more impressive than me, Hinata."

"I don't think so." The girl disagreed, "I just hope I don't have to fight anyone I know. I want to keep my match short, like you did."

"You will, believe me. It's easier when it's a stranger." Sakura added softly, "Much easier than I thought, actually. I almost never do that to people…"

"Thank goodness."

They shared a laugh as names were cycled across the board on the wall. Neji's name appeared.

Shikamaru announced, "The next match will be between Hyuga Neji and Kuang Qin."

Hinata and Sakura swiveled to take a gander at the team of Rock ninja across the room, holding stock-still at the rail. The little brother, Ga-Fen, was still missing and would likely be staying in a hospital henceforth. Sakura wondered how Qin would feel fighting another member of Gai's team, perhaps thirsting to avenge his brother's injury by Tenten. 'They aren't pushovers, that Iwa group…and Neji's one of the strongest ninja on our side…' She noted Tenten who was sending Neji off with pride, 'I want to say that Leaf has the advantage again…but I'll need to wait and see!'

The whole assemblage of Leaf ninja in the observation area was simmering with support for their one-and-only notorious grump and genius prodigy, Neji. Most Leaf comrades had taken a shine to him in spite of his antisocial tendencies; he was considered a caring big-brother type nowadays. Gai had reined himself in and saw Neji off with a considerate volume, knowing how easy it was to irritate his Hyuga pupil. Neji appreciated it, and proceeded down the stairwell calmly.

Shikamaru got the feeling that Qin was very, very mad even if his face betrayed no trace of emotion. He stood like a statue, hardly breathing as he waited for Neji to cross over to him. 'Ohh there is definitely some resentment here,' Shikamaru deduced, 'The likelihood of this being a more…destructive match…is pretty high.' He looked right and left at the combatants and then raised his hand, 'I'll stand closer to the Hokage for this one.'

Shikamaru signaled for them to start, "Begin!"

Qin only just let Shikamaru get out of the way before he thrust his arm forward, echoing Wushu style. Black soot shot from his sleeve like a magician's trick, only on an ominously large scale. Within a fraction of a second, the thought process in Neji's brain went as thus: The soot could probably be used to disguise another attack OR facilitate a successive technique. Solution: deflect it. Counterattack: Air Palm, to stun Qin against a wall; Follow up with: Sixty-Four palms. Win.

He rotated to force the black substance away, but when Neji's defense ceased the soot floated down and stuck to him anyway. While it did not go as he planned, Neji kept to the agenda and launched a form-perfect Air Palm towards Qin.

But his arms felt heavy. Rather, everything felt heavy. It delayed his counter and Qin was able to avoid the vacuum blast that careened across the room and tore a hole in the tower wall. 'As I assumed, this powder has the effect of a jutsu.' Neji tried to dust off the soot but it clung stubbornly. Qin had no problem emptying more ash from where it was concealed inside his jacket.

Within fifty five seconds Neji was by far much dirtier than Tenten had been during her entire match. Maybe he should not have poked fun at her for it?

Forcing chakra into his limbs merely to move at average speed, Neji closed in on Qin just as the Rock genin completed sealing for Ninjutsu, "Doton: Golem Shell!" In an unsightly twist, Qin's skin had hardened and expanded into blocky, grayish plating all over his body. Neji was distantly reminded of his life-or-death brawl with Kidomaru and his golden armor. Thoughtful, he chose to modify his attacks based on how he had defeated the spider-limbed Sound ninja long ago.

Qin's jutsu were unexpectedly problematic. For one thing, his Golem armor had also amplified his strength, and Neji was having a terrible time of avoiding his blows. Neji's Wushu blocks, though not up to speed, prevented most harm that Qin tried to inflict. Neji had locked a foot behind Qin's neck with the fastest high-kick he could muster and flipped him. While Qin's defense was lowered Neji struck with Jyukken to test its effectiveness, and noted the Golem armor buffered the strike, protecting Qin's tenketsu, 'I'll break through it shortly, but first…' He needed the soot off.

Neji flushed himself with chakra, hoping Shikamaru would not disqualify him for the wind tunnel he had produced in the tower, his Wind Affinity lashing wildly from his next rotation. The burst had bowled Qin over. Neji twice used the method to cleanse himself, launching an Air Palm to test his ability to move, and was glad when his mobility was satisfactory again.

"Don't think you're free and clear, I can coat you with dust all day long!" Qin crowed joyfully, "You'll be a lump of coal by the time my Heavy Rock Technique is through!"

Neji had not taken the bait for close-quarters. He shot a Wind Release: Air Palm that broke on Qin even when he raced away, chopping him with a fury that would have otherwise julienned him without armor. Said armor was notched and most of Qin's hair missing after the attack. The Rock team's sensei, Sekieima, spoke up only to scold him, "You can do better, Qin."

Neji was unsure if it was his teacher's jibe that humiliated him or his vanity after receiving an uncalled-for haircut: Qin's blood boiled. His concentration wavered as he charged, honing immense strength, and he bore down on Neji with a punch that could give both Sakura and Tsunade a run for their money. In fact, it blew out the entire floor when Neji evaded it. The tiles of the arena jerked, cracked, and then fell away in segments, detaching from the tower's sides. Neji and Qin retreated to the walls, hanging on with chakra, and the floor cascaded down for hundreds of meters before collapsing on the next level.

Shikamaru was not pleased by the new open-air feature of the arena, 'Fucking hell what a mess! I REFUSE to get wrangled in for clean-up. This is troublesome enough!'

Qin leapt in a rage and became a human cannonball. In response, Neji artfully swept another Wind Release: Air Palm over him, scoring and weakening his Golem Shell again. Qin's attack missed; his hair and clothes were massacred again, and Qin knocked another hole in the tower wall when he crashed. Shikamaru was cursing out loud at that point.

The soot containers for Qin's Heavy Rock jutsu had broken in his sleeves, spilling their contents all over the tower and down into the rattling depths below. Neji seized the opportunity and was on him instantly.

Qin was pulled off of the wall, hit point-blank with a Wind Gentle-Fist blow, and as the Rock ninja's armor crumbled, Neji took a leaf out of Lee's youthful book. He segued into a Sixty-Four Palm strike as they both plummeted down the tower shaft, Qin hollering and made helpless by his own heavy form. Neji drilled through, finally striking chakra points, and though that may have been enough, he still chose to slam down on Qin at the next level as if he had adopted the Front Lotus.

Qin nearly shattered, his eyes wide and unseeing, mouth gasping like a trout's, and then slipped from consciousness at the tower bottom. Neji stood over him and dusted his hands.

There was distant cheering far above.

He looked up and could see Shikamaru carefully descending along the wall for a check. He gave a brooding look to Neji, muttering, "Well, the arena got royally fucked up…though you weren't entirely to blame."

"I did not give much thought to the matches after mine." Neji admitted apologetically.

"Yeah, thanks a bunch." Shikamaru knelt down to examine Qin, "Jeez…is he alive? I don't think he's breathing."

"He is. It's faint. I can see his heart beating."

"Shut off your Byakugan, for God's sake. You won, you ass." Shikamaru hefted Qin up, "You know what? Help me carry him. He's dead weight."

It took a while for them to return to the observation area, and a medic-nin retrieved Qin from the walkway for emergency healing. Shikamaru marched woodenly towards Tsunade after announcing Neji's victory, wondering how the hell they were supposed to proceed without a floor.

Tsunade made a shrugging motion, asking sidelong of Gaara, "Will you kindly provide us with a new floor for now? I hate to bother you, Kazekage."

Gaara huffed softly, almost amused, and then released sand from the gourd at his back. It took a while for him to replicate what had been in place earlier and fortify it. To keep the matches fair, Gaara included the same gaps that ninja had taken advantage of in previous battles. Once condensed, he exerted a minimal line of chakra to keep it afloat. Tsunade thanked him warmly.

The Hokage turned back to Shikamaru, "Let's continue."

Breathing easier, Shikamaru resumed his duties and clicked the transponder in his pocket. The selected names appeared shortly after that. "The eighth match will be between Mizushima Nurega and Aburame Shino. Please report to the arena now."

Shikamaru watched interestedly as the kunoichi of the Rain team feigned complete confidence, hurrying down as if she had grown impatient to fight. Odd. Earlier, he had spotted her looking anxious while watching the more vicious battles. Shino, predictably, was as stone-like and unflappable as he always was, even with Sato and Hinata's cheers. When the two combatants faced off on Gaara's new floor and Shikamaru signaled them to begin, the kunoichi's resolve cracked.

Nurega made a move to charge towards Shino and then stopped, petrified, and used a low-powered water jutsu that she spat from her mouth. Shino evaded, and maybe out of pity, threw two kunai at her. A swarm of Kikaichu insects had erupted from his body and were slowly gathering. Nurega was plunged into rookie stage fright, shrieking and ignoring the guidance of her shouting team as the insects crept closer.

Shikamaru noted that Shino was not as compassionate as Chouji, at least when it came to a one-on-one duel. He offered no free shot, no recourse, and no soft words when the swarm gathered around the screaming girl, wholly unprepared for an adversary she knew nothing about. Nurega attempted another water jutsu that missed, knocking a portion of the Kikaichu swarm off. Shino raised his arm and replenished the dark, buzzing cloud.

Nurega flailed, crying frantically, "Just stop! What kind of jutsu is this? Eeek!"

Sato cupped his mouth with a hand and shouted, "Get a clue, little lady! The Aburame clan is one of the most prestigious clans in our village!"

Shikamaru thought to himself, 'I guess Sato is gunning for his best friend to win too. Although, this girl had no idea what she was getting into, it looks like.'

Shino's insects made lunch of the girl's chakra and Nurega collapsed to her knees, begging, "Please stop! I give up!"

Shikamaru clucked his tongue quietly and motioned to Shino to back off. The insects retreated as Shikamaru raised his hand and announced, "With Nurega's forfeiture, Shino is the winner of this match."

Sato shouted again, "Lame! How come she didn't put up a fight? Shino was robbed!"

"Of what?" Kurenai asked him quietly, "A destructive match with a worthy opponent? Be glad. That girl's reluctance to fight saved her from a worse fate, had Shino had mistaken her for a serious competitor. She is clearly not ready to be here."

"Right…" Sato deflated a bit, "You're right, Sensei."

"Of course I am." Kurenai smiled.

Perfectly unharmed but mostly scared, Nurega left the arena and returned to her team. Shino rejoined his teammates and slipped his glasses further up his nose, "Perhaps the Final Round will be a proper test of my skills." Sato and Hinata agreed whole-heartedly.

The Leaf teams were starting to get very optimistic about their standings in the exam, jabbering and talking while many non-Leaf teams sulked. Most were not as prepared as Konoha's participants, or they were first-time entrants.

While the room buzzed excitedly, Shikamaru watched the board as names rapidly generated once again. He made his next announcement, "The ninth match will be between Maito Tama and Jeon Tun."

Sato's head snapped to the side, startled, and he set his heavy gaze on Tama, a first-timer in her own right. She looked back at him with her brows furrowed, smiling, urging him: Don't get wound up! I can handle it. Kiba and Sakura were giving her all the encouragement that one could possibly need. Her opponent, Tun, it so happened, was the same huge Cloud ninja who had catcalled Sakura earlier.

"Hit him where it hurts." Kakashi suggested blithely.

Tama nodded, "That's what I do best." As Lee and Sato had done before her, she took a graceful leap off of the rail and into the ring below.

Sato watched in unusual silence with a hammering heart. He had been the one to encourage Tama to seek the shinobi career she had been told to forsake. To put it lightly, he was extremely invested in her happiness and advancement. 'It won't feel right if she doesn't make it as far as the rest of us…'

Tun lumbered down to the arena and Tama observed him carefully. His wide and built physique could be an indicator of Taijutsu, 'It looks like his muscles have muscles.' He seemed nice, despite his beefhead appearance. Tun was smiling, calm, and probably the size of his two teammates (Kimori and Minho) combined.

"Hey cutie." He winked at her.

Tama got an impression from the gesture, 'Either he's trying to lower my guard…or he genuinely wants to pick up women from this exam…' Playing along, she smiled back and said nothing. Thank goodness her back was to Sato; otherwise he may have been outraged by her reaction. Shikamaru allowed them to begin.

Tun wasted no time hurling shuriken at her, stored on magnetic arm bracers, that were electrified upon launch with what she suspected was a fancy hidden gadget. She cartwheeled to safety as the knives and stars flew by. Maybe he already knew that all the women on her team could punch like trucks…or maybe Tun had no idea and thought her a dainty flower. 'Hmm. If he is expecting my Taijutsu it could be a problem…'

She countered with her own projectiles and got a nasty surprise from shuriken discarded on the floor. Small electric bolts arced between the scattered weapons, sending a zap through her body several times via her fingers and once through her feet. Her eyes watered as she raced away from the nuisance, 'That's a cheap trick!'

"Sorry sweetcheeks, you know I don't want you to get hurt," Tun advised from afar, "Why don't you just give up?"

She gave him an incredulous look, "That…wasn't much more than what happens when you plug an appliance in an outlet."

He took mild offense, "Hey! I just learned Lightning Style so don't talk sm-!"

With terrific speed, Tama had closed the gap between them, using her Kakashi-trained southpaw to strike his face with a solid left hook. He crashed sideways, attempted to kick her legs from under her, but Tama leapt and sent him rolling with Leaf Hurricane. She quickly deduced his techniques were barely beyond Academy level. Even his Taijutsu was not as up-to-par as she had anticipated, after judging all of those muscles. He fought frantically, and probably could have clobbered her, but Tama danced around him, a svelte boxer toying with a trainee. She ran circles around him and his eyes crossed, unable to keep up.

With hand signs, the gadget on his arm released a miniature lightning discharge. At close range it hit Tama in the side and she staggered, quickly overcoming the pain, but was displeased with the hole burned in her halter top. She disappeared and Tun blinked, bumbling left and right to spot her.

Tama exploded up beneath his chin with a ferocious kick, rocketing him up and up with strength that nearly defied physics.

Sakura did comment from the rail that it was peculiar seeing a willowy woman batter a hulking bodybuilder like a ragdoll.

"It just proves who trained harder." Kiba snickered.

"Shadow of the Dancing Leaf!" Tama was airborne, hovering beneath her opponent, but she had not bothered to open any of her Inner Gates. She figured one of Kakashi's E-Rank pranks could do the trick. He had said to hit Tun "where it hurts."

"One Thousand Years of Death!"

It was hard to watch…so hard to watch. Tun howled louder than Beppu had during Masugama and Lee's fight. Akamaru nearly sang along when he heard the sound. Gasps of shock sounded like a cacophony in response to the bizarre technique. Kakashi hid his face with his book, not expecting his new student to take his recommendation literally. 'I shouldn't have taught any of them that one…'

Tun landed head-first on the floor and clutched at his backside. He kneeled in agony and would not move. Tama landed softly and wondered if the Cloud newbie had no tolerance for pain, 'I can't believe…that's all I had to do…' She frowned worriedly, 'Please get up! I'll be embarrassed if that's how I end my match.'

She looked up at her team to see Kiba's mouth hanging wide open. Sakura, likewise, had a similar surprised expression mixed with a hint of approval. Kakashi locked eyes with Tama and shrugged at her. She shrugged back. Maybe it had been a rude move to make?

"It's legal." Shikamaru assured her, having stepped into the arena, "But who the hell taught you that?"

"I'll never tell." She replied, knowing her sensei would not want it disclosed.

Shikamaru asked Tun if he could continue. A spark of pride compelled the Cloud genin to action, and with a shout he propelled himself up and rushed at Tama. Shikamaru retreated to let the match resume. Tun's Taijutsu was as inferior as it had ever been, but his ambush-launch of a metal wire net caught her off guard and snared her. She was all legs as she tumbled, thrashing in the net on the sand floor. Tun was plainly angry when he threw electrified shuriken at her with abandon, cutting her up and shocking her while she writhed.

At that point Sato started snarling and cursing at the Cloud genin whose attitude towards kunoichi competitors had done a complete 180, "She can't even fight back, you fucker!" Shino coolly restrained him by his arm. Hinata stood beside Sato as he carried on irately, filled with fear that her friend could lose the match or come to great harm.

It took the First Inner Gate to give Tama the boost of strength she needed to tear out of the tightening net. She was still frazzled from the electrical shocks, so Tun did land a sucker-punch to the face that flattened her again. The off-put Cloud nin pulled her by the ankle towards the gap in the floor and dropped her through it, following her down to finish her off.

Many teams had quailed at the disconcerting sight. Both Shino and Hinata had to hold Sato back, who was beside himself with terror and rage. Kurenai reminded him that if he interrupted the match it could disqualify Tama and/or himself. Hinata watched the action with her Byakugan that most other spectators could not see.

Thankfully, Tama had opened two of her Gates and gained some control again. It was a consummate slugfest between her and Tun, both attached by chakra to the reverse of the arena floor.

Tama's speed outmatched Tun's anger-fueled strength, and after some impressive upside-down footwork and dodging, the third Inner Gate helped Tama use a clutch jutsu the way Lee had been able to earlier. She bounced from the walls, too swift to follow, and struck Tun numerous times before a savage barrage of kicks knocked him through the arena floor, up through its surface with an eruption of compressed sand, "Blooming Lotus!"

Tun collapsed with a thud, groaning in pain. Tama exited through the hole in the floor and shut her gates, the red of her skin quieting. She took deep breaths and waited as Shikamaru looked over Tun, who was slurring his replies to the proctor's questions.

"You okay to keep fighting?"

"Yessir-erg."

"What was that?" Shikamaru frowned and held up four fingers to Tun's face, "Tell me how many this is."

"Threef." His eyes were blinking open and shut. Tun could not move much at all.

"Close, but I'm gonna have to call this." Shikamaru notified him, standing upright again, "The winner of this match is Tama."

A smile slowly spread on her face, as if she had not completely expected to be victorious. Tama chose to take the stairs on her way up as many people cheered.

Sato's panic had morphed into elation. He left his place at the rail and hurried to the stairwell, meeting Tama halfway. He caught her gently by the wrist and pulled her close, valuing some rare privacy in the tower. Sharing the same step, she settled her chin on his shoulder as they embraced and Sato spoke her name softly.

"I was freaking out! Great job out there, though." Sato praised her, "Your first one-on-one victory of the Chunin Exam and I got to watch."

"Did you ever think you would?" She chuckled.

"I never tried imagining it before."

"My opponent decided part of the way through the match that he did not want to give up easily." Tama sighed, "I shouldn't have underestimated him. He hurt me a bit."

At her words, Sato lifted his hand and noticed his fingertips were stained with blood. He had accidentally touched the cuts on her side where shuriken had sliced her. He observed it in a moment of horrified wonder until she took his hand in her own, "It's okay."

"I kind of…wanted to kill him…when he pulled that shit." He admitted rigidly.

"You knew you couldn't step in, and really, I didn't need you to." Tama concluded, "I think I made him mad when I used Kakashi-sensei's stupid jutsu."

"…you're telling me Kakashi came up with that?"

"Yes, he did."

"You've got to be kidding me."

She frowned in confusion, "He never used it on you during practice or a bell test, Sato?"

"No! Never. My uncle used that on your team?"

"When I joined, we retook his famous 'bell test' to find out how well we worked together. I guess Kakashi-sensei wanted to have fun with it."

"He's demented." Sato scoffed, "And he taught you how to use it."

"I asked him to teach me as many jutsu as he thought I could use." She confessed, "Maybe I should have ruled out the stupid gags?"

"Well…it did work." Sato noted.

She was still high from her success. When Tama smiled again he had to kiss her. Her lips were supple and warm, smooth against his own, and he liked it when her hands laced behind his neck when she got into it. Once he had parted her mouth just enough, the hot wetness of her tongue, the quiet sounds she made; ah, it stoked the fire in his stomach that had been consuming him for weeks. Sato carefully pressed her against the wall of the stairwell, trying not to jar her wounds, and kissed her fiercely. 'She's so…' Tama was pure magic in his hands, good and evil. The ultimate distraction and singular goal he had overlooked for too long. 'So fucking beautiful.'

Oh, she must have felt it too. That pull. That haunting drive for touch and desire that they were no longer immune to, not as they had been as innocent kids. Her hands roamed over the young man.

Strange half-thoughts bobbed in Sato's head while kissing, trying to calculate just how precious she was. Tama was stronger than he had ever thought she could be, wiser and more responsible, seducing him sometimes with a small glance, though never intentional. She could torture Sato with her cheerful spirit and a flip of her hair, in so many ways that devoured his heart whole. But truly, Tama was more heroic and treasured than he could ever find the words to describe to someone if he had been asked, Who do you love?

At about the point their hips had met and their motions became more adult in nature, a voice echoed down from the top of the stairs, unseen around the corner's turn, "Sato…" It was Kurenai's voice.

They parted with a jerk, embarrassed. It sounded as though Kurenai was not on her way down to catch them, but she probably knew well enough what was going on, "Please let Tama-chan come out here to have her injuries be treated by medic-nin. Also, Hinata's bout will be starting shortly. Considering that she was a spectator of your match, you owe her the same courtesy."

"Oh!" Sato turned his head between Tama and the top of the stairs, conflicted, "We'll be right up!"

"I expect so." Kurenai's tone was authoritative.

He managed one last lip lock before Tama pushed back on Sato's chest gently, chiding, "We sidetrack easily. Let's go support Hinata-chan now."

"Alright, fine." He stroked the side of her face, "But tell me…"

She gave him her undivided attention.

"Did you like that?" Sato wondered.

"Very much." With a grin, Tama led him by the hand up the stairs and back to the spectator's walkway. Kurenai stood by with her arms folded, giving them both a pointed look.

Hinata smiled knowingly at the pair and thanked them when they wished her luck. She trotted down the stairwell with relative confidence.

Tama was shepherded away by a medic before she could rejoin Kakashi and her group. She gave them a look from over her shoulder, hoping to make it back in time for her friend's match.

Sato stood awkwardly beside Kurenai. He made a bid to change the subject, "So…who is Sunshine's opponent?"

"The last member of the Grass team: their kunoichi, Guena. That team is more competent than many other entrants in this stage." Kurenai assessed, "Hinata, however, is a very good judge of any adversary she faces."

"Yeah, this shouldn't be too difficult for her."

From Kurenai's opposite side, Shino spoke, "You had more trouble in your match than you should have."

"Yeesh, Shino! That guy was way taller than me and not half bad with a sword."

"You had the tactical advantage with a Tar Clone but you delayed in using it."

"I'm more comfortable setting up Genjutsu first. It's not easy making Tar Clones outright; it takes way too much chakra."

"And what if your opponent had been able to break your Genjutsu?"

"The both of you-" Kurenai interrupted them, "Need to stop speculating and pay attention to your teammate."

The two boys looked down into the arena immediately. Hinata stood across from the Grass kunoichi who was impeccably clean for someone who had trekked through the Forest of Death days before. Guena, Kurenai had said her name was. She was willowy and good-looking, and also appeared self-assured about her duel. Her thick, golden hair was held in a long braid that reached to the backs of her knees, tied with vines and a multitude of colorful flowers.

Guena was also glaring dangerously at Hinata, which Sato felt could not be a good thing. The girl looked very thirsty to win.

No sooner had Shikamaru spoken the word "Begin" Guena had stuck Hinata's shoulder with senbon, landing a second needle above her left knee. With ungainly evasion, Hinata had avoided the precisely aimed projectiles and pulled the needles out, wobbling. Guena had certainly been going for important pressure points, Hinata assessed, 'She could have immobilized me with one more senbon…'

Hinata took great care in avoiding more flying needles as she hurried towards Guena. With an elegant Jyukken stance, Hinata skidded over the floor as she turned, aiming a forceful palm at the other shinobi.

"All these Leaf kunoichi…" Guena blocked and let the strike shut a chakra point in her upper arm, stabbing Hinata's hand with two needles in retaliation, "Are so very fond of their Taijutsu, aren't they?"

Hinata's follow-up blow only grazed her opponent's shoulder as Guena slipped away, predicting the Hyuga girl's moves. In a moment of respite Hinata pulled the senbon from her hand and used a rotation, deflecting the fusillade of senbon that came for her again. Whether near or far, Guena was going to be tricky to corner. 'I will have to commit to ranged attacks too if I cannot get close enough to hit her.' Her frown of concentration resembled her father's, though she did not know it at the time.

"Kunoichi of Konoha…punching and beating their enemies. It's so barbaric." Guena tittered, making hand seals, "Where I come from we stun and kill with grace."

Guena shook loose her braid, scattering the buds and flowers that she had kept tied up. When they landed on the floor, the chips and seeds burst, chakra-saturated, as she completed her jutsu, "Doton: Fresh Soil Spreading!" Most everything on the ground was rapidly growing and climbing, and Guena handily kept Hinata back with senbon. Trees, shrubs, fruits, vines, ferns and all manner of woodland diversity were transforming the arena.

Thinking quickly, Hinata honed a point of molded chakra in the tip of her finger to create a cutting edge of Jyukken. She sliced a watermelon in half on the floor, cannibalizing it as a water source. Her Water Affinity easily pulled the water free from the fruit. With hands quicker than light, Hinata had shot Guena full of water needles before the girl rolled to the side with a pained yelp. Hinata created a Shadow Clone that pressured Guena to retreat; both the originator and copy could avoid her senbon attacks.

"I can't deny that you're a freak of nature!" Guena crowed, flipping away, "But you won't be able to use my own jutsu against me now…" With more hand seals, she added, "Hiden: Lush Jungle Trap!" The growth in the room surged up and out; the plant diversity had become so tall that the green tops were level with the railing of the observation walk. Spectators began complaining again that they could not see what was going on.

Tenten tapped Neji's back, "Keep Lee and I informed, please! This is a crazy one..."

"I will." Neji observed with his Byakugan, aware that Hinata was also using her Kekkei Genkai to navigate the impromptu forest below. Hidden Grass, as it turned out, had plenty of jutsu in its bag of tricks.

Hinata darted around through the roots and plant matter, cutting herself out of snares as vines reached for her. She recalled the winning Grass ninja, Aota, and his subtle skill with plant jutsu as well. 'This technique is built off of the last technique she used, and I am sure that it cost her a great amount of chakra. I doubt she will try to confront me directly at this point!' Hinata had zeroed-in on Guena, who believed that she was safely hidden on a tree branch behind a thicket of leaves and fruit.

Hinata positioned her Shadow Clone where Guena could see it, and then snuck the long way around carefully through the bramble and trees. She would have to create her own opportunity to ambush the Grass kunoichi and pummel her with Gentle Fist.

The clone darted around and resorted to using a rotation to rip off vines while simultaneously blocking thrown needles. "Oh! You're good!" Guena called, leaping to the safety of another branch. The shadow clone made its move, racing up a tree trunk with chakra, closing the gap as it launched itself palm-first at Guena.

The Grass kunoichi substituted herself with a bushel of durian fruits. The clone's attack squashed them apart, thorn-pricked. The foul stench of the fruits made the shadow clone gag and stagger. Guena reappeared in a flash and wrapped a vine 'round the clone's neck while it wretched. She pulled the lasso taught and decapitated it, pouting when smoke signaled that she had only gotten a doppelganger. "Shoot…that usually works." Her eyes darted around wildly to spot the lurking Leaf kunoichi.

Guena held still, detected the rustle and displacement of leaves. She snapped the vine-whip down, skillfully catching Hinata's ankle, and hopped down from the branch. The makeshift pulley system dragged Hinata into the air by her foot, and Guena landed on the ground, scoffing merrily. "Seriously? You need to be quieter!" She laughed.

Hinata cut herself down from the snare just as Guena kicked up a broken bamboo stalk from the forest floor, catching it, and skewered the Leaf ninja through her middle. When that shadow clone also dispersed into smoke, Guena only had a moment of horror to realize she had played into a distraction.

She felt chakra points in her back being shut at a concerning speed, and though Guena swung her bamboo-spear to stave Hinata off, the Hyuga girl broke it into segments with two, well-timed palm strikes. Guena shrieked, staggering back through the jungle hazards she had laid, unable to protect her chakra points.

"We ninja of Konohagakure, men and women alike," Hinata raised a glowing hand, chakra radiating from it in the shape of a lion's head, "Do excel in Taijutsu."

Hinata blasted Guena through a tree and to the edge of the room. The Grass kunoichi came to a rolling stop, tangled in plant matter. The jungle began to wither and die as it had required more chakra, but Guena lacked the strength to sustain the technique.

Muttering in annoyance, Shikamaru ventured into the arena to locate the combatants when he noticed the 'jungle jutsu' collapsing. When he did find Guena she had already come-to, battered and bruised. She quietly admitted that she could not go on, but the Grass kunoichi scowled at Hinata as she stood nearby.

"Due to Guena's forfeiture, the winner of this match is Hinata!" Shikamaru shouted up from the nettle. The cheers intensified as the trees and leaves receded.

The victor of an earlier match, Aota, leapt down into the arena to help escort his teammate away. He congratulated her hard work while Guena complained under her breath, hobbling back to the stairs with him.

Hinata peeked at the observation area before leaving the arena, seeing her kunoichi friends celebrating boisterously. They were also nudging Neji, pestering him for his thoughts on the match. It was only natural for him to be proud of his cousin's triumph. Hinata let nervous giggles escape her as she entered the stairwell, pulling debris off of her clothes and hair, 'I did it. I can compete in the Final Round of the Exam!'

Hinata climbed the stairs slowly, 'If only Naruto-kun had been able to watch this match. I know it would have made him happy…' She wrung her hands, considering it, 'Well…it's a shame he is not here to compete either. Naruto would have wanted to advance with the rest of us…to feel the excitement…'

Gaara was able to watch and was hopefully enjoying himself. With that thought, it did strike Hinata as odd that Haku had not entered the Chunin Exam at all, although his new attachment to Sunagakure could have something to do with it. Had Gaara informally taken him as an assistant, in the way that Tsunade relied on Shizune? Hinata frowned. She had not seen Haku in so long. She had heard various excuses from Gaara that made her wonder what could possibly keep a social sweetheart like Haku away from his friends. 'It's suspicious...' She decided. Haku should be here. Naruto, too, deserved to be here. It did not feel completely right that their voices were not mixing with the cheers of other Leaf teams.

'I miss them so much.' Her shoulders drooped as she climbed, 'All I can do now is get through this exam. I have to do it for myself. I always felt confident having Naruto and my friends by my side, but now, even on my own…nothing scares me. Nothing makes me feel small anymore.' Hinata smiled to herself, 'I will make everyone proud this time.'

She reveled in her warm welcome back at the observation area. Her own team and Kakashi's team surrounded her, and even Lee and Tenten joined in, all clamoring and talking over each other. Ino was drowned out in the noise when she tried to remind everyone that Hinata could probably use some fresh air, "And all of you are crowding her and sucking up oxygen!"

Neji stayed back as he typically did. There was a genuine, closed-mouth smile on his face. Hinata had spotted it before it disappeared, too fast for her to point out the rare phenomenon to her friends. Thankfully, Kurenai managed to push the mob back a little and give her third victorious student an excited side-hug.

"You did very well, Hinata. Your opponent was certainly a challenge, but you kept a level head. From what I was able to see, I was most pleased." Kurenai estimated, "At this rate, Kakashi and Asuma's teams should also be entirely victorious. Don't you think?"

"I hope so!"

"You freaking attacked someone with watermelon juice!" Sato exclaimed, getting a word in edgewise, "I am a fan for life now."

"It was improvised." Hinata admitted with a squeak.

"Ugh…I think I can still smell those durian fruits…" Sakura added, fanning her face with a small frown, "I guess a stinking substitution does have some utility."

"It would have ruined me." Kiba and his hyper-sensitive nose concurred.

Tama returned to the walkway after being treated by the attending medic-nin in the breakroom. "I missed it!" She threw her hands up in frustration, but pulled Hinata in for a hug anyway, congratulating her, "I was sure you'd do great! It must have been exciting!"

Across the room, beneath the digital board cycling through names, Gaara spoke to his student, "There are only four matches left, Matsuri."

She nodded anxiously, "One of them will be mine. The pool of competitors…thinned out a lot. All of these Leaf ninja are so strong."

"They are. They've worked very hard to prepare for this exam." He motioned his head towards the celebrating Leaf group, "There is a 3 in 8 chance you will be facing a Leaf opponent. 1 in 4 a Dream shinobi, or 1 in 8 either Rain or Rock." His mouth curved into a slight smile, "But I believe you can win."

"Oh," Matsuri clasped her hands and replied softly, "Thank you, Sensei. I really don't want to disappoint you."

"No matter what happens, you won't. You've improved greatly, and I am glad that you made it this far."

The board above settled on two names and Shikamaru made his announcement, "The eleventh match will be between Togano Tetsuya and Inuzuka Kiba. Competitors please report to the arena!"

Gaara said sidelong to his student, "Make that 1 in 3 Leaf or Dream; 1 in 6 Rock. I'd prefer if you didn't fight that Rock ninja, to be quite frank."

"Why not?" She wondered.

"He is trouble." Gaara said nothing more on the subject.

Kiba and Akamaru arrived on the floor below just as the Rain genin, Tetsuya, did. Compared to his inexperienced teammates, Tetsuya looked a bit wiser and more steadfast.

Kiba quirked an eyebrow at the boy, 'He's smiling at me. Kind of.' Akamaru sat patiently beside his master while Kiba reflected on the uncharacteristic expression on his opponent's face, 'I want to say it's because I look good. He's digging my style…or he's damn sure he can kick my ass.' Kiba took his hands out of his pockets and cracked his knuckles, 'My team is two for two. We're gonna be three for three.'

Shikamaru looked between them and then dropped his hand, "Begin!"

Right off the bat, Tetsuya used hand seals to weave a Genjutsu. Kiba had to hand it to the first-year trainee that it was a quality illusion, complete with swamp scenery and sounds of wildlife to boot.

But he could very easily smell Tetsuya as he tried to sneak in for an ambush.

Akamaru sat calmly and scratched his ear while Kiba shut his eyes and dove at the Rain ninja, relying on his keen nose to catch the twerp. Then, Tetsuya punched him in the jaw so hard Kiba reconsidered the strategy entirely. 'Oh! So this ain't a pushover I've got here!' He whistled for Akamaru.

In that moment of recovery, Tetsuya used a jutsu that produced a small rain cloud. The vapor puff rose up and up until it stopped at the glass ceiling, and it began to pour down into the arena, appropriately not dousing spectators.

While Tetsuya produced a few Water Clones, Kiba released the Genjutsu with a seal (as Sakura had demonstrated to him many times,) and then allowed his dog to perch on his back for a combination transformation, "Follow the original, Akamaru!"

The ninken transformed into his master's likeness and the two spun with claw-like nails extended. Tetsuya evaded to the best of his ability as water clones were hacked and splashed apart. His resolve wavered when a chunk of the sodden sand floor was gouged up by Kiba's Taijutsu.

That moment of uncertainty motivated the Rain genin to take more drastic action. He used ninjutsu to convert the state of two water clones that Kiba and his dog were about to shred. "Suiton: Geyser Burst!" The clones liquefied and boiled, blasting back the Leaf attackers.

The hot water was too much to take. Kiba and Akamaru shook themselves and tried to cool off, 'Aw, kid, I'm going to pay you back for burning me…' Two more of Tetsuya's clones were raked apart when Kiba charged, skidding over the floor with Akamaru. Tetsuya used another water blast to shoot one of his assailants through a gap in the floor, and then he pounced.

With some unexpected gall, Tetsuya reached for his waterlogged opponent and utilized another jutsu, "Suiton: Water Prison!" An orb of water rose up with a spin and then encapsulated Kiba. With only a moment to react, he had thought to hold his breath. One last Water Clone prowled the arena while the real Tetsuya hoped to drown his captive.

Sakura and Tama were hollering for Kiba to find the weak point of the technique to exploit and escape, but Kakashi had calmly returned to his book. He had noticed Tetsuya's mistake where his students had overlooked it.

After several seconds, the 'Kiba' inside the Water Prison reverted back into Akamaru. The ninken had wide and concerned puppy-dog eyes, aware that his situation was less than optimal. Luckily, Kiba had burst out of the hole in the floor that Tama had created with Blooming Lotus. The single kunai he had thrown sailed through the Water Clone's head, dissolving it, and the knife continued on cleanly until it sunk into the center of Tetsuya's stomach. With a wail, the boy pulled his hand free of the water orb. The prison squelched apart and Akamaru leapt away, shaking himself rigorously once again.

At that point, Kiba had closed the gap between himself and the Rain ninja. He returned Tetsuya's punch to the face with twice the force, snapping his head to the side. As the boy toppled, Kiba felt no remorse in smashing him with one final, spinning attack.

Shikamaru had hustled to get between him and the beaten Rain ninja, asking Kiba to step back, "It's getting to be a bit much." He bent down to examine Tetsuya. The boy was conscious but bleeding liberally. Shikamaru had advised him not to remove the kunai from his stomach just yet, "Let a professional handle that."

"I can go on, proctor…" Tetsuya rasped. He struggled to stand and then slipped in a puddle of rainwater.

When the Rain nin collapsed again, Shikamaru advised quietly, "Learn your own limits."

He stood upright and announced, "The winner of this match is Kiba!" As cheering erupted Shikamaru added to Tetsuya, "Now stop this damn rain…"

The jutsu ceased per the proctor's request, and Tetsuya was escorted away by medic-nin. A little drenched, both Kiba and Akamaru returned to the observation area to bask in praise.

"Three for three." Kiba told his sensei with a grin.

"I know. I didn't picture it any other way." Kakashi was smiling under his mask, "Well done, Kiba. It was a balance of poise and violence."

Kakashi had put away his book with the intention of watching the last three matches. Truly, it was a relief that his team had broken even with Gai's team in terms of victories, or he would never hear the end of his rival's pontificating. He did feel a swell of pride that his unorthodox team, with kunoichi outnumbering a male peer, was the subject of admiration for many defeated first-timers. Even Sato had made him proud, though his win had come at the expense of badly burning a Grass genin.

Fujita had an opportunity to commend his good friend, "Kiba-kun…congratulations on your match!"

"Thanks, kid!" He mussed the small Hyuga's head, disordering his ponytail, "Are you pumped up for your match?"

"Yes! My heart hasn't stopped racing. I'm not sure how to keep my head clear…"

"If it helps," Kiba suggested, "Try thinking about when you saved me from the Cloud Jounin's Kekkei Genkai, back in the Lightning Country. Remember that? It took some major balls to jump into that fight."

Fujita's smile widened and he subconsciously rested his hands on his hips, as Lee often did, "I do remember that."

"Good. Stay in that mindset. You were clear and dependable that day, and I still thank God that you were there." Kiba informed him.

The conversation was interrupted by Shikamaru's declaration, "The next match will be between Hyuga Fujita and Sometani Matsuri."

Kiba watched his young friend's surprise convert into a cool expression. Fujita had the encouragement needed to think and win. 'He can do it. Neji and Hinata blazed a path for him here, and I've seen what he can do. Fujita has what it takes. He's the same age as other newbies, but they can't hold a candle to him!' Fujita patted Ino and Chouji's arms before bustling down the stairwell.

Gaara's only comment to Matsuri before she ventured down was, "Expect Taijutsu, Matsuri. Don't forget what we reviewed two weeks ago."

"I won't, Sensei." She took a few deep breaths and then walked briskly down a long stretch to the stairs.

There were muttering comments noting that three members of the Hyuga clan were competing. In a worrying trend, two of the three Hyuga shinobi had advanced to the Final Stage. Many foreign teams could only expect a similar result. The Kazekage's student was plain and mousey-looking. Though she was well dressed in a navy wrap top beneath an armor chestplate, she was short, gangly, thin, and was certainly too young to have been in many serious battles. Fighting another Byakugan user was going to be an uphill struggle.

Kiba felt Sakura tense beside him. He turned to her, inquiring, "Is something up?"

"I'm wondering if…" Sakura frowned and lowered her voice, "This could be an even match."

"No way. Fujita's got Hyuga skills and his personal tricks of the trade. I've seen it." Kiba insisted, "That girl looks like buttered toast to me."

"But Gaara trained her." Sakura reminded her teammate, "Gaara. Trained her. Don't tell me that we can't expect her to have some tricks of the trade too. Assume her aspect is purely for deceit. If Gaara had taught a male student, do you think any of us might just be a little concerned?"

Kiba hesitated before he confessed, "Yes, and I hate to say I didn't consider that angle, but…I guess I'd worry."

"Then worry." Sakura concluded.

Kiba did not feel so sure of the outcome after that point. Both competitors were, as Sakura had described, more formidable than they looked.

Below in the arena, Fujita looked up at Hinata and was comforted by her pep and friendly waving. Neji was nearby, composed, but also appeared supportive despite his stillness and silence.

Matsuri stood as the sole Genin representative of the Hidden Sand village, her posture straight and her countenance serene. Her nerves had coped with worse, she recalled. Becoming Gaara's student had not been a simple matter. A cavern full of giant scorpions had not been a comfortable experience. The Shin clan had been a doozy for her as well. The Chunin Exam, while it had thrown curves and bumps at her, was not nearly as bad as Matsuri was prepared for it to be.

She faced front to stare at the small Hyuga boy. He was going to make a serious attempt to add another victory to Leaf's cache of conquests. Matsuri suspected that this attitude in her opponent was going to make her fight more difficult, 'He's not going to surrender. I'll beat him outright before he can force me to quit.'

Matsuri stole a glance at the proctor from the corner of her eye, 'The proctor is kind of good-looking.' Her eyes snapped forward again, 'And my opponent's name is Fujita. He has the Byakugan like the other Hyuga do.' His hair looked like someone had tousled it. Fujita's frown also looked an awful lot like the older Hyuga boy's expression. She kept her hands at her sides, waggling her fingers in preparation to reach for her weapon, 'I think I know exactly what to do, this time.'

Shikamaru permitted them to begin. Matsuri pulled the jouhyou from the clip on her back and let it whirl threateningly. Fujita only balked for a moment before he raised his arms in a traditional Jyukken stance, the veins at the corners of his eyes bulging.

Revved cheers of spectators resounded from the walkway above.

The boy charged and prodded at Matsuri's defense with a Gentle Fist slap. The red flag of the rope-dart lashed down, quick as wind, and the tooth of the jouhyou smashed his chin. Fujita's eyes watered with pain as he reached, nearly catching the rope to pull the weapon from her grasp…but Matsuri hooked the cable with her foot and swung it clockwise, snaring it 'round Fujita's leg. She pulled back and tripped him, and as the Hyuga genin hit the floor he hurled a volley of senbon at her.

Two needles sunk into her thigh, and the rest pinged off of her chestplate. Matsuri freed the rope before Fujita had the chance the cut it, and she spun it while pulling the needles out, 'I won't let him do that again…' But he tried to. Fujita was up in an instant and besetting her with senbon thrown in threes or fours. Matsuri spun and twirled her weapon, knocking every projectile out of the air with the metal tooth of her jouhyou.

The standoff lasted for over a minute. Fujita had nearly exhausted the senbon quivers at his hip and up his sleeves, frowning in concentration, 'I have nine needles left before I need to collect them from the floor. She will not give me that opportunity unless I make her…and she can block them without much effort.' It was a matter of getting in close to stab a pressure point with a needle, or attacking her chakra points with Gentle Fist. Her defense was troublesome.

Fujita charged again without a sound, his eyes brimming with his bloodline talent. When his mock-attack was met once again with the speedy spin of the jouhyou, Fujita threw himself into a rotation, "Kaiten!" The revolving shield of chakra tore the jouhyou from Matsuri's hands and flung it across the room, tangling it wildly against the metal posts of the spectator walkway.

In the same motion, Fujita ended his rotation and charged forward, landing his first hit on her arm as she put it up to block. Matsuri screeched, frustrated, and rolled to the side when another Jyukken strike painfully grazed her side. She reached for another weapon clipped to her belt and wrenched it open, swinging it in a wide arc at Fujita as he stood two meters away. It drew blood that splattered across his face and shirt. Fujita winced and stepped back cautiously.

Matsuri's second jouhyou was entirely metal, the tiny chain links of the cable were fortified steel, and the end she had thrown at Fujita had a small, double-edged dagger. It had cut the lobe of his ear open when she tossed it. Matsuri stood and resumed her routine, spinning and defending; the opposite end of the steel jouhyou was fixed with a tooth and red flag like the original.

In a blink, Matsuri had smashed the rope-dart's tooth once against Fujita's injured ear, and then a second time behind the knee. He fell, somewhat stunned, but launched himself up defiantly when Matsuri moved to attack again. Fujita used another rotation and Matsuri swung her jouhyou away, not keen on losing another weapon.

'I can force her to back off with Kaiten…' He threw a senbon that landed in the flesh that joined her clavicle and shoulder, 'Shoot, I was a few millimeters off!' In retaliation, she swung for his injured ear again. They savaged each other in attempt to wear down the opponent, attacking weak points and injuries.

Gaara watched without batting an eye, one arm folded beneath the other as he cupped his chin. He had been the one to teach Matsuri the importance of defense and breaking one's defense. She would likely work on Fujita's ear and knee until he slipped up or became distracted. In that singular moment of diversion, Matsuri would then use the jutsu she had been perfecting. For her part, Gaara acknowledged that she could not afford to take more than a few Gentle Fist strikes or a blow from a Rotation. Both he and his student played a patient game in battle.

Matsuri avoided Fujita as he charged time and again, flipping and leaping, directing the rope-dart's whirl with her feet, shoulders, arms, and neck. She retreated when he dared to rotate, and counterattacked when he left himself open. Eventually, as Fujita felt his purpling, injured ear be impacted by the jouhyou's tooth once again, he caught the rope-dart chain. He let a spike of his chakra channel through it and wham Matsuri with a Gentle Fist strike at the opposite end. She collapsed on her back, winded, and dust rose up from the floor in a puff. The chain weapon rattled to the floor as Fujita discarded it.

Up above, Neji recalled using a similar tactic long ago on Kidomaru.

Breathing heavily, Fujita made his move to pounce on the girl, eyeing the exact chakra points he intended to shut. There were cheers and sounds of dismay from spectators.

Then, the Sand kunoichi waved her arm, and a length of beige fabric shot free from the sleeve of her tunic, snaring the Hyuga boy's legs. With a cry, Fujita fell and slid face-down across the floor, hog-tied. Matsuri was promptly on her feet again, and retrieved her jouhyou with her free hand.

Before she could crack Fujita over the head with the rope-dart's tooth, Fujita funneled chakra from his tenketsu in a semi-rotation. It tore off the fabric snare and simultaneously propelled him up, gouging a trench into the sand floor. He wobbled to his feet, tuning out the sounds of other shinobi watching, 'She almost had that chance to get me! Ah, so she can use multiple types of soft weapons.' Fujita observed her carefully with his Byakugan, spying the features on her person that he had overlooked earlier, 'She's concealing that throwing sash in both of her sleeves, but I thought it was only clothing before…'

Matsuri had been inspired by fighting the Shin clan's leader a few months prior. He had aptly used a throwing sash to batter both her and Menma when they had least expected it. After consulting with her sensei, he agreed that it was worth experimenting with new ranged tools.

Fujita fluttered his eyes in confusion when Matsuri leapt up, reaching above her head with the fabric sash. It knotted itself around the rail of the spectator walkway before she climbed up gracefully, casting the sash again to snare the support beams of the ceiling. Matsuri pulled herself up, wrapping and unwrapping herself in the sash to scale higher. She had very quickly gained altitude.

Fujita took another moment to process and rethink his course of action, 'I only have…eight senbon now…and I don't know how to use Air Palm yet.' He frowned to himself, 'I will have to take the fight up there before she finds new ways to attack me!'

The Hyuga boy debated which was the best path 'up.' Matsuri had fixed several fabric sashes to the rafters, no longer needing them concealed in her sleeves. She had only tested the aerial routine a few weeks prior, but both Gaara and Kankuro agreed after seeing it that it was 'an asset for the Chunin Exam.' Matsuri wound herself down and around two cloth ropes as Fujita leapt, and he clung onto the bottom-most end of a sash.

Shikamaru rubbed his chin out of nervous habit, wondering which genin would fall and break his or her neck first. His Shadow Bind could not help much in mid-air, 'I'm not crazy about having to catch one of these scamps…'

Holding on with her feet and legs wrapped in cloth, Matsuri's hands were free to use her jouhyou. Fujita was curiously nimble, she had to hand him that. He had adapted and learned how to climb, albeit less effectively than Matsuri. She was only able to strike him once with a glancing blow from the rope-dart's knife end. A breath later, he had gotten a hold of the jouhyou again and surged a Jyukken blow through it. Before it could connect, Matsuri looped the rope-dart's chain around a hanging sash and leapt to the safety of another cloth rope. The Gentle Fist strike shredded the sash Fujita had been holding onto, and he managed to clamber to another cloth suspension.

With his Byakugan, he could see Matsuri had scaled higher, just beneath the glass of the ceiling's windows. She had pulled a small tool scroll from her hip pouch and whipped it open, hastily summoning, 'She has another weapon!' Knowing she would descend with speed, Fujita tried to time his Rotation correctly. Matsuri tumbled down with a third soft weapon, much like the one before it, but the weights on each end of it were hazardous. She swung it with practiced momentum off of her shoulder and the side of her body, gravity-assisted, and let it fly as Fujita's chakra shield whirled below.

Kiba spoke to Sakura as he watched in amazement, "She's definitely better than I thought."

"Agreed, but what is that?" Sakura was puzzled.

Poking in-between the two, Kakashi enlightened them, "That's a Meteor Hammer. It's barely legal for this exam, if Shikamaru does not disqualify her this very moment."

When the two asked "why" in unison, Matsuri's meteor-hammer ricocheted off of the Rotation shield, its trajectory whizzed along the cylindrical wall of the tower arena, gaining sickening speed…and crashed into Fujita on the rebound with a flash of the Sand kunoichi's chakra.

It knocked Fujita, shield still spinning, into the tower wall. With the resulting crash, Fujita felt his head rattle as he ended his defense and avoided the spectator walkway on his way down. He could not plummet to floor nearly as fast as the two-ended hammer could. The lead-core, steel-wrapped sphere rocketed down with ferocity, catching around Fujita's ankle. Trapped, he was pulled up again as Matsuri descended with the other end of the spinning meteor-hammer. His Jyukken strike looked like it had come from a dizzy kitten. It missed, and after Fujita hit the floor on his back, the other hammer-sphere slammed into his stomach with wall-shaking force.

Horrified gasps echoed in the room as dust and plaster settled.

Kakashi pointed out quietly to his students that maybe Shikamaru didn't know if the terrible weapon was tournament-sanctioned or not. They would review it with the Hokage later. Kiba watched with a slack jaw as Matsuri rose up and backed away, looping the chain of the meteor-hammer around her shoulder. Shikamaru tip-toed over to the crater, worried about what was left of Fujita.

Above, Tsunade gave Gaara a peeved look from the corner of her eye. Had it become a trend for Kage to turn their female apprentices into super humans?

Shikamaru crouched down and examined the small, crumpled Hyuga. 'Damn. It looks like he attempted to make another chakra shield when she hit him just now, so it blocked some damage…but this isn't something he'll stand up and walk away from.' He patted Fujita's cheek and the boy's eyes blinked open, "Can you hear me?"

"…yes…sir."

"Can you continue?"

His breath came in a wheeze, "No…sir."

"Sorry, kid. We'll get you out of here in just a second." Shikamaru stood and pointed his hand to Matsuri, "The winner of this match is Matsuri!"

Some pleased cheering sounded, but many were still stupefied by the conclusion of the duel. Both Hinata and Neji had respectfully descended to check on their second-cousin. Fujita could only speak to them in fragmented sentences, expressing his hope that nothing in his chest or stomach was extensively injured.

Neji assured him, "You will live and recover. We will find you at the hospital as soon as we are finished here."

"Thank you…Neji-sama."

Hinata squeezed Fujita's hand sadly before he was hauled off on a stretcher.

Not intending to instigate further discord, both Neji and Hinata avoided looking at Matsuri and returned to the next level. While they were certainly irked by the girl, she was still Gaara's student. On the other end of the room, Matsuri took the stairs back up as well.

Ino looked at Hinata when she returned to the observation deck. She could immediately tell by the look on her friend's face that they would have to visit their beloved little substitute later. 'Poor Fujita…in my book, he was anything but a pushover…and he was smashed.' Ino looked around at the last few contenders, 'Two matches left. I've got to be in the next one or the last…it's the two Dream ninja and the…the…' Her eyes settled on the last Rock nin standing on the other side of the room, 'Lee and Tenten said that guy is a psycho!'

"Ino." Chouji squeezed her in a one-armed hug, "Do not panic. Fujita will be okay. You're going to be okay."

"Everyone remaining is strong." She muttered.

"So are you. Keep your head right, woman!" He replied in a hiss.

Shikamaru had stopped in the observation area to briefly converse with Tsunade, trying to stall in case Ino needed a moment to collect herself.

"So…" Shikamaru looked between the Hokage and the Kazekage, "Was that an official win, or did I call it incorrectly?"

"You were correct." Gaara said flatly.

Shikamaru frowned, "Your student used a…I don't know what it's called. How can I confirm that it was permissible?"

"I understand your concern, Shikamaru. Let me see what the Exam framework says; a moment, please," Tsunade paged through a laminated booklet she had kept at her side, JUST in case Danzo wanted to rain on her parade rules-wise, "Ah, Section G, acceptable weapons and tools…part two, Soft-Weapons. It's a chain or rope dart with weights attached, also called a hammer. Legal. In fact..." Tsunade circled the tip of her finger on the page, "This here says that all legally-acquired weapons brought into battle by Genin can be used. There are maybe three or four types of exceptions, but this isn't one of them."

"Really?" Shikamaru bent his head to read it, astounded.

"Yes. Most anything goes, as long as it isn't stolen or given by a teammate or third-party during a match." Tsunade advised, "Props to the little girl for her…dexterity."

Gaara made a sound that came out of his nostril, half-amused, half-annoyed.

"Alright. Thanks for the clarification." Shikamaru sighed, turning around as he clicked the transponder in his pocket, 'Please. If there is a higher power or God…don't let Ino have a match that rough…'

He leapt down into the arena and swallowed hard before looking up at the screen, "The next match will be between… Sasagainu Huo and Hirasaka Agehanto." Shikamaru was overcome by instant relief. That meant the final preliminary match would be between the last kunoichi competitors of Dream and Leaf. Not everyone in the tower felt relief, though.

Tenten stood with her hands wrapped around the rail, staring without seeing. The name on the board could not be correct.

Pearls of sweat started behind her ears and the nape of her neck, rolling down her skin agonizingly slow. There. She saw him walking tranquilly, the Rock ninja: Huo. He trotted down the stairs for his match. 'That surname…' She shut her eyes hard and then opened them again. The board's readout was the same, 'That was the clan name my parents left behind when they fled Iwagakure and came to Konoha…as refugees. The name they said I could never use.' The pits of her arms and palms of her hands grew clammy, 'I don't understand why anyone would use that surname in the light of day…'

Neji softly nudged her with an elbow, tired of being ignored. Tenten swiveled her head toward him.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a low voice.

"Nothing! These…last two matches are going to be intense, I think."

"You weren't breathing." Neji pointed out archly.

"I just…" She exhaled, "I know that Rock ninja is out for blood. I know it more than Lee, now."

"And how do you figure it?" Neji was minutely intrigued.

"I'll…tell you when we get out of here." The look in her eyes assured him that was a promise.

Below in the arena, the Dream ninja named Agehanto was as vibrantly colored as the rest of his team. His violet hood emerged from beneath a pop-collared gi. The ombré dye of the top faded from crimson into canary yellow, and Ino had snapped out of her nervous funk just enough to comment on the fashionable look. Chouji agreed with her quietly, snacking on the half-finished bag of chips.

Huo looked stark and bland standing across from his opponent. Ino recognized the clothing to be Wushu attire similar to what she had seen Lee and Neji running around in. The black fabric was offset by white piping and trim, tailored to Huo's slim frame. 'And that face…' Ino observed, 'It makes you want to cross the street to stay away from him…'

Shikamaru removed a single hand from his pocket as he stood nearby the competitors. The wary feeling in the back of his mind persisted, but he dutifully pressed on, "If you are both ready…you may begin!" He leapt to the safety of the observation area, surprised that neither Huo nor Agehanto had moved a muscle.

After the initial stare-off, which persisted for about fifteen seconds, Huo folded his arms behind his back. There was a dull expression on his face.

This small action piqued Agehanto, who spoke, "Are you trying to surrender?"

"No." Huo assured the Dream nin, "I am relaxing."

"Really?" Agehanto's lip quivered, irritated, "I suggest you raise your arms now." He held a Tiger Seal and charged his chakra. Huo did not flinch or move, not even when Agehanto began to levitate, glowing with radiant dark purple chakra.

From what spectators could discern, it seemed like an unusual telepathic ability. Kakashi noted this to his students, no longer distracted by his book, and he figured that this was a jutsu that the Dream sensei Yomito could also use as a member of the Hirasaka clan.

Agehanto looked as though he would float clumsily with the technique, but he propelled himself with a burst of speed, tapping a foot once on the floor. The flurry of punches he unleashed on Huo's upper body looked to be as quick as what Tama or Lee could deliver. Huo kept his arms behind his back, tilting and rocking, sedately dodging the attacks. Huo stepped backwards lightly, his face solemn, and his nimble feet guided him away from Agehanto's strained strikes.

From then on, Agehanto chased without a single move of retaliation or true defense from Huo. He zipped and floated low over the sand floor, crying in frustration each time he missed. The Dream ninja pulled a small carousel of knives from his back belt and let them fly, directing them with his purple-telepathy technique. When Huo evaded the projectiles, Agehanto flipped the knives around in mid-air and redirected them with a thought, missing Huo time and again despite his lethal talent.

Agehanto's outrage escalated when Huo casually plopped through the hole in the floor Tama had made. He had attached himself to the underside of the arena floor. Agehanto followed in a rage, still floating, and spectators were largely unaware of what occurred beyond their sight. Agehanto had used a summoning technique, made evident by the remnants of a smoke cloud rising from the floor gap. While rumbling and sounds of impact could be heard, no one save for the Hyuga participants saw a thing, that was…until a large, violet, bi-pedal creature crashed through the floor with terrible strength.

That too had missed Huo. Back on the upside of the arena again, he backed away calmly as the earth monster pursued. Kakashi guessed sidelong to his students that the floppy-eared beast was a Nuiba, and it blundered forward towards the Rock genin. The bulky Nuiba swung its thick arms down to strike its target, and Agehanto simultaneously attacked Huo from behind.

Though he had no visual confirmation of it, Huo was able to step away from Agehanto's kunai barrage once more. The knives stuck into the Nuiba, which squealed in response. The Dream genin had lost patience, stamping his foot as he shouted, "You're not willing to fight me, eh? Is that it? Why did you enter this Exam in the first place?"

Huo looked over his shoulder at his opponent. After a long silence he admitted, "I only make an effort against worthy opponents."

"I don't think you know worthiness when you see it!" Still hovering off of the floor, Agehanto used a jutsu to launch several arcs of his chakra across the room, "Chakra Slicers!"

The aggressive move drew clamoring from the team of Dream shinobi at the observation deck. Since his defeat at Lee's hands, Masugama was bandaged but cheering loudly for his friend below. The kunoichi was pounding her hands on the guardrail.

The slicing attack collided directly with Huo. He had not bothered to evade, allowing the strike to stagger his stance and untidy the queue at the back of his head. Following that, Huo did side-step the slow moving Nuiba's fist as it came careening down. At that point, Agehanto was both astonished and furious. It was not as if Huo had taken a direct attack because he could not avoid it…he had taken it merely to disrespect his opponent. Huo unfolded his arms momentarily to dust off his shirt and fiddle with the cuffs of his sleeves.

"Don't you get it?" Agehanto warned as he floated nearby, "That jutsu sealed your chakra! You willingly let me do it; just because you're convinced you're better than me?"

It was as if a switch flipped. Some spectators blinked a few times, confused, unable to follow where Huo had gotten to when he started to move. Kakashi observed that it was genuine Body Flicker speed, but he didn't need to explain to his students what they were witnessing.

Using only his feet, Huo maneuvered himself behind the Nuiba, kicked it towards Agehanto, clipped the back of the creature's knee so that it folded, and then with footwork that forgot gravity mattered, Huo forced the beast's arm down to pulverize its own summoner. Agehanto rolled out of the way, evading the super-fast strike by a hair, but the rebounding blow from the Nuiba's other arm struck him. Agehanto skipped like a pebble across the arena floor before rolling to a stop.

"It's kind of like a great, big toy." Huo assessed the Nuiba. Then, he lithely collapsed to the floor in a tumble, and with that momentum he used a single kick to launch the hulking beast up the tower and through the glass ceiling. As glass shards rained down, most spectators could see the Nuiba had hit the protective Sealing Barrier Dome that surrounded the tower for the Exam. It was immediately incinerated.

"Why don't you…summon another?" Huo suggested as the Dream ninja struggled to his feet, "I'd like to do that again."

Agehanto wiped his lower lip and pulled his disheveled hood up. "I know I did…I know my jutsu sealed all of your chakra…" He muttered.

Huo was back to straightening his shirt again.

The Dream genin charged at his opponent, levitating, with purple chakra expressed like a sickle in his hand, "Get serious you piece of-!"

Again, Huo used a single kick, but it looked like a premature move. He had only hit air, and yet, Kakashi let his Sharingan track it to watch an odd, half-transparent seal lift off of the bottom of Huo's foot. Surely it was manifesting from Huo's chakra, dim and difficult to spot…but the translucent, glowing character hung in empty space long enough for Agehanto to crash into it.

It looked as if the Dream genin had smashed his face into a shield. His own levitation power slipped him up, and with zero traction against the floor Agehanto fell backwards, the back of his head impacting the sandy ground once. He had nearly blacked out, hovering inches off of the floor with a bloody nose.

"You would pay dearly if I fought you seriously." Huo counseled, slowly lowering the kicking pose he had held, "I do not need to use my chakra to defeat you. This is the time for you to give up."

'That hardly makes sense.' Kakashi reflected on the Rock genin's warning. He thought he had watched Huo leave a physical seal in the air that could block an opponent. But if that was actually what it had been, it would have required chakra to use, 'And that's beside the fact that sealing of that level is not something Genin, Chunin, or even most Jounin can do…' Only Jiraiya came to mind, off the top of his head. 'So then,' Kakashi deduced, 'That was something else. Not purely physical, but…a different kind of technique.'

The stubborn Dream ninja rose to his feet again, preparing his next course of action, "There's just…something wrong with you. Something missing. I don't plan on surrendering to an empty shell like you."

Kakashi thought three things when Agehanto spoke his last words. 1) If he had been the proctor, Kakashi's instincts were telling him to jump in and interrupt the match right that second. 2) Huo already knew the Dream ninja was too angry and insulted to surrender to a condescending adversary. 3) Huo would use Agehanto's words to justify what he was inevitably going to do next.

With the same unknowable speed, Huo had worked his way around Agehanto. His kicks had that same, strange property that Kakashi could not recognize, not even from all of his many years of experience. Maybe the brute strength and discipline reminded him of Lee and Gai, Kakashi supposed. Perhaps his speed and poise resembled that of the well-trained Genin of Leaf that were assembled, but Huo's form was so utterly unique in its fluidity and exactitude… 'That's not Taijutsu or Ninjutsu, to my knowledge. More importantly…I don't know if that is a Genin.'

Without using his hands, Huo had again turned one of Agehanto's techniques against him, taking advantage of the Dream ninja's levitation to kick him around in a friction-less state. The single time that Agehanto had crashed against a wall, Kakashi estimated that it shook the tower down to its foundation. After that, Huo kept him in the air and treated him like a colorful footbag.

Soaring up into the height of the chamber towards the ceiling, Agehanto's teammates could see for a fleeting moment as he was kicked past the rails. On his face: distress, humiliation, tired anger, and the absence of pain because his feeling had gone. It was too much for the team of Dream shinobi to allow the cruelty to continue. Masugama reached out his hand as his friend whizzed by in the air. He felt the fabric of Agehanto's shirt against his fingertip, and then suddenly Huo had kicked the Dream genin to the apex of the tower. Their sensei, Yomito, leapt into action a fraction of a moment too late.

Huo descended after kicking Agehanto down, and when the Dream nin hit the floor of the arena, his head and neck were level with the edge of a floor gap. Huo landed on Agehanto's back with a soft crack, and then stepped away lightly. It was definitively over in that moment, Kakashi felt.

Huo had wisely put distance between himself and the jounin Yomito, who was grimly fuming when he hurried across the floor to his fallen nephew. Shikamaru called a time out as he entered the ring as well.

The proctor and jounin kneeled on either side of the unresponsive genin. Agehanto was still face-down on the floor and, upon Shikamaru's inspection, had a neck injury that did not look as simple as fractured vertebrae. "Don't move him." Shikamaru suggested to Yomito, "I'll get the medics over here."

"Quickly." The man advised.

Shikamaru returned with two medic-nin who ushered Yomito away from the boy's side. While their examination commenced, Shikamaru had some foresight on the matter, 'I don't know if I can call the match yet. If this Dream genin dies here in the ring, it'll immediately disqualify Huo.' He snuck a look at the Rock genin on the far side of the arena, 'And that'd probably be a blessing.'

"Nara-san," The female, uniformed medic-nin gave her assessment, "My partner, Ryuta, can stabilize this child's vitals for now. Unfortunately, he needs emergency surgery to survive this trauma. I may even need Tsunade-sama's guidance on how to approach the procedure."

"The Hokage?" Yomito was alarmed by the necessity of Tsunade's expertise, "What's happened to Agehanto?"

On the floor, Ryuta had his hands carefully positioned on the Dream genin, "This is classified as an internal decapitation. There is substantial ligature detachment and spinal detachment from the skull base. An uncommon but severe shinobi injury, all things considered."

'Savage.' Shikamaru thought to himself, "But he'll live?"

"It's uncertain." The woman medic replied, "If surgery goes well he can live, although with major functional issues. We shouldn't waste time." She and Ryuta proceeded to cautiously replace Agehanto on a specialized stretcher. Both of Agehanto's teammates had descended to demand answers and see their friend off with great concern.

Shikamaru placed a hand on Yomito's arm as he turned to stare at Huo, "Please don't. At least not here. What he did was intentional, I'll give you that, but all Genin are protected by their Exam contracts."

"Not him." Yomito asserted, "Killing is against the rules."

"Huo did not kill your student." Shikamaru pointed out, "I'm sorry. I can't allow you to approach a Genin during this stage of the exam." He lowered his voice and whispered from the corner of his mouth, "Wait until he's alone in a dark alley when all of this is over. I can't begrudge you anything out in the contract-less world."

"Well spoken, Nara-san. You have more understanding about this than I would expect from a proctor." After that, Yomito had to extricate Masugama from the arena before he could get violent and attack Huo. The kunoichi of the Dream team, Eifa, wept quietly and stayed to the side of the ring. Her match, inevitably, was the last match of the preliminary rounds.

Tsunade descended to have a word with the two medic-nins before they hurried off with the incapacitated genin. She passed Yomito and Masugama as they wrestled, both undoubtedly struggling to obey the rules.

Tsunade paused for a moment and gave a critical look to the pink-clad, wolfish boy, "You. That's enough. Your sensei has an excess of anguish to deal with right now. Return to the observation area immediately or escort your teammate to the hospital. Since you aren't required to stay here after losing a match, the choice is yours."

Masugama stilled and his sensei was finally able to release him. The boy rested his conflicted gaze on the Hokage, "Hokage-sama…that Rock nin tried-"

"I know what he tried to do. I know what he didn't do, and I know the rules. Listen to what I am telling you."

"Yes ma'am," He was compelled to acknowledge her, "I'll stay with Agehanto." Masugama gave one last parting look to both Yomito and Eifa. He hustled into the downward staircase.

Tsunade regarded Yomito, "Give some encouraging words to your student over there. She's going to need them for her match."

It seemed that the Dream jounin already had that in mind. He swiftly went to the girl's side and braced her shoulder as she began to tremble terribly.

Shikamaru cleared his throat softly from beside the Hokage, "Ma'am…"

She huddled in with Shikamaru and conversed with him so that no other occupant of the tower could hear, "That was a fiasco. Any of the Jounin here should have been able to intervene and stop that blow."

"He was too fast. One of the fastest goddamn living things I have ever seen." Shikamaru assessed quietly.

"Huo's offense does not constitute disqualification; all the same…pushing a boundary like that makes me want to wring his neck." The Hokage admitted, "That boy, Agehanto, is not going to survive. Whether he expires on his own in a few minutes or languishes over the next few days…that injury was too severe. Those medics gave an optimistic assessment with which I did not agree."

"Couldn't you have-?"

"I wouldn't have saved him with my healing." Tsunade's tone was frigid, "If you count being able to breathe without moving, seeing, sensing, feeding or caring for oneself for the rest of one's days…that isn't a life. To live through that kind of injury…it would have to be the least serious occipital dislocation it could possibly be. His was not that."

"I understand. So…should I declare Huo the winner?" Shikamaru whispered.

"If it were a matter of personal opinion and not the rules, I would ask you not to. However, this match was undeniably won." Tsunade excused herself to return to the upper level.

While hardly even looking at the Rock genin who was waiting, Shikamaru gestured towards Huo and announced, "Huo is the winner of this match."

A mortifying silence hung in the room. Unabashed, Huo cleared out of the arena and Shikamaru turned about to take a few cleansing breaths. 'Easy does it. Proctors keep a level head during official Exam matches. I can't screw up now just because I am sick to my stomach. There's only one match left…' For consistency's sake, Shikamaru let the board select the two names of the final match's participants: Amagiri Eifa and Yamanaka Ino.

By then, Yomito had emboldened his student as best he could before he was forced to return to the observation rail. The Dream kunoichi stood silently in her colorful armor in the middle of the arena. Glass from the ceiling's shattered windows was scattered about the floor. She stared into a broken piece near her boot and mused at her own reflection, lost and tormented.

Ino had also absorbed the traumatized reactions of her Leaf peers before she went to the stairwell. When the final blow had been struck on Agehanto earlier, Ino noted the reactions of her friends.

Sakura and Tama had looked away, leaning into each other as they stood side-by-side. Hinata had covered her face with both hands as if to prevent a shriek. Many of the young men of her group watched with gaping mouths, disapproving of what had been done. Lee had covered his mouth with a closed fist as he watched with a furious frown. Ino wondered if Huo's style and chakra-less fighting had bothered Lee simply on principal, apart from Huo's brutalizing of another competitor.

'Tenten had a weird reaction too.' Ino recalled as she slowly took the steps down, 'She was fidgeting. It looked as if she wanted to fight. Or flee. She wanted to do something…at least that's what I thought.' Eventually, Tenten had also squeezed her eyes shut. It was hard to willingly watch a tragedy unfold, and then see it go unpunished by the Exam proctor and the Hokage. 'We all knew that guy wanted to kill other participants, he said it himself! While it wasn't an idle threat, he stopped just short of murder so he could continue to compete.' Ino exhaled harshly, 'What's going to stop him from doing that again? Most of my friends are competing in the Final Rounds!'

Before she had completely snapped out of her thoughts, Ino found herself standing in the arena across from the Dream kunoichi. Close by, Shikamaru gave a very serious look to his teammate-turned-lover. Ino knew what that look meant.

'Get it over with and don't feel sorry about what I have to do!'

Yet still, it was difficult to not sympathize with Eifa as she stood like a small tree trying to weather the storm. Her posture was poor, her eyes swollen from crying, lips still quivering… Someone she cared for had been disrespected and robbed of his life. The image of it was trapped in her brain and demoralized her. Knowing that, Ino could not be more certain that capturing Eifa's consciousness would ensure victory.

"Begin!" And Shikamaru leapt away.

Few spectators were still invested in watching, although those that did could not at first tell which kunoichi would come out ahead. A small spark remained in Eifa, and she used what anger and frustration she could to hurl and direct a fuuma shuriken with wire. Ino's easy ballet of acrobatics made Eifa's use of weaponry look amateur. The Dream kunoichi's patience wore thin as Ino capably evaded her attacks, countering only with kunai. One projectile nearly succeeded in taking Eifa's eye out, but she tipped her head to deflect the knife with her helmet.

When Ino charged with unexpected speed, Eifa freed her hands to use a jutsu, and spat out a jet of poison mist. The Leaf kunoichi stumbled in the violet fog and then collapsed. After a moment of confusion, Eifa was disappointed that she had only stunned a clone with the technique. Before she could pull back on the wire for her giant shuriken, Ino had gotten behind her and used an upward kick to knock the samurai-like helmet off of Eifa's head. The Dream nin overreacted with poison again and missed, exhaling a plume in the wrong direction. Ino's follow-up kick spiked the helmet down and cracked it over Eifa's head.

Hissing sounds of sympathetic pain sounded from those watching at the rails. Eifa staggered, seeing triple, and reeled in her flying fuuma shuriken just in time to ward Ino off and avoid close-quarters combat. When her vision returned to normal, she spied a corsage of flowers at her feet, 'What the-?' For some reason, the small bundle of flowers had a lit fuse.

The flower bomb went off and sent Eifa flying across the arena. The kunoichi's armor buffered the blow as she hit the floor and rolled, and her giant shuriken was snapped loose. Coincidentally, the fuuma shuriken sailed straight for Ino by pure chance, but she swiveled her body to let it pass harmlessly by. 'Phew! That was close!' She prepared her clan's staple hand seal.

Eifa had to take a moment to get her bearings again, letting a sob of frustration escape her. She was not fighting like her normal self. She was quicker and more precise than this sorry display she was giving in her match, 'I just can't stop thinking about Agehanto-kun…' Suddenly, her thoughts and lament over her teammate felt compressed, slipping to the edge of her consciousness. Then it went dark.

'Oh man, is it sad in here…' Ino observed her adversary's mind, 'She's so upset. She's known that boy since they were small kids…' While in control of Eifa's body, she stood upright and dusted off, 'I'm sorry that this happened to you and your team. But please try to think: that could have been you or me in that fight. Neither of us would have been spared unless we surrendered, and I'm not even sure of that…'

Eifa, with Ino's persuasion, raised her hand and looked directly at the proctor, "I forfeit the match."

"I had a feeling you would." Shikamaru muttered as he descended back to the arena, and then nodded, "Alright. The winner of this match is Ino!"

He pointed towards Ino as she had only just returned to her body, rising to her feet and reordering herself. When Eifa came around, she made muddled sounds of protest to accepting the outcome as she looked around. No one on her team had been successful. Only the Leaf cohorts were cheering, and she considered that they would not stay very happy when they later would be pitted against each other.

Eifa confirmed with Shikamaru that she was no longer required to stay in the tower.

"If you and your sensei want to go the hospital and be with your teammates, you can." Shikamaru assured her. Without a moment to lose, both Eifa and Yomito exited the top of the tower without looking back. Their first-in-decades participation in a foreign Chunin Exam had been, in Masugama's words, an unrepeatable clusterfuck. Shikamaru knew that it had been unfair experience for them, as truly strong and respectful competitors, 'I wouldn't be surprised if we caught flack for this from Yumegakure…'

Before Ino could go to the stairs, Shikamaru halted her, "Stay here for now. All victors need to get down here anyway for the lot drawing."

"Hm. You calling me a victor has a nice ring to it." Ino agreed.

An infatuated smile nearly overtook him before Shikamaru shook his head and made the next announcement.

"Eh-hem! This concludes the preliminary matches of the Third Stage. All victors please report to the arena floor now for further instructions!" He added thoughtfully, "Jounin may also report to the floor with their students. Those of you who did not advance may report to Stairwell B and meet with the assistant who will escort you. You can wait at the observation level to join your teams after the last directions are given and then leave together."

Unsuccessful Genin filed off to the designated stairwell, some of whom stayed to wait for the victorious members of their team still waiting on instructions for the Final Stage.

It took a few minutes to congregate below, Genin and Jounin alike assembled in rows facing the proctor. Tsunade and Gaara loitered to the side (Matsuri standing anxiously beside her sensei) appearing adequately worn out and both in need of naps. The large digital board on the wall was now displaying brackets for a tournament, beginning with seven initial matches. Shikamaru glanced around at the antsy Genin who eyed the board up above, and he controlled the screen with the remote in his pocket.

"It goes without saying that you can all expect to compete with each other in the Final Stage of the Exam. First off, let me explain how it's set up," He orated as a graphic and Exam images flashed on the board, "In past years, Final Rounds are structured to be one-on-one knockout matches that facilitate winners to proceed to the next match. There are usually only a handful of competitors, though. This year we have a high volume of participants, which was anticipated."

Shikamaru stole a look at Tsunade before he continued, "This Exam's final round Tournament will be held in the sports stadium for an estimated 9,000 spectators. You heard that correctly. Your performance and skill will no longer be privately witnessed from this point on, as it is traditional for Genin with great ability to enjoy the limelight briefly and represent their villages. The Tournament will narrow down victors of matches until there is one champion. That champion will publically be named a Chunin in front of stadium attendees by our very own Hokage."

Tsunade waved half-heartedly from her position, trying to keep focused. She was starting to daydream about locking herself in an office for some undisturbed rest.

"Please note that winning your match is not a condition of being promoted to Chunin rank. Evaluators and the watching Kage will score your aptitudes and judgement, win or lose, to determine your promotion eligibility. The utmost propriety and discretion is required for this stage, as the Tournament is a tourist attraction that will feature…complex betting on competing Genin…and their projected odds for advancement." Shikamaru nearly bumbled over the words as he read them from a flashcard Tsunade had given him.

'It's a sure thing that Tsunade will be placing her bets at this thing…if she had to emphasize that feature…' He mentally grumbled, stuffing the card back in his pocket.

"The same rules are in effect. No outside interference or killing is permitted. Your binding contracts and waiver for the Exam is also valid up until the Exam's conclusion. There will be a mandatory one-month period of preparation before the Final Round matches commence, ensuring that you are all given time to recover and train as you see fit." Shikamaru held up an opaque, hemp sack, "You will all draw a single number from this bag to randomly determine who your opponent will be in the initial round. Your names will populate on the board above to give you an idea of how the Tournament will begin, and what you can expect."

With that, Shikamaru approached the Genin who had formed a line and made his way past with the lot-drawing bag. As ninja selected their numbers, Shikamaru controlled the screen on the wall to build brackets.

Most everyone gathered glanced up and down again to see who had been pitted against whom. Shikamaru covered a few more minor rules of the Tournament, such as the prohibition of rigging matches for betting profits and the like. He also glazed over the updated security detail that could easily detect and snuff out threats, preventing an invasion like the one that had occurred at the previous exam.

Shino was the last to choose a ball from the bag, but by then his place was secure in the brackets as everyone had plastered their attention to the completed chart. Shikamaru looked over it as well, 'Let's see, how did this pan out? Huh! Sakura and Ino are 1 and 2. Looks like a long-lost wish of theirs was granted for Match 1. Heh! Match 2 looks like that Grass fellow, Aota versus Tenten. Match 3…will be Tama against that Rock nin, Huo.' Shikamaru frowned deeply at the prospect, 'That's…as troublesome as it gets. Match 4 will be Shino versus Kiba, and Match 5 will be Neji…fighting Sato.' Again, he restrained any commentary, 'Match 6 is Hinata versus Chouji, oh man…I don't feel good about that either. And Match number 7 is between Lee and Gaara's student, Matsuri.'

As Shikamaru looked over the Genin who were considering the board, he could plainly see some of them were flabbergasted by the outcomes.

He made his last announcement, "Please note who your first Tournament opponent is and prepare accordingly. Based on the matches you watched today, you should have enough information to work on the skills that will best serve you in the Final Round." Shikamaru looked over to Tsunade, "Are there any closing remarks from the Hokage?"

"Yes." With her arms folded, Tsunade cocked her head at the trainees, "Respect your opponents, and respect this Exam. Certain behaviors…are unbecoming of honorable ninja. Certain behaviors are unacceptable of Chunin. Oh, and also, get plenty of rest. That's what I'll be doing. You few non-Leaf-shinobi who may be looking for accommodations during your one month stay here, you'll be happy to know that there are a few hotels with discounted rates for you and your teams. Meet Shizune at the exit if you'd like to inquire about that." The woman turned on her heel, "Now let's all be on our way. The clean-up crew has a hell of a job to do in here…"

---

By early evening that day, the effects of the Exam were still rattling the Leaf genin. All were unwashed, hungry, dirty-clothed, sleep-deprived, and tremendously anxious about what was to come.

Based on the conversations they'd had on their way out of exit tunnels, Hinata figured that the first thing on everyone's mind was a bath. Ino was loudly inviting all kunoichi, including Matsuri, to an onsen where they could clean up and decompress. Many had accepted the invitation with tired groans, including Tsunade. Shizune impatiently sniped in the woman's ear, reminding her that a mountain of work was waiting at the office. She shepherded the Hokage away dutifully.

The idea was fostered by Sato and Shikamaru (who was at that point free from his proctor duties) and they gathered up their brothers-in-arms who were also stinking and wishing to relax. Gaara's ears perked up at the offer. It had been a long while since he had spent time with his friends.

"May I accompany you?" And no sooner had he spoken the words, he was hauled off by the Leaf Bro regiment. Of course, most would make stops at home to pick up fresh clothes and then proceed to the nearest ryokan.

Just as her friends had, Hinata had retrieved clothes to change into and then met them at the check-in desk of the Konoha Hot Springs. She had to laugh softly as Sakura animatedly introduced Matsuri to the group, keeping an arm wrapped around the girl's shoulder, "Matsuri! Let me introduce you to the girls! This is Ino, my good friend. She's a pig-"

"Sakura, if you want to have our Final Round match here, we can start it here-!"

Sakura went on, ignoring the threat, "This pretty lady is Tama, my teammate." Tama greeted Matsuri with a customary, How do you do? "Here is Tenten, our big sister/weapons master. She looks about ready for a bath."

"I was born ready." Tenten assured them, aching all over, "Hi Matsuri. I felt bad about Fujita's match since I've tutored him in the past…but I can't deny that you impressed the pants off of me."

"Thank you." Matsuri squeaked, "Gaara-sensei wanted me to do my best."

"If it's Gaara's standard of best, of course it'll hurt." Tenten imagined.

Sakura steered Matsuri towards Hinata as they were nearly done with the check-in, "And this is Hinata, another very good friend of mine."

"Ah, it's nice to meet you." Hinata gave a slight bow and tried to deter the small girl's shyness, "Your match was very exciting, Matsuri. I'm glad that you get to enjoy the hot spring with us."

"Me too…I've never been to one before." Matsuri admitted, "I've swam in the ocean a few times…but we don't have many water activities in the desert."

"Then let's get you set up." Ino encouraged, leading her around the bend towards the women's lockers, "Once you try this you'll keep coming back!"

They stored their clothes and belongings in coin lockers, and then proceeded to a line of spigots in the ladies shower area. The group of Leaf kunoichi hardly acknowledged their nudity around each other. Matsuri was mystified by their casual attitudes, and followed behind the older girls to the stools stationed in front of taps. She took a seat and was glad they were wrapped up in their own conversations for the time being. She had contorted herself to be less visible and fumbled around with soap bottles.

Matsuri timidly scrubbed herself as she sat on a stool, 'I've never bathed in public! I feels embarrassing…' She kept her eyes averted as she soaped up, 'They've been friends for years and probably do this all of the time…and these girls are more mature than me.' She glanced down at her mosquito-bite chest, 'I need to make a wish at a shrine…soon. It's like my boobs refuse to grow no matter what I try!'

Sakura was seated beside her cleaning up. She spoke sidelong to Matsuri, "Are you still feeling shy?"

"A little. I don't know if there even is a communal bath in Suna, and if so I've never been to one." Matsuri tried shielding herself with a rinsing bucket, "It's easy to keep to myself back at home."

"It's always awkward the first time you come to a place like this. Imagine: On my first visit I was forced to go to a public bath with my mom. I was nine or ten. I thought I would go insane…" Sakura was taking time to lather and rinse her hair, "Even now I still get embarrassed, but that's usually because Ino delights in making fun of my chest size." Sakura sighed, "Bit by bit I am learning to let go of that insecurity, but this place always reminds me…"

Matsuri patted her chest sadly as she considered the tale, "I guess…that makes two of us."

"I wish I had your problems." Tenten commented from the next seat down, "I bind my chest every day so I can train and fight to my team's standards. Whenever I tried not to, mine would get in the way. I learned my lesson. It's a shame they aren't large or beautiful or worth showing off. They're just annoying."

"The struggle is real." Tama agreed, further down the line.

"Well they say the grass is always greener…" Sakura sighed.

At the far left, Ino piped up, "Has anyone seen how green Hinata's grass is?"

A round of playful laughter erupted while Hinata crossed her arms, peeved, "Why do you have to say something like that every time I come here?" Her face was beet red. She was hurriedly concluding her shower routine.

"Because we envy you, and also…admire you, Hinata. Some people have all of the luck." Ino explained, "When I rip on you it's perfectly okay to mock me back. I've seen store mannequins better endowed than me."

"Then next time I will call you a mini mannequin." Hinata decided. Her smile was too naively innocent to be truly sly.

Proud of her docile friend's jibe, Ino pressed a finger to her own arm and made a hissing sizzle sound.

"You set yourself up for that one, Pig." Sakura crowed. In relation, Ino hurled a soggy washcloth that landed squarely on the pinkette's face. It clung comically.

Ino stood and motioned for Matsuri to follow, "If you're all clean let's get you to the hot spring, new girl. You're gonna love it." The same washcloth was thrown at the back of Ino's head, contacting with a wop and then it slid off. Ino tossed it into a laundry bin, "You too, Forehead Woman. You wash slower than a grandma!"

In due time, they had all rinsed off and ventured to the women-only hot spring. Tenten was the last one in, assuring Sakura that, "If anyone goes at grandma-speed, it's me. I'm beat."

"You did have a difficult fight today." Sakura acknowledged, "Do you want me to look over your injuries again?"

"Nope, just give me a spot." Tenten entered the steaming water faster than what her friends could tolerate, who were still slowly acclimating, "Mmm. If I had to choose the way I had to die, I'd pick boiling. I love it here."

"Tenten, I swear…sometimes I wonder if a crazy old person was trapped in a young woman's body when I hear you speak." Ino proclaimed, "Do you remember who's Obaa you were?"

"I would tell you a Your Mama joke to retort, but Sato tells those too much. It's annoying."

"Yeah, thanks for not doing that." Ino relented.

"For the record, I don't remember if I am a trapped old person, but my dad used to believe I was a reincarnation." Tenten scoffed as she leaned on the side of the stone pool, "Pft. He was the crazy one. The only genre of story he subscribed to was bananas."

"Reincarnation?" Hinata was intrigued, "Why did he think that?"

"It's a long story." Tenten hoped to dismiss it, "No, really. It is a story. Neji's reading that book right now."

"Oh! Maybe your father thought that you took after a character!" Hinata smiled at the idea, "It's sentimental."

"Maybe." Tenten rested her head on her folded arms and relaxed.

Deciding that Tenten's position looked comfortable, Matsuri mimicked it and kept listening to the women's banter.

"Well…if your dad was right and you did have a past life, maybe you do have grandkids running around somewhere." Sakura had folded her modesty towel and balanced it on her head.

"I don't even like children." Tenten announced, "If they're around somewhere, I'm not really dying to meet them."

"You wouldn't even know if you were talking to them this very moment." Tama joked, "Maybe they aren't so bad?"

"Ah, well…I guess they wouldn't be…"

Ino shuddered at the idea, "Thinking of you being my grandma made me think about becoming a grandma someday."

"I'd personally be okay with it, so long as I could keep up my shinobi career." Sakura speculated.

"It's good to stay ambitious like that, Sakura-chan. That's how I feel too." Tama agreed, "Tsunade-sama is still working hard at her age."

Sakura's face paled at the idea, "You…are so lucky Shishou did not hear that."

"Hokage-sama is still young. We have elders in my clan who are nearly one hundred years old…and I still see them use the training yard sometimes." Hinata elucidated, "Even the grandmas."

"Huh." Tama and Sakura took that as food for thought.

"That's because the Hyuga clan are too proud to quit." Ino considered, "In my clan, the most stressful things my elders partake in are drinking games."

"Hah!" Tenten laughed into her arms at the notion.

"How about you, Matsuri? Do you have family that work and play up until that age?" Sakura wondered, hoping to coax her into conversation.

"Well…" She fiddled with the towel at the edge of the pool, "Maybe at one time, we did…" Matsuri swallowed hard before adding, "I don't have any family, really. Most of them left Sunagakure a long time ago, and some died in the last war. My mom and dad were killed when I was young."

The percussion of silence was ended at the next beat, in which Matsuri clarified, "But it feels like…Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara-sensei made me their little sister. They're kind of like my family now."

"Ah! I see." Sakura grasped her meaning.

"When I think of them, I know that all of them work too much. Especially Sensei; he falls asleep at his desk all of the time, like a grandpa." Matsuri giggled as she went on, "Oh! And you know, Temari-sama and Kankuro-sama play this game with a ball and cups of beer. They get so competitive some nights..."

"I played that once at my older cousin's house." Tama chimed in merrily.

"Do they get Gaara to join in?" Sakura asked, brows raised.

"No, he prefers sleeping."

Ino snickered as she wetted down her arms in the hot spring, "I guess there are plenty of people who have the spirit of a senior citizen locked inside them…"

"Hey, mini-pig-mannequin, or whatever we're calling you now," Tenten responded over her shoulder, "You're hurting my grandma feelings."

---

On the opposite side of the partition, the menfolk of the Leaf Rookies had also washed up and entered the hot spring.

"I bet they're talking about us." Sato insisted.

Shino begged to differ, "Unlikely. There is plenty of other subject matter to cover."

The other young men were edging into the spring carefully as Sato and his best friend debated the possibility of the kunoichi worrying about what was "on the other side of the wall."

After sliding guardedly into the hot water, Gaara resembled the mercury in a thermometer. His skin turned lobster red from bottom to top. He said nothing as he folded his arms across his chest and shut his eyes, trying to stay nonchalant. Being a desert dweller with fair skin made a dip in an onsen uncomfortable, at least initially.

Shino was to his immediate left in the spring. Sato hovered near them in the open water while most of the bro squad had lined up with their backs against the edge of the pool. To Gaara's right he saw Neji (his long hair clipped on top of his head,) Lee, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Kiba (Akamaru had been left at home.) Dead ahead was the wooden wall that divided the men and women's baths. Gaara imagined that by now, had he been present, Naruto would have already been teasing others about stealing a peek. 'Sato would join in on that…' He thought, imagining Haku castigating the immature idea. 'This seems somewhat incomplete without Naruto or Haku being here.'

"I needed this." Shikamaru confessed aloud, "Those matches took a lot out of me…"

"Considering that you didn't have to fight in one." Kiba snickered.

"Shika did have to rescue a couple of people, and run around…" Chouji observed, "We only had a single fight and then we were allowed to relax."

"Well, by the end it was tough to unwind." Kiba noted, "That Rock guy is a freak. He didn't even have to use his hands to win his match."

"Please do not call that a victory." Lee advised, "It was cruel! He should have been disqualified."

Shikamaru caught Lee's eye and recognized his opinion, "I know, Lee. I tried to weigh in on it, but Tsunade said he didn't break a rule. And vague intent just isn't enough to go on to expel someone from the Exam. Then it'd be possible to misconstrue accidents with intentional, mortal injuries." He added, "Which could be a problem with all of you knuckleheads, later."

"We would never go that far." Lee protested, still disturbed by the heartless, Wushu-styled beat down Huo had wrought on the Dream genin.

A silence hung as they all considered it. Huo was a problem, and Shikamaru was likely waiting for him to legitimately incriminate himself at the Tournament.

"Phew, we need to lighten the mood here. We're supposed to be relaxing." Sato reminded his friends, "I mean, check Gaara-kun out. His skin and his hair match."

"For now." Gaara acknowledged.

"Quit while you're ahead, you can't tease the Kazekage." Kiba warned, "Besides, he's already ghosting up again."

"Just so you know, that wasn't very respectful either." Chouji informed Kiba.

Gaara merely shrugged it off, "It's true. I haven't been to an onsen in a very long time."

"Yes, I remember a few years ago when Neji also flushed bright red in hot water." Lee nodded his head thoughtfully, "Not so much now, however alcohol has a similar effect."

"I suggest not discussing those topics." Neji recommended calmly. His eyes were shut and he had propped his arms up on the ledge of the pool.

Since Gaara was off-limits, Sato could not help but to poke fun at his soon-to-be Final Round adversary, "If we're not going to discuss that sort of stuff, Neji, then maybe you'd care to explain what I saw you do in the shower room?"

Immediately, Sato had everyone's undivided attention. Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji shared this is gonna be good expressions while Lee tried to silently implore Sato to reconsider his course of action. Gaara stood by in silent fascination as Shino, behind his glasses, did nothing to avert the impending crisis.

Eyes still shut, but slightly irked, Neji tried not to take the bait, "To what are you referring?"

"Well…just that you stayed behind after we had all finished cleaning up, so I thought I'd go back to fetch you…" Sato wore an unrestrained smirk, "But there was no mistaking you using the Byakugan!"

Raucous splashing and indignant yelling erupted. Lee was shouting at the top of his lungs declaring the falsity of the accusation. Kiba howled with laughter while Shikamaru tried to talk over people to extract the truth from the hubbub. Even Gaara was stymied, and turned to the Hyuga heir beside him to quietly ask, "Did you?"

Sato had his hands on his hips, staring as intently as a prosecutor. The noise died down as they waited for a reply. Instead, Neji said nothing. He leveled an even glare with the Hatake.

Lee started shouting again. It was false. Untrue! So unlike Neji and his unshakeable honor. Sato was compelled to shout back with a finger pointed at Neji, "I'm not lying, Lee! This is not something I'd joke about! This 'sumbitch is guilty!"

Shino concurred as he wiped his glasses dry with a towel, "I can attest that Sato is not lying, in this instance."

Lee's head snapped toward Neji, his face devastated, "You did not."

The prideful look on Neji's face was adopting a hint of compunction, merely over the fact that Sato was a human broadcasting system for all things that need not be said. "Perhaps you all want to be reassured about…what I was looking at?"

The din of calamitous shouting that followed Neji's admission had alarmed the women on the other side of the partition. Even Gaara had to scold him, in a normal volume of voice, expecting more of Neji. Shikamaru was also quite displeased that Ino may have been peeped upon. In contrast to others, Kiba was congratulating Neji on using his bloodline talent the way they all wished they could. Lee was on the verge of tears, having never been so deeply disappointed by Neji after developing new, very high esteem for his good friend. Shino advised that they lower their voices before an attendant threw them out.

Sato and Kiba had started a smaller, argument within an argument about the moral correctness of Neji's actions. Eventually, Shikamaru managed to get them all to shut up. He looked pointedly at Neji, "What's with you? You'd never do something like that."

"I never have frivolously."

"The hell does that mean-?" Shikamaru nearly scraped his teeth together.

"I had no designs to observe all of our colleagues in the women's bath. They weren't there." Neji pointed out, "They reached the onsen before any of us did, if you had been listening to them converse on the opposite side."

"That I did catch." Shikamaru was slightly relieved, "But even when you knew that their washroom was unoccupied, what were you looking for?"

He answered with silence again. Gosh, was it uncomfortable to talk about these things. Tenten had been the last one to exit on the women's side. The beautiful sight would forever be burned into his retina.

"It stands to reason…" Shino deduced, "That one person stayed behind in that room. Does that lessen the severity of this gross abuse of power? Not necessarily."

Sato turned to his best pal, "Wait, Shino…are you saying…he was peeping at-?"

"Please," Lee begged tearfully of Sato, "Do not…do not say…"

"Get a grip man, it was bound to happen." Kiba half-comforted Lee.

Neji did have to confront Lee's obvious discomfort with what he had done. "Would denying it make you feel better?" He frowned and folded his arms across his chest, "Or would it be worse?"

"Neither makes me…feel better…" Lee sniffled, keeping his runny nose over the stones of the pool's surround, "You would do that to Tenten…who is like family to me! And you, my best friend…would comport yourself so!"

"Lee." He was wondering what in the world this strange sensation was, 'Not…guilt?' He felt bad about upsetting Lee. Though really, Lee was usually more upset or excited by things than most human beings were.

"I cannot…even look at you right now, Neji." Lee turned his back, folding sadly onto the edge of the spring.

"In Neji's defense, I am surprised to say," Shikamaru cut in, "That checking out one's naked girlfriend is kind of normal. Sorry, Lee."

Lee wailed in response.

Gaara tended to agree with the statement, "However I would not attempt something like that here."

"Gee, great." Kiba grumbled, trying not to think about what the Kazekage's intentions for Sakura were.

Chouji turned to Sato, "See what you did? You made Lee cry."

"Neji made Lee cry." Sato defended, "I was the poor schlub who had to catch him in the act!"

"You didn't have to say anything." Chouji retorted, "Or maybe you could've waited until later?"

"Chouji, I was born without a filter or general regard for delicate subject matter. Just ask Shino."

"Correct." Shino confirmed.

"Troublesome…I hope it was worth all of this noise." Shikamaru muttered to Neji, "…was it?"

"It was worth a bloody brawl in this spring, if that's what it would've come to." Neji assured him.

"Hmm." Shikamaru was mildly happy for him.

Gaara looked between the bickering of Chouji, Sato, and Kiba, Shino's statue-like presence, Lee's heartbroken, crumpled bumbling, and Shikamaru engaging Neji on the joys of girlfriends.

Gaara blinked and resolved to himself, "It's good to be back."

---

Note: Apologies, I know this was a long read. I debated dividing this into a two-parter, but by trying to do so it wrecked the pacing. I will try to deliver the next chapter quickly!

Now I say this to you, magnificent reader, whoever you may be and wherever you are in the world, thank you so much for sticking with me and reading. I do not update as fast as I wish I could, sometimes I hate my own writing and boycott myself, but your enjoyment makes it all worthwhile.

I do appreciate those that review, many of you crack me up and you are all bright and keen of wit. But also know that I don't overlook those who read and do not comment. I classify you guys as either busier or sleepier, because honestly you should be asleep at the hour most of you read. Really. It takes one to know one.

Still, I am blown away by the parts of the world that gather for this story: Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Spain, Indonesia, Barbados, Sweden, Korea, Denmark, Saudi Arabia (I see you big anime nerds over there,) Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Romania, Macedonia, Singapore, Germany, Norway, Greece, New Zealand, Serbia and Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, France, Austria, Finland, Australia, Ukraine, Belgium, China, Albania, Mexico, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, Nepal, Taiwan, Italy and the United States. I wish you all levity, health, good fortune, and Star Wars in your New Year.

Chapter 32: A Mission during the Chunin Exam?!