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

35. Clash at the Tournament!

Note: Hey reader, let's take a moment to acknowledge how awesome you are. You've clocked in many long chapters to get to this point, and I am so happy you did. Enjoy the chapter and have a great feeling day! Also, many thanks for your patience and to the kind folks who reviewed!

Chapter Soundtrack: "Koto" by CloZee

& More, See Bottom of Page

Chapter 35: Clash at the Tournament!

It was an odd feeling knowing that both the Hokage and Kazekage were not rooting for her.

Ino wondered, as she stood a few paces away from Shikamaru (his foot tapping,) how many people in the audience even bothered to bet money on her. She probably looked too pretty— too approachable and likable to win. Sakura likely had that same stereotype counting against her as well, come to think of it. This was not a major money-making match.

The money didn't matter, Ino told herself. She wanted her parents to do a double-take of surprise as her victory was announced. Her sensei, her teammates, maybe even her distracted friends and peers might be a bit appalled by her ambush-win, not expecting her to so vehemently triumph in this round. What would people think of a kunoichi taking down her closest friend, the Hokage's star pupil? That perhaps they'd look more carefully at the array of seemingly docile participants in the Tournament, and weigh their odds with squinted eyes.

She had been planning this for months.

'I'm not going to trip up here. I've been there for her, I've been the shoulder to cry on— the sympathetic confidant…' Ino watched Sakura's face as the girl distractedly looked up toward Gaara in the VIP seating, 'She's content. I got her laid. I got her relaxed. It was the kind way to do this.' Ino had knowingly let her dear friend pull ahead in terms of success and studies, making sure to set trap-wires in Sakura's proverbial path. Now that she had caught up to Sakura here, now that they could face each other as equals… 'I can prove that this is my time. We finally get to face each other in a match, and I have always been ready for this. She's been so busy being pulled in every direction, stuffing her head with more than she can handle…I've been waiting to take her down.'

Sakura returned her gaze to Ino amidst the din of the crowd's continued cheers, and Ino promptly smiled again, comfortingly, keeping up the charade. 'I don't want her to take this personally. It's not like she has to win to get promoted. Even I am going to tap out in Round 2 to avoid excruciating injury…'

She had discussed this idea with Chouji and Shikamaru only. Shikamaru was still tapping his foot like a loon because he knew what he could anticipate. Sakura was making it worse by looking so genuinely sentimental and mushy, pitted against her friend and rival, overcome by the Hokage's and Kazekage's attention on her. And while he might feel a bit bad about watching the match, Shikamaru could admit he would get off a little on watching Ino unhinge and pounce on an adversary she'd been forbearing and coddling since childhood.

"Are you both ready?" He cleared his throat first so it wouldn't crack.

The girls nodded, grimacing at each other in that moment; and Shikamaru motioned for them to commence before retreating, "Begin!"

Ino predicted the punch and its follow ups, almost as if she had a roadmap of where to step and tumble to avoid Sakura's legendary swings. She had practiced with Chouji until her eyes crossed, until she could write essays and slit throats with her left hand, and deflected Sakura's projectiles with a kunai nestled in her left-palm. Easy, balanced, taking the ribbon-darts from her leg holster with her free right hand, and volleying back at Sakura.

Sakura had been throwing shuriken two-handed, which Ino had accounted for in training, and it afforded her a moment to snap a hidden string and loop multicolored ribbon around Sakura's neck and shoulders, which shook loose from her darts. The Hokage's apprentice did not consider the move to be more than a diversion, and Sakura attacked again without pulling off the ribbon.

They waltzed and dashed with almost no exchange of sound, the crowd by then dead quiet, and the girl in red gouged craters in the arena floor during her efforts to pummel Ino, a vision of spring green.

Sakura must have begun to suspect, while tripping over her own feet and slowing in her motions, that she may have overlooked a strategy her opponent was employing. Ino dashed to get close and she reacted, rushing through hand signs, "Katon: Grand Fireball jutsu!" Sakura aptly swept to the side, guessing where Ino would try to evade, and caught the girl (or at least a clone) in the huge orb of flame she exhaled.

Then she turned on her heel, lightning-quick, calculating that Ino would jump her from behind. It was a wise call, and Sakura blocked a barrage of whirling kicks before swatting at another distracting snare of ribbon and vines with yellow flowers. She was already sickened, Ino was sure. Slowing, tottering, still not sure what type of oil and fragrance the ribbons wrapped around her were giving off. But Sakura shrugged free and turned her healing talent inward, sweeping herself for the problem. In that moment, Ino attempted a follow-up strike but came too near another timely fireball— Sakura's intent to burn off plant matter that was irritating her.

Stepping carelessly, Sakura treaded over a corsage-bomb or two, still disoriented and her head spinning, rolling to put out the skirt of her lit qipao.

Ino's incoming whip of flowers smacked Sakura on the side of her head, the poor girl too dizzy to avoid it, and Ino grinned to herself as she spun to catch Sakura a second time. She only hit a clone and watched as it fastened paper-bombs to the end of the tendril. Ino abandoned the plant weapon as it erupted with a bang, smoldering and useless, and palmed two more kunai the instant before she felt hands around her ankles.

Shrieking, Ino felt the ungodly, frightening pull downward into softened rock in the arena floor. The Headhunter Jutsu had caught her completely off-guard, stuck her up to her neck in soil, but Ino thanked her lucky stars that Sakura was keening over and retching violently after she had successfully immobilized her rival.

"How's opium poppy treating 'ya? Or that Laburnum flower? You're covered in at least four poisons, Sakura." Ino tried stalling as she clambered clumsily and much too slowly toward freedom.

"Working on it." Sakura reported, her hands lit with green light, pawing at her face and chest.

"That won't be enough. I have an an-ti-dote!" Ino warned her in a sing-song voice. While Sakura's eyes trailed away from her for just a moment, Ino substituted herself in the hole.

She made a rush for Sakura's blind spot as the pink haired kunoichi turned back to her supposed rival in the dirt, but Ino's pitch of kunai hit empty air. She rolled and looked around frantically, immediately wary of Genjutsu even before she noted the walking-in-circles effect. With a hand sign and mutter of release complete, Ino dashed again like a garden storm with her final Laburnum whip, and hit nothing again as Sakura was loitering beside the headhunter crevice.

'Sneaky Forehead…' Ino blinked hard and gathered her wits, 'Multi-layer Genjutsu. That's a nice way to bide time while you're trying to fix yourself…but you'll be blind in ten minutes, at least temporarily. And even if you get well enough to run and see me…there are some side effects that you can't deal with here.' Ino smiled, breaking down the mental controls Sakura had implemented, breaking out of the illusion within which she had forfeited the match.

The next time Sakura keened over again, Ino knew it would be from something painful and embarrassing, 'And that affords me an opportunity for Mind-Body Switch. I may have to slow her down more so she can't keep healing…'

She was freed from Genjutsu precisely when a 180 degree volley of flame-coated kunai vectored down, crisping her ponytail, and Ino evaded into a front split. Low to the ground, she retaliated with her own projectiles and somersaulted again while drawing out her newest weapon from a back pouch, 'Don't hate me, Sakura…'

Another fireball distracted Ino from a Tsunade-class punch which clipped the ground she stood on, hurling Ino like a ragdoll, and she willed herself to stay quiet to not give away her substitution. It did not last. Sakura was onto her, moving faster, feeling clearer, ready to corner her with strength and Taijutsu when Genjutsu seemed moot in their equally stubborn brains. Ino ate dirt when Sakura rounded about faster than she'd hoped, slamming her front-ways to the ground with a back-hand swipe. Sakura made a grab to pin Ino's arm behind her back, and then fell away with a cry, having closed her hand around the waiting butterfly knife.

Face dirty, Ino sprang up again, snapping the weapon in her hand, drawing the blade across exposed skin, joints, getting a clean slice at the back of Sakura's knees when she tumbled.

Sakura made a crazed punch that Ino bent away from like a piece of rubber, eyes focused on timing, and stabbed the blade into the back of her opponent's unharmed hand; Sakura opened her fist with a peep of pain. She skidded in the dust and tried to collect herself.

'Like Chouji, the easiest way for you to win is to get in close and overwhelm your target. But you're feeling too weak to overwhelm me now, Forehead.' Ino rubbed a spot of blood on her fingers onto her outfit's skirt, feeling less guilty than she'd expected.

Sakura was watching her, concentrating harder now, processing in her head how on earth Ino was so incredibly willing to hurt her after the laughing and hugging of fifteen minutes ago. By then, Sakura had worked it out. Not all of their friendly interactions had been fake, but Ino had decided to take advantage of those good feelings. She had gone into the match fighting harder and nastier than Sakura had. It was underhanded, yes, but still brilliant, she yielded. Sakura had been thinking a game of Janken or a staring contest could settle it, as friendship outweighed rivalry in her own heart.

Shaking and half-way mended again, Sakura rose to her feet and leapt out of range of Ino's next knife thrust. 'Fine, Ino. You want to do this? I'll hurt you so bad you'll think three times before you ever mess with me again!'

Tsunade was not at all surprised when the close-quarters brawling of the kunoichi got bloodier. She could sense Gaara squirming in his seat beside her. He was not accustomed to this side of Sakura— this unchained warrior that Tsunade had groomed to have the fuck you-attitude of a Kage, and the stamina to take hits and abuse. Tsunade watched from the corner of her eye as Gaara flinched, alarmed when Sakura reached again to throw herself onto Ino's weapon to stop it.

With the blade stuck snugly in her arm, Sakura wrenched it away from Ino with a splatter of red. Ino cursed and consequently took a high-power kick that shot her to the far side of the arena.

Scowling, Sakura stood calmly and pulled the knife free of her flesh, closing the wicked thing and storing it in her pouch to be retired. She healed the gash on her arm moodily and watched as Ino heaved herself to her feet again. The crowd began to titter in expectation.

"I apologize for saying this because I know your mother is up there…" Sakura exhaled roughly, gesturing at the stands, "But way to be a conniving bitch about this, Ino! I'm feeling violated."

"That means it's working." Ino was ordering her hybrid yukata, dusting dirt from it.

"You've been an angel to me this week!"

"No shit, Forehead. You've known for a month that we were going to do this." Ino barked, "It's not my fault you came at me soft."

"I'll break your legs, Pig!"

Somewhere in the stadium, Ino's spectating mother went sheet-white.

"Be my guest! I'll win before you get your hands on me to snap me, you ape."

Gaara could swear he heard Mebuki railing in the distance, even if he couldn't spot her. Tsunade was pleased as pie. Natsuhi and Tazuna, both strangers in this strange land, were not sure how to feel about the insults being hurled.

Shikamaru waited on an observation deck at the edge of the arena, palming half of his face as he listened to the mud-slinging followed by another volley of weaponry. Maybe he'd set his expectations too high to think Ino and her childhood rival would postpone their usual banter to have a clean, regulation match. 'I can't believe I thought that'd happen…' He beheld as Sakura and Ino's respective paper-bomb kunai clanged off of each other and detonated, billowing a cloud of smoke they rushed into. He could hear the grunting, snarling, and name-calling though.

And then, Ino took an acrobatic, sideways tumble out of the gray haze, pulling with all of her might on her last Laburnum whip. The force pulled Sakura out of the cloud, skidding over dirt before she righted herself and struggled to free her tangle-knotted arms. As if by instinct, Shikamaru knew in that moment the subtle motions Ino took; her bending to kneel, back straight, hands poised in her clan's trademark seal— and shot her consciousness at Sakura before the girl had a spare moment to react.

'…Ino got her.' He shut his eyes and sighed to himself. Though it had taken a crazy, messy effort, he felt relieved that Ino made the mental jump successfully.

His stomach churned when he noticed Sakura shaking off the Mind-Body Switch effects within seconds, seemingly in full control of herself. Shikamaru abruptly realized what Ino was probably discovering while her consciousness floated in search of a body.

'It's a clone. It's a fucking clone!' Ino lamented, probing into what was an Earth Clone, which Sakura had snuck into the fray during the aftermath of paper-bomb explosions. No wonder she had lassoed it so quickly— Sakura wanted her to have it. 'Where is she? Where is she?' Frantic, Ino tried to backtrack as rapidly as possible toward her own impeccably dressed vessel, but Sakura was looming over her body, prodding at her back, 'Get off of me, Sakura!'

Sakura was working oddly slow, her face drawn into a pained grimace, sweat streaking down the sides of her face. Ino could feel the medical-type attack on the nerves in her neck and lumbar, Sakura trying to sabotage her ability to move. Ino reinserted her consciousness in the nick of time, and snapped her head back into Sakura's face. The pink haired kunoichi stumbled and fell over, trying to push herself back up to her feet.

Likewise, Ino was a twitching, useless cluster of limbs that could not obey the signals of her brain. 'Great. I can barely walk!' She tested her hands and fingers and found it painstaking to perform hand signs, 'If I can just choke her out or something…' Ino smiled to herself, 'Those plant poisons finally got her. She's beyond the point of being able to heal herself…at least now that her symptoms are too distracting.'

Sakura observed her Earth Clone order itself and shredded the Laburnum whip Ino had been using. She was stock-still in a defenseless crouch, perspiring, eyes narrowed. 'I can't move…' Sakura took stock of her most pressing physical issue, 'Or I will shit myself in front of everyone here.' Her parents, friends, teachers, boyfriend, audience, and all of heaven's creation; the vile plants Ino accosted her with had seeped toxins into her blood and nervous system, wreaking havoc. 'The variety she hit me with was too much to sweep with healing jutsu while fighting her…' She tried to take steady breaths and watched as Ino flailed around.

To avoid the humiliation of having a public, involuntary bout of diarrhea, Sakura elected to forsake Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, even though those options were more effective against Ino than Genjutsu. She hastily crafted an illusion and kneaded chakra 'round Ino's brain again, knowing it could not last for long, 'Ino can break out of this…but I only need a few seconds…' Sakura didn't want to think about how she was going to get out of this stadium without shaming herself, or without possibly losing the match or arriving at a draw.

But by some curious whimsy, or perhaps because of Ino's malfunctioning nerves and signals, the Yamanaka kunoichi did not undo the low-level Genjutsu that made it seem like Sakura was charging for her. Ino reeled back in her best and most unnecessary defensive stance, stepping right into the lingering Earth Clone behind her. The blessed clone winched its arm across Ino's neck in a stranglehold, and then pinned her to the ground. Still snared in an illusion, which was now not the primary concern, Ino wrestled weakly to fight whatever was asphyxiating her.

Pearls of sweat clung to Sakura's brow, 'Restroom. Wait for me. God, please…not in front of Shishou…or Gaara…I will forsake all vanity and every shred of dignity in my future, if I can just hold it!'

Shikamaru flitted down and restrained the Earth Clone with his shadow, "That's enough…" Ino flopped front ways, gasping. After completing its intended use, the clone broke apart into dusty fragments.

The crowd made sounds that indicated they were not very impressed with two kunoichi collapsing all over the place, but cheered when Shikamaru called the match, "The winner of the match is Haruno Sakura!"

Thanks to the beseeching look on Sakura's face, Shikamaru gathered that he ought to call a medic-nin to escort her away as well. Ino and Sakura were collected from the arena without any obscene spectacle occurring, but in the halls of the stadium's interior, Sakura all but screamed to be brought to a ladies restroom. Her path diverged from her fallen opponent's, where Ino was shepherded along for an examination in spite of her spewing of indignant remarks and frustration over the outcome.

In the Exam-Finalist treatment room that was off-limits to the public, Ino argued and snapped at her caregivers. Within ten minutes, she was freed and cleared by the medic tending to her, and Ino stomped down the corridor to the nearby restroom. Thank goodness only a single person was inside of it.

"Forehead!" She screamed, on the verge of a sob.

"I'm sorry!"

"No you're not!"

"Can you acknowledge what is happening to me right now?" Sakura caterwauled from the stall furthest into the tiled bathroom, empty save for her and her defeated rival.

"You should have surrendered! That match was mine." Ino declared, "I had you down from soup to nuts."

"Except for the part when I, uh, could still trap you in Genjutsu." Sakura countered pithily.

"What's so wrong with you just backing off for once? Out of respect for the fact I've hooked you up and pampered you for weeks?" Ino reasoned feebly, leaning on the commercial porcelain sink. When she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, Ino tsked and began fixing her ragged hair. She pointedly ignored the terrible sounds coming from the far end of the restroom.

Sakura groaned at length, "Ino, how could you do this to me? Is this really how you wanted to beat me? By humiliating me in front of everyone? I almost…out there—!"

"If you had quit before then that wouldn't have been an issue!" Ino pressed.

"Get real. No matter how nicely you treat me, or how savagely you attack me, I don't surrender to you, Ino."

"Not even for your imploding bowels."

"Not even then." Sakura confirmed. But boy was it a close call.

It went quiet, mostly. A poor middle-aged woman who wandered into the bathroom was promptly turned away by Ino and sent packing. Ino returned to the mirror to straighten her ruffled clothes.

"How bad did it look, while we were out there?" Sakura asked curiously, "When it ended?"

"Pretty fucking bad. No finesse at all." Ino reported, "We both looked like hell."

"Huh." It was about what Sakura had estimated.

Ino continued to bemoan her loss, "If I could have just gotten to the second round…"

"Ino." Sakura gruffed, "You would have surrendered in a second round match no matter who your opponent was."

"So what? I'm allowed to do that."

"It's a waste!" Sakura critiqued, "I plan to fight in the second round."

"You do realize it will only get more difficult? And potentially ruin your outfit?"

"YOU nearly ruined my outfit." Sakura roared. A courtesy flush.

"Pff." Ino retied a honeysuckle bow around her waist and remembered that, yes, she had kind of sickened Sakura intentionally.

"Whatever." Ino concluded, "If you want to fight any other battle-crazy knuckleheads even when you can do less to prove yourself worthy, have at it, Sakura."

"Time frame of when this toxin wears off?" Sakura asked.

"About thirty minutes, if you are actively trying to heal. I guess." Ino admitted, "I lied about that antidote. We'd have to take time to derive one…so…please fix yourself."

"Yeah. Still working on it." Sakura grumbled, "This may have been your meanest tactic yet, I've got to say. Can we call it a truce from this day forward?"

"Truce. At least physically. I can say whatever I want to you."

"Fine."

Shortly after that, Sakura was well enough to exit the stall and run her hands under scalding hot water at the sink for a full minute. The sting of burning water hurt less than her constricting stomach. Displeased, Ino made her soap up and finish with cool water, labeling her a masochist.

Sakura asked her friend to examine her and make sure her appearance was entirely presentable. Ino did some minor edits and tugged at Sakura's clothing, and then whisked her along, "Back to the mezzanine. We're not telling anyone what you just experienced, right?"

"Not a soul."

"We should make sure we know where the nearest bathroom is on that level…"

"Yup."

---

"So that was something." Chouji assessed.

"Pretty sure she poisoned Sakura-chan. Bad." Kiba held his chin and considered the match, "I thought she wouldn't have been able to finish Ino off."

"Genjutsu." Neji explained succinctly.

"Usually Ino-chan is good about dealing with illusions…" Tama noted. She regarded Sato at her side, thinking that maybe he'd have some input to provide based on his Genjutsu expertise, but he said nothing.

Tenten and Lee agreed it was a downright slugfest between two rivals, and about on par with the antics they'd expected. Hinata was still whimpering and hugging herself with her arms crossed, having found it hard to watch. Her friends had not gone easy on each other. It had been silly to think they would.

Some small discussions rippled amongst the friends and competitors; speculating what was to come, because it was no secret that Tenten's match would be next. Her opponent from the Grass Village was still somewhat of a mystery to them in terms of ability. Shino termed the second, soon-to-be-announced duel a 'mirror match,' for all intents and purposes. Two weapon-masters ready to outdo each other, unless one or both had an ace up his or her sleeve.

This notion slightly unsettled Neji. Up until the idea was uttered aloud, he'd been relatively at ease with Tenten's impending clash against an older, clearly talented Bukijutsu specialist. He had a bad habit of assuming Tenten could handle most anything, at least from his personal experience. But he hated the feeling of knowing so little about the Kusa nin, Aota, and what he could use in a fight beyond weaponry. Neji's thoughts rattled away as if on a freight train, passing through the possibilities that Aota may be gifted with Ninjutsu, Grass Village poisons or plant techniques, perhaps Taijutsu that could overwhelm Tenten…

Tenten poked his triceps discretely with a finger, muttering, "Calm down. My intuition is telling me this guy is a scrub and I can beat him."

A fair rebuttal, "Really? That's not what my intuition is telling me."

"Then we agree to disagree." She smiled at him reassuringly.

"He's the best on his team and he's seen one of your strongest jutsu already." Neji reminded her, "There is no doubt that he's prepared for you to use it against him."

The sentiment annoyed her, but Tenten could not deny that Neji had a point. Aota had seen her preliminary round match against Ga-Fen, in which she had relied on Dance of the Crescent Moon. Reciprocally, she had not seen Aota perform anything beyond basic tool-summoning from scrolls.

Tournament-style battles had a troubling effect on participants who revealed too much of their talent early on, and afforded future competitors the chance to counter them. The Leaf Rookies' cardinal rule of Chunin Exam matches was: do not place all of your cards on the table, at least until the Final Round.

While Tenten noodled on the subject, Sakura and Ino clambered up the stairs, a mess of gripes and friendlier comments now that their match was over. Hinata, Chouji, and Kiba gravitated toward them quickly as they were not pressed up against the balcony railing to spectate. Both kunoichi were smothered with congratulations and praise. The two perked up and merged again with the group.

Shikamaru's announcement followed shortly after that on stadium loudspeakers, calling for Tenten and Yanagisawa Aota to report to the arena. Neji made his best attempt to appear as cool as ever, while Lee professed his full confidence in Tenten. She gave Neji another imperceptible poke before hugging Lee, as he had motioned for it. "You will bring us another vibrant victory!" Lee forecasted.

Her friends wished her well with some hooting sounds, and Tenten proceeded down the stairwell. 'I am noticing how Neji needs a dose of reassurance before I enter a fight these days.' She thought to herself, 'He wasn't always like this. Though, it's not like he gave me any encouragement before a match. Ever.' She had a feeling he was genuinely nervous for her.

'Weird how he grew up and matured, then began to have human emotions. I'm still not used to it, sometimes.' Tenten chuckled to herself on her way down the stairs, 'With Lee, it's normal. With Gai-sensei, it's automatic.' It felt amazingly good that Neji cared. Even if his concerns seemed trivial in her opinion, she appreciated them nonetheless.

Tenten did some self-reflection on the last flight of steps that stretched down to the ground floor.

Maybe she was way too cocksure about kicking the Grass ninja's ass. It felt like she would, but that was due to the chemical signals in her brain and body indicating her good mood, and not necessarily examining the actual, concrete logistics of the match like Neji had. 'Even if I lose, all I have to do is exemplify the qualities Tsunade-sama wants in a Chunin.' Tenten considered, 'Winning isn't imperative. I just want the Hokage to believe she can rely on me!'

It happened again. She stepped through the archway and felt a surge of butterflies in her stomach just as she had at the first Chunin Exam. Shikamaru had outclassed her at the previous Tournament, and now he was the supervising proctor for her second attempt. 'How time does fly…'

The stadium's crowd was buzzing, more excited by the male-female opposition, and perhaps because Tenten looked like a stunningly red, Han-style dragon with a frown on her face. She was frowning for effect, primarily because the sounds of the audience were making her anxious. 'I've got to pretend like there aren't nine thousand people up there watching…' She breathed in and out of her nostrils, 'Come on, Tenten. Put your best Hyuga face on. Grumpier is better. People love serious-looking ninja.'

Strangely, Aota was smiling when he stopped at the arena's center within a few steps of her own arrival. A piercing screech of feedback zinged from the loudspeakers, and the Grass ninja winced just as Tenten did.

'Oh shit, we're both human.' She realized, frustrated. Aota smiled at her again while measuring her up. Shikamaru had shut off his shirt-clip mic and was testily speaking into a two-way radio, giving someone hell about the stadium speakers acting up. Even with his microphone off, another sound interface was making unwelcome noise.

The feedback persisted. In the VIP booth, Tsunade had curled her hands into fists in her seat, scowling. If Shikamaru did not reprimand the audio-tech responsible and have the problem rectified, she would be beating that tech to a pulp in a few minutes.

In what was too amicable a gesture, Aota closed the gap to have a word with Tenten while electric squealing echoed in the arena.

"Ours is going to be a great match today." He surmised.

"I hope so. Let's try not to embarrass each other." Tenten recommended.

"You look beautiful, by the way." Aota added.

Oh. So it was that kind of attention again. Or just the typical get-in-her-head tactic for the match, Tenten suspected. She shrugged at him as thanks for the compliment.

Tsunade's voice was now crackling over Shikamaru's two-way radio. Heads were about to roll.

"That guy up there, the Hyuga fellow—" Aota looked up to the mezzanine and she followed his line of sight, "You're dating him?"

"Pardon my manners, but I came here to beat the crap out of you, Yanagisawa-san." Tenten confirmed, "Not play twenty questions."

"So you are dating him."

"On the down-low, I am."

"Ahh." Aota rubbed his lips with his thumb, thinking it over.

"So, you and Huo…" Tenten jested.

"I don't think he's into me." Aota adopted a faux valley-girl voice, "He's a douche."

Damn him. Tenten bit her tongue to halt any small sibilance of laughter bubbling up.

"Since you're on the DL with Hyuga-san, and we're waiting for an optimally funded sound system to reboot now for our match…" Aota rested his hands on his hips and bent a bit, accentuating his lanky height, "Maybe you want to consider doing something with me after the Tournament?"

"I don't date men with buzzed under-cuts."

"Oh, so that's it." He determined, snapping his fingers, "You like beautiful men."

"You bet I do."

"Like, you two kind of have matching outfits."

"It was intentional."

Shikamaru, waved both of his hands between the competitors to ward them apart, "Speakers are up in 30 seconds, and for the love of all that is holy, do not flirt in this arena. I'll disqualify the both of you!"

Positively offended, Tenten gave Shikamaru a hurt look, "I wasn't! I'm trying to tell this hipster off."

"You're not doing it right." Shikamaru notified her.

Aota agreed, "Not at all."

"You," Shikamaru pointed a finger at the Grass ninja, "Shut it." He then eyed Tenten, "And you had better not incur Neji's wrath in any way that makes him unmanageable for me. Got it?"

Tenten was deeply irritated by the implication, "Are you kidding me, Shikamaru? I would never-!"

With a rumble, the speakers were back online. Shikamaru switched on his microphone. The screeching feedback had stopped and Shikamaru proceeded with the match, "Are you both ready?" He was given two simultaneous nods.

Shikamaru gave the word as he stepped back, "Begin!"

Tenten would swear on an obscene amount of money that she was three-quarters of a second faster than Aota when it came to snapping open a tool-summoning scroll. The spinner on her wrist was more accessible, she figured. Within moments, they were strafing in opposite directions and hurling all manner of weapon curiosities at each other. The crowd was moderately thrilled with the aggression.

Aota was practical with his motions, aiming, evading, and deflecting incoming projectiles, never hustling needlessly. Tenten looked like an acrobat by comparison, rolling, leaping, and stepping on scroll parchment to hold it in place for trick-hand shots, two of which had already sliced Aota's cheek open.

The young man's levity from before the match began to ebb. His brow was furrowed, concentrating on keeping up. Her next bombardment of spinner-scroll projectiles had colorful tassels and zip-ties attached, misleading Aota's line of sight. He was cut again, a superficial hit on the arm, and he backed away as he realized Tenten knew the game already and wanted him distracted.

His half-dozen retaliatory fuuma shuriken seemed appropriate. She was a bounding, whirling beast in red fabric, avoiding his volley while returning one of her own with a great leap: a rain of morning star spike-balls. As Aota tumbled away from the metal meteor shower, Tenten fetched a small cable from her hip pouch; a centimeters-long, bladed hook attached. She lashed out like a fly fisherman while he was rising to his feet, and caught the streaming parchment of Aota's scroll. Her hook ripped it down the middle all the way to its end, snagging on the wood cylinder, and Tenten jerked the ruined scroll from her opponent's hand.

The Grass ninja was trying to ignore the pleased cheers of the audience. It was obvious to him that Tenten was trying to bait out his other techniques. She had him so plainly cornered in terms of Bukijutsu skill that she was testing for other threats. Playing into her scheme, Aota formed hand signs as he ran, rolling and ducking into the cover over a rapidly growing patch of giant Allium flowers. Tenten closed in with a single Shadow Clone, the two sharing a segment of her summoning scroll as they forced Aota into the spreading thicket of flowers and sprouting greenery.

Tenten crinkled her nose, 'Kind of stinks like onions…' She had sent her clone in and watched as it was shredded by the proximity-triggered flowers, purple orbs firing off razor sharp petals in all directions. 'So Neji was correct in assuming Aota would have a bag of tricks for this match.' She tossed a homemade grenade into the flower patch and watched as Aota sprinted out into the open to avoid the explosion, 'I'm going to empty that bag of tricks!'

When the two finally closed the distance, Aota slipped a curved dagger from its leg holster and parried Tenten's strikes with Hok. His eyes nearly crossed as he stared down the kunoichi who was strong enough to bend him backwards just by pushing with her jian, "Woman, where do you come from? I didn't think you had enough space in that little body to hide muscle!" She kicked dust in his eyes and, though blinded, he managed to duck her swing for his head.

"I train…with guys…" She puffed as they parried and slashed, "Who are ten times as strong as you…"

"Huh, I figured a girl like you would hate it if I went easy on you in a fight!" He was rubbing at his face and trying to cry the dirt out. Before Tenten could puncture his lungs when his guard opened, a green flower tendril snaked around her ankle and tripped her. Tenten caught herself before she could faceplant, but Aota pegged her with a brutal roundhouse kick to the stomach. She flipped and crumpled backwards over sprouts and tubers.

He had time enough to stow his dagger and procure his back-up tool scroll, summoning a fresh volley of kunai and shuriken as she clambered up and dashed away, knocking several weapons out of the air with her jian.

Keeping in mind she had used up more than half of a single spinner scroll already, Tenten hoped to use her remaining weapons less wastefully. She drew two smoke-bombs from her back pouch and hurled them at Aota's feet. The Grass nin cursed and staggered when the flares went off, billowing black. Tenten used the cover to maneuver behind him, delaying the materialization of a pair of Shadow Clones. When Aota reappeared, performing another jutsu, she and her replications rushed forward in coordination for Dance of the Crescent Moon.

The timing and positioning were perfect. Though Aota had commenced a technique that was transforming the arena with pond flora and several feet of water, she had taken the liberty of avoiding his kidney after stabbing him in the back. Her clones had gotten Aota in the shoulder and chest with their jian. The audience went nuts. Tenten withdrew her sword immediately, watching as Aota dissolved into a human-height tower of green stalks and vivid lilies.

The Lily Clone unfurled and reached for the nearest victim, a Shadow Clone, and wrapped snugly around it. She took a few curious swings at the plant clone to see if hacking it apart mattered, but it swiftly began to regenerate. Close by, large lotuses and lily pads sprung up to the water's surface, and Tenten supposed Aota was taking cover underwater. Tenten kept moving as the giant lotus nearest to her opened up and fired an array of hidden weapons. 'Have to hand it to him, that's pretty impressive.' She and her remaining bunshin swatted projectiles aside with their swords. When she tired of the exchange, Tenten sheathed Hok and drew out a smaller utility scroll to summon the Hiyumi.

While her clone obediently taunted attacks to itself, Tenten set up her shot with the bow and then fired at the Lily Clone and each lotus, savagely roasting them with her Fire Release. Her Shadow Clone had spied Aota and tossed another grenade towards him. It flushed him out of his hiding place near a lily pad. He jumped and got his footing on the water's surface, ready to run and unload more weapons from his tool scroll…but Tenten's Shadow Clone had borrowed her hook. She had snapped it forward twice before catching the parchment of Aota's last scroll, and he cursed creatively as the wily clone tore the length of paper all the way to its end.

"You know better than anyone how much time and effort it takes to prepare these!" Aota groaned, playing tug-of-war with the Shadow Clone. He gave up and let go when another fiery shot came soaring for him, lighting up the scroll, and the bunshin tossed it into the water where it turned to pulpy ash.

"That may have been the rudest thing that's ever happened to me." Aota pointed two fingers from his eyes toward Tenten, "I'm onto you, Mini-Dragon. You're going to be real sorry that you didn't play nice."

"I think you've forgotten what we're here for!" Tenten warned, bow raised, watching as he produced another pair of giant lotuses meant to occupy her Shadow Clone behind him. She fired again as he was rushing to summon from a utility scroll, his face more serious. He had slipped into the makeshift pond again before she could blow him up.

Tenten ran across the water's surface to take a better position, her draw hand tucked under her chin, and she released the same moment Aota sprang up again with a new weapon in hand. Her Fire Release crashed over him, eliciting another roar of excitement from observers, but Tenten felt a pang of regret that she had flat-out shot a decent adversary. That remorse was quickly replaced with astonishment as she watched a tuft of vapor dissipate into the air where Aota stood, protected by a sphere of water.

He spun the polearm in his hand and the watery defense he had raised splashed back into the pond. "You got noticed at the last Tournament, didn't you know?" Aota pointed at her with his weapon, "I memorized what you could do. I lucked out when I got pitted against someone who can't possibly beat me in the Finals."

She shot at him again, ticked off. Aota spun the weapon round his arm to condense another water shield, sloshing off the fire arrow blast. He smiled as he had before, "Hey, I didn't want to be a jerk to you. I wanted to make it as fair as possible. You really know what you're doing."

"Flattery and talk aren't going to help you win!" She tried to regulate her breathing and did a mental audit of what weapons she had left at her disposal to deal with the new problem.

"Kyūrei has been passed down in my clan since the founding of Kusagakure. This weapon is one of the treasures of my village." Aota clued her in, "And you shooting your literal Will of Fire at me isn't going to get you anywhere." He raised a hand up in a peaceful gesture, "So why don't you let the proctor call it now? No disrespect."

"He just got comfortable. I'm not going bother him."

"You won't be the first Leaf ninja Kyūrei has drowned." Aota added, a touch darker and more impatient.

Sick of the talk, Tenten poured what was probably an unwise portion of chakra into her next arrow, and released it before she launched herself into a sprint. She felt her eye twitch when she tweaked the arrow mid-flight with the channeling Hayate had taught her, and converted the single bolt into a Scattershot. Twenty burning missiles vectored in all directions, closing in around the Grass nin. It scorched most plant life on the far side of the arena, but Aota was again unscathed. He turned toward her, still wreathed in steam, and swung Kyūrei in a full-length arc that produced a pressurized jet of water, precisely aimed for her.

While on the run, Tenten put away the Hiyumi, knowing better than to risk empowering Aota's Water Release with her own nature. As far as intuition was concerned, hers had been far off the mark. She may have sensed his inferior skill when it came to summoning and pitching weapons, but she had not accounted for his Ninjutsu and legendary weapon. 'Neji pretty much nailed it.' She admitted, directing three new Shadow Clones in different directions, 'It's one thing to guess if an opponent has an array of skills, but Neji is good at gauging the magnitude of skill someone has.' Just by looking at them, he could make snap judgements like that. 'Aota has been a Genin for a long time. He isn't young. He must've been watching previous exams to know how hard to push himself…'

A wave of water rolled up from the pond in an attempt to sweep her clones away, but they escaped to the wall of the arena and ran while attached with chakra. Tenten considered the issue of the naginata itself: aside from the possibility of Water jutsu, it was a long weapon perfectly suited for staving off enemies and eliminating close-quarters, 'But I have to…I have to get close enough to disarm him!' She rushed ahead in synchronization with her bunshin, the last bit of chakra she could spare for Dance of the Crescent Moon.

In the same moment Aota swung to cut in a wide arc, as he could not accurately judge the speed or vicinity of her Shadow Clones, Tenten successfully came up behind the Grass ninja. Her clones were cut apart, and Tenten extended her arm to thrust Hok forward and strike true. Without even looking to see what was behind him, a jet of water shot out of the back of Aota's polearm, walloping her in the sternum. Her jian flew out of her hand and spun, landing with a pat on the top of a water lily disc. Tenten fell backwards and wondered if the weapon detected her approach, or if there had been some kind of giveaway to tip off her opponent.

Before Aota could make a snarky remark, or Tenten could act on the bright idea to combine Sōshōryū and paper bombs, she plunged underwater, gulping down a disgusting mouthful of pond slosh.

Her brain needed a full second to make sense of it. A Lily Clone had been hiding beneath the surface, and had snatched her out of the air to drag her under. She pondered the absence of her jian, her legs kicking wildly, the futility of cutting at the curling, vine-arms of the clone with the knife she had managed to pull from her holster…'This is dandy. I can't pry this thing off!' She had swallowed an unsafe amount of water while screaming, losing air. In a lucid moment, Tenten recognized that if she fell still and stopped struggling that Shikamaru would more than likely descend to call the match.

That option was looking pretty good. Equally disappointing, Neji was probably watching the match and thinking she was a complete idiot. Her friends were probably mortified by this 180-turnaround of a Grass ninja hipster who had played her like a fiddle. Lee, on the other hand, was maybe still gunning for her, however futile it looked.

'I'm at the bottom of my bag of tricks.' She noted. Anything more and she would have displayed most all of her jutsu for her competitors to ruminate on. It would be desperate and petty to push herself further just for the sake of winning. At this point, a win may not even afford her enough points with evaluators to be worthy of a promotion. Even a loss like this could count negatively. 'But if I can fight in future rounds, I still have a chance to earn points. I am not walking away from this stadium as a Genin, today!'

Tenten bit her thumb and formed hand seals, struggling, kicking back against the Lily Clone, and stretched her hands out for the arena floor— now muck and mud. It was a rash, classless action to take and not even guaranteed to work. 'Fine. So I'm trash. I'm a sore loser! What good is an heirloom weapon if I'm not using it?' After the flash of a summoning matrix spread, a hole opened beneath her hands and water funneled into it. It still took another unbearable chunk of time for the water level to drop enough for Tenten to inhale fresh air, and the sword that poked up from pond scum was just barely reachable as she thrashed in the clone's hold.

She flicked the sword out a fraction from its sheath and fell to her knees, gasping, relieved that the clone instantly withered and fell away from her. Tenten coughed and gagged, hating the feeling of water in her ears.

While her back was turned, Aota shot her again with Water Release. The crowd whooped in surprise and delight as Tenten rolled and splattered through the mud, sliding to a stop. Shikamaru had dropped into the arena and held up a hand to the Grass ninja.

"If she doesn't get up in ten seconds, you won't need to keep doing that." Shikamaru informed him.

Aota obliged and stood with his weapon raised upright, and leaned Kyūrei against his shoulder like an old-school samurai or monk.

Shikamaru had to hold in his aggravated grumbling as he trekked over mud. Any of his muttering complaints about the arena's state would be broadcasted over loudspeakers for all to hear, unfortunately. When he was about two meters away from where Tenten was splayed, her outfit no longer pristine, the girl began to haul herself up. He raised an eyebrow at her stubbornness.

Tenten took a deep breath and pretended that she didn't care how she now looked like a swamp monster…or that the fate of Kayato's hard costume work was in the hands of a brave drycleaner she would find after the Tournament.

"You might want to…" Tenten gestured at a Shikamaru with a shooing motion, "Back away for this one, Shika."

"Are you sure you can keep going?" He was skeptical.

She nodded, feeling a loose strand of pond-muck hair smack her face, "Yup. I need a bit of space so this doesn't affect you."

He accepted the answer with a shrug and retreated to the observation post.

Aota was not pleased, "Too proud to quit?"

"I'm really most concerned with the evaluation portion of this." She replied, but could have added, yes, she didn't actually want to give up. She'd prefer being knocked unconscious if she had to hand him the win. Neji's inflated ego had rubbed off on her, Tenten acknowledged.

She unsheathed Susumajin fully, exhaling, and glanced around at the remaining puddles and plant life Aota had at his disposal. Maybe he even had enough chakra left to refill the arena with water, but he wasn't going to have that ability for very long. Mindful of her breathing, Tenten sank into a Wushu stance and extended her leg in front of her for balance, which was a bit trickier in mud. The black jian was laid flush across her arm, the point rising past her shoulder. It was already prodding at its surroundings for energy to absorb, stretching out influence in an invisible field.

Aota spun and positioned his naginata again, prepared to bombard her with the next round of Water Release. His eyes widened in shock at the rapid decay of flora his jutsu had created, dying and crumbling throughout the floor of the stadium.

She was just standing there, not actively trying to change the environment, and it seemed that the Leaf kunoichi was wielding a last-resort weapon. When he fired off a jet of Water Release aimed squarely for her head, Aota balked when the jutsu petered out before connecting. 'She's siphoning chakra from me. It's passive…she isn't using a jutsu!' Aota attacked again with a cry, frustrated by how his Ninjutsu had diminished, 'She's using that sword to do it.'

The suffocating, slow choke on his chakra reserves was going to weaken his techniques. Close-quarters appeared to be tipped in his favor, thanks to the length of Kyūrei, and so he charged in the hope that he could part her from the black sword.

Footsteps squelching, breathing labored, the two closed in and Tenten rotated the jian around her arm and forward, letting it skim and deflect the water-neutered polearm up and off of her blade. Aota keened to the side and let the back end of his naginata come swooping down on her, though she stepped away lightly from harm. He began to swing unthinkingly, petrified by the amount of chakra that had been shaved away from him, not thinking clearly enough to trip or disarm her.

Tenten ducked the next swing and smashed him in the face with her sword's hilt. Aota yelped softly when he landed on his back, suctioned into mud from head to toe, feeling flimsy and dizzy. He quieted when she poked his throat with the point of the black jian, pressing hard enough to draw a bead of blood. Kyūrei was stuck and slowly sinking into marshy earth nearby.

"We're both too proud to quit." Tenten observed, just loudly enough for him to hear. There was uproar from the audience which they had both tuned out. Tenten sheathed Susumajin to make it safer for Shikamaru to approach.

The proctor gave her a bemused look before crouching down to examine Aota, "You okay, Yanagisawa?"

"I've been better." The Grass nin was trying to wipe mud from his chin, but just smeared it everywhere.

"Want me to call it?"

"I've got about as much chakra left as a baby might have, so do me a favor and get me out of here." Aota advised.

Shikamaru stood up again and pointed a hand to the Leaf shinobi, "The winner of this match is Tenten!"

After tossing Susumajin to the ground, where it was promptly swallowed up for safekeeping, Tenten braced her legs and helped Aota to his feet with two hands. She nearly slipped and fell over, but Shikamaru assisted them before dusting muck from his hands.

Aota sighed and unsummoned Kyūrei, shaking his head at her, "Round Two is going to suck for you."

"Tell me about it. And my clothes are filthy." Tenten gruffed and picked up Hok. They plodded towards the arena exit while Shikamaru departed to have a quick word with the Hokage.

She watched Shikamaru leave and then trailed her eyes up toward the balcony her friends were waiting on. Contrary to her theory, they were actually cheering. Even Sato had reanimated, hooting and brandishing a thumbs-up as Lee did the same. Neji, as she had been half-accurate in her guess, was not looking at her. Tenten curiously followed his gaze, turning her head towards the opposite side of the stadium. She peered right into the staring face of Huo.

Matsuri had made herself scarce, as she had probably not wanted to be anywhere near the Rock ninja by herself. Huo was alone on the foreign-combatant mezzanine, pacing back and forth like a wildcat.

Tenten mulled over the significance of it as she looked away. 'He's paying awful close attention to me. Of course that didn't get past Neji.' She thanked Aota when he gestured to allow her passage first through the doorway into the stadium's interior, 'Was it my match or-? Did he…did he recognize…?' Tenten felt tightness in her throat as she thought, 'He would know about our clan's treasured weapon. Probably. And maybe it isn't a coincidence at all that he's at this exam. If only other Sasagainu ninja can use Susumajin, maybe Huo wants it for himself?'

An exam attendant ushered her and Aota into a private room to clean themselves off a bit and offered them dry towels. There was little helping her muddy clothes, and Tenten undid what remained of her braided updo and stuck her head under a faucet. She scrubbed mud from her hands, scalp, hair, and face, kissing goodbye the sophisticated eye makeup Yugao had applied.

'That must be what he wants.' Tenten reasoned, 'He wants to face me in a later round. He wants me to use the sword.' She gulped, unnerved, 'Could he actually take it from me?' She shuddered and then Aota hung a towel over her shoulder.

"Here you go, Mini-Dragon. Good fight. No hard feelings." He sighed heavily, "Sorry it was such a mess out there."

"The mud was my fault."

The somewhat-clean Grass nin cocked his head, acknowledging, "It kinda was. And you know, the offer still stands for after the Tournament…"

"My boyfriend will damage your organs if you come near me again." She warned, "He's not very patient or understanding."

"Got it." Aota saw himself out with a small wave, "Good luck for later. You'll need it."

Tenten resumed her scrubbing and futile soaping up at the basin sink. Afterward, she glanced at a wall mirror and was troubled by the mess she saw reflected in it, "Oh, that's a look."

She cleaned off Hok as best she could before replacing the sword in its scabbard. The attendant directed her back towards the stairwell and Tenten made the tired climb up. She was arriving at some conclusions about the Tournament and a scheme that was fast coming to fruition, 'I can't fight Huo. I'm already too exhausted to think about what I'm supposed to do in Round Two. It'd be stupid to risk giving him what he wants if by some chance we do get pitted against each other.' She'd be more than happy to forfeit, 'And Tama still has a chance to knock him out of contention. How would he react if he lost? Would he jump me on my way home tonight, like a lunatic?'

"I bet he would." Tenten mused out loud.

She brewed in her thoughts on her way up, and when she entered the second floor viewing area again she was surrounded by her Leaf peers. Lee swept forward to hug her and then stopped himself, realizing she was still tragically dirty.

"Yeah, try not to touch me or anything. I couldn't get all of it off." Tenten advised her friends.

Ino and Sakura chorused their displeasure over her ruined outfit. Hinata was more concerned as to whether or not she was in any pain. Lee found a clean spot on Tenten's shoulder and repeatedly patted it, very proud.

"Did you know that guy had a Water Affinity?" Kiba checked, "Because he almost…kinda…had you."

"He did." Tenten admitted, "I suspected he had some jutsu I was unaware of, but I didn't realize he was fully prepared to fight someone like me."

"That black sword worked fine against him." Chouji noted.

Neji filled in the space beside Lee, critiquing his girlfriend, "You never should have summoned Susumajin. It's inappropriate for the exam."

"I know."

"You've depleted most of your chakra." He added.

"I know."

"You drew attention to it." Neji didn't even have to elaborate whose attention he was referring to. Tenten was nodding at him, hoping he would simmer down and stop bitching at her.

"Neji, lay off her." Ino pushed her way past Tenten's teammates with a comb in hand, and went after Tenten's loose, tangled hair, "I thought it was great! We kind of gathered that weird sword of yours ate chakra. No one is going to want to mess with you after seeing that—"

Neji interrupted, "That sword depletes all chakra within its range, which is substantial. With enough time, it would have eroded our chakra, the Hokage's, and that of everyone else gathered here." He stated with finality to Tenten, "It's inappropriate. In spite of the fact you won't be disqualified for using it, you should have the sense not to use something like that in this setting."

"Alright already!" Ino yanked hard on her hair, pulling Tenten's head back painfully, "You can't even congratulate her for winning, but go ahead and criticize!"

"It's fine." Tenten winced as Ino manhandled her, "Neji's right. It has no place here."

Ino muttered to herself and Sakura tried talking her down before excusing herself for the restroom again. Within minutes, Tenten had two, very basic buns tied on top of her head, which was a moderate improvement. She thanked Ino for her service. Shikamaru was still having a conversation with the Hokage about a concern of his, but it looked like it was wrapping up. He was headed back to the arena floor.

Meanwhile, Tenten beckoned her teammates over to the corner of the room and huddled in with them.

"I have more self-criticism to add to your commentary." Tenten spoke in a low voice to Neji, "Aside from the fact that I might've hurt bystanders."

The young men wore fuddled looks, surprised she wasn't seeking an apology.

"Huo is descended from the same clan that I am." Tenten blurted it out in a whisper, "I didn't really know how to bring it up. But letting him confirm that I own our ancestral sword…maybe made things worse."

Frown lines intensified on Neji's face and Lee's mouth formed an 'o' of bewilderment.

"I think he's here because he's been looking for it— for me." She clarified, "And he wants it for himself."

Neji's anger seemed a bit more three-dimensional, "And you did not find it prudent to tell us this earlier?"

Lee hissed in a breath, "The Hokage should be informed-!"

"There is no way the Hokage is unaware of it. Tsunade-sama has my file and family records. For some reason, Huo was allowed to participate anyway, which means…" Tenten counted off on her fingers as she cited the possibilities, "She doesn't believe Huo is a threat. Or, she has security monitoring him while he's here. Or, she wants to let this play out to see what his actual motive is. OR, and this is not as likely, she spoke with him already and got him to agree to be civil?"

"Not that last one." Lee determined.

"Again," Neji repeated, "Why not tell us?" He bumped his shoulder with Lee's to get the point across.

"I…" Her eyes shifted between the two, "I was scared."

Lee pursed his mouth worriedly and Neji finally did simmer down.

"I didn't want it to be true. Maybe the sword is involved, but he…he doesn't want to just fight me and hurt me." Tenten explained in a low voice, "He showed me that…he wants to hurt me through you. My friends. He's willing to kill you because he knows that I…" Her voice fluttered and she trailed off, remembering the look of glee on Huo's face when he'd laid eyes on Neji and Hinata, then deciding to target them.

Lee pushed the group further into the huddle until they all touched foreheads; an adequate alternative to hugging. "Tenten…" Lee spoke a few quiet words in Hanwen to calm her, and then switched back to Nihongo, "Making yourself face this threat alone could be exactly what he wants you to do. Please depend on us more!"

"Depend on us." Neji echoed, watching her nod and sniff in weary agreement. He then asked, "How did he show you?"

"Huo…" She hesitated and cleared her throat, "I've seen him around the village. He stalks…well…anyone I care about. He wanted to know what mattered to me. And then…" She stopped speaking, remembering something.

"What?" Lee's eyebrows raised a bit.

"It was like he was never there. When I would look for him…it was like he disappeared." Tenten recalled, straightening, rubbing her chin, "Like my dad."

Lee's face went blank in confusion. Surely she could not draw a parallel between her beloved father and worst adversary? Neji pressed ahead, deriving her meaning.

"He can do something your father could. Is it a jutsu?" Neji gathered.

She shook her head, "I'm pretty sure it isn't. Sometimes my dad would just…disappear. I don't think my mom did that, when I was a kid." Tenten raised her hands as if to dismiss her memories, "What am I talking about? That makes no sense. It's just because I'm spooked. He's gotten into my head. That asshole…"

"I don't think you're wrong." Neji was willing to vouch for it.

The group was distracted by the sound of Shikamaru's announcement for the third match. Sakura had returned to the room in time to see a morbid assortment of worried looks fall on Tama. She had finished speaking quietly to Sato and then turned to her friends, totally unruffled by the silent concern. She accepted hugs from Kiba, Hinata, and Ino.

Sakura pulled her aside and held her hands, frowning like a stern mother, "Remember—"

"I know. Kaka-sensei made me rehearse it top to bottom." Tama smiled at her, "Don't worry, Sakura-chan."

"I don't know how to not worry about this." The girl's voice cracked, "Please beat him…or don't be too stubborn to surrender. We've never fought anyone like him before."

The older girl nodded and quickly set off. The Leaf Rookies had a moment of wordless introspection which ended with Sato scuttling away from the railing, setting out down the stairwell after Tama.

She heard his voice and stopped on a landing, allowing him to catch up. Sato looked at her helplessly; still not quite able to accept that she had been given the toughest match up of the Tournament. Tama was dressed in a sporty, full-length jumpsuit of black, with electric blue breeze designs up the sides and arms. Her sleeves were rolled up, displaying how meticulously she had wrapped her hands in tape. She was grinning at him.

"You're really worried about me."

"Yeah." His voice drifted back to its pre-pubescent tonality, mostly due to fright.

"I prepared for this. Sensei said he really thinks I can win." Tama informed him, "And Kakashi-sensei usually doesn't think anyone can win anything because he considers most people incompetent idiots."

"Like me." Sato offered.

"No." She stepped up to him, letting him wrap his arms around her and rest his forehead on her shoulder, "What I mean is that…he and I took what we saw from Huo's match in the preliminary round…and made sure I was twice as ready for that on a good day." Tama added, "Sensei really beat the daylights out of me."

"Yeah, I noticed. God, he's such a jerk."

"I needed his help."

"But can you…really do it? If you can't win, Kakashi's prepared to intervene, right? Or you won't, maybe…" Sato suggested frailly, "Reconsider?" He felt her hand brushing his cheek, so reassuring. He couldn't fall apart and cry about how miserable he was feeling, or that he had undermined their relationship with senseless, drunken actions. But the fear was more extreme an emotion— boiling in him, teasing the possibility that she was marching towards destruction.

He let her kiss him, even though he felt sad, still felt unclean— because no matter how terrible he was feeling, Sato understood her feelings mattered more, and he had to embrace and protect what she felt. Despite the inner turmoil, he noticed it was a very good kiss. Tama leaned back and gave him another unbearably confident, heartening look.

"See you in a little bit, Sato-kun." She pulled away but his hand was closed tight around her wrist. He did this a lot, she noted. Tama raised her arm up and kissed his knuckles before prying his hand away, "You're trying to get me disqualified for being tardy, huh?"

"No, no." He cleared his throat, "Sorry."

She gave him one last pat before bounding down the last of the stairs. Sato made the solo journey to the second floor without bawling, although he was on the precipice of an emotional breakdown. His breathing evened out when he noticed one of Shino's insects perched on his tunic, checking up on him.

By the time he had returned to the balcony, the entire Leaf congregation had stuffed themselves against the railing to watch. Shino respectfully gave Sato his spot so he could observe the match.

"That jumpsuit is so on trend." Ino broke the silence, watching as Tama exited onto the arena floor.

"Lee's is too." Tenten built on the comment.

Lee perked up at the statement, "Tenten, does that mean you—"

"Nope, never."

---

Shikamaru was having an inner logical debate about surprises and his ability to be surprised. Huo and Tama were both still making their respective walks towards the stadium's center.

'I actually want to be surprised today.' Shikamaru told himself, 'Tama is going to have to put in some major legwork to wow a skeptic like me. And on the other hand…Huo won't have to do much to scare me into timing-out this match. Maybe. I haven't seen enough of either of them to know how to call it for sure.'

Both combatants arrived and stood a reasonable distance apart. Shikamaru turned his head to look between the two, hyper aware of the tense silence and the full-blown staredown. Keeping in mind recommendations from Tsunade and other Exam regulators, Shikamaru steeled himself and raised his hand, "When you're ready…"

The volume of the audience increased; many eager fans had actually wagered significant money on this first round match.

"Begin!"

As was most natural to Tama, she took an offensive stance that Lee and Gai often fell into. The only detectable change on Huo's part was his impassive face drooping in disappointment. He looked at Tama impatiently.

From the observation post, Shikamaru was trying to determine what the holdup was. He returned to the two unmoving shinobi in the arena and stood by during a verbal exchange.

"You." Huo spoke pointedly at Tama, "There is no need to keep up appearances."

Without altering her pose in the slightest, she bit back, "Sorry, but I don't know what appearances you're referring to."

"You are standing here like we are going to fight." He clarified, "Forfeit the match now."

"I have no intention of doing that."

"You are the most inexperienced amateur of your group and an unworthy opponent." Huo frigidly informed her, "I am not in the habit of providing warnings to foolish ninja. I make examples of them. Thanks are in order for my patience with you."

The audience soaked up the sentiment and began tittering, able to hear the comments well enough through Shikamaru's transmitting microphone that projected from speakers. Tama felt ice cold panic drip down her spine after being openly insulted, and the crowds seemed to be responding to Huo's attitude. When she made no motion to surrender or apologize for her alleged blunder, Huo turned his back on her and faced the opposite direction in protest. Static noise in the stadium grew louder, piqued, and Shikamaru's complaint for Huo to take his match seriously was drowned out in Tama's ears.

'I look so dumb right now.' She swallowed hard, trying not to crack the cool exterior she was somehow maintaining, 'He has no interest in fighting me. He thought this would be a free victory!'

Shikamaru had switched his mic off, frustrated, and was speaking in low tones to the uncooperative Rock ninja.

She had no clever comeback or snappy remark to make. 'Not that I'm fond of provoking people…but this is embarrassing. I don't want to wait for Shikamaru to DQ him for refusing to fight me…or for Huo to change his mind and try to assassinate me because I was stubborn.' Then what to do? Shikamaru was muttering into a two-way radio and about to walk over to her to illuminate the situation.

'Well…I could fan the flames of his stereotyping and judgement and see how that goes.' Tama considered, borrowing a page from Sato's book. She would go with that.

The kunoichi dashed faster than Shikamaru could blink, replacing herself in front of Huo with her back facing him. Her in-kind dis got Huo's attention. Tama girled it up from that point.

She pulled her hair into a high ponytail and secured it with an elastic band. She rolled her shoulders to relax, did a few side bends and hip rotations, then taunted her adversary with highly suggestive squats.

Shikamaru, taking the unusual, snide warm-ups as some kind of subtle hint for him to back up, did indeed put some distance between himself and the competitors. He turned his mic back on and watched in bafflement.

Though she couldn't see what Huo was making of her actions, Tama supposed it was somewhat inflammatory. Commotion from the audience suggested that she was being a delightful brat and they liked it.

Tama dipped into a low, frontal leg extension and then hurled herself backward with an explosion of speed. She had sprung to full height and snapped her southpaw at Huo's jaw before Shikamaru had opened his eyes after blinking. Huo had raised his arm disinterestedly to block the strike. Tama rolled with it; her lightning-speed punches were no joke, and utterly uncommon of most men, let alone kunoichi. Shikamaru wisely vacated the premises when he realized Tama had things under control, for the most part.

Huo was blocking with one arm. She got it. She understood he was trying to discourage her; he was trying to make her angry and feel inferior. Tama kept up with a blink-and-you'd-miss-it boxing routine intermingled with standard Leaf Hurricane kicks more in an effort to annoy than to harm. But when he tried (and missed) to stomp on her foot, Tama was a bit galled herself.

The Leaf kunoichi began to run literal, superspeed circles around Huo, almost daring him to try once more to hit her. His monolid eyes were dark and devoid of life, but Huo was watching and keeping track of her movements and positioning. He wasn't childish enough to halt her with an extended arm to clothesline her, so he waited inquisitively to see what she would do next.

And in the sliver somewhere between his blind spot and peripheral, Huo saw her breaking free of the spiral. She charged in with her tape-wrapped fist, like some storybook hero for little girls she probably thought she was… He caught that fist in his hand, which was hot to the touch, and simultaneously copped a full foot in his mouth and cheek as a sneak-attack Leaf Hurricane caught him on his opposite side. The kick launched him sideways, and as he soared Huo realized she had snuck a Fire Clone into her high-speed encirclement, probably behind his back. He had caught the clone's punch…then she'd kicked him in the face.

Huo somersaulted in the air and wiped his lip when he landed neatly on his feet. Tama, by then accompanied by an entourage of six Fire Clones she'd taken the time to create, bore down on him with a series of gymnastic, coordinated assaults.

He became less stingy about defending himself, whirling and dipping in Wushu forms, blocking the attacks of Fire bunshin with both arms. He couldn't be bothered with destroying clones that would burn out within a few minutes— but the corner of Huo's mouth twitched in astonishment when he evaded a clone and flung it…only to be locked into an arm-bar hold that pulled him to the ground. He rolled backwards, up again to his feet, trying not to be wrestled into submission, and flexibly rolled his neck and head away from thunder-clap punches being thrown at him. Huo was slippery quick and avoided Tama's attacks, but it took more effort than he'd wanted to expend to pry the arm-bar clone away.

When he got a grip on it, the Fire Clone in question began smoking. Huo kicked off of it with two feet, soaring above the heads of the kunoichi doppelgangers, and escaped the clone that had been secretly patched over with paper-bombs. The explosion rattled the ground of the stadium and produced thick, acrid smoke.

In clearer air, the original Tama had begun fighting him in earnest, faster and stronger than she had let on initially. At least to himself, Huo amended his previous belief that this was an amateur, boring opponent. She was actually funny. This was funny.

Huo smiled to himself and entertained a brief kicking duel with her, outspeeding her efforts, clipping her chin with his heel, and then dropped to sweep her legs out from under her. Tama toppled, but her Fire Clones dove in to stave him off from landing a finisher. She provided them with covering fire of shuriken as she rose to her feet.

His tone was conversational, "Have you noticed that the Ninjutsu most shinobi use has terrible economy?" Huo ducked another southpaw, "Well, have you? Your clones will expire within minutes. Clones are breakable, unreliable. And most Ninjutsu can only channel through and command a finite amount of matter…"

She had no idea what he was blathering about, but that last kick almost had him. Tama wheeled about, keeping up with the Rock nin as he tottered around and avoided the Taijutsu mob.

Huo flipped away elegantly, a good sprint away from the gang of Tamas, announcing, "Tao Arts are not wasteful like Ninjutsu." He motioned with his arms relaxed at his sides, slowly raising them up past his stomach and chest in a scooping motion, gathering energy, taking a deep breath and then exhaling, "Would you like to see?"

Tama had some good sense to stay behind the pack as her clones charged. She watched Huo as if he were sucking through a straw, inhaling, and drew in her clones— degrading them into wisps of amorphous flame as he swallowed the fire. With each bunshin devoured, Huo's cheeks were comically puffed. Tama grimaced and supposed that he wasn't done showing her what his Tao Arts could do.

He exhaled a jet of empowered flame that most members of the Sarutobi and Uchiha clans could scarcely conceive of with hand seals. Tama made a break for it, running as Huo swept the horizontal column of burning catastrophe close behind her. She boldly ran up the arena's stone wall and flipped off of it, bounding over the fire stream, and began running in the other direction.

'I bet he has a Fire Nature, like I do. Unless his Tao-techniques can manipulate any element, and I doubt that, he's just showing off!' Tama also recalled Huo had put out Sato's burning Grass opponent in the Preliminary Round, so she stood by her deduction. She was flustered by how long Huo continued to breathe fire, 'I hope he can keep it up! I'm going to borrow some of it!'

She stopped running and made hand seals, fully prepared for Huo to scorch her as she had provided him with the opportunity.

Her friends watching from the balcony, however, thought Tama had signed her death warrant.

"What are you doing?" Sakura bellowed, thrashing her arms and pointing, "Tama!" Kiba and Akamaru were poised to leap the rail, howling and jabbering, and beside them Ino and Chouji were also having a conniption.

All Tenten could manage was to cover her mouth to hold in a petrified screech. Lee was wincing but withholding commentary until any damage was confirmed. Shino was silent. But Neji seemed to gather from the look on Sato's face that something amazing was afoot.

The Hatake leaned on the rail, blue eyes glimmering, face lit with anticipation, "Do those hand seals look familiar to anyone?"

"I have not seen that exact configuration before." Neji acknowledged, "What is-?"

"Right, because then she'd be using one of my jutsu." Sato grinned, "But it looks like Kakashi let her revise it a bit!"

Down below, Tama held her wrist, letting a massive quantity of chakra and hissing Fire Release well up without any coherent shape manipulation. She ran at Huo with Gate-assisted speed and the pink-hot bonfire in her hand cut apart his fancy Tao-Fire like butter, absorbing and refining what he donated.

"Honokiri!" She barreled into the Rock ninja and hurled the Blaze Cutter at his ribcage.

Tama could feel the rustle of Huo's shirt at her fingertips, his heart a short, fatal jab away— but her hand went no further than that. A repulsive force was pushing back just as hard, forcing her off, and the kunoichi narrowed her eyes as she spotted the faint glimmer of iridescent Hanzi characters. They ringed the translucent, lambent shield around Huo with several Tao Arts prepared long in advance— a concealed defense.

Both competitors darted apart, startled. The hissing, furnace roar of the Honokiri faded away as Tama took deep breaths, acknowledging that the assassination technique that Kakashi had passed along would do no good until her opponent's chakra barrier was eliminated.

Huo looked at her for a long moment, reevaluating his prejudices.

"You're not here to win." He observed, "You are only here to stop me. Did your teacher put you up to this? To prevent me from advancing to future rounds? Even if that means killing me…he condoned such a thing?" Huo was plainly affronted, baring his teeth, and he raised his hands to rest in a limber stance, "Despicable. I should report you to the proctor."

"You threatened to kill all of my friends! Lee told us." Tama handed him a counterpoint, "I won't stand idly by while I know what you might do to them."

"What a sickeningly quixotic goal you've set. I don't feel like letting you surrender anymore." Huo sneered at her as he slipped through hand seals.

His transition into true Ninjutsu was alarming, as Huo followed one Earth technique after another, hurling geometric slabs of the arena's dry dirt floor. Tama could not evade all of the hunks of earth in rapid succession, resorting to vault over one still-muddy slab to catapult herself into the next with a shattering punch. The stone crumbled under her blow. As dirt rained down, Huo rushed at her between two upended pieces of the stadium floor— a makeshift alleyway. His Wushu was polished and vicious; clipping her twice in the face though she blocked and weaved away from him.

Tama smashed an exit through the wall of stone to her left, and took the close-quarters brawl out into open air again. She rallied; swinging, jabbing, and kicking faster, lighter— feeling the sweat on her skin hiss away into vapor as she discreetly drew on the power of two Inner Gates. When Huo flipped away from one of her right hooks, his queue of hair streaming as he looked away from her only for a split second…

The Rock nin wheezed at an impact, just as she vanished from his sight, though he felt where she had reappeared— beneath his chin: knocking him mercilessly through the air with up-ladder kicks. He was dazed for a moment as he soared like a kite through open air, and the watching crowd ooohed at the sight. Tama replaced herself under his back, "Shadow of the Dancing Leaf!"

She had begun to snare him with arm wrappings, ready to get a firm anchor on him to dive into Front Lotus, but the bandages burned as he exhaled fire. Huo's arm snapped out, grabbing her forearm, and he leveraged himself to spin and face her as they fell. She lost count of how many punches to the stomach she took before striking the ground hard. Huo hopped lightly away and dusted his clothes off.

Tama saw double, staring up at the sky framed by the stadium's circular top, her vision rippling as she sought the willpower to stand and take a breath. There was a great rumbling through the ground as Huo used another Earth Jutsu several meters away from her. She felt the shudder, heard the cracking of stadium floor being torn up. Tama rose to her feet and beheld a slab, three-quarters of the dirt floor they had to stand on— loosened and tossed up as Huo completed hand signs. Her brain could hardly reconcile the feat, something that maybe elite ninja might do to squash a threat, and tried to calculate her response.

Huo leaped, a figure in black, surreally attaching himself with chakra to the bottom of his giant, rocky stamp, and with great strength, flipped it 'round its axis to smash it flat-side down onto Tama, "Stone Press!"

The kunoichi determined that there was no sensible direction to escape in. Drawing on a third Inner Gate, Tama launched herself at the threat instead, excavating through the earth slab with jackhammer kicks, "Blooming Lotus!" As the rocky floor tumbled apart, the two combatants sailed past each other in opposite directions.

From the observation area, Shikamaru was trying not to stress too much about how the arena had gone from a simple, level floor (briefly irrigated to be a pond) and then ended up as a dry, disheveled, mountainous mess after Taijutsu experts had their way with it. Unless Tsunade complained about the occurrence being a disruption to future competitors, there was nothing he as proctor could do about it.

Both adversaries skipped down towers of stone toward opposite sides of the arena, not in clear view of one another. Huo suspected that what he'd glimpsed of Tama was actually a Fire Clone that she was trying to draw his sight to. And with that in mind, Huo was only half-surprised when he landed, watching with a frown as a pair of hands darted up from the tilled soil to pull him down into the ground with the same, low-level Headhunter Jutsu the pink-haired girl had used.

He made no move to free himself, observing in annoyance as Tama was above ground to pounce on him. Her diving elbow-drop met the Rock nin's Tao Shield, as did her follow up kicks, and as Tama affirmed the absoluteness of his cheap and foreign defense, she retreated again.

'How do I break through that?' She wracked her brain for a solution, 'I don't even know what it is. That isn't a typical jutsu— he's been calling it a Tao Art. He must have had it in place even before our match, and it blocked Honokiri without a problem…' Tama took deep breaths, composing herself on a rocky ledge, 'The characters on that defense sphere…one of them is dim now. One of eight is gone. Maybe he didn't have the chakra to support whatever technique it had been, after a while. So then…he has limits. If I can push him past his limits, that shield has to go away at some point.'

It was a very optimistic theory, but she hoped it would serve as a solution. Tama relaxed, deciding then to open as many Inner Gates as she could manage, keeping an eye on Huo below as he popped up from his dirt prison and dusted himself off again. He seemed to be aware of what she was preparing to do.

"When someone tells a joke out of order, giving the punchline first, mistakenly…" Huo made sure she could hear him, "That's what this match feels like. It was supposed to be amusing, but you've ruined it."

"Two problems with that: one, you don't have a sense of humor." Tama pointed out, "And two, this isn't a joke. You wouldn't know one if it rolled up and cut off your braid!" When she opened the Fifth Gate, her skin flushed red, stones clattered around her feet, and her ponytail thrashed widely as steam surged off her skin.

Not to be outdone, Huo bent into a low, regal posture and flicked his hand over his translucent ring of Tao Arts, scrolling through what remained. He tapped two characters and exhaled, letting the arts convert into an aura, simmering above him in soft blues, greens, and orange light— the burning silhouette of a phoenix that he would be happy to show off to any of his competitors and all of the audience. Because if this Leaf shinobi really wanted him to take her seriously and fight with his true strength, and she intended to pound the daylights out of him with the Eight Inner Gates— she could learn some much-needed humility from Fènghuáng Wushu.

He darted around when she did, the girl probably thinking she was quick and safely out of reach. She probably didn't care that he was glowing and colorful, the same way he didn't much care she'd become a steam engine— their reflexes equally acute, speed doubled. They replaced themselves multiple times around the arena, trying to decide how best to engage each other— the rubble they'd displaced was quite the bother.

He copied her when Tama took a perch near the top rim of the arena's wall, much too close to audience seating for comfort— by the look on the Hokage's face. But they were safe behind Leaf's cozy, unseen Sealing Corps barrier, although Huo would make no mention that he knew it was there, indeed for an occasion such as this. When Tama began to charge like a human bullet, circling around the circumference of the wall, Huo likewise imitated her fleet-footed rush, round and round each other until they closed in and met.

Air particles shook when the ensuing flurries of punches and kicks collided. Cheers were deafening in the stadium, thrilled that the proverbial gloves had come off.

Huo's hits were connecting. Not as if his attacks were any more precise or quicker than Tama's furious close-quarters devilry— but he could bend and slip in ways that were unlike the Taijutsu of ninja. She was pressed to keep up with him. His firebird cloak flared briefly as he poured his strength into a bulldozing effort, pummeling her with phoenix-boxing that chipped away at the earthen structures around them, pushing her through physical obstacles like a hydraulic press with no escape in sight. If she didn't act, she would certainly be smashed into paste against the stadium's wall, or be punched through and out of the building, if the proctor didn't stop it.

While Huo was mid-way through a turning kick, she took what was perhaps the singular opening she had during the onslaught. Tama double-kicked her legs up to hook both feet behind Huo's neck, swinging down with her full weight and Gate strength, and she flung the Rock nin like a pebble in a slingshot.

He skipped like a stone over dust and debris, rolled up an incline, and then acrobatically caught himself. Huo landed on one foot and held a stork pose, still glowing with chakra, his face smug. He didn't bother reacting to her initiation of Reverse Lotus. Tama's sledgehammering, beastly efforts kicked Huo and his intact sphere-barrier around the arena like a child's ball. When she reached the height of her climb, ready to snare and double-strike him back down to the earth, Huo finally reacted. With a minimal phoenix-boxing jab, he flicked her off with his extended aura and vaulted above her, vectoring down with an inhumane comet kick.

Tama crashed through a stone pillar on the way down before she was lodged, out of sight, in a pile of overturned boulders and soil. Huo could hear the furious, indignant shouting and taunting of her Leaf comrades as they watched from their balcony.

Huo landed lightly and then charged, imagining what he would do when he found her crumpled up and whimpering from the Inner Gates recoil. 'Five Gates is a bit much for you, isn't it pretty girl? This day should teach you that using Inner Gates is the dead man's preferred Taijutsu. When you can't move and bear the pain…you bring more of it unto yourself!'

He flicked his eyes left and right as he closed the distance, puzzled by the odd phenomena occurring in the arena. Stones were skittering and bouncing up from the ground, and with a great rumble, Huo witnessed the kunoichi launch herself up with a mighty jump, 'She opened another-!'

A first, second, and third fiery punch hit him so hard and fast that, as Huo rolled and tumbled in the safety of his Tao Barrier, he had to define the locations of ground and sky again. Once right-side-up, he could see the full, extending glory of her Sixth Gate Taijutsu spanning in a fan of ignited punches, "Morning Peacock!"

The sheer volume of it would surely crack his defense, Huo noted sourly, weighing his options in all of a heartbeat. Now aware that the kunoichi was more than just a Taijutsu enthusiast, 'A lunatic— that's who is willing to subject themselves to jutsu that cripple!' Huo decided to use a technique he had meant to keep to himself, if spending more chakra meant he could save the integrity of a waning shield. This art he could only use once, for it took an entire day to prepare and rejuvenate it. Huo slid his hands in opposite directions, diverting energy into a circular motion, and willed a reflective Tao Art into a glinting, icon of yin and yang. When Tama's assault struck, he braced himself on steady legs as the icon spun on his outreached fingertips, bouncing back the attack from whence it came. The arena's invisible Sealing Corps barrier contained the resulting blast.

At the VIP booth, Tsunade was fanning dust bits and smoke from her face after the Morning Peacock barrages had crashed together. She spoke sidelong to Gaara over the din of the stadium, "I am honestly debating if it's a good idea to send Shikamaru back in there. I need him to call this…but it won't look good if he comes out of there with a shiner."

"You think that's all that would happen to him?" Gaara didn't like how she minimized the potential danger for her proctor. What was going on below was approaching tectonic activity in terms of power output.

"I can't send you down there to end it. You're a guest and it'd have to be pro bono, since I didn't add you to Exam payroll." Tsunade tapped her nails to her lips, "But you'd come out of there in one piece, Kazekage-sama."

"Send Shikamaru."

"Fine. You wuss." She waved at Shikamaru insistently where he stood on the level beneath the Kage's booth. The Nara gave her a concerned look, thinking at least a Hail Mary was in order before he jumped back in. Shikamaru was wise to hang back for safety's sake. The rumble had continued.

Huo took a mighty swing at empty air and it prompted a chorus of confused twittering in the audience. Greatly peeved, the Iwa nin glanced around to look for the lunatic kunoichi who had not yet collapsed in pain. At this point, he would prefer a sitting duck to a mobile opponent. With his Yin-Yang Reflection spent, he could potentially tread much thinner ice in future rounds, 'And I cannot thank her for that.'

And there, skirting just beyond a toppled pillar of rock, Huo spotted her and then sprang, phoenix cloak glowing, and smashed the earthy pile apart when he landed. He'd come up empty handed again. 'She hasn't made any clones. I know she isn't trying to distract me.' He kept watch from the corner of his eye, certain that she was simply trying to prey on his blind spots before she toppled over and gave up. Stones underfoot were still skittering, he noticed.

Yet he wasn't facing front when it would have behooved him to, and some booming force bashed him in the face, hurling him back. He was starting to feel pain. The Tao Barrier was sagging under pressure, relying on the last dredges of chakra he had allotted to it. Huo spun like a feline to catch her with a brutal kick as she went by, but that too hit nothing.

Huo realized, as he pitched forward and was knocked akimbo by another ungodly force, that it was because he was moving and seeing too slow. He was hit twice more before it occurred to him to invest fully in his barrier, realizing he could indeed wait it out— that she wouldn't last. Though, if she had time and strength enough to continue for a few seconds more, neither would he.

This time Huo did clothesline her with the wing of his glowing aura, and watched with satisfaction as Tama slid the radius-length of the arena straight into a wall— too fast to stop herself. Huo's face dropped when she bounded off of it and blurred away from his sights again. He then perceived that they were rolling and tousling at a high speed he could not personally achieve, but he had knocked her in the chin several times as they grappled and snapped apart in a meteor-shower of Taijutsu. When his Tao Barrier glimmered apart without a sound, Huo felt his first kick of the Exam wallop him in the stomach. He weathered it well— but before he could roll to a complete stop in the dirt and hope she'd do the same, Tama hurled herself over him.

His eyes were watering, so he was unsure if he imagined her gleaming with the outline of some beast. Huo contacted his faculties, replenishing what he could of his defense, and simultaneously gawked as Tama balled her two hands together as a hammer, raised above her head, and brought them down on him with horrific force, "Noon Tiger Cub!"

The debris and dust cloud that billowed up was so pervasive that Natsuhi kindly formed a chakra wing and fanned her fellow village leaders for some fresh air. Tsunade had seen Shikamaru head down to determine a victor of the match, if anyone was left. He would probably wander through dust and wreckage for a while before he found anyone.

Gaara apprised that the match they had witnessed was not characteristic of Chunin. "It exceeded many Exam parameters in an almost punishable sort of way." He reported.

"It was…a public safety concern." Natsuhi agreed.

"What am I paying the Sealing Corps for?" Tsunade gruffed, "So it smells a bit smoky— everyone is safe and sound."

"I give this match full points." Tazuna decided aloud, "I don't know jack-all about the jutsu we just saw, but it didn't look like the shit Genin or Chunin in the Tide Village can use. I don't think I've met a Jounin yet who can do that." Hidden in a paper bag in his lap, the old man discreetly cracked open a beer can. Everyone still heard it.

Back on the ground, as the dust was still clearing, Tama had tottered away and shut her Gates after the coup de grâce. She collapsed to her knees, shuddering violently.

So that was it. That was about exactly what Kakashi had in mind when he'd asked her to incapacitate Huo in as lethal a way as she saw fit. They had both agreed it was for the benefit of her group as a whole, even if it would take her out of contention.

Tama had prodded at the very limit of the Sixth Gate, reaching far past what was sensible. Much of it had been improvisation, but she held out long enough to stuff Huo in a hole somewhere.

And now the pain had caught up. Tama tried to recall how to breathe properly, tried to somehow block out the sensation of nerves revolting, haranguing the damage to her muscles and bones. She felt patches of skin had rubbed away through her jumpsuit. She let tears roll freely and silently down her cheeks, completely unashamed.

'I'm pretty sure…my left hand is broken.' She considered her right hand, which didn't have much feeling in it. There was no way to tell how long she'd be out of commission, or when she'd feel comfortable enough punching a dummy or sparring partner again.

Within the dim, dusty cloud, Tama looked across the craggy pitch to where Huo lay. She swallowed hard when she noticed him twitch. A sniff of air caught in her nose as she watched him slowly, so slowly, heave himself forward, weakly slipping his legs under himself again.

She had the bright idea to call Shikamaru over, wherever he was in the cloud, but even her voice wasn't working correctly. Ah. She'd nearly bitten her tongue off earlier, since she'd hit Huo (and been hit by him) so hard. Her heart pounded as she watched Huo rise and stand in the shade of a jagged, displaced boulder. And then, a thousandth of a second later, he was standing in front of her.

Her brain tried to process it. 'No…that's not…speed. He isn't fast. He walked over here like there was a door. Like the distance was so short…' He could never hold a candle to her speed, she was certain. But Huo stepped into the long shadow cast over him and then emerged beside Tama where another long, yawning shadow stretched on the arena floor.

He looked furious. He was positively livid— his hair yanked and frizzed out of its queue, clothes dirtied, his chin and hands bruised.

"Insubordinate cunt." Huo hissed and pushed hair out of his face, "You've spoiled six— Six Tao Arts. Who do you think you are? I didn't come here for you!"

---

Visibility improved for onlookers, and many spectated the tail end of Huo completing hand signs for his Stone Press Jutsu. On the inconveniently far side of the area blocked by debris, Shikamaru was hurrying to reach the combatants.

In her seat, Tsunade beheld a scattering of movement within the stadium— involving those who were most invested in the match.

As the earth slab from Huo's retaliatory attack crashed over his defenseless target, Shikamaru snatched him a hair too late in a Shadow Bind. The proctor stood dazed for a moment as he held Huo rooted to the spot, watching as Kakashi and Gai arrived in the same split second. Gai moved to exhume his niece from Huo's Stone Press, and Kakashi had rushed past Shikamaru on his left side.

It was only then Shikamaru noticed the suffocating killing intent of the person coming up behind him, and Kakashi was gracious enough to intervene on behalf of the heedless proctor and his captive.

Wide-eyed, Shikamaru watched as Kakashi caught Sato in a run and tried to halt him, only to be dragged several meters as his nephew tenaciously tried to wrestle away from him.

Not that he had any true desire to protect Huo, but Exam protocol demanded that he, as a proctor, keep participants of the Tournament from harm— especially third party attacks. Shikamaru stepped sideways over stones, very carefully puppeteering Huo away from the strife.

A string of spit flew out of Sato's mouth as he screamed his head off, pushing back against Kakashi as his uncle disarmed him of a drawn chakra sabre. All manner of nonsense was uttered from the young man's mouth, as he demanded, with some believable authority, that Shikamaru hand Huo over. While the audience buzzed all through the stadium during the unofficial timeout, Kakashi managed to drag Sato to the nearest passageway back into the building's interior. Since Shikamaru and Huo were no longer within earshot, Sato decided to shout at Kakashi instead.

"—it was cheap! He shouldn't have been anywhere near her, then he was! Let me—!"

"You need to stop this—"

"I need to stop? Why aren't you out there for her? You made her fight in this match! You let Tama act as a cushion for the rest of us, Kakashi."

"She told me she wouldn't back down. I couldn't convince her otherwise—" Kakashi got knocked by a sharp head-butt for his trouble, and in response he flattened Sato against a wall to hold him still, "Don't even try to cross me here and now. I'll put out the word for you to stay a Genin for the rest of your days."

"Then do it." Sato spat and continued to struggle in the bear-hug, "I don't care anymore! Let me go out there. I need to be there, Kakashi, she's mine…and if she's…if she…" Sato's voice clattered as if he had a throat full of marbles, "…I won't…d-do…anything to that asshole…but I need to be with her."

Hearing what he wanted to hear, Kakashi released him.

Immediately, Sato bolted out of the doorway with no weapons drawn, as promised. He came upon Gai and Kiba having successfully dug through the earth pile, and they laid Tama flat under Sakura's outstretched hands. She kneeled and bent her head above Tama's face, calling her name, pinching Tama's wrist in her fingers to find a pulse.

She was brutally mangled. While Gai and Kiba could hardly look, so profoundly disturbed by the sight, Sato stared without flinching when he came to a stop beside the girl he loved. It seemed as if her lower body had taken the worst of it. Maybe she'd found the strength to block and protect her head and chest? There was no way to tell. Sakura had her hands everywhere, working double-time, muttering things to Tama about shopping and girlish charm and damn, even Tsunade never hit that hard. But she did. Everyone had seen it, Sakura told her.

By that point, Kakashi was persuading both Kiba and Gai to stop staring at Huo as if a bullseye had appeared on his face. It was making Shikamaru anxious. After briefly deliberating the consequences of murder in broad daylight, in front of nine thousand spectators, the men decided against it. Greatly frustrated, Kiba rejoined Sakura as Tournament-assigned medic-nin began to flock to the fallen kunoichi. Gai exchanged brief words with Kakashi before going to locate his brother, Ken, who was probably racing through the building to find a way to reach his daughter.

A staff medic listened to Sakura's comments and then had Tama placed on a stretcher to be moved. They would take her to emergency care at the hospital, the medic clarified, and they would also keep her team informed of her condition. Extensive internal trauma had put Tama at risk, and they would check again for signs of brain injury even through Sakura had not detected any.

Sakura held Kiba's arm as he shook with anger, and she turned to Sato to speak as rationally as possible, "Stay with her, Sato. Kiba-kun's match is next. This is…I don't know what we—"

"…Shino…" Sato muttered under his breath. He looked at Sakura as if he was splitting in two, and then kept pace with the retreating medics who were removing Tama from the arena.

Kakashi returned from speaking with Shikamaru, passing along news to his two quaking students, "We can't pin him with a technicality. Shikamaru doesn't have him dead to rights since he couldn't classify what technique Huo used as a gap-closer…so we're going to wait for the officials to have the last word. That should have Huo disqualified, hopefully. Then in a short while, Kiba," He said pointedly to the boy, who seemed to snap out of his fury, "You'll enter your match with a level head. Got that?"

Kiba nodded wearily.

"Let's head inside for a minute." Kakashi advised. He led them along into the junction hallway of the stadium where restrooms, refreshments, and staircases to upper levels mingled. The man patted Sakura's shoulder as she lowered her chin to her chest and sniffled.

Kakashi gave a long sigh and noted, "This won't be good. No one is going to be thinking straight from here on out. Ken will be at Gai's throat; that I'm sure of. It's really me he should be taking issue with."

"Tama said she never planned to surrender. You didn't force her." Kiba reiterated.

"Yeah…but I asked her to try to stop Huo from advancing. That effort may have jeopardized her needlessly." Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, vexed, "While I feel that she's put quite the dent in him…I'd hoped for more. I wanted to put you all in a better position in later rounds…to face each other civilly and not go against foreign competitors."

"I still don't understand how…his jutsu worked…" Sakura cleared her throat and straightened.

"Not all of what we saw were true Ninjutsu or Taijutsu…" Kakashi acknowledged, "I have no insight on how to deal with Tao Arts, I'm afraid. I want you both to be cautious going forward. Forfeiting a match will not disappoint me. Please know that."

They nodded to their teacher, and as they were about to consider a concession stand's green tea bottles, just beyond a non-public checkpoint…a rabble began between a wayward spectator and two guards. An old man was clamoring at them to allow him into the participants-only concourse. His Nihongo was terrible and heavily accented. Sakura squinted and recognized the uproarious intruder.

"I think…that's Lee's grandfather." She rapidly began to imagine why Wong Leung would have left his seat on the upper level and try to trespass in a restricted area.

Kiba caught on, "Think he'd know something…? Like, about what we just saw?"

"Yup."

They turned to Kakashi in unison.

"Alright, alright…" The Jounin loped over to the guards and politely fibbed to them, "Hey there. I've asked this gentleman to come down here to consult with me, actually. I'll bring him on through."

A chubby guard was adhering to the rules, "He's got no credentials—"

"He can't cause any trouble. He's a hundred years old." Kakashi chided.

Wong Leung frowned.

"No ID Pass, no entry—" The stalwart guard sputtered and toppled over beside a turnstile. When his companion blinked into Kakashi's exposed Sharingan eye, he too gently settled himself on the floor for a nap.

"Hmph!" Wong Leung folded his arms and imperiously proceeded past the checkpoint.

"You're Lee's grandfather, is that right?" Kakashi asked as he proceeded with the old man towards the stairwell.

I am. I need to speak to Lee right away. Wong Leung stopped himself and grumbled, trying his luck in a second language, "Talk to Lee."

"Er, yeah. Come along then, Mr-?"

Enough chit chat, you great bag of stuffing. I could've gotten past those fools myself. Wong Leung was making his way up the stairs just a bit stooped over.

Kakashi gave a bemused look to his pupils before ushering them along.

---

Sato had kept up with the medical evac crew for as long as they tolerated his fluttering presence, snapping at him to stop touching their unconscious patient. They made a brief stop in the Exam-Finalist treatment room and transferred the girl to a rolling gurney, contacted the hospital a few streets south of the stadium, and continuously checked her vitals.

His fingertips skimmed Tama's forehead protector on her brow before he was pushed away with finality, and ordered to return to the concourse. Sato stood in the corridor with his heart in his throat, wondering what would happen as the medics wheeled her off. Would Tama wake asking for him? Could she move? Would her pain be unbearable, like what he recalled of his injuries in the Land of Rain?

He took a few rattling breaths and then turned back, watching as Gai and Ken filled the space ahead, speaking in hushed tones and moving briskly— like when Kakashi and Gai competed in pointless footraces. But Ken's haste was not pointless. When his eyes fell on Sato, Ken diverted his path and stopped beside him.

"Aren't you going to the hospital?" The man sniffed.

"I…I was told not to. I'm expected to compete."

"How self-sacrificing you are." Ken observed.

As Sato flinched and took the jibe, Gai intervened, "Ken, we can't leave without the official ruling and knowing if the Tournament will proceed."

"Of course it will. Why would the Hokage try to interrupt this monetized circus for my daughter's sake?" Ken spat, "Miako took the south exit. She and her brother will meet me at the hospital. And…" He turned to Sato, "You stay here. We don't need you there." He glared back at his brother, "And I don't need you there either."

Ken stormed off.

Sato watched the man round the corner and disappear. Gai exhaled loudly through his nostrils, filled with clashing emotions.

"As soon as this is over, we will join them." Gai advised calmly, "My brother is upset. He was concerned for Tama-chan well over a month ago…and I am sure he never imagined that she would fight so fearlessly today."

They backtracked through the hallway together, and Sato mused at the night and day difference between Gai and Ken. Gai always treated him like family. Ken always treated him like deadweight.

"Would he have felt better…" Sato thought out loud about Ken, "If I had attacked Huo? If Kakashi hadn't stopped me—"

"I told him to stop you." Gai said.

Climbing the stairs in silence, it occurred to Sato that, yes, maybe Ken may have felt a shred of vindication watching his daughter be avenged. He was the hard-nosed, confrontational, surly type who would appreciate such a gesture from his future son-in-law. Naturally, such a notion curdled Gai's blood.

Upon reaching the Leaf Finalist balcony, a highly unusual scene unfolded before them.

Lee was there surrounded by his peers in a semi-circle, and his short grandfather stood beside him with his arms folded behind his back. Some sort of conference was being held.

Gai approached Kakashi and asked if allowing a spectator into the Finalist-only area was permissible.

"If it isn't," Kakashi supposed, "The officials don't need to know about it. Even we shouldn't be up here right now. But we're still waiting on the match determination so we have some time to kill."

"Gai-sensei," Rather somber, Lee greeted his mentor, "This is my grandpa Wong Leung. He was alarmed by the last match. He says he wants us to be as informed as possible about Huo and the Tao Arts he uses."

Gai could not muster the strength to grin as he normally would have, but he gave his gratitude to the old man, "Thank you. We are in fear for our students."

That damn Hokage won't stop this Tournament, will she? Wong Leung wondered, Not even if teachers ask her to?

Lee translated, "Grandpa asked if the Hokage will not consider ending the Tournament if Jounin Sensei request it?"

"I doubt it." Kakashi replied thoughtfully, "While she has her concerns about that Rock Genin, she would warn any competitor who fears for his or her safety to surrender the match."

"She has invested much in this Exam." Gai added.

Surrender. Fuh! What if that brute doesn't accept surrender? Wong Leung chided, Lee, tell everyone this. Your friends. Tao Arts are formulas. I had no idea there would be a competitor here who could perform them at such a high level. It shocked me out of my seat when I saw it.

Still listening to his grandfather, Lee echoed, "Formulas?"

Yes. As a child, I watched in awe as Tao Masters in my homeland wielded them, but I have never seen a soul use them in these lands. That Rock ninja was taught by a master. I myself can hardly form a script if I tried, and yet he had a ring of verses prepared for his duel. The only way to stop Tao Arts is with Tao Arts: they must be undone, like unwinding a knot. To cancel one another. Therefore, none of you can stop the techniques he will use against you. Wong Leung announced.

"Ah…" Grimacing, Lee relayed the explanation, "Grandpa says that he has not seen anyone use Tao Arts here to the degree that Huo has…outside of the Middle Kingdom. We cannot stop it. Tao Arts can only be halted by other Tao Arts."

Not Ninjutsu. Wong Leung added.

"Not Ninjutsu." Lee added.

Kakashi acknowledged, "I couldn't copy those techniques with the Sharingan."

Building on the idea, Neji recalled astutely, "He could absorb Fire Clones with a breath."

Yes, exactly Neji. The old man nodded to him.

"Wait, what do you mean we can't stop it?" Kiba protested, "That dick is outnumbered. If we each fought him in subsequent matches, he'd be finished by the Final Round."

What sense is there in risking your death? Wong Leung thrashed his head and his queue swung, That scoundrel is as dishonorable and abhorrent as they come. He won't obey the same rules that you Leaf children do. He will kill you if it pleases him. What he seeks in this village is not contingent upon his victory in the Tournament. It is apparent.

Lee parlayed the counterpoint.

"All the more reason to confront him now." Neji was aligned with Kiba's reasoning.

"Excuse my input, but I was watching that match very closely," Kakashi tapped his hitai-ate concealing his Sharingan eye, "And Tama did stop a Tao Art. At least one, at any rate."

Wong Leung tried to brush that statement off, The boy's chi expired. She did not stop it.

Lee passed on his grandfather's retort.

"Well, that counts as wearing him down, doesn't it? He can be injured. And that's all that it will take." Kakashi reasoned, "Brute force would stop anyone who's out of chakra."

The point remains…you would try to challenge and weaken him at your own peril. Wong looked to all of the young, fresh faces watching him, Do teachers truly care so little for their pupils in this country? Was that young woman a sacrifice to feed your pride? He turned to look at Sato, who was wilted beside Gai, Is that young man's suffering not obvious? Why don't you ask him to fight the scoundrel, and let him die and be put out of his misery?

Shocked, Lee was at a loss for words. Everyone stared at Lee and waited for the scandalous proclamation.

Instead, Tenten repeated Wong Leung's statement, "He said: We will challenge Huo at our own peril. Do our Sensei really care for us so little in this land? Was Tama just a sacrifice to feed their pride?" As she spoke, Lee motioned for her not to complete the paraphrasing, "Is Sato's suffering not obvious?" All heads turned toward Sato, who perked up in embarrassment, "Why don't we ask him to fight Huo and let him die…and put him out of his misery?"

Hinata balked and tearfully covered her face. Shino grimaced beside her. Many of those gathered quietly retreated into themselves. Kakashi appeared relatively impassive after hearing the biting remark.

"Old man," Sato rumbled, "That's not fair. If our sensei didn't care about us they wouldn't be standing here now listening, would they?" He gestured to Kakashi and Gai, "Won't it be worse to let Huo run rampant through this Tournament without any opposition? You said yourself he doesn't subscribe to rules. He'll wait until this is over."

And then your Hokage will have security take him.

Tenten repeated that.

Sato threw his hands up in the air, steamed, "Then you know what? You're right! All of this is about pride! Look around you. We all want a piece of that bastard. No one wants to punish him more than me. He hurt the person that is most important to me. I don't even know if she's going to live to see tomorrow!" His nostrils flared, "And as someone who's already died once, trust me on this: I don't give a fuck if someone kills me again. Let me at him."

More silent, uncomfortable, yet impressed staring.

Wong Leung chuckled to himself, I didn't think picking on him would do much…

Please do not taunt him, Grandpa. He is very sad. Lee recommended.

He's more than sad. Wong Leung noticed, And maybe that is good. For all of you.

Grandpa, Tenten interjected, For transparency's sake, I should mention…I have a blood tie to Huo.

Oh? The old man's white brows raised enough for his crescent eyes to appear.

Yes…that's part of the conflict. I wonder if I could diffuse the situation if I…gave him what he's looking for?

That jian? He quickly guessed it, Dear girl, do not EVER assume that giving in will quell discord. Imagine what he would do with it! Wong Leung criticized, That would by far be worse than challenging him.

Neji was straining to hear any Hanwen words he recognized, but there weren't many. Wong Leung identified the concern on Neji's face and sighed, Tian-Tian…Lee…fight with sense. You and all of your friends take great care and use your best judgment. Overpower Huo and defeat him as many, as a village, like this pinwheel-eye scarecrow suggests. But whatever you do…The old man warned sternly, Don't give him what he came here for.

The two youngsters nodded fervently. Lee moved along to escort his grandfather down the stairs and to the concourse, and Tenten relayed the last message Wong Leung imparted.

"So…to not put too fine a point on it…" She concluded, "He said we should go with Kakashi-sensei's plan. Brute force. But also, exercise our best judgment."

"We were leaning towards that anyway." Chouji spoke up.

"How many more people…could he…?" Hinata's voice wavered, frightful, and then a crackling announcement sounded over the loudspeakers.

It was not Shikamaru's voice, but one of the officials of the panel, Mitokado Homura (at least by ears that recognized it.)

"After review of the techniques used and stopped footage, the panel has agreed that the winner of the match is Sasagainu Huo."

Gai gnashed his teeth and stomped down the stairwell. Kakashi gave a long, growling sigh as he heard the last of the broadcast: "Tournament matches will continue."

"I know we were prepared for it, but it fucking sucks to hear them say that." Kiba gripped the guardrail of the balcony, "Who's on that panel anyway?"

"Old people. Misanthropes." Kakashi surmised.

"Does Tsunade-shishou not get any say in a match's calling?" Sakura wondered, stupefied.

"Probably not as much as her peers. Even if she and Gaara appealed it, and I bet they did, on what basis would Huo be disqualified? No one died in the arena and the techniques used were sanctioned based on the rulebook." Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Seems like the Exam framework they use for rulings was worded…opportunistically."

Neji gave the man a hard look, trying to pry into his implication, but then he turned his attention back to Tenten. She was trying to keep the other kunoichi calm. Hinata seemed terribly shaken, Ino, somehow, had gone silent, and Sakura was swinging between terrific anger and tears. How typical. Tenten had the target on her back, and there she was comforting others. When was it her turn to soften and weep?

Never. He had never seen her do it. Not really. Neji searched his memory banks and remembered when he had asked her to attend Hikune's funeral, and how she had gotten close to showing grief… But no. Tenten preferred sticking her chin out and keeping her back straight, internalizing her turmoil. Maybe, his brain ventured, he ought to bring the subject up to her at a quieter time. It genuinely troubled him.

Shikamaru's next announcement sounded, "The fourth match will be between Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba. Competitors, report to the arena."

Sato and Hinata sidled in beside Shino, who stood motionless beside the balcony, and offered their words of support. Kiba accepted a hug from Sakura as she lightly pounded a fist on his shoulder, mumbling, "Don't be stupid. Don't overdo it. We've got to realize we shouldn't be fighting each other."

"Not while that asshole is still breathing." He spoke of Huo, and squeezed Sakura reassuringly, "I will, Sakura-chan." Kiba slipped by and called Akamaru with a soft sound, descending to the lower level with his ninken. Shortly after that, Shino also exited for the stairwell. He'd passed Lee by on his way back up.

Sato watched from the corner of his eye as Lee rejoined his team at the left side of the balcony, noticing how they clustered together and spoke quietly amongst themselves. Sometimes, they acted more like a family than a squad that took missions together. Sato shut his eyes and heard Sakura voicing her concerns to Ino and Chouji near the back of the room.

Hinata patted his arm as he leaned on the guard rail, "I know you're upset."

"Sorry. I'm trying not to drag you and Shino down."

"You've been upset for two days." Hinata clarified.

"I…" He cleared his throat, "Yeah."

Her already soft volume lowered to a near inaudible whisper, "Did you have a fight with Tama-chan? Is that why-?"

"It's not…exactly like that. I just keep…messing up. Now that she's—" Sato's voice cracked and he fought for his normal tone, "Now that she's hurt so badly…I don't know how to make anything up to her. I've been so scared of losing her. Lately I'm all about self-actualization…but all I seem to discover is how shitty and spineless I am."

"Shino-kun and I don't think of you that way." She chided quietly.

"Well you can't, Sunshine. You don't have the full story."

"I still wouldn't, even if I knew everything you've done wrong." To his right, Hinata leaned her head on his shoulder.

Sato smiled weakly and exhaled, "Thank you. You and Shino are too good to me."

"You have always been good to us. Shino-kun told me he grew up feeling excluded and overlooked most of his life…but you always acknowledged him and spent time with him." Hinata straightened and canted her head toward him, "I never felt ostracized on my team…the way I felt at home."

They watched below as Kiba and Shino crossed the tossed stones and debris towards the estimated center of the arena.

"Shino can win." Sato wagered, "He's been keeping his cool. I know that Kiba's frazzled." He frowned to himself, "I came here today completely ready to surrender. Now I don't think I can."

Hinata's groomed eyebrows danced above her pearly eyes, "You're going to-?"

"I need to fight for Tama. If I can continue into future rounds, I'll take Huo down." Sato explained, "And sorry, but I'm gonna kick your cousin's ass first. I didn't see the point in trying before."

Curiously, Hinata glanced in Neji's direction and saw that he was focused on the match down below. She could not soundly rule Sato out when she had once witnessed Naruto, then the underdog by most accounts, unexpectedly clobber Neji and take the victory. And yet, today's Neji was far more mature and skilled. 'Beating Neji-niisan won't be easy…'

"Hey."

She turned her attention back to Sato.

He nudged her with his elbow, "You and Shino need to fight as hard as you can. I can't do this without you guys."

"We will, Sato-kun." She had a brainwave with her dear friend, thinking of how Huo would quail at the force of friends and those with bonds, "For our team. For Tama-chan."

---

On the way down to the ground level, Shino reflected on possible strategies to apply to future rounds. Specifically, reasoning with his Leaf compatriots about establishing a pecking order, having volunteers surrender, propel their strongest contenders into matches against Huo, and approach it from a logical perspective. It would be a much sounder way of dealing with Rock ninja.

And though Team Gai seemed to have some inkling of what made Huo so dangerous, they'd been furtively huddled near the balcony and disclosed little to their peers. Shino was quite certain they knew something had attracted Huo's interest. He was disappointed they were not forthcoming with the information.

To complicate the matter, his two teammates, Kiba, Sakura, Ino, and Chouji had reacted angrily and fearfully after listening to Lee's grandfather. No one was in the right frame of mind to consider his suggestion, Shino deduced. He believed that if they discussed the matter together, if they set aside their emotions for a brief period of time, they could come up with an effective counter.

Unfortunately, Shino had not spoken up and advocated for his idea. He laid the blame with himself, knowing he was too introverted and passive to take a stand and demand the cooperation of his friends. He'd never done it before. Today could have been the day, for he truly felt compelled to act, but once again he had kept quiet and drifted on— carried on a current to whatever fiasco lay ahead.

By the look on his face, Kiba was swirling in rancor after what had befallen Tama. There would be no reasoning with him before the match, Shino presumed. Kiba would probably be incensed if he suggested they organize match victories in favor of Team Gai— to pit them against Huo in later rounds. Stepping out of contention and asking others to consider it (which Shino was personally unopposed to) was now out of the question.

Among the rubble and tilled stone of the arena floor, Shino came to a stop and faced Kiba. Shikamaru arrived shortly after that, twiddling with his shirt-mic to make sure it was not yet switched on. The proctor looked between the two, his frown indicating that he was no longer enthusiastic about Leaf ninja battling each other. It was only natural that Shikamaru, another avid noodler, had drawn conclusions similar to Shino's. He cleared his throat and asked, "You guys sure about this? Doesn't look like you've put much thought into upcoming rounds against the psycho…"

"I have." Kiba huffed, "I'm going to take him on."

"Neither of us are suited for such an opponent." Shino pointed out, coaxing one of his insects from his hood and onto an outstretched finger, "It would be wiser to encourage those more experienced with Wushu and Tao Arts to advance."

"What, so you're just gonna stand by and usher Neji's team ahead? I'm Tama's teammate. I deserve a chance to fight him." He was bristling, and beside him Akamaru had also gotten riled up via osmosis.

"Neji and Lee can deal with Huo, in all likelihood." Shino confirmed, "If Tenten has any strength remaining, she may also be a reasonable choice."

"And the rest of us just sit it out?" Kiba was baring his teeth a bit too much.

"Yes."

"Easy for you to suggest— you don't give a damn about anything that's happened!"

Shikamaru cleared his throat again to signal he'd gotten the "okay" to commence over his radio, but Kiba continued shouting.

"Our advancement can impede that of a team that can retaliate against Huo." Shino clarified, "Use some sense."

"—! Are you—? Are you trying to preach to me?" Kiba snarled, "Well you can be damn sure you aren't going to Round Two, Shino. Now you can count on that."

"Alright." Shikamaru interrupted, "Mic's going on now— shut your fucking faces— thanks." He flipped the microphone on, "Are you both ready?"

Two swift nods and then Shikamaru dropped his hand to start it, ducking away from the action.

Kiba had a knack for redirecting his anger at people, Shino conceded. While he'd known his suggestion would not be received well, it seemed as though Kiba was making an effort to plunge his hate through the current match (and whoever it involved) to let it reach Huo later. Also, he'd wasted no time loading Akamaru up on a food pill and making the ninken transform into his likeness. They came crashing down on the spot Shino had been standing in with horrific force and speed. Light-footed, Shino slipped away and let his insects disperse in the air, keeping track of the human and dog in disguise.

Kiba was shouting things like, "Surrender if you think it's such a good idea!" And, "You know you can't take a hit!" Indeed, Shino actively avoided the whirling Fang Over Fang offense that had leveled the last tall boulders and slabs to a roughly level surface again. For some curious reason, Kikaichu insects were having none of Akamaru. The cloud of bugs skirted around the dog as if repulsed. Shino suspected some kind of repellent had been applied to the dog…and maybe to Kiba as well, according to disdainful reports from his colony.

When Kiba came too close for comfort, and his ninken had tried to corner Shino from the rear, it provoked a long, consecutive chain of Substitutions from both competitors as they bashed each other and retreated. By Shikamaru's estimate, Kiba had replaced himself (and his dog) twelve times and Shino, a bit more slippery, fifteen times. The proctor rubbed his chin in thought, 'I don't know if that just broke a Chunin Exam record for most Substitutions, but I'll confirm that later…'

Somewhere in the distance, Sato was heard cursing and not exactly cheering. It was bellowing in favor of Shino. Kiba gritted his teeth and did his very best not to get pissed off at the Hatake he hoped to wipe the stadium down with later.

Without warning, Akamaru charged off in the wrong direction and slammed headfirst into the broad side of a boulder. Dizzied, his transformation wore off and he swayed on his feet, whining. Kiba called to his dog while charging through a swarm of disinclined Kikaichu insects, diving at Shino, 'What'd he do to Akamaru? He couldn't have gotten a hold of him with his colony…' He went with his gut that maybe, as a student of Kurenai and confidant of Sato, Shino was employing Genjutsu to keep master and ninken apart.

Kiba's suspicion was proven correct as soon as he patted the dog's head, releasing Akamaru from a sensory-scrambling illusion, 'Shino's crafty but he can't fight worth a damn!' He acted quickly to have his dog transform once again, and Shino slipped through hand seals for his clan's advanced Ninjutsu.

With a shudder, a quartet of huge parasitic beetles, each about 3 meters in length, emerged from the ground and were not in the least dissuaded from approaching Kiba and his look-alike. Kiba felt a very slight but persistent nibble on his chakra as the insects scuttled toward him. Even worse, he stepped back and fell right into a hidden, excavated trap the bugs had dug earlier.

"Ah, fuck me." Kiba growled and clambered to his feet, looking up at the trap door. A huge insect crawled over it as if to trap him underground. "Really original…not like Kaka-sensei hasn't stuck us in a trap hole a thousand times…" Kiba formed hand seals again and exhaled a violent fireball, and as it struck the underside of the beetle, the insect screeched and darted away from the hole. For good measure, Kiba leapt above ground and hurled the bug with his clan's Taijutsu into the stadium wall. He dusted his hands and turned back to watch Akamaru nimbly avoiding the other giant nuisances. Shino was nowhere to be seen, but Kiba still had a faint whiff of his scent.

With a short whistle, Kiba had called Akamaru back to his side, "Ready boy? Let's fry us up a snack!" The dog placed his transformed paws on Kiba's back, leaping up and over the young man as he completed hand seals, and the two engaged in a simultaneous, sweeping Fire Jutsu, "Wolf Flame Tongue!" The wave of fire scorched the giant insects and sent them skittering for the edge of the arena, two of which retreated back underground.

After completing their fiery pounce and sniffing out Shino's hiding place, they accosted the Aburame with Taijutsu that sent him hurtling— the hood of his suit slipped back. With some impressive athletics, Shino rolled over a flat stone top and bounded off of Akamaru's shoulders to avoid a pincer move, all the while summoning from a utility scroll. Kiba perked up at the sight of a weapon, "Oh? So you're serious now? What was all that talk about giving up!"

Shino's colony produced a Bug Clone that squared off courageously against the repellent-stinking ninken. Meanwhile, Shino singled out Kiba, twirling and slashing with a short polearm that cut doily designs into Kiba's new outfit.

"Hey! Knock it off!" With a roar, Kiba parried the bladed weapon away with a metal arm bracer, sparks pinging everywhere, and spun to land a mighty kick that hurled Shino to the dirt. They dove for each other again, no longer sportsman-like, hacking and pummeling one another. Shino's nagamaki cut a clean, horizontal line across his opponent's exposed stomach, the blood splattered across Shino's sleeve as they parted.

Kiba did not look at all concerned and reached for his back hip pouch, "I'll hand it to ya: you tried. But there's no point in us wasting time when we both know I need to advance!"

At the Leaf Finalist balcony, Sato was still cursing and also apologizing to Hinata for the profanities he used. "Shit!" He slammed his hands down on the rail, fuming, "Sorry Sunshine! It's just— damn Kakashi!" Sato watched with supreme displeasure as the Inuzuka used the Earth Summon: Tracking Fang Jutsu that Kakashi had passed on to Kiba, scroll spinning and hand seals completed, "My uncle is a useless, flip-flop traitor for giving Kiba that!"

What surprised Sato even more, and Hinata eeped in shock beside him, was the appearance of Kakashi's own ninken pack, all eight dogs charging up from the earth and launching themselves at Shino who had gone into full retreat. Sato cursed less but complained more that his uncle would sign his student to his Dog Summoning Contract before his family. Hinata kindly pointed out that Sato already had a Summoning Contract, and Sato quieted down when he remembered that. "Yeah…so maybe that deterred Kakashi— but still! Kiba's from the Inuzuka clan so he doesn't need dog reinforcements!"

The pack closed in on what was actually a Bug Clone, cleverly coated with stray droplets of Kiba's blood. As the dogs lunged and snapped, the clone scattered apart into thousands of insects. Pakkun, ever the wise dog, redirected his pack mates from the dupe and locked-on to another source of their tracking scent, "Bull! Bisky! All you mutts! On your left-!" The pack charged behind its leader.

Bull was nicked in the shoulder by Shino's nagamaki, but the massive dog swatted the weapon out of the ninja's hand. As the smaller, quicker dogs sunk their teeth into the back of Shino's legs and forearms, intent on immobilizing him, Kiba had initiated another jutsu. Shino had a few moments to watch Kiba with his ninken and a hastily produced Shadow Clone for a Three-Headed Wolf Transformation. The physical force of the attack would be monstrous, and Shino supposed Kakashi's dog pack was aware of that fact. They would retreat before the strike landed.

And as that moment in time surely came, when Kakashi's dogs retreated and Kiba bore down in the tremendous, earth-sundering form that was sure to win the match…Shino had been plopped down into safety into a trap hole dug by a lingering, giant insect from earlier. The ground shook as Shino exited through another hole, patiently waiting for Kiba's costly transformation to wear off in a puff of smoke.

Breathing heavily, Kiba rounded about in his slighter, human form, glaring at Shino from across the arena. In the meantime, none of Kakashi's dogs had been sprayed with protective insect repellent, and were wasting time fleeing and nipping at a cloud of Kikaichu insects. Kiba set to spring for another assault with his ninken, and then abruptly fell face-first to the dirt. Retching, he pushed himself up to his knees and looked up again with blurred vision. Off to the side, Akamaru was distracted with the same few giant insects that had burrowed up from below ground.

Shino adjusted his visor glasses on the bridge of his nose, standing serenely, "I am not the one who should be giving up this match."

Stubbornly, Kiba heaved himself to his feet, "Quit your-!"

"The bleeding has stopped." Shino spoke of the gash on Kiba's stomach, "My insects clotted your wound for you."

Kiba's mouth hung open, bewildered.

"Additionally," Shino added with his hands in his pockets, "They are infiltrating other systems of your body as we speak. Your joints will freeze. Breathing will become difficult. You can try to win, but rest assured that you will not be advancing to future rounds."

In that moment, Kiba made an election not to be overly dramatic even though it was tempting. His head was spinning, still shocked that he had not noticed his infection by Shino's insects, which he supposed were a much smaller variety than normal Kikaichu. Stooped over and grinning angrily, Kiba motioned to Shikamaru, "Hey proctor. I don't want to pass out like a wimp in this stadium, so go ahead and call the match."

Shikamaru promptly returned, giving Kiba a cursory examination, "You can't continue?"

"Nah. He did something gross to me."

Shikamaru tried not to think about it…but he thought about it. He declared Shino the winner and then beckoned the Aburame over while shutting off his shirt microphone. Giant insects retreated, Kakashi's dogs poofed home, and Akamaru rolled onto his back to scratch an itch— no longer in a fighting mood.

"Shino." Shikamaru said flatly, "You can fix him, right?"

He fiddled with his glasses again, "I can."

"Good. Walk him to the treatment room and do that." The proctor commanded.

Akamaru caught up to his master as Shino, rather pleasantly, pulled Kiba's arm over his shoulder and helped him walk off. As he had served as a chew toy for eight dogs a short time ago, Shino was trying not to limp from his injuries.

"Ow! Shit! Don't pull so hard." Kiba hissed, the cut on his stomach still smarting, "Did you seriously…infect my body with bugs that live in your body?"

"I did."

"Dude—"

"There is no cause for alarm."

"It's the principal of the thing." Kiba griped, "You're used to having stuff inside of you, I'm not."

"You have trillions of microbial fauna in your body at all times."

"Your body's organisms are inside of me." Kiba rationalized down the hallway, "It's too explicitly intimate!"

"You are suggesting this is sexual in some way." Shino pointed out his defeated adversary's discomfort, "Asinine and incorrect. Even if it were, you would physically not come to harm from a co-mingling of our bodies. Not in the way your ego sustains damage from such a notion."

"Shino. You're a weird dude."

"That is why..." He pushed Kiba through the treatment room door and towards a patient table, "Sato and I get along."

"Holy shit." Kiba realized, "That's right."

After that, Kiba calmed down considerably but could not look as Shino coaxed tiny, mite-like insects out of the wound from where they'd entered Kiba's body. It didn't hurt, Kiba conceded, but it made him feel squeamish. A uniformed medic-nin healed cuts, scrapes, and bites on the two young men before shooing them out.

'Maybe I owe this guy…a little more respect.' Kiba thought to himself, 'He's not a jerk. He's been trying to think ahead…and he didn't have to do much at all to make me eat my words.'

With that in mind, Kiba asked as the climbed the stairs back up to the second level, "Hey…Shino. Did we just completely screw up future brackets for this Tournament?"

"Are you asking because there was a definitive winner?" Shino replied, "Not necessarily. I can still surrender any match in the rounds to come. However…I doubt others will be so willing to give up for the sake of pitting logical opponents against our common enemy."

"You mean Sato won't give up now." Kiba gathered.

"Correct. He will not surrender. Not after what Tama-san went through."

Kiba ran a hand through his hair, gruffing, "Great…and we actually need Neji to advance."

"It would be prudent."

"Can Sato beat him?"

"No." Shino confirmed, "He can't."

"Then why do you still sound concerned about it?"

"Because even if Sato cannot win…" Shino elaborated, "He may not see the sense in allowing Neji to advance. He may try to impede Neji from doing so."

"Then let's hurry the hell up," Kiba pushed on Shino's back, nudging him up the stairs faster, "And talk to that idiot!"

---

And back at the balcony, they discovered Sato was not present. Kiba and Shino bee-lined for Hinata, only stopping briefly to accept congratulations from Sakura, Ino, Chouji, and Lee. Tenten and Neji were on the far side of the room, having a low-volume conversation.

"Hinata." Shino returned a hug from his teammate when she squeezed him, "Where is Sato?"

"He went to the restroom." She took a step back and gave Shino a searching look.

"That's convenient." Kiba noted, "Guess he's not coming back before his match, is he?"

"Probably not." Sakura interjected, "He's been acting awful flighty today…although it could have something to do with Tama's—"

"That's what we need to talk about." Kiba motioned with his hands to all of their companions, getting their attention, "Maybe we should have thought about this before, well, Shino did— but we need to discuss who should be fighting Huo in future rounds." He made eye contact with Tenten, indicating that she and Neji join the public forum. All gathered in timely fashion.

Hinata tried to offer a vote of confidence, "I think Shino-kun can."

"I would attempt to injure and impair him to the greatest extent possible; if I thought it were a sound idea." Shino agreed feebly, "But I would surrender, regardless of my chances."

Hinata wilted at the thought.

"Sato probably shouldn't." Sakura supposed.

"Definitely shouldn't." Tenten seconded the notion.

"Yeah, but-! Couldn't he do some serious damage? You know— drop a huge bird on that jerk?" Ino suggested.

Lee cut in, "Sato-kun could do that. Though it may serve us all to remember my team found a giant eagle in the Forest of Death completely dismembered…and we are fairly certain Huo was responsible for that."

Vexed, Ino tossed her ponytail and shrugged, "He has the Chidori! And a heart full of vengeance. Just point Sato at the guy and he'll get plenty of work in for us!"

"He might die, remember?" Tenten sniffed.

"This time Shika can step in to—"

"He can't." Neji also presented sobering facts, "Huo uses some kind of technique to reposition himself close to opponents. Shikamaru will not be fast enough to stop him."

"And someone here is going to have to put up with that." Chouji added.

Tenten cupped her chin in her palm, "Yeah. That's true. Someone has to bite the bullet. We may need those who have better defenses or stamina to fight Huo just to be safe enough to surrender and avoid that gap closer we couldn't see…"

"So…Hinata." Sakura suggested.

Lee watched as the color drained out of Neji and Tenten's faces and then waved his hand, hoping to amend the proposal, "Ah! Perhaps not! Hm. I am willing…if only to do as much as I can before forfeiting."

Hinata was looking between her friends, her cousin, and Tenten, who seemed to be whipped up in a new bout of mental turmoil.

"Lee may be a better choice." Tenten agreed reluctantly, "But…Huo definitely has jutsu and maybe other Tao Arts we haven't seen yet. No matter what it'll get ugly…"

Shino offered his idea to the group, "Team Gai is best suited to deal with this threat. Myself, Sato, Hinata, Sakura, and Chouji…our intervention is not advisable. While our participation may become necessary in Round Two or Three…our forfeiture is essential. Based on who advances after Round One, we can convene again and assign each Round Two Finalist the amount of damage they must inflict to Huo if he continues to advance. Also…"

Kiba raised an eyebrow as Shino went on.

"Any defeated Finalists waiting here…Kiba, Ino…stay alert for opportunities to interfere, should Huo pose a threat to a comrade's life again. As Shikamaru may not be able to predict when and how to intervene in critical moments that Huo will take advantage of…your vigilance could save a life." Shino nestled his hands in his pockets, concluding, "Those who are defeated and well enough to spectate: watch out for our friends."

"Sure, but…that could get our people disqualified if we step in before a time-out." Kiba noted.

"Then so be it." Shino was unruffled by the idea, "We all know, just as the Hokage does, our lives are more valuable than celebrity in this Tournament."

Neji nodded gravely in agreement, his eyes shut and arms crossed.

"So then!" Ino patted Lee and Tenten on their shoulders, "Not too much pressure on your team! We'll throw ourselves at Huo if we have to, and step in if we have to…but in the end…you have to deal with him."

"Right." Tenten warbled.

"While this plan sounds kosher and pretty dependable, someone still needs to relay it to Sato." Sakura reminded her peers, "Hinata-chan, Shino…do you mind finding him before the next match begins?"

"Of course we don't!" Hinata squeaked, tugging on Shino's suit sleeve, "Shino-kun, let's hurry." She darted off and searched with her Byakugan, her teammate quietly tagging along.

The groups filed off again as silence prevailed, Sakura patting Akamaru's head absently as she asked Kiba about what Shino had done to him in his match. Ino and Chouji muttered amongst themselves while Lee listened in to Tenten's whispering comments to him and Neji.

"This is scary. We have to make it to the Final Round. Ideally, two of us will have to lay the hurt on Huo. That should do it." Tenten admitted sheepishly, "And honestly, I don't know if I'm the right one for that job."

"Also!" Lee raised a finger, "Neji must advance past this match. We will need his strength."

Tenten clapped Neji on the back, "Seriously. We need you, Neji."

"I know." He grumbled, arms still crossed, "But if Sato does not listen to reason as Hinata-sama explains a widely-accepted scheme to defeat Huo…he will hamper my efforts."

Tenten thought on it for a long moment, "Well…I could always ask Ino to poison him before the match so he craps himself and gives up."

Silence.

"That is certainly an alternative." Lee yielded.

"If I were in his place…" Neji imagined, speaking to Tenten, "And it was you who were fatally injured by the brute terrorizing this Exam…I would not surrender to anyone. I would demand cooperation and be certain I had the opportunity to avenge you."

"How very sweet of you." Tenten praised him, "But that won't fly here and you know it."

"Sato will make things difficult." Neji insisted.

"Hinata-chan and Shino-kun have a good chance to persuade him!" Lee disagreed.

Neji shook his head. Lee and Tenten sighed in unison.

Ten seconds later, Shikamaru announced the Fifth Match. Then Neji sighed. The group was very skeptical that Hinata would find her teammate in time to transmit the plan to him. Those gathered wished Neji the best, and Lee gave his good friend a confident nod and smile. The Hyuga heir moved to the stairs and Tenten trotted ahead of him, saying that she was going to get something to drink at a concession stand. She seemed a jittery, muttering mess, pointedly not looking back at him as they descended the stairs.

At the concourse, before she could turn a corner into a public area to drink and eat her troubles away, Neji gently reeled her in by her crusty sleeve and pulled her close.

"I'll get you dirty." She warned him.

"That doesn't matter." He asserted, "I have some requests."

Tenten felt his chin resting on her shoulder; could feel him breathing more harshly, nervously as he held her from behind.

"Requests. Plural." She noticed, "Of me?"

"Of you."

Her skin tingled. Tenten asked, "What can I do for you, Neji?"

"Leave it to me and Lee. Do not fight Huo if you have the option to forfeit. I am personally asking you not to fight him." Neji bent his head a bit, his mouth ghosting just behind her ear, "If you have to…do not use that sword. Promise you won't."

"I promise I won't." It was easy giving him that one.

"Openly discuss future rounds with the others. Be prepared to account for changes and unforeseen circumstances."

"Sure! Hey Neji— you're making it sound like you don't think you'll be back up here in twenty minutes or less." Tenten pointed out.

"I'm not sure of that at all." Neji confirmed.

She swiveled around to face him, frowning, "Well I think you should be."

He shook his head, "I don't take anything for granted anymore. It was my great mistake at the last Exam…and I've been fortunate enough to have friends with patience and persistence guide a hopeless fool like me." Neji gave her a curious look as Tenten began to squeeze his upper arms, fidgety and listening to him intently, "I will do what I can. For all of you."

Tenten scrunched her eyes shut, willing liquid back into tear ducts and drying up the silly emotional response. Dry-eyed, she moved her hands and patted her thumbs at the corners of his mouth anxiously, and asked, "Do you think any of us will get promoted?"

"I believe we all will." He answered honestly.

She released a rumbling sigh, "Ah…then that's good. Now we need to try not to die or play into Huo's games."

Neji nodded, very aware of her fingers playing over his lips. A breath of a kiss passed over them to reassure her.

Tenten held his gaze, her frown softening, "Okay. I'll do everything you requested, and maybe do you a few better. I can be quite clever."

"I know." He conceded, amused.

"Full disclosure…" She gave him a preamble to a confession, "If only to give you something to think about while you're out there…"

Neji looked at her expectantly.

"I am into you. Extremely, distractedly into you. You've pulled it together. Neji, at some points in the past you disappointed the hell out of me…and there were days I scratched my head and asked myself, What am I thinking? Him? Really? Want to know what I'm thinking now?" The kiss she planted on him was swift so she could continue explaining, "You've turned out better than what I ever dared to hope for. You're the greatest." She could feel him smiling, "This outfit looks amazing on you. You'll probably ruin it, but I'll always remember. Huh. When I think of all that you can do and of what you will do for others…if you mix pride and euphoria, I guess that comes close to what I feel." Tenten had to stop talking because he was kissing her.

"I don't deserve that kind of praise." He said softly, his face hovering close.

"It's not really praise. It's just stream-of-consciousness. Genuine Tenten-thoughts." She termed it for him. Her brain was recording how Neji was smiling and she was smiling too, right back at him and no one was ever going to see it.

"There is no comparison— nothing brings me joy the way you do-" The start of Neji's heartfelt return fire was cut off when Tenten shushed him, pointing towards the archway of the concourse.

"Shikamaru will disqualify you if you don't get out there in the next few seconds." Tenten snapped him out of it, "Believe me, I do want to hear you say mushy shit to me. Hold on to it and let it percolate, then tell me later, alright?"

"Alright."

With a parting kiss, Tenten shoved him off and down the corridor. He looked back at her over his shoulder in a way that was wholly unlike Neji's former asshole persona of old.

She winked at him and then darted off for the concession area, feeling rather proud of herself, 'Hopefully that got him in the right head space! We can beat Huo. Fuck that guy.' Tenten stopped in a horseshoe of snack stands, 'Great, where do I have to go to get mango bubble tea? I need to hurry or I'll miss something in Neji's match!' She dispatched two Shadow Clones to assist in her search, noticing her reflection in a shined kitchen appliance panel, 'Whoa! I'm blushing like an idiot. I meant to tell him that stuff later, but I just went and blurted it all out. Smooth. Good thing he ate it all up! …God I need to get laid. As soon as possible.'

---

"Lee's grandfather?" Kurenai was listening to Kakashi and Gai recount an anecdote of what transpired after Tama's match.

"Yeah, his Nihongo isn't very good. The kids translated." Kakashi confirmed, his eye alternating between Icha Icha Paradise and the vacant arena below the stands.

"So what'd the old fella say?" Asuma pressed, "Something helpful, hopefully." He had an unlit cigarette resting on his lip. They were seated in a non-smoking section of the stadium.

"He elaborated that Tao Arts can only be neutralized by other Tao Arts. Our students should seek to exhaust and overwhelm Huo with brute strength, if they intend to defeat him." Gai filled his fellow Jounin in, "But Wong Leung advised against them jeopardizing themselves to fight an opponent who lacks honor and respect for rules."

"Well put." Kurenai concurred with the idea, "There is no need to fight Huo at all. He seeks to goad our pupils into believing they must."

"They've been goaded." Kakashi noted, "A few have, at least."

"How would it look if a barbarian from Iwagakure won this Tournament? Purely for the sake of shaming Konoha?" Asuma referenced the past war and lingering bitter feelings, "Administration is going to hate it if our Finalists don't stop him."

"Then let them hate it." Kakashi voted.

"Those tensions should remain in the past. To put our students in danger, merely to subdue a historical enemy…" Kurenai crossed her legs and tipped her nose up, "It is beyond childish."

"Childish sums up Administration to a T." Asuma observed.

Kakashi noticed that Gai was staring down into the arena as Sato appeared from an odd entryway, and shortly thereafter, Neji also exited from the typical access point. While Gai could certainly relate with Sato's anguish over Tama's injury, he was by far more invested in Neji's success. Similarly, Kakashi felt no urgency to cheer on Sato in this bout, and was still hoping his nephew would quit and duck out early to be where he was needed most.

Kurenai seemed quite sedate, yet she had not let on to any of her Jounin Sensei companions if she expected Sato to proceed seriously or not. She kept her expectations under wraps.

They watched as the two opponents crossed the trampled dirt of the stadium to convene at the center. Sato was a silent, glowering figure in white, contrasted by red triangles adorning a tunic that Kakashi knew very well had once been worn by Konoha's White Fang. It did tweak a nostalgic feeling in him. Neji seemed a true reciprocal to the mon of the Hatake: tall and also in white, trimmed in blues and blacks both tranquil and intimidating, the sigil of the Hyuga clan clear for all to see.

'If these two saw things the way that Gai and I do…' Kakashi thought to himself, stowing his book away, 'They would realize they are already equals. They would know that their mentors and village leader would prefer watching them resign in peace than demonstrate their fighting prowess.' He watched as Shikamaru came to a stop between the competitors, 'What a shame. Neji and Sato never got along, and I don't expect that to change now.'

Kakashi could only hear a bit of Shikamaru's voice over the loudspeakers as the audience began to trill in excitement. With that, the proctor began the match and vacated the area. Kakashi, much like his friends seated beside him, who all wished the best for their students, was very surprised as Sato drew a single chakra sabre and pointed it at his adversary.

And Neji stood there and did not move a muscle.

---

Note: Hang tight reader, I will post Part Two for you shortly. More Tournament shenanigans to follow! Tell me what you think in the comment box below, or feel free to press on and evaluate after the double update. Your thoughts are always appreciated!

With gratitude, tigerowl

Chapter 36- Part Two: The Gambit

Match Tracks:

Sakura Vs. Ino- "Battle Frenzy Dance" by sakuzyo

Aota Vs. Tenten- "Hey Boy Hey Girl" by The Chemical Brothers

Tama Vs. Huo- "Squats" by Bombs Away, Oh Snap! & "Panic" by Dirt Cheap, Krunk

Shino Vs. Kiba- "A-Un" by Atomic