Author's note: This chapter will tell us about how the fight between Shikaien and Aoi ended and give us info about the next match. I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.

Chapter 44: No More Mr. Nice Guy

Inside the stadium, the Village Hidden in the Leaves

So far, Shikaien had managed to hold his head up high amidst this match against the genin from the Mist Village: Aoi Terumi. The dark blonde-haired boy expected his opponent to be smart, but he never would've imagine that he would only be outsmarted as well. Fortunately, Aoi was outsmarted by Shikaien in return. Having just managed to escape from a frozen defeat, Shikaien was now ready to engage in combat with his opponent once again.

Aoi readied his stance and fixed a slight smirk with his own mouth. "Get ready cause here I come!" he exclaimed and ran straight towards his opponent. He then drew a kunai from his right sleeve and then held it tightly in his hand.

Shikaien could see that his opponent was intending on slashing him, so as Aoi swung his kunai, the dark blonde-haired boy dodged it jumping backwards and landing on his feet. But Aoi was not finished, as he continued to swing at him, forcing Shikaien to dodge his attacks.

"Come on, quit playing around and fight back!" Aoi taunted him while swinging his kunai.

But all of a sudden, Shikaien jumped backwards, but his left sandal managed to hit Aoi's chin, thus sending him flying as well. Shikaien surprisingly landed on his hands and smirked at his lying opponent while standing upside down. "Heh, hope you didn't lose any teeth by that…" the punkish boy could suddenly feel that he was losing his balance and he fell on his back. "Ouch…...at least it wasn't my stomach this time" he slowly winced in pain.

Aoi had quickly gotten back on his feet and he chuckled smugly by seeing Shikaien's balancing failure. "Heh, maybe you're out of shape to balance properly" he remarked and then held kunai between his fingers. "Allow me to help you with that" he said and then threw all four kunai at the same time.

"Damn! He sure throws them fast!" Shikaien noted with caution and began rolling over, hoping to avoid them at all costs. Unfortunately, he was not fast enough to avoid all of them and Shikaien could feel a pain inside his left arm. Shouting in agony, he saw that one of Aoi's kunai were stuck inside his left arm, almost like a needle. His arm was bleeding and the young boy knew he needed to get rid of it. Gritting his teeth, he slowly and steady pulled out the kunai. "ARGH….FUCK IT!" he thought while feeling the agony.

Aoi only stretched his neck, musing over his actions. "Heh, looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed" he joked while forcing out a laughter. The azure-eyed boy then pointed a finger towards his opponent. "I mean, look at you, you have way more bruises and cuts than I have. Oh wait, I don't have any cuts!" he said, once again laughing out loud to Shikaien's irritation.

"SHUT UP, YOU ARROGANT ASSWIPE!" Shikaien yelled out in irritation, having just pulled out the kunai in his left arm. The dark blonde-haired boy then threw away the kunai, until it hit the ground. He also began reaching for the bandages before his sandals and then began treating his wounds, especially the one on his left arm. The punkish boy faced his opponent with anger. "You know, before this match even started, I always thought that you and I were much alike. But apparently, I was wrong" he said before slowly wincing as he treated his wounds.

The brown-haired boy only raised an eyebrow in return. "You and me the same?" Aoi asked and threw up his hands in the air. "Get real! As if I would be similar to a lazy-ass punk like you" he said in disbelief.

Surprisingly, Shikaien forced a cocky grin with his mouth. "Heh, you're right. We are not. Hell, that may be only thing we can agree on together" he said.

Chouta had been watching closely with her sensei, and so far, they had been hoping that Shikaien would now know what to do next. They had been amazed by how he had been able to use typhoon to blow away the thick mist.

"Shikaien look like he's geared up. He's even treating his injuries!" the chubby girl noted to her sensei, who nodded his head in return.

Ayumu fixed his red eyes upon the battleground while puffing out some smoke from his cigarette. "Heh, cocky as you are, you always know when to act wisely, Shikaien. I'm also impressed that you are treating your injuries as well" the black-haired man added and then began looking around the place he and Chouta were standing on. "Hmm, I don't see Inojin anywhere. But I am confident that he's watching this match" he added to his thoughts.

Shikamaru was having similar thoughts as Ayumu while facing his son in combat. "Shikaien, stay strong" the man with the ponytail said while facing the battleground.

Shikaien surprisingly held four kunai between his fingers. He even forced a smirk while facing Aoi, who remained in his fighting stance. "Let's resume our battle. I'm not done yet" he said.

Aoi was mostly unfazed. "Whatever you say, loser. Here I come!" he exclaimed and began charging at Shikaien in a fast speed.

Shikaien knew that the time was right, so he did a few hand seals quickly after throwing his kunai in the air for a minute before catching them between his fingers. "Wind Style: Art of the Gust Blade!" he exclaimed and then swung his hands with the kunai between his fingers, thus forming a cat-like bow shapes that were heading towards Aoi.

The young ninja from the Mist Village was caught by the slashing, however, it was apparent to Shikaien that this was not the real Aoi as the real one appeared behind the fake one soon after. The fake one disintegrated into water.

"Another water clone!?" Shikaien exclaimed inside his head, but returned to his smug attitude. Surprisingly, he ran towards Aoi. "Doesn't matter! I'm still gonna slice him to shreds!" he added to his thoughts, his face beaming with confidence.

Aoi was about to perform a jutsu, only for Shikaien to attack him faster by using his slicing winds. The azure-eyed boy covered his face with his arms, thus resulting in them taking the cut. However, it was more than just his arm, as his legs also received cuts by Shikaien's attacks.

"Damn it! His attacks are impressive!" Aoi noted while gritting his teeth. But while having his face covered, Aoi could feel someone poking him in the back. He knew that it was Shikaien and he was trying to attack him from behind. "You're not fooling me, you little…..." Aoi was stunned to see that instead of seeing Shikaien, he only saw a log, indicating that it was only a substitution. "A substitution! But that means….." the young boy was stunned as he felt his entire body becoming numb and paralyzed.

The entire audience was stunned as Aoi had been caught in Shikaien's Shadow Possession Jutsu. The punkish boy smirked with pride over seeing his opponent finally becoming his captive. "Heh, I finally caught a fish!" Shikaien noted smugly as he could see his opponent not being able to move.

However, Aoi did manage to turn his head and look over his shoulder to see that his own shadow had been captured by Shikaien's. It made him feel frustrated. "You sneaky bastard! You tricked me!" Aoi cursed underneath his breath.

Shikaien mused to himself over the fact. "Damn straight! While you were covering your face with your arms, I took this opportunity to distract you from me, by using a shadow clone and a substitution" Shikaien explained as Aoi listened. "I had the shadow clone poke at you from behind, so that you would immediately suspect a sneak attack, therefore taking off your gaze at me. The moment you had your back turned on me, I immediately used the Shadow Possession Jutsu. Am I a genius or what?" he asked while feeling proud over telling this to his opponent.

Aoi gritted his teeth in frustration. "Arrogant punk! Wait till I get my hands on you!" he said, really wanting to beat Shikaien.

"I think not, buddy. Because as you can see, today's a sunny day, rendering it impossible for my jutsu to be interrupted" Shikaien told him. "I'm not letting you go until you submit defeat, got it?" the punkish boy told him while stating his terms.

To make this even more fun, Shikaien had Aoi turn around so that the azure-eyed boy was facing him. He even began raising up his hands in the air, thus making Aoi do the exact same thing.

"What the hell are you doing to my body!?" Aoi angrily demanded while his hands were stuck in the air.

Shikaien only chuckled cockily. "What does it look like? I am performing a shadow puppetry with you as my doll. And you are a silly boy who's raising up his arms in the air like an idiot!" he told him and continued his mocking of Aoi in front of the audience.

Kaito facepalmed when seeing his student being forced to do such idiotic things. All across the tribunals, the spectators laughed out loud, finding this match to be quite entertaining. "Come on, Aoi. I expected you to be better than that" he noted lowly, as laughter surrounded him.

But Kaito was not the only one, as even Shikaien's dad was feeling kind of unimpressed by seeing how ridiculous his son was using the Shadow Possession Jutsu. "Really, Shikaien? Monkeying around the battleground seems very lame to me" Shikamaru noted

Aoi could not take this humiliation any longer, so he gathered up chakra within his stomach. "I'm getting tired of this load of crap! Time to teach that punk a lesson in humility!" Aoi declared in his thoughts and all of a sudden, his cheeks bloated, much to the surprise of his opponent. A smirk was formed between Aoi's lips. "Heh, suck on this!" he declared and opened his mouth, sprouting a large quantity of water from his mouth, as it formed into a torrent. The water torrent headed towards Shikaien in fast speed, and the dark blonde-haired boy was slow to react.

"WHAT THE…ARRRRGHHHHH!" Shikaien was shot by the water torrent and sent flying towards the wall. The water torrent was pushing against his stomach and Shikaien could feel blood coming out from his mouth. Eventually, the water stopped and Shikaien found himself sitting against the wall. The punkish boy opened his eyes while slightly wincing in pain. "Shit…...now my back's on the verge of breaking….WAIT THE SHADOW POSSESSION JUTSU IS…." Shikaien stopped as he realized that Aoi's surprise attack had dispelled his technique, as his opponent was now standing a few centimeters from him.

"I have to admit that you managed to trick me pretty well, Shikaien Nara. For that I commend you" Aoi spoke while taking a few steps towards his opponent, eventually stopping by a small pond that lied nearby. "However, I think it is time for us to set aside these mind tricks and games. It is also time for us to take this match seriously" the young brown-haired boy added.

Shikaien quickly got up on his feet and faced his opponent, readying his fighting stance. "So you're able to shoot water from your mouth without resorting to hand seals?" he questioned him while wiping off the blood across his lips. He then fixed a cocky grin. "Man, you really do intrigue me sometimes" the punkish boy admitted.

Aoi fixed a smug look in return. "I only had to gather up chakra within my stomach in order for me to shoot water from my mouth" Aoi told him before doing a few hand seals. "But now, I will require the assistance of this little pond here to give me some help against you and this will be fun!" he said in amusement.

The young boy with the ponytail knew that he needed to make a move, so he quickly ran straight towards him. "I WON'T LET YOU!" he shouted in defiance.

"Heh, too late!" Aoi grinned while completing the hand seals. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" he exclaimed and all of a sudden, a giant serpentine dragon of water erupted from the little pond and rose up in the air. It then proceeded to head straight towards Shikaien.

"WHAT!? HE'S ALSO CAPABLE OF PERFORMING THAT JUTSU!?" Shikaien wondered in his head, as he was almost nearing his opponent, only for the water dragon to engulf him entirely. It flied up in a loop before slamming down towards the middle of the battleground.

"Shikaien!" Chouta exclaimed with concern over seeing her teammate being taken by Aoi's attack.

Even Ayumu was fearing for his student. "Crap! So even Aoi is capable of performing a water dragon?!" he noted in his thought as the water dragon was almost at the ground.

"Damn it, Shikaien!" Temari could be heard saying from her seat as she had her eyes tightly shut. The dark blonde-haired woman did not want to show everyone that she had tears falling down from her eyes. "Please…...don't you dare die on us!" she added her concerns, not wanting Shikaien to be that stubborn.

Kaito mused to himself from his seat. "Good work, Aoi. I also sense that you somehow withheld from releasing your full power, which is understandable, as it takes away a lot of chakra" the man with bandages noted before looking up to where the Mizukage was sitting. "Having been your nephew's teacher, I have no reason to doubt in his abilities as a shinobi" he then added to his thoughts.

The whole audience gasped, as the water dragon fell into the ground, thus overflowing the entire battleground with water. As the water dragon was gone, everyone could see Shikaien lying in the middle, both soaking wet and terribly wounded. The dark blonde-haired boy spat out some water, and eventually rolled over to lie on his stomach.

"My body….it won't move…it's so heavy" Shikaien noted in his thoughts while trying to raise up, only for his body to be pressured. He lost balance and fell onto his stomach. He could hear steps coming towards him, and he briefly lifted up his head to see Aoi approach him smugly. "Crap…I'm at my limit here!" he cursed lowly while gritting his teeth in frustration.

"Just face it, you suck" Aoi told him while crossing his arms in disappointment. "I mean, just look at yourself. You barley managed to survive my water dragon. That enormous amount of water has pressured your body indeed. You may as well forfeit the match and accept defeat" the azure-eyed boy suggested to him, while readying his fighting stance.

As he saw his opponent standing ready to fight, Shikaien could only reflect if this was really the end of him. He had come very far in the Chuunin Exams, but now he was up against an opponent he had never been up against. In fact, Shikaien could take brief glances at his mother and father, as he began musing over the fact that he was their son.

In fact, both Shikamaru and Temari could see that their son was eyeing each of them and it actually made them both smile. They realized that Shikaien, was the greatest gift to them as a married couple while recalling all the good and bad times they had together.

"So I guess this is what I am, huh? I am the son of Shikamaru Nara and his lovely but strict wife. Temari of the Sand Village" Shikaien thought, finding this fact to be quite hilarious. But despite the fact that he always considered them to be nuisances and sometimes annoying, Shikaien admitted that his parents meant something to him, as he meant something to them. As his sweat dripped along with the water, the punkish boy could only think about what kind of great parents he actually had. "I always was that rebellious…even when I learned to walk" Shikaien admitted as his thoughts drifted into the past.

Flashback, in the streets of Konoha

Young Shikaien Nara was currently standing alongside his father, as they stood before an old, cantankerous man, who was actually a potter. You see, Shikaien had been playing with a slingshot he recently got as a birthday present, and he had used the pots that were standing outside the shop for target practice. Unfortunately, he had managed to destroy the largest pot that was showed, by making a tiny hole, which eventually disintegrated it completely.

"Have you any idea how long it took for me to make this pot, Mr. Nara!?" the old man angrily asked Shikamaru before facing his son. "That little squirt you call a son, has no respect for others' property! He's a brat!" he lashed at him, although Shikaien was only facing the ground while having his hands in his pockets.

Shikamaru only rolled his eyes in return. "Look, I get it that it sucks getting your property destroyed, but it's just a pot" he pointed out.

But the old potter snapped in anger at the brown-haired man. "Just a pot!? That's how I make a living! I've got customers who has ordered me to make those pots, so I can't have them destroyed or I will lose them!" he spat out words towards Shikamaru. He was not finished with spitting out his words angrily. "Now unless you have enough balls to discipline that little pisspot of yours, I am more than willing to talk some senses into you so that you can learn how to be a better…." he went on, until he was interrupted, but not by Shikamaru.

"Hey old man, leave my dad alone!" the potter focused his attention on Shikaien, who was finally facing him, albeit with defiance. "You're just jealous that all you can do is making stupid pots. My dad has way more talents than that! So I say it out loud: your pots look stupid!" he told the old man, who was fuming with anger.

Shikamaru only gasped at what his son had been saying. "Shikaien…what the hell…..." he wondered in his thoughts while sweating.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT, I'LL…EYOUCH!" the old potter screamed in pain, as Shikaien had shot at his lips by using the slingshot. This made the old man fall onto the ground, wincing in pain.

Shikaien grinned mischievously by seeing this. "Heh, serves you right, fatty!" he said, only to be grabbed by his father and carried away. Shikamaru was running as fast as he could, away from the angry potter, who had failed to take notice of them running away.

Eventually, the father and son landed in an alley near their home, where Shikamaru took his time to catch his breath. Meanwhile, Shikaien fell onto the ground, laughing his butt off.

"Did you see the look on his face, dad!? I mean, that fat turd didn't even notice that I still had the slingshot in my pocket! He was too slow that I could almost have shot two times at him! Wasn't that a genius trick or….OUCH!" Shikaien was interrupted by feeling his father's fist slam on his head. The young boy rubbed his sore head while facing him. "What was that for, dad!?" he asked while wincing in pain.

Shikamaru went down to his level and held his son by his tiny shoulders. "You little idiot! Remember what me and your mom told you when you were given this slingshot!?" he angrily asked his son face to face, yet Shikaien did not seem to care. Shikamaru sighed in annoyance. "We agreed on letting you have it, as long as you would not shoot on people! You were only supposed to be using it on objects!" the man with goatee remined his son, who continued to act stubbornly.

"Yeah, and I did! I fired a shot on a stinking pot and nobody got hurt!" Shikaien said with defiance.

Shikamaru was getting tired of this and let go of his son. "This is such a drag. We meant objects like empty cans or something, not other's people's property" he told Shikaien, only to see that his son was facing the ground as if he did not listen.

"This is so boring. I'm going home!" Shikaien decided and he was about to walk away, only to see someone blocking his way, but it was not his father.

Standing before him with arms crossed was Temari, his mother and Shikamaru's wife. She was fixing a serious and angered glance upon her son, who was beginning to feel uneasy.

Shikamaru only smiled by seeing his wife and approached her with a kiss on her right cheek. "Hey there, babe! I was wondering where you were at" he said to Temari.

"I've been here for quite some time, Shikamaru. And I could not help but to overhear that our sweet boy here has fired his slingshot on the old potter!" she said sternly and faced the young boy. She grabbed him and held Shikaien against the wall, her angered glance facing his scared glance. "You ignorant brat! Do you have any idea what you've done!? That potter has made pots to us, pots that we could afford, yet he did that out of kindness!" Temari pointed out to him.

Shikamaru gulped while trying to calm her down with a so-called halfhearted attempt. "Easy there, Temari. Shikaien's just a kid, he doesn't know any better" he insisted to her, but Temari only faced her husband with a serious glance.

"Quit enabling him, Shikamaru. You know very well that such behavior is unacceptable, even for a young boy like Shikaien" she reminded him before facing her son, this time, fixing a more concerned glance, like that of a mother. "Shikaien, you may find entertainment in this, but sometimes, you have to face the fact that not everything around you are not an illusion. Be more compassionate to those around you, even if they can be a nuisance to you sometimes" Temari told her son.

Shikaien was eventually put back to the ground, yet he could not help but to think about what his mother had just told him. Facing up to his parents, he forced a cocky smile at them. "You may not like for who I am, but to me, that doesn't really matter!" he said to them smugly. Both Shikamaru and Temari were even more stunned when they could see their young boy flip his middle finger at them. "You may be my parents, but I decide on what is right or wrong. So quit being a giant pain in my butt, got it!?" he declared in defiance.

But the young boy snapped, as he could see his mother becoming incredibly angry over seeing his son act so disrespectful, while his father merely shrugged his shoulders, pretending he was not listening.

"Shikaien….." Temari said lowly while pulling forth her giant fan. "YOU'RE GROUNDED FOR A WEEK!" she shouted angrily as she swung her fan, creating strong winds in the process. This caused Shikaien to be taken by the wind, as he was shouting hysterically while flying in the air above the alleyway.

Back to the present

"Heh…...it's all becoming apparent now" Shikaien noted smugly as he slowly tried getting up on his feet. His opponent was taken by surprise, as he had expected Shikio to be completely immobile. "If I could laugh at the face of danger and tell it to back off…..then it is obvious that I can to the same thing….." Shikaien thought as he finally stood on his feet, still panting deeply, considering that he had managed to survive the water dragon. "To the face of defeat!" he finally concluded his sentence, facing his opponent, who was somewhat impressed by seeing this.

Aoi could not believe his own eyes. "So you're still able to move, even after being taken by my water dragon?" he quizzed before forming a smug look. "Now you're really starting to interest me for real, Shikaien Nara. You're not as frail as you look" he added to his assessment.

Shikaien was getting tired of hearing all this, so he reached down for his sandals and took them off, much to Aoi's own confusion. "I don't know what you think, but I'm sick and tired of hearing you yapping like you're some kind of a know-it-all. I know that you're the nephew of the Fifth Mizukage and that you're proud of it, In fact, I'm the nephew of the Fifth Kazekage and I am happy be that. But that doesn't mean that I'm gonna keep acting all high and mighty about it!" the punkish boy said as he was now standing barefooted while having both his hands in the sandals. He clapped them together while readying himself for combat. "Let's do this, asshole!" he taunted and challenged Aoi.

Aoi was left dumbfounded. "He's not joking now, is he?" he wondered in his head while seeing how ridiculous Shikaien was behaving right now. Nevertheless, he readied his fighting stance. "Whatever you say, clown. Just don't expect me to hold back. I've no qualms about sending you to the hospital" the brown-haired boy told Shikaien, who surprisingly smirked in return.

"Bring it on!" he taunted him.

Aoi happily obliged and ran straight towards his opponent and was about to perform a jutsu. "I'll best be careful not to waste my entire Chakra" he noted but suddenly saw Shikaien inhale deeply. "What the hell is he doing?" he wondered and stopped.

Shikaien faced his opponent smugly. "Wind Style: Vaccum Blast!" he thought and all of a sudden, blades of wind were blasted throughout the battlefield, and Aoi narrowly dodged them. However, the blades were everywher.

"Shit…...that boy's really got some moves" he said wile noticing that there were openings between the blades of wind. This got him an idea and he performed a few hand seals. "If I can land a scratch on him then that will definitely cease his attack" he noted and was finished with the hand seals. "Water Style: Water Shuriken!" Aoi exclaimed and he fired shuriken made of water through the open spaces, something which left Shikio vulnerable.

But the azure-eyed boy was in for a surprise, as Shikaien's sandals suddenly busted and blades of winds was made from his hands. The dark blonde-haired boy used them to cut the water shuriken. He closed his mouth and began waving his hands to keep the blades of wind working.

"Wind Style: Vaccum Slasher!" Shikaien declared as he began moving slowly towards his opponent. "These winds from my hands are almost like swords. However, they can inflect cuts on you like real ones can" Shikaien said as he slowly began taking faster steps.

Aoi remained on guard by seeing this. "Of course, now I see why he was covering his hands with the sandals" he noted and suddenly came up to a fast conclusion on what to do now. He then began performing some hand seals. "This better finish him off. I just know it!" he said and finished his hand seals, inhaling chakra within his stomach once more. "Lava Style: Melting Jutsu!" Aoi exclaimed and fired liquid acid out from his mouth.

As it neared Shikaien, the young boy only smirked and proceeded to run straight ahead towards the liquid acid barefooted. He was serious about going head to head with Aoi. "Heh, I knew that he would use it again. But lucky for me, I have a good plan in avoiding it" he thought and before the liquid could actually touch him, the young boy dived onto the ground and slided on it, with the help of his feet, that began shooting out gusts of air. This made him approach Aoi faster and the azure-eyed boy was completely taken by surprise.

"What the…HE'S USING THE WET DIRT…AND WIND GUSTS FROM HIS FEET….TO SLIDE TOWARDS ME!" Aoi thought in frustration and anger.

Shikaien only smirked and he swung his right hand and the blade of wind he carried with. As he had swung, the young boy was now standing behind Aoi, the blade of wind raised in the air. All was quiet and many spectators wondered if Shikaien's attack had even landed at Aoi at all. But it did hit, as Aoi suddenly felt a large cut across his body, yet it was not powerful enough to kill him.

Suddenly, Shikaien could hear Aoi chuckle in amusement and he even had blood running from his mouth. "Heh…..man…..I have never felt so…happy in a duel before…..thanks a lot, Shikaien Nara…..until we meet again" those were the words that came out from the azure-eyed boy's mouth, before he fell into the ground unconsciously.

Shikaien fell onto his knees and looked at Aoi's lying body, eventually forcing a smile between his panting. "Thanks for the fight…..Aoi Terumi" he said lowly in return and noticed Lee examining Aoi's body.

"AOI IS IN NO CONDITION TO CONTINUE FIGHTING. THE WINNER BY KNOCKOUT IS…..SHIKAIEN NARA!" Lee declared and once again, loud cheers could be heard around the battleground.

Shikaien chuckled lightly by getting this feeling, until he coughed out blood from his mouth. "Man….I must admit that I enjoyed this match…..even thought it was challenging" he admitted with a smile of his face.

Temari could not help but to wipe off a tear from her eye as she saw his son emerging the victor. "Shikaien…...I think I have changed my mind about grounding you. No, you deserve better than that" she remarked with happiness.

Shikamaru was having similar thoughts, although he was sighing in relief. "Thank God. I almost thought that I was gonna lose my only son to the lava. Damn it, Shikaien! I told you not to use risky tactics again!" he exclaimed, but he eventually formed a smug smile, as he understood the picture. "But even so, you still won the match. I'm proud of you boy" he admitted in his thoughts.

Naruto and Sai could see how proud Shikamaru was feeling over this and they eventually stood at his side. "Hey, congratulations with your son's win, Shikamaru" Naruto told the man with the ponytail.

"He really surprised us during the entire match" Sai admitted while complimenting Shikaien.

Shikamaru only smiled smugly and thanked them by giving them a nod. He then began facing where Temari sat, and she felt the same way. "We really are lucky to have a son such as him, Temari. Maybe we better celebrate later" he mused inside his head.

Gaara was smiling over seeing his nephew win. "You did well, Shikaien. I am impressed" the Kazekage noted in his thought.

"Congratulations with your nephew's win, Kazekage" the red-haired man was interrupted by Mei, as she faced him with a similar smile to his. "I can only imagine that both our nephews enjoyed this match" she added.

Gaara chuckled lightly in return. "I am sure they did, Mizukage. Your nephew interested me as well. It is not every day that you get the opportunity to witness young shinobis showing us their true potential" he said to her in return.

Kankuro stood beside him and only smiled with satisfaction over hearing his younger brother's words. "I gotta agree with you on that one, Gaara" he noted, but suddenly recalled on what he had seen during this match. "But I still can't help but to find Shikaien throwing up hilarious!" he admitted while trying to hold back his laughter.

"WAY TO GO, SHIKAIEN!" Chouta cheered loudly for her teammate, as Ayumu only patted on her shoulder.

"Easy there, Chouta. You have a right to be happy about Shikaien winning, but please don't overreact so much" the red-haired man kindly advised her, and Chouta only nodded her head as a yes. Ayumu then faced the battleground and his student. "Solid work out there, Shikaien. You really do have potential despite being so stubborn and punkish at times" he admitted to himself.

"Shikaien really did great out there" both Ayumu and Chouta turned around to see Inojin standing there with his arms in his pockets. The raven-haired boy with the ponytail was smiling at them both, and eventually joined them in watching Shikaien. "I've never doubted Shikaien's talents. Sure, he can be lazy, but he really demonstrated his true skills before us today" Inojin commented.

Both Ayumu and Chouta smiled by seeing the young boy standing there. "You were also watching Shikaien's fight. We're glad you did" Chouta told him. "I may plan on visiting him afterwards once his parents have done it, you wanna tag along?" she then asked her teammate.

"I would love to do that, but unfortunately, my match is up next" Inojin answered.

Chouta's eyes widened in surprise. "That's right! You're up against that four-eyed girl called Kotone Hozuki" the chubby girl told him, making Inojin nod in return. But Chouta was already thinking about something else. "But if Inojin were to win against Kotone…..than that means…Shunsuke" she was now reminded about how Inojin was actually fighting two matches now and it made her worried.

"I take it you wanna have a few moments with us before the next match. That's probably the reason why you came here" Ayumu suggested to him. He then began touching Inojin's left shoulder, and leaned down to his level. "I know that besides from me, you have also been trained by your father…whatever you learned from him…use it as an instrument in winning the match…not killing your opponent. Young children such as you don't deserve to be exposed to the adulthood's sadness" the black-haired man went on, being sincerer in his advice to Inojin.

The young Uchiha was only stunned on hearing those words, but soon fixed a slight smile, which surprised both Ayumu and Chouta. "I may be an Uchiha, but I am still just me. What he did in the past…...has no effect on me. My mother helped me realize that" Inojin told him in return.

Seeing this, both Ayumu and Chouta felt like they could say farewell to the Inojin they had witnessed in the woods of the Land of Fire months ago. Chouta could also see that Inojin was no longer acting like an arrogant brat. He now seemed more compassionate.

Medics were brought out to pick up both Shikaien and Aoi, even though Shikaien had no serious injuries and was complete conscious. Kaito was watching his student being taken away, and he closed his eyes to reflect on seeing his student lose.

"As much as I had hoped for you to win, I alone do not have the power to change the results. Aoi gave everything he had" the bandaged man noted in his thoughts, before musing over the match. "But then again, you never cease to amaze me, Aoi. You managed to reach to the finals of the Chuunin Exams. As such, you are someone who should not be written off easily" he added, and began opening his eyes. "Speaking of which, the next match will be between Kotone and one of the Uchiha-twins….and the strongest of them both" he then noted as he watched the giant screen.

So far, Kotone and Jurou had only been standing by themselves to watch the matches from a corner. The moment Kotone, took her glance at the giant screen, she snapped, much to Jurou's confusion.

"Oh God…the next match is….me against Inojin" the redhead noted while feeling concerned. However, her cheeks started reddening as she thought about the raven-haired boy. "But that's actually something to look forward to. I want to see how he does in action!" she noted while adjusting her glasses.

Her teammate only sighed in annoyance by hearing her words. "Don't be so ignorant about your opponent, Kotone. Inojin Uchiha has a hidden darkness dwelling inside of him. You still remember the Train Mountains" the orange-haired boy reminded her.

The four-eyed girl only faced Jurou with a slight frown. "I know that, but somehow, I don't think Inojin really is an evil person. I mean, his dad looks scary, but Inojin is so…..different" Kotone pointed out to him.

Jurou only closed his eyes while leaning against the wall. "Believe in what you have to, Kotone. But for your own safety, do not let your guard down a moment when fighting him" Jurou advised the redhead.

Kotone was stunned to see that Jurou was actually giving her some advice, as he was usually known to be the silent type amongst their ream. Nevertheless, she understood his concerns, as Jurou did not wish to lose those who considered as comrades, both her and Aoi.

"Thanks for the words, Jurou. I will watch my back" Kotone thanked him and then walked off, but not before saying something to him before leaving. "Besides, I will not make the same mistake as Aoi, you can trust me on that" she insisted to him with confidence before moving on.

It was on now, Kotone the swordsgirl was up against Inojin. Although Jurou had slight faith in her, he felt like her emotions betrayed her sometimes. But the orange-haired boy knew well that she herself did not know that.

Inside a room in the stadium

Shikaien was currently sitting on a bed, having just been bandaged by the medics. He suddenly sneezed while feeling cold, eventually hiding underneath the bed cover. "Man, don't tell me that all that water has made me catch a cold!" the boy thought while hoping the warmth of the bed covers would help him stop shiver. While doing that, Shikaien was suddenly reminded about something. "Damn…...the next match is between that four-eyed Mist kunoichi and…...Inojin" he noted in his thoughts.

But his thoughts were interrupted by the door slamming wide open and in came Shikamaru and Temari, both parents watching their son with proud expressions. As they both entered the room, Shikaien only glanced at them unfazed.

"Oh, it's just you two" he said lowly while looking up towards the roof. "I was hoping that some others would be entering, like Ayumu-sensei for example….." Shikaien was interrupted by his mother swinging her giant fan at him, thus blowing away both the bed cover and the clothes he'd been given, leaving him just in his underwear. The punkish boy shivered once again. "D-Damn it, mom! I've already c-caught a c-cold! Was this really n-necessary!?" he angrily asked between his shivering.

But Temari only faced him with her usual strict expression. "Don't push your luck, boy. You should be thankful that your own parents have chosen to visit you when we should've stayed on our seats instead" she reminded him sternly.

Shikamaru put his arm around his wife and faced her with a smug smile. "That is not correct, Temari. We have come here to congratulate Shikaien for his outstanding work out on the battleground" he corrected her before facing their son. "Shikaien, your match…I really don't know what to say" he admitted.

Their dark blonde-haired boy only rolled his eyes in return. "Let me guess, you two got embarrassed by seeing me throwing up on the ground. But hey, I was trying to avoid getting liquid acid all over my body, so I rolled on the ground" Shikio spoke up, before sneezing once again. "Argh, damn it! I really have caught a cold" he muttered lowly.

"No, son. Me and your mother have no intention of speaking about what you did wrong, we understand what you had to do" Shikamaru told him. "What we wanna talk about is how you managed to impress us with your wind-based jutsus. I mean, you are still a Nara and forever will be, but you've been blessed with so many talents" his father told him.

Shikio faced him with a surprised glance, although eventually understood what he meant by that. "Yeah, you could say so" he admitted to his father.

But before he knew it, Shikaien was pulled into a hug by Temari, who was surprisingly shedding a tear for her son. Shikamaru only stood behind her and patted her back in a husbandly manner.

"Shikaien…." Temari uttered out his name lowly while never letting go of him. "I am proud of having you as my son. Even though you can be quite hot-headed at times, you will always be my flesh and blood" she told her son, this time with open honesty.

Shikaien was uncertain about how to react, but he understood that those words came from the heart of his mother. Without even thinking, the dark blonde-haired boy returned the hug. Normally, he was not the type to be doing such things, as he always considered that to be embarrassing. But now that only he and his parents were in the room by themselves, such actions were tolerated by him, for now.

"Mom, dad" Shikaien called out to his parents as they both faced him with wondering eyes. "I understand that I need to rest, but the next match is the one Inojin will fight in" he told them and both parents began to understand what he wanted to tell them. "If Itachi somehow were to win the match…can I at least be able to watch the final match, when he's up against Shunsuke?" he asked them, although he spoke of it as a favor.

To the young boy's surprise, Shikamaru put a hand on his shoulder and fixed a smug look at him. "We know what you're getting at, Shikaien. You don't need to beg. Of course, you can watch the final match, I mean you won yours after all. And besides, I think Inojin could need some support from both you and Chouta. I also noticed that Inojin had been watching you and he was impressed from what Ayumu told me" Shikamaru gave his answer, while explaining a few things. "But first, we must wait and see if Inojin emerges the victor in the next match" he reminded his son who nodded his head in return.

"And one more thing" Temari interrupted her husband. "After all this program is over, we will have to celebrate. And therefore, Uncle Gaara is more than happy to be joining the celebration, as he too was proud of seeing you in action" the dark blonde-haired woman told her son.

Realizing that this day was surprisingly his day, Shikaien fixed a cocky grin by hearing this. "Heh, perhaps this day is not so bad after all" he admitted, only to sneeze once again, although his parents were quick enough to avoid being sneezed on. "Awww man, why did I have to catch a cold on a day such as this!? This is such a drag" he muttered angrily.

"Relax, junior. We'll ask for Nashiko's mom for assistance. She is talented in curing small sicknesses like sore throat or anything like that" Shikamaru insisted to him.

Temari put a hand on her husband's shoulder. "We best head back to the tribunals. You should hurry back, considering that your seat is near Lady Tsunade" she reminded him.

The two adults faced their son one last time before exiting, leaving Shikaien alone in the room by himself. As he was lying on the bed and resting his head on the giant pillow, Shikio could only think about his teammate.

"Inojin….I wish you luck…..on behalf of myself" the punkish boy noted while gazing up towards the roof.

To be continued…

Author's note: Well, that was it. The next chapter will tell us about the one between Inojin and Kotone, although this one will be shorter than the previous matches. However, to make it up for it, I have intended to put in some surprises for you alongside the match. And what would that be? Join up us next.