-Ryu
Trial by Fire: Part OneRyu was walking through a house she recognized. I'm dreaming… she thought. I have to be. She shook her head, trying to wake up. She stopped as soon as she heard a familiar tune being sung somewhere in the house. She let the dream take her as she walked through the house, following the singing.
She followed it to the kitchen. As she walked in, she had to shield her eyes from the light streaming in through one of the windows. She squinted and saw that there was someone at the sink, washing dishes. She went closer, wanting to touch the silky black hair that fell past the woman's waist. She touched the woman's shoulder.
"Mom?"
The singing stopped and the woman turned. She looked surprised to see her.
"Ryu?" she said. She smiled. "Where were you? I was looking for you to help dry the dishes."
"Oh, I-"
"Ryu!"
She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was black and red.
"AAAH!"
She immediately freaked out and shot herself up into the air. Her hair was completely on end as she clung to the ceiling. Well, that's not the first time I've gotten that reaction, thought Gaara as he looked up at her from the tower floor. He sighed.
"You sure can go high when you do that," he said to her.
"Huh?"
The girl looked around herself, as she had no idea she was holding onto the ceiling. She then let go and floated down to the ground. She smiled sheepishly at him in apology.
"Sorry," she said as she picked up the sheet and pillow.
"Must have been some dream," he said. "What was it about?"
Ryu looked at him, puzzled. "What? Oh, nothing…"
The tiger cub she had yet to give a name plopped down next to Gaara and started to attack his left sandal. He looked down at her and picked her up. Ryu was glad that the cub had taken to attacking her friends and teammates instead of her in the last two days. Her team's arrival had been no surprise, at least to the Sand team who had already arrived. They had all come two days early, and had watched the other teams filter in.
Ryu stretched and yawned as she looked around. Today was the last day to show up. She had been asleep for most of the day and was surprised to see so many people had shown up.
"Is this why you woke me up?" she said as she rubbed an eye. Gaara nodded.
She looked around again and saw that all the Konoha teams in her age group had made it. They were gathered in a group. She had to keep herself from gasping when she saw that the one Sound girl had made it. She made it through that forest all by herself? she thought. The girl seemed okay except for a few scratches and bruises. She was calmly playing cat's cradle against the wall. Ryu then audibly groaned when her eyes landed on the Grass team. Gaara looked at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked. She pointed.
"Them. I was hoping they wouldn't male it," she said as she quickly stopped pointing.
If either Veraj or Reks saw her pointing they might come over and start bugging her again.
"Why?" he asked. She sighed.
"The big guy has it out for me, and the one with the white hair thinks I'm cute," she said drudgingly. The redhead looked at the Grass team.
"Really?" he said.
Their attention was drawn elsewhere as the door opened for another team. Ryu jumped as she saw it was Sara's team, both girls holding Gegai up as if his legs were broken. She ran over to help.
"Sara!" she said as she took an arm. "What happened?"
"We were attacked just before we got in," she said. "Gegai got the most of it."
They laid him down on the ground as a few other genin ran over to both gawk and help. Sara quickly poured water over him and made a few hand signs. She began to glow a light blue and then the blue was focused into her hands. She laid one hand on his forehead and another over his heart. The blue glow passed from her to him, and, after a few minute, faded.
Gegai's eyelids twitched and then he opened his eyes. He then quickly sat up, but then looked like he regretted it as he doubled over in pain. His teammates leaned in, but he waved them away.
"I-I'm okay now…" he said as he shakily got up. He almost fell over and both girls caught him.
"No, you're not," said Sara as she held him up. "The Turtle can only do so much."
Anko watched this from the back and clapped her hands, the sound echoing through the hall. Everyone looked back at her.
"The second part of the exam has just finished," she said, her voice echoing through the use of the ear mike she had on. "All of you need to get in line by team, side by side."
They all quickly followed her directions as they saw Musashi, the proctor from the first part of the exam, come in followed by the chunin that had greeted them. Ryu quickly got in line behind Lee and Nedgie. She looked around at the teams. Wow, everyone looks a wreck, she thought. That's when she noticed Gaara didn't have a mark on him.
She turned attention back up as she saw Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma walk in along with four other teachers. The hokage and her assistant then came in. Tsunade took a breath; she hated these speeches. And was she really going to have to watch all these kids beat each other up? She looked around.
There was Naruto and Sakura… Lee's team had made it along with the Akihara girl. She took another breath and decided, last minute, to ditch her notes. She smiled at the genin.
"Hey all," she said. She heard Shizunae almost faint behind her. "How do you feel?"
The genin fidgeted and she smiled. "Well, that's okay, because it's going to get worse!"
She heard a few groans and a few startled "What?!" s come from the lines. She had to stop herself from laughing and looked at Sirym. The young jonin looked expectantly at her and Tsunade nodded. She stepped forward and put her hands up.
"Congratulations, all of you," she said. "My name's Sirym Gotsubo and I'm the proctor for the third part of the exam. I'm going to explain some things before we get started."
She stopped midway and looked herself over. She seemed to be searching her pockets for something. She took out a piece of paper and looked at it.
"Well…" she said as she did. "It seems 22 of you passed and half of you are taking the exam for the second time."
She looked up. 'So, it should come as no surprise that we have to go through preliminaries again because there are so many of you."
More moans and groans came from the lines and the seemingly calm and collected Sirym's eyes narrowed. She stamped her foot.
"HEY!" she shouted, her voice easily magnified even without the space doing so. "NEW RULE! NO WHINING!! GOT THAT?!"
The hall was silent as Ryu came down from the few inches she had jumped. TenTen had grabbed hold of her and held her down. She smoothed her hair down and prepared to listen to Sirym.
"Okay," she said, looking like she had calmed down. "First thing's first. The preliminaries are one on one matches, pitting one ninja against another. You win the match when I say it's over, or your opponent is no longer able to battle. No longer able to battle being either you're knocked unconscious or you die."
Ryu's eyes widened. Die…? Okay, now she knew why TenTen hadn't wanted to tell her how the third exam went. She didn't want to die. Sirym looked around.
"Does anyone want to duck out now, so I want have to pick you up later?"
Ryu looked over at the barely standing Gegai. He was determinedly staring ahead as he lightly swayed. Why wasn't he raising his hand or anything? She was about to raise her hand to say something when Sirym talked for her.
"No one will hold it against you if you leave," she said. "We're doing to this to prevent as many deaths as we can."
She waited another beat and took a breath. Ryu was about to shoot her hand up when Nedgie grabbed it. He looked at her piercingly.
"Don't," he said. She bit her lip.
"But if we don't-"
"If he wants to stay in, it's his choice," he said sternly. "Don't meddle."
She sighed and then looked up as part of the wall was lifted away to reveal a screen. Sirym smiled at all of them.
"So, let's begin,"
The screen turned on and names started to circulate through. The air seemed to stand still as they all waited to see who would be facing off first. Ryu was hoping to anyone at all that it wouldn't be her. The names suddenly stopped.
Sakura Haruno vs. Gegai Surron
Ryu had to stop herself from gasping. Just like that?! she thought. She looked over at Gegai. Oh, please forfeit… Sirym clapped her hands.
"Alright, everyone but the two people picked clear the arena," she said.
Ryu ran over to her bag and picked it up along with the tiger cub. She had watched the entire thing with wide eyes and didn't fight her as she picked her up. She walked up the stairs and joined Guy and her team. He smiled at them.
"Great job, all of you," he said with his usual gusto. "I'm proud of you all for getting through this a second time."
He looked at Ryu. "And I have someone who will be very happy to see you."
Ryu grinned, her happiness spilling out of her face. "Al!"
The orange tabby cat sprang out of the bag that Guy had with him and leaped onto her shoulders. His purring was so loud she couldn't hear a thing. He was rubbing her jaw and neck as much as he could. She giggled as he did, scratching his back, head and ears as he danced on her shoulders.
"Okay, Al," she said as she put him down. "I want you to meet someone."
She put him down in front of the tiger cub. The cat shook his head as soon as he looked at her. The cub cocked her head at him. Al looked up at Ryu.
"Raow?"
She bent down and petted him. "I haven't thought of a name for her yet," she said. She looked at him. "But she's all alone and needs someone to look after her. Is that okay?"
Al looked back at the tiger cub and took a step toward her. He sniffed her nose, and the cub put a paw on top of his head. He wriggled out from under her paw. He looked up at Ryu with a look that seemed to say," Oh, alright, but I hope you know what you're doing…"
She giggled, but her attention was caught by the two people below. The pink haired girl she had met at the beginning of the exam was standing across from Gegai. Sirym was standing between them, her hand between them as well.
"Let the first match… Begin!"
She jumped away to stand on the side. Both Gegai and Sakura jumped away from each other. Sakura then came back, making a few clones as she did. She was nearly on top of him when he cartwheeled away, spilling water as he did so. He came to a halt, making hand signs.
Water clones then surrounded Sakura and her clones. A brawl then seemed to break out in the arena as clone went after clone, the real fighters among them somewhere. All the clones burst into non-existence as Sakura and Gegai came out, deadlocked with kunai knives. They strained against one another. Sakura then suddenly let go and quickly punched him.
Gegai was sent tumbling and then lay there. Sirym jumped in and checked his pulse. Knocked out cold, she thought. She pointed at Sakura.
"The winner of the first match is Sakura Haruno!"
Sara's teacher jumped down and picked Gegai up. From what Ryu could tell, he had been knocked unconscious by Sakura's punch. Well, maybe that's what he needed to stop, she thought. Sakura walked past them and Lee smiled at her.
"Nice job, Sakura!" he said. "You really are worthy of chunin level."
She lightly blushed. "Thanks Lee," she said. "But I didn't hit him that hard. I don't know what happened."
She stopped talking as he eyes went to the screen. TenTen looked and whistled.
"Wow," she said. "De ja vu."
Naruto Uzumaki vs. Nedgie Hyuga
Ryu heard Nedgie give one of hi unique "Hmph"'s. She looked over at him, and saw that he was smiling. Naruto broke the silence wit his own cheering. He jumped down to the arena while her teammate calmly walked down the stairs.
"Well, this is going to be something," said TenTen. Ryu looked at her, almost pouting.
"How?" she said, not sounding exactly excited. She rest her arms and chin on the railing, turning her body into an 'L' shape.
"It's just Nedgie against some poor blonde that's gonna get used as a mop."
TenTen laughed. "Maybe. But the last time these two fought, Naruto won."
Ryu yawned; she didn't really care. Actually, she was too tired to care. She was still catching up on what she had lost while she had been in the Forest of Death. She let her head rest sideways on her forearms. Sirym was about to begin the match when she closed her eyes.
BOOM!
Ryu was jolted awake as she grabbed onto the railing to stop herself from, one, falling over from the concentrated earthquake, and, two, stop herself from going up again. This exam isn't good for my heart! she thought as she gathered her senses. She looked down at the arena and saw, not Nedgie and Naruto, but the red haired ninja who seemed to have turned himself into a giant bowling ball. He seemed to be stuck in the floor, in a crater he had created himself. Sirym waited a moment before going over to check on Choji.
He was knocked out, seemingly by his own weight. She grabbed hold of him, and rolled him out of the crater. Shino had been underneath him, and she jumped into the crater to check on him as well. She sighed as she realized he was out cold from Choji's weight. She jumped out.
"Neither opponent can fight. No one wins the fourth match."
A weary silence seemed to take hold of the arena as both Choji and Shino were taken away by the medical corps. That's when Ryu realized that neither Nedgie nor Naruto were around.
"Hey, TenTen," she said. "Where're Nedgie and Naruto? Who won?"
TenTen looked at her, surprised. "You slept through three matches?!" she exclaimed.
Ryu shrugged. "I was tired. Tell me what happened."
She sighed. "Well, to put it simply, they beat each other senseless," she said, sounding tired herself.
"But it was a great battle," Lee cut in. "I'm sorry that you had to miss it."
The dark blonde richly yawned. "I'm not. Who won the third?"
"Hinata. You know her, right? Through Kiba?"
Ryu blinked. "You mean Nedgie's cousin? She won?"
"Uh-huh. It was cool."
"Shh!" said Lee. "They're picking the names for the next match!"
Everyone watched silently as the remaining names started to cycle through. Ryu bit her lip and silently prayed; she wasn't rested enough yet. The names stopped.
Temari vs. Aki Yotsuba
Both ninja walked down the stairs and faced each other in the arena. Temari had to stop herself from shivering when she first looked at Aki. He was creepy. She got her fan ready while Aki stood stalk still, arms at his side.
"And… begin!"
Temari ripped her fan open and quickly created a wind. She made it slice the air. Aki flipped away. He seemed quite the gymnast as he was able to dodge Temari's wind attacks. Temari then jumped, and changed positions; she was not going to lose.
She couldn't stay a freaking genin forever! Not when she was fifteen and a half! She prepared to send a whirlwind at him when the boy suddenly stopped. He threw a few smoke bombs, one where he was and a few in different areas. Temari quickly hid in her fan. It was going to take more then smoke to stop her.
She reappeared and threw two whirlwinds at him. Aki started to retreat again, running into the smoke that was still hanging in the air. She determinedly chased him, following him into the smoke. She suddenly came out, finding him gone. She looked around and then looked up.
Aki was coming down at her like a rocket. He landed behind her, swinging knives. Temari quickly jumped and then swung her fan like a club. After all, it was made out of steel. He was able to avoid her again, cartwheeling and rolling away from her. Temari growled.
This whole gymnastics show was getting on her nerves. She opened her fan all the way, ready to send a Wind Scythe his way.
Then she suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened. She then fell onto her knees and fell all the way. From the railing, it had looked like she had literally dropped dead.
Gaara blinked, alarm slowly rising in him. "Temari?"
"Temari!" Konkuro shouted to his sister. She didn't move.
He was about to jump down when Baki stopped him.
"Wait!" he said. "Let the proctor do her job."
Konkuro was about to protest when Baki basically told him through body language to shut up. He was worried too. Sirym quickly ran over to the fallen Temari and rolled her over. Her eyes were glazed and she seemed unnaturally pale. She put a hand to her neck to check on her pulse. It was slow, but steady. She looked up as she felt grains of sand on her neck. Gaara had suddenly appeared in a whirl of sand, arms folded and eyes glaring daggers. If looks could kill, Aki would have died right there as he looked at him.
"What did you do to her?" he quietly demanded.
The entire room became tense as it seemed everyone was prepared to jump on Gaara to try and stop him if he lost his temper. Aki sighed.
"I used poison," he said coolly, completely calm underneath Gaara's basilisk glare.
"You better have an antidote," he said, trying not to growl. He agreed with Ryu now; he did not like the Grass team.
Aki reached into his pockets and took out a vial.
"Of course I have an antidote," he said with an almost arrogant air. "But I can't give it to until the proctor declares a winner."
Gaara's eyes widened, not in surprise, but in anger. His murderous temper was stirring Shukaku up. Sirym stood up.
"The winner of the fifth match is Aki Yotsuba," she said quickly.
The medical corps came out to take Temari away. Aki walked over and gave the antidote to one of the medic nin. Gaara watched him the entire time. Aki looked back at him for a few seconds, and then turned to walk up the stairs. The red-head gave a look of death to the Grass nin's back and then went back up to the railing using his sand. Both brothers watched their older sister be taken away on a stretcher. Konkuro fidgeted.
"I hope she'll be alright…" he said. Baki folded his arms.
"She will. The medic nins know what they're doing," he said. He looked over at the brooding Gaara.
But give Gaara an excuse and he'll murder that Aki kid in a heartbeat. he thought. Over with Guy's team, Ryu was as equally worried about Temari as Konkuro. She liked Temari. She didn't think she was nuts for being friends with Gaara like some of her other friends. She seemed almost grateful to her for reaching out to him.
"But how did he poison her?' she wondered out loud. Sakura and Kakashi had wandered over, and Sakura had been wondering the same thing.
"I think…" she said. Ryu looked at her. "I think it was the smoke bombs."
Ryu blinked. "How do you figure?"
"Well, we didn't see him use any needles,' she said. "And Temari seemed okay until she went through the smoke, right?"
Ryu thought a moment. "But then how come it didn't hurt Aki?" she said.
"Those who use poison," Lee said, as he was listening too. "Know they are using something that could be hurt them as well. But for him to use it in that form, he must be immune to it somehow."
"How's that possible?" Ryu asked. "What's the point of poison if some people are immune to it?"
Sakura thought a moment, unraveling the conundrum as quickly as she could.
"I guess you could say, it's like medicine." She said. "After a while, the effects of a certain medication lose their potency, as your body gets used to it. If a certain poison could work the same way, you could gradually become immune to it after taking it so many times.
Ryu thought on this answer. It seemed to make sense, or at least it did in theory. It reminded of what one of her health professors had told them about drugs. After so many hits, the user became tolerant of a certain dose, thus demanding a bigger dose of whatever drug he or she was using. If poison was the same, it was possible.
She watched the emotionless Aki for a while, his teammates tentively congratulating him on his win. That would explain their respect for him. He still made her shiver for some reason. But her attention was diverted once again by the screen as the names started to go through it. She could hear Lee talking under his breath, "Please let it be me! Please! Please!"
She lightly thought him crazy; Ryu was in no hurry to jump into battle. But then again, she had gotten all the rest she had needed. Her body was ready to her, but her mind was still shaky. She was nervous. The people who were left were people she didn't want to face.
Reks and Veraj were at the top of her list along with her fellow teammates, Gaara, Konkuro, Kiba, Saphira, and especially Sara. The only people left to fight were either her friends or people she wished would leave her alone. She ground her teeth as she watched. They finally stopped.
Kiba Inuzuka vs. Reks Tachiki
She thought she heard Reks laugh out loud along with Kiba's cheer. Kiba grinned wildly and went down the stairs to face him. Akumaru trotted ahead of him, eager to face this opponent. So, he got an excuse to beat the crap out of Ryu's molester. He couldn't of asked for anything better. Reks seemed just as eager as they did to face him so soon. He put a hand on a hip.
"So, dog boy, we actually get to fight," he said, smirking.
Kiba cracked his knuckles. "You ready to feel the pain?" he asked, his voice dripping with violence. Akumaru growled deeply at the boy.
He laid a hand on the puppy. You ready Akumaru? You bet! Let's get this guy!! Reks looked up at Ryu and sent a kiss her way. Ryu quickly ducked behind Lee. Kiba bristled at him.
"Hey! Leave her alone!!" he snapped at him. Reks grinned nastily at him.
"Ooh, touchy!" He thought a moment. "I've got an idea. Want to make a bet?"
"What do you have in mind?" he nearly growled. Why couldn't he just beat him up already? Reks looked at him.
"If you win the match, I promise I'll leave the blonde alone," he said, his hand up in oath. "But if I win, I get to take her out to dinner."
Kiba bared his canines at him. "Done!"
"If you're ready…" Sirym said, their conversation over. "You may begin… Now!"
She jumped out of the way. Reks quickly took out a couple of kunai knives and ran toward Kiba. Kiba deftly dodged and Akumaru bit Reks' calf. The boy restrained his pain and channeled it into anger. His eyes blazed and he lifted his leg up in preparation to smash it on top of the dog, creating a sandwich between his leg and the concrete beneath. Kiba saw this.
"Akumaru! Let go!"
The puppy quickly did, letting go seconds before he would of made contact. Reks ended up slamming his ankle into the floor for nothing. He gritted his teeth and held his leg for a moment. Kiba smiled. This is going to be easier then I thought! he thought.
He stood off to the side for a while, gathering his chakra. His skin suddenly goose-bumped as he used his beast mimicry technique. Down On All Fours usually worked like a charm against taijutsu weak ninjas, which Kiba could see Reks' was from his skinny form. Reks was recovered enough to dodge Kiba's four-legged charge. He flipped backwards, vaulting over the crater from Shino and Choji's battle.
It seemed gymnastics had been a team effort as he was as good as his fellow teammate. He quickly made some hand signs once he was on his feet again, and vines suddenly erupted from the ground around him just as Kiba had come in for another hit. The vines quickly wrapped around the charging Kiba, who had been going so fast he couldn't stop himself. The vines wrapped around him like thick, green snakes and then threw him across the arena. The boy gathered his chakra just in time to stop himself from getting seriously hurt as he was thrown into the wall.
Akumaru ran over to the stunned Kiba. He growled at his side. Kiba pulled himself onto his knees, hearing his back and joints snap and pop in the process. Well, at least he was loosened up now.
"I'm okay," he said to the concerned dog. He looked to Reks as the vines were sucked back into the ground.
Reks smiled at him. "What's the matter? I thought you were going to keep charging at me like an animal?" he taunted.
Kiba tried not to growl. "C'mon, Akumaru!"
He got back into his All Fours position and Akumaru jumped on top of him.
"Beast Mimicry!"
Human Mimicry!
Two snarling Kibas were then there and both leaped to the side, going in wide arcs to take Reks by both sides. Reks got down on the ground and quickly rolled away just as the two of them jumped to attack. But Kiba anticipated this, and both of them veered to follow the white-haired boy. He jumped into the crater and shoved his hands into the exposed dirt. Once again, vines sprang out like living octopus limbs.
Akumaru and Kiba barely got out of the way as the vines slammed into the ground, looking for something to grab onto and crush. The both of them watched as the vines went down. Reks was already making more hand signs as they did so. Akumaru was ready to go again, but Kiba held him off. It would be better to see what he was going to do.
"Vines of Demeter!" Reks nearly shouted as he drove his arms into the ground along with his legs.
A rumbling started and Kiba looked around, trying to determine where it was coming from. Vines suddenly burst out from underneath Kiba and he jumped away. The same thing happened where he landed, and he found himself surrounded by giant, wriggling vines. They were bursting from walls too, finding places everywhere to take root. He couldn't see Reks anymore from the wall of vegetation that had grown up around him.
Akumaru let out a yip as his left leg was grabbed onto by one of the vines.
"Aroo!" he howled as the vine quickly wrapped around him, squeezing him in Kiba's form.
"Akumaru!"
The vine convulsed, squeezing harder, and Akumaru howled even more. Kiba got out a few kunai knives and jumped at the vine but was then grabbed by another. It wrapped around him with crushing pressure. He saw Akumaru change back to his puppy form through squished vision. He was able to jump out in his new, small form. Kiba gathered his chakra, transformed into Akumaru, and escaped before the vine could come down on him again.
He jumped to the floor, and returned to his human form, but then had to grab Akumaru and dodge more vines. They chased him, bursting out of the ground at the last second, giving him little time to get out of the way. I can't believe this! He thought, frustrated. I'm running around like a rat in a maze!! How the hek can I win when these crazy vines keep coming after me?!
He saw his chance to escape from the mass of vines that were determinedly chasing him in a small window towards the giant tiger hand sign statue. He narrowly ran through before the vines came in. They chased up the fingers, but suddenly stopped when he reached the topmost finger. The vines struggled to reach him, but seemed at their limit. One even grew a Venus fly trap mouth and stubbornly snapped at its escaped prey.
Kiba panted as he watched the vines retreat back into the ground where they had come from, but the wall of vines around Reks hadn't. He bit his knuckles, a bad habit, as he tried to think of a strategy. Akumaru whined at him. I don't wanna be plant food! What are we gonna do? I'll think of something, just give me a sec…
He chewed a broken nail as he studied the changed arena. The plants went after anything that moved it seemed. Maybe if he made a bunch of clones, they could split up while he and Akumaru went for Reks' vine barrier. But how could they get in?
Akumaru barked at him. What Fang over Fang? Do you think that could work? Kiba thought a moment. If we used knives at the same time, it would be like a weed whacker. What do you think? Sounds good to me! Let's go!
Kiba stood up, and searched his pockets. A couple of food pills wouldn't hurt; the more chakra he had to burn, the more clones he could make. He nodded to Akumaru, who quickly turned into his form. He popped a food pill in his mouth and gave one to Akumaru. A couple dozen clones burst into existence and they went off. The vines returned, going after everything.
The real Kiba got out some smoke bombs and set them off, turning the arena into a stew of smoke and vines. As he and Akumaru jumped and dodged the lashing vines, Kiba thought he heard Ryu cheering fir them. He couldn't help it; he smiled. It was nice to have someone rooting for you. Then again, she'll probably do it for her other friends too. he thought.
But he still felt special, if only for a little while. Akumaru barked when he reached Reks' barrier and he joined him. They got their knives out and started the concentrated Fang Over fang. The spectators heard a sort of mowing sound and pieces of vegetation were seen flying up through the smoke. A few more core snaps were heard and both Akumaru and Kiba jumped in before the vines grew back. He had to stop himself from gasping when he saw Reks. He himself had seemed to have turned into a vine, his skin and hair turning into leaves and bark. Akumaru punched Reks without hesitation, his eyes snapping open.
"You?! How'd you-?!" he rasped as he stared at the puppy in Kiba's form.
"Open wide!!" Kiba snarled as he shoved a smoke bomb in the boy's mouth.
"Augh!!!"
The vines suddenly burst into non-existence as the smoke cleared. The only thing seen then was Kiba punching Reks for all he was worth. He sent him flying with a combination of a punch and a kick. Akumaru changed back into his original dog form, and caught up to the stunned Reks as he landed. The puppy jumped onto him and head butted him in the forehead as hard as he could. The crack was heard through the arena and Reks fell over, looking pretty lifeless. Sirym jogged over to check him. He was out. She pointed to Kiba.
"The winner of the sixth match is Kiba Inuzuka!"
"Yes!!" Kiba shouted, punching the air. He grabbed Akumaru and nearly hugged him.
"Nice work there with the head butt!" he said as he scrubbed the puppy's head. The puppy panted happily.
He heard Ryu shouting again, and he looked over at her. She was jumping up and down.
"Woo-hoo!" she shouted. "Way to go, Kiba! You showed that creep!"
He grinned at her, the fierce Inuzuka smile spreading across his features easily. She smiled back, Tetsu's smile echoing across her own face. Kiba turned back to climb up the steps when he saw both Naruto and Nedgie coming back from the medical corps room. They had woken up, and Naruto looked at him.
"Did you win?" he asked. Kiba smiled.
"You bet!"
"Aw! That's not fair!!"
Kiba grinned at him. "Ha ha! Now you get to sit in the stands while I kick ass this time!!" he joked.
Nedgie ignored this conversation as he walked up the stairs, looking worse then he seemed to feel. He had a few scrapes from the earlier match. He looked his teammates over. TenTen smiled at him.
"Hey, how do you feel?" she asked. Nedgie rubbed the side of his head.
"There's a slight ringing in my ear from that fool shouting into it, but I'm alright," he said. He looked over them again.
"I take it no one has battled yet."
Lee nodded. "Kiba just finished. They should be picking someone else."
"Which would be right now!" Ryu said, pointing to the screen.
They watched anxiously. A small panic started to work itself in Ryu's chest. Oh God, she hoped she wouldn't freak out in the middle of her match. Considering her luck, she probably would, if she fought someone she knew. She really didn't want to fight a friend. If she fought the Sound girl, that would be alright. She knew how to handle that. The names suddenly stopped.
Ryu Akihara vs. Veraj Bunto