Author's note: Hey, everyone! Here's what you've been waiting for, the end of the preliminaries! Whoo! On another note, school starts for me in about one week (when I'm writing) so that cuts my time to write only one day, and even then, to only two hours in which I can write. So, it looks like I'll be updating monthly, if I don't get writer's block or if I don't get bogged down with school work. It's my senior year, so I'm gonna hafta work my ass off. Oh yeah, I finally found a Sand headband! Squee! I've been looking for one everywhere!! Anyway, happy reading!

-Ryu

Trial By Fire: Part Two

Ryu thought she might scream. Oh no!! she thought, panicking. Not him! ANYONE but him!!!! TenTen looked at Ryu, smiling.

"You ready?" she asked good naturedly.

She blinked as it seemed Ryu had turned white as a sheet. She was actually shaking. She lifted a hand to tap her.

"Ryu? Are you okay?"

"Huh?!" She looked at TenTen, a look of complete terror on her face.

She was about to try and comfort her when a small earthquake shook the arena as Veraj jumped down into it. He looked up at Ryu, smiling maliciously.

"Well?!" he called to her. "Hurry up and get down here!!"

Ryu took a few steps back, spooked. Nedgie looked at her; he'd never seen her this way. All the inner confidence and optimism she had seemed to have disappeared. Guy was suddenly behind her, smiling.

"Come on, Ryu!" he said encouragingly. "Let's see you win!!"

He said this with his usual eagerness and gave her a hard slap on the back. The force he used was so great, Ryu suddenly found herself going over the railing.

"AHHH!" She landed on her back, unable to stop herself in the short fall. TenTen glared at her teacher.

"Guy-sensei! That was too much!! What, do you want to kill her?!" she chastised.

Ryu picked herself up, her body protesting completely at being moved so soon. Anger flared in, and she jumped onto her feet.

"GUY!!!!" she shouted at him. "YOU IDIOT!! HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO DO THAT TO ME?!?!"

"Stop yelling at me and focus on your match!!" he commanded his furious charge. This only seemed to infuriate her even more, her eyes turning purple.

"Why you-!!"

Sirym cleared her throat. "If you're ready, we can start."

Ryu turned. "What? Oh…"

She walked over to the waiting Veraj, who got bigger with every step she took. He loomed menacingly over her. Was it just her, or had he grown another foot since she last saw him? She gulped, the fear coming back into her. She heard Guy give another cheer, her temper flaring in reaction.

Now she was too angry to be scared; she'd finish this quick so she could yell at Guy some more. Her eyes stayed purple. Up on the platform, Kiba bit his lower lip. This wasn't a good match up, that Veraj guy could easily break one of Ryu's arms or some other bone if he wanted too. He hoped she'd be alright.

Or would they being seeing a repeat of Lee and Gaara's battle from last time? He looked over at the red-head. He was standing there with arms folded, watching calmly. But he was tapping his foot, something Kiba knew he didn't do. Was he worried? He turned his attention back to the match that had yet to start.

Veraj smiled a toothy smile at the short Ryu. He had a good two feet on her as they stood across from one another. Sirym looked from one to the other and lifted her hand.

"Begin!"

She jumped away just in time before Veraj lunged. Ryu quickly jumped backwards and then air slid behind him before he even knew where she was. She used her signature chop to his back and, just as he was turning, was in front of him for the kick. Excellent! Lee thought. He's falling right into it! Ryu did a quick hand stand and then swung her leg.

Except the foot never connected. Veraj looked down at her sandaled foot, which was four inches away from his jaw. Ryu was too short to hit him. Uh-oh! She thought for one second before Veraj grabbed her leg. He suddenly twisted, looking like he was wringing out a cloth.

Ryu howled, her bones crunching under his tight grip. He then lifted her using her leg, and swung her over his head. He slammed her into the ground like a rag doll, making a dent in the concrete. The only sound Ryu seemed to make was a quick Snap! As she came down a third time.

He then threw her so hard, she went into the wall across from him. TenTen covered her mouth with her hands while Lee nearly fell over the railing trying to see if she was okay. Konkuro looked to Gaara, who was shaking with suppressed rage. He had no idea how much he wanted to kill that boy down there. Ryu fell from the small crater that been made by her impact.

She couldn't stop herself from hitting the ground again. Her body shuddered as she struggled to get up. She dragged herself onto her knees, her bones and muscles moaning from the abuse they had just taken. She panted as she gathered her senses. Her nose was bleeding, and she could feel the bride of her nose was pushed to one side.

She took a breath before using her thumb to push it back in place. Crack! She shakily got up to her feet, and Veraj was suddenly charging at her. Her mind scrambled for a technique, a strategy, anything!! She was frozen as the terror from before grabbed her and then she was suddenly on her feet, running for her life.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" she screamed as she ran from the barreling monster behind her.

He chased her nearly a full lap around the arena before Kiba lost his temper.

"RYU!!" he shouted. "You bubble-head! Stop running and face this creep!!"

Ryu came to a quick halt, her mind resetting at the insult. She looked obstinately up at Kiba.

"Bubble-head?" she said, exasperated. "Who you callin' a bubble-head?!"

"Ryu!! Look out!!" Gaara suddenly shouted, desperate to get her to look behind her.

Veraj was suddenly there behind her, and she shrieked as he grabbed her in a huge bear hug. He squeezed, Ryu letting out a faint squeak in the crushing strength. His hands were then around her jaw, twisting her head in a way to snap her neck. Her eyes widened as she realized what might happen. Wind!! She thought desperately, but her concentration was broken by every squeeze that was directed toward her spine. She thought she heard a few more bones crack somewhere in her body.

Gaara held her breath held his breath, silently praying to whatever god that could hear to save Ryu somehow. Kiba was mentally kicking himself for distracting her. She might die now because of him! Nedgie silently watched as Lee and TenTen were nearly pulling their hair out. He sighed as he looked at his struggling teammate.

Down in the arena, Ryu was still fighting against Veraj's hold on her. She looked straight ahead, and saw that she was almost facing his left ear. She blinked. Ohmigod, that's it!!!

"Ready to give up?" Veraj sneered in her ear.

"No, not yet, but if you could squeeze a little harder, that would help!"

Veraj chuckled darkly. "Your funeral!"

Ryu grinned as she found herself facing his ear. She gathered her chakra in her throat and took a breath. Sound style! Siren's Scream! She then screamed, the piercing sound amplified ten times over from her chakra. Veraj immediately dropped her, and she tumbled to the floor. She rolled away from him as he struggled to gain his balance back.

She held her side in pain as it suddenly coursed through her body. Ugh, how many broken bones did she have now? Veraj was charging at her again, roaring like an animal. Ryu's eyes turned purple with sparks of yellow in them. She jumped to her feet with a little compensation for her twisted ankle, and screamed once again.

This one was stronger now that she could use the entirety of her lungs. He was blown backwards by the sound and force, pain ripping through his ears. His ears rang as he struggled to get up, but his balance was completely obliterated. The large boy swayed from side to side. Ryu straightened up and took a breath; she would need to keep pounding this guy if she was going to win.

She launched herself into the air, the usual wisps of cloud gathering around her ankles. She turned once and dove at Veraj. She gathered wind on the way down and slammed the concentrated ball into him. Dust and a little smoke flew into the air, and cleared to reveal a new, smaller crater in the concrete. Ryu then started to flip and jump, using her good leg to aim kicks at her opponent's head.

Her leg was suddenly grabbed once again; the effects of the scream had worn off. Ryu's eyes snapped from purple to yellow from rage. She was not going to be knocked around again. She gathered wind in her hands and threw it at him, blowing him back a good seven feet. She ran after him as Veraj got back on his feet.

She gathered wind again, this time around her good leg. She stopped right in front of him and flipped, her leg catching him in the jaw. He went up into the air, her own strength combined with the wind knocking him away. Veraj fell and landed with a Crunch! Ryu jumped a few feet away, and waited, standing like a stork on her good leg.

When Veraj didn't get up, Sirym walked over. Yep, he was completely out of it. And even if he wasn't, she was going to stop the match. The both of them were beating each other to a pulp. She pointed at Ryu.

"The winner of the seventh match is Ryu Akihara!"

"WOO-HOO!" Lee immediately started to jump around with TenTen. "She did it! She did it!"

Kiba cheered as well, Hinata giving him the space to go crazy. She didn't feel like getting hit by a wild gesture. Gaara smiled at Konkuro.

"She did it! She really won!"

Ryu smiled before she fell onto her knees, panting. She was completely worn out. She had no energy left to even try and get up, never mind the stairs. The medical corps came in to take Veraj to the back room, and a medic nin walked over to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he offered her a hand up. She nodded and took his hand to get up.

She wobbled a bit on her bad ankle, and he noticed this. "Are you sure?"

"Ryu!" she heard Nedgie call to her. She looked up.

His eyes were lined with the signs of the Byakugan. Was he using it to see through her? She tried not to shiver; she hated it when he did that. It was so creepy.

"Go with him," he said. "You've got three broken ribs, a twisted ankle, and a fractured shoulder blade."

"Oh, is that why I hurt all over?"

She looked at the medic nin and smiled sheepishly. He helped her walk out of the arena to the back room. She waved to Gaara and Kiba. Al and the tiger cub dashed down the stairs and followed her out. TenTen looked at Nedgie as his eyes went back to normal.

"That was nice of you," she said. He shrugged.

"If she's going to be in the final rounds, she'll need to heal quickly." He said. "So, tell me. What did I miss earlier?"

Ryu felt like she had been in the medical corps room for about three minutes when TenTen was brough in , followed by Gaara. TenTen was lying on a stretcher, unconscious, while Gaara was pulling all manner of weaponry out of himself, though not anywhere vital. Ryu winced as he pulled a knife out of his shoulder. Hew saw her and gave her a guilty smile.

"I…uh…won," he said, not sounding too happy that he had. She looked to TenTen.

"Is she going to be alright?" she asked. He nodded.

"All I did was hit her on the head," he said, trying to dispel any suspicion from the medical corps.

After what happened last time, everyone held their breath when his name had been picked along with TenTen's. It had been quick, after Gaara had caught the quick-footed girl. But not after she stuck me like a roast pig, he thought, annoyed as the medic nin started to work on getting the senbon and shuriken out of the various places. The sand had gotten most of it, but not all of it after she had used that crazy weapon summoning technique. Ryu looked concerned at him.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked him. He smiled a small smile at her.

"I'll be okay," he said. He looked to her bandaged ankle. "What about you? I heard what Nedgie said."

She shrugged with her one good shoulder. "I heal quick," she said. She hopped off her cot, wobbling a bit.

A medic nin rushed over. "Wait!"

She handed her a crutch. "You'll need this. It'll make the walking easier."

"Oh, thanks," Ryu said as she took it.

Gaara was suddenly reminded of Lee as he looked at with one crutch. She smiled at him.

"I'm off!" she said happily. "Who's fighting now?"

"Konkuro and some girl named Sara."

"What?! Ah!" Ryu hobbled out of the room as quickly as she could.

She was able to catch the last couple seconds of Sara's match. Splinters and water littered the arena floor. Sara was glowing, using the power of the Sacred Turtle against Konkuro, who was up in the air, surrounded by water. He was struggling to get out of the ball of water he was in. His fingers twitched and Ryu jumped as a huge marionette suddenly leaped to life off the arena floor.

Sara stopped this as well with another ball of water as it came flying toward her. She made a one handed tiger sign and the balls of water froze solid. Ryu gasped as the balls crashed to the floor, the one with Konkuro in it cracking a bit. Sirym jumped into the situation immediately.

"The opponent can no longer battle! Sara Junko is the winner of the ninth match!"

As soon as she finished saying this, Sara clapped her hands. The balls of ice immediately melted, letting a gasping Konkuro out. He took air in great gulps and looked at Sirym.

"Did-gasp-I-wheeze-lose?" he managed to ask. When the proctor nodded, Konkuro collapsed with a groan.

Sara smiled kindly at him and walked over to him. She offered a hand to him.

"Want help?" she asked politely. He looked up at her.

"No… I'm okay…" he mumbled.

The Mist girl started to walk away when she herself was suddenly gasped loudly. She dropped to her knees, struggling to breathe. Ryu recognized this and dropped her crutch. She ran over to her friend, despite the pain, and skidded to a stop next to her. Saphira and her teacher had jumped down to help.

Ryu kneeled next to her, looking into her pan ridden face.

"Sara! What's wrong?!" she asked urgently. Sara squinted at her.

"Can't-breathe!" she rasped. She started to cough uncontrollably, coughing up water and foam.

Saphira gasped. "What's wrong with her?!"

Ryu swore in head. "It's the Turtle! It's acting up for some reason."

By this time, Konkuro had come over to see if he could help. He recognized this. She was acting like Gaara used to when Shukaku was, literally, driving him mad. He then watched as Ryu turned the gasping Sara over and yank her shirt up over her lower back.
His attention was then drawn to Ryu as she made a series of hand signs so fast, her hands were nearly a blur.

Holy crap, that's fast, he thought. She stopped as quickly as she had begun and pressed her right hand to the girl's lower back. A seal appeared but turned red as the girl added her own chakra. She gave one final cough, and then took a clear, deep breath.
She shakily got up, pulling her shirt down, breathing like she had nearly died.

She might have… Konkuro observed. He wondered about Ryu's hand signs. Where had she learned that, and at such speed? Sara promptly collapsed again, falling unconscious into her sensei's arms. Her sensei smiled gratefully.

"Thankyou," she said. Ryu nodded.

"You're welcome, but you should probably get her some water," she advised.

"That's probably why the turtle freaked out."

Ryu started to hobble away when Konkuro stopped her by handing her her crutch. She blinked.

"Oh. Thanks, Konkuro," she said. He started to walk with her to the stairs.

"So," he started. "What's this turtle you were taking about?"

Ryu looked up at him. "Konkuro, just because you gave me my crutch doesn't mean I can give you info on my best friend," she straightly. This caught him a little off-guard.

"I'm not asking for info," he said innocently. "I just want to know what it is. Considering what I saw, I think I might know already."

"Then be satisfied by what you know," Ryu panted as she tried to go her normal speed. It was hard walking with only one good ankle.

She stopped at the stairs and sized them up. This was going to be a little difficult. She tentively started to hop up them when Konkuro sighed.

"Even so," he said, continuing the conversation. "Do you want help up the stairs. You look like a one-legged kangaroo."

Ryu tried not to blush from the friendly insult. "That would be appreciated," she said.

She was suddenly scooped up like cat, and was up Konkuro's arms.

"Eep!" was all that escaped from her mouth as he did.

He bent forward and picked up her crutch. He looked at her.

"Ready?" he asked. Ryu was still a bit too stunned to answer, but he carried her up anyway.

Gaara was just coming back into the arena room to catch his older brother carrying her up the stairs. He stood there for a moment, thinking, What the hell is he doing? Gaara didn't swear much, but when he saw something stranger then him, that's when he would. He watched him gently put her back down on her feet and then felt the sudden urge to run up there and jump between Konkuro and Ryu. He shook his head; where had that come from?

Konkuro handed Ryu her crutch. She looked at him.

"Wow," she said. "Thanks."

"What was the wow for?" he asked, kind of puzzled at the reaction.

"You're pretty strong." she said plainly.

"Oh, well," Konkuro said in mock ego. "When you're a guy like me…"

Ryu laughed as he waggled his eyebrows. Nedgie rolled his eyes. The puppet master smiled, glad that he had made her laugh, and waved as he went to place across the arena. When he got over, he couldn't help the small pout on Gaara's face.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked. He shook his head.

"Nothing."

Konkuro rolled his eyes. Liar.

"Okay, fine. When she has to go up another set of stairs, I'll let you carry her." He teased. Gaara tried not to turn red.

"That's not funny Konkuro…"

Sirym got up from leaning on what was left of the arena wall, considering the damage from Reks' vine summoning and Veraj's use of Ryu like a baseball. The arena was quickly going to pieces with holes and craters riddling the floor. She sighed; it looked even worse then last time's mess. Except there was less sand everywhere. She looked around at the genin, it seemed social hour was over so she could start the next match.

She activated the screen again with the remote, and started to go through the remaining names. There were only four names left so there wasn't much to pick from.

Rock Lee vs. Ikara

Lee nearly exploded with sound. "YEEEEES!!!" he practically screamed, making Ryu nearly jump out of her skin with his enthusiasm.

She looked over at the Sound girl with her teacher. Her teacher nudged the girl, who looked up. Had she been asleep? She looked around until she realized she was up. Lee had already hopped down and was ready to go. Guy had already started to cheer for him.

"Go, Lee!" he shouted. "Show 'em what you're made of!!"

"Yes, sire!!!"

Ikara calmly walked down the stairs and faced him. Lee seemed a little disappointed to be fighting a girl. She cocked her head at him.

"What?' she asked bluntly. He fidgeted.

"No offense, but I'm not very comfortable about fighting girls." he said, trying not to insult her. Ikara folded her arms.

"Well, I'm not comfortable fighting guys. How's that sound, Sparky?" she said to him. He didn't know what to do, but then it made sense.

He smiled at her. "I think I like you," he said. She shrugged.

"That's nice. I might like you after we fight."

Sirym looked from one genin to the other. She put her hand between them.

"You may now… Begin!"

She hopped out of the way like before. Lee leaped away a bit to get some distance between him and Ikara. Girl, or not he would have to beat her to make it to the final rounds. Ikara took a taijutsu stance. Lee then charged at her, full speed.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Surprisingly, she ducked just in time, and came back with a punch to his chest. Lee stumbled back a bit, the wind knocked out of him. She chased after him, and executed her own kick. But Lee flipped out of the way just in time, and swung his legs at her again, aiming for her feet. She jumped those, vaulted over his head, and tried to kick him from behind.

He caught her foot with his hand. She spun in the air, wriggling her foot out of his hold, and attempted to kick him again. Lee bent over backwards, her sandals missing his head by a few inches. He flipped over backwards, and faced her with his usual stance. Ikara was back on her feet, and in the same position she had started in.

"You're good," Lee said. She smiled.

"Thanks. You're pretty good yourself."

They went after one another again; tumbling, flipping, jumping, and leaping over one another's attacks. Nedgie, Ryu, and Guy were watching intently. This girl was giving Lee a good work out. Ryu was actually pretty excited to see Lee fighting; she'd never seen him except for that one mission. He was cool to watch!

She knew a lot of other people thought he was a hopeless dork, but she thought Lee was cool in his own way. Ikara and Lee were facing one another again, getting ready for another round. They both had bruises and scrapes now. As crazy as Lee's speed was, this girl actually seemed able to keep up with him. He looked up at Guy, looking like he was asking something.

Guy folded his arms, and then put up one finger. Once. Just this once, but never again. Lee smiled at him, and looked to Ikara.

"I hope you won't hold it against me if I hurt you," he said to her as he undid some of the bandages on his arms. Ikara shrugged.

"I've been hurt before," she said as she undid her hair. It suddenly flared now being loosed from its bun.

Yikes, that's a lot of hair. thought Ryu as she looked at it. It nearly reached to the floor, it was so long. Lee charged at her once again, faster then before. Ikara braced herself and got ready to dodge, but then found herself caught by his kick. He was kicking her more, putting her into the air, floating. She tried to bring herself down, but then Lee was suddenly behind her. She turned to look at him, but then found herself being tangled up in the bandages.

"Wha-?! Hey!!"

They wrapped around her, and then they were spinning downward. The force that they ht the ground was enough to create another crater, and dust was thrown into the air. Ryu covered her mouth, and tried to see what was going on. The dust settled and Lee was seen crouching a few feet away. He was panting heavily, and looked like he was pretty much through. Everyone looked to the crater, but was shocked to see a cocoon of hair. Lee blinked. Shit.

Ikara shakily stood up from the crater, her hair twisting like it was alive. She stepped out and then it lashed out at him. Lee was able to jump out of the way, but was then tripped up by another length of hair. She had divided it into fourths, all of which were wrapped around Lee's limbs. He struggled to be free, but she tightened her hold like a boa constrictor whenever he did.

Ikara then made a few hand signs, and electricity crackled around her. It spiked the air, and then surged down her hair toward Lee. He started to struggle violently, but the hair acted like electric cords. He was hit with a giant shock, and cried out from it. It was a large hit of electricity, and when Ikara finally released him, he merely fell over like a limp doll.

Ryu held her breath as she watched the smoke come off her teammate. Sirym waited a moment and then went over to Lee. He was still alive, but was in a state of shock. She pointed at Ikara.

"The winner of the tenth match is Ikara!"

The moment she stopped speaking, Lee suddenly sat up. "What?!"

Sirym spun around and stared. "But-! You-! How are you moving already?!" she gaped at him.

Ikara seemed pretty shocked as well. She went over to him, and looked him in the face.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yes. Are we still fighting?"

Ikara rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh… Well… You were knocked out so…"

"Oh…" Lee slumped over, quickly depressed.

Ikara frowned. "Sorry…" she said, holding one of her arms.

Lee got up, but then promptly fell over. "Ohmigosh!" Ikara exclaimed as she caught him.

He looked up at her and lightly laughed. "I guess I'm not as alright as I thought I was," he said. Ikara sighed.

"Well, at least I got to fight someone with spirit," she said. He smiled at her, almost goofily.

The medic nin came out to treat Lee, and she handed him over to them. She still seemed kind of guilty, so he sat up as much as he could.

"Ikara," he said. She looked up. "I'm glad I fought you."

This brought a small smile to her face, and she walked up the stairs to her teacher. Guy sighed.

"I thought he was going to win…" he said sadly.

Ryu patted him, feeling his pain. She had wanted him to win too. But these chunin exams were toss ups, or so she had learned. It all depended on whether or not your opponent had something up their sleeve, like Reks and Ikara had. Kiba had won on luck and a good strategy, but Lee had proven to be unlucky even with all his training. It didn't seem fair, but from what Ryu coud see, Ikara wasn't very proud of her win. Especially since Lee had popped up seconds after Sirym had called him out.

"It's okay, Guy," she said. "There's always next time."

"Guy-sensei!"

Guy looked up from his own depression to see Lee sitting up in the stretcher. He was grinning despite his loss and giving him a thumbs-up. Guy laughed to himself and did it back. Ryu saw out of the corner of her eye that Nedgie smiled the smallest of smiles. She couldn't tell whether he was smiling at Lee's optimistic spirit or at his loss.

She hoped it was the spirit. Sirym looked around at the genin and sighed. She really wished she had waited in the last match, but she had been nervous. Electric shock needed immediate treatment or at least that's what she had been taught. So, she swallowed her guilt to be saved for another time, and went to the center of the arena.

"Will the last two combatants please come down?" she called.

Saphira walked down and stood in the center and waited as Shikamaru walked down. He stood looking blankly at her. Sirym was about to let them start when she looked at Shikamaru.

"Wh-?" She looked at Saphira and then looked to Shikamaru. She pointed at him. "Aren't you already a chunin?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Yeah."

Sirym blinked, her temper peaking dangerously, and gritted her teeth. "You-! You-!"

Shikamaru just apathetically blinked at her. She pointed her index finger at him like it was a gun.

"You! Get back up there!" she nearly snarled at him as she pointed at the railing.

She suddenly pointed at Saphira, making her jump. "You! You win!"

Saphira looked puzzled. "I what? Oh… Okay…"

Both 'combatants' walked up to the railing. Sirym turned around and glared as Asuma. You idiot!! What were you thinking?! Her eyes seemed to scream at him. Asuma just smiled sheepishly. She turned back around and looked a the hokage, tryig to calm down. Tsunade nodded, and Sirym turned back around.

"Will all those who have made it to the final rounds come down here?" she said, her voice echoing with ease like it had when it all began.

Guy looked to Ryu. "Do you want help down the stairs?" he asked.

"Not on your life," she said as she hobbled away. "You'll probably drop me!"

Guy stared at her back for a moment. "Oh!" he said in realization. "Are you still mad at me for the whole railing thing? Because, honestly, I didn't mean-"

Ryu looked back at him with eyes being an angry shade of yellow and purple which quickly quieted Guy down. He had almost forgotten how angry she had been with him the last time. "I'm going to be I n trouble for a while, he thought. He looked over at Kakashi, who shrugged.

"You could always try being gentler with her," he suggested.

Gaara got down the stairs before Ryu did, and he looked up at her as Sakura and Hinata past her. He sighed as he walked up them to her. She looked at him as he looked at her matter-of-factly.

"Do you want help?" he asked with his soft as ash voice.

"Sure," she said. She bit her lip as she prepared herself for what his definition of help was.

He took her crutch from her and then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He was letting her lean on him and he was partly carrying her down the stairs, but was still letting her walk on her own. She didn't know whether she liked this more then Konkuro carrying her up the stairs or not. They had just gotten to the landing when a very pale and exhausted looking Temari came out. She looked at the two of them for a moment.

"What happened to you, Ryu?" she asked, her voice a mere ghost of what is was.

"Oh, my ankle got messed up in the match," she said as Gaara let go of her and handed her the crutch. She frowned at her, concerned. "Are you sure you should be moving so soon?"

Temari nodded. "I just can't run around as much as I used to for a while," she said.

She started to slowly climb the stairs to where her brother and Baki were standing. She sat down on the concrete walk-way, both her brother and teacher asking about. She waved them away.

"I want to watch this," she said, stubbornly avoiding the topic.

Her eyes would of gone right through Aki if they could as she looked at him.

All the genin who had passed stood in front of Sirym, Anko, Musashi, Shizunae, and Tsunade. Tsunade stepped forward, smiling.

"Nice job, you guys," she said. "I'm glad so many of were able to make it, even with the tough competition this time."

She took a piece of paper out of her back pocket.

"Now I now some of you have heard this spiel before, but bear with me." She said as she looked at the paper. "The third part of the exam is going to take place one month from now. That gives you thirty days to rest, train, and heal. Some of you may have revealed all of your tricks in your match, or you may have only showed a sliver of what you're capable of. So this gives you a while to brush up and learn some new tricks that might save your butt in the final part of the exam."

She looked to Anko. "Anko is going to bring a box around with papers in it. Only take one, and don't look in the box."

Anko stepped up to each of them, and everyone took a piece of paper. Ryu noticed that Musashi had a clipboard and pen ready. What was that for?

"Okay," Tsunade said. "Read your numbers off, right to left."

"Um… I've got five," Hinata said, trying not to whisper.

"Six," Sakura said. Both Hinata and Sakura looked at one another.

"Eight," said Aki.

"One," said Kiba, not sounding very happy.

That's just great, I get to go first. Blegh! He thought grumpily. He looked over at Ryu who was standing next to him. It would suck if she got two.

"Uh…" Ryu turned her paper right-side up. "Nine."

"Seven." Gaara said. He was looking directly at Aki while he said it.

"Two," Sara said in a scratchy voice.

Kiba looked over at her. Crud, he thought. How am I going to fight that? A girl who could stick me in ice like some kind of caveman thing! Ikara unfolded her paper.

"Four," she said. She looked at Saphira.

"Three," she said, looking back at her.

Tsunade looked at Musashi. "Musashi, show them the order of the final exam." she said.

Musashi finished writing something and then turned the clipboard around to show that final exam was matches fought in a tournament style. Ryu thought she might fall over. Wait, if she had nine and that Aki guy had eight, did that mean…? She looked closer at it, holding her breath. No, that didn't mean she was paired up with him.

The first part of the tournament went Kiba and Sara, Saphira and Ikara, and Sakura and Hinata. After those rounds were fought, Aki, Gaara, and Ryu were added on to fight whoever won those three battles. But it looked like Gaara, if he won, would have to fight an extra round with whoever won against Aki, if he lost that is. It looked… complicated to her for some reason. But if she beat either Sakura or Hinata, whoever won their match, she'd have a straight shot to the final battle.

She didn't know whether that was a good or a bad thing. But that still meant she'd have to wait for everyone else to fight, or would she…? She shook her head. She would just go down when she was called. Tsunade nodded at all of them.

"You may go now," she said. "Good luck, all of you."

Ryu sighed as she turned. She looked at Gaara, and smiled at him.

"Thanks for helping me down the stairs," she said to him. He smiled back at her.

"You're welcome." he said. He looked at her ankle. "But how are you going to train when you're injured like this?"

Ryu shrugged with her one good shoulder. "I heal pretty fast, I'll be alright," she said. She then grinned. "Besides, that means I get to sit at home and do nothing all day!"

Gaara laughed quietly. He then realized Baki was calling him over so they could go. Temari looked like she wanted to go lie down again. Gaara looked back at Aki, his eyes cutting his back. He was determined to face him in the final rounds. Then he realized something.

If he beat Aki, that meant he might have to face Ryu in the last battle. He bit his lip, trying to hide it from his teasing brother. He didn't want to hurt her, just like he hadn't wanted to hurt TenTen. How could he fight a friend, especially Ryu, who was starting to become very important to him. He had wanted to jump down in that arena and ring that meat sack's neck with his bare hands after what he had done to her.

He had no idea if he could fight her. Then again, he could always let her win. But he got the feeling Ryu wouldn't be too happy with him if he did that. As Gaara pondered this internal predicament, Guy was still trying to get Ryu to talk to him. It wasn't going well.

Nedgie was walking between them, trying not to laugh at the whole situation. He found the entire thing ridiculous, especially Guy's undying efforts to lessen Ryu's 'silent treatment'. They were walking to the medic nins' room to pick up TenTen and Lee. When they got in, Kurenai was talking with Shino, and Asuma was trying to comfort a sullen Choji. Apparently he had really wanted to win, something about a bet with Shikamaru or something like that.

Ryu turned when she heard TenTen laughing. She saw her sitting up with Gegai sitting next to her. They were both laughing as TenTen held an icepack to her head. Lee was in a cot next to them, talking as if the electric shock had never happened. She looked up at them as they came over.

"Well, you seem to be feeling better," Guy said to her, smiling. TenTen smiled back.

"Yep! Gegai was just telling me some really great stories," she said. Ryu smiled, glad that she and Gegai were getting along alright.

Nedgie, on the other hand, thought TenTen was acting a little punchy. Maybe Gaara had hit her on the head too hard. After Guy asked if they were ready to go, they left. Lee still needed a little help to walk so a medic nin gave him a set of crutches.

"Oh, look! We're twins!" Ryu giggled as they both hobbled along.

It took them about an hour to get back to the center of the village, Nedgie and TenTen breaking off from the group to go home since they lived near each other. Plus, Nedgie wanted to keep an eye on TenTen as they walked home. Guy was going to walk Ryu and Lee home, since they both needed help up the stairs. Ryu let go of her grudge enough so Guy could get her up the stairs. He stayed there a moment as she got her door open, Al winding his way around her legs the entire time while the tiger cub chewed on the bottom of Guy's left pant leg.

"Ryu," he said. "I'm… sorry that I pushed you over the railing. I didn't mean to."

Ryu put her keys back in her bag. "Oh, I know that," she said. "I just wish you'd be more careful."

She smiled at him. "It's okay! I forgive you, Guy!" she said, telling him what he wanted to hear. Guy smiled at her, and rubbed her head.

"I knew you couldn't stay mad at me forever!"

"I will if you keep messing with my hair!!"

Guy laughed and then walked down the stairs. Both him and Lee waved goodbye, and she waved back. She walked into her apartment, Al following her in. He immediately jumped onto her bed and startedto roll all over it. Ryu laughed and brought the cub inside to explore her new surroundings.

The cub started to tentively sniff everything. Ryu dropped her bag on the floor, and kicked off her dusty sandals. She undid her hair, the wavy dark blonde hair reaching a little past her shoulders. She tugged on a curl, watching it bounce back into place. She sighed and headed to the bathroom.

She was going to take the longest shower of her life.