A quick update for once!
Tournament
An unenviable decision lay before Uchiha Sasuke, one that caused him boundless inner turmoil. He considered it as he dressed with special care in his room at a little inn in a tiny, half-ruined town without even the benefit of electricity in the Land of Frost.
After over three months bedrest, chakra coil regeneration sessions, light exercise, and sparring with imbeciles, he would this very day reunite with the one person who meant more to him than any other in the world. His nerves jangled, and his palms grew a little sweaty just thinking about it. Such an occasion, in his opinion, should be marked by a luxury usually denied to him - that of privacy.
Someone beat on his door, and Sakura's voice called out, "Sasuke-kun, we're all packed and ready. Hurry up!"
Privacy - yet he was surrounded by a set of rambunctious Konoha shinobi who couldn't take a hint. Or if they could, they would gleefully ignore it.
By evening, they would arrive at the gates of Kumo. He expected that Hinata would go straight to Neji, Sakura to Ino, and Shikamaru to Choji. From his group, Karin and Arakawa Hachiro were the odd ones out. Sasuke supposed there was little hope Kiba would catch Arakawa's eye or something of the sort. If luck held, Kiba would wander over to Hinata, and Arakawa would just stand to the side. After the honest talk he and Sasuke had had, Sasuke expected Arakawa would be eager to avoid any interaction with Naruto. The real problem was Karin. There was every possibility Naruto would make a beeline for her long-lost cousin, leaving Sasuke to stand on the sidelines with Arakawa.
And that was only if the Konoha group already there arrived at the gate together. Maybe they wouldn't come at all. Maybe she wouldn't.
He fiddled with his hair and practiced parting it without a mirror. He wouldn't have one outside Kumo.
"Sasuke-kun," called Sakura, "you can't possibly need more beauty rest!"
"You're smokin' hot already!" hooted Karin.
What he wanted was to open up a gateway to Kaguya's dimension, toss them all through until he and Naruto had had a few minutes alone, and claim the whole thing was a prank. But he suspected Naruto would not see the humor in it.
The way he saw it, he had two imperfect options and therein lay his unenviable decision: settle for a boisterous reunion in which Naruto's attention was divided or delay their meeting altogether. He toyed with the thought of deliberately hiding from her, forcing her to chase after him, but what was he supposed to say when he let her catch him? As the child of a strict household and later as an orphan with a brother who seemed hell-bent on torturing me, I never got to play hide and seek. Sasuke snorted.
"We're leaving without you!"
He was becoming convinced that his original plan was best. He would greet her with a small wave, and yes, he would allow some facial expression resembling a smile. Sasuke looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and tried to determine the optimum amount of lift for each corner of his lips. Or perhaps only one side should be raised?
"UCHIHA SASUKE! We are leaving for Kumo right now! Naruto's waiting!"
A real smile tugged at his lips. Imperfect options or not, today was a good day - because at the end of it, he would see Naruto.
… … …
It happened as Sasuke's team passed the border into the Land of Lightning. It happened as Akamaru bounded through the foliage to chase a squirrel. It happened as Sakura, not in the least hungover or repentant, laughed with Karin and shot the occasional sly glance at Sasuke. It happened as Sasuke pointedly ignored them both.
When it happened, Hinata and Sasuke stopped abruptly. They both leaped to the canopy, followed closely by the rest of the group. They all gathered around Hinata, muscles taut and senses alert, as she activated her Byakugan in order to comprehend what had happened: An absolute storm of chakra had sprung into being like a tsunami—a calm sea from which arose a thunderous wave.
"It's Naruto," said Hinata. Sasuke had known that. Every fiber of his being screamed with the awareness of her chakra.
"Not only hers though. It's many chakra signatures. I don't—no, I can't sense Orochimaru's, but there are so many...I might be missing it. Naruto's might be drowning it out." Hinata hesitated before she said, "It's like a war over there."
As one, they launched themselves towards Kumo. Sasuke began to outstrip the others, but Hinata kept pace. "Sasuke-kun," she said. Sasuke spared a quick glance and saw Hinata's eyes wide and fearful. A frisson of alarm coursed through Sasuke.
"The Kyuubi's chakra is…odd. It's almost—apart from hers."
Hinata's words resounded like a tolling bell, booming and quivering with racking vibrations. Apart from hers. Separate from her. That had happened only once in the eighteen years of Naruto's life.
"Extraction?" he was startled to hear how calm his voice sounded. Shock, he imagined.
"I don't know."
As abruptly as the chakra had come, it disappeared. Hinata gasped, but Karin called out, "She's still alive! Definitely."
Karin held one hand over her side where, months ago, Naruto had instilled her body with chakra. The store of chakra quite literally kept her alive. So if Karin was alive, that meant Naruto was, too.
But if the Kyuubi had been extracted, how long could she last? Sasuke bit his thumb. A giant hawk screeched over their heads.
"Sakura," Sasuke said, his intent clear. The med-nin jumped to its feathered back where Sasuke joined her. As they soared through the sky, Sakura slipped her arms around Sasuke's waist, offering what little comfort she could.
"Naruto will be okay, Sasuke-kun. You'll see. I mean, it's Naruto."
Right. It was Naruto. Blood welled from a cut in lip where his teeth had sunk into the tender skin. A trickle of the blood slid down his chin.
It was Naruto, who didn't know the meaning of giving up or holding back. Maybe she would have been more cautious if she knew - if she had the slightest inkling - that every hope of happiness Sasuke possessed was intertwined with her own survival. But the thought was immaterial since Sasuke had never worked up the nerve to tell her. Now it was Naruto, who faced this fatal challenge without him by her side. It was Naruto, who would leap into the arms of death if it meant saving a precious person. Well, thought Sasuke, she wasn't the only one.
… … …
On the outskirts of Kumogakure, hundreds of civilians and young shinobi streamed inside a large arena to find a seat - any seat would do, for even two hours out from the start of the tournament, the stands were packed. Shinobi darted around the grass floor of the arena, making preparations for a transparent barrier that would go up between the combatants and the spectators.
Overnight, the tournament had transformed from a small-scale, informal affair to a televised phenomenon. By the time Naruto had awakened that morning, the number of competitors had swelled to nearly one hundred and fifty. According to Ino, who had taken on much of the organizational responsibilities, the number only stopped there because it was simply impossible for any other shinobi to arrive before noon when the tournament would begin - and even the starting time had been called into question. Throughout the night, wires had gone out to the hidden villages, and Raikage's office had fielded dozens of calls demanding that the tournament be postponed until they could be properly represented by their finest shinobi.
It seemed some Kages and daimyos got their feathers ruffled by not being consulted. Raikage had begun to regret the headache it all entailed, but Mabui reminded him of the revenue it would bring in.
As Ino explained all of this, she concluded, "Mabui-san thinks a public address is the only thing that will calm them down."
"Okay. When's she doing it?"
"Well," said Ino, "they think it would sound best coming from you."
Properly stupefied, Naruto let herself be led to the arena a half hour before the tournament was to begin. When she passed through the gates, raucous cheering erupted and swelled. Naruto waved. The cheers redoubled. She did not realize at the time that cameras were trained on her, already rolling. Ino directed Naruto to the announcer's box high above the stands. There a red-haired lady named Nakamura Emi powdered her face and instructed Naruto on how best to look into the camera.
The interview aired over the loudspeakers and a few televisions that were stationed throughout the stands. When Emi-san welcomed them all to the start of the tournament and introduced Naruto and Mabui, the crowd cheered again. A camera swept over the arena before returning to the announcer's box where Emi-san and Mabui covered many of the ground rules governing the tournament, including some limits to use of chakra.
"For instance, Naruto-san isn't allowed to summon her bijuu's chakra," said Mabui. "Neither is B-san. But don't think that makes them weak."
"I'd never think it," said Emi. "Though I imagine some of viewers will be disappointed not to see the celebrated jinchurikis in their most advanced forms."
"They aren't missing much," said Naruto. "In those states, we move too fast for untrained eyes to catch. It'll be more fun for everyone this way, dattebayo."
"We have powerful barriers in place to protect the spectators," Mabui assured, "but even the best precautions might fail after a direct hit from a jinchuriki. The safety of our civilians is the first priority."
"As an observer myself," said Emi, "I have complete confidence in whatever measures you and Raikage-sama have deemed necessary."
It was clear Emi-san was eager to turn the attention to Naruto. A "human interest piece" she had called it moments before the interview began. At Emi-san's prompting to tell of how the tournament came about, Naruto apologized for all the fuss. "This was originally supposed to be little more than a few rounds of sparring. My team was on break in Kumo, and it just occurred to me what a fun thing it would be to spar with some Kumo shinobi. Everything sort of - spilled over from there."
"Your name has been attached to this tournament from the beginning," said Emi-san. "The level of interest it has generated speaks to your own popularity, wouldn't you say?"
Naruto coughed a little at that. "I think it speaks more to the spirit of the shinobi. We're a competitive bunch. We love to test ourselves against strong opponents. We love a challenge. But more than that, I think we all recognize the unique situation we're in."
"Do explain," she encouraged.
"Just consider what's happening right here, right now in Kumo. Shinobi from all over are coming together for a friendly competition when, not too long ago, we'd have been at each other's throats. As I was walking over here, I saw two Kumo shinobi greeting some guys from Suna with backslaps. I saw a guy from Iwa buy dango for Anko - that's Mitarashi Anko from Konoha. Scary lady. There were plenty of foreign shinobi stationed in Kumo even before this whole thing got underway. Just stop and think about how strange and awesome that is. Think back to a few years ago. I remember when Konoha hosted the chunin exams. Kumo didn't even show up, and Suna...let's just say I met another jinchuriki at that time, and I'm pretty sure he wanted bash my head in. Yep, lookin' at you, Gaara," she said, smiling straight into the camera.
Far away in Suna, the Kazekage smiled back. A few of his aides nearly fainted with dismay, for they had been unable to contrive any way for their Kage to arrive in Kumo in time to participate.
One of them whispered, "What if she really - ?"
"She couldn't. Not without -"
"Quiet," said Gaara. Chagrined, they returned their attention to the television.
Naruto motioned towards the packed stands. "And now Kumogakure has been generous enough to open up their village to us all. They've been incredible!" That got a huge roar from the crowd. Emi-san let it continue for a long while. Really, she had to. The cheers were loud enough for the microphones to pick up. She could scarcely hear herself over the noise.
"I see your point, Naruto-san," she said when all their ears stopped rattling.
"Honestly, with all this excitement, we should make it an annual thing."
"That's certainly something to explore in the future," said Mabui, who thought it important to turn the talk back to housekeeping details. "One thing we want to emphasize is the informal nature of this tournament. Officially, no shinobi is representing his or her village. With so little time to prepare, this was the best way to avoid any potential conflicts between villages in the almost certain event of injury. Each participant has signed a waiver declaring their independent status. Though, in spirit, I suspect there is still national pride on the line."
A few approbating yells confirmed this.
Emi-san pivoted to Naruto. "There might be more than pride on the line for you, Naruto-san. What is this I hear about an engagement?"
Naruto smiled weakly. "That is one rumor that got really out of hand. I'm here as a competitor, plain and simple."
Audible shouts and murmurs of dissent reached the announcer's box. Incredulous, Naruto half-turned in her seat towards the open window and called out, "You have got to be kidding me. I'm not marrying any of your sorry asses!"
Laughter welled from the stands.
"The tournament starts in ten minutes, folks," said Mabui, who wanted to draw the interview to a close. "Remember, we'll begin with good, old-fashioned melees. In order to advance, competitors must obtain at least three items -"
Eyes widening, Emi-san said, "Oh my."
A shinobi wearing the garb of Kumo had climbed up to the announcer's box and was perched on the window sill. Before he was swatted off the ledge by a disgruntled employee, he looked at Naruto and yelled, "Marry me!"
The shinobi plummeted but was caught by several comrades who had egged him on.
"- er, the items are white ribbons carried by - " Mabui tried again. But she had to stop because a chant had broken out in the crowd: Marry me! Marry me! Marry me! Marry me!
Soon the sheer volume drowned out thought and caused the announcer's box to vibrate. The chant didn't stop until Naruto herself leaned out the window. She shook her fist in the air and shouted down at them. "If you can manage to beat me, I'll consider it!"
Another wild roar of approval. When Naruto sat back down, she looked and felt considerably flustered.
"There are many skilled kunoichi here, too," Emi said with a pointed look at Naruto. "One of them might very well win."
"That's right," said Mabui. "These gents better not get overconfident or they'll find themselves at the sharp end of a kunai."
"That's right," echoed Naruto. "If a kunoichi wins, she can have Hyuuga Neji."
Dead silence fell upon the viewers, broken by a single "What?!" from a particular quarter. Then laughter broke out. From a home television in Konoha, Hyuuga Hiashi choked on his tea.
"I'm serious," said Naruto with a stubborn set to her jaw. "This whole marriage nonsense is his fault. I'll personally gift wrap the bastard."
Mabui saw the need to end the interview before things got more out of hand. She nudged Emi-san, who took the hint. "Well, that's all the time we have. The tournament officially begins with the ringing of the gong!"
The cameras cut to said gong. Naruto snatched the little microphone off her flak jacket. She walked to a room in the back where there were fewer people to gawk at her. Mabui followed her.
"Are you all right? You handled that well."
"What the hell do those guys think they're doing?" Naruto asked. "They don't actually think I'd just hitch myself to them, do they?"
"Naruto-san," said Mabui, placing a hand on her shoulder, "men are fools. Welcome to the saner sex."
"Thanks," she muttered and wondered whether she had been a giant idiot, too, when she was a guy.
"But I do suspect many of them are just having a good time. Amano Ichirou is known in Kumo for being a handful. He's, er, actually quite talented. Something of a prodigy. You might want to watch out for him."
With emotions warring between bemusement, annoyance, and outright bafflement, Naruto took three white strips of fabric from her pocket. She tied one around her left wrist, one around her right ankle, and another in the unused belt loop of her pants. She settled into a meditative stance and let all those thoughts drift out of her mind.
The surroundings were chock full of natural energy, practically buzzing with it. Naruto absorbed the sensations thrumming through her body. Then she combined the natural energy with her own chakra along with the Kyuubi's and let it explode out around her. The energy slipped among the crowd and over the arena. It climbed the air itself, surveying the surroundings. It caused no damage, of course. It was something only a sensor might detect. In fact, she was probably alarming a few shinobi in the vicinity, but that was necessary for the safety of the congregating populace. Naruto sensed no hidden presences, no killing intent, some petty malice but none of it directed at her. And none of the malice felt - significant. It seemed caused by the usual disagreements of normal life. That was fine. She expanded her sensing throughout the whole of Kumo and beyond. To a sensor, Kumo would be set ablaze by the prevalence of her chakra. But Naruto was satisfied. Orochimaru was nowhere near Kumo, nor was any other enemy.
The gong rang, its vibrations resounding through the air, and when Naruto opened her eyes, the lids carried a shadow of orange. The cameras zoomed in on Raikage taking his seat of honor and waving for his underlings to kick off this whole thing.
"I'm in the first melee," said Naruto. "Gotta go steal some ribbons."
"Gambatte," said Mabui.
"Thanks. Don't need it."
She climbed out a window and onto the roof of the announcer's box. In the arena far below, dozens of shinobi had made their way to the field. An official raised a white flag and dropped it. The jounin darted into battle. The goal was to retain possession of all three ribbons tied to each shinobi's wrist, ankle, and waist while snatching at least five ribbons from opponents. Any fewer and the competitor would be eliminated from the tournament.
Naruto bit her thumb and scanned the crowd for Kiba, Neji, Ino, and Choji. When she spotted them, she summoned Kurama, who poofed into physical existence in between them all. Naruto chuckled at the sudden flurry of flying limbs brought on by astonishment. Then she launched herself off the roof, unaware that cameras tracked her leap into the fray. In her hand, a glowing ball of chakra formed.
"Rasengan!"
She shoved the Rasengan into the ground, whipping up a cover of dust, and streaked off towards the nearest combatant, a Kumo jounin who didn't even see her coming. Only fools underestimated of the strength and speed of Frog Fu. The dust died down, and over ten jounin lay on the ground knocked out. Naruto was an orange blur, shooting around like a dizzying pinball from one opponent to the next. Swords shot towards her, and she danced around them, flipping over B with one hand planted on the crown of his head.
"You're slow, oyaji!"
"Bakayaro! Konoyaro!"
And off she went, this time toward a guy from Suna who tried to kick up a sandstorm. Too slow. Naruto snatched all three of his ribbons off before sending him flying toward the nearest med-tent. He would need its services.
The official blew the whistle after five minutes. Almost fifty jounin had begun the melee fit and healthy. About twenty of them were limping or stumbling to the med-tents but waved at the crowd good naturedly. Others came up short with their ribbons, either having lost one or two of their own or having failed to obtain five others.
Naruto counted at least twenty ribbons in her hand and congratulated herself for holding back. She waved the bundle into a camera. "Gotta keep up. Bakayaro konoyaro!"
Then she turned and saluted B. Suddenly frantic, B plunged a hand into his pockets and pulled out several ribbons. And he still had his three original ribbons. Relieved, B waved the bounty over his head. "Didn't get them, ya fool!"
"I got something else!"
She held up a notebook. A very precious notebook with a pencil pushed inside the spiral metal bindings. B's jaw dropped. That notebook's pages were filled with notes for his most sensational raps. Naruto flipped to a random page and begin reading. Loudly. B leaped at her, wrapped an arm around her neck, and began tousling her hair.
The entire scuffle was transmitted via television. In Konoha, Tsunade watched the exchange between the two jinchurikis. Also in the office were Shizune, Kakashi, and Iruka, who was fretting mightily about this whole tournament.
Tsunade mused, "Trust Naruto to turn a few days of leave into an international goodwill mission. The optics here - jinchurikis of foreign nations bantering like this." She shook her head in wonder. "I've never been certain if she's a genius or not."
Some development on the television startled Iruka. He jabbed a finger at the screen. "That's the guy who demanded she marry him! Scoundrel!"
"What's he saying to her?"
"Why is Naruto smiling?"
Naruto wondered that herself. When she and B had cleared the field to make way for the first round of individual matches, a Kumo shinobi approached her and congratulated her on a decisive victory in the melee. "You must be Amano-san," Naruto had said.
"You must have inquired after me, Naruto-san." He grinned. Having been a guy so long, Naruto wasn't certain what women found attractive, but Amano-san had a strong jaw, blue eyes, and dimples. His hair was auburn, the same shade as Karui's. There was good chance he was swoon-worthy.
Naruto raised her brows. "Using my first name, huh?"
"It's a bold gesture," he conceded. "But what else would distinguish me from the adoring masses?"
"Putting up a good fight," she replied.
"I doubt I can beat you in a one-on-one match," he said, the grin never fading. "But you've noticed me, haven't you?" His boundless confidence was epitomized in a mischievous wink. Naruto found herself grinning back and wished him luck.
"You're gonna need it," she added.
"I shall endeavor to show you a good time."
Unsure how to respond but finding Amano-san amusing, she only shook her head. Then she headed to an official who counted out her ribbons.
The Raikage made the announcement: Eleven jounin from this melee would advance. The names of the roughly one hundred shinobi who had not been in first melee went into a pool. Two names at a time were drawn, setting up the first round of individual matches. The winners would automatically advance past the next melee and on to the second individual round.
Naruto munched on dango as five matches destroyed the field with bursts of fire and lightning before being drowned with water jutsus. The barriers protecting the spectators held firm, fully transparent but for the glimmers of sunlight at certain angles. A few of the shinobi caught her eye with impressive displays of jutsu and lightning speed.
Kiba's name got called. He and Akamaru took down a shinobi from Iwa.
After ten matches, a break was called so that the field could be repaired by shinobi with earth-style abilities. Meanwhile, names were drawn for the second melee. Neji jumped down when his name rang over the loudspeakers. A chorus of female voices called out. He blushed and managed to look affronted at the same time. Kiba and Choji chortled.
Then the announcer said, "Uzumaki - "
The cheering welled.
"- Kurama."
Confusion muffled the shouts and cheers.
Naruto laughed loudly as she and Kurama leaped to the opening in the barrier, at the edge of the field, to a round of squawking and squeals from the audience. He was small as far as giant foxes went. His shoulder height reached that of an average male's head. He yawned and sat on his haunches among the visibly nervous jounin. Naruto began tying ribbons around a paw, his midriff, and one around a tail.
"Ready for this?" she asked him.
The gentle waving of his tails picked up pace. "It'll be exercise if nothing else," he condescended to admit.
"It's not as weird as I thought it'd be, talking to you like this. Still, it's nice. You'll do great."
Kurama rolled his eyes but took the moment to lick Naruto, beginning at her neck and all the way up to her forehead. Naruto recoiled from the saliva soaking half her face.
"Gross! You overgrown fuzzball!" She tried mopping off her face with her sleeve. The first whistle blew, so Naruto returned to her seat with a final parting shot: "And your breath reeks!"
As the second melee began, Ino, who was sitting in the row above Naruto, leaned forward, "Naruto, how is the Kyuubi going to compete in this?"
"What do you mean? Same as the rest of us."
"He doesn't have hands." Ino wriggled her fingers and mimed snatching off a ribbon.
Naruto looked a little dumbfounded. "Oh yeah."
By then, Kurama had pinned one Suna jounin with a paw to his chest. A brave kunoichi approached the Kyuubi, going for the ribbon tied to his tail, but the other eight tails whipped around to fend her off. Kurama barely noticed her. His attention was fully on the pinned jounin and the particular challenge this task required. As the jounin lay thunderstruck on the ground with a freaking bijuu on top of him, Kurama's muzzle nipped at the ribbon on his wrist. The stupid things were too thin for his teeth. He couldn't snag one.
He tried his claws. They were too big. He couldn't draw the ribbon taut to slice it, and he couldn't cut the knot without cutting off the jounin's hand. The jounin seemed to realize that and stayed very, very still. Considering the dilemma, Kurama closed his eyes and sent out a specter of chakra that looked like red flames. It molded into the shape of a hand.
"Yes!" yelled Naruto.
The hand grabbed the ribbon, and the whole thing went up in smoke.
"No!" yelled Naruto.
Undeterred, Kurama concentrated. The hand that emerged this time was a shadow of the first, charged with far less chakra. It reached out. It touched the knot of the ribbon. It tugged.
The ribbon burst into flame.
A round of moans sounded from the audience. Kurama grit his teeth and concentrated. So slowly, so very carefully, he released the faintest sliver of chakra. The hand moved towards the jounin's last ribbon, the one on his ankle. So slowly. So carefully. A single finger of the hand touched the ribbon. The finger squirmed under the knot, started to loosen it.
"Nani?!" Kurama roared as he watched it turn to smoke and ash. His legs skittered underneath him in agitation. His tails shot around and caught three jounin. One by one, he gave them his attention. Try as he would, he couldn't produce chakra weak enough not to ignite the ribbons. Growling, he pounced on another jounin, who scrambled to evade the first attack. Nine tails shot around the man and dug into the earth, caging the jounin inside.
"I give up," the man squealed and covered his head.
"Stay still," the Kyuubi snarled. He extended his claws.
"Wait! I'll - I'll give you the ribbons! I'll untie them!"
Kurama's look of concentration morphed to one of surprise. "That will do," he said, wishing he'd thought of that sooner. He could just terrorize these weaklings into doing the infuriating work for him. But the whistle blew, signaling the end of the match. Having obtained no additional ribbons, Uzumaki Kurama shook himself off and trotted with what dignity remained to him back to the stands where Naruto tried to console him.
"It's kind of like your clone exercise," she said. "Too much power for too simple a job. We'll have to find your version of Shadow Clones."
Kurama sniffed.
"I bet the Hachibi could have done it!" called B from afar. Then a tentacle emerged from his belly and smacked him in the head. Which was a good thing because Kurama looked mutinous at the taunting.
"You can still get back in this thing," Naruto encouraged. "In the final melee, if you can capture fifteen ribbons, you can re-qualify for the individual matches."
"But he couldn't get even one," said Ino. Her jaw snapped shut when Kurama narrowed his eyes at her.
"There's no rule against partnering up in the melees," said Naruto. "Hey, Choji."
Choji had been looking over at Karui and lost himself in a reverie. He blinked out of it. "Eh?"
"Chances are you'll be in the final melee. Can you team up with Kurama to get the extra fifteen ribbons?"
That would be fifteen in addition to the five Choji would need for himself. "Er, it's not that I'm not willing, but I'm not sure I can."
"Kurama would have your back. Right?" Naruto looked at Kurama, who considered the chubby Akimichi whose fingers were greasy with potato chip residue. Like a lord deigning to grant a pecuniary request, the Kyuubi nodded slowly. Naruto rolled her eyes and, with his permission, recalled some of Kyuubi's chakra so that his form shrunk. He wasn't quite a chibi-kitsune, but he was small enough to sit next to Naruto without blocking the view of anyone behind them.
"What about you, Naruto?" asked Kiba. "You might end up in the final melee."
She scratched her nose. "Yeah, but me and Kurama teaming up might seem a little unfair, you know. Even if it's not in the usual way."
The second round of individual matches was already underway. Darui faced one of his own countrymen, a shinobi named Yotsuki Kiyoi. Naruto expected the match to end within a minute, but Yotsuki-san proved resilient. Something sparked in Darui's hand, and Naruto got excited.
"Black lightning! Yes!" she yelled. Kurama's tails waved in anticipation.
"It was originally the technique of the Third Raikage, did you know?"
Naruto spun around to see Amano-san sitting two rows above her. Several of his friends sat around him and grinned down at the Konoha shinobi.
"When the heck did you get there?" said Naruto.
He put on pained smile. "You aren't acutely aware of my presence yet. I hope to change that."
Ino coughed. Kiba chortled. Choji had returned his gaze to Karui. Naruto raised a brow and turned back to the match. A sudden snapping sound made her head whip around again. She caught a glimpse of black lightning crackling in Amano-san's hand before his palm closed around it, quenching it.
"Darui-san's not the only one with the ability," said Amano. Then he added, "Though his is more advanced than mine. He's my senpai. I'm catching up. You can call me Ichirou, by the way."
A growl of warning rumbled from the chest of little Kurama, who glared at the Kumo shinobi. The growl was, quite frankly, adorable. If Amano-san made a comment to that effect, as Naruto half-expected, she was prepared to keep Kurama from pouncing on Amano-san. Little Kurama didn't have the same control as he did in his more mature form. And that wasn't much to speak of.
A sudden uproar of applause and cheering drew their attention back to the match, where the combatants picked themselves off the ground and bowed to one another. Darui waved at the crowd a little mournfully. He hoped no one thought he was angling for Naruto's hand in marriage. If it weren't for Boss's direct order to win this thing, he might have faked a loss in the first melee.
"Darui-san will advance to tomorrow's individual matches," said the announcer. That ended the second round of the individual matches. Only the third and final melee remained. Afternoon was waning. The next morning, individual matches would take place until a single victor came out on top.
As earth-nin restored the arena again and shinobi checked the barrier for weaknesses, the announcer ran through the names for the third melee. Naruto perked up when her name was called. "Yosh!"
"I'll be rooting for you, Naruto-san," called Amano-san. She didn't turn back to acknowledge him, but her slight twitch signaled that she'd heard him.
"Dude," said Kiba when Naruto was out of earshot. "You really might want to rethink this."
"I haven't had a chance to prove myself yet, but I promise you, my abilities won't be a disappointment."
"At least don't be so forward," said Ino. "We're trying to help you here. You don't want to draw the wrong attention."
"Wrong attention?" he repeated. He exchanged amused glances with his three friends, one of whom said, "Ichi can handle himself if any rivals come around."
"In any case," said Amano, "she's a talented shinobi. I'm a talented shinobi, and I admire her. In this age of goodwill, our being from different hidden villages is not a major concern."
Ino shook her head. "You don't get it. Naruto's on a different level. You can't understand that until you've faced her down. There's only one person that can match her."
"Uchiha Sasuke," said Amano shrewdly. The same friend snorted and said, "He's got a reputation for being a real asshole. It's hard to imagine him being a good fit for someone as outgoing and cute as Naruto-san."
Ino and Kiba stared at him. "She's a lot more than that," Ino said.
"Besides, I don't see him around," continued the friend. He made an exaggerated gesture of looking.
"More to the point," said Amano, "if they don't have an understanding, I'm free to pursue her."
"Amano Ichirou," said the announcer, calling him to the third melee. He stood, smiling. "Guess I won't be rooting for her. I'll have to challenge her, of course."
Kiba watched him go, then looked back at Amano's friends. "He's dead, just so you know."
But they didn't seem concerned. They catcalled and whooped and awakened others in the audience to the fact that Amano, who had in essence proposed to Naruto in front of the whole world, would now face her in battle. Cameramen picked up on the cue and trained the two of them. Amano seemed aware of his newfound celebrity status and caught up with Naruto to better facilitate it.
Whispers caught fire in the crowd. Outside a med-tent, four recently eliminated Kumo shinobi watched a large television, set up there for injured shinobi to watch as they recovered. It broadcasted Naruto's interaction with Amano. The two walked side by side across the field of the arena.
"Think Ichirou can bring her to Kumo?" asked one a little wistfully.
"It'd be a major coup if he could. Can you even imagine Konoha's reaction?"
"Amano Naruto has a nice ring to it."
"All he has to do is beat her. Then she's honor-bound to marry him."
"What?"
The four shinobi turned to see a dark-haired man standing behind them with his eyes fixated on the television screen. His face was abnormally pale, as though he'd received a terrible shock. The bright red irises and swirling tomoe told the shinobi just whom they were staring at: a visibly stunned Uchiha Sasuke.