OMG THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS EVERYONE! Reading some of them were pretty amusing. I was so overjoyed with the reviews that I decided to update TODAY. ALL RIGHT. Plus yesterday was kind of crappy (that is...BESIDES the reviews) and I just wanted to get some good things in today. Call it karma if you'd like. XD This chapter is shorter than the others (I can't seem to lengthen it anymore...) but still good. Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Next match," Nami said, glancing at the Sand team.
My turn at last! Kankuro thought.
Kankuro and Misumi stood in the middle of the arena, ready for battle.
"Midori," Marieke said, standing next to her. "You don't seem yourself. What happened in the Second Exam?"
"Nothing happened, sensei," Midori said, walking away. "I need to go to the bathroom real quick."
A few minutes later, Midori was staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Oh man…I really don't look too good…what did happen? If I got poisoned, then I would be dead by now, right? Not only that, but—I have a zit?! She shook her head. Get a hold of yourself, Midori. Focus. Okay...I was with Neji…and we battled those grass ninja…and I was trapped in that jutsu…that was supposed to have poison. I obviously got poisoned…but it just doesn't make sense. Unless…was it some kind of special poison that works slowly?
Midori rotated her wrist slowly. Yes…my joints are stiffening…barely. But I can't back down now. Kyoko won and I doubt Nami will have any trouble either…I'm not going to be left behind. Oh…come on, hands of fate! Give me a sign here! When's my turn?!
She gazed back at her reflection and noticed a white, little dot on the mirror. Annoyed, she carefully scratched the dot and cursed that she was such a germaphobe outside her home.
CRACK.
"Eh?!" Midori gasped as part of the mirror cracked. It was a small crack, not too noticeable.
Midori quickly pulled her hand away instinctively, shocked. …That's not a good sign…Now I have a weird feeling… Shaking the odd feeling off, she walked out the door and back into the room.
Once Midori got back, Sakura and Ino were in the limelight.
"Hey, Midori," Nami said suddenly. "We have this awesome idea."
"Huh?"
"We figured with all the other shinobi here, we should go 'gather some info', ya know?" Nami said, jabbing Midori and winking.
"You guys can go," Kyoko said, crossing her arms. "But I'm staying right here."
Nami rolled her eyes. "Duh. You were the one who picked this place. But Chuckie here is creeping me out," she whispered, jabbing a finger towards Gaara.
Kyoko's face flushed. "You…"
"Bye!"
Nami disappeared, running down the stairs and across the sidelines with Midori quickly following afterward. By this time, Sakura and Ino had been retrieved by their teachers. A small, concerned crowd surrounded the two kunoichi while Nami and Midori took their places in between Team Gai and Team Seven.
Lee noticed the two girls immediately and smiled. "Nami-san! Midori-chan! Hello!"
"Eh, don't call me 'san', Lee!" Nami said, smacking the boy upside the head playfully. "Just call me Nami! Oh, and thanks for the save in the Forest of Death."
Lee smiled. "All right."
"What're you doing over here anyway, huh?" Naruto asked.
"What's the matter with hangin' around with the other Konoha ninja, huh Ototo?" Nami said, ruffling Naruto's hair.
Naruto sweat dropped. Since when am I her little brother?
Midori smiled sheepishly at her teammate.
"So your teammate is all right then?" Lee asked.
"That's right," Midori nodded. "I guess that Kumo guy's attacks weren't really effective for long periods of time."
Lee nodded.
"Are Sakura and Ino okay?"
"They're both knocked out," Naruto piped. "Sakura-chan could've totally won though!"
"Right…" Nami said doubtfully.
"Looks like it's my turn," Tenten said suddenly as she hopped into the arena.
"All right, Tenten! GO!" Lee cheered loudly.
---
A mere seven minutes had passed and yet none of Kyoko's teammates had gone. Nami was getting restless. No, she was getting beyond restless. She was lashing out in her mind, angrily awaiting her turn and who she was going to fight and when she was going to finally get to fight. HISS. FOAM.
Tapping her foot impatiently, she watched as Kin gave herself a concussion against the wall. Suddenly, an idea formed in her mind. Grinning deviously, she took out a kunai, a piece of paper, and a pen.
"All right, Shikamaru!" Ino cheered happily for her teammate. "You did it!"
Shikamaru, who was still in the bridge position was about to flip backward when suddenly a kunai came whizzing towards him. Ah crap, what now?! Shikamaru fell flat on his back to avoid the kunai. Ow...
Hayate glanced tiredly at the kunai then followed the direction to a girl in the stands. Raising an eyebrow, he noticed a paper tied to the kunai. However, it didn't blow the arena to bits so he decided that it wasn't an exploding tag and she wasn't a spy for some distant country and/or an organization of fugitives. Walking over, he tore the paper from the kunai and read, "'Way to go…Shik.'" What the crap?
Shikamaru turned slightly red but it was nothing compared to the look of pure aggravation on his face. Looking up at the grinning and waving Nami, he muttered, "You could've just told me that without having to spike me with a kunai."
Apparently, Nami didn't hear him because she just went on smiling. Either that or she just really didn't care.
"Okay…" Hayate coughed. "We will proceed to the next match now…"
"It's gonna be me, please let it be me," Naruto prayed.
"No, I will have my turn next!" Lee said devotedly.
"Wrong! I'm gonna go!" Nami declared.
Names flashed on the screen overhead and once again, two names were left.
MOYA INAZUMARU VS. HIKARI MIDORI
The three stared at Midori who had a blank look on her face. Sighing, Midori hopped over the railing and into the spotlight.
"She doesn't really look like she wants to do this," Naruto remarked.
I wonder what happened in the Forest of Death to make her this way? Nami thought.
"YEAH! GO MIDORI-CHAN!"
Midori smiled weakly but suddenly frowned when she saw the very unpleasant look on her green-eyed, blond opponent's face.
"You can't be serious," the one named Inazumaru sneered. "I'm supposed to fight a girl?"
"Is your whole team sexist?" Midori said with a tint of annoyance in her voice.
Inazumaru smirked. "Maybe. But it's only because I'm a gentleman who doesn't hurt girls."
Midori snorted.
"Begin!"
Midori backed up, waiting for the boy to make a move.
"You gonna just stand there? You're only making it easier!" He started to run, arms crossed with bundles of kunai in both hands. Hands outstretched, he tossed the weapons at his adversary.
Midori simply stepped to the side, a little confused. Was it because her body was numbing that her brain was playing tricks on her? Probably not. The weapons were obviously all going in one straight direction as opposed to honing on the target. Who was this guy?
"Haha, this guy sucks," Nami snickered. "Midori won't have trouble with him."
How did someone like this pass the second exam? Even if his teammates are stars, the percentage of him screwing something up would be over ninety percent at least, Marieke thought.
"But how does Midori-chan do that?" Lee wondered. "She didn't seem the type to be so strong physically to me."
"That's why she has that crystal around her neck!" Nami explained, pointing at Midori. "See? It enhances her chakra ability tenfold! Compliments to her home country and clan!"
Lee's eyes widened in amazement.
Neji glanced at the two from the corner of his eye, then back down at the 'fight'. I knew she was from a clan from our encounter in the forest but…which clan?
From across the room, Kyoko sweat dropped. "Midori's lucky. He's all mouth and no skills."
Marieke didn't answer.
Inazumaru seemed frustrated that his kunai hadn't pelted Midori perfectly. He started to run, fist extended. Throwing a punch, he grunted as he was sent forward, feeling Midori's hand on his head as she pushed him down.
Midori leapt into the air a few feet, the Hikari Suishou glowing. Then she hurled her chakra-pounding leg downwards, kicking the boy in that very direction.
Inazumaru crashed to the ground but denied losing. He threw a smoke bomb down and instantly the area was cloaked with the smog.
Neji activated his Byakugan, eyes narrow.
It was then that Midori suddenly felt tense when her body started to pulse. Clumsily, she touched the ground and held her stomach. She glanced around warily, though her eyelids seemed to be weighted down with inertia. What's happening…?
Before she knew it, she collapsed, her strange defeat hidden in the haze.
---The Next Day---
"Is she okay?"
"I don't know."
"What should we do?"
"Just stay here and wait, I guess."
"I bet cold water would work."
"I bet it would."
Midori's eyes flickered open to see a bottle of water tipping ever so slightly over her face. Shrieking, she slapped the bottle away, soaking the bottom of the white bed she was in. Wait…white bed?
"Yeesh, Midori. It's like you're always awake when you're…not," Kyoko said.
"Nice wording."
"Shut up."
"What happened?" Midori said. She felt something in her neck and paled. It was a tube. She screamed. Once again, Midori had left the world of consciousness.
A few minutes later, she opened her eyes again.
Her two friends were still there, staring at her in an odd way.
Then she remembered. A TUBE WAS IN HER NECK. AAAAAAHHHH!
Before she could scream again, Nami covered her mouth.
"Don't scream again," she said seriously.
Midori counted to ten in her head then relaxed.
"Please tell me what's going on!" Midori said urgently. "What happened to me?"
"You blacked out after that loser used the smoke bomb yesterday," Nami explained, crossing her arms. "I don't know why. You were obviously winning the battle. What's up with that, huh? That guy doesn't deserve to be a chuunin!"
"I know why," Kyoko said. "I overheard the medics talking about poison in your system or something. Some kind of Grass Country poison that works pretty slowly. They say you're gonna be here for at least a day to recover from the poison removal."
"Well that explains a lot," Midori mumbled, sighing and resting her head in her hands. "Sorry guys. Looks like I'm not going to become a chuunin this exam."
"Hey, hey," Nami said. "No worries, you know? You'll just try again next exam. And we, as your chuunin teammates will cheer you on!"
Midori rolled her eyes. Not exactly the words she was looking for, but all right. She then noticed a vase sitting on her bedside table with a daffodil in it.
"Did you guys give me this?" Midori questioned.
"Flowers? Yeah right," Nami scoffed. "Nah, we got you something even better."
"What?"
Nami and Kyoko exchanged excited glances as they left the room.
Confused, Midori sat in her half-wet bed and sighed glumly.
A nurse came in and raised an eyebrow. "Um…"
Midori pointed to the empty water bottle that was now on the floor. She turned slightly pink from realizing what the nurse had inferred.
The nurse changed the sheets without another word. Then, turning to Midori she said, "Feeling better? The poison had already gone through three quarters of your body. You could've died."
At being so close to death, Midori felt suddenly ecstatic. SHE WAS ALIVE. "Yes, thanks."
The nurse just smiled and walked out of the room to alert the doctor of the patient's current condition.
Midori noticed that she was now wearing a white patient's dress. She winced. All this white made her eyes hurt and she wasn't too keen on wearing such a short dress.
"SURPRISE!"
Midori jumped at the abrupt voices and started patting her heart to make sure it was still beating. It was a good thing she was in a hospital. What she saw made her flinch.
Nami and Kyoko had their arms swung around a certain boy's shoulders as they pushed him forward. The boy didn't look all that happy.
"N-Neji?!"
DUN DUN DUN. CLIFFIE! And just a heads up, the next chapter's sort of filler-y. R&R please!
-HM