Friday 13th. My doomsday. Seriously, I've had a really crappy day and I didn't really feel like updating, but I did anyway because I have to have SOMETHING good happen for me, right? I'd rather not go into details because there's a bunch of drama, but let's just say I haven't really had anything particularly stress-lifting. So, hoping that your day was better than mine, happy Friday the 13th! Anyway, this chapter is a little bit late in the day for me, but I'd still like you all to enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Nami and Kyoko were grinning ear-to-ear.
"Your teammates forced me to come here," Neji said exasperatedly.
Midori's expression was stone. Well THAT made sense.
"How rude," Kyoko said, hands on hips. "Some gentleman you are."
Neji glared at her, making her sink.
"Well, we'll just leave you two kids alone then!" Nami said unfazed as she dragged Kyoko out of the room.
Neji and Midori stood in silence.
Inner Midori was on a rampage. Did they not know that Neji barely knew who Midori was? Did they not know that they were embarrassing her to death? And did they not know that Neji was still a cold-hearted jerk who was bent on fate? APPARENTLY NOT.
"I saw what happened."
"Huh?" Midori was taken back from her thoughts of wringing her teammates' necks to Earth.
"You collapsed because of the poison," Neji said. "From that jutsu in the second exam."
If he knew then why didn't he tell her? Midori was slightly irritated at this.
"Oh," was all she could say.
More silence fell.
"Well, seeing as you're okay," Neji said, heading for the door. "I'll be off."
"Thank you, Neji." Midori did not know if Neji had heard her, for he had already left.
---
"Seeing as you two are the ones who are moving on to the third exam," Marieke said, pacing in front of her students. "I will be training you both till your arms fall off, your legs are numb, and your mind a bulging storage of knowledge! You will be trained from 5 AM to 3 AM and you will always be here ten minutes early! There are only three kunoichi in the third exam, two of them are you two maggots! The rest are consumed by the opposite sex which is not acceptable! You will show the others what kunoichi are made of! With my help, you'll be able to crush those other competitors into the ground! But you'd better do as I say, got it?!"
Nami and Kyoko were afraid. VERY afraid.
"I said GOT IT?!"
"SIR YES, SIR!"
"I'm a woman!"
"MA'AM YES, MA'AM!"
"Now, fifty laps around the training ground! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"
The two terrified girls high-tailed it out of there.
---
Being stuck in a hospital all day wasn't exactly what Midori wanted to do after the horrors of the Chuunin Exams. But people couldn't get everything they wanted, so what should she do? She should be optimistic and find the BETTER of her situation!
After getting the tube removed by the medics (Midori nearly fainted again) Midori decided to go and visit the other hospital occupants who had come fresh from the exams. With a little help from the nurse, she had the room numbers of her friends (more or less) in the hospital.
Deciding to go with the closest room, she went to visit Chouji. After knocking on the door then hearing some shuffling, she heard Chouji's voice.
"Come in!"
Midori came in with a smile. "Hey, Chouji. How're you feeling?"
Chouji stared at the girl. He knew that he knew her, but he also knew that he didn't know her name and he knew that she didn't know that he didn't know her name because she seemed to know his name even though he barely knew her and she also knew where his room was and came to visit even though he knew that she was landed in the hospital by that loser whose name that Chouji didn't know. GASP.
"Uh…hi…you," Chouji tried.
Midori understood. Chouji didn't know who she was.
Chouji just saw her smile and was confused.
"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself!" Midori said laughably. "I'm Midori, from the Chuunin Exams, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember!" Chouji nodded. It was ALL coming back to him now. "How'd you know me? You got knocked out of the preliminaries before my battle."
"Oh…well…"
"Oh wait, that's right! It was your teammate who beat me…" Chouji said, trailing off. He wasn't really used to talking to any girl besides Ino, and even she made him a little nervous.
"She did…? I mean, she did!" Midori said with agreement. I forgot to ask how the exams turned out! I guess I know now…
Silence.
"Yeah, that last punch really knocked my stomach out," Chouji said suddenly, patting his stomach. "But the doctors say I'm gonna be out soon."
"Oh, good to know," Midori said.
"Yeah, I'm not going to make chuunin this year," Chouji continued. "But I'm gonna train hard for the next exam!"
Midori smiled with a bit of admiration. "Right. Us both." She stood up and started for the door. "Train hard, Chouji. I'll see you around." With a short wave, she was gone, leaving a determined and slightly bewildered Chouji.
Yes! My first actual conversation with a girl besides Ino! Chouji punched the air. Before I get out of the hospital, maybe I'll even talk to that cute nurse!
---
"Fifty! Fifty-one! Fifty-two! Fifty-three!"
"Help…me…"
"Fifty-four! Fifty-five! Fifty-six!"
"No…more…"
Nami and Kyoko were doing push-ups. Actually, they hadbeen doing push-ups ever since their five-second break after the fifty laps.
"Sensei…break…please…" Kyoko gasped.
"Fine, fine, fine," Marieke sighed. "You girls are pathetic. You get ten seconds."
"EEEEEEEHHHHHHH?!" the girls screeched.
"All right, all right," Marieke said as she rolled her eyes. "Ten minutes. But that's IT. I have to go prepare your next exercise anyway." As soon as she finished, she disappeared in a puff of smoke and the two exhausted girls collapsed.
"I can't feel my everything…" Nami groaned.
"Sensei's definitely gone overboard, that's for sure…" Kyoko agreed. "If we don't win this exam-tournament thing, she'll work us to our graves!" Animated tears ran down her cheeks. "I don't wanna die like thaaaaaat!"
"Get a hold of yourself, woman!" Nami exclaimed, slapping her friend.
Kyoko stared at her. "Ow." She slapped Nami.
"Hey!"
Kyoko ducked as Nam tried to slap her once more.
Nami gave up and placed her hands on her hips in a business-like fashion. "We can't give up after just a little pain, Kyoko! We're kunoichi, independent female ninja! We'll show everyone what we can do, and we'll become chuunin!"
"That's right!" Kyoko exclaimed, standing next to her teammate. "No matter the odds, no matter how difficult the training, we'll win!"
"YEAH!" the two punched the air.
Suddenly, two puffs of smoke appeared reavealing…
"What's shakin'?"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHH?!" the two shrieked, ducking for cover.
Gai stood next to Marieke in pose number nineteen.
"Calm down, girls," Marieke said nonchalantly. "Gai here has volunteered to help you girls out."
"That's right! Seeing as Neji doesn't want me to train him for some reason…I've decided to help Marieke train you two!"
Nami and Kyoko twitched.
"First thing is you've got to change your wardrobe to be light and comfortable!" Gai declared, whipping out two green spandex suits. YOUNG WOMEN'S SIZE.
Lightning, please strike. NOW.
---
Midori stopped at Lee's door to suddenly be bowled over by three frantic females.
"WHAT DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING?!"
"Lee-san!"
Ino stopped to see Midori steadying herself. "Midori?"
"Ino!" Midori said, shaking her head. "What's up?"
"Lee's outside doing push-ups in his state!" Ino exclaimed.
Midori's eyes widened.
The two girls quickly ran after the nurse and Sakura. Soon, the group of four came outside, rushing over to the injured taijutsu master who was indeed doing push-ups. A LOT of push-ups.
"Lee, you shouldn't push yourself!" the nurse advised urgently.
"N…No," Lee said, doing another push-up with his good arm. "I…must do…a hundred push-ups…Ninety-seven…"
"Lee-kun," Midori whispered, eyes hard.
"Oh…" the nurse had a 'why me?' look on her face. "I can't watch…"
"Ninety-eight…ninety…nine…"
Suddenly, Lee collapsed.
"Lee-san/Lee-kun!"
"Oh no! I'll get the doctor!" the nurse said quickly, hurrying off once more.
The three girls knelt down closer to the fallen boy.
"Lee-san…" Sakura said softly. "Why…why are boys so persistent and stubborn?"
"Don't ask me…" Ino sighed. "I'm not a boy."
They just want to prove so much, Midori thought to herself. Especially Lee-kun…he's so unlucky and yet he has the drive of a genius. "I wish…"
Ino and Sakura looked at Midori.
"…That I could have half as much dedication as he does."
The other two silently agreed.
---
Kyoko wanted to cry. Here she was, doing a hundred sit-ups. Then after that she'd have to do two hundred push-ups. After THAT she'd have to do three hundred laps around KONOHA. And if she failed to any one of those, she had to do four hundred jumping jacks. And she had to do all this with NAMI. MAN. Her life SUCKED.
"Shoulders off the ground, girls!" Gai called as he did the exercise with the girls. That is…HE was doing it at about a ten sit-ups per minute while the girls were doing it at one. He turned his head to Marieke while still pulling himself up and down. "Marieke! Do the training with us! That's how I raised my students!"
"Each sensei has his or her own way of teaching," Marieke said as she turned a page of a familiar book.
"EH?! That's Kakashi-sensei's book!" Kyoko shouted as she pointed at Marieke accusingly.
"Oh no! Marieke-sensei's turning into an ecchi-loving Kakashi clone!" Nami moaned.
Marieke shot the two girls a glare. "I am not."
"Denial."
"You girls failed to complete your sit-ups! That's four hundred jumping jacks! NOW!"
"Yes ma'am!"
---
Midori had skipped Sasuke's room, remembering that he wasn't there. Before Ino and Sakura left, Sakura revealed that she had remembered that Midori was in the hospital and gave her the flower she had wanted to give to Sasuke. Midori was surprised, but smiled at that.
"Thanks, Sakura," Midori had said. "It means a lot."
Sakura had just shrugged and smiled. "Sasuke-kun wouldn't like flowers anyway…"
Now Midori was back in her room. The doctor told her that she would be free to go in the morning, and she couldn't wait to get out of the hospital and back with her friends.
It won't be easy for Nami and Kyoko to get past the Third Exam, Midori thought. With opponents like them…they may not stand a great chance…
---
Neji slammed his hand against the tree. He was sweating intensely, and his breath quickened as he landed another blow. Why was it that that Midori girl always appeared in his life? Before the Chuunin Exams, during the Chuunin Exams...her teammates were crazy, and he was not sure what he thought of her.
She is just a girl. Someone who would not increase my chances of attaining the title of chuunin, Neji thought. A distraction...that is all.
---
That night, Inazumaru jauntily walked through the streets of Konoha towards the hotel he was staying at. Happy with his win, his gargantuan ego was now ten times larger. Before he could get to the hotel, however, he heard a commotion above on a roof nearby. Being curious and not the sharpest tool in the shed, he scaled the walls of a store (when the shop owner wasn't looking, of course) and saw a redhead on the roof a few ways away, sitting tranquilly.
"Hey, you!" he shouted, recognizing the redhead. "What happened, huh? The roof's covered with blood!"
Gaara turned his head slowly, a manic look on his face. The shadows only enhanced the creepy features.
Inazumaru shivered as a cold feeling jolted through his spine. He was about to retreat when Gaara shot toward him, his body transforming.
"W-Wait! AAAAAAAAAH!"
I didn't reread this one on account of not having enough time (CURSE WEEKEND HOMEWORK AND PROJECTS!) but I hope it's all right. This chapter was written at an earlier time. But you know what kind of sucks though? I realized that Sakura and Ino's visiting everyone must have come later in the month that the contestants had to prepare for the exams. Not the day after the prelims. D'OH! Anyway, I figured thought out right after I wrote this chapter, but since I'm lazy and I don't want to change it, I hope you guys don't mind either. Heh...
R&R please!
-HM