From his vantage point, Deidara stood, watching the Examiner walking out into the middle of the arena.
"Ahem...the next match will be between Deko Mihoto and Junio Mezanuchi. Please enter the arena and prepare to begin the match!" Deko snapped his head, staring with disdain at the other boy, who stood smiling back.
"It's our time, Junio. I hope you're ready to get clobbered!" Junio scoffed, turning to walk towards the arena.
"The threats of cowards are the threats of nobodies. You and I will fight, Deko. But I need to save energy for my next match...so I'll make this quick!" Deko sneered as he began his descent to the bottom.
"Hey, Deko..." A concerned Deidara stood at the foot of the stairs, watching him walk. "Just...just don't die." Deko smiled back, punching the other boy lightly on the arm.
"Don't worry...I can take care of myself." He took a breath, walking down the stairs and into the arena. The Examiner watched both competitors enter, smiling and nodding.
"Very well!" Turning to the crowds, he put his hands up. "The next match will begin now. Are you both ready?" At a nod from each, the Examiner dropped his arms, officially starting the match.
"You're mine, fool!" Throwing himself across the arena, Junio raised his sword, intending to strike his opponent down before he got started. However, Junio hadn't seen Deko in action, having been taken from the arena before Deko's match. Therefore, Deko knew what Junio would do...but Junio would just have to guess about him.
"Guess I'll start this off." Throwing his hands up, he began making hand-signs, faster than Junio had ever seen before. He stopped, putting his gleaming blade in front of himself, ready to warn off any danger.
"Go ahead, then. I'm ready. Do whatever you can, because I swear I'll cut your arm off before this match is through!" Deko smiled back at his adversary, who was now cautiously walking forward.
"This is...it!" He brought his hands to his sides, and a squeal went up from the surrounding area. A rush of steam began pouring out of the boy's body, and he grunted and groaned as the chakra leaked from him. "NOW! Muscle Mass Multiplication Jutsu!" His arms, legs, and chest began to bulk, and he puffed up like a balloon, staring at his foe as power and chakra radiated from him.
"What the hell is this?" Junio was bewildered. This was almost exactly like Maey's strategy. However, something seemed to be wrong with the picture. Maey used her attack, the Muscle Manipulation Jutsu, to make a sudden strike on an opponent. But this kid...he was just standing there. Maey wouldn't be able to waste any time, as the chakra left her body to rapidly to stall to long. "This is a trick...I'll finish you off right now!" Rushing forward again, Junio flew off, sword again poised to strike. However, Deko was gone before he had taken three steps. Junio stopped, turning to the left to find his opponent. However, Deko was much faster, his fist cocked and ready.
"This...IS FOR MY SISTER!" His hand flew forward, catching Junio under his left eye and sending him sprawling. As his body thudded along the ground, Deko appeared, lying down. As Junio's body passed over, Deko's legs shot out, catching him in the stomach and sending him flying. Spiraling out of control into the air, Junio soon found himself caught, Deko holding him, his sword tight to his body.
"This is it, murderor!" They flipped over, careening wildly towards the ground. Junio screamed, watching helplessly as the earth flew faster and faster towards them. At the last second, Deko released him, sending him flying into the ground while he made a much softer landing, rolling out of it and lying down on the ground, his body heaving.
"That...was for...you sis..." He gulped in air, his muscles aching from the technique. Standing as the crowd applauded, he smiled, his eyes losing focus after the shock of chakra loss. "Told you I'd get you...you bastard." He turned, putting his hands up and smiling up at the crowd.
"That was amazing, un! Way to go!" Deidara cheered loudly from the waiting booth, giving him a standing ovation. He waved once, turning to look back at the mound of upturned dirt that Junio was buried in.
"You should have just quit."
"On the contrary, this is only the beginning." Deko turned, shocked, as Junio appeared from behind a boulder. Though he looked horribly dirty and his clothes were tattered, he seemed fine, standing as if he hadn't been pile driven into the ground.
"But...but how?" Junio smiled, looking down at his sword with half-closed eyes.
"I told you. This match will end when I say it does!" He flew across, sword at his left side for a swing. Thinking quickly, Deko threw his hands up, falling backwards in the same, fluid movement. As Junio's sword passed over head, he smiled.
"Earth Style: Rock Clone Jutsu!" Three clones appeared, ranging themselves around Junio as Deko flipped backwards, out of sword range. Junio smiled as the clones began milling about, attempting to confuse him.
"You fool...this is annoying. I will end this charade...now!" Throwing his sword into the air, he threw his hands in front of him, creating hand seals rapidly. As his sword fell back to the earth, he put his hand behind him, catching it.
"Sword Technique: Sword Lash Jutsu!" The thin thread of chakra appeared on the tip of his blade once more. Bringing his sword up and over, it cut through the clones like butter, sending Deko sprawling and tearing a gash into his chest. He hit the ground, coughing blood. His eyes open a slit, he watched the other boy glaring down at him.
"Who should have quit now?" Once more, he threw his sword into the air, creating hand-seals. As it fell, he caught it deftly.
"Sword Technique: Whirling Scythe Blade Jutsu!" He lashed out, sending waves of deadly chakra flying towards the other boy. Deko grunted, willing his technique back. Launching himself from the ground, he felt his leg caught in the attack. He yelped with pain, hitting the ground and limping slightly. Junio smiled as he brought his sword up, rushing forward for a final attack. However, Deko's chakra had allowed him to continue his muscle multiplication technique. As Junio rushed towards him, he shot backwards, the other boy a mere few feet in front of him. Suddenly, Deko felt the wall behind him. Using it as a launching pad, he flew forward, faster than Junio could catch. He brought his hand up, forming a fist...as it connected with Junio's stomach. Junio saw red...and blue, and purple, watching myriad lights dance in and out of his vision. He flew through the air, smashing into a boulder and kicking up a cloud of dust as Deko heaved, still standing in the same position of attacking.
"Got you!" He let his arm drop, exhaustion beginning to tell on his body. The chakra that the muscle multiplication technique used was high. Perhaps not as high as the chakra used for the muscle manipulation technique, but still quite high. Deko had ran his limit and couldn't fight much longer. He understood that, and had tried to make the last attack the very last of the match. As he stood, Junio no longer moved in the rubble pile. He smiled, watching the pile. "Stupid cruel fool." He smiled up at the crowd as the examiner walked to the rubble, staring at it.
"Very well. Since it appears that Junio is unable to continue, Deko Mihoto is..." However, before he could continue, Junio burst from the ground directly in front of Deko, his face flashing with an unholy rage. Deko had no time to move as Junio's sword flashed upwards, cutting his left arm off directly below the shoulder. Deko screamed, moving backwards as he watched his appendage hit the ground.
"What? What happened, un?" Deidara, still watching from above, gasped. Junio had just cut Deko's arm off? How far was he going to go? He looked up. Somewhere above, he could literally feel Tazuriko-sensei shrink back a ways.
"I told you. I will end the match when I feel like!" He rushed forward, sword up to finish the job. Deko held himself upright, his shoulder bleeding like a sieve. However, he refused to wail and complain, not wanting to give Junio the benefit. Flinching with pain, Deko grabbed for a kunai, hopping backwards and stumbling as the loss of balance on his left side hit him. Shaking it off, he roared forward, kunai outstretched to meet Junio head-on. Junio smiled, his sword held to the right. In the middle of the arena, they met one another, kunai locked to the sword. It became a match of sheer strength...one that Junio was bound to win. Letting Deko have a small lead, Junio flung forward, sending the youth backwards a step. He took a step forward, bringing his foot up and crashing it into Deko's face. The boy flew backwards, crashing into a pillar and falling with a thump onto the ground. Junio stalked the fallen competitor with all the litheness of a cat stalking a wounded mouse.
"Come on! Where's all the 'for your sister' stuff? Weren't you going to make me pay? I think it may cost you...an arm or a leg! Get it? An arm? Hahahahaha!" Laughing at his own, sick joke, Junio readied himself for one last attack, the one that would finish the boy off. Deko grunted, his left side on fire. He couldn't win. He knew it, and Junio knew it. Everyone in the arena knew that it was a lost cause.
"Because this match has become one-sided, the winner, by default...is Junio Mez..."
"NO!" The Examiner stopped, looking over at the boy who had shouted out. Deko stood shakily to his feet, feeling the loss of blood like a drain on his body. "No! It's not over yet!" Junio snickered.
"Hehehe...you fool. You should know when to just give up!"
"Deko...you've lost. Just give up already. Don't lose your life for something that you can't win, un!" Deidara stood on the railing, willing, in his mind, to have Deko give up. It would be less painful for him that way.
"No!" Pulling another kunai out of his pocket, Deko rushed headlong at the boy in the center of the arena. Junio, his sword already drawn, waited.
"Fine...I'll see you in hell then." Closer and closer Deko drew, until he was barely ten feet from the other. Suddenly, he stopped, swaying slightly. Then, he fainted clean away, the loss of chakra and blood from his horrific wound turning him into little more than a bag of meat. Junio stared down at him with disgust.
"By order of knock-out, the winner is Junio Mezanuchi!" The crowd didn't cheer. It didn't boo. Most were in awe. The boy who had lost an arm during the match had tried to fight on against overwhelming odds. The bravery of Deko was being recognized.
"BROTHER!" Deko's sister, Por, stood on the railing up in the stands, looking down at her brother with admiration mixed with horror. As a cruel joke, Junio stooped, picking up Deko's severed limb and waving it back at her, much to her dismay. As his humor left him, he turned, throwing the arm back at its owner.
"Don't fall to pieces, eh Deko? Hahahaha!" Laughing, Junio walked back to the box while medic nins worked feverishly to restore Deko to living status. They took him away, carried on a white stretcher that was slowly being stained red.
"The final match of the tournament will take place in two hours, to give us time to set up the arena. Will the competitor's please begin getting ready for the final match. Again, you have two hours!" The Examiner walked off, giving the crowd a wave as they clapped half-heartedly.
"Hear that? You have two hours left. Better make them worth it." Junio, his sadistic grin still plastered on his face, turned to go inside, leaving Deidara out on the rail. Deidara took in everything. The crowd, the churned up arena, and his own feelings. His grip tightened, and the rail groaned as the boy wrenched on it. Turning to go inside the waiting room, he sneered to no one in particular.
"You'll pay Junio. You'll pay!"