First Fight, First Fright
Naruto's nose twitched as the sweetest scent in the world drifted under his nose, a fully cooked cup o' ramen. Instantly his eyes sprang open and he* eyed his prize. Sakura giggled a little as the blonde stared hungrily at the cup. Sakura handed *him the styrofoam cup and a pair of chopsticks, as she knew full well that the boy would dive in, literally, if she didn't provide the utensils. Naruto broke the chopsticks apart and inhaled the wonderful aroma of ramen, mumbled a quick prayer of thanks, and began to eat. Sakura just shook her head and ignored the loud slurping sounds as she took a seat in a chair across from Naruto. Sakura began to eat her small meal of eggs and toast she had ordered from the hotel menu.
Naruto released a loud sigh of contentment and beamed a large smile as he finished his favorite meal. "Ah, thank you Sakura-chan. That really hit the spot." Naruto stood up, grabbed his empty ramen cup, and headed towards the kitchen trashcan.
"Hey, Naruto, thank you for last night." Naruto turned his head to look back at Sakura as she spoke to him. Suddenly Naruto felt his foot slip out from under himself and fell backwards. As he fell the blonde ninja *windmilled his arms desperately and sent his ramen cup and chopsticks flying before he landed on his back. Sakura quickly moved to Naruto's side and shook his shoulder. "Naruto! Naruto, are you okay?"
Naruto groaned and slowly sat up. Naruto looked around the area and scanned it carefully for whatever had caused him to trip. "AH HA!" exclaimed Naruto as he found the culprit. Naruto grabbed the object and held it in front of himself for inspection.
"What is that doing here?" asked Sakura as she stared at the white bar of soap in Naruto's hand. Naruto stood up and tossed the soap into the trash and quickly put the lid on top.
"I know it sounds crazy Sakura, but I swear this hotel is trying to kill me with its' soap. Everyday since we arrived I have slipped on this demon bar and nearly been killed. I have had it!" Naruto growled and began to storm off to the room's door before Sakura stopped him.
"Wait, Naruto, hold on. This hotel does not use bar soap." Naruto stopped in his tracks and turned to look back at Sakura. A moment of silence passed, then the two ninja turned to stare at the trashcan. Before the two can investigate further Ino's bedroom door opened and revealed the blonde girl in her pajamas and a dark purple robe about her. Ino yawned and stretched her arms above her head, blinked rapidly for a few seconds and focused on the two other people in the room.
"Good morning. Did we have a good night?" She let a mischievous smile cross her face as she spoke. Sakura and Naruto looked at each other and then back at Ino before stammering out a jumble of replies. Ino walked over to Sakura and took her hand in her own. "I understand now Sakura. You have finally stopped fawning over Sasuke and moved onto to Naruto." Sakura tried to interrupt the blonde girl but was silenced as Ino continued. "I guess that now Sasuke will be mine. All mine." Sakura gritted her teeth, grabbed Ino's arms and pulled her so they were face to face.
Naruto quickly took in the situation and decided to make a tactical retreat before the ensuing catfight engulfed him as well. Naruto exited the room and made his way towards his and Kiba's room, all the while the sounds of battle raged behind him. Naruto reached his hand out to grasp the door handle when suddenly it turned and the door opened. Kiba stood before him, his hair matted down and slick with water. "Have a good night did we?"
"What are you talking about?" Naruto said as he stepped past Kiba into the room. Suddenly, an odor tickled his nostrils and caused his nose to twitch. "Ugh, what smells like wet dog in here? Oh." Naruto realized his mistake as he finished speaking and turned to look at his roommate. Kiba smiled wickedly before shaking violently and sending water flying everywhere, although to Naruto it felt like it was all focused on him. After a few seconds Kiba stopped and looked at the now drenched Naruto and laughed loudly while Akamaru barked happily from his jacket shelter.
Naruto had a look of disgust on his face and frowned as Kiba and Akamaru left the room. Naruto sighed and headed for the showers and prayed he could get the stench off of him. After thirty minutes of hard scrubbing and a nice long soak in the baths Naruto was ready to face the world. After donning a dry orange jumpsuit and calling for a laundry detail for his other clothes he headed out of the room and towards the hotel lobby.
As Naruto descended to the last step he saw Hinata walk out the revolving door of the hotel. Naruto began to follow her but caught sight of Fuzzy-Eyebrows talking with Shikamaru and Chouji, so Naruto changed his course to meet his fellow Konoha nin. "Hey guys. Good morning." Shikamaru just glanced at the blonde and nodded his head slightly, Chouji gives a quick wave before ducking into the hotel dining area, and Lee turned his full attention on Naruto.
"YOSH! Good morning, Naruto. Are you ready let our youthful flame burn brighter than ever?" Naruto just stared at the green clad ninja for a second as Lee stood with his finger pointing at nothing in the distance as he spoke, the sun setting behind him. Naruto cocked his head to the side, confused, until he realized that the sunset was just a poster in the background.
"Yeah, let's burn those flames brightly and stuff. Where's Neji?" Naruto quickly changed the subject, hoping Lee would forget about whatever he and Gai talk about all the time. Naruto looked to Shikamaru in hopes that he would help him. However, Lee answered before the lazy ninja had a chance.
"Neji said he had to go shopping with Ten-Ten for some last minute items for the tournament. Strange, I was sure they picked up all they needed last night when they went out." Lee pondered this and rubbed his chin, the wheels in his head began to turn. Naruto and Shikamaru glance at each other, a silent knowing passed between the two. "I've got it! I should suggest that they make a list before they go shopping so they never forget to buy something again. I shall find them and tell them of my genius of the flames of youth!" With this last statement and fire filled eyes, Lee took off to the hotel doors and disappeared in a cloud of dust.
Naruto just shook his head and looked back at Shikamaru. "So, Shikamaru, where was Hinata off to?"
"Not sure, said she had some things to think about and left." Shikamaru glanced behind Naruto, pushed away from the wall and walks towards the hotel exit.
"Wait, Shikamaru, where are you going?" Naruto called after him.
"And where do you think you are going?" Naruto looked at the source of the voice and saw Ino and Sakura. Ino was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a short sleeved purple shirt that hinted at her mid riff. Sakura had on a pair of denim shorts with a coat wrapped around her waist and a rose colored blouse.
Chouji returned from the dining room with a plate of food but quickly turned around when he spotted Ino. "Oh no you don't. Get back here." Ino quickly grabbed Chouji's scarf and started to pull the portly ninja behind her. "Do you ever stop eating?"
Naruto laughed at team 10's antics before he turned to look back at Sakura. "You look nice, Sakura."
"Thanks. Ten-Ten helped me pick it out yesterday when we went shopping." Sakura noticed that the others had already left the building and quickly locked her elbow around Naruto's and pulled the blonde after their friends. "Come on, baka, they're leaving us behind."
Sakura and Naruto quickly caught up to Team 10 outside and the five ninja began their trip to the arena. As they walked down the road they noticed that the atmosphere was different from yesterday. There appeared to be far more people on the streets today than yesterday. The youths were surprised to see the large assortment of merchandise carts that lined the streets. Shouts from the merchants filled the air as they tried to peddle their wares on the public as they made their way to the arena.
Naruto became very surprised when he passed one vendor and saw several t-shirts with his face on them. He became more surprised when he noticed lots of people in line to purchase one.
"Oh my gosh, it's him! EEEEE!" Naruto turned around and saw a girl pointing her finger at him.
"Who? Me?" Naruto indicated himself very confused. Before Naruto realized it he was surrounded by a horde of girls and a few guys who screeched his name.
Naruto looked about himself, unsure of what to do until one of the girls asked, "Can I take a picture?"
"Uh, sure." Naruto suddenly found the girl hugging him as one of her friends quickly snapped a picture. Before Naruto could respond he was bombarded with requests for pictures and autographs. Naruto tried his best to accommodate the people but was quickly overwhelmed by them. Luckily, Sakura came to his rescue and pulled the blonde boy from the swarm of fans. She pushed the blonde ahead of her and the two took off at a run away from the insane camera wielders.
After several minutes the two slowed their pace and moved to the side of the road to rest and wait for the others from their group to catch up. "Seems like you are having quite a day already." The two looked to the source of the voice and saw Randall with a pushcart full of ramen. Naruto began to drool as the smell reached his nose and he quickly moved to Randall's side. Randall was way ahead of the blonde and presented him with a bowl. Naruto quickly thanked him before diving into the meal.
"You could say that Randall-san. I never expected a crowd as large, or insane, as this one." Sakura then looked around and saw that someone was missing. "Hey, Randall-san, where is your brother?"
"Oh, yeah. He was a little bummed about not getting into the finals so he's back at the shack. He should be out here later today to help sell ramen in the stands. Thank you for asking." Randall smiled at the pink haired girl and went to look for something in his cart. "Naruto, I was wondering if you would do something for me. Would you sign this?" Randall presented Naruto with a clipboard with several sheets of paper attached to it.
"What is it?" Naruto stared at the document. He lifted a few of the pages and saw a whole lot of technical jargon he could not understand.
"Oh, it's a simple contract that says we, The Ramen Brothers, reserve the right to use you as our official mascot. We get to say that Naruto eats our ramen. I think it would really help boost our sales. I mean, you are the bridge guy after all. You're famous around here. If you don't want to I understand."
"What do I get out of this?"
"Well, we can do one of three things. First, I could offer you a large sum of money right up front and consider the matter settled. Or I could offer you a percentage of our profits for a specified amount of time. Or I could offer you a lot of free ramen."
Naruto sat on the ground and brought his hand to his chin as he contemplated what to do. Naruto furrowed his brow and his brain began to hurt from all the thought he put into it. Sakura just shook her head sadly since she knew what Naruto would pick. Naruto nodded his head twice and then stood up and faced Randall.
"Well, Randall, it was a tough choice, but really there wasn't much of a choice involved." Randall smiled and nodded and turned back to his cart to get a bowl of ramen ready. "I'll take that percentage thing I think."
"One heaping serving of ramen coming right…what?" Randall turned to look back at the blonde ninja and then at his pink haired teammate. Sakura looked just as stunned and shocked as Randall as she looked from the blonde to Randall and back. Sakura moved to Naruto, felt his forehead and roughly examined his skull.
"Gah, Sakura, what are you doing?" Naruto cringed as she began to feel his head all over.
"I'm checking for brain damage since you don't have a fever. The Naruto I know would never pass up ramen." Sakura quickly grew frustrated since there appeared to be no injury evident on his head. Naruto pushed the girl away and rubbed his now sore head.
"I'm fine Sakura. Really. Now, Randall, I only have one thing I want to add. I want you to send all the money to Konoha."
"To Konoha? Sure, I can do that but why?"
"Well, I'm sure you know that Konoha was attacked by Orochimaru no that long ago."
"Yeah, I heard about it. It sounded really bad at the time."
"It was. Well, the village still hasn't recovered really. Many lives were lost, many of them parents of children. I want the money to go to help the orphans find new or rebuild old homes." Sakura watched the blonde as he spoke. He seemed older in that moment, a distant look in his eyes.
Randall held a new regard for the boy as he looked at him. "That is quite noble of you Naruto-san. I would be honored to fulfill your request. In fact, I will do you one better. For every bowl of Ramen we sell today, I'll be sure to send 100 ryo to the village. So, it's* in your best interest to be the best mascot there is." Randall held his hand out to the youth. "Deal?"
Naruto smiled back at Randall and grasped his hand in his firmly. "Deal. How about we seal it with a bowl of ramen?" Randall laughed and nodded before handing a bowl to Naruto. Naruto quickly went to work on the meal and finished in just a few minutes. Just as the last bit of broth was finished Team 10 finally caught up with them along with a couple of extras, namely, Neji, Tenten, and Shino. Sakura, Naruto and Randall waved to the new arrivals as they moved to join them on the road said. After a quick round of greetings the group made their way to the arena.
Along the way Naruto did his best to draw sales to his new business partner's establishment. Randall decided to try out a new technique and used an illusion technique on his ramen cart sign and placed a picture of Naruto on it eating a large bowl of ramen. As they got closer to the arena business picked up even more and Randall was forced to lag behind the group to sell his food to the customers.
The group neared the contestant's entrance and was shocked at the size of the crowd* surrounding it. One of the people around the entrance turned and saw several of the contestants. Quickly the mob turned and focused on the new arrivals. Cameras flashed and questions were being shouted all over. The Konoha ninja tried to answer all the questions but found themselves just overwhelmed. Luckily a retinue of bodyguards forced their way though the crowd and surrounded the youths. They quickly escorted the contestants to the door and moved them inside away from the paparazzi.
The boys were lead down the hall by an arena official to a plain white door some ways down. The official opened the door for the contestants and waved them inside. As the group walked through the door they were surprised to see most of the other participants already there. Then they realized just how large the room was. The room was large and had a boxing ring off to the right with several sets of weights nearby. To the left was a juice bar and a bookshelf full of a variety of reading material. In front of them, hanging on the wall, was a large flat screen TV with the pre-contest show. Naruto and Chouji heard the door click shut behind them. Naruto and Chouji went to watch the pre-tournament show on the TV while they waited for the rest of the contestants to arrive.
Shino watched quietly as his friends walked to the couch set several feet from the TV. On the couch sat another one of the contestants, Jin. Jin was a young man, Shino noted. He had short brown hair that stuck out from the bandana he wore over his head. He wore a simple pair of red trousers, a blue v-neck long sleeved shirt with the sleeves ending halfway between his wrist and elbow. A pair of crescent moon specs sat on the bridge of his nose as he watched the TV and laughed at one of the announcer's lame jokes. Not particularly muscular, but toned. Shino made note not to underestimate the man's strength if he should ever come to fight the man.
Shino looked to his left and saw Lee off in one corner of the room doing one handed push up while Kiba and Akamaru sat on his back.
Next Shino's gaze drifted towards the boxing ring where Hiro Tsubara and Kazuama Shingami sparred with one another. The two traded light blows, not meant to cause pain but to show weakness in styles.
Hiro was a large man, nearly 6'5" with a tan complexion. He wore a plain white shirt that barely fit over his large belly and his hair was tied in a ponytail at the top of his head that fell down to his neck. He had a pair of baggy peasant pants tied with a piece of rope and bare feet. His movements were slow but not as slow as Shino would have originally expected for someone of his size. He took more touches from Kazuama, but the few he got in looked like they could channel a lot of power if he desired so.
Kazuama was smaller, merely 5'7" in height. He wore a mud brown shirt that clung tightly to his small frame and a pair of purple pants that flared out at the ankles. He wore a pair of long gloves that ended halfway between his elbow and wrist and a bandana wrapped around each arm. He moved quickly, dodging most of Hiro's strikes and delivering several quick attacks.
Just outside of the small ring that Kazuama and Hiro filled was wrack full of weights were Kanaho Tenshi sat, working hard at the free weights. He was roughly 5'10" and looked very muscular. He wore a sleeveless t-shirt and tight black pants. His skin was tanned, likely from the large amount of sun he got, if his lifeguard necklace was accurate.
Shino's gaze moved again and settled on Bob. Bob was the oddest looking person in the room. He stood stock straight in his three piece suit. He seemed old with his white hair* that was perfectly kept and a thing white mustache on his lips. He looked more like a butler than a combatant. His white gloves held a glass of red wine that he sipped at every once in awhile, his gaze out and studying the other fighters.
Next, Shino turned to gauge Paco Hoto. Paco was an ordinary looking man in his twenties. He had dirty blonde hair and wore a bamboo hat on his head. He sat against a wall away from all the other and seemed to be sleeping. His shirt was a plain white cloth shirt and some odd pants made of tough glue cloth (jeans) and had on a pair of black boots that went up halfway to his knee.
Shino next spied on Tsurichiro Hanabishi. Tsurichiro was a wiry rat faced man who seemed to twitch every so often as his eyes darted around as though he was about to be attacked. His black shirt hung loosely on his thin frame with several tears in it. His light brown pants showed years of wear and with the left leg from the knee down missing. He locked eyes with Shino for a second and curled himself up tighter in the corner he huddled in. Shino decided to move on before the bore man suffered a heart attack.
Shino's gaze landed on the last three contestants in the room, Tenten, Nami Yue, and Sasuke Ryoko. The three occupied the area of the juice bar, with Tenten and Nami sitting next to each other on stools and Sasuke attempting to talk with Nami. Sasuke had on a blue shirt, white shorts, a blue headband and a pair of blue sandals. His head is covered with light blue hair that he keeps slicked back and his purple eyes are firmly locked on Nami. His skin is dark, almost ebony in color. Shino sees the man break into a laugh that he only enjoys before Nami dismisses him with a wave of her hand. Sasuke sneers at her and walks away and glares at Shino as he passes by.
Shino's attention turned back to Nami. She was young, about fifteen to seventeen years old. She was a slightly tall girl with long dark green hair that reached to the middle of her back, it fell straight till about halfway down where it began to curl slightly. She wore a long blue skirt that covered her legs to her ankles and on her feet were a pair of flat brown leather sandals. A black blouse with short sleeves adorned her top and a pair of black gloves that reached almost to her elbows. Shino made several mental notes about this strange girl. He noticed Tenten wave at him and indicate that she wanted him to join them. Shino mentally sighed and made his way to the ladies where he took a seat on a bar stool next to Nami.
Tenten smiled as she introduced the two. "Nami, this is Shino*. He's quiet and a little weird, but he's a nice guy."
"He's not quiet. I just bet no one has bothered to help break him out of his shell." Tenten snickered at the word shell. Nami turned away from Shino and then leaned back until her head rested in his lap. This caused Shino's eyebrows to appear above his glasses for a brief second, his surprise evident.
Shino looked to Tenten, unsure of what to do in this situation. Tenten just shook her head, letting him know he was on his own. "Excuse me, but your head is in my lap."
"Is it? I'm sorry, would you like me to move it?" Nami asked as she looked up at him innocently.
"If you would…" Shino's voice remained calm as he made a strong effort to keep it so.
"Oh very well." Nami shimmied her way up Shino until her head rested on his shoulder as she scooted their chairs closer. "Is this better, cutie?" If someone had been watching Shino's face very closely they would have detected the faintest hint of red edge out from his glasses. Shino placed his hands on Nami's shoulders and gently eased her back to a sitting position before standing from his seat.
"I think I will check on how Naruto is doing. Tenten, Nami." Shino calmly walked away from the two girls.
"Was it something I said?" Nami looked to tenten as the ever stoic ninja Shino walked away. Tenten couldn't stop laughing at the spectacle.
As Shino neared the couch he saw Naruto and Jin laughing at some of the pre show hijinks on the TV. Chouji it seems had found the snack bar that was laid out to the side and had taken his fair share of the treats. Before Shino could speak a loud screech filled the room as the large door at the end of the room opened. All eyes turned to see Tazuna and a trio of event staffers. Tazuna and the staffers moved to stand in front of the TV. Jin hit the mute button on the remote so Tazuna could speak.
"If I could have everyone move in closer, I want everyone to hear this. He waited for the fighters to gather round again and quickly counted them to makes sure everyone one was here. After he finished counting he stopped and had a confused look on his face. The fighters watched as he pointed and counted the fighters mentally again. After coing to the same conclusion a second time he sighed. "Has anyone seen Hyouuryusha?" The fighters shook their heads as they looked at each other. "I hate to disqualify but the crowds getting restless. Okay, that still leaves us with…" Tazuna stopped to count the contestants one more time. "Sixteen contestants…wait."
All eyes turned to see what had caught Tazuna's attention. A slightly tall man stood just behind Kazuama. He wore a black cloak with the head pulled over his head, deep blue pants and shirt, and a pair of black boots. His face was hidden behind a dull gray ceramic mask that hid his face completely and a pair of fingerless black gloves.
Kazuama looked the man up and down. "Where the hell did you come from?" Hyouuryusha merely stared at Kazuama until Tazuna cleared his throat and brought the attention back to himself.
"Well, lets continue. There will be eight matches, one on one. The winner of those matches will proceed to the next round tomorrow. Our first match of the day is," Tazuna looks down at a small clipboard that one of the staff handed to him, "Shino Aburame and Nami Yue. If you two would step forward please."
Shino and Nami stepped away from the other contestants and looked at each other. Nami smiled at Shino as he looked her way while Shino remained as impassive as ever. "If you would follow me please, Mr Aburame." One of the staffers called. Shino followed the man as the staffer led him through a set of doors near the corner. A string of lights trailed the middle of the ceiling in the corridor. Shino and the staffer followed the hallway till it branched left and right. The staffer pointed Shino to the right hallway. Shino followed the hallway until it turned left. The hallway turned left once more leading to a stairwell leading up to the arena floor. Shino ascended the stairs and was met by a wave of cheers. He looked back and up to see his friends in the stands right above him. He cocked an eyebrow as he noticed his teammate, Hinata Hyuuga, was not present. He was slightly disappointed but decided to move on. As he neared the steps up to the raised ring a bell chimed and the crowd grew quiet.
"Ladies and gentlemen!!! It is my honor to announce the commencement of the First Annual Wave Country Championship. Leading us into our first match of the day, in the red square, one of several Konoha nin in our tournament, the quiet, the deadly, Shino Aburame!" Several cameras flashed and cheers echoed in the arena. The announcer wait a minute for the crowd to settle down. "Next, in the blue square, a new comer to wave country. She's cute, she's hot, and she can kick your ass. Miss Nami Yue!" More cameras flashed and cheers poured forth from the crowd as Nami ascended the stairs on her side of the ring. She smiled and waved to the people in the crowd, going so far as to strike several poses for the cameras. The announcer was silent for several minutes as the crowd began to return to normal.
"Now, before we begin with the festivities, I must read the rules. First and foremost, do not kill your opponent. If your opponent expires you disqualified and removed from this and any future tournaments in Wave Country. Second, there are to be no pointed weapons. While blunt objects are just as able to kill a person, they are far less likely for an accident to occur. Third, if the contest touches any area outside of the ring, they are disqualified and lose the round. Four, if a person if rendered unable to stand for the count of ten, they lose the match. Our last and final rule is one of the most important. Do not endanger the audience. Participants are forbidden to use any techniques that would harm the audience. If it appears that a technique is getting out of control one warning will be given before the contestant in disqualified and rendered harmless. Everybody understand the rules? Excellent. Let's get this event on the road. Contestants, face each other. Get ready….GO!"
Nami's feet became a blur as she shot out of her starting square at Shino. Shino quickly threw his arms in front of his face, blocking a high kick meant for his head. Nami quickly brought her foot back down, repositioning her feet to begin a barrage of strikes with her fists. Shino's arms moved quickly as he deflected her attacks. Several times Nami felt Shino attempt to grab her arm but she easily broke out of his grip. Suddenly Nami dropped to the ground and swept her left leg out, tripping Shino onto his back.
Shino quickly rolled as Nami's foot crashed into the ground where his head had been half a second before. As Shino rolled he felt Nami's foot connect several times before he reached into one of his jacket pockets. Nami fell backwards as she dodged the Kunai he had thrown at her. Shino quickly moved back to standing as Nami stared at him. "Hey, he said no pointed weapons." Nami flipped back to a standing position as Shino adjust his glasses.
"It isn't." Shino reached into hi pocket, pulled out a second kunai, and held it up to the light. "I had the points removed and the edges blunted. I had them prepared last night in preparation for today. I see that my effort was not wasted. Shino looked to Nami and was surprised at the expression on he face. No sign of anger or annoyance lay on her face, only that smile.
"A cutie I knew you were, but a smarty too. I knew there was something I liked about you. She winked at Shino as she reached to her side pouch and pulled out a small metal rod only 5 inches long. The rod had two studs on it, one of which Nami pressed. The rod extended to five feet in length. Nami gave the rod a practiced twirl over her head and around her body before jabbing the end into the arena floor, cracking part of the cement. Shino cocked an eyebrow and brought the kunai up into a defensive postion.
Nami charged at Shino, the staff held in front of her and slightly to the right. Nami brought the stick across at towards Shino's head, forcing the boy to drop bend forward below the strike. Quickly Nami slid her lower hand up the stick, bringing her left foot forward and brought the rear end of the stick forward in an upper strike. Shino rolled to his left narrowly dodging Nami's second strike. Shino rose as he rolled and delivered a powerful backhand attack to Nami' chest before being sent stumbling forward from a powerful strike to his upper back from the return of Nami's staff. After her second strike missed Nami spun to her right and brought the staff down onto Shino's back, sending the boy stumbling forward.
Shino spun around after putting some distance between himself and Nami. Shino held the Kunai in his left hand, his left foot forward, his body turned so that only one side showed to Nami. Nami readjusted her grip on the staff, giving it a small twirl as she stepped slowly to Shino's side. Shino adjusted his footing, making sure to keep Nami directing in front of him. Nami gave the staff one more spin before charging at Shino once more. She lead with a quick side swipe towards Shino's head which the boy blocked with his kunai. Nami brought the staff into a small loop over the ninja's head aiming for the other side of head. Shino barely moved fast enough to intercept the blow but found it was weak, a faint. Before Shino could remedy his mistake Nami brought the staff back over his head and down low, aimed for his knee. Shino quickly lifted his leg over the staff and jumped backwards as Nami reversed the strike and brought it up, aiming for his mid section. Nami swiped only air as Shino continued to backpedal.
Shino reached into his coat and withdrew another Kunai, this one held in his right hand. Nami smirked at Shino as she readied her staff, putting her hands several inches from center, and waited. "Your turn cutie." Shino took a half step forward and watched as Nami readied her defense. Nami watched as Shino began to run towards her launching a Kunai to her body. Nami brought the lower end of the staff up and to the left, sending the kunai flying. She quickly brought the staff into a downward right strike, deflecting the second kunai thrown by the boy. Nami swung the staff back to her left, attempting to his Shino as he charged in, but the boy ducked her strike and delivered a fist to her stomach.
Nami winced from the strike but brought the pole behind the boys back and rolled backwards with Shino along for the ride. Shino suddenly found himself on his back, Nami on top of him, the staff resting painfully under his back. Shino grasped at nami's outfit, trying to find a way to free himself from her, but to no avail. Nami just smiled at his attempt before brining her face near Shino's and whipering, "Do you give up yet?" Shino lowered his head to the ground, took a quick breathe and slammed his head forward into Nami's head, forcing the girl to let go of her staff and roll off the boy. Shino wasted no time in escaping. Shino quickly grabbed the staff from the ground and hurled it off the side of the platform, preventing Nami from using it again.
"Hey, that was mine!" Shino looked back at Nami and saw her looking very annoyed. "No more games." Nami took a deep breath and held it for several seconds before letting it out slowly. "You've given me quite a workout. I'm getting tired already. But I'm not done yet." Nami calmly walked towards Shino, her hands at her sides. Her walk was completely relaxed as she neared the boy. Shino blinked and suddenly Nami was gone. Shino quickly leapt to his left, narrowly dodging the strike from Nami as she fell from the sky.
Shino stood and turned to face Nami but found himself immediately busy dodging as a flurry of punches came his way. Shino's arms became a blur as he blocked and deflected most of the attacks, but several slipped through, striking his stomach, face, and one managed to clip his temple. Slightly dazed Shino grabbed one of Nami's fists in he palm and held tight. Nami swung with her other fist and Shino similarly grasped it. Shino held her fist for several seconds, each attempting to overpower the other. Suddenly Nami dropped all resistance in her arms, causing Shino to move forward. Nami met his head with hers, causing stars to appear in both participants eyes for a second.
Shino recovered first and launched a quick kick towards Nami. Nami grabbed his leg and pulled then suddenly pushed on the leg. Shino lost his footing and found himself being spun by Nami. Nami continued to spin for several seconds before releasing her hold on Shino's leg, sending him flying. Shino hit the ground hard, skidding for several feet, stopping close to the edge of the arena. Nami, breathing hard, moved to her opponent. Shino propped himself up on an elbow and withdrew a small object from his jacket and hurled it to the ground between him and Nami. A cloud of smoke quickly formed between the two before engulfing them in its reaches. Nami coughed as the stung her lungs slightly but moved on. She squinted her eyes to see through the dusty haze until she saw a shadow that looked like Shino. He didn't appear to have seen her yet. Nami knew that she had to make this one count as she leapt towards her target and put all the power she could into this last shot.
Her cry of victory became a scream of terror as she saw her arm penetrate the boy and felt it come out the other side. Her scream filled the arena, she never wanted to kill the boy. Suddenly the shape seemed start dissolving then began to converge on her arm. She began to shake her arm furiously in order to dislodge whatever it was that was crawling up her arm. The dust finally began to settle and she saw the boy standing off to the side, staring at her. She looked back to her arm and noticed that it was covered in some sort of insects. "What did you do to me?"
"My family is specialized in using the Kikai bugs. They feed on the chakra that flows through everything. They are my allies and helped me achieve my victory over you." Nami's mind flashed back to the very beginning of the fight, when Shino attempted to grab her but his hold was far too weak. 'He wasn't trying to hold me, he was planting his bugs on me!' Awareness flashed in her eyes causing Shino to remark, "One should never reveal their trump card too early."
Nami looked into Shino's eyes and smiled. She ignored the bugs on her arm and instead stood tall and straight before slamming her fist into the ground, causing the bugs on her arm to be shaken loose and fall to the ground. Nami launched herself quickly at Shino and unleashed a last desperate barrage of attacks aimed for his head. Shino was worried when he saw the blood on her hand and knew that if she pushed too hard the chakra exhaustion would end poorly for her. Nami kept up the work, moving in more and more, forcing Shino to back step until his feet were at the edge of the arena. Nami suddenly leapt at Shino, attempting to tackle him and take him off the side. Shino took on step back and off the arena. Nami's mouth widened in shock as she sailed over Shino, too shocked to believe he would step off of his own volition. As she flew past the boy she noticed him sticking to the side of the raised arena with just his feet. Nami swore as she fell tot eh ground, landing roughly on her shoulder before laying out on her back. She stared up into the glasses of the boy ninja as he looked down at her from the arena's sidewall.
"And there we have it people. Shino Aburame defeats Nami Yue through a ring out. Let's hear it for Shino!" The crowd erupted with applause and camera flashes as the boy walked down the sidewall and knelt down next to Nami. She raised her hand weakly towards him and Shino grasped it.
"That was a fun match, wasn't it cutie?" Nami smiled at Shino as she spoke.
"It was enjoyable. I look forward to another sometime."
"Anytime for you, Shino-kun." The medics arrived with a stretcher. Shino held her hand as they loaded her onto the stretcher and released his hold as they moved away. Shino nodded to himself before walking back to the stairs to the contestant's lounge. As Shino pushed open the door leading into the room he was met with several cheers from his friend. Shino accepted their praise kindly and moved over to the juice bar and poured himself a drink.
Woo, long time coming, but it is finally done. I hope some of you remember this when I started it over two years ago. After my car wreck years ago I lost all the story I had written and lost all motivation to keep writing. Until recently when two more people reviewed my story. I want to thank them for that, it gave me the motivation to continue. I will be trying my best to finally finish this story. Thanks for reading and please review if you feel it was worth it.