Sorry this took a while, but I've had health stuff going on. Anyway, I realize the last chapter was pretty so-so. Hopefully this next one's better! Btw, the fights won't be described in detail since Chidori is young and doesn't quite see or understand everything that happens. (It might also have something to do with fight scenes being inordinately difficult to write…)
So Sasuke, the prodigy who was adamant that he was the most intelligent and talented member of my dad's team, had gotten into a fight with a fellow leaf genin right before the start of the first exam…
Yeah, that's what I said. I'd expect something like that from short, blonde, and hyper – not moody, dark, and serious. Oh well, I suppose he is only a kid (and doesn't that sound silly coming from a baby?).
That, I could understand and forgive, but this… I'm beginning to think there's something seriously wrong with that kid. I'll get to that in a minute though – first let me catch you up to speed.
It's been a little over a month since the start of the exam and I haven't seen my father at all following the second stage. The day the second stage ended he came to my mom's apartment building late in the evening (my mom had left after receiving some sort of message and I was with our elderly neighbors) and told me he was going to be busy but that I'd see him after the exam was over.
I didn't do much more than pout, not wanting to give away how much I really understood at nearly a year old. He'd ruffled my static-y hair and disappeared only minutes after arriving.
So not okay! My dad was officially terrible at goodbyes. I had sulked and ignored the old couple looking after me for the entire two hours until my mom finally returned. Not one to mope for long, I gave that up when I saw my mom's worried frown and I played the part of a happy baby in the weeks that followed.
Most of the time my mom was gone – security had been upped with all the foreigners present – and I was left with any number of strange people. At one point I was left with my mom's old teacher and his wife for two days! It had actually been the best since they had pet deer that would come up and nibble on grass just a few feet away if I kept still.
Other than that I was passed from stranger to acquaintance to friend at random. I was even left with a couple of children around the same age as my dad's students! It was with great relief that I nestled into my mom's side the day of tournament. My dad said he could visit again after the exam ended and my mom had apologized for being so busy lately – I was looking forward to having both my parents' full attention again.
Hey, call me selfish, but being adored is always fun.
"Chi-chan, look at that!" At my mom's voice I turned my head to stare at a massive stadium I'd never been to before.
"Chunin? Brats?" Hah. I loved calling them brats; it was only better when I got to do it to their faces! My mom laughed and shifted me to her other hip before going off on some tangent. I swear, it's like she thought I was her own personal diary sometimes…
I didn't bother paying attention. I could use my chakra to pay attention for twenty minutes straight before conking out but no more. I was planning on watching the most exciting parts of my brats' fights and resting in between.
"Chi-chan," my mom cooed, beaming at me. "You get to see the boys and your daddy again! Did you miss them?"
I nodded vigorously. The only member of Team 7 that I'd seen had been Sakura; she hadn't made it through to the third stage. The boys and my dad were off training for it and I hadn't even caught a glimpse of them in ages. I was actually having trouble remembering their faces when I didn't circulate chakra.
My mom and I joined the rather large and rambunctious crowd moving to their seats. Soon I found my self in a section for the ninja of our village. All around me were metal headbands, green vests, and the little leg pouches every ninja seemed to have.
After a few minutes of shuffling and shifting as everyone found their seats and got settled in my mom drew my attention to the open area below. "That's where you have to look to see Naruto and Sasuke fight. Blondie's up first so keep an eye out."
In response I sat up straighter in her lap and narrowed my eyes at the three figures below. Sure enough, one of the figures had shockingly bright blonde hair. There was another kid and an adult (probably a referee, I guessed) standing with him.
Childishly I ignored the hush that had spread as the first fight was about to begin and turned to my mom. "Who's girl?" I cut my eyes back to the brunette with straight hair halfway down her back.
My mom choked on a laugh as snickers broke out around us. "Boy, Chi-chan. That's a boy."
Deciding to have a laugh and get away with it due to my supposed childish innocence (Seriously, who'd suspect a one year old of yanking their chain?) I scrunched my nose in faux-confusion. "But – but – girl!"
Hah. Not knowing the language made it even funnier. A guy with brown hair to his shoulders sitting beside us was clutching his side as he laughed. "Oh Kaoru! I can already tell your daughter's going to be just like you!"
My mom smirked. "Yeah, she is. She'll be my little hellion – won't you Chi-chan?"
I nodded solemnly like I always did when my mom used that tone. I vaguely understood what was going on, but decided to stop even the tiny bit of circulating I was doing in an attempt to conserve chakra.
So I sat back and waited for something down below to garner enough attention for me to snap back into focus. My method worked best when I was either frustrated or curious – I figured cool parts of the fight would awaken my curiosity so that I could watch the show.
I didn't have to wait long. Soon, crazy things were happening and every time I thought the fight was over Naruto got right back up. I was mostly shocked by the fact that he could split into multiples! I mean, I'd seen him duplicate himself before, but to make so many copies was freaky!
Even more surprising was how quickly and devastatingly the boy-girl would strike. Even I could tell that Naruto was getting the stuffing beaten out of him. It was mind-boggling how much pain he could take and keep going – anyone else should be dead!
And then, most surprising of all, he won. The rest of the crowd actually looked on in stunned silence for a beat before the cheering broke out.
"Chi-chan! Clap like kaa-chan!" Very slowly and dramatically brought her hands together and I imitated her. "Now we get to watch Sasuke! Aren't you excited?" I had already used up half my chakra on the very first match so I was glad that Sasuke was up next – that way I'd have a chance to rest before the second round.
Unfortunately this leads to where I am right now.
Sitting in a crowd waiting for my dad's student to show up for the match. The very same match that he's known about for a month! How could he forget? All around me the spectators are whispering and complaining. The referee person has even had to leave the arena to talk to the village leader – Er, Hokage, I mean – to figure out what's going on!
I just know it's my dad's fault. Everyone's always bemoaning the fact that he's incapable of being on time and now he's passed it on to his student… urgh.
"Did you hear that Chi-chan?" Startled, I glance back up to my mom's smiling face. "He's not disqualified! They pushed his match back so that he still has a chance." Her smile becomes a bit strained and her eye twitches a bit. "Of course this would be a problem if your father had just gotten him here on time. Promise me you won't turn out like your daddy Chi-chan? You'll be punctual just like kaa-chan, ne?"
Instead of answering my mom's earnest plea I choose to yawn instead. I only really picked up every other word or so and that was with great effort. I'd gotten the gist of what she'd said after a moment of thought (by using the words I did know), but I saw no need play along this time. I was a tad keyed up from the first match.
Kaoru sighed in resignation and turned back to the arena in time for one of the contestants to shout something and a roar of protests to go up amongst the spectators. I didn't catch what it was, but soon enough the voices died down and the son of my mom's old sensei and a girl were facing off down below.
My mom and the man next to us kept up a steady commentary that I only vaguely paid attention to. It wasn't until my mom suddenly stiffened that I turned back to her. Her head was cocked to the side slightly and her eyes were darting around. A split second later she was back to normal with a smile on her face.
"Excuse me," she said to the brunette beside us. "I'm going to run to the bathroom – I'll be right back." With that she lifted me to her hip and walked into the deserted hallway that led to the restrooms.
I nearly squeaked aloud when a masked shinobi appeared as if from thin air. He walked straight up to my mother and started whispering in her ear. Unfortunately, it was the ear on her right side and I was on her left hip, so I didn't catch what he said. I did, however, catch my mother's loud and rather angry response.
"Why wasn't I informed? I know I'm currently on reserve but that's no excuse! My daughter could have been caught in the crossfire!" Kaoru's eyes were flashing and she was holding me almost painfully tight.
"I'm sorry but the Hokage didn't want it to spread around. He was afraid a mass panic would break out or that one of the other nation's ninjas would realize our suspicions." The man placed both of his hands on my mother's shoulders. "The only thing that matters is that you and your daughter get out of here – you're not fully in shape and your daughter is in danger."
"You're right," whispered Kaoru. "I've got to go. Thanks, Aoba!" A moment later our surroundings blurred and I squirmed in my mother's arms.
"Stop! Stop!" I cried. She did, switching me to her other hip as she tried to shush me.
"Quiet Chidori." Her voice was firm and calm. I stopped my protests abruptly, startled at her use of my actual name. She held me against her chest and put her hand on the back of my head. "Don't move sweetie," and with that we blurred away again.
Quite suddenly we were home and my mom was packing a bag with diapers and bottles. I had to frown a bit at the diapers – I couldn't wait until I was coordinated enough for that to be over with.
I stumbled clumsily over to my stuffed dog on the couch. It took a bit of finagling, but in the end I pulled Woof down and clutched him in my chubby little arms. After that I turned my steadily darkening blue eyes on my mother.
"What? What?" Sigh. As much as I understood and picked up on words, there were only a few that I could pronounce clearly (I lisped a bit with my 's's). Thankfully my mother picked up on the fact that I wanted to be reassured because she kneeled down and opened her mouth.
'BOOM!'
My mother and I both froze with our heads cocked to the sides. And then I was in her arms and the baby bag was slung over her other shoulder as she snatched up a few more things.
Kaoru was furiously muttering things under her breath – curses, no doubt – and I clung to her in fear. Obviously she knew something bad was going to happen and I absently wondered if it was a terrorist attack or something. At any other time I would've been committing the curse words to memory but I was way too freaked out at the moment.
"Hold on Chi-chan." I barely had time to bury my face in my mother's shoulder when our apartment blurred around us. Soon our surroundings came back into focus and my mother was leaping from rooftops towards the giant cliff with the four faces.
Another booming crash sounded and a series of small explosions followed. My mom was holding me with too much force and I realized belatedly I was crying silently in fear and anxiousness.
And that's when the horrible, awful screaming broke out.