Hi Hi Hi! i know i'm soooooooooo late! sorry sorry sorry! i just lost my drive for this story, but i got it back! so since i have not written in a while this chapter is really short and kinda sucks but i'm just getting the rust out of the old thinking muscle. to anyone who still wants to read my story, i get on my knees and kiss your feet. thank you!

Disclaimer : i don't own naruto, bitches!

Chapter eight

Matsuri POV

Tomorrow was the day. After a month of intense training with my sensei it was finally time to face the third and final challenge of the Chunin exams… THE FINALS! Dun dun dun! Cue scary face with flashlight under chin for effect!

I was sure feeling the stress and ambition leading up to the event. As it crept closer I could barely sleep or watch the other contestants train without breaking into a cold sweat. I too had been training of course, Gaara had me working my butt off, and that's an understatement. He was tough for sure but I needed it. It seemed more than a coincidence that the best teacher was put with the worst student. I guess fate knows what it's doing.

I suppose my confidence could use some work… but now was not the time for that.

I laid in my bed and stared at the digital clock that my eyes had become addicted to the acrid neon glow.

… 1:37 am…

*Sigh* my nerves refused to give up their justified attack on my subconscious. What if I lose? What if I'm not ready? What if I get hurt? What if I let my village down?……. What if I let my sensei down?

… 1:38 am…

In some ways I had already let them down. My humiliating display of weakness after the second exam was pitiful. I had seen an enemy team hanging lifeless after they were thwarted by another team's drive to win. The sight destroyed me emotionally, leaving me in tears. Yup, that's right. I had balled my eyes out in front of everyone.

… 1:39 am…

Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Sari and Yuudai. Ever since the incident Sari had treated me as if I was delicate. Kankuro seemed afraid of me somehow. Yuudai hadn't stopped the continuous flow of insults but, who cares what he thinks? I did however care what Temari thought. I have a high respect for her, though lately she hadn't talked to me much. Maybe success in the third exam would win back her approval.

… 1:40 am…

Unlike the others, Gaara had treated me exactly the same as he always has. In many ways I was thankful for that.

A knock on my bedroom door nearly caused me to jump out of my skin. Who would be at my door at this hour?

… 7:06 am…

Holy crap! It was morning already! No sleep for me…

I scrambled to collect myself after hastily rolling out of my still inviting bed. I took a second to exam the extent of my bed head which I decided was salvageable and swung the door open.

"Oh! Gaara sensei!" I said generally surprised at my red headed sensei now leaning coolly against the doorframe. I mirrored his position on the opposite side of the frame. Maybe it would have made a better impression if I hadn't miscalculated my distance from the intended target, missed, and gone tumbling down to land flat on my ass. Before I knew it, his hands were under my arms and I was being hoisted back to my feet.

"Are you okay?" he said apparently scanning my appearance for the presence of self inflicted injuries. In a frantic attempt to save my dignity and suppress my dorky genes, I regained my cool composure and said,

"Sup"

Fail.

With an eye roll Gaara said

"Let's go."

"Yeah, okay…" blushing with embarrassment and head hung low I followed him out the door.

Gaara POV

The crowd roared when the champions of their respected villages were presented. The audience was smiling, laughing, drinking, taking bets as if they were at a sporting event rather than a fight that could rotationally end in loss of life. Uhg, animals. Especially the foreign diplomats in their silk robes and polished jewelry. Faces smug while they judged the performance of the presented youth looking for students worth spending money on when they needed a mission complete. It was as if they were shopping for prized livestock rather than human beings. Disgusting.

Pardon my negativity but it's well… me. And understandably, this event, this place, did not bring out the best in me.

Matsuri stood along side her teammates. She was smiling, but also chewing on her bottom lip as a nervous habit. It was just moments ago that we parted ways , she went with the other candidates while I went into the stands. The silence before we left was a bit awkward, but broken when she said,

"Sooooo, I guess I'll go then." she let out a deep breath the release her built up tension.

"Yeah." she turned to leave. But without thinking, which is a big deal for me, I called,

"Matsuri, wait." she whipped around.

"Yeah?" her somber expression was now glowing.

"Uh,…" my sophisticated vocabulary suddenly meant nothing as I couldn't find any words. "Good luck." She beamed.

"Thanks sensei! I'll make you proud!" Without warning she threw her arms around my torso into a tight hug. Shocked, and having no idea what to do, I just held my elbows out and starred down at her frantically blinking. After only seconds into the embrace, she noticed my reaction. She let go immediately and blushed a deep red.

"Whoops! I'm so sorry! Uh uh, I didn't mean too! I just…" I held up my hand to stop her.

"It's fine, Matsuri."

"Eh, heh. Right… well I'll see you later." she said and made a hasty retreat. I heard hushed laughter behind me.

"Awww you're so adorable." Kankuro cooed. Followed by a thump and an aggravated "Ow! What was that for!?" I didn't have to turn around to know Temari had whacked him in the back of the head.

And now here I was. Worried for my student as I watched her fidget out of anxiety. After winded speeches from the Hokage and other important figures, it was time to select each Genin's opponents.

"First to spar!" the proctor announced. "Matsuri of the village hidden in the sand!" hmmmmm first. "Against… Yuudai of the village hidden in the sand!" interesting.

"Oh yeah!" Kankuro cried. My brother was positioned behind me in the stands and my sister was at my side. "The showdown of the century! Brother verse brother, the ultimate sibling rivalry."

"Oh psh, Matsuri's going to destroy Yuudai." my sister mocked.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." I said without even turning to look at him.

"Well then, how bout we make this a little more interesting? How about a little bet? Should we say twenty bucks?" he said smugly. My sister scoffed I disapproval.

"Kankuro!"

"What? I'm just showing my confidence in my student. What's wrong with that?" he said with an eye roll.

"I guess Gaara just doesn't believe Matsuri will win." They went on arguing behind me. Until I turned to them and said,

"Make it fifty." Kankuro smiled.

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