I am so sorry for not updating. I just kind of lost interest in writing this fic for a while, but then I figured I really should update. I want to make my chapters a little longer, since I don't want a hundred chaptered story. This chapter will be about the semi-finals and finals of the Escargot Cup.
Oh, and thank you all for reviewing! I'm glad you liked my story. This fic has now hit the 200 reviews mark! THANK YOU EVERYONE! I appreciate that you enjoyed my story AND reviewed! Now, here's the next chapter for you all to read!
The two brothers, Jun and Takashi are just two people I made up, okay? =) If any of you are wondering, this story is a mix of the game-verse and the anime-verse. I like the contests better in the anime, and the thought of the elite four of the games better, so I decided to combine them.
We Have a Winner!
"Welcome back to the Escargot Cup, ladies and gentlemen! Today, will be the last day of the contest. The semi-finals and finals will both be taking place right here, right now! So, let's welcome our remaining contestants!" announced Tsunami. On cue, cheers erupted from the crowd. "Our first match will be between Sakura and Ino! Good luck to both of you."
The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. Sakura and Ino stood facing each other, both girls determined to win this match. When the countdown started, they called out their Pokemon.
"Bayleef, time for some action!" Ino's Bayleef materialized in front of Ino while pink petals rained down on her. With an enthusiastic "Bay!" Bayleef prepared to fight.
"Cherubi, on stage!" Bolts of yellow lightening accompanied Cherubi's entrance. As the small Pokemon levitated, she glared at the larger Bayleef, who glared back. Sakura hoped she had practiced with Cherubi enough the day before. She let her mind drift back to the event of the day before, but at the same time, thinking of the contest.
Flashback
"Hey, how would you two boys like to experience what a Pokemon battle feels like?" The two young boys looked up at the rosette simultaneously. They blinked a couple of times first, but then their lips twitched into smiles, then broad grins. "I'll take that as a yes," said Sakura. "You two can use your Starly. I'll use Cherubi."
"You're using only one Pokemon? A Pokemon who's weak towards flying types?" asked the younger boy.
"I have a contest battle, actually two if I win the first one, tomorrow. I'm thinking of using Cherubi first. I need to train her so that she'll be able to take on my opponent tomorrow," explained Sakura.
"Alright, we can help you out!" agreed the older brother. "Starly use Tackle!" One of the Starlys immediately charged towards Cherubi. The small berry-like Pokemon was hit by the unexpected attack. "Now, follow up with Wing Attack!" commanded the younger brother. Once again, Cherubi was hit, only this time, the attack was super effective.
"Cherubi, you'll have to get used to enduring hits like these! Flying type moves are your weakness!" Sakura motivated Cherubi to stay strong. Once the small berry-like Pokemon recovered slightly, Sakura commanded, "Now, tackle the Starlys with a twist!" Cherubi bashed into Jun's Starly first, then, with agility and grace, spun in the air and tackled Takashi's Starly.
"It looks like a combination of Rapid Spin and Tackle!" commented Takashi. "This is getting fun! Starly, don't give up! Use Peck!" Takashi's Starly's beak glowed white, and charged towards Cherubi. Unfortunately for the grass Pokemon, Starly's beak rammed right into her back. Cherubi plummeted down from the sky and landed, hard, on the sand.
"Cherubi, can you go on?" asked a concerned Sakura. The size of Cherubi's body does not do her motivation justice. The grass Pokemon struggled to get up, but finally succeeded. She floated a few inches off the ground, only to get hit by another Wing Attack by Jun's Starly.
"Grass Pokemon are really weak against flying Pokemon, but your Cherubi's still hanging in there! You must be a great trainer, Sakura!" complimented Jun.
"It's not just me. Cherubi also has the will to support me and not let me down. That's what I love about my Pokemon. They never want to let me down. They always try their hardest for me. So, as their trainer, I want to try my hardest for them too and not disappoint them. Cherubi, now, Magical Leaf!" shouted Sakura.
Just as Jun's Starly was charging towards Cherubi with another Wing Attack, Cherubi's leaves slammed right into the bird's face, forcing him back. "Now twist it!" commanded Sakura. Cherubi started spinning slowly, and created a circle of leaves around it. Takashi's Starly was also charging towards Cherubi, so the barrier of leaves obstructed the bird Pokemon.
The berry-like Pokemon started spinning faster, and faster. Cherubi has surprisingly high speed for a Pokemon with a huge head. Soon enough, both Starlys were flapping around the barricade of leaves Cherubi was conjuring. Once in a while some leaves would shoot out of the mass of leaves and strike both Starlys. The pattern continued, and soon, both Starlys stopped flapping their wings, and landed on the sand.
"Now! Grass Knot!" shouted Sakura. Cherubi stopped twirling, and caught the Starlys with knots of grass from underground. Even though the attack didn't affect the Starlys much, it was still a good use of attacks.
"Sakura, you took us by surprise there!" said Takashi. Jun nodded in agreement.
"Thank you. Leech Seed them, Cherubi," said Sakura. Two small buds shot out and planted themselves on the two Starlys struggling to break free from the Grass Knot attack. Cherubi slowly began to regain her energy by stealing the health of the Starlys.
"It's not over yet! Starly, Quick Attack," commanded Jun. Jun's Starly charged towards Cherubi, leaving a trail of white light behind him, and rammed into the smaller Pokemon. "Good job! Now…" Jun was interrupted by someone calling him and his brother.
"Jun! Takashi!" A young girl, a couple of years older than Sakura, ran up to the trio. "Oh, did you take care of them this whole time? Thank you so much," thanked the girl.
"It was no big deal. I was trying to get them to feel was a Pokemon battle is like. So, how did you boys like it?" asked Sakura.
"It was awesome! I can't wait to get my very first Pokemon! You'll catch one for me, won't you sis?" asked Takashi.
His sister smiled and nodded once. "Of course I will. You still need to mature more if you want to become a trainer," she teased. She turned her attention back to Sakura. "Sorry for not introducing myself yet. My name's Midori."
"I'm Sakura. Your name suits you. Your hair's a beautiful shade of green," complimented Sakura.
"Same goes to you. You hair's pretty unique. 'Sakura' suits you as well," replied Midori. "I'd better get these two back home. Thank you for taking care of them, Sakura."
"Don't mention it!" answered Sakura. As Jun, Takashi, and Midori walked away, hand in hand, Sakura could hear the two younger brothers' voices, telling Midori about the battle recently. She also overheard them talking about her participating in the Escargot Contest. Sakura smiled briefly, then turned to her Cherubi.
The small Pokemon floated down to the ground, and landed softly. Sakura kneeled down and patted Cherubi's head lightly with three fingers. "You did a great job today, Cherubi. If you can keep yourself motivated, then we can win tomorrow!" Cherubi uttered a small cry in agreement. Sakura smiled at Cherubi and took out her Pokeball. "You should rest now." A beam of red light shot out of the Pokeball and recalled Cherubi to the ball.
Sakura, then stood up and walked back to her lodgings. The wind blew lightly, caressing her hair. A single cherry blossom tumbled by, in the air and into the sea. A new beginning for Sakura, her Pokemon, and her friends were emerging. The cherry blossoms will bloom soon: our rose-haired cherry blossom, and her Pokemon.
End Flashback
"Cherubi start off with Tackle," commanded Sakura.
"Bayleef, tackle it too," mimicked Ino. Cherubi and Bayleef charged towards each other. Bayleef, being the larger Pokemon, easily knocked Cherubi a few feet into the air. "Razor Leaf!" continued Ino.
"Magical Leaf!" countered Sakura. As Bayleef's razor leaves zoomed towards Cherubi, the berry-like Pokemon quickly regained her balance in the air and sent some leaves of her own to counter the razor leaves. A small explosion occurred when too many of the leaves collided. Cherubi lightly floated down to the ground, only to realize that she has made a huge mistake.
"Bayleef, Scary Face," said Ino. Cherubi looked up and saw a menacing Bayleef. The smaller Pokemon froze in fear. "Now use Stomp." Before Cherubi could escape, Bayleef lifted one of its feet and crashed it down on the small Pokemon. Cherubi rolled back to Sakura.
"I didn't know Bayleef could learn Scary Face. Maybe I should've read more books. Concentrate, Sakura! You can do this!" Sakura snapped out of her thoughts and commanded, "Cherubi, Magical Leaf." Cherubi launched a trail of leaves toward Bayleef, but Ino had a counterattack up her sleeve.
"Bayleef, use Take Down while countering Cherubi's magical leaves with Razor Leaf," commanded Ino. Bayleef charged towards Cherubi again, while launching some razor leaves in small groups to deflect the magical leaves. Before Bayleef could hit Cherubi, the smaller Pokemon floated up in the air.
Cherubi floated right above Bayleef, directly under the sun. "Sunny Day!" shouted Sakura. Cherubi shot a small, glowing, white ball to the sky. All of a sudden, the sun became much brighter. Bayleef, who was looking up at Cherubi, was blinded by the sudden brightness of the sun. "Now's your chance! Grass Knot!" said Sakura.
Four knots of grass tied Bayleef down and tripped her. "Yes! It's much more effective on Bayleef, since it's much heavier," thought Sakura. The rosette continued, "Now, you can hit her with your Magical Leaf attack!" Cherubi started shooting out leaves toward Bayleef from above. The berry-like Pokemon twirled and slowly advanced toward Bayleef while shooting the leaves, so the leaves formed a spiral, and hurt more as Cherubi gets closer to Bayleef.
"Use Reflect," said Ino. Bayleef quickly created a barricade around herself, so the magical leaves won't hurt as much anymore. Cherubi stopped her attack and floated back up in the air. "Bayleef, Sweet Scent." A soothing and relaxing scent soon filled the air. The audience, judges, and Cherubi began to relax. Bayleef took the chance to ram into Cherubi with a Tackle attack.
Throughout the battle Sakura and Ino were losing points left and right. It was hard to predict who would emerge victorious. Naruto was watching the match and fidgeting like a little child. His mom kept reassuring him that Sakura was putting up a great fight.
"I don't understand why Sakura-chan chose Cherubi to fight against Bayleef! How can a small Pokemon like that beat Ino's Bayleef?" Naruto asked.
"Appearances can be deceiving, Naruto. You never know how powerful Cherubi really is," replied Kushina.
"Take Down, Bayleef!" shouted Ino. Bayleef rammed into Cherubi, hard. More points were deducted from Sakura. Cherubi crashed to the ground. The small Pokemon struggled to get back up. Bayleef attacked Cherubi with a Razor Leaf attack, not giving a chance for Cherubi to recover.
"Is this it for Sakura and Cherubi? Will Ino emerge as the victor?" announced Tsunami, creating tension among the audience.
"Cherubi, please, please, please get up. I am begging you! Please don't faint!" Sakura frantically chanted in her mind. All of a sudden, Cherubi slowly floated up and placed herself directly underneath the sun. Bayleef shielded her eyes from the blinding sun with her leaf. With Sunny Day still in effect, Cherubi started to regain health using Synthesis. "I did not know Cherubi could use Synthesis. What's she planning to do?" Sakura thought to herself.
The audience watched on in anticipation. Cherubi glowed brilliantly. The beauty of the combination of Synthesis and Sunny Day caused Ino to lose a couple of points. Among the audience, Kushina smirked. She knew exactly what was going to happen. This would be a big step forward for Cherubi. Naruto looked at his mother and saw that she understood exactly what was going on with Cherubi. The blond boy decided to wait and watch for himself.
"I'm sure Cherubi's using Synthesis, but she has something else up her sleeve. The sun's blinding me. I can't see properly," thought Sakura as she rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of the blinding light.
"Bayleef shoot out some razor leaves at Cherubi. Don't let it regain anymore health. Then bind it with Vine Whip," commanded Ino. Bayleef launched a straight line of razor leaves towards Cherubi. Right before the leaves reached Cherubi, a large white beam shot out from Cherubi's mouth.
"Solarbeam! No wonder I saw her leaves glowing white. Wait, it's not only her leaves that are glowing now!" observed Sakura. She squinted to get a better look at her Pokemon. Then, her eyes widened slowly.
The audience stared in awe at the sight before them. Naruto's jaw dropped immensely. He stuttered, "M-Mom, is-is Sakura-chan's Cherubi e-e-…"
"Evolving!" Sakura shouted, unknowingly finishing Naruto's sentence. Under the sun, Cherrim looked healthy and beautiful. Her petals opened up and she floated down to the ground to fight once again.
In the audience, Naruto gaped. "How can Sakura-chan's Cherubi evolve so fast?" he asked.
Kushina answered, "Sakura may have been training her Cherubi. Once Cherubi reaches a certain level, it'll evolve. I guess Sakura's Cherubi have reached that level." Naruto switched on his Pokedex to learn more about Cherrim.
Cherrim, the Blossom Pokemon. During times of strong sunlight, its bud blooms, its petals open fully, and it becomes very active.
The Pokedex also gave Naruto an alternate picture of Cherrim. In that picture, Cherrim has a purple petal cloak around it, covering itself up. The picture of Cherrim under sunny conditions looks a lot better and cuter than the Cherrim under normal conditions. "So Sakura-chan's Cherrim will become very active. Her petals have fully bloomed. Sunny Day must be contributing a lot to Cherrim's blooming form," muttered Naruto. Kushina smiled at her son, glad that he was learning a lot just by watching contests.
Ino stared at Cherrim. "I don't get it. When it seems like I'm going to win, your Pokemon does something to save you. I envy your luck, Sakura," said Ino.
"Let's just get this match over with Ino," replied Sakura. "Cherrim, Take Down!" Cherrim slammed into Bayleef with full force, managing to knock the larger Pokemon off her feet. "Now use Magical Leaf!" Cherrim launched many white leaves toward Bayleef, who reflected the attack with her own Razor Leaf attack.
"Use Vine Whip to constrict Cherrim," said Ino. Bayleef's vines shot out swiftly and caught Cherrim. The smaller Pokemon was then, thrown in the air. "Use Razor Leaf, then use Vine Whip to increase the leaves' speed." As the leaves' sped towards Cherrim, the Blossom Pokemon didn't have enough time to dodge, so she ended up taking the hits.
"Cherrim, blow them away with Solarbeam!" shouted Sakura. With the sun still shining brightly, it took Cherrim little time to store energy for the Solarbeam. The white beam of light incinerated the leaves and critically hit Bayleef. Bayleef was blown away, literally, by the Solarbeam. "Now use Grass Knot!" Knots of grass appeared from the ground and tied up Bayleef's feet, tripping her. "Charge towards Bayleef at full speed, Cherrim! Take Down!" shouted Sakura. While Bayleef was still held down by the Grass Knot attack, Cherrim flew at Bayleef and slammed into her, hard.
"Time's up!" reminded Tsunami. The audience leaned in closer while Ino and Sakura lifted their heads slowly to look at the scoreboard. Sakura still has about two-fifths of her points left while Ino has about one-sixth. Sakura beamed with excitement while Ino just sighed and admitted defeat gracefully. "The winner of this round is Sakura Haruno!" The audience cheered and applauded. Naruto shot up from his seat and started cheering while Kushina sat like a polite girl and clapped.
Sakura's face was beaming with such brightness that rivaled the sun's brilliance. Ino marched up to her rival and stuck out her hand. "You put up a great fight, Sakura. I can't believe a Pokemon that small could have beaten Bayleef," commented Ino.
Sakura shook her friend's hand. "I was a little hesitant in choosing Cherubi, or Cherrim, at first, but I thought she could pull it off," Sakura replied, sheepishly. "I never knew Cherrim could use Synthesis. Maybe I need to be more observant. I also didn't expect Cherubi to evolve so quickly."
"I never expected an evolution to take place during a contest. Well, I guess Lady Luck was definitely on your side today, Sakura. I'll be cheering for you in the final round," said Ino. Then she and Sakura walked off stage.
The two friends chatted while walking back to the waiting room. Sakura suddenly stopped talking in mid-sentence. Ino looked at her, confused, then looked straight ahead, where Sakura was facing. A red headed girl about their age was casually pacing towards the two girls.
She briefly stopped beside Sakura. "I thought you said coordinators were 'weak'," said Sakura.
Karin snickered and replied, "I did. That's why I entered this contest: to show how weak you coordinators really are." Ino got extremely annoyed then, but she kept her cool. Sakura already got used to Karin's answers.
"I actually hope you win this round, Karin. Then I can kick your butt again," taunted Sakura while chuckling.
Karin swiftly turned around, her hair swishing wildly. "Oh I'll win this round for sure. This time, I'm going to pound you and your Pokemon so badly that you'll want to beg for mercy right there on stage," threatened Karin. She then strolled past the two girls, pulled out her Pokeball, and went on stage.
"What's her problem?" asked Ino.
"She hates coordinators," replied Sakura.
"Then why's she participating, again?" Ino asked, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"According to her, she wants to prove that coordinators are weak by beating them in this contest," answered Sakura. Ino sighed, shrugged, then started a new topic of conversation with Sakura.
Naruto sighed. "That bastard, Sasuke. He should've come. This is Sakura-chan's final day for the contest," mumbled the blond boy.
"Maybe he'll show up at the last minute, Naruto. Who knows?" reassured Kushina. She turned her attention back to the contest. "That red-head's good," she commented. "Her name's Karin, isn't it?"
"Yeah," growled Naruto.
Kushina turned her attention to her son now. "What's wrong, Naruto? Why the growling?"
"Sakura-chan, teme, and I met her at Dewford. That Karin girl's bad news, Mom," explained Naruto.
"Well, bad news or not, she's a pretty decent fighter. She doesn't look like she knows much about contest battles, though. However, she can still hold up against her opponent. Her opponent's going to lose any minute now," concluded Kushina.
"Mom, how do you predict all this stuff? Are you some kind of psychic?" asked Naruto, his eyes suddenly sparkling with delight.
Kushina laughed. "No no, I've just had a lot of experience with this kind of stuff, that's all," answered Kushina.
"Oh, okay. Mom, I never saw any badges or ribbons at home that belong to you," said Naruto, his eyes fixed on his thighs.
"Well, what do you think I did with them?" asked Kushina.
Naruto mechanically turned his head to face Kushina. "T-Them? Are you saying you've won both badges and ribbons, Mom? Are you that strong?" Naruto asked, his eyes widening as each second passed.
"Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out, Naruto," teased Kushina.
"Mom, that's not fair!" complained Naruto. "I'm your son. Tell me!"
Kushina brought her finger to her lips. "You'll find out sooner or later," answered Kushina in a sing-song voice.
Naruto crossed her arms and pouted. Kushina giggled. "He's just like a little toddler: my little Naruto," thought Kushina.
"Congratulations on winning, Sakura!" greeted TenTen. Sakura and Ino were surprised that she was in the waiting room.
"Hey, how did you get back here?" asked Ino.
"I was allowed access to this room because I was once a participant. Neat, huh?" said TenTen, giving a thumbs-up.
"Were you watching us in this room or outside?" asked Sakura.
"I preferred to watch the match here. I don't know why, myself," replied TenTen, smiling. She turned to the monitor and commented, "That Karin girl's doing really well. I'm guessing you're going to have to fight her next, Sakura. It's all come down to this now: the finals. Don't lose!"
"Yeah, Billboard Brow. I won't stop bugging you, ever if you make it this far and lose," joked Ino.
The girls were interrupted by Tsunami's announcement, "The winner of this round is Karin! Finally, we have come to the last match. Sakura versus Karin! Now it's time for a short break. When we get back, get ready for some intense fighting."
Courage and determination burned Sakura's nervousness away. She whispered to herself, "Let's see what you got, Karin." Sakura prepared her stronger Pokemon's, Combusken's, Pokeball and got ready to go on stage. "Wish me luck, girls," she said.
"Good luck, Sakura. We'll be cheering for you," replied Ino. Sakura nodded and walked out the door.
"Now, are you all ready for the finals?" asked Tsunami. She was answered by a huge wave of cheers from the audience. "All right! Let's bring out our last two contestants! On this side, we have Karin!" The redhead was greeted by applause and whoops from the audience. "On the other side, we have Sakura!" The rosette was also met with cheers and applause from the spectators. "We have five minutes on the clock. Begin!"
"Combusken, the stage is yours!" shouted Sakura. A stream of fire spiraled around Combusken as the Young Fowl Pokemon materialized.
"Jynx, it's time to show them what you're made of," said Karin. Confetti accompanied Jynx's flashy entrance.
"Hey, Karin, you do know you have a slight disadvantage, right?" taunted Sakura.
Karin smirked. "Of course I do. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to lose, Pinky. Jynx, start off with Powder Snow!" Jynx blew blue powder from its mouth. The stream of blue spiraled towards Combusken.
"Combusken, counter with Fire Spin!" A spiral of red and orange quickly overpowered the Powder Snow attack. "Now spin and dive through the Fire Spin!" Combusken swiftly dove in the circle opening of the fire spiral and started spinning. The fire slowly adorned Combusken as the Young Fowl Pokemon spun towards Jynx. Soon, Combusken looked like a torpedo launched at a high speed.
"Would you look at that, ladies and gentlemen. Combusken has used its own attack not only to hit Jynx, but also to use it to its own advantage! That's going to cost Karin a few point losses," commented Tsunami.
"Jynx, use Psychic to stop that attack," commanded Karin, nonchalantly. Jynx's eyes glowed a bright blue as it started its attack. All of a sudden, the fire surrounding Combusken dispelled, and the Young Fowl Pokemon was left suspended in the air. Combusken struggled to break free of Jynx's Psychic, but its efforts were in vain.
"Combusken, aim a Flamethrower attack at Jynx!" shouted Sakura. With great effort, Combusken blew a large column of fire at Jynx . However, the attack was immediately destroyed by Jynx's Psychic.
"Jynx, use Powder Snow again, and collect the small leftover flames with Psychic," said Karin. Jynx held the small fireballs in the air, and blew out small blue snow balls. Jynx managed to get its Powder Snow attack inside the small fireballs. Then, it used Psychic to launch the glimmering fireballs at Combusken.
"Wow, the ice in the fireballs really makes them look pretty. Combusken seems to be taking the hits hard," said Tsunami.
"As long as Jynx is using Psychic on Combusken, I can't do anything," thought Sakura. As the rosette desperately tried to think of a loophole, Combusken was harshly thrown on the floor, right in front of her. "I can't use any attacks head-on. I need to find a distraction."
"Now use Double Team then Lick," commanded Karin. Jynx was suddenly floating right in front of Combusken, and copies of it surrounded the Young Fowl Pokemon. Huge tongues then licked Combusken from head to toe, paralyzing Combusken. Jynx then used Pychic to hurl Combusken across the stage.
"Combusken surround Jynx with a ring of fire!" shouted Sakura. Combusken rose to his feet painfully and charged towards Jynx, breathing fire from his beak.
"It's futile. Jynx, use Psychic to turn the attack back at Combusken," said Karin. The stream of fire changed its course and flew back at Combusken. The Young Fowl Pokemon took the hit, causing Sakura to lose a few points.
"Combusken, keep charging!" said Sakura. Her Combusken burst out of the stream of fire, recharged with energy, and started running circles around Jynx. "Now use Double Team!" Combusken made copies of himself and didn't stop running. As Combusken was running, the flames he was breathing started to intensify. The circle of fire slowly started to build, and the flames rose, creating a wall of fire instead.
"Jynx, control those flames with Psychic," commanded Karin. Before Jynx could carry out her master's orders, Combusken and his clones burst from the wall of fire, ready with his 'Peck' attack. Karin lost some points when Jynx took the hit. Combuken and his clones then back-flipped in a perfect circle, penetrating the wall of fire and dispelling it, causing Karin to lose a few more points.
"Now it's payback time," whispered Sakura. Then she shouted, "Now use Double Kick!" Combusken and his clones charged towards Jynx and delivered two swift kicks, sending the ice Pokemon flying back into a wall. Combusken's clones disappeared one after another, but the Young Fowl Pokemon swiftly ran towards Jynx, ready with a Fire Spin attack.
"Jynx, snap out of it!" shouted a frantic Karin. Before Jynx could recover from Combusken's attacks, she was hit by a Fire Spin attack.
"Fire attack should be very effective against your Jynx. Aren't I right, Karin?" mocked Sakura. The red-head's patience drained away like water down a sink. The buzzer finally rang, signaling the end of the match. The rosette and red-head raised their heads to look up at the scoreboard.
The crowd applauded and erupted in cheers. Naruto jumped up and down, unable to contain his excitement. "She won, Mom! Sakura-chan won! She beat that Karin girl! Yeah! Take that red-head, 'ttebayo!" Kushina smiled at her excited son, happy to see him so energized, even after his big brawl with Sasuke.
"I… won," breathed Sakura. She broke into a huge smile, ran towards Combuken, and hugged him. "I won! I won!" the rosette exclaimed, more excitedly. Beads of tears were gathering at the corner of her eyes. "I can't believe it. All this tension… I won!" She frantically looked around for her two closest friends in the audience.
She could never miss the hyperactive blond boy. He was waving and shouting at the top of his lungs. Even his bright blond hair stood out among the audience. Sakura spotted his mother clapping and smiling a 500 kilowatt smile. The rosette scanned the audience to see if she could find spiky black hair sticking out among the people. Unfortunately for her, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.
"He didn't come?" thought Sakura. Her cheerful front faded into a hurt expression. Tsunami and the judges called Sakura to the middle of the stage to award her the ribbon.
"Sakura, you put up a great performance for everyone in the audience. You were a star," complimented Tsunade. The blond lady then whispered in Sakura's ear, "Though you could polish your moves. I would like to talk to you later, privately, if you don't mind." That grabbed Sakura's attention.
"The world famous coordinator, Tsunade, wants to have a private chat with me? Me, a rookie coordinator?" Sakura thought. Tsunade meticulously placed the Escargot Ribbon in Sakura's outstretched hands. The rosette clenched the ribbon and brought her hands to her chest, tears of happiness threatening to spill out.
"Congratulations on winning, Sakura! All of our contestants put up great fights and appeals. I hope everyone enjoyed this contest! We may be back next year, so watch out!" announced Tsunami.
After Ino, TenTen, and Sakura said their goodbyes to each other, Naruto and Kushina congratulated Sakura on winning. "You were awesome out there, Sakura! I knew you would win!" congratulated Naruto.
"Naruto was shaking with anticipation and fear," commented Kushina. Naruto pouted and said, "You didn't have to put the 'fear' part in, Mom." Kushina and Sakura giggled at Naruto's childish attitude.
Sakura's laughter died down, and she asked, "Hey, Naruto, why didn't Sasuke-kun come?" Naruto's everlasting smile vanished and his face turned solemn.
"I don't know either, Sakura-chan. I couldn't get him to come with me today. He's probably in our room, brooding about his loss," explained Naruto.
"Loss? What loss?" asked Sakura.
"You see, he ran into members of Team Sound. That bastard tried to take them on by himself, but his Pokemon ended up getting seriously injured. He was lucky I found him in time, or he would have been toast. He wasn't even grateful that I saved him! What a bastard," mumbled Naruto.
"I see. You know Sasuke-kun, Naruto. Maybe you saving him hurt his pride," commented Sakura.
"What's wrong with a friend saving another friend? Is that something to be ashamed about?" Naruto asked.
"Sakura may be right, Naruto. Sasuke looks like a person who is very proud," said Kushina.
"Still, he shouldn't be that hurt," mumbled Naruto.
Suddenly the three of them heard footsteps. They turned and saw Tsunade approaching them. "Tsunade, it's nice to see you," greeted Kushina.
"It's good to see you again, Kushina," returned Tsunade. The blond lady then turned to Sakura and said, "May I have a word with you, Sakura?"
"O-Of course, Tsunade-sama!" replied Sakura. Sakura and Tsunade chatted for a while as they walked along the beach. Sakura talked about her friends and her past very first contest with Tsunade. She also asked for tips and advice on contest moves and combinations.
"Sakura, I watched you perform during my contest and I can see you have a lot of potential. I can also tell you have the brains to think up of new and interesting moves. I can probably help you improve, as your teacher," offered Tsunade.
Sakura stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Tsunade. "T-Tsundae-sama as my teacher? My teacher?" she repeated.
"Yes, Sakura. So, what do you say?" asked Tsunade.
"I-I would never turn down an offer like that, Tsunade-sama!" replied Sakura.
Tsunade smiled. "Good. Now, if I'm correct, the next contest is going to be held in Verdanturf. You are planning to go there, aren't you?"
"Yes I am, but first, I have to help my two close friends prepare for their gym battle against Kakashi-sensei," answered Sakura.
"Oh, Kakashi's also trained you?" asked Tsunade.
"For only a little while, though. I've developed a habit of calling him Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura.
"Then you can call me 'shishou'. I'm glad to have seen your performance, Sakura. When are you free for training tomorrow?" Tsunade inquired.
"I'm not sure, shishou. Do you mind if I call you via video-phone? Where are you staying?" Sakura asked.
"I'm actually staying at the Pokemon Center for now. After a couple of days, I'll be heading to Verdanturf as well," answered Tsunade.
"Oh ok. So I can talk to you later tomorrow then, Tsunade-shishou," said Sakura.
"Come on, let's go back. Your friend and Kushina must be waiting for you," suggested Tsunade.
"Oh yeah, I got Tsunade-sama as my teacher! My life can't get any better! I've got two ribbons, and with Tsunade-sama's guidance, there's no way I can lose at the Verdanturf contest! Shannaro!"Inner Sakura mused.
Yes! I'm finally done with the Escargot Contest! Phew! So, how did you all like it? Good, bad, could be better? I apologize again for updating sooooo late! Please tell me your thoughts with reviews! I welcome constructive criticism as well!
~ Sakura Uchiha Hyuuga no Sabaku