Chapter Twenty One
'No! This can't be happening!' Tsuki panicked, looking across the room and seeing shocked green eyes met maroon and the green-haired boy bit his lip. 'Why now? Why her?'
"Would the contestants please step down." Hayate said, coughing into his fist. Sakura leapt from the balcony and Tsuki followed her example soon after.
"Sakura-chan…I don't want to fight you." He confessed. "C'mon, we grew up together. It wouldn't be a fair match. I know your moves; you know mine. How about we just stop this?" Tsuki suggested, smiling weakly. A few of the people in the balconies looked shocked when he mentioned them growing up together.
"Drop out if you want. I'm here to fight." Sakura told him coldly. 'But not with you! Tsuki-kun…I'm so sorry.'
'While she's fighting…I can get a better look at that tape.' Anko realised, looking around and leaving the room. 'I just know it's her with the Akatsuki.'
"Begin!" Hayate yelled, jumping out of their way. Both fighters were still for a moment before Tsuki made the first move and looked into her eyes; maroon met emerald and both froze.
"I never thought I'd see this." Kurenai sighed from the balcony. Her students and Naruto turned to her, as well as Shikamaru, Ino and Choji.
"What, Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba asked, seeing that the Haruno and the Hoshi were still strangely motionless. Their eyes seemed to glow as they measured each other up. Sakura shifted, her hand rising to her weapon pouch. Tsuki mirrored her action, his eyebrows lowering.
"The clash of a Haruno and a Hoshi. In Yukigakure, they are the two most prominent clans; like we have Uchihas and Hyuugas. However, both were equally matched most of the time, and so they agreed on a pact and watch over Yuki together. These two are both strong, I can tell, and so this match could potentially be in anyone's favour." She sighed. Kurenai pointed down when Sakura's arm raised and dropped suddenly. Tsuki did the same and both disappeared.
Two shuriken clashed and an explosion filled the stadium, dust rising and the ground shaking. Looking to the arena, everyone gasped to see that the force had come from the fists of Tsuki and Sakura colliding, their chakra so strong it was visible. Sakura smirked and aimed her other fist at him while he did the same. The impact wasn't as great as the first and they pressed their weight on their fists to see who was physically stronger. Seeing that she was fighting a losing battle, Sakura leapt back and hurled herself at him. Tsuki did the same and they vanished.
"They're gone!" Ino gasped. Naruto frowned.
"No, they're just moving fast. Listen." He said, closing his eyes. The other rookies copied his example and they heard a faint clanging of kunai. After a moment, three shuriken fell to thee floor, covered in blood and the fighters became visible. Sakura had a scratch across her cheek and Tsuki was panting.
"Want to quit?" He mocked, his eyes narrowing as he dodged a fist aimed at his head. He jumped away from his opponent.
"Want to shut up?" Sakura smiled, wiping away the blood from her cheek before moving in fast for another punch. Just before hitting her mark, she froze.
--
"Sakura-chan! I love you!"
--
"Ts-Tsuki-kun." She muttered, stumbling back. Tsuki frowned and took the chance to punch her in the stomach. Recovering fast, Sakura grabbed his fist and twisted his arm back, kicking him away from her. They both felt the impact of the hits and fell backwards, landing hard. As if it were a reflex, Sakura began the hand seals for the Kanjoo Jiyuu, but she stopped and dropped her hands again.
"Are you going to use your Kekkei Genkai or am I too weak?!" Tsuki demanded, wiping a trail of blood from his mouth. Sakura chuckled slightly.
"I mostly lost control of my Kekkei Genkai in the Forest of Death when I save Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san." She told him, seeing his eyes widen.
"B-But…You…" He stuttered.
"Never risked it with you and your brother?" Sakura cut in coldly.
--
"Help!" Taiyoo called out to the pinkette. "Summon Rage or something."
"No way! I could lose the Kanjoo Jiyuu!" Sakura growled back.
--
"Sorry, but he means more to me that you ever did." Sakura told him, throwing kunai at him and speedily following them. As one kunai hit his arm, Sakura punched his chest. Tsuki grabbed the fist and threw her over his shoulder, not expecting Sakura to twist herself in midair and wrap her legs around his neck.
"Wh-Wha-?" He choked. Sakura grinned, her eyes red.
"Like it? Naruto-kun taught it to me!" She jumped from his shoulders, eyes fading back to green as she sank to her knees, performing hand seals. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" She called as four clones appeared. Tsuki frowned but then grinned.
"Well, I'm not holding back!" He announced, seeing the clones circle him and prepare to attack. The boy clasped his hands and, as he pulled them apart, a large wave of chakra rose up around him, dispelling the clones and pushing Sakura back.
Sakura jumped up, higher than the balconies, and held herself to the ceiling using her chakra. She frowned slightly and threw shuriken at Tsuki to make sure he didn't follow her. The boy dodged easily and back flipped to a wall just above the balcony Naruto was stood in, sticking to the wall with his own chakra. He grinned slightly, but it dropped when he met her eyes.
--
"Team Two; Hoshi Tsuki, Hoshi Taiyoo…" The teacher announced, pausing while the twins cheered loudly. He rolled his eyes at the five-year-olds and looked back down at his list, gasping at the next name. "H-Ha-Haruno S-Sakura-sama!" He choked out. The twins froze and everyone looked to the back of the class, seeing the cold girl looking as if she didn't care who was on her team.
"Great." She muttered sarcastically. The twins gulped and shivered, just as scared of the Haruno girl as everyone else in the class.
--
"Grrrrr!" He growled. "Now is not the time!" Tsuki told himself, shaking his head and pulling out a kunai. He attached a paper bomb and threw it towards where Sakura was, only to grit his teeth when she carelessly kicked it towards the ground.
As it exploded, the spectators covered their eyes. Dust rose to cover the battle and Naruto grew anxious as he heard metal clashing. When the dust settled, both of the fighters were on the ceiling in a battle of strength, pushing harder on their parried kunai. Sakura narrowed her eyes as she pushed her weapon towards Tsuki, but he was naturally stronger than her. She leapt away from him and flipped in the air, landing on the ground with the grace of a cat. Tsuki let himself fall and landed heavily.
"You never were the stealthiest in the class. In fact, I remember you best for your heavy footing." She scoffed, twisting her body and sending a kick at his head.
"Well, you never were the…ummm…what were you bad at again?" He asked, catching her ankle and throwing her away. Kiba snorted slightly, but shut up when both Shino and Hinata gave him a look.
"Nothing." She growled, blocking the punch he delivered to her stomach and knocking his feet out from under him. Tsuki smirked.
"No…there was something."
--
"Sakura! Honestly! Guard your hips!" Team Two's sensei demanded of his daughter. The Hoshi twins sniggered slightly, but were silent when Sakura glared at them; they had only been a team for two day and she still scared them.
"I am!" She stated, getting back up and standing in a defensive position—her father just made a fake jab to the head and kicked her again in the hip. Sakura was kicked back and she hissed in pain.
"No, you're not." Haruno-sensei seethed. "Even that idiot Tsuki knows to guard his hips!"
"Hey!" Tsuki called out in his own defence. "I—"
"He's not that much of an idiot." Sakura muttered, missing the way the twins' eyes widened at her defence. She then froze. "I-I mean…"
"No, you said what you mean." He said angrily. "Training is over! Sakura, when you get home I expect you to be able to block hits to your hips!"
"Hai, sensei." Sakura nodded, watching her father walk away. Taiyoo and Tsuki were still staring at her. "What?" She snapped. Tsuki blushed slightly and Taiyoo, seeing his current inability to talk, shook his head and made up an excuse for both of them.
"Your hip is bruising."
She grinned slightly.
"Why don't you spar with me and we'll see if I can block?"
Both twins walked home with more bruises than they thought was possible.
--
"You never were able to block attacks to your hips!" He announced, kicking her in the hip. Sakura was too slow to dodge and ended up crashing into the wall below Gaara's balcony. She fell to the ground and got up on all fours, holding her hip and spiting out blood.
"Okay, so that was always a weak spot for me." She coughed. "That doesn't mean I don't know yours too!" Sakura declared, running towards him and stopping with her face just inches from him. She smiled.
"N-No fair!" Tsuki yelled with a crack in his voice as he jumped away, his cheeks stained crimson. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he looked away from the fight, only to have his curiosity draw his attention back.
"Haha! You never could be that close to me without choking up!" Sakura laughed, doing a back flip onto the rails of Gaara's balcony. She looked towards the redhead and stopped for a moment. "Huh. You're pretty cute." She decided, jumping back up onto the ceiling. Gaara's expression didn't change, but his fingers twitched slightly.
'I thought her eyes were green…not peach-coloured.' Gaara thought.
'Desire! Stay out of this!' Sakura fumed to one of her most annoying emotions. She dodged just in time when Tsuki jumped up to punch her, but instead he broke off a part of the ceiling. The piece of rock fell towards the ground, leaving the Hokage and several Jounin to leap out of the way.
"I told you." Kurenai announced when her students' mouths dropped open in surprise of the show of strength.
"Stay still!" Tsuki roared, trying to punch Sakura again, only to have her dodge and land on the railings of Naruto's balcony, just in front of Shikamaru. She looked back at the lazy Nara and smirked.
"No I wont, Tsuki-kun. I'm too troublesome to do that!" She sighed, hanging from the balcony as if daring the green-haired boy to attack. He frowned and aimed a kick to her stomach, but she dropped herself to the ground before it landed. Tsuki back flipped off the balcony, landing a few feet from his pink-haired crush.
--
"Taiyoo-kun! Look out!" Sakura cried, pushing the younger twin out of the way of a falling boulder. He looked back at what could have been his demise and gulped.
"Th-Thanks, Sakura-chan, I—wait…what did you just call me?" He asked, his jaw dropping.
"Taiyoo, you were nearly flattened!" Tsuki yelled as he caught up to them, only hearing what his brother said. "Who cares if she called you a moron?"
"No…She called me—" He was cut off when Sakura slapped a hand over his mouth.
"It doesn't matter." She insisted. Tsuki shrugged and she walked away, leaving the twins alone.
"So…what did she call you?" Tsuki asked slyly, sending a hopeful grin in his brother's direction. Taiyoo opened his mouth to answer, but then closed it and grinned.
"You'll figure it out when she calls you like that." Taiyoo teased, going to catch up to his female team mate and their sensei. Tsuki frowned.
"Huh?"
--
"You'll never beat me, Tsuki-kun!" Sakura declared, flipping back onto the ceiling for a third time. "Hmm…I'm starting to like it up here."
"Well, you won't be up there for long!" Tsuki growled, performing hand signs. Clones appeared and they all leapt up, punching the ceiling and surrounding Sakura. The area she stood on fell towards the ground, but she flipped herself away just in time to keep from being flattened. She rolled her eyes.
"You always did like throwing your fists around like a monkey." She mocked with a sneer. "Taiyoo-kun's approach to fighting is far greater than yours. No wonder you're the weaker twin."
"SHUT UP!" Tsuki growled, throwing his leg towards her. She blocked her face, but he shifted at the last minute and aimed for her hip. She sailed backwards into the wall and groaned. "Ha! Look who's weak now!" He taunted, watched as she smirked and leapt onto the wall, climbing back up onto the roof.
"Still, my chakra control is better." She waved off, rubbing her bruising hip.
"I said shut up." Tsuki muttered, clenching his fists as his whole body shook with rage. His hands flew into a series of seals. "Time for my Kekkei Genkai! Juuryoku!" He called.
"No!" Sakura yelled, applying more chakra to her hands and knees to hold her to the ceiling. Everyone in the room felt heavier, as if the air was pushing down on them; it lifted when Tsuki moving his hands towards Sakura. Her eyes widened and her chakra wasn't enough to keep her on the ceiling. She fell to the ground, dust rising all around her, sweat colleting on her brow as she tried to resist the increased gravity. "Damn it." She cursed, feeling that more than one of her ribs had been broken from the impact of the fall. She was, however, able to stand again. She threw two kunai towards him, but Tsuki smirked and lifted his other hand causing the two kunai to instantly fall to the ground.
"My Kekkei Genkai; Juuryoku can increase gravity in any spot I choose as much as I want." Tsuki boasted, twisting his hands slightly. Sakura groaned, feeling the pressure on her increase. "Don't you get it, Sakura-chan? You never stood a chance! You can't beat gravity!" He frowned, putting more force on her. "Just give up! I don't want to hurt you!"
"I…I…" Sakura stuttered, wincing when she tried standing again. Naruto caught her eye and he growled.
"Don't give up, Sakura-chan! You can beat his ass any day!" Naruto cheered, punching his fists in the air. "C'mon!"
--
"Sakura-chan! C'mon! You can do this!" Tsuki cheered as he watched his crush fight against his brother's Kekkei Genkai. "You can beat his ass any day!"
--
"Shut up, Fire trash!" Tsuki roared, hearing his own words from so many years ago coming back in the form of some other boy. Lowering his hands slightly, Tsuki winced as the ground around Sakura began to crack. He really didn't want to hurt her; he wanted that kid to shut up.
"Ahh!" She cried, the weight too much for her to withstand. Naruto gulped and Hinata turned away. Everyone else looked amazed.
"Give up, Sakura-chan! Please!" Tsuki begged, not easing up on the gravity.
"N…N…No!" Sakura yelled, pushing herself up. Tsuki froze for a moment before increasing the gravity again. Sakura hit the ground and parts of the floor were churned up. She bit her lip and rose to her hands and knees.
"Stay down!" Tsuki demanded, increasing the gravity again. "If…If I can't have you…NO ONE CAN!" He declared, turning his wrists and adding more pressure. Sakura's back bent, but she continued to rise. The gravity was so high now that everyone could see the air swirling around the spot Sakura was in, avoiding the area. Sakura couldn't breathe, but she got to her knees, sweat dripping from her forehead.
"I…can…win…" She spat, remaining silent afterwards to conserve her energy. Tsuki shook his head.
"This isn't a fairytale where you get inspired and beat your opponent due to some pretty words from your boyfriend, Sakura-chan." He told her, twisting his wrists and raising his arms. "Ja ne." He bid as Sakura was pushed into the ground with so much force that she went through the rock. She cried out in pain and Tsuki released the jutsu, panting from the effort it took to keep it going. "Sorry, Sakura-chan." He sighed. Hayate looked at the boy and nodded.
"The winner is—"
"Take this!" Sakura yelled as she jumped back up, planting a fist in Tsuki's face. As he sailed back, she grinned slightly. The boy didn't get back up; the energy used for the jutsu and the force of the punch had knocked him out. "I'm done here." She stated, falling back and closing her eyes. She didn't get back up.
"This fight is over. The competitors have five seconds to rise or it's classed as a draw." He announced. "Five…Four…Three…Two…One…This battle is over."
"No way!" Ino shrieked. 'Their power…how is it that they can be so strong and yet neither one of them made it to the final?'
"The fourth fight is a draw." Hayate declared. Kakashi, who had arrived during the fight, leapt from his balcony and picked up Sakura while Gai picked up Tsuki. Suddenly, Anko burst into the room with two ANBU.
"Stop right there, Kakashi!" She yelled. "Drop the girl!"
"What's going on, Anko?" Kakashi questioned, not letting go of his female student.
"We have proof that Haruno Sakura is conspiring with the Akatsuki; an organisation of S-Class criminals. She has been seen, on tape, in the Forest of Death with Uchiha Itachi and many other members." Anko charged as the ANBU took the pinkette from her sensei. "As soon as she wakes up, Ibiki will have her for questioning."
"S-Class criminals?" Shikamaru repeated. Naruto's mouth fell open as he watched them carry his girlfriend away.
"Sa…Sakura-chan!"
--
Sakura groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She looked around, squinting in the darkness. This was not the medical bay, where she was expecting to go. She gritted her teeth as she stood up, holding her side from the pain of her previous battle. The door opened and light flooded in, causing Sakura to shield her eyes.
A tall, broad man stepped into the room and circled her before standing in front of the doorway again. He sighed heavily and shook his head.
"My name is Morino Ibiki." He announced as the lights of the room turned on over his head. "Welcome to hell."