Chapter 11: A Whisper.
It took a number of seconds for Miyako to familiarize herself with her opponent's name. Kakashi flashed a reassuring smile at her as he rubbed his head somewhat apologetically.
"It looks like I won't be able to watch your match," he said as he patted her back confidently, "but if it helps you, a bit of personal advice—the Sand nin are formidable, but after watching your match with Sasuke, I have no doubt that you can provide even one of them with a challenge."
"Mm," she mumbled quietly as she tightened her mask behind her ebony hair.
"You better not lose," Sasuke said somewhat snappishly. His cheeks were still flushed a slight pink, undoubtedly from having his sensei catch them amidst their displays of affection.
She ignored his brusque remark and, with one last nod to Kakashi, leaped lazily over the second floor railing, landing gracefully on the stone floor of the stage below. Miyako straightened up and glanced at her opponent briefly before allowing her eyes to wander off into the sidelines. Piercing amber met glaring green, and she felt a slight shudder of fear run past her spine as she tore her gaze away from the other male Sand nin. Part of her felt enormously grateful that she hadn't been selected to fight the red-haired shinobi—the aura he emanated was coated with an indescribable animosity.
"Tch, you're the kunoichi from before, aren't you?" sneered Kankuro, causing Miyako to recall their brief encounter shortly before the first round had commenced. "Are you going to face me or just stare at Gaara the entire time?"
"My apologies," she answered frostily, brushing a stray wisp of hair from her gleaming eyes as she readied herself for battle. "After seeing the immaturity of your actions when you were torturing children half your age, I didn't expect to still see you in the running towards becoming a Chuunin."
His slanted, obsidian eyes flashed with anger, causing a smirk to appear underneath the kunoichi's mask. Her opponent was clearly hot-tempered.
"You'll regret saying that after you see how one-sided this match will be," he scoffed. "Be grateful, I'll go easy on you since you're a kunoichi."
Miyako arched an eyebrow at the degree to which Kankuro underestimated her. "Oh? We'll see how that goes."
The proctor cleared his throat loudly, attracting the attention of every shinobi in the room. "Because we still have quite a few matches to go through before proceeding to the final round of the exam, some new regulations will be established. There will be a one hour time limit on this particular match as well as the ones following it. If there is a winner determined before the hour ends, then he or she will qualify for the final round. If neither Genin is capable of continuing the match at any time, a tie will be called and both Genin will be disqualified. However, if, by the end of the hour, the match is still continuing, I will personally observe who has the upper hand by observing the number and intensity of wounds on both participants." He turned to the two Genin standing before him. "Is this all understood?"
Miyako nodded, and Kankuro merely smirked.
"An hour is more than enough time to disqualify you," he sneered.
She said nothing in return, reaching for the sheath that was slung across her back just as the proctor raised his hand in an effort to begin the match. The instant the proctor gave his signal, both shinobi vanished from their original positions.
Hazel eyes narrowed attentively as she attempted to analyze her adversary's movements. He was fast, but if she tapped into enough of the chakra in her legs, the match would be over in a matter of minutes. In addition, the peculiar, bandaged figure that was slung across Kankuro's back would indisputably be a surprise. The faster the match ended, the better. Adrenaline and confidence rose as she noticed and successfully evaded the three shuriken flying in her direction.
Miyako felt the familiar warmth surge from her feet, her pace quickening plenty as the chakra reached her calves and thighs. She saw Kankuro's eyes flicker in surprise as he noticed the immediate change in her speed, and, without another moment's hesitation, lunged head-on, a hint of silver glinting in her peripheral vision as she swiftly unsheathed her twin kodachi.
She swung her weapons as hard as she could, and for a split second, the sight of her blades against Kankuro's forehead made it seem as if the match was already over. But Miyako knew better than that—the menacing, ruthless ambience Kankuro had given off the first time she had met him immediately convinced her that he was no ordinary shinobi.
The figure her blades had struck swirled around, but it looked absolutely nothing like the sneering enemy she had been assigned to face. The wooden puppet was constructed in the shape of a human, its various limbs corresponding to a typical human's arms and legs. Miyako's chocolate orbs flashing in alarm as she felt another presence behind her, managing to sidestep all but a handful of Kankuro's surprise attack. She flinched as she felt his kunai pierce the surface of her shoulder, but thankfully, the wound was none too deep.
She heard Kankuro chuckle confidently from behind her, and seized the opportunity without another moment's contemplation. There was a brilliant whiz of silver, followed by a surprised yell and several drops of scarlet.
Miyako leaped backwards, turning her head twice to make sure the puppet and its master were both in her full line of vision. Her wound had stung briefly, but the pain had faded as quickly as it had come. She tapped a gloved finger against her masked chin thoughtfully, trying to derive the most effective pathway to avoid both Kankuro and his ally.
Furious at the fact that he had let his guard down even for a second, Kankuro flexed his fingers, causing his puppet to move correspondingly. The creepily constructed wooden figure lunged at her, its jaws clacking away in an inhumanly manner as it opened its mouth, allowing two, sharp kunai to project themselves towards her.
She leaped out of the way, only to see Kankuro flick his wrist almost idly, causing the puppet to change directions immediately. Miyako gritted her teeth together as she evaded it at the last minute, slashing a blade upwards, aiming to slice the strings connecting the puppet to its controller in half. Cocoa eyes flashed in shock as she felt the strain the strings put up against her kodachi. Miyako tried again, but to no avail. In the meantime, Kankuro had twisted his puppet's movements so rapidly that Miyako, in her efforts to cut what looked like a simple pair of strings, had no time whatsoever to evade a second wound, this time on the opposite arm.
The dark-haired kunoichi leaped out of the puppet's pathway as it readied itself for another attack. Her eyes narrowed significantly as she continued to ponder over the illogical reason behind Kankuro's strings.
"You haven't figured it out yet?" he sneered as his eyes, seemingly hidden by the incredible amount of face paint, gleamed in amusement. "I'll explain, then—"
"Chakra?" she inquired as the concept suddenly hit her. "You're using your own chakra flow to prevent the strings from being cut?"
Kankuro smirked. "Oh, not so slow after all. In that case, you should already know which one of us will emerge victorious from this match."
***
"That's cheating, isn't it, sensei?!"
There was a deep frown on the young, blonde-haired Genin as he continued to observe the match below, though there was a glint of worry amongst his piercing, sapphire eyes. Kakashi leaned forward, resting his elbows along the metal railings as he too, watched the duel alongside the many other participants from the second floor, his one, obsidian eye flickering with interest.
"You're talking about the Sand nin's puppet?" he asked. "Not really… it's his technique, so it should be allowed. How long has it been since the match began, Sakura?"
Jade-colored eyes flickered to the old clock hanging from the corner of the spacious room. "Sensei only just arrived ten minutes ago… which makes it about five until the hour."
***
It felt like it had been days since their proctor had first allowed the match to begin. Miyako evaded another handful of shuriken that had shot themselves from the puppet's mouth for the umpteenth time, not pausing to wipe the beads of sweat that had appeared against the surface of her temples. Her breathing had become short and ragged, and every minute or so, her vision had blurred for several seconds before clearing up. Perhaps it was from the lack of sleep that had resulted from the terrible ordeals of the second round... regardless, the hour was unquestionably drawing to a close, and without a turn of events, winning would be impossible.
"I'll give your speed some credit," called Kankuro. The smirk had been pasted on his face for the entire duration of the match, "but we both know your little evasions are getting old. Forfeit already!"
He flicked his wrist lazily, sending his puppet soaring at her, and she saw its mouth open as it prepared its first smoke bomb. Kankuro had hardly moved during the past several minutes, and he had been extremely cautious in preventing an opening. Miyako took in a sharp breath and twirled her kodachi handles dexterously in both hands. Her legs had already begun to ache from the considerable amount of chakra used, but it gave her hope to realize that Kankuro had in no way pushed her to utilize as much chakra as Sasuke had.
"Are you dense?" scoffed Kankuro as he watched his opponent bring her kodachi up to the strings connecting his fingers to his puppet a second time. "I already told you that naïve tactic wasn't going to work."
His eyes widened in alarm as he felt the puppet tug his hands forwards. The kunoichi had entangled one of her weapons amidst the two strings, replacing them with quite a complicated bundle of knots instead. Kankuro cursed, tugging the strings in a futile attempt to defend himself as Miyako snatched the offense.
Instead of one kodachi, it suddenly seemed as if she was holding a handful of blades. Kankuro blinked in an attempt to clear his mind, knowing that the possibility of her wielding so many blades at once was less than zero.
Miyako coerced another significant amount of chakra towards her calves, extending her agility and appearing in front of her opponent in hardly no time at all. She brought her arms down as quickly and as effectively as she could, her amber eyes flashing with concentration as another blur of silver clouded Kankuro's peripheral vision.
There was a brief pause, followed by the sound of wood clanking against the cold, stone ground. Miyako frowned in frustration as she watched the now useless puppet fall into uneven pieces as they hit the floor.
In addition to distancing himself from her even after the brutal attack, Kankuro had miraculously managed to detach his chakra flow towards the entangled strings on the puppet by attaching new ones and bringing the puppet in as a shield instead. Despite the extent to which he had created a defense, the long, bloody gash on his chest indicated the full potential of her attack.
Miyako twirled the handle several times in the palm of her right hand before lunging out at Kankuro once more. She saw the frantic gleam in his dark eyes, but did not slow down her pace. Her kodachi was so close now, inches, no, centimeters away from the tip of his nose—
"Time!"
The single word alone caused her to cease abruptly, and she scowled deeply as she felt her heart sink in disappointment. A second more, and she would have undoubtedly been dubbed the victor.
Miyako flinched as the proctor touched her wounds, observing them carefully before walking towards Kankuro, who was leaning against the wall, breathing painfully. She felt her heart rise in hope—if the proctor was taking into account the deepness of the wounds, then there was no way she could lose.
"Yoru ame," Kankuro said through gritted teeth as the proctor brushed his hand gingerly against his injuries. "Night's Rain."
Miyako turned her head instantly, her eyes flickering in surprise. "… Impressive. You've seen it before?"
He shook his head as he scowled, clearly enraged at the fact that he had been defeated by a kunoichi. "Educating shinobi on the techniques of various clans is an essential aspect of our village in Suna. I've only read about it."
Not knowing what to reply, Miyako simply nodded. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the proctor stand up and clear his throat.
"It's a draw," he said.
Miyako blanched. "What?"
"Even though you've only received two light wounds, the extreme amount and intensity of the poison that has already spread elsewhere into your system is nearly equivalent to the wounds you inflicted your opponents with. The medical team will have an antidote for you on the second floor." the proctor replied simply. "But because the two of you were still capable of continuing the match, both of you will proceed to the final round."
"Tch," scoffed Miyako, chestnut eyes gleaming in disdain as she glanced at Kankuro, who frowned just as deeply.
"We'll finish this in the finals," he answered bitterly.
Too exhausted for words, the kunoichi simply rolled her eyes as she proceeded up the long flight of stairs to the balcony. Her limbs ached with every step, but she sighed with relief, knowing that her part in the preliminaries for the final round was over.
"Good work," complimented Kakashi, ruffling his student's already tangled, black hair. "Another second and you would've had him."
"How is he, Kakashi-sensei?"
The young, handsome Jounin raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke? He's fine, he's just resting now… would you want to see him?"
Miyako nodded, glad that she didn't have to waste any extraneous words when her brilliant sensei could easily read her mind. A nurse approached her, holding a tiny vial of clear liquid in her hand. Miyako downed the vial in one gulp, grimacing at the content's bitterness before handing the empty vial back to the nurse and nodding in thanks.
"Mm, room 202B," the Jounin replied thoughtfully. "Try not to wake him, though, it took too long for him to agree to rest. He kept fussing about coming to watch your match."
She made a face. "In that case, he'll be thrilled once he hears that it was a draw…"
***
The door creaked slightly as a figure fully clothed in black slipped inside the small hospital room. The dark-haired male stirred in his sleep, opening a pair of weary charcoal eyes as the visitor shut the door quietly behind her.
"Ngh…" Sasuke muttered sleepily, turning his head as Miyako drew up a nearby stool, positioning it directly next to his mattress. "Oh, it's you... did you lose so soon?"
Miyako knew he was teasing her, but she frowned all the same. "… It was a draw, but we both qualify for the finals."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow—it was evident that he was struggling to stay awake. "A draw? Lucky you… you aren't going to watch the other matches, then?"
"Well," she began as she leaned over so that her chin rested comfortably on his sheets. "I was planning to check up on you, but now that you're rambling about how lucky I am to qualify for the next round, I'm thinking otherwise."
"I always knew I was irresistible," he chuckled jokingly.
Miyako snorted. "I need the sleep, that's all… I just wasn't beat up enough to be eligible for a hospital room."
This time it was the Uchiha who scowled. Miyako chuckled, her amber orbs twinkling as she teased him. The mattress was beginning to become too comfortable, the room too warm and her eyelids too heavy. She felt sleep wash over her and lost all thought in a matter of minutes, embracing the temporary escape from reality and its fatigue.
Sasuke shifted his body so that he could face her sleeping face, smirking as he watched her eyelashes flutter with every even breath she took. Her content, sleeping face was the last thing he remembered before falling asleep, as he most certainly did not recall his hand's movements as it unconsciously clasped over hers.
author's note:
once again, i apologize for the gap in between updates. i've been trying to find inspiration in the writing the pre-shippuden events and lately, nothing fantastic has been clicking. if anyone has any ideas on what to go on in future chapters, feel free to let me know because it would definitely help, haha. i suppose it's just writer's block and i'll get over it... eventually. if anyone has opinions/ideas/comments, please let me know! :) and as always, please review! reviews are very much inspiring - i notice a lot of readers story alerting, which pleases me as well, but leaving your input would provide me with a better view of everything. :D also, thanks to all my readers! you guys are the best.