Warrior
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Freezing.
Chapter 2: The Bet
With a thud Naruto thumped his alarm clock to silence the dreadful beeping. He lay in his bed for a moment thinking about the previous day. It had definitely been a good one, everything he had expected and then much more. Though he had hoped to have a someone in mind who stood out to him as 'the one' he didn't mind too much as several girls had left an impression on him. He would simply have to spend more time with each of them to find out who it would be. He got out of bed an began his morning routine to prepare for the day ahead without further delay.
A half an hour later he wondered into the cafeteria for breakfast having decided that it would be best to make the effort to socialise at every opportunity for the time being. Plus who knew who he might run into.
He scoured the available food, hoping to hit the jackpot and find ramen. Not too surprisingly he was left disappointed but settled for what they had happily enough. As he looked around the largely vacant hall for someone to sit with he recognised a certain blonde figure sitting in the corner by herself. He made a b line toward her and sat himself across from her, earning him a bewildered look from the girl in question.
"Good Morning" he greeted cheerfully as he picked up a piece of toast "Itadakimasu" he mumbled before biting.
"Morning" Satillizer replied confusion evident in her voice.
"What's the matter?" Naruto asked looking at her uncertainly. She didn't reply at first, instead trying to think of something to say that might persuade him to leave her alone.
"You're a pretty quiet person, aren't you?" he said offhandedly
"I guess" she replied, picking up her food she decided she would try ignoring him for the time being.
"So how is it going to work with a partner for you?" he asked bluntly, not pausing from eating. She did and just looked at him from across the table.
"I don't…" she began
"I mean, I get that you have an issue with being touched but, I mean does that apply to everyone? What about with animals? Never had a pet?" He continued between mouthfuls.
"No, and I guess so" she said, answering as the thoughts came to her. "Anyway, why do you care?" she blurted out, not really meaning it but her patience was being pushed by this annoying blonde.
"I dunno" he admitted "I guess I think it's kinda sad" he said looked upwards in consideration.
"Sad?" she repeated, the rising annoyance temporarily quelled by the unexpectedness of his answer.
"Well if what I am told is true; partners understand each other in a way nobody else ever will, they share everything and are devoted to one another. I personally can't wait to experience that!" he said happily but then the warmth of his expressed faded and he looked at her directly.
"I can't even imagine not aiming for it to be honest" he finished. He couldn't help but think of his own childhood and the abyss of loneliness that he had lived in. He met precious people since then and he was confident Satellizer had her own but still, he had never imagined a future of himself where he didn't have somebody who he would come to love.
"Don't judge me by your own standards" Satellizer snapped as she stood. Naruto blinked at her outburst but said nothing. With that she walked away leaving Naruto looking after her. He wasn't stupid enough to not realise he had touched a nerve and while he felt guilty for hurting or offending her, he couldn't see how the path she was on would end up good for her. He shuddered to think where he might be had he stayed that course up until now.
Satellizer seethed with anger, she felt her knuckles crack just at how tightly she clenched her fists. She felt like he was looking down at her, like at a damaged item with pity. It infuriated her how he had looked at her. Those eyes as though he had the slightest idea who she was. She didn't care about how most people thought of her because they didn't try to understand her which was the same as not even seeing her to begin with. It was easy to forget your loneliness when you are a ghost. To have it brought up so directly by someone she didn't even know was a situation she didn't know how to deal with nor prepared for.
Elizabeth had been silently reflecting on the previous days events throughout her morning. Though taking some unexpected turns she felt as though it had gone quite well. Finally her ship had come in, as there were several candidates in the new class that would be quite compatible with her ability wise and a handful of these thus far seemed to be guys she could get along with. Two in particular had her special attention.
Uchiha Sasuke was everything the rational part of her could ask for. His capabilities as an Uchiha would be great but it was his sheer talent as an individual that made his truly desirable. He had mastered two elemental natures, even for an Uchiha to do so by the age of 15-16 was quite a feat. His abilities ranged from greatly proficient at close quarters, mid-range and long range, which to Elizabeth meant that is would be perfectly possible for him to specialise into long and mid-range. He was even gifted in the arts of Genjutsu. Having met him yesterday also she saw that he was quite professionally minded like herself. He was composed and calculating much like herself and his main drive from what she could discern was his ambition to rival his brother. While she was sceptical of his chances of being another Itachi, she loved that he was setting the bar that high.
While on paper his abilities and personality were both a dream-like match for her there was one little thorn in this picture and it had blonde hair and blue eyes.
Naruto had been an unexpected yet welcome surprise for Elizabeth. He was quite a unique individual to put it delicately. He initially came across as another loud idiot who would soon be put in his place. However having dealt with many of these types of people before she couldn't ignore that her instincts told her this wasn't the case with this boy. Some of the things he had said didn't fit the profile and he had surprised her on more than one occasion with what he had been thinking which was another indicator that she had been misjudging him. Yet these wouldn't really serve as a distraction for her were it not for that feeling she had during their first conversation. She couldn't quite put it into words. She didn't feel a particular romantic attraction to him and his abilities though impressively numerous didn't appeal to her anywhere nearly as much as Sasuke's even if she considered the greatest potential of the vague descriptions. So what was it?
She rubbed her forehead absentmindedly as she turned to look out the window.
The other question of course was that of the competition. For Sasuke she was well aware, even as appealing as she may seem as a more experienced recruit, the reality was that any girl who was hoping to bag him would be playing long odds. Between this and her lamenting the thought of chasing a boy she had to admit that unless he were drawn to her she wasn't sure she would be lulled into playing such games even if that meant that he would slip through her finger s. She wouldn't besmirch her dignity by being drawn into such childish competitions.
Unfortunately she was beginning to suspect that there may be some competition for Naruto also, which could potentially explode depending on the results of their first carnival. He wasn't widely sought after and most people didn't even know who he was despite how loud he was. However she had noticed that both Arnett and Chiffon had both been quite glad to have his attention after their first speaking yesterday. The other problem was the rumour that Roxanne Elipton was transferring to this academy. Though she only had one meeting of her to go by, Roxanne from her memory would be quite a good match personality wise with Naruto. In any case she made up her mind on the spot that she would have to get friendly with Naruto before the carnival so that she wasn't potentially forgotten about should he prove himself to be as interesting in battle as he was out of it.
"You look pretty deep in thought" Arnett said pulling her back to the present.
"Oh, I suppose I was" she said turning away from the window to face her friend.
"Thinking about anyone in particular?" Arnett said with a smirk. Elizabeth knew better than to take the bait and instead said nothing and faced forward. After realising she wasn't going to respond Arnett decided another route.
"Did you know that the Untouchable Queen and Naruto had been speaking?" she said, purposely casually. Elizabeth turned to look at her friend a little too quickly causing Arnett to have to hide her own little smile.
"No? Well it seems they spoke last night and even had breakfast this morning together. Though she didn't seem too happy with him when she left" she explained, her tone laced with glee. Elizabeth turned back forward but looked at her hands infront of her.
"That's unexpected." She stated simply "I never expected her to take an interest in… well anyone" she said thoughtfully. Arnett made an audible hum to show her doubt to that idea.
"I'm wondering if it's just the other way around. After all he doesn't know about he reputation." She said. "Someone should probably tell him about her before he gets hurt" Arnett finished, feigning innocence. Elizabeth had to hold in the scoff at her attempts to tempt her.
"That's probably true." She began simply "Well, since you seem to be keeping tabs on him anyway, perhaps you should warn him" she offered plainly. She resisted a smile as she could practically hear Arnett's expression crack. Arnett would never admit it, as she considered only the spoilt rich girls, predominantly coming from the west to be so, but she was a very proud girl when it came to certain topics. When you exposed her in the way she just had, Arnett became flustered, embarrassed and a little bit angry, but it was also often very funny to behold.
"Wha-Tabs?!" she tried to laugh off "I was merely at the right place at the right time"
"Looking in the right direction. Both times." Elizabeth added, her smile beginning to form "How coincidental" By now she could boil her tea by placing her cup on Arnett's head. Her face was beginning to match her hair in colour.
"Sh-shut up, I have to go now" she said, rising quickly and hurrying off.
As amused as Elizabeth was now she couldn't help but also feel a tinge of weariness at the news there could be another player in the game.
'Well nothing is ever easy' she told herself with a mental sigh.
Chiffon began to thumb through the schedule she had been asked to present to the first years. It was the list of the major events that they would be participating in over the next few weeks. She however found that this year would be host to several experimental events, forced through by someone she didn't know nor recognise, Danzo. The details he had were far from complete and she could only haphazardly guess at their true meaning. Even the carnival was being played this time was in a format she had never seen before though this one she at least understood somewhat.
She flicked back through to the beginning of her sheets to now go through them in detail. The more she read the more it become apparent to her that these new events were all being setup so there would be less cause for fights outside of events. That was, more than the outside of the academies world would ever know, actually something of a problem. A fight would likely break out once or twice a week, though the campus was large enough that you would only likely see a fifth or less of them. The problem was that only during the events where the appropriate medical staff ready, when people took battles into their own hands they unwittingly took with it a far greater chance for permanent injuries. While she always condemned these battles she would be lying if she said she didn't understand them. This was after all a school where people ages between 15 to 20 came to learn and study fighting and the arts of battle. Many people here had vastly contrasting view on what was worth fighting for which made it difficult to understand each other's feelings at times. To top it all off it was a place where love ran rampant, everyone desperate to find their life partner.
The recipe was about as stable as filling cheerleaders batons with nitroglycerin. It might be fun to watch, but you really didn't want to get too close.
There were so many newly implemented changes that she barely had the time to familiarise herself with it before it was time to meet up with the class of the 1st years and explain it to them.
When she arrived she couldn't help but notice that there were a few faces around the study hall that were not part of the class. From the upper level she noticed Elizabeth and her group looking down over the glass railing, She hadn't realised that the word had spread like wildfire that the entire makeup of the new year would be different.
"Good afternoon everyone" she called cheerfully, quietening the groups chatter as all eyes focused on her. "This afternoon I am going to give you a breakdown of the events that you'll have no doubt heard about before now so please listen carefully." She waiting for the last of the talk had settled before continuing.
"As many of you have heard at the end of this week you will all be participating in your first event, one that we call the 'Carnival'. They are usually a free for all battle taking place in one of our facilities here; you may have seen footage of previous carnivals as some of the footage is available on our system." She said with a gesture to nothing in particular. Murmurs began to break out but she silenced them all with her next sentence.
"Your Carnival however will not be the same. Your class will be subject to a new arena, format and points scoring system. In 3 days, at 12 noon half of you will enter the 'Forest of Death' the arena for your carnival. For each person defeated one more shall be deployed in the zone randomly. Lastly four of you will randomly hold a part of a key. If someone is able to form all pieces of this key they will score a large point bonus and be rewarded after the Carnival." She finished, allowing for the group to chatter amongst themselves with this new information.
"That's some Carnival" Attia said quietly.
"Sounds needlessly complicated if you ask me" Arnett said looking down with a mild scowl "What's with the alterations? Does it really make a difference?"
"Of course" Elizabeth said from where she leant against the wall, arms folded "The changes are to prevent people from settling their feuds in the Carnival. Even assuming that someone you want to defeat is in it from the beginning, you have no way of knowing that. Also someone could be deployed anywhere, you couldn't afford the luxury of seeking someone out." Arnett looked at Elizabeth, processing what she had just said.
"Won't that just increase the number of fights outside of the Carnivals?" she asked confused, "Plus what's the deal with that key? The ranking system was supposed to be about strength!" she finished, clenching a fist in front of her as she said 'strength'.
"Maybe it will, but I doubt these are the only new things to be implemented so who knows. The deal with the key is strange though. This is similar to a test I once heard a Konoha organization called 'Root' do, though that involved scrolls. But then they are a counter-ninja organization. Does this mean that is the direction they are going now?" she mused vocally, her expression hardening. Before anyone could comment on these observations Chiffon began talking again.
"Another new change your class will be experimenting with will be the Amphitheatre." She said "It is a new building on campus that will host games once per week. These games shall take the form of a one on one battle. Candidates will be taken from voting, volunteers and lastly challenges. Voting as you might imagine will be the results of your classes mandatory votes, the two most popular each week will have their match. Volunteers are self-explanatory and they may take the place of someone who is voted or challenged though at the cost of points from the person they are protecting. Lastly the Challenges are battles between a challenger and one who accepts their challenge. You may refuse a challenge but automatic points are taken from that person and given to the challenger." Again she paused, this time the conversation was much louder. Arnett grinned.
"Well now, that seems like fun, too bad we don't get a piece of that" she said with a short laugh.
"Be careful what you wish for" Creo cautioned beside her "It's a nice idea to control unorganised battles, but now the rankings can change outside of the carnivals, plus there are now ways to lose points." She stated coolly, her arms folded.
"Oh yeah, that sucks" Arnett realised "So I guess it's always better to accept the challenge, to protect your own points."
"You say that but this is called the Amphitheatre. Meaning the whole academy could be watching" Elizabeth said "In that situation what if Chiffon challenged you?" she asked hypothetically. Arnett didn't turn her head and remained silent.
Elizabeth wasn't sure she liked these challenges. Carnivals were brutal but they were infrequent at least and she could see how they were a necessary evil to break students into the feeling of an actual battle. This new system must have been designed by some sort of sadist.
"For further details and updates on all events I recommend you keep up to date with our events schedule on your computers!" Chiffon finished with a bow, moving away from the front of the group and sitting herself down amongst them.
"So the question has to be asked" Arnett said, turning around leaning backwards on the railing "The Uchiha or Blondie?" she asked excitedly. She looked around the group her eyes staying on Elizabeth a moment longer than the others.
"Uchiha" Attia said after a few seconds silence. Arnett grinned and leaned toward her
"Go on" she said. Attia shrugged
"Well we know the Uchiha is going to be strong, we don't really know anything about Uzumaki. He's probably going to be good but just 'good'? That's a far cry from an Uchiha." She said closing her eyes and folding her arms towards the end.
"Don't you think you might be overestimating him?" Creo asked "It's easy for us who have seen Itachi-sempai fight to misjudge an Uchiha. After all a genius like that comes along only once in a generation." She finished looking down at Sasuke below.
"So you're saying Uzumaki?" Arnett asked with interest, her excited smile still present.
"Maybe" Creo said not taking her eyes off the raven haired boy
"Come on…" Arnett complained "If you had to pick one" Creo's lips twisted as she considered
"Probably the Uchiha, I just don't think he'll be anything like Itachi-sempai" She said reluctantly. Arnett laughed before turning her eyes to Elizabeth.
"Well?" she asked expectantly. Elizabeth looked at her, her expression as cool as ice.
"As much as I admit Naruto-kun has interested me, I'm not going to ignore the facts as I see them. In this Carnival he would have to outperform an Uchiha, one whose brother set records in which even the smiling monster hasn't beaten yet." She stopped herself at what she was about to say, but with an inward note that she would probably regret what she was about to say, she decided to say it anyway "That said, I'll be rooting for Naruto-kun, I hope he does very well." She finished.
"So you do like him, eh?" Arnett teased with a knowing grin. Elizabeth looked away.
"I like what I have seen" she replied simply.
"Well, I think you're all mistaken." She said maintaining her smile "I'm betting that he'll flatten that Uchiha brat!" she finished energetically with a uppercut motion held into a flex of her arm.
"Oh? What makes you say that?" Attia asked with a scowl.
"Well I've actually met them both. Yeah that Sasuke kid seem like he's pretty good. But Naruto's got 'It'" she asserted with a nod.
"'It'?" Attia repeated.
"Yep, 'It'" Arnett confirmed.
"You said you're betting… betting what exactly?" Attia then said with her own smile coming on now. Arnett blinked, it had just been an expression but she was also confident about her prediction.
"I don't know, what did you have in mind?" Arnett asked without really thinking.
"Oh… I have some ideas" Attia said innocently, her smile growing to a mischievous grin.
Below Chiffon sat waiting patiently for the class to disperse answering any questions she was asked in the meantime. She didn't really know what to make of the new system herself only that she was as curious as most others in seeing what kind of an effect it would have, particularly on the competitively of the rankings. She could see the top spots being a fierce struggle.
"Hey Chiffon-sempai" a familiar voice came. As she looked she saw Naruto sitting himself next to her.
"Ah, hello Naruto-kun" she greeted happily "How are you settling in so far?"
"Very well thanks" Naruto said with a nod and a thumbs up "Sort of beginning to worry more about these events you were talking about just now though" he said with a nervous laugh.
"Ah, yes well don't worry about those too much. Do your best and the rest will fall into place!" she said cheerily with a raised finger.
"Yeah, I intend to!" he responded enthusiastically. "Still, I wasn't aware at how big a deal the rankings were here"
"Oh, well they are the pride of each student I think. Those in the top positions often come to be greatly respected. Though everyone fights for different reasons." she said. Naruto nodded in agreement and his thoughts temporarily shifted to a boy with ice jutsu who had taught him a valuable lesson once.
"Any advice you can impart or would it be unfair to give me any and not everyone else?" he asked cheekily with a grin. Chiffon's smile grew.
"Well maybe I could say Something" she began leaning in closer. Naruto naturally lent in closer too expecting her to whisper some secret to him. "Good luck, Uzumaki-kun!" she whispered before breaking out into a fit of giggles. Naruto was less amused.
Author Notes: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I have been making a conscious effort to try to improve the dialog so it seems more natural and in character so thank you for that feedback Mzr90. Please continue to leave me constructive criticism everyone, thank you!
P.S – Still looking for a beta reader, please PM me if you are interested. Thanks in advance!