Yin and Yang
Chapter 8
A new silence reigned through the stadium, the last of the laughter died. Tension rose again Saiya turned from the rails and took the stairs like Gaara had done so long ago. She appeared again, half in and half out of shadows riding atop Mauja. The bear grunted, tossing his head up and down like he was nodding. Sai blinked.
"Coming?" He asked in the same monotone he often used. Saiya gritted her teeth and whipped out a kunai, flipping it around her finger as she leaned forward. She begean to flip it faster as Sai dragged a brush along the scroll, dripping ink onto the ground.
"Fool. That Suna girl used the same tequnique. Do you think it'll fool me?" She snapped.
"I can try." Sai said, smirking. Naruto dropped his head in silent laughter. He loved this guy sometimes.
Mauja rused forward with a roar, and Sai lazily dodged, fliking his scroll as he went. Several inked bears came out of the special paper, charging down the other pair. Saiya whipped out a handfull of bombs, one between each finger on both hands as Mauja turned, roaring. She flung these expertly all around the inked illusions and Sai, who dodged again by leaping into the air, clearing the clouds of dust with no problem.
Saiya had also predicted every possible escape, and had flung kunai in those directions. She wasn't losing to this freak. Sai's sharp eyes calculated the distance, and used his ink to set up a sheild, allowing him to land safely and shoot across the battle scarred landscape.
It was when he was emerging from another cloud, that he was caught off guard by Saiya's leg. It hit him square in the face, sending him back several yards. Naruto groaned up above, along with the majority of the stadium. The former member of Root got up quickly, not taking his eyes from his opponent, even as he dragged his brush down the lenght of the scroll, making the same hand movments several times in a row. This time, replica's of himself came forth, and with a normal kage bushin, doubled the number to about 15 clones. Saiya gritted her teeth, tutting. She hated this jutsu, but the ink made it easier.
"Mauja!" She barked. The polar bear grunted and sniffed the air, searching for flesh and blood. With a roar, he started in on his target, Saiya leaping from his back with another set of bombs.
Not a moment later, She was yanked back through the air as Mauja bit into the neck of a too-slow Sai. Ink exploded everywhere, earning a colective gasp from the rest of the stadium. Saiya stared at her bear, then looked at her restraint. It was an unraveled scroll, tightened about her middle, pinning her arms to her side. She looked over her shoulder to see Sai holding the other end, his dead like black eyes glaring at her.
"How'd I do? Surprised?" Saiya said something rather inapropriet, but it was lost in the cheering as the Proctor accounced the winner. Sai released her, rolling up his scroll. Saiya led Mauja back up the stairs, ariving at her team as Sai leapt back up. Naruto was laughing, slapping Sai on the back, who was not only smiling, but even laughing a little. He looked over Lee's shoulder at Saiya who was smiling bravely at her team members, trying not to be to sore that she lost. Her eyes met his for a moment, and it sent a chill down his spine, like dejavu. He averted his eyes quickly as the cheering died. The Proctor had raised his hand, signaling the announcement of the third and final match.
Gaara leaned forward in his seat, his pastel green eyes wide and staring, afraid to blink. The entire stadium had drawn in a breath, as the most anticipated fight was about to begin. Naruto's hands gripped the rail, his knuckles turning white. Sasuke...you were suposed to be here for this..my victory... He'd always wanted to show Sasuke how good he was, always wanted to surpass him.
And now he was.
Hinata lay her hand on NAruto's arm, and he looked down at her, startled. She smiled, and he returned it. Sakura watched the exchange with a nostalgic smile. Gone now were the days that Naruto would chase her, and it made her...sad. Good luck, Naruto... She thought.
