Kinda short… But I'm content with it. :D
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! MASASHI KISHIMOTO DOES! I also do not own any of the OCs introduced, except the following:
Tsukuyomi Clan
Daiki
Botan
Miyuki
Hajin
That random Kumogakure team… :'D
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Chapter Eleven: Think Before You Act, FOOL! I Need Food…
The room was just as Daiki had explained it. White tiled floors with cement walls and a red railing around a balcony floor that wrapped around the mid-half of the room. In the center was a cement platform for the scroll to be placed on and a pair of huge iron doors across the room.
Nero and Akira were giving me weird looks when I pulled the scroll from my kunai pouch, walking forward to the platform. My eyes shifted around the room before I dropped the scroll there, waiting for a response. I got one when the scroll was picked up by a kunoichi Jounin, who dropped down from the second level. Her salmon hair in a firefly pin, her eyes a light green.
"Wow, that was fast. Second team to come in." She mused. Nero seemed to recognize her because he did that thing where his eyes widened slightly. The Jounin seemed to recognize him too and smiled.
"Nero, right?" A nod. "Glad you made it through. I was beginning to wonder if you got caught up with the mess with that Rain team." I blinked. Nero elbowed me to talk for him. He apparently knew her, but not that well if he didn't want to talk by himself.
"Erm… So, what do we do now?" I asked. The Jounin blinked and laughed.
"Oh right! Head on through the door here and you're on your own… Good luck." She added with a wink and shot back up to the second floor, making me jerk my head up so fast my neck got sore. I looked back at the iron doors that clicked as a signal that they were unlocked. They flew open to reveal a large, concrete arena with another balcony floor above. Across the room was a huge statue and several important looking people who I didn't really recognize. I just guessed they were important since they were dressed like it and acted like it.
My eyes then lifted to see Osamu's team positioned on the balcony floor. He was leaning on the railing, but despite his aloof position, I could tell he was in pain from the cuts and bruises marking him up. His teammates looked a bit roughed up as well.
A familiar voice snapped me out of my stare.
"You guys made it!" Kazuya's voice exclaimed. Hearing his voice made pride and joy swell up inside me and I whipped around, probably displaying odd behavior to the others in the room as I practically tackled Kazuya.
"Kazuya!"
"Whoa! You missed me." Kazuya mused, patting me on the head as I buried my face in his chest, hearing Nero and Akira follow behind me.
"Hey, guys," Kazuya greeted, all smiles, "Were the exams fun?"
"NO!" Our team yelled in unison, glaring. Kazuya sweat dropped, laughing a little awkwardly before averting his eyes with a little huff.
"So negative. The least you could do was pick out one good thing." He sighed. I tried to think and so did Akira. Nero shrugged, looking in the other direction with a smug smirk.
"I gave Ruriko a piggyback ride." He replied.
"Shut up!" I barked, blushing red. Kazuya raised an eyebrow and Akira gave Nero a nice whack in the back of the head for me. Nero whined, holding the back of his head for a bit while Kazuya lectured him, but it wasn't like he was paying any attention. I could see Nero's eyes on the entrance to the arena. Akira was looking at the black screen placed above the statue across the room, reading in yellow letters:
WELCOME TO THE PRELIMINARY ROUNDS
To me, it might as well have said WELCOME TO YOUR DEATH. After the reunion, another team came through the doors. They were a familiar team that I had seen at the first part of the exams, two of the members dressed somewhat like Anbu while the first was adorned with a familiar fan-shaped symbol on her back. Nero recognized her and made me yelp when he barked out the name of the Uchiha dressed girl.
"Koyuki!" He exclaimed. The girl looked up, revealing some bandages placed over her nose and cheek, even one over her left eye. She did manage a smile and approached us, her teammates following, although, the girl seemed to be in a bit of pain while the boy, who looked like her brother, helped her along.
"Nero, you're actually alive. Impressive." Koyuki greet with a smirk. Nero huffed, folding his arms over his chest.
"Nice to see you too." He retorted, but he was still smiling at her anyway. Made me curious… He was talking to her like a long lost friend. What was up with that? I watched Nero curiously as he gave only a shortened, not drama-filled story of our trek through the forest. He left out the part with Daiki, which cut out a huge chunk, but apparently Koyuki had heard of Botan, so Nero had trouble weaseling his way out of that one, which was pretty funny to watch.
"I think it was Daisuke who mentioned something him," Koyuki mused, "Said he was like your boyfriend or something?" She raised her brow at this, giving Nero a sideways look. Nero blushed red.
"Not my boyfriend! He's just… Really weird. But it's not his fault… What? Why are you guys looking at me like that?" He demanded, seeing Koyuki and her team as well as our own stare at him with doubtful stares. Kazuya came up behind Nero to give him a little hug around the neck, bringing his mouth to his ear and whispering:
"So long as you don't hunt down Ruriko, you can date whoever you want~" I laughed, covering my mouth while Nero gave me a clearly embarrassed glare. We joked around a bit more until two other teams showed up. Daisuke's and Ayaka's, the Kumogakure team showing up a little bit after.
"Wow, are you kidding me?" Akira muttered, watching everyone go to the balcony floor. Kazuya averted his eyes.
"I guess it was harder than I thought. At least you guys made it here alive!" He pointed out with a smile.
"Optimistic as always." The salmon-haired Jounin, Kotori, sang, walking by Kazuya, who beamed in return. I wondered if Kazuya ever noticed that she was totally flirting, but then again, that was practically Kazuya's weakness. His obliviousness to anything romantic or sexual related.
"All right," A voice yelled, alerting everyone to the group of people in front of the statue to see Asuma, "This is the beginning of the preliminary rounds! The computer will randomly select two people to battle it out in the arena, resulting in the elimination of the loser! The fight will go on until one of the opponents cannot longer continue or is incapacitated. I think that's it. We'll be beginning in a half an hour! Until then, the teams may prepare for battle and rest up."
"Then I'm going to the bathroom." I announced, making Nero and Akira roll their eyes. I ignored them and walked past, heading down the steps and through a door that led into a wooden floored hallway with different doors. I walked into the bathroom and grimaced, still feeling a little wet from when I helped Ryuuko get his team back. I sighed and let my hair down to fix it up again just as the door opened. I looked up to see Ayaka walk in. She frowned when she saw me.
"You're the one that attacked that Kumogakure team that caught Honoka and I." She stated, flicking a finger at me. I stared at her, dropping my hands at my sides.
"Yea. Your friend, Ryuuko, needed help." I replied. Ayaka frowned at that, but smirked after a moment, putting her hands on her hips.
"Don't take offense on this or anything… But you shouldn't run around eating people's body parts. It's gross." She stated. I scowled at her.
"Your welcome for helping you." I retorted. Ayaka flinched, then huffed.
"I didn't need your help. I was handling things just fine."
"Against a five-year-old."
"Shut up!" Ayaka snapped and went out of the bathroom, slamming the door shut angrily behind her. I sighed and tied my hair back up, coming out of the bathroom and heading back to the arena. I paused by a window, peeking out at a view of the Forest of Death. For a split second, I wondered how many people had died out here or been wounded so bad, they had no possibility of being a shinobi. I sighed and looked up, then blinked when I saw the little Kumogakure shinobi from before. He was holding his hands in front of him, looking pretty nervous at the forest. I frowned.
"Hey, kid." I stated. He jumped and looked up at me with wide eyes.
"You."
"Name's Ruriko… I'm not going to eat you, calm down. What's your name?" I asked, walking up to him. He glanced around for a second, then down at his feet.
"Yasushi."
"How old are you?"
"Erm… Six."
"Are you serious?" I exclaimed in surprise, staring at him with wide eyes of surprise. I didn't even think it was allowed to have a kid that young in the exams! Yasushi smiled a little sadly, tilting his head up at me.
"My parents made me start early to become a shinobi… But really, I don't want to do any of this." He sighed, looking out the window again. I frowned.
"Did you tell them that?" I asked. Yasushi laughed, but it sounded pretty bitter for a six-year-old.
"Yea, I tried… But they'll get mad at me if I mention it, so I just let it go. Maybe once I become a shinobi, they'll leave me alone." He tried. I smiled a little.
"Yea, I guess… Ya know, you're pretty cute! I'm sorry I almost ate your team." I added, smirking. Yasushi laughed a little. I patted him on the head, unable to really stop looking at him. He was just so cute, all small with big, wide aqua colored eyes that fit his pale aqua green hair that hung slightly over his right eye. I felt the sudden urge to just pinch his cheeks and that scared me, so I walked away, wondering what the hell was wrong with me.
Kids like that were just too cute to resist! Even I had trouble with it and I rarely thought things were cute! I shuddered to myself and kept walking until I walked into someone's back, not paying attention to wear I was going. I jumped back and found myself facing Osamu, who was glaring at me.
"Watch it!" He snapped. I glared at him and poked him hard in the chest.
"Shut up, jerk! I was walking and you got in my way!" I protested. Osamu smirked, despite the insult.
"Heard you literally took a bite outta the Kumogakure team." He stated. I blinked, then twitched with anger. If anyone, Ayaka was probably the one telling everyone just in case they were paired with me for the exam. I scowled.
"So what? You wanted to lose some flesh too?" I asked. Osamu snorted, folding his arms over his chest confidently.
"Oh, please. I'd like to see you get anywhere near me." He retorted. I glared.
"You cocky little brat! I hope I get paired with you so I can shove my foot down your throat and rip your tongue out!" I yelled at him, but he only laughed shortly at me. I went to yell some more, but I felt a pair of arms drop around my shoulders, jerking me back a little in a hug.
"Don't underestimate a cannibal~" Daisuke's voice sang. I twitched and wanted to badly to tackle this guy, but Osamu's expression twisted a little.
"Che." Osamu muttered as he turned on his heel and walked off, pretty peeved. I smirked, then wiggled away from Daisuke, brushing myself off.
"Greet me like a normal person, Daisuke." I told him with an eyebrow raised, as well as a hand to backhand him if he came near me again. Daisuke just laughed.
"Sorry about that. So, you really did eat someone, huh? Can't wait to see your match. It's gonna be interesting." He said, pointing to his mouth to indicate my teeth. I frowned for a second, touching my teeth.
"Can you tell my teeth are sharp?" I asked. Daisuke shrugged.
"If I get real close, like this-" He leaned in, but he only go so far before I held up my hand for him to smack into. I huffed, pushing him back.
"I get the idea!" I replied, huffily. Daisuke grinned, then touched his teeth again.
"Honestly, I think it'd be easier and better if you sharpened them a little more… It looks like it'd be a little less painful when the teeth go in… Ya know?" He raised an eyebrow at me and I clamped my hand over my mouth for a second.
"My teeth are naturally like that… But ow! Wouldn't that hurt?" I cried. Daisuke stared at me.
"You just battled it out in the Forest of Death with your uncle and his goons and you think sharpening your teeth will hurt?" He asked, cocking his head to the side. I sweat dropped.
"Never mind… I'll think about it." I mumbled, earning a grin from him before we went separate ways. Maybe he had a point. Sharpening my teeth didn't sound like a bad idea, save for the painful part probably. I sighed and walked back into the arena, where everyone had now gathered on the main floor. I guess the half hour was up.
I took a spot between Nero and Akira.
"What's going on?" I whispered to Nero, who jumped when I got close to him. Weird. He was jumpy for no reason.
"They're laying down the rules." He whispered back.
"All right," Asuma announced, stepping forward with a blonde woman with big boobs (Probably the legendary 5th Hokage and all her royal bitchiness), "The rules are easy. The computer will pair you up with someone and you will step into the arena. You can start battling once I say start and from there, you know what to do. The battle will stop once one of the opponents is incapacitated or knocked unconscious… When the match is finished, it's finished. No more fighting afterwards or you could be subject to being hospitalized." I felt Akira and Nero both look at me and I twitched.
Huh! I could control myself when I wanted to!
Asuma made us go back up the balcony floor and that's when the tension began. My team was somewhat near Osamu's since Kotori and Kazuya seemed to talk a lot. I gripped the railing, looking down at the arena before doing what everyone else was doing.
Staring at the computer on the wall with wide, eager eyes as bright green words fluttered about randomly before forming two names up on the screen in bold letters:
Matsuki Sora
VS
Chi
I felt myself sigh out of relief. I was excited to see who I'd fight, but at the same time, I was nervous and rather wait a bit. I looked up as Sora leap from her position onto the ground. Chi smirked and followed in.
"Sweet," Akira said from behind mean, leaning his elbows on the rails, "Two hot girls go head to head!"
"Shut up, Akira." I deadpanned, pleased that Kazuya gave him a whack upside the head for his comment. I looked back down at the battle as Sora and Chi approached each other.
"Remember the rules," Asuma told them sternly, "Or you'll be disqualified." Sora gave a nod, looking at Chi determinedly while Chi reflected back with a cocky smirk. She was pretty cocky if she thought she could fight with a chunk of her arm missing. The Kumogakure girl was wearing a thick layer of bandages on her right arm, all the way up to her lilac padded vest.
They parted and Asuma gave the signal, jumping back as Chi whipped around right away to make hand signs. Sora went to do the same, but stopped when she saw water burst from Chi's palms, racing toward her. She winced and leapt back, dodging both harsh sprays. She decided to drop the long rang and rushed forward, whipping out a kunai. Sora was pretty fast from what I could tell and she easily made her way up to her, making a slash at Chi's face. Chi yelped and did a back flip, skidding on the floor as she clamped a hand on her nose, which was gushing blood.
Chi barked out some colorful words before going to make some hand signs, but Sora flung a kunai at her before making a hand sign. Unbelievably, her body lit up in a hot rush of flames, making Chi just stare in awe for a second… Until Sora rushed at her, all flames. Chi yelped and went to dodge, probably thinking that she was going to get hit with just flames, but she was wrong when Sora swung her hand out to reveal a flaming kunai.
Chi's scream echoed off the walls and I stared, my jaw dropping as the hot blade of the weapon sliced right into Chi's already wounded arm. Chi stumbled back, holding her arm to her gut in pain and jumping back away from Sora, who whipped around to face her. Chi quickly worked out a hand sign, gasping at the pain in her arm as she swung a hand forward, water boiling forward. I could see Sora wince, then rush forward at the last minute, meeting the rushing water head on.
"What the hell?" Akira demanded loudly, but the so-thought faulty move revealed the true intentions. Sora burst through the water, now soaking wet and no longer blazing like a candle, coming forward with two kunai in hand, thrusting them both forward. Chi didn't have any time to avoid it as the kunai slashed right through her vest, shirt, and skin. Blood splattered all over the arena. I heard some people whoop in excitement, but the smell of the blood hit me in the face like a blast of hot air on a summer's day. I tensed up, gripping the railing.
"Calm down," Kazuya's voice from behind me, making me jump a little, "It's just a little blood… You can control yourselves." I looked at Akira to see he was looking pretty hungry and tense now too. I looked back to see Chi stumble backwards and hit the ground in a spray of blood from which Sora leapt away from, looking a little surprised that her plan worked. I realized that Chi wasn't much of a thinker. She ran right into the battle, thinking that because Sora was a naturally nice and smart person, that she'd have less strength. Just because someone was smart and nice, didn't make them weak. I hoped Chi learned that for the next battle she stupidly ran into.
I sighed, but smiled a little. I actually had fun watching the battle and I was pleased when Asuma announced Sora's victory. What she did was amazing and that bloodline talent was out of this world! I wouldn't mind being put up against her myself, just to see how much we'd both last.
At that moment, as everyone's eyes drifted to the beeping of the next names… My gut twisted and knotted at the two names on the screen:
Saki Osamu
VS
Tsukuyomi Ruriko
I stared at the screen, feeling the color drain from my face as I looked at Osamu, who seemed just as shocked as I did. As soon as our eyes met, though, we lost all the tiny traces of doubt and we were down in the arena in a flash.
This was gonna be fun.
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A/N: Wow! I actually liked this chapter. :D I was glad to write Sora's bloodline trait cuz I thought it was pretty cool. lol. I didn't plan to bring in the Kumogakure team in again, but… I really felt like adding a cute adorable little kid in there. :D So, yup! Meet Yasushi. ;D Anyway, thanks for reading, hope the OCs are in character, and your reviews are loved with a passion!