Hello people! Hope you guys like this chapter. Thanks to lovefatedestinyJaydeRaineMizuHime, jjayno1, MistFairie93, ruler of dragons, Hibiki-chanValinor's Twilight, SkyheartUchiha Sashatru-viet, and larrycucumber2 for reviewing. Please review, the sooner you review the sooner I update and the more reviews I receive the more I write. Now, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but the lovely Rei, the dashing Okoru, the arrogant, Yu, and the childish Zakyo.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Rei and Okoru walked down to the fighting arena and stood before each other. Rei looked at Okoru andcould see that he felt as uneasy as she did. He looked unusually serious and a bit pale. She sighed and tried to calm down.

Yu and Zakyo watched from above as their friends got ready to fight for the chance to advance in their quest to become chunin. Naruto turned to them.

"Hey, who do you guys think will win?"

Zakyo turned to Yu expecting an answer as well. Yu looked at her and she knew she didn't know either.

"We don't know."

"How can you not know, aren't you guys friends?"

"Yeah, but we've never seen those two fight against each other, at least not seriously."

"Don't you at least have an idea of who's stronger?"

They thought about it for a second.

"Well, if I had to guess, I would have to say that Rei is stronger, but not by too much. They both have certain advantages over each other and their techniques are very advanced. Those two are the strongest genin I know. In other words, they could be equally matched. If that's the case, this fight could be a long one, and a hard one at that."

"How come you guys don't know who's stronger?"

"Rei-san never fought any of us, even as training. She always said she didn't want to hurt us."

Naruto looked back down at the arena and wondered just how strong Rei was.

The proctor announced the start of the match and Rei just stood there looking at Okoru.

"So Okoru, are you ready?"

He nodded, but it seemed to her like something was wrong.

As the others watched Rei and Okoru standing there, they wondered why they didn't start. Suddenly, they both vanished and then they heard the sound of metal hitting metal. They looked up and saw them blocking each other's attack with kunai. Rei swung at Okoru who dodged, but then she spun and kicked him. He was sent back, but he managed to compose himself in time to avoid hitting the wall. He stepped on the wall and jumped off towards Rei. She threw some kunai, but he blocked them. She held her arms up as Okoru hit her making her slide back. He crouched and kicked her legs making her fall. He raised his fist and brought it down with all of his strength. Rei gasped and rolled away in time to avoid getting hit. The ground Okoru punched cracked and sunk. Rei stood up and kicked Okoru. He hit the wall and before he could do anything Rei was in front of him. She grabbed his shirt and tossed him to the ground. Okoru flinched as he saw her throw a kunai at him. He closed his eyes and heard the kunai land next to his head. He opened his eyes and looked up at Rei. He could see that she was upset. He frowned.

"Stand up." She said sternly.

Okoru looked at her strangely before standing up slowly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She said.

Okoru looked away.

"You're not fighting me back and I want to know why."

He didn't say anything. She clenched her fists and grabbed his shirt.

"Damn it Okoru! Fight me!"

She punched him and he stumbled back. He wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at her.

"I can't."

Rei froze and looked at him in surprise. She scowled and charged at him. She drew her arm back and got ready to hit her. Okoru just stood there as Rei's fist moved closer to his face. She stopped and glared at him. She let her arms fall back to her sides and looked at Okoru seriously.

"Fight me."

"No, I can't fight you."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to hurt you."

Rei looked at him and frowned.

"Why not? I hurt you more than you could ever hurt me and I know it. If I beat you while you refuse to fight I won't be able to live with myself."

Okoru didn't look at her and Rei felt the guilt she had been trying to forget come back all at once. She frowned and looked at Okoru seriously.

"I see, so you really are weak."

Okoru looked up in surprise. He was startled to see her smirking coldly at him.

"Now I remember. I left because I couldn't stand being around people that were so weak. I was tired of taking care of you guys and watching you go around bragging about how strong you were. I just couldn't take it anymore. That is why I left."

Okoru just looked at her not knowing what to say.

"You know what the sad thing is? For a while, I thought I shouldn't have left, but now I see I was right to leave. If you can't fight me then you really are weak."

Okoru glared and he could feel his anger building up. He stood up and Rei was a bit surprised at how angry he looked. Without warning he swung his fist and hit her full on. She was sent back and she slid on the ground. She looked up as she held her hand up to her cheek.

From upstairs Zakyo and Yu watched as Okoru hit Rei. They were surprised, but they knew what had happened. Naruto turned to them with a surprised look.

"Why was Rei-chan so mean?"

Yu turned to him.

"Rei wasn't mean because she wanted to she did it to make Okoru angry enough so that he'll fight with her. Up until now, he wasn't even trying and Rei doesn't want to beat him like that. She wants to fight him with all of her strength, but only if he does and she doesn't think that it would be fair if she beat him without trying because she knows that he's strong."

Naruto nodded and looked back down at the fight.

"Still, maybe she crossed the line…" Yu whispered so only Zakyo could hear.

Zakyo frowned and nodded.

Rei stood up and watched as Okoru stood there shaking with what she knew was anger. She frowned, but she knew she had done the right thing. She wasn't doing this just to get him to fight, but also to get him to talk. She knew something was bothering him and she could guess what it was. He was still upset about her leaving and she knew he had to talk about it, but she knew he wouldn't unless she made him. That was just the way Okoru was, he always kept his anger and frustration hidden from his friends and it always hurt her to see him like that.

Okoru glared at Rei.

"So that's how you feel? Well, I'm sorry we're so weak, but damn it I tried to be strong! I always tried! I always wanted to be as strong as you and help you, but you never gave me a chance to prove how strong I was! Then, when I was finally strong enough you left and…"

He growled and ran at Rei. She was surprised, but managed to dodge as He swung at her. The wall behind her was cracked and she stumbled and fell. She got up quickly and jumped back. She made some hand signs as soon as she saw him making some.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"

She breathed out fire, but she knew it hadn't worked. She hadn't thought about her attack and so she hadn't thought of how Okoru could counter. The fire died down and she saw Okoru surrounded by a wall of water. She frowned. Okoru smirked at her.

"I guess I should thank Zakyo for leaving this water behind."

Rei sighed.

"I guess you're serious now aren't you?"

He nodded. She jumped back as Okoru disappeared and appeared in front of her. She dodged his attacks, but he managed to hit her and she stumbled back. He threw a kunai and she dodged it, but he punched her on her side and sent her back into the wall. She flinched as he had hit her where she had been wounded in the forest and jumped to the side to avoid Okoru's next attack. She ignored the pain in her side and jumped up and made some hand signs.

"Wind Style: Raging Whirlwind!"

The wind spun and gathered into a whirlwind which she directed towards Okoru. He scowled and ran to the side to avoid the attack. The attack hit him and Rei felt a bit of concern although she hadn't made it too powerful. The wind died down and she looked around, but couldn't find Okoru. She panicked, but then she jumped away from where she was standing as Okoru emerged from below. She turned to him and saw him smirking. She was panting slightly.

"What's wrong Rei, are you tired?"

She frowned.

"I still have some energy left."

"I hope you do."

Rei was puzzled by that statement, but then she understood. She backed away from him as he started making hand signs. She took out two kunai and frowned as she watched the water gathering around Okoru.

"Damn!" She said.

Naruto turned to the other two girls.

"What's wrong? Why is Rei-chan walking away from him?"

"Okoru is about to use one of his most powerful attacks." Yu said.

She looked down at her friends and felt concern wash over her. Rei looked tired, btu she didn't know why. Then she remembered that she had gotten hurt back in the forest. She frowned. Zakyo turned to her.

"Yu-chan, will Rei-san be alright?"

"I don't know…"

Zakyo frowned and looked back down.

Rei waited for Okoru to attack. She was in pain from the wound in her side and she could feel some blood flowing out. Okoru smirked.

"Are you ready?"

She smiled weakly.

"Give me your best shot."

End Chapter Thirty-Eight

Hope you guys liked it and sorry about the cliffhanger…not! Muahaha...Pardon the moment of randomness. Anyways, please review, the sooner you review the sooner I update and the more reviews I receive the more I write. Sayonara!