A.N.: So here finally comes another chapter. I hope you'll enjoy the fights. And thanks to everybody who reviewed so far!

A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I wish I was that rich.

"The second match of the semifinal: Gennosuke of Suna against Inuzuka Hana of Konoha," Maruishi called.

Hana walked into the arena with a self-assured gait. She didn't actually feel that confident, her chakra was still low, but every one of hers and her dogs' injuries were treated and she even found a bit of time to rest. The break between rounds had helped her immensely. But she wouldn't be doing another Garouga today, that was for sure.

Gennosuke entered the battlefield confidently as well. Removing all the honey from Hisan Uma proved to be harder than he had expected, but he finally managed when the previous match was halfway in. He had almost no time to rest, but he didn't mind. He hadn't really exerted himself during his own duel. He was running a bit low on poisons and drugs, they were hard to acquire for him, but he was sure he would manage.

The proctor started the match and disappeared in a swirl of sand.

Hana didn't waste a moment. The instant the match begun she and her dogs started forward. Gennosuke moved his puppet into defensive position. The dogs jumped high overhead. The puppeteer hadn't expected it and the volley of senbon missed them. The Suna genin noticed something flying at him from the corner of his eye. He instinctively ducked, but was hit from the other side. He felt warmth seeping into his clothes. What the hell was that? He looked at the spot in alarm. It was yellowish in appearance. Surely it can't be…

A few steps away the Inuzuka smirked. 'Dynamic air marking' successful.' She knew enough about the puppet masters to expect him to try and hide himself or replace himself with a puppet. She saw his strategy in the previous match. He came into the arena as himself and concealed himself later on. It gave her an opening to make sure he won't be able to disappear on her.

Gennosuke just confirmed that the stuff on his robes was exactly what his initial assessment said. It indeed was dog piss. It pissed him of. How dare that bitch let her mutts piss on him? She was going down in the most painful and humiliating way, he was going to see to it. He turned around and searched for his opponent. He couldn't see her, just four of her dogs. 'There were only three of them,' he realized, 'but which one of them is her? Never mind, I'll just take out all of them.'

He shot some more senbon at them, but the dogs were fast and agile, avoiding every single one of his projectiles. 'OK, time for the big guns,' thought Gennosuke. A part of him doubted it was wise to reveal his trump card so early in the game, but another told him that a card never played is like no card at all. The dog girl seemed to be a tough opponent, he wouldn't win if he'd hold back.

He sent a command through his chakra strings. The sides of the horse-like puppet unfolded into a pair of giant wings. Hana's eyes widened in surprise. "So you see now why my puppet is called Hisan Uma," he laughed evilly. "Behold the wings of despair!"

The puppet turned to face the four canines. Its wings were spread wide and the Inuzukas could clearly see the senbon and kunai launchers along them. 'If all of them fired at once, we'd be pincushions and there's no way to dodge it,' the dog mistress thought. She briefly regretted not knowing a Doton defensive jutsu. It could have saved her skin here. But she wasn't going to panic. There were other ways to deal with such threats.

"Gatsuuga!" Four furry tornadoes started after the Sand ninja. The puppet released its weapons, but the needles couldn't find purchase on the rapidly spinning bodies and were batted away, only a handful of them piercing the skin. Gennosuke's eyes widened at this. He performed a quick Kawarimi to get away. It severed his connection with Hisan Uma. The puppet sagged before one Tsuuga slammed into its side. The construction flew away, splinters following like rain.

Hana appeared from the rubble, cursing and spitting dust. She scrambled to her feet and surveyed the results of the clash. Two of her dogs were lying on the ground, senbon protruding from their coats. It seemed the needles were poisoned and her partners were down for the count. She hoped fervently it was nothing lethal, but she was going to tear the Suna upstart a new one for this anyway.

A wave of nausea hit her. She didn't escape unscatched herself. Damn, that was no good. She now had to wrap it up in under a minute. She called her last standing dog to her. She couldn't see their opponent, but it didn't matter. He was already marked and couldn't hide from her nose. It was now telling her that the puppeteer was behind a boulder to her left, digging himself into the sand. She started after him.

Gennosuke was fuming. Not only had that flea-infested bitch let her dogs piss on him, now she even broke Hisan Uma. It would be a long time before he could repair it, not to mention the cost. Wood was expensive in the desert. A sound woke him up from his musings. That girl and one of her dogs were running at him. 'She knows where I am,' he realized. For a moment panic threatened to overtake him, but he calmed quickly. There were things she obviously didn't know about puppeteers. Hisan Uma might have a hole in its side, but he was far from useless. He reconnected the chakra strings in an instant.

Hana was almost on top of her enemy, when her sensitive ears picked a disturbing sound. She shot a glance over her shoulder. The puppet was up again and charging at her. Ten kunai flew towards her, but she managed to dodge. She swore. Whatever poison got into her system earlier was spreading. The simple act of turning her head caused her an attack of vertigo. She had precious little time now and she couldn't waste it on some puppet. She had to go straight after its master and hope she'd get him sooner than the wooden horse gets her.

She decided to gamble. She poured whatever chakra she had left into one last Tsuuga. She flew over the boulder and plunged headfirst into the ground. Gennosuke was so startled by her reckless attack that he forgot to do a Kawarimi until it was too late and he had no other way of dodging underground. The miniature tornado slammed into him.

Hana felt her claws dig into soft flesh. Warm blood flowed between her fingers. 'I got him,' she thought. She tried to move, but she was too tired. Maybe she could take a nap… No, the match still wasn't called. She summoned all her remaining strength and pushed herself upwards. It wasn't the best idea. The vertigo came back with a vengeance. Stars flooded her field of vision. She slumped back to the ground, her world dissolving into darkness.

Gennosuke was in a world of pain. The attack hit him head on. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened had the layer of sand not been present to absorb most of the attack's force. Even now he felt like she broke all his ribs and tore the muscle from the bones. His armor did little to stop her, though he figured without it the damage would have been worse.

He bit his lips to prevent himself from screaming and pushed the girl's body off of him. It gave him a lot more trouble than it should. He took a short break before the pain subsided a bit, then lifted himself into a sitting position. The brunette was lying next to him, the last dog licking her face frantically. She remained motionless. The canine then turned to him and bared its teeth in a threatening manner. It was going to attack, the Suna genin just knew it. He had barely any strength left, but he still retained some of his equipment. With a flick of a wrist a small orb slid into his palm. He threw it at the dog, hitting its snout. The pouch exploded in a cloud of green smoke. The animal yelped in surprise, sneezed, swayed on its paws unsteadily and then fell over. The knockout gas took effect quickly. Gennosuke wasn't affected only because he took the antidote before every battle he entered.

He tried to stand, but he couldn't muster the necessary strength. He ended up just kneeling, leaning on his hands. The proctor appeared behind him and examined the downed Inuzuka. Deciding she was indeed out, he called the match. "Winner: Gennosuke." The competitor in question just exhaled in relief. He immediately regretted it because his ribcage didn't agree with such sudden motion. Both genin had to be carried off on a stretcher. It was bad. He didn't know whether he'd be able to fight in the final, but then, the winner of the previous match had to be carried off as well. Maybe he wouldn't be competing. Yes, that was it. He'll just wait and see what state the third finalist would end up in. After all, he would be facing just a little kid and a girl. He didn't need to move around to control his puppet. He tried to tell himself that it wouldn't be too tough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spectators' stands~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hana!" Kiba cried jumping from his seat.

"Hold back," Tsume chastised him, but she herself was barely restraining herself from jumping down into the arena. She knew the Chuunin Exams were dangerous, shinobi life as a whole was dangerous, she had witnessed her fair share of injury and death, but seeing it happening to her own daughter was quite different. She could tell from experience that her wounds itself weren't serious, but there was no telling what kind of poison coated the puppeteer's weapons. She had fought in the Third Great Shinobi War and saw enough of Suna puppet masters' handiwork. She could just pray that the boy didn't use anything lethal for the Exams. She watched as the medics ran into the arena and started emergency treatment on both genin before hauling them off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Very little finesse in this match," the Tsuchikage observed, "but as a show of brute strength it was interesting."

"Too bad it looks like the winner wouldn't be able to fight in the final," the Hokage commented.

"A true puppeteer doesn't need to move to fight," the Kazekage replied. One of the Suna genin advanced into the final and he would be fighting there, he was going to bully the medics personally to enable it. Having one contestant among the last three was at least a small remedy on the shame that were the quarterfinals.

"But he needs to hold his temper in check," Sarutobi pointed out. The Kazekage could only grit his teeth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Finalists' booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru watched with worry as her female teammate was carried off. When she saw how the usually so strong Inuzuka fell quickly, she was deeply worried. She wanted to turn to somebody for comfort, but the only other occupant of the booth was her next opponent, who was looking at her in an unfriendly manner, mildly put. She understood the girl was upset because of her brother, but she didn't have to take it out on her. She'd like very much to beat the attitude out of the red-clad girl, but despite her decorative attire the Iwa kunoichi already proved to be capable. Hotaru doubted she would be able to defeat her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arena~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The third math of the semifinals, Uzuki Hotaru of Konoha versus Kurotsuchi of Iwa," Maruishi announced.

The two combatants for the last semifinal match entered the arena with much anxiety. There was more at stake than in any of the previous matches. It didn't happen often for a kunoichi to win the Chuunin Exams tournament, almost never in fact, but now there was a real chance of it happening. Considering what state the previous two finalists were in when they were carried from the arena, if the winner of this one could walk away on her own two feet, she would be almost guaranteed to win even the next one. That is if the final battle would even happen. She might just win by default, but even that counted.

And Kurotsuchi had one more reason to win. If she did, she would face the dreadful blond boy who had hurt her brother so badly. She wasn't allowed to the infirmary and the doctors didn't tell her how he was, but that in itself meant something. Her dear little Akatsuchi was badly hurt and she was dead set on avenging him. She only needed to get through this wench. If she killed her in the process, it would just make her vengeance sweeter.

The two girls stood facing each other, trying to intimidate the opponent. Hotaru had to admit it was working. The Iwa kunoichi had shown a lot of strength in her first duel. The jutsu that covered half of the arena… she didn't know what she would do if she unleashed it on her. But then the black-haired girl won only with luck when the hit of her enemy's kunai unintentionally broke his genjutsu. And the Tsuchikage's granddaughter was Earth type and she was Lightning. Lightning beat Earth in the elemental cycle. She was at advantage here. She wasn't going to lose to her. Dattebayo, as her young teammate would say.

Maruishi stood next to them. "Ready? Begin," he signaled and disappeared from the arena.

Hotaru didn't have much of a strategy formed in her head. She simply charged her kodachi with Lightning chakra and ran in for an attack. Kurotsuchi just stood there unmoving. She just lifted her hands and performed handseals. 'She's readying defense,' Hotaru thought. 'Let's see how it holds.' She smirked and prepared to strike.

Then some instinct warned her and she swerved to the side. She narrowly avoided being impaled on the other kunoichi's kunai. 'Genjutsu,' she realized. 'She made me think she didn't move. I have to be extra careful here.'

She brought her hands up in the dispelling sign. "Kai," she whispered. Nothing happened. Did it mean that there was no other illusion or that the Iwa girl was too good with them? 'Probably the first,' decided Hotaru. 'She seemed to have trouble with Daiki's genjutsu.' She stayed on guard nevertheless.

Kurotsuchi was mildly disappointed that the leaf girl saw through her illusion so quickly. She had hoped to finish this fight soon, conserving her energy for the finals, but now it seemed like she would have to actually work for her victory. Ah, well, never mind. She always enjoyed a good challenge.

The Konoha girl was charging her sword with Lightning chakra again. Kurotsuchi decided that she definitely didn't want to be hit with this. She would have to keep the fight long-distance. She ran her hands through a series of seals and then stomped down forcibly. A fissure appeared in the ground and headed straight for the purple-haired girl. Hotaru jumped to the side. Kurotsuchi smirked and with another handsign released a second jutsu. Hotaru's feet touched the ground and sank in. Then she turned into a boulder. Kurotsuchi's smirk disappeared. She really hated Kawarimi, especially when it meant her victims escaping.

She jumped to the side as well. It turned out to be a wise decision, since the place she had been standing on was showered by lightning bolts. She turned around and threw a handful of kunai at the swordsgirl. She evaded nimbly. Kurotsuchi made a seal and activated the exploding tags. Hotaru was thrown forward and changed into a rock. Did Kurotsuchi already mention she hated the Kawarimi? She jumped to the side again. This time the lightning grazed her leg and made her stumble. 'Not good,' she thought. This hit wasn't serious, but she couldn't afford to sustain any more. She needed to hit the Leaf kunoichi first, but she was too good at dodging. She needed a wide area technique that didn't leave anywhere to dodge. She had tried the Stone Rose Garden once before, but she thought she could get better results now her mind wasn't clouded by some freaky ability.

Hotaru jumped high when the ground under her feet shifted. She looked down and saw stone vines sprouting from the sand, every one of them bearing sharp-looking thorns. A quick glance showed that most of the arena was affected. Dodging wasn't an option anymore. She quickly sheathed her blade and ran through the handseals. She had to finish the jutsu airborne, or she would be in a world of trouble. She made it just in time. Lightning sprang from her fingers, hitting in a perfect circle right under her. The stone roses in the target area were destroyed. Hotaru landed on safe ground.

It didn't stay safe for long. Kurotsuchi pulled more chakra into her technique and soon roses appeared even in the burnt circle. 'That's bad,' thought Hotaru. 'How long can she keep it up anyway?' Her blade crackled with lightning again. She attacked. She ran forward slashing at the stone vines left and right. They tried to ensnare her, but she kept dodging and evading. Some thorns managed to scratch her legs, but she paid it no heed.

Kurotsuchi realized her strategy wasn't working. The Leaf girl was closing in on her. She ran her hands through another series of seals and slammed them into the ground.

Hotaru noticed too late that the roses around her started crumbling. She looked up in surprise, guessing where the next attack would come from. That's when she felt the ground soften under her feet. She jumped before the quicksand could entrap her and performed a Kawarimi.

She thought herself safe for a moment, but Kurotsuchi had guessed correctly where she would appear. Kunai with explosive tags were almost upon her, the notes already burning. She made a great leap sideways and released the chakra from her blade in one burst. It wasn't much in the way of defense, but in protected her from the blast somewhat. Instead of being knocked out she was just burned and struggling to catch her breath.

Kurotsuchi threw more kunai. Hotaru mustered the strength needed for another Kawarimi. This time the Iwa kunoichi's guess of her next location was off and the purple-haired girl gained a few seconds to haul herself to her feet. Her reprieve didn't last long. She saw Kurotsuchi running at her with kunai in both hands. She smiled grimly. If close combat was what the Rock girl wanted, she would get some. Hotaru was good at this.

Just when she was about to cleave the other girl in half, she noticed something odd. Her feet didn't leave footprints, but some were appearing about a step to the left. 'Another genjutsu,' Hotaru realized. 'But now I know where she is.' She struck the air above the phantom footsteps. Her blade passed right through. 'What?' Her body reacted on its own. She started dodging. She didn't make it, but the kunai just slid along her rib instead of plunging between them. The genjutsu was broken. The footprints disappeared and appeared exactly where the red-clad girl had passed through.

Kurotsuchi grimaced. This was one of her better genjutsu and she had hoped to gain a more decisive result than this. Sure, her opponent was now clutching the side of her chest, but she was still in the game. The black-haired girl barely avoided another lightning bolt. She couldn't afford to drag this fight much longer. All the techniques she pulled so far cost her too much chakra, so no more ninjutsu today. She reached into her pouch. She still had a couple of blast notes left. Now just how to make sure they'd hit. She could try another genjutsu, but the pain the Konoha kunoichi was in would disrupt it quickly.

Hotaru was having similar thoughts. She was wounded, bleeding and tired to boot. She had to land a finishing blow before she dropped with exhaustion. She gathered her strength and ran at her opponent in a straight line. Kurotsuchi tensed. She prepared her kunai to strike. The other girl wasn't using Lightning chakra anymore, so she could fight her close up. When the purple-clad girl was almost upon her, she sidestepped. Hotaru's kodachi missed her narrowly. She stabbed with her kunai. It hit the other girl's torso with a sound of metal hitting rock. 'Not another Kawarimi,' she thought exasperatedly. She whirled around to see where the Konoha kunoichi was now. The movement made her head swim. 'I must be more tired than I thought,' she realized.

She spotted the other girl running at her again, this time with blade crackling with yellow light. She threw a couple of shuriken at her. The purple-haired girl didn't even bother to dodge, the projectiles went wide. 'Since when do I have such a bad aim?' Kurotsuchi wondered. Then it struck her.

"Kai!" The word instantly spun before coming back into focus. 'A direction-skewering genjutsu,' she realized. 'She must have cast it when I turned around, that was what the vertigo meant. If I hadn't thrown the shuriken, I wouldn't have noticed it until too late.' But she didn't have time to consider the might-have-beens. Once Hotaru realized her ploy had fallen, she lunged together with a desperate burst of speed and unleashed the Lightning from her blade. Only a last-moment Kawarimi saved Kurotsuchi from being fried.

Hotaru lost her balance and fell. She had given her everything to that last attack and it failed. The wound on her ribs seriously affected the mobility on her right arm and though the blood loss wasn't that bad in itself, combined with the exhaustion it was enough to make her feel lightheaded. She scrambled to her feet. On the other side of the arena Kurotsuchi was doing the same. Her Kawarimi was almost too late and a few bolts had electrocuted her. It was all she could do not to lose concentration and finish the technique. It occurred to her that she might lose the fight. 'No,' she thought, loss was plain unacceptable. Not if it would mean she'd lose her chance at avenging Akatsuchi as well. She didn't think of what good would she do in her current state. She mustered all her remaining strength and cast a genjutsu on her still disoriented opponent.

Hotaru didn't notice anything wrong. She just saw Kurotsuchi limping towards her, a pair of kunai in her hands. She assumed the basic kenjutsu stance, or the best approximation her sore body allowed. She waited for her opponent to come closer. Just a little longer, she was almost at striking distance now…

Hotaru felt a kunai touch her ribs. With speed she didn't know she was still capable of she fell backwards. The blade pierced her nevertheless, but the wound wasn't deep enough to be life-threatening. The Iwa kunoichi towered above her, the bloodied weapon in her hand coupled with her blood-red clothes and the expression in her eyes made her look like a goddess of wrath. Hotaru swung her kodachi, but Kurotsuchi easily avoided. She tried to charge her sword with lightning again, but her strength was leaving her rapidly along with the blood flowing from her veins. Her opponent looked like she wanted to kill her. Scratch it, she really wanted to kill her, the purple-clad girl realized as she barely blocked a stab. The kick to her wounded ribs she couldn't block. It made her cough up blood. There was just one way out of the situation in her mind.

"I yield," she called between the coughs. Kurotsuchi ignored it and attacked again. Hotaru didn't have enough strength to block anymore, but she managed to deflect the kunai from her heart to her shoulder.

Maruishi appeared in the arena. "The match is over," he called. "Winner: Kurotsuchi!"

The Iwa kunoichi readied for another strike. The proctor caught her arm. "I said the fight is over. Do you want to be disqualified?"

No, she didn't want that. Not before she got her hands on the blond bastard. She released her grip on the handle. The kunai fell to the ground, scratching Hotaru's leg on its way down. The purple-haired kunoichi barely noticed. She was halfway unconscious by the time. Kurotsuchi gave her one last glance. She would have liked to kick her around some more, but not for the price of forfeiting her chance to avenge her brother. She turned on her heel and headed for the infirmary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This was a good fight," the Kazekage observed. "Both combatants showed strategy and skill. Today shinobi often forget the value of genjutsu."

"Indeed," the Hokage agreed. "They both showed great potential and I would vote for both of them, if it wasn't for the end of the match. Your granddaughter attacked her downed opponent even after the match was called. Such disobedience isn't tolerated in a chuunin."

"She was distraught over the injury of her brother," the Tsuchikage said.

"That isn't an excuse," Sarutobi pointed out. "Doesn't she know rule twenty-five?"

Oonoki didn't answer. The Professor was right as usual. Shinobi couldn't afford to let their emotions hinder them, he taught it to his grandchildren himself. An Iwa ninja must have a Heart of Stone, he told them countless times. That didn't change the fact he wanted to rip a certain Konoha genin to pieces with his bare hands. But he had earned the title of Tsuchikage for a reason. He was patient. He would wait for the best opportunity and then strike with deadly efficiency. The wait would just make his revenge that much sweeter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He visited his grandson in the infirmary again. It seemed like it was everything he was doing during the breaks this Exams. It was disturbing. But this time Akatsuchi wasn't joking around, boasting how he was going to squish his next opponent. He was lying motionlessly on his back, his tanned skin now ashen, almost as pale as the sheets. Kurotsuchi was sitting by his side, holding his hand. She stood up when he entered, but he motioned her to sit back down. A medic was nearby, checking the patient's vitals.

"How is he?" the Oonoki asked.

"He is stable now, Tsuchikage-sama," the woman replied. "His wounds are deep and that strange chakra that inflicted them makes them hard to heal. Fortunately none of them had hit a vital organ, otherwise… But that isn't the worst problem. As he impacted with the wall, his skull has been cracked. We managed to stop the bleeding to the brain, but there was a bone fragment we are unable to remove. He's in a coma and we cannot tell when he'll wake. If he will wake."

A heavy silence permeated the room. The midget man once more couldn't believe his ears. His cute little grandson, always so lively, getting into mischief, was lying there so still and the medic was telling him he would stay that way. It was just too much to bear. He had already lost his son, and now he was facing losing another one.

"I will kill him for sure," Kurotsuchi said. Her wounds were mild and the mednin finished treating them already.

"No," he stopped her. "That one is strong. You saw what he did to your brother. I don't want to lose you too."

"You won't," the girl assured him. "You know I'm better then Red. Besides that little brat is exhausted and wounded. You saw they had to carry him from the arena. Maybe he won't even be in the final?"

"Maybe, but don't count on it," he chided. "He's resilient, that much I could gather. And you aren't at your full strength now. Kurotsuchi, be careful."

"Aren't I always?" the kunoichi smirked.

"Do you really want me to answer it," the old man asked in return. "Kill him if you can, but don't risk yourself. We can always get him later should you fail."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He didn't recognize the room he was in, but the smell told him beyond a doubt that it was a hospital. The voices of nurses were another clue. He realized he was awoken when the door opened and slammed into the wall. Two nurses were pushing a wheeled bed in. Atop it Hana was lying, clearly unconscious.

"Hana!" he called. The nurses looked at him in surprise.

"You're awake already?" one of them asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yes," he answered sitting up.

"You should be resting," she admonished him.

"Why? I'm alright," he claimed, even though he felt a bit under the weather. Well, more than a bit under the weather, but that didn't mean he had to stay in a hospital.

"Let the doctors decide that," the nurse declared. Naruto scowled at her.

"I'm fine." Then his eyes find Hana's still form on the bed. "What happened to her?"

"She lost her match," the woman explained. "It's nothing serious, just some paralyzing agent on the needles, but it took the medics a while to get the right antidote. She just needs time to get it out of her system. She's much better off then your other teammate."

"What's with Hotaru?" Naruto asked alarmed.

"She lost her match as well," the nurse briefed him. "The Iwa girl did quite a number on her."

"How is she?" the blond demanded.

"I don't know," the nurse shrugged. "She is still in the surgery."

Naruto hopped off the bed.

"And just where do you think you are going, young man?" the woman scowled. Naruto ignored her. Ignoring scowling people had become second nature to him a long time ago.

The other nurse whispered something into her ear urgently. Naruto didn't catch it all, but there was something about Gaara. The first nurse paled and tried to make herself invisible. Naruto ran past her, paying it no heed.

In the hallway he almost ran into Hana's mother and her little brother.

"Sorry," he stammered.

"Nothing happened," Tsume replied.

"I just wanted to see Hotaru. Do you know how she is?"

"Sorry, but I don't know," the Inuzuka matriarch answered.

"Hey, how comes you're up?" Kiba asked.

"What?"

"Weren't you hurt?" the dark-haired boy questioned.

"Oh that? It wasn't as bad as it looked," Naruto tried to brush it aside.

"It looked pretty bad from where I was," Kiba argued.

Tsume didn't like the direction the conversation was heading and decided to change it. "You shouldn't bother him, Kiba. Naruto has to go to the Final. You wouldn't want him to be disqualified for being late because of you?"

"The Final?" Naruto didn't understand. "But he said if I…"

"Well," the Inuzuka clan head interrupted, "they announced you are in the last match."

"Really? But… They would let me sleep through it!" Anger and horror waged a war on his face. "Sorry, gotta go. Bye!" And he ran off to the arena.

A.N.: Poor Naruto, he really doesn't get a break.

Next time: The final match (what else).