Normal
Thought/"Telepathic communication"
"Speech"
Kyuubi
Warning: I don't own it, never have… Never will… Don't pretend that I do… Rated "M" for adult language, themes, and situations.
Chapter 62: A Day at the Coliseum
The blonde had returned to Myra's apartment to see the strangest sight in the world; Sasuke with a smile on his face and a mouth full of pie. It had been kind of interesting to see teme smile, but it was more interesting to see him try and hide it.
Myra had smiled and handed Naruto a plate of warm blueberry pie, ice cream and whipped cream with a huge grin. The blonde took the plate from her and stared at it for a second. Myra raised an eyebrow. "Well, try it..."
"Pie and ice cream for breakfast?" Naruto wasn't quite sure if this was ok.
"Not breakfast silly, it's too late for breakfast, more like a snack before we have lunch." Myra smiled and nodded.
Sasuke was practically licking the plate. "It's good. I will be taking some home with me."
Myra chuckled. "If there is left over's…"
Naruto tasted the pie. He had blueberry pie before. This wasn't just pie, it was PIE! Naruto chewed, swallowed, and understood what Myra meant by "all is right with the world when there is pie". Nothing really mattered except the pie. Life would be perfectly happy if there was just him and the pie. The blonde was licking the plate before he snapped out of his daze.
Myra was sitting in a chair laughing and Sasuke was smirking. Once again there was a silent understanding between Naruto and Sasuke. If Naruto didn't tell anyone, neither would Sasuke.
0 – 0 – 0
Several of Naruto's clones had hauled the lunch Myra had prepared up to private box at the top of the coliseum. Myra had laid out the food, buffet style for everyone on a table at the back of the suite.
Rai and Sasuke watched in amazement how Myra managed to keep a cheerful demeanor and never showed any signs of how tired she truly was. Sakura was there to help play hostess, but this was Myra's time to shine. She greeted stray dignitaries and Council members, offered them tasty treats and made sure they left in a pleasant mood.
During a break in the flow of people between matches, Naruto pulled Myra aside. "Do you think you can run away for a little while?"
Myra latched on to his arm. "Depends on where we are running." She gave him a sly smirk.
"I want to go see Konohamaru before his match."
"I think that would be a great idea." Myra smiled and started to pull him out the door.
Sasuke moved to follow them. "Where are you going?"
"Down to wish Little Brother good luck." Myra answered with her nose in the air. Naruto nodded in agreement.
Sasuke grabbed her wrist to stop her. "You don't need to be..."
"I am not a china doll." Myra groused. "Besides, you should be more attentive to Sakura than me." Myra hugged Naruto's arm.
"Sakura isn't exhausted." He hadn't taken his hand from her wrist.
"Teme, let go." Naruto growled at Sasuke. "I'm not going to let anything happen. We're just going down to the pits."
"Hn." The Uchiha let go of Myra.
"She's my girlfriend Damn it."
"She's my sister." Sasuke wasn't the only one to be surprised by his statement. A few heads turned.
Myra smiled warmly at Naruto and put a hand on his chest, gently pushing him back. Myra turned to Sasuke putting her hand on his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "That is the kindest thing you have ever said about me. You can be really sweet when you want to be. I will be fine."
Sasuke glared at her not showing the worry he felt. "Hn." He turned away from her and walked over to Sakura. The pink one looked over at Myra with a knowing smile. Myra shook her head and sighed. "Now is not the time to be over protective Brother." Myra took Naruto's arm again and they started out the door.
"What ever…" Sasuke hid the slight smirk on his face.
0 – 0 – 0
Konohamaru stood in the wings of the newly reconstructed stadium. The Sarutobi Stadium was a proud addition to Konoha that was built for the Chunin Exams that he was taking part in. Naruto and Myra had come to watch him. Konohamaru was happy to get to see both of them before his match. Naruto was very simple in his words. "Go out there and kick some ASS!" The blonde gave Konohamaru a foxy grin and thumbs up.
Myra smiled. Konohamaru's heart melted again and for a moment he was jealous again, but when Myra hugged him and kissed him on the forehead all those jealous feelings went away. Myra kneeled down to Konohamaru. "Are you nervous Squirt?"
Konohamaru shrugged. "A little, but knowing you and Naruto-niisan are here makes it easier."
Myra looked up behind Konohamaru, and he saw her eyes flash red for just a moment. Then her brown eyes focused back on him. She got very close to his ear. "Your grandfather and uncle are here with you. Let their spirits guide you… And most of all, like Naruto said, kick some ass." She stood back up to her full height and leaned on Naruto for support.
Konohamaru felt two hands on his shoulders. When he glanced behind him, no one was there except his sensei, Ebisu, but he was too far away to have put his hands on Konohamaru's shoulders. The young boy turned back to Myra with a confused expression. Myra nodded at Konohamaru with a smile. He puffed out his chest and seemed to gain a confidence he didn't know he had. Konohamaru walked to the end of the tunnel where he waited for his match.
Ebisu stood next to the honorable grandson. The special jonin had been nervous about this match since it had been announced after the preliminaries. Konohamaru was pitted against an older boy from the village hidden in the Waterfall.
Konohamaru looked up at Ebisu. "You worry too much." Konohamaru's tone was confident.
"Konohamaru-san, I want you to do your best." Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses.
"I will. I have the old man and Uncle Asuma here with me. I can't loose." The honorable grandson sounded determined.
Ebisu blinked behind his dark glasses. There was something very different about Konohamaru. He wasn't scared or nervous like he had been the past few days. Konohamaru was calm, an almost deadly calm. It was the kind of calm only an experience ninja had before battle. The special jonin smirked. If the Sandiame and Asuma were here to watch, they could be very proud no matter the out come.
The crowd roared again as Konohamaru heard his name being called. The boy took a deep breath and started to walk up the steps to the coliseum floor. He kept his mind on the battle before him. Konohamaru was ready. The last step before the entrance he stopped as a wave of nervous butterflies filled his gut and the teen boy hesitated for a split second. He felt the hands on his shoulders encouraging him forward. His eyes went wide. This was his grandfather and uncle, they were here to watch and guide him. They were here like Uisagi-nechan had said.
A fire of confidence welled up in him and he took the final step onto the coliseum floor. The crowd was deafening and the energy from that crowd surged through him. Konohamaru smirked; he was ready, more ready than he had ever been in his life. No longer would he be called, honorable grandson, he would make them hear his name today. "My name is Sarutobi Konohamaru!" He pointed to the boy at the opposite end of the coliseum. "And you're going down!"
0 – 0 – 0
Myra and Naruto got back to the private suite just before the beginning of Konohamaru's match. The announcer came over the loud speaker and called out the names of the next combatants. Myra sat on the couch and watched on the large television screen provided in the suite. Naruto had his hands and face press against the glass watching.
He could not hear Konohamaru's declaration, but what Naruto could see was the determination on the teen's face. He's really grown up. The blonde thought to himself. Myra stayed on the couch. She was reaching her absolute limit. She would be able to watch Konohamaru's match and then it would be off to bed.
Rai sat on the couch next to her. "I hope you are going home soon."
"After this match Dad… I promise. I'll need to take him with me." She nodded to Naruto.
"You shouldn't push yourself like this." Rai eyed her.
"But at least this way I will get some sleep. If I'm tuckered out, I don't dream. No dreams equals no nightmares. No nightmares equals a nice restful sleep. Then I won't be cranky in the morning." Myra put her head on her father's shoulder.
The match on the coliseum floor began. Konohamaru and the boy from Waterfall stared off with one another. Naruto could see that they were taunting each other with a battle of wits. When the boy from Waterfall charged out of anger Konohamaru stood still until the very last second. Konohamaru side stepped the boy and stuck his foot out, tripping the Waterfall nin.
The Waterfall boy landed face first into the dirt. It didn't do much except make him angrier, which would play to Konohamaru's advantage. The young Leaf nin kept calm and let a slight smirk dance on his face. The Waterfall boy got up in a flurry of flips and twists. Shuriken went flying towards Konohamaru, which he deflected easily with shuriken of his own.
The Waterfall boy was charging at Konohamaru again, but this time the young Leaf nin didn't sidestep. He engaged the other ninja in a test of taijutsu. Konohamaru took a nasty kick to the chest and flew back a few feet. There was a frightful gasp from the crowd and a cruel smirk on the boy from Waterfall's face. Konohamaru was shaken, his chest hurt, but he was relatively unharmed. The Leaf boy got up and the crowd cheered him as his stood.
Konohamaru was standing for mere moments when kunai came hurtling towards him. He flipped gracefully away. The Leaf nin jumped to the cover of a tree and hurled kunai of his own. The Waterfall boy attempted to doge, but was hit in the thigh.
Konohamaru took his oportunity to try some of his newly found talent for Earth jutsu. He flipped through the hand signs "Earth style: whirlpool of mud!"
The ground beneath the Waterfall nin started to soften and swirl. He tried to get out of the gooey mess of mud, but as he started to scramble out of they way the ground would change and pull him down.
The Waterfall boy brought his hands together and the swirling mud became a swirling mass of water. He got out of the small pond in the middle of the field coughing slightly. Konohamaru allowed the boy to catch his breathe which was a sign to everyone in attendance that Konohamaru was an honorable man. Tsunade watching from her box, mused that win or loose, Konohamaru would be a fine Chunin.
Konohamaru didn't give the Waterfall boy too much time to breathe. He had already made the signs and was just waiting for the other boy to stand up. There was a rumble of the ground and stone spikes erupted from the ground herding the Waterfall boy towards the place where Konohamaru was waiting.
The Honorable Grandson leapt from the tree planting a foot square to the chest of the Waterfall boy. There was another display of kicks, punches and flips that were easy to follow. Konohamaru obviously needed to work on his hand to hand, because the Waterfall boy got the upper hand quickly. Konohamaru was pushed back.
Konohamaru felt a hand on his shoulder again, and it was like he knew exactly what to do. He bit the inside of his thumb and gestured a few times. As Konohamaru's fingers flipped through the hand signs, Ebisu's eyes went wider than his dark glasses. I haven't taught him to do that yet! The special jonin stared in excitement. The young Leaf boy's hand hit the ground and a medium sized monkey appeared in a puff of smoke.
Konohamaru's eyes were just as wide as Ebisu's. The boy at the other end of the stadium floor was worried now, and Konohamaru saw the fear in his eyes. The monkey looked to Konohamaru for direction. The grandson of the great Sarutobi, Sandiame Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, pointed to the boy at the opposite end of the stadium and just smiled. "Let's get him!"
Konohamaru and the monkey charged at the boy from Waterfall. The Waterfall boy reacted by flipping a few hand signs of his own and a wave of water came crashing down. Konohamaru managed to get to a tree before the tidal wave got close. His new found monkey friend wasn't so lucky. Konohamaru's thoughts changed from the battle before him and he dove into the rushing water after the monkey he had summoned. The Leaf boy grabbed the spindly arm of the animal and pulled him up above the water, holding on for dear life.
The two tumbled to the wall of the stadium. Konohamaru was still protectively curled around his new friend to keep him from getting hurt further when the water subsided. The Waterfall boy was standing above Konohamaru with a sadistic smile. The Leaf boy looked up in surprise. The monkey leaped from Konohamaru's arms scratching and clawing at the other boy's face.
The Waterfall boy stepped back and howled in pain from being clawed at. Konohamaru jumped up and tackled the boy in front of him. They all tumbled in a heap of flailing arms and legs. The dust around them cleared and Konohamaru was kneeling over the Waterfall boy holding a kunai to his throat. The monkey was perched on Konohamaru's shoulder ready to attack again should the Waterfall boy even flinch.
There was silence around the stadium until the proctor was close to the combatants. The Waterfall boy turned his head to the side and surrendered to the proctor. The crowed went wild. The announcer roared in excitement. "And Sarutobi Konohamaru joins the ranks of ninja his family can be proud!"
Naruto was jumping up and down screaming at the top of his lungs. "Yes! He did it! I knew he would! Myra did you see!?" Naruto turned around to see Myra curled up and sound asleep on her father's lap.
Rai chuckled lightly. "No... She didn't."
Naruto frowed. "Why didn't she tell me she was that tired? I would have stayed at the apartment with her."
"When you figure that out boy, I will call you a better man than I." Rai smirked.
Naruto scooped her off of her father's lap. She didn't move, she didn't skip a heart beat, Myra was totally out cold. Naruto pulled her close to him. "I'll take her home."