Akio's P.o.V.
A month after I began training Yuki, it was time for the tournament. Even though I wasn't taking part in it, I was shaking with anticipation. My sister and my new student battling it out would be an amazing sight to see!
Impatiently waiting outside of the arena to talk to the girls, I noted how beautiful it was as large crowds of people streamed inside the structure to grab a seat. I tapped my foot, anxiously glancing around. Five minutes until showtime. A woman with auburn hair shielding herself from the sun under an umbrella approached me. I had spoken to her several times throughout the month, but I doubted she liked me much.
"Momo-san," I greeted with a slight bow. "Where is Yuki?" She leaned against the wall of the entrance. Her eyeliner looked smudged and black marking were on her fingers, as if she had rubbed her eyes, but I didn't mention it. Women are sensitive about that kind of stuff.
"She will be arriving soon," she answered. "Her teammates are already inside - they bid her good luck this morning." I nodded.
"She is an exceptional ninja," I complimented. "You have trained her extremely well. I was glad to have the opportunity to work with her." With her purple eyes, Momo gave me a scrutinising side-glance.
"I'm sure," she said. "Thank you." Silence fell between us. The excited chatter of civilians filled the void, the warm sun gently beating down on all of them. Momo soon excused herself and went inside, leaving me to wait alone. Moments after her departure, a figure I recognised in the distance appeared.
"Yuki!" I called, waving my hand to flag her down. She noticed me and began to walk in my direction. "How'd you sleep?" I asked when she halted in front of me.
"Fine," she said. She subtly wrung her hands and kept eyeing the entryway of where she would be fighting. I made a half-smile, tucking up the corners of my mouth.
"Nervous?" I asked. She shook her head.
"Not at all," she said, though I knew it wasn't true. My smile grew at her strength. She had been strong her whole life, I barely got to scratch the surface with her. I hoped to train with her again someday after this.
"Good," I said. I tapped her shoulder and she looked up at me. "I want you to know something. No matter what happens after this, win or lose, I'm proud of you. So is Momo and your teammates."
"I am going to win," she said, with that almost-smile again. "I will. I have worked too hard."
"That's the spirit," I said, nodding at her. "Don't forget to use your chakra only when it's necessary, all right?"
"Hai," she answered, bowing respectfully. She turned to go, but stopped as if an afterthought. "Akio?"
"Hm? Yeah?" She looked at me with curious eyes.
"You'll tell me more about what we talked about before, right?" She asked. I smiled down at her and stuck out my fist.
"You bet. Good luck in there." Staring at my hand for only a moment, Yuki connected her knuckles to mine before turning around and running off. I chuckled under my breath before arms became wrapped around my waist. I looked down to see a little red-haired girl looking up at me with her pretty grey eyes.
"Hey, Akio!" She said. I hugged her shoulders before letting go. "Giving your student a pep-talk before her big fight, ne?"
"Of course," I said. "Between you and me, I think she would have been disappointed if I didn't get to talk to her before her match." Ayame gestured to herself, arms wide.
"Well you haven't talked to me all month," she said. "And I'm your flesh and blood." I pointed a finger at her.
"Hey, you're the one who had a secret tutor the whole time," I reasoned. Folding her arms over her chest, I could see her more muscular and defined biceps. I wondered who had trained her, but I knew she wouldn't spill. "Anyway, are you nervous?" Ayame dropped her stance and rubbed her marked shoulder that I could see through her fishnet sleeves.
"A little," she said. "I want to beat Yuki; I want to beat them all."
"So why don't you?" I asked with a shrug. "You can do it. I know you can."
"Yeah, well," she pouted and turned off to the side, "I bet you said to same thing to Yuki, huh?" I scratched the back of my head.
"So, maybe I did," I admitted bashfully. Ayame's eyes became suddenly downcast, as if something had donned on her. "What is it?"
"Did you see Sasuke by any chance? No one's seen him . . . I'm worried." I rubbed the top of her head.
"Don't worry about that right now," I said. Her gaze remained on the pebbles on the ground. Squatting in front of her, I eyed the Konoha ninja headband tied around her waist. I swiftly untied it and held it in my hand.
"What are you - "
"Listen, Ayame," I said, holding the leaf symbol for her to see. "What's more important: some boy or the Exams?" She hesitated.
"The Exams, I guess," she said. I nodded.
"You need to focus on what's ahead rather than Sasuke, all right? Do your big brother a solid and keep your head in the game." I stood up straight and handed Ayame her headband. She properly wrapped it around her forehead, looking proud.
"Thanks, Akio," she said. A voice over some loud speaker I couldn't pinpoint made an announcement.
"All contestants, please report to the centre of the arena. All contestants to the centre of the arena, please."
"That's you," I said, nudging her shoulder. She hugged me tight, and I returned the embrace. "Good luck, little sister," I whispered. "I'll fight you again when you become a Chuunin. Mom would be so proud of you." She squeezed tighter before letting go. She blinked her shiny eyes up at me.
"See you after this troublesome event, ne, big brother?" I nodded, She waved as she sprinted off to get inside. She was gone in an instant. With a heavy sigh, I slowly walked into the arena, my legs still shaking with nerves.
Yuki's P.o.V.
I appreciated Akio's help and advice preceding this tournament. I didn't want to admit it, but I was nervous to fight Ayame, or really anyone. All of these ninjas around me - Huuyga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino, Ayame, Temari, Kankuro and Gaara - all of them were strong. In the middle of the battleground, I eyed Gaara. Dosu had not shown up, and no one knew why, aside from myself of course.
Don't tell anyone, he had said after murdering Dosu. Or I'll kill you. Chills ran down my spine as I remembered. He left me alive, so I knew he wouldn't kill me later. I shook my head.
"I'm here! I'm here!" A sudden loud and coarse voice shouted. We turned as the blonde and whiskered boy ran toward the centre, where the rest of us were.
"Naruto!" Ayame yelled, clenching her fist. "If you weren't already going to fight Neji, I'd beat you into next week!"
"H-Hey, Ayame! Calm down!" Naruto hid behind Shikamaru, who rolled his eyes.
"Oh, brother," he muttered.
"Hey, knock it off," a proctor by the name of Genma snapped. A bandanna covered his entire head, leaving his locks of brown hair to hang from his head. A toothpick hung from his lips. "Quit your fidgeting. Stand up straight and present yourselves to the spectators."
I looked up and around. The stadium seats buzzed with the chatter of people wanting to see a good fight. I couldn't gauge how many people there were, but I would guess that the whole village and then some showed up. I swallowed hard at the cheering of hundreds.
"You guys are the heroes of this final competition," Genma said. Hero. I smiled in spite of myself. I glanced at Gaara to see if the words affected him, but his eyes looked so angry. So hateful.
The booming voice of the Third Hokage erupted over everyone. Welcome all, he said, and our deepest thanks for coming here to the Village Hidden in the Leaves for this year's Chuunin Exams. It has come to the final competition of the ten candidates who made it through the preliminaries. We ask that no one leaves until after all the matches have been complete. And everyone enjoy!
Cheers again came from the excited crowd from the Hokage's words. I looked down the line of competitors until my eyes landed on Ayame, who was also looking at me. She smirked at me and gave me a playful wink.
"Oh, and one more thing," Genma said, pulling out a piece of paper. It had the final brackets for this round on them, and he advised us to memorise who we were fighting. Dosu was no longer on the list.
"Question!" Naruto said, raising his hand. "I was just wondering what'll happen to Sasuke if he doesn't show up."
"If a candidate is not here by the time his name is called," Genma explained, "he forfeits the match." I could feel the tension in the air as he told us this truth. Of course, it was obvious that this would be the outcome. I looked down at Ayame once more and found her jaw was set in a hard line.
It was a mystery where he was, not even Ayame knew. If she was distressed by his disappearance, she didn't show it.
"The terrain is different, but the rules are the same in that there are no rules," Genma said and the intensity increased between all of us. "The match continues until one of you acknowledges defeat or dies. With that said, if I declare a match over I can step in at anytime - no arguments permitted. Understood?" There was a pause. "The opponents for the first match are Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji. The rest of you can go to the waiting area."
The remainder of us went up the stairs to a balcony reserved for us. There, we could wait our of harm's way while watching the matches as well. The balcony was like a rectangle cut in the side of the arena with a railing preventing us from falling out. I leaned against the railing, folding my arms over the bars as the first match began.
"I can barely watch," Ayame sighed as Naruto began with a rough start. She took her spot next to Shikamaru. "Neji is too fast, and really smart."
"Don't ever," we could hear Naruto say, "count me out!"
"There you have it," Shikamaru said. "Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."
The fight continued, and I wish I could say that I paid much attention to their match, but I had a feeling that Neji would win. He was smarter and more skilled than Naruto from what I gathered. Instead, I anticipated my fight, which was scheduled after the next match. There was mostly talking between the two of them anyway, a conversation I felt I hadn't the need to follow.
Anyway, if I used taijustu one Ayame first, she'll likely use ninjutsu to counter of avoid it. And if I continued that behaviour, she would likely run out of chakra before long, leaving me with all of my chakra in tact. What I said to the Tsuchinin Shirai was mostly a bluff. Although it was easy for me to make icicles from my breath, it took chakra from my core and diaphragm to make my breath cold enough. It seemed more like a kekkei genkai to me, but it actually does take up a bit of my energy.
So, to beat Ayame, I needed to make her use her chakra first. But what if she managed to get me before then? In the preliminaries, she was able to see my skills, but I neglected to watch her match; this is where I was at a disadvantage. I would have to learn her best jutsu while in action. It would be tough, but I would have to be extremely careful if I had any chance at becoming victorious.
Suddenly, there was an explosive force between the two in the ring that tore me from my thoughts, and when the smoke cleared two craters were in the ground. I strained to see what was happening. Soon, Neji arose from where he was semi-buried and staggered over to where Naruto was.
"Damn!" Ayame hissed tightly gripping the railing. "Get up, Naruto! Come on! Let this loser know who's gonna be Hokage!" Her voice echoed throughout the silent stadium.
Suddenly, a body in orange leapt out from under the dirt, sending Neji flying backwards. He couldn't move. Soon, Genma announced, "The winner is Uzumaki Naruto."
"Yeah, Naruto!" Ayame shouted at the top of her lungs. The crowd went bazerk, cheering and hollering as loud as they could. "You hear that, Naruto!? That's all for you!"
Naruto ran around, smiling wide at his victory and eating up all the attention from the spectators.
"I can't believe Naruto defeated Neji," Shikamaru said. "There's no way I could beat him now." Ayame bonked him upside the head. "Hey, what the hell was that for?"
"Jerk, show some support, that kid's my brother." Ayame went back to admiring Naruto's energy. "Amazing. For a second, I was sure he wouldn't make it. I'm never doubting that kid again."
"He faught with courage," I said, standing next to Ayame. "Are you ready to do the same?"
"Are you trying to psych me out?" She said with a smirk, facing me head-on, putting a hand on her hip. "You don't scare me, Yuki-chan. But I'll fight you with everything I've got!"
"I wouldn't want you to hold back," I replied. Ayame had a thoughtful look on her face.
"Winner buys a meal?" She asked. I raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. "I figure the loser will feel down enough on herself already. Ramen is great comfort food." She stuck out her hand and I accepted.
"Deal."
"Hey, hey, check me out!" Naruto's voice said, and we turned to him. "Winner, winner, ramen dinner!"
"Naruto!" Ayame cheered and hugged Naruto tightly. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" Naruto chuckled bashfully. He looked around.
"Huh? Sasuke's not here yet? But his match is next," he said, sounding concerned. All of us began to look around, searching for some kind of sign from Sasuke. "I wonder where he could be." The crowd began to boo, wanting another fight.
"Listen up, everybody!" Genma announced. "One of the candidates have not arrived, so we are postponing the match. The following match will take place now. Yukigakure no Yuki and Konohagakure no Ayame, please come down."
My lips parted in disbelief. Already? I wasn't ready to go yet. I didn't have my strategy mapped out yet! I hadn't gone through all the variables that could lead to separate outcomes. My nerves began to rattle. I needed more time.
"Good luck, Ayame!" Naruto said with his thumb jutting upwards. "I know you can do it!" Ayame smirked.
"Are you ready, Yuki-chan?" She asked me, holding out her fist. I allowed the hint of a smile to grace my face as I tapped her fist the same way I tapped Akio's.
"Absolutely."
We jumped into the arena, landing safely on the dirt ground. The jeers quickly turned to cheers when the crowd saw that another fight was about to begin. When we reached the middle of the arena, we stood several feet apart, awaiting Genma's signal to begin.
Certain voices I could pick out from the crowd; Himeko was cheering my name and Ryo was telling me to beat her into the dirt. I couldn't hear Momo and Akio. Of course, Senseis don't cheer, they try to look professional. And it would be inappropriate for Akio to encourage me against his own sister. But the look in Ayame's eyes was all confidence. There was no doubt that she was lose - at least in her mind.
"Are you two ready?" Genma asked. Ayame tightened the forehead protector around her skull and it gleamed in the sunlight.
"No matter the outcome," Ayame said with a broad grin, "I'll still be your friend. That's a promise!"
"Agreed," I said, looking up to the audience. Being in the middle made it feel like there was no one else around, despite the loudness of it all. It was just us. Just Ayame and myself. Just victory in my future. I clenched my fist before me.
"I'm ready!" We said simultaneously. Genma looked between us both. In a loud voice, he gave the command.
"Begin!"
. . .
Yay, exciting!
Let me know what you guys think of the chapter please, I would love the feedback. I feel like my use of language has really evolved during my long span of not writing anything for this story.
So pro: I got to become a better writer for you guys
Con: we've had to suffer with lack of updates
Anyway, I digress. Review, follow, favourite, etc. Thanks for reading.