Okay, FINALLY we get to the prelims. For those of you who are fairly observant, you may have noted the absence of a certain teams death back in the forest. Well, without dying, they made it to the preliminaries, so we'll have an extra fight or two, and several of the fights (though not all) will be different than in cannon. The cannon fights tend to have little writing time devoted to them, however, so don't worry about that. The new fights, though...several of those are significant in a big way for the characters, especially Naruto's. Sadly, it was taking me longer than I'd hoped to write the fights, so I'm splitting the preliminaries into two chapters (I promise, unlike those other times where i've made guesses about the number of chapters it will take to do something, this WILL be done in JUST two chapters)
Oh, and a secret will finally be exposed to the world in this chapter, though not until the very end. Heheh; a gossip like this character and it's impossible not to. Not to mention it comes out while the characters are out in the open and everyone can see it.
notice-ff style, disclaimer no jutsu!
It didn't take long before they reached the tower and were shown the where the medical supplies were stored. Amaru began to take a careful catalogue of the current supplies as he waited for the main contingent to arrive, Haku at his side…until the guard left.
"Alright, since we both know you've never really assisted me before, I think you should make your get away now while no one is around to see." Haku laughed softly.
"Amaru, you make me really wonder what you did before coming here…but thanks." Amaru flashed his usual soft smile.
"Oh I was a medic, but I was a teenage before that. I learned how to sneak around then. Now go on, shoo; get moving."
"Hai," Haku replied, bowing. She glanced at the red haired man once again, intent on the supplies before she left. She knew he was hiding something, but he went out of his way to help them. It was…odd. Of course, she'd never really lived around other people enough to experience this side of them, and she had things she didn't want other people to know about either. Everyone had their secrets, including Naruto. It had taken Haku a little while to realize where her extra power and speed had come from, but after a few weeks in the leaf village, she had managed to piece together Naruto's status of jinchuuriki. She had wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Once a power like that was set off, there would have been no way for either her or Zabuza to win. It had been pointless from the beginning. Still, Gato had already planned to betray them, so Naruto was still not at fault for the death of her master, and she had found herself being happy here, besides the lame dates.
Several minutes later Haku was still walking the halls, trying to figure out where the gennin where that had completed the exam. Naruto should be here, shouldn't she? But she'd barely even seen anyone besides a team of gennin from Ame. She sighed, deciding to ask for directions from the next group she saw.
"Excuse me, but you wouldn't be able to help me, would you?" Dosu turned, raising his revealed eye at the attractive girl.
"Hm. Can't guarantee it," he said, "but spit it out and we'll see." Haku decided she didn't like these nin.
"I'm trying to find any gennin from the hidden leaf. One of my friends is a leaf gennin, and I was wondering if she had passed."
"You don't mean Naruto, do you?" Haku blinked at the girl that had spoken up. They knew who Naruto was? Well, should she really be surprised? Naruto was, after all, Naruto.
"Yes, that's her. Is she here then?" Kin nodded.
"Yeah; I was actually wanting to talk to her anyway, so now's a good time to go find her. I think I know where her team is."
"Kin," Zaku said, "do you really think that's a good idea? You know what leader-sama would say." Kin narrowed her eyes.
"Hey, I can think for myself, Zaku, so leave me alone. I just have something to discuss with Naruto."
"But leader-sama," Zaku began, speaking loudly.
"Shut up Zaku." Dosu looked deeply into Kin's eyes. "You will be safe, right?" She nodded. "Hurry up and get back soon. Remember, they called for a meeting in the main hall in about another hour."
"No sweat, I'll be back in plenty of time. Now come on," she said to Haku, "we need to get moving."
"Alright, thanks." Haku looked back at the two boys as she left with the girl Kin. Dosu was hard to pin, but Zaku…he had something against them. What was going on there?
"Sorry about them, but they can both be a bit…opinionated."
"What was that about 'leader-sama.' Your buddy Zaku seemed to think he would disapprove." Kin winced.
"Well, leader-sama was wronged by leaf nin, a long time ago. Zaku holds it personally, but I don't think that that should be held against Naruto. After all, she saved our lives back in the forest."
"What?"
"You'll have to ask her for the story. Until I know for sure that you're her friend, I don't think it's my place to tell."
"I suppose that makes sense. You met Naruto during the second exam then?" Kin nodded. "And yet you seem to be friendly with her. And you say she saved your life. That seems a bit odd." She turned to look forward as Kin kept her silence. "Naruto, you have the most interesting life."
.
.
.
"FINALLY! I've been waiting all WEEK for this!"
"Calm down, Naruto. Just because we finished ahead of most of the other teams doesn't give us the right to get ahead on the next exam, even if hokage-sama is your grand-father." Naruto huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes.
"She's right, Naruto," Sasuke put in. "We all need to learn a little patience. The second exam was much harder than the first, even if you do prefer fighting to a written test. At least in the written test we didn't have to risk our lives."
"Yeah, but it's so boring here! I want some fun!"
"What, playing with your teammates isn't fun enough, Naruto-chan?" Naruto did a double take as she looked down the hall.
"Haku-chan," she yelled, rushing to hug her friend. "What are you doing here? Isn't it dangerous to go through the forest on your own? Did jii-san bring you? How's the flower shop? Have you-"
"Naruto! I'm fine, honest," Haku laughed. "Amaru got invited to provide medical support during the prelims and extended the invitation to me. I've been dying knowing you've been out there in that forest with the Gaara kid." Kin balked.
"Wait, what? But, doesn't he like you guys?" Sasuke let loose a low growl as Naruto and Sakura shook their heads.
"Gaara's been going around saying that Naruto here is his sister, even going so far as stalking her." Kin gasped.
"But, what about the other two?" Naruto scratched her head.
"That's the weird part. They all believe it, but to them it only means being nice to me. To Gaara? Well, safe to say he's just plain creepy. He keeps pushing and pushing, but Temari and Kankuro are cool." Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Naruto, you really need to stop being so naive."
"And you need to stop being so cynical. I'm being carefully, Sasuke-kun. Just trust me on this one. Temari and Kankuro won't hurt me, and they won't try anything. Gaara's the only one we have to worry about." Sasuke grumbled.
"Well, anyway, how about we take a walk while you fill me in. From what Kin here told me, you've had an interesting week." Naruto laughed heartily.
"Yeah, you could say that," she said, throwing an arm over Haku's shoulders and grabbing Kin. "Come on, it's your story too. I'll see you guys later, k?"
"Just make sure you get back in time, Naruto." She smiled at her boyfriend.
"Believe it." As they traversed the halls, Haku was filled in on what happened in the forest, including Kin's admission that they had been ordered to eliminate Sasuke. Her eyes narrowed considerably, but wasn't sure what to think considering Orochimaru's seeming double agenda.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Kin pulled at her hair nervously.
"I'm…not sure. Dosu, he kinda makes the decisions a lot, but he's been quiet. I think he's sorting things out in his head before he makes a decision. Zaku? Well…" She looked to the side. "Like most of us in Sound, he's fiercely loyal to Orochimaru-sama."
"And you?" Kin looked at the slightly taller girl.
"I'm not sure yet. I don't like being lied to like that, but I want to be Naruto's friend. I just…I don't know what to do…" There's a bond stronger than any loyalty to your village, and that's the one to your friends. "But I'm going to give this friendship thing a try." Haku nodded slowly as Naruto looked back and forth between the two rapidly.
"Alright. You wouldn't tell me things earlier because you weren't sure if I was actually Naruto's friend. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt Kin. However, Naruto is my most precious person. If you do anything to hurt her or betray her trust, I'll personally make sure you regret it." Kin stared wide eyed as Naruto spoke up, trying to change the subject and asking Kin about her taijutsu style. She answered, but Haku's words echoed in her head. Just like him…what is it about this girl?
.
.
.
"She's going to be late!"
"No, she won't. She doesn't take after sensei like that." Sakura huffed.
"Hey, I'm not that bad!"
"Shut up, sensei!" Kakashi sweat dropped. I'm late a few times and this is what happens? Where did the respect go for the legendary copy-cat ninja?
"Well, we've only got a couple of minutes, all the other teams are here, and she's no where in sight!"
"Ah come on, give her a break! She just got a visit from her friend," Kiba said, butting into the conversation. "She'll be back, though. Has she ever let you down yet?" Sakura sighed.
"Fine, you're right. But if she doesn't get here on time, I'm gonna-"
"Jii-san!" Most of the waiting gennin jumped as a blonde blur zipped past them to tackle the regal looking old man in his chair. He didn't look quite as regal at the moment with his chair knocked over and blob of orange clinging to him.
"Naruto," he gasped, trying not to let Naruto collapse his lungs, "it's good to see you, too, but we'll talk right after this, okay?" Naruto jumped up, blushing and scratching the back of her head.
"Heheh; sorry jii-san. It's just, what with all that's been going on, I've been really looking forward to seeing you." Standing up he patted her on the head while his anbu attendants righted his chair.
"Don't worry about it. Now, go join your team. They've been worried that you wouldn't make it back on time." Naruto blushed.
"Sorry. I was talking with some friends." The hokage raised his eyebrow as he saw Kin taking her place with her team and Haku walking up to the rafters.
"I see. Not something I would have expected. Be careful, okay?"
"Of course! Better let you get started, though." She gave him another hug (a gentle one) and joined her team.
"Dobe." She flashed Sasuke a grin.
"Teme." The rest of them seven rolled their eyes.
"Hey brats, congrats on proving me right; less than half of you made it through the forest of death. For those that didn't make it we're sending sweeper teams to help them get out…though for some it's a good thing we had them sign those forms, heheheh." A shiver went down the backs of several people as Anko continued. "Well, the second exam is now over. The preparations for the third exam begin now, but first you'll hear a few words from the leaf villages very own Sandiame Hokage."
"Alright," Sarutobi began, raising his voice. "Welcome, gennin, to the end of the second round of the chuunin exams. Your villages are very proud you and the skill you've displayed thus far. However, I have a little bit to tell you before moving on. I don't like confusion, so I'm going to clear up for you, the true reason for this exam.
"You see, as we said before, the purpose for the exam is to promote international-shinobi unity and friendship. The real reason for this exam, dating back to the days of the shinobi wars, is to be a substitution for war." Several of the younger gennin gave outbursts at this comment, and continued to do so as Sarutobi answered each of their questions and moved on, explaining how the exams showed the future strength of each village to the spectators of the third exam, nobles and leaders of every country, and how the original institution used this as a substitute for the great losses of life in the shinobi wars.
"So in way, it does promote friendship, but remember: you are fighting for the honor and prestige of your village and your country. The better your perform, the more clients your village gets, and we expect each of you to perform at your best. And now, moving on to the third exam, I-" A cough interrupted the hokage, who gave his attention to a sickly looking jounin.
"Hokage-sama, as the proctor for the third exam, would you allow me to explain from here on out?"
"Of course, Hayate-san. Go ahead," he said, settling back in his chair.
"*Cough*. Thank-you, hokage-sama." He turned to address the assembled gennin.
"Before we continue, as per chuunin exam rules, we are going to hold a round of preliminary matches to cut down the number of examinees in the third exam."
"What? Why?"
"Yeah! We worked hard to get this far!"
"Exam rules? How does that make sense?" *cough*
"As Hokage-sama said, there are going to be many visitors for the final exam, and if there are *cough* too many examinees, the matches will take took long, so we will hold these prelims to lower your numbers and preserve our possible clients time." He motioned to a screen on the wall and the balcony above them.
"As you have noticed, this area is shaped and set up as a combat arena. On the screen above we will randomly match up two gennin at a time to fight in one on one matches of elimination. *cough* You'll each wait on the balcony above for your turn, but before we begin, if you want to drop out now due to injury or exhaustion, tell us now and we'll remove your name from the grouping." He waited a few moments, and the gennin named Kabuto who had talked to them before the first exam raised his hand.
"Well, getting here took too much out of me. I can't fight."
"Hmmm…Kabuto of the leaf. Alright, we'll strike you out. Anyone else?" A moment later and he continued. "Very well, we'll get the random selection program up and running. Please wait on the balcony above.
The various teams walked up to the balcony as the program was set to randomly select opponents. The screen scrolled through the names of the gennin from each team for what seemed forever until the top and bottom displayed the first opponents.
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi
"Alright Sasuke, kick his butt." The Uchiha nodded.
"Of course. See you in the finals."
"Hey, you going to talk all day, or are we going to fight," called the other nin from below, more than ready to start the fight.
"Hey, Sasuke's gonna beat you in hardcore, and don't you forget! So how about you learn a little patience!" Sasuke winced, clearing his ear with a finger.
"And here I thought Sakura was the loud one," to which the pink haired girl pushed him off the balcony to the battle arena below.
"Next time I'll really push," she called down as the boy flipped in the hair to land with his feet spread wide and a hand coming down for balance.
"Guess I better start working on my dodging," he said. "Oh well, let's get this over with, eh?"
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Yoroi said, cracking his knuckles.
"*cough*. Well, if you're ready then, begin," Hayate said, bring his hand down and jumping away.
Though it was challenging, it was a relatively quick match. Sasuke had had several days to rest from their encounter with the sannin, and there was nothing encumbering him. At full power he was much quicker than his older opponent, so even with his chakra siphoning technique he was no match for an Uchiha with his sharingan. Sasuke was able to track every movement of his hands and keep him from touching him until he got behind him chopped his neck, laying him out on the ground.
"Pheh; not even worth it," he said. "That enough, proctor, or should I humiliate the fool further." Hayate coughed.
"No, that's enough. Yoroi is unable to battle. Uchiha Sasuke proceeds to the finals."
"Alright! I knew you'd do it Sasuke!"
"Yeah, way to go Sasuke-kun!" The raven haired boy waved to his teammates from below as he came up to great them and wait to see the next set of gennin fight.
The sign began to quickly scroll through the names of the remaining chuunin hopefuls. Come on, come on…Sasuke's already gone, now let me go! When the names finally flashed Naruto remained unsure whether to cheer or slump in defeat, but in the end adopted her happy attitude.
"Alright Temari, go for it! You can beat 'em!" The older girl flashed her little sister a wave before hopping down to the arena.
"What, they can't even give me a good fight?" Temari raised an eyebrow.
"And this coming from a short fatty?"
"Hey! I'm 18 you little brat!"
"Wow. Seventeen and still throwing tantrums. Well, looks like mommy's little girl is going to have to teach you a lesson," she said, grabbing her fan. "Should we start with the spanking?" Baiu growled, reaching to grab his umbrella.
"Procter, let's get this party started," he said. Hayate sighed.
"Alright then, begin." Kids, he thought. Was I ever this cocky?
"Take, this!" Baiu grabbed the two umbrellas from his back. "With this attack I can hit you from anywhere while I'm still moving. If you can't hit your opponent, then you have no chance of winning."
"Really? Well, I stand any attack from coming near me, and I can hit you from anywhere in this whole from. Sorry, but you're going to loose, meatball."
"Eh! Meatball! That does it! Rapid fire senbon!" The two umbrellas began to shoot groups of senbon out, but Temari calmly opened her fan slightly and twisted. The gust of wind that came from it was astounding, and it not only blew away the incoming senbon, but knocked the umbrellas away as well.
"Like it? Me too. I've had control of the wind since I was a child. I once took out the whole academy building just by waving a fan during etiquette class. Still think you can win?" Baiu pulled himself up from where he'd fallen.
"It's impressive, but not impressive enough. Try defending from two sides at once." He threw the umbrella's up in the air once again, preparing to attack again as Temari 'tsk'ed at him.
"Didn't you notice I only opened my fan a little? I've got three purple dots on my fan, and with each one, I get more power. Here's the power of two dots," she said, swinging with fan again as he commenced his attack. The wind even knocked some of the spectators off their feet, though most of the experience shinobi latched onto the ground with their chakra. Baiu was old enough he'd learned that technique as well, and he was prepared this time. He remained standing, though it took a lot of effort, especially since he was trying to keep up his attack as well. "Add all three, and not only do I knock them away," she cried, "but I can direct them!" She proceeded to demonstrate, unfolding her fan all the way, and then all those senbon were flying back at their master, impaling him into the wall through his arms and legs. Several of the watching gennin wanted to hurl at the sight of the blood, but they managed to keep their breakfast down.
"Had enough? Don't make me force the issue." Baiu spat out the blood filling his mouth.
"Fine. You win." He hung his head. "I forfeit, you stupid girl."
"Aw, you're so cute when you whooped." She waved a hand. "Take him out of here. He'll be fine."
"Winner, Temari," the proctor called, giving the signal for the medics to carefully UN-impale him and carry him to the hospital wing for stitches, pain killers, and possibly a blood transfusion.
"Hey, wasn't that a little harsh Temari?" She shrugged.
"If Orochimaru is leading sound, I want all reports saying that we're fully on board with the invasion plan," she said. "I have to look merciless. Anything less will fool him. I'll take care of explaining something to Naruto later."
"Yeah, she doesn't look to happy with you."
"Too bad; she will learn to live with blood." Gaara gave a disgusted look. "She is far too soft. It is good we met her now rather than later. She would not have survived."
"Hey, you're not giving her enough credit," Kankuro told his little brother. "She's plenty strong-"
"But she's too trusting."
"Be that as it may, I think you might want to pay attention to the fights," Baki said. All three sand siblings look a moment to around and finally notice that two new combatants were in the arena…and Naruto didn't look happy.
.
.
.
"Wow…Temari always acts so nice. She wasn't like that before."
"Well, sometimes people act different when they're fighting," Kakashi said gently. He knew very well how people could change. He, for example, became much less casual when in true combat situations. Still, it seemed unusual for such a change as this one to occur. Knowing the sand siblings connection to Naruto, he'd observed them before the second exam started. She didn't seem quite this ruthless. He was happy Naruto was forming a positive bond with her sister, but something was off with all this. "I'm sure you can ask her about it later," he continued, "but for now, focus on the fights. Remember, even if it's not your own match, every person that wins will be an opponent I the final exam. Naruto and Sakura nodded, all of team seven turning to watch as screen scrolled through everyone's names. Naruto's heart fell when she saw the next two names.
"Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata, please come down." Sakura bit her lip as she grabbed Naruto's shoulder.
"It'll be okay. Maybe this will end well for you guys."
"Maybe…but she was my best friend. I, I don't think she's someone I want to fight."
"But right now you need to, Naruto, just like Iruka needed to when he found out Mizuki was a traitor, but you two can still be friends afterwards. Just treat it like a spar between you and Sasuke." Naruto nodded.
"I guess I can do that." She looked over to her team as she jumped up on the railing. "Thanks guys."
"No problem. Just get down there already." The blonde nodded, taking her place in the arena where he once best friend waited.
"I never expected I would fight you," Naruto said to her.
"Nor I you, Naruto, but I won't let this stop me. I, I've still got to prove to him that, that I'm strong, too." Naruto hung her head.
"I wish you wouldn't. I just want my best friend back." A tear dropped from Hinata's eye.
"As do I, but, but I must prove my strength. I, I will not loose to you, Naruto-chan." She took her stance, glanced up at the balcony, ready to begin.
"Sorry, but I can't loose here either," she replied, also falling into her stance. Hayate looked back and forth between the two, raising his hand and dropping it.
"Begin."
Hinata's eyes activated, and chakra formed in her open palms as she and Naruto charged each other. Okay, can't get hit. Hinata will shut me down if she does, even with my super fast healing. I've gotta play this one smart. She winced. Guess I'll have to try a bit more distance fighting this time around, but I need to know how fast she's gotten, first.
Naruto has always been fast, and she's good at improvising. She knows to avoid getting hit, but she prefers close range fighting. All I have to do is keep her drawn in, and I can hit her.
Naruto and Hinata met in the middle for a brief clash. Their hands both moved quickly, Naruto knocking away Hinata's arms at the wrist as the Hyuuga tried to score a body hit in the short time they were next to each other, finally succeeded as Naruto tried to knock away a low blow, only to give Hinata access to her side.
"Aw, crap!" Naruto jumped away, throwing a handful of shuriken to keep Hinata from pursuing her as she clutched her side, breathing heavily. "Golly Hinata, you've gotten *huff* faster." Hinata smiled in spite of herself at the compliment.
"Arigato, Naruto. It was wise to keep me from following you." Naruto grinned.
"Yeah, but it would have been nice to find that out without…having to…" She slapped herself in the forehead. "Duh, shadow clones! I could have found out how fast you were without having to worry about getting hurt! Man I'm stupid." Hinata suppressed a giggle at her once friend's antics.
"It is too late now, Naruto. Now you will be slower, and I will have the advantage."
"Heheh; you might be faster right now, but I have numbers on my side!" She made the sign, and then several Naruto's appeared. What can she mean? It's only her and myself, and clones can't…what is this? In the few seconds that elapsed between Naruto's declaration and the beginning of the clones charge, Hinata realized the contest may become one of stamina. Naruto's clones all possessed a chakra system, just like Naruto, and they were solid! The last was the greatest surprise to the young girl. She hadn't expected Naruto would possess such a jutsu. Though they were close friends, Naruto had been forbidden from telling anyone about that night, giving her the element of surprise against her friend. Hinata would be able to defeat each clone, but with Naruto's chakra capacity she may be able to outlast her. She had to think of a way to beat Naruto, and quickly. The problem was that each clone looked just like Naruto, even to the byakugan, and she knew Naruto wasn't the type to sit back and let others do the work, so that had to be a clone in the back, hanging back to avoid being hit. It would be just like Naruto to create a diversion, so how was she to find the real one? Strike, poof, strike, poof. Over and over with no end in sight, and her muscles were starting to wear down, but she couldn't let up or the real Naruto would attack her. Then, suddenly, the clones backed, disappearing.
"I'm sorry, Hinata, but you were wrong." Hinata turned to look at the 'clone' she had been so sure wasn't Naruto. "I had I feeling you'd suspect something, so I held back to heal up, and now my clones won't be at the same disadvantage they were before. You're running low on chakra, Hinata. Please, just surrender now." Hinata hung her head. She was a failure after all. Would it really have hurt to try for the 'clone?' And now Naruto was right. She was slower now than when they started, and Naruto was almost fresh. Then she looked up and saw Kiba. He was smiling at Naruto.
No! I, I won't let it end like this! Hinata's face became determined as she reassumed her stance.
"You may have the advantage Naruto, but you've taught me that even the most disadvantaged can still win, as long as they don't give up. I'm not done yet, and I don't go back on my word. I'm fighting for him, and as long as he's looking at you, I can't give up!"
Naruto looked on in surprise and pride. Hinata had always been afraid, always too willing to give up, but just now she'd declared her purpose without even a stutter, even if she was looking at Sasuke-kun for…wait…wasn't Sasuke behind where Hinata was? Naruto looked over her shoulder, seeing Hinata's team, Kurenai-sensei, Shino, and Kiba. Gears started to turn, but Hinata's attack forced Naruto pay attention again. Caught off guard she was barely able to dodge the Hyuuga's attacks. They were quick and precise. Hinata was giving her no quarter, and no margin for error, and she wasn't slowing down. It seemed as thought Hinata was even stronger than she was when they started, and her attacks stronger.
But still, if she wasn't looking at Sasuke, then who? Besides, not body likes me. Nobody else could be diverting their attention from Hinata. Sasuke's the only person to ever…kiss…me… Naruto's eyes widened.
"It's Kiba!" Naruto tripped over her feet as she came to the realization. Fortunately for her, Hinata did the same, not expecting her secret to be shouted out like that, not that anyone watching understood what was going on. They had no idea the history between the two.
"Wha, what are you, t, talking about," huffed Hinata as she stood up, taking her stance again and finally showing signs of wearing out. "Why bring him up now?"
"That's just it," Naruto said, quickly getting to her own feet. "I thought you liked Sasuke." Hinata wrinkled her nose.
"Sasuke?"
"Yeah, because I had just started dating him, and I thought you saw us." Hinata's eyes became hooded. "I didn't realize that, that you must have seen Kiba kissing me."
"And you kissed him back!" Hinata attacked again, full fury in her attack.
"I did not! I love Sasuke. I've been trying to get Kiba to leave me alone ever since then," she said quickly, trying to keep up and still talk quietly so she wouldn't embarrass her friend. She was getting her energy back as well, thinking about how this meant she could have her best friend back.
"Kiba just grabbed me in the alley that day. There was nothing I could do. Me and him aren't together, Hinata. I'm with Sasuke!"
"But Kiba-kun still looks at you!" Just then Hinata's eyes widened as she tried to turn around, but it was too late. Naruto gave her a chop to the neck, temporarily paralyzing her from the neck down. Hinata gave a wail of despair as she crumpled to the ground, unable to move.
Naruto's clone, which Hinata had been fighting all along, poofed away, and the real Naruto, wiping off dirt from the ground she'd been tunneling in, walked over and knelt down by Hinata as she was declared the winner.
"I lost; I lost…" Hinata was crying as she mumbled those words over and over.
"Maybe, but you fought real hard, Hinata-chan. To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd win for a long time there." Hinata tried to turn her head away, but could only close her eyes.
"He still only looks at you. I, I can still see him right now. He, he's only talking about you."
"Right now, but I'm gonna help you, Hinata-chan. You're my best friend, and even though you deserve better than a mutt that can't even notice you like him, I'm going to help you get him." Hinata reopened her eyes.
"But why? We, we aren't friend anymore, remember? I, I cast you off b, because of him, even if it w, was a mistake."
"Friends forgive each other," Naruto said, smiling widely and gripping Hinata's shoulder. "I could never be really happy without my Hinata-chan there beside me." Hinata managed to smile back, forcing her arm to move and grip Naruto's hand as well.
"Thank-you, Naruto-chan," she said, both their hearts swelling. "I, I'll never leave you again. And good luck with Sasuke-kun."
"Miss, we really need to get her to the hospital ward. She's out of chakra to the point where her system is starting to mold energy from the cells in her body. We need to get this taken care of now." Naruto nodded.
"I'll see you later, Hinata-chan."
"Like wise, Naruto-chan." With that they separated, Hinata giving in to the exhaustion that she'd been putting off. As everyone else got back to watching the screen, Naruto began walking over towards Kiba, who had been shouting out his congrats to her.
"Wow, that was great Naruto! The way Hinata was fighting I thought you were dead for sure! Man, who woulda thought she had it in her!"
"She was fighting for you, idiot," she said quietly.
"I mean man, the way you tricked her with that tunnel was just-"
"I said she was fighting like for you, dog breath!" The Inuzuka finally quieted, staring at her.
"What? For me? Why?"
"Because she likes you, and she saw us the day you kissed me. She hasn't talked to me like a friend since. You ruined our friendship chasing after a girl who was taken while another girl, a better one I might add, already liked you." Tears fell from Naruto's face as she clenched her fists, nearly drawing blood. "She just wanted you to acknowledge her, and all you can talk about is me. Give up, fuzzy. I've got a boyfriend. Get that through your thick skull. It's about time Hinata got her chance." The boy was left with nothing to say as Naruto walked around the rest of the balcony to rejoin her team.
"So, what was that about? Something to do with you shouting his name during the match?" Naruto nodded as she sat down and clutched her knees.
"Yeah. Remember how I told you Hinata broke off out friendship because she liked you?" Her boyfriend nodded. "I just guessed that. She never actually said the name of the guy she liked."
"And it was Kiba." She nodded. "So, what you talking with the mutt about."
"I told him to give up on me, and that even though she deserves better, he needed to give her a chance."
"Hn. Well, at least maybe he'll get off your back. He hasn't stopped staring into space since you walked away. You might wanna start cheering on Sakura, though. It looks like Ino's giving her a tough time."
"What!" Naruto jumped up, clutching the railing, all other thoughts forgotten as her teammate, like her, was fighting her once best friend. Ino was in the midst of trying to make Sakura forfeit after taking control of her mind, and Naruto's shouts of encouragement came just in time to help her break free, even if the match still ended in a double knockout.
"Man, what a bummer. I was really hoping she'd win."
"Too bad she couldn't get Ino to believe I wasn't interested in her."
"Eh?"
"Before you got back over she was telling Ino to give up, that I'd already chosen someone and it wasn't either of them." He rolled his eyes. "She went off on how Sakura was trying to trick her so she wouldn't have any competition." Naruto chuckled.
"Ah, my boyfriend the girl magnate. What ever shall I do," she said, grabbing his arm as the next match was announced and Ino and Sakura set down against the wall behind them.
"You don't need to do anything, really. You already enthralled me." Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Made me fall completely in love with you. Do you really need to make me dumb things down like that?"
"But sounds so much more romantic that way!"
"Whatever. Let's watch Shikamaru's match. It's one of those guys from the rain country. This team looks a lot different than that guy that tried to impersonate you. Might actually have a fighting chance."
Meanwhile, down below, a tall teen with a batch of umbrellas on his back and two huge scars on his right face complemented by two stitches in his lip stared at the diminutive leaf gennin with his one working eye. His name was Shigure.
"Honestly, this is the best they can give me? A little punk like you? Don't make me laugh." Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders.
"It's a drag, but mom would kill me if I didn't actually try." Shigure growled.
"Why even both trying. You're just a plain rookie, barely twelve years old. I'm an experiences gennin with an unblockable jutsu. Give up now and I'll spare your life."
"Mah, let's just get this over with."
"Begin." Without wasting a second Shigure grabbed his umbrella's and tossed them into the air. He continued to hold his hands over his head as he concentrated on controlling the jutsu.
"Now you'll see why you should have forfeited. Senbon rainstorm!" Many looked on in awe as the senbon shot out of the umbrellas. His teammate had used a similar move, but with far fewer needles. "This is my unblockable attack. Left, right, up, down, forward, back; there's no escape from this death, and since you've already ticked me off, I'm afraid it's time for you to die!" Another movement of his hands and the senbon, which had been swirling around the Nara, turned and pointed inward, impaling the leaf gennin.
"Hah! That's the match proctor. Hope you won't miss him. Now I-" He paused, wondering why his hands wouldn't move, surprise becoming fear as it dawned on him that he couldn't move at all. "Hey, what's going on here?"
"Shadow possession jutsu," Shikamaru commented lazily from behind him. Still able to see the 'ninja' he had impaled, he saw it poof away into a log. "And a substitution. Anyone can tell you control the movement of the senbon with your hands, so I let you attack so I could observe your controls a little longer. If I've got this right," he said, motioning with his own hands, "I should be able to perform the same techniques.
"You little brat! It takes years of work to master such a technique!"
"Good thing I don't need to master it. You already did." Sure enough, Shikamaru managed to move the senbon whirlwind so that it circled the Amen in. "Earlier you said I'd already ticked you off so you weren't going to give me a chance to surrender. Well, it'd be too troublesome to make someone have to clean your blood off the floor so I think I'll give you the chance. After all, I'm no master. I might accidently kill you instead of incapacitate you. What do you say?" Shigure growled.
"Fine…I, surrender." Shikamaru dropped the jutsu, the senbon falling to the ground as both he and Shigure dropped their arms.
"Good thing too. I completely missed your last move since I had to use substation to get behind you right then."
"You, you bluffed?"
"Nah, nothing like that. I simply pointed out that I could mess up since I didn't see the whole thing." The rain nin clenched his hands tightly.
"One day I'm gonna get you for this, you little brat."
"Watching my back will be a drag. Too bad. I just wanted a nice quiet ninja life, too. See you later," he said, waving his hand as he walked back to his team and Shigure began collecting his weapons.
"Well, that was surprising. I didn't think Shikamaru had it in him."
"Me either," said Sasuke.
"One thing you'll learn as ninja," Kakashi said from behind them, "is the importance of masking your abilities. I've talked with Asuma about Shikamaru, and he's easily the most intelligent of your class. He just also happens to be the laziest."
"Wow, and I always thought he was just lazy," spoke up Sakura.
"Ah, Sakura; good to see you join us in the land of the living." She smiled.
"Yeah, well, I'm just sorry I won't be in the finals with you and Sasuke."
"Yeah, that is too bad, but you'll make it next time, right sensei?"
"If you work hard enough, yes, I'm sure you'll be able to make chuunin. But remember Sakura, Ino, you both have to work hard to make excellent shinobi."
"Hey, how ever hard Sakura works, I'll work three times as hard! I'm not loosing Sasuke to you forehead." Sakura smacked said forehead.
"Ino, I already told you, Sasuke-kun picked someone else."
"Ha! Like I'd believe that! I'll prove he's mine yet."
"Excuse me? Take my boyfriend? You don't have a chance."
"Shut up Naruto; besides who's talking about…your…" Ino's mouth gaped open as she caught on to what Naruto had just said, making Sakura laugh.
"That's right, my boyfriend. If me and Sakura saying it ain't enough, this should do it. Sasuke; kiss; now!" Sasuke rolled his eyes but smiled as he leaned forward gave Naruto a gentle kiss. Pulling away Naruto gave him a look that asked, 'seriously?' Sasuke smirked and pushed off the railing, pulling Naruto in for a real kiss.
They do look nice together, Sakura thought. I think I'm glad it worked out like this.
Naruto…and Sasuke? But, how? Ino was still trying to wrap her mind around the concept when the board displayed the names for the next two combatants.
Inuzuka Kiba vs. Hyuuga Neji
Alright then, what did you think? Sasuke and Naruto are finally out in the open. Keep in mind, they kept it secret because they didn't want to hurt Sakura, but Sakura knows now, so that's why Naruto and Sasuke were willing to kiss each other in front of Ino. And, and the first kiss? Sasuke was being mischevious, in case you didn't catch that. How did you like Naruto's handling of that?
You know something I just realized? Being out of contact with my hime is actually a good thing for you guys. When she and her family are off where cell phones don't reach, I write faster because I want to give her a nice surprise when she gets back home. Make sure you thank her for inspiring me!
Love you, btw sweety.
Ah, and who's looking forward to this next fight, eh? Should be spectacular! I'm hoping I can write it that way, at least.
Oh, and what do ya'll think about how I've written in Shigure and his team so far? Too bad they all made it through the second exam to loose in the prelims anyway. tsk tsk.
Well, that's it. Please leave a review with your thoughts. Take care!
ps- review reply for Eagle:
I actually used to have an update sceduale when I started this story, but then it got too hectic to keep it consistent and I had to just write and update whenever I got the time. If i can, I like to update every other week, but alot of the time, that's just not practical. Please forgive me!
Thanks for the compliment on my writing though. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as you did the last one!
~CaptainFlye