It was here. The Chunin Exam finals were finally here.
And Nawaki was terrified.
His parents would be watching him fight. One would watch, knowing that he was her son. The other would watch simply because it was his job. He wouldn't have a clue that it was his son that he was watching. In fact, Sasuke would probably be more interested in watching Hisa.
That hurt Nawaki a bit.
He was proud of his training with Kakashi, even though a small part of him had been screaming Run! Run before he realises who you are! He's Kakashi Hatake! Nawaki had ignored it. Kakashi was a brilliant teacher if you ignored that he was lazy and had no sense of punctuality. He had taught Nawaki how to make a water clone and he had also taught him a useful water style ninjutsu. His taijutsu had improved, as had his shurikenjutsu. He had managed to avoid genjutsu by distracting Kakashi with questions about the new Icha Icha series. He had learnt how to use his sharingan for genjutsu before coming to Konoha, but seeing how he couldn't use his sharingan in the exam, genjutsu was useless.
Nawaki didn't remember much of his morning. He got dressed and ate his breakfast in a trance, letting his body work on autopilot. His mind seemed hazy, and he felt like he was having an out of body experience. He made his way to the stadium in a trance, obvious to the excited chattering around him. It seemed like every single person in Konoha was coming to watch the exams. Everyone was saying how this would be the most exciting exam since the one where Orochimaru invaded. Most people hoped that the excitement of this exam would be because of the genin, not because there was a giant snake crushing their village.
Nawaki heard vague snippets of conversation. The betting was going into overdrive. The three children of the Kazekage would be competing with the two children of the Hokage. Most people knew about Obito's Byakugan and Hisa's Rinnegan, but there were a lot of rumours circling about the Kazekage's youngest child. Apparently, she had a very powerful kekkei genkai.
Nawaki reached the stadium, still feeling foggy. He was snapped out of his stupor when he saw Kakashi standing there. The masked ninja walked up to Nawaki, his mask crinkled in what Nawaki could now identify as a smile.
"Good luck today." Kakashi said cheerfully "I thought I should tell you, no matter if you win or lose, you're one of the brightest genin I ever taught."
Nawaki's eyes widened.
"Tha-Thank you. It was a huge honour to be trained by you."
Kakashi's smile got wider. After a month of training, Nawaki could read Kakashi's 'mask-expressions' very well. Right now, his face was saying 'I'm about to make you question how much I know about you'. (Or something like that. Nawaki could be reading him wrong and he could be saying 'I really want some miso soup right now.')
Sure enough Kakashi turned and walked away, throwing some parting words over his shoulder.
"I also know that no matter if you win or lose, your mother will be very proud of you. Oh, and, I'll do my best to get Sasuke to watch your match."
With that, he disappeared, leaving Nawaki close to hyperventilating. Just how many people knew about him? How had Kakashi found out? Did he really know, or was it just a guess?
Oki and Hisa appeared then. Oki looked cheerful, and a little bit nervous. Nawaki couldn't tell how Hisa was feeling, but her eyes looked cold enough to murder the entire stadium.
"Are you ready to go Nawaki?" Oki asked.
He shook his head, trying to ease his panic.
"What? Oh, yeah, let's do this."
Oki nodded, then reached out and took his hand. Her other hand reached out and grabbed Hisa's hand. Together, the three of them walked into the stadium.
The roar of the crowd was deafening. Even though the matches hadn't started yet, a good ¾ of the stadium was filled. Nawaki recognized the different shinobi. Most were from Konoha and Suna, as they were the villages with finalists. But there were still some shinobi from Iwa and Kumo, and even a few from Kiri. For a second, Nawaki thought he saw Suigetsu talking to Konahamaru, but he was distracted when he saw the shinobi wearing the Uchiha crest.
The police were here to guard against attacks like Orochimaru's invasion. Ever since Sasuke got the police station up and running again, the amount of attacks on Konoha had decreased. Nawaki looked at them now, wondering which one of them was his father. He guessed that Sasuke would be guarding the two Kage, Naruto and Gaara. Nawaki wondered what the Kage were doing, probably discussing things like trade and the economy between the two villages.
!
"No Gaara, you don't get it. The Third Hokage was called the 'God of Shinobi' the Third Kazekage wouldn't stand a chance against him."
"I'm not discussing this anymore Naruto. But I strongly believe that the Kazekages could hold their own against the Hokages. Can we please get on with announcing the matches?"
"Heh, are you that eager to watch my kids hammer yours? Besides, the Hokages were ten times stronger than the Kazekages"
"Dobe, stop annoying Gaara. The crowd is getting impatient."
Naruto turned and glared at his best friend. Sasuke was standing next to him, sharingan activated and scanning the crowd. Sasuke was determined that no one would touch Naruto or Gaara.
"Well then teme, if you think you're so smart, tell me who would win!"
Sasuke turned and gave him the Uchiha glare.
"Hn. Neither the Hokages or the Kazekages would stand a chance if the Uchiha were there in full power."
"Oh yeah? The Hokage's would always win because the Uchiha are EVIL!"
"Hn. I thought we were over this 'evil' stuff."
"We are. I'm just pointing it out."
Gaara's eye twitched slightly. Oh how he longed for some coffee. Sasuke noticed his twitching. He signalled to Shikamaru to start the matches before Gaara went all Shukaku on Naruto.
Shikamaru walked into the centre of the stadium.
"The Chunin Exams shall begin now." he said "The computer over there will decide who fights who. The first match will now begin."
After saying his piece, he made his way over to where Temari was standing with a smirk on her face.
"You look sad about something." she said.
He sighed.
"You know you're getting old when you're student is your son's sensei."
Temari rolled her eyes.
"That's what's wrong? Stop being such a crybaby just because you're past your prime."
He smirked.
"You can't talk. You're older than me."
She scowled.
"Stupid genius with your stupid logic." she muttered.
He gave her a lazy smirk, which she returned.
"You reckon Shikai has it in him to win?"
"He's our kid Shikamaru. He can make it to at least the semi-finals. Heck, if it were pure strategy you know he would wipe the floor with them."
He smirked again, before kissing her.
!
Nawaki nervously watched the computer as the names whirled round. He was in a special section with the other competitors. The twelve Konoha genin were together, while Naruko and her siblings had their own section.
Nawaki watched all of the genin, analysing them. Obito looked cheerful and confident, but he kept glancing at Hisa and Hizashi. Kawa Inuzuka just looked excited for the fight. Toruko Aburame stood silent. The top half of her face was hidden under a mask, and her eyes were hidden by goggles. The bottom half of her face was visible, and she was smiling slightly. Inori looked excited, but she kept glancing at Oki. Nawaki wondered if there were problems in the family. Shikai just looked bored, and Chouko was glancing nervously at both Oki and Inori, as if he knew there was going to be a problem. Hizashi looked the same as Hisa: cold and unreadable. Ning looked nervous, yet determined and Lu… well Lu was horrifying.
Lee had finally gotten to the poor boy. He was dressed in a green spandex one piece, and his hair was in a bowl cut. The most disgusting part was that he actually looked happy about being dressed like that. He had tried to talk to Nawaki and his team, but when he had come over; Hisa had used her Almighty Push to push him away. Nawaki had looked at her quizzically, but she had just shrugged.
"He creeps me out." she explained "And he has this weird obsession with Oki and me since we saved his life once on a field trip."
Nawaki had left it at that. For once, he trusted Hisa's judgement.
He watched as Shikamaru announced the start of the Exam, and then the computer had started flicking through the names. Nawaki held his breath as the first match was announced.
Toruko Aburame vs Yashamaru.
Nawaki watched as the two competitors made their way onto the field. Yashamaru was wearing a confident sneer, while Toruko was calm and kept her emotions to herself.
Shikamaru listed the rules, and then stepped back. The two opponents circled each other, sizing each other up.
"You're out of luck." Yashamaru stated. "My sensei fought Shino Aburame during his own Chunin Exams. I know just how you fight, so good luck trying to trick me with your bugs."
Toruko said nothing and kept her face unreadable. This angered Yashamaru. He grabbed the top scroll off his back and unfurled it. A rain of kunai and shuriken went straight towards Toruko. She dodged them, letting them fall harmlessly onto the ground. Suddenly, Yashamaru appeared behind her and kicked her in the back. She flew across the field before crashing onto the ground. Yashamaru sneered at her.
"I'll make this quick." he smirked.
His hand started shimmering, and Nawaki realised he had coated it with wind chakra. He ran straight towards Toruko his hand aimed straight for her heart. At the last possible second, she dodged. Her hand bumped into his for a second, but then she jumped back. Yashamaru's hand went straight into the earth, carving it in two.
Obito whistled lowly.
"That was close." he muttered. "He was aiming for her heart. These Suna genin don't mess around."
Down on the field, Yashamaru had charged his hand up again. He smirked at Toruko, who was on the other side of the field.
"Where are your bugs?" he sneered "You haven't used them at all, probably because you can't. I know that the Aburame clans' weakness is their taijutsu. Am I right?"
For a second, Toruko tensed, but then she relaxed. She stood up from her crouch and dusted herself off, before walking towards Yashamaru.
Yashamaru frowned, caught off guard by her casual approach.
"Answer me!" he snapped. "You're weakness is taijutsu, admit it!"
Toruko continued to walk towards him.
He snarled and made to run towards her. To everyone's surprise, he didn't move. He tried again, fear evident in his eyes. Nawaki was confused. It was obvious that Toruko had managed to paralyse him, but how had she done it?
Toruko was now standing directly in front of Yashamaru. His chakra covered hand was just inches away from her, but it couldn't touch her. Nawaki could see the sweat pouring down Yashamaru, he was desperately trying to escape the paralyses.
"How?" he whispered. "How did you do it? Aburame bugs can't do this…"
Slowly and calmly, Toruko began to speak.
"Your first mistake was assuming that you knew everything about me. Although I am an Aburame, I do not use the standard bugs. I use nano-sized, venomous insects. These bugs allow me to paralyse my enemies simply by touching them."
Toruko reached out and pulled Yashamaru's sleeve up. Nawaki gasped. Yashamaru's skin was covered in what looked like purple blotches. Nawaki realized that they were the insects Toruko had been talking about.
Toruko calmly reached behind her back and grabbed the tanto she had strapped there. Nawaki saw the proctors signal each other. The match was clearly over, was Toruko going to kill Yashamaru anyway?
She unsheathed her sword and brought it gently to rest on Yashamaru's neck, right over his jugular. Yashamaru tensed, expecting her to deliver the finishing blow. Instead, she tapped his neck lightly.
"I believe this means that I win." she said calmly.
Shikamaru hurried onto the field.
"The winner of the first match is Toruko Aburame." he announced.
The stadium burst into cheers. Nawaki noticed that Karura and their sensei which Nawaki assumed was Kankuro looked disappointed. Naruko stared coldly off into the distance, like she hadn't seen the match at all. Nawaki couldn't help shivering, that kid was seriously creepy. Nawaki would rather face Hisa than her.
Toruko made her way back up to the contestant's area. Nawaki congratulated her along with everyone else. But his eyes were focused on the computer screen. He had an uneasy feeling in his gut, and his mother had always told him to trust his sixth sense. The next match wouldn't end as simply as the first one had.
The computer screen blurred again, and the entire stadium kept their eyes on it. You could have heard a pin drop. Finally, two names appeared on the screen.
Oki Yamanaka vs Inori Yamanaka
Oki's face went white, like all the blood had rushed out of it. Nawaki saw her hands begin to shake. He looked around him, wondering why she was so scared. Hisa and Obito shared a worried glance, and Nawaki knew there was something big going on here. This didn't seem like standard sibling rivalry. Inori looked smug, and there was a slightly cruel look in her eyes. Chouko was glancing between her and Oki, looking very worried. Nawaki watched as Obito and Hisa whispered for a few seconds, before Obito made his way over to Toruko.
"Toruko," he murmured quietly "I normally wouldn't ask you to do this, but could you please…" He pointed at Yashamaru, who was still paralysed on the field. She nodded and made a hand seal.
A sharp cry rang out from the field. Nawaki watched as Yashamaru crumpled to the ground. Three medics rushed onto the field with a stretcher, and began to fuss over him. One of them whispered in Shikamaru's ear. He nodded reluctantly, before turning to the crowd.
"There will be a short break while we investigate Yashamaru's health." he drawled. "In the meantime, feel free to go to the toilet or get some dango."
He walked off the field again. Nawaki looked at Obito, who was staring down guiltily at Yashamaru.
"He's not dead is he?" Nawaki asked.
Obito looked horrified.
"Kami no, he's nowhere near dead. I'd never ask Toruko to do that to an innocent genin. She'd never do it if I asked."
Nawaki nodded. With that worry out of the way, he turned his attention to Oki. She appeared to be having a small meltdown. She was sitting against the wall, gasping. Hisa was next to her, trying to reassure her. Inori's team had disappeared, along with the rest of the genin. Obito gave one last worried look at Oki, before leaving himself. He looked at Nawaki as if to say Stay here. Nawaki nodded and made his way over to Oki. He wondered what the Kage were doing. Did they think Toruko was good enough to be a chunin? Were they discussing her performance?
!
Naruto grinned over at the Kazekage.
"Hah! Toruko won! You owe me money Gaara."
Gaara sighed and handed over the money. Naruto grinned and put it in his pocket.
"Thanks to you, I can open a new ramen stand. Why did you bet on Yashamaru? You told me that Toruko was going to win."
Gaara stared down at the field.
"Yashamaru is my son. While I would give my life for the village, I would also give my life for my family. Family means something to me."
"Hm. I suppose it would since, you know, you're dad tried to kill you and scarred you for life."
Gaara opened his mouth to reply, but Sasuke got there first.
"You can't talk dobe. Your parents sealed a demon into you that scarred you for life."
Naruto glared at him.
"You're in the same boat Sasuke. Itachi scarred you for life and made you hate him because 'he loved you.'"
Naruto's eyes widened as he realised his mistake. Sasuke glared down at him.
"Itachi was a hero Naruto! Don't you remember what he did during the war? If it wasn't for him you would be dead..."
Naruto leaned over to Gaara.
"Get comfy." he whispered "Sasuke's rant usually takes twenty minutes."
Gaara continued to stare at the field. He never thought that being a Kage would be like this.
"… and fine, he messed me up a little. But he did love me! He did it to save me! Itachi saved this village…"
!
Oki had finally calmed down. She wasn't freaking out, but her eyes were empty. Hisa and Nawaki watched her in concern.
"I could push her down the stairs." Hisa said seriously "One Almighy Push and she'd be in the hospital. No one could prove anything."
Oki smiled up at Hisa.
"Thanks, but I'll pass on that idea. I have to face her, there's no other way."
Her face screwed up. Nawaki read her emotions as they appeared on her face. Anger. Fear. Embarrassment. Desperation.
Nawaki couldn't hold it in any longer. What the hell was wrong?
"Oki," he asked "Why are you so against fighting Inori? I know she's your sister, but you don't have to be so scared of her."
Hisa stood up and glared at him, as if to say Not now, idiot. But Oki grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.
"Its fine." she muttered "I've nothing better to do except wait for the match."
She patted the space on the ground beside her.
"Sit down and get comfy Nawaki." she said sarcastically. "I'll tell you the story of my messed up family."