Chapter 30: Challenge
Tenten slowly opened her eyes.
White.
Everything was white.
Tenten flinched as she raised the back of her right hand to slightly cover her eyes. They were still adjusting to the light. Where was she?
Tenten closed her eyes and blinked a couple of times, hoping that would clear her vision up. It helped a little but everything was still blurry. "Why is everything so white?" she whispered, annoyed at the croaking sound of her voice.
Tenten slowly sat up. She grimaced slightly as she felt a sharp pain shoot through her body. She let out a soft growl as she rubbed her eyes.
Her vision was still hazy but she was now able to make out her surroundings a little bit. She glanced at the room from left to right taking in every detail as best as she could.
When she directed her attention to the right of the room, there, by the window sill was a woman in white with long flowing black hair. She seemed to be fixing a few flowers on a vase.
"A nurse…" She whispered softly.
Tenten blinked some more and watched as the nurse turned to look at her. Suddenly, a she felt light headed. She clutched her head and gave a soft yelp.
The nurse immediately came to her side with a glass of water and a small black pill.
"Take this." She ordered.
Tenten scrunched her eye brows when she heard the nurse speak. There was something about her voice, but Tenten couldn't put her finger on it. Was something wrong with her ears too?
"They're painkillers." The nurse explained.
There it was again. That voice.
Tenten shook the thoughts out of her head. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. Or maybe this nurse just really had a dark, sort of rich, husky, baritone voice.
Tenten decided to ignore her thoughts and nodded as she slowly moved her hands to reach for the pill.
She popped it in her mouth and reached for the glass of water. The nurse handed it to her and she held it ever so carefully with both her hands.
Tenten growled in her mind as she struggled to steady the glass of water. With her strength still gone, holding that single glass of water felt like carrying a giant boulder about ten feet in diameter.
Tenten mustered up all her strength to raise the glass up to her lips. She hastily drank as much water as she could before her arms gave up. She then let out a sigh.
"Thanks Ms. Nurse…" She said as she turned towards the nurse to give her a smile.
Tenten's smile slowly faded as her cloudy vision finally cleared.
"N-Neji!"
"Hn."
Tenten was so surprise that she accidentally dropped the glass of water on the bed.
"Ah!"
Tenten immediately took the glass with her hands to prevent it from spilling even more water on the hospital bed and floor.
Tenten slowly glanced towards her 'nurse' to give him an apologetic smile. She would have laughed out loud at the situation they were in if it weren't for the fact that Neji's right eye was twitching in irritation.
"I… I'm so sorry! It's just that my vision-" Tenten began to explain but Neji cut her off.
"You don't have to. I know what you mean."
Neji took the glass out of her hands and placed it on the bed's side table.
Tenten looked away in embarrassment. She couldn't look at him in the eyes and she didn't know why. She never expected that there would be a time wherein Neji would be the first person she'd see after waking up.
Tenten glanced back at the Hyuga genius secretly. She silently watched him as he tried his best to clean the mess she just made.
He looked so different now. He was taller, leaner yet more muscular. His face was more defined and his silky black hair was longer. His skin was still as fair and flawless as ever and his eyes were still as cold, emotionless and piercing as they were three years ago.
Neji noticed her staring. He paused from cleaning and turned his head towards her.
Tenten's heart skipped a beat. Tenten immediately looked away and pretended she was having a headache.
Neji simply ignored her and went back to cleaning.
Tenten watched Neji from the corner of her eyes. She didn't get it. Why was he here giving her medicine and cleaning up for her? Didn't he hate her?
Tenten's thoughts were cut short when she saw Neji finish cleaning up. He glanced at her only to see her still massaging her temples.
"Try not to make a mess." He ordered casually, with a hint of exhaustion in his tone.
Tenten tilted her head to one side in a nod to acknowledge Neji's statement. She was still too embarrassed to speak, let alone look him in the eyes.
Neji gave her one final look and with that, he turned to leave.
Tenten looked at his retreating back incredulously. Tenten didn't know what to do to stop him. She still wanted to talk to him – ask him how he's been for the past three years. What was he doing in her hospital room? And wasn't he supposed to be mad at her? It didn't make any sense.
Tenten tried to stall. Maybe making small talk would be a great start.
"H-How long was I out?"
Neji still didn't stop heading for the door as he answered.
"Three days. The exams ended two days ago."
'Oh' was all that Tenten could say. She wanted to ask more questions like, was she promoted to Jounin? Who won the Jounin exams? What did she miss for the past three days when she was unconscious? But Neji didn't seem to want to answer anymore. He was half way to the door.
"Is Lee alright?" She called out almost desperately.
Neji stopped just a few inches away from the door. "He's recovering. Nothing too serious."
"I see. That's good." Tenten whispered as she kept her gaze on Neji's retreating back.
Without glancing back, Neji headed out the hospital room.
Tenten scrunched her eye brows. Why was it that whenever she saw Neji, nothing seemed to go right? There was just no consistency with him. One moment, she wanted to rip his head off. Then the next moment, she would feel so uneasy and nervous in his presence. And then in another, she wanted him to stay with her and talk to her. It just made no sense to her.
What did she really want from him? And what did he really want from her?
Tenten turned to her side and folded her arms in front of her chest. She couldn't help but moan in pain as she did. Her body still hasn't recovered that well. Every single movement only resulted in pain. But it was nothing she couldn't handle.
Tenten sighed. She began to wonder if there would ever be a day wherein her relationship with Neji would finally be okay – a day wherein they can finally talk and laugh together, a day wherein they can finally be called friends.
Tenten smiled at this. That would be nice.
Tenten turned in the bed once more to glance at the ceiling, flinching in pain every once in a while. Her thoughts drifted back to the Jounin exams.
Who won in their fight? Was it her? Was it Lee? Or was it a tie?
She couldn't remember much about the latter parts of her match with him. All she could remember was that her Sharingan came out. After that, there was nothing.
Tenten sighed once again hoping someone would come through the door and answer her questions.
Sakura paused from reading a book when she heard a knock on her door. Her heartbeat quickened. "Could it be?"
Another knock was heard.
Sakura cleared her voice as she combed her hair with her hands. "Come in."
She watched as the door slowly opened to reveal her visitor.
"Hey, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura's face slightly fell but she immediately masked it with a smile.
"N-Naruto… It's you again."
Naruto simply smiled at her as he raised the basket of fruits he was holding.
"Yup! It's me again! I brought you fruits this time!" He said cheerfully as he made his way to a table near the window.
"We have to make sure you eat healthy stuff so you can recover quickly." He continued as he took an orange and began to peel it.
"You really don't have to come here every day Naruto." Sakura replied as she gave him a slightly worried glance. "And you don't have to bring me anything either."
Naruto simply smiled at her.
"Don't worry, I don't mind at all."
"But…" Sakura wanted to protest. She didn't really want Naruto to keep buying her flowers and food whenever he came. She was really just fine.
"No buts Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he finished peeling an orange. "And besides, I like visiting you." Naruto blushed slightly.
"Thanks." Sakura replied with a slight smile. "Well, we are friends after all."
Naruto's smile slowly faded. "Y-Yeah! I mean, what are friends for right?" Naruto grinned tightly as he made his way to Sakura.
"Here. Eat this." He handed her the orange he had peeled.
Sakura gave him an incredulous look. "I'm not eating that!"
Naruto's eyes popped. "Huh?! Why not?!"
Sakura pointed at the orange. "You touched it with you bare hands! You didn't even wash! Who knows what else you touched before you peeled that orange!"
Naruto looked at Sakura in disbelief.
"B-but! My hands are clean!" He even went as far as showing them off to Sakura to prove his point.
"How should I know?" Sakura replied stubbornly.
Naruto pouted at Sakura. "B-But, I peeled this for you."
Sakura looked at Naruto's pleading form as she let out a sigh. She would not give in. "J-Just get me another orange! I'll peel one for myself."
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined.
Sakura folded her arms in front of her chest and closed her eyes to avoid seeing Naruto beg.
"I mean it Naruto." She stated firmly.
Naruto's head fell. "Oh alright."
Naruto headed back to the fruit basket to get Sakura an unpeeled orange. He made his way back and placed the orange beside Sakura. "Here."
Sakura opened her eyes and located the orange. "Thanks."
Naruto pulled out a chair near the bed and sat on it, eating his orange in silence.
Sakura began to peel her orange with a few occasional glances at Naruto. He looked depressed.
Sakura sighed. He could seriously act like a child sometimes.
Sakura cleared her throat.
"Congratulations in winning the Jounin exams."
Naruto raised his head up to her and nodded only to fall into further depression.
Sakura sweat dropped. Maybe asking about the exams wasn't such a good idea to lift Naruto's spirits up. He did become the winner of the exam but most of his wins were by default. And above all that, he wasn't able to have his dream match with Sasuke.
Sakura paused from peeling her orange. She didn't understand. Why did Sasuke bail out of the exams?
"Thanks for beating up the guy I fought with."
This managed to brighten Naruto's spirits slightly. "You're welcome. You should've seen what I did to him!" Naruto bragged as he began relaying to her the details of his match with Shinomori Saito.
Sakura simply smiled. It was really quite easy to cheer him up. Honestly, sometimes he was just too simple-minded. But then again, that was the good thing about Naruto – no complicated crap. It was just the plain 'what you see is what you get' stuff. If only all things were that simple, no one would have to worry about anything at all.
Sakura finished peeling her orange and began to eat it. She glanced once more at her ramen-loving teammate. She wanted to ask him about Sasuke and other details of the exam but she figured he wasn't ready to talk about them yet. It was too much of a blow on his ego. He needed time.
"So… What have you been up to lately?"
Naruto glanced at Sakura.
"Nothing much. I was thinking of doing some training but Kakashi-sensei said I should put it off for a week. He said he was too exhausted proctoring for the exams so he couldn't help me. But I bet he's just reading that perverted book of his again!" Naruto finished as he pouted.
"Couldn't have said it better." Sakura said as she gave Naruto a knowing look.
Naruto's expression suddenly changed from being slightly pissed into a nostalgic one.
"I visited Ero-sennin's grave yesterday." Naruto paused to give Sakura a reassuring smile. "It's been almost a year since his death now and… I guess I kind of didn't feel that it's been that long."
Naruto stood up from his chair after he finished what was left of his orange. He glanced out the window and sighed. "He died for the village. He protected everyone. I'll never forget him and all the people who risked their lives trying to save the village."
Naruto bowed his head and his lips formed into a slight smile. "It's because of their efforts that we are still able to enjoy the lives we have today."
"Akatsuki…" Sakura began. "Akatsuki is gone now. It's all thanks to the efforts of all the shinobi who fought for the village."
Naruto turned his head to glance at a slightly smiling Sakura.
"You're right. We enjoy the life we have today because of their sacrifices." Sakura paused as she raised her head to look at Naruto. "I guess we have to make sure we do the same too."
Naruto gave Sakura a smile and nodded.
"A nurse informed me that she had already woken up this morning."
"That's good then."
"Stop eating that! That's for Tenten-sama!"
"I'm just taking one!"
"You pig! Don't touch those!"
"Quiet both of you!"
Tenten scrunched her eyebrows at the noise she was hearing. She turned her head to the right and massaged her temples with her hand.
"See! You woke her up!"
"No I didn't! You did!"
"How dare you put the blame on me?! You were practically eating all of Tenten-sama's food!"
"One piece! I just took one piece!"
Tenten make a clicking sound with her tongue. That alone was enough to silence all of the idiots who were messing up her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes to glare at her unruly visitors.
"Why are you guys so noisy? Can't you see I'm sleeping?" Tenten groggily scolded them.
"It wasn't me! Yue was eating all the food-" Griselda began but Yue immediately cut her off.
"I just took one piece of tempura! One. Freaking. Piece!"
Before Tenten could tell them both to shut up, Lucas did it for her.
"That's enough."
Tenten sighed. It was finally quiet again. "Thank you, Lucas."
"How do you feel?" Mifuyu asked as she sat on Tenten's bed side.
"I've had better days. But it's not so bad." Tenten replied as she stared at the ceiling. Suddenly, she remembered something that made her blood rush.
Tenten immediately sat up only to have her head spin slightly. She clutched her head as Mifuyu supported her.
"You shouldn't exert yourself too much." Yue worriedly said.
"What is it?! Are you hurting somewhere?" Mifuyu panicked as she inspected her body.
"No! No. I'm fine! I just remembered something I wanted to ask you guys." Tenten gave her a sheepish smile.
Mifuyu let out a sigh as she took out a small glass container with water in it.
"You know, I could heal you right now and make all your injuries-"
"NO!" Tenten and Lucas simultaneously cut Mifuyu off.
"You can't!" Tenten added.
"Why not?" Yue asked confused.
"Just imagine if she fully recovers in the blink of an eye? What would the medics say?" Lucas answered.
"Oh." Mifuyu and Yue chorused as Mifuyu kept the bottle back in her pocket.
"The thing I wanted to ask you…" Tenten paused as she glanced at all four of them. "What happened in the exams after I fainted?"
"Well, for one, the Rock Lee guy won your match." Griselda answered.
Tenten's eyes slight grew big in surprise. "Oh… And then what happened?"
"He fell unconscious a few seconds after the winner of the match was announced." Yue replied this time.
"Really?" Tenten paused to look at Yue. This earned her a nod.
"He's confined in this hospital too. His condition was pretty bad since he used that technique of his for too long. But I guess the Godaime was able to fix him up." Yue added.
Tenten smiled proudly. "That's the Godaime for you." She wasn't Tenten's idol for nothing, of course.
"And what about the next matches?" Tenten pushed on.
"That was the weird part…" Mifuyu began.
"What do you mean weird part?"
Mifuyu glanced at the other three to see if they wanted to tell Tenten the rest of the story only to be met by glances that told her 'you say it'.
"Well, you see, Uchiha Sasuke disappeared right after your match."
"What?" Tenten stated in disbelief.
Mifuyu nodded.
"He forfeited his match."
"Why?" Tenten asked incredulously.
"That we have no idea." Griselda answered.
Tenten couldn't believe it. Sasuke forfeited?
"The last two fights were pretty boring. The boy with a giant dog and the bug boy won. They were the ones who fought in the semi-finals. Now that was quite an interesting match to watch." Yue finished.
"Kiba and Shino?" Tenten paused. "They fought too? Who won?"
"That was the interesting part. It was a draw." Yue answered.
"They both ran out of chakra when they neared the end of the fight so they resulted to a taijutsu dominated battle." Griselda began. "After that, they both landed a hit on each other simultaneously and they were sent flying towards opposite directions. None of them stood after that. They were both out cold."
"Oh… So that means they were both eliminated?" Tenten asked.
Griselda nodded.
"Wait." Tenten ordered as she massaged her head once more. "I can't remember the fighters in the match anymore. Give me a moment."
Lucas immediately took out a paper and gave it to Tenten. In it were the respective matches and their winners.
"Uh… Thanks?" Tenten was surprised Lucas actually thought of this before hand.
"I figured you'd ask for it." Lucas shrugged.
Tenten scanned the list.
Elimination Round:
1. Uzumaki Naruto (A) vs. Nara Shikamaru (B) (unable to fight)
2. Chuichirou Nogi (C) vs. Natsume Hajime (D) – both unable to fight
3. Shinomori Saito (E) vs. Haruno Sakura (F)
4. Tenten (G) vs. Rock Lee (H)
5. Seijirou Yamamoto (I) vs. Uchiha Sasuke (J) (unable to fight)
6. Todou Aoi (K) vs. Narumi Tsukino (L)
7. Inuzuka Kiba (M) vs. Minamito Sano (N)
8. Aburame Shino (O) vs. Sumire Tobita (P)
Preliminary Round:
1. Uzumaki Naruto vs. No fighter
2. Shinomori Saito vs. Rock Lee (unable to fight)
3. Seijirou Yamamoto vs. Todou Aoi
4. Inizuka Kiba vs. Aburame Shino – DRAW
Semi-Finals
1. Uzumaki Naruto vs. Shinomori Saito
2. Seijirou Yamamoto vs. No fighter
Finals:
Uzumaki Naruto vs. Seijirou Yamamoto
Winner: Uzumaki Naruto
Tenten finished reading the list. She raised her head and smiled at her senseis. "I have to remember to give Naruto my congratulations when I see him!"
Tenten placed the piece of paper on the bed's side table.
"Well, now that you have answers, time for you to eat!" Mifuyu exclaimed.
Before Tenten knew it, she was being bombarded with food by three equally impatient people.
"You have to try this!"
"Eat this! It's really good! It's healthy too!"
"Now, now Tenten-sama, you have to eat to get better!"
Tenten gave Lucas a desperate look but the moment she did, she saw Lucas raise an apple at her.
"I think you should eat this." He began. His expression showed that he was very deep in thought. His eye brows were even scrunched. "I heard people say that an apple a day would keep the medic away."
Tenten looked at him incredulously. At first she thought it was a joke but when she saw Lucas's face, it told her otherwise.
The fiasco was getting out of hand when suddenly a loud cough was heard.
All five of them directed there attention towards a petite nurse by the door.
"Excuse me madams and sirs but visiting hours are over. So if you don't mind, please exit the room. The patient needs to rest now."
"Really?" Griselda glanced at the clock. It was already four thirty and visiting hours were only supposed to be until four.
"We understand." Lucas bowed.
Mifuyu and Griselda began to clean up.
"We'll leave the food here okay? Just take one whenever you're hungry. If you have difficulty standing, call for a nurse alright?" Mifuyu began.
Tenten simply nodded. Mifuyu was like a mother sometimes.
"And then here's the trash can. Some tissues are by the side table if you need to blow your nose. Your medicines are by the side table as well. I've written a note in your medicine box to tell you what medicine to take and when to take them. The water is right beside the medicine box as well."
Tenten sweat dropped. She really was like a mother!
"Alright. Alright. Stop nagging her Mimi. Or should it be mommy?" Griselda teased.
Yue laughed at this but immediately stopped when he got a death glare from Mifuyu. He raised his hands up in surrender.
"I just want to make sure she'll be fine." Mifuyu defended.
"She'll be fine." Lucas assured.
A cough was heard again. It was still from the same petite nurse by the door. "Um, sorry but you really have to go."
"Alright. Alright." Griselda headed for the door and Yue followed. Mifuyu continued to spout out a few more reminders. Lucas had to practically drag her out to make her stop.
"Don't worry guys! I'll be fine! Promise! Take care!" Tenten yelled. With that, the door closed and she was alone again.
Tenten sighed. They sure were a handful. But she never would have made it this far if it weren't for any of them. She loved them so much. They were the only family she had.
Tenten slowly lay back down on the bed. Her gaze fell on the piece of paper holding the results of the Jounin exams. That was when a thought crossed her mind. Why didn't she remember this earlier?
Tenten immediately sat up. "Damn it! I forgot to ask them if I was promoted to Jounin or not!" Tenten fell back down on the bed as she let out a frustrated growl. How could she have forgotten?
Lucas let out a tired sigh as he lay silently in bed. He watched as the lightning lit up the sky, which was shortly followed by the roaring thunder. There would be a thunderstorm tonight it seemed.
Lucas scowled a bit. He hated the rain. Not only because his element was fire but also because of the fact that a lot of the terrible memories he had had rain associated with them.
Lucas closed his eyes and wondered if Tenten was alright. So much has already happened since the first time they had finally located their mistress. He still couldn't forget the joy he felt when he learned of her existence. It gave them all hope and reason to live. He would throw his life away for her in a heartbeat.
Suddenly, Lucas's thoughts were disrupted by a loud noise. He immediately sat up. He narrowed his eyes as he patiently waited for another sound. It couldn't just be his imagination.
THUD!
There it was again. This time, it was louder.
Lucas immediately threw the covers away from his body and jumped off his bed. He didn't know why but he was feeling incredibly uneasy. He took possession of his sword and headed towards the location of the noise. It was coming from the training hall.
Lucas ran swiftly through the halls of their home – his steps calculated and silent – things one would expect from a well-trained bodyguard. As he turned around a corner, he saw Griselda, Mifuyu and Yue all positioned at the huge oak door of the training hall.
"Took you long enough." Yue commented.
Ignoring Yue's statement, Lucas, not wanting to waste any time, immediately pushed the door open. The moment he did, all four of them took up their fighting stances. Each had his/her respective weapon at hand as well.
At the same exact moment, a flash of lightning illuminated the hall. It didn't last long but it was enough to completely show them the body of the intruder. His face though, was still masked by the darkness.
The intruder had a long black cape that ended just a few inches above his ankle. It slightly covered what looked like an outfit similar to that of an ANBU's but different as well since streaks of red, black and silver adorned his sophisticated battle gear.
All four of them eyed the intruder dangerously. His black cape was dancing around him as the wind blew in from the fully opened oak doors. He made no move.
Lucas slowly stood straight as he pointed his sword at the intruder. His gaze was intimidating, threatening.
"Who are you and what do you want?" He whispered dangerously.
Another flash of lightning lit the hall.
Mifuyu, Griselda and Yue were still in their fighting stances – their gazes as intimidating as Lucas's.
"I'm not here to fight." The intruder whispered. His words were followed by a roaring thunder.
"Then answer my questions." Lucas demanded as he brought down his sword to his side. He may have brought his sword down but his guard was still up.
The intruder took a few steps forward.
Lucas immediately took up his stance while the other three prepared for battle. But the moment they braised themselves, the intruder stopped.
Once more another flash of blinding light filled the hall. This time, all four were able to see the face of the intruder clearly.
He had long black hair that was spiked in all conceivable ways possible. His face was serious but his eyes were closed.
The sight of him was enough to freeze all four of them on the spot.
"It can't be…" Yue whispered in disbelief. His eyes were as wide as ever.
The rest simply looked on with wide eyes. They were too shocked to ever muster up a word to say.
There was a moment of silence but a loud howling thunder soon broke it.
Simultaneously, the intruder opened his eyes. Even in the midst of the dark training hall, two red orbs were evidently seen.
"Uchiha…" Mifuyu began but she didn't have the strength to say his first name.
Griselda clutched both of her daggers. Her hands were shaking both due to furry and fear.
"Madara…"
Tenten stirred slightly as she slowly opened her eyes. What she saw before her made her awaken completely.
There to her right were two giant statues of two men facing one another. Their hands formed seals as their gazes locked dangerously on each other. In the middle of the two was a huge waterfall that flowed right into a river.
Tenten couldn't believe it.
"The valley of the end…?" She whispered incredulously.
How did she get here?
She followed the flow of water from the waterfalls to the river when suddenly her eyes caught sight of four figures lying limply on the river bank.
Tenten narrowed her eyes for a clearer look. What she saw almost made her go berserk.
There in the river bank were the lifeless bodies of her senseis.
Tenten wanted to scream but her voice was lost. She felt tears build up in her eyes but none refused to fall.
Suddenly, her body became immobile as well. Her eyes widened as her surroundings slowly melted to reveal a pitch black realm of nothingness.
She was alone. Trapped. Helpless.
A figure suddenly appeared in front of her. It was the silhouette of a man with a long black cape and long black spiked hair. She couldn't see his face. He was slowly moving towards her – taking small but intimidating steps. Tenten panicked even more as he watched him draw out a sword slowly from his back. Tenten's eyes widened. It was Lucas's sword.
Was she in a genjutsu?
Tenten mustered up all of her strength to make her body move or to even just scream. But there was nothing. She could only watch in terror as the man raised the sword up in the air. He was close but still she couldn't see his face. The last thing she saw was the outline of his smirk before the blade sliced right through her flesh.
Tenten's eyes flew wide open. Her breathing was ragged and she felt sweat building up in her forehead.
She immediately sat up to glance at her surroundings. She was back to the hospital room. It was just a dream. No, a terrible nightmare. Tenten brought her knees under her chin and hugged them.
Tears began to form in her eyes but pride prevented them from falling. She promised herself three years ago that she was never going to cry. Crying reminded her she was weak. Fragile. Vulnerable. And she was not about to break that promise.
After a few minutes of recollecting her thoughts, Tenten slowly stood up from the bed and headed for the window sill. Sleeping was already out of the question. She didn't want to risk having her nightmare continue.
Tenten closed her eyes and smiled as the cool night breeze began to caress her face. "It was just a nightmare." She reassured herself repeatedly.
Calming herself down, she began to head back to the bed only to freeze at the familiar chakra enveloping her room. Tenten immediately spun around and took up her fighting stance as she glared at the idiot who boldly welcomed himself into her hospital room at this hour.
"What is it this time?" Tenten spoke through gritted teeth. "Uchiha."
Sasuke looked on impassively. "I came to issue a challenge."