Chapter 12- Chūnin Selection Exam: Preliminaries! (Part 2)

(Yugi's POV)

All throughout the time since Sasuke left, my eyes kept drifting over to the area where Naruto and Sakura were. I was worried, and on edge, but who wouldn't be when they knew what was going to happen? When they knew that Orochimaru was no more then a few feet across from them and was going to soon leave to go after Sasuke, and poor Kakashi was the one who would have to deal with it. Heba kept reminding me we couldn't interfere with the time line of this world, and although I knew he was right it felt so wrong to just continue to sit back and watch all of this happen.

Watch people I have grown to care about die.

The Hokage was going to die, and if I just went over there and told him there was a chance I could change the future, change his future and save him. I so desperately wanted to do it, but I still knew it wasn't right. The thoughts that kept floating into my head made my mood suddenly drop and I was no longer interested in the fight that was going on before me. My ears barely even picked up Zaku saying, "Heh and which brat is that?", which signaled the fight was going to start soon.

Ignoring the curious eyes of my teammates and friends, I pushed off of the railing and made my way around the circle shaped area to Naruto and the others as Zaku and Shino jumped down to the fighting floor. Heba called for me to come back and I simply ignored it, only stopping when I finally reached the people I wanted to talk to.

Heba was going to be mad because I shouldn't be over here, shouldn't be near the main cast when I could effect the time line, but I wanted- no I had to talk to them. Sakura and the others cast me a curious look, all except Naruto who had his eyes on the fight before him. Placing my hands on the railing next to him, Naruto finally glanced over and grinned from ear to ear. "Yugi! Where have you been hiding?!"

How was this boy so hyper...?

Oh yea, it was Naruto.

I offered him a smile and glanced over from the two in the fighting area. "I was with my team. I came to... see how you were." A lie, I had a question, one that was dying inside me to ask, and from the look Sakura and Lee gave me, apparently my lie wasn't very believable. To all except Naruto.

"I'm good! Anxious to get my turn!" Of course he was. Naruto turned to the others around him and grinned. "Lee, TenTen, Neji, Guy-Sensei this is Yugi Moto! He is a friend of mine we met in the woods!" He finished and Sakura instantly pipped up.

"Yea when Naruto tried to cut his head off."

Naruto blushed a bit and instantly started a fight, making he chuckle under my breath before looking to Lee. "Hey, nice to meet you." Though I already knew them and met Guy-Sensei earlier, It never hurt to speak up when introduced. When Naruto heard Zaku's astonished words at the bugs, his eyes snapped back to the fight and leaned over the rail in interest.

"They're a rare bread of parasitic beetles that attack their pray in a swarm, eating it's chakura." Shino explained and I couldn't help but shiver slightly. Bugs, I wasn't a girl about them but the idea of them living inside me was gross. "An army of this size will suck you dry in a minute. Your only intelligent option is to forfeit the match, you can't fight two opponents at once. If you use your good arm against me my friends will swarm you from behind, conversely if you use your good arm against them then you will have me on your blind side. Either way your defeat will be certain and unpleasant... it's wise to always have an ace in the hole."

Everyone had grown silent around me as they watched in anticipation to see what Zaku would do, and I was starting to get a bit antsy. I wanted to talk, I wanted to ask questions, but I knew that to them this match was the most interesting things in the world. I needed advice, but I didn't want to make them miss the match. And I had to admit, even though I knew what was going to happen watching it with my own eyes only a few feet away from me was absolutely amazing.

To everyone's but my surprise, Zaku managed to pull his broke arm out and hold both hands against the bugs and Shino. "Always have an ace in the hole, right!?" A small sigh left me and I leaned against the railing more, my eyes staring down at the fight but not processing what was happening. This one, even in the anime, never interested me. The fight I wanted to see was Naruto's and Gaara's. But of course they were more major characters, who wouldn't want to see those battles? My eyes drifted over to them and the question I wanted to ask popped back into my head, something I respected about the characters, they always had good advice. But my question would have to wait because they were still focused on the battle. Screaming from below me snapped my eyes back to the fight and I watched as Zaku's hand actually blew off from clogged up chakura pipes the bugs caused. Eyes widening slightly I recoiled back in disgust as blood splattered across the arena and Zaku collapsed to the ground.

That didn't happen in the Anime... Did it happen in the Manga?

Shuttering I turned my head away as the Medic Nin rushed out to get Zaku and Hyate spoke. "I believe this one is obvious. The winner is Shino Aburame."

The room fell into a dead silence before Lee broke it, turning to Neji and causing my eyes to drift to him. "Wait, how did he do that?" Was Lee not listening? Shino explained it! Well, not that I can blame him I wasn't listening either... "Who is he? Find out." Neji obeyed Lee's request and took a few steps to the left. Holding his hands out be closed his eyes before forming a few quick hand signs and snapping his eyes back open, activating the byakugan.

He recoiled back in shock, much like I did to Zaku's blood, before composing himself and answering Lee. "I had no idea, I thought he was using a summoning Jutsu to get all those bugs, but no. Their actually living inside him!"

"Living inside him!?" Lee exclaimed and Neji nodded before Guy-Sensei spoke.

"There is a legend in the leaf village, of a clan of insect tamers."

"Yes I have heard of that clan as well," Neji responded. "They say when a bug master is born he enters into a pact with the insects. He allows them to nest in his body, and in return they obey their masters will. They serve him, answering his calls, fighting his battles and destroying his enemies. I also heard they allow their insects to feed on their chakura as part of the bargain."

Lee looked back to Shino and frowned thoughtfully. "So this guy is one of them? One of these bug tamers?"

"Man that Shino is awesome!" I jumped a bit at Naruto's shout, my eyes drifting over to him. "Who would have thought it with him being so quite all the time! I can't wait to get my chance at him!" I couldn't help the smile that twitched onto my lips at that.

"Man I thought Shino was weird but now..." Sakura was seriously annoying me. So Shino was different, that didn't make him weird. He was a good guy. Ignoring her my eyes drifted back to Naruto and his light blue ones clashed with my own.

"Hey! Your brother was pretty good to. I mean way good. And the way he spoke to Anzu!" He started laughing and grinned even more. "I wonder if you are as good as him." I went to answer Naruto when a puff of smoke sounded behind us and we whipped around to see Kakashi. So it had gone well with Orochimaru? I shouldn't have expected less, so far everything was falling into order. His eyes fell to me curiously before he looked around to his team, scratching the back of his head.

"Hi."

"What do you mean 'hi'?!" Sakura shouted, taking a step forward. "Is that all you can say!? Wh-what about Sasuke!? Is h-he okay!?"

I wondered in that moment if Kakashi could roll the one eye we couldn't see? I mean even I wanted to roll my eyes at Sakura. Don't get me wrong, she was sweet and I liked her... later. Right now she is all Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke and I wanted someone to hit her. Even when Naruto has to go up against Sasuke when he leaves the village, it is still always about him.

"Oh he is fine, sleeping soundly in the infirmary." Sakura sighed in relief at his answer and the tension she was holding visibly left her.

Before the next match was going to start, I moved my eyes over to Naruto and took a step closer. Now was my chance, before another match started. "Hey, Naruto, can I... ask a question?" Naruto glanced over to me curiously before nodding, and I smiled. "If you could, if you knew something bad was going to happen to someone you cared about, would you try and change the future? Change... destiny? Even if it meant maybe causing more problems in reaction?"

Naruto blinked at my question, and suddenly all the eyes around us were on me. Even Kakashi was glancing at me curiously though he quickly covered it with that emotionless face he always wore. After a few moments, Naruto parted his lips to speak. "No one controls destiny, everyone has the right to change their own future. Nothing is set in stone." He seemed firm in his response, and I felt my eyes widen a bit. Just because I thought I knew what was going to happen here, did that really mean I did? Was their a chance that maybe things would play out differently? I doubted it. "But... If I knew something that could save someone. I would do everything to protect them. I would never give up." Another smile tugged on my lips at that, typical Naruto.

"Thank you... you helped." And he really did. I felt that maybe, I was sent here to fix things. But fix what I wasn't sure. Heba was right when he said the Hokage would die for his village. Even if I told Sarutobi what would happen, he wouldn't change it. Naruto looked like he was about to respond to me when a gasp left him and I snapped my head to the screen. When had Hyate changed the names!?

My eyes met the screen and I visibly tensed, a mumbled of swear words leaving me.

Yugi Moto VS Malik Ishtar

My eyes drifted over to where my team was standing and Heba looked visibly tense, staring at me with wide eyes. Not that I could blame him. I knew nothing of Malik's fighting style and honestly, I didn't feel up to fighting. Not him, not a friend. Someone clasped a hand on my shoulder tightly and I glanced up, blinking to Kakashi. He smiled that weird one eye smile he did and gave me a small push. That was when I noticed everyone was watching me and waiting for me.

"Go. I believe in you." Kakashi encouraged and I was literally in shock. My whole time here he seemed to be suspicious of me, and yet here he was encouraging me!?

Hyate coughed and I realized I was taking to long. Nodding to Kakashi I gripped the railing and flipped myself over it, landing in a crouching position. Slowly I pushed myself up and walked over to Malik, stopping a few feet in front of him. "Malik..." I whispered and he simply smiled to me.

"Give it your all Yugi. I will not hold back."

"The match between Yugi Moto and Malik Ishtar will now begin. Any objections?" We both shook our heads and Hyate coughed before speaking. "Begin."

He backed away and I kept my eyes on Malik, waiting for him to do something. Yami had told me that his clan had a Kekkei Genkai Dojutsu, something to do with how they could see the future. But he never told me what it was, how many levels it had.

Malik kept his own eyes on me for another moment, before they drifted closed and he started to move his hands in the formation of seals. I got into a fighting stance and yanked a Kuni from my pocket, but an attack never came. Instead, Malik's hands froze and he said the word; "Shoukagan," as a third eye opened up on his forehead. I had seen a lot of strange things, but this was the weirdest. I stood, stunned for a moment and watched him. Was this his blood line trait? If so then what did it do? My answer soon came when the eye fluttered closed and vanished just as Malik's gentle eyes opened up.

"You are going to loose this fight Yugi."

His words stunned me, and my body went ridged as I stared at him. "You can't know that." I stated and he simply shook his head at me, as if to say he could.

"You don't know my clan, we are known as future seers though there is only my sister and I left. Our Kekkei Genkai is known as the Shoukagan. What you just saw, was that. The Shoukagan lets the user get a glimpse of the future, or past, though it's not much. The longer we try to see what it shows us the more of our chakura is drained. I took a glimpse of the fight, and I saw you fall by my hands."

My body was actually shaking now, whether from fright or how easy he said that, I wasn't sure. I didn't want to lose, I didn't want to let my team down, but at the same time I didn't actually think I could do this. My hand that held the Kuni dropped slightly and I lowered my head, the blond bangs falling to cover my eyes as I tried to get a grip on my self. I can't give up, I already knew that. If I gave up without even trying, I would be pathetic and a coward. But at the same time I didn't want to head into a battle I was already going to lose-

"HEY!"

Jumping I spun around and looked up to Naruto, my eyes widening further then I thought they could. He was gripping the railing so tightly I wondered if he was going to break it. "Yugi what the hell are you doing!? Are you going to let that over sized ego bastard tell you what you can and can't do!? Didn't we just have this talk!? You can change destiny! No ones fate is tied to one future! You make your own!" His words vaguely reminded me of what he told Hinata, and with the passion in which he spoke them, I found a smile filling my face and my hand tightening back around the Kuni I held. Turning to face Malik, I found him smiling to.

"He's right. The future can change, I have seen it. But no one will know that unless we fight this battle. Come at me, Yugi! Show me what we have been missing from the Moto clan! Show me how tough it really is!"

With a smirk and new found courage, I did just that. Raising the Kuni up I launched myself at Malik, placing my food firmly on the ground in front of him and spinning to slash the Kuni at him. He easily blocked it with the metal part of the gloves he wore and swung his right fist around to take a hit at me. I blocked his hand with my arm and jumped back, skidding to a stop a few feet from him. Malik was good at guarding, but my problem was Taijutsu was never a strength. If I wanted a chance at defeating him I had to do it with something I was strong at, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. But what exactly I wasn't sure yet.

Before I had a chance to form a good plan, Malik came at me with a Kuni of his own. Taking several steps back I reached into my pocket and pulled out four Shuriken, hold them in the crevasses of my fingers. Tossing all four at him, Malik weaved in between them before jumping forward and swinging the Kuni. This time he managed to get me right across the chest, cutting through the top I wore and my skin, making stumble back and trip. Cursing to myself as I landed on the ground, Malik took this chance to launch himself at me, forming a few hands signs. Thinking quick, I formed a few hand signs myself and activated the substitution Jutsu.

It seemed I was just in time, as the block of wood took my place, Malik's fist encased in rocks smashed down onto the ground and shattered it. Just thinking that could have been my body was enough to make my heart hammer against my rib cage. Was-was he really trying to kill me? "T-That Jutus," I panted. "It's a earth type. Your chakura nature is earth." I haven't seen many people with that type. Malik nodded to my words as the rocks fell apart from his hand, placing the other one on his hip.

"You ready to forfeit yet Yugi?" He asked, and I couldn't sense a hint of emotion in his voice. Was this... how Malik was before every battle? Closed of from his emotions? Or was it just because he was fighting me and he considered us friends? I apparently was thinking to much because the next thing I knew, I was flying through the air and smashing into the wall. My head bounced off of the cement and I literally saw my vision flash to black before it slowly came back.

"YUGI!"

Pulling myself off of the wall as best I could, I glanced up to Heba. He seemed to be trying to get down here, only to be held back by Atem and Mahad-Sensei, thank gods because if he got down here I had a feeling he would finish this fight for me. And I couldn't allow that. This was my battle, my fight with Malik. With that thought in mind, and the piercing pain my body was going through, I started to form a plan in my head. I was at a slight disadvantage, I didn't have water in here and I only carried a bit on my side. Of course I could try to use the pluming water but I wasn't sure I was advanced enough to do that. There was one thing I could try to pull off, it would probably drain me and I needed time to knead chakura into my mouth. That mean buying myself time.

With a new plan set I pulled out a Kuni from my pocket again with a paper attached. It was an exploding scroll. Activating it with a single handed hand sign, I tossed it at Malik and jumped a few steps back as I started to concentrate on filling my mouth with chakura. I had only seen this done once, and it was a level C Jutsu that Yami taught me. I still thought I could do it though.

Malik had managed to avoid the Kuni, but he seemed to neglect to notice the scroll that was with it. And so when the scroll went off next to him, he was been blasted into the wall next to me. A small groan left him and he plucked himself off of it, rubbing his head before flashing angry eyes at me. I was just about ready to try and release the Jutsu as he started some hand signs of his own.

From the hand signs I knew he was going to try and perform the earth fist again and hurried to start my own hand signs. We finished at the same time and taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth wide and launched at Water Bullet at him. He swung his fist forward and hit dead on with the bullet. What I didn't count on, was the back fire I would be smacked with when releasing that. We both flew across the court on opposite sides and I smacked into the wall again, knocking the air out of me hitting my head yet again. This time though, my thoughts ended up getting jumbled and I didn't have the strength to stand up. Groaning I broke away from the wall and collapsed onto my stomach, my vision fading in and out as my name was screamed yet again by Heba.

A high pitched whistle was going off in my ears and I couldn't hear a thing anymore. Giving up the fight, I let my eyes fall closed and the sweet bliss of darkness take me.

Inu: -sighs- Oi, all of you take a chill pill. Look, I know last time when I left you guys Heba was a bitch to Anzu, but I want you to know this is not an Anzu bashing story. I did what I did for a very important reason. You all know Sakura when she was younger is obsessed with Sasuke. I put her this way with Yami because I plan on using it for development. I'm not bashing her, I'm going to use her to grow. But also use her for those fight with Yugi or Heba like Sakura has with Ino. It's just plot and I am not basing her. Besides I have a more better idea on a pairing for her.

Also for those who asked on why the fights don't change, I believe everything that happened during the Chūnin Exams happened in a specific way, for a specific reason. That is why everything that is going to happen to the Naruto characters during the fighting scenes is going to stay the same and I am just going to give a brief summary of their fights. However, this wont be boring. I can assure you I will try to keep you entertained and the Yu-Gi-Oh fights, which they just may surprise you in what happens. -smiles evilly-

And on the grammar during the previous chapters, I read through, I noted them, and I will be going back to fix them. I know what they are, where they are, and I will fix them as well as edit other things. Nothing major but if you want to reread them when they are better, be my guest. -shrugs-

Four fights down, thirteen to go. I will try to pick up the pace with the Naruto ones and add more than one fight with the Yu-Gi-Oh characters into the next chapters, Yugi's was just longer because... well... he is Yugi.