Chapter 10
There it was! My name! Me! My turn! Fire burns in my eyes.
"Wooo!" I cheer.
"Aw.. even you get to go before me." Naruto grumbles.
"You can do it Setsuki! You will win for sure!" Lee says, giving me the nice guy pose.
"Let the flames of youth explode Setsuki!" Gai says.
Kuromizu Setsuki
vs
Inuzuka Akakaze
I grin at the Inuzuka who is standing down the other end of the platform with her squad.
"I will win!" Akakaze calls then jumps over the railing. I stand on the railing and do a flip in the air to land on the other side of the arena.
".. Alright. Let the seventh match begin." Hayate says. I stood there waiting as she puts her dog on the ground.
"Shiro, lets win this!" She says. The dog barks, agreeing with her.
"Whoa hold on, what's with the dog?" I ask. "She'll just get in the way!"
"Heh, you're not very bright are you? Shiro's gonna fight as well!" She says. I blink, a fighting dog? I face Hayate.
"Is that allowed?" I ask.
"Yes, animals and bugs are treated as weapons. It isn't a problem." He says. I shrug and face Akakaze again.
"Alright then, bring it on!" I say. She grins and gets down on one knee and does a jutsu sign then chakra surrounds her.
"Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!" She crouches down, placing her hands on the ground, her nail grow out, then she speeds toward me suddenly. It was unexpected, and she elbows my stomach, knocking me off my feet. I went flying backwards. She stood there smirking. "I knew this wasn't going to be hard." She says. I landed on my butt, then stand up and brush the dirt off my pants.
"I didn't realize you are so fast." I say, then she growls.
"Are you underestimating me!" She questions. I then smirk and at a high speed appear behind her.
"But not fast enough." I say, making her jump. As she goes to turn around to face me, I swing my leg up and kick her in the stomach, sending her flying into the wall. My eyes widen slightly as I felt a sharp thing pierce my right ankle. "Ow!" I look down and see the dog biting me. Akakaze falls out of the wall and looks over.
"That's right.. Hold her down Shiro!" She calls then runs at me again at a very high speed. It's a good thing I'm used to sparring with Lee, otherwise this would be hard. I focus on her movements as closely as I can before she gets to me, and when she does I manage to catch her fist. She gasps. "H-how did.. you..?" She stutters.
"NO WAY!" Kazumaru shouts. "AKAKAZE HOW THE HECK DID YOU GET CAUGHT!"
"It's nearly impossible! Akakaze is the fastest of all the 12 rookies." Sakura exclaims.
"Is that true?" I ask. She glares at me.
"Alright, so you're fast as well eh? Lets see how you deal with thi-" She got cut off by me swinging my leg and kicking her ankles, making her fall over. It also made her dog let go. I jump backwards.
"Sorry but you are going to have to be faster than that." I say.
"Woo! Go Setsuki!" Lee cheers, it made me smile.
"Grr, come on Shiro, if she's that fast then her strength is taijutsu." Akakaze says.
"You are smart." I mention.
"Heh, well if that's the case!" She says then crouches down. Shiro jumps on her back. "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Beast Human Clone!" Shiro transforms into Akakaze in a puff of smoke. They both jump at a very fast speed into the air then split, both going to either side of the room. "You can only focus on one of us at a time!"
"Oh no!" I say. "What do I do?"
"Fang over Fang!" She says, then they both spin around really fast toward me. I look back and forth between them both, giving the impression that I have no idea what to do. Just as they came close enough, I extend my arms, and successfully manage to grab both their wrists, stopping them just in time. I heard a lot of gasps from the audience, and Akakaze's and Shiro's eyes were wide. "I-impossible.."
"Now it's time to finish this.." I say, then spin around a few times, then throw them across the room, both going in opposite directions. Shiro hit the wall, then poofs back to normal, but didn't get back up, and Akakaze hit the wall too, creating a dint. I face her and do a few hand signs. "Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu!" I say then gush out a powerful force of water from my mouth at her. I heard her cry in pain as it hit her and continued to smash into her.
After a few seconds I stop the jutsu and watch as she falls to the ground cringing in pain.
"... Since the opponent is unable to fight, Setsuki is the winner." Hayate says. I perform a victory dance then jump back up onto the platform beside Lee who holds his hand up. I high-five him and he puts his arm around my shoulders.
"That was a great job Setsuki!" Lee exclaims.
"Yes! A thundering victory!" Gai says, giving me the nice guy pose. I mimic it back, making them both laugh.
Hayate's cough got everyone's attention. "We'll now see the next participants." He says, we all look at the screen.
Uzumaki Naruto
vs
Inuzuka Kiba
"My turn! My turn! My turn!" Naruto cheers. I smile. "Thank you for waiting everyone! It's finally my turn!"
"Hell yeah! We got lucky!" The dog boy says. I look at the board again.
"So he's Kiba." I mumble to myself. They both jump down, ready to go.
"Eighth match, Uzumaki Naruto verses Inuzuka Kiba." Hayate says.
After their match I thought Naruto's victory was hilarious, and I couldn't stop laughing. No one expected a mere gas leakage (a.k.a. fart) would give him victory.
"That was a great job Naruto-kun!" I say. He grins, all overconfident.
"Of course, it was nothin'." He boasts.
"I will now announce the next match." Hayate says.
Hyuuga Hinata
vs
Hyuuga Neji
There was a long silence as both Neji-kun and Hinata went down the the arena.
"I didn't think that I would be fighting you.. Hinata-sama." Neji says.
"Neji-nii-san.." Hinata says.
"Nii-san?" Sakura asks.
"What? Those two are siblings?" Naruto questions.
"They come from Konoha's oldest noble family, the Hyuuga Clan." Kakashi says. "But they aren't siblings."
"Then how are they related?" Sakura asks, facing Kakashi.
"I guess they're related in that they come from the Hyuuga's head family and branch family." Kakashi answers.
"Head and branch family?" Naruto asks.
"Yes." Lee says, then turns around, raising his index finger in a matter-of-fact way. "Hinata-san is from the Hyuuga head family. In other words, the founders. And Neji-kun is from the branch family, which carries the same bloodline." I giggle quietly to myself, the way Lee was trying to make himself look like he knows everything, but then again he probably does. Lee then puts his hand on his chin in thought.
"So it's a fight between relatives. It must be difficult for those two to fight." Sakura says.
"Yes, but.." Lee says then opens his eyes to look upon the Hyuugas below.
"What?" Sakura asks.
"But I believe that a lot of things happened between the head family and the branch family in the past..." Lee says. ".. And they are not really on good terms with each other." Then closes his eyes in thought again.
"Why?" Naruto asks.
"I do not know the details, but.. In old noble families like Uchiha and Hyuuga, they have special moves and abilities that run only in that clan. To pass those moves down, the Hyuuga family has a set of rules. But it seems that the rules are favorable to the head family. And because of those rules, a lot happened between the head family and the branch family." Lee explains.
"Must be a fight to settle the quarrels then." Sakura says.
"It's going to start." Kakashi says. We all look back down at the Hyuugas.
"Please begin the match." Hayate says.
"Before we fight, let me warn you about one thing, Hinata-sama. Give up." Neji says. "You're not suited to become a ninja. You are too kind, you seek harmony and avoid trouble. Ans you just go along and follow someone else's idea. And.. You have no self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you thought it would be fine to remain a Genin. But you cannot register for the Chuunin Exam unless there are three people. You couldn't refuse the offers from Kiba and your teammate.. And the truth is that you are taking this exam unwillingly. Am I wrong?"
"Y.. you're wrong! You're wrong.. I.. I just.. wanted to change myself, so I willingly.." Hinata says, looking away, seeming like she was trying to hold back tears.
"Hinata-sama." Neji says. "You are indeed a spoiled child from the head family."
"What?" Hinata asks, looking at him.
"People cannot change. A failure is a failure. His personality and power will not change." Neji says. I notice both Lee and Naruto giving slight glares to him. "People cannot change, so that's why.. terms like 'elites' and 'failures' exist. Everyone judges you by how good your face, head and abilities, body shape and personality are. There are things that cannot be changed. People suffer due to their limits, and live. Just like how we can't change the fact that I am from the branch family and you are form the head family. My Byakugan has seen many things. You are really thinking about how you want to leave this place right now."
"That's not true! I really want to.." Hinata retorts.
"Byakugan?" Sakura asks.
"It's said that if you look at the origin of the Uchiha clan, they come from the Hyuuga clan. Byakugan is one of the Kekkei Genkai that the Hyuuga family has.." Kakashi says. "And is a special eye similar to the Sharingan."
"Woah that would be cool as to have something like that!" I exclaim. Naruto nods in agreement.
"Yeah but you think everything is cool." Naruto says.
"Not everything." I mention.
"Oh yeah, roses." He mentions, smirking. I glare at him, mentally screaming 'if you bring that up I will kill you.'
"Roses?" Lee asks. I sweatdrop and wave my hands around.
"U-uhh n-nothing! Don't worry!" I exclaim, then laugh nervously.
"Erm.. alright." Lee says. Naruto starts chuckling.
"Don't you dare." I warn Naruto.
"What's so funny?" Sakura asks, finally tuning in.
"Setsuki and her roses." Naruto says.
"Ohhh, haha." Sakura then begins laughing. I pout and lower my head.
"Stop laughing.." I sulk. Lee puts his hand on my shoulder.
"Why are they laughing at you?" He asks. I look the other way.
"Because they're meanie bums." I reply. I don't think Lee had any particular reaction to that because he never said anything.
At the end of Neji-kun's match, he used the Gentle Fist manoeuvre on Hinata's heart.
"That was a finishing move by Neji... He aimed for her heart." Gai says. "I feel sorry for her, but she cannot stand up anymore."
Hayate walks up to Hinata and looks at her. "I am going to assume that she cannot fight anymore.."
"Don't stop the match!" Naruto shouts, making us all look at him. "Don't stop the match!"
"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura gushes. "What are you talking about, stupid! She can't fight anymore, she fainted!"
Then something happened that made us all gasp. Hinata tried to get up again, and somehow managed to get back on her feet.
"Why did you stand up?" Neji asks. "If you push yourself, you're really going to die."
"I can't show such an unsightly scene.. in front of the person I admire.." Hinata says. Neji growls.
"Why!" He questions. Hinata walks forward, holding her stomach and limping.
"I can still.."
"There's no point in acting tough. You're barely able to stand up. I can tell you with these eyes that you have carried the destiny known as the Hyuuga Family. You cursed your powerlessness, and blamed yourself. But people cannot change." Neji says. "This is destiny. There's no need to suffer. Let yourself go."
Hinata shakes her head. "You're wrong.. Neji-nii-san." She says. "Because I can see.. That you are suffering more than me."
"What?" Neji asks.
"You are the one who's confused and suffering inside the fate of the head and branch families." Hinata says. Neji's eye twitches then he runs at Hinata with a lust for death.
"Neji-kun! The match has ended!" Lee calls out. Hayate runs to stop him, but Neji refused to stop, he is going to kill Hinata.
Just then Gai appears behind Neji, putting his arm around Neji's neck, Hayate puts his hand on Neji's head, Hinata's sensei held one of his arms and Kakashi held his other.
"Neji, cut it out." Gai says. "You have made a passionate promise with me that you will not argue about the head family."
"Why did the other Jonins come out?" Neji asks, irritated. "Does the head family receive special treatment?"
Just then Hinata coughs and falls to her knees, coughing up blood. "Hinata!" Her sensei panicks then jumps over to her.
"Hinata!" Naruto shouts, then the four of us jump down and run over.
"Is she alright!" I question. Naruto kneels down to her as her sensei lays her down.
"Hinata, are you okay?" Naruto asks. "Hey!"
".. N.. Naruto-kun.." Hinata weakly says.
"Yeah?" Naruto asks.
"I.." She says then her lips keep moving but no words came out, only small quiet stutters, then her eyes close.
"Hey, the dropout there." Neji says. We all look at him. "Let me warn you about two things. If you're a ninja, stop with that unsightly cheering for a stranger. And one more thing. A dropout is a dropout. They cannot change."
"Do you want to try?" Naruto asks. Neji smirks. Naruto began to run at Neji. Just then Lee slides in front of him.
"You..!" Naruto exclaims.
"I understand how you are feeling, Naruto-kun. But you should fight in a proper match." Lee says. "A dropout will defeat a genius with hard work.. The main matches will be exciting. But I may be his opponent. I will hold no grudge if you were to match up with him."
"Tch.. fine." Naruto says, turning around then walks back over to us. Hinata suddenly coughs up blood, capturing all our attention. Her sensei unzips her jacket and puts a hand on her chest, she gasps then glares at Neji.
"If you have time to glare at me, I believe you should use that time to look at her." Neji says. Hinata's sensei stands up.
"Medical team what're you doing? Hurry up!" She gushes.
"Excuse us!" They say then run over, putting Hinata on the stretcher. They examine her quickly.
"She won't last ten minutes at this rate." One of them says. "Take her to the emergency treatment room. Hurry." Then they run off. Naruto kneels down and wipes his fingers in Hinata's blood on the ground then points that fist at Neji.
"I will win!" He says.
We all return to the platform and stand around. "Alright. I'll announce the next match now." Hayate says. We all look at the screen.
Aburame Kin
vs
Nara Susumu
The match was over rather quickly with Susumu's fear of insects, he decided to surrender.
"Alright, Aburame Kin is the victor of the tenth match. We'll now announce the next match." Hayate says.
Yamanaka Daisuke
vs
Inuzuka Kazumaru
Lee sighs. "After this match there will be four of us left.. I hope that I will be next!" He says. I smile and give him a thumbs up.
"I know you'll be next!" I say. He smiles and returns the thumbs up.
The tenth match resulted in a draw, because like Sakura's match, they knocked each other out. After the Jonins brought them back up, Hayate's cough caught everyone's attention.
"We will now resume the matches." He says.
"Okay!" Gai says, getting a cocky grin. "It's going to be your turn this time. Now go, Lee!" He says then gives him a thumbs up. Lee remained in his standing up straight position.
"No!" Lee says, turning the other way slightly, his nose in the air and his eyes closed, like he was snobbing his sensei. We all give surprised expressions. Lee faces us. "I've come this far. I want to be last now." Then returns his face upwards and his eyes closed. I was confused myself. The red head from the sand somehow got down on the arena, I didn't even see him go down.
"Hurry up and come down." He says. I look at the screen.
Gaara
vs
Rock Lee
"Lee-san!" Sakura gasps, then look at him. Lee kicks the air.
"You fell for it!" Lee says. "If I say that I want to be last, that does not happen! A rock thrown at a pole will not hit.. But if you throw a rock without aiming at the pole, it will hit. That was the law I used!" He explains then stops kicking the air then punches it instead.
"Ooh!" Gai says then gets a fist. "That's my student!"
"I do not want to be last!" Lee says. "I was able to trick them!"
"Let me give you some nice advice." Gai says, leaning down slightly with his index finger raised. Lee salutes and faces him. "No one has noticed yet, but.." They both get freaked out expressions. "That gourd is suspicious."
"I see." Lee says then gets a notepad out and begins writing.
"Don't write it down!" Gai says. "You have no time to look at it during a battle! You fool!"
"I see." Lee says then continues writing, saying aloud what he's writing. "Can.. not.. look.. at.. notes.. during.. battle.. There! I am ready!" Lee exclaims. I sweatdrop slightly.
"All right! Go! Yeah!" Gai shouts, then points outwards. Lee gets fire in his eyes and jumps over the railing. I stand right up against the railing, holding into it. Lee gets into his fighting stance.
"I am very happy that I can fight you so early." Lee exclaims. His eyes widen slightly, and he raises his hand as though he was catching something. "Do not get so hasty." Lee says then drops a cork.
"Now, let the 12th match.. begin!" Hayate says. Lee runs at Gaara, then jumps up into the air.
"Konoha Whirlwind!" He says, then goes to kick Gaara, but out of no where, sand appears and blocks it. More and more appears and starts to tower over Lee. Lee jumps backwards, avoiding it. Lee tries again, kicking and punching, but the sand kept rendering his attacks useless. Then the sand grabs his leg and throws him into the wall.
"Lee..!" I mumble, but then he gets straight back up and runs at Gaara, repeating his punches and kick.s
"Why is Lee-san using only hand-to-hand combat moves?" Sakura asks. "Winning with close combat is going to be tough. He needs to get back and use some ninja techniques."
"Hm. It's not that he isn't using them, just that he can't use them." Gai replies.
"What?" Sakura asks.
"Lee has no talent in ninjutsu and genjutsu." Gai says.
"No way!" Sakura gasps.
"When I first met Lee, he had no sense in anything." Gai says. "No talent at all."
"What..? I can't believe that." Sakura says. Then Lee trips over and the sand appeared to have fallen on top of him. I gasp slightly. Gai chuckles quietly, then we see him doing flips in the air and landing on the top of that jutsu statue.
"It is true that ninja who cannot use ninjutsu and genjutsu are rare." Gai says. "That's why the only thing left for Lee, if he was to survive as a ninja, was hand-to-hand combat techniques. But that's why he can win!"
"What?" Sakura asks. Gai gives a thumbs up.
"Lee! Take them off!" Gai calls. Lee salutes him unsurely.
"But, Gai-sensei, I thought that was only permitted when protecting many important people." Lee says. Gai gives him another thumbs up.
"I don't care! I will allow it!" Gai says. Lee seemed to get happy and laughs a little to himself. Lee crosses his legs and pulls his leg warmers down.
"Are those.. weights?" Sakura asks, looking at the things tied around Lee's legs. Lee takes them off and stands up again, holding them in one hand each as he extends his arms out.
"Alright! I can move easier now!" Lee exclaims. I blink.
"What difference is a bit of weight on his legs going to make?" Sakura asks. Lee drops them and they fall pretty fast. But then as they hit the grounds, it was like a land mine exploded, they crash through the floor and smoke rises. I jump 10 feet in the air. Sudden loud noises scare me. Kakashi raises a hand in slight shock.
"Isn't that a bit much Gai?" He asks. Ignoring Kakashi, Gai raises his hand, another thumbs up.
"Go, Lee!" Gai says. Lee stands up straight with fists raised.
"Yes, sir!" Lee shouts, then suddenly disappears. He then appears behind Gaara, throws a punch and almost hits him. I could no longer follow Lee, his movements were too fast. All I could see was spots where he was punching.
"He can't use any ninjutsu and genjutsu.. That is why he spent his time on taijutsu.. worked hard and did everything for it. Although he cannot use any other techniques.. He is a taijutsu specialist who won't lose to anyone." Gai says. Just then Lee manages to land a kick, creating a cut on Gaara's right cheek. Lee slides back and looks up with a smile.
The fight continued, it was long and the tension never ceased. After the last attack from punching Gaara into the ground after opening the Fifth Gate, he tumbles on the ground and lays there, practically immobilized.
"Lee!" I call. As soon as the smoke disappears, Gaara's gourd had turned into sand and softened his impact with the ground. He weakly moves his hand out towards Lee, my eyes widen in horror. "G-Gai-sensei, the match needs to be stopped.." I say, looking back and forth between Gaara and Lee who looks like he can't move at all. After not hearing a response, I look back, seeing Gai's eyes wide in shock. "Gai-sensei.." I grumble. He snaps back into reality and looks down at the fight. Lee began to sit up, looking as though he was in great pain. Gaara's hand was directly in line in facing Lee. The more seconds that passed, the more worried I got. I wanted to shout out to Lee to give up so he wouldn't get seriously hurt but I know he wouldn't listen to such a foolish thing. Sand starts to make its way toward Lee. Lee looks at it, wanting it to stop, but we all knew that wasn't going to happen.
He began to crawl on all fours, but then fell back over grunting in pain. He looks back at the sand slowly approaching him and pushes himself to crawl more. Lee cringes again, then sits up, panting heavily as he tries desperately to get to his feet. He put his arm down to pull himself up but he only cries in pain and falls back over again. He tried to get up again, but his body said differently. Sand grabs his left leg, stopping him from moving. Then as Lee weakly swung his left arm to get it off, it grabbed his arm as well. Lee slowly stood up to try and get free, but cries out in pain.
"Gai-sensei! We have to stop it!" I exclaim, then look at him, his eyes were wide and show utter shock. It was like he was frozen.
"Desert Coffin!" Gaara says, closing his hand into a fist. Lee cries out at the top of his lungs, making me cringe. Lee fell, unconscious. I felt like I had just missed a breath, my heart was racing. Then more sand came after him.
"Gai-sensei! He's going t-" I saw Gai jumping down over the railings.
"Die." Gaara says, then the sand crashes down on Lee. Gai got there just in time and blocks the sand. Gaara sits up wide eyed at Gai. I sigh of relief, then get more worried seeing the blood covering Lee's left limbs. Gaara holds his head.
"Why..?" Gaara asks. "Why did you help him..?"
"He's.." Gai says. ".. He's.. an important subordinate I love."
Gaara glares slightly, kind of like he was wincing at his words.
"A subordinate you love?" Temari asks. Gaara stands up and the sand starts reforming back into the gourd and he walks back over to his platform.
"I quit." Gaara says.
"He.. quit?" Sakura asks.
"Lee!" I call out then jump over the railings.
"Winner, Gaa-" Hayate was cut off by everyone's gasps, including mine. My eyes were completely wide and I slow down running. Lee was on his feet, in his fighting stance. His left leg shaking violently. Gai turns around.
"This can't be.." He says. I couldn't believe it either. He opened five gates, and had his arm and leg crushed, he shouldn't be able to stand up.. I walk over to them slowly, my eyes widen more as I saw Lee's eyes. Gai puts his hands on Lee's shoulders. "Lee, it's okay. It's over." Gai says. "You shouldn't stand up..." One look at Lee's eyes and Gai began to tremble, his eyes became watery and tears roll down his face. "Lee.. you... you're.." His eyes are blank, he really is unconscious. "Are you trying to prove your way of the ninja even after you have lost consciousness?... Lee.. You are.." Gai pulls him into a hug. Lee's eyes close. I look at the medics and beckon them. "You're an excellent ninja already."
"Winner, Gaara." Hayate says. Gai gently lays Lee down on his back and I kneel down beside him. Hayate walks over. "Medical team, please hurry." The medics kneel down, pushing me and Gai-sensei away. One of them gasp and look up, his eyes shaking. He looks at Gai.
"Are you the Jonin in charge of him?" The medic asks.
".. Yes.." Gai replies. The medic stands up and gestures to the side.
"This way, please." He says, then walks away, Gai followed.
"Place him on there carefully. Don't shake the stretcher." The other medic says. I look at them carefully putting Lee on the stretcher. I stare at Lee's suffering face, then look over to the medic talking to Gai.
"He is breathing, but the bones in his entire body have suffered comminuted fractures, and his muscles have been torn up. I believe it will take a lot of time for him to recover. That alone would have been fine, but.." The medic says, then looks down. Gai tried his best to hold back more tears. "The damage to his left arm and leg is severe. Too severe. It's hard to say this.. but.. his body will no longer allow him to live as a ninja.."
I gasp. They pick up the stretcher carefully. I watch wide eyed. Gai walks up to the stretcher.
"Lee... I never wanted to imagine that you would lose." He was trembling trying to hold back a sob. As they begin walking off, Gai trembles more. I walk up to him.
".. Gai-sensei.." I mutter. After the medics left, Gai sniffles and turns around and walks looking down.
We stand back up on the platform, Gai's head remained low for the entire time.
"The 13th and final match. Fighters, step up." Hayate says. Choji and the other Oto nin go onto the arena.
It didn't take too long for Dosu to win. "Winner, Dosu Kinuta." Hayate says. "That concludes the Third Exam's preliminary matches. We all stand around again on the completely trashed arena in front of the Hokage, Ibiki, Anko and Hayate. "To those who have made it to the main matches of the Chuunin Exam's Third Exam.. All but one are here, so congratulations."
"I will now begin the explanation for the main matches." Hokage says. "Your main match fights will be shown in front of everyone. We wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representative power. Therefore, the main matches will begin in one month."
"We're not going to do it right here, right now?" Naruto asks.
"The one month is a time to conduct appropriate preparations." The Hokage says.
"What do you mean?" Gaara asks.
"In other words, we are going to announce to the feudal lords and head ninja of the individual countries that the preliminary matches have ended." The Hokage replies. "And time is needed to gather those people for the main matches. This is also preparation time for you candidates."
"I still don't understand. Explain." Kankuro says.
"Why are the Suna ninjas the only ones asking questions?" I think aloud, though quietly so they didn't hear me.
"This time is used so you can know your enemy and yourself better. It's a time to analyze the information you have gathered during the preliminary matches. The battles we had just like real combat situations. It has been done where both parties knew nothing of each other. But the main matches will not be like that. There are those who have revealed everything to their rivals. To make things fair, work hard and improve yourselves on your own in the next month. So, I want to let you guys go, but.. There is something important we must do before the main matches." The Hokage says.
"What is it? I have to hurry and train!" Naruto says.
'And I have to go see Lee-san..'
"Don't get so hasty." The Hokage says. "Take a piece from the box Anko is holding."
"I'll walk, so take it in turns." Anko says, then walks around to each of us standing in the line. "Just take one."
When I drew my piece of paper I unfold it revealing a number 10.
"Okay, everyone got one?" Ibiki asks. "Now tell me what number you got starting from the left."
"Eight." Dosu says.
"One." Naruto says.
"Ten." I say.
"Seven." Temari says.
"Five." Kankuro says.
"Three." Gaara says.
"Nine." Shikamaru says.
"Eleven." Kin says.
"Two." Neji says.
"Six." Shino says.
"So he must be a four." Hayate says.
"Yes." Ibiki agrees.
"We will now tell you the match ups for the tournament." The Hokage says,
"What?" Naruto asks.
"That's what we drew for?" Shikamaru asks. I smile.
"Ibiki. Show the match ups." The Hokage says.
"Yes sir." Ibiki says, then steps forward turning his clip board around, revealing the tournament matches.
"Er I have a question." Shikamaru says.
"Okay." Ibiki says.
"If it's a tournament, that means there's only one winner right?" He asks. "Does that mean that only one person can become a chuunin?"
"No, that's not how it is." The Hokage says. "These main matches will have judges, including me, Kazekage, as well as the feudal lords and had ninja from the other countries who will be potential clients. These judges will grade you by watching you in the tournament. And those who are qualified to be a chuunin, even if they lose in the first round, will become a chuunin."
"So there's a possibility that everyone here can become a chuunin?" Temari asks.
"Yes, but that also means that it's possibly for no one to become a chuunin." The Hokage says. "Winning the matches in the tournament means that you are able to show off your skills more. Do you understand, Shikamaru-kun? That is all. We are adjourned until next month. Dismissed."
I walk out with Neji. He was silent.
".. Well, who have been paired with?" He finally speaks.
"Eh, that Aburame guy. Kin I think his name is." I answer.
"Hn. I get stuck with that imbecile." He grumbles.
"Naruto-kun's not an imbecile. He's a good friend." I say.
"Hmph. If you like him so much, why don't you go hang out with him?" He huffs. I get a slightly sad face and he stomps off ahead. I stood there thinking, wondering what to do.
After standing around for ten minutes, I decide to go home. I have a shower an freshen up, then sit on the couch. I look at the clock – 3:45pm. I still have roughly three hours before the sun sets.
"You're not usually home this time of day." Takashi mentions, walking into the loungeroom with a cup of coffee.
"It's 'cause I'm usually at work by now." I sigh.
"Why don't you go ask for your job back? Your arms a healed right? And you also have to be more serious and considerate of your actions. Don't do anything bold and you'll be fine." He says, smiling. I blink slowly.
"You think they'll let me back?" I ask. He nods.
"Sure they will." He says, smiling confidently. I shake my head.
"No, I gotta use this next month to train!" I exclaim.
"Train? You train everyday don't you? What difference?" He asks.
"Well the final matches are in a months time, so I gotta train up for them." I explain.
"Ah, well still, don't go pushing yourself, alright?" He says. I nod and stand up. "Now where are you going?"
"To get my job back!" I exclaim.
"Good luck." He calls as I walk out the door.
I go to the spice shop, walk inside to the familiar surroundings, it hasn't changed a bit over the few weeks I've been gone.
I walk up to the counter coming face to face with Kaede. "Oh Setsuki.. What brings you here?"
"I want to apologize." I say.
"And..?"
"And I was hoping to get my job back.." I say. She sighs.
"Look Setsuki, I'm not the one in charge here, but I can get the boss for you." She says. I nod, then she goes off to find him. As usual, the tables are all empty, hardly anyone was here because they have a low tolerance for spicy stuff.
Minutes later Kaede came back with the boss.
"Ah Setsuki. I heard you got fired didn't you?" He asks. I shamefully lower my head.
"Yes sir."
"And you want your job back?" He asks. I nod. "Hm.. alright. I'll give you a second chance. If you stuff up again I'm afraid I cannot let you work here anymore."
"Thank you sir!" I say, then hug him. He sweatdrops.
"Eh, you can start tomorrow night." He says. I nod.
After that I go out to the training field to find my squad sitting around. "Hi guys!" I say, gaining their attention.
"Oh hey Setsuki. Hey gratz on the win!" Daisuke says. I smile.
"Thanks."
"Yeah." Susumu says while yawning.
"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" Daisuke asks. I blink.
"What? Where?" I ask.
"At the hospital." Susumu says, scratching his stomach, not moving from the tree he was laying against.
"What for?" I ask. They both look at each other with that 'oh my God' look.
"For your boyfriend." Daisuke says.
"I don't have a boyfriend."
"Sheesh you're slow as ever." Susumu grumbles. I swear that I do not have a boyfriend, what the hell are these two on about?
"You know that Lee guy." Daisuke says.
"Lee-kun?... Hahaha, no he's not my boyfriend, silly Daisuke-kun." I laugh, finally understanding that they have a misunderstanding.
"Well he may as well be, after all, you decided to stand with him rather than us at the preliminaries." Daisuke mentions.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we're together, we're just friends." I say.
"Oh yeah, sure~." Daisuke chirps. I nod.
"Yeah I'm sure of it." I say then smile. They both sweatdrop. "Come to think of it.. I should go see if he's doing okay.." I say then head off toward the hospital.