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Warnings: Contains adult language, themes, and suggestions. It is not suitable for anyone below the age of 16 per FFN guidelines.
July 18th, still the tenth week
Everyone stood a good distance from everyone else, all nervous that someone would try to pull something while they were busy listening to what Anko had to say. Sasuke kept a close eye on the mist ninja who had answered Kyoko; he would undoubtedly try something before the tournament began. His beady black eyes focused on the ground below but his hands were behind his back. Normally, the Hokage would have done the welcoming but from what Sasuke could see, the old woman had a hangover and was desperately trying not to let it show. She sat with her hands folded in her lap, next to Gaara with his dark red hair. So instead, Anko welcomed the crowds and Kage's enthusiastically.
It was then that the mist genin decided to act. His gloved hands sliding from behind his back with a kunai wrapped tightly under his fingers. Before the kunai could make it to Kyoko, his intended victim, Sasuke caught his hand without so much as looking over at him. The genin stiffened and attempted to pull his hand out of the Uchiha's grasp but Sasuke's grip was strong. The other teams of genin noticed and a girl cried out in surprise, jumping back. Sasuke watched as the mist genin looked up angrily at him and then back down at his entrapped hand.
"I suggest you drop it." Sasuke coolly told the genin. "Before I make you." This time Sasuke turned around and gave the thirteen year old a cold stare, flashing his Sharingan warningly. He dropped the kunai in surprise and jerked his whole body in attempt to get away. The genin refused to look Sasuke in the eye again, his stare never wavering above the Uchiha's chin.
"Don't." Sasuke emphasized the word without stressing it too harshly. "Try that again." Calmly, Sasuke let go and watched as the mist genin fall backwards, catching himself after a few steps. The rest of the genin watched warily as Sasuke turned around and listened to Anko finish her speech.
"So let the first match begin!" Anko cried out. She pointed up to the waiting area, looked up and grinned. The crowd roared in applause, everyone looked out at the crowd, trying to wrap their minds around anything.
"You heard her," Sasuke kept his voice calm, his words smooth and collected. "Let the first match begin." Sasuke couldn't help but smirk when the first two people both headed for the stairs. The Uchiha could feel their stares as they walked away.
The rest of the genin seemed to back off slowly. Kyoko glanced at all of them and then looked at Sasuke. "That was impressive." She murmured and watched as the two fighters walked into the center of the arena. Anko had left with the group of people leaving Genma, the proctor of the third exam when Sasuke had been thirteen. He motioned for the two contestants to come forward and watched as they did.
"Hn." Sasuke muttered back. Even though Sasuke had held up the front, he couldn't stop himself from bringing his hand up to his stomach and rubbing the nearly invisible bump comfortingly. Kyoko was to busy watching what was happening below to notice.
"Where are you going Shikamaru? The tournament is about to start." Sakura called out. She watched as Shikamaru turned around and scratched the back of his head. Luckily, Sakura was seated at the end of a row with an empty seat at the end of the aisle. Kiba, Sai and Shino sat next to the Sakura, Hinata, Ino and Chouji in the row below them. Everyone turned to look at the jonin expectantly only to have Shikamaru look up at the sky and shrug his shoulders.
"I'm going up to the walkway, I'm on duty today." Shikamaru turned and walked up the steps leaving his friends to watch him.
"Aw man, why does he get paid on a holiday?" Kiba watched as Shikamaru went up the steps, frowning. Shino moved his hand to push up his glasses on his nose and Ino crossed her arms over her chest.
"You think he wanted to?" Ino slumped in her seat. "Tsunade pulled him on duty last minute because she out drank a few of the other jonin." Chouji nodded seriously.
"And he's actually doing it? That doesn't seem like Shikamaru at all." Sakura leaned down and looked at her friends with a curious expression.
"I guess Tsunade-sama finally found something to bribe Shikamaru-kun with." Hinata quietly spoke.
"Yeah, a day off whenever it gets cloudy." Kiba scoffed. Sakura leaned back and looked over her shoulder, looking for a mop of blonde hair in the crowds.
"I just hope Naruto comes before Sasuke starts to fight, it's practically about to start." Sakura worried. She didn't see Anko walk out onto the field but she did hear her start to yell. Turning back, she watched Anko talk and applauded when she finished.
"I'm sure he'll be here, he wouldn't miss Sasuke kicking ass, even if it killed him." Ino comforted her friend as Kiba hooted loudly beside them. Sakura nodded to her friend and looked over to the waiting area where Sasuke was looking down at the two contestants.
With a heavy sigh, Naruto collapsed back onto the bed, face down. After about three minutes after the Uchiha left, Naruto had finished cleaning the dishes and realized there was nothing to do. Without Sasuke, the compound was boring, he didn't want to sweep out dust from nearby houses or do any housekeeping in the house he now lived in.
So instead of being productive, the blonde just collapsed on the bed and complained to himself just how bored he was. Rolling onto his side, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's pillow and brought it to his face. He held it close and smelled it, closing his eyes as he did so.
Naruto wished he could have gone to see Sasuke, not only did he want to see his lover in action, he wanted to make sure that the Uchiha didn't get hurt. Moaning, Naruto buried his head farther into Sasuke's pillow. What was he going to do for the next few hours to keep himself from worrying?
"How do you feel about the participants in this years exam, Hokage-san?" Gaara quietly asked. He glanced over at the blonde woman, knowing that she was hung over just by the sour expression she had on her face.
"I hope they all do well quickly so this day can end." Tsunade grumbled just loud enough for the Kazekage to hear her. Gaara gave a small smile and turned to see the first battle start.
Bright green eyes scanned the crowds, looking for someone he knew would be in the crowds. He found bright pink hair that belonged to Sakura but there was no sign of messy blonde hair that Gaara recognized. The smile he held disappeared and he looked over to where the genin were waiting and found Sasuke easily.
Where was Naruto if Sasuke was here?
The first fight was boring for Sasuke; he could predict each and every move both genin used. After twenty minutes it was easy to see the clear victor and Genma ended the fight. A winner was declared and he was shown back up the stairs to the waiting area, he had acquired a bruise on his face and several tears on his shirt. He glared at everyone who looked at him, took a seat on a couch that was provided and sighed deeply. The few minutes that it took for him to fight seemed to take everything out of him; Sasuke could bet he wouldn't last long in the second round.
Now it was Kyoko's turn and Genma called out her name along with her opponents. She didn't move as her opponent shuffled down the stairs, the mist ninja who had tried to kill her. Instead she took a deep breath before walking around the Uchiha. "Bet you she doesn't last five minutes against that sound nin." A genin chuckled.
"Yeah, no one to protect her now." Another murmured as he came closer to the railing. Sasuke didn't pay them any mind, what they thought didn't affect how she did during her match. The crowd roared in applause as the two combatants entered the field. Genma waved them over and prepared them for the fight, Sasuke could see the redhead trying desperately not to let her fingers slid through her hair. Once Genma let the fight begin, the sound ninja immediately tried putting a genjutsu on her but she was quicker. His hand signs were quickly dropped when Kyoko's kunai attempted to pierce them.
Both darted around the field and Genma scooted backwards so as not to get in the way. The crowd was growing excited again, people cheering, their choices on and some were already drunk and screaming for ass' to be kicked. More kunai were thrown, shuriken tossed but Kyoko's were deflected, the sound ninjas weren't even close to their target. The boy found himself far enough from Kyoko he started to make hand signals for a genjutsu again.
The crowd went crazy, knowing what was going to happen. Kyoko seemed lost, watching. Instead of running away, hoping she would get out of range before he finished, Kyoko ran directly at the sound genin. Sasuke watched as the kid faltered for a split second, the noise was deafening as the crowd went crazy. Trying to make up for the time he lost, the sound ninja rushed through the signs and instead of the ox sign, he did the dragon. Kyoko didn't seem to see this and rushed at the male, she jumped in the air and flung her arms down at him, letting four kunai fly. Suddenly aware of how close the redhead was, the genin finished the hand signs but nothing happened. He took a step back tried for another but found that his feet wouldn't move.
Letting out a high-pitched cry of surprise, the sound ninja covered his face and cowered as Kyoko landed right in front of him. Reacting to the kid's cry, Kyoko let out a squeal of her own. She pulled another kunai from her pouch and slashed several times at her opponent. The crowd went crazy; they had seen with their own eyes that Kyoko had planted the kunai through the sound ninja's pants and into the ground. Now they assumed she was killing the other ninja.
Sasuke could see she wasn't actually hurting her opponent. Instead, she was cutting the clothes over all of his vital points, grazing his skin. The final action she attempted was to get at the mist ninjas neck but he struggled with her. All the genin leaned over the railing, no longer worried about each other but concerned with what was happening below them. Finally, Kyoko managed to get her kunai behind her opponents' hands and slid it against his neck. The male cried out in horror, leaning backwards since he was unable to move his feet. He fell and looked up at Kyoko with wide eyes.
"You're dead." Kyoko muttered. She was shaking as she pointed her kunai at him. "You're dead!" She screamed again. Her opponent watched, he tried opening his mouth to rebuke her but she shook her head. "Just look! You know where vital organs are! You're dead!" She didn't move after that and watched as her opponent looked at his clothes. The crowd had settled only momentarily to see what Kyoko had done before it grew louder again.
Genma came walking up, looked the mist ninja over and looked back up at the crowd. Sasuke listened as the older male announced Kyoko the winner. The crowd had mixed feelings, some were outraged that the fight had ended early; others were ecstatic that someone had won. The sound ninja tried to get up to fight but Kyoko leaned down and he cowered backwards. She pulled the four kunai out of the ground, turned and walked away. It took a minute but the boy stood up and ran his hands through his hair, turning around several times.
What he did not know was that at some point during the battle and his scare, he had peed in his pants. A large dark stain had formed in the crotch of his pants and he was unknowingly showing it to everyone in the crowds. Sasuke didn't know how someone could be so scared to piss in his pants and not realize it. Had he really been that scared? The crowds had immediately delved into laughter; the mist genin was still pacing, unaware of the growing commotion. Kyoko was already walking back up the stairs and making her way back to stand next to Sasuke. She had stopped shaking and looked at all the other genin warningly before turning to look at the arena.
"I didn't realize he had wet himself until after I had pulled the kunai out. I didn't know what else to do though." Kyoko murmured. A few of the genin laughed. By now the sound genin had noticed that he had peed in his pants and was trying to cover it up. He ran out the way everyone had come in, the crowd laughing at him as he left.
"Holy crap! Did you guys see that?" Kiba cried between fits of laughter. Sakura and Ino were trying to hide their smiles behind their hands, Hinata was watching the genin leave with a sad expression. Shino's expression was impossible to tell behind glasses and a tall collar and Chouji had pulled out a bag of barbeque chips and was munching on them with a smile on his face.
"The poor kid." Hinata quietly said. Her comment was almost drowned out by applause but their group heard it.
"She's pretty good, a little nervous but not terrible." Ino put her hand down but her smile still remained. Sakura leaned backwards and looked over the crowd. She looked up to where the Kage's private box and swore she could see Gaara staring back from above. Turning back around to face the front, she looked at the empty seat next to her.
"Naruto would have loved to see that." Sakura said almost longingly. Ino turned around and frowned.
"It's not like him to be this late." Ino told the pink haired girl.
"I know it's just, I'm starting to get worried." Sakura told her friend.
"She's, interesting." Gaara stated quietly.
Who is she?" Tsunade asked. She massaged her temple and closed her eyes; the crowd was making her headache worse.
"Hokage-sama," A jonin on the guard spoke up behind her chair. "I believe she is originally from Konoha, she came back from the Toad Mountain just in time for the exam." Tsunade glared over her shoulder darkly and the jonin stiffened.
"Why would Konoha send a little girl to the mountain?" Gaara asked. His voice was calm and level but the jonin still stuttered out an answer.
"She, her orders were never found and she said she was never given a copy of them." The jonin suddenly stopped and looked away, nervousness emanating from him.
"It obviously wasn't a big deal if the orders were lost." Tsunade muttered. Gaara chose not to comment as the next pair of opponents stepped out onto the field.
This was getting boring. Naruto had been lying on the bed for what felt like forever. Rolling onto his stomach, Naruto looked over at the nightstand and checked the clock. It read 11:40 a.m.
"Gah!" Naruto exasperatedly cried. "This day will never end!" He pulled Sasuke's pillow over his head and sighed. Lying there for another minute, the blonde pulled the pillow off his head and rolled off the bed.
Catching himself on his own two feet, Naruto stood up straight and stretched. "Might as well get some lunch while I'm bored out of my mind." Naruto told himself.
He walked to the kitchen and dug up a package of ramen from the cabinet. With a grin on his face and a random tune on his mind, Naruto started to prepare himself some ramen. Once he had water in a pot on the stove, Naruto opened the package and set it aside, waiting for the water to boil. A thought came to his mind and he sighed, leaning against the counter and looked up at the ceiling.
"I wonder when the exams will be over," Naruto wondered aloud. "Maybe I should just open the gate in a couple hours and wait for them to show up. There's no way I'd be able to get it right without being a little early."
Giving the ceiling a thoughtful look, Naruto tried to pick a time that he thought would be good. Before he knew it, the water was boiling. Putting all of his attention on his lunch, Naruto let putting the barrier down slip from his mind for the moment.
"Ah! Ramen!" Naruto hummed tunelessly as he set the ramen in and moved to set the timer. "I'll be eating you in no time!" With a smile, Naruto watched as his ramen cooked.
The rest of the matches were just as boring as the first for Sasuke, none of them posed a challenge and their squabbling only wasted time. It took another hour before it was Sasuke's turn to fight. When Genma spoke his name the crowds were obnoxiously loud, louder than they had been all day. Sasuke was only able to catch his opponents' last name over the roar of the crowd, Kawakami. His opponent was jumpy, eyes darting from Sasuke to the stairs. With a single motion of his hand, Sasuke let the sand ninja go first down the stairs.
While Kawakami was heading for the stairs, Sasuke hopped up onto the rail and jumped down below. The crowd watched as Sasuke fell, then disappeared seconds before his feet would the ground. Much to the crowd's surprise, Sasuke reappeared in a whirl of leaves standing next to Genma, waiting for his opponent to catch up. Said opponent stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Sasuke was already waiting for him. Shuffling over to the middle of the arena, the male kept his eyes on Sasuke.
Once Kawakami made it to the center of the arena where Sasuke was waiting for him, Genma raised his hand and started the fight. The arena was alive with cheering; it felt like he was thirteen again. Kawakami would not stop staring at him and it was starting to piss Sasuke off. His opponent was daring him to use his Sharingan; he probably had some idea of a plan he would use if Sasuke decided to use it. Instead, Sasuke used his speed to catch the ninja off guard.
Sasuke had put the crowd out of his mind; it was just background noise for him. Instead, he listened to the breathing of his opponent; he heard an inhaling breath of surprise from Kawakami as he moved behind his opponent. Taking a kunai out of his pouch, Sasuke slid it across the sand genin's throat and waited. His opponent didn't move, his breathing calm but it was forced. They stood like that for a few seconds and Sasuke flicked the kunai upwards; his opponent's head bobbing upwards with it.
"What are you waiting for?" Sasuke spoke quietly. Kawakami glanced back at him with a lopsided smirk.
"That was my line." The sand genin told Sasuke. Tilting his head to the side just a fraction, Sasuke flicked the kunai upwards again.
"You're the one with the plan," Sasuke told him. "What else would you be waiting for?" Kawakami turned his head to smirk at Sasuke. Both moved quickly, the sand genin pushed Sasuke's kunai away from his throat as he lashed out with a kunai of his own. Sasuke darted away, turning into a backflip to put some distance between the kunai and his stomach.
Kawakami chased after him, with a kunai in one hand and the other a fist. He attacked with the kunai first and then attempted to punch Sasuke when he dodged the weapon. It was a simple tactic but was hard to pull off without being noticed and the Uchiha saw right through it. He dodged the kunai on purpose, allowing himself to be put in front of the other's fist. The sand genin smirked, thinking he had won. As Sasuke predicted Kawakami pulled a kunai, most likely dipped in poison, and thrust it at the Uchiha.
Of course Sasuke had expected this and had already replaced himself with a substitution. While the sand genin was stabbing the block of wood, Sasuke was moving behind him slipping the kunai against Kawakami's throat again. After the substitution was dispelled with the kunai, the block of wood dropped to the ground and the sand genin let his arms fall, head turning to see Sasuke behind him and feeling the kunai press against his throat.
"If you're just going to toy with me why not just kill me?" Kawakami asked. Sasuke leaned forward and with a steel expression whispered into his opponents' ear.
"Killing you would do nothing. I just have to prove my ability." Sasuke watched as the sand genin twitched, preparing to attack the Uchiha. He knew now for certain that Sasuke wasn't going to kill him. This time Sasuke moved before Kawakami did, darting backwards as Kawakami pulled shuriken out of his sleeves and flung them behind his back. It was easy to dodge them and Sasuke pulled out several kunai with invisible wire attached the ring holds. He planted half of them into the ground in one swift motion. Kawakami had turned around and was running towards him, hand stuffed inside his sleeves as he tried to collect more shuriken. Waiting for the right moment, Sasuke watched carefully.
When the sand genin was just about to throw his weapons, Sasuke threw his first. Kawakami had to duck in order to save himself from being hit. The Uchiha's aim had been off, it went over his head at a steep angle and landed tip down in the ground. He was about to make a smart comment when he straightened up and found his head butting against something. With a look of surprise, Kawakami threw his shuriken and looked up to figure what he was feeling. Sasuke jumped out of the way; pulling several more kunai with invisible wire tied to them and threw them at the sand genin again.
Kawakami ducked as the kunai went almost above his head and he had to think, why was the infamous Uchiha so bad at aiming? He tried to stand straight but found that he couldn't, he raised his hands to feel what was hindering him. Sasuke watched as his eyes widened in realization, he walked over to where the kunai had dug into the ground and trapped Kawakami. The sand genin slipped his head through the wires and glared at the Uchiha as he came closer.
Without taking his eyes off of Kawakami, Sasuke raised his foot and set it down on top of one of the wires and watched as it dipped under the weight. Kawakami felt the wire bite down into his shoulder, he tried to ignore it but Sasuke put all of his weight on it as he placed his other foot on the other wire. Kawakami staggered, bending his knees to try to escape the super sharp wire pressing down on his collarbone.
"Give up." Sasuke smirked. He had to speak loud to be heard over the roar of the crowd. "Or lie on the ground until Genma decides you've had enough humiliation." Kawakami scowled but did nothing so Sasuke inched his feet closer and watched the sand genin sink even lower. Blood started to soak into his clothes; it dripped down his arms and fell from his fingertips. When his opponent again did nothing, Sasuke took a generous step and watched as Kawakami sunk to his knees and turned his head to Genma.
"I forfeit!" Kawakami called out.
"Well that's no fun." Ino rolled her eyes and looked up at the rest of her friends. Hinata and Chouji were clapping lightly while Kiba just rubbed his nose and Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I expected Sasuke's match to be more fun like that redheaded chick earlier. His was just as boring as the others though." Sasuke had stepped off the wires and cut them, allowing Toshio Kawakami to walk away freely. The group watched as Sasuke picked up the kunai and stowed them away.
"Anything political is boring," Kiba muttered and slouched in his seat. All the people below him looked up questioningly.
"Sasuke was facing a genin from the sand, he could kill him if he wanted too, instead he just made him surrender. It's embarrassing but it won't cause any damage to the relationship between the sand and the leaf." Sakura clarified.
"Why would Sasuke be worried about politics?" Hinata asked. Kiba leaned down and spoke in a hushed tone; the others had to lean towards him to hear.
"If Sasuke had killed the kid, everyone from the sand would riot, everyone knows he's way to good to be a genin and the Kazekage would have to act." Kiba sighed and shook his head, straightening back up. "I'd hate to be in his position, always trying to balance everything out, it's not easy."
"Ah, Sasuke hasn't caught a break since he came back." Ino murmured as she turned around. Sakura looked down at Sasuke, watching him pocket the kunai and then leaned forward, staring intently at the Uchiha's body.
"Hey," Sakura leaned down to pat Ino on the shoulder and pointed to Sasuke. "Is it me or did Sasuke gain a little weight?" Ino glanced up at her friend and then looked closer at the Uchiha.
"What are you talking about? He looks like he always looks." Chouji squinted down at the field but shook his head.
"No, Sakura's right. He did get the tiniest bit bigger in the middle, must be the ramen Naruto has everyday." Ino sighed. "Our beloved Sasuke is losing the fight against noodles." Kiba rolled his eyes and shook his head, thinking that the two girls were crazy.
"Where the hell is Naruto?" The dog lover asked exasperatedly.
Tsunade sighed heavily and Gaara glanced over at her again.
"Are you bored Hokage-sama?" The redhead asked. The blonde shook her head and gave the field a hard stare.
"I was just wondering why I needed to have the Uchiha participate in this, it'd be a farce if he wasn't so damn smart." Tsunade grumbled. Gaara stared at her for a few seconds and then looked away. "The stupid brat would probably have asked to participate if I had given him a choice."
"Oh?" Gaara asked quietly. Tsunade looked over at the redhead, frowning.
"You know how good Sasuke is, the only reason he didn't kill him or humiliate him further was purely political." Gaara shrugged his shoulders.
"Or to prove his comprehension and abilities to accomplish something based on those comprehensions exceed the level of a genin." Gaara glanced over at the blonde woman, watching her roll her eyes and rest her head on her hand.
"Ah, Kazekage-sama, when did you become so eloquent in making speeches?" She asked. The annoyance dripped off her tongue but the Kazekage simply looked back to the arena.
"I'm merely commenting on how well trained the leaf genin are." Tsunade said nothing. She knew Gaara was attempting to keep civilities between them. If her hangover hadn't been as bad as it was, she probably would have been able to keep them herself.
He was bored again. Naruto had finished his ramen, washed the dishes and collapsed back down in his chair at the kitchen table. It was still too early to go unseal the barrier. Sighing heavily, the blonde set his head on the table, wondering what he was going to do. He must have sat there for a few minutes, letting his mind wander. Suddenly, Naruto sat up with his eyes wide.
"Of course!" He cried out and smacked his fist into his own open palm. With a grin, Naruto got up from the table and walked through the house back to the master bedroom and bathroom.
With a chuckle, Naruto stepped into the bathroom, leaving the door open and moved to open the lid and seat of the toilet. "Why didn't I think of this before?" Naruto asked himself. He straightened and pulled off his pants and underwear in one swift movement.
**~ Restricted Content, Naruto gets handsy. Visit links on Profile for the full and completely intact story~**
"Mh," Naruto murmured to himself. "Definitely not as good as the real thing but I guess I'll have to make do." He leaned down and flushed the toilet.
Humming a random tune, the blonde washed his hands and dried them. He left the bathroom and looked around, the clock told him that a little over an hour had passed since he had decided to make ramen. It wasn't even one in the afternoon yet! Naruto frowned and scratched the back of his head in frustration. "When will this day end?" He cried out and collapsed on the bed, groaning into the mattress. It was then he knew exactly what he could do. Opening his blue eyes, a grin spread across his face.
Sasuke met Kyoko on the stairs; she hesitated on the stairs as he continued to climb. She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something but she closed her mouth soon after opening it. Her opponent followed her down the stairs, favoring his left leg.
They passed each other and Sasuke found his spot had been taken over by all the genin who had gathered together, no longer worried about foul play. Instead of causing a fight with the thirteen year olds, Sasuke walked past them and leaned against the wall, looking over the railing casually with his arms crossed. He knew there wouldn't be much in this fight, Kyoko would have more confidence since she knew what to expect with this opponent. The people watching had seemed to take a liking to the redhead, with every move she made the crowd was screaming or applauding.
It wasn't until Kyoko had set a shuriken into her opponents' good leg that he gave in. The crowd's roar was stifled compared to when Kyoko had first won; her victory had come on suddenly, without climax. Kyoko stayed until her opponent was placed on a stretcher, unsure of what to do. Genma spoke to her quietly and nodded at the waiting area as the crowd delved into chattering. They all wondered why she was staying with her opponent and talked it over with their neighbors. Nodding, Kyoko watched as they moved her opponent out of the arena before walking back to the waiting area. In order to quiet the crowds down, Genma raised his hands and called out the next two combatants.
Sasuke saw the two head for the stairs, only seven of the fourteen people remained and the waiting area was quickly emptying. Kyoko rejoined him, giving the Uchiha distance and crossed her arms over the railing. "You're amazing Sasuke," She murmured. "How am I supposed to get a chuunin ranking if I'm nowhere near as good as you are?" Kyoko lifted her hand then slammed it back down on the railing, her fingers clenching into a fist.
Sasuke turned his head to look at her, blinked and looked away. "Just fight to the best of your ability." He answered her. Kyoko didn't say anything as the next round began, she, along with Sasuke watched as the genin quarreled. Sasuke didn't even twitch as the next two battles went by but Kyoko couldn't stop shifting.
As soon as the winner of the last match came up the stairs, Kyoko stiffly headed for the stairs. She passed her opponent who's teammate was the loser of the last round. She had been badly wounded and taken out on a stretcher. Glancing over to see the redhead leave, Sasuke watched as the last winner smirked at him before sitting down on a couch, bleeding from his arm onto his seat. He looked over at Kyoko's opponent who had a grim expression set on his face, he stood at the railing for a few seconds after his name was called before moving. Turning his attention back to the arena, Sasuke listened to the crowds as they cheered on the two semifinalists. It was almost over, only a little longer until he could go back home to Naruto.
"She's going to lose, you know." His opponent called out to him. Glancing over to the genin, Sasuke blinked and turned away. He didn't really care what kind of tactics his opponent tried to use. "Even with the crowd on her side, she'll lose." The genin tilted his head to the side and made his bones crack. "She's afraid." Sasuke didn't respond. Instead, Sasuke glanced down at his stomach, his fingers ghosting over his stomach.
The crowds grew restless, the battle had started and Sasuke looked up to see the redhead dodging barrages of kunai and shuriken. Her opponent was ruthless with weapons but Kyoko was quick on her feet. Five minutes passed and it seemed as if Kyoko's opponent would not run out of kunai. Finally, Kyoko went on the offensive. Taking half a dozen kunai from the ground, the redhead tossed them at her opponent. The fight had begun.
"She's not so bad." Hinata spoke up. She glanced over at her friends to see them nodding in agreement.
"Other than Sasuke, she may be the only one to pass and become a Chuunin." Chouji commented. "She's wearing the headband of the leaf but I've never seen her before." Sakura and Kiba both leaned forward in their seats to look closely as Kyoko maneuvered about the field.
"You're right, she is a ninja from Konoha." Kiba leaned back again, a look of confusion on his face.
"I can't say I've seen her around either, that's rather strange isn't it?" Sakura asked. Ino raised her hand over her shoulder and made a waving motion.
"Yes, yes but we can always get to know her after the exams." Ino shushed them. "I want to see what she does." They all watched as the two genin fought, each grew tired, their kunai each just barely grazing their opponents. The redhead seemed to have thrown all the kunai in her reach and was trying desperately to find one more.
"Uh oh, looks like she's in trouble." Kiba spoke aloud. Ino turned around and glared at him.
"Shh! She'll figure something out." Ino hissed. Kiba shrugged noncommittally and the blonde turned back around. Kyoko continued to dodge kunai, moving closer to her opponent slowly. Just as Ino said; the redhead had backed her opponent away from the field of kunai that she had thrown and picked them up. Her opponent stopped throwing kunai, having run out of them. The crowds cheered as Kyoko continued to press her opponent backwards until her back met the wall of the arena. Ino let out a cry of excitement, pumping her fist into the air.
Kyoko let a single kunai fly; it embedded itself in the wall right next to her opponent's head. Her opponent did nothing, so the redhead tossed another kunai. It landed on the other side of her opponent's head and he flinched. The crowd was in an uproar, everyone around them cheering loudly. For a third time, Kyoko released a kunai and it dug into the wall centimeters above her opponent's head. This time he ducked downwards and cried out, screaming that he was forfeiting.
"See! I knew she would do it!" Ino cried as she clapped loudly. The crowd went wild in applause. Genma announced Kyoko the winner and motioned for her to return to the waiting area. Sakura nodded and smiled, clapping happily as her friends cheered the girl on. Turning to the empty chair next to her, the pink haired girl frowned. Where in the world was Naruto? Leaning towards the stairway, she looked up and tried to find Shikamaru who probably had not gone far from where they were seated.
"Sakura? What are you doing?" Kiba asked. Glancing back at him, Sakura huffed in frustration and turned back to the stairway.
"Looking for Shikamaru, I'm going to see if he can go get Naruto." Sakura leaned farther in her seat but couldn't seem to find the lazy jonin at the top of the stairs.
"Oh yeah, make him work for that pay." Kiba smirked and leaned over, trying to look for Shikamaru as well.
"You guys are crazy." Ino shook her head and rolled her eyes.
Humming to himself, Naruto made his way to the stairs that led to the attic. He had pulled it down before he had grabbed all of Sasuke's boxers and shoved them all into a cardboard box. It was an ingenious plan, much better than hiding them under the kitchen sink if he did say so himself. They had already gone through the attic and reorganized everything; there would be no need for him to go searching up there for a long time.
Sasuke would never find his boxers and there wasn't anything his lover could use to blackmail him with. He was already withholding sex. There wasn't much else Naruto needed. As he climbed the steps, one hand on the rung and the other pressing the cardboard box to his side, Naruto hesitated, thinking. Okay, so Sasuke could throw out all his ramen. That would not be a good experience, but he could always buy more. If he was really craving it he could always go to Ichiraku's. Yeah, he could handle anything Sasuke attempted to dish out.
The attic was dark but at least the dust hadn't resettled, Naruto looked around and walked over to a small pile of boxes close to the door and set the box full of boxer shorts on top. Naruto dusted his hands off against each other and grinned at his work. Time must have flown by for the blonde, it had to be around the time he could go open the shield. It felt like it took hours to get all the Uchiha's boxers to fit in one small container but he had done it, with the help of some tape and brute force.
Climbing back down the stairs, Naruto lifted the stairs back into their previous position and continued to hum as he ventured back into his bedroom to glance at the clock. Wait, no he wanted to make it a surprise. Naruto refused to look at the clock and jumped onto the bed, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath and shifted in the direction where the clock would be readable.
Sasuke glanced over at the stairs and watched Kyoko come up them. His opponent in the next round sat straight up, his eyes wide and mouth agape. Kyoko gave the other male a weird look before moving to the railing. She was covered in long, thin scratches from where her opponent's kunai had scratched her. One had seemed to catch her cheek and was dribbling profusely. Kyoko tilted her head and pressed her cheek down against her shoulder in an attempt to stop the blood flow.
Moving to the stairs, Sasuke gave Kyoko a nod and turned away. It was not long before his opponent followed him. The crowd was roaring at him, deafeningly loud. He took his time walking from the edge of the field to the center where Genma awaited them. Once he was there he turned around, arms crossed over his chest, to find his opponent, last name Nakano, was smirking at him. The crowd was so loud that the Uchiha had a hard time hearing Genma announce for them to start but he backed up all the same.
"I guess he just couldn't compete." Nakano shrugged his shoulders haughtily. Sasuke watched indifferently. Nakano noticed this and frowned. "But I know how to beat you." Sasuke snorted quietly.
"Hn." The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, daring Nakano to act.
"Don't believe me?" Nakano's smirk returned. He slipped his hand behind his back to pull a kunai from his pouch. "Then let me show you." Nakano threw the kunai, Sasuke dodged and watched as his opponent ran at him.
Keeping a safe distance, the Uchiha let Nakano come closer. Once he was close enough, Nakano slipped a kunai from his sleeve and swung at Sasuke's abdomen. Jerking back in surprise, Sasuke kicked the hand and did several back flips to get some distance from his attacker. Coming to a stop half a dozen meters away, Sasuke crouched down on one knee. He glared at Nakano harshly, how did he know to target that specific part of his body? The crowd was annoyingly loud in his ears, drumming inconsistently with his heartbeat.
"It took a while for me to notice but I see your weakness and I will exploit it." Nakano grinned darkly and charged at the Uchiha. Attack after attack, Sasuke dodged them all, letting Nakano get close but jumped away right before he was in his opponent's reach.
"Ah! Shikamaru!" Sakura called out. She waved her hand and smiled, catching said Jonin's attention. From his spot above, Shikamaru looked down at the waving pinkette and sighed.
Sakura watched as Shikamaru slowly come down the steps, waiting impatiently for him to come close enough she wouldn't have to yell to be heard. Shikamaru watched the battle going on below as he walked, frowning.
"What do you guys want?" Shikamaru set his hands on his hips and turned his attention from Sasuke to his friends. Sakura smiled kindly and clasped her hands together.
"Naruto still isn't here and the exam is almost over, can you go to the compound and see if you can find him. He would hate that he missed Sasuke becoming a chuunin." Sakura pleaded. Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes, linking his fingers together behind his head. "Pretty please?" Sakura gave him the puppy dog look and waited for the higher ranked ninja to respond.
"Just go do it Shikamaru, you're already getting paid to walk around." Ino turned her head and gave Shikamaru a serious look.
"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered. He turned around and waved his hand at them. "Fine, fine." He said before Sakura could ask if he was going to do it or not. Without another word he disappeared, leaving Sakura to turn back to watch the fight.
"Has Sasuke been injured recently?" Gaara quietly asked. He turned to look over at the Hokage with a blank expression. Tsunade lifted her head and looked to the arena.
"No, not that I can recall." Tsunade murmured. She squinted down at the Uchiha and watched as he dodged his opponent's attacks almost clumsily. Instead of leaning backwards, he stuck his ass out and curling his body inwards, leaving his head and neck open for an attack. Both Kages watched with great interest as Sasuke did this movement again and again, nearly dodging the attacks aimed at his neck. The Uchiha did a roundhouse kick to his attackers head and darted away, setting up for a counter attack. "I guess he and Naruto went a little to hard last night, there's no other way to account for it." Tsunade wavered hand and shook her head. Gaara's eyes narrowed as he watched Sasuke make hand signs for a very complex genjutsu.
"Does he always move like that, after?" Gaara asked. Tsunade sighed heavily but didn't look away from the fight below.
"How am I supposed to know? We took him off probation a little over two months ago. What he does in his free time is no longer my personal business." Tsunade muttered. The cheering was making her headache worse and she was trying her best not to snap at the Kazekage.
Gaara didn't respond, too focused on the fight to reply. Sasuke had finished the hand signs and put the genjutsu in place. His opponent didn't realize Sasuke had put him in a genjutsu and continued to fight with air. Everyone watched as Nakano laughed at the supposed Sasuke, threw a kunai at the air and proclaimed himself the victor. Sasuke stood on the side, watching disinterestedly. When Nakano started laughing, the Uchiha walked up to him, pulling a kunai out.
Sliding the kunai under his opponents chin, he released the genjutsu and watched as Nakano stopped laughing, looked around wildly and then tried to turn around only to have Sasuke stop him. Everyone watched as Sasuke spoke into Nakano's ear, probably whispering a death threat. Gaara shifted in his seat, something was off. He looked around the stadium as Nakano admitted defeat but he could not find the mop of blonde hair that belonged to his friend. Naruto was not in the stadium.
His fists were trembling as he let Nakano go. He had already admitted defeat but that wasn't enough to satisfy the Uchiha. The kid didn't know anything other than something was wrong with his lower body and that was why Nakano had attacked him there. Yet, he couldn't do anything, the kid had already admitted defeat. As long as Nakano didn't figure out why he was protecting his lower body he wouldn't need to do anything.
Nakano gave him a dirty look and stalked off, Sasuke watched him go from where he stood, hands clenched tightly into fists. He didn't feel the need to walk back up to the waiting area because he would just have to come back down with Kyoko. Turning to the waiting area, he saw Kyoko looking down at him. With a nod of his head, Sasuke motioned for her to come down and turned away from her to look to the crowd.
Almost at once, he caught sight of Sakura, her pink hair sticking out like a sore thumb. She waved at him, the rest of the group only smiling and clapping. Sasuke noticed the empty seat and glanced back at Sakura who smiled brightly and gave him a-thumbs up.
Sasuke's stomach dropped, he had a very bad feeling. Something was not going to go according to plan, something was wrong.