-A/N-

I know everyone who reads currently hates me for these long updates, but I'm trying. Leaving the NAVY next week, may have easier times updating. For the two people who enjoy this story, I don't drop any of my stories. Even if you stop reading, the chapters will come. Peace.

-A/N-

Chapter 16: Oh Slap!

"Alright, we made it!" Yuuki observed the marking on the door. "Heaven huh?" She threw a kunai at the door and watched it blast off. She reached for the Earth scroll and smashed it against the seal and it swung the door open. She looked back to them and shrugged. "Good guess?" They laughed while cautiously entering the door. There was a shrine in the center, well lit by candle light. There were two spots for the scrolls to sit and a raised platform. Yuuki gave the scrolls to Takeshi and Tsumi and stepped up. "Go ahead and open them." Takeshi and Tsumi looked at each other and sighed. Slowly, they peeled away and opened the scrolls.

"Looks like we're set." He noticed the circle and put his palm on it, channeling chakra into it. Tsumi followed suit on hers. On the wall, another circle appeared and awaited Yuuki's palm. As she channeled her chakra into it, text appeared on the wall. She glanced over it. Takeshi looked up. "What's it say, Yuuki."

She cleared her throat. "We have united the scrolls of heaven and earth. Uzumaki Yuuki, Uzumaki Tsumi, and Uchiha Takeshi of Team Seven have withstood the sins of the earth in hopes we may receive the blessings of the Heavens. Together, we stand ready to move forward and ask for the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy as Chunin." She looked back and shrugged. Suddenly, the wall blasted open and Yuuki was knocked back to her team. Smoke began pouring in.

"Is it an angle?" Tsumi peered through the smoke and finally heard a man coughing. The teams face deadpanned.

"One moment!" He wheezed air back into his lungs and relaxed. "Maybe I tried a little too hard to hold that smoke in."

"Uncle Konohamaru…More like a demon has appeared." He narrowed his eyes, but let it go.

"You three have grown powerful in the small amount of time I've mentored you. I put your names forth out of approval of your skills, and you have proven yourselves by making it this far. I've seen just how great your potential is, and although Noriko isn't here today, I couldn't have asked for a better team to lead. Whether you become chunin or not, I hope we can work together in the future." The team felt chills run down their spines hearing their sensei give them final words. The whole building dissolved and he closed his eyes with a smile. "Now go show them what the trueTeam Seven's made of!" He dispersed and they were in a room with four other teams and looked at the line of Jonin and ninja she knew well.

"The last team to arrive is Team Seven of the Leaf! Congratulations." Yuuki looked over the four teams aside from them. So few… She saw Nagi, Shikamira, and Datsu and smiled at them. We all managed to make it, that's awesome.

"Sorry we took so long, I guess." Yuuki rubbed her head and laughed nervously. Kiba stepped forward and grinned.

"Alright, we've got something to say." Naruto and Garaa stepped through the doors and waved at the teams to relax.

"We've watched your battles intently and appreciate the qualities not only the leaders have shown us, but the members as well. Whether you scared the teams to death, overpowered them, or out smarted them, the result is the same to me: You deserve to be here." Naruto passed the torch to Garaa.

"I know it may seem like there's only a handful of you, but you are the only ones who were composed enough to accomplish the mission admirably. We had a lot of failures on the test, thanks to Isami there…" Isami scratched his head and laughed innocently. "And even still, we had several teams open their scrolls early, or get a nasty wound in the last portion. Who you see before you now are the ones that really earned it today."

Garaa opened the floor to Kiba. "When you placed your chakra on the test, we also recorded your current stats. Don't ask me how that stuff works, I don't think it matters personally. We're not going to throw them out in front of any one, but you will see where you place among the elite genin. Also, even if you're listed last on this list, you are fifteenth out of one hundred sixty-two. Show some pride I that."

The screen above flickered several times and everyone's eyes glued to it. Slowly, a list of names began filing from the bottom. The first name that showed was Chojiko. He dipped his head. Next was Shitto, who didn't really seem to care. Next was Akano, which Datsu wouldn't stop snickering at. Kobi was next on the list, which made him scoff. Then came Inora and Shikamira, which they didn't seem too happy with. Now came Kaito, and know the shock of the high competition level began to reveal itself. Datsu made a quick point to poke fun at him. That is until his name came up. "What? Eighth? How? I'm the Main character!"

Kaito leaned over to him with a devious smirk. "Looks like we're in the bottom-middle tier." Datsu dipped his head in shame. Next was Kankiri, and then came Nagi. He seemed to be surprised, yet content with sixth. He shifted his eyes to Yuuki and met her gaze. She looked back up to the board. Is our team really that strong? She shook her head. No, it must be the same as Isami's stat card. Just numbers. Vin and Nezero were next to follow, which Nezero danced around Vin as if to brag. At this point, everyone was aware Team Seven were the top three. They waited to see what order they would show in. Everyone gasped as Takeshi showed next. He sighed with a smile, looking between his teammates. Tsumi's name showed next and her jaw couldn't have dropped any lower. Is that really right? Takeshi at least has to be stronger than me. That left Yuuki's name to show atop all of them. Most the group was suspended in shock. Kiba could sense the awkward air and moved on.

"Alright, enough of that. Anything can happen in these fights, the stats just judge who looks the best on paper. Just looking at this group, I can tell there's going to be some upsets." While it helped calm them, the group couldn't refrain from being intimidated. "You probably noticed that there are fifteen of you, so the highest rated ninja has a bye. Everyone give Yuuki the stink eye!" She dipped her head at not being able to fight in the first round. "Now I want everyone to draw a number from this box." He dropped his fist on said box next to him and everyone lined up to grab one. "Don't open it until I say." They picked in order of rankings and grouped up once more. "Open them, and if you have the number one, raise your hand. There should be two of you." They did as they were told and every quickly scanned the room.

Chojiko closed his eyes and raised his hand. "Is it bad, sis?" No response was heard for a moment until she finally rested her arm on him.

"I think you can take him with a bit of luck." Chojiko peeked open his eyes to see her smiling warmly at him. Now he looked at who raised his hand and fainted. Everyone looked his way with a sweat drop. "Okay, maybe a lot of luck." Kiba tried to regain composure as he continued.

"So anyways, the first fight is Chojiko vs. Kaito!" Kaito did nothing but show a confused posture at the stares he was given. Everyone collected the same thought. Chojiko lost… "Two, who's got it?" Shitto and Tsumi raised their hands. Shitto gave her one look. Damn it. Why? Because she's second from the top and I'm second from the bottom…

"Go show her who's boss, eh Shitto?" Nagi and Kobi smacked him on the back to show some encouragement.

"Three?" Shikamira and Kankiri raised their hands and met eyes. Nothing needed to be said. "Four?" Takeshi raised his hand and narrowed his eyes at his opponent. Vin…Who is this guy? "Five?" Nagi and Akano raised hands. Neither of them said a thing and remained staring forward. A couple girls around seemed to be excited. "Six, go ahead." Inora raised her hand and instantly began feeling the pressure. Nezero raised his hand and grinned.

"Hey, she's not bad looking, is she Vin? Shouldn't be too hard." Garaa was quick to flick him aside the head. Turning to yell at his aggressor, Nezero was also just as fast to laugh innocently as he saw his father.

"Don't get cocky, Nezero." Kiba rolled his eyes and looked to the last two.

"Cool, which obviously means it's going to be Datsu and Kobi in the seventh fight." Both of them raised their hands and everyone's face deadpanned. Kiba rubbed his eyes. "You don't need to raise your hands, we know." They disregarded his comment and grinned at each other. After an intense staring contest went on for entirely too long, Datsu blinked. Kobi began celebrating, but was cut off by his father. "Kobi! Datsu! Put your hands down already!" They did as they were ordered and snapped back in line. "You guys finished a couple days early, so we'll meet at the arena in three days. Good luck!" With that, he grabbed his son by the nose and disappeared. Once more, the group shared an awkward silence coupled with a few snickers. Most the teams split off in gossip of who was going to win what. Team Seven wasn't exactly among them.

OoOoOoOo

"Come on sis. Why are you in such a foul mood recently? You haven't been saying much of anything since we left." Yuuki continued walking, now more irked by their audacity. They had to have a pretty good guess why. Takeshi grunted as his girlfriend blew them off.

It took all the way until they were home before Yuuki halted and looked at them. She turned to Tsumi. "Hey, could you give Takeshi and I a chance to talk alone?"

She shrugged putting on an ignorant face. "Ok, just don't starting any fights without me!" As soon as her sister left, Yuuki scowled at Takeshi, making him sweat a little.

"What? Did I make you angry about something?" She didn't even flinch at his question.

"When do you plan on telling me, or do you think this is a game?" He could feel his heart sink.

"Is this about the jutsus I learned, or the training I went through to get stronger? I'm sorry if you feel left out…" I think I know what she's talking about, but I can't tell her everything. Maybe this will change the subject. Before he knew it, he found his face twisted to the right and his eyes grew wide. The speed and power behind it made for a loud crack. That was no friendly slap. His shock began growing into guilt mixed with anger.

"You think I'd be concerned about something like that?" Takeshi glared at her, clenching his fist. Yuuki pulled back a little. I can't believe I just hit him like that. "…sorry."

"Sorry?" Takeshi's voice boomed at her. "You slap me and say you didn't even care about what I went through, and all you say is sorry?" Yuuki felt herself shrink. "We spent all that time apart, training to challenge each other. We reunite, and your sister is the only one who noticed how hard I worked? And then, rather than spend time together, you hang out with Noriko every afternoon. And now, you slapped me. What the Fuck!" Takeshi countered her argument before it even began.

Yuuki looked away, almost in tears. This is supposed to be my confrontation. Why does he seem so pissed at me. "Stop shouting so loudly at me! I did notice how much you hid of your progress, and there's a damn good reason I was with Noriko every night. I thought we both agreed to get stronger as fast as possible."

Takeshi sighed. "Can't you hear yourself? You're becoming too obsessed over strength that it's starting to push people away. In some ways, I see more of you in Tsumi than I see in you now. When's the last time we've reminisced about the past?"

Yuuki felt more fuel surge now. "What's that supposed to be implying? Just tell me straight up: what happened that night you guys left to study?"

Takeshi froze for a moment. Damn it. Maybe she already knows what happened. This needs to stop before we become enemies. But how much does she really know? Takeshi sighed. "You're over-reacting, Yuuki. Yes, it's probably obvious we didn't study, but all we did was talk about old times." Yuuki paused, seemingly waiting for him to elaborate. "It started with her not really even wanting to study. Somehow, she remembered the curry stain on the carpet, and then we just entertained each other with memories." Yuuki seemed to hesitate, then look down. The curry stain? I remember that. Did they lie so I wouldn't get mad at him for not studying? That means… Takeshi crossed his arms. "Did you even know your sister had your memories?" Her head sank more. Have I really let training get the better of my judgment skills? No, something's not adding up. Takeshi dipped his head. "I'm even more upset with you than I even knew."

Yuuki suddenly vanished. He wasn't too surprised. "Isami, huh? She won't like that, but it gets me out of this situation anyways. I wonder if he heard it all." Still, that memory. Just what is his relationship with my sister?

OoOoOoOo

"Bring me back! Right now!" Yuuki returned the glare that he was still giving her. Isami wasn't even half considering bringing her back. What, did I piss off everyone today?

"Yuuki, what you did today was unacceptable." She now remembered the massive tsunami she generated. She shook her head with an upset face. Isami sighed. "I don't need to tell you what you did wrong, but I'm going to anyways so it doesn't happen again. Today, even though you had plenty of options, you chose to test a move you knew would be powerful on its own and combine its strength multiple times. You may not have considered it at the time, but that was far too reckless. I'm not saying you need to stop training, but you need to take more time to get your mind off strength. I don't want to see my sister lose the things she loves and watch regret eat her soul." Yuuki looked miserable, as the guilt had been overwhelming her. He gave out a more concerned look now. "I know you don't like it, but I saw everything that happened between you and Takeshi. I'm here if you want to talk-" Yuuki buried her face into his chest and began sobbing. Despite the shock, Isami wrapped an arm around her head and let out a sigh. He began rubbing her head. "It's ok to cry. Just let it out, Yuuki."

OoOoOoOo

"Hey there! I heard you did quite well there, bro!" Takeshi eyed his sister with a half-hearted smile, letting his expression falter down into an indifferent face.

"What's up? Mom and dad home, or no?" Hitomi frowned, pinching his cheek rather hard.

"Oh? What kind of greeting is that? Did you get into trouble?" Takeshi pulled away smacking. Seriously, how does she know? Rather than counter her claim, he just sighed. In response, she forced him onto the couch and glared at him. "Mom and dad aren't here, so it's just you and me. You can tell me what's bothering you."

Takeshi crossed his arms and looked away. After a moment of silence, he glanced back to see her still staring intently. Another sigh came out as he laid his arms to the side. "Alright, fine. Yuuki and I had our first argument. It was harmless though."

Hitomi poked him in the forehead, not letting up her expression. "Liar! Your left cheek is red and you are in too foul a mood for it to have been harmless. I want a proper explanation!"

Takeshi glared at her now. "And I refuse! I've got a lot to think about." Hitomi pulled back. That usually works on him…

"Takeshi…you can't just get me worried and then pretend like it's not my problem as a big sister. Please don't brush me off." He let out a grunt before leaning forward.

"Alright, here's a proposal. I'll tell you the whole truth about this only if you tell me the whole truth behind something that's bothering me. Does that sound fair?" She tilted her head in confusion, but nodded in agreement. Takeshi smiled, but looked away.

"Alright, when I, dad, and mom were training for that month, Yuuki and I barely had time for each other. After a couple weeks, it seemed like she had forgotten about us. I didn't really think it was her fault, so I made sure to get stronger so she would notice. However, on the first day back as a team, she sent me home with Tsumi and stayed with Noriko, not once remarking on any of my improvements. I guess that's why I was caught off guard by Tsumi's abundance of…compliments." Hitomi sank her head, figuring what he was leading to. Takeshi did as well. "It turns out that Tsumi remembered memories through Yuuki's experiences, so we started talking more, laughing, and drawing closer." Takeshi shifted his eyes away. "Then I guess we fell asleep and she was on top of me when I woke up." Hitomi blushed and covered her ears.

"Too much information! I didn't really think you started this young!" Now Takeshi began blushing, stuttering over his words and waving his hands.

"I-Idiot! We were clothed! I'm saying she just fell asleep on me." Hitomi stared at him for a moment and rubbed her head.

"Ohh…you should have been more specific." She remembered a detail and scrunched on her suspicious face. "That's obviously bad for a relationship, and even with her sister…but, 'you guess you fell asleep'? And you shifted your eyes before that. There's more to it, isn't there?"

Takeshi cursed under his breath. He began sweating under her glare. "Fine! I was pretty tired and we might have kissed…" Hitomi's eyes widened. Takeshi closed his eyes as if to brace for shock. "…a few times…" Hitomi gasped for air, never expecting her innocent brother to be a player.

"Oh my god! And Yuuki just found out? No wonder she slapped you! I want to slap you!" Takeshi sighed once more.

"No…She knows that we didn't study, and that we just goofed off the whole time, but neither me nor Tsumi have told her." Hitomi looked away, almost regretting being nosey about her brother. Takeshi attempted to defend his honor a little. "Look, I was trying to tell her, but she lead off the conversation with a slap and I let my anger word it badly. Even then, I don't know if I regretted it that much. Tsumi, for all intents and purposes, was Yuuki not long ago. She had all her memories, and while she's a lot more frisky, it's more like she's the original Yuuki. Yuuki herself is becoming distant, and constantly making herself train to extreme lengths." Hitomi saddened, but still made eye contact with him. Takeshi let out one final sigh. "I want the Yuuki I used to know back and for us to be friends again. I think I should break it off between us before I hurt our relationship any more than I already have." He saw Hitomi contemplating what to say.

"You're definitely an ass, but at least you're admitting you are at fault. I really always figured you two would hit it off, but a lot has happened. So you still want to be good friends with her though?" she started thinking and nodded. "It's going to take the truth and a very difficult amount of effort, it can still happen I suppose." She smiled warmly and looked up. "That's somewhat relieving right?" Takeshi snapped back into his deal after reading into that reaction.

"That brings me to my question about you." She looked him in the eyes, slightly hesitant at the amount of pure attentiveness about him. I don't have any basis for it, so either I'm an idiot, or I've got her. "It was through Tsumi that I remembered something, what you said then, and what you're doing now. You may be true ninja's to the core at deception, but I know now and I want you to tell me once and for all. Why are you lying about you and Isami?" Hitomi choked on her words and felt herself paralyze. Takeshi felt his insides scream at the reaction, but his face held firm. No freaking way!

"You remember the curry stain, no? It happened because Yuuki was spying on me when I was spying on you two. I ran into her when you two were coming out of the room. You've been putting on a show to make it out as a rivalry, while secretly you two have been seeing each other for a long time. Also evident by his broken ribs, just like you swore you would do if he tried it in public. I guess he did try again after a few years, just like he said."

Hitomi felt her cheeks flush and her hands tighten. "N-No…well…you see."

Takeshi himself was blown away by his impossible outcome panning out. One more push and I may get my answer. "It's easier to keep him from trouble when he's in the same house, right? You know, just like mom had bet would happen. So, I'm also curious: Is he the kind of guy that let you fix him, or are you the kind of girl that let him break you?"

She began to lift her hands to her face, as if to hide it from him. "Oh shi-!" a loud knock hit the door, making them both activate their sharingan. Outside, he could hear a familiar voice.

"Yo! Takeshi, let's go, man! It's good to blow off steam before these fights!" Takeshi facepalmed.

"What the? What's Kobi doing here?" He felt a hand quickly push him to the door and slid it over.

"Hello!" Hitomi smiled rather oddly at them. "He's ready to go, you guys have fun! Don't stay out too late, kay?" She shoved Takeshi out the door and slammed it shut. Kobi stood in a hint of shock while Chojiko waved from behind him.

Takeshi sighed and pocketed his hands. Kobi blinked a few times. "Why did she have her sharingan active? You having issues at home, man?" The Uchiha simply walked by him and shook his head with a hint of dread.

"Man, you don't even know the half of it. Where are we headed?"

Chojiko stopped munching and stood tall and proud. "To the steakhouse! Just think of all that juicy meat, waiting for me to devour it! We can't wait any longer, I will have it!" Takeshi pulled himself back in terror. I hope I don't have to spot him for that bill!

Kobi smacked him on the back. "Alright then, let's get outta here. Nagi is waiting and I haven't eaten a good meal in a minute." Ripper barked loudly and nudged Takeshi forward as well. "It's a good way to blow off some of that steam, man."

The group of friends departed for the steak house, cracking a few jokes here and there to cheer Takeshi up. Meanwhile, Hitomi was still frozen, back to the door. Crap…I don't think he's one to talk, but I just totally gave us away. She pounded the door. "Damn it! What is he, a freaking stenographer?"

OoOoOoOo

An hour had passed, and Yuuki was home again. Isami had helped her through a lot of the pain, and even made her smile. Now he was tidying himself up. Yuuki, even though she blamed herself, couldn't help but think Takeshi had been lying about her and Tsumi. She planned on confronting her sister, but Tsumi had left for a jog. Isami snapped her back into reality.

"Yo, I'll be back later if you need me. I'm going to grab something to eat with Hitomi." He jolted slightly, but recomposed himself, awaiting her response.

Yuuki glared at him. That's odd. "Hmm…is Kochi going to be there as well?" Isami looked back to her with a grin.

"Well of course! We are dating, aren't we?" With that, he vanished.

Doesn't it make more sense to mention the one you're dating first? What an idio-. Yuuki narrowed her eyes. Wait a minute. Maybe I'm over thinking it, but he jolted and made it too clear of a point that Kochi was his date. What if…

A light knock hit the door. "Excuse, this is Inora. Is Yuuki-chan home?" Yuuki checked herself in the mirror to see if her eyes were puffy, but it hadn't been too noticeable. Alright, act normal.

She opened the door with a glare. I need to stop overthinking everything. "You're too formal, you know? And the answer is probably going to be no."

Inora smirked and pulled Yuuki out the door. "Too late, you're outside already."

Yuuki sighed. "What, you're going to kidnap me and not even tell my parents? What's this all about?"

Inora tilted her head. "That's funny. No one is even home to tell, so why would you tell them?"

Yuuki pulled back. "How'd you know that? Then why would you knock on the door like that?"

Inora grew a cat-like smile. "I didn't, you just told me. You're not as sharp as you normally are, huh?" Yuuki looked down, slightly steaming. The victorious girl grabbed her and started walking. "Come on, we're going to Shikamira's for dinner. I think her cousins are over, but Nezero is probably picking fights with her brother's by now."

"I guess I don't have a choice. I need to get out of the house anyways." Inora looked back to her, confused.

"Wow, looks like you had a rough day. You better talk about your relationship issues when we get there." Inora walked in front and held herself strongly. Yuuki couldn't help but look at her in awe. She's gotten pretty good at noticing things…when did this happen?

OoOoOoOo

"Woah, that's pretty rough man…" Takeshi had updated everyone on what happened. They sipped on drinks as Chojiko wolfed down more meat, nodding in agreement.

Nagi sighed. "She always was complicated, but even I can tell she's changed a little. The way her family is, I'm sure they can help her bounce back though. They're my cousins, so you'll have to excuse me when I say you messed up. Bad." He shook his head, upset with his friend. "You were right to get this off your chest. At this point, she probably knows there's more. Talk to Tsumi and try to both explain it to her."

Takeshi nodded and everyone fell silent. Ripper whined, and then barked loudly at Kobi. He seemed to agree with his friend and put on a smile. "Man, these are going to be rough fights, huh? Is Datsu as strong as he boasts?"

Takeshi looked to him and nodded. "At first, I would say you could have easily taken him. But I guess I'll give you a tip: he knows how to use shadow clones, he can take a lot of damage, and he knows a ton of water jutsus. He also treats every fight against a guy like a rivalry match. If he knows the trick to shadow clones, there's no telling how much stronger he's gotten."

Kobi visibly sweated. "What's a shadow clone like?" Takeshi fed off his concern and smirked.

"It's quite possibly the most terrifying jutsu ever invented. It takes your shadow, creates a clone of you made of pure evil, and it rips your soul straight from your body. You can't hit it with anything, so death is a certainty!" Kobi's jaw dropped and Ripper ran into the corner with its tail between its legs. Chojiko's food dropped right out of his mouth.

"You two are hopeless." Nagi interrupted Takeshi's laughter with a rare chuckle of his own. "Shadow clones divide the chakra of the user significantly, but it is a physical being that can use all of the user's techniques. It's still not something to take lightly. My little cousin even knows how to use them now, but apparently not as well as Yuuki can." Nagi eyed Takeshi in curiosity as the rest of the group regained their pulses. "Just what is Yuuki capable of with her clones?"

Takeshi laughed and shook his head. "I won't say. She's on my team, after all. I'm sure she'll show everyone in her fights. I even look forward to our fight."

Nagi did some quick thinking and pulled out the brackets. "So, you think you'll meet her in the finals, huh? That means you plan on going through me in the second round?" Takeshi began rubbing his head, laughing nervously. Nagi chuckled. "We'll see. I doubt Akano is going to be a push over, and that Vin guy seems interesting. This should be a good tournament."

"Um…" Chojiko looked to his feet and twiddled his thumbs. Everyone shifted their attention to the fact that he wasn't eating. "I don't know, maybe I should give up before my match. Kaito is just too powerful, and even if I magically win, I'd have to fight Yuuki. I don't like trying to hurt people. My sister's the true ninja…" They grew silent again.

Takeshi nudged him. "Hey, I don't think anyone wants to face Kaito. These fights show more than your ability to hurt others; they show who you are through how you fight." Chojiko glanced at Takeshi. In response, Takeshi looked to his glass. "You've always let people walk on you, Chojiko. Your confidence is pinned on your sister, and you've stopped moving forward. If you ask me, you need to break everyone's perception of you." The fearful teen looked at Takeshi fully now. "You've still never been one to run away from things you see as a problem. Kaito is an embodiment of your fear right now. It's easy for me to say, but you need to push your fear aside and show the strength of your heart! Who cares if you lose, just don't count yourself out before you begin." Takeshi held a fist out, right in front of Chojiko.

With a small, nervous smile he connected his fist with Takeshi's. "Yeah. I'll do my best then. Thanks Takeshi." They all agreed, and continued to joke around about the fights for a few moments. Somehow, Takeshi got stuck paying for Chojiko's food anyways.

OoOoOoOo

"I see his side, but he's definitely hiding something. You gonna confront your sister about it to?" Inora held her fist above her chest with fire in her eyes.

Yuuki shook her head. "No, I don't think so now. I want to, but if there really is something going on, I'd want them to tell me. I don't think we've got much a chance to stay together, but if he doesn't fess up to anything and something did happen…I don't think I'd forgive either one." The table seemed to agree, Kankiri looking away. She was probably annoyed with drama not even from her village. Yuuki grunted and picked at her food. "I don't want to talk about that anyways. Let's change the subject."

Shikamira looked at Inora and smiled. "So, you're fighting a secret admirer in the first match. That's romantic."

Inora spit out her drink and blushed. "There's nothing secret or romantic about fighting some pervert."

The other girls laughed while Yuuki spun her drink around. "You know, I heard 92.7% of perverted ninjas become badass." After a brief moment of stares aimed at her, Yuuki sighed. "Just chapter five of some story I read. Forget it." She drank the rest of her glass and slammed it down. "Nezero isn't a pushover. I only saw the tail end of Kankiri's team fight, but he specifically stated how powerful Nezero was. You have to honor the stats to some extent as well. He is number four."

Kankiri nodded hesitantly in agreement. "He's an annoying cousin, but he has yet to lose. You have the advantage of being a girl, but he's not really much more lenient on them either. You'll have to pin on the hopes that he's going to take you for granted in the first couple minutes." Inora laughed nervously.

Shikamira interrupted now. "I know how we track stats right now. If he beat out Nagi, he's something to be concerned with. I have to admit, I'm more concerned about Kaito." Yuuki nodded. "You saw him, right? Number nine." Inora poked her head in.

"I know, right? I thought he was going to be top three." Yuuki nodded her head to disagree.

"No, I thought he was going to be bottom three. There are a lot of categories stats are calculated in, but there are four that I know he's below average in; chakra, genjutsu, ninjutsu, and tools. That means he's gotten faster, tougher, better with the sword, and smarter. He doesn't even know a single ninjutsu."

Kankiri showed some intrigue in this. "How is it possible for him to not be predictable with that massive sword?"

Inora shook her head now. "That's the scariest part about him. The sword is denser than the standard ones, and it weighs Seven-hundred pounds." Kankiri gave her a funny look. Inora glanced over to Yuuki. "Even worse, he can swing it with his weak hand fairly quickly. The son of a samurai, huh? To score as high as he did on a ninja scale…I get it now."

Kankiri leaned back in intimidation. "I see…and I was worried about making my cousin here look bad."

Shikamira laughed conceitedly. "We've never even fought before! I'm sure you'll be surprised by me as much as I will by you." A strong heat began building between them and the girls ended up having a long night of gossip and fight tactics.

OoOo

The wall crashed open and Nezero landed right next to Inora, giving him a look up her skirt. She gasped.

"What the hell, are you alright?"

Nezero gave her a wink and a thumbs up. "Nice angle!" It didn't take long for a foot to slam into his crouch.

"You trash!" The pain almost seemed to get him more excited.

"Oops. I guess I got a bit rough."

Shikamira rose to her feet and pointed at the wall. "Seriously Tekaku? You guess? How do you think mother is going to react when she sees this?" Tekaku shrugged.

"She'll get over it eventually."

"Oh man…I guess I should cloud watch while I can. I'm going to get yelled at pretty bad for this one." Her oldest brother peeked in the room and left just as quickly.

"Asumaru! Come back and take responsibility for not supervising these two! Why are you idiots always so calm about things?" Shikamira grunted in anger and sat back down, relaxed herself. "Oh well, it's in no way my fault anyway." The other girls sweat dropped at the family reaction. She changed moods way too quick!

OoOoOoOo

Three days have gone by, and the group met once more in an awkward atmosphere again. As they walked, Yuuki sighed. "Well, this is déjà vu. Next thing you know, there's going to be that one guy over there." As she pointed sarcastically, someone jolted and ran away screaming yet again. Yuuki withdrew her hand in disbelief. "S…seriously?" She shook off as much frustration as possible. "I'm sorry I haven't been more social with you two. Is there anything you're concerned about in your coming fights that I can help with?"

Takeshi sighed, feeling awkward just asking. "It's fine Yuuki. But what do you think about that Vin guy. He hasn't said anything at all, and he's number five."

Yuuki shot him a quick look, but then looked up in thought. "His chakra levels are lower than yours. As far as what I can tell about his physical features and posture, expect him to be concealing a blade. Also, his clothes are baggier, meaning good for movement. Expect him to be fast and good with taijutsu. Aside from that, he doesn't seem to be carrying many tools. I see his outfit to be deceptive, and mysterious. The black clothes, mask, and silence suggest psyching out his opponents into reacting, rather than fighting smartly. However he leads the battle, I would expect him to be planning on fighting in the opposite way. It's a good way to create an opening." Takeshi couldn't help be show how impressed he was.

"That's…a lot of information. Thanks." She nodded, looking forward again. Takeshi smirked. "I'll see you in the finals, mark my words." At this point, they had reached the arena area. As they walked in, she spoke with a slightly lighter tone.

"You better." Before he could respond, they saw a massive area with thousands of seats.

A loud voice echoed through the stadium. "Team Seven's Uzumaki Yuuki, Uzumaki Tsumi, and Uchiha Takeshi, arriving!" Their hearts pounded in adrenaline at the sight of such an insane amount of guest attending, coupled with the thunderous roar they made.

Yuuki felt herself grow a little anxious. "Dad said the new arena was going to be epic, but holy sh-"

"Hey! finally made it, did you?" The team grew rather excited to find Noriko awaiting them in the combatant section. The team ran up to her as she smirked. "You were expecting me not to come?"

Takeshi put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey stranger! I was starting to worry about you." Yuuki crossed her arms with a smile.

Noriko chuckled. "You guys look a lot stronger. I won't forgive you if you lose in the first round."

Tsumi laughed sarcastically. "You already know that can't happen. Only someone from our team can beat us, right?" Tsumi looked at me with a rather intimidating stare.

"Yo!" Kobi looked in the crowd. "Who are you looking at, Tsumi?" She snapped back into reality and scratched her head.

"No one. He's a reliable information source, that's all." He gave her a suspicious look.

Kobi entertained a second look and still couldn't see who she was talking about. "I'm sure he's the best…" Quickly, he shrugged it off. "Everyone's arrived, I think it's about to start!"

An explosion hit the center of the arena and a familiar voice echoed throughout the stadium. "Yo, yo, yo, yo, yoooooooo!" Isami stood at the center with a tough guy pose and the fans went crazy. Yuuki covered her face in embarrassment. Isami raised a fist in the air and yelled again. "The finals of the chunin exams are about to start! Why is it so quiet?" Again, the crowd burst into a roar. "Please support the stadium by buying some of these epic, portable ramen cups! Now with real ramen inside! It's freaking awesome! Dooooooo it!" The crowd hesitated and clapped awkwardly. However, Isami threw a shuriken at a man getting out of his seat. He barely ducked it in time. Isami threw the ramen on the ground. "Not right now! It's dangerous to not pay attention during ninja fights!" The crowd was confused, but they roared happily about the guy that almost lost his head. "Here's the deal. The combat area changes every match, so each combatant will have to face a new environment every time. However, the center will always be flat and open, if the combatants want to put on a good show. If I deem the round is over, a combatant gives up, or someone dies, the match ends. The one rule of this phase is no mass destruction jutsus that will result in the audience being harmed." Isami winked at Yuuki. "That includes one-hundred foot tidal waves like the one used in the last phase." The audience gasped and cursed. Isami shot his hand up. "Don't be mad! Let it be a testament to how much skill these fighters are capable of. Why am I still talking? Get the first two fighters out here!"

Kaito calmly walked out and Chojiko tensed up with his eyes closed. He took a few steps forward as Takeshi caught up with him. "Hey, are you sure about this?" Chojiko looked towards Takeshi and nodded with a smile.

"You're right, after all. I've got to give it my all and know that I can stand up against my fears. I'm going." Chojiko made his way to the center as the match up appeared on the screen. The audience silenced immediately.

Kaito pointed his sword at Chojiko and opened his eyes. With a sinister grin, he began antagonizing him. "You're worthless trash. Get out of my sight before I kill you in front of your friends!" Chojiko closed his eyes again and shook. Calm down. Breathe. Inora said he might try to scare me out of this. Kaito smirked. "Oh? Are you trying to imagine I'm not here anymore?" Kaito laughed. "All the same to me."

Isami looked between them. Meh, this will be more than I thought, but still pretty quick. "First match: Kaito, rank nine, vs. Chojiko, rank fifteen." Isami vanished. "Begin!"

-End-

lol

-A/N-

There you go, 16 chapters down. Before you rage on about Yuuki and Takeshi's relationship crumble, take it from me. I had a rough breakup because my girlfriend cheated on me (not recently). I'm incorporating our feelings and reactions from both sides, but tweaking things due to it being the boyfriend cheating in this story. Yes, most people will say kissing is a form of cheating. Some people can make it work, but usually it doesn't happen. Those are just my two cents. Now, I'm going to give this chapter preview thing a shot!

-Chapter 17 Preview: Chojiko's Heart-

His vision blurred as he gasped for breath. Struggling to his feet, his opponent let out a loud cackle. "Don't you see it yet? I am all that is man, and you are just a fat coward. Wait, I guess if you're standing, I'll just call you a fat idiot." Kaito pulled out an explosive tag and a steak. "I bet you love steak, don't you?" With a laugh, he chucked the steak into the air.

Chojiko's eyes widened. "Kaito, no!" With an explosion, the delicious meat was disintegrated. Chojiko tensed up gritting his teeth. "I…won't…forgive you!" Kaito ceased his laughing as he felt his opponent's chakra level rising.

"This power…"

"KAITO!" With a scream, Kaito's sword shattered. Chojiko turned blonde and thin, flying into the air. As he lifted his arms, a small ball of chakra appeared.

Kaito looked back to Isami. "Isami…what's the stat card say about his chakra level?"

Isami looked away, crushing the stat card and yelling, "IT'S OVER 9,000!"

"What, 9,000? There's no way that can be right!" Kaito's face deadpanned. "No really, the stat cards only go to fif-" Isami cuts him off with a shadow clone disperse to the face.

Isami reappears and whispers to Kaito. "Actually, the author says it's only five…" Kaito looks back up.

"This is for the steak!" The ball had become the size of the moon.

Kaito backed up. "Fool! You can't use that, it's against the rules!"

Chojiko sneered. "Screw the rules, I'm a super ninja! Soul bomb!"

Kaito braced himself for his inevitable demise. "IMPOSSIBLE!"

-End preview-

JK, I've been up late, and this is a thought I had when writing the actual fight :p. Is this an indication of sleep deprivation? Anyways, if you guys like this, want a real preview, or a summary before the next chapter, let me know! By the way…100k words, 200 pages now w00t!1!*shoots self*