CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
"I caress flesh with severed nerves…
I close my eyes and I can see you dead."
Naruto glanced around the arena, judging the other's reactions.
She really didn't know if Sasuke was a match for this guy. Beyond the academy spars, she'd never seen him fight.
As the two competitors stepped onto the area, they faced each other head-on.
This Misumi guy had the size advantage, certainly. He was taller with longer arms and a higher weight.
Naruto wasn't sure if Misumi was in a clan. His obscured face hid any distinctive features and she almost guessed Aburame. But, he lacked their typical beige outfits, so she doubted it.
Only watching the fight would tell her what kind of fighter he was.
If she had to guess, Sasuke was probably taijutsu and ninjutsu focused.
She sucked her teeth, tapping her foot lightly. If whatever Orochimaru had done to Sasuke had lasting effects, this match could be dangerous for him. She hadn't been there to witness it, but... Back in the forest, Sakura had mentioned it, and her voice made it sound dire.
Even so, she remembered how talented he'd been in school. She'd envied him.
Naruto raised both hands to her mouth and screamed. "Kick his ass, Sasuke!" Lee whooped his agreement, neither Lee nor Guy clucked at her 'un-youthful language. '
She grinned.
In the moment, she didn't want to think of all the things plaguing her. She just wanted to see a good fight.
Naruto dropped, sitting on the ground. Scooting forward, she stuck her legs through the gaps in the railing, letting her feet dangle dangerously over the arena.
Kiba was her inspiration. Across the room, he was currently sitting on the railing itself.
Morbidly, she almost wanted him to fall. It would be more than a little funny.
The fight began with the typical bullshit, smack-talk and jeers.
Sasuke was surprisingly unbothered, the two shinobi circling each-other like ferocious panthers.
Misumi moved first, lunging forward to put Sasuke in some kind of hold. The second Misumi touched Sasuke, the fight truly began.
Sasuke weaved under the offending hand and leapt backwards.
The distance between them didn't stall the battle, Sasuke's fingers immediately began flashing from hand-sign to hand-sign.
Misumi was closing in by the time Sasuke finished his hand seals.
Naruto's jaw hung loose, "Grand Fireball Jutsu: Modified." He smirked, and while holding two fingers by his chin, fire spewed forth.
The girl genuinely wondered what the hell happened. How was he so confident!? Right after Orochimaru, he was modifying techniques and grinning in the face of the opponent?!
He turned his head, razing the entire area in front of them.
"God.. How much chakra does he have?!" Tenten asked, looking between Naruto and Guy.
"Less than I dooo." Naruto sang, mockingly. She hid her shock. "Still a lot, though." She said, much more deadpan.
Tenten blew a stream of air, imagining a stream of flame of her own. That was the kinda jutsu she needed her hands on.
Misumi's clothes were singed, burnt at the ends, when he reappeared behind Sasuke.
"Kawarimi, or shunshin?" Lee asked, keeping up the questions.
That time, Naruto didn't have the answer. Guy did. "An incredibly refined Kawarimi. Look at the ground behind him." The tile was broken, missing a small fragment.
Her gaze flew across the area, where Misumi had last stood.
Naruto narrowed her eyes, looking closely. She gasped. A fragment, smaller than her hand, of broken tile.
"He used that." Guy pointed to it, strangely serious. "He must've broken it himself, or had a good eye for noticing such things. It takes greater chakra control to swap with smaller items."
Naruto hummed, impressed. This guy was a leaf shinobi, yet she'd never heard of him. Maybe he just flew under the radar like that.
The taijutsu battle between Sasuke Uchiha and this Misumi guy was something to behold. Sasuke's taijutsu style was offensive-focused, Naruto guessed. He was strong kicks and punches all the way, and his speed was to be envied by most genin.
Sasuke put force into every blow, but Misumi was no slouch.
Sasuke went for an uppercut, and Misumi would backflip away from it.
Naruto was green with envy just watching- Misumi was more flexible than even Anko. He weaved and bent impossibly, to the extent that Naruto had no clue how he wasn't destroying his own joints.
After moments of nothing, Sasuke finally struck gold, landing a punch right on Misumi Tsurugi's nose. The older male's glasses shattered from the force, lodging glass into the bridge of his nose.
There were cheers, the people wanted blood, it seemed.
The boy cursed, Sasuke making a self-satisfied noise in response.
It was a front to get Sasuke in range, Naruto realized after Misumi had pulled Sasuke into what looked like a hug.
Her face twisted in disgust as Misumi dislocated his own elbows, wrapping his arms around Sasuke beyond what was naturally possible.
It didn't stop there. Misumi dislocated one of his knees with a sickening pop, wrapping it around Sasuke's dangling legs like some morbid flesh-rope.
"Forfeit." Misumi told him simply, laughing with arrogance.
Sasuke resisted, grunting as he tried to squirm out of Misumi's iron grip.
Team Nine collectively shivered with disgust. "C'mon, Sasuke, you can do it!" Sakura cheered, desperate. Naruto's eyes locked on the pinkette, who looked so anxious it surprised her.
The girl's hair looked rough, jaggedly chopped at the bottom. Sakura's eye-bags were so deep Naruto wondered what had happened to her.
"She'll never give up on him, huh?" A familiar voice joined their group, causing Naruto to look up. "Ino!" She remarked brightly, losing interest in the fight for a moment.
Ino quickly copied the way Naruto was sitting, moving in beside her. The Yamanaka sniffed, "What the hell happened to her hair? Get in a fight with a chainsaw?"
Naruto snorted. She and Sakura were on speaking terms, but they definitely weren't friends. Laughing wasn't above her.
Tenten wasn't on the same page, stiffening immediately. She looked down at the two blondes judgmentally, "No. She got into a fight with Orochimaru. You were there, Naruto."
They were silent, all of them heard the way Misumi was taunting Sasuke but they weren't listening. No, they were focused on their own conversation.
Ino froze, and Naruto shrugged.
"Not really." Naruto gritted her teeth, unusually angry. What was with her? And why did Tenten act like she'd know that?
Tenten sighed, "Yeah. Sorry. Just, um, a sore subject.."
Guy didn't say a word. Naruto almost thought he would.
Suddenly, Lee took after the two blondes, sitting on Naruto's other side.
"How do you think Sasuke-san will get out of this?" He quickly changed the subject, and Ino looked ready to challenge him.
Round eyes fixed on the so-called battle in front of them, he refused to meet her eyes. Not out of spite, but out of knowing that if she asked him, there'd be no way he could look her in the eye and say no.
It was clear she wanted to know. Very, very clear.
Tenten's naming it as a sore subject was the only thing keeping her from firing off.
Naruto mouthed to her, ' Tell you later .'
She barely had the maturity to leave it. Ino wanted to know now, right this second, and it was damn near killing her not getting an explanation.
Ino's mouth stayed open for only a second longer. "Hair looks good, Lee." She murmured, turning back to the fight.
Just in time, too.
Sasuke's hands had connected behind Misumi.
"What? Trying to love me out of this?" Misumi taunted. He laughed, "I don't swing that way, sorry. Guess you'll be letting your clan die out if you do."
Misumi paused speculatively, seeming to think. Sasuke hadn't reacted to any of his taunts to far, it was getting impressive. His own team was surprised he hadn't flown off the handle. "I think it's better that way. Wouldn't want you undoing all your darling brother's handiwork by having kids, would you?" Misumi pushed further, and Naruto swore she saw his dark eye twitch.
Now, Misumi knew he had struck gold. He was a sadistic bastard. He always wanted to egg on his opponents, humiliate people and make them feel lesser. He knew it, and so did the crowd.
Naruto watched Sasuke's hands closely.
Then one of her own eyes twitched furiously, a small flame of rage in her chest.
He was doing a seal.
A seal she knew. Very, very, incredibly well, actually.
"THIEF!" Naruto ground out, fingers spasming like she wanted to strangle something, just as Sasuke silently summoned a shadow clone. Oh, she could kill him, she thought.
Worse, actually. She could spill coffee on Ibiki's paperwork and blame Sasuke. That, would be the best revenge ever. The bloodiest revenge ever, actually.
Gasps in the arena seemed to alarm Misumi, who looked around without seeing anything. Sasuke was still secure in his grip, so he failed to see any threat.
"Misumi, move!" The boy's other teammate yelled, but he couldn't. Sasuke was grasping him for dear-life, even as Misumi desperately punched the black haired boy in the head. Blow, after blow, after blow. "Let me go you piece of shit!" He started to dislocate his shoulder, hoping to slip through.
Sasuke only tightened his grip, weathering the pain. The Killing Intent the air was pungent enough she could taste it. Not even close to enough for her to shudder, though. Ino's hands clenched, and Naruto wrapped an arm around her reassuringly.
"Arrogance will only destroy you." Guy told them suddenly, right as the Sasuke clone punched the older boy directly on a pressure point.
Misumi fell over. The crowd clapped their approval. It wasn't a spectacular battle by any means, but watching two boys slug it out must've been pleasing to some of the other's present.
But Sasuke was angry, that cloud of Killing Intent wasn't gone.
The black-haired boy refused to finish, losing his hold on refined taijutsu to stomp the older boy's ribcage. He kicked the unconscious boy square in the skull, "Just gonna lay there?! Done already!?"
Naruto cleared her throat. Right, so he was off his rocker. Great.
That's when she saw it. "Got more to say, scum?" He asked, kicking Misumi Tsurugi square in the teeth. Ino winced.
Crawling black insignias had covered his arms down to his hands, stretching up his neck slightly. He grunted in pain, "Get up!"
Naruto looked around the arena. Shouldn't they be stopping him?! Why hadn't they called the match?
Misumi melted into water.
Naruto's jaw dropped. She wasn't the only one surprised.
Sasuke growled, activating his sharingan. She was almost tempted to use her sensory ability to find the real Misumi.
That would take the fun out of it, though.
Seconds later, Misumi darted out from behind the statue in the arena, running towards Sasuke with a kunai of his own.
"Yes, Sasuke, I do have more to say!" Misumi remarked, not slowing his pace. They were at opposite ends of the arena and steadily getting closer.
They were going to blitz each other.
"I'll kill you and finish Itachi's job!" Misumi decried, and there were gasps. That was not the way two Konohan ninja should speak to one another in public, especially in the face of foreigners. Even if he won the match, Misumi would never get a promotion after that.
It seemed Guy was right, because arrogance would be the only thing that could make this a smart move. With one blink, Sasuke's black eyes bled into a deep red, tomoe spinning.
Sasuke clearly had the advantage there, as it soon would be proven. Misumi was the only one who didn't see it. Feet from each other, they raised their kunai, set to stab one another.
Misumi aimed his kunai for Sasuke's skull, intent to kill. Sasuke didn't care. Right before the tip of the blade touched his face, Sasuke's legs went out from under him. Misumi's kunai went overhead, and Sasuke's struck true.
Right into Misumi's gut. The man froze, wordless.
Sasuke's hands were instantly coated with red, the boy shocked at what he'd done, tried to twist and tug the kunai out. Medics were rushing in and told him not to, but it was too late. Pushing Misumi's unconscious form off, he tugged his blade again.
Sasuke's blade came loose, and blood poured from Misumi's wound, onto the green tile he laid on. Sasuke dropped his kunai and shivered, eyes wide and unseeing.
This time, it was real.
This time, the match was called.
The crowd was silent.
Sasuke was pale as snow, mouth open as Kakashi escorted him elsewhere. Misumi was carted away on a hospital bed, a team of medic's by his side.
She wondered if Misumi would live. She didn't want to think about it
"Sasuke Uchiha will proceed to the finals." Hayate announced, coughing lightly. Naruto wasn't sure if he coughed out of necessity, or to fill the silence.
The screen started up again, spinning through names.
Naruto took a minute to ponder the fact that, by now, the competitors were made up almost entirely of Konoha genin.
In the beginning it was about 70:30, with Konoha genin still in the majority. By now, it was probably 90:10.
That made Naruto reach a few conclusions. One, being that foreign villages didn't send all that many shinobi of their own. Second, very few of those shinobi made it this far.
That gave her the question of: Why?
Were they just not as tough as Konoha genin? If so, was it just this batch, or a trend? Were these exams rigged against non-Konohans?
Her head hurt. Maybe her academy teachers were right and she wasn't much of a thinker. Or stupid, to put it plainly.
The first name appeared.
Hinata Hyuuga.
Naruto hummed, silently wishing Hinata would get an easy opponent so she could pass to the next exam.
She deserved it, Naruto thought. "Hinata, huh? Her taijutsu was good in the academy. Would've been better if she weren't afraid of hurting people." Ino remarked, getting a nod from Naruto.
"I bet she's a lot better now!" Naruto knew she was, actually. She'd seen it in Wave.
"Absolutely." Tenten agreed, getting a comment from Guy. "Young Neji has been assisting in her training; I expect her fight to be impressive."
Vs
Choji Akimichi.
Crickets sang and Naruto wasn't sure if she was imagining it.
"Oh, perfect." She flopped onto her back. "Two of the most gentle people I know, duking it out. Great. What a lovely match-up."
Ino sighed, conflicted. She wanted to see him succeed, she really did… But, well..
Choji wasn't chuunin material. He couldn't hunt, because killing and skinning animals still upset him, even though the boy loved eating them. He always ate during Asuma's rare mission practices, even when it interfered with their stealth.
He couldn't even eat quietly!
And he only got angry when people called him fat!
She cheered for him despite herself. Who would she be if she didn't? Shikamaru clapped as he walked up to Ino, hoping to give his best friend a little courage.
"GOOOOO HINAATTAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Naruto screamed violently, hurting her own throat. "Sorry, Choji." She said after, rubbing the back of her neck.
He laughed, brows furrowed with worry. "No hard feelings, Naru."
She smiled, looking from him to the indigo-haired girl, who blushed as red as tomato.
"Hiinnaata! Hi-na-Ta! Hi-na-Ta!" Kiba hollered.
There was silence in the arena itself. Until, to the surprise of everyone, Hinata broke the silence.
"I-I'm sorry, Choji-san, but I won't lose to you!"
Sasuke Uchiha sat nearly alone in yet another hospital room.
He hated them nearly as much as before.
"Uchiha-san, I'm required to ask you about what happened there." The nasally voiced nurse wasn't as nasally as usual.
Sasuke stared at him. With long chocolate colored hair and brown eyes, the man was decently indistinct. "You're required to know everything about me but I don't even know your name."
In the silence, Sasuke glowered at the other male, who suddenly sat at the foot of his hospital bed. "I have the name Suneko," Sasuke raised a brow. "That's a woman's name." He interrupted dryly. It wasn't a name Sasuke had ever heard, but it ended in -Ko, so it must be.
Suneko smiled. Actually, genuinely, smiled. In the days of knowing this mysterious nurse, his face never conveyed much. Nothing more than slight twitches in the brow.
"I didn't know that when I picked it." Suneko said, managing to have some humor regarding it. Sasuke stared at him, unimpressed, and Suneko continued easily. "I am twenty years old. I was a field medic before this, and will be when the exams are up. I am a Tokubetsu jounin."
Sasuke noticed then, that Suneko's speech patterns were… Strange, to say the least. He described himself in simple, I-statements.
The boy furrowed his brows. "It is your turn, Sasuke-san." The switch from Uchiha-san to Sasuke-san was seamless.
"You already know who I am."
"I do," Suneko replied breezily, zero inflection in his voice.
Sasuke thought about it for a second and cursed, "I don't want to talk about it."
Suneko was silent for a moment. "You said that about the forest incident too, Sasuke-san."
The boy sat back against his pillow, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't know how to explain it."
"Take your time."
And Sasuke did.
Climbing up the side of the Konoha Shinobi Hospital wasn't all that hard.
Despite the name, not just shinobi came here. There were clinics all across Konoha, for smaller or less urgent things, to prevent this hospital from being crowded. Every one of Konoha's major clan's had their own clinics as well, for specialized care.
To be a long-term resident at the Konoha Shinobi Hospital was bad news for anyone, Jiraiya thought as he pushed open a window on the top floor.
With ease, he threw himself into the sterile white halls, closing the window behind him. Room 310, he'd been told.
The third floor was for all long-term patients. ICU and cases of less importance were handled on the first. The second floor was for those not dire enough for the third.
Above them all, was the fourth floor. Mainly used for storage and its stairway to the roof, it had rooms of its own. Reserve rooms, they'd been named. For whenever Konoha had any outbreaks, if there were another war, or some disaster.. The hospital would have just a bit more room.
Jiraiya should've known all this easily. And he did, because his very own teammate had been responsible for this remodel of the hospital.
And as he walked into room 310, he wished she was still there.
The sound of a monitor's steady beeps, his sandals against tiled floors and ragged, harsh breathing kept away the quiet. A breathing machine hummed, the oxygen mask on the face of the sleeping woman.
Wires and tubes galore attached to the woman. There was an IV drip attached to her arm for fluids, and a urinal catheter below her gown.
A central venous catheter in her chest, presumably to administer drugs. The skin surrounding the insertion site was mottled and bruised, unnatural shades of purple and green.
The bags under her eyes were similar, grayish purple to match her hair, he thought grimly.
Pulling up a chair, he sat beside her. Jiraiya continued to stare, the way her chest heaved with every breath, the way her brows were kneaded together even in sleep. Her body was coated in enough sweat that he could smell it.
It looked dire.
"I'm sorry." He started.
And for a couple dozen minutes, that's all he could say.
"I felt.. I felt so angry." Sasuke started, eventually. "Nothing felt right and I was angry."
Suneko spoke, "Right in a metaphorical or physical sense?"
Sasuke had to think about that, too. "Physical," He settled.
Uchiha didn't do therapy, Sasuke thought. This was feeling a bit too much like therapy.
He wanted to put a stop to it. He did. But once he started talking, it was hard to stop. Sasuke had never confided in anyone, not even himself, and now he couldn't stop himself.
"I don't know. I just felt so much hatred. There was something in me that just wanted to kill him. I wanted to prove myself… To.. To.." Sasuke's sentence ran off, and he furrowed his brows together worriedly.
"Hn." He stopped, sighing. He couldn't express himself, even when he was trying.
Suneko looked at him then. "Say whatever comes to mind and we'll work off of it."
Sasuke growled, looking up at the man petulantly. "It felt, I don't know. Like I was.. In a fight, I had a kunai, and I needed to pull it out. Unleash it. I don't fucking know."
Suneko blinked slowly, "Ah. That must be the seal."
Sasuke's eyes widened. Seal? They'd just been calling it a mark.
It was a fucking seal?! His hand flew to the crook of his neck. The skin felt fevered around the area of that black marking.
"It's.. a seal?"
Suneko looked at him. "I am not supposed to tell you. Our Hokage has gotten rather secretive since the death of Shimura-san."
Sasuke stared at him, but Suneko wasn't finished. "It is some form of cursed seal. I do believe your sensei has been suggesting Jiraiya the Sannin work on it but.. Well, I suppose he's turned to fixing it himself."
"How do you know all that?" Sasuke questioned immediately, untrusting. "I am your personal medic for your stay in the tower. He is required to notify me of anything that could affect your health."
The boy's thumb grazed over the seal, something thick clogging his throat and stinging his eyes. Hot to the touch, rough skin marked by inky black.
How could this body possibly be his own?
He choked slightly, the thin hospital blanket over his legs wasn't enough to quell the chill under his skin.
"I don't want another Sannin touching me."
"Then, I will assure that none do." Suneko told him.
Jiraiya just focused on the rough, gasping breaths of a sick woman. She was fighting. Fighting with everything she had, and he could tell.
No one could possibly name what Orochimaru had done to her. No one knew what happened in the fight. They wouldn't have even known it was him, if she hadn't been muttering his name in her sleep like a vengeful ghost.
"I'm so sorry." He continued, finally finding the words. "I should've stopped him," Jiraiya chuckled, wet eyes and no humor.
He cradled his head in his deeply calloused hands. "You're all Naruto has in the way of family."
The man swallowed. "That's my fault, too. That's a burden too heavy for one person to carry. The weight of a growing, breathing child on your shoulders must be a lot."
He felt his own fears leaking out then. "Anything you say to them, is fact. They look at you with stars in their eyes, and it's your job to nurture them." He remembered his own students then, three kids from Ame and a boy with blue eyes full of life.
"I should've been here to help you with her… And it's selfish of me to ask," Jiraiya held her hand in one of his, squeezing it like she was a long-time friend. He'd never even formally met the girl.
She'd followed Orochimaru around ages ago. Now, Naruto followed her, and Anko looked like death.
Jiraiya knew what grief like that did to people. What it did to him, to Tsunade, and worst of all, Orochimaru.
He wanted better for Naruto.
"Keep fighting," He started, holding her hand tighter. "Please, don't leave her alone. She has me, but she doesn't trust me. Everyone says you're practically her sister. So, stay."
Jiraiya cleared his throat.
"I don't know if you can hear me. Every person needs to talk to someone everyday, though. It's part of being human. I'll show up here and beg everyday if I need to." Jiraiya let out yet another mirthless laugh, a tragic sound.
How could he hate Orochimaru, and love him all the same? It was his best friend, his comrade.. And, still, Orochimaru was a monster. What a conflict.
"Stick around for Naruto. Watch her grow up, make new friends, chase off any losers who break her heart. Watch her change the world."
He sighed. "I'm an old dog. I might not live long enough to do it myself. She needs you more than she needs me."
Jiraiya's eyes shot wide, then, his back stiffening. Slowly, his eyes trailed down to the bed.
His large hand was still wrapped around a much smaller one, with painted nails that must've been done in the last few days.
That hand was gripping his. Tight, nails lightly pressing into his skin.
His head turned to look at the woman's face, which was unconscious as ever. Her brows were just as furrowed, skin sallow and thinly coated in sweat.
Even still, the left corner of her mouth ticked up for just half a second. The grip released.
Jiraiya almost couldn't believe it.
He cackled then, loud and free. "So you can hear me in there! Thank Tsunade!"
Speaking of which, he needed to haul her ass home. Like, yesterday. Years ago, even.
And he'd do it. He would.
"I'll be sure to let the medics know you're in there." He stood suddenly, eager to inform her personalized team of physicians and medics.
"And I don't give a damn what sensei has to say. Naruto deserves to know you're here. You'll have another visitor soon, count on it, Mitarashi."
He walked to the door then, giving the woman one last look. He found himself glad Naruto had a fighter for a sensei. He didn't doubt Anko Mitarashi was suffering from whatever Orochimaru had done.
But she kept on anyway.
That was exactly the sort of thing he wanted his goddaughter learning.
Choji gulped, looking into the face of a furious Hyuuga.
He felt trapped.
If he forfeit, the crowd might get mad at him for not bothering to try.
If he fought, he might end up seriously busted up.
And if the look in those milky white eyes meant anything, he'd be getting busted up for nothing. She had victory etched into every part of her face.
"Give it your all, Choji!" Ino cheered, and he guessed it was out of kindness.
They both knew he didn't really want to fight a fellow Konohan.
Especially Hinata, the shy and timid girl he'd never spoken to in the academy.
Hinata herself felt similarly. Internally, she had no desire to fight him. But the rest of the world wasn't going to wait for her, as her own father had said.
He'd begun training her himself, and she wouldn't waste it. "I have to pass!" Hinata yelled, suddenly.
Pass, so she could stay an honorable heiress. Pass to impress her father, her sensei, her team, even Neji and Hanabi.
Pass to impress Naruto.
Pass to impress herself.
She took up the starting stance of Gentle Fist, feeling her fingertips surge with chakra.
She was ready.
For once, Hinata was starting on the offense.
Rushing forth, she closed the distance between her and Choji Akimichi. The boy nearly fell back solely out of surprise, but had enough sense not to.
The Akimichi style was damn near entirely offensive. Akimichi took punches because their constitution was meant for it.
Hyuuga were more refined.
Choji knew better than to take a jyuuken strike head on, so he did his best to dodge.
It was the weakest point of Akimichi taijutsu. A Hyuuga.
Given the fact they're allies, it wasn't exactly a threat any Akimichi were expected to face.
But here he was, narrowly avoiding blow after blow, swerving away from every strike.
Unless he outright crushed her, Choji didn't have a chance. He fell back onto his posterior, staring up at the girl with wide, shocked eyes.
She wasn't the Hinata he remembered. Not in the slightest.
Just as he thought that, a show of her old kind self appeared. She stood there, over him, staring down.
Waiting.
Hinata was letting him get up.
He swallowed, regaining his bearings.
Channeling chakra to his legs, he leapt back. He decided then that he was going to try his best.
If you didn't try, you'd never know. That was the way the saying went.
Yanking out a chakra-pill, he stared at it gravely. One of three. If he wanted to beat Hinata, he'd need one.
The boy threw it in his mouth and chewed, feeling his chakra double.
In the crowd, Naruto whistled. Across the arena from her, a redhead nodded her agreement. Choji took that as approval, at least he'd pleased someone here with his efforts.
His fingers nimbly switched through hand-signs, activating his partial expansion technique with a yell.
Suddenly, his right arm grew to monstrous proportions.
He swung it across the field, imitating the way Sasuke had done his fire stream. A sweeping move meant to wipe the whole arena.
Large as his arm was, his fingertips grazed the walls. Hinata sprinted, running straight up the wall to avoid his sweep.
Before he could finish or correct the momentum of his swinging appendage, she leapt off the wall. flipping mid-air and sticking the landing.
Landing upright on his very own hand, she ran, eyes locked on his upper arm.
Everyone with half-brain knew that meant trouble.
He dropped the jutsu immediately, and while his arm poofed back to normal size… Hinata was picking herself up off the ground.
With not even an ounce of courage lost, she straightened herself and stared at him valiantly.
She'd been planning to run to his shoulder, disabling his whole arm in one strike. And then, repeat with the other if needed.
Her eyes narrowed, veins bulging around them.
Choji didn't know a single sneak attack and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to use them against her.
At that moment, he felt useless.
His sensei, Asuma, cheered him on. Choji didn't feel deserving.
Without Ino and Shikamaru assisting him, he wasn't at all formidable.
They'd done it long before him, but Choji was really starting to question how they'd all been raised to rely on each other.
They were horribly unbalanced apart. Or at least, he was.
Choji growled, he didn't have many techniques and he was getting hungry.
Without many ideas, (Shikamaru always did the thinking for him) Choji activated another technique.
"Multi-size technique!" He yelled as he passed through hand-sign after hand-sign. Hinata didn't waver as he inflated up a dozen sizes, practically a human ball.
She didn't even look surprised, until he yelled, "Human Boulder!"
And then, their fight was more of a cat and mouse game. Hinata was finally on the defensive, if you could even call it that. Moreso, she was on the Run-and-Try-Not-To-Die-sive.
Choji suddenly had new, racing speeds, chasing her down and leaving a path of dust behind him.
Even as she ran like hell, Hinata noted that once he began, he didn't stop. He didn't pause to change directions, or to think, or change approaches….
"It's at least partially momentum based!" She realized, "H-He can't stop himself!"
Then she had it.
A strategy.
For the first time in her life, Hinata was on center stage, she was in a fight and she could think well enough to plan. Gone were the days of constant, endless self-doubt, voices in her head telling her she'd fail before she'd even begun. For once, Hinata found herself able to act, rather than get trapped in her own head.
With danger all around her, the prospect of humiliating defeat hanging in the air, Hinata had never felt more free.
Running like hell was on her heels, and it was , she went straight to the edge of the arena. Every muscle in her body pumped with exertion and chakra, she could only keep from him by enforcing her legs with plenty of it.
Her legs began aching early on. Her endurance was spotty, she thought. In the back of her mind, she told herself to hang on a little longer.
And she did.
Shikamaru already spotted what was coming. A shame, though, that Choji couldn't exactly hear when he was rolling around like that, or he'd have yelled a warning. Maybe. It hadn't helped Misumi, and he could hear just fine.
But, like that, Choji's ears were tucked and he was moving so fast nothing would be legible. It didn't merit trying,
Hinata kept running, panting as she did, and Choji felt a brief sense of victory as he thought he cornered her. The wall was mere feet away.
Well, until she ran clear up the wall, and he couldn't stop himself. Then, he felt a strong, lasting sense of stupidity. How could he forget a technique she'd used only moments earlier?!
Choji crashed into the wall, cracks ebbing up into the concrete where he collided. The sound of concrete splintering and chunks hitting the floor was all the crowd heard for a few minutes, watching the dust slowly clear.
When it did, it was clear what Hinata had done. She'd led him right into trapping himself, embedding his own body in the concrete.
Grunting, he desperately tried yanking himself free, fearing what a Hyuuga could do while his back was turned.
Hinata dropped from the wall, landing perfectly upright in a strangely feline manner.
Choji yanked his body desperately, and by the time he freed himself, it was too late. She had closed in.
He, for the second time, fell onto his ass.
Hinata wasn't being lenient this time.
Kunai in hand, she positioned it as his neck.
"F… Forfeit, Choji-san!" She squeaked, her best attempt at sounding intimidating coming out far too mousey. She felt a sliver of shame, more nostalgic than it was mortifying.
Stutter or not, a knife to the throat was incentive enough for him.
Choji raised his hands, sweating. "I forfeit!" He decried immediately, covered in dust and grime.
"Hinata Hyuuga will proceed to the finals!" She stumbled away from him, tucking her kunai into her pouch.
She felt dizzy, Naruto screamed her name like no one else before.
"You did it Hinata!" Kiba yelled, running into the arena to grab her. Shino clapped as hard as he could, for an Aburame, he was in hysterics.
People were cheering. For her.
Kiba patted her back and ruffled her hair, Kurenai smiled like it was the best day of her life.
Even Ino Yamanaka, Choji's own teammate, clapped at the match.
Scratch that, damn near all of the Konoha genin clapped for her.
Hinata couldn't handle it. If this was what it meant to see your name in lights, she understood.
As Kiba tried to lead her out, she staggered, face red and hot to the touch.
"You're the best, Hinata!" Naruto yelled, and that was all Hinata heard.
With a hum of satisfaction, the short-haired girl fell, hitting the ground with a thud.
"Uhh… Hinata?" Her skin was practically steaming.
Akamaru poked her with his nose.
"Huh." He scratched his chin contemplatively. "Must've fainted."
He threw the girl over his shoulder. "Happens." He explained lamely to the crowd, heading up the stairs.
Even in her sleep, Hinata managed a delirious giggle.
She'd done it.
Really, truly, actually, done it.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Tomorrow's my birthday, so I decided to update here before the Birthday Blues kick in. I might suck at fight scenes, I'm sorry. Thoughts on Suneko? Theories? Criticism or comments?
If you'd like to see a sketch I did for Naruto, check my DeviantArt, under the username horrorecho
https: horrorecho/art/ Anko-Mitarashis-Student-Naruto-in-Her-Pajamas-935141725
Remove the spaces:)