Over the next few weeks Konoha sees an influx of merchants and tourists arriving in Konoha in anticipation of the third stage of the Chunin Exams. In turn, the Genin Corps see an increase in D-ranked missions - sanitation, mowing lawns, painting houses and facades, helping various merchants unpack, organise and check their inventory and so on. Konoha and all of her citizens are determined to look their best for their visitors.
Sakura spends her days working alongside Hajime, Tomomi, Aimi and Takeshi - they make a good team, working well together, and rarely is Hiroshi's absence even mentioned - and the evenings training with them. Sometimes Hajime will lead them on an endurance run, circling the Genin Corps' Headquarters until Sakura is dizzy from it. Sometimes they'll sparr, or do other exercises. Sometimes Tomomi and Hajime will sign up for one of the public training grounds, and they'll spend the evening practising more advanced stuff. Takeshi's tree climbing skills have improved greatly, though he's still struggling with water walking. Aimi is more confident running through the trees and rarely falls.
As for Sakura, she practices sparring in different environments, and sometimes against multiple opponents. Because neither Takeshi nor Aimi is quite as advanced as her she usually spars against Tomomi or Hajime, jumping between the ground, the trees and the river. Sometimes Aimi and/or Takeshi will attack her when she's on the ground or water, though neither quite has the confidence to fight in the trees yet. It makes for excellent training, seeing as she won't always be fighting a lone enemy, and is quite fun besides.
After all that she'll have a nice shower or bath and then return to her room, but before she goes to bed she'll practice her chakra strings. Now that she's using the right hand seals she's improving immensely, her strings growing longer and stronger. She's able to pick up a kunai from across the room with little to no problems, and almost cuts off Tomomi's tendons once when using it in a sparr, which is why she now practices when she's mostly alone.
By the time Sakura finally allows herself to fall into bed she's usually exhausted, falling asleep immediately before the routine begins all over again in the morning. Sometimes she'll get some training in before breakfast, if she's awake early enough to find the training ground empty, and she'll practice swinging kunai around on chakra strings and throwing them at practice dummies. She misses at first, by a wide margin. It's easier to just slash at the dummies, but gradually her aim improves as her familiarity with the jutsu grows.
Time passes. A week becomes two, then three and before she knows it, it's the beginning of August.
"Guess what?!" Hajime says excitedly at dinner one evening. "I've got us some awesome tickets for tomorrow!"
"Tickets for what?" Sakura asks, distracted by adjusting the bandages on her legs. While she has adjusted the length of her trousers she has still kept the bandages, finding the extra support comfortable and less distracting than the swishing of looser trouser-legs.
"The Chunin Exams, silly! What else?!"
Sakura freezes, still bent over to adjust the bandages. Has it really been a month already? Quickly she calculates the time and yes, Hajime is correct. Of course he is. Why would he joke about something like that?
"Anyway, I managed to get us tickets for the premium balcony with all of the fancy folk!"
"I don't think the seating arrangement makes much difference for the entertainment," Tomomi dryly replies. She's smiling though, taking the edge off of her words.
"Well I know that my butt will enjoy those padded benches far more than the stone ones that the plebeians use!"
"Plebeians, Hajime?"
"You know I'm usually a happy plebeian myself, so I'm allowed to joke about it!"
It's been a full month since she last saw anyone on team 7. For a moment, guilt washes over her. She should've sought them out. She's seen team 10 several times, despite Shikamaru being busy training for his participation in the exams and Ino being just as busy making sure Shikamaru actually trains, so she really should've made time for her actual team. Somehow she just … hasn't found the time.
Then again, none of them have sought her out either. She cannot remember even seeing them at a distance for the last month. Does that mean they have been purposely avoiding her? Or have they simply been just as busy as her? Regardless, the realisation sits uneasily in her stomach and she pokes uninterestedly at her food, appetite suddenly gone.
Her time with the Genin Corps has been great. Truly enjoyable, and in a way much more like how she expected life as a shinobi to be than her time with team 7. She likes Hajime and Tomomi, likes having them teach her things, and she likes both Aimi and Takeshi, strange as the thought would've been just weeks ago. Even so, there's a part of her that's still aching with the loss of team 7. Of her first team. Even if that loss is both temporary and self-imposed.
Just thinking about it brings forth memories of Naruto and Sasuke-kun; of their brief camaraderie and then their recent anger with her.
The last few weeks have been a vacation, Sakura thinks, but now that the third task of the Chunin Exams is here she'll have to face reality again. A reality of being homeless and clanless and on a team that far outshines her as far as skill and strength goes - and having teammates that despite her for it.
The fact that she's not eager to get back to Sasuke-kun should be mind boggling, but somehow it isn't.
"Sakura-chan, help me out here! Tell Tomomi how excited you are that I got us premium tickets!"
She looks up at last, meeting Hajime's humorously pleading eyes. Tomomi is rolling her eyes behind his back, clearly dismissing his enthusiasm as infantile, and Aimi and Takeshi are laughing.
"I'm not sure I want to go," she admits, giving him an apologetic smile.
"What? Of course you want to go! There's three rookies in the finals! Those would have been your classmates, right? Don't you want to see how they do against all these other shinobi?"
Well, when he puts it like that … Maybe it is childish of her to focus on her own failures. After all, three rookies in the final stage of the Exams are impressive. Besides, Shikamaru will be fighting. As a friend of Ino's, and of team 10 in general, Sakura is basically obligated to be there to support him.
"Who are they?" she asks, curious despite herself who the other two are. Somehow Ino has forgotten to share that particular piece of information.
"Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru and of course, the one whoose fight everyone is looking forward to, Hyuuga Hinata, the former Hyuuga heir!"
Surprised, she raises her eyebrows. Her dislike of insects has kept her well away from Shino for most of her Academy years but she won't be surprised if he's the quietly competent type. Likewise her time with team 10 has opened her eyes to Shikamaru's secret genius, well hidden as it is behind his laziness. So neither of those truly surprise her.
However, Hyuuga Hinata? Shy, stuttering little Hinata?
"Why is her match so exciting?"
Hajime is almost bouncing with excitement.
"Because she's up against another Hyuuga in her first match! And since she used to be the heir of the main house and her opponent is of the branch house, and since the Hyuuga are notorious for being uptight about these things, Hyuuga Hiashi has had his knickers in a twist for over a month because of this match!"
"It is one of the more anticipated matches," Tomomi agrees, "if only because it carries with it the chance of one of the big clan heads to lose his face."
"If there even is a fight," Takeshi adds. "I'm not convinced it'll be allowed to happen."
"And then of course there's the team from Suna. Siblings, all three of them, and from what I hear the youngest one is quite a demon! I'm really looking forward to seeing-"
Hajime continues to gush over the participants and the matches he's hoping to see, while Sakura focuses on her own breathing. Suddenly she feels as if the walls are falling in on her, and her chest is somehow just too tight.
"Are you alright, Sakura?"
Tomomi's worried question makes Sakura look up to meet the older woman's eyes and she manages to force a nod. With a worried little frown Tomomi places her hand on Sakura's squeezing gently.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to, but I would appreciate some help making sure that Hajime doesn't make too much of a fool out of himself."
Sakura nods, not quite sure whether she's agreeing to go or just taking in Tomomi's words.
With tickets to the premium balcony being supremely expensive - she has no idea how Hajime managed to get his hands on five of them when they should be well out of his price range - it comes as no surprise that the spectators there are mostly nobility and the richer merchants. Even the Daimyo himself is present; him, his wife and his small court takes up half of the balcony. The second half of the balcony is occupied by merchants and other rich commoners dressed to impress, even though they're separated from the Daimyo's court by an invisible wall of social hierarchies.
Sakura, Aimi, Takeshi, Hajime and Tomomi stick out like sore thumbs amongst the silk clad crowd, even though they're all wearing perfectly normal, casual civilian-like clothing. Sakura fumbles with the hem of her own, purple shirt and shorts - well-worn and repaired, comfortable but no longer sturdy enough for training - and feels a hot blush rise on her cheeks. Longingly she eyes the kimono of the other spectators, wishing for the kimonos she used to wear back when she was still a Haruno.
She quickly tears her eyes away from a particularly beautiful and well made kimono when she notices that the wearer is none other than her aunt Kasumi, dodging behind Hajime to avoid being seen. Another glance reveals that aunt Kasumi is socialising and doesn't seem to have noticed her. Cousin Kiku stands by her side, looking around curiously. Sakura breathes a sigh of relief. It doesn't seem like her family has noticed her.
"Hiding from someone, Kiddo?" Hajime's voice is amused but he is careful to keep his strides even with hers.
"Yeah, something like -"
"Haruno! I mean … Sakura!"
The familiar voice is far too loud for her comfort and immediately draws the attention of the people on the balcony. From the corner of her eye she can see aunt Kasumi glaring in her direction. She feels like running but forces herself to turn around instead and face the speaker, trying desperately to suppress the blush.
"Tanigawa." She tries to make her voice cold but her burning cheeks make the effort a complete failure.
It has only been a month since she last saw him but annoyingly enough it seems he has somehow managed to grow even taller in that time. He towers over her as he approaches, green hair gathered in a low ponytail and wearing a kimono that almost perfectly matches his yellow eyes. She scowls at him as memories of their last two meetings flashes before her inner eye - him beating her for the second time using his sword, and then overhearing her tell Kakashi-sensei that she couldn't afford anything at the Tanigawa store and him still insisting to buy things for her.
He'd laughed.
He'd witnessed her humiliation, laughed and probably thinks that she's Kakashi-sensei's mistress.
As many emotions as Tanigawa dregs up within her - embarrassment and resentment being some of the foremost ones - her attention is quickly caught instead by the woman standing by Tanigawa's side. Sakura gapes. She can't help it - in all of her life she has never before seen another person with pink hair, and this young woman is a true beauty besides.
"What are you doing here?" Tanigawa asks, stopping before her.
She's still distracted by the woman; of similar age as Tanigawa, with the same yellow eyes and a perfect, heart-shaped face and the kind of complexion that Sakura has only ever been able to dream of. The woman's hair is just a little bit darker than her own and her pink and white kimono matches it perfectly. Their eyes meet for a few moments and the woman raises a delicate eyebrow condescendingly before raising a beautiful fan to daintily hide her face. As if she's just smelled something unpleasant and needs to protect her delicate senses.
"We've got tickets," Hajime comes to her defence, stepping up to stand beside her. "We didn't sneak in or anything."
The woman looks away from them, as if bored, but dutifully stays by Tanigawa's side.
"Yeah, I didn't mean to suggest … I didn't think that. I was just surprised, is all," Tanigawa says, awkwardly looking between Hajime and her. "I just wasn't expecting to see you here, Ha-Sakura. How have you been?"
At last she manages to tear her eyes away from the beautiful woman, feeling somehow even more like an ugly duckling than she did before. Her cheeks are still burning painfully. Gods, he must think her pathetic. Ugly and homeless and poor and whoring herself -
Sakura quickly forces that line of thought down. She's not even going to acknowledge it.
"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
Folding her arms defensively across her chest, she glares angrily at him. Why is he even talking to her? Why is he acting so friendly? They've never been friendly before, which only leaves one explanation, which leaves a sour taste in Sakura's mouth.
He pities her.
A small part of her wants to apologise for her own rudeness but she reminds herself that she doesn't owe him anything. She neither needs nor wants his pity, and if he thinks otherwise she'll beat it out of him.
"I just thought … Never mind. It's good that you're doing fine. Oh, and this is my sister, Akemi. Akemi, this is Sakura. She's Kiku's cousin."
The woman, Akemi, gives the briefest of nods in acknowledgement, clearly indicating that she is already done with this meeting. Tanigawa - Akihiro - either doesn't notice or ignores her. Sakura feels mildly amused and horrified at the faux pas; introducing his sister first instead of the other way around, as if Sakura is somehow above the other woman.
"A pleasure to meet you," she forces herself to say, bowing lightly in the shinobi-fashion rather than curtsying in the way ladies are supposed to do. It's strictly speaking not her that Sakura has a problem with, after all, even if the lady in question for some reason seems to have a problem with Sakura.
"So, I heard you were taking the Chunin Exams too?" Tanigawa continues the awkward conversation. "How'd it go? I mean, you're not fighting today, obviously, but other than that?"
Seeing him so awkward and flustered is strange, effectively flushing away the worst of her anger and leaving her feeling strangely vulnerable. She doesn't like it. Not the feeling, nor his sudden change.
"We failed the first stage," she tells him shortly. Challengingly. Waiting for him to snap out of this strange behaviour and make one of his usual snide remarks about what a failure of a shinobi she is.
He doesn't.
"I hear those exams are pretty tough, huh? I can't even imagine what they're like."
His laugh is as awkward as the whole conversation has been.
Before Sakura has to come up with an answer to that his sister leans in closer to him, speaking quietly behind her fan.
"Akihiro-dear, I believe your fiancée is waiting for you. See how excited she is?"
Indeed Kiku is waving quietly from the other side of the balcony. Tanigawa waves back before turning back to her.
"I guess I have to go. Anyway, it was nice seeing you, Sakura. Come by the store sometime, yeah?"
And he leaves, with his sister by his side, joining his uncle and her aunt Kasumi. Cousin Kiku's eyes briefly travel past him and meet with Sakura's. She waves once more before greeting Tanigawa with a smile.
"What was that?" Hajime asks beside her.
"I don't know," she admits.
"Either way we've better find our seats. The Exams are about to begin soon," Tomomi says.
Thanks to Tomomi steering them right they soon find their seats, just in time as the contestants march out into the arena to face the crowd. Sakura applauds with everyone else, curiously looking closer at her former classmates. Shino, with his face hidden behind his high collar and dark sunglasses, seems blank as a mirror. If he's shaking with terror or calm as lake there's no telling which, if either. Shikamaru, predictably, looks bored and vaguely apprehensive. If she knows him right it's more about him having to do anything at all than about being bothered by the large crowd. Hinata, on the other hand, looks pale and grim. She's staring straight ahead of her, eyes unfocused. Sakura spares a moment of pity for the girl.
Then the Hokage - who is seated in his own little balcony reserved for him and the only other attending kage, the Kazekage of Suna - stands to address the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to Konohagakure's Chunin Selection Exams today!"
His voice is loud enough for his voice to be heard all over the different balconies. She wonders briefly what the trick to that is. Probably a seal of some kind, since he doesn't seem to be doing a jutsu.
"We will now begin the main matches with the ten participants that have passed the preliminaries. Please enjoy their matches."
The crowd cheers and the proctor of the third stage, who looks far less threatening than her memory of Morino Ibiki despite the senbon he's chewing on, takes over. He informs the contestants, and the carefully listening spectators, of the rules. Or rather, the lack of rules; matches last until one party dies or yields. Or until the proctor himself calls the match. Sakura shivers in her seat, suddenly glad that she isn't in that arena. Some of the contestants look really dangerous.
"The first match is Konohogakure's Rock Lee vs. Sunugakure's Kankuro!"
As the crowd cheers and the other eight competitors leave the centre of the arena for their own little balcony, Hajime leans in closer to her.
"So, do you want to explain what that was, Kid?"
"I think I'd rather not."
"Then do you at least want to explain why that red haired woman is glaring daggers at us? Should we be worried?"
When she glances questioningly at him he leans back a little, letting her catch sight of aunt Kasumi. Their eyes meet for a moment and the anger she sees makes her swallow nervously, throat suddenly dry. Quickly she looks away again. Perhaps it was a mistake for her to come here after all.
But no. They have tickets. She has no idea how Hajime got them, but they got them and they're legitimate, so she has just as much right as anyone else to be there. Regardless of whether the Haruno-clan welcomes her attendance or not.
She forms her hands into fists in her lap to prevent them from trembling.
"No, I don't think we need to worry."
"Who is she?"
Hajime leans forward slightly again, blocking off the view of her aunt. His eyes are locked on the arena below, where the contestants have taken their starting stances.
"Begin!" the proctor declares.
Lee is quick to attack. She vaguely remembers him from the first stage of the exams. He'd been eyeing Sasuke-kun, practically vibrating with excitement, but his teammates had stopped him from approaching.
"My aunt."
Kankuro blocks the first few attacks but it is evident that his movements are much slower and he's just barely keeping up. Lee is frowning though, so something must be going on.
"Your aunt?! That is Kizashi's sister?!"
When Lee pulls back to catch his breath Kankuro pulls out two standard kunai. Their sharp edges glint in the sunshine. Lee pulls out his own kunai.
"Sister-in-law, actually. And cousin. She's married to my uncle, who's my father's eldest brother."
Down below the contestants exchange another barrage of attacks. Kankuro suffers more damage but he does manage to give Lee a shallow cut in his arm.
"Sister-in-law and cousin?"
"Thrice removed. She's a very skilled seamstress and the main branch of the Haruno clan has a kimono shop, so I guess Grandmother thought they would be a good match. And they have been."
Kankuro is on the retreat now, having pulled back to the trees and trying to create distance between himself and Lee. Lee isn't letting him.
"I guess it's not too bad then, though it still feels a little … incesty."
"It's 'incestous', not 'incesty'," Tomomi points out from her other side.
"Still. I knew Kizashi's clan was a bit messed up, but this …"
Sakura shrugs wordlessly, occupied with watching the match below. Kankuro is leading Lee in a merry chase around the arena in his attempts to avoid Lee's attacks. He's doing a good job dodging but he can't evade all of Lee's attacks.
"They're civilians. They only agreed for him to become a shinobi because he wasn't in line to inherit anyway. They hoped he would be able to serve as escort for mercenary caravans, saving the clan the expense of hiring outside escorts."
Lee is slowing down. Frowning, Sakura leans forward. Is he getting tired? That doesn't seem natural. If anything, Lee seems to have even more energy than Naruto, so for him to get tired after less than ten minutes of fighting is just strange.
He stumbles and falls, landing face first against the ground. There is a sickening crunch as his nose breaks, audible somehow to all of the arena.
He doesn't get back up.
"Konohagakure's Rock Lee is unable to continue the fight due to poisoning. Winner of the first match: Sunugakure's Kankuro." The proctor raises his hand as he declares the result and the crowd cheers and boos.
Two medical shinobi enter the arena to carry Lee away.
"Do you think he'll be alright?" she asks out loud, worried even though she doesn't really know him. He's a fellow Konoha shinobi if nothing else, after all.
"I'm sure he will," Tomomi reassures her. "Konoha gathered quite a lot of intel on Suna poisons during the last war, and while Lady Tsunade may not be here we've still got a lot of skilled healers."
But not as good as they used to be, Sakura thinks. Even she knows that the Medical Corps have steadily declined in both numbers and skill since Lady Tsunade left Konoha. The thought leaves a worried frown on her face as she watches Lee being carried away.
"Next match; Konohogakure's Hyuga Hinata vs. Hyuga Neji!"
The roar of the spectators is deafening. Beside her Hajime joins in, to the disapproving looks of the otherwise much more restrained nobles and merchants.
"Alright! The great match of the day! I've got money on this!"
"You're betting, Hajime?" Tomomi's voice is disapproving but he only looks mildly sheepish.
"Of course I do! Those stuck up, main branch Hyuga are about to get a very rough awakening! Neji is rumoured to be the genius of his generation among the Hyuga, and that girl used to be the heir!"
"Still, it's a bit crass to be betting on that poor girl's misfortune, isn't it?"
Below, the two Hyuga are entering the arena. Sakura leans forward, watching closely. Neji is a teammate of Lee's and, according to rumour, very strong and skilled. Hinata is her former classmate so Sakura wants to cheer on her, but her memory of Hinata is that of an extremely shy girl. Even now Hinata looks pale as a ghost beside her opponent and clan-member.
"I'm amazed Hyuuga Hiashi is even allowing this match when it is him and his daughter who stand to lose face," Takeshi comments.
"The matches were decided over a month ago depending on the result of the previous stages of the exam," Tomomi explains. "I doubt Hokage-sama consulted Hyuuga Hiashi, and not even the Hyuga clan head wields enough power to change the results of the Chunin Exam."
"Still, there are other ways he could have stopped it. Rumour has it the Hyuga main house has quite a stranglehold on the branch house."
"You mean that he would have somehow prevented his own nephew from participating?"
Takeshi shrugs at Tomomi's incredulous tone. "All I know is that the fact that Hyuga Neji has made it this far probably means that he's done kowtowing for the main house."
So Hinata is facing off against her own cousin then, Sakura deduces. And from the sound of it the stakes of this fight are quite high. No wonder that Hinata looks so pale, especially with all of this taking place in such a public setting too.
"You go Hinata! Beat his ass! You can do it, y'know!"
The lone shout somehow pierces the noise of the masses. As she looks over, Sakura spots Naruto on another balcony. He's in the company of an old, white haired man who looks more than a little annoyed with him. However, a quick look back down into the arena shows that it does seem to have some effect. Hinata straightens marginally as she faces off with her cousin, both of them taking on near identical starting stances.
"Begin!" the proctor declares.
The crowd roars again. Neither contestant moves.
Sakura leans forward in her seat, trying to get a better view of Naruto and the strange man he's with. From this distance she does not recognise him, whoever he is, but behind him she spots Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun, so whoever he is he must be trustworthy.
A little needle of jealousy stabs at her. They're there, together. She hasn't so much as seen them at a distance for the last month, yet here they are. Have they missed her at all? Did either of them think to include her, if they were planning to come see the matches anyway?
"Before we fight, let me warn you about one thing, Hinata-sama." The voice of Hyuga Neji is quiet but somehow still carries through the arena. There are definitely some sort of seals implemented in the foundation of the arena, to allow spectators to better see and hear what is going on below.
"Neji-nii-san?"
"Give up. You are not suited to becoming a shinobi."
His voice is firm, sharp but with a certain tenseness to it. Like Hinata, he's trembling lightly where he stands, but where her trembling is obviously from fear and reluctance to fight his trembling is more reminiscent of that of restless and barely contained power.
"You are weak and you willingly follow someone else's ideals. Despite being of the main house you lack self-confidence." Each word of his seems to hit her like a blow. "Admit to yourself at least that you have no real wish to rise beyond the rank of genin. You only went along with the Exams because of your teammates."
"Y-you're wrong! I j-just -"
If Hinata does manage to say anything more than that, even the seals of the arena aren't enough to carry it to the audience. Sakura leans further forward still, her chest suddenly feeling too tight.
Just because you're too weak - Sasuke-kun's angry voice echoes in her mind.
Pathetic, useless dead weight -
I will never forgive you for this!
- hope you get kicked off the team … worse than dead weight-
It wasn't your decision to make, Sakura-chan! Naruto's voice, laden with so much disappointment, joins in.
Go! Don't come back unless - Sakura shakes her head. She's not thinking about Kakashi-sensei trying to kick her off the team. She's not thinking about Sasuke-kun being angry with her, or Naruto's look of betrayal after she raised her hand during the Exams, or-
"At this rate he'll talk her into yielding. Come on, I need him to win in an honest fight!" Hajime mutters beside her.
Abruptly, Sakura feels as if she might be sick. Swallowing around the sudden lump in her throat, Sakura carefully does not look in the direction of the common stands again. She doesn't think about the people standing there - her team, her sensei.
"I-I wanted to change myself, s-so I willingly -"
"People cannot change, Hinata-sama! A failure will always be a failure, and that will never change. Ultimately everyone is judged based on things we cannot change: our looks, our abilities, our personalities and so on. That is why there are terms such as 'elites' or 'failures'."
Such a disappointment. Just like your father: heedless of the clan - Sakura ducks her head at the memory of her Grandmother's words. Before she has made a conscious decision she glances past Hajime, over to where aunt Kasumi sits with cousin Kiku and Tanigawa, and her eyes meet with those of her aunt. The eyes are the only thing revealing aunt Kasumi's mood, blazing with anger as they meet Sakura's, even as she sits with perfect posture and nods politely to something the man beside her says.
"Just as we can't change the fact that you are from the main family and I from the branch family, Hinata-sama, we cannot change the fact that you are weak. So leave this arena now."
"That's not true! I really want to -"
"You already know from past experiences that you will lose. Why subject yourself to that again?"
Another roar comes from Naruto's balcony and Sakura reflexively looks over, but while Naruto looks ready to throw himself into the arena the white haired man he's with is holding him back, effectively muffling his shouting. "Beat his ass, Hinata!" is all that comes out somewhat discernable.
Hinata firms her stance, standing her ground.
"You're not going to give up? Don't blame me later on."
As he speaks the words, Neji throws an almost imperceptible glance just above and to the right of Hinata, raising his chin defiantly. Sakura only notices because she is already trying so very hard not to look over at Naruto or Sasuke-kun or Kakashi-sensei, nor look towards aunt Kasumi and the rest of the Haruno clan. Frowning, she tries to follow his gaze, but the crowd is too big and too far away for her to make out individual faces in that part of the stands.
They leap at each other at the same moment and the fight that follows is entirely hand to hand combat. Their movements are quick, flowing easily between blocking, attacking and dodging.
"They're doing something strange with their hands," Aimi comments out loud. "That's not the Academy-taught techniques."
"That's a Hyuga-specific jutsu; the Gentle Fist," Hajime explains distractedly. "Don't ever get on the wrong side of it if you can avoid it."
The cheering of the crowd cancels out the noise of the fight. The result is a storm of soundless movement almost too quick to follow. Sakura remembers Hinata being good in the Academy at hand to hand combat, at least when she would be brave enough to actually try, but this is something else entirely.
Hinata takes a step backwards, using the momentum of the movement and the space created between them to propel herself forward. Her hand is outstretched, and for a moment it seems as if she will manage to pass through Neji's guard. Then he twists, at the last moment, and the blow that would have hit him in the stomach just narrowly misses instead.
The crowd gasps, inching further towards the edges of their seats. Hajime groans loudly beside her.
"No! She got him!"
"But she missed?" Sakura asks, confused yet unable to look away from the fight.
"With the Gentle Fist even a nick is enough to cause damage. It's not about the external injuries, but about the damage to the opponent's chakra circulatory system."
"It can cause irreversible damage to the internal organs," Tomomi adds. "And being from the main family the girl will have received more training than someone from the branch family, so she has the advantage here."
Indeed, as the two circle each other for a few moments before engaging again it does seem like Hinata has the advantage. Though she's smaller and her reach more limited she's faster, her crouched stance making her an even smaller target than she already is. Neji is forced to adapt.
Suddenly Hinata attacks again, shooting forward. This time the force of the blow seems deafening to the arena, and the two freeze closely locked together. Sakura can't breathe, because it looks like Hinata has hit her goal yet the way the two are frozen together indicates that all is not right.
Then Hinata gasps and spits blood.
"So this is all that the main family can do?" Neji's voice is cold and dismissive.
She attacks again but her arm is easily caught and Neji deals another blow, now more targeted to the arm alone. A third blow sends her flying backwards with a pained cry.
It's a knockout.
"Hinata is unable to continue. Winner of the second match: Konohagakure's Hyuga Neji."
The crowd, and Hajime, goes wild.
From the common area of the stands, over where Sakura very carefully still isn't looking, she can hear Naruto's angry shouting, somehow discernable above the crowds roaring.
Below, medics come to carry Hinata away.
"Alright! I knew the underdog could do it!" Hajime cheers.
"Excuse me, I'll -"
Sakura puts her hand over her mouth, forcefully swallowing down bile. She needs to get out of here. She's going to throw up, she can't breathe, she -
"-I'll, just, go check on Hinata."
It's the first excuse that comes to mind, and Hajime distractedly waves her away.
Tomomi gives her a worried frown. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, it's just … I'm worried about Hinata, that's all. "
Tomomi nods understandingly, the worried look still lingering in her eyes.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Aimi asks.
Wordlessly Sakura shakes her head, making her way past the other spectators.
"Next match; Sunugakure's Gaara vs. Konohagakure's Tsurugi Misumi!"
Once more the crowd cheers, excited now to see another one of Sunugakure's mysterious shinobi. However, a hand is raised from the balcony where the contestants stand and a plain, polite voice speaks up.
"Excuse me, proctor-san? I'd like to yield this round."
The crowd's booing is deafening behind her as she leaves the balcony, heading for the corridors and hoping that she will at least actually be able to visit wherever those too sick to continue fighting are kept.
"Uhm, alright. Konohagakure's Tsurugi Misumi yields the match. Winner, Sunugakure's Gaara! Next match: Otogakure's Abumi Zaku vs. Konohagakkure's Aburame Shino!"
The cool silence of the arena's internal corridors come as a relief to her.
With the noise mostly cancelled out by the thick walls she takes a moment to lean against the wall, pressing her forehead against the cold stone. When she's reasonably sure that she won't throw up, or faint or something, she lifts her head again to look around.
Since she doesn't want to go back out to the balcony she ventures deeper into the hallways, following the signs directing her towards the infirmary. The air is cool, despite the warm day outside, and if not for the flickering light of the fluorescent lamps above the corridors would be compact darkness. Sakura finds that her steps get a little bit more steady as she walks away from the fighting, her legs feeling less wobbly.
"Your daughter will be fine, Hyuuga-sama. There are some serious injuries to her internal organs and she'll need to rest for a few weeks at least, but she's stable and you will be able to take her home later today."
Sakura pauses, hand hovering over the door knob to the door of the infirmary.
"When will she wake up?"
"Soon. Hard to tell exactly when, but within the hour most likely."
"Thank you."
"No problem. If you'll excuse me, I have to go and be on standby in case I'm needed for the next match."
Quickly she backs away, hiding in a conveniently placed alcove as the medic passes her by on the way back to the arena. Hesitantly she glances after the medic and then back towards the infirmary. If Hinata already has people on her bedside it will be rude of her to interrupt, yet the thought of going back makes her skin crawl with discomfort.
"You made a mistake in allowing this match to happen, Hiashi."
"I did not have much of a choice. The decision was made without consulting me, and by the time I found out it was already too late."
The door has been left slightly ajar, allowing the unfamiliar voices to drift down the corridor to her. She should definitely leave. Eavesdropping is rude in the best of circumstances, but doing so to the clan head of one of Konoha's most renowned shinobi clans is even worse.
"I'm not talking about the decision itself. I'm talking about allowing that boy to publicly humiliate the main house of the Hyuga clan."
"I told you, I will not hold Neji back just because he isn't my son. He's a gifted shinobi and deserves to be given a fair chance."
The voice is firm and has a certain edge to it, a warning about as clear as they come. She shivers and takes a step back, terrified of having that voice and its owner turn against her. That must be the kind of anger that has ended careers.
"A genius he may be but he's still a child of the branch family!" The second voice is older yet just as firm, with a frustrated tremor to it. "He should have yielded the match immediately or allowed Hinata to win!"
"Hinata needed to win this match on her own or not at all. Neji did nothing wrong."
It's too late to run, she realises as the infirmary-door swings open and the voices come closer. She presses herself against the wall, hoping and praying that the shadows of the alcove will hide her presence.
"And here we are; the proud Hyuga main family humiliated for all of the world to see. Do you not think that rumour of this will spread to the other hidden villages? To Kumogakure?"
"I am well aware of the risks -"
"It's not just risks! Our enemies will think us weak, knowing that the main house's oldest daughter is a failure of a shinobi."
They pass by her alcove, neither of them so much as glancing in her direction.
"You've postponed the necessary for too long, Hiashi. This match has yet again shown that Hinata is not suited to lead our clan. You need to mark her and officially make Hanabi your heir."
As their voices drift further and further away from her she stays put in the alcove, terrified to move and have them notice her after all. Only when their voices are entirely out of hearing does she step out of the alcove, slowly making her way towards the infirmary.
The infirmary itself is semi-large, with several hospital beds against a wall and rectangular windows placed high on the wall, letting in the sunlight. The noise of the arena is dulled but not entirely muffled by the thick, concrete walls. Two of the beds are occupied; Lee sleeping peacefully in one and Hinata in the other.
Hesitantly, because suddenly it feels awkward to be here after all, considering that Hinata and her have never been that close, she makes her way over to the bed. Hinata's face is pale against the sheets but to Sakura's surprise her eyes are open, staring emptily at the ceiling.
"Hinata?" she asks, worried that something might be terribly wrong after all. Where are the nurses? Are they all on standby for the fighting? Shouldn't at least one be here, in the infirmary with the patients?
Hinata blinks and slowly turns her head.
"S-Sakura? What a-are you doing here?" The voice is quiet as ever but there is a hopelessness there that is new. Considering what she has just heard Sakura thinks she understands. Did Hinata hear as well?
Perhaps Hinata's hopeless stutter is understandable after all.
"I was worried about you," she says, keeping her own voice almost as quiet as Hinata's and giving a hesitant smile. "How are you?"
Slowly Hinata blinks again, looking at her with those unnaturally pale eyes. Sakura tries not to show her own discomfort, waiting patiently for the other girl to answer.
"I'm fine, I think. Just disappointed. I wanted to put up more of a fight."
"But you fought so well," Sakura blurts.
"You don't have to comfort me, Sakura-"
"No! I mean it! That was some impressive taijutsu. I could never do that. And we're not even four months fresh out of the Academy, right? That Neji-person has over a year of experience on us, so I don't think there's shame in losing to someone like that."
The room is silent for a few moments as Hinata considers her words.
"Sakura is right," a voice suddenly speaks from the other occupied bed, startling both girls. "I don't think there is anyone our age who could beat Neji. He's most likely the strongest genin in Konoha."
Looking over she meets eyes with Lee, who isn't sitting up but has turned towards them slightly. He looks at them seriously. She gives him a small smile in return and he nods back at her.
"Thank you," Hinata stutters at last. "It's good to know that not everyone looks down on me for losing. And I'll work on getting stronger. I believe I can change, even if I am weak right now."
It is possibly the most she has ever heard Hinata say but she tries not to show her surprise. Instead she steps closer, gently sitting down on Hinata's bedside. They share a look and a smile.
"It's ok to be weak," Sakura says, thinking of herself and her own situation. "We just need to work on getting stronger."
"Agreed, Sakura!" Lee smiles. "We are in the springtime of our youth still, and there is no stopping us from -" he continues on, giving a small, passionate speech about the opportunities of youth.
Sakura smiles, only listening with half an ear, and shares another smile with Hinata.
"Are you too ..?" Hinata asks, barely audible below Lee's speech.
"What?"
"Are you too … inspired by Naruto-kun?" Hinata blushes as she finishes the question, not quite meeting Sakura's eyes yet not quite looking away either. "I mean, since you're on the same team with him and all -"
Cocking her head, she considers Hinata, the blush on her cheeks and her words. The image she gets is one she hasn't noticed before but one that has been there for a long while, she realises. It's just that back in the Academy she was too wrapped up in her own adoration for Sasuke-kun and her rivalry with Ino to notice. Has it only been four months since then? So much seems to have changed in such a short period of time.
As Hinata waits for an answer, and Lee finishes his speech, Sakura carefully considers the question posed. Is it Naruto that has inspired her to improve herself?
"No," she answers, speaking slowly as she formulates her thoughts. "Though I guess I can see how you would think that. He's really trying, isn't he? So determined to prove everyone wrong about him."
Including her, she realises. She has never really given him a fair chance, has she? The only time she has really thought of him was during the first stage of the exam, when she opted to have her team fail rather than risk them harming their futures by taking the last question. And even then she wasn't so much thinking of what he really wanted, but of what she thought was best for him. She's been unfair to him, she thinks guiltily.
The door slams open and the medic nins hurries inside, carrying a stretcher between them. On it lies an unfamiliar shinobi. From Otogakure, judging by his headband. Thankfully he's unconscious, because both of his arms seem to have been blown off and are bleeding heavily.
She sits frozen in place as the medics quickly perform some sort of first aid, performing basic healing and then bandaging the arms.
"We need to get him to the hospital properly," one of the medcs says, not even glancing at the other occupants in the room but directing her words at the other medic.
"Let's go."
They're out the door again, leaving behind bloodied sheets and the scent of blood. Outside, the audience roars.
"That was … scary," she says at last, swallowing around a very dry throat.
Hinata nods. Lee has leaned back in his bed but is very carefully not watching the bloodied sheets.
"So …" she says, desperately trying to come up with something to distract her mind. Anything is really better than the image of a bloodied, armless shinobi who is not much older than her. "Do you … want to do something, later? I mean, like tomorrow or some other time?"
"Like what?" Hinata asks, looking paler than usual.
"I don't know. We could go eat somewhere together?" That is, after all, what team 10 does together for most of their time when they are not training.
"I would love to have a meal with you sometime, Sakura-san!" Lee exclaims from the other bed.
Sakura mentally winces, because that was not what she had in mind, but now it only seems rude to take back her offer.
"I'd like that, I think," Hinata agrees.
They fall into awkward silence, each of them trying very hard not to look at the bloodied sheets.
Outside, the audience roars again.
Sakura should head back outside. Ino will kill her if she misses Shikamaru's match, and she doesn't want to force Hajime or Tomomi or anyone to come looking for her.
She'll just sith by Hinata's bedside, enjoying the peace and quiet and lack of people that despite her for a little bit longer.
Just a few more minutes before she returns to face reality again.