And I'm back.
Sorry I was gone so long. I was sick.
PS: to everyone complaining about the problematic comment in chapter one, do know that while I would love to delete it, I do not, in fact, have that authority.
There had been about forty people in the contestant's loge the day before yesterday, today there are less than twenty-five; as a result, the room is sparser, with a lot more empty space than there'd been, and it is evident that, for some more than others, the presence of that space (and the absence of the people who used to fill them) is keenly felt.
The reason for this situation is mostly because, while The Chūnin Exams may be a contest of individual ability, virtually everyone who made it in did so with at least one teammate.
Consequently, since half of our number has been eliminated, most of the contestants left either fall into the category of people like Dosu, who're the last of their team left, or people like me, who haven't lost a single teammate they came in with.
While sixteen of us may be gone however, there are still sixteen left, and due to the very nature of tournaments, those left are the cream of the crop; a cream that will only get finer and finer as the exam progresses.
My teammates and I are among the last to enter the loge today, and by the time we do, most everyone else is already present.
Naruto, of course, can't just enter the room quietly, he has to add something extra.
What exactly the blonde does though, surprises me. And not necessarily in a bad way.
… Mostly …Probably.
See, Naruto walks up to Dosu, in full view of everyone, I might add, where the Sound-nin sits next to his sensei with a scowl on his face, and says; "Hey, how's your teammate? Is he gonna be okay?"
Dosu, and his sensei, both stare at the boy.
While Caleb's memories tell me that much of Dosu's face should be wrapped in bandages to hide his horrible scarring, it isn't. There are some burn scars, yes, but his face is uncovered, making me better able to see the clear suspicion on it as he regards Naruto.
"What's it to you?" Dosu asks.
Wow, this guy makes me look chummy.
"Well, he was hurt pretty bad," Naruto says, "so I wanna know if he's gonna be fine."
Dosu scowls, searching Naruto's face for any sign of trickery, but while the blonde can be quite mischievous when he wants to be, it's obvious to anyone who cares to look that trickery is the farthest thing from his mind right now. Right now, he's just a boy who cares. Simple as that.
Relenting, Dosu replies, the words coming out like they physically hurt.
"He'll live," Dosu says. "But he's done." That last part needs no elaboration.
It is one of a ninja's biggest fear; to be done. Bigger even than dying, for most of us. And while we all understand that it could potentially happen to us one day, to actually see it happen, and to one so young no less, is chilling.
Suffice to say that Kurotsuchi did not endear herself to many people with her actions the day before yesterday.
Naruto looks sad at Dosu's news on the state of his teammate for a moment, but then his eyes spark with an inner fire.
"Let's make a promise," Naruto declares, voice carrying steadily across the quiet room. "Whichever one of us who fights that Stone jerk that harmed your teammate will beat her up."
Dosu blinks at the declaration.
"Why?" he asks after a moment.
Naruto's response is a wide-eyed "Huh?"
"I mean, why?" Dosu repeats. "Why would you make such a promise to me. You don't even know Zaku."
"I don't have to know him," Naruto says. "I just don't like jerks, and that Stone jerk hurt your friend, that's why I'm gonna punch her face in. That's my ninja-way."
Dosu stares at Naruto like he's trying to figure out what kind of ninja makes declarations like that. And for reasons such as that.
A voice interrupts Naruto's little moment.
"You're gonna punch my face in, huh?" Kurotsuchi says, walking in with her teammate and jōnin-sensei flanking her.
Naruto looks surprised at the Stone-nin's presence at first, but he recovers quickly. "Yeah, that's right," he says boldly. "But that's only if Dosu doesn't get the chance to do it first."
Kurotsuchi looks from Naruto to Dosu, and back again.
She laughs.
Surprisingly, it's neither mocking, nor is it malicious. It's just this… cute, little giggle, like a friend just shared a funny joke with her.
Still giggling, Kurotsuchi walks off with her team, and they seat themselves at the same corner of the room they did last time.
Naruto and Dosu shoot the girl nasty looks.
Soon, we too are seated, and not long after that, the roster for this round is released.
The noteworthy names from the last round jump out at me almost immediately, and at the sight of two of them, I have to hold back a sigh, because those two names are Naruto and Karui.
Karui is the hot-headed Cloud-nin who threw a bagel at Naruto back in Haven, and somehow, someway, these two… maniacs have been matched up to fight.
To make matters worse, at the announcement, both genin jump up, point at each other, and shout; "Ha! Perfect. Now I'm gonna kick your ass." In perfect synchronicity.
Everyone stares at them, and with embarrassed blushes, they sit back down.
Sakura massages the bridge of her nose. "Why me?" I hear her mutter.
Presently though, the most important name is Kurotsuchi's, because according to the roster, she's fighting first.
Kurotsuchi's opponent is noticeably not among the memorable performers from the last round.
In fact, it's the Grass-nin who barely eked out a win against her opponent in the first match, Kaoru Ogawa.
Now, Kaoru isn't a subpar ninja. In fact, I can confidently say that she's chūnin level, and maybe in a different year, a year without people like Kurotsuchi, like Gaara, like me, competing, she would have had a chance to shine.
But this isn't such a year. And she's now going against a girl who's already ended the career of one ninja in this very exam.
Consequently, Kaoru is terrified. And it shows.
Her sensei pats her on the shoulder, giving her a look full of things that I'm not familiar enough with their history to understand, and Kaoru takes a breath, her terror seeming to steady a bit.
The contestants take the field, and the announcer reintroduces them to the audience, reminding everyone of their accomplishments so far in the exam.
When the proctor, Hayate, asks if they're ready though, Kurotsuchi speaks.
"Surrender," she says, the one word cutting through the arena and silencing all conversation.
The Grass-nin, Kaoru blinks.
Seeing that she has the other girl's attention, Kurotsuchi continues; "The first one, Zaku, was a warning; I'm not here to play around."
A ball of smoking lava forms over Kurotsuchi's right hand. The heat evident to all.
"Surrender," Kurotsuchi says again.
The proctor looks to Kaoru, and the girl hesitates, looking conflicted.
Conflicted, but very tempted.
In the end, I think what does it is the fact that Kurotsuchi hadn't mocked Kaoru.
She simply stated the facts as they are; if they fight, Kaoru will lose. And she will lose terribly.
Beside me, Naruto looks angry, and for a second I worry that he'll scream some sort of encouragement down to the Grass-nin.
That would be bad. That would be very bad.
Fortunately, even Naruto can see the truth, and he isn't stupid enough to gamble someone else's life on denying it.
Thus, Kaoru says the words that seals the match: "I surrender."
And just like that, Kurotsuchi becomes the first, and likely only person in the tournament to win a fight before it even begins.
Thanks for reading.
link in my bio.