Hot air blew against my back. The sun was strong. I got up from my squat.

I dashed to a tree for shade. I crouched down again, my eyes focused.

Where was he?

"Pst. Twelve O'clock."

I spun around. "Oh, phew. It's you."

"Thought I was someone else?" Hana asked.

"Sorry, heat's getting to me. Where?"

"There."

I scanned the area. There was a group of boys huddled behind the bushes. I saw a red cap peak out.

"Should we ambush them?" I asked.

Hana tied her hair into a tighter ponytail. "We have only about six more minutes. Maybe it's wise to wait."

"It's too hot," I said, impatient.

"How many belts have you got?"

From my pockets, I pulled out two belts. "You?"

"Five, including mine."

"Sweet!"

We high-fived.

"Then we should wait," Hana said. "There's five of them and two of us. We'll lose eight belts if we fail. Better to wait out our victory."

"Great, except we aren't winning."

"What?"

"Ayame's beaten. So that just leaves you, me, and Tamaki. I say we move. Let's go."

I moved away from the tree.

We circled the field. No one heard us yet. Hana and I exchanged a nod.

"ATTACK!"

I tackled down one boy. We crashed into a second boy. While everyone was shocked, I grabbed their belts.

Hana gave them a chance. She waited, counting down. Then she rammed one boy into the dirt. She wrestled for his belt.

"RUN! It's the crazy girls!"

"Oh, come on. Stop being wussies," Hana said.

Hana dodged a punch. She extended a foot, tripping her opponent. As he fell, she pulled his belt away.

"Hey Minoji, give me your belt, and I'll let you go," I said. "Because you had a lot of nerve to bully Ayame like that."

Minoji backed away. "She tripped by herself!"

I blinked. "Oh. I thought—nevermind."

"Minoji, just give us your belt before we get nasty," Hana said.

Minoji tossed it and ran. The other boys ran off too.

"Got two."

"Two here."

"Hell yeah! That was way easier than—"

My face planted flat on the ground. Dizzy, I sent my fist up. He caught it. I felt my arm bend back.

"Ow OW! Stop that!"

Grinning, Gin pinned me to the ground. How did I not notice him disappear during the ambush? Damn!

"You lose."

"Hana!"

Unanswered, I looked up. Hana was surrounded by a circle of boys.

"HANA RUN!"

"What. Do you. Think. I'm trying to do?" Hana punched through and ran off. They chased her, leaving me alone with Gin.

I tried to escape. I failed. So I did the only thing I could. I head butted him.

Our heads hit. Gin fell back, his cap falling off.

"Oh—"

"My—"

"OWIE OW."

"You are crazy!" he said.

Yes, but it did get him off me. I flipped up.

"Fight for it?" I asked.

I went into battle position. Gin did the same, turning the cap on his head.

"I've got six," he told me smugly.

"Five. But once you lose, you'll have zero," I taunted.

I charged. Gin moved out of the way. I did a spin kick. My foot hit something heavy. One poof later, I saw I kicked a log.

"Hey, no fair! Since when can you do that!" I shouted to the air. "Subs haven't even been introduced yet!"

"Thought I'd surprise—"

I jutted out my elbow, cutting him off. Sucker!

We fought until we heard the whistle. I cursed, within touch of his belt.

Calling it a tie, again, Gin and I went back to the center of the field. We were the first to arrive.

Teacher Funeno was there, waiting. He saw us and shook his head. "Again, Ginjiro? Ayae? The goal is to capture each other's belts."

"We did," we said, showing him our stashes.

"In stealth."

We laughed guiltily.

Teacher Funeno shook his head again. He sent us to the bathroom to get cleaned up. We dropped our belts, then raced each other to the school building.

"Guys won," Gin bragged.

"Not after that embarrassing defeat two minutes ago!"

"You're probably the only girl left. Admit it, girls lost."

"You forget Hana."

"Four against one? She got no chance."

"It's Hana. You wimps got no chance," I said. "And don't forget Tamaki."

"Thought she lost already."

"Nope!"

I headed to the girl's bathroom. Gin went down the other hallway.

I splashed my face. In my mirror, I saw I had twigs and mud all over. And a bloody nose. Not wanting to risk a gusher, I stole a roll of toilet paper and stuffed it in my humongous pant pockets.

Back at the fields, all the students were finally gathered. Teacher Funeno announced the total belts of each team.

Girls won. Hana and I had twelve. Tamaki had three, coming out spotless. Another girl had hid the entire time, adding one more. To break the tie, Dai showed up with two more after beating up the boy who dared steal hers.

All the girls cheered and high-fived.

After school, I saw someone I did not think I would see in a while.

"Shisui!" I called, waving.

Shisui waved back. He was holding two ice cream cones.

He dangled one just out of my reach. I pretended to jump for it, only to snatch the other one in his hand.

Shisui was impressed. We set out for the road together.

I licked my ice cream. It was heavenly. I sighed at the cold.

I missed Shisui. He had been gone for a month.

"How was your mission in Suna?" I asked.

I looked at him. His skin was still pale. Before he left, he had been excited to get a Suna tan. Besides my dad, who got sunburns, no one in our clan tanned.

"Eh, sandy. Came back early." He waved the topic away. "How's the academic building of torture? They fixed the air conditioning yet?"

"Yeah right. They haven't even bothered. So now we just bake in the fields all day. We played flag race."

"Ah, I remember those. How many belts did you steal?"

"Five."

"Only five? I'm disappointed. I could have gotten at least ten."

"Oh, shut up." I shoved him playfully.

I finished my ice cream. Halfway through our walk home, I unzipped my backpack and tossed him a stack of books. "Since you're here, help me carry those?"

He juggled as I piled more things on top.

"Wait, wait, I thought I fixed your scroll?"

"It exploded. And burned all my homework. Then the police came," I deadpanned. "Apparently somebody didn't do the sealing technique right."

It had been a miracle that I was not hurt. I just needed to scrub ashes out of my hair with ten bottles of shampoo. My room, however, was a mess. The walls were burnt. The windows were shattered. Oh, and the roof was gone. My clan fixed most of the house but not the roof. So now I had bird poop all over my carpet.

And because my closet burned down, I had to borrow clothes from Gin.

Shisui owed me a big shopping spree.

Shisui laughed nervously. He decided he'd rather talk about this mission after all. He told me about all the sand. And then, more sand.

He got me a fan as a souvenir.

"Huh!" I turned it in my hand. "Oh wow, thanks!"

Shisui also got me something else.

"And I got these!" He handed me two pieces of paper.

"What are they?"

"Tickets to the fall Chuunin Exam. You see, Itachi's been released…"

I froze.

"And he'll be in it."

I stood still. I stared at him like he had two heads.

"And it would be great if you would go and support him? You know, in the finals? Uh, squirt? You okay?"

I needed time to recover.

When I did, I handed the tickets back to Shisui with more force than needed.

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I could not find the right words. Finally, I said, "Shisui, I haven't seen Itachi in two years. He's your friend, but he's not mine anymore. You can keep those."

Shisui sagged. "You're still upset with him, aren't you?"

"I'm not upset. I just think that if Itachi doesn't want to see me, it wouldn't be right for me to see him." I was surprised by how smoothly I said that.

I quickened my pace. Shisui caught up and handed the tickets back.

"Sorry, no refunds."

"I—"

"And come on, you can't really believe that. Itachi misses you."

"No, he doesn't," I said.

"Yes, he does, and he needs your support. So go or give the tickets to someone else. But I ain't taking them back."

I looked at him hard.

Shisui shrugged shamelessly. "Besides, Itachi can't avoid you there, can he?"

I pointed at him. "Aha! Itachi is still avoiding me! If he doesn't want to see me, then I don't either. I'm not going!"

Shisui played along in his Shisui way. "But why would he possibly intentionally avoid someone for so long for the sake of an unpleasant encounter. In fact, he is deriving more satisfaction from you stressing out over this trivial issue of not being able to see him, which only point to the fact that you do wish to see him, and said hypothesis can be proven by your statement above, which I quote, "If he doesn't want to see me, then I don't either," implying that the only reason you are keeping up with this charade of not wishing to see him isn't because you do not wish to, but because of your belief that he does not wish to. Because any set of induction skills can successfully conclude you really do want to see him. And bad."

My eye twitched. Those were some big words.

He continued, "Why? Due to my understanding of your character—"

"What! Okay, stop right there."

Silence.

"Okay," I said, after a lot of thought. "First of all, half of that did not make any sense. Second of all, you are using random facts to make a wrong point sound right. You start with, "If he doesn't want to see me, then I don't either," which does not mean, "If he does want to see me, then I do too." You are also assuming he wants to see me in the first place, which is wrong."

Shisui blinked. He moved his index finger, tracing over my words. After drawing a few loops in the air, he raised his eyebrows high.

"Wow, when did you get smart?"

"I go to school."

Shisui sighed. "Fine. Then don't go."

"I won't."

"You definitely won't."

"Yes."

"Not at all."

"Yes."

"But you will go anyway even if right now you are saying that you won't go."

"No."

"So, you aren't saying you won't go?"

"Yes—No! Shisui, stop tricking me!"

"Don't learn that in school, now do ya? See you at the Konoha arena in a week!"

I gritted my teeth. "I. Am. Not. Going!"

"Don't care," he sang. "You may learn a thing or two. Oh, and going back to our discussion earlier, just because point A, "If he does not wish to see you, you do not wish to see him," does not imply point B, "If he does want to see you, then you do too," it still does not prove point C, which is that you do not want to see him. Which is independent of whether he wants to see you or not."

"Even if it doesn't prove C, you can't prove your part either," I tested, having no idea what we were saying anymore.

"Oh, I think I'll have my proof in a week. You'll show up. After all, you don't want to waste such an opportunity for the sake of an argument you already lost, now do ya?"

"I didn't lose. If I don't show up at the Chuunin Exam, then I win. Ha!"

"Yeah, but you lost at the same time. I just bamboozled you into not going just so you can win a silly argument and spite Itachi."

"And I lost how?"

"You just proved point D. If you really aren't upset over the fact that you can't see him, then you wouldn't care you can't, now would you? And if you didn't care, then why would you waste two perfectly free Chuunin Exam tickets, tickets that you can't get under any other circumstances, and not just enjoy the show? The show that for once is being held here, in Konoha."

I crossed my arms. "Shisui, have you thought that I just don't want to watch Itachi in the match?"

"Squirt, Itachi isn't the only participant. You are so caught up thinking of him, you seem to have missed the fact that the Exam is an exciting competition of worldwide ninjas." Sensing my lack of a comeback, he grinned wider. "Nice try, but I grew up with Itachi and twisted logic. You're eons away from winning these arguments. Of course, you can prove me wrong. In that case, I guess you'll catch Itachi again in another two more years or so. Ooh, crossroad, gotta go. See ya, squirt!"

"Can you stop calling me 'squirt,'" I said. "I'm not short anymore. Last month, I grew a centimeter."

"Really? It looks like you shrunk."

"Because I don't grow like crazy like you!"

He laughed.

After Shisui was gone, I looked at the tickets once more. I stuffed them into my pockets.

That night, I collapsed onto my bed. I stared at the crumbled tickets. Front row seats. These were only second best to balcony seats. I doubted even Tamaki could afford these.

I thought of Itachi. He was one of my first friends in Konoha. But for two years, he had been gone. His family had been gone. Over the seasons, no matter how much I had wanted to see him, I could not.

Shisui was right. If I wanted to see Itachi again, this was my one chance.

But did I want to see him anymore? When I was eight years old, I had been so hurt over this. Month after month I had chased after him, to make sure he was okay, to make sure we were okay. But if Itachi wanted to end our friendship, then maybe he was not worth it. Friendship was not supposed to hurt. It was not supposed to be one-sided either.

I slammed a pillow over my head. "What do I do? Go or don't go?"

The stars were silent above. If they were going to whisper some mystical answer, now would be a great time to hear it.

"Come on, guys. What happened to your cosmic powers? Aren't you supposed to have all the answers?" I yelled.

When I got no reply, I searched in the dark. I turned on my lamp.

I shook my future ball. Screw the stars when you have a future ball.

.

The day came. I found myself braiding my hair, ribbon in my mouth. My dad popped into my room.

"Wowza, someone's dressed!"

"Yorum sumpose toome." I removed the ribbon from my mouth and weaved it into my hair. "You are supposed to be."

"How about a kimono?"

"Not that dressed!" I did not want to show up to the Chuunin Exams in sweatpants, that was all.

"Okay. And I'm sorry again that something came up."

"It's fine. I'm going with Gin."

"Your detention buddy?"

"It was an accident! So what if we spilled mop water on the teacher."

"You dumped it on the teacher as a misfire of trying to soak your friend," my dad said, disapproving.

"Well, Gin fired first. And we paid the detention, alright?"

"And the time before?"

"We thought rocks were a permissible weapon."

"Uh-huh. And the time before that?"

"Okay, that one was my bad. But the time before that, I swear I didn't see them when I tested my kick."

"Wandering around in school fields after school hours."

"Ballet ended early. What else could I do except play a little?"

"Destroying said fields."

"It was muddy, okay?"

"Smuggling food into classrooms."

"We were hungry after trying to run away."

My dad sighed. "I'm beginning to think that kid is a bad influence."

I rolled my eyes. "Daddy, chill. Good luck with research."

"Thank you! My team believes it might work this time. You see, when we placed the—"

"Yes, yes, good luck and see you later!"

I shooed my dad out of my room.

Gin was waiting for me by his usual place at the gate. On our way to the arena, I gave Gin one of my crumbled up tickets. He held the ticket up to the sunlight.

"Wow, Ayae, these are hot. How did you get front row?"

I mumbled under my breath.

"What?"

"Nothing," I said. "Come on. Race you!"

Our backpacks shuffled behind us as we ran.

The Exams did not begin for a while, but there was already a giant line that wrapped around the Konoha arena five times.

Gin and I exchanged a nod. We got on our knees. We crawled through the mob of legs to the front entrance. A pair of security guards stopped us before we made it in. One guard caught my arm and pulled me up. The other guard got Gin.

"Hey! Let go!"

The guards held us. "Not a chance, kids."

I flashed my ticket. "We aren't sneaking in. We have tickets."

Surprised, the guard took my ticket and examined it. He looked skeptical. "Where did you get these?"

"Got them from a friend," I said.

The guard frowned. "You mean stole."

"She did not steal that!" Gin snapped.

"Then you did."

"He—we did not steal anything!" I said. "Are you going to let us in or what?"

Luck was on our side. Just then, the crowd separated for a big escort.

"All hail the Fire Daimyo and Princess!"

Everyone, including the guards, bowed in respect. Freed, Gin and I snuck inside.

Passing by us were a group of dancers and musicians. In the center were four people lifting a carriage. There were two silhouettes behind the curtain to the carriage.

A fan slid the curtain aside. The princess peeked out.

I was surprised to see the Fire princess. She was pretty. Her lips were red. She had flowers in her hair buns. But all the makeup and fanciness aside, she looked only a few years older. In fact, her face looked a bit like mine.

Gin tugged my sleeve. "Come on."

Together, we squeezed through the crowds to the front of the arena. Matching the ticket numbers to the seat numbers, I saw we got first row. If we wanted, we could jump over the railing and drop into the arena.

Everyone around us looked rich. I looked up to the balconies. I saw the Hokage lighting his pipe. Beside the Hokage was another Kage. He was bulky and had dark skin. The third Kage was hidden by his robes.

Above the Kages, in the highest tower, the Fire Daimyo sat with his daughter. They were served drinks. The curtains pulled down around them.

Below the Kages, in the lower balconies, were the noble clan families. Ms. Hyuuga sat with the other women of her clan. They were all beautiful with long hair and pale eyes. In the front was a little girl clutching her father. The father was staring furiously at someone.

I followed his gaze.

Oh hell no.

It was my clan. Shisui was being badgered by one of my uncles. The clan elder sat in the center, alongside two men. One of them was Itachi's father. Itachi's father had his arms folded, glaring back at the Hyuuga father before focusing on someone else.

I followed his gaze and found the contestants' balcony. One of the contestants looked nervous. His knees were shaking. His hand clutched the railing hard.

The others looked calm. One was smirking.

Then I saw the smallest of the contestants, standing mostly in the shadows.

The distance was too great. I could not make out too many details, but my heart skipped a beat.

Itachi moved and disappeared behind one of the doors. I stood up from my seat.

"What are you—"

"I need to check something," I said.

Gin looked like he was about to say something.

"Go get popcorn or something. I'll be right back."

I passed seat after seat. I saw ninjas entering a hallway. I wondered if that led anywhere, so I followed behind and found stairs. After a billion steps down, I saw an opening. It was the arena floor. Oops, wrong way!

I went back up the stairs, trying a different floor. The door to the floor was locked, so I tried the next floor.

It was a maze. I gave up and settled for any door, any door at all. I heard a voice behind one and cracked it open.

"Should we send him out, my Lord?"

"Not at all! I find him entertaining."

"Thank you! Now stop talking about me like I'm not here."

I heard the Fire Daimyo laugh. He fanned himself. There was an older man next to him. The older man had white hair and traveler's clothes. There was a giant scroll on his back.

"I like you," the Fire Daimyo said. "Witty as always, my friend."

"Father?" the princess said.

"One moment, darling," the Fire Daimyo said. "So how has been your journey?"

"Well, I've got a massive collection of information I can't wait to write down. I've been driving my publisher mad in fact—"

"She still hasn't left you alone?" the Fire Daimyo said.

"No more than my editor," the traveler said, laughing. "No matter where I flee, she always finds me."

"Father…"

"Hold on, darling. When you are finished, have it delivered prompt-prompt to the capital. I have been dying for the next part of the series."

"My Lord!" said a man in black robes and top hat. "Please."

"Oh, you'll get your copy too," the Fire Daimyo assured, waving his fan at the counselor.

"That's not what I meant!" the counselor said, covering his face in embarrassment. "I don't believe now is such a time to be discussing such inappropriate—"

"Ah! But what is appropriate? I am merely capturing nature in its purest form. And that, my friend, is my art to you," the traveler said with a humble bow.

"Brilliant! Just brilliant! Well said," the Daimyo praised, clapping his hands enthusiastically. With his fan, he pointed to one of the scribes. "Are you recording that? Hurry, hurry, while the memory is still fresh!"

The scribe dipped his brush in ink and wrote on the scroll.

The traveler sweatdropped. "My Lord, I'm flattered, but that is not necessary."

"Yes, it is. I want each of your words recorded onto this parchment here."

"Some words are only meant to be heard once, and that has an impact greater than being read a thousand times."

"More brilliance! Did you get that down?"

"Oi, did you not get what I just said? Stop writing what I'm saying! And don't write that either! I told you to stop! Stop that brush!"

"You are truly amusing, Jiraiya." The Fire Daimyo giggled, covering his mouth with the fan.

"Father!"

"Oh! Right, yes, darling?"

She pointed to the curtains. "The match is about to begin."

"Oh! Thank you, darling."

"Ah, then it is time I bid my farewells," the traveler said.

"You shall not stay?" the Fire Daimyo asked, disappointed.

"Nah. Catch you later, and thanks for the drinks!"

The traveler disappeared in a poof.

The Daimyo sighed, fanning himself. "Let's now enjoy the show, shall we?"

"Father, may I..."

I closed the door.

I ran. I did not want to miss the match myself.

I turned the hallway and bumped into someone.

It was the traveler.

"Princess?"

"Uh..."

The traveler noticed his mistake.

"Are you looking for your parents?" he asked, squatting down. "The audience is that way." He pointed down the hall.

I thanked him and went that way. I heard his wooden shoes click on the floor. His footsteps faded.

Miraculously, I found my way back to my seat. Gin's hat was filled with popcorn.

"Where'd you go?" he asked.

I frowned. "Not where I wanted to."

"Well, at least you're back. The match's about to begin. They're introducing the people now and— what the—! Since when was your cousin in this thing? That's your cousin, right?"

Gin pointed to Itachi below in the arena.

Oh yeah, that was him. Uchiha right there.

"Since now?" I squirmed in my seat.

"You knew, didn't you?"

"A little. Okay, a lot. But I didn't know until I got the tickets, I swear!"

"Whatever."

Gin stuffed his mouth with popcorn.

I sighed. "Gimme popcorn."

Each contestant got introduced by name and country. There were many different headbands, but only one for Konoha. Itachi's.

There were many cheers when his name was announced. I clapped with the audience.

Then, Itachi looked up. He made eye contact with one person.

Me.

.

Taijutsu, the art of hand to hand combat. The grace of each punch, kick, drop and flip. The skill to disable the opponent with a single jab.

Ninjutsu, the art of unlocking spirituality. To unleash the elements, whether for an offensive expulsion of fire or a defensive concealment into the shadows. The skill which defines a ninja's role and path.

Genjutsu, the art of the mind. To bewilder and overpower the senses, creating the ultimate betrayal of the body. The skill that remains the most arcane, yet also the most deadly.

To have one mastered means someone worthy of recognition. To master them all means fulfilling the requirement of a perfect ninja.

At least, that was what my textbook said.

Below were eight ninjas. For over a decade, never had there been a preliminary twice. Thirty three genin passed, yet they slashed the numbers twice, leaving only the best of best.

The audience was restless. Everyone itched for the fights to begin. People pooled money at the betting table.

"I'd put my money on him. He ranked second during the last Exam! He almost made it!"

"Heard some frightening information about him. All assassination missions."

"A lone kunoichi among the leagues and the Kage is betting on her!"

"So this is the heir of the Uchiha."

Most of the contestants left the arena. Itachi left as well.

Two contestants stayed: one ninja from Kusa and one ninja from Iwa.

"Hey, see that guy over there?" Gin pointed to the Iwa ninja who was waving to all his fans. "He's from Iwa. This is his third time in the exam. On his previous try, he made it to second place. I don't know why he was not picked for chuunin though, since second is usually enough."

I watched the Iwa ninja flex his muscles. This earned a few faints from the ladies in the crowd. He was shirtless and not shy to show off his tan. On his bandana was the symbol of two rocks.

Gin then pointed to Kusa ninja. He told me about his clan's ability to merge in with their surroundings. The Kusa ninja was in baggy khaki. He had pasty skin and bleached hair.

"How do you know so much?" I asked Gin, suspicious.

"I have my ninja smarts," Gin bragged.

"No. Really," I deadpanned. His ninja smarts were my ninja smarts. He got his information from somewhere. Probably the same place as his mysterious popcorn.

Gin grinned sheepishly. From his pocket, he took out a booklet. "Got a copy of the betting cheat-sheet," he said.

"Where did you get that?"

Gin kept his voice low. "Err, don't look back, but you'll see a noble three seats back looking for something."

"You what?"

"He's the one who dropped it. I just picked it up."

Pouting, I flipped through the booklet. Might as well see what was in it.

There was a profile of each contestant. I saw information like country, clan, age, mentor…

Techniques, abilities, missions…

Diseases, diet, chakra type, blood type…

I looked up. Blood type? Did I even know my blood type?

It went on and on. I read about the Iwa ninja. Now I knew he liked mountain hiking, wrestling, and… statue making?

What a stalker book!

"Why would anyone have this?" I asked.

Gin shrugged. "It's a tournament, Ayae. If you are going to bet, you would want to win. I think the book is to help rich asses rig everything in their favor."

"Wow."

The contestants below shook hands.

The match began.

They separated, both in battle position.

The Iwa ninja made the first move. He sprinted forward and leaped up. On landing, he punched the ground.

The whole arena earthquaked. Rocks came out from the ground in spikes.

The Kusa ninja made hand signs. Before any of the spikes got him, he melted into the ground.

The Kusa ninja came out behind the Iwa ninja and stabbed him.

My eyes widened. The crowd went silent.

The Iwa ninja exploded in a poof. When the smoke cleared, a giant stone statue stood in his place. It featured the Iwa ninja in a show-off heroic pose, half naked, with full eight-packs. One arm was doing a bicep curl. The other hand saluted the sky, holding the Kusa ninja by the back of his shirt.

The Kusa ninja dangled in the air. He could not get down.

The crowd burst out laughing. Gin laughed with them.

I covered my face, embarrassed for the Kusa ninja.

The Iwa ninja laughed too. He bowed to the audience.

The Iwa ninja threw a shuriken. It ripped through the Kusa ninja's shirt, freeing him. The Kusa ninja landed on his feet, embarrassed.

"All good fun, eh?" the Iwa ninja said. His dialect was different from Fire's. The ladies fainted again at the foreign accent.

Hissing, the Kusa ninja threw a dagger.

The Iwa ninja caught the dagger between his fingers.

"Trying to kill me already?" The Iwa ninja straightened up. He cracked his neck. "Well, if you insist on being so serious."

He banged his fists into the earth. Massive boulders rose up. With a thrust of his arm, the boulders shattered into a million rocky spikes. They shot out in all directions. Including mine.

I slammed the booklet to my face. As if that would protect me.

The spikes hit an invisible wall. They crumbled into dust.

Around us were people in white masks. Together, they held up a chakra barrier. The crowd was safe.

I melted into my seat. Front row seats? Not a good idea.

The nobleman next to me laughed.

"Silly girl. As if they could harm us." He sipped his sake.

My nose wrinkled at the smell of alcohol. I leaned closer to Gin.

Gin was in shock. His mouth was open with popcorn still in it. When he came around, he turned to me.

"Whoa."

"I know," I whispered.

Man, that was dangerous.

"That. Was. AWESOME!"

Nevermind.

Excited, Gin leaned forward.

The Kusa ninja was snaking around the rock spikes. He melted into the ground again.

This time, the Iwa ninja slammed his palms into the earth. The ground rippled like water. Trees and bushes rocked back and forth, as if sinking into quicksand.

The Kusa ninja floated up, knocked out. The ground hardened into a smooth plain.

The match was over. The Iwa ninja was the winner.

The crowd cheered.

One section of the audience rooted, "IWA! IWA! IWA!" Gin joined them. Others were booing, saying he cheated.

The Iwa ninja bowed. Then he stomped and mud slid out for a dramatic exit.

A small intermission took place. Medics were carrying out the Kusa ninja.

I returned to the booklet. All the information had been right.

"Dude, that was just—man! I have got to tell my bro this. Did you see that? He punched the rock and it went like BO-BOOM and…" The popcorn flew in the air as Gin punched up.

"Yeah sure." I said, busy flipping through the pages.

Gin picked up his fallen hat. He dusted off the crumbs. "That was the coolest thing ever. He's so going to win this!"

"Maybe." I looked through the names.

Gin peeked over my shoulder. "Looking up your cousin?"

Uchiha. Found him. I skimmed.

I closed the booklet, disappointed.

Itachi's profile only said that he was of the prodigy Uchiha clan, had the Sharingan, and had good speed and movement. As if everybody didn't already know that.

"Are you worried?" Gin asked. "He's next."

"I know."

"He'll get murdered. Have you seen his opponent?"

I winced. "He won't. He's pretty good."

Itachi could fight, I told myself. Gin was not there that day.

"He better be if my bro lost to him," Gin scoffed.

The proctor announced the next match.

Itachi walked into the arena alongside his opponent, an Ame ninja.

Itachi extended a hand. The Ame ninja did not shake it.

The Ame ninja looked like he belonged on the hospital bed, not in a fight. He was hunched, his arms dangling in front of him like dead weight. He wore a straitjacket with many plastic tubes down the spine. They seemed to carry air to his gas mask.

His aura was very chilling. He stared like he was ready to kill.

I shuddered.

I tugged on Gin's sleeve. "Hey, read to me about that guy?"

Gin looked for the Ame ninja in the booklet.

"Hurry!" I rushed.

The proctor whistled.

Already, the second match was different from the first. The contestants did not separate. They did not go into battle positions.

Itachi stood still.

I shook Ginjiro. Why was Itachi not moving away? Going into some defense position? At least get out a damn kunai!

"Who is that guy? Is he dangerous? He won't kill Itachi right? Tell me!"

"Stop... shaking... can't... read!" Gin slurred.

The Ame ninja took the first step. He circled Itachi until he was at his back.

Itachi still did not move. He did not even look back.

Shuriken flew. They went past Itachi's face so fast, his hair fluttered. Itachi did not blink.

"Heh. No fear," the Ame ninja rasped. He inhaled. "I'll give you a chance to surrender…" He exhaled. "Before I bleed that pretty little head…"

"I shall return your offer," Itachi said.

The Ame ninja had a creepy laugh. In a flash, he had a circle of clones around Itachi. They threw weapons at him from every angle.

Itachi deflected them with his own. They deflected so precisely, they hit the Ame ninja's clones. The clones turned into vapor.

The vapors regenerated.

All the clones were good as new. Itachi was back where he began.

"I closely studied your…" Inhale. "Battle style at preliminaries…" Exhale. "I know you like running and attacking from the shadows. Taking advantage of size and stealth like a coward mouse. But now…"

Inhale.

"You are in plain sight and…"

Exhale.

"Dead."

More weapons flew.

Itachi disappeared.

Up. He had leapt up.

"Fire style…"

Itachi blew a breath of fire.

The fireball was a little more than big. It was the size of the arena.

The Ame ninja and his clones stared, stunned. There was no way to dodge something that massive. They disappeared into the light.

I shielded myself from the heat. The chakra barrier in front of us got wobbly.

By the time the fire was gone, the ground was sizzling. Itachi stood alone in the center. He ignored the gasps from the audience.

He looked at the far edges of the arena. Near the walls were blackened trees.

"Come out."

Wires shot out. They wrapped around Itachi before he could escape.

The unharmed Ame ninja came out from behind the trees. His breath was heavier.

"How did you know?" the Ame ninja rasped.

"Your arms are incapacitated," Itachi said. "The weapons were coming from launchers in the surrounding trees. The clones were merely to hide this fact."

The wires strangled him tighter.

"Not entirely incapacitated." The Ame ninja chuckled, but it turned into a wheeze. "I'll kill you… you… little…"

The Ame ninja lifted an arm. His sleeve slid up. He did not have a hand but a knife.

My breath hitched.

"Shit!" Gin cried, shaking my shoulder. "This guy does assassinations, Ayae. Your cousin should yell forfeit while he still can, and the proctors can interfere!"

I stammered.

Step.

Inhale.

Step.

Exhale.

Step.

Inhal

"My offer still stands," Itachi said.

The Ame ninja was a meter away now.

And then he fell onto the ground. His body jerked. Inhale exhale inhale exhale.

Itachi looked unimpressed.

The Ame ninja gasped, blue and purple. His eyes were wide and watery. He stared in fury at the boy above him.

The jerking stopped.

The proctor did a countdown, before raising his hand.

"Winner! Konoha shinobi, Uchiha Itachi!"

The crowd roared. There were cheers. Shisui cheered the loudest of them all.

My mouth was open. Gin was as dumbfounded as I was.

"What…"

"Just…"

"Happened?"

Then Ginjiro saw. He pointed to the Ame ninja on the ground. The plastic tube. It was sliced wide open.

Slowly we realized.

Itachi had cut the tube when the match started. No one knew until it was too late.

And Itachi made sure it was too late. His one attack was not to burn the Ame ninja. Fire ate everything. But most importantly, it ate the air. After that, he just needed to wait.

Itachi did not need to lift another finger.

I laughed at myself. "He made it in, dummy," I told myself. "Of course he'd be good enough to fight."

I was worried over nothing.

I got grim. But the Ame ninja was hurt before the match even began. That made him one of the weaker opponents. What if Itachi had not faced him, but one of the other six?

Itachi easily broke free of the wires. He walked out of the arena. His match was finished.

The medics carried away the Ame ninja.

The next match was up.

A kunoichi flipped her hair. It was blonde and cropped short. Mounted on her back was a falchion sword. The band wrapped stylishly around her arm showed her home was Iwa too.

On the other side was a Suna ninja. It was noon now, so it was very hot. But he covered every part of his body with armor. He looked sick. His knees shook. He held a katana.

Two seconds in, and I was pretty sure who was going to win.

"Well, this is a waste of time," the Iwa kunoichi said.

"What are you talking about?" the Suna ninja asked. He regripped his katana.

"I've seen your battles. A weak Konoha girl and an injured Yuga boy." The Iwa kunoichi stepped up. "And luck in both places. While I fought off the murderous Kiri and Kusa." Bored, she tilted his katana down with a finger. "How do you expect to attack me with this? You are not even holding it right."

Angry, the Suna ninja stabbed the katana forward. There was nothing there.

He was lifted up by the shirt. The Iwa kunoichi threw him across the arena.

The Suna ninja landed with a thud. Shouting, he held his head. It was bleeding.

The Iwa kunoichi approached him. He got scared. His katana was gone, sent across the arena somewhere.

The Iwa kunoichi pushed him back down with her heel. "Like I said, a waste of time. I'll give you a chance to forfeit."

If I were the Suna ninja, I would forfeit.

He did not.

The Iwa kunoichi was stepping on a clone. Three Suna ninja charged from behind.

The Iwa kunoichi did not reach for her weapon. She blocked every attack with her arm or knee.

She aimed for the Suna ninja to her left. She landed an upward kick. My eyes followed up to the swing of her legs, then—

One ear-popping BOOM later, the Suna ninja was flying...

...all the way out of the arena.

My jaw dropped.

"Hm, homerun," the Iwa kunoichi said.

She shifted her weight to her other leg. She waited to be called the winner.

The proctor sweatdropped and nodded.

Pleased, she made her way out. She sent a flicker of her fingers to her fans. They screamed and rooted. The Iwa supporters were crazy happy, having two of their people in the semi-finals.

I also stood up and clapped.

"Wah! Isn't she cool?" I asked Gin, eyes sparkling.

Gin was sweaty. He found her more scary than cool.

The last match was between a Kumo ninja and a Kiri ninja.

From Kumo was a skinny kid chewing on a twig. He wore layered jackets and baggy pants. At his sides were black cylinders and a scroll. He would have been the second youngest, at only thirteen years old.

His opponent was the oldest. He was tall and big. His mask had the lines of the Kiri symbol. He wore a trench coat and gloves. The biggest sword I had ever seen was strapped on his back. The blade had no shine to it.

"Ugh, is this over yet," the Kumo ninja groaned.

The Raikage was enthusiastic. He had been bored throughout the past matches. He did not like all the attention Iwa and Konoha were getting.

"GO AND MAKE KUMO PROUD, BOY!" the Raikage boomed over the crowd. "You've got a king's wealth in your hands if you win this!"

"But I don't need money," the Kumo ninja said.

"WHAT!"

The other Kages were amused by the Raikage, who yelled out a mix of encouragement and death threats.

"Don't be too excited, Respected Raikage. Kiri is not out of this competition yet," said the Mizukage.

"You and your posse can kiss my ass!" the Raikage boomed. "The sky gods are on our side this time, and the winner shall be the mighty Kumo! Watch as your village falls to shame!"

The Mizukage laughed. "There shall be no shame, only death. And Kiri has never been shamed."

"Will you two stop bickering?" the Hokage said with a weary sigh. "It is tiring to have to listen to such childish brawls."

"Says the man with the Uchiha clan!" the other Kages attacked.

"Ah, but it is a shame the Tsuchikage's bad bones prevented him from attending this one. Who'd have thought two Iwa nin would make the semi-finals."

"Don't start. Last thing I want is to have that old geezer slap his butt in front of our faces," the Raikage snarled, folding his arms.

The Hokage sighed again. He beckoned for a cup of tea. The other two Kage went on to complain about the Tsuchikage.

Below, the two contestants shook hands.

The Kumo ninja pocketed his twig. He took out the black cylinders from their belt casing. They were nunchaku, two wooden handles connected by a chain.

He swirled the nunchaku. "Hey mister, aren't you a little too old to be in these things?"

The Kiri ninja reached for his sword. It was bigger than the Kumo ninja's body. He held it with only one hand.

"Aren't you too young?"

"No. Teacher refused to let me compete any later." The Kumo ninja sighed, looking up at the sky. His nunchakus stopped spinning. He hung his head. "This is so pointless…"

"Then let's end this quickly."

The Kiri ninja swung his sword.

The sword was stopped by the snap of a chain. The Kumo ninja had caught the sword in his nunchaku.

"I mean, don't you think I could have stalled another year?" the Kumo ninja asked.

The Kiri ninja pulled his sword back and tried again.

The Kumo ninja jumped, the sword swooshing under his feet.

He rubbed his chin. "In fact, even my sister agrees with me. She says I can pass for twelve." He ducked. The sword missed his head by a hair. "Maybe even eleven, but I'd have to slouch." He stepped aside. The sword landed next to him. "Or does slouching make me look older? I hate being tall."

"Don't look that tall to me," the Kiri ninja said.

"Well you're huge," the Kumo ninja said, locking the blade with his nunchaku.

The Kiri ninja shrugged, not disagreeing. Using his strength, he threw both his sword and the nunchaku flying behind him.

"Ma keeps on telling me to grow more," the Kumo ninja said, pulling out his scroll. He summoned a new pair of nunchaku.

The Kiri ninja picked up his sword. He raised it to block the incoming attack.

The Kumo ninja tapped his scroll again and summoned another pair of nunchaku. "Sorry. I thought that would hit you, but you blocked it time. Hey, you're pretty good, you know that?"

"I know."

"So, where was I? Oh yeah, Ma. I don't think I need to grow because I only seem to go up, not sideways. I've got to be losing bone density, or something like that. Kids like to call me Chopsticks."

"Kids are mean," the Kiri ninja said, slashing the air. His slash was so powerful, the ground split all the way to the opposite wall.

"Better than Toothpick. I was called that before too."

"Neither are flattering."

"I know, right?"

The fight continued.

Finally, the Kiri ninja caught an opening.

He sliced the Kumo ninja in half, from the head to the legs.

I covered my eyes.

I heard cracking and meshing. When I peeked through my fingers, I saw no blood. No brains. No guts. No halves of a body. Instead, two annoyed copies of the Kumo ninja stood in place, nice and symmetrical. Somehow, they looked skinnier than before.

"Um, yeah, that was humiliating. You got to see my insides and everything. Talk about indigestion, ugh," the copies said.

One copy had his right arm clamped around the sword. The other copy had his left arm wrapped around it. Together, they locked the sword in place.

Their fingers glowed. Electricity crackled, going up the blade and to the handle. The Kiri ninja's gloves saved him. The shock still made him drop the sword.

The copies heaved the sword up and tossed it away. Nunchakus once again spun in the air. Both copies charged at the Kiri ninja. Since the Kiri ninja did not have his sword anymore, the copies got a hold of him.

They each locked one arm of the Kiri ninja. "Oh, and maybe people call me Chopsticks for this. I have no idea really. Well, it was nice meeting you."

There was cracking and popping. Then, silence.

A pause.

Nothing happened.

Another pause.

The copies sweatdropped.

"Jeez, are you wearing all electric-proof stuff?" they asked, exasperated.

"Pretty much," said the Kiri ninja. He broke free. He grabbed both copies, slamming them into the ground. The copies muttered an unenthusiastic "Ouch."

They sprung back on their feet. They scratched their heads when the Kiri ninja was nowhere in sight. When they whipped around, they saw the Kiri ninja had picked up his sword.

The copies hung their heads. "Are you serious? It took forever to get that thing away..."

They sighed, muttering something like, "This is stupid" and "Indigestion isn't worth it". They trudged toward the arena exit.

"HEY BOY, YOUR OPPONENT IS THAT WAY!" the Raikage boomed.

"I forfeit," the copies said, shooing away the Raikage. "Outta numchucks." They reached into their pockets and took out twigs to chew on.

The Kage balcony exploded. The Mizukage laughed. The Raikage yelled colorful threats.

Alone in the arena, the Kiri ninja stood, confused.

He chuckled. "Lucky me."

In response to the cheers, the Kiri ninja nodded and heaved the gigantic sword over his shoulder. He walked out.

The first round was over. The semi-finalists? A shirtless statue-maker. A ten year old strategist. A kick-ass blonde. A mysterious swordsman.

The audience couldn't wait. I was just glad we were all still alive.