"Talking"

"SHOUTING/SCREAMING/YELLING"

'Thoughts'

"Jutsu"

"Tailed Beast Talking"

'Tailed Beast Thinking'

Sound Effects

Date Time

Location

[Flashback]

]

Chapter 4

]

Academy

7:38

Misa stepped into the classroom and found it buzzing, the rest of her classmates seemed strangely excited and for what reason the girl didn't know.

'I should probably ask Naruto,' Looking round, the yellow-eyed female spotted the redhead in his usual position with his attention focused solely on a red colored book, 'What's he reading?' She wondered as her body began moving-

"Excuse me?" A feminine voice called her attention, "Will you be willing to take part in a poll?"

"A poll?" Misa repeated, eyes gazing at the blonde girl with light blue eyes, "You're Ino, Ino Yamanaka right?" She asked for confirmation.

"Yes," Ino nodded with a smile, "Anko-san must have told you about me."

Misa smiled back, "She did say you were a daddy's girl."

"Wha!" The blonde coughed to hide her embarrassment, "Moving on," She handed the taller girl a sheet of paper, "I'm conducting a poll and will like you to participate."

"A poll huh," Misa grabbed the paper and read the heading.

CUTEST BOY IN CLASS

She blinked once then twice and read it again, "Are you for real?"

"It's for fun." Ino cheerfully replied, "Oh, and only girls are allowed to vote."

"… Then I guess I will play along." The purple haired glanced through the paper, noting that the names of all 18 males in their class were listed, "I can only vote for one male right?" She inquired while grabbing a pen from her pouch.

"No," The blonde answered before explaining, "The first time this poll was held, that rule led to a huge issue once the result was released."

Now Misa was curious, "What was the issue?"

"The winner won 95% of total votes."

"Talk about a landslide," She nearly whistled before the aftermath of such a result came to mind, "The rest of the boys got upset right?"

"More like furious," Ino corrected, "the winner was subjected to several mock battles for the remainder of the term that he ended up hating the female portion of the class for quite some time."

Misa glanced at front row, particularly at the individual sitting closest to the window, "Let me guess, the Uchiha won the first poll." A nod came and the Mitarashi released a sigh, 'What do they see in him?'

"So will you be participating?"

"Sure," Misa replied as she took another look at the paper, this time focusing on a particular name before ticking its checkbox, "By the way, how many boys can I vote for?" She looked back at the blonde.

"Three."

"Then here."

"Huh?" Ino blinked in surprise, "Wait, you're done?"

"Yes," Misa handed the sheet over, "There's only one boy I find cute in this class and he's in need of some company so ja ne." With a wave, the purple haired headed towards her target.

The Yamanaka watched her go then took a look at who she voted for, "Interesting," Ino said to herself, eyes gazing back at Misa to find her engaging Naruto in a conversation, "Birds of a feather do flock together."

"What's that about birds Pig?"

"Nothing that concerns you Forehead," The blonde twirled round, placing Misa's vote at the very bottom of the pile, "So are you done voting?"

"I was a minute ago," Sakura handed her vote then glanced at the two behind Ino, "You should avoid her Ino." The rosette warned.

"Why?"

"My parents say she's dangerous, just like Naruto."

"Mine say she's been through a lot, just like Naruto."

The two glared at each other for a while before the Haruno gave up with a sigh, "Just be careful okay?" She pleaded.

"… I will." Ino looked away.

Seeing that her warning had be noted, Sakura headed for her seat while Ino resumed her search for more participants.

]

A Few Minutes Ago

"Morning Naruto."

Said male looked up from the book he was reading, "Morning Misa," He returned, "you're in a good mood." He added.

"Just happy to see you," The purple haired walked round and peeked over his shoulder, "What are you reading?"

"A present," The Uzumaki raised the book towards her, "Wanna have a look?"

"Sure," Misa did so but couldn't understand a single word, "It's all gibberish… No," She shook her head, "You were clearly reading this when I came in so…"

The Jinchuriki nodded, "Its contents can only be read by a selected few."

"And what's do these few have that I don't?" She questioned.

"Uzumaki blood."

"So basically clan stuff," She returned the book then switched topics, "Do you know about the poll going on?"

"Yes," Naruto nodded, placing the book within his jacket and sealing it away, "Did you take part?"

"I did," Misa replied, "You were the only one I voted for."

This made the redhead raise a brow, "Only me? You didn't include Sasuke or Shikamaru?"

"Shikamaru?" He pointed at a boy who dozing away some rows forward, "Ah the Nara heir, no my vote didn't include any of them." She gave the Uzumaki a questioning look, "Why would you ask that?"

"Sasuke is self-explanatory," A nod to show her agreement, "Shikamaru despite his laziness is considered good-looking by a fair portion of the girls here and he so happens to be the runner-up of both the 2nd and 3rd polls."

Misa took another look at the sleeping Nara, "Well he does look adorable in that state," She admitted, "Everyone has their own tastes so I won't complain but," She focused back on the Uzumaki, "If he was 2nd in the last two polls what about you?"

Naruto smiled wryly, "The first poll was a disaster as a lot of us got 0 votes."

"Ino told me about that."

"The second poll… last place with only a single vote."

Releasing a breath, Misa sat down on her seat to digest what she just heard, '1 vote, so only a single girl found him attractive? No wait, that was 2 years ago when he was still naïve.'

"Then last year," Naruto continued after seeing her reaction, "I got 13th place with 3 votes."

"… So going from last year," The Mitarashi began, "Only 4 girls are willing to admit that you're handsome?"

"Seems that way," The Jinchuriki replied, noting that she included herself in the count, "But it doesn't really bother me anymore."

"… But 13th place with 3 votes," Misa repeated before chuckling, "The girls here have high standards." She turned back to Shikamaru who was slapped awake by an irate Ino, "What were Mr. Runner-up's votes in the 2 polls?"

"He got 11 votes in the 2nd poll then 9 in the 3rd poll." Naruto supplied, "The decline is a result of students either dropping out or withdrawing from the academy."

"9 out of 16 females, high standards indeed," Her eyes locked onto the male who approached her during recess the day before, "What about dog boy?"

"Kiba got 3rd place in both polls with 10 and 8 votes respectively."

"That's explains his confidence," She snorted, "Still I can't believe the whole class got excited because of a popularity contest."

"It isn't just the popularity content," Naruto pointed out, "Today is the Monthly Battle Tournament."

"Battle tournament?" Misa's eyes lit up, "You mean one on one fights organized by the teachers?"

"Yes," He smirked as the purple haired began vibrating in her seat, "Someone is really excited."

"Of course, I finally get to fight you."

"Fight me?" The Jinchuriki shook his head, "Sorry to break it to you, but that won't be happening."

"Huh?" Her vibration stopped, "But there a chance that we will matched against the each other right?"

"Nope," The Uzumaki popped the 'P', "The match ups are gender based, boys fight boys while girls fight girls."

"Damn," Misa slumped into her seat, "and here I was expecting to fight you."

Now Naruto was curious, "Just why do you want to fight me so badly?" He asked.

The female looked around and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, leaned in and whispered, "Because you're the strongest one here."

This surprised the redhead, "You can tell?" He inquired and received a nod, "Was it the fight with the mutant?"

"Instinct," She answered, "You can probably go toe to toe with most Jonin and that's not counting help from the Fox."

'Whoa!'

"I approve!"

"So who should I be mindful of?" Misa then asked as she scouted her competition, "Most of the girls here feel weak."

"Hinata and Ino," The Uzumaki then pondered for a bit, "and Sakura if enraged enough." He later added.

'Hinata, Ino and Sakura,' She had already met the Yamanaka and was certain of victory if matched against her, 'Hinata is a Hyuga so the Gentle fist should be expected, Sakura going for what Naruto said seems to draw strength from her emotions especially rage so she should be taken out early on.'

When she was done with her thoughts, Iruka stepped and instructed the class to head for the sparring grounds where the tournament would take place.

]

"Won't you be selecting a weapon?" Naruto inquired of Misa as he grabbed a Kunai for the shed.

The purple haired gazed at the arsenal of weapons with a frown marring her face, "They don't have a Kusarigama."

"Only a handful of people can master those," The Uzumaki pointed out, "and the academy doesn't teach students how to wield those."

Misa pointed to a corner, "Then why is a whip present?"

The Uzumaki stared a said weapon, "I honestly have no idea," A hand rose to his jaw, "Maybe Headmistress is into that stuff."

The two imagined their headmistress in a dominatrix dress with said whip in hand and immediately purged it from their minds.

"A kunai then," The female said with a sigh before exiting the shred with said knife.

Once the two were out, they joined the rest of the students just as Iruka began his address, "Now due to uneven amount of students, we will be having three qualifying matches," He informed, "One for female category and two for Male category."

'There are 35 students in the Final Year Class, 18 males and 17 females,' Naruto recalled, '32 will be seeded so three will have to go,' He noticed that some of the students were becoming nervous, 'This tournament is part of our continuous assessment so failure to make it to the main round will negatively affect one's grade.'

"The rules are going to be a little different from this month on as Ninjutsu other than the academy three are going to be permitted but nothing above C rank or I will be forced to disqualify the perpetrator." This announcement was met with mixed reactions but Iruka continued anyway, "We have a team of medic nin on standby," He gestured to two Kunoichi who waved from the sidelines, "So feel free to go wild but not too wild." Iruka warned before glancing down at his notepad, "Now for the female qualifier we will have Misa vs. Ami."

Ami quickly raised her hand, "Sensei, I would like to withdraw."

Iruka noticed her pale skin, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Yes, I will be stopping by the sickbay." The girl promptly left.

"Okay," The Chunin scratched his head, "Misa Mitarashi advances to the Main round!"

"… That was an easy win."

"You haven't seen anything." The Jinchuriki told her.

"For the male qualifiers we have Satou vs. Denji then Takashi vs. Hiro."

As the rest of the students headed to the gallery, only Satou, Denji and Iruka remained in the ring, the former wielding a tanto and the latter a staff.

"Fighters ready?" Two instant nods, "Then Hajime!"

Denji charged forward, swinging his staff at Satou's head only for the latter to duck down and sweep the staff wielder off his feet before pointing the tanto at his throat.

"Winner: Satou!"

In the gallery Misa couldn't believe her eyes, "What?!"

Naruto chuckled, "This is just the beginning."

"Takashi vs. Hiro," The two stepped in and the purple haired noticed that they were both unarmed, "Fight!" They both charged at each other and began the most ridiculous fist fight the female had ever seen.

Bam! Pow! Bam! Pow! Bam! Pow! Bam! Pow! Bam! Pow! Bam! Pow! Bam! Pow!

"What's going on here? Are these guys really training to be shinobi?" She muttered while a certain redhead found amusement in her reaction.

"Winner: Hiro!" Iruka announced as the medics healed up both boys, "Now we will begin the main round of the female category," He flipped a page, "Hanako vs. Misa."

Misa stood up-

"I forfeit!" Her opponent declared.

"Huh!"

"Misa advances to the quarter-finals, the next match: Sakura vs. Akane!"

"What the fuc-"

Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder, "Calm down," He said, "from here on out your opponent's won't quit anymore."

"I hope you're right."

"CHAAAAA!"

BAM!

"Winner: Sakura!" The rosette gave a fit pump as she stood over her downed opponent.

'Sasuke-kun!' She glanced at the Uchiha but found him looking anywhere but her, dejected Sakura walked out of the ring.

"Miwa vs. Hinata."

"I forfeit!"

"Ino vs. Yuna."

"Same here."

"Wait, there a pattern here!" Misa realized after witnessing the two events.

"They're throwing away matches where the opponent is a lot stronger than them," Naruto spoke her thoughts, "This also happens in the Male Category especially when the opponent is Sasuke, Kiba and sometimes me."

"Sometimes?" She gave him a look.

"A good number of the boys here, especially the civilian born, feel that they can take me on."

The Purple haired shook her head, "They don't know what they're getting into."

"Oh I make sure to remind them whenever the Tournaments are held," The tips of lips dipped downwards, "it's the only time when I won't be falsely accused of bullying."

Misa scowled at that, "I see."

]

The quarterfinals came by and yet again the opponents of Misa, Ino and Hinata all forfeited advancing the three to the semifinals with Sakura joining after managing to scrap out a victory against her opponent.

"First Semifinal: Misa Mitarashi vs. Sakura Haruno."

The two stood at opposing sides, one looking cool as a cucumber while the other was panting quite heavily.

'No matter the outcome of this tournament I'm awarding Sakura with the highest grade,' Iruka said to himself, 'Poor girl is still determined to fight while the rest gave up without even trying.'

'I honestly feel sorry for Sakura here,' Naruto looked at said girl with concealed pity, 'Back to back fights without any rest and now she's up against Misa of all people in the semis.'

'This isn't right,' Ino clenched her fist.

"Fighters ready?"

"Yeah."

"… Hai."

"Then… Hajime!"

Misa vanished then reappeared behind Sakura and chopped her on the back of the neck before laying her gently on the ground, "Iruka-sensei."

"Winner: Misa!"

Several of the students blinked at how quick the match was.

"Did she just teleport?"

"I couldn't even see her."

"It was over in a second."

Iruka nodded in approval as the yellow eyed girl picked up her unconscious opponent and took her to the medics before ascending the stairs to claim her previous spot which is besides their resident Uzumaki, "Second Semifinal: Ino Yamanaka vs. Hinata Hyuga."

"That's was the right thing to do." Naruto said to Misa as the two mentioned entered the ring, "A good display of sportsmanship."

"It was the only thing to do." The girl said with a sigh, "Can't believe I was hyped for this tournament."

"Don't give up yet, the ones fighting now will definitely meet your expectations."

"Hmm?" Taking a look at the ring, Misa feel her eyes widened a bit, "Oh."

]

Entering the ring, Ino noticed that something was different about her opponent, 'What's with that determined look?'

"Fighters ready?"

"Yeah."

"Mmm."

"Hajime!"

Ino went first throwing a jab which was slapped it away by Hinata who then countered with a palm strike to the left shoulder only to miss as the Yamanaka twisted her body out of the reach with her right leg raising up for a roundhouse.

Bam!

Only to be blocked by a raised arm with no difficulty.

Taking a leap back with Hinata in pursuit, Ino was now certain of her observation, 'She's aiming to win.' Ducking under a palm strike, the Yamanaka went for a leg sweep and wasn't surprised when her opponent jumped up to evade, what surprised her was Hinata twirling midair and lashing out kick which struck her across the face and sending her to the side.

'A spin kick? Since when-' Performing a barrel roll, the blonde avoided a barrage of strikes then quickly got back to her feet and dived forward, planting both hands into the ground then propelling the rest of her body into air and well over Hinata, Ino landed back on her two feet then spun round and nailed a chakra enhanced kick on the Hyuga's back which sent her stumbling.

'An opening!' Ino pressed on with a charge.

Shaking off her surprise at Ino's attack, Hinata ignored her aching back and stabilized herself before turning round to meet her opponent's charge, pale blue eyes widened at the quick recovery but Ino couldn't do anything as the Hyuga sidestepped her charge and with her back firmly exposed, slammed a paralyzing blow onto her vertebral column.

Thud!

"Winner: Hinata!" Taking a curl bow, said winner left the ring, "The final match between Hinata Hyuga and Misa Mitarashi will take place after the Male's Semifinal matches," Iruka announced before taking a look at his notepad, "First Match of the Male Category, we have Shikamaru vs. Hiro."

The two descended and entered the ring, the former yawning while the latter bore a confident smirk.

"Ready?"

Both boys nodded.

"Hajime."

For a couple of seconds the two boys just stood there like statues, but several of the students were already expecting this as matches involving the Nara always had a slow build up-

'Huh!?'

This went through nearly everyone's mind as Shikamaru made the first move by forming a hand seal.

"Wha!?" Hiro felt his body locked up.

"Shadow Possession complete!" Having captured his opponent via his shadow, the Nara glanced towards Iruka-sensei but the Chunin made no attempt to declare him winner, 'Seems I have to do more.'

Taking some steps forward with Hiro mimicking him, the two arrived 2 feet within the other and then reaching for their pouches retrieved a kunai, but later turned out that only Shikamaru was the one with a kunai on his person.

"Winner: Shikamaru!" Iruka called.

Canceling his jutsu, Shikamaru jumped back just as his opponent lashed out with a swing.

"You tricked me!"

"And?"

"Why you-"

"Hiro," The voice of their sensei came, "Anymore and you will be having detention."

Grinding his teeth, the civilian stomped out of the ring.

"Next up-

]

Gallery

"That was a surprise," Naruto began just as Shikamaru returned from the ring, "So what brought about the change?"

The Nara took a seat besides the redhead, "Mom said I should buckle down or she will do it for me." He sighed.

"You have my sympathy."

"Don't need it," Shikamaru then stared at the girl on the other side of the Uzumaki and noticed their closeness, "So you finally made a female friend?" Naruto nodded, "You know you just made your life a lot more troublesome right?"

"She's worth it." The Jinchuriki smiled as Misa gave him a pinch to the arm while hiding her embarrassment.

Shikamaru raised a brow at the interaction before turning his attention to the ring, "Well, it's your life." He commented just as Choji enlarged his arm and threw a punch at his foe.

Kapow!

"Winner: Choji!" Iruka announced as the medics' carted away the unconscious opponent, "Next match: Satou vs. Kiba!"

"I forfeit Iruka-sensei."

"Wimp!" Misa muttered with only the redhead besides her hearing it.

"Kiba Inuzuka advances to the Quarterfinals, next match: Shino vs. Toni!"

As the two stepped down, Choji made his way over, "Nice fight Choji," The Nara congratulated his friend.

"Thanks Shika, but maybe I went a bit overboard with that arm strike," the chubby male chuckled nervously before noticing the two who were seated alongside the Nara, "Hey Naruto!"

"Choji." Said redhead nodded.

"Good job big guy," Misa joined in, "especially with that finisher." She added with excitement.

The Akimichi blushed a bit at the compliment, "Umm thanks miss…"

"Misa," The purple haired introduced herself.

"Thanks-"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The four snapped their heads to ring where Shino stood with his insects hovering around while his opponent…

"Get away! Get away! Get away! Get away! Get away! Get away! Get away!"

Fell down on his butt and began crawling out of the ring.

"… Winner: Shino!" Iruka said after a pause.

The Aburame walked out of the ring with a visible rain cloud over his head.

"Hey Naruto."

"Yes Misa?"

"Did that just happen?"

"It did."

Iruka called the next match, "Naruto vs. Shinji!"

With a sigh, the redhead got up from his seat, "It just had to be him?"

"Is there a problem?" Misa questioned.

"Remember those guys who I said want to put me in my place?"

"Wait, he's one of them?"

"Yeah."

"Make it quick and painful!"

"Oh, I will."

As the Uzumaki descended the stairs, Shikamaru turned to Misa, "You're one scary girl." He stated.

"I will take that as a compliment."

]

Standing opposite his opponent, Naruto noticed the arrogant smirk on the male's face, "Feeling confident Shinji?"

"Today's the day I smash your teeth in." The brunette uttered while flexing his arms.

"Didn't you say the same last week?"

"This isn't last week."

"Well, that is true."

"Fighters ready?"

"Yep."

"Hai."

"Hajime!"

The two charged at each other and once close Shinji threw a punch only for Naruto duck underneath it and position himself behind the boy.

"Hey!" Shinji cried as he felt two arms wrap around his torso, "What are you doing?"

The Jinchuriki lifted his opponent off the ground then arching his back, drove the brunette head first into the ground, "Suplex!"

BAM!

Disengaging, Naruto turned round and had a look at unconscious foe particularly the huge bump on his head, "Definitely going to feel that when he wakes up."

"Winner: Naruto!"

Leaving Shinji to the medics, the Uzumaki strolled back to his seat as the rest of the class digested what went down.

"Nicely done." Misa congratulated him upon his return.

"Why thank you."

"Talk about brutal." Shikamaru added with Choji nodding while munching on some potato chips.

"It was to send a message," Naruto explained, a smile appearing on his face as his ears picked the hushed whispers, "and it's been well received."

"… Troublesome." The Nara concluded the entire matter.

"Sasuke vs. Ren!"

"I forfeit!"

The scarred chunin wasn't even surprised, "Next up-

]

The Quarterfinals came by and the opponent's of Kiba and Sasuke once again forfeited leaving Choji, Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino as the remaining combatants.

"Shino vs. Naruto!"

The two got into the ring.

"Fighters ready?"

"Indeed."

"Hai."

"Hajime."

Both boys stood still like statues and the galley suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

'No, it's different.' Misa realized.

'They have already started fighting.' Shikamaru also noticed.

After 30 seconds, the Aburame raised a hand, "Sensei, I wish to forfeit."

"WHAT!"

As the rest of students cried in surprise, Iruka being one of few who realized what actually happened nodded, "Winner: Naruto! Next Match: Shikamaru vs. Choji-"

"I give up!"

"Huh?" Numerous heads snapped towards the Akimichi with the Nara being the first.

"Shikamaru advances to Semifinal!"

"Why did you do that?" Shikamaru questioned while Naruto and Misa kept mute.

"You need this more than I do don't you?"

"Yeah, but you shouldn't throw away the match just because of my mom."

"That's not the main reason why I forfeited."

"Then what is?"

"He doesn't wish to fight you," Misa answered before facing Choji, "That's it right?"

"It is." The rounded boy confirmed, "I refuse to fight my best friend." He declared.

This touched the Nara, "Choji-"

"First Semifinal: Naruto Uzumaki vs. Sasuke Uchiha!"

Everyone went silent as this was a big one, the last Uchiha stood up from his seat and began his descent-

"I forfeit!"

Only to stumble at the cry as numerous Heads once again snapped but this time towards the Uzumaki.

"Why?" Was all Misa could say.

"I don't want unnecessary attention and beating Sasuke will definitely earn that." The redhead whispered.

"Sasuke advances to the Final!"

Said Uchiha glared at Naruto before making his way back to his seat.

"Second Semifinal: Shikamaru Nara vs. Kiba Inuzuka-"

"I forfeit!"

"OH, COME ON!" The majority of the class yelled out.

"It's funny they didn't do that when the girls were all forfeiting." Shikamaru deadpanned as Choji, Misa and Naruto all held in their chuckles.

Iruka sighed deeply, "Kiba advances to the Final!" He flipped a page on his notepad, "Now Final Match of the Female Category: Hinata Hyuga vs. Misa Mitarashi!"

No sound was made as they all expected another forfeit, but once both girls stood up and began descending the stairs, cheers broke out from every roll and column.

"Hinata!"

"Misa!"

"Hinata!"

"Misa!"

"Hinata!"

"Misa!"

"Fighters ready?" Iruka asked.

"Hai."

"Of course."

"Then… Haijime!"

]

Next up

Chapter 5

Total Number of Words: 4259 Words

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