Chapter 21: Prelude
As soon as his name was called, Sasuke was on the move, leaping down from the railing to land on the ground below with a soft thud, much to the glee of the teenage girls that made up a big portion of the audience. While the Uchiha listened and basked in the applause and fanfare that was coming his way, Gaara decided to take a much more humble route, moving to the hallway that would lead him back to the stairs.
Why the hell didn't you jump down?! Or use your sand? Shukaku growled as Gaara made his way through the empty hallway. Why take the fucking stairs? You're just delaying the inevitable dammit! Don't you have any sense of urgency?!
"I thought it was best to take the limited time I have to come up with a strategy in beating Sasuke instead of leaping into things head first," came Gaara's calm response as he turned the corner. "We have no idea what Sasuke has in store for us. The fact he kept himself well hidden throughout the weeks of reprieve made sure of that. I can't just act like I'm going in blind you damn tanuki. Sometimes it's best to think with your head before your fists first . . ."
Fair point, but still, our strategy against previous opponents has worked before. Why wouldn't it work now? Shukaku asked as footsteps could be heard coming up behind the redhead. Sure, the dark-haired brat may have a good idea on what you're going to pull in your match, but our strategy is practically timeless! Just overwhelm him with your sand. Not only can you squish him like a bug with it, but the boy can't do shit if his sharingan is obscured.
"That's true . . ." Gaara thought, stopping in his tracks when he realized that someone was calling out to him. When he turned his head, he saw two Leaf shinobi staring at him with sinister grins on their faces. They were not welcome sight. "This should end well . . ."
"Sorry to interrupt your preparations, your Royal Highness, but do you mind having a word with two measly peasants like us?" the man mocked, slightly slurring his words in an obvious sign of his drunkenness.
"Yeah, you see, we both ended up betting a lot of money on your match with Lord Uchiha," said the other one, completely sober. "And we need to make sure we win that bet."
"Unfortunately for you, we bet that the Uchiha would beat you, and, well, after hearing about what you did to that Lee kid during the preliminaries, it seems you'll be quite a wrench in our plans for a big payday." said the drunk shinobi as he pulled out a kunai. "So, we figured: why don't we even out the playing field a little bit huh?
"Are they really that fucking stupid?" Gaara asked, so shocked at the two shinobis' idiocy that he actually cursed. "Getting drunk in the daytime, threatening a foreign royal . . . Konoha has some imbeciles within their ranks."
I won't correct you there, but I would describe them in much harsher terms than you just used. . . Shukaku mumbled, not finding this situation the least bit funny. Well, at least you'll get some practice in before you have to defeat the Uchiha.
"I'm not going to attack them Shukaku."
They are planning to attack you though . . . Shukaku argued back as the sober shinobi brought his hands up closer to his face, ready to start a jutsu. What are you going to do? Sit back and let them use you as a punching bag? You know I will not sit still and let that happen right?!
There was no way in hell that Gaara was going to allow the two men to do that, or allow Shukaku to have his fun for that matter. His pride wouldn't allow it. Plus, he already killed one person outside of the competition. He didn't need to add two more but considering how the two shinobi looked like they were not stopping their misguided antics any time soon, he was starting to think that Shukaku's advice wasn't sounding too bad.
He was about to send his sand toward the two shinobi to immobilize them when their eyes turned to look at something behind him. Having not moved his sand just yet, and now hearing the approaching footsteps, Gaara turned his head to see the slightly disheveled looking Naruto walking up to him with a stoic look on his face. It was virtually unreadable.
To Gaara, the look was a little unnatural on the naturally welcoming face. He had been so used to seeing the blonde smile, chat, and laugh with people, that he felt a little off-guard at the expression he was looking at now. It was more calculating, as if he had been studying the scene in hiding before making his presence known.
Every time Gaara thought he had the blonde all figured out, he would do something that would kick those assumptions to the curb. Naruto was becoming an enigma to him, a puzzle that was becoming harder and harder to solve; one that may never be solved.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," the prince asked, his face now showing the grin Gaara was so used to seeing on his tan face. "I heard a noise on my way up and I thought I should investigate."
"There's nothing wrong here. Nothing at all my prince!" said the coherent shinobi as he put down his hands, trying to look as innocent as possible as the blonde continued his approach. "We were simply . . . wishing Prince Gaara luck. Lord Sasuke will be tough opponent after all. Isn't that right Shinji?"
"Yeah!" said the other shinobi as he quickly put away his kunai, but thanks to his inebriated state, he ended up dropping it to the ground, the metal clanking loudly as it hit the surface. If Gaara was a more emotional person, he would have scowled at such stupidity, but he kept his face neutral, leaving Shukaku to laugh at the stupidity instead.
"You were wishing Prince Gaara luck hm?" Naruto asked, his tone indicating that he wasn't believing a thing they were selling. "If only I hadn't heard you guys talking about your bet earlier . . ."
The two shinobi instantly paled when they realized that they were caught red-handed, already thinking about the numerous possibilities that could happen as a result of their actions. Gaara simply watched them, mildly amused, but he knew he couldn't stay to see what would happen next.
He still had a match to get to.
"I would love to stay and continue this conversation, but I have my match to get to," said the redhead as he started to make his exit. "I'm sure the crowd is getting restless out there. wondering where the hell I am . . ."
"I didn't peg you for someone who cared about others' feelings," said Naruto as he watched Gaara walk past him. His comment made his fellow prince stop in his tracks. "Don't worry . . . I'm sure Sasuke is enjoying having the limelight all to himself out there."
"I highly doubt it . . . He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to care about the adoration, no matter how much of it is heaped his way. He's probably wondering where I am so he could kick my ass already," said Gaara, figuring it was best if he just used his sand shunshin to get to the field. "What are you going to do with the two idiots over there?"
"Don't worry about them. You have bigger things to think about, remember?" Naruto asked, keeping his eyes on the two worried looking shinobi, now slightly trembling where they stood. When he turned his head, the sight of his eyes made Gaara go still. Instead of his usual ocean blue eyes, his eyes were a crimson red, the pupils, now slits like a cat's own. "I'll handle things here . . ."
You heard the kid! GET MOVING! Shukaku yelled, growing tired with the delay. Gaara quickly heeded his beast's words, employing the use of his sand shunshin to get to the hallway that led to the battlefield in no time flat. Well that was an interesting encounter . . .
"I'll say," Gaara mumbled as he listened to the crowds above him. They did sound a little restless, but the sounds of what could only be described as Sasuke's fangirls were beating them out at a ratio of 2-to-1. "And thanks to that encounter, I didn't have any time to strategize."
My strategy still stands . . . Shukaku helpfully reminded his host as he stepped out into the sunlight. He was greeted by some welcome applause, but he knew it would have been louder if he had come out quicker. When he dared to take a peek at the royal box to see his dad's reaction, he couldn't help but smirk at the annoyed look in the man's eyes. At least your dad looks happy . . .
"Downright annoyed is more like it," Gaara corrected as he walked toward the middle of the field. "Naruto's eyes . . . Do you think that was something of his doing, or your brother's?"
Oh, definitely my brother's. Shukaku mumbled, Gaara already picturing the scowl the tanuki had on his face without even thinking about it. My brother can't help but push himself into matters that don't really concern him. . . It's honestly annoying if you ask me.
"Actually, it sounds like someone I know."
Don't push it fleshbag.
With the others
"Oh, there you are Naruto!" called Haruka as the blonde walked into the room, his signature grin already in place. "Congratulations on winning your match! You really did a number on Neji, but you sure took your damn sweet time coming up here!"
"Thanks, and I'm sorry? I got a little delayed that's all." the crown prince mumbled as he walked over to the railing, not really sure how to answer the cat teen. "I didn't miss anything important, did I?"
"Nope; they haven't even started yet," Shikamaru lazily answered as he continued to look down at the field. "Prince Gaara just emerged from the tunnel, but if you asked me, it shouldn't have taken him this long to get down there."
"You think something delayed him along the way?" asked Nanami as she turned to the shadow bender.
"It's the most likely assumption," said the Nara heir as he observed the redhead, his gaze as lazy as his entire demeanor, but there was a hint of a keen glint to his eyes that wasn't going unnoticed by most in the room. "I highly doubt he's the type to take a quick bathroom break right as he's about to compete in one of the most important matches in his life. Something must have happened to delay him though."
"Something stopped Gaara . . ." Kankuro mumbled as he shook his head, curious as to what it could be. Temari remained silent, sneaking a look at the Fire Prince as he made his way over to his sister. She watched as the siblings whispered amongst themselves before returning their attention to what was going on below, both with curious looks on their faces that mirrored each other like the twins they were. "Sis, something's up?"
"I'm not too sure," she mumbled as her eyes turned to her brother. "The Fire twins over there were whispering amongst themselves, though Naruto was doing most of the talking."
"Any guess on what they were talking about?"
"Hm, I may have an idea," Temari mumbled as she shook her head. "There's only one route from here to the tunnel that leads to the grounds below. I think Gaara must have ran into Naruto along the way."
"You think they talked?"
"Talked, chatted, threatened each other with bodily harm, gloated that they would be the one to win this entire damn thing . . ." Temari trailed off with a shrug. "It could be anything."
"Well now . . ." Kankuro mumbled as he looked down below. "Things are getting more interesting by the second."
Back with Gaara
"Well you took your sweet time getting down here . . ." Sasuke mumbled as Gaara finally reached him and the referee.
"Sorry, I was a little held up along the way," was Gaara's quick response as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Then again, I'm sure you weren't bothered by my lateness. Apparently, many members of the audience were crying out for your attention."
"Pfft, don't remind me," said Sasuke, annoyance lacing his tone. "Trust me, it's not something that I take in stride."
"I had a feeling you were the kind of guy that wouldn't," Gaara mumbled as the audience started buzzing with excitement. "Now then, shall we get things started? I'm sure I've kept you waiting long enough."
"It's like you've read my mind . . ." said Sasuke, falling right into a fighting stance.
"Prince Gaara, are you ready?" Genma asked as he turned to the redhead. Gaara simply shook his head in response. The jonin then turned to Sasuke to ask the same question, and the Uchiha simply gave a solid 'Yes!', his fingers twitching to get to the pack he had in strapped to his waist.
"Alright then, let the second match begin!"
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