Chapter 24: Infallible
"I can't fight anymore . . . The prince wins. I forfeit."
Those words sent a surge of relief through Gaara's body, and the proctor's resulting pronouncement was additional music to his ears. Despite the fact that the crowd was very much a pro-Fire audience, those in attendance showed their appreciation for the battle they witnessed, giving the two a generous round of applause as medical ninjas appeared to take them to the infirmary.
In the VIP box, the applause was kept to a minimum, but there were many pleased looks among the contingent from the Wind Kingdom, mostly because they were guaranteed to have at least one representative in the next round. As for those from Fire, their feelings were much more mixed, with some pleased with the performance that Sasuke showed, while others were disappointed with the match's end result.
Seated in the center of all the activity were the two monarchs overseeing the festivities. King Minato was dressed like he was ready for battle rather than a bi-annual shinobi event. He wore the customary outfit of most of the ninja within his kingdom, including the flak jacket. However, along with the hat that signified his military status as the kingdom's Hokage, he wore a long, short-sleeved white haori with flame detailing at the bottom.
On the other hand, King Rasa was dressed in the long flowing robes and haori that he usually wore during council meetings, as well as his Kazekage hat. His face remained covered, save for his eyes, making his expressions hard to read unless you dared to look him in the eyes.
Minato happened to be one of the few that dared to look, and he was a little surprised at what he saw. Instead of the pride he expected to see from a father ecstatic to see their youngest child move on in such an illustrious competition, he saw irritation, as if he was annoyed that the prince won and not the Uchiha.
The man's reaction was quite a red flag for the blonde king, but he figured it was best to not reveal his displeasure. He didn't want to give his Wind counterpart any hints that he thought that something was off with him - didn't want to create a diplomatic incident based on baseless claims after all - so he figured his best strategy was to wait and see.
"Hmm, that was quite an interesting match . . ." said Queen Kushina, a smile already stretched across her face. Minato turned to see that she was looking like the picture of a model queen, but there was a familiar glint in her eyes that he recognized, one that only he, their children, and their closest friends could recognize. She must have noticed the other King's reaction and decided to act.
King Minato was more of a wait-and-see kind of man, but his wife was a woman of action. She just tended to act in a way that was befitting of her position as a queen, quite a change when you consider her younger years.
"Though I must admit, things did not look good for him during the first half of this match, but he did well to rebound and claim victory," she continued, unperturbed by his silent reaction so far. "You must be proud of your son King Rasa."
"Indeed I am . . ." the king finally said, turning to the couple with a pleased look in his eyes. However, both could detect the undercurrent of displeasure that he tried to hide in his tone. "I will freely admit that Lord Uchiha did seem to have the upper hand for most of the battle. Speed was never Gaara's forte, and as this match has proven, neither is lightning. His opponent did well to learn his strengths and weaknesses during the preliminaries."
"Yes, Lord Sasuke has always been a studious individual," King Minato added with an agreeable nod. "Even though he has a tendency to be a bit quick to pull the trigger in certain instances, he has proven that he has the skills to be quite the remarkable shinobi once he's older."
"A quite remarkable shinobi, with quite a remarkable Sharingan," Neither Kushina, nor Minato liked how he said the word 'Sharingan'. "Lord Uchiha could be one of the best ninjas your kingdom has produced in quite a while, along with your children, of course. Your son did well against the Hyuuga scion, and I'm sure your daughter will do just as admirably against whoever she faces first."
"Such kind words . . ." Kushina murmured as she took hold of her husband's hand, placing his on top of her own. Minato kept his eyes on the field below as his wife started tapping her middle finger along his palm, tapping out her thoughts in the familiar code that they developed when they were still children getting to know each other in the midst of the Fire court.
What she had to say did not serve to lessen the suspicions that the Fire King felt.
He did not react in a way a father should. She tapped as Shiranui called for the next set of competitors to come down to the field. Is it just me, or did he seem to favor Sasuke over his own son?
It does seem like that's the case. Minato responded in earnest, sneaking a glance at the king, whose eyes were locked on the battlefield below. He hasn't acted like how I expected him to act ever since he arrived. He seems normal, but some of his actions seem forced, as if he's trying to act like he's supposed to act.
I've noticed this as well. She tapped back. You don't think . . .
Minato knew where his wife's mind was going without having to hear the question. It took three days to travel from Suna to Konoha, and anything could happen in that span, from an ambush, to a kidnapping, even a body switch.
It's possible. Minato conceded. I have made sure the guards are well prepared for anything that could occur during these finals, including any impending attacks by our neighbors in the Sound, well, if the info we received is sound. . . No pun intended.
Including a potential attack from within the village? She countered. The Sound Kingdom may be relatively new, but it's said that it's leader has been around for a long time, and that he's quite the crafty individual.
Don't worry my love. . . Minato assured her, kissing her temple, sneaking a look at Shikaku, who stood a little off to the side. The two shared a knowing look with each other, with the Head of House Nara showing off a blink-and-you'll-miss-it smirk before making his face go neutral. I took that possibility into account as well. . . Konoha will not be caught unaware.
A ~ x ~ R ~ x ~ T
Once Gaara was taken off the field, Temari made her way toward the medical bay to see how he was doing. Kankuro would have joined her, but his match against Haruka was the next one on the schedule, so he stayed in the viewing area while the wind mistress took her leave.
After taking a few wrong turns, Temari finally found the medical bay after asking a passing ninja for directions. When she walked into the large area, she saw that Sasuke had been placed in the bed closest to the entrance. The young Uchiha was being tended to by three medics, wincing as they worked to heal his legs. Turning away, she moved down the rows of beds until she found herself in front of Gaara's own.
Somehow, a small smirk managed to cross her face as she watched the scene before her. In truth, it was odd to see her brother - her usually unbreakable and impenetrable little brother - getting medical attention. For years, she watched Gaara take down foe after foe with absolute ease, never getting a scratch from any of those - admittedly, completely one-sided - altercations. She figured this mission would just be another notch in Gaara's spotless record.
The Shinobi Showcase did a fine job throwing all her foregone conclusions right out the window. Granted, Gaara has managed to be successful with every task that has been presented to him so far, but the competition was - admittedly enough - pushing him outside of his comfort zone. His matches against Lee and Sasuke had shown her that her little brother wasn't as infallible as she once thought.
And she wasn't sure whether that was either a good thing or a bad one.
She quietly waited as the medical nin continued to work on her brother, not making a sound till the kunoichi was done with her work. Once she got the redhead all bandaged up, she quietly spoke a few words before bowing her head and leaving, offering a bow to Temari as well as she passed her by. The princess watched her leave before turning around, dark green eyes coming into contact with jade.
"Are you just going to stand there and watch me until your match is next?"
Somehow his question managed to earn him a chuckle from his sister, a hand going straight to her face as she finally made her way over to him.
"Sorry, it's just odd to see you like this," Temari decided to admit as she walked over to his bedside. "It's not every day I get to see my almost impervious little brother come to a medical bay because he actually needs medical attention! I know I should be watching Kankuro's match, but this was just a sight that I couldn't pass up."
"Well, I can't begrudge you that one," Gaara admitted as he pulled out one of his storage scrolls to pull out a new shirt. "It is odd, isn't it? It's usually you or Kankuro that's in this position, not me."
"With good reason though," Temari chided as she sat down next to him. "Your sand has done an excellent job protecting you in battle over the years, but your 'no-injury' streak was bound to end someday."
"Thank you for those words. I'm so glad you told me that." Gaara sarcastically mumbled as he put on his shirt, wincing every time he moved his injured shoulder too quickly. ". . . Ow!"
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. I'm just not used to feeling this much pain before. That's all."
Better get used to it kid. You'll likely feel a lot more pain than this before your time in this world is up.
"Thank you for the words of advice Shukaku. I really needed to hear that." the redhead grumbled before tuning him out. ". . . Getting wounded is going to take some time getting used to."
"Trust me, you never get used to it," Temari mumbled, shaking her head. "You think you do after getting hit in the leg by a shuriken for the seventh time, but nope. Every time you get hurt, the pain is there to welcome you, and it hurts like a bitch. It's just something you never get used to, unless you somehow don't have the ability to feel that is."
"You're still mad at Kankuro for that wayward shuriken he threw four months ago, aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"Quite . . ." Gaara mumbled as he looked down at his shoulder. "The medic said that my wound will sting for a while, but it hasn't taken me out of the fight."
"That's good to know. Then again, you have proven that you don't need both your arms to command your sand," Temari added. "Anyway, I hope you managed to learn something from your fight with Lord Uchiha."
"Oh, I certainly did," the redhead admitted. "All those wins I've accrued over the years may have made me a bit complacent."
"Maybe?"
"Yeah, maybe . . ." Gaara mumbled as he stood up. "Most of the opponents that I've faced in the past didn't have a good counter for my jutsu, and yet here we are, in the Shinobi Showcase, where the first two people I face one-on-one happen to have move sets that easily goes against mine. . . Admittedly enough, I've never prepared for such a thing, and it has shown in my performance."
"Hey! At least you did win both matches!" Temari reminded him. Gaara didn't look convinced by her enthusiasm. "Ok, so they were close wins, but hey! A win's a win!"
"But these are wins that I should definitely learn from. The rest of the competition see me as a threat, and if the preliminaries didn't show them that I wasn't completely infallible, then my match just now did."
"Ok, fair point, and at least you are aware of your problems, so there's that . . ." Temari mumbled, shaking her head. "Speaking of wins, how do you like our brother's chances against Nekonome?"
Gaara didn't have the time to answer when they heard the sound of medics shouting from outside the room. They looked up to see two medics carrying the latest to fall into the room, a third following behind them carrying a broken mass of wood and metal. It only took them two seconds to realize that the genin on the stretcher was Kankuro and the heap to be his puppet Crow.
He was placed on the bed next to Gaara's own, allowing the siblings to see the full extent of their brother's injuries. Deep bloody slash marks were strewn across his arms and torso, and his right ankle looked sprained. The most damage appeared to be to his right hand. It was a bruised mass that looked like it was crushed in a strong grip, and if they had to lift his arm up, it wouldn't be hard to think that it would hang like a limp tissue.
"Damn, I made a terrible mistake . . ." the puppeteer grumbled as the medics cut up his shirt to take a better look at the damage. "I thought I had her move set all figured out and look where that got me.
"Well . . ." Temari mumbled as she looked at Gaara, who just watched on with a blank face. ". . . At least he's awake."
A/N: Please review!