Chapter 23: Terrifying Opponent Emerges

Shikamaru Nara v Kin Tsuchi

Yuri has to laugh about it. Shikamaru finally gets to fight and Yuri joins Ino in cheering for Shikamaru.

"Why didn't you cheer for me?" Sasuke asks.

She pauses and notices Sasuke is really close to her face. She smirks. "Do you really want me to cheer as loudly as I can? I will next time."

"Fine." He looks away.

Yuri should pay attention to the fight and she wants to see Shikamaru win this. But that Kin girl uses Genjustu.

"Seems like a fair match, Shikamaru might be toast." Sasuke comments.

She glances over to Saske. She doesn't know what he is thinking, but she always thought Sasuke was smarter than that.

Yuri shakes her head. "Shikamaru is the smartest one."

And of course he manages to get out of it. He even wins. Knocking her out with having her hit her head.

When he comes back up, Yuri shakes her head. "Lame. She wasn't even a match for you."

He only grunts. "You saw the plan. You could have escaped it."

It was simple, the girl let her emotions and being overconfidentice get the better of her. She didn't pay attention and to tunnel vision she didn't check to see where she was. And didn't even check that her string didn't have a shadow. Anything that could connect her. It was dumb.

Yuri would just strong arm Shikamaru.

Yuri smirks. "Of course."

Isamu comes up to Shikamaru and starts to heal him. "You guys all suck! How can you all be so bad about getting injured."

"Come one! You don't need to heal me!" Shikamaru exclaims.

He tries to push Isamu off. But Yuri isn't going to let him. Isamu is trying to help and she knows that Shikamaru likes a challenge. The girl didn't offer him one, and he was only starting to like more and more challenges.

Yuri wacks him. "Shut up. Let him heal you."

He grumbles, but allows Isamu to heal him. It was going to be an argument for later. Sasuke shakes his head and their attention is pulled when Naruto begins yelling.

Naruto Uzumaki v. Kiba Inuzuka

"Naruto." Yuri says right away.

"Idiot. It's going to be Kiba!" Shikamaru counters.

She looks at Shikamaru. "No way. Naruto has improved so much more."

"I have to agree with Yuri Shikamaru. Naruto might have been lame in school, but he has done nothing but improve." Sasuke interjects.

She smiles a little. Glad that Sasuke agrees with her, and no way was she going to lose this one. They continue to watch and Yuri notices that Kitty boy is watching her instead of the match.

She stares back at him and smirks. She would win against him. No matter what. It was only a matter of time before she and Kitty boy would fight. There were a handful of people Yuri would love to fight in these matches.

Sadly, some of them had been taken out. She wanted to fight against the blue haired boy, but they both got taken out. Which wasn't a problem for her. But everyone was so strong.

"What a drag. Even Naruto's gotten stronger." Shikamaru complains.

Her attention turns back to the match. "Of course he did."

"See, Naruto is chaotic, we don't know what he's going to do next." Kenji mumbles into Yuri's ears.

And that is only proven when Naruto farts… right in Kiba's face. And it overwhelms him. Causing Yuri to bust out laughing. He just farted in Kiba's face! And it was so strong it took Kiba out. How perfect is that?

"Kiba! Being taken down like that?" Yuri keeps laughing.

Shikamaru facepalms. "Such a lame way to lose."

Yuri wipes away a few tears. Even Sasuke has a few chuckles. It was a good match, an even match at that. It showed Kiba what he needs to work on and that there are some things Naruto still needs to work on.

"It was a good match." Sasuke comments.

Naruto comes back up and she sees Hinata giving him something. She taps Shikamaru.

"How sweet. Hinata didn't offer us anything… but she also didn't offer anything to Shino." Yuri smiles softly.

She even notices the small blush on Naruto's face. And she smirks, seeing as Naruto finally was paying attention to other people's feelings. He even got over his crush on Sakura. It was nice seeing some growth from Naruto. Everyone was growing up.

But the next names are displayed.

Neji Hyūga v Hinata Hyūga

She can only stare at the screen at the names displayed. She knew Hinata's cousin was ruthless, and angry. He was deemed Rookie of the Year last year.

Yuri notices the one sensi grit his teeth and seems to be watching carefully. She knows he is a Hyuga as well.

She and Shikamaru forget to ask.

"Bets off?" Shikamaru asks.

Yuri nods her head. "Ya. I just hope Hinata is okay."

Lee is explaining the main branch and side branch of the Hyuga family. She shakes her head. She knows this is going to be rough.

And Neji telling her to withdraw causes Yuri to grip the railing.

"Neji is a piece of work." Yuri comments.

Shikamaru puts a hand on Yuri's. "Calm down."

Letting out a breath, she hates watching, but seeing that the match is rather even, she can only watch. But when Naruto yells out, she can see a shift in Hinata. And she can't help but smirk a little.

"Here we go." Sasuke smiles. "Leave it to Naruto to inspire her."

Hinata is giving Neji a run for his money. It's going to be a quick match, and a good one. She can only hope Hinata can win this. But with Neji… she isn't sure. There are blows exchanged and Neji hits Hinata right in the chest.

"Damn boys having a longer reach…" Yuri mumbles.

Hinata can no longer fight, he shut down her ability to fight. She hates Neji, he seems like a real jerk. Hinata was going so well against him. She tries to get up, and Neji once again goes after her.

All the Leaf jonin step in. The other Hyuga member has his hand on Nejis chest and his Byakugan open. Neji has his limbs restricted, and is unable to move. She can only stand there and watch it.

Isamu jumps down with the others and quickly starts checking her over. He begins yelling a few things. She sees him healing her and Yuri puts her hands over her mouth. Isamu begins to help the medics but they kick him off so they can rush Hinata out.

But they have to carry Hinata off.

"Awe man. That was a good fight." Shikamaru comments.

Yuri nods her head. "I agree."

"I can't imagine this going any differently." Sasuke says.

They all listened to the explanation, and it wasn't hard to see why the Hyuga's were one of the top clans in the village. It made sense, but she also didn't understand if things hadn't changed… Why were there still so many of them?

Shaking her head, she looks at the next match up.

Yunagi Amasa v Kiya Orinuye

They both have white hair. Yuri groans. She knows they aren't betting any more, and it was due to neither of them wanting to keep track anymore, especially since they didn't want to bet on Hinata going against Neji. But these two girls look so similar.

"Um… Yunagi?" Yuri guessed.

""I'll go with Kiya." Shikamaru says.

Right from the word go, the one from the grass runs and throws Kunai and vanishes. Causing Yuri to try to track her movements, but she isn't able to. She fully vanished, even in the storm of weapons, Yuri can't see her. The other girl has her eyes closed and seems to dodge just fine.

Sasuke seems even intimidated by the girl dodging everything without even opening her eyes.

"What's with this girl?" Shikamaru asks.

Yuri shakes her head. "I don't know. She didn't even open her eyes."

But the other girl is still gone. Yuri doesn't know where she went though. She can't even begin to guess though.

The other girl… now Yuri remembers! She's Kiya! She met her and… Oh what was the boy's name? He already fought… Totomi at the training yard one time. Kiya comes out of nowhere and strikes who she is guessing is Yunagi. Yunagi manages to only duck and sends Kiya flying.

Yunagi makes some hand signs and shoots ice from her fingertips. Shaking her head, Yuri can't tell who's going to win this one.

"Wow! Cool!" Naruto yells out.

But that doesn't stop Kiya, she melts into a sea of weapons and vanishes once again. Same trick, but one that seems to work for her really well. She wishes Tenten was here to see this! She might be able to use it!

"I see. She is transforming herself into weapons. She is trying to get behind her or get an advantage." Yuri comments.

Shikamaru nods his head. "Ya."

Kiya comes out right in front of Yunagi and punches her. Shocking everyone. There is a long moment of pause. No one moves as Kiya shrugs her shoulders. She is the only one left of her team, so she must feel like she needs to get through.

Yunagi doesn't get up, and Yuri notices something in Kiya's hand.

"Match over." Yuri says. "Look at her hand."

Shikamaru and Sasuke both look at her but look closely at Kiya. It takes them a moment to notice what Yuri did, but when they do Shikamaru groans.

"A freaking kunai. She didn't just punch her… she stabbed her." Sasuke says.

"Wasn't expecting that." Shikamaru shakes his head. .

The medics come in and carry Yunagi off, and they all see she was stabbed… twice by Kiya. How ruthless do these people need to be? Everyone has been sent to the infirmary, very few people have been spared.

"Deadly, and chaotic." Yuri comments.

But the next names are displayed.

Kenji Okawa v Isesu Tsuneko

"Go get em!" Yuri yells.

Kenji lets out a sigh. "At least it's not Gaara or that sound guy."

Kenji goes down. Yuri can't help but agree with Kenji. He isn't going against Gaara, which is good. She would hate to fight against him. And she is glad Kenji isn't.

"I have to hope Kenji wins." Yuri says.

The two face off. Once the go is given, the girl, Isesu pauses. Seeming to watch Kenji for a moment, and Yuri doesn't like it.

"I will make the same suggestion to you. Withdraw now. Or you will end up like that Hinata girl."

Yuri gasps. But Sasuke and Shikamaru shake their heads and snort. She looks between the two of them. They don't think that this girl can beat Kenji? She wouldn't believe it either, but she is from the hidden mist.

Sasuke speaks first. "Empty threat."

She looks at the twin. And he seems serious. She doesn't like the look in his eyes when he looks up at her and gives a shake of his head. She thinks her twin would know the skill level of Isesu.

"I don't think it is." Yuri comments.

Kenji gets into a fighting position. "No."

The girl smiles. "I warned you."

Kenji moves first, he charges at her and tries to strike her. And he begins to punch her, she blocks him and smiles. Skidding back a little bit. Yuri doesn't think this will end well. She has a different look in her eye than before. When Yuri met her, she was warm and playful like Naruto. Now though? It's like she is seeing a different person.

Kenji doesn't stop though, he just keeps coming after her, and she keeps blocking and dodging him. But… she doesn't notice it until Isesu is slowing down. She had to give Kenji props, he had managed to compact the weights down a lot, and five pounds at a time, he was weighing her down. Until he lands a punch on her.

"Wow! He must have tired her out!" Lee exclaims.

Yuri and Isamu smirk. She shakes her head. No one else would have noticed though.

"No Lee." Isamu starts. "He's slowing her down."

Lee looks at them, as does Neji. "What do you mean?"

"He means Kenji carries around compact weights. Each five pounds. He gets quicker, and the person he's fighting gets slower. Ask Naruto how it works. He usually gets a lot put on him." Yuri giggles.

"This is a match then?" Shikamaru asks as Lee and Naruto begin to argue.

"Possibly." Yuri leans on the railing.

Something shocking happens. Kenji is kocked away with a kunai in his arm, fully embedded in his arm. And the girl makes illusions of herself and continues to go after Kenji. Mixing herself up and lands a blow on him. Leaving Yuri to only grip onto the railing. Are the tides of this fight about to turn? Not one to give up, Kenji gets back up and goes to attack.

Only he is frozen, Yuri looks at his feet and sees he is frozen by icy mud.

Isesu comes up to him and lands another punch right to his face. Causing him to be broken out of the icy mud. Slamming against the wall, Kenji gets on his feet and uses his justu to summon all the ninja tools she has to him.

Grabbing a kunai, he charges at her, and she knows he coated it in wind chakra like Assmi sensi does with her blade.

"Oh man! He's going in for the kill!" Naruto exclaims.

But the girl gets under him and pulls out something from her sleeve. Punching Kenji so he is sent flying backwards.

"No he isn't. Look at her." Yuri mumbles.

Isesu comes flying at Kenji while he is holding his side. She pulls out three throwing needles and slices Kenjis chest open. They are deep cuts as well. And Yuri can see the water dripping down them. But it's cloudy water… and she doesn't know what to think.

"I am calling this match!"

Medics rush in and quickly take Kenji away, not giving Yuri or Isamu a chance to see if he was okay.

"Poision." Asami says. "I am sure you two noticed the water dripping. She poisioned him, it's why the match was called. They wanted to ensure no one dies at this stage."

"She… she really poisioned him?" Yuri mumbles.

Shikamaru puts a hand on her as does Sasuke. Yuri is trying to keep herself from shaking. She might have faced the least able ninja in this whole place.

"He should be fine." Shikamaru mumbles.

"Don't worry." The girl says. Yuri looks down at her. "It's diluted. My brother warned me to be kind. If they act quickly enough it won't kill him, and I mean an hour at least. So long as he doesn't move. The side effects will be worse, after the poision is out of his system."

She goes back up and Yuri can only stare at her. She doesn't know what to even think about what she just heard. She purposely diluted the poision… and she wasn't going in for the kill. She would love to face her and be chaotic.

She starts to hear Choji yelling, something about food. Shaking her head, she needs to refocus. They only had 5 people left and one was making it through without a fight. And she notices Kitty boy coming onto their side. She narrows her eyes.

Yuri walks over to Naruto and Konkuro. She needs to know what they are talking about, and she can tell Kitty boy isn't getting that information out of Naruto.

"Ah, Kitty boy. Shame one day I'm going to have to face you. Might wipe that smirk off your face."

He smirks at Yuri. "I was just asking your friend here about that Neji guy."

"Naruto wouldn't know that much about him. And neither do I." She shrugs her shoulders and glances back at Neji.

The proctor coughs and pulls all their attention to the front. She turns and waits for the names. Seeing the Gaara kid move right away to the floor. A shame for the person about to fight him, even though she knows he is powerful.

Lee v Gaara

Yuri lets out a sigh. "Kitty boy, your teammate seems a little… off."

Lee goes into the ring as she crosses her arms.

"I don't know what kind of moves the guy with the dumb haircut has. But he will never bet Gaara. Ever!"

"Wrong." Naruto starts. "He's stronger than you think. You have no idea."

Yuri shakes her head. He has no idea. But Kitty Boy turns to her. She looks at him fully while they wait for the go.

"Just know. I would never want to face Gaara in a match." He looks her dead in the eyes.

"Well, there are probably a lot of people you wouldn't want to face in a match." Yuri shoots at him.

Konkuro shakes his head. "You being one of them. I don't think I could fight such a pretty face."

And that throws Yuri off balance a little. No one was this blunt with her, or said she had a pretty face. It caused her to have a blank mind for once. Something she isn't used to and she doesn't have a witty comeback for it. She snickers and shakes her head.

"Maybe you should focus more on the match." Is all she can say.

And she watches as Lee goes in for an attack and Sand protects Gaara. He doesn't even move anything. He tries and tries but that Gaara kid doesn't even move. She narrows her eyes, wondering what that guy is doing, he has his arms crossed and he isn't moving. How is it working?

"The sand is protecting him. It's a perfect defense, it moves on its own accord. It's like a living thing. It will come to his protection. That's why, no one has been able to do it so far, injure Gaara that is." Konkuro explains.

"You mean to tell me, Gaara isn't even wasting his own chakra?" Yuri asks. Not even looking at the boy.

Naruto stares at the fight going on. Until Guy sensi says something about taking them off. And Lee takes off weights. And when he drops them, they crash into the ground and leave everyone shocked.

"He has more weights on him than Kenji…" Yuri mumbles.

Kenji usually only has 40 pounds on him, but Lee just dropped easily double that weight. But once Lee moves, he vanishes, even Yuri can't keep up with him. He is almost punching Gaara. And then he does it. He kicks Gaara.

"Look at that… Gaara is struggling." Yuri says.

"Uh-oh…" Konkuro says.

"That's right! Your friend with the eye makeup is getting the stuffing beat out of him." Naruto says.

"That's not what I meant." Yuri narrows her eyes.

Konkuro explains the sand armour, and Yuri shakes her head. But Lee slams Gaara into the ground. Leaving everyone is a shock. He was beating Gaara… and she couldn't believe it. Lee is actually managing to harm Gaara.

"No way…" Yuri mumbles.

And she can only watch in horror as the match continues, not even listening to Kitty boy or Naruto. Seeing the lotus once again, and Gaara being taken down, Yuri sees Gaara crush Lee's arm and leg. Yuri puts her hand over her mouth and feels a hand on her shoulder. It's Kitty boy.

It takes Guy sensi stepping in and saving Lee for the match to end.

She stands there for a moment, her emotions all over the place. She thought it would end with Gaara winning, but not at the cost of Lee being nearly killed.

"Relax. Clearly no one wants to kill anyone this time."

She looks at him for a moment and nods her head. "I… I should get back to my team…"

Yuri turns away and doesn't realize she took a little of Kitty boy's chakra. She pauses when she sees Lee back on his feet. And she realizes he is out, but still willing to fight. But she has a taste of peppermint. She glances back and stares at Konkuro, realizing she took his chakra a little. He looks back at her and smiles, giving her a little wave.

She doesn't think he is a bad guy. Just a matter of… how people around him are. Not that she would do much better in a situation like his.

Making it back to Shikamaru, she shakes her head. Clinging onto Shikamaru as she leans her head on his shoulder. She needs comfort and she is worried. It could be anyone who faced Gaara, and it happened to be Lee.

"I hope Lee is okay." She mumbles.

"I am sure he will be…" Isamu doesn't sound confident.

Everyone looks at the medic talking to Guy sensi, and they can all tell he is getting awful news. She only holds onto Shikamaru.

"Damn… I wanted to fight Lee." Sasuke says, right behind her.

Yuri can only stare, she doesn'e know what to say. Not to anyone. She feels bad for Lee, anyone would have just given up against Gaara, but not Lee. And she only hopes she never has to face Gaara, she would even forfeit. Seeing even Kakashi going down to shut Naruto up.

"Yuri?" A gentle voice brings her out of her thoughts.

She looks at Shikamaru. "Sorry. I just… I feel bad about it."

"Why? You didn't do anything. We can only hope for his recovery." Shikamaru pats her head.

"Also, I think I took some of Konkuros chakra." She mumbles.

Shikamaru stiffens. But he doesn't say anything else as the last names are displayed.

Chōji Akimichi v Dosu Kinuta.

"Hani Mihomi will move on." The proctor says.

She shakes her head, not even paying attention. She doesn't think she should, that last match was hard to watch, but her eyes drift over to the other sand team, seeing the girl frown. She wanted to fight, anyone could tell.

It is quickly over though, with Choi getting beaten by the sound ninja Dosu. She shakes her head.

"Oh man… even I saw that coming." Sasuke comments.

"A lame last match." Isamu agrees.

They call all the winners down.

The proctor talks, but she doesn't listen very well to it. Knowing Isamu will give her a rundown later. He congratulates them and she keeps an eye on Gaara. She is worried, he seems to be calm now, but that blood taste is strong, she was mostly able to suppress the taste around her, but she hates the taste of blood.

When the Hokage speaks, Yuri has to listen, she can't have herself not pay attention.

"In the final round, each of you will show off your battle skills in front of everyone…"

And Yuri zones out. Something out showing off, and how it's a month out. Being ready for the finals. She is going to have to train… and now to be against someone she knows. Their skill level. And she had to be able to move on… eventually. But she isn't sure about it.

Does she even want to move on?

And they are drawing numbers. Everyone takes a number.

"Good. Now that everyone has a number, from left to right tell me the number on your slip of paper."

Kiya is first. "4"

Dosu speaks up "12"

"1" Naruto doesn't sound too thrilled about it.

Akira speaks with a smile. "11"

"8" A cheerful tone from Isesu… so different from her fight.

Izugi is quiet. "3"

The sand guys speak back to back. "14" "10" "6" "16"

Shikamaru sighs. "13"

Yuri shakes her head. "15"

"7" Isamu smiles.

Neji says his number. "2"

Shino creeply says his number. "9"

"Leaving me with 5" Sasuke concludes.

"Right, I will tell you how the final round will work." The Hokage begins.

That's why they drew lots. A tournament. Great… they did a sudden death and still had so many left.

Ibiki turns the board around, and she is fighting the one girl she knows nothing about. Hani from the sand. She has an advantage this round. But she notices Isamu is fighting Isesu, and she looks next to her to see him totally freaked out. Asami sensi is going to have to pay extra attention to Isamu this month.

Shikamaru asks for clarification and she shakes her head. They could all become Chunin, which means none of them could. They need to fight and make a good impression. She doesn't know if she wants to be a chunin… She needs to get better. But she doesn't want to be a chunin. It would be a drag like Shikamaru always complains.

Once they are dismissed, she walks with Isamu.

"I am dead." Are the first words he says.

Yuri nods her head. "Ya. But so long as you put up a good fight you might still pass. Asami sensi might be able to help you."

Isamu sighs and Asami sensi appears before them.

"Yuri, I might have to arrange special training for you. Don't worry. I am sure they will be amazing for you. Isamu. We start in 3 hours. Lick your wounds and find me. That is your first task." Asami vanishes.

"I wish you luck." Yuri pats his shoulder and goes off. She wants to check on a few people.

Notes: I hope you are enjoying it! We are getting to the end of the Chunin Exams. I hope you guys have liked it so far! I am trying to get better at writing fight sequences, and I hope they are getting better. Also, I am going to try to post every Sunday, I do have almost the whole story written now. Please leave a comment and follow the story!