Kankuro:

Every muscle in my body tingled with impatience and tension. If it were up to me, I would leave immediately. Before we had come to Konoha, I had wanted to fight for Suna with full conviction. But things had changed that I had not even dreamed of. Baki had told us not to get involved with others. We had unanimously agreed to this.

Konoha had changed us, well maybe not the village directly. It was more due to my friendship...could you call it that...with Tora. A girl who seemed like a boy at first sight. Small, scrawny, brown tangled hair, silver piercing eyes and a delicate scar on her right cheek.

The small girl entered the small tribune at that very moment. Where had she been for so long? Our eyes met and she hastily pulled up her zip. But I had already seen it, the bruises that stretched around her neck. Were they strangulation marks? But from whom?

I looked around...who wasn't there yet?

Dosu and Gaara.

My gaze caught Tora's again and she shook her head slightly. What was that supposed to mean now? That I shouldn't worry? It was natural for me to worry, but actually...

„You're thinking about the deal we have with Baki Kankuro?" a cool voice asked from beside me and I flinched. Gaara was standing there, looking at me piercingly. Of course, I hadn't forgotten the deal and it still made me feel very guilty. I knew that I had to fight for Suna instead of Konoha. And I was dreading a meeting with her if she had realised our true intentions.

But...was it really still my intention to help there?

No, not really...but then I would be a traitor for both sides. Who would still want me then?

My teeth gritted together.

„No, I didn't. Sorry Gaara."

„That's what I would advise you to do. Because if you get in my way...you know what happens."

Oh, how I hated talking to him so submissively. After all, I was the older one. But still...Gaara's inner state was hard to gauge, and I was hanging on for dear life. In the past few weeks...I couldn't even tell if it was better or worse. Temari had told me about a short conversation between him and Tora. Gaara had been quite upset afterwards and had also seemed unusually human for a brief moment. A side she had last seen many years ago.

„What...what is it?"

A surprised exclamation made me look back at the pitch. There, Neji and the snot-elf Naruto were facing each other. How Tora could be friends with that one, I couldn't figure out. He was so weird.

But something was strange.

Tora

Red chakra lashed around Naruto, whipping through the air like countless tails, churning the earth around him. The Uzumaki had closed his eyes in exertion, determinedly trying to control the immense force. It was incredible to see how he managed to steal some of the fox's chakra. But since when could he concentrate it? Could it have something to do with his new sensei? Searching, my eyes wandered around the crowd, but no Jiraya in sight.

But there were a few Anbu. So, the Hokage had sent reinforcements after all. I swallowed at the sight of the masked special unit. The last time I had seen them was during my father's arrest. That was over a year ago now...or even longer.

So quickly. Never before had I seen Naruto run at such a speed. His feet didn't even seem to touch the ground, so fast did he rush towards the Hyjuga, who had his arms raised in defence.

There was a bang as the two collided. A great cloud of earth and dust formed, obscuring the view of the field for a moment. Tightly my hands clutched the grate. Naruto just had to have made it. How much I wished that for him, I couldn't even put into words. Maybe then those in the village would see that he wasn't just the boy they sealed the fox in.

Two deep holes had dug into the earth. And out of one of them climbed an exhausted Neji. Naruto...seemed to be lying there stunned or even unconscious.

„I...told you...fate cannot be changed," he gasped.

But then the clone fizzled out. It happened within a few seconds. In a flash, a bolt of orange lightning broke through the earth. The clenched fist hit the Hyjuga on the chin and flung it backwards.

Hey, that was my chin punch. Such a copycat.

But it had helped. Completely at the end of his tether, the Hyjuga lay there, unable to move. No wonder, with that punch.

Naruto walked up to him and spoke a few words to him that I couldn't understand, but from Nejis expression I could see the Hyjugas astonishment at Naruto's words.

And when Genma announced Naruto as the winner, nothing could stop me. I jumped down onto the field and hugged the Uzumaki so fiercely that he staggered backwards. But then he returned the hug firmly, as if he never wanted to let me go.

„I'm proud of you, now you've shown everyone that you're not what they all think you are," I said with a smile and gave him another tight hug.

Genmas clearing of his throat brought me back to reality.

„I really hate to interrupt your little victory celebration Tora...but people want to see the next fight."

I nodded slowly and broke away from the embrace. Side by side, Naruto and I went up the stairs while Neji was carried away by the Medic-Nin.

In the stairwell, I stopped for a moment and my eyes slid to the spot where Dosu had lain. The floor there was slightly dark red. Blood. Apparently, he had hit an awkward spot. Let's see how much that would hinder him in the fight.

We stood next to Shino and Shikamaru and looked down at Genma, who was now starting to speak again.

His voice raised, he turned to the stands.

„Shino Aburame against Kankuro. I call upon the contestants to make their way to the arena."

For a moment nothing stirred, but then Kakuros voice rang out.

„I withdraw from the match."

WHAT?

Oh, please. I would have expected anything, but not something like this. A fight between the two could have been really exciting, and I couldn't even say who would be the more likely winner. But that didn't matter now. And besides, I knew him so well that it wasn't really his style to just give up a fight like that. Strange.

„Well, then, it's my turn," Temari said, and with the help of her fan, she let the wind come up and sailed on it down into the arena. Expectantly, we turned towards Shikamaru, who again had an annoyed and listless expression on his face.

„Man, Kankuro did really well to give up...I think I..."

„Go on Shikamaru...show her."

An over-motivated Naruto unfortunately thwarted the Nara's plans and pushed him with a heavy punch, down into the arena.

Annoyed, the Nara looked up at us. Boos rang out and people began to throw all sorts of objects into the arena.

With the greatest effort of my control, I restrained myself from shouting anything back. My goodness. Another reason why I couldn't stand some people at all. They didn't even bother to put themselves in other people's shoes, all they wanted to see was action.

Well. I don't know. From the look on Shikamarus face, they were definitely in the wrong fight.

But things turned out differently than expected. The Nara actually showed something like a will to fight after Temari's impatient attack and chased his shadow at her. Skillfully, she dodged again and again and after a short engagement the Nara retreated to the back of the field where he sat motionless on the ground, his fingers pressed together in a kind of thinker's pose.

I grinned.

Now everyone would see that, apart from his laziness, he was an extremely ingenious strategist.

The further course of events was extremely exciting. In the meantime, sweat was running down my face because of the tension, since I was so much in sympathy with him.

And then... Temari made the decisive mistake. She hid behind her fan to make a finger sign, but no longer paid attention to her back-up. Because from the hole behind her, one of Shikamarus shadows approached. She froze in motion, unable to lift another finger.

The Nara grinned triumphantly, and an angry snort escaped Kankuros mouth, which I ignored. My gaze followed Shikamarus movements. Slowly but surely, he forced the blonde to walk towards him.

Slowly but surely, he raised his hand in the air. Temari did the same. What else could she do, couldn't she move? Horror had spread across the girl's face.

„I give up."

More or less shocked, we looked down at Shikamaru, who looked deadly serious into the Suna-Nin's eyes and declared her the winner, so to speak. Either he didn't feel like fighting anymore or he had run out of chakra. Possibly both.

Such a hero. Well, it was his decision after all. Temari didn't seem to understand it in the slightest, her facial expression showing sheer surprise.

„What an idiot," Kankuro snorted. „He could have won."

Gaara growled something unintelligible.

Oh, that's right, he was still there. As still and quiet as he had been all this time, he had moved further and further into the background of my field of attention.

„So, Since Sasuke Uchiha is still not here, we will again advance a fight," Genma said, now having my full attention again. Worried, my hand went to my pocket, recounted the kunais and shuriken...enough there should be, actually.

Determined, I tied my headband tighter and slipped on my arm guards, followed by the black glove I might need for archery. Ranged attacks at Dosu would probably be better than up close.

„Tora versus Dosu."

Naruto patted me on the back confidently while Kankuro gave me a quick encouraging nod.

„Good luck."

But it wasn't the puppeteer who had spoken, it had been his younger brother. Shocked, he received stares from all sides. I grinned, adjusted my headband, and swung off the parapet, down into the arena.

One thing I knew already.

I wanted to win this fight.