Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Glimpses of Fire ❯ The Start of the Preliminaries ( Chapter 17 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Glimpses of Fire
Author: shattered-words

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it'd be called `Gaara'. So, isn't it a shame that I don't own it?

Summary: There were many things that shaped the plans of a certain Nukenin, and one was a shinobi that was as destructive as fire. AU/Mentions of Shounen-ai/Yaoi/Yuri

AN: I'm so happy today since I was finally able to get my copy of Diru's new album. It hadn't occurred to me that it was going to be released in the US, but it was. I was grinning from ear to ear when I found out my bf had gotten it for me, and uncut too! n.n It's a good day! On with the chapter! (btw, I seem to have a bad case of food poisoning from accidentally eating raw hamburger meat in a restaurant, so I will be out of commission for a while. Sorry about this, but it is beyond my control. Hopefully I will be up and about in a few days. Thank you for your time.)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter Seventeen: The Start of the Preliminaries~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

All the Genin teams that had made it out of the Forest of Death alive and well enough to continued had been vertically lined up in front of a slightly raised platform where the gargantuan stone carved hands came together to form a seal. The Genin's Jonin instructors, along with the chief proctors, were gathered in three horizontal lines behind the Sandaime Hokage. Since the majority of the teams entered had been from Konoha, there were more leaf-nin present. It also seemed apparent that the rookie teams, or the Rookie Nine, had all made it past the second part of the exam.

The first team consisted of a silent Haku, or Take, a smirking Anzai and a slightly nervous Sanako. Besides them was one of the rookie leaf team which consisted of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji.

Then came a second team of rookies consisting of Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino. Next to them was Naruto's team with the Uzumaki in the front, followed by Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura taking up the rear. The team of Konoha ninja next to them had a year experience and they were Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten. The following leaf team was even older and had Yakushi Kabuto in front, then Akado Yoroi, and Tsurugi Misumi.

One of the only two Suna teams to make it this far was standing besides Kabuto's team and its members were Ashikaga Eizan, Itagaki Amane, and Erizawa Iwane at the back. Gaara's team was on their right, with the red head in front, Kankurou behind him and followed by Temari at the end. The final team was the solitary team from Oto that consisted of Dosu Kinuta, Zaku Abumi, and Kin Tsuchi.

They had listened to the Hokage speak of the reason they held the Chunin examination all at once. “You risk not only your own futures and dreams, but the dignity and prestige of your home village as well,” the old man finished. Most of the teams had been paying attention, since he'd explained that the exam was in fact acting as a “war”. Some of the people that would be watching the third part of the exam would be important figures, such as the daimyo that give missions to the strongest nations.

The proctor for the exam was a Tokubetsu Jonin by the name of Gekkou Hayate. He looked to be in his early twenties, wearing a headband covering most of his dark brown hair so only some of it fell into his black eyes, and the metal plate with the leaf insignia was worn across the forehead of the bandana. The man also wore the Chunin vest and the same clothes as the others above the Genin level.

He had dark shadows under his eyes and his pale complextion made anyone looking at him think that he was right at death's door. Between coughing spasms, he told the Genin teams gathered that there would be preliminaries. Of course many were upset.

Eizan clenched a hand in anger as she heard the news. She has been resting the last three days that remained for the second part of the exam. However, she had quickly realized that any use of chakra caused the mark on her neck to ache unbearably.

A was placed on her shoulder and she turned to meet Amane's worried look. She nodded to indicated that she was fine and turned back as Hayate explained why the number of applicants had to be reduced. The second part of the exam had ended ten minutes ago and more than half of the teams had been eliminated, but it seemed that there were still too many of them.

“There will be a number of honored guests observing you during the third exam,” he explained, once again pausing to cough. “So we must make the exam intense, tight, and fast-moving.” He lifted the papers he had in his right hand. “The preliminaries starts immediately so anyone who doesn't feel up to the challenge can walk away.”

“Now!?” Kiba of Cell Eight yelled. The small beige dog on his head barked as if also outraged by this news. There were others that didn't seem to happy about this as they muttered in annoyance, but it was mostly the ones that hadn't finished too long ago.

“Well, I'm out,” Kabuto said as he lifted his right hand with a sheepish smile adorning his handsome features. There were several recent wounds on his body and a band aid across the bridge of his nose.

Hayate stopped mid cough as he glanced at his papers, one fist against his mouth so his words were slightly muffled. “Aren't you Yakushi Kabuto of Konoha?” he asked as the younger ninja nodded. “Okay, you can go.” The leaf ninja paused as if he had just remembered something. “Oh, in case I forgot to mention it, from here on in you fight as individuals and not as a team. So you can make the decision that's right for you without worrying about anyone else. Anyone else want out?”

“Hey, Kabuto!” the blonde of Cell Seven spoke up. “What's up with you quitting?” His loud outburst caused several of the Genin to look in his direction. The energetic ninja also looked a bit worn out, since they had run into trouble and fought off a more experienced team from Taki.

Kabuto had joined them before and had stopped them from opening the Heaven scroll they had found in the battle zone with the dead Ame-nin. He'd advised that they would be better off opening it in the tower and wasting time if it was a fake, then opening it in the forest and being disqualified because it was real. They had momentarily suspected that he might be trying to steal their Earth scroll, but it had faded when Kabuto had shown them he already had a set.

As they moved toward the tower, he had explained that he'd gotten separated from his team mates and was suppose to meet up with them at the tower. Also, he had advised that they be alert since many teams might have set traps around the surrounding area that the tower was located in. Then they'd been ambushed.

They had lost several hours while fighting off the ninja from Waterfall but by noon they had managed to make it to the tower with only minor injuries. Then it was to discover that the scroll had been real but the question of who had left it remained unanswered.

“Naruto, I'm sorry but those guys we fought beat the crap out of me,” he told the younger ninja. It wasn't a lie since he had saved Naruto and the others a few times and had sustained more wounds than they had. He was aware that many were listening to the conversation, including the Suna kunoichi besides him. “Not to mention the wounds I received trying to recover our team's scroll. Now they're saying we have to fight again so soon and I don't think I'm up to that.”

Naruto's sun-kissed head slumped as he looked down and gave a furlong sigh, and he seemed like a disappointed child. Kabuto smirked slightly at the expression, but knew he couldn't linger. He would have liked to continue but any longer and his true self would threaten to bubble to the surface.

The older leaf-nin pushed his glasses up and his eyes narrowed in the direction of the Jonin that were behind the Hokage. He was there as a spy and couldn't afford to blow his cover, even if he did want to see how strong that sand girl was. Either way, with Orochimaru as a spectator, then he could leave the intelligence gathering to him since he'd already informed him of Uchiha Sasuke's progress up till now.

After a few brief words with Yoroi, which were far from being a pep talk, he turned to leave. He caught Team Seven's gaze, smiled and waved at them before walking toward the exit. Now that his back was turned, a cruel smirk spread over his face. `I look forward to our next meeting, Sasuke and Naruto.' He pushed through the doors and was gone.

Eizan had turned to watch Kabuto leave, remembering that he'd been the one with the shinobi cards. From what Iwane and Amane had seen and heard, he had one for her. The information had actually been her brother's and that was most likely why the Uchiha had been paying her extra attention since the card would have listed her as `Deceased'. It was slightly amusing to realize that the card would have also said that she was male.

A sharp throb of pain caused her to hiss quietly as she gripped her neck. Iwane saw her flinch and Amane heard her, and the earth user appeared in front of her. The shorter girl had moved back at sensing their intentions and now found herself in the middle.

“So, uh,” the proctor spoke up again, “looks like no one else is quitting.” His gaze lingered over their cell at sensing the girl's movements, but Iwane -who was now in front- only gave him a disarming grin. He lifted an eyebrow when she winked at him and thought it best to turn his eyes else where.

“He's kinda cute,” the Erizawa female casually commented. Moments later, she felt Amane's glare burning into her skull and then someone smack her against the back of her head “Itai! I was only kidding!”

Amane almost smirked and knew that the girl was trying to lighten the mood, but saw her tense shoulders. “Maybe you should quit,” the air wielder told the smaller girl. Immediately she saw as the other turned and directed a hardened stare at her. “He did something to you, and Enoki-sensei said it might be permanent.”

Her brow furrowed at the thought. `Permanent?' She shook her head a moment later since she refused to walk away. “I don't care,” she growled and leveled her gaze toward Gaara. The red head had turned his attention toward them and had been watching her intently. In fact, it had been that way as soon as Iwane had moved to the front of their cell. His eyes were narrowed and she saw what she had seen the other night, and it scared her. “I'm finishing this exam.”

The Itagaki kunoichi frowned but let the matter drop. While Amane might have been stubborn, they knew that Eizan wouldn't change her mind. Both girls sighed and turned around, and the taller girl let her eyes wander. She clenched her teeth in anger at seeing the Uchiha's gaze still lingering over Eizan. He had no doubt realized as well that whatever Orochimaru had done to her, it was still affecting her. Amane made sure to keep an eye on the boy.

Gaara frowned as he looked at his subordinate. He knew about the curse seal and could tell that it was causing her pain. They hadn't seen much of each other after their last meeting after Eizan's team had fininshed the second part. Enoki hadn't allowed her to leave the room and the other two girls were making sure to keep her isolated in the room. Then Baki had done the same thing, while he didn't like it, the Jonin had advised that it was the best thing to do. When the time came for the invasion, it would be best to put some distance between them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Even when Eizan had stated that she was fine, that was not really the case. The burning agony was crawling along her neck and down her entire body, and it showed no signs of fading. She wanted nothing more than to succumb to the sweet oblivion that kept nagging at her. The Ashikaga knew, however, that even then she'd find no peace.

During the past three days, gruesome dreams had haunted her sleeping hours, and she'd woken up several times in a cold sweat. Then upon waking, she'd be racked with pain. There seemed to be no end to her suffering.

Her gaze, along with every one else's, turned up as the electronic scoreboard started up to determine the first match. Hopefully, she'd be one of the first to fight and get it over with. Then she could seek out a place to collapse, but knowing her luck, she might be one of the last.

Hyuuga Neji
vs.
Hideaki Anzai

A sigh left her lips as she saw the names appear for the first match. Fate hated her.

Meanwhile, the two competitors peered up at their names. Neji seemed nonplussed and Anzai was grinning a bit triumphantly. He had been itching to get a chance to fight the pale eyed teen, and now he finally had it.

They were from the same graduating class and the Hyuuga had always out shone the rest of them, Anzai included. The Hideaki boy had always thought he was so full of himself, but then he'd learned a bit about the Hyuuga Clan from his father and how they were separated into two sections. There was the main house and the lower branch families. Neji was part of the branch family.

For a while he'd been infatuated with the other and had what some might call a crush, but he'd found out two things that made him realize he had no chance with him. First was that he only seemed to care about training and showing how much stronger he was than the main house. The second was that he was straight.

He had been crushed -no pun intended- and swore to one day make the Hyuuga pay for his humiliation. While Anzai knew it wasn't Neji's fault, he needed to do this to completely get over him, and also for the fact that Neji had never noticed. He had thought he'd made his feelings obvious but the other hadn't even batted an eye. It hurt.

The rowdy teen moved forward to stand besides the proctor in the middle of the room and Neji did the same. Over the small distance that separated them cobalt clashed with lavender. While Anzai had always been unnerved by the others' stare he refused to look away now. He flicked a stray lock of his hair away from his face and smirked at the other boy. His opponent merely stared at him with a neutral expression on his features.

“The first match is Hyuuga Neji versus Hideaki Anzai, any objections from the opponents?” Hayate asked them, glancing between them. He could sense tension between the two competitors and wondered how that would affect this match. It was a well known fact that the Byakugan user had been named the number one rookie among his peers last year, and from what he'd seen from the brief look at their information, the Hideaki boy was from the same graduating class.

“I have none,” the slightly shorter boy assured, shifting slightly. He was raring to go and see how much his `rival' had improved over the last year since he had seen him. Since they had advanced into the rank of Genin he hadn't seen much of the youth, and he had been going out on missions with his two teammates. Then they had gotten a C-rank mission and the other male in their team, Morisue Gengyo, had perished.

It had been a devastating blow to lose his best friend and he'd mourned for him. When they'd placed Take in their team he'd been upset since he was replacing Gengyo and he had refused to see him as an ursurp for a while. Their instructor had even been changed and that had upset Anzai even more. He'd adamantly refused to even join the Chunin exam and had started to perfer going to the ninja memorial instead of training.

Anzai knew that Gai's team would be participating in the exam this year but he still refused to sign the application they'd been handed by their new Jonin instructor. Then he'd met a blonde rookie that wanted to join the exam. It turned out that he was acquainted with Takejiro and the other boy had made him realize that he was also grieving. He'd lost everything he knew and now he was placed on their team and expected to be interact and work together with him and his sister.

Uzumaki Naruto had been the ninja's name. His loud clothes had been unmistakeable and he recognized him as being the periah of Konohagakure. However, he wasn't the fool that everyone said he was and Anzai had found it easy to speak with him. Naruto had explained that death was part of being shinobi. Gengyo had known the risks of being a ninja and had died honorably in the line of duty. It was a hard thing to accept but he'd chosen this kind of life. To live, fight and die for the village.

“Neither do I,” Neji said. Although, he had been hoping for a chance to fight against Hinata, and then he'd prove that he was stronger than the Hyuuga Main House.

Hayate coughed into his hand quickly before nodding. “All right, everyone other than the two combatants should move to the upper gallery now.” After he said this, the rest of the ninja and Jonin instructors stared to make their way up the stairs where they'd be able to watch the match.

Enoki stood wordlessly beside Baki as their Genin teams gathered in front of the railing. Amane and Iwane stood between Eizan and Gaara, and for once the fire wielder was relieved. She was having a hard time dealing with the curse mark, and she didn't want the red head to see. So, she guessed that she also be grateful toward Enoki that had kept her isolated the past few days. Eizan found that a bit harder to do, though.

“Okay then,” Gekkou announced. “You may begin whenever.”

Immediately after Neji took his Jyuken stance, Anzai jumped back. He had seen enough of the Hyuuga's style to know that he was a short range fighter. Shifting into his own fighting stance, he waited for the other to make the first attack.

When Neji moved to attack, however, the slightly shorter boy rushed forward as well. He dodged to the side to avoid Neji's hands and threw several shuriken in his direction.

As he deflected them back his way, the Hideaki used Kawarimi to change places with a stunned Hayate, who had to quickly move from the path of the projectiles. Now that Anzai was behind the Hyuuga, he managed to land a kick on his back. The body disappeared and he jumped away, but he was grazed by a hit.

They stopped momentarily and the short haired boy clutched his side as his features were twisted in an expression of pain. He winced as he straightened and fell into his stance once more. Anzai refused to go down so easily. Withdrawing several shuriken, he bent his knees before throwing them forward. Then he ran through several seals as the kanji for `kiku' glowed on the weapons.

Before they reached Neji, they separated and stopped for a moment before coming at him from all sides. Anzai was using chakra lines connected to the shuriken to control them, but knew that his opponent would be able to cut them if given the chance. So he made sure to keep them moving continously and reformed the lines if the Hyuuga managed to cut one.

Neji moved quickly to avoid the weapons, and cut the chakra lines if he had the chance since his Byakugan could see them. He had been in the same class as Anzai and his sister, but he'd never known he could do this. Now he wished that he had paid the other's fighting abilities more attention as a shuriken sliced across his right bicep.

His eyes caught sight of him and he was crouched down several feet away as he moved his hands to control the projectiles. Neji knew he needed to get close to him, but he couldn't while the shuriken kept coming at him from every direction. He realized wjat he'd have to do, but hesitated since he hadn't completely perfected it yet. But to advance to the third part of the exam, he'd have to use it to get to Anzai.

Neji waited until all the weapons came at him at once before executing his move. When the time came, he spun in place and expelled chakra from tenketsu all over his body. `Hakkesho Kaiten!'

Anzai was shocked as his chakra lines were cut all at once. Before he could move, however, his opponent appeared before him and quickly and cleanly hit him several times over his entire body.

He jumped back, stumbled and fell to the floor with a groan. A wave of dizziness seized him before he coughed up a bit of blood that trailed down the side of his mouth.

“Give up,” Neji told him. His pale eyes seemed to peer straight into his soul. “You can no longer use chakra. Your defeat is inevitable.”

Anzai realized that he spoke the truth as he tried to use his chakra. Nothing happened, but even then he stood up and fell into a fighting stance as Neji frowned but still looked surprised. “Not yet,” he growled before rushing toward him.

He used plain taijutsu now and tried to avoid the other's attacks as much as possible. As he was hit with his open palm, Anzai stumbled back and hit the wall. When he coughed, his blood splattered the floor beneath him.

Neji stood just in front of him with his expressionless face and spoke so only he'd hear. “I will never return them,” he said as Anzai flinched. There was no remorse or guilt in his eyes. In fact, there was nothing behind his gaze. His eyes almost looked dead.

Anzai glared at him as he straightened and pitched forward. The Hyuuga caught him without thinking. “I forfeit,” he told the proctor as he pushed away from the other boy. He stumbled toward the staircase and almost fell again, but someone appeared at his side. Anzai lifted his gaze to see Take. He lowered his gaze for a moment and then allowed the older boy to help him the rest of the way as he muttered his gratitude.

“The winner of the first match is Hyuuga Neji who advances past the preliminaries,” Hayate said. The Byakugan user had looked away and turned his gaze toward his retreating opponent. Anzai's teammate had wrapped an arm around his waist and the younger Genin was leaning heavily against him. A smirk spread over Neji's features since it looked like the other boy would get over him quickly.

The Hyuuga shook his head and turned away to make his way up the other set of stairs and joined his teammates and Jonin sensei. He ignored what Lee was saying about having to do better in order to beat his “eternal rival” and turned toward the scoreboard. It had started up again and was about to determine the second match.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sanako patted her brother on the arm as Take and he joined her once more. “Well, maybe next year, nii-san,” she tried to comfort him. Even if she was older by a few minutes, she had always called him her older brother since he'd always been taller than her. Her twin merely muttered something nonsensical as he pulled away from Take and leaned against the wall behind them.

She sighed and glanced at the Hyuuga as he assended the stairs and frowned. Of course she knew that her brother had been practically in love with the taller boy, but she also knew from Tenten that the boy was too obsessed with training to care about anyone. She glanced at Take and saw that he was eyeing her brother carefully since he was sure that he might collapse from the fight. Neji's hands were devestating.

A smile spread over her face as she shood her head. Then she looked around the room and spotted the object of her affection as she blushed. She frowned when she saw the kunoichi standing beside him as she chatted to him and the other teammate. The second teammember looked bored as he leaned against the railing.

Her hands clenched into fists and she wanted to go over and pulverize the girl. “Don't kill her,” Anzai warned her. He hadn't moved from where he was resting against the wall. She huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms over her chest as she turned to look at the scoreboard.

Ashikaga Eizan

vs.

Hyuuga Hinata

Iwane was the first of their group to look up since Eizan had almost collapsed from the pain the curse seal was causing her. Her emerald orbs narrowed when she saw the names. She knew it was the leaf kunoichi that they encountered after catching up with Gaara in the Forest of Death. Her eyes now flicked toward the girl's direction and the other turned as their eyes locked over the distance. The Erizawa let her gaze move away as the shorter girl blushed.

The earth user would have felt sorry for the Hyuuga female any other day, but now she was worried for Eizan. The seal was draining her of strength and it seemed that it acted up with the use of chakra. It might distract her enough to lose the match.

She spoke quietly into the shorter girl's ear. “Try to avoid her hands,” she warned. Iwane had watched Neji's match carefully and if her fighting style was anything like his then a touch from her hands would be bad. She still didn't know for certain what he did except for using chakra.

Eizan's eyes locked with her emerald orbs and smirked slightly. “I'll try not to hurt your girlfriend too badly,” she commented as the Erizawa grinned. She reached up and smacked the taller girl lightly against the back of her head before hopping over the railing.

Enoki stepped forward and stood between the two girls as his gaze moved to Eizan as she moved to the center of the room. “The seal I placed on her might not be enough against her chakra,” he muttered quietly. Both girls looked forward but were listening to his every word. “If it starts to over power her then I'll stop the match.”

Amane snorted sardonically and a smirk that was unlike her crossed her face. “You fail to realize that she possesses a strong will.”

“More like stubbornness,” Iwane corrected and she was glad that Eizan wasn't there or she'd have gotten smacked again. She didn't mind since the other girl never did it hard, and it was a way of showing affection.

Eizan and Hinata faced each other as the proctor glanced between them. “The second match is Ashikaga Eizan from Suna versus Hyuuga Hinata from Konoha,” Hayate said. “If there are no objections, then please begin!”

“Forfeit the match,” Eizan suddenly told the pale eyed teen before her. Her facial features were twisted into hard concentration since it helped with the pain. The back of her clothes were soaked in perspiration and stuck uncomfortably to her slick back with the effort, and her body heaved with her labored breathing. She resisted the urge to clamp a hand over the curse seal as it pulsed.

Hinata was slightly surprised by the other's words and let her gaze sweep over her opponent. Her keen sight detected the signs of exhaustion on her face and the rigidity of her body. The blue haired girl saw her chest lifting with each harsh breath and could tell she looked ready to collapse.

“Gomen, b-but I t-think we s-should fight,” she stuttered. She didn't want to back down from the fight or she'd never prove to herself if she was stronger.

Eizan swallowed the lump lodged in her throat that threatened to choke her. She took in a shaky breath and assumed a fighting stance. It had been a fair warning to the girl but had known that she wouldn't quit. “You really don't want to fight me right now,” she warned and lunged toward her.

Hinata was shocked at the speed with which the Suna Genin rushed at her, and she had to use every ounce of her own speed and skill to dodge and block. She didn't even have the chance to counter the attacks, and there were several hits getting through but none were too serious.

In the following minutes, the Hyuuga heiress found herself being shoved face first against the unyielding floor, one arm twisted behind her as Eizan rested a foot squarely against her back. A cry escaped her as she tried to squirm free, only to have the other lift her arm higher until pain shot through her entire body.

“I'll break it and every other bone in your body if you don't forfeit,” Eizan hissed as she pressed down harder with her sandaled foot. They were oblivious to those that were watching the match, and all Hinata felt was the pain.

She tried to break away once more and Eizan only applied more pressure on her limb. “I don't want to hurt you,” the Ashikaga muttered.

Eizan could feel her control on the seal slipping and knew that it would engulf her. If that happened then Hyuuga Hinata would die. She would die like the Ame-nin had. “Onegai,” she tried one last time.

Hinata heard the desperation in her voice and something compelled her lips to move. She didn't want to give up or she might never prove that she'd changed, but something in her tone and chakra made her shudder in terror. “I quit,” she said loud enough for Gekkou to hear.

A moment later she was released as she slowly sat up and turned to face Eizan. She looked worse than she did, and she was the one that had won. Her hand was pressed over an area of her neck, and Hinata used the still activated Byakugan to see past her fingers.

The black seal was revealed to her all seeing eyes and she knew what it was. She was from the Hyuuga clan and thus knew something of curse marks, but this one was unfamiliar to her. Even so, she could tell that it was causing her great pain.

“Winner: Ashikaga Eizan,” Hayate proclaimed but the mentioned girl had already walked off. She glanced back briefly at Hinata with a smirk and the Hyuuga saw what appeared to be blood red lines receded from her eyes. Then she turned her attention above and her gaze met with both her teammates. A silent understanding passed between them and then she walked out of the room as the doors closed behind her.

Enoki flashed through hand seals. “Keep me informed,” he said before completing the last seal and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Iwane turned her eyes below and to the blue haired girl that was being led away by a medic-nin. Hinata was cradling her right wrist in her left palm as she walked through the doors that Eizan had just passed through moments before.

She frowned and turned away to look at the scoreboard as it determined the next match. “Last one to fight has to gather the info on the other fights,” she said as her features took on one of her devilish smirks.

Amane sighed and rolled her eyes. “You just hope you'll fight next so you can be lazy,” she muttered. While the other whined indignantly, the names appeared.

Uchiha Sasuke

vs.

Zaku Abumi

There was a sigh and a laugh from the two remaining members of Eizan's team, but this was ignored by the two contenders.

Zaku clenched one of his injured arms as his eyes narrowed. `At last, I can prove to Orochimaru-sama that Uchiha Sasuke is a weak fool,' he mused as he walked down the stairs. His thoughts on his last opponent weren't the same since that's the reason he had his arms in the sling, but he still smirked.

Sasuke stopped in front of the sound ninja and saw his arms, and remembered that Naruto had fought against him in the Forest of Death. He hadn't been able to see that fight but unless he'd gotten them injured trying to get their scrolls then the blonde had been the one that had done this to him.

“I was hoping to fight that little blonde bastard, but you'll do for now,” Zaku said with a grin as he bent his knees into a fighting stance.

“You should forfeit,” he told the teen as he shifted into his own fighting stance. “With your arms in that condition you'll never beat me.”

The words caused Zaku's blood to boil but he calmed himself and instead concentrated on his course of action. “It looks like this arm still has some life left in it,” he said as he slowly with drew his left arm. “And I'm betting that one arm is all I need to beat you!”

He jumped toward him and swung but Sasuke quickly blocked. The Uchiha remembered well the type of attack the other had executed in his fight against Naruto and jumped away in time to avoid it. He tried to catch him in his blind spot but the sound shinobi dodged.

There was an exploding note where Zaku landed and when it ignited he was thrown off his feet as the whole structure shook with the blast. The Oto-nin groaned and struggled to sit up, but he was forced down by a foot planted on his chest and another against his left elbow.

Sasuke smirked at him as he kept the other from moving properly, a kunai pointed toward him. “Give up,” the raven haired youth told him.

Zaku growled and to everyone's surprise withdrew his right arm from the sling and released his devastating technique. `Zankuha!' Sasuke was hit full force and savagely knocked back.

As Zaku stood, the body he hit disappeared in a puff of smoke. He cried out as he felt a kick to his chin and he flew up and into the air. The ones watching were impressed at the move, and Gai and his pupil were shocked since it was the same kick that Lee had used against Sasuke when he'd challenged him.

Sasuke jumped up and under him as he impersonated Lee's Kage buyo by placing two fingers against Abumi's back. “I'll stick to my own moves from this point on,” he told the slightly startled teen.

He kicked at his opponent's left side but it was easily blocked. “It'll take more than that,” the sound ninja told him.

The Konoha Genin smirked and executed a back hand strike to the face and Zaku exclaimed in pain as it connected. It was quickly followed by a straight punch to the gut that sent him back down and then a spin-around kick so the heel hit him in the center of his chest to slam him into the floor. `Shishi Rendan!'

Blood spilled past Zaku's mouth as he crashed into the ground and Sasuke rolled back and came to land in a crouch a few feet away. Hayate moved to check the sound-nin over and shook his head after a moment. “Winner is Uchiha Sasuke.”

The dark haired boy stood with a sigh before wincing at the pain that shot through his body. `That last move took a lot out of me. I guess it's not something I can use often,' he mused.

“You actually won, Sasuke-teme,” Naruto yelled as his face parted in a grin. He clenched his hand in a fist before him. `I'm going to win my match. I swear it!' His bangs fell over his slightly narrowed cerulean orbs.

Sasuke lifted his gaze to his teammates. Sakura only nodded to congratulate him and he returned it. Then he let a smirk work its way across his face as his dark eyes came to land on the grinning blonde. “Shut up, clown,” he said before turning his attention to the medical ninja that walked up to him.

“We need to check you over as well, Uchiha-san,” he told him as two other medic-nin carried Zaku off in a stretcher. He was about to refuse, but remembered that Eizan had gone. After nodding, he followed him out of the room but not before seeing the next two names. He was almost tempted to stay but shook his head and continued on.

There was a slight hush among the Rookie Nine as the next match was announced.

Uzumaki Naruto
vs.
Inuzuka Kiba

“Oh, thank you!” the wild leaf-nin cheered as he patted the small dog resting inside his jacket. “We can easily beat this guy, Akamaru!” He jumped over the railing as the blonde grinned at the pink haired kunoichi and then marched happily down the stairs.

Sakura watched her energetic teammate face his gloating opponent and turned to meet Kakashi's gaze. He winked with his one visible eye as she smirked and turned back to look at the over confident Konoha Genin. `Kiba, you're in for a big surprise.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sasuke walked along the corridor with his hands stuffed in his pockets as he peered in through every open doorway he passed. The medic-nin had quickly checked him over and then said he could return to watch the rest of the preliminaries, but he'd gone in search of the Suna shinobi instead. He'd passed the room where the Hyuuga Heiress had exited from, but he had ignored her and continued on.

Eizan's teammates were always around and never let him get too close to him, but this time would be different. Sasuke felt that he knew him from somewhere, and he also wanted to know what Orochimaru had done to alter his behavior so drastically.

He was almost to the last room and saw that the door was closed. Sasuke lifted a hand to the doorknob and paused as he heard something. When he stopped to listen, the sound of glass shattering met his ears. It was followed by the sounds of a struggle and a muffled curse. He strained his ears to hear the heated conversation that followed, and he was a bit startled as he identified the two voices.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“The seal is stronger now and should lessen the pain considerably, but keeping it under control is entirely up to you,” Enoki spoke quietly to his subordinate. He stood in front of the closed door with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows furrowed in a frown. “I don't think I need to tell you that if you let it, the curse seal will completely consume you.”

“You're right,” she muttered as she sat on the bed with her gaze fixed on the floor in front of her. “You don't need to tell me.” Her hand was clamped over the mark but the pain wasn't as unbearable as before. Now she stood and glanced pointedly toward the door in a sign that she wanted him to leave.

Enoki's eyes narrowed as he studied her face a moment and then nodded. “Aa, dozo ki o tsukete,” he said before forming the necessary seals to disappear in a puff of smoke.

Eizan frowned at the man's words and shook her head. “Don't say that to me,” she said with a sigh. She pulled off her shirt so that she was only wearing the chain mail and protective vest. Her hands worked over the sore and stiff muscles of her neck and shoulders to relieve the tension that had built up.

“Why not let me help you with that?” a voice asked from behind her. It sent a strange shiver down her spine.

She gasped and spun around to lock eyes on the figure standing in front of the door. Eizan hadn't even sensed his presence as he'd appeared in the room and the door hadn't opened. “Who-?” she started to ask but remembered his name. After all, she'd heard it not too long ago. “What do you want?”

He watched her carefully and a smirk spread over his handsome features as she became automatically defensive and suspicious. “I just want to have a little chat,” he said as his smirk turned into a grin.

The Suna kunoichi's eyes narrowed on him. She doubted that all he wanted was a few words as she stepped back. The curse seal had drained a considerable amount of her chakra and she didn't know how long she'd last in a fight. “Dame desu,” she told him firmly.

He stepped toward her and she immediately took two steps back. It caused his grin to widen slightly. “I insist.”-

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Translations:
1.Itai: It hurts (lit. Painful.)
2. kiku (kikimasu): listen (basically it's sorta like a command, so it obeys only Anzai's chakra)
3.Hakkesho Kaiten: lit. Eight Trigram Palms Heavenly Spin
4.Shishi Rendan: lit. Lion Combo
5.Aa, dozo ki o tsukete: Yes, please take care.
6. Dame desu: Out of the question/Impossible/No good.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
End Chapter Seventeen