Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Leaf in the Desert ❯ Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 

Hundreds of spectators, nobility and commoner alike, gathered in the stands of the tournament grounds. Their voices were an excited rumble, their anticipation radiating into the arena like a veritable aura.

 

Aikou drank it in like a sponge.

 

This is what she was here for. This is why she had spent every waking moment training. To show off her developed skills, to show these lords and the other countries just what she was capable of. To fear the power of Suna.

 

She stood silently, her pale eyes locked on the two robed figures seated high on the central pavilion. Her fellow would-be Jounins stood at strict attention as the red-and-white-robed one stood and stepped forward.

 

“Lords, ladies, and fellow shinobi! Welcome to Konoha- and this year's first final Jounin exam!” Naruto bellowed happily. The crowd cheered, increasing the excitement of the waiting candidates tenfold.

 

Gaara, seated behind him in matching blue and white robes of the Kazekage, grunted good-naturedly. “You are such a ham,” he muttered.

 

Naruto flashed him his standard grin, but kept his attention on the gathered spectators. “I hope that everyone will be most impressed with our finalists' abilities as they are displayed here today. Now, on with the show!”

 

A few Konoha Jounins sitting in the crowd groaned at their Hokage's overzealousness- Shikamaru and Sasuke in particular. Sakura and Midori, seated nearby with Safaia and Sora, blushed furiously, embarrassed to no end.

 

A figure stepped out of the shadows and walked in front of the ten finalists. Dressed in standard Jounin vest and attire, Konoha forehead protector resting just underneath his dark brown bangs, and a ridiculously long blue scarf wrapped around his neck, he came to a halt before the teens.

 

“Good morning,” Konohamaru said, offering a smile that showed a missing tooth, making him look much younger than he actually was. “I will now explain how we will proceed.”

 

None of the teens so much as blinked. The time for fun and games was over. This was the real deal- time to prove their worth as shinobi.

 

“You will be divided into pairs,” Konohamaru continued, “and together you must come up with a strategy to overcome your opponents. You will not know the identity, and thus the strengths and weaknesses of your partner, until your names are called- this is common in last-minute missions Jounins may be called to accomplish. Your opponents' identities and abilities will also be hidden from you- you are, basically, walking into this blindfolded.”

 

Haishen Hyuuga raised his hand. “Most of us are from the same village, and know each other's abilities. This hardly seems fair.”

 

Konohamaru grinned, showing that missing tooth again. “I never said your opponents would be only the finalists. Nor did I say that they wouldn't. That's all part of the test. Now, if you will head to the waiting platform, we will sort everyone out to begin the first battle.”

 

Ten heads nodded slightly, then all the teens turned and headed upstairs to the appointed area.

 

“Doesn't make much sense,” Kisho grunted to Haishen as he leaned against the door to the waiting room. “We'll know who we're fighting against as soon as they come to get us.”

 

The Hyuuga heir blinked slowly at the puppeteer. “But the time we have to come up with a strategy is limited,” he replied logically. “So does it matter?”

 

“Not if you are intelligent- in which case, Cousin Kisho, you will be in serious trouble,” Haru murmured with a wry grin, which caused the other teens to laugh, releasing some of their nervousness.

 

Aikou stood by herself, her icy eyes gazing out over the tournament field. Shourai found his way over to her, clearing his throat to make his presence known. “How… are you doing?” he asked lamely.

 

She didn't so much as blink. “I am impatient for this to begin,” she replied softly. “And those simpering females over there do not deserve to be called kunoichi.”

 

Shourai turned to look at Nika, the lone Mist ninja that had made it to the Jounin finals, who was trying to look threatening to the only Leaf female to be in the group- Shino's daughter, Yura.

 

“Yura's not simpering,” Shourai observed. “She actually reminds me of you- reserved and deadly.”

 

Aikou merely looked away. She didn't want to reveal that the main reason for her unease was being so close to Uzumaki, so soon after their… interlude.

 

The man had unnerved her. And that had never happened before! Now she couldn't even concentrate on the forthcoming battles to come up with some sort of basic strategy, regardless of who she was paired with. She would triumph- and force the memory of his lips pressed against hers out of her mind.

 

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Kohaku leaned against the wall, looking rather bored. The black eye he had sported the night before had vanished, thanks to his mother's healing jutsu- which he had to endure along with a lecture on how to not offend women. Giving off an air of complete indifference, he carefully scoped out the room- and the competition.

 

Haishen Hyuuga, Shikazu Nara, Yura Aburame… Have to watch myself if I get paired up against any of them.

 

He managed to glance at the blue-haired beauty from Inari's village without her noticing- quite an effort considering she was very nearly staring at him nonstop. Nika Touma, he mused thoughtfully. Easy. A charming smile and she'll evaporate.

 

Moving on, he watched as an older finalist, Shido, balled up one fist in barely restrained excitement as he waited with the others. As Lee-Sensei's prize pupil, he was definitely a force to reckon with.

 

The brown-haired teen with two large scrolls on his back crossed his arms as he stood next to his cousin. Kisho… Given the fact that his father is the best puppet master in Suna, I'd bet that he's one too. Remember Mom's story about Sasori! He inadvertently shuddered at the memory of Sakura's account of her battle with the Akatsuki puppeteer. I swear, my mother should've been Hokage with that kind of strength and ability- and she was younger than me when she fought him!

 

His gaze moved on to the Sasuke-clone standing near the railing. Shourai Uchiha… Level two Sharingan, Chidori… not to mention easily pissed off. He grinned briefly before catching himself and putting the “bored” look back on his face. THAT fight will be fun…

 

A slight movement caught his attention. Haru of the Desert- tall, quiet, and positively reeking of intelligence and ability, Kohaku was fairly certain that the Suna heir could wipe him out with one jutsu.

 

Just like his sand-wielding sister.

 

Ah, yes. His eyes landed on the lovely desert blossom as if drawn there by a magnet. Not only was she deadly with that sand of hers, but her hand-to-hand combat was something to worry about as well. And if they ended up partnered together for a match… she'd probably flatten him just to get him out of her way.

 

An inner voice whined at the memory of her fist knocking him cold. Not again…

 

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A tall, pretty Jounin with firey hair and a perpetual blush on her cheeks approached the teens. “Okay, guys,” Moegi announced cheerfully. “First up: Shido and Shikazu Nara versus Nika Touma and Aikou. Report down to the grounds immediately.”

 

Nika giggled and winked at Kohaku flirtatiously as she sauntered by him on her way down the stairs. He mistakenly glanced at Aikou as the Mist kunoichi nearly purred in his ear in farewell. Outwardly, she showed no reaction, but his bright blue eyes widened in alarm at the barely-maintained fury in her icy eyes. Was she going to flatten him now instead of later?

 

Aikou abruptly snorted as she lifted a hand in a seal and vanished in a swirl of sand, only to reappear on the ground below. Kohaku let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding and moved over to the railing to gaze down at the foursome now assembled below, sizing each other up while the crowd cheered them on.

 

Shourai leaned on the railing next to Kohaku, his eyes on the desert princess.

 

“You're an ass, you know,” the younger man said casually.

 

Kohaku grunted. “I didn't need you to tell me that, too,” he grumbled. “I got enough of an earful from my mother.”

 

“Smart woman, your mother. Too bad she didn't choose my dad to have kids with instead of your crazy old man.”

 

The Uchiha heir was deliberately trying to provoke him. He refused to rise to the bait, however. “If I remember correctly, she tried that route- and your hell-bent father turned her down.”

 

Shourai bristled and Kohaku fought a grin. It's soooo easy to annoy him…

 

“Enough, you two,” Haru murmured from Kohaku's other side. “It begins.”

 

For the next few minutes, the finalists on the waiting platform watched as Nika began to be quickly overpowered by Shido's lightning-fast attacks, while Shikazu eyed Aikou rather disinterestedly.

 

Haishen shook his head in disgust. “Pathetic.”

 

The other guys turned toward him curiously; Yura kept her sun-glasses-hidden eyes on the scene below.

 

“What?” Kisho asked.

 

“The point of this display is to show our ability to work with different ninjas in a last-minute situation.” He indicated the four shinobi below. “Instead of teaming up to defeat their opponents, each team has divided up and is fighting one-on-one.” Haishen scowled and crossed his arms. “There is more to this exam than just showing off our jutsus.”

 

Haru allowed himself a sigh. “My sister is more concerned with showing off her own abilities. She has always been this way- determined to succeed on her own, with no assistance from others.”

 

Kohaku turned his gaze back to the battling teens. He blinked a few times, then chuckled, causing the rest of the waiting males to see what had caught his attention.

 

Shikazu had grabbed Shido by one rather largish ear and pulled him away from his attempt to pummel the pretty Mist kunoichi. Aikou stared in confusion as Nika jumped back to her side, slightly out of breath but keeping her eyes on the two males.

 

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“Look, sand princess,” Nika murmured to her partner, “if we fight them separately, we're gonna get marked down- and probably won't pass the exam, even if we beat them.”

 

Aikou scowled slightly. “I do not need your assistance,” she informed the Mist ninja stiffly. “I can defeat these inferior shinobi without your interference.”

 

“That is not the point!” Nika hissed, narrowing her grey eyes. “The point of this exam is to show how well we work as a team to defeat an opponent! So pull your head out of your sand and let's plan something!”

 

The red-head turned her head ever-so-slightly toward the main pavilion, where her father, mother, and younger brother sat watching her. Sora openly grinned at her, waving quite cheerfully. Safaia smiled proudly, but it was Gaara that caught her attention. He wasn't relaxed in his chair- he wasn't paying attention, his aquamarine eyes flicking left and right as if unable to watch the battle.

 

Aikou fought a stomach-wrenching sensation. Her father, who normally always watched her train and fight with pride and love shining in his black-edged eyes, wasn't even looking at her. Had she shamed him? Dishonored him? When? How? And why did she feel sick to her stomach, as if she had eaten something foul?

 

Oh, by the deceased Kazekages… Was it because Uzumaki kissed her? Did her father no longer view her as a shinobi because she allowed it to happen? She shook slightly, a strange, painful sensation washing over her, but then another thought occurred to her.

 

What if Father is displeased… because I rejected the Hokage's son?

 

Oh, hell. She turned and looked at her partner as Nika pulled the stopper out of the water skin that was resting on her hip. I cannot think about this now. Focus on this battle, then worry about Father's distraction later…

 

“I have an idea,” Aikou murmured, moving slightly closer to the blue-haired girl. “If you approve, perhaps we can be done with this quickly.”

 

Nika gave her a genuine smile, which warmed Aikou slightly- a nice sensation. “Let's hear it, before these boys decide to have us for dinner…”

 

.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.

 

WOW! I'm not dead!! What a thought. Anyways, I've been promoted at my job and along with that I'm now getting full-time hours. Also, I'm back at school, so I've got two tough classes to work through as well. My daughter is now in 4K and gets homework sent home with her (WHO THE HELL DOES THAT TO 4 YEAR OLDS?), so my time for writing is going to be very, very limited. I managed to squeak out this chapter, so please be content with that for the time being. Please remember:

 

I WILL FINISH THIS STORY!!! I PROMISE!!!

 

So, with that said, I'm going to bed. Tis midnight and I need to be up in five and a half hours for work again. See everyone later! -hugs-

 

The Amber Dragonfly