22 Dinner Time

The outcome, as anyone would expect, Temari was thrashed onto one of the side pillars, and fainted from the aftershock.

"Hanabi wins! Match 8 ended!"

Along with a loud cheer by the audience, Hanabi was declared the winner.

Hanabi went towards the Team dugout, whereas on the battlefield the remaining battles continued.

"Match 9..."

… .. ...

As soon as Hanabi reached the dugout, a warm pair of hands were wrapped around her waist.

"Congratulations! You won!!"

"Reo… puut me down. Everybody is watching!"

With her face beet red, Hanabi whispered to Reo, trying to complain. But the onlooker could see the happiness that her face was revealing.

"Oh! Don't be such a mood spoiler."

Yugao laughed as she saw Reo putting Hanabi down with an embarrassed expression.

"Yugao sensei, you seem like you are enjoying yourself. Looks like you want to invite us to a party. Right, Reo?"

"Yes, I completely forgot. Yugao sensei, since, you don't want us to pay, then you will have to take the burden yourself. Best of luck!"

"Both of you..."

All three of them seemed to enjoy and completely immersed themselves in chatting and enjoying.

In the meanwhile, at the battlefield, fights continued on one after the other.

Each fight was more gruesome than the other. And after a series of grim battles, the final candidates for the finals were closed in.

"Final list of genins that would be participating in the finals, is as follows, ...

Sasuke,

Naruto,

Gaara,

Reo,

Shikamaru,

Hanabi,

..."

"There will be a month of recuperation time, and after that the finals of the chunin exams will begin. Till then, rest well and enjoy your stay!"

With that Hayate took his leave from the podium.

... .. ...

All the teams left the grounds. Some teams were happy at their victory, while others were sad at their defeat.

One of the many delighted teams, was Team Yugao.

They had planned to go and have a celebration as their team that comprised of two members, qualified through to the finals.

It was night time, and Yugao with a deep mourning face, saw the two little  demons upfront, eating as though they had not eaten for months if not for days.

"Both of you, have some manners. We are not going anywhere. Just eat a bit slow... and a bit less too."

Reo looked up but did not stop gulping the tasty food down his throat. He looked over at Yugao with a scornful look and went back and took a large piece of the Sashimi, which was served as a specialty here.

Yugao was stumped at Reo's behavior and wanted to open her mouth to rebuke but just then, Hayate came in, heading towards Yugao's direction.

"Sensei! What a surprise!"

"No need to stand on ceremony. I was on my routine patrolling duty, and saw you from outside. Hope, I am not disturbing you guys."

Reo and Hanabi looked at each other. Then, with a smirk, Reo was the first one to respond.

"Oh Hayate Sensei! It's a pleasure to have to join us. Please have a seat."

Under the smiles from Reo and Hanabi, Hayate went and took the seat near Yugao as it was the only vacant seat available.

"Congratulations Yugao! You have both of your genins through to the finals. Even I was surprised at their victories. But not taking anything away from these two, they both were truly deserving the way they handle their attacks."

"Yes, Hayate Sensei. Even I was surprised to see their battle instincts being such exciting."

"Yeah, agreed."

The food was served and the four of them enjoyed the tasty and spicy dishes placed in of their eyes.

Reo let out a burp after finishing his quota of meals.

"The food is truly awesome. Hanabi, how about we pack some of these dishes with us.  It would be wonderful."

Hanabi grinned at his remark, and understood the subtle signs he was giving.

She nodded, and said, "Yeah, we should. But before that how about we take a look around the restaurant. While coming in, I saw some slides and see-saws. Come, let's give it a shot."

Reo agreed and both of them quickly left the inner hall, where they were dining and came outside to the grounds where a range of play sets and playground equipment.

Reo smirked as he said, "Never knew that our Hanabi was so interested in these toddler stuff."

Hanabi's face fell down. She pinched hard at Reo forearm as she rebutted, "Don't try to act over smart. You also know both of them wanted some time alone. Whatever be the case, I felt it was necessary to allot a bit of time to both of them."