Chapter 16

Finally, I rushed to get to this chapter so I could write Yuzuki's fight. Also, here's a blog on tumblr for anything you might want to send my way: asoldiersregret.(tumblr).com because fanfiction is weird with urls. I also created a small poll for the final pairing, there's only two and I've been on the fence about them (it will be up the entire month of July and half of August). The earlier chapters have been cleaned up a bit and checked for spelling errors, not everything will be caught but several have been fixed!

16

Yuzuki stared at the destroyed arena, Lee had gone all out and still lost. She looked towards Gaara and noted that he seemed a bit frazzled by the fact that his sand hadn't been fast enough to stop some of Lee's attacks. Destroying one of his arms and legs was going too far, especially since Lee had damaged them by opening the gates. She looked at the red head and couldn't help but hope she didn't have to face off against him.

Hayate was having similar thought. He was worried about his student; she would need speed to win the next round. He'd have to talk to Genma and see if she could possibly learn the Hiraishin, and give her an edge that the other kids wouldn't have. It was something the Yondaime had taught the Hokage guard platoon to increase their arrival time. They would have to make time to teach her Fuinjutsu while increasing her regular training, knowing Anko she'd join to increase the kids understanding of genjutsu.

"He might never be a shinobi again," Yuzuki muttered ad she frowned at that thought, "That is the worst thing to happen to him."

"It's horrible," Ino agreed.

They looked towards the screen for the tenth match. Ino was hoping it was Yuzuki against Choji, she would be kinder to him than the remaining oto-nin. She saw the small bead of sweat going down the taller girl's face and knew she was hoping for the same thing. If she faced Choji then there was a chance the two of them wouldn't have to fight a second time, but the randomizer still put Hinata and Neji together. There was still a chance that she would still have to fight. She checked her chakra levels and gave a slight sigh of relief; she was still running with a full reserve. Sparingly using the byakugan and the juken hit to the wall hadn't taken much out of her.

Akimichi Choji Vs Dosu Kinuta.

"Well then, match ten will begin," Hayate informed them as the two arrived on the arena.

"Oh no," Yuzuki muttered as she winced, Choji was going to lose against Dosu.

"You can do it!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Come on Fatass!" Ino cheered.

"The hell kind of encouragement is that Ino?" Yuzuki questioned.

"The best kind." She answered with a slight grin.

Yuzuki couldn't help the strange sound that came from her at the answer. She sometimes didn't understand the kids she graduated the academy with. She didn't understand Genma at times, which reminded her to ask if he's ever swallowed one of his senbon before. Knowing him he hadn't, but messing with him was her favorite pastime. She turned her attention to Choji and noted that he was using his family jutsu.

He had swelled into a round shape and hid his head like a turtle. It was clever, if that was how Dosu's ability worked. She doubted that it was the case. Ino gave another cheer as he sped towards the oto-nin. Shikamaru noticed the serious expression on her face.

"Don't tell me that your studying the opponent," He muttered.

"Remember Zaku's arms?" She questioned, "They had metal tubes in them and that cause his arm to explode when he fought against Shino…what if there's something similar in Dosu's arms?"

"That would explain how he's able to perform the jutsu that allows him to attack without needing to touch his opponent," He agreed, "I guess we'll have to buy him barbeque to lessen the sting of loss."

"Wow, such faith," She muttered, "But it's nice of you."

"Not everyone can cook."

Choji was pinned against the wall and Dosu used his jutsu on him with ease. Choji seemed to forget that the human body was seventy percent water. He had to have some good acoustics if he had gone down that quickly.

"Winner, Dosu Kinuta," Hayate announced, "And now we shall have the tie breaker match!"

Everyone turned towards the board once more, several of the competitors couldn't compete any more so that narrowed the list down. Yuzuki watched as her name appeared, that was a given, and her eyes lit up. Haruno Sakura against Yamanaka Yuzuki. Oh, she was starting to think someone up there liked her. She easily vaulted herself off the railing and waited for the pinkette to come down.

"Oh, no," Shikamaru murmured, "This is going to be a massacre."

"Do you think she might be the fastest to finish her match?" Ino questioned.

"That's a possibility," He answered.

"How strong is she?" Naruto questioned.

"Stronger than most of us," Ino answered, "I've watched her train since we were young, she's spent so much time training that it's ridiculous."

Kakashi almost felt bad for his student, but he supposed it could be considered a lesson in running one's mouth. The pinkette took up a stance as Yuzuki slid into the juken position. He could see the way his student paled at the sight of the style that took down Hinata. It looked as though she was finally understanding where she stood.

"This match shall begin," Hayate announced.

Yuzuki seemed to vanish from Sakura's vision, but a sudden hit to her shoulder was enough to tell her where the taller teen had gone. She was easily removed from her feet and tried to keep an eye on the girl. Shikamaru found her, with some difficulty, and watched as the girl appeared below the pinkette and kicked upwards causing her to go higher. She seemed to vanish once more, and Sakura slammed into the destroyed arena floor.

When she seemed to gain her breath, she looked up to see the tip of a sword right above her heart. Hayate watched as pale eyes met green and the cold anger that radiated from Yuzuki was insane. Killing intent was leaking from her and covering the other kunoichi. She began to lower the sword even more.

"Give up," She ordered, "Or I won't give you another chance to do so."

Sakura glared at the other girl, but the way she was shaking was enough to show how scared she was. She felt as though she was going to be run through by the long tachi above her. She was right about what a monster Yuzuki was. There was no holding back, no hesitation, just pure violence.

"She'd be an idiot not to give up," Shikamaru said.

"I won't give up," Sakura grounded out.

"So be it," Yuzuki sighed.

She sheathed her tachi and easily picked up the pinkette and brought her down with enough strength to knock her out. It was a mercy; she wasn't going to kill the girl. She waited for Hayate to call it and he moved to check on the pinkette.

"Winner of the tie breaker, Yamanaka Yuzuki," He announced, "With this, the preliminary trials for the next test have been completed."

"She didn't show any hesitation," Anko muttered before giving a sly grin, "It appears she actually can hold a grudge."

"There's always next time," Kakashi said as his student was retrieved by a medical team.

Ino and Shikamaru shared a look, it was doubtful that Sakura would want to continue being a shinobi after that. She had lost twice, and in quick succession. They knew that they would need to train hard if they were to beat Yuzuki in the last round, or the suna-nin for that matter. Naruto stared at the girl who had beaten his crush, and wondered what it would've been like to have her on his team.

What it would have been like to have someone who wouldn't hit him when he did something stupid. He was slightly bitter that it hadn't happened. He headed down to stand with her along with the other genin who had passed the preliminaries. He stood next to Dosu and Ino was next to her at the end. She didn't say anything, and seemed to be staring at a specific spot.

"Ah, there it is," The Sandaime muttered as he studied her, "Remorse."

So, just because she had mercilessly beat the other girl into the ground it didn't mean that she didn't feel bad for her. She even held back enough to make sure she wouldn't be in the hospital for a prolonged period. That kind of control was amazing for one that young, but then again she wasn't that young. She still had the ability to feel remorse after so many years, which is why he hadn't placed her in a cell.

"To all of you who won the rights to compete in the next round, congratulations," Hayate announced before turning towards their leader, "Well then, Hokage-sama, if you would please."

"Well, now I'd like to start explaining the main test," The Sandaime informed them, "As I told you before, in the main event, your matches will be seen by everybody. Each of you will fight to represent the strengths of your countries, I'd like you to show off all your powers with no reserves, which is why the finals will be held a month from now."

Yuzuki was a bit relieved that she'd have some time to prepare. She brought a hand up and rubbed the back of her neck in thought. She had some time to train up to the level of someone like Neji or Temari. She wasn't too worried about the others, save Gaara. If she had to go against Gaara she would immediately forfeit her match. That would be a suicide fight, and one she would try to avoid even if it was a mission. It was better to have failed a mission than have her teammates killed.

"Oh man, I was hoping that we could start fighting now." Naruto grumbled.

"This break will allow you to make preparations," The Sandaime informed them.

"What does that mean?" Neji questioned.

"In other words, in addition to informing all the various country Lords and Shinobi leaders this is the time needed to arrange for the gathering of the event," He answered, "And this is also the preparation time for you participants."

"What does that mean? Just what are you trying to say?" Kankuro asked.

"Basically, it's the preparation to get to know your enemy and yourself," He answered, "It's the time period where you calculate your chances of winning, by analyzing the data you accumulated during the trial competition. The battles up till now had you fight as if you were in an actual combat situation with the assumption of fighting an unknown opponent."

Shikamaru looked towards the suna-nin and couldn't help but agree with that statement. He looked towards Yuzuki and that agreement deepened. She didn't even show what she could do. She had given them the barest amount of information while gathering the most she could. He wondered if she held back when they played shogi, or if games like that didn't hold her attention well. A fight held her attention and she planned accordingly, while she lost focus halfway through a game of shogi.

"However, the final trial will not be like this," The Sandaime pulled him from his thoughts, "There are those who showed all that they can do already to their rivals, there are those who competed and were badly injured against a strong opponent. To make everything fair, the one month should be used by all of you to advance and improve yourselves, of course it'll be fine to rest your body as well."

"Ah, how troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

"Well, I'd like to dismiss you now but, there's something that has to be done for the finals before I can," The Sandaime informed them.

"What the hell is it! I've got to train now!" Naruto yelled.

"Well, don't get so excited," He said, "There are pieces of paper inside the box that Anko's holding so each of you take one."

"I'll come around, so wait your turn," Anko ordered and she started with Dosu, "Only one per person!"

She went to each genin. Hayate watched as Yuzuki put her arm in with narrowed eyes. She had slight bruising on her arm, and he wondered where she could have gotten it from. She pulled out the piece of paper and looked down at it with a blank expression. Then something like suspicion crossed her face.

"All right, you all took a piece, now then I'd like you to tell us the number on that paper in order," Ibiki ordered them, "Starting from the left."

"Eight," Dosu stated.

"One," Naruto said.

"Seven," Temari said.

"Five," Kankuro said.

"Ten," Gaara said.

"Nine," Shikamaru said.

"Two," Neji stated.

"Six," Shino all but muttered.

"Three," Ino spoke.

"Four," Yuzuki said.

"That would mean that Uchiha Sasuke will be number eleven," Ibiki stated as he finished writing something down.

Hayate looked towards Yuzuki and noticed the slight frown on her face. Ino looked towards her and they both wondered if what they thought was going to be correct. They were going to face off against one another. Ino was so screwed, but judging by the reluctant expression on Yuzuki's face she didn't want to fight her. She just hoped that the other girl didn't hurt her too much, at least not as badly as Sakura.

"Now, I will reveal to you the final tournament!" The Sandaime announced.

"That's what we drew numbers for?!" Shikamaru yelled in surprise.

"Now, Ibiki, show them the match arrangements," The Sandaime ordered.

"Yes," Ibiki gave a curt nod.

Ino and Yuzuki cringed upon seeing their names against each other. They'd have to fight either Neji or Naruto if they won, and then Gaara. Gaara was going to wipe out the competition with ease. There was something about the red head that caused them some worry. He was ready to kill his way to the top and no one would be able to stop him.

"Well then, you're free to start strategizing or resting as you like," The Sandaime told them, "With this I'll dismiss you all, but are there any final questions?"

"Can I ask a question?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes." The Sandaime said with a grandfatherly smile.

"Since it's a tournament, it would mean there's only one winner right?" He continued, "Which would mean that only one person could become a chuunin, right?"

"No, that's not quite it," The Sandaime told him, "There will be judges including myself, Kazekage, and lords of various countries that will make mission requests and other ninja leaders, who will be watching the final test. Throughout the tournament these judges will be evaluating your abilities, those judged to have the necessary qualities of a chuunin will be able to become a chuunin, even if they lose in their first match."

"That means that, it's a possibility that everyone here will become a chuunin?" Temari questioned.

"Yes, but it also gives the possibility that no one will become a chuunin."

Shikamaru couldn't help but find the whole thing a big hassle. Even if he didn't win, he'd still risk the chance of becoming a chuunin. It was such a drag. He stared at the old leader in front of him with slight annoyance, if he had known that he wouldn't have come to the exam.

"To advance in the tournament means that you will have more chances to appeal to the judges," The Sandaime added, "Do you understand Shikamaru? Well, thank you all for the effort you exerted for these trials, you're all dismissed until a month from now!"

All the other genin dispersed as Yuzuki waited for Hayate. The man nodded at something that was said to him before putting a hand on her shoulder. There wasn't anything said between the two of them, but she did get some comfort from him being near. It was strange, like he was trying to comfort her. She wondered if he was angry about something.

"You did good," He told her with a slight smile, "But how'd you bruise your arms?"

"I hit the floor that was jutting out," She answered and he noted the tired expression on her face, "It was a slight miscalculation due to how deep she went into the rubble."

He gave her a look and pulled her into a piggyback ride. She was starting to feel tired due to the amount of excitement she had been through in the week. She had her arms gently wrapped around his neck and her chin was resting on his shoulder. She couldn't help but find some enjoyment out of being carried like this.

"I'm sorry," She softly apologized.

"For what?" He asked.

She didn't answer and he watched as she looked at the road ahead of them. He gave a quiet sigh and picked up his speed, he had something he needed to do. He needed to see if the information he had overheard was still valid. His hold on Yuzuki's legs tightened and she flinched in slight surprise.

"Would you do something for me?" He asked her.

"Depends on what it is." She answered.

"I need you to be at the library tonight," He told her, "If I get injured make sure to make as much noise as you can to alert ANBU."

"What about you?" She asked him, "If your hurt a medical team would take too long to get there."

"It's all right," He said, and she stared at him with wide eyes, "I'm prepared for that."

He was surprised when a fist crashed down on the top of his head and he saw glossy pale eyes staring at him. He had angered her with that. She had to be pretty attached to him to be angry at the idea of his death, he was touched by that. It did bring about a problem he had tried to avoid. He had formed bonds with people. Genma was a close friend of his and Yuzuki had wormed her way into his heart as well and seemed to have dug her claws in.

"You are not going to die again," She growled at him, "I'll run you to the hospital myself if I have to."

She'd deplete her chakra down to almost nothing if she did, but she refused to let him die in a situation that was avoidable. She could remove the chakra from her weights to increase her speed, but even then she might end up being too slow. That didn't stop her from finding herself in the shinobi library, hiding her chakra and reading an iryo-jutsu scroll while keeping an ear out for Hayate.

"Damn him," She grumbled as she frowned, "What is it with me and liking self-sacrificing men?"

She had to worry about that particular trait, she really needed to worry about the fact that she did like him. She also liked Kakashi and she was starting to wonder if she just liked men who were teachers…that made sense with how she thought Iruka was adorable. Did…Did she have a thing for teachers? Was that some kind of weird kink?

"Huh…" She muttered.

She jumped when an explosion happened outside of the library. She jumped to her feet and quickly put the scroll away. She ran to the window and got ready to scream as loud as she could. Hayate had a sword to the suna-nin's neck, but was being stopped by the man's hand. The man held up his hand and blood splattered all over the roof. He seemed pleased with himself until a shrill scream rang through the area.

Hayate almost smirked, their plan went off without a hitch. Lights were being turned on and ANBU was already on their way. The suna jonin clicked his tongue and quickly jumped away. His dark eyes closed for a few seconds before a figure next to him caught his attention.

"You are a fucking idiot," was all he needed to hear to know who it was as something wet hit his face, "ANBU really has the slowest response time ever."

"Don't cry," He told her.

"Fuck your don't cry bullshit," She hissed at him before turning to the ANBU that finally appeared, "There was a suna-nin that just left the area, he can't stay here he needs medical!"

One of the ANBU, the purple-haired one, gave a nod and watched as the twelve-year-old easily picked up the injured man and hoisted him onto her back. She gave ANBU a nod and jumped from the roof. They started to track where the suna-nin had gone, his chakra was still heavy in the air. The fact that an attack happened on their soil was an insult to them.

"Stay awake goddamn it.," Yuzuki cursed at the older man on her back as she raced through the streets of Konoha.

She saw the hospital in the distance and pushed more chakra to her legs. She burst through the doors and scared half the doctors inside. It was pandemonium when she dropped to the floor and didn't move. Nurses and Doctors raced around to get the two onto gurneys and towards their respective areas.

She was placed in the chakra exhaustion wing while he was quickly rushed into surgery with medical-nin. His condition was shaky, and they were working around the clock to make sure he pulled through. The procedure went on for thirteen hours until they were sure he would be fine.

Within those thirteen hours things within the village became tense. Those from Suna and Oto were worried that he might survive, but the hospital was under such heavy security that they couldn't get through to kill him off. Genma was part of that security, and he hated every second of it. His best friend and kid had landed themselves in the hospital, granted she wasn't in as bad of condition as he was.

"Damn it kid," He grumbled as he was relieved of his guard duty and visited her, "You sure can sleep."

"Yeah, and your point is?" Came her grumbled reply as she woke up.

She seemed out of sorts and was completely confused when he pulled her into a hug. She was tense, but eventually melted into the hug and brought a hand up to grasp onto his flak jacket. It was nice, she would have to ask him for hugs more often. He broke the hug and sat down on a nearby chair.

"What happened to Hayate?" She asked him in a serious tone.

"He's out of surgery and will make a full recovery," Genma informed her and watched as her shoulders slumped in relief, "Whatever that suna-nin did it seemed to dislodge the fluid he had in his lungs."

"Is…is there not a cure for Pneumonia here?" She questioned him with a surprised expression, "How would that even be possible?"

"There's a cure, but his case kept reappearing no matter how many times they healed it," He answered while bopping her head slightly, "But it seems like it might clear up this time."

"That's good," She sighed.

"Let's go get something to eat," He said noticing her expression and he held up a hand when she went to argue with him, "He's getting some rest, he wouldn't want you to slack off on your training."

"Are you any good with swords?" She asked him with a blank look.

"I know a guy or two," Genma informed her, "Don't worry, you'll kick ass."

"I won't fight against Gaara," She told him, and he seemed surprised, "With how easily he beat Lee, I doubt that even I would be able to last against him."

"Set your weights to the heaviest you can handle at the moment," He ordered and she looked at him with slight confusion, "I think I might just have a training regiment we can do for a month."

She was worried at that but set her weight to fifty-five pounds. She then changed into a pair of clothes that Genma had brought her, he was a big enough of a gentleman to step out of the room while she did, and they went out for food. Ichiraku ramen wasn't her first choice for food, but she understood his need for something fast.

"I'm going to increase your understanding of genjutsu and work with your secondary nature," He informed her as she began to eat her miso ramen, "Both can be paired with speed and taijutsu training."

She nodded her understanding, but didn't say anything. He was starting to wonder just how hungry she was. She probably didn't eat anything due to the stress that Hayate had put her under by asking for her help. He couldn't help but be annoyed that he wasn't asked for help, yet it was touching. He didn't want anyone else to be hurt, and with her they could easily take her out of the village for her month of training.

"Can we stop and get him some flowers?" She quietly asked as she waited for him to finish his ramen.

"Sure, he's allergic to suitopi's though," He warned her.

"I wouldn't get him those any way, it's like begging him to die," She told him horror, "Those mean goodbye."

"Then what were you going to get him?" He asked.

"I was going to get him some sunflowers."

Ah a sunny flower to help try and cheer him up. He nodded and paid for their meal, they headed to the Yamanaka flower shop and she sighed in relief that Ino was running the counter. She waved at the blonde who rushed forward and pulled her into a hug.

"I heard you were in the hospital due to chakra exhaustion," She informed the taller girl before shaking her shoulders, "Don't go pushing yourself that much."

"I won't," Yuzuki sounded so hassled that Genma was barely able to keep in a snort at the sight.

"Why are you here?" Ino asked.

"Ah, Shishou is in the hospital and I wanted to get him some flowers," She answered, "I think I'll also get some for Lee, he might appreciate the thought."

"You had just met him," Ino said as she followed the taller girl around as she collected sunflowers she wanted.

"And yet, he was still kind to me," She shrugged, "He never judged me and had given me such an enthusiastic introduction."

"Ume."

"Ah, Ino, did you just call me a plum tree?"

"Yeah, you're like the blossoms."

She watched as her cousin started to turn a light pink at those words. She then gave her a smile of thanks before paying for her flowers and heading out with the senbon chewing man. Ino went back to the counter with a thoughtful expression on her face. Ume blossoms told of elegance and loyalty, and they always bloomed in the spring before cherry blossoms. She never did tell her cousin that Sakura was still in the hospital.

She knew that the other girl would feel horrible if she did. She rested her cheek in her hand and waited for another customer to come in, her mother was having her do cashier duty before training for the rest of the month. She needed to be as strong as she could get to hold her own against her cousin for as long as she could. She grinned to herself, she just needed to see what her sensei could do.

"Your still a fucking idiot," Yuzuki informed Hayate upon noticing the man was awake.

"Hokage-sama is in the room," He sighed.

"And he has every right to know that I think you're an idiot and that I'm mad at you," She huffed as she put his flowers into a clear case, she then turned towards the Sandaime, "I can leave if you want, I was just dropping off these flowers."

"Such a spirited youth, you remind me of someone," The Sandaime chuckled before shaking his head, "You are free to stay, Hayate here has finished giving me his report, and I must say well done playing the distraction."

"It would have been better if there were more people that were brought in, but I understand the need for secrecy," She grumbled as she looked towards the side in slight embarrassment.

While he did agree, he knew that bringing too many people into an unknown situation was the worst thing. She seemed to recognize it but was still upset at how things went. She was worried for a teammate, and she knew that there was nothing she could've done to prevent him from being hurt. She took a seat at Hayate's bed side and he noticed how the chair creaked under her weight, ah he had missed having genin under his wing. To have them using weights was his favorite thing, sometimes chakra weights could have their chakra feed tampered with and cause the wearers to fall to the ground.

"Well, I shall see what can be done," He informed the two and they looked towards him with identical expressions on their faces, "For now, get some rest Hayate."

"I won't be able to leave the hospital for the rest of the month," Hayate informed her as their leader left.

"I had a feeling that might happen," She sighed as she crossed her arms, "Genma was thinking about taking me out of the village for the month to train."

"Good," He sighed in relief and she gave him a look, "You'll be safe if any enemy nin try to attack you."

"What about you?" She quietly asked.

"There's heavy security and I'm a jonin, I'll be fine," He told her as he brought a hand up and placed it on the top of her head, "I'm not leaving you anytime soon, besides if I did you might find a way to bring me back."

"Damn right I would," She chuckled.

"My one request is that you take the contract scroll you have and sign it," He said and she gained an uncomfortable expression on her face, "They will help you learn what you can and increase your chakra, just because someone you didn't like used them doesn't mean anything."

"Yuna really is good at keeping secrets, he didn't tell you anything when you talked to him," She said with a tired expression, "I don't dislike the man who was my father, it's hard to dislike someone who was never there and when he was, was so distant and cold."

Oh, it made sense to Hayate why she had clung to Genma as she had. She never really had a father be an actual father. He sat up in the bed, much to her shock and horror, and slowly brought her in for a one-armed hug. She just stood there before returning it.

"I'm sorry," He softly apologized.

"It's not your fault," She murmured, "Never apologize for something that isn't your fault."

"Good advice you should follow it sometime."

"Shut up, Hayate."