𝐊𝐎𝐊𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈 | 𝐍.𝐔𝐙𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐈

[6]

The streets were busier than usual. There was some kind of small festival going on, held on the night before the finals each time. The shops were decorated with lights, and several stalls were crowded with people.

Asami sat beside Naruto at the Ichiraku Ramen store. "Your brother... he's really strong, isn't he?" she asked.

The female Hyuga glanced at him in surprise. She hadn't seen the boy this tense since he started taking the fight with her brother seriously.

"You're strong too," Asami responded. "He can't even summon a toad."

"But all those guys look like nasty competitors," he frowned, hanging his head low. "And all I ever do is mess things up. I act tough because I'm so frustrated, but underneath it all, I just feel like I'm a huge failure."

Her eyes widened at his words, and she tightened her fist, slamming it onto his head, causing him to grab his head in pain. "Ah!"

"Listen up." Her dull eyes narrowed on him as he rubbed his head. "No matter how many times you mess up, you always manage to pick yourself up and keep trying no matter what." She smiled at him while he stared at her with wide eyes in surprise. "That is what real strength is, and to me, you are incredibly strong."

The boy stared at her in stunned silence, not knowing what to say. He had never seen Asami this angry, and when she was, he found her scary. But what she said lifted his mood.

"Thanks, Asami." He grinned widely. "I'm glad you're here."

The chef and his daughter placed two large bowls of ramen with extra toppings in front of them. The two looked up at them in confusion and surprise. "Um..."

"Just eat it," he told them. "The final competition is tomorrow, right?"

"Alright!" Naruto cheered happily. "Thanks, guys!" He grabbed the chopsticks and began to eat.

Asami pulled her eyes away from the boy. "But..." she trailed off in hesitation. "I didn't get to the finals..."

"It doesn't matter," Ayame brushed it off. "You worked hard, didn't you? Just eat it."

"Thank you," the Hyuga girl whispered gratefully before digging in.

---

Eisuke walked down the streets toward the arena, humming in a good mood. It was a good day for him. He had made it to the final round, which meant he could become a Chunin, just as he had always planned. Although he had hoped for Asami to make it first.

As he walked past a few people, he stopped when he sensed someone watching him from behind. He turned around to find Hinata hiding behind a tree. He quietly walked toward her. "Hinata?"

Hinata slowly turned around, her eyes widening as she stumbled. "E-Eisuke-kun!"

Eisuke quickly grabbed her arms before she could fall on her feet. "Woah there." Seeing her looking light-headed, he quickly removed his hands from her. "Come on, Hinata... You can't always faint whenever you're around me. It's hard to talk to you like this."

He had always wanted to talk to the girl since they were six, but every time he tried, she would end up fainting or running away from him, causing him to feel insecure.

"S-Sorry," she mumbled in embarrassment, her cheeks turning red. Eisuke smiled at her. "What's up? Why were you watching over me?"

Hinata looked at him hesitantly before whispering, "Today is the final round, isn't it?" Eisuke stared at her for a while before nodding. "Yeah..."

"I... Thank you for that day," Eisuke told her, causing her to look at him in confusion. "For stepping down. It's not that I didn't want you to win or anything... because I would gladly let you win!" He scratched his neck nervously. "But I'm just worried that you would face off with... Neji... or the Sand shinobis..."

His cheeks reddened as he continued, "I know you're stronger than you think, but please allow me to be worried about you."

Hinata stared at him in stunned silence. She had never thought that Eisuke, the second most popular guy, the guy she admired, would worry about her. "Okay," she whispered shyly, causing Eisuke to grin happily.

The two smiled at each other shyly until an orange blur zoomed past them. "EISUKE!!!!"

"Huh?" The two looked in the direction of Naruto, who was running and screaming in confusion, as they began to hear the sound of stomping feet behind them. "E-Eisuke-kun!"

Eisuke turned around to find a bull running toward them, causing his face to turn white. "I-I gotta go!" He realized they were coming for him. "NARUTO!!!"

Hinata watched him in confusion before giggling at the scene. 'Come on, Hinata... You can't always faint whenever you're around me. It's hard to talk to you like this.' Her smile faded as she remembered what he had said. She began to sway on her feet as she thought about it.

'He's right. I won't be able to talk to him if I keep squealing,' she thought. She took a deep breath and smiled. "I'm going to try my hardest from now on, Eisuke-kun!"

---

Asami and Shinra stood in the spectator area of the huge arena. There were thousands of people present, cheering on their favorite fighters. All the candidates stood in the battleground along with the proctor, except Naruto, Eisuke, and Sasuke.

"Where's Eisuke-kun?" Shinra pouted as he stood beside Asami, who sighed tiredly. It was bad enough that she was worried about Naruto, and now she had to worry about her teammates.

Naruto had insisted that Asami go on first, and he would join her on the way. She had trusted him, but now he was nowhere to be seen. "Idiot..."

She quickly went upstairs, leaving the confused redhead, and jumped onto the roof to look around. It took her less than a second to notice a lot of orange and tiny green figures scattered on the streets—Naruto's clones and Eisuke being chased by a herd of bulls. "Of course..." she sighed and jumped down to help them. "Earth Style: Mud Wall Jutsu!" She slammed her hands on the ground as a mud wall emerged, stopping the bulls on the other side.

"Thanks, Asami!" Naruto grinned at her as he ran past her to the arena, while she watched him with an amused look. "Eisuke, we're late!"

Eisuke stopped beside her, breathless. "T-That was crazy."

"Where have you been?" Asami asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story."