Beyond The Stars (Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter 53~ Sasuke Appears

"You're late!" Naruto announces, clearly annoyed with the behavior of our peers. "Yeah about that, Sasuke can still participate right?"

Genma let out a light laugh before looking at his stopwatch. "You guys just barely made it."

"Phew," Kakashi sweatdrops, the crowds burst into cheers. "I was worried for a minute."

"I was be beginning to think that you weren't going to show up!" Naruto huffed, crossing his arms abruptly, looking towards Uchiha. "What about you two, did you win?"

"Of course I did! Now it's your turn to not lose!" Naruto proudly boasted, like his match was decided from the beginning. "And you Astara?"

"It was all fine and dandy until you're dumbass had to come and take the glory of my win." I crossed my arms over my chest, pretending to be mildly hurt. Before he could respond Naruto inturupted, "Don't lose Sasuke!"

"I won't." He smirked, I nodded in agreement. But his opponent wasn't one to be pushed aside. "Alright come on Naruto, Kritanta, they don't need us down here. And I'll be taking the stairs this time if you don't mind."

"Come on, are you still upset over my little push." Naruto laughed, and pulled me along with the two.

"Can Gaara of the Sand please come down!" I heard Genma shout as we entered the stairwell. Karliah fell by my side, I noticed her snout was scrunched. "Princess I have a bad feeling."

"I second that." I hissed, the unwelcoming feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. I pushed my way in front of the two boys, hurrying up the stairs.

There are three signatures in the stairwell, two of which I don't know, but one is filled with blood lust. "Hey Kri-Chan where are you running!"

I didn't listen but the sounds of echoing footsteps made it clear they were following closely.

"Gaara of the Sand!" I shouted, flashing with Midnight to get between the two.

"MUST KILL!" He clenched his head, backing himself into a wall. "Save it for the match, killing innocent spectators won't be tolerated."

I was able to match his intensity, his glare was what I couldn't match. It was cold, but before more could be said he turned on his heel and made his way to the lower arena. I wiped the imaginary sweat from my forehead, that could have gone a lot worst.

"What are you two still doing here?" I looked between the by goers, staring at them intently. "Scram."

"Yes ma'am!" They saluted and ran up the stairs. I rolled my eyes, looking over at Karliah.

"That was a crisis avoided." Karliah sighed, letting down her guard. "Kri-Chan what we're you thinking!"

"I wasn't going to allow manslaughter to happen, especially to people who can't even protect themselves." I scoffed, turning on my heel. "Now if you don't mind I have a sensei to reprimand."

I made a hand sign before muttering under my breath. "Flying Rajinn Technique."

I appeared beside Kakashi, ready to kick him. But alas he caught my foot, I noticed we were in the upper stadium. Sakura also happened to be here, shit, I forgot Karliah. Oh well, she'll accompany those dimwits.

"You dumbass, you almost got your student disqualified." I complained, allowing myself to backflip to the ground. Landing next to Rock Lee, who had a crutch.

"Kakashi-Sensei, what about Sasuke's mark." I heard Sakura whisper lightly. I felt a slight pain in my neck from the mention of the cursed seal.

"Don't worry about it Sakura, it won't be a problem." Kakashi cleared up, but I knew that was a lie. I shot him a look which he picked up on, but didn't mention. I plopped into the seat next to Sakura and looked around the stadium. The match had begun, but to be honest it didn't interest me much. Other things caught my attention, around the stadium only eight ANBU's were placed. That's a rather low number, especially for an event this big with other villages included. My train of thought was interrupted when I heard Naruto shouting for Kakashi.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI! KAKASHI-SENSEI!" He and Nara were panting by the time they approached us. Oh? What were they doing here so fast, I noticed that Karliah was also with them. However, she trotted over to me and sat at the front of my chair.

"Hello, Deary." She spoke, but it was obviously pointed towards Sakura. Sakura wasted no time and scratched her head, sometimes I question her loyalty to me.

"Sensei Please you just have to stop this match right away!" Naruto outbursted, catching all of us off guard. "Relax there is no need to worry. You know Sasuke and I did a lot more than goof off for the past month."

My eyes became fixated on the match, watching as Uchiha began punching a dome of sand. I presume that Gaara is in the dome, using the Sand as an armor perhaps. Rather an intelligent strategy, exhaust the enemy with defense, and then what I would assume is attack.

"Sensei you said you had a reason for being late, what was that reason?" Sakura asked, looking over at Kakashi. "Your right, but it's a long story."

"THEN TELL US ALREADY-!" Naruto yelled once again, something seems to really put him in a bad mood. "Then Shut up and watch, Sasuke is about to surprise you."

I rolled my eyes at the silver-haired male's cockiness. I looked over the arena, my eyes falling on Kankuro who was gripping the railing harshly. His face seemed to be less pleasant, I moved my head quickly and saw Uchiha performing the Chidori.

I snapped my head towards Kakashi and shot him a glare. "If you've wondered why I insisted on training Sasuke myself it's because he's like me."

"You built his speed up to the requirement," Guy spoke, a small smirk on his face. Then Sakura spoke up, her eyes glued to the arena. "Amazing, his chakra is visible."

I watched as Uchiha hit the dome of sand once more, this time he was able to break through the barrier. The audience fell silent. "The lighting blade name is because Kakashi once used it to cut a bolt of lightning in half."

"Well whatever I don't understand a word of it, but it looks awesome!" Sakura complemented, her eyes still glued to the arena.

I do have to admit that his speed has increased by at least 41%, which is impressive for the amount of time given.

A feeling of dread sunk into the pit of my stomach. I stood up, catching the attention of everyone around me. What the hell is he doing around?!