Kimiko's P. O. V:
Gaara is unable to move due to Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu. He'd only move if Shikamaru allows it.
I grunt as I'm shoved aside as Naruto rushes in past me, straight for the redhead. I hit the floor and Naruto pulls back his arm before launching it right at Gaara's face. Gaara's head rocks to the side, as does Shikamaru's, when Naruto's fist connects with his face.
I climb to my feet as I glare at Naruto. I would've snapped at him but that's not important right now; Gaara is.
I demand the redhead as I face him, "What the bloody hell are you doing in here, Gaara?!"
Gaara's striking green gaze jerks to me but I don't flinch as Shikamaru straightens while wiping his cheek. He groans to Naruto in irritation, "Hey, man! I'm using my Shadow Possession Jutsu! So when you're bashing him, you're bashing me, too, you got it?!"
"Oh, sorry, Shikamaru!" Says Naruto sheepishly. Sand drips from Gaara's face where the blonde had punched his Sand Armor, as Naruto steps back beside me, Shikamaru on my other side. More sand lies still on Lee's bed.
Naruto then addresses the pale boy, a furious look in his blue orbs, "Out with it, what were you trying to pull?!" Naruto clenches a fist. "Well?! Are you gonna tell us what you were gonna do?!"
"I was going to kill him," Gaara says simply.
We gasp, "What?"
I say as I raise my hooded eyes to him, "You already beat him once in the competition, but you're not satisfied with just that, are you? You're out for blood? Or do you have some kind of personal grudge against him, or something? What do you hope to gain by killing Lee out of cold blood?" Naruto and Shikamaru sweat drop as I continue to interrogate the Sand ninja in a cold tone.
Gaara responds, "I have nothing against him. It's nothing that complicated. I simply just want to kill him, that's all."
Naruto bursts out, jabbing a finger at him, "YOU KNOW WHAT?! YOU'RE SICK IN THE HEAD!! YOU'RE CRAZY!!"
Shikamaru huffs, "Yeah! You think we're just going to sit by and let you do whatever you want, you sick, selfish, psycho!"
"If you don't stay out of my way, I'll have to kill you three as well," Says Gaara.
Naruto yells, holding out a fist, "OH, REALLY?! LET'S JUST SEE YOU TRY IT!!"
Shikamaru scolds us, "Hey, take it easy! Would the two of you just calm down and stop provoking him?!" Shikamaru looks away as I arch an eyebrow at him. I wasn't taunting Gaara at all. "Yeah, yeah. We watched your last match against Lee. We know you're tough, but you know, Naruto, Kimiko and I have a few little tricks up our sleeves as well. We were holding back during the competition. There are things you haven't seen yet. On top of that, hey! It's three against one, and one of us is a renown, top notch assassin, so don't be a fool, ok? Just take my advice and go. Quietly."
I silently wonder why Shikamaru is bluffing like that. Not one of us held back during the competition. Only he did, but that's just because he's lazy.
If I remember right, sand's weaknesses is water. I could also crystallise it with my Crystal Jutsu...
"I'll say it once more," Gaara says in a steely tone, "if you get in my way, I'll kill you." His sea green eyes narrow dangerously.
"You don't scare me, Gaara! I absolutely refuse to let you kill Lee!" I say sternly as I hold out my hand. Crystal forms around the sand and takes on the form of a dragon
It then swirls back around to me, emerald green eyes glinting as a soft growl emits from its throat. I then do more hand signs and make crystal needles shoot up from the floor, trapping Gaara. Another very sharp needle protrudes from one right in front of the redhead's face, pointing directly at him. It glints dangerously.
Gaara doesn't even bat an eye.
"Don't make me kill you," I breathe to Gaara, the crystal dragon hovering behind me.
Naruto says through gritted teeth, a fist to his heart, "A demon, huh? You know what? I got the real thing inside of me!"
Shikamaru tells me, "You know, I can't decide whether or not you're just as scary when you're being deadly calm like that, or when you're really mad."
Here, Gaara closes his eyes as he murmurs, "A demon, huh? My demon is as real as yours is." Gaara sends the Uzumaki a glare. "From my birth, my upbringing was not what most people would consider a happy one. To ensure that I became the strongest of shinobi, my father had cast his Ninjutsu on me, infusing my unborn self with a sand spirit. I destroyed the life of the woman who gave birth to me. I was born a monster."
I feel my whole body go rigid as icy fingers rake down my spine. Though Gaara's face remains unchanging.
There may have been a time in my life when I was broken, lost and confused, and feared I'd never be able to feel emotions again, but I was starting to learn to feel real emotions again since I came to the Leaf Village. And now I have the urge to protect my friends. The idea of people like Gaara existing is scary.
The scariest types of enemies are ones that know no fear.
I glance between Shikamaru and Naruto, who both have stunned, frightened expressions on their faces. I can't imagine what they're feeling right now. They'd never had to face people like Orochimaru or Gaara in the past, so they're probably frightened right down to their core.
Gaara continues, "Its name is Shukaku and it's the living incarnation of an old monk of the Sand Village who was sealed up in a jar of tea."
Swallowing thickly, Shikamaru murmurs, "Yeah. Some kind of demonic Jutsu! But to use it on a baby, before it's even born? Man, that's creepy!" A distasteful expression settles on his face. "Gee, what a swell guy your dad must've been. He really must've loved you a lot."
"You speak of love?" Gaara asks, his voice turning low and venomous. "Don't measure me by your standards! Love, family... the only emotional ties I have to my family, are the ones I'd like to wrap around their necks... there are only ties of hate." We gasp but my face was darkening with each word that comes out of his mouth, despite my previous feeling for the redhead.
Gaara then tells us how he is the Kazekage's youngest child, how he'd "pampered" Gaara, and protected him, before leaving Gaara to fend for himself, and that his father had even tried to kill him countless times during the first six years of his life.
I don't give a shit about his backstory, but I'll kil him if he so much as looks at my teammates the wrong way. I've hated Gaara since we first met, but only because he's an outsider and not from my village, and I've always had this weird vibe around him, but now I hate him even more.
I refuse to let him near my family!
I snap out of it when twin columns of sand rise up towards the ceiling.
"Not good!" I think fearfully. "How is he even doing that while under Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu?! And with my needles at his throat?!" Shikamaru looks just as stunned as I feel.
I notice the Uzumaki is frozen to the spot. "Naruto! Move out of the way!" I grab onto his jacket and jerk Naruto back, causing him to stumble behind me.
"Huh?! Kimiko?!"
"Just stay behind me!" I order, stepping forwards. Suddenly, the twin columns of sand are shooting straight towards me again. There's a twisted smile on the redhead's face.
"Kimiko!!" Shikamaru and Naruto shout warningly.
"Incoming!" Adds the Nara.
My crystal dragon shoots forwards just as fast to meet him...
"Alright, that's enough!" A stern voice yells, causing all of us to freeze and turn our heads to the door. Both attacks also stop short in mid air. It was Gai Sensei. "Save it for tomorrow. That's when the final competition begins." He steps further into the room, now addressing the Sand ninja. "You're just wasting it today, is that what you want?"
As Gaara clutches his head as though in agony, the sand recedes into his gourde. I sigh but snap my fingers and both of my Crystal Jutsus disappear with pops.
"Ngh!" Gaara groans in pain, a hand to his head as he stalks for the door. He pauses in the doorway as Gaara rests his free hand on the edge of the door, peering back at us with that cold glare. "All the same, I will kill you. Just you wait! I'll kill you all!"
On that dreary note, Gaara turns away and stalks out of the room, footsteps echoing almost eerily on the floor, Shikamaru, Naruto and I gazing shakily after him.
🗡🗡🗡
Later that night, I walk with Shikamaru through the night dark village, lampposts lighting the streets.
"Where are we going again?" I ask with a sigh, blowing at my bangs.
"I have to get my dad home," He says.
Shikamaru and I fall into peaceful silence as we search for his dad. Shikamaru and I soon stop by a building, light spilling out from it along with laughter.
Shikamaru and I glance at each other as he says, "Let's check in this place." I nod my head and he slides open the door.
"Welcome!" A male waiter calls to us.
With my eyes twitching, I say in annoyance, "Yeah, we get it. No need to holler in my face like that!"
Shikamaru rubs the back of his head as we gaze around, spotting three grown men sitting at the counter. One has spiky black hair, the second, incredibly long hair in a high ponytail, and a third, bigger man with long spiky red hair with two thin purple lines on either side of his face.
The redhead turns to us Ashe says with a hearty chuckle, holding up a fist, "Ahah! Reinforcements are here! Come on in and order something!" He holds up a menu as the ravenette who oddly looks just like Shikamaru with scars on his face turns his head in our direction.
I ask curiously, raising an eyebrow, "Who's that guy?"
"That's Choza, Choji's dad. And that's my dad, Shikaku. Uugghh," Shikamaru groans. "Found him," He tells me before grabbing my arm and pulling me after him, stopping by the counter. "Hey, dad. Come on! Can we go home already?! That's done. Let's escape while we can, Kimi-chan!"
I blink my eyes as the older Nara breathes in shock and confusion, "What?"
"So he's your dad, huh?" I mutter, studying him. They look like exact copies.
"Who wants to know?" The older Nara drawls, though I could clearly tell he's drunk. "Wait... that blonde hair and those violet eyes... you're the mean and devilish Sumire Princess everybody's been talking about. I'm surprised you're still here."
I smirk at what he called me. I may be a little less mean than before but I doubt that's ever gonna change...
"Well, I'm definitely not nice, that's for sure," I scoff, waving my hand.
"Dad! Kimiko's actually changed a bit since she came, and she's really not as bad as you imagine," Shikamaru inputs, and I feel warmth swelling in my heart at the young Nara's kind words.
"All I know is that she's the famous Lightning Empress, in the Bingo Book from the age of six. She's pretty popular there, too."
"If you must know, my name is Kimiko," I introduce with a devilish smirk.
"So, is she your girlfriend now?" Shikaku asks, causing our eyes to bug in their sockets.
Shikamaru and I both whip our heads to one another, only to look away while blushing. He exclaims, flustered, "No! She's not my girlfriend! Besides, Kimi-chan is already Kiba's girlfriend."
"I should've known. She's far too pretty and mischievous to be your girlfriend," His dad says.
"Hey!" I say indignantly, puffing my cheeks indignantly.
The ravenette takes a swig of alcohol. He drawls, "Listen, don't be a drag!" He raises his sake glass. "You're supposed to be living it up at the festival!"
Hands on his his, Shikamaru mutters, "Yeah, right. Some festival!" He lets out a groan. "Ugh. It's a total drag."
I can't help but giggle at that. It's hard to believe just how much they both look and sound alike!
Shikaku says as he gulps down sale, "You idiot. Since ancient.... Times..." Shikaku sets down his glass with a heaving sigh. He then turns back to us. "... the final competition has always been like a festival."
"I'm in that final competition tomorrow! Awe, man! I don't have time to babysit you!" Shikamaru groans, deadpanning. I laugh harder. It was just so fun watching the two Naras interact with each other so enthusiastically like this. "Oh, you think this is entertaining, Kimiko?" Shikamaru glances at me.
"It's hilarious!" I giggle again.
Shikaku asks, "You're in it? Seriously?"
Shikamaru starts at that but instead of retorting, he just slumps his shoulders and groans, "This idiot is in it, too... Nevermind! Just forget it!"
I arch an eyebrow at him, surprised he'd called me that.
Later that night, I lie awake in bed, my arms behind my head.
Tomorrow, huh...
I turn over before getting comfy under the blankets and drift off to sleep.
🗡🗡🗡
The next morning, at 7am, I stand in the loudly buzzing stadium in my usual work outfit. On my way here, I'd heard some spectators chatting about how excited they were for both the last Uchiha's and Sumire's matches. They'd instantly bet on me and Sasuke to win our fights.
White smoke signals had gone up in the sky to signal the start of the final exams, but there was still no sign of Naruto. Or Sasuke for that matter.
There were lots of people here, both important and commoners. I spot Ino, Sakura and Kiba in the stands near the front beside Hinata, the former two towards the back. I send Kiba a winning smile while blushing, and Kiba smiles back at me, waving. I wave back shyly as Shikamaru, beside me, glances at me.
People were chatting but it was merging into one loud buzzing sound that rings in my ears.
I peer past him to Temari and Kankuro, as I wave to the blonde haired, blue eyed girl, a smile on my face. She simply inclines her head in acknowledgment. I blatantly ignore Akemi staring at me.
I can also see her teammates and male red haired Sensei up in the stands, along with Ren.
"I'll bet these people only came to see Sasuke fight," I say with my arms crossed.
Shikamaru, from beside me, says, "I heard a lot of people came to see him and the Sumire Princess fight. You're about as popular as Sasuke is. They don't care about the rest of us."
I sweat drop as I rub the back of my head sheepishly. "I didn't realise," I say in a dry tone. Just then, there's a commotion that catches our attention, halting our conversation. We gaze towards the entrance to the arena, spotting Naruto charging towards the doors with a herd of bulls stampeding behind him, a bunch of Shadow Clones blocking the entrance.
The bull in the front jabs the real Naruto in the butt with its horns, sending him sailing into the arena while destroying his Shadow Clones all at once. Naruto slides along the ground, stomach first, with a cry, until he comes to a stop right at my feet.
I place the backs of my hands on my hips as I peer down at the blonde, a teasing grin on my face. I greet, "Hey, Blondie. Nice of you to... drop in. Great entrance, though."
Kankuro and Temari scoff loud enough for us to hear, along with my own opponent.
Shikamaru and I put one if Naruto's arms over our shoulders as we help him to his feet, the Nara mumbling, "What a drag." Naruto groans as his eyes spin dizzily.
Naruto yanks his arms from us as he yells desperately, "Guys, run! You won't believe it, but there's a herd of stampeding bulls coming this way."
I arch an eyebrow as Shikamaru says, "What? Yeah, you're right: I don't believe it!"
"I'm serious! There must be a million of them coming right... this... way..." Naruto trails off as he gazes around at the other Genin, and our new Proctor, not seeing any bulls in sight. Nor Sasuke. "Hm? Hey, wait! Where's Sasuke?!"
"No idea. Kakashi's late. Again," I say unhappily, a cute pout on my face, the backs of my hands on my hips firmly. "I swear, if that Scarecrow is late to Sasuke's match...!" Naruto and Shikamaru sweat drop as I continue to mumble incoherently under my breath.
Shikamaru inputs, "I'm fighting Dosu but he's missing too."
The brown haired, brown eyed Proctor with his headband in a bandanna calls to us, a senbon in his mouth, "Hey, knock it off! Quit fidgeting you three! Stand up straight and present yourselves proudly to the spectators."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" I say sarcastically as we all look up as the crowd lets out a thunderous cheer.
The Proctor says, "You guys are the heroes of this final competition."
I look up towards where the Hokage is sitting, a man with red hair now sits beside him. So that's Gaara's father, huh?
Just then, Hiruzen steps to the front of the balcony. Flowing chakra to his throat, Hiruzen's voice travels through the whole stadium. "Welcome to all! And our deepest thanks for coming here to the Village Hidden in the Leaves for this year's Chunin Selection! We have come to the final competition between the eleven candidates who made it through the Preliminaries. We ask that no one leaves until all the matches have been completed. Now, everyone, enjoy!"
The crowd cheers at that.
I have to mentally scoff at that notion. I didn't get what was so enjoyable about watching a bunch of 13 year olds kill each other. It's actually pretty barbaric, though I'm not one to talk, even though I can sort of get bloodthirsty myself due to my past, working for Orochimaru.
Still, it's strange to think there are people out there who actually enjoy watching 13 year olds slaughter one another...
Our Proctor says to us, "Oh, there's one more thing before we get started." He takes out the paper with the matchups for us. "Look it over. There's been a slight change in the matchups. But now it's set, so everyone, take one last look at who you'll be facing."
The matches were all the same, except that Dosu was no longer fighting Shikamaru.
I mutter thoughtfully, "Akemi..." I remember her from the Preliminaries.
Naruto raises his hand as he calls, "Err, question? Question!"
"What is it?" The Proctor drawls as he ticks the paper back in his vest.
Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto says, "I was just wondering what'll happened to Sasuke? I mean... if he doesn't show up?" He looks behind him to where Sakura is sitting.
The Proctor explains, "If a candidate is not here on the arena at the time his name is called, he forfeits the match."
Naruto swallows thickly before looking to the entrance worriedly.
I speak up, "Uh, I have a question."
"Yeah?"
"What happened to Hayate Sensei? I thought he was going to be our Proctor," I say.
The brunette hesitates before answering, "I'm Genma Shiranui. Hayate couldn't make it, so I'm taking over."
"Okay..." I trail off, though I can't help but worry about him.
Genma explains to us, "Alright. Listen up. The terrain's different but the rules are the same as before. That is that there are no rules. The match continues until one candidate acknowledges defeat or dies. That being said, if I determine that I match is over, I can step in and stop it at anytime. And no arguments permitted, understood? These are the opponents for the first match: Kimiko Sumire and Akemi Kasai. Those two stay. The rest of you can go to the waiting area."
I side eye Akemi as the other Genin file into the hallway leading up to the viewing balcony. The redhead smiles back at me and waves. I just roll my eyes at her. The two of us step up to face one another.
Still no sign of Kakashi or the Uchiha...
Genma calls loudly as a wind blows, tossing our clothes and hair violently, my draping bangs swaying about my face almost gracefully, "Alright! Now let the first match... begin!"
The crowd lets out yet another thunderous cheer at that.