Sakuya's P. O. V:
I try to shove any thoughts of Lee out of my mind as I focus on the 11th and final match, which was Dosu vs Choji.
Hayate calls, "Now, then, the last two competitors, will you please step forward?"
Dosu chuckles as he step forwards, "So it's finally my turn!" Choji has a determined look in his eyes as he steps up to the Sound ninja.
"Alright," Says Hayate. "The 11th and final match... will begin!"
"You can do it!!" Shikamaru calls encouragingly.
Ino feels the need to add with her hands cupping her mouth, "FATSOOO!!"
This causes the Akimichi's ear to twitch as a vein protrudes from his temple. Choji growls through gritted teeth, his eyes angry animated white circles, his body twitching with suppressed rage, "Grrr, alright! I'm gonna finish this match—it's only going to take about two seconds—and then I'm coming after you, Ino!"
Dosu says, "Fine, Fatso. If you want this match to end quickly, I'll just win it quickly."
Choji turns his glare to Dosu, fire literally burning in his eyes as chakra briefly swirls around his body. "You're gonna go down hard, you mummified weirdo!" Choji grunts as he thrusts his hands forwards, crossing them over before putting them in a hand sign. "Ninja Art: Expansion Jutsu!" His body becomes the size of a giant boulder. "Now the Hidden Leaf Style Taijutsu!" Choji grunts with exertion as his arms, legs and head disappear within his boulder form. "This'll protect my ears from his attacks... and crush him like a bug!" Choji jumps up before turning into a rolling ball and slams on the ground. He then races for the Sound ninja. "Human Boulder! CHUBBIES RULE!!"
"Yeah, alright, Choji! You can do it! Squash him good for me," Ino cheers, a fist clenched.
As Choji reaches Dosu, Dosu simply jumps back to avoid him. Choji veers back towards Dosu and follows the man as he continues to jump away from the Akimichi.
I blink my pink orbs as Dosu stops before the wall. Choji nears him but Dosu dives to the side just in time to avoid being crushed by the moving, living boulder. Choji ends up crashing into the wall.
Dosu leaps up, laughing. "He barely has any control over where he's going! Now, to end this!" With a grunt, Dosu punches his right fist into Choji's stomach. His fist slides down as Dosu lands on his feet.
"It's no use! My ears are covered!" Choji taunts.
"You're so wrong," Says Dosu. With a flick of his finger against the wind instrument, Dosu emits a sound wave that resonates against Choji's body, making him cry out dizzily. Then there's an explosion as Choji screams in pain. Team 10 gasp in worry.
When the dust clears, we see Choji collapsed on his stomach, his eyes spinning dizzily as drool drips from his mouth and snot leaks out of his nose.
Dosu feels the need to explain, "You see, the human body is %70 water and water can transmit sound waves." Here, Dosu drops his right arm, his visible left eye narrowing. "In other words, when it comes to my attacks, your whole body is basically one big ear."
After a quick glance at Choji, Hayate announces, looking back at the Kinuta, "The winner is... Dosu Kinuta!"
No one cheers as he returns to his spot on the opposite balcony. A couple of medics rush in and head for the prostrate Akimichi, kneeling down beside him.
One of the medics as Choji in concern, a hand on his back, "Hey, are you alright?"
"Meat... I wanna eat some meat..." He grumbles in response.
Leaning his elbow on the railing and head in his hand, the Nara says sheepishly, "That's our Choji—always thinking with his stomach." Ino hums sheepishly in agreement.
"Even though he lost, the least we can do is take him out for some barbecue beef," Asuma inputs.
Hayate gives a couple of coughs as he steps forwards. He holds up his arm. "And, with that match, the third exam Preliminaries are now finished!" The Genin who've won their matches gather on the floor, facing Hayate, the exam proctors, and the Third Hokage. "I commend all those who have advanced to the finals for the third level of the Chunin Exams. Well, there's one person missing, but still, congratulations!"
"Sensei?" Sakura addresses, gaining Kakashi's attention. "I have a question for you."
"About Sasuke?" He says knowingly, before averting his gaze. "I'm sorry. I don't know much about that, I'm afraid. But, I wouldn't worry too much." Kakashi glances back at the pinkette. "Sakura, I have to leave, so I'm counting on you to get the details about the finals."
The Hatake holds up his gloves hand in a wave as Sakura utters quizzically, "Huh?" Then the silver haired Jounin teleports away as she nods. "Oh... okay..."
Gripping the rim of his red and white hat, Hiruzen begins, "And now I will begin the explanation of the final rounds."
"Finally! I feel like these preliminaries went on forever!" I think in exhaustion.
"In the final rounds, each of you will put your battle skills on display. You'll demonstrate the power and control that you've achieved in your respective disciplines. Accordingly, the final battles will commence 1 month from now," Continues Hiruzen.
"Wait—we're not gonna do it right here and now?" Naruto questions from my right, Dosu on my left, squinting his eyes.
"This is to provide a suitable period of preparation."
"What do you mean by that?" Asks Neji.
"Simply this: in addition to announcing the conclusion of the preliminary matches to each countries leaders, we must also have sometime to prepare and distribute the summons for the Final Selection." He closes his eyes briefly as Hiruzen smiles. "Not to mention, that you examinees are going to need time to prepare for something that is this important."
"Look, I don't really get what you're trying to say. What's the point of this?" Kankuro cuts in impatiently.
Hiruzen states, "I mean, that to know your adversaries and prepare yourselves, you need time. Even though up to this point, all your battles have been real battles, as I'm sure you can all attest, they were conducted on the premise that you were fighting an unknown enemy. That's no longer the case now that you've battled each other. So in order to make the Finals fair and just, we're giving you this month, each of you must embrace the opportunity to practice hard and learn some new tricks. Because, by now, everyone here knows your technique. So using your old, tire tricks is a sure way to lose in the Finals. And remember to get some rest as well.
"Now, with all of that behind us, I would like to begin winding things up. But before we could bring this to an end, first, there is one more important matter to take care of before the final round."
Naruto complains before I could, "Let's get on with it! I mean, come on! How long do we have to wait until we start training?!"
Hiruzen says, undeterred by the blonde, "In a calm, orderly fashion, all of you are going to take one slip of paper from the box Anko is holding."
"Everyone, just stay where you are. I'll come to you," Anko states. She steps up to the Kinuta first. "Just take one."
Dosu reaches his hand into the yellow box and pulls out a folded slip of paper. When Anko shifts over to me, I put my hand in and retract it with a slip of paper in hand.
I unfold it curiously as the purple haired kunoichi continues down the line, and squint at the number 6 on the paper.
"What are the numbers for...?" I think curiously as I cock my head.
Ibiki speaks up, a clipboard in hand, "Good. Now everyone has one. Going from left to right, tell me the number that's written on your slip of paper."
Kyo is number 8, Naruto has number 1, Neji is number 2, I have 3, Madoka has 7, Sanna has 4, Gaara has 5, Kankuro got 9, Shino, 10, Mika 11. Masaki 12, Shikamaru 13, Temari 14, Dosu 15 and Sasuke ends up with 6.
Ibiki concludes as he scribbles something on the clipboard, "And that means Sasuke will be number 6."
"Right," Says Hiruzen. "Very good. Now I'm going to tell you about how the Final Selection tournament is going to work."
"Eeeehhhh?!" Naruto exclaims in shock.
Shikamaru demands, "Is that what the numbers are for, drawing lots?!"
"Ibiki, you may reveal which ninja have been paired up," Says Hiruzen.
"Yes, Sir." The Moreno turns the clipboard around to show us the matchups.
Naruto was first up against Neji, then me against Sanna, Gaara VS Sasuke, Kankuro VS Shino, Kyo VS Madoka, Masaki VS Mika, and Shikamaru has to fight both Temari and Dosu at the same time.
I meet my cousin's gaze and she gives me a closed eye smile. I gulp with nerves. I haven't sparred against my cousin in a long time and I know from her preliminary round that she's gotten stronger than me, especially with our Kekkei Genkai.
Why did I have to fight her?!?!
Shikamaru speaks up, holding up a hand, "May I ask you a question?"
"You may," Says Hiruzen.
The Nara holds up only a finger as he says, "Alright. If this is a tournament, does that mean there's only going to be one winner? I mean, only one of us is going to be able to become a Chunin, then?"
"Actually, it's quite the contrary," Replies Hiruzen. "There are going to be several judges for the final rounds including myself, the shinobi leaders, and the Kazekage, the lords from the various countries that ultimately will be assigning your missions to you." Naruto is nodding along. "Through this tournament, these judges will be able to make a thorough evaluation of your abilities. They will then decide whether any or all of you possess the qualities required of a Chunin. Even if someone loses the first round, they could still become a Chunin."
Temari murmurs, "So, there's actually a chance that every one of us who competes in the Final Selection could become Chunin?"
"Correct. But, conversely, there's also a chance that none of you will be chosen." Naruto swallows thickly. "The advantage in fighting more rounds in the tournament is in getting more chances to display your talents in front of the judges who will decide your fate. Does that answer your question, Shikamaru?" The Nara doesn't reply. "I thank you all for your patience. Now, let us adjourn until next month."
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Once it was over, I was pulled aside by Okami.
He smiles at me as he tells me, "Looks like we'll be training together for the next month, after all."
"What?! No way! Seriously?!" I exclaim. I was excited, considering Okami is one of our clan's best ANBU.
"You bet! Meet me at the this training ground at sunrise tomorrow for our training." He hands me a slip of paper and I look at it. It just has the assigned training ground written on it.
I nod my head. "Okay, Okami Sensei!" I turn and go up to Kyo and the other Blossoms ninja. "Good luck with your training, you guys! See you at the finals!"
Kyo nods as he responds, "Yeah. See you then, Sakuya."
"Good luck, Sakuya!" Sanna says as Homura and I head home.
Once at home, I shower, wash my hair and change into my casual outfit before I go out to see Kin who was waiting at the fence.
Since I'll be too busy training the rest of the month, I wouldn't be able to ride much. So I plan to do that this afternoon.
I groom my horse and tack him up before we ride out of the village and into the forest.
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"Man, it's been a long day! I wonder if Team Ten are at Yakiniku Q? I hope Choji didn't eat all of the meat!! I'm starving!" I say aloud to myself as I ride back into the village. I reach the barbecue place and tie my horse up outside. Because of the no animal policy, Homura has to wait outside with Kin. I enter, inhaling deeply. "Food!!"
"Choji! Don't eat those!" I hear Ino's voice scolding him as she slaps away his hand.
"Why not?!" He whines.
"Because! Those are for Sakuya when she gets here!" Ino says sternly. I turn my head to see her sitting beside Asuma, opposite Choji and Shikamaru.
"Who knows how long she'll be?! I'm sure Sakuya-chan wouldn't mind..." Choji says as I quietly step up to their table.
"Yo, guys!!" I greet, startling the Genin. Choji's hand freezes halfway to my share of short ribs.
"I wasn't about to eat your short ribs, Sakuya-chan!" Choji exclaims, waving his hands about.
"Don't worry about it, but I am starving!!" I say as I slide in beside the Nara.
"Hey, who did you get for your trainer?" Asuma asks curiously as I pile food onto my plate.
"Okami—an ANBU Black Op from the Land of Blossoms."
"Really?"
I nod my head.
"You were incredible today, Sakuya," Says Ino, awe in her voice. "The way you helped Guy Sensei stop that sand..."
"It was nothing. I just flowed my chakra to the sand and stopped it," I say, shoving some meat in my mouth.
"By the way, Sakuya, how's Kiba doing?" Ino asks.
"He's doing great! I checked in on him before leaving the tower and he seems to be alright. Just a few scrapes and bruises from his fight with Naruto."
I take another piece of meat into my mouth.
We chat contentedly for the rest of the meal. It wasn't until later that evening with the new moon and stars out that I decide to go home.
I say my goodbyes to Team 10 and Asuma told me I could join them anytime before I agree and head home.
I lead Kin through the village till we reach Kakashi's apartment. I untack and groom him before mixing Kin's feed and putting him to bed with a pink rug on.
I head inside and feed Konohana, Yuri and Homura before reading for a few hours.
At around midnight, I turn off all the lights and go to sleep with the cats curled around me.