Ayuda's P.O.V
"Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance the Third Exam's main battle," declared Hayate Gekkou with a solemn look.
My eyes widened in surprise. Preliminary matches?
Shikamaru, sounding pretty much angry and shocked at the announcement, raised his voice, "Preliminary matches? What do you mean?"
"Sensei, I don't understand what you mean by preliminary matches," Sakura joined in, expressing her confusion.
I queried, "Why can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining examinees?"
Hayate let out a sigh, "In this case, it must have been because the First Exam and Second Exam were too easy, I don't know... but there are too many examinees left."
I frowned. The First Exam and the Second Exam were actually arduous, sensei. The reason why there are still many examinees left is because they are all too splendid. Like Gaara, Sasuke, Neji, and Rock Lee.
"According to Chuunin regulations," continued Hayate, "we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam. As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama, there are many guests for the Third Exam, so...we cannot just have a lot of matches. We are limited on time, as well. So, those who aren't feeling well..."
Once again, Hayate coughed. I sweatdropped. You seem to be the one who's not feeling well, sensei.
Hayate shifted his gaze to us after having a short coughing fit and resumed, "Excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation... please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately."
I gasped in shock. They will not be giving us a time to rest?!
Kiba barked angrily, "Immediately?!"
Ino had a look of despair as she said, "But we just got through the Second Exam..."
"How troublesome..." muttered Shikamaru.
"What? What about my meal?" Chouji Akimichi also expressed his dissatisfaction over the announcement.
Hayate, who was still unfazed despite our complaints, added, "I forgot to mention this, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out. So please withdraw if you wish."
I sighed. I really want to take a bath now. I stink after that entire survival thing in the Forest of Death. Although I did take a few baths in the river during the Second Exam, I can still feel that my body is not clean enough. I need soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, and shampoo. If I have those four things, then I will be satisfied.
"Kazuki, you should withdraw now," I heard Kaito whisper behind me. I turned to look at them. Kaito had his body facing me, but his head was turned to his right, glancing at Kazuki over his right shoulder. Kazuki only stared at him in confusion. Kaito added, "You are still hurt after that battle with the Sound team, right? So, withdraw now."
Kazuki – who had a pair of red eyes and blonde hair – replied with a smile that did not reach his eyes, "I can still fight, Kaito. Don't worry."
Kaito frowned in disapproval and he responded, "Stop lying already. I know that you are hiding the pain. You refused to take off the bandages because it still hurts, right? Those wounds won't heal completely unless you get a treatment from a medical ninja."
I also noticed that Sakura was also on the verge of crying while she tried to persuade Sasuke to quit. She must've noticed that Sasuke is in pain because of that mark. I paid no heed to them and turned my attention back to Kazuki and Kaito. I got a feeling that Sasuke would refuse to withdraw from this preliminary matches because... he's always that stubborn. Plus, he wanted to compete with these strong guys – Gaara, Neji, and Rock Lee. He would never let go of this golden opportunity.
"Kaito," Kazuki called, still with his fake smile, "do you remember that moment when we fought a team that we got the Earth scroll from? I could fight, right? Then I can fight in this preliminary round too. It will be just fine, Kaito."
The amount of concern in Kaito's green eyes did not lessen even the slightest, "But still..."
That's when a hand that rose into the air caught my attention. I spun my head to look at the owner of the hand. It was Kabuto Yakushi. I furrowed my eyebrows in dubiety. The old man Hokage spoke up, "What is it?"
Every pair of eyes turned to Kabuto. The gray-haired man gave a fake smile and admitted, "I'll quit."
He's quitting, huh? That will make the number of competitors decrease, but why? Why is he quitting? This is his seventh try in the Chuunin Exam and he has gotten this far, so why is he quitting? Is he not feeling well?
I could hear Naruto murmured beside me, "Kabuto-san...?"
"Let's see..." Hayate looked down on the notepad he held in his right hand and flipped a page over. He coughed twice before he spoke, "You are Konoha's Kabuto Yakushi? You may leave, then."
"Yes," Kabuto responded before he spun around and walked off.
That's when Naruto called out to him with a look of disbelief written all over his face, "Kabuto-san, why are you quitting?! Why?!"
Kabuto halted, turning only his head to gaze at Naruto over his shoulder. He looked like he didn't expect to get that kind of reaction from anyone. He reasoned, "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but my body has completely worn out already. Even before the First Exam, after I had that quarrel with the Sound guys, I couldn't hear anything in my left ear. I can't fight right away, especially if it's a life or death battle."
I glanced at Kazuki that instant. Kaito also had his eyes on the same person. We knew that he was attacked severely by the Sound team and after listening to Kabuto's reasons for quitting, the doubts Kaito and I had for Kazuki increased even more. We knew he was not in a good shape to fight. We have to convince him to quit, but it won't be that easy; since he is the son of a wealthy family, his ego and stubbornness are too big for him to quit easily.
Kabuto waved at Naruto and Sasuke with a huge smile on his face and he sauntered away from us; we were burning holes on his back with our stares.
Two coughs attracted our attentions back to Hayate who now asked, "May I assume there are no more people who wish to retire?"
"Kazuki!" Kaito whispered with slight impatience, "You have to quit and get your wounds treated by medical ninjas!"
Kazuki hissed back, "I said I'm fine."
"But you are actually not!" I joined in, whispering to him.
This time, Kazuki turned his gaze to me and responded, "Trust me, Ayuda. I can handle this."
"Kazuki-kun?" a small, timid voice had gained our attentions. We shifted our gazes to Sakura who now had her eyes fixed on the red-eyed boy. Her emerald eyes were glistening with tears that threatened to roll off of her eye sockets. This had made Kazuki's eyes softened immediately. She queried, "Are you alright?"
Kazuki faked a grin to her, "Of course I am!"
Sakura was not convinced at all. Her hands that were lifted closer to her chests began to quiver as she said, "I know you're not, Kazuki. Those wounds won't heal entirely unless they are treated by medical ninjas. So please... please withdraw, Kazuki-kun... Sasuke refuses to listen to me, so, please... listen to me. I'm worried about you..."
I quickly shot a glare at the Uchiha who had finished talking to Naruto. When he gave me the "why-are-you-staring-at-me-like-that" look, I spoke to him, "Why aren't you quitting?"
Sasuke scowled, "I told you I will be fine. This is nothing-"
"That mark has been causing you a lot of pain, right?" I cut him off early, "Do you really think you can fight your opponent smoothly with that pain getting in your way?"
"Yes, I can," Sasuke boldly answered, looking straight into my purple eyes as if trying to convince me that he could.
Naruto interjected curiously with a scowl, "What are you two talking about?!"
Sasuke replied to the yellow-haired boy without taking his eyes off of me, "Mind your own business, dobe."
I could hear Naruto sighed in defeat while I glued my eyes to the onyx eyes before me. He gave me a confident and strong-willed look, indicating that nothing will get in his way to get what he wants. If he wants to fight in the preliminary match, then he will get it no matter what, despite everyone's complaints. And that just showed how stubborn he was.
I sighed in defeat, "Fine. But if you can't handle the pain any longer, surrender immediately, understand?"
Sasuke smirked triumphantly, "I can handle this, Ayuda."
I averted my gaze, looking downward and murmured, "I hope so too..."
"But, Kazuki-kun!" Sakura's distressed voice caught my attention. Her eyes were clearly displaying the huge amount of concern she had for him. Kazuki looked anywhere but her eyes. I knew exactly why he did that. It's because if he stares back into her puppy eyes, he will end up listening to her and withdraw himself from the preliminary match. Sakura is one of his precious people that he loves dearly, after all.
Sakura added, "Please, do it for me. I don't want to see you get beaten up anymore. I am the one who should be blamed for your injuries... You sacrificed yourself for me when the Sound ninjas were supposed to attack me. You are in this terrible condition because of me..."
"Sakura," Kazuki finally looked into her green eyes with a serious look. Uh oh... I can guess what he's trying to say next... He began, "Yes, all of these wounds occurred to me because I sacrificed myself for you. But believe me... there is nothing terrible about protecting the people I love. In fact, it's actually a wonderful thing. These wounds are symbols of my love for you, so don't always blame yourself, okay? I should thank you, you know. Being covered in these wounds because of protecting the girl that I love... I've never felt so proud in my life."
A pinkish red glow began blooming on Sakura's cheeks. Kaito and I just rolled our eyes and sighed. We watched as Sakura turned her gaze away, still with her reddened cheeks as she said, "Geez, Kazuki... You still want to say stuff like that even at this moment..."
Kazuki responded by giggling boyishly, seemingly proud of what he had done to the blushing pinkette. Knowing that Kazuki and Sasuke had made it clear that they wouldn't quit the exam despite their conditions, Kaito, Sakura, Naruto, and I turned back to Hayate and waited for him to say something.
After tracing his eyes all over the genins, Hayate proceeded, "Then, let's begin the preliminary matches. It will be a one-on-one match. In other words, it will be like real combats. Now that we have exactly 26 people, we will have 13 matches and the winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out or admits defeat. If you do not want to die, please give up immediately. However, if I judge that the match is over..." he paused to cough, "...I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny..."
He looked away, glancing at Anko Mitarashi over his shoulder. Anko nodded her head and turned around, glancing at the gigantic wall behind her and spoke to the microphone she wore, "Open it."
One of the smaller screens that were attached to the wall was slid upward, revealing a black screen. Hayate added, "...will be this. This electric bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match. Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."
With that said, all of us looked up to the black screen. I could see Naruto beside me gulped down a lump in his throat anxiously. Naruto, you're not the only one who is nervous. Me too.
The black screen began to choose two names. I could spot everyone's names, including mine, passing by in quick speed. It was at this moment that I had this feeling... like I was going to be chosen for no reason. It's like that feeling when your teacher gives you a look and you know right away that he/she will pick you to answer the question.
That's when the names halted to a complete stop. My eyes widened in shock.
[Yushin Ito VS Ayuda Makino]
I knew it! I knew it! My feelings are never wrong! The worst thing is that I am chosen by that... bulletin board to be in the first match with this Yushin Ito guy! By the way, I have never heard of that name before.
I could feel several pairs of eyes turned to me after seeing the names on the screen. Neji, who stood beside me this whole time, glanced at me with his lavender eyes. Naruto also glanced at me with his mouth ajar. I could faintly feel some people burning holes on my back with their stares. I also noticed that Gaara spun his head slightly to get a better look at me. Dammit. Stop looking at me, guys. You are only making me feel even more anxious!
"Those whose names were displayed, step up," ordered Hayate.
After taking a quick deep breath to calm my nerves down, I ambled forward with another set of footsteps following suit. I stood in front of Hayate and spun to face my opponent.
He was one of those Waterfall genins – the team that had three boys with one of them had small, less-masculine body while the other two were taller than the first one. This Yushin Ito guy was one of those two taller boys. He had jet black hair with a pair of light brown eyes and a lightly tanned skin. He was also scrutinizing my form.
Hayate announced, "The first match's fighters are Yushin Ito and Ayuda Makino. Are there any objections?"
"No," Yushin and I chorused.
"We will now begin the first match," Hayate coughed once. He then lifted his left hand up, gesturing to the two balconies and ordered, "Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up there."
The others began to make their ways to the balconies through walking up the stairs, except for my team, the Waterfall team, and Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura eventually realized that Sasuke did not follow them and they waited for him.
"Ayuda, good luck!" Kaito cheered before he embraced me in a friendly hug.
My lips curled upwards into a smile. Kaito's hug had somehow lessened my anxiety. Yes, it looks like all I need is a hug...
"Thank you, Kaito," I replied as soon as he released me.
Kazuki came up to me, grinning reassuringly at me, "Don't be so uptight, okay? Just be yourself and you will win this for sure."
"I will," I nodded my head to him.
This time, I turned to look at Sasuke who had been waiting for his turn. He had his hands in his pockets while staring at me with an unreadable expression. I smirked, speaking up first, "Well, what are you going to say?"
"Hn," the corners of his mouth lifted up into a smirk, "I want to fight you in the Third Exam. So don't lose to this guy, Ayuda."
I nodded my head with my smirk lingered on my face. That's right. I have to win this battle no matter what. For my team, my friends, Sasuke, my family, and my country... and for Gaara. That's right! If I win this, Gaara will notice me! He will be impressed!
"Ayuda," a familiar voice came in, causing me to look at the source of the voice. It was Shiori who sauntered towards me leisurely. She patted me on the head and said, "This may be too late, but I'll give you my advice."
"Huh?" I blinked my eyes in bafflement at my teacher.
Shiori added with a serious voice, "Try to transmit your chakra to your arrows."
My eyes widened. I haven't mastered that technique yet! I tried it one year ago and I failed with no small improvement. It's very hard to transmit my chakra to another thing and I need more training to do that. So why is Shiori-sensei...
"Good luck, Ayuda," that was her final words before she walked away to catch up with my teammates. Sasuke had gone up to the balcony with his team. I could hear Shiori said to my teammates, "Let's go, boys."
I turned my attention back to Yushin. He stared at me unsmilingly and I returned the same thing. We both waited for Hayate to announce the start of our match. I could literally feel the others watching us in complete silence. Just ignore them, Ayuda. The Third Exam will have more spectators watching you.
Hayate glanced at us both, making sure that we were ready. Once he did, he declared, "Begin."