Gaara clutched his head as he leaned against the wall since the fight mother was more agitated than usual.
Destroy them, crush them, make them suffer.
"Give me time, Mother. They'll be dead soon," Gaara pleaded under his breath.
Ever since he stepped foot in this place, his mother had been behaving strangely; her interruptions had become more frequent and intense. It was because of them. The people that made mother scream in rage whenever his gaze met theirs. He can't touch the others, but these two should be enough to satisfy mother so she'll be at peace again.
He arrived at the medical center buzzing, having just watched the latest arena match. As Gaara entered, one of the nurses turned to him. "Oh, hello, young man. Are you here to visit someone?"
He ignored her, he knew exactly where to go; he could feel their energy as he approached the door, and more of the nurses began to protest,
He commanded the sand in his gourd to burst the door open, and as he stepped through, he let the sand morph into the door, isolating them inside.
Fu and Naruto bolted from their beds. Fu groaned as she got up from her bed.
"It's you, what do you want."
Do it, now, kill them, crush them, kill, kill, kill
Gaara put both of his hands on his ears as a projectile of sand whipped out, narrowly missing Fu's head.
"I don't think he's here to chat," Fu said as she began to form her water blades.
" You two, why?" Gaara's voice was strained
No question, they're hurt and vulnerable. End them now.
"Why what"
"Why didn't you kill each other? Why fight if you didn't prove your existence in blood."
"We fight because we want to," Naruto stated
Fu gave Naruto a perplexed look, wondering why he was even bothering to converse with a crazy person.
"He is like us. He's just more messed up."
"That's certainly a word for it."
Do not let them speak, and end them before they regain strength.
Gaara powered through his mother's voice and asked a question
"Are you not afraid of me?"
"Why would we be afraid? It's 2v1, plus we both have some backup," Fu began channeling some of her Tailed Beast chakra as two wings began to form out of her back.
Kill them now before they kill you.
"Mother demands your blood." Gaara held his scalp tighter as sand began to warp around his feet.
"All this 'prove your existence' crap, if you wanna kill us, do it! Or is that just her talking?" Naruto yelled.
Gaara's eyes opened wide.
Fu's wings hummed, her voice cutting through the tension. "Yeah, Sand Boy. If you're so strong, why's she the one giving orders?"
SILENCE! THEY DARE
Gaara's hands clenched. The sand lurched toward them and then froze.
You… don't know anything," Gaara snarled, but his voice lacked conviction.
Naruto pressed harder. "Then tell me I'm wrong. Go ahead, kill us 'cause you want to. Not because she told you to."
Silence.
The sand quivered, grains slipping from his control. Mother's screams turned desperate, DON'T LISTEN! THEY'RE WEAK! THEY'RE
Gaara flinched
With a roar, he slammed his fist into the wall, sending fractures spider webbing through the stone. "ENOUGH!"
Not at the, but her
The sand began to retreat back toward Gaara.
"Next time," he hissed, "I won't…"
The sand enveloped him, and he vanished; he deposited himself in an isolated tunnel as he stumbled, still holding his head.
You coward, go back! Go back now! You spineless boy, if you…..
"SHUT UP"
Gaara screamed, his voice echoing off the walls of the empty tunnel.
All of a sudden, he began experiencing a strange phenomenon.
Silence
Mother was gone; there was no yelling, no goading. Just him and his thoughts. He plopped down against the hard stone and leaned against the wall, and for the first time in his life, Gaara was left alone with his thoughts.
As Fu and Naruto made their way back, they could hear the rising cheer in the arena,
Outside of a slightly damaged door hinge and a dented wall, Gaara didn't cause any significant damage.
Both Fu and Naruto chose to leave the med bay after that, much to the displeasure to the medics, but after a quick check, it seemed Naruto was already almost back to one hundred percent and Fu's wounds were already on the way to healing.
On their way back, they discussed their encounter with Gaara.
"You didn't have to try and make him kill us; you could have been nicer."
Fu made a slicing motion at her neck, "Oh, sorry, I wasn't nice to the guy who almost decapitated me."
Naruto heard the roar of the arena and was reminded of the tournament. "Oh yeah, isn't your teammate fighting right now"
Fu shrugged." I guess so. I think Kegon was up after me.
"You don't seem too worried about your teammates."
Fu out her hands behind her hands, "Their not my teamates not really, they're just here to watch me."
"Watch you?" questioned Naruto.
Fu glanced around the empty tunnel and whispered over to Naruto, "Can you keep a secret?"
"Of course, you know, back in the village, they called me secret keeper Naruto."
Fu rolled her eyes, "You'll probably let it slip but who cares not that it matt rs anymore, she got closer and spoke.
"My teammates are chunin' from my village, I needed a team to participate, but none of the genin from my village wanted to team with me."
Naruto frowned." That's messed up."
"True, but most of the people from Taki are boring anyway; oh you, Fu, you can't leave; oh Fu, you can't race your clones up the waterfall; oh Fu, stop messing with the elders. At least Kegon and Yoro are better since they don't nag me to death about what I do."
"Yeah, people in my village don't like me all that much either. But your tailed beast didn't destroy your village, so why do they not like you?"
Fu sighed, "Because of my mother, she was considered the future of my village, but she ended up dying when placing my seal." Fu had a downturned look.
"Do you not like her"
"Kinda. It's just that everyone always talks about how great she was, but it's her fault too; she's the one who decided to put the seal on her kid; I didn't get that choice? What kind of person puts a monster into their child. No offense, Chomei."
Fu giggled slightly at Chomei's apparent response.
Naruto thought of his parents and the circumstances of the fox being placed into him.
"Maybe she had a good reason."
Fu blew a raspberry. "Yeah, and I'm sure it was a reason more important than me."
An awkward silence held between them. It seemed unlike his reverence toward his parents, Fu harbored some resentment toward her mother.
The roar of the arena grew louder as they came out the doors leading to the competitor's section.
"The winner is Kurotsuchi!"
The crowd erupted in cheers. Both Fu and Naruto rushed over to see the result of the battle. Kurotsuchi was in the middle of the arena, taking a bow. Along the wall of the arena was a battered Kegon, molded to the wall with a strange substance. Medics entered and began to attempt to free him from the wall.
"Dang, poor Kegon, I'll catch up with you later, Naruto; the elders will probably want to talk to me."
"No worries. Can I catch you later?"
"Definitely."
The two shared an enthusiastic high-five and went their separate ways. Just then, the announcer summoned the next two fighters.
"Will Temari and Neji please enter the arena?"
"Yosh, Neji, I wish you the best in the next fight."
"Hmmp, there's no need; the outcome has already been decided; I won't lose today."
Neji made his way down.
Temari scanned the crowd for Gaara, "Dammit, if he does anything, Father is to kill us."
Kankuro shrugged. "If he did something, we would have probably heard about it by now; he probably just needed some fresh air or something."
Temari took one last look around for her brother, her eyes then swaying up to the skybox, where they met her father's Rasa; his gaze locked onto her. She took a deep breath; she needed to focus. This was her chance to help her village. If she did well in the tournament, she could improve Suna's standing and bring back missions to the village.
"You're right. Just stay ready for your match."
She got onto her fan and glided down into the arena, her flashy entrance earning her some cheers from the crowd.
Neji spoke when she landed.
"What an impressive fan, though you might need to sell it if what I've heard about her village is true."
Neji's comment caused the Suna contifgent of the crowd to erupt in outrage, Temari's fingernails dug into her fan's handle. Neji's only reaction was a minuscule adjustment of his forehead proctor, his only tell of satisfaction.
Temari yelled at the proctor.
"Go ahead and start the damn match; I need to teach this asshole some manners."
Her countrymen backed her response as screams and cheers sounded through the arena.
The proctor put his hand up and swiftly swiped it down
"Begin"
Temari immediately unleashed her fan and used Wind Scythe as blades of sharp, powerful winds expanded outward toward Neji. Neji moved toward the outer edge of the arena to avoid the attacks. As one came at him, he couldn't dodge; he used Rotation as he spun in place. This cycle continued for several more seconds as both fighters examined any openings.
Temari could keep up the barrage for another minute or so before she would have to be concerned with her chakra; each time Neji used his Rotation, she analyzed it closely, trying to find any weakness in the technique; unfortunately for her, Neji found hers first, Neji noticed the predictable wind patterns of her technique, with every third strike veering to the left slightly, that and the various debris clouds generated by the wind made it elementary for him to find a path to his target. He sprung into action, sprinting with ease through Teamari's techniques,
"Damn," Temari's brow furrowed; he would be on top of her any moment; biting her thumb, she slammed her hand down on top of her fan.
Summoning: Kamatari
In a puff of smoke, a weasel wielding a chain sickle appeared. With a shriek, it lashed its chain forward, lashing out at Neji, making him stop his advance, as Neji dodged out of the way.
Kamatari pulled its weapon back, launched it forward again, ducked under the blade, and positioned himself squarely between the sweeping arcs of the chain.
"Perfect," he muttered.
Chakra flared around him as he spun into his Rotation. The chain coiled around the technique, caught in the spiraling vortex of his defense. With a twist of his body, Neji redirected the momentum, yanking Kamatari clean off Temari's fan and hurtling the summon toward him.
As the Rotation faded, Neji stepped forward, palm glowing.
"You'd be better off pawning the weasel, too." he snapped, striking Kamatari dead center with a gentle fist. The summon vanished in a cloud of smoke.
Temari didn't rise to the insult.
"Thanks, Kamatari," she whispered as she finally thought of a strategy against Neji's defense. She slammed her fan on the ground as Neji closed in.
Wind Release: Dust Devil Prison
Below Neji, the wind began to pick up the dirt. On instinct, he started rotating as it turned into a micro sandstorm. The small particles of dirt ground against his technique, and he began to feel some of the particles slip through his Rotation. His Rotation was slowing little by little.
His Byakugan flickered, and noticed that the particles wasn't just abrasive, but carried minute chakra disruptions, like static in his vision.
Neji took a deep breath as he prepared his next move. Dropping Rotation, he leaped straight up, channeling chakra into his feet, escaping the storm's core.
Temari anticipated this, "Too predictable!" She swung her fan upward, sending a blade of wind to meet Neji midair. Neji twisted his body in a impressive show of agility, as the gale went across his ribs leaving a shallow cut.
Temari clicked her tongue at her near miss as she swung her fan again. Neji was already on the ground and promptly ducked under her attack. He then tapped her wrist with two fingers, numbing her grip and making her drop her fan to the ground.
Temari threw a punch with her other hand, which was effortlessly parried. Neji then entered the famous Hyūga stance Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms.
Thirty-two furious strikes struck Temari in a blur, clearing her chakra network and making her collapse to the ground.
"Winner, Neji!"
The crowd erupted in cheers, with some groans of disappointment from the Suna audience.
"I can't believe she tried punchin' a Hyūga," Kankuro muttered, astonished at his sister's tenacity.
Neji looked at the shallow cut on his side, an annoyed look on his face.
"I guess some begrudging respect should be given to you; not many here could harm me in solo combat."
"You can shove that respect up yours," Temari growled.
As the healers helped her up and escorted her away, she glanced up and met her father's gaze, he turned showing her his back. A sight that she had seen many times before when she didn't meet his standards. She already knew what he was going to say later, she failed Suna.
Then, the next fight was announced.
"Would Karui and Hinata step into the arena?"
Kiba had gotten back at this point, and Akumaru was still recovering and resting on his head.
"Get out there and kick ass Hinata. Let's get all of Team 8 to the next round."
Shino pushed up his glasses. "I think your chances of winning are quite high."
Hinata smiled. "Thank you guys, I'll try my best."
Kurenai walked over to Hinata, crouched down, and embraced her. "You got this; I know it."
Hinata had to wipe at her eye to avoid shedding any tears. "Thank you Kurenai sensei, I won't let you down.
Karui hadn't heard her name, too distracted grilling Omoi on his draw with TenTen. "I still can't believe you didn't just go right at her; you had her."
Samui, who was slightly annoyed, didn't let it show as she said cooly, "Karui, it's your turn to fight,"
"Oh, nice, I can finally show this buffoon how to win" Karui began to race down to the arena, but Samui's words stopped her for a moment.
"Karui stays controlled in this battle; the Hyūga are known for being disciplined fighters. If you are too reckless, it could end in your defeat."
Karui waved her off. "Don't worry about me. I'm not Omoi; I'm not going to lose."
As Karui sped off, Omoi stepped forward and asked, "Do you think this Hyūga girl has any tricks up her sleeve?"
Samui let out a breath "I don't think so, I'm just worried that Karui will end up knocking herself out before her opponent."
Hinata used her Byakugan to scan the stands and found her father watching intently among the Hyūga elders. He, to her surprise, had trained her personally over the past month. He never told her why he had changed his mind about training her, but the pressure she was feeling now was overwhelming, more than she had ever felt in her life. Nevertheless, she was still here. Hinata looked away from her father and focused on her opponent.
Hinata and Karui stood in the arean, Karui ansty ready to fight. Hinata, feeling it would be rude not to say anything, spoke, "Let's have a good match."
Karui gave a wide grin." Yeah, let's."
Hinata took a deep breath as she began to feel a bit intimidated.
"Begin"
Karui unsheathed her blade as she began to channel lighting chakra into it, but unlike Omoi's controlled style, lighting was arcing off of her blade, wildly hitting the dirt around her. She dashed forward, unleashing a technique,
Lighting Release: Storm's Wrath
As she spun and swung her sword, sending multiple bolts cascading outward toward Hinata, Hinata managed to dodge out of the way, as the bolts signed across the earth. One of the bolts passed her, and a small arc of electricity branched out and hit her arm. She jumped back further as she held her arm buzzing sighlty in pain.
Hinata, recognizing the unpredictability of her opponent's technique, charged forward. Karui slammed her blade into the ground and used Lightning Release: Surge Blade as lightning began to jump widely around her, arcing in random directions.
At the last moment, Hinata feinted her charge and struck a palm into the ground, kicking up a screen of dust. Karui's lighting arced wildly into the dust, ricocheting back toward her, and zapped her shoulder; she grunted in frustration. She ended the technique, but Hinata had already pressed the advantage as she got into stance and performed Eight Trigrams: Thirty-two Palms.
Hinata was prepared to end the fight, but once she got to sixteen, Karui channeled another technique through her sword. Lighting Release: Discharge
Hinata saw the chakra building and quickly stopped her technique, then retreated as a quick burst of lightning surrounded Karui.
Karui dropped her sword with a heavy breath, and she could barely move her arms. A brief thought of losing crossed her mind, but it quickly vanished. As she kicked her sword up with her foot, she caught it in her teeth and began to channel lightning through the blade, wild and uncontrolled.
Samui's patience broke as she face-palmed. "Oh my god, there's no way."
Omoi smirked. "That's quite an interesting technique."
Hinata saw the opening; Karui's stance was wide. One well-placed strike would end it; she lunged forward, then froze, as she saw a vision of Karui clutching her chest as her heart stopped. What if she misplaced the strike?
The split second of hesitation was all Karui needed
She screamed with her sword in her mouth,
"Lighting Fang!"
She spat out the electrified sword like a bolt had landed in front of Hinata. The impact of the blade detonated a surge of lightning at point-blank range, blasting Hinata off her feet. She hit the ground, her body locked up by the residual current.
"Winner Karui"
Karui began to laugh almost manically, "Yes, that's how you win a fight!"
Samui and Omoi's eyes were wide and shocked.
"I can't believe that worked."
"She even named it too."
Team 8 stood dejected,
Akumaru whined on Kiba's head. "Yeah, I know, boy, she had it."
"A disappointing outcome," mumbled Shino.
Kurenai sighed; despite how far the girl had come, there was still work to be done.
Hinata slowly began to regain control of her body she clutched the dirt. Why, Why did she hesitate. She slammed a fist into the ground in frustration. Why, just when Father started to believe in her, when everyone was counting on her. She envisioned the mocking glances of the elders and the cold stare of her father.
"Failure"
"I knew she wasn't fit to be heir."
Tears began to fall as she silently cried into the dirt. This didn't go unnoticed by many in the crowd, which created an awkward atmosphere that fell over the arena.
Suddenly, Hinata felt a hand on her shoulder, and as she looked up, she saw a bright smile.
"Hey Hinata, that was an awesome fight!" He was speaking in a lower tone than his normal one, so that she was the only one who could hear.
"Naruto!" Her initial shock was replaced by sadness again. "No, it wasn't. I hesitated; I could've won."
"Yeah, that's true, but there's always next time. Do you think I became a great ninja overnight? No people laugh and taunt me, but I'm here now, despite all the people who doubted me, but you know what, I never did."
"What?"
Naruto held out a hand.
"I never let them see me cry; I never gave them the satisfaction. "
Hinata rubbed her eyes, reached out, and grabbed Naruto's hand. "You're right."
Naruto helped Hinata to her feet, despite the crowd not hearing the conversion the movement still brought the loudest cheers in the arena that day.
"Thank you, Naruto." Hinata blushed as she realized she was holding Naruto's hand and quickly let go.
Naruto smiled. "No worries, Hinata. I couldn't let a friend think they're alone in a place like this."
The announcer spoke
"What a truly heartwarming scene and a wonderful end to the second bracket."
Med Nins came over. "Hey, sorry to bother you, but I suggest you come with us to get checked out."
"Okay," Hinata turned to Naruto, "Thank you again, truly."
"Stop saying thank you. Just make sure you get fixed up so you watch my next match."
Hinata nodded and smiled, "Okay, I will."
As Hinata entered her tunnel, she wasn't even thinking about the elders or her father but about getting stronger.