Happiness. || Gaara x reader

[Ch 5] Quit

Iruka-sensei escorted us to the arena, where the third stage of the exam would take place. Looking around, I noticed all the rookies from the Leaf Village had passed. There were Gaara's team and the team Dosu as well. «Konoha has extremely impressive Shinobis, don't you think so?» It was Lee, the guy with a bowl-cut style black hair, round eyes and, to not must forget, very thick eyebrows. «O-oh yeah.» I simply replied, not sure about what to say.

I took a look over Gaara, hoping for some reason he would look back at me. We made eye contact for only 0.2 seconds, however this short time was enough to make me put a smile, which I was trying to hide, - but failed - on my face. I glanced at him once more, but this time he was focused on the Hokage, who was about to say his speech.

«Hmph… I have a bad feeling.» Sasuke voiced out. «Let's be positive.» «Don't say it like it's easy to have positive thoughts, Y/n.» I sighed, knowing he was correct. I faced him again and smiled, I was happy that this exam made us talk to each other again. I don't know what happened to him, but Sasuke suddenly opened more to me and I'm glad for that.

“What if he forced himself to talk only to have more collaboration in the group with the aim of passing the exam? If he really did all that for this exam, it means after it he won't speak to me anymore? He will reconsider me like how he did all this time: a person who despite the clear evidence still supports that traitorous brother of ours. Or in short, a stranger.”

“Stop overthinking, Y/n!” I scolded myself, shaking my head to try to think of something else.

«Before the explanation of the third exam that we will start from now, I have just one thing I want to tell everyone flat out. About the purpose of these exams. Why do allied nations conduct the exams on a conjoint basis?»

“Maybe because they're allies?” I kept my thoughts for myself, it would be embarrassing and stupid to say something like that in front of the Hokage.

«Raising the levels of the Shinobi and friendship among allied nations, it won't do to have the wrong idea of the true meaning of that statement. These exams are so to speak… A microcosm of battle between allied nations.»

«What does that mean?» Asked Tenten.

«If we look back in history, the allied nations of today we're once neighboring nations that continued to vie with each other and battle for power. In order to avoid a futile crushing of each others' military strength, those nations mutually selected a place to battle. And that was how the Chunin Exams originally began.»

«W-why do we have to do such a thing, dattebayo? We're not doing this to select Chunins?»

«There is no question that these exams are to select Shinobi worthy of becoming Chunin. But on the other hand, these exams also provide a venue for Shinobi who carry their nation's pride on their backs to fight for their lives. Many feudal lords and those prominence from many nations who ask Shinobi for work are welcomed to this third exam as guests. And, the feudal lords and Head Ninja of each Village of the nations will watch your battles. If the gap in national power gets to be unbridgeable, the strong nations are inundated with job requests. The request of nations deemed weak, on the other hand, decay. And therewithal, we can exert pressure upon each neighboring nation… That's to say, just how much military strength our Village is developing and has.»

«Even so, why is it necessary for us to fight for our lives!?» Kiba, the boy with that cute puppy, questioned.

«The nation's strength is the Village's strength. And the true strength of the Shinobi is made distinctly in a battle for one's life! This test is a place to see the strength of home country Shinobi, and a place to show as well. It's because it's an exam where you truly fight for your life, that is the meaning. It's for this very reason that your forerunners fought in this exam, a dream they're endeavoring for.»