Imperfectly Perfect (Naruto FanFic)

Chapter Twenty Four

It was the day of the tournament.

Hideaki had taken the day off to watch the tournament with me, though thankfully father and mother didn't come.

"Who's fighting first?" My sister asked, taking her seat beside me.

"My teammate, Shun!" I exclaim, practically bouncing in my seat.

I glanced at the pamphlet I'd been handed, scanning through the names. Daisuke would be fighting third. Sasuke wasn't here yet, so he may need to forfeit.

"And who's he fighting against?"

For the first time I glanced at Shun's opponent, and gasped.

It was Mizuko.

I glance back just in time to see Shun appear in the arena, knowing it was his time to fight. Time to fight against Mizu, fight against Shri's teammate. He was prepared for anything.

But when Mizu comes out from the shadow of the stairs, everyone gasps: he looked as though he'd already been through ten fights, and come out on the losing side.

My sister gasps as well, but she doesn't seen concerned for his injuries. "What is it, sister?" I ask. Thinking back, I remember Sensei and Kakashi having a similar reaction when they first saw Mizuko.

"Hm?" She mumbled, looking distracted.

"Why'd you gasp?"

"Just... is he only a genin?" She asked incredulously.

"Well.... Yeah," I say slowly before turning back to the fight, dismissing the incident. I study Mizuko, horror slowly growing as more of his injuries come to light.

He had a black eye, the bruise discoloring half his face. On the opposite side, a long, half healed cut marred his skin. The painful looking scar started on his forehead, curved around his eye, then dragged straight down his face.

He had a small, but deep looking cut across the eyebrow above his black eye. His hair was dull, unkempt, not even a shadow of its former brilliance. Dark bags proved that he must not have slept in weeks, and his bloodshot eyes looked haunted. His arms and legs were bandaged, hiding any further damage from the world.

"M-Mizu--" Shun took a half step forward, only to be cut off by his hateful glare. Mizu suddenly looked up, and I followed his gaze to Shri. Slowly, the prince mouthed, "Kill him".

Mizu reached a hand up, holding at his head with a pained look on his face. His other hand grasped tightly at the blade of a kunai. Blood began to flow from his clenched hand, staining the ground red as the earth drank hungrily.

His jaw clenched as he slowly straightened, flipping the kunai around so he was holding it properly. Through gritted teeth, eyes darkened by hate, Mizu ordered, "Start the match, proctor."

The proctor glanced warily between Shun and Mizu, before ordering, "Begin!"

It was immediate. There was a deafening crack, Shun's head snapped to the side and he went flying back.

Mizu stood upright, as though he hadn't just slammed his opponent across the arena. Without a sliver of remorse, only the all consuming hate, Mizu sent a barrage of kunai towards Shun's prone form.

Shun forced himself to roll away just in time to avoid the deadly storm of weapons.

Mizu dashed towards Shun again, who only barely blocked the short sword that Mizu slashed down. He struggled against Mizu's strength, arms trembling.

"Mizu," he grunted, "Stop!"

They broke apart, and again there was a rapid clash, a flurry of movement that I could barely track. I shifted uncomfortably, rubbing my prickling skin. Everyone could feel it. There was something terribly off about this fight. A horrible feeling.