Konoha's Chef (Gaara Love Story)

16: Passing the exam

Author's POV

Gennai lets a final cry leave him and falls unconscious. Akimi slowly removes her hand, his limp body sliding onto the floor in a heap.

"Akimi wins."

"Good work, Akimi-san!" Her two teammates call from the balconies.

"Right!" She flashes them a cheery grin, while Gennai's Sensei takes the boy from the arena. As Akimi walked past the other teams to get to her own, Ino had stopped to congratulate her. The screen reactivated again and two more names pop up.

Shikamaru Nara vs. Kin Tsuchi. Everyone was definitely impressed to see the Lazy Nara boy win a fight like it was nothing.

The next match was Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kiba Inuzuka. Surprisingly, Naruto won. That just goes to show how much people underestimate him just because he's dense.

"I guess everyone is taken back how smart he really is when put on the spot," Akimi says, leaning against the railing.

Sora Nao vs. Komaza

Sora was able to defend himself from Komaza's techniques to spit out tiny balls of poison whose shells melted after being coated in Chakra-coated saliva. Sora evaded these attacks decently enough, but ended the match with a single undercut jab he had learned from a previous opponent.

Kankuro vs. Misumi Tsurugi

As cool this match was, it was pretty freaky seeing someone's limbs be disjointed. When Misumi snapped Kankuro's neck, Akimi instantly thought he was out. However, since the referee said nothing, she realized the real Kankuro wasn't dead. Seconds later, Kankuro won the match, unveiling the fact that he hid among the bandages wrapped around himself to look like a puppet.

Shigekazu vs. Suiu

"I'm going to lose," Shigekazu said instantly the minute he stepped out.

"What? Don't say that," Akimi chided from the audience.

"No, it's true," Sora sneered. His cousin shrugged his comment off and looked at the boy in front of him.

"You are capable of water release and one of your best techniques is 'Grudge Rain'," Shigekazu said. "You're going to....." Suiu growled and charged right up at him with a kunai. "Attack me with a weapon."

The match went on with Shigekazu avoiding every attack and reading milliseconds before it happened. Although Shigekazu was able to read every step and move Suiu made, he still lost in the end after using more than half of his Chakra to read his opponent. Suiu still had about 63% of his Chakra left when Shigekazu forfeited.

"I should have done this in the beginning," Shigekazu grumbled, climbing the stairs back to his team.

"Indeed, you should have."

In comparison to Shikamaru who can read and make his own moves, Shigekazu can predict the outcome without needing to fight. Shikamaru is capable of changing the outcome, but Shigekazu knows the outcome. Of course, maybe he could become stronger than the Nara boy, if only he had a little more confidence and skill.

Hinata Hyūga vs. Neji Hyūga. The audience murmured in surprise, taking note that these were cousins. Bets were placed, but Akimi couldn't help but find it strange for Neji to truly hate his cousin. Even she knew Sora and Shigekazu wouldn't do that, no matter how much they claim they hate each other. As the fight progressed, it was brutally clear who was going to win. Neji wins the fight, but Hinata is escorted to the infirmary, her injuries far to great.

"Huh, I guess the main branch family is nothing but talk," someone whispered. Akimi furrowed her eyebrows as she watched the girl being carried away. People shouldn't say things like that, Akimi thought, annoyed. She intends to go over to the victim and speak her mind, but a switch in her head stops her. Angrily, she forced her eyes to look at the screen and her brown eyes widened.

Gaara vs. Rock Lee

Similarly to Tenten vs. Temari and Neji vs. Hinata, this match was nothing but pure ruthlessness. Akimi watched as Lee pushed his body to the limit in order to beat Gaara. Sadly, when it seemed as though Lee had won, the dust cleared and Gaara was unharmed, except for his sand shield that had been shattered. But as Gaara continued to destroy Lee, Akimi couldn't look away from Gaara's eyes. They weren't the sad, lonely eyes she saw before. His eyes were both hateful and threatening. They weren't beautiful anymore. It was both scary and terrifying.

He wasn't planning on winning the match; he was planning to kill Lee.

The match ended in Gaara's favor. Lee was also escorted to the infirmary.

The last match was Dosu vs. Chōji. Dosu won, but nothing could shake off the tension of the match previously.

I want to comfort him, Akimi thought, glancing at Gaara standing with his siblings. But would he let me?