Desert Flower

Final Round

  "Get any sleep last night?" I asked Naruto as we were walking to the arena where the Third Exam would be held. It was our last test that would decide if we moved on or failed.

  "No." He replied while holding the straps of his backpack as he kept his gaze on the ground. His first opponent would be that Hyuga boy and there was no telling if he'd win against him. The odds were against him, but maybe Naruto could figure something out. "You?"

  "Only a little. Are you going to be okay?"

  "I can summon a frog now! I'll be okay." He laughed, but it sounded a bit forced.

~

  Tumbling into the arena, I slid to a stop with my face in the dirt. Naruto was right next to me in the same position, and I groaned while sitting up.

  "Why do weird things always happen around you?" I questioned. "We get lost, we get even more lost, and then chased by a herd of bulls!"

  "Ehehehe!" He nervously laughed while rubbing his head. Sighing, I stood up and dusted myself off. "Just think of it as a nice warm-up!" Naruto got up while looking around. "Huh? Hey.... Where's Sasuke?"

  "....That Sound ninja I'm supposed to fight isn't here, either." I mumbled.

  "Hey, you guys there. Don't be restless." A man with a bandanna and a toothpick said over his shoulder. "Throw out your chests and show your faces to the spectators!"

  "Huh?" The blond looked up to see the spectators' seats completely full.

  "You guys are the stars of this Final Round." The man stated as the crowd roared.

  "Everyone, thank you very much for coming to the Village Hidden in Leaves Chunin Exam." The Hokage raised his voice, silencing the people. "We will now begin the Final Round matches for the nine who made it through the preliminaries! Please watch until the end!" The crowd cheered again, and my brows furrowed. 'Nine?'

  "I have something to tell you before the match. Look at this." The man with the toothpick pulled out a piece of paper from his vest and showed it to us. It was a new lineup for the matches, and the Sound ninja was nowhere on there. "There was a slight change to the tournament. Check who you'll be facing one more time."

  "Say.... Hey!" Naruto raised his hand.

  "What?"

  "Um....Sasuke still hasn't come. What'll happen?"

  "In case a competitor does not arrive by the start time of his match....he or she will lose by default." The man replied. "Listen up, you guys. The terrain is different, but the rule is that there are no rules, the same as in the preliminaries. The matches will continue until one or the other dies or acknowledges defeat. However, if I judge that it has been too long, I'll stop the match there. Arguments will not be allowed. Understood? So the first match is....Naruto Uzumaki....Neji Hyuga. Just those two remain, and the rest of you go to the waiting room."

  "....Naruto." I spoke low while turning on my heel. "Good luck."

  "Thanks." His voice and face were rather serious, and it was strange to see him like that after a month of him being a goof and shouting all of the time. At least he understood the severity of his situation.

  Going up to where we were to watch the fights, I leaned on the rail and looked down at the blond in the arena. We had trained hard with the Pervy Sage and reached new levels with our abilities and power, but would that be enough?

  "Round one....begin!" The people roared their approval. In the arena, however, it was deathly silent. Neither of the boys were moving as they looked at each other, seeming to be thinking and sizing the other up.

  Hyuga was the first to move, inching toward Naruto while the blond didn't move a muscle. There was another second of silence and still....and then Naruto initiated the fight by throwing kunais. Hyuga caught or blocked them all as the blond ran at him head-on. Naruto swung a fist, and the other boy easily blocked it.

  It was a flurry of orange as Naruto kept punching and kicking, but everything he did was blocked and evaded by Hyuga. Suddenly, the long-haired boy struck Naruto in the chest with an opened, flat palm, pushing him back before he went to attack in a similar matter he had with Hinata in the preliminaries.

  Naruto rolled away, missing most of the blow. But when he got to his feet....he was smiling.

  "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" I heard him shout, and the boy multiplied. "Heh. Don't be acting tough!" They all said at once.

  Within a matter of seconds, two of Naruto's clones were gone, and the last three were next. They were talking now, but I couldn't hear them from the distance. I blinked, and there were over twenty clones in the arena now and they were all running at Hyuga.

  After taking out a few of the clones, he sped right through them, aiming at one in particular. Could he tell which one was actually Naruto?! He struck the blond, making him cough up blood as the other clones went up in a puff of smoke. But then....the Naruto that Hyuga had hit turned out to also be another clone as the real one struck with a clone.

  It looked as if his punch had landed, but then blue chakra began to swirl around Hyuga like a defensive sphere. There was so much chakra at once that it was as if I had run into a brick wall, and I felt my stomach clench. 'Crap!' Backing away from the rails, I covered my mouth and nose.

  I wanted to watch the fight, but if I lost it, everything would be ruined. Running out, I went to find my bag as my stomach started to growl. I had a feeling this might happen with the battles going on, and I had a hypothesis on how to divert the craving Kami-sama made me have.

  Nearly ripping the top of my bag off, I sat with my back against the wall and began to wolf down the food inside. Maybe if I actually filled my stomach, I could keep back the hunger for chakra.

  Stuffing my face with the fruits and meats, I hardly tasted any of it with the rush I was in. After eating about half of the bag, it seemed to be working.

  "So this is where you went." Looking up, I saw the redhead standing there.

  "I came prepared this time." I said lowly after swallowing the chewed-up apple in my mouth.

  "And it works?"

  "So far." I looked down at the bag with furrowed brows. When I glanced back up, the boy was walking away. "....Were you worried?"

  "Of course not." Gaara spat over his shoulder as if the mere thought was appalling.

  "Thanks." I softly smiled.

  "I wasn't worried!" He stormed off.

  "Then why did you come check on me?" I asked the empty hallway.