Reborn as Sakura and Hinata: Lost in the Wind

Things go Wrong Again

I watched Sakura leave. I had an idea of why she was leaving; it obviously had to do with the invasion, but she had an urgency to her that put me on edge. Sakura was never urgent about anything, and I had a bad feeling that whatever she had to take care of was incredibly serious.

I had been able to feel her anticipation for days now, and I could definitely say that we both couldn't wait for this day to be over. I could only wonder how terrible it was for her though, with her dreams and all.

I was interrupted from my thoughts when Shikamaru walked up the stairs to the balcony.

"Good job, man." I held up a hand for a high five. Shikamaru gave me an amused eyebrow raise but obliged me.

"You weren't even watching. I lost." he chuckled.

"C'mon, you won." I rolled my eyes.

"You nervous?" he leaned against the railing, "you have some pretty tough opponents."

"Yeah?" I thought for a second, "I think I'll be alright. I just really hope I don't go up against Gaara." I walked up to the railing and patted Shikamaru on the shoulder, hopping onto the banister. Shikamaru looked up at me in confusion.

"I think I'm next." Sure enough, the announcer called my name and I leapt down into the arena.

"Good luck." Shikamaru called after me in his usual disinterested tone.

I looked apprehensively at the announcer to see who my opponent would be.

Kankuro. Perfect. That was the one person I was sure I could beat.

"Oh, so I'm fighting that girl then?" I heard Kankuro ask from up in the stands.

"Yeah, I'd back out if I was you." Temari advised.

"Against her!? No way." Kankuro made a move to jump down. Gaara shook his head, annoyed.

"You didn't pay attention to her fight." Temari argued, "You don't know what she can do."

"I'll be fine!" He shot back as he dropped to the floor of the arena.

I inwardly rolled my eyes. This was lining up to be a bit too cliche for my tastes. I had thought it over and recognized Kankuro as one of my easiest to beat all because of one factor: my power move.

We both got into position as the announcer started the match.

"Hey, kid, no hard feelings about what I'm going to do, right?" Kankuro asked arrogantly as he activated his puppet.

I simply decided not to answer. I looked unimpressed between him and his puppet.

"What? You think you're too cool to respond? Damn, you're just like Gaara." Kankuro scoffed.

I simply shrugged and stood in place.

"Is there something wrong with you?" he glared at me from across the arena.

"Want me to get the list?" I flatlined. I heard a slight murmur of laughter from some areas of the crowd.

"Okay, kid, let's just end this." he spat angrily as his puppet lunged for me.

"Oh, finishing before the one minute mark? Is that how long you last with other girls too?" It slipped out without me even thinking about it. I dove to the side to avoid the puppet and slapped a hand over my mouth. Did I really just say that outloud!?

More murmuring came from the crowd, but I heard a concentration of laughter and cheers coming from the Genin side of the arena.

"What-!?" Kankuro sputtered, glowering at me, "No-! Will you just focus on the match!"