Kakashi's visible eye widened, panic nearly setting in. "You...you spoke with Taryn?" He hoped nothing bad had happened.

Hisayo nodded as she sat back down and got comfortable. "She says 'hello' by the way."

Kakashi had to take a moment to digest the fact that Hisayo was sitting so calmly after having run into Taryn and speaking with her no less. He inwardly wondered if someone was playing a trick on him. He made a subtle gesture with his hand to his headband, as if adjusting it, to peek out with his sharingan to help him detect any genjutsu or clone. 'Nope, it's her alright.' He sighed as he calmed down somewhat—only slight mind you. "So, you two are...okay?" he dared to ask, hoping not to get his head bitten off or even spark the flames which Akio was insistent of him not to do.

Hisayo snorted, "We aren't children, Kakashi."

'Right, had everyone completely convinced before,' Kakashi cleared his throat.

"We both have other things to worry about. You don't fit that agenda."

He wasn't sure if he should have felt hurt by that comment or not. He didn't complain or even dare to mention anything out loud. At least the two hadn't started up a fight for once. It must have still been a very awkward and nerve wracking meeting though. "You mean your students?"

Hisayo nodded, resisting a frown.

"There is plenty to worry over for them then, isn't there? Her students taking the exams for the first time and yours proctoring for the first time. It's rare for both sides to be hurt, but it does occasionally happen."

"Just like we nearly saw when Akira and the others had to intervene earlier."

Kakashi sighed. "I'm happy you're trying. Her too. I've been a nervous mess with all the stress of you two."

"Excuse me?"

Kakashi gulped, looking at the woman and her narrowing glare. "Wait, that came out wrong."

"I'm sure it did."

"Hisayo, I swear." The look of anger was still present over Hisayo's features. "Ehehehe...I'm in trouble, huh?"

"Damn right, Hatake."

***

Taryn sighed as she positioned herself at the railing again. The next round would start soon and the matches would be decided in a few minutes. 'That girl from Mist, the psycho from Caves and Hanabi and her teammate.' The next round was going to be tough.

She stole a glance at the audience where she knew Kakashi and Hisayo to be. She blinked confused when she saw the nervous expression on Kakashi's face and she sweatdropped. 'Now what did you do? You said something stupid, didn't you? And you're telling me to bite my tongue.' She sighed again and shook her head.

...

Daro stared at the announcement board intensely. The next matches would be announced soon. He was eager to find out who he was up against. 'Anything but that psycho,' he begged. He normally wouldn't back out of a fight, no matter how tough the opponent, but that girl was definitely not right in the head.

"You okay?" Kuro asked concerned, "you used up a lot of chakra in your first battle."

"I'll be fine," Daro said, "I'm almost fully restored. How about you?"

"My battle wasn't as exhausting as yours. The competition gets tougher. You should be careful with using that jutsu again. They'll be prepared for it now."

Daro nodded. "I know. But the others have fought a battle already as well. I'm not the only one that has used a lot of chakra earlier."

"Hmm wnm hwy," a growling came from behind them.

Both boys turned and stared at their third teammate who was munching away a bag of dumplings. "Say what?" Kuro asked.

"Where did you get the food?" Daro asked.

Hiro swallowed and smirked. "They sell it just behind the bleachers."

His friends sighed and Kuro rolled his eyes.

"What?" Hiro said, "sensei said to get something to eat."

"She also said to have your ribs checked. Did you even do that?"

Hiro glared at his friend. "Yes, I did." He lifted his hem to show the bandages. "See?"

"Alright, alright," Daro smirked, glad to have his friend back, "so what were you mumbling before?"

"I said, I wouldn't worry. You will both do great." He popped another dumpling in his mouth.

"Could you not eat while we're here?" Daro asked, "we still have to fight and the food is distracting."

"Well," Kuro said slowly, "here's something else to distract you." He pointed at the announcement board where names started rolling."

"The Chuunin exams will resume in five minutes. We will now decide the match ups."

The remaining Genin stared at the board expectantly.

...

Suzume let out a relieved sigh as the board displayed the two names for the first match. "Good, Daro didn't get stuck with that crazy one."

"Yeah, but..."Akira pointed over to where Kuro was listed on the board, "Kuro got stuck with Hanabi."

Suzume frowned.

"Let's hope he isn't as unfortunate as Hiro was when fighting her."

Akira's lifted  a brow and smirked, "I thought you didn't like any of those guys too much. You've been—oh what's that word—oh yes, jealous."

"I'm not jealous." Ken denied as he crossed his arms with his eyes shut in a stubborn action. He then calmed down with a sigh. "Look, I may have...mixed feelings, but I'm not so mean to want to wish those guys any harm. I'm happy that Hiro is okay, and I'm hoping that Kuro can make it out of his match and be okay too."

Akira nodded, catching how sincere Ken was being at that moment.

Suzume smiled from ear to ear, giving a Ken a happy hug as she giggled, "I'm so happy you're finally starting to like them, Ken!" She hadn't the slightest clue that what she was currently doing was making the boy blush like mad.

Ken was frozen, feeling both happy of the attention and yet, also nervous and fearful of how to now act. 

Meanwhile, Akira was grinning like a Cheshire cat, about to open his mouth to snicker.

"D-don't you d-dare say any-anything, Akira!"

...

Taryn looked at the board and nodded. The Mist kunochi was a good fighter and at least she fought fair. Daro would have a good chance against her. He had to be careful with his jutsu though. The way she handled water could turn his earth jutsu into a mud pie, giving her the upper hand, but she had faith in the boy.
Kuro would make a tough opponent for Hanabi. He was more levelheaded than Hiro.

'At least neither of them are up against Terasu.'

...

"Phew, made it."

Hisayo resisted to roll her eyes, closing them instead as she smirked. "Where you're joints acting up on you on your way up the steps?"

Akio cried, "Always with these hurtful plays on my age, Hisayo."

Kakashi let out a relieved sigh. He was out of the woods for now, but it probably wouldn't be long before Hisayo's attention was turned back to him in its full fury. Why was it that every time he said something around her, it came out wrong, or it was taken in offense?

"It'll take another decade before you start to hear me complaining," Akio continued, "if you must know, I had to report in my volunteer time. Pft, that's not what I say it was though. I was forced against my will I tell you!"

"Sit down before you hurt yourself, sensei," Hisayo did roll her eyes this time, before snickering, "not like you didn't enjoy flexing your muscles."

...

"Daro is up against that Mist kunoichi," Temari mused.

"Hmm," Kankuro nodded, "at least it's not that crazy chick. Two of Taryn's students in the second round. That's not a bad score for Suna." He glanced at Gaara. "What do you think?"

"I think the next round is about to begin and that we should focus on that,"  Gaara said. He was staring at the board intensely. 'Kuro against the Hyuuga girl. That's the second of her students that has to fight her cousin. I wonder what she's making of that.' His eyes flashed to his oldest sister on the other side of the stadium. 'Are you worried, Taryn? You said they were ready. They've done well so far. This round could be interesting.'

...

Umi smirked as she made her way down to the arena after their first match was called upon. She may have been stuck with a Desertstorm's brat, but he was the earth user—naturally weak against her element. She had this in the bag. She just had to make sure to finish things before the brat had time to use that bull from before, assuming he still could. 
She had seen his move very clearly and could tell that it had taken extreme concentration and even stain on his own body to perform and maintain it. Despite all of that though, she still knew that the jutsu was dangerous—including that last one he had performed that nearly crushed his opponent to death.
She stopped a few yards away from the center, waiting for the boy to join her and the proctor.

"Hn," Daro said and straightened as he met Umi down in the arena. A Mist kunoichi. His sensei didn't like shinobi from Mist very much. It had something to do with her past. But judging from the way Umi looked at him, like he was inferior, made him share Taryn's opinion. He had watched Umi's last battle against Hanabi's teammate. She was fast. And calculating. And she had undoubtedly followed his match too. So she knew what to expect.
He knew he was at a disadvantage, but he had some tricks up his sleeve that she didn't know about yet.
He smirked. "Ready?" he asked.

Umi smirked as well. "Don't get too excited, brat."

"Combatants ready?" Inoichi said, "battle!"

Umi's hands flicked out towards the ground, kunai between her fingers as she then threw them forward. Inoichi had flickered out of the way and a safe distance before she had even made her first move. "Taking you down fast, kid!"

Instead of striking Daro, the daggers hit a log. Shuriken were flying at Umi's back. "You were saying?" Daro's voice mocked her.

Umi turned her head to look over her shoulder with eyes wide at the sudden attack. 'So fast!' Her scream filled the stadium as the shuriken hit their marks. Blood spewed from the wounds and into the air as her body hit the ground with a chilling silence following.

...

Temari gasped when the kunoichi fell to the ground. 'That sure was fast. Nothing like her first match.' She frowned. 'I can't believe a simple shuriken was enough to take her down. So much for Mist's reputation.' "What do you know?" she said, "that kid is actually good."

"What? You didn't notice in the first round?" Kankuro mocked.

"Shut up," Temari told him, "I'm just saying, with the amount of chakra he already used up in that round, it's impressive to still fight at this level. That kunoichi's opponent didn't put up much of a fight. So she didn't have to recover much."

"Will you two stop it?" Gaara commented without looking at his siblings. His eyes were trained on the field where Daro was standing  with narrowed eyes.

...

"Woah, that was a pretty fast win," Akira grinned, "that chick didn't stand a chance...It is weird though."

"What do you mean?" Suzume was still looking at the fallen kunoichi, a frown on her face.

"Well, she totally kicked butt in her last match, right? So it's kinda weird that she would be beaten so fast and by something as simple as a few thrown kunai."

"Akira's right," Ken narrowed his eyes.

...

Itsuki glared at the field. "That makes no sense at all. How is it that Suna kid can beat her with a simple throw when she completely beat me up?"

"Aww don't go sulking now Itsuki," Tengai smirked, "we can't all be winners. I guess he's just better than you. He did beat that Caves' guy after all and he was way tougher than this Mist girl."

"You are both idiots," Hanabi said while staring at the field with her Byakugan activated.

"Hn?" Both boys turned to her, "what are you saying, Hanabi-sama?"

The Hyuuga girl didn't answer.

...

"Very odd..." Akio sniffed the air once more.

Hisayo nodded, also having noticed as she had just finished scenting the air.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi carefully asked.

"See for yourself," was Hisayo's only reply as she and Akio kept their eyes trained on the fighters below.

Kakashi's hand went to lift his headband.

...

"I can still sense her chakra." Ken said.

...

Taryn narrowed her eyes. That was far too easy. 'Focus Daro. Keep your guard up.'

...

"What is it?" Kankuro stepped forward, curious as to what his brother was staring at.

Temari followed his example. Taryn's students was standing in the arena with a kunai dagger in is hand, looking around suspiciously.

"At least he pays attention," Gaara said, "unlike you two."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kankuro aksed.

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "This match is far from over."

...

 "I see," Kakashi put his headband back down.

"The air is lacking the smell of blood," Hisayo said.

Akio nodded. "I'm surprised you didn't pick up on it like we had, Kakashi."

Kakashi rolled his eye. Akio just couldn't help but give him a little jibe. "Forgive me for not having the nose of a hound like you two."

"Che."

Kakashi flinched, "I didn't mean it like that."

"Hatake."

"I didn't even say the taboo word."

"That still counts though, Kakashi," Akio pointed out with a smile, "best just to keep your head low now and finish watching the match."

"R-right."

...

'Genjutsu,' Hanabi thought to herself annoyed. How could her teammates not figure it out? Well if they were really that stupid, they had no business being here in the first place. Not that she was surprised about that. She rolled her eyes.

Tengai and Itsuki looked at each other confused and shrugged.

Hanabi sighed annoyed. "Just watch," she said, "and you might actually learn something. He has figured it out."

...

Daro stood in the center of the arena, his eyes narrowed and eyeing Umi's body warily. 'That was way too easy. She put up a massive fight when she fought that Itsuki guy. And now she's down after a simple shuriken throw? Something's not right.' He took a step backwards and gripped his kunai dagger tighter. He glanced around suspiciously.

A mist then began to form and grow thick, followed by a low feminine chuckle. "Like you're really any match for me," Umi's voice echoed all through the mist. 

The body that was supposedly Umi, shimmered away, as did the blood and the kunai that had hit into the log previously.

"I knew it," Daro muttered. The question now was, where was she?

Umi moved silently under the cover of her mist as she encircled her opponent. Attacking him from behind would be too obvious, so she would strike from the front. Even if he could dodge her upcoming attack, he'd be slow to act if his attention was mostly behind him. She stopped, and took aim. "Water Style: Needle Rain!"

A shower of needles flew at Daro and hit the boy head on.

The crowd gasped in shock. It had looked like an easy win, but now the tables were turned.
The Suna boy fell to the ground and crumbled to dust.

Umi smirked. 'Not bad. I bet he's hiding in the ground. But can he dodge and hide anywhere from this!?'  Umi leapt high up in the air, still being covered by her mist. "Water Style: Needle Rain!" 

This time the attack was stronger and covered a large portion of the area below.
The needles pierced through the surface, forcing Daro out of his hiding place, but he was prepared. He jumped up high in the air and formed a few seals. "Earth Style: Meteor Rain!" Large pieces of debris rained down on Umi's jutsu. Rocks were flying in all direction and were headed for Umi.

Umi landed, dodged, and back flipped back into the thicker covers of mist. She slid to a halt and wiped the back of her hand over a bloodied lip where a piece of earth had broken off from a larger portion and hit her. Now the mist ahead was turning brown from all of the dust created by the two attacks that had clashed. The mist was fading over in the boy's direction now, giving him several feet of visibility now.

Daro grinned. When his earth had collided with her mist, it had formed a thin layer of dirt, enabling him to see her more clearly now. He flicked out a second kunai dagger and threw both in her direction.

Umi drew on a kunai of her own and deflected both weapons with a sneer on her face. She wasn't too pleased that she had lost her cover and was now being easily found in what was left of her mist. 'That brat...had he meant to do that? So he could find me easier?'

...

Akira was grinning from ear to ear. "Ha, her mist is near to all useless now. Great idea making the air thick with dust to weigh down that mist."

"I don't think he had meant to do that, or was even considering that," Ken said.

"Don't be jealous."

"Of what, making unintentional mud pies? Right, I'm so jealous."

Akira frowned and turned fully to his friend now. "Hey, now listen here. I'm enjoying myself so don't ruin it."

"Oh, both of you just shut up."

Ken and Akira abruptly froze in their movements—Akira's hand grabbing at Ken's collar and Ken bringing up a fist to pummel into the boy's thick skull.

Suzume rolled her eyes. "I'm enjoying myself here and I'll personally pin you two to the ground by spears of your own blood if you two don't shut up and let me watch the match!"

Both boys' jaws dropped in horror and hastily let the other go.

"Gyah! Sorry Suzu!"

"We're sorry!"

"I'm shutting up now!"

"Yeah, see?! I'm shutting up too!"

...

Kujira narrowed his eyes at his fighting student. 'Quit playing around, Umi,' he thought annoyed, 'finish it already. We can't afford to have another member of this team be defeated by Suna.' It was humiliating. It was pathetic enough that Kai had been defeated by this boy's teammate. He was supposed to be the strongest of the three. But now Umi, who had shown great promise in the Academy, was struggling in her battle as well.

He gritted his teeth and glared in the direction of Taryn, further in the audience. How was it possible that her students were doing so well? They were just brats.

Kujira turned his attention back to the field. His students were pathetic. Perhaps if they had been more serious in training instead of trying to beat each other all the time, they might actually become decent shinobi. But now it seemed like they hadn't learned a thing.

...

"Go Daro!" Hiro cheered, his fist pumping in the air. He winced in pain as he did, but hid it with a large grin.

Kuro was smiling amused. "I don't think he meant for that to happen though," he said.

"Who cares?" Hiro smirked, "it worked, didn't it? Come on Daro! Show her what you can do!"

...

"Water Style: Dragon Missiles!" The mist quickly returned to Umi, being used to aid further in her growing attack of watery dragons that all roared out as their reptilian heads took shape. They hissed and growled, splashing together before Umi shot her hand forward and one of the three attacks shot forth in a rage filled roar.

Daro quickly formed a few signs. "Earth Style: Cage Barrier!" A large dome of earth formed a shield around Daro to protect him from the attack.

...

"Ha! Way to go Daro!" Akira cheered as he saw the dragon splash down over the dome, clearing away to reveal the dome still intact.

"Go Daro!"

...

"That boy has some skill indeed," Akio smirked, excitedly as he saw another dragon shoot forward, ending in the same results.

...

Umi's eyes narrowed when her attack failed time after time. "Just wait,' she thought angry and formed a seal to make the water dragon even bigger. It was almost outgrowing the arena.
She sent it forward, shattering the dome and turning it into a mud pile. 'Let's see you get out of that, brat.'
But her feel of victory was short lived when she found the boy no longer there.
Confused she stared at the pile of dirt that had been his shelter.

"Earth Style: Spike Cage!" Daro's voice shouted from behind. Large spikes shot out of the earth and confined the Mist kunoichi. She narrowed her eyes in fury. "How?!"

She growled  as she drew her hands together. "Water Style—Waa!?" The cage of earth she was in had shot out at her and taken a strong hold of her hands, pulling them apart as they crawled up her arms, stopping when they reached to her elbows.

Daro stepped into her line of vision and smirked at the captured kunoichi. "You know, watching your first fight, I had expected you to be a lot tougher. I guess it was just luck that you won."

 "Ugh! You cocky little brat! When I get out of this you're in for a world of hurt! Just who do you think you're talking to?!" Umi shrieked in fury as she struggled against her bonds.

Daro shifted his eyes towards her. "You..." he said.

"Cocky brat!"

Inoichi resisted a sigh at the woman's temper as he looked between the two combatants. Without the use of her hands, the kunoichi from Mist didn't appear to be able to do much of anything at this point, except use her voice to shatter everyone's eardrums.

...

Hisayo closed her eyes, frowning. "There's no point in screaming like that."

Akio gave a sheepish smile as he rubbed at his sensitive ears as well. "Yes, I have to agree. Last time I checked, screaming didn't win matches."

"Ah, I guess a frequency like that would cause some discomfort for you two," Kakashi wasn't nearly as affected as the two Ookami clansmen.

"Some discomfort?" Hisayo narrowed her eyes at the woman below who continued to struggle and shriek in her anger, "if that child does not end the match or Inoichi does not call the match soon, then I'll take matters into my own hands."

"Ehehe, no need to go to that extreme, Hisayo. Here," Kakashi put his hands over the woman's ears, "better?"

Hisayo's turned several shades of red, prompting Akio to chuckle at her expense.

...

"Man," Itsuki sighed annoyed, "he makes it look so easy. She really was a tough opponent." He buried

his head in his arms in shame.

Tengai smirked and patted his back. "Don't worry. I'm sure they have already forgotten about you."

"Thanks," Itsuki glared at him.

"You're welcome."

"Cut it out already," Hanabi interrupted their banter. Her eyes shimmered hungrily. She might even get her chance at fighting that boy. He was certainly interesting.

...

"Way to go!" Akira was still grinning as he saw what Daro had done, "I like his style."

"You could probably learn a thing or two from him, huh, Akira?" Ken smirked.

"Hey, I have a cool style too!"

"Not nearly as strategic as his though."

"Ha! So you admit my style is cool!"

Ken's face fell flat. "That was supposed to be an insult."

Akira grew a tic mark over his head, "Hey!"

Suzume rolled her eyes, but was too pleased by the match to interfere. It was nice to hear her two teammates every now and then. So long as they weren't causing trouble.

"I like Daro's style too," she praised, causing Ken to nearly fall forward on his face, forgetting his little jibes at Akira. 

"Wh-what? But what about me, Suzume?"

Suzume just giggled.  She sure knew how to get to Ken.

...

"Heh, heh," Kankuro laughed, "he sure got her."

A small smile crossed Gaara's face. He had to admit, he was impressed by the young boy. He was quite the strategist. Who would have thought when he came fresh from the Academy? Daro and his friend Hiro had been quite the troublemakers. But they had shown promise too. That was the reason he had assigned them to Taryn. His sister could be reckless and stubborn, but he had been convinced she would keep them in line. It seemed discipline wasn't the only thing she had taught them. And even though he hadn't been too pleased with that one particular jutsu he had used in his first battle, the boy had shown great skill and insight. He had expected Daro to use his Bull again. If he had, he would probably have lost the battle. But Daro had surprised him. He seemed to have realized that brute strength wasn't necessarily the key to victory.

"Who would have thought," Temari mused at his shoulder. She smirked and looked at Kankuro, "you owe me twenty bucks now."

Kankuro growled. "I was so hoping you had forgotten."

...

"Are you able to continue?" Inoichi asked of the Mist kunoichi. "If not, then I will call the match here."

"Oh, show some patience, will you?" Umi struggled more at her earthy bonds, but it was no use. She couldn't so much as form a crack against them. She stopped her struggle to catch her breath before her head hung low in shame. "I...I can't."

"Very well then. Winner of this second round match goes to Daro of Suna!"

...

"Go Daro!" Hiro pumped his fist in the air and then gasped in pain. "Ow."

"Careful," Kuro noted, but he too was smirking.

Both of them watched as Daro made it back up the steps and to the stands where they were standing.

"Good job," Kuro told him.

"It was nothing," Daro smirked, "she only looks tough. More bark than bite."

"I wonder who you'll be up against next," Hiro said puzzled, "what if it's Kuro?" The chance on that seemed to get bigger by the minute. Only two more battles.

Daro and Kuro looked at each other with worried looks for a moment. Kuro took a deep breath. "Then we'll make it a fight like never seen before."

Daro smirked and nodded. "Agreed."

The three of them turned back to the arena where the next battle had been called and watched as Terasu made her way down to the battlefield.

"I feel sorry for that teammate of Hanabi's," a shiver ran down Daro's spine.

"Yeah," Kuro muttered.

Hiro leaned against the railing and held up a bag. "Dumpling?"

...

Taryn let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't that she had doubted Daro's skills, but she had been worried for a moment that he might try to push things with his Rock Stampede jutsu. It seemed that he had taken her advice to not overdo it.
A feeling of pride filled her. He had made it to the final round. Her student. Now it was up to Kuro, but she had faith in him.

Down below the next battle was about to begin and Taryn narrowed her eyes. Daro might be in the finals, but Terasu had yet to fight and if she were to make it to the finals too, things could get rough. But one thing was certain. If that woman dared to harm any of her students, she would jump in and finish her off herself.

...

"Hey, he has food!?" Akira pointed at Hiro from across where he and the others were stationed to help if needed.

"Yeah. There are food venders here for the spectators," Suzume informed.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ken grabbed Akira by the back of his shirt before he could disappear to get food as well, "we're still on duty!"

"Aw, not even just one dumpling? I won't be long, promise!"

"No. Besides, the next match is about to get under way, see?" Ken pointed down at the crazy kunoichi from Caves, "and with it involving her, we need to stay close and keep vigilant."

"Ken's right," Suzume sided with the boy, "we'll go eat after the exams are over. Okay?"

"Promise?" Akira pouted.

"Promise," Suzume gave her sweet smile.

"Yakiniku's after?"

Ken sighed as he let the staved teen go. "Yes, we'll go there."

"Sweet! Okay, then! Hope these matches go by as fast as Daro's," Akira grinned in anticipation.

...

"Fool! After all of this time, making it to the second round, I expected better!"

Umi flinched upon hearing her sensei's harsh voice fill the locker room where she had promptly fled to in disgrace of losing to a child. 

"Had you spent more time actually training instead of bickering with your other teammates, you could have continued on to the next match!"

"Forgive me sensei."

"It would be far too soon for me to forgive you or the other two for such failure! You three have made a mockery out of our village! You realize that!?"

"Y-yes, sensei."

"There may be hope yet—however small a shred that is left. You performed longer than the others. You may still have a chance to be promoted."

Umi seemed to light up, but flinched when her sensei's eyes narrowed, "don't think that means you are saved from my wrath. You will be put through the harshest of training with Harou and Kai upon our return home. Do you understand?"

Umi would have sighed, but knew that would have made her sensei even angrier, so settled on a small nod of her head and timid, "Yes sir."

Due to her current situation, she hoped that the next matches wouldn't go by too quickly. She wanted to try and delay the inevitable trip back home where hell was sure to be waiting.

...

"Your turn, Tengai," Itsuki said. He stared at his teammate nervously. He didn't want to discourage his friend, but he was scared of this next match. That Terasu woman had proven to be a lunatic and she had gone against the proctors in the first round. Who was to say she wouldn't do that again?

Tengai sighed. "Yeah, I know." He swallowed and stretched his fingers in an attempt to relax them. His hands were trembling. He looked at Hanabi. "Any chance you want to swap with me?" he asked against hopes.

"The proctors won't allow it," Hanabi said simply. She wouldn't admit it, but even she would have a hard time against Terasu. She had fought strong shinobi before, but never one as crazy as this woman.

Tengai nodded and made to leave when Hanabi's voice stopped him.

"Hey."

He looked over his shoulder.

"Don't make the same mistake that Mist ninja did," Hanabi said, "he could have won, but he let her intimidate him. Stay focused and you'll be fine."

A small smile appeared on Tengai's face. "I'll try."

...

'Fight the brat, kill him maybe, hehe, and go annoy the others some more.' Terasu smirked as she saw her opponent make his way towards her. She could tell he was nervous, and he had every right to be. She wasn't an opponent to be taken lightly as she had been sure to announce to the world—in her own way of course. 'Yes, I do like the sound of my plan, though I would have much more fun fighting Chunin like those others from before.' They proved more of a challenge than the one she had fought before and by the looks of her opponent, far more challenging than him. However, just because the boy looked weak, she wouldn't fight at his level of skill. She was too good for that and besides, she had to make Cave's name known among the crowds and fighters.

Like the others of her team—though they had lost—were not pushovers. They were ranked as Genin, true, but that by no means meant that they were weak.

Tengai eyed his opponent nervously. He didn't feel confident at all, despite of what Hanabi had said. He would take on the Hyuuga prodigy any day if it meant not fighting this woman. But he had no choice in the matter and he wouldn't let his team and his village down. He gritted his teeth and pushed his nerves aside.

"Hope you're not a boring one." Terasu commented with a wicked smirk.

Tengai let his breath escaped, determined not to let her rile him on.

"Oh?" Terasu noticed the boys lack of fear in his eyes now. Something seemed to have changed. She smirked in anticipation. "Well what do you know? I might actually have some fun fighting you."

Inoichi eyed the young boy concerned. He hadn't forgotten the last time the kunoichi from Caves had entered the field and he had known Tengai for a long time, the boy coming for Konoha, and he wasn't a confident fighter. But looking at the boy now, he wasn't sure. There was a stubborn look in his eyes and he hoped the boy wouldn't do anything foolish. He didn't want another scene like before.

He looked at Terasu, who smiled like a cat that had discovered a bird cage filled with prey. Inoichi sighed. "Ready? Battle!"

Terasu started off with taijutsu, darting forward in several low and high kicks, swinging around and lashing out with a few drawn kunai.

Tengai jumped out of her reach, moving his body left and right to avoid being hit. He ducked under her leg and threw a handful of shuriken at her back.

She didn't bother to turn around. Her hands wove together effortlessly before they touched the earth and a small slab of earth rose up behind in front of her crouched form to block. She then stood back up turned, and put her hand to her human sized wall of earth. "Earth Style," A large spear-like weapon began to take shape and she grasped it in her hands, taking on a guarded stance. Both ends of the weapon held sharp points. "Dual Spear."

"Water Style! Raging Torrent!" A gulf of water flew at Terasu.

She smirked as she made a constant circular motion with her weapon, taking control it seemed of the attack and forcing it to miss her.
"Did you forget? Or were you simply not paying attention before? I'm familiar with water styled attacks, boy." She ran forward, spinning her double ended spear around as she went. She then struck out when she drew near, spinning the other end around when the Leaf Genin dodged, and continuing the pattern as he continued to dodge her undying attacks.

'I have to wear her out,' Tengai thought, but it could take ages. And she wouldn't be foolish enough to walk into the same trap as her teammate. 'Why did I get stuck with fighting the same nation twice in a row? And the new ones by that.' He kept dodging her while trying to think of a strategy. He couldn't let her use that lethal mist again. He didn't want to get stuck in the same situation as that Mist shinobi.
'I have to approach this like I'm fighting Hanabi-sama. I have to fight like Hanabi-sama.' But he had to break that spear first. He took a deep breath and made an unexpected move to try and confuse her. Instead of dodging her, he jumped at her and caught her spear in both of his hands.

Terasu's eyes went wide. "Huh? What's he—?"

"Water Style: Vortex!" said and a vortex of water made both of them spin around like crazy.

Tengai held on to the spear as both shinobi whirled around like a roller coaster. He hoped his plan would work and the momentum would force Terasu to drop the spear, and with a bit of luck fly away several feet.

Terasu cried out as both she and the boy spun apart, losing hold of the weapon and crashing to the ground. The spear whirled through the air, spinning around dangerously before one of its spear points struck into the side of the arena's tall stone walls. It wobbled several moments before coming to a stop. Everyone was in disbelief of the reckless move the boy from Leaf had made. 

The first of the two combatants below began to move, sliding up to their hands and knees in the mud that was now heavily present. The next thing everyone knew, they heard laughter—the kind of laughter that only a crazy person would be prone to. It was low at first, but grew and grew until it almost sounded like crying.

Terasu slide her hands away from her face as she saw Tengai getting up. Her eyes were wide in excitement as she began to speak, "Haha...hahahaha! I was so wrong! So wrong! Hahahaha! You're...you're..." A dangerous spark that wasn't there at the start of their match, but had been present in her previous match, had reappeared. "You're just the type of person I can let loose with! That move just now. Anyone who is crazy enough to try something like that...Hahaha, I know you'll only pull a crazy stunt like that again! You know why? Because you're desperate and crazy enough to do it! You know what that means, right? You'll fight hard. Yes! I really can have some fun!"

...

"Uh-oh," Kuro muttered while focusing on Terasu, "he really started something now."

"I can't believe he did that," Hiro stared at Tengai wide-eyed, his cooled off dumplings forgotten for the moment.

"He's in for it now," Daro said concerned. His eyes were trimmed on the battlefield, taking up every move the combatants made. One of them could be his next opponent. Tengai, he could probably handle, but Terasu seemed even crazier than before. There was no telling what she would do next, but it couldn't be good. "I hope he's smart enough to forfeit," Daro muttered.

...

"That idiot," Ken narrowed his eyes, his guard up at the sight before him and the feel of unstable emotions and chakra present in that kunoichi, "he's set her off."

"What should we do?" Suzume asked, her hand subconsciously reaching for her whip.

"We can't do anything right now." Ken answered, "only if Yamanaka-san gives the cue and only if things look to be out of hand."

"Man, I'm really not a fan of Caves," Akira muttered as he kept his gaze concentrated below, taking on a whole new demeanor from his previously laid back and childish one, "hope things don't get ugly."

Suzume nodded. "She may have listened to Yamanaka-san before, but what's to say she'll quietly stand down a second time?"

"I just hope Tengai doesn't get himself in too deep."

Ken nodded, "Tengai's smarter than that...despite his actions just now."

"Yeah, didn't think Tengai had it in him."

...

He could practically feel the woman's hair standing on end from beside him. She had put on a guard that he normally didn't see around others except a dangerous few such as her brother and Orochimaru. Were the shinobi from Caves truly that bad?

"Hisayo, try to relax a bit." He tried to coax the woman to let up on her defensive aura. He could already start to feel static in the air around him.

"Kakashi's right, Hisayo," Akio also intervened, placing a hand on her shoulder to bring her back to her senses, "you might accidentally shock someone."

Hisayo let out her held in breath and relaxed somewhat, the charged atmosphere around her dying down, but she kept her guard up still. "That kunoichi is dangerous."

"We know."

"We must stay on guard."

"Yes, we know," Akio spoke once again.

"I don't like the way she makes my skin crawl."

Akio nodded, returning his attention to the fight below, feeling an involuntary shiver run down his spine. "I know, Hisayo. She doesn't exactly give me nice shivers either."

"The others," she carefully began as her gaze shifted over in the direction her students were supposed to be lying in wait should any situation arise.

"They will do their job if need be."

"They'll be fine," Kakashi added, "they have numbers. Ken can always enclose that woman in a barrier to keep her from harming anyone."

Hisayo let out another breath of air, but she would continue to stay on edge.

...

Gaara's eyes narrowed in concern. He hadn't felt such malice since Shukaku. That woman was not only dangerous, she was a liability. Who would ever want to team up with her? She didn't prove her village any service either. The lords and ladies could all see how much of a loose cannon she was. Who would ever hire their village now?

"She seriously needs help," Kankuro said, "in a mental institution."

"That kid from Konoha is a brave one though to put up a stunt like that," Temari said stunned.

"Or a crazy one," Kankuro countered, "it didn't do him much good. If anything, it made things worse. It's a serious case of bad judgment. On a mission it could mean the lives of your teammates."

Gaara said nothing. He kept concentrating on the kunoichi. If things would get out of hand, they might need all the help available to stop her.

...

Taryn shook her head. 'Of all the reckless things...' She had to hand it to him, Tengai was no scaredy cat, but he had made a deadly mistake. His attack might have worked on any strong shinobi, but not on someone as deranged as Terasu. Things had suddenly become a lot more dangerous.

The kunoichi's behavior had her on edge. Things could get out of hand quickly, the kunoichi had already proven that in her previous battle. If she were to lose it completely, a lot of people could get hurt.

...

Tengai looked at the kunoichi in shock. 'What have I done?' He crawled to his feet and slid back to his knees in the slick mud. He couldn't back down now. He slowly crawled up again, this time managing to hold his footing, and took a kunai dagger.

 "Ready or not?" Terasu grinned as she took out her own dagger, "here I...come!" She was faster than before, her attacks more random and difficult to predict. She landed a kick and shot her kunai forward at the same time, drawing her hands together to form a jutsu while Tengai was busy recovering from her attack. "Water Style," she drew her hands close to her mouth, "Acid Typhoon!"

Tengai's eyes went wide and he formed a few hand signs in order to form a jutsu to protect himself. "Vortex!" A large typhoon of water formed around him.

The two jutsu met, splattering water in every direction—most of which began to burn into the trees, grass, and soil.

Terasu laughed out as she held her hands up, willing her acidic attack to drive down over her opponent who was desperately trying to keep his shield of water active.
"Come on!" Terasu yelled out over the torrents of colliding water, "do something worth my while!"
She drew her hands together to add more chakra to her attack, making it grow and grow until it drew dangerously close to the spectators. Those closest to the front began to panic as they realized how dangerous the water was. They could hear the sizzling sounds of it as it came into contact with the walls.

"That's enough!" Inoichi announced, "this battle is over!" But Terasu did not seem to listen and continued to herd Tengai all over the field. "Enough I say!" Inoichi said again. This fight was getting out of hand. He cursed the Caves' shinobi for allowing someone like this woman to enter the Chuunin Exams. They should never have let her become a shinobi.

...

"No worries, Yamanaka-san!" Suzume shot past with her two teammates, "we got it covered!"

"Ken!" Akira called out as they had all quickly and mentally assessed the situation and what to do first. 

"Yeah!" Ken called as he pulled out a scroll and unraveled it in one fluid motion, "I got it! You two help out Tengai!"

The trio split at that point; Suzume and Akira running to help get Tengai out of the center of the attack, and Ken running to aid the spectators that were already fleeing for their lives.
The waters drew up high in the air, towering over the stadium now before they came down.

Akira and Suzume made it to Tengai, with Akira calling upon a thick mound of earth to shield them, at the same moments Ken erected a barrier wall to stop the water from advancing on the crowds.

...

"We have to help!" Hisayo was flanked by Akio and Kakashi as they dashed forward to meet Ken first. He held a heavy sweat over his forehead as he struggled to maintain his barrier. "Ken!" she called out.

"Hisayo-sensei!" Ken's attention when back to his barrier as he heard the sounds of it sizzling and cracking. "Oh, no." The acid in the water was eating away at his barrier.  'Just great. I can't combat an attack like this one. It's just going to eat away at my barriers.' How long could he hold out? It was up to Suzume and Akira at this point to stop Terasu and have her drop her jutsu.

"Ready?" Akira looked to Suzume who nodded, drawing on a whip. "Tengai, stay in here and don't come out until we say."

The Genin was more than happy to comply with the older shinobi, nodding his head as he kept a nervous, yet guarded stance.

Akira formed a few hand signs and put his palm to the wall of his earthy dome that had continued to withstand the onslaught outside. From the outside, the dome shot of several small stakes of earth at Terasu to gain her attention and give Akira and Suzume the chance to exit. It worked.

"You again!" Terasu snarled, madness ever present in her eyes, "I won't have you stopping my fight! I haven't beaten the brat yet!" 

The moment they were out, Akira sent a wave of earth to Terasu with Suzume using it as cover to run forward.  Terasu glanced down after having leapt back out of the way to find that her wrist was wrapped by a whip. She snorted and drew her hands together. "Water Style: Acid Mist." The atmosphere around the whip grew thick and the whip dissolved.

...

Taryn flinched as Terasu lost what little control she still seemed to have. She didn't think twice and jumped down to the arena. From the corner of her eye she saw Gaara do the same. He used his sand to neutralize the acidic mist Terasu had been using.

...

Suzume flinched, taking a step back as the mist grew and shot towards her. 

"Suzu, get back!" Akira called out.

Akio whipped his head around from his defensive wall of earth he had set up with Hisayo and Kakashi to help Ken redirect the remaining acidic water away from the people. "Hisayo, the three of us are okay here. Go help Akira and Suzume."

Hisayo turned her attention to where Akio was looking to find Suzume and Akira to have serious difficulty with stopping Terasu. Her eyes grew wide with deep concern as she saw Suzume being caught in a mist. The Chuunin was backed up by Akira who pulled her out with an earth attack, but she was having to shed her first layer that was being eaten away by the acid. She was in only her tank top and short now.

'Hold on, I'm coming!'

Terasu glared at him once she noticed. "Who are you to interfere and ruin my fun?" But then she smiled an evil smile. "You want to play too?" She raised her hands again, but before she could form any signs, she was hit in her back and she felt a disruption in her chakra. She glared maliciously over her shoulder at Taryn.

...

"Tengai!" Itsuki shouted when he saw the fight get completely out of hand.

"Calm down," Hanabi said, "the proctors got it. But even she was getting a little shaky at this sudden turn of events. For the first time she was really concerned for the wellbeing of her teammate. "I have to help," she muttered, but she was frozen to the ground.

"Are you crazy?!" Itsuki shouted at her, forgetting who it was he was speaking to, "you'll get killed. Or worse! Disqualified!"

Hanabi couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene. What was she supposed to do? Itsuki was right, she could get disqualified if she interfered with a fight that was not hers. Her father would expect her to let it go and focus on her own fight. But it was her teammate whose life was in danger.
Luckily, the decision was made for her when two young Chuunin reached Tengai and protected him from further harm.

...

In the stands, Daro's eyes went wide. "Sensei!"

"No way!" Hiro gasped and leaned over the railing.

"Careful idiot!"  Kuro pulled him back, "you'll fall down. Do you want that lunatic to direct her attacks at you?!" But he too stared at their sensei in shock.

...

"Taryn and Kazekage-sama!" Akira, Suzume, and Ken were surprised that she and the Kazekage would lend them help as well.

'She's...helping.' Hisayo had stopped in her surprise to see the woman had come to her students' aid.

Kakashi gave a small smile as he saw both Taryn and Gaara leaping into action.

"Hi Ken, how's it going?" Taryn smirked when landing another hit on Terasu and ducking a kunai dagger herself, "Akira, Suzume."

"Really?" Gaara said, "you're making small talk at a time like this?" He cancelled his jutsu, seeing the mist had disappeared.

Taryn shrugged. "Why not?"

The Kazekage rolled his eyes and sighed. "Nevermind."

Taryn glanced at Suzume. "You okay?"

"Sure I'm okay," Suzume was embarrassed, "just got a little too warm with that heavy top and skirt. Hehe, yeah."

Akira rolled his eyes, smirking. "We're fine."

"Yeah," Ken said, dropping his barrier now that the waters had receded. "thanks for the hand."

"It's not over yet though," Suzume pointed over Taryn's shoulder seeing that Terasu was still too crazy to back down.

Taryn growled annoyed and turned back to Terasu. "Just be smart and give up."

She felt Kakashi approach and looked at him amused. "Get a number and stand in line."

"Why am I not surprised?" Kakashi sighed as he stood now with Akio, waiting for the whole situation to reach a conclusion.

Hisayo slightly narrowed her eyes, but now was no time to start even more trouble. She could only and hope to assume that the woman was just like that if it was any indicator by Kakashi's response.

"It's in your best interest," Hisayo calmly joined Suzume and Akira as she addressed Terasu, "if you backed down...now. You've caused enough problems."

Terasu growled, pointing a finger at her. "You want to join in too? Fine the more the merrier, I say! Water Style: Acid Ty—!" Her eyes went wide in shock as she had been struck in the neck from behind, before she slumped forward, completely out cold now. 

She was caught by her sensei as he then scooped her up in his arm. "Idiot," he said before he sighed and turned his attention to the many shocked and confused faces before him, "please, forgive this outburst. It's not Caves' intention to cause trouble. I will take full responsibility for this."

Tsunade landed between the two groups with a serious look on her face. Akira, Suzume, and Ken shivered. They were more afraid of the Hokage's upset expressions, than Hisayo's.

"I had better hope you do," Tsunade said, "this is a place for healthy competition, not a blood bath. Is it normal regulations of your village to send out mentally unstable shinobi out to the field?"

Ganshou narrowed his stern eyes. "No Milady," he lied. Because of Cavern's size, they couldn't help but sent out every possible man out into the field to complete missions to assist with their village's economy. That had meant sending out even shinobi with questionable and in Terasu's case, mental backgrounds. "I will see to it that our village head is informed of her...instability and the problems that it had caused here today."

"You do that," Tsunade replied with withheld anger, "you do understand that as of now you are disqualified from the Exams?"

"Yes, Milady," he then gave a curt bow, "if you would excuse me; I believe my other students and I can see ourselves out of the village and back home." He turned and left, holding a sour expression on his face now as he looked down angrily at the idiot that had cause him such trouble. 'This will be the last time I have allowed you to have your way. No more chances, Terasu.'

Tsunade nodded grim. "You should count yourself lucky that I don't ban your village from the exams permanently," she waved her guards over, "escort them out of the gates and see to it that they indeed leave."

She turned to Taryn and Gaara. "Thank you for your assistance."

Gaara nodded. "Don't mention it."

Taryn nodded too, but kept silent. She was glad to see the woman leave.

"Tsunade-sama," Inoichi stepped forth, gesturing over to Tengai who had been given the okay to come out. "how would you like this match to be called?"

Tsunade looked over to him. "Hmm? Oh, right. Since Caves is disqualified, Tengai goes on to the next round."

Tengai looked beyond disbelief. "R-really, Milady?" He pointed to himself.

...

Hanabi sighed, shaking her head. "Seriously Tengai, you're making me look bad. Show a little class."

"Aw, and to think you were actually worried about him just now."

"Did you just try to tell me something of importance, Itsuki?"

Itsuki froze up before waving his hands absently, "N-nothing, Hanabi-sama. I was just talking to myself, Ehehe."

...

"Phew," Kuro sighed, "glad that's over. Things could have gotten really bad."

"Yeah," Hiro sighed.

Daro said nothing. His eyes were searching for Taryn, who had made her way back into the dome. It was a good thing that woman's sensei had intervened or there might have been a serious fight. "Tengai is lucky," he said.

"Yeah tell me about it," Hiro agreed, "he went onto the next round without even winning."

"That's not what I mean. He could have gotten killed if the proctors and sensei and Gaara-sama hadn't jumped in."

"Yeah, but that's what the proctors are for, right?" Kuro said.

"But even they had a hard time stopping her," Daro said.

The boys fell silent.

"Do you think Suzume-chan is okay?" Hiro asked, "that mist got her good for a moment."

Daro and Kuro both shifted their eyes towards their friend.

"What?" Hiro asked, "it's a normal question!"

"Of course it is," Daro patted his shoulder.

...

Inoichi waited for the others to leave the arena and cleared his throat. "Alright then... after this... small interruption, we will move on to the last fight in this round. Hanabi Hyuuga from Konohagakure against Kuro Shiraki from Sunagakure, please come down."

The audience slowly moved back to their seats in anticipation of the next round. They had seen what both contestants could do during their last battles and were curious now how this one would enfold.

Kuro sighed. "Well, here goes."

"Show that arrogant Hyuuga what you can do," Daro slapped his friend's back.

"Yeah," Hiro nodded in agreement, "she acts way too smart for her own good. She needs a lesson."

"And you're not just saying that because she beat the crap out of you?" Daro smirked.

Hiro glared at him. "For your information, she's a tough fighter. I'd like to see you fight against her."

"Yeah, but you won't," Daro smirked, "cause Kuro is gonna win this one."

"Glad you're so confident," Kuro said.

"You can do it," Daro told him, "just remember sensei's training."

"I know," Kuro nodded. He took a deep breath and flexed his chain. With one last glance at his friends, he walked towards the battlefield.

On the stairwell, Taryn was waiting for him. "Go get her, Kuro," she told him. Kuro nodded, but let out a nervous breath. Taryn smiled. "No matter if you win or lose, I'm proud of you anyway. You can do this. Go on."

A smile broke through on the boy's face. "I won't let you down."

...

"You doing okay, Suzu?" Ken asked, carefully assessing her chakra for any abnormalities.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Suzume flicked her hair off her shoulder with a sigh, looking down at herself. "I really liked that top. And my skirt got all eaten to bits by that annoying mist."

"Annoying?" Akira snorted, "that was some dangerous stuff Suzume. You're lucky you still have your clothes on at this point." He had to look away from the now scantily dressed teammate of his.

"What's that look for?" Suzume asked, weary.

"N-nothing."

"Right."

"Er, Suzu, maybe you should find a shirt or something to put on?"

"It's a tank top and shorts for crying out loud. It's not like I'm wearing nothing but my underwear."

The comment got both blushing now, making Suzume blush in embarrasement and anger. "Ugh, perverts! Gyah—Hey!" She lowered the dark green Chuunin vest from her head that had been tossed to her. She could see that it had been Ken who gave her the vest as he was now with only his long sleeved top.

"Just wear that over yourself for now. Or you might have more people thinking 'perverted' thoughts," he muttered, thinking of the three from Suna if they ever got a good glimpse at her.

Suzume's swallowed, her face tinting pink now. "Th-thanks." She timidly replied as she put the vest on and zipped it up.

"Yeah, well, we can't go anywhere until there's another break. So that'll have to do until then when you can get some better clothes."

"Kuro's gonna fight Hanabi in a bit," Akira said, "so I'm sure Suzume wouldn't want to miss out on his fight anyway."

Suzume seemed to blink out of her timid trance. "Oh! That's right! Hope Hanabi isn't too rough on him. She had really done a number on Hiro."

Ken frowned, glaring at Akira. "You just had to ruin a moment and poke at me."

"Who, me?" Akira smirked. "Don't know what you're talking about."

...

Hiashi was pleased, though it couldn't be said he was surprised. Hanabi, he knew, was going to make it to the third rounds...and win. 'The Hyuuga name will shine,' he thought with an inward arrogant smirk. 'She is the youngest Hyuuga to participate in these exams. She may very well be more of a genius than my nephew.'

...

Hinata shifted her eyes nervously from her father to her cousin Taryn, who was now coming from the staircase and making her way over to the railing. She wanted her sister to win of course, but she didn't want her cousin's student to get hurt like the last one. Her sister could be vicious when it came to fighting. She wasn't sure who to cheer for.

Neji glanced at the Hyuuga heir next to him. She was fidgeting on her chair and looked like she wanted to run. He sighed and glanced at his uncle. Hiashi was so convinced his daughter would win, but Neji wasn't so sure himself. Unlike Hiashi, he had gotten a good impression of Taryn's students when they first arrived in Konoha. They were resourceful. It was true that Hanabi was an expert when it came to Taijutsu, and her skill with Byakugan was exceptional, but he wouldn't rule out the possibility that Kuro would come out victorious.
Neji smirked. That would be something to see.
His eyes moved to the battlefield where Kuro had appeared in anticipation of his fight.

...

"The Hyuuga again," Hisayo said, "another win for her do you think?"

Akio lifted a brow. "Perhaps, but then again, her students are quite capable of handling themselves, don't you think?"

"Did you forget where her first student was landed?"

"Aw, worried?"

Hisayo frowned. "I said, nor implied such a thing."

Kakashi gave a nervous smile. "Maybe you shouldn't tease her, Akio."

The Ookami man blinked, feigning ignorance. "Me? Teasing? Why Kakashi, I'm hurt you'd think I was doing such a thing to my daughter!"

Hisayo and Kakashi both deadpanned. "Right," they both said.

...

''Kuro, right?" Hanabi asked with an expressionless face, before small smirk appeared, "hope you're better challenge than your teammate. By the looks of it though, I must not have put enough force in my last blow since he's walking around so easily."

Kuro clenched his fists. He wanted to punch her for that comment, but he knew better than to let her get to him. "Heh," he said, "are you here to talk or fight?"

"That depends on you. Are you like your teammate who does nothing but talk? Or do you intend to fight?" Hanabi smirked, "judging by your stance, I suspect you're serious about this fight. Which means I won't have to hold back. So prepare yourself, I'm no easy challenge."

Kuro gave her a dead look. "You're annoying, you know that?"

...

Itsuki and Tengai stared at Kuro with wide eyes. "He did not just say that," Itsuki said in disbelieve.

"He's dead now," Tengai muttered.

...

Hanabi frowned. "Tch, and you're as good as beat." She launched herself forward as soon as the match was called to begin.

Kuro darted out of the way and made a quick hand sign behind Hanabi's back, whispering something under his breath.

"Don't you have any better tricks up your sleeve?" Hanabi asked as her Byakugan activated and she spun around to block the kunai that her opponent was about to draw around to her neck.
She soon stood up, and turned her back, ignoring him. "I'll say it once more; don't you have any better tricks up your sleeve? I can tell this is only a genjutsu."

Kuro faded, and the real one came forth. He narrowed his eyes at her and threw a handful of shuriken at her.

Hanabi's face was unreadable. She had to make sure to only move at the last moment and not give away her intension to counter his attack. He threw the shuriken finally, and she quickly spun rapidly around. "Kai..ten!" The air whipped up wildly.

"Wind Style: Gale Wind Palm!" The shuriken Kuro had thrown, vanished into thin air and a fierce wind came from the other side of the field and pushed against Hanabi's Kaiten, sending it spinning faster than it already did and throwing it off balance.

Hanabi gritted her teeth, glaring. 'What the...' What in the world was going on? 'Am I losing control of my attack?' Impossible though, she was a Hyuuga. It was in her blood and she had trained and had been trained by her father so strictly in the art of Kaiten.

...

Hinata and Neji both gasped when Hanabi's Kaiten spun out of control.

'I can't believe it,' Neji thought to himself.

Hinata clasped her hands against her mouth. "Hanabi-chan!" she gasped when she saw her sister hit the dirt.

Neji rose from his seat with Hinata on his heels and hurried towards the railing to get a better look on the girl's condition.

...

Hanabi sat up with a small growl as she brought a hand up to wipe at her dirt covered face. 'A genjutsu, disguised with another genjutsu?' How had she missed that? She could just imagine the look of disapproval by her father from falling for such a thing.

Kuro stayed in a fighting stance, ready to take whatever Hanabi would throw at him. She would be mad for sure. He didn't think she used weapons a lot. He figured she would rely on her Byakugan, but one could never be sure.
His expression was serious, but focused as he watched the Hyuuga girl wipe the dirt off her face, trying to keep a calm composure.

...

Ken and Akira both snorted, covering their mouths to keep from laughing aloud.

"Oh man, how embarrassing," Akira said, "to get thrown in the dirt again, and by the teammate of someone she had been thrown by before."

"Shh, we shouldn't make fun," Ken was having trouble quelling his snorts, "she's a Hyuuga."

"She doesn't look happy," Suzume observed, nervous for the actions the young Hyuuga would take against Kuro.

"Uh-oh," Ken said, feeling the Hyuuga's chakra churn with malice.

...

Their mouths were wide in shock of seeing their teammate in such a state. Itsuki couldn't help the small snort soon after.

"Hey, don't laugh," Tengai nervously scolded, fearful that despite being in the midst of a fight, that Hanabi would know she was being laughed at. He didn't want to be subject to her wrath later.

"I can't help it," Itsuki tried to keep from laughing too loudly as he wiped the tears from his face, "down twice, and by the same team? Sorry, but that's funny."

"It'd be smart and safer for you if you didn't mention it to her at all," Tengai shivered, "I hate it when she stares at us with her Byakugan on any normal day, but when she's mad? No thanks."

...

Hiro doubled over. He laughed so hard that his ribs ached even more than they had when he was hit by Hanabi before.

Daro too wiped the tears from his eyes, but he at least tried to cover up. "Watch it," he hiccupped at Hiro, "or you'll get send back to the infirmary."

"Ahahahahaha it's worth it," Hiro said while keeping himself up against the railing. He couldn't believe Kuro had played the same trick on her. The look on her face was priceless. "Ahahaha ow," he winced.

Daro shook his head amused. "Come on, let's watch the rest of the battle."

...

Hanabi was on her feet now, glaring at the older boy. "That won't work on me again," she said, charging forward now to meet Kuro before he had time to use another webbing of genjutsu.
Kuro gauged her movements and stepped to the left just before she would hit him, sending a kunai dagger at her back.

She spun around, ducking to her own left, to dodge. She shot a palm forward to hit his arm.

Kuro jumped back and sent another kunai at her. He knew she wouldn't let herself get caught in his genjutsu again, so he had to keep her at distance now.

She dodged the kunai, weaving in close and grazing her chakra laced palm across Kuro's arm as he had made to dodge her approach, but the damage had been done.

Kuro gasped as he felt his chakra drop. 'Damn. Not fast enough.' He did a back flip to get out of her reach. He lifted his hands to test his arm. Good. He could still weave signs, though it would be harder than before. "Wind Style: Wind Vortex!" Small pillars of wind emerged and headed for Hanabi, surrounding her.

The wind bit at the skin on her arms and legs, drawing red streams of blood. She gritted her teeth together as the wind continued to grow in speed and power, whipping her hair all around. She dug her feet into the ground, but she was losing ground. The force became too much and she was thrown through the air, landing several feet back in a heap of dust.

...

Hiashi Hyuuga narrowed his eyes at the sight of Hanabi's blood. How could she have let herself get cut like that? 'You know better, Hanabi,' he gritted his teeth, 'you should have paid more attention. You knew he could use wind attacks. He has done so before.' His hands became fists. Those students of his niece were far more skilled than he was lead to believe. Perhaps he should have known. Taryn had a reputation that was known far and wide. He just hadn't thought it possible she could train anyone else to that level. They would be a force to be reckoned someday. 'But not just yet.' His eyes shifted towards his youngest daughter. Out of his two daughters, Hanabi was stronger. She had made it to the finals, unlike his other, Hinata. Hanabi was by no means someone to take lightly.

...

Hanabi hadn't time to fully recover. She had to take quick action to dodge the chain that was aimed for her. She narrowed her eyes as she saw Kuro keeping his distance by using his chained weapon. 'Smart.' But she was too fast for him to keep up that distance with his attacking. She stepped to the side to avoid the chain once more, wincing only slightly as it whizzed past her face, drawing another line of blood. 

That was it. 

That was absolutely the last time that her cousin's student would cut her!

Kuro flexed his chain again. He wasn't going to let her recover and think of a strategy. He had to keep her dodging. He would wear her out. He whipped the chain in Hanabi's direction again.
She grabbed the chain, instead of dodging like before. Kuro didn't look one bit surprised. 

"I'm through with just dodging," she remarked, pulling on the chain now, her mind coming up with a plan. 'Just because I can't get in close enough to land a blow with my palms, that doesn't mean I can't still attack from a distance as well.'

Kuro smirked, having expected the move from the Hyuuga girl. He had to be fast now. He took a firm hold of the chain and ran at Hanabi.

...

In the stands, Daro gasped. "What is he doing?! He should stay out of her reach!"

...

"Very risky," Akio commented, trying to anticipate the boy's next move and see what exactly the Suna boy had planned to risk getting close to Hanabi.

"Yes, well..." Kakashi looked from the arena over to where Taryn was anxiously looking on, her face very serious as she watched. "His teacher doesn't exactly play much on the safe side. Her students were bound to take up after her at one point or another. I'm surprised it's this one though." They continued to watch as Hanabi seemed thrown off by the boy's sudden turn to draw into close range.

...

Hanabi focused her chakra, and just as she was about to use it on the chain to travel down its length to paralyze him, she grew further in surprise that he leapt up and over her head, twisting as he quickly pulled on the chain she was holding. 

All of the slack that had been created from his dash forward, looped around her suddenly, entangling her. She saw a length of it rise up, about to meet her neck, but she brought up her arms to take the blow. The sounds of the chain seemed to echo through the arena as the slack continued to be taken away.

Kuro pulled harder on the chain and watched it dig into the girl's arms. Was that slight panic in her eyes? He had constricted her movements. That was one thing. Now all he had to do was wait. He couldn't weave any signs as long as he was holding on, but neither could she.

The chain cut deeper into Hanabi's skin. Kuro used his weight to tighten the chain even more around her, forcing her arms closer to her body and slowly cutting off her air supply. "Give up?" he asked.

...

"Ah," Hiro pointed, "he's gonna win."

"Looks like it," Daro smirked.

...

Taryn kept a close watch on the battle. That move Kuro made was a rash one and she hadn't expected him to do such a thing. He was always the rational one. He had surprised her. He had grown. In a battle you sometimes had to take a risk. Still, it wasn't over yet. She knew how stubborn the Hyuuga could be. Hanabi would die before giving up.
Anxiously she watched the two combatants.

...

"Now, here's where it gets interesting," Kankuro smirked. He watched the trapped Hyuuga amused. "She'll think twice now about mocking Taryn's brats."

"You reckon?" Temari asked, "I'm not so sure. She's a little smart ass."

"I wondered where Taryn picked that up. Must be her Hyuuga blood," Kankuro chuckled.

"Hmmm," Temari mused not convinced. She looked down at the young Hyuuga girl who was definitely not happy about her situation. "I have to admit though, I didn't expect Kuro to take such a risk. He's normally the steady one."

"Yeah, but he trained with Taryn, so he knows what to expect with Byakugan. Besides, sometimes you have to take a risk in order to win."

"True, still, he had to time it right."

"He's had time to evaluate her moves. Plus, he's seen her fight Hiro. And I'm sure he wants a little payback for the injuries she gave his teammate." He grinned at Gaara, who sat there silently, ignoring his two squabbling siblings. "A win for Suna."

...

Hanabi couldn't help but let out a small sound of struggle escape her as the chain continued to restrict her movement. It was tightening so much, that her back was beginning to bend back. If she allowed this to continue, she was sure her back would snap quicker than the chain could choke her. A foot slipped back as the chain tightened further. A sound of extreme discomfort escaped, this time much louder for the crowd to hear as she continued her struggle. It was now or never. She had to make her move now or she would lose. Her father would surly give her a harsh lecture and she would be forever shamed from the defeat to her cousin's student.

Kuro gritted his teeth. Why wouldn't she just give up? Did she want him to choke her to death? "Well?" he said, "what's it gonna be?" He glanced back at the proctor. Shouldn't he be calling the match?

There! It was her chance! She had even felt the chain loosen just slightly enough, though any normal genin probably wouldn't have been able to tell. She quickly was able to adjust her arms in the chain to allow for one hand to grab a hold of it again, this time with a surging amount of chakra. "Never underestimate a Hyuuga!" she cried out as she sent her chakra all the way down the chain's length.

'What?' Kuro whipped his head back alarmed and saw Hanabi had managed to get one hand free. He let go of the chain but it was already too late. He felt her chakra enter his body and shut down his own chakra stream. The chain slacked around Hanabi and she was free. "Nice counter," he complimented her, "took you a while though."

One of Hanabi's eyebrows twitched. Was he mocking her? He was! Just like that teammate before him. Her cousin's students sure were idiots for mocking a Hyuuga. With what energy she had left, she ran forward, palms open and ready to strike. As she drew within range, she shot her first palm forward to land a blow to the boy's face.

Kuro snapped out of his temporarily paralysis and dodged the blow just before it could make contact with his face. The little Hyuuga sure was fast when she was angry.

"Still too slow!" Hanabi roared as she spun back around with her other palm to land a solid hit over Kuro's shoulder from behind.

Kuro groaned and fell to one knee. Quickly he twisted his legs to tackle her to the ground before she could attempt another attack.

...

"Ouch, now that made my own body hurt just seeing that," Akio frowned, resisting a shiver as he rubbed at his shoulder and tensed his legs.

"It looked like he would win," Hisayo commented, "he's out now."

"Possibly," Kakashi said, seeing the two combatants hit the dirt, "Hanabi looks pretty worn out."

"That little girl has too much spunk to go down though," Akio could resist glancing over to Hisayo with a raised brow, "just like someone else I know."

Hisayo casually crossed her arms, not returning the glance she knew she was being given. "Really now? I'd say the spunky one is the old man sitting next to me right now."

"So mean!" Akio cried.

...

Kuro bit his lip. His leg hurt like hell, but it had been the only option. Slowly, biting back the pain, he stood back up to see Hanabi do the same thing. He leaned on his one good leg and took out a kunai dagger and held it ready to defend himself.

...

"Well, now, I stand corrected," Akio looked on, very interested, "the boy has too much spunk to go down either. Just like—"

"Are you seriously going to finish that sentence?" Kakashi lazily glanced over.

Akio sighed. "Fine, fine."

"Just watch the fight already without any more comments," Hisayo said. 'Doesn't look like it's going to last much longer though.' She added to herself.

...

Hanabi stood to her feet too, panting, with a long strand of hair in her face. 'You've got to be kidding! That stubborn guy! He shouldn't be getting up after all of that!' She was very irritated, that was certain; and to be honest, she wasn't sure how much longer she could fight. She had used up so much chakra earlier when she had channeled it through the chain. That was a lot harder than it looked. She had heard the story of how her cousin Neji had done it to an enemy, so thought she could do it just as easily as well. It sure was costing her now.

Kuro's hand tightened around the dagger. He was swaying on his one good leg, but he wouldn't go down without a fight. He would just have to hold on a bit longer. Hanabi was struggling too. That one trick she pulled with his chain had surprised him. He hadn't expected that, but it had taken her a lot of chakra to do it. He wasn't going to give up now.

...

Both Hiro and Daro held their breath. They had thought for sure Kuro had won, but it seemed they had celebrated too soon. Somehow, the Hyuuga girl had managed to break free and now both were struggling to keep upright.

"Come on Kuro," Daro muttered, "you can do it."

"That leg doesn't look too good," Hiro muttered.

"I know," Daro replied soflty. He watched his teammate concerned. He wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

...

Hanabi brought a hand up to brush her hair away and stood a little taller. She could see that though Kuro was standing, he was still fighting to stay upright. Only one good leg and without the use of chakra...she could still win this. She just needed to hit him harder, and in a more vital point on his body. She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, before she ran forward kicking up the dirt as she went to make one final assault on her opponent.

Kuro narrowed his eyes in concentration. She would try to hit a vital spot, like she had done to Hiro. He could not let that happen. He slammed his hand against her wrist just as she was going to land a hit and managed to divert it, but it hit his leg instead. His good leg. His knee buckled and he fell to the side. He landed in the dust, panting. He bit back the pain and glanced at Hanabi, anticipating her next move.

'Stay down, or I swear...' Hanabi couldn't even finish her own thoughts, she was panting too much. Her own legs felt like they would buckle from under her. She shouldn't have used up the amount of chakra she had in that last strike, but she had to be sure he would go down. It was lucky that she had hit his good leg though the strike had been intended to hit elsewhere. She could see Kuro's hands clutching into a fist, as if he would try to stand again, and at that point, she managed to hold in her breath. 'Just stay down.'

Kuro's breath came out raspy. He knew it would only be a matter of seconds. He lifted his dagger to slash at Hanabi one last time.

Had she been at her best, she would have been able to completely dodge it, but she wasn't. She staggered back on her wobbly legs, grasping her shoulder where the dagger had grazed her. It wasn't a life threatening strike, but it was still enough to cause pain and blood loss. Her legs finally gave out and she fell to the ground on her back, just feet away from Kuro.

Kuro's eyes rolled back and he hit the ground with a soft thud.

...

"No way!" Akira stood up straighter with wide eyes, "a double knock out?"

"Wow, I didn't think Hanabi would be knocked out at all during the exams." Suzume was also in shock.

"Don't know. It's hard to tell with their current low levels of chakra." Ken stared at the two far ahead with a concentrating gaze.

...

"A double knock out, huh?" Akio blinked, watching below to see how Inoichi would rule the match.

"I guess the final round will have an even two fighting," Kakashi commented.

"Daro is only one of Taryn's students left fighting."

"Hm?" Akio and Kakashi both blinked, glancing over at Hisayo sat between them.

"What's this? Speaking Taryn's name without a single hint of malice?" Akio smirked, "finally on good terms?"

"I sure hope so for my sake," Kakashi let out a sigh.

Hisayo grunted, "You two...always looking too deeply into things. I'm sure you two gossip like little old ladies to each other too."

"Can't blame us. You stir up enough trouble—we can't help it," Akio teased.

"Please," Kakashi groaned, "don't bait her any further, Akio."

...

Taryn activated her Byakugan. Even with her ability it was hard to tell which of the two was in the worst shape. She let out a deep breath. Kuro had fought well, even better than she had expected. She just hoped his leg was alright. She didn't like the look of it. She sighed. 'I suppose another trip to the medics is in order.' She glanced at Inoichi who was approaching both contestants to determine the win. It would be a close call.

...

Itsuki and Tengai gasped and their mouths fell wide open.

"She... went down?" Tengai said in shock.

"She went down," Itsuki nodded in disbelieve, "those Suna Genin are tough." He looked at Tengai. "You're up against one of them in the next round, aren't you?"

"I guess so, depending on who wins this round." Tengai nodded at Hanabi down in the arena. He wasn't sure who he wanted to win. He didn't want to fight against Hanabi, but now that he had seen what those Suna kids could do, he wasn't so sure he wanted to fight one of them either.
His eyes moved to Inoichi, who had moved up to Kuro and Hanabi and was looking at them intensely.

...

Inoichi was in just about as much shock as the rest of the onlookers. He didn't think Hanabi would go down either. It had been such a back and forth struggle between the two with such an unexpected end. Neither were moving at this point.  The boy from Suna was unconscious. Luckily he was still breathing. He studied the two combatants carefully. It was a close call, he had to be sure. As he drew closer, he saw Hanabi stir, bringing a hand up and over to her bloodied shoulder. She was panting, gritting her teeth as she slowly began to rise to a sitting position, drawing in gasps from the crowd. Inoichi glanced back at Kuro, but the boy was still out cold.

"Winner Hanabi Hyuuga!" he announced.

...

"Geez, that Hanabi," Akira was amazed, "stubborn Hyuuga all the way."

"You're telling me. I was almost sure she was completely down for the count," Ken said.

"But what about Kuro?" Suzume looked to Ken, concern seen in her eyes.

Ken shook his head. "Sorry. Kuro's out cold. This match is over."

Suzume frowned. "I hope it isn't anything serious like it was for Hiro."

...

Hanabi could only sit down, currently unable to stand. She grunted. 'I still have to fight in the final round too.' She had known not to underestimate the genin from Suna, but she had still been put in her current state. If she didn't recover enough strength and chakra back fast, then even Tengai could take her out—that was, if he even dared. She could possibly use that to her advantage at least. Tengai was a scardy-cat, especially when it came to her. She didn't think that would be the case at all with the final genin from Suna. He had looked to be the leader of the two she had fought, and the strongest too. She'd have to be careful of him, but first, she'd have to get herself patched up. Already the medics were seen, making their way toward her and Kuro.

Kuro groaned and grabbed his head. Everything hurt. That Hanabi sure knew how to fight. Slowly he worked himself in a sitting position.

"Careful now," an unfamiliar voice said, "you might rip something."

Kuro looked up. A medic sat beside him. "Is the match over?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said kindly, "you fought well though."

"So she won?"

"It was a close call, but yes."

Kuro sighed and let the medic help him up. He bit his lip. His knee hurt.

"Don't worry," the medic noticed his discomfort, "nothing's broken. You should be back to your hold self in a week or two."

"Two weeks?"

"Your knee took quite a hit when you tripped that girl. It needs rest. We'll give you a checkup, but I think you'll be fine with some rest."

Kuro nodded weakly and leaned on the medic who guided him back to the stands. A loud applause erupted from the crowd and Kuro looked up stunned. "Why are they clapping?"

The medic chuckled. "It's not every day someone gives Hanabi-sama a run for her money."

A smirk tugged at the corner of Kuro's mouth, but he looked around to look for said Hyuuga. He found her not far away, getting a quick check up from another medic. He nodded at her. "Good fight. Congratulations."

 "Hmph, Suna brats."

Taryn met him in the doorway to the arena. He looked down at his feet, the medic still keeping him upright.
"Good job," Taryn said softly, "that was a tough fight."

"I could have won," Kuro muttered apologetic, "but I didn't pay attention. I thought I had already won."

"Yes," Taryn nodded, "that's true. You got distracted. That's not really you, but if it had been a real mission, you wouldn't have made that mistake."

"I don't know."

"But I do. I know you. I've trained you, been on missions with you. I've seen you in action. Don't think so little of yourself. Hanabi is a tough opponent. You did well. I'm proud of you."

Kuro looked up. His eyes were wide. "R-really?"

Taryn smiled. "Very much so." She looked at the medic. "How is he doing?"

"His knee took a hit. He needs rest. He shouldn't put pressure on his leg for at least two weeks. Otherwise he should be fine. We'll run a checkup just to be sure."

Taryn nodded. "Good. I'll meet you in a minute."

The medic nodded and helped Kuro out of the hallway.

...to be continued...