I wrote this special for the amazing Infinitely_Eternal, thank you for the wonderful idea. 

For the purpose of this special, Sauske Uchiha returned to Kohona after killing Itachi Uchiha and was put on probation for six months before finally being reinstated as a ninja. The original Team Seven was put back together.

This special takes places in the rebuilt Storm Village a few weeks after the Storm and Leaf Villages make an alliance, and the war hasn't happened, nor is it anywhere close to starting. This special will have two parts. 

Enjoy. xx

Winter Ookami Never Fails

Contest Special : Part One

Winter was bored. She stood underneath the shade of a great oak tree, watching Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki beat the shit out of each other, a sleepy feeling being cast over her. The sun beat down on the clearing that was surrounded by tall trees, all nearly identical to the one she leaned against.

It had been Emiko's idea to create a miniature tournament between the visiting shinobi and the Originals, which proved to be quite a popular hit amongst the two visiting teams.

Team Seven— Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha —were quick to agree to the prospect of friendly sparring against the village they had created a new alliance with. Though really all it took with the possibility that Naruto might be able to fight Sasuke, and the blonde managed to convince everyone within a half hour to participate. The other team that had been visiting was Team Guy— Might Guy, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji Hyuga —had also agreed to participate, seeing how half of that team was obsessed with competitions, and the other half were interested to test their strength.

How the competition worked was quite easy; the first round your opponent was chosen by luck of the draw, the second round you waited for you name to be drawn and then you challenged someone who made it through to the second round as well. The third round, well Emiko said she'd explain how that worked when they got there.

So far the fights had been pretty entertaining to say the least.

Aexstra had barely beat Tenten.

Neji had made quick work of the nervous Eien.

Guy had screeched a victory cry after he defeated Daiki (who'd received a smack on the back of his head by Emiko, who knew just like the other Originals, that he really didn't try because he thought that the competition was a waste of time).

Rock Lee had been knocked out by Winter herself after he tried to get her to put on a green, spandex suit, that was identical to the one he wore daily.

Kakashi obliterated poor Kishi after he accidentally shredded his signed copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

Sasuke had nearly lost to the misleading voice of Sairen, but eventually he won as well.

Naruto had a tough battle with the airborne Kuki, and finally brought the winged girl to the ground with his use of a Shadow Clone ladder.

Sakura had the advantage of superior strength compared to Ja'far (not that he would ever admit it), but he'd spent years in an unforgiving environment, and his experience was vastly greater than hers. In the end the veteran of fighting brought down the pink haired girl.

Seeing how the fights had started rather early in the morning, which made Winter grumble because she'd much rather prefer to sleep in then go fight when she didn't have to, Emiko had given everyone a four hour break which was enough time for all of them to regain any chakra they might've used and also to insure they wouldn't be tired. To be honest, none of the first fights were particularly exhausting, just lengthy. And in Winter's case, it had been a full on taijutsu battle. She knew she could've used any jutsu to swiftly beat Lee, but she wanted to see how long she could last against the taijutsu powerhouse. She was lucky that she was as fast as she was, otherwise she'd never beaten Lee.

Sighing quietly, she turns her attention back to the battling duo. Once Naruto's name had been drawn he'd quickly issued a challenge to Sasuke. It was no surprise to anyone really. They'd walked to the center of the clearing before Emiko placed a barrier to insure no bystanders would get hit by any debris caused by jutsus and to contain the strong nature of the two shinobi. Winter snorted when Naruto pointed his finger at Sasuke, who'd looked at him blankly. And then, right then and there, Naruto made a bet with the devil.

Naruto told Sasuke that if he won, the Uchiha would have to treat him to ramen for an entire year.

Sasuke retorted that if he won, the idiot Uzumaki would have to give up ramen for an entire year.

The idiot agreed.

Winter had to admit, it was an impressive battle, but that still didn't make her boredom disappear. She knew how this battle would end, although she suspected the others didn't. Determined by recent actions, many had assumed that one was clearly stronger than the other. They were all wrong. See as Naruto grew, so did Sasuke, and vice versa. There wasn't a single doubt in her mind that this battle would end—

A resounding boom drew her out of her thoughts, the three hour long battle finally over. As the dust settled she resisted to smirk triumphantly.

—in a tie.

Both were knocked out by the others final move. The land around them was severely destroyed, craters and huge gouges in the earth. Luckily Emiko knew Earth style and was able to repair the clearing to its previous glory.

It wasn't long before the next fight was announced, and this one wasn't a shock to anyone else. Guy had challenged Kakashi. Guy, too, issued a challenge. That if he won this battle, then Kakashi would have to admit he was the superior ninja. Kakashi had simply sighed and tucked his spare Icha Icha book away before agreeing half-heartedly. And just like Naruto and Sasuke's battle, this one ended in a tie, with both participants exhausted beyond belief.

Neji took his time deciding his opponent, for all he had left were Originals. He calculated each battle, his pupil less eyes resting on Winter first, then Ja'far, and finally Aexstra. He wanted to fight her, she knew that much, for the two had only fought to their full extent once before, and that was when they were barely Genin. He would want to see how much she'd grown, and he'd want to beat her. But there was something about the deadly gleam that was usually well concealed in Ja'far's eyes that made him hesitate to call out the black haired kunoichi's name. So, after looking the white haired male up and down, devising the best strategy that he could, Neji called out Ja'far.

The two faced each other, a silent bet being made between them. For they knew whoever one this battle would get to face Winter, and that's what they wanted. They wanted a shot at the infamous Storm Bringer, to see if they could draw out her full potential. The bet wasn't really a bet, but rather a silent challenge. Whoever won this battle was the greater ninja, and they were to win against Winter to prove that they were really that strong.

With no words to say, the two Jonin level ninja sprinted at each other.

Now this battle caught Winter's attention. Both ninjas were considered outcasts or inferior to their clan, they had both gone through several trials and tribulations to get where they are today, and the only real difference is that Neji had gone to the academy, whilst Ja'far self taught himself in the harsh world.

Winter watched through a half closed eye, analyzing them, picking apart their movements. In the end it was Ja'far, the young man referred to as The Executioner, that won. It was because his desire to fight Winter was greater than Neji's, and it was these emotions that fueled his deadly moves. As Winter walked onto the clearing, now that she and Aexstra were the only ones left that hadn't fought, she passed Ja'far. The corner of his mouth quirked up as he whispered a single sentence to her. "Don't lose."

She scoffed. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Winter knew that Aexstra had gotten stronger since the first time they'd fought, but back then she didn't have her chakra. And when you're on the same level as Winter, adding chakra to the game makes a huge difference. She faced the teal haired man, her face composed and her stance loose. Her hands hung at her sides, her shoulders relaxed, and her single eye blank of any readable emotion.

"Wanna make a bet?" He asked, rolling his broad shoulders back. "How about when you lose... I get those pretty katanas of yours."

Her eye narrowed every so slightly. Aexstra had just made a very stupid bet, for those katanas were named after Ryu and Riku. Like hell she'd let him have them, however it wasn't like he knew what they meant to her. He didn't know that the katanas symbolized the twins always having her back, for those katanas had saved her many times. He didn't know that the katanas were the hardest thing for her to part with when she infiltrated the coliseum. He didn't know anything about them, other than the fact that Winter almost always had them with her, and that they were crafted by an amazing blacksmith.

She tilted her head slightly, her obsidian hair shifting. "And when you lose, you'll go through the mountain range to retrieve some nightshade for me."

He pales slightly, knowing that finding the deadly plant would be no easy task. Still he agrees.

"I'll bet my house that she beats him in under five minutes." Ja'far comments smoothly before seeing the wicked glint appear in Winter's eye. "I take that back, Aexstra will be annihilated in about three minutes."

"I don't feel like betting my house away, but I bet a thousand ryo that it takes her at least five minutes." Sairen replied, watching the two get ready to fight. "She'll want to take her time in destroying him."

"Don't be ridiculous. She'll just wipe the floor with his face within a minute flat." Emiko says lazily. "The fight was already over before they went out there. I mean, did you see the look on her face? He did something to piss her off. Or at least, he said something extremely stupid."

"All of you are wrong, he'll be down for the count within thirty seconds, mark my word." Daiki mutters.

"Psh. He's going to be out within a few seconds." Kuki mumbles around the donut that had appeared in her hand from thin air.

The teams from Konoha watched the Originals in slightly disbelief as they bet on how long it would take Winter to knock Aexstra out. "Don't you guys have a little faith in the guy?" Kakashi finally spoke up.

They all turned and looked at him, each sporting a blank look. "You're kidding right?" This time it's Eien who speaks up. "Aexstra is good, yes, but he's arrogant. He thinks just because he got a bit stronger he can suddenly take over an entire nation. Of course I'm exaggerating slightly, but it's to make a point. When you think you're much better than you actually are, you have no chance against someone like Winter."

However it was Ja'far words that made a slight shiver go down their back as he turned to look at them, his eyes dead serious. "I can't believe you guys haven't realised it yet." Slowly he turned to face forward, a small smirk curling the edges of his lips up. He raised his head slightly, an amused look flashing across his face. His next words were coated thick with conviction. "Winter Ookami never fails."

Two minutes and thirty three seconds later, a very pleased Ja'far collects money from his friends.

Just as they'd thought, Winter had won. That didn't mean that Aexstra was weak, or that they didn't believe in him, it was just that they acknowledged the difference in skill between the two.

Emiko clears her throat. "The final battle will be between Ja'far Fukkishimi and Winter." She looks at the two, knowing that they were ready to go, but also knew that it would be more beneficial if the two fought each other at full strength. "You two have the rest of the day to recover. Meet back here tomorrow at nine." The various shinobi start to disperse, and soon only Ja'far and Winter are left in the clearing. They start walking back towards the Storm Village, the silence between them a familiar one.

"You know, this will be the first time we've ever actually fought against each other." Ja'far murmurs, looking up at the sunset painted sky.

"Mm... it'll be intresting I suppose."

"You don't seem very motivated."

She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "I enjoy friendly spars to a certain point, but I just haven't been feeling the competitive spirit lately."

Ja'far is silent for a moment, thinking. "Then why don't we spice things up?"

Winter runs a hand through her long hair, a spark of curiosity settling into her. "How so?"

"Well everyone else has been making bets, so why don't we make our own?"

She mulled over this idea for a bit, her eye growing distant as she thinks. She didn't know what sort of crazy bet Ja'far would make, but it would certainly be interesting. After a while of staying quiet she sighs softly, she might was well take a bet, after all what did she have to lose?

"Very well, what do you have in mind?"

Ja'far smiled and Winter felt dread coil itself around her stomach. Ja'far rarely smiled like that, unless he was planning something.

"Well..."

Let me know what you think the bet is :) hope you guys like it so far.