When Kazue’s name finally appeared on the scoreboard, she simply stared at the characters in disbelief.

“Oh, that’s just boring!” Jun complained, eyes similarly unmoving. “This is gonna suck to watch!”

Kazue scowled, shoving away from the railing. Next to her, Tenten slowly nodded her agreement.

“I hate to say he’s right, but he is…”

“It’ll be fine,” Kazue argued, glancing at Noriaki. The person in question was frowning, only budging once she elbowed him. “Come on, let’s not keep them waiting.”

Reluctantly, Noriaki trailed her down to the ground floor. The entire way there, she could see the debate going on in his head, and she sighed. He wouldn’t actually do what the others were betting he would do, would he? Just because he was supposed to fight her, that didn’t mean he’d back out…

“I want to-” he began, once they’d stopped walking.

“One more word and I’ll never talk to you again,” she interrupted. “I’m not winning by default.”

Seemingly bothered by her words, Noriaki shut his mouth, a troubled expression appearing on her face. If she wasn’t so irritated at him for attempting to forfeit, she might have laughed. There had been very few moments in her life that Noriaki wore an expression that she would have declared ‘rather cute’. This expression happened to be one of them.

“We will now begin the fourth match,” Hayate announced.

At that same moment, Kakashi and Miki rejoined the genin in the balcony. While he wore a smile on his face when greeting Naruto and Sakura, his eyes strayed to Miki as soon as finished. The only reason it’d taken so long for him to return was because he’d been unwilling to leave her behind, and after they’d dropped Sasuke off, she’d braced herself against a wall in the hall and all but collapsed. ‘All but’ meaning that she hadn’t fallen to the ground, nor did she cry, but she also refused to respond to him or even acknowledge that he’d been standing there. It was like the encounter had thrown her back to the behavior she’d used to display when she’d first arrived in Konoha and once he’d realized this, he’d simply ordered her to come with him and she’d mechanically obeyed. There hadn’t been a moment when she was younger that she didn’t obeyed an order by someone she perceived as worth listening to.

Knowing that it wasn’t wise to show back up at the preliminaries with her like that, they’d walked the majority of the way back to the tower. It wasn’t until she’d managed to pull herself together that he’d suggested picking  up their speed so that they could get back before the fights were finished.

As it was, he was rather relieved to discover he hadn’t missed Naruto or Sakura’s matches.

“Those two…” Miki muttered, realization crossing her expression.

Jun grinned at her and opened his mouth to comment, the expression faulting for a moment after his eyes took her in. Within a moment, however, his grin was back in place and he was cheerily updating her on Noriaki’s attempt to forfeit and Kazue’s reaction. Down on the ground level, the two had separated to opposite sides, but had yet to make a single move.

“I haven’t actually seen them fight each other,” Kakashi mused, bracing his arms on the railing.

“That’s because they don’t,” Miki replied instantly. “Noriaki’s position in the Asari clan is as her protector. A body-guard of sorts to make sure she isn’t harmed. The Asari clan have done it for almost their entire history, it’s to avoid their clan heirs being killed by injuries that they might not notice due to their condition. They’ll take the child closest to the heir’s age when the condition becomes known and raise them to protect the other. You’ve noticed how he rarely shows bare skin, right?”

Realizing that he’d noticed and not questioned it, Kakashi simply nodded in return.

“Noriaki’s dedication… well, it’s frankly unsettling,” she continued, her eyes never swaying from where they two were watching each other. “Almost as unsettling as how absolutely she trusts him. The majority of his chest is covered in scar tissue from an accident when they were younger. He almost died on that occasion. They were only around six or seven years old. Even now I’ve seen him thrown himself in front of her during dangerous moments on missions. Him hurting her… it’s unthinkable. As for her, she has absolute trust that he would never do anything that would harm her. She never questions what he tells her, because in her mind, he’d never lie to her. Sure, she’ll dismiss his warnings about being reckless, but that doesn’t mean she doubts that he’s right.”

Neji, like most of them was focusing on the ground level, but his entire body had gone tense since the beginning of the conversation. Both team Guy and Miki noticed this, but wisely kept silent about the matter. The relationship between Noriaki and Kazue had never been something he’d agreed with and he’d never that fact a secret. His own circumstances made it difficult for the boy to be anything less than irritated by the situation.

“Basically,” Jun summarized. “Nori-kun is a big pushover, and Kazue-chan knows it and exploits it. Nori-kun knows she knows, so he’d make a pretty good liar if needed, ‘cause she’d never second guess it.”

Next to him, Tenten frowned and started to correct Jun’s blunt assessment, but shut her mouth as movement beneath them caught her attention.

“Finally!” Jun exclaimed.

As all of them had been talking, Kazue had been studying Noriaki with a small frown, pulling to mind everything she knew about her cousin. In turn, he’d relaxed, simply waiting or her to make a move. Internally, he was debating the best way to avoid injuring her pride, while also avoiding injuring her body. Realizing he wouldn’t move until she did, she’d swiftly pulled several kunai from her pouch and launched it in his direction. She almost expected that he’d simply let them hit, but at last moment he dodged to the side, landing on the concrete with a uncoordinated movement that was unlike him. With a scowl, she lowered the shuriken she’d already drawn and simply stalked towards him.

“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded.

Noriaki pulled himself up, dusting off the front of his clothing. He simply studied her expression for a moment, rolling his options on how to respond around in his mind. Just when she was about to impatiently demand an answer, he sighed, running a hand through his hair and shoving it out of his face. For once, he simply spoke the first thing that came to mind.

“This is so troublesome.”

She stared at him, disbelief crossing her expression.

“... troublesome?”

In the balcony, Jun burst out laughing. Naruto snickered as well, nudging Sakura with his elbow.

“He sounds like Shikamaru!”

“Troublesome,” Noriaki agreed, his tired tone matching his words. “What exactly are you expecting me to do, Kazue?”

“Fight!”

“Troublesome,” he repeated.

Her face flushed red from irritation, hand clenching the shurikens a bit tighter than safe. A small line of blood slipped down her palm, the sharp edge of the weapon cutting into her skin. Blissfully unaware of the simple injury, she launched the weapon, watching as he once again sidestepped the weapon’s at last minute. Her irritation with him only grew as her mind scrambled for something that would at least cause him to have a bit of willingness to participate. Eventually, she found something.

“Noriaki, if I beat you here, I’ll move onto the third test,” she informed him.

“Of course.”

“Are you really willing to just let me walk into that?” she added, crossing her fingers behind her back in hopes that goading him could possibly work. “What was the it the third called it… life or death battles?”

He stiffened, realization crossing his features. Encouraged, Kazue searched for the words that might tip the scale.

“Instead of troublesome, shouldn’t you view this as a chance to keep me from getting involved in that? Or are you just all talk about wanting to keep me out of dangerous situations? I never thought you’d back down, Noriaki.”

“That’s actually a rather smart move,” Miki mused from the balcony. “Forcing him to fight her to protect her.”

“Still say he’s a pushover,” Jun grumbled. “To have to be coerced into fighting... “

Beneath them, Noriaki frowned, studying her for a moment. His hands formed and unformed fists at his sides as he proceeded with his infamous, slow way of thinking things over. She breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly shifted from his relaxed position into one she recognized as something he’d picked up when training with Lee. While she would have preferred he’d use the katana that Miki had gifted him and taught him with, she knew that actually asking him to draw her blood might have been a bit much.

“If I must,” he muttered.

Within seconds of the words hitting the air, he’d sprung forward, the speed to his usually slow, calculated movements startling her. She only just managed to bring her arm up to block his kick, then jump back as he threw his arm forward. As Noriaki began pressing her backwards, throwing blow after blow as she hurried to just manage to dodge them, Kazue suddenly questioned if provoking him really was the best idea. If she thought about it, he probably had a lot of pent up frustration with her due to everything she put him through on a weekly basis. As if to prove her point, his foot suddenly snuck under her guard, sending the girl flying through the air and crashing into the side of the arena. Slightly dazed, she only managed to scramble to her feet as quickly as she did because of the encouraging shouts she heard hitting the air. Although, much to her surprise, most of them were for Noriaki.

When her eyes located him, she realized he’d frozen in place, staring at her with wide, uncertain eyes. A sliver of irritation swept through her and she quickly clasped her hands together, ignoring the knowledge that when it came to her, she was best off saving chakra in the case of any unknown injuries she might obtain throughout the fight. Shifting her hands through faintly familiar signs, she suddenly felt grateful that she’d bugged her brother until he’d patiently walked her step-by-step through manipulating their families typical chakra nature.

“Water Release: Water Trumpet!”

The sudden drain on her chakra levels was staggering, but watching Noriaki snap to attention just before the torrent sent him skidding backwards, soaked, was well worth it in her opinion. Almost instantly releasing the jutsu, she forced the sudden exhaustion from her mind as she pointedly crossed part of the distance between them, allowing her overwhelming irritation show on her face.

“Baka! You can’t just stop fighting because you hit me. How the hell do you think that will allow you to win? Noriaki, you can be so freaking idiotic sometimes!”

He didn’t respond, save giving a swift shake of his head, sending water droplets everywhere as his bangs plastered themselves to his face. When he looked at her this time, his eyes were narrowed, expression more thoughtful than before. A moment later he slowly pulled himself to his feet before suddenly bowing in her direction.

“What is that idiot doing now?” Jun grumbled.

“Shush,” Tenten scolded him.

“He’s acknowledging his mistakes,” Lee announced with a grin. “Just like Guy-sensei advised! It’s a part of youth!”

Unsurprisingly, Jun ignored Lee’s comment in favor of more grumbling under his breath. Waiting for his turn had put the genin in a rather foul mood.

“What now?” Kazue demanded.

Within a moment he’d pulled himself back up from the bowing position, his expression never shifting from that thoughtful one.

“I apologize, I hadn’t considered that you might be able to fight back.”

Silence descended upon the room, only broke when a majority of the spectators started laughing. Even Ibiki cracked a smile as Kazue’s face turned about a bright a shade as it could possibly go.

“Sometimes that honesty between them backfires,” Miki observed.

Unsurprisingly, a seething Kazue launched herself forward, avoiding the water coating the floor as she began throwing kicks and punches. Her anger seemed to do something for her, because unlike earlier in the match, she managed to keep up with Noriaki when he began fighting back. As their blows began to pick up speed, it became more and more difficult, however, and her anger gave away to apprehension. She couldn’t get a hand down to grab a weapon, nor could she back off without risking getting hit.

This time the blow that escaped her landed on her gut. Noriaki, aware of her limitations as he was, watched as she doubled over. She might not have been able to feel pain, but that didn’t keep her from reacting to the air suddenly being forced out of her lungs. Then, his expression stoney, he brought his elbow down on the back of her head. Within an instant, Kazue had collapsed, the fight finished without warning.

The spectators were left simply watching as Hayate joined Noriaki on the ground level, checking her and declaring Noriaki the winner. The abrupt end made it difficult to have a strong reaction to the result, if anything, it simply silenced them. No one, however, was surprised when Noriaki insisted on a medical-nin examining her and elected to go with them when they arrived to escort her from the arena.

“Now there’s just me,” Jun cheered under his breath, resting his chin between his arms on the railing. “Yay….”

Beside him, Miki simply reached out a hand to ruffle Jun’s hair. His lips twisted up slightly, the tension falling out of his shoulders. As unnoticeable as the nervousness flooding his system had been- she’d noticed. Something about that little piece of knowledge made it somehow easier. Most likely the fact that she’d seen past his carefree attitude at all.

________________________________

“There’s no one left, so I have to be next, right?” Jun questioned, his head still stuck on the railing as he eyed the destroyed arena beneath them.

The matches before him had only served to make him more depressed over having to wait. Although, after the more recent events, it became harder for him to keep a cap on his emotions and disguise them as he usually would. Lee’s defeat, Neji’s brutal beat down of his cousin, even Jun couldn’t help but feel uneasy after those events. Next to him, Miki simply nodded, her eyes flickering across the way to where the only other genin left in the room was standing. The Getsugakure shinobi was eyeing the board, his hands lazily shoved in the pockets of his pants. Throughout the entirety of the preliminary matches, he hadn’t moved an inch from that position, save leaning forward out of curiousity when the match between Gaara and Lee had occurred. Even then, his rather bored expression hadn’t shifted.

When their names appeared on the score-board, Jun’s irritation was swept away in favor of eager curiosity.

“Saichi,” he muttered, eyes flickering towards the other boy who began making his way down to the ground level.

Not about to be beat there, Jun suddenly pulled his head from the railing and gripped it with one hand before launching himself over the side. He landed effortlessly among the broken up rock, a smirk settling on his lips as he watched his opponent slowly finish making his way to the center.

“The twelfth match will now begin,” Hayate announced.

Instantly, Saichi had one of his blades drawn, twirling it in his hand like a chef would might treat a cooking knife. Above them, Miki narrowed her eyes, wariness flooding through her.

“This could be bad.”

“The opposite type of what Jun needs,” Kakashi agreed.

At his side, Naruto furrowed his brows, glancing between the two genin and the two jounin.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Jun’s not a fighter,” Tenten answered for him. “Not close-range, anyways. It’s how Noriaki-kun always beats him. He’s a genjutsu user.”

“Oh,” Naruto replied, brow still furrowed, but nodding all the same as if he understood what they were getting at. “I see.”

At that same moment, realizing the same thing they did, Jun began to back off, eyeing his opponent warily. His hands were already flashing through signs, hoping that he’d manage to trap the Moon-nin before the boy had a chance to land the blow. He’d just begun the last sign when he suddenly ducked, a kunai burying itself in the wall behind where his head had been moments ago. Saichi pursed his lips, that lazy feeling to him never disappearing.

“I wouldn’t let that touch you,” he commented, still flipping his blade in his other hand, as if not having settled on what to do with it just yet. “I’m a Goto, if that means anything to you.”

Kakashi stiffened, studying the kid a bit closer than before. It was only then he picked up on the obvious signs.

“Goto?” Miki questioned.

“A family of Getsugakure shinobi,” he answered, his words coming out slowly as he pulled together the needed information. “A noble one, actually. Very closely related to the ruler of the Moon country. The only reason I say family instead of clan is that there is a high mortality rate among their children. So few of them survive the training they’re forced through that the family has been in danger of dying out on several occasion. It’s only their relation to the rulers that keep them from being reprimanded for their brutality. Often, one of them will go on to be a personal guard for the king.”

“I forgot that the moon country was ruled by a monarch,” Miki mused.

“Why do so many die?” Sakura asked, focusing on the more important part of his words.

“Poison,” Kakashi replied simply. “They’re exposed to it almost from birth. If their bodies can’t handle it, they die. I’d almost hoped that their clan had managed to wipe themselves out by now.”

Sakura’s eyes widened at hearing her teacher say something that cold. Noticing her reaction, he simply shook his head, eyes settling on Saichi.

“They don’t ever leave survivors, Sakura,” he explained. “Gotos fight to kill. Unless their teachings have changed, this match suddenly got a lot more dangerous.”

Picking up on the conversation going on above him, Jun’s face seemed to display amusement, the tension once again falling away from him as he regarded his opponent with a bit of respect.

“To the death? That’s perfect.”

To the side, Hayate’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t intervene. In turn, Saichi simply caught the hilt of his blade and swiftly slashed it across the top of one of the vials attached to the strap crossing his chest. The rather fragile glass instantly shattered, the contents splattering over the blade and his hand. Instantly the flesh turned pink, as if burned, but Saichi simply smiled.

“Then shall we begin?”

A/N: Another shorter chapter, but this is the perfect place to cut it off, don't you agree? :D