Pic of Nobu  --->

Ashley’s POV

I bend my knees as Nobu reaches down into the large weapons pouch strapped to her thigh, her violet eyes glaring at me.

“You’re gonna regret making fun of us!” she announces irritably, as her shaggy haired teammate also reaches into his weapons pouch.

“Throwing things at me isn’t going to do much” I scoff, placing my hands together in a hand sign. “Child’s play.”

Nobu scowls, bringing her hands up and revealing two handfuls of razor sharp shuriken. I feel Neji tense beside me, when Takishimaru brandishes two kunai at us, bending his knees as if to launch himself forwards.

“This is a bad idea Ashley” Neji mutters, glancing at the crowd of people bustling around us. “People could get hurt.”

“I’ll finish this before any of them can get hurt” I boast, to which Nobu growls and moves to swing her arm forwards. As soon as I feel the muscles in her arm tense, I leap towards her. As soon as I leave the ground however, I feel arms wrap around my waist and I am tackled heavily to the ground.

“Oof!” I grunt as my back hits the hard earth, before I lean my head back and inhale sharply. I hadn’t been expecting that tackle, and it sort of knocked the breath out of me.

“Hey!” I hear Nobu cry indignantly. “Why can’t I move?! Takishimaru, help me!”

“I would Nobu” comes the dismal reply, “But I can’t move either…”

“What?!”

I suddenly feel the weight on top of me lift, allowing me to breathe properly again. Lifting my head, I come face to face with an unimpressed brown haired man. He frowns down at me, before rising to his feet offering me his hand.

Narrowing my eyes slightly, I jump to my feet and dust myself off, ignoring the hand he had extended down to me. He’s the one that tackled me to the ground, so I don’t need his help getting back up.

“You shouldn’t be fighting out here where innocent people can get hurt” someone sighs, making me turn my head to the left. I blink a couple of times, seeing Shikamaru kneeling down on one knee, hands together in a familiar hand sign. Looking beneath him, I see a dark shadow stretching from his feet and attaching itself to the shadows beneath the two Stone Ninja.

I can’t help grinning, to which Shikamaru rolls his eyes. He’d caught them both in his Shadow Possession Jutsu.

“Exactly!” the man who had tackled me barks, glaring between me and the two Stone Ninja. “Save it for the Tournament! I’m a Grass Village Jonin, and it’s my job to ensure the safety of our Villagers and visitors. Do you want to be disqualified before the Tournament even begins?!”

“I didn’t think so” the man continues when his question is met with silence. “I’ll let you off with a warning this time, but if I catch any of you fighting in the street again, there’ll be trouble. Now, get out of here!”

“Oooohhh, big scary man” I mumble sarcastically, rolling my eyes when Neji roughly shoves me in the back, wanting to get me away from the man before I get into any more trouble.

“You’re such a drag sometimes Ashley” Shikamaru sighs, releasing his Jutsu and rising to his feet. He places his hands in his pockets and glances down at me wearily. “But I’m glad you’re on our side at least.”

“We’ll get you Leaf Ninja at the Tournament!” I hear Nobu shouting behind us, making our shoulders droop. “We were just bored at first, but now it’s personal!”

“This is what happens when you constantly make fun of people” Neji informs me wryly, shaking his head and letting out a low breath. “People tend to get upset.”

“Why are you both treating me like I’m three years old?” I complain, to which Shikamaru chuckles.

“When you stop acting like a three year old, we’ll stop treating you like one” he promises, making me blanch. I sigh deeply, and walk alongside my two male teammates in silence, taking in my surroundings. The Grass Village is quite a nice place, not as big and nice as the Leaf, but still nice all the same. It’s still got the same sort of warm climate as the Leaf Village, and it’s full of greenery and other plant life.

I suddenly freeze, my eyes narrowing as I glance at one of the many stalls set up in the street. Turning to face the stall fully, I stare at the back of someone’s head. It’s a very familiar red head, but I can’t see properly….

The red headed person suddenly turns around, carrying a small coloured bag that she must have just purchased. My eyes widen as she smiles lightly down at the tiny bag, her eyes shut in a closed eye smile and her long ponytail swishing around the backs of her legs.

She suddenly looks up, opening her eyes and glancing around. She soon spots me staring at her and pauses momentarily, before her face breaks out into a bright smile, amber eyes sparkling.

“Uh oh…” I mutter, making Neji and Shikamaru glance back at me. They see me staring straight ahead, before the red head girl skids to an abrupt halt in front of me.

“Ashley!” she cries happily, throwing her arms around my neck and making me stiffen.

“You…..” I growl ominously, to which Neji sweat drops, pale eyes widening slightly. He must recognise her as well…….A question mark appears above Shikamaru’s head, as the red headed girl releases me and giggles giddily.

“How are you Ashley?” she asks excitedly, turning her head and looking around again, more enthusiastic now. “You look so different, although you still need to lose a little bit of weight. Oh wow, it’s been ages since we’ve seen each other! How are your teammates? Are you here for the Tournament? Where are your other teammates? Did they go and s-”

“Kiba’s not here” I hiss, glaring coldly at the red head and making her pause. She blinks a few times, before her shoulders slump and she lets out a tiny sigh. “And before you ask, yes, we’re still dating too.”

“Ohh….” she mumbles, disappointed. Well, I’m definitely glad Kiba didn’t come now. The last thing I need to see is this psycho hanging from him again.

“I figured he’d be one of the best in the Leaf Village, considering how brave he was when he saved my life a few years ago” the girl recalls softly, her sparkling eyes and dreamy smile making my face darken. Yep. I still hate her.

Seeing the look on my face, Neji suddenly sweeps my feet out from underneath me and abruptly turns around.

“Sorry, but we have to get back to our hotel” he informs the girl, his usual slow walk suddenly turning into something that’s not quite a jog, but wouldn’t exactly be classified as a casual stroll either. “Good bye for now Tozoku.”

“Oh, well…..see you all later then!” said red haired witch calls kindly, waving her hand in the air. Shikamaru blinks a few times, before turning around and jogging after us, scratching his head in confusion.

“What was that all about?” he questions, deadpanning when Neji and I completely ignore him. I cross my arms over my chest and scowl up at Neji.

“You can put me down Hyuga” I growl, to which he looks down at me and smirks, shaking his head.

“No way” he sneers cheekily. “I don’t trust you not to run back there and snap her neck or something if I do. I know you better than that.”

“Hmph” I scoff, though I can’t help smirking to myself. “Smart boy.”

Third Person’s POV

Tozoku lowers her hand back down as the Leaf Ninja swiftly disappear from view, melting into the bustling crowd. She stares after them for a few moments, her bright smile fading until her mouth set in a straight line, eyes narrowing.

“You won’t be dating him for much longer…” she mutters to herself, a nasty smile spreading across her face, before the red head abruptly whirls around and runs in the opposite direction.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Good morning Leaf Ninja!” a familiar voice calls from the hallway, the owner of it bashing his knuckles against each of their doors as he strolls up and down. “Time to get up and get yourselves ready for the Tournament!”

Shikamaru cracks his eyes open just long enough to roll them in exasperation, before he rips his pillow out from under his head and slams it down on top of him, trying to drain the sound of Kiron’s voice out.

“Stupid, troublesome Tournament….” the Nara mumbles, his voice barely audible from underneath the pillow. “Wait until tomorrow…….Or next week…..”

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Guuyyyss!” Kiron calls again. “Come on, rise and shine!”

Kyoku chuckles to herself, sitting on the edge of her bed and pulling on her Ninja sandals, as Ashley lets out a low groan. The blonde lifts her head, hair tangled and messy, as she opens her eyes and glares at the door. Why did Kiron’s voice sound so obnoxious this morning?

Ashley blinks slowly, glancing over at an already wide awake Kyoku, who gives her a wave and a closed eye smile.

“Good morning” the blue haired woman greets kindly, to which Ashley pulls a face.

“You’re crazy” she says, before looking back at the door and taking a deep breath. “GET LOST KIRON, YOU’RE DRIVING US ALL INSANE!”

Shikamaru chuckles into his mattress, having heard Ashley’s screaming, despite being in the room next door. The girl certainly had a good set of lungs…

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!

“I’M NOT GOING TO LEAVE UNTIL YOU LEAF NINJA GET UUPPP!” Kiron sings outside the door, smiling to himself as he thumps on Kyoku and Ashley’s door repeatedly, having heard the blonde’s rude shout.

Neji’s eyebrow twitches, as he throws back his blanket and sits up on the edge of his bed. Wearing only his white pants, Neji stalks over to the door and flings it open, coming face to face with a grinning Kiron.

“Oh, good morning Neji!” the green haired man greets, happy that someone had finally adhered to his calls.

“If you knock one more time….” Neji trails off darkly, giving Kiron a stone faced look, causing the man to pause. Did he really want to mess with a cranky Hyuga?....

Suddenly, the door of the next room over crashes open, before an irritated Ashley marches into the hallway. She immediately spots Neji and Kiron, small puffs of steam shooting away from her head.

“IS THAT REALLY HOW YOU WAKE PEOPLE UP?!” she barks, clenching her hands into fists. “YOU JUST STAMPEDE DOWN A HALLWAY, SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS AND TRYING TO BREAK DOWN ALL THE DOORS?!”

“Because what you’re doing is so much better” Neji sighs, closing one eye and rubbing his ear, while giving Ashley a pointed look. “Put a sock in it Ashley, it’s too early for this…”

Ashley’s face darkens and she gives the gutsy Hyuga a nasty look, before deciding she can’t be bothered arguing with him and slowly backs into her room, one finger pointed at Kiron in warning. Ashley slams her door closed again, causing Shikamaru to sit boltright up and throw his pillow across the room in annoyance. It hits the wall with a very soft thud and falls harmlessly to the ground.

“I give up!” the Nara exclaims, running his hands down his face. “I can’t get back to sleep with all this noise…..I hate travelling with you guys...”

“You’re not supposed to be sleeping now anyway boys” Kakashi says brightly, suddenly appearing in a puff of smoke. Shikamaru’s eyes widen when he sees the silver haired man crouched on the foot of his bed, before hanging his head and sighing deeply. Sometimes he missed the days back when he was in the Academy. At least he could sleep and not have to worry about crazy blondes threatening people’s lives and silver haired men suddenly appearing in his room back then.

“You’ve all got half an hour” Kiron announces, seeing Kyoku opening the door to the girl’s room, “And then I have to escort you to the Arena to be briefed. Come on now, quick smart!”

Ashley’s POV

We stand outside of a large, circular stadium that appears to be made out of some sort of grey stone. Stalls are set up all around the walls, with the only visible parts absolutely covered in posters that are advertising the Grass Village’s Tournament.

I tilt my head back slightly, looking to see the tops of the tall building. A dark red tiled roof covers the outer part of the walls, which Kiron said is so that the people who sit in the audience will be sheltered from harsh sun or rain.

Apparently no one cares if the contestants are subject to unpleasant weather. Hmm. They probably think we’ll be too busy beating each other up to notice the weather I guess.

“Come now my friends” Kiron says, motioning for us to follow him. “We must go around the back. There’s a huge crowd at the main entrance, and we’d be waiting forever if we went through the front.”

“No kidding” Shikamaru comments, looking back over his shoulder at the huge flood of people pushing and shoving excitedly, wanting to hurry up and get inside to get a good seat.

We follow Kiron around the giant arena, the crowd becoming thinner and thinner the further away we get from the entrance. In front of me, I suddenly see Shikamaru grow rigid, his shoulders tensing up. Beside me, I see Neji narrow his eyes at something ahead of us. What’s their problem? Kyoku seems as cool as before, but nothing shakes her I guess, and I can’t see if Kakashi Sensei’s acting weird because he’s up ahead with Kiron.

Looking around Shikamaru, I suddenly see why Neji and Shikamaru’s guards had gone up. Coming from the opposite direction, I see the team of Mist Ninja, being guided by a short woman with purple hair.

She waves enthusiastically to Kiron, who waves back and shouts a hello. I narrow my eyes at the five Mist Ninja, recognising the three that had been staring at us in the street yesterday. I notice that the whole team is wearing cloth masks that cover their faces. What, are they afraid of catching something here? Or do they think it makes them look cool? If so, they’re very wrong. The only one that looks cool on is Kakashi Sensei, not that I’d ever admit that to him…

The Mist Ninja all stare at us calmly, silently studying us and judging whether we’re going to be any kind of competition for them or not. As if we wouldn’t be.

We arrive at the back entrance at the same time as the Mist Ninja, leaving us to stand around awkwardly as Kiron and the purple haired woman chat merrily with each other, oblivious to the tension around them.

I can’t help baring my teeth as the Mist Ninja with white hair stares down at me through hooded eyes. I seriously can’t help it, they seem so mysterious and…..intimidating in a sense. Not that I’m afraid of them, they just seem sort of dangerous.

He subtly elbows the black haired guy in the purple coat, who then casts his golden eyes on me as well. They exchange a look, and I’m sure they’re smirking at each other under their masks……Are they making fun of me?!

“You got a problem there buddy?” I step forward and ask the white haired guy sharply, making him raise an eyebrow down at me. “I’d love to hear what you have to say.”

“Ashley” Kakashi says warningly, just as the girl with dark blue hair, the only female on her team, steps forwards. She tilts her head back and casts her red eyes on the two males, before subtly jerking her head towards the entrance of the arena.

Without so much as a word, the Mist Ninja stride in to the arena with confident swaggers to their steps. I glare after them, growling at the ruby eyed girl when she looks back at us over her shoulder.

“Oh dear” the purple haired guide says. “I better grab them before they get lost. See you inside!”

“Good idea” Kiron says with a sigh, before turning to us. “Please try not to start any more trouble before the actual Tournament starts. Come, follow me!”

We traipse into the arena, with me rolling my eyes and ignoring Kakashi Sensei as he sends me a warning look. I can’t help myself. Nobody is going to mock me and get away with it.

Third Person’s POV

People squirm in their seats with anticipation, the odd person shouting out the name of the Village they’re supporting. The sun shines down spectacularly, promising good weather for the first day of competition.

The eight teams competing all remain inside the holding rooms behind the walls of the arena, restlessly waiting for the moment when they’d be called out into the arena.

Ashley paces back and forth, eyes focused down on the ground, while Kakashi leans his back against a pillar, arms crossed and eyes filled with amusement as they follow his blonde student.

“Nervous?” he eventually asks, to which the blonde’s head snaps up. She pauses in her pacing and blinks a few times, before shaking her head and breaking out into a determined grin.

“No way” she proclaims. “I’m excited. I’m just sick of waiting. Pacing is the only thing keeping me from running out there and punching someone.”

Kakashi sweat drops as Ashley resumes her pacing. What could he say? The girl enjoyed a good brawl, so he didn’t doubt that she wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t either, he was more curious as to how this Tournament was going to play out.

Kiron had said there would be a few rounds, and depending on how long the rounds went for, the Tournament could go on for a couple of days.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen!” a loud voice suddenly rings through the arena, a grinning man’s face appearing on the two giant screens placed at opposite ends of the arena. “My name is Areki Sishima, and I’m happy to announce that the Tournament is about to get under way! Are you ready to meet your competitors?!”

Areki’s question is met by a mighty roar from the crowd, all of whom are most definitely eager for the Tournament to begin.

“Alriiigghhtt!” Areki cheers, throwing the hand not holding a microphone in the air. “Then let’s bring them out! First to the arena, is the team from the Hidden Rain Village! Come on down guys, say hello to the crowd!”

The audience screams excitedly, as the five Rain Ninja make their way cautiously from their holding room, stopping at the opposite end of the stadium and glancing around. They all have a number of swords strapped to them, and they all keep their hands on the hilts, seemingly suspicious of their surroundings.

“If you could please raise your hand when I read your names!” Areki calls, his face disappearing from the screens and being replaced with close up views of the Rain Ninja’s faces.

“Okita Soujiin!” A girl with long purple hair pulled back into a ponytail slowly raises her hand, as Areki continues speedily announcing names. “Shiona Himurii! Tanza Itomaru! Kari Nioshima! And Jin Akashimoto! Welcome to the Tournament!”

“Next, we have five contestants all the way from the desert plains of Wind Country!” Areki exclaims. “Say hello to our contestants from the Sand Village!”

Five Sand Ninja, including Kana, the girl Ashley had met the day earlier, make their way into the arena, stopping about ten metres away from the Rain Ninja, who are giving them some quite cold looks, warning them to stay back.

Areki swiftly introduces the Sand Ninja, before jabbing a hand at the camera he’s facing.

“Now, all of you people in the audience” he addresses. “Show some love for our Ninja from the Land of Snow!”

“Hey!” Ashley barks, looking out into the arena as the Snow Ninja emerge. “He’s just a little kid! What are they thinking, entering him in a competition like this?”

Sure enough, when the other Leaf Ninja look out into the arena, they see a young boy, who didn’t look any older than ten, walking amongst his older comrades.

Seeming to realise he’s being talked about, despite the shrieking of the crowd, the charcoal haired boy turns his head and rests his calm, silver eyes on the Leaf Ninja, making them pause.

“He’s gonna get demolished” Shikamaru says dryly, as Areki announces the names of the Snow Ninja.

“His name is Zee?” Neji asks, repeating the name he’d just heard. “What kind of name is Zee? Doesn’t he have a last name?”

“Hey, what’s Tenten’s last name?” Ashley suddenly asks, as the Stone Ninja are called into the stadium. Neji suddenly blinks, before shrugging a shoulder.

“I have no idea” he admits, to which Shikamaru and Ashley deadpan.

“You’ve been her teammate for like, four years” Ashley begins, raising an eyebrow, “And you don’t even know her last name?”

Neji shrugs again, giving Ashley an even look.

“It’s not something that really keeps me awake at night” he informs the girl smartly, to which she pokes her tongue out at him.

“Please welcome the five contestants from our very own….Hidden Grass Village!” Areki shouts, throwing an arm in the air as the Grass Ninja run into the arena, waving to the crowd that consists mostly of Grass Village citizens. Ashley’s eyes widen incredulously, spotting two very familiar faces.

“Hey, I didn’t know that Tozoku was a Ninja….” Neji murmurs thoughtfully, brows furrowing.

“Neither did I….” Ashley trails off, switching her gaze from the smiling red head, to the face of a blonde with tan skin. The girl has pink eyes and a sword strapped to her back, seeming strangely familiar to Ashley. But where had she seen this girl before?.....

Ashley’s eyes widen even further. The girl she’d fought in the Chunin Exams Final! Peikirin……Peikirin Something!

‘What’s she doing here?’ Ashley wonders, tilting her head to the side and watching as the girl stands very still, a sneer on her face as she slowly turns her head and looks into the crowd. ‘She should be mentally unstable from Chi’s Genjutsu. Although, she doesn’t look quite the same as she used to…..”

“And now, make some noise for our Ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village!” Areki shouts, grabbing said team’s attention.

“Show time guys” Kakashi says, before taking the lead and heading out into the arena, shoving a hand in his pocket and raising the other in a cool wave. Kyoku swiftly follows, gazing around at the massive crowd through hooded, sea blue eyes, with Neji right behind her. He walks with his eyes closed, arms crossed over his chest and his mouth set in a firm line. Shikamaru sighs before heading out into the arena, hands shoved far down into his pockets and his shoulders hunched, making it clear to pretty much everyone that he’s not overly excited to be in the Tournament.

Ashley strides out after him, looking up into the crowd, which is a lot bigger than she even realised. There were easily three hundred people in the audience, not to mention the hundreds that would be watching them on the big screens. She briefly wonders if her friends back home are watching, before suddenly spotting the Mist Ninja standing across the other side of the arena in the holding room. As they catch her eye, Ashley breaks out into a devious smirk, her canine like teeth glinting in the sunlight.

“Alright!” Sakura cries, fists clenched in front of her. “Look Naruto! It’s Ashley and Kakashi Sensei!”

The blonde whirls around from his conversation with Rock Lee and looks up at the screen through squinted eyes, only for his face to break out into a huge grin.

“Yes, it’s finally starting!” he shouts, as the large crowd of Leaf citizens cheer for the five Shinobi representing their Village. Majority of the off duty Leaf Ninja had gathered down on front of the Hokage’s Tower to watch the Tournament, as well as many of the Leaf’s Villagers. Even Lady Tsunade had ventured down from her office, much to Shizune’s chagrin, to watch the Tournament and support the five Ninja she’d assigned to go.

“Hahahaha!” Ino laughs, pointing up at the screen and elbowing Choji, almost making him drop his bag of chips. “Look at Shikamaru Choji! You can so tell he doesn’t want to be there!”

Choji squints up at the screen, before shrugging and digging back into his chips.

“Knowing him, he’s probably tired” the Akimichi chuckles, knowing exactly how his best friend could be. Ino rolls her eyes.

“No” she says pointedly. “He’s just lazy. He’ll probably quit, just like he did in the Chunin Exams a few years ago.”

“Give him some credit guys” Tenten says, sweat dropping. “If you’re too negative, he probably will lose. Positive energy goes a long way!”

“That is right Tenten!” Lee exclaims, throwing an arm around his female teammate’s neck. “Let us all send the positive energy of Youth out to our friends so that they may win!”

“YEAH!” a loud voice suddenly shouts. “THAT’S MY ANGEL!”

Naruto and Sakura turn around, just in time to see Kiba barrelling through the crowd towards them, before he crashes into Sai and knocks the pale skinned boy right over.

“She’s gonna kick some ass!” Kiba laughs loudly, as Akamaru bounds over to him, almost stomping on poor Sai.

“Kiba, calm down!” Sakura barks, swatting the Inuzuka over the head, before bending down and helping Sai to his feet. “Don’t kill Sai just so you can see Ashley.”

“Pfffttt!” Kiba scoffs, rolling his eyes and scruffing up Akamaru’s fur with one hand. “I’d kill any of you if it meant I got to see her!”

Naruto, Ino, Sai, Choji, Ino, Lee and Tenten all turn to stare at Kiba with wide eyes, while Sakura cracks her knuckles, an anime vein appearing on her forehead. Kiba sees the looks on their faces and shrugs.

“I’m not even sorry” he smirks, before ducking as Sakura takes a swing at him. He runs a hand through his hair and leans against Akamaru, smiling at Sakura charmingly.

“Aww, don’t be jealous Sakura” he says smoothly. “It’s really not cute.”

Sakura grows a few more anime veins, before Ino and Naruto dive on her, struggling to hold her back from punching a hole through Kiba’s head. She probably could do it too….

“And now that we’ve met our awesome contestants” the announcer, Areki, says enthusiastically, “let’s get on with the Tournament! Time for Round One!”

The Leaf Ninja cheer along with the huge crowd on the television screens, all six of them showing different views of the stadium.

“Round One is the Balance Round!” Areki explains excitedly, pointing up at the sky as he talks swiftly. “In this round, every contestant will be competing! Oh, and just for the contestants’ information, not everyone will be competing in every Round. Anyway, as I said, in this particular Round, every single contestant will be competing.”

“It takes him a long time to say nothing” Naruto complains, already sick of the overly energetic announcer’s voice. “He needs to stop repeating himself.”

“Shut up Naruto” Sakura sighs. “It’s his job.”

“To be annoying?” Naruto questions, to which Kiba smirks.

“You’d be good at a job like that Naruto” he teases, making Sakura, Tenten and Ino giggle, as a question mark appears above the blonde male’s head.

“Round One or, the Balance Round” Areki continues explaining, “Will consist of every contestant standing atop an eight metre forest of Bamboo plants. It’s pretty simple really! All you have to do is be the last one standing up there! There are some rules however!”

Ashley sends Kakashi a quizzical look, to which he shrugs. They had thought this was literally going to be a Fighting Tournament, sort of like the Finals at the Chunin Exams. It seemed they were wrong however. This was going to be testing their skills in a different way.

“Rule number one!” Areki announces. “If you fall from your Bamboo plant, you are out. You cannot climb back up and continue. Rule number two! Fallen contestants may use Jutsu to try and make the remaining competitors lose their balance and fall down from the Bamboo. They may also use weapons, but absolutely no aiming for vital points, or you’re disqualified.Only aim for the Ninja not on your team too, seeing as you probably want your own Village to win. Rule three! While standing on the Bamboo plants, you may only use one foot at a time. You can switch feet, but you cannot stand on both feet at any time while still competing. Oh, and last thing! If you’re one of the first four to fall from the Bamboo, you’re out for the rest of the competition.”

“What?!” Ita exclaims, eyes widening incredulously. “That sucks!”

“That it does” Areki laughs, having heard Ita’s cry. “I suggest not falling then! Anyway, let’s begin the Balance Round! Contestants, to the walls please. Make way for the Bamboo Forest!”

Everyone in the stadium walks over to the walls, wondering just what Areki is talking about, when a loud cracking sound suddenly tears through the air.

Ashley’s eyes widen, as a line appears through the middle of the stadium ground, before the two halves of the ground begin sliding backwards, leaving a huge gap.

Before anyone can question what’s happening, some thin, green plants rise up from the large hole. They swiftly grow in height, until they’re towering above the Ninja on the ground.

“Smart” Shikamaru comments, nodding slowly. “They’ve got a compartment underneath the stadium floor where they were keeping the Bamboo forest for this Round. Now we don’t have to go somewhere else.”

“Alright!” Areki’s voice echoes through the stadium. “Now that the Bamboo forest is in place, contestants, feel free to climb up to the top and wait for the Round to begin!”

Kyoku glances at her teammates, as the other Ninja slowly begin making their way over to the Bamboo forest.

“Good luck you guys” she says with a tiny smile, bending her knees and focusing her chakra into her feet. Kakashi copies her movements, before they both leap powerfully into the air, flipping around and landing easily on the tops of two Bamboo plants. Ashley watches them each lift up one foot, maintaining their balance perfectly.

“Kakashi Sensei and Kyoku are gonna be hard to beat” the blonde says to her two male teammates, sweat dropping. “But at least that means they’ll be hard for the other contestants to beat as well.”

“What a drag….” Shikamaru sighs. “I can’t be bothered climbing all the way up there….”

Ashley shrugs her shoulders, before bending down, same as Kyoku and Kakashi had done. Focusing a large amount of chakra into her feet, Ashley leaps up to the top of the Bamboo forest and lands on one of the plants. As her foot hits the flat part at the top, the stiff plant begins swaying, causing Ashley’s arms to flail around.

“Aahhh!” she cries, as some of the other contestants begin swaying dangerously as well. “These plants are so flimsy!”

Looking over at Kakashi and Kyoku, who are still perfectly still, arms held out at their sides, Ashley sweat drops again.

“How are you guys making this look so easy?” she questions, freezing as her Bamboo finally stops swaying around.

“Because it is easy” Kakashi says smartly, before giving Kyoku a sly look. “And because we were the best ANBU you’ll ever meet.”

Kyoku gives Kakashi a closed eye smile.

“Our training was very difficult” she supplies coolly, when Kein suddenly appears beside her. “Say nothing” she instructs, opening her eyes and giving him a serious look.

The long haired man sighs and closes his mouth. He’d never met women who got sick of compliments, and he was having a bit of trouble processing the fact that Kyoku and Ashley didn’t enjoy it.

Ashley looks to her left when she sees Neji leap up onto a plant, only to see the young Snow Ninja, Zee, standing directly across from her. She looks at him unsurely, as he keeps his silver eyed gaze locked on her, arms down by his sides and one foot lifted up.

‘His balance is amazing’ Ashley can’t help thinking, eyeing the boy suspiciously as he continues staring, almost making her feel uncomfortable. ‘He’s doing even better than Kakashi Sensei. Kakashi’s moving a little bit, but this kid…..it’s like he’s frozen or something…..’

Ashley suddenly growls, glaring to the left as she notices the white haired Mist Ninja, who she’d heard Areki call Fuisuke Kakonura, standing very close to her. He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, the blonde’s head not even reaching his shoulder.

“I don’t care what the rules are” she growls darkly. “Try anything funny and I’ll slit your throat.”

Fuisuke stares at her for a moment longer, before deciding Ashley isn’t worth it, and focuses his gaze elsewhere. Not liking to be ignored, this irks Ashley.

“Suck it up for now Ashley” the blonde hears Kakashi say, making her look over. She sees him staring hard at the Mist Ninja beside her, not glaring at her like she’d expected.

“You’ll get your chance” Kakashi adds, softening his gaze somewhat when he looks over at his student. He knew the Mist Ninja hadn’t done anything wrong yet, but he’d heard stories about Ninja from the Hidden Mist Village. Friendly, kind and innocent certainly didn’t describe them.

“Okay, now that all of our contestants have made it to the top of the Bamboo forest” Areki says, before pausing, “Though some of them already look like they’re struggling with balancing on the flimsy plants, it’s time to begin Round One of the Tournament!”

I was gonna keep going but a few things stopped me.

1. It's 3am lol

2. I'm tired. Weird right? :P

3. I've got a million days off this week, so I should have time to type again. Please don't kill me if I don't upload though! ^-^"

Hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to show me some luuurrve and vote and comment! <3