Edited 27/01/2017

Just a quick note guys :)

I will not be writing Naruto's fight out, as we have all seen the anime, read the manga or both. If you read a lot of Naruto fanfiction, you've probably read this fight many times as well.

If for some reason you don't know what happens and REALLY, REALLY, ABSOLUTELY MUST KNOW, I suggest looking for the fight on the internet.

To save you time, the manga chapter for the Naruto vs Neji fight is Chapter 99 and the anime episode is number 60.

You're welcome ;) 

Ashley's POV

I stare down at Naruto in wonder, my eyes wide and unblinking as a broad grin spreads across my face. The crowd is absolutely silent, completely stunned by the upset win. They'd all clearly expected the Hyuga to absolutely wipe the floor with Naruto and yet, there Neji is, lying on his back with my teammate standing over him.

While I had expected Naruto to win, I hadn't expected him to be able to come up with such a good strategy on the fly like that. I'd always figured he was more of an offensive fighter, rather than someone who plans out their attacks.

"Alright Naruto!" I shout, feeling a strange sense of pride within myself. "I knew you could do it!!"

I close my eyes and continue smiling, as the whole stadium suddenly erupts into thunderous applause, people screaming and whistling with excitement. Some pump their fists in the air, as others shake their heads in amazement, having not expected the outcome of the first match.

"Yeah Naruto!" Shikamaru cheers, throwing his own fist in the air. "I can't believe he did it!"

"I can" I brag, leaning on the railing and watching as Naruto and Neji exchange some words, though I've no chance of hearing what they're saying to each other.

Two medical Ninja quickly jog onto the field and load Neji onto a stretcher however, ending the two males' conversation. Genma then steps forward and raises his hand, yelling something that nobody can hear over the sound of the crowd's cheering.

He's probably just announcing that Naruto is the winner, which we're all aware of by this point anyway.

I watch Naruto as he gazes around the stadium in confusion for a few seconds, before he tentatively raises his hand in a wave. He soon becomes engulfed in the crowd's excitement over his victory however, running around the arena and blowing kisses out to the strangers clapping for him.

"Where does all that stamina come from?" I wonder out loud, unable to suppress a laugh as Naruto continues blowing kisses.

"I dunno" Shikamaru says with a shrug, "But then, I dunno how he beat that Neji guy either. Major upset."

"He's special I guess" I say quietly, more to myself than Shikamaru. "There's just something about him......"

"I always thought Naruto was meant to be dorky and uncool like me though" Shikamaru complains, sighing heavily as he hangs his head.

"Dorky and uncool?" I repeat, blinking a few times. "Well, I don't know much about being cool, but I don't think you're dorky or uncool Shikamaru."

The Nara pauses for a moment and glances at me from the corner of his eye, before coughing and folding his arms over his chest, eyes now closed.

"Uh....No?" he asks uncertainly, to which I shake my head.

"No" I confirm, pointing upwards and smiling at him. "But I do think that you're incredibly lazy and I often wonder why you bothered to become a Ninja."

Shikamaru falls over at that, landing in a heap on the floor. He quickly rights himself however, sweat dropping.

"You're not the first to say such a thing" the Nara informs me, looking sheepish as he rubs the back of his head.

"Hey guys!" a cheerful voice suddenly greets, causing me to whirl around.

"Naruto!" I bark, eyes shining at the sight of the grinning blonde. "I told you not to worry, didn't I!"

"I guess you were right Ashley-chan" Naruto laughs happily. "I did it!"

I blink at the affectionate way Naruto refers to me, feeling my cheeks warm as I automatically take a step towards him. I immediately freeze when I realise what I am doing though, having been about to give my teammate a congratulatory hug.

I won't do it. I can't. My pride won't let me.

"Oh!" Naruto cries, seeing the conflicted look on my face. "I'm sorry Ashley, I didn't mean to-"

"...It's fine" I interrupt quietly, glaring down at the floor as I reach out and hold onto Naruto's arm. "I don't mind it....."

I hang onto Naruto's arm for a few more moments, the both of us falling awkwardly silent, before I raise my half lidded eyes to his face.

".....Congratulations on winning" I say lowly, my cheeks still warm.

Naruto blinks a few times as he stares at me with wide eyes, before he breaks into a wide grin again and gives me a thumbs up.

"Thanks Ashey-chan!" he laughs. "It was no sweat!"

Despite my embarrassment, I feel myself smile faintly at Naruto's brightness. While I may not be very good at expressing myself or saying what I feel, Naruto somehow always manages to make me feel at ease. It's like I said earlier, there's just something about him. I wonder if other people feel it too?....

"Aww, isn't this cute?" Shikamaru teases, causes me to jolt sharply, my eyes widening.

I immediately release Naruto and reel away from him, my face bright red, before I whirl around and aim a fist for Shikamaru's face.

"Shut up!" I order hotly, an anime vein appearing on the side of my head. Before Shikamaru can dodge me, I punch him upside the head, causing him to fall to the floor once again.

I turn away in a huff and cross my arms, Shikamaru's eyes spinning dizzily, as Naruto crouches down in a panic to see if the Nara is okay.

"Idiot..." I mutter, still feeling embarrassed. I notice Peikirin watching me from her seat on the balcony railing, her amused expression causing me to growl.

The last thing I need is for my opponent to think that I'm soft. Because I'm not.

Everyone's attention is soon pulled back to the stadium, as majority of the crowd begin chanting Sasuke's name. I can't help deadpanning at that, as do Naruto and Shikamaru, who is back on his feet.

"Gee, I wonder who they all came to see?" the Nara asks sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"My fight was so good though" Naruto complains. "Way better than Sasuke's fight will be!"

"Nobody knows any of us though" I sigh, annoyed by the crowd's chanting. "Is Sasuke famous or something?"

"They probably just know his last name" Shikamaru answers blandly. "The Uchiha Clan were already well known, but especially now since their Clan was killed off. The crowd are no doubt excited to see the last Uchiha fight someone."

".......You speak so lightly of the subject" I murmur, glancing at Shikamaru from the side of my eye.

"Hey!" Naruto suddenly yells. "What's he lookin at?!"

Turning my head, I see that Gaara is glaring intently at Naruto, who juts his lower jaw forwards and glares right back. I can almost swear that I see fire shooting between their eyes, the glaring is so intense.

"I'm looking forward to our match" a light voice informs me, to which I feel my expression darken slightly.

"I'm thrilled for you" I respond in a dry tone, not bothering to even look at Peikirin. The girl giggles behind her hand, irritating me further.

Can't she just fall off of the balcony or something?

"You don't stand a chance" she informs me with a cute wink. "I'm going to win."

I bark out a sharp laugh at this, shaking my head as I turn to give the Grass Ninja a wicked smile, sharp teeth visible.

"I'm pretty sure your teammate said something along those lines too" I say sweetly, "Before I killed her."

Peikirin laughs again, kicking her feet as she turns back to look down into the arena, her mouth pulled up in a bright smile.

"Poor, poor Rakeru" she chuckles, not sounding at all like she cares. What a weird girl.

".....She kinda creeps me out Ashley-chan" Naruto whispers, nudging me. "You better be careful...."

"Yeah, I know what you mean" I answer, though I can't really say I'm creeped out at all. Gaara was creepy. This girl is just.....odd.

"Okay, the next match will now begin!" Genma calls down from the arena. "As Sasuke Uchiha has not arrived yet, we will be postponing that match for now! The next match will be between Kankuro and Shino! Both competitors, please make your way down to the arena!"

"I didn't get to see Shino's fight in the Preliminary round" I state, speaking up as the male walks past me. "Make it a good one. I want to see what you can do."

"....Of course...." Shino responds, sounding as if I'm stupid for thinking he'd do otherwise. Well. Hopefully he's got the skills to back up that attitude.

"Actually Proctor" Kankuro calls out, raising his hand up, "I forfeit, so just go onto the next match!"

Shikamaru, Naruto and I all turn to Kankuro in surprise, as Shino freezes in place, one foot in the air to head down the stairs.

"What did you just say?" the Aburame asks, his voice eerily quiet.

"What are you quitting for?!" Naruto demands to know, unable to understand. "You got all the way to the Finals and now you're just gonna quit?!"

"Even I didn't do that" Shikamaru adds, rolling his neck.

"You're scared of bugs, aren't you?" I inquire, giving the Sand Ninja a smug grin.

Kankuro looks between all of us, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face, before he heaves a deep sigh.

"I don't have to explain myself to any of you" he retorts, frowning a little. "I wanted to quit, so I did. Get over it."

"....Fine" Genma says harshly, clearly unimpressed with Kankuro's decision. "Due to Kankuro's withdrawal, Shino Aburame is the winner of the second match by default!"

The crowd immediately begin to boo angrily, obviously not happy with the Sand Ninja's choice either. While they want to see Sasuke fight the most, I guess they aren't happy that the fighters they have to watch in the meantime aren't being entertaining enough.

I thought Naruto's fight was pretty good, but it seems the crowd has already forgotten about it I guess.

"Wait!" I suddenly cry, as something comes to mind. "If the second match is over, then that means-"

"Will Ashley Minami and Peikirin Akarashi make their way down to the arena for the third match!" Genma pauses for a moment, before glaring up at us. "Unless one of you wants to quit as well?"

"No way" Peikirin giggles, giving me a peace sign as she skips past and heads down the stairs.

"Alright!" Naruto cheers, throwing his arms up in the air. "C'mon Ashley-chan, show em what you're.......Uh, Ashley? You look a little scary like that....."

I turn my head and give Naruto a dark grin, my sharp teeth visible.

"I don't like that look in your eyes" the blonde male complains.

"At least it's not directed at you" Shikamaru reminds Naruto, though he takes a step back from me. "Glad I'm not the one fighting you. You've got this sadistic aura around you all the sudden...."

"Thanks for noticing" I laugh evilly, only to pause when Genma yells up at me.

"Ashley Minami! Hurry up and get down here so we can start the match!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" I screech, shaking my fist as I lean over the railing. My sudden mood change causes Naruto to laugh, while Shikamaru just sighs. I'm used to him doing that by now though.

Stepping up onto the railing, I give my friends a quick salute, before jumping down to the ground.

As I fall, I quickly activate my Katsuryoku, wanting to make a better entrance than my opponent had, when she'd skipped merrily into the arena.

I do a flip as I land on the ground with a resounding boom, using my Katsuryoku to shatter the earth beneath me and causing it to shake a little. I bare my teeth in an unfriendly grin as I rise to my feet, the ground's shaking coming to a stop.

"May the best Ninja win" Peikirin says to me, extending her hand out as I stalk over.

"Don't act all cute with me" I warn the girl. "I plan on winning."

"Woooo, yeah!" I hear a voice call wildly, causing me to inwardly deadpan. "Go Angel!"

I try to ignore Kiba, as Genma raises one hand up in the air, Peikirin still grinning at me like an idiot.

"Let the match......begin!" Genma shouts, dropping his hand and immediately leaping out of the way.

Peikirin, wanting to distance herself from me, performs a few backhand springs. That's fine with me. While I can fight with Taijutsu if I have to, I'm more of a long distance fighter anyway.

Not wanting to let my opponent get any attacks in, I slap my hands together and a perform a hand sign.

"Fire Style: Great Wolf Flame Jutsu!" I shout, concentrating my chakra into the back of my throat and breathing out a large ball of flames, that swiftly morphs into the shape of a large Wolf.

The creatures snarls viciously, red eyes glowing amongst its flames, before it charges towards Peikirin, leaving a small trail of flaming footprints behind it.

Watching as the Grass Ninja performs her own hand signs, distracted by my Jutsu, I bend down and press one hand against the dirt.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

"Water Slicing Blade!" Peikirin cries, unsheathing the sword that is strapped to her back. As she swings her sword towards the incoming flames, I am engulfed in a cloud of smoke, rendering me unable to see.

"Greetings Milady" Ace says, ears pricking up. "There is something coming."

"I know" I respond, throwing my arms up in front of me. "Move out of the way for a sec."

As Ace steps back and the smoke begins to clear, I see a sharp arc of chakra infused water slicing through the air towards me, already having divided my flaming Wolf in half.

Gritting my teeth and focusing on stopping the water, I manage to catch Peikirin's attack, causing it to float in mid air right in front of me.

I immediately turn into a spin, not wanting my own fire jutsu to disappear before I'm done, with the water following my movements. As I reach the end of my spin, now facing Peikirin again, I release the water and send it straight back towards her.

It collides with my faltering jutsu, causing a small explosion that sends out a large puff of steam.

"Alright Ace, while she's blinded" I instruct the Wolf, already taking up my next stance. "Just like we practised."

"Yes Milady" Ace responds obediently, lowering his head. "I am ready when you are."

I let out a low breath and close my eyes as I focus on building up the chakra inside my body. I'm still not as quick as Kiba is at this, plus I don't know how to use the All Fours Jutsu to increase my power.

I can't wait too long though, or the steam will disappear and Peikirin will be able to see us again. I really don't want her to dodge this attack, or I'll never hear the end of it....

"Fang Over Fang!" I shout, my heart pounding against my chest as Ace and I suddenly lurch forwards, both releasing large amounts of chakra to send us both into a dizzying spin.

We've been practising this jutsu ever since Kiba had come to help us after the Preliminaries. I may not be able to use the Man Beast Clone or the All Fours Jutsu, but as far as our Fang Over Fang goes, it's a lot stronger than it used to be!

Ace and I spin around each other perfectly, drilling straight through the cloud of steam and slamming heavily into Peikirin. We both cease spinning and drop to the ground, as the Grass Ninja is sent rocketing backwards.

She collides with the stadium wall, the strong concrete cracking around Peikirin's body, before she drops to the ground on her hands and knees.

"Good work Ace" I praise my partner, feeling proud that we'd managed to pull one decent Fang Over Fang off under the pressure of a match like this.

"We still have a long way to go Milady" Ace reminds me, brushing off the compliment. "The Jutsu is still not as strong as the Inuzuka boy's."

"We'll get there" I sigh, sweat dropping. "Don't worry, we'll get th- Ahhh!"

I cry out in pain as I am suddenly slammed head on, by a blast of pure chakra, that sends me skidding backwards across the ground on my back. I squeeze my eyes closed at the stinging pain, only cracking one open to see what damage had been done.

My eyes widen however, when I see another scythe of chakra already shooting towards me. I swiftly flip to my feet and focus chakra in them, before leaping high up into the air.

The chakra passes underneath me and dissipates into the air, as I glare down at Peikirin, who has her sword brandished at me.

"She uses Kenjutsu...." I mutter to myself as I begin to fall back towards the ground, only for Peikirin to pull her sword back and swing it forwards once again.

This time, the scythe of chakra soars of into the air towards me. Seeing as I can't really manoeuvre through the air, aiming up for me like that isn't a bad strategy.

Narrowing my eyes at the incoming chakra, I throw my arms out to my sides, hoping my Katsuryoku will be able to help me out here. While I can't manipulate chakra, I can at least manipulate the air that it's travelling through.

Using my arms to help focus my Katsuryoku, I begin to spin rapidly as I fall, dragging the wind along with me until it forms a spinning shield around my body. As Peikirin's chakra collides with the shield, it is sucked along by the wind, causing it to spin around me as well.

I land on the ground on one knee, the wind immediately ceasing and revealing me to be uninjured from the blast. Peikirin's chakra disappears with the wind, before I scowl at her and press one hand down on the ground. I see Peikirin point her sword at me once again, ready to counter if I attack.

Too bad for her, I have a theory.....

"Summoning Jutsu!" I call again, only to disappear in another puff of smoke.

"Ah!" Peikirin cries with delight, her eyes sparkling as the smoke disappears. "A puppy!"

"Chi's not a puppy you idiot!" I snap irritably. "He's a Wolf!"

"I am a Wolf, I am a Wolf!" the small, caramel coloured animal beside me chants, bouncing up and down. His tongue hanging from the side of his mouth, Chi looks up at me, excitement in his aqua eyes. "Oh boy, oh boy! Hi Milady! What's going on?! Are we fighting? Oh wow! I haven't been in a fight for aaaaages! Can we-"

"Chi" I interrupt, struggling not to yell, "Fight first, then we can talk."

"Oh....Oh, yes!" Chi agrees, tail wagging. "We'll kill that lady over there and then play?"

"I shall just......wait here then?" Ace asks flatly, earning himself a wary look from me. "Right. I understand Milady."

Peikirin continues to stare at Chi as he lowers his head and growls softly, looking anything but threatening. She seems almost confused by Chi, as if I had just summoned a teddy bear to fight her with.

"Let's go Chi!" I order, running forwards, with the young Wolf sticking close to my side.

Breaking ahead of Chi, I suddenly drop to the ground and slide towards Peikirin, as if aiming to trip her up. As expected, the Grass Ninja nimbly leaps up into the air to avoid the hit, only to find Chi looming right in front of her.

"Hi!" the friendly Wolf greets, landing on the broad side of Peikirin's sword and looking right into her eyes.

His own eyes flash bright yellow for a mere second, before Chi jumps forwards and places his hind legs on Peikirin's shoulders. The girl immediately slumps, her head lolling backwards, when Chi pushes against her shoulders and does a backflip, shoving Peikirin back down towards the ground.

"Good work Chi" I compliment, as he lands beside me on all fours, tail wagging madly.

"I did good!" he barks, skipping in place as Peikirin hits the ground with a painful crunch sound. "Now she's dead and we can have fun!"

The Grass Ninja suddenly lets out a frightened scream, before falling silent again, her face contorted with terror.

"Not yet Chi" I say, shaking my head. "It looks like you've been practising your Genjutsu but-"

"I've been practising real hard Milady!" Chi interrupts, nodding his head vigorously. "I've been trying to practise on Kai-chan, but he gets real mad and then Jet-chan gets real mad at him and then Ace-chan gets real mad at everyone and then Aiti and I have to go and-"

"Chi!" I interject, sounding slightly exasperated. "We're in the middle of a fight here! It won't be any fun if you kill her already, so can you knock the Genjutsu off now?!"

"Aye aye Milady!" Chi salutes playfully, his eyes flashing yellow again. Behind me, I hear Ace sigh deeply, as if tired of listening to Chi. Which he probably is. Ace isn't much of a talker and Chi....Well.........He's Chi....

The small Wolf closes his eyes and smiles up at me, as Peikirin stirs, groaning softly. She places one hand to her head and slowly sits up, only to freeze when she sees me staring at her through hooded eyes.

The Grass Ninja quickly leaps to her feet and brandishes her sword at me, though she looks a little shaky and unsteady.

"What was that?" she asks, brows furrowing slightly as she glances down at Chi, seeming a little more wary of him now.

"That was Genjutsu" I respond, thinking it was obvious.

"Genjutsu!" Chi mimics brightly.

"Did you see your worst fears while stuck in that Genjutsu?" I ask smartly, taunting my opponent. "Chi's attack targets the mind and tears it apart. I figured since you're proficient in Kenjutsu, you wouldn't know much about expelling Genjutsu. Looks like I was right."

I see Peikirin's expression harden, her eyes glaring at me in anger. She tightens the grip on her sword and shakes her head, finally seeming as if she's taking this seriously.

"You killed Rakeru" she reminds me in a low voice. "You killed my teammate, and I'm going to get revenge for her! Fate has given me this chance by pairing me up against you in the Finals!"

"Fate must really hate your guts then" I retort, not caring about Peikirin's want for revenge.

Killing is allowed in the Chunin Exams and Rakeru knew that before she fought with me. It's not my fault she taunted me so much. She basically asked me to kill her.

"You're going to regret messing with Ninja from the Hidden Grass Village!" Peikirin shouts at me, strapping her sword to her back and performing some hand signs. "Hidden Grass Style: Mirror Clones!"

"Clones aren't going to save you" I say with smirk, watching as two perfect copies of Peikirin suddenly appear on either side of her.

"Ha!" the girl laughs sharply. "I bet you've never seen clones like these before. They're a secret Grass Village clone jutsu. They won't be disappearing any time soon! Go!"

"Milady?" Ace asks, to which I grin at him over my shoulder and nod. "Shall we-"

"-Do it again?" I finish smugly, causing Ace to rise to his feet. "Chi, stay back."

"Yes!" the younger Wolf barks obediently, tilting his head from side to side as if he is listening to music.

Now standing beside me, Ace bends his knees and glares up at the two incoming clones, focusing his chakra. I lower myself onto all fours and take a deep breath, releasing it slowly as I keep an eye on the clone on my right.

"Fang Over Fang!" Ace and I both shout, releasing our chakra and surging towards our targets as we spin through the air.

Ace collides heavily with his target, knocking her straight back into a wall. He doesn't let up though, ceasing his spinning and immediately leaping forwards to snatch her wrist up in his jaws, rendering her unable to use her sword.

As the same time, I collide with the other clone, however she manages to raise her sword and focus her chakra into it, causing me to ricochet away. I also cease my spinning and crouch down on all fours as I slide across the ground, as the clone races towards me, sword at the ready.

Before I am able to react, the clone stabs her sword straight through my stomach, causing my eyes to bulge in pain. Blood spurts from the wound, as well as my mouth as I begin to cough.

"This is what you get" the clone taunts me, smiling nastily, "For killing Rakeru."

"........Heh" I scoff, glancing up at the clone through my lashes, before suddenly disappearing.

"What?" Peikirin's clone whispers, eyes wide when she sees that I have been replaced with a large rock, her sword stuck through the middle of it.

"And this is what you get" I state lowly, appearing behind the clone, one hand on either side of her face, "For being too slow."

There is an audible crack sound as I wrench the clone's head around, snapping her neck and allowing her to drop to the ground at my feet. I hear a small number of people in the crowd gasp, with a few even looking away.

I can't help rolling my eyes. What did they expect at the Chunin Exams? They came to watch Ninja fight, possibly to the death. Blood and broken bones is what they're going to get. Besides, this is only a clone anyway.

I turn my head when I hear Ace let out a vicious snarl, only to see the Peikirin clone struggling against his grip. He'd somehow managed to get the clone to drop her sword, blood dripping from the wound on her wrist.

I'm not sure why she's flailing around so much though, Ace is physically much stronger than her.

I narrow my eyes as the real Peikirin stares down at her dead clone in horror, before fixing an icy gaze on me. She whirls around and runs towards Ace, focusing so much chakra into her sword, I can actually see it enveloping the weapon.

"I don't think so" I say under my breath, doing some hand signs and dropping into a crouch to press my palms against the dirt. "Earth Style: Stone Column Spear!"

Sending my chakra out into the ground, I watch as huge spears of rock tear up out of earth. One of the spears pierces right through Peikirin's clone, Ace releasing her wrist just as she is stabbed through the chest and forced up into the air.

Ace looks up at the now dead clone, her blood trickling down the stone spear, only to see that Peikirin is still running towards him. He glances over at me, noticing that I am trying to catch my breath after having used up a large amount of chakra.

Deciding to deal with Peikirin himself, his ears laying flat against his head, Ace activates his Katsuryoku and suddenly disappears underground, as if the earth had swallowed him. Peikirin skids to a halt, not having expected such a move. She looks down at the dirt, as if studying it, when Ace bursts up out of the ground from underneath her, jaws agape.

He catches Peikirin by the ankle and clamps his teeth down on the girl, before landing on the ground and spinning around in a circle. After a few swift rotations, Ace releases a helpless Peikirin's leg, sending her flying into the arena wall. She groans as she falls back down, her sword clattering to the ground beside her.

"Are you doing alright Milady?" Ace asks, stalking over to me, though his ears are turning towards Peikirin.

"Yeah" I exhale, waving one hand dismissively. "I'm just not used to using so many jutsu, so quickly. I'm getting a bit tired, so we'll have to end this pretty soon."

"Let me help Lady Ashley!" Chi begs, bouncing up and down. "Please, please, pleeeeaaase?!"

"Now is not the time to give Milady a headache young one" Ace scolds, causing Chi's ears and tail to droop sadly. "Come now, that may work on Rei, but I am not so easily manipulated."

"Ace-chan is a bully" Chi whimpers, disappointed that he cannot help. I give the young Wolf a sympathetic pat on the head, before diverting my gaze over to Peikirin, who is struggling to climb to her feet.

"You may as well just give up" I call out, making the girl pause. "You won't win."

".....I hate you" she eventually informs me, to which I raise one eyebrow.

"Join the club" I say uncaringly, shrugging. She's not the first and I'm sure she won't be the last.

"I hate you" Peikirin repeats, much more vehemently this time, as she raises her eyes to glower at me. "You killed my teammate, you killed my clones and now you're excited to kill me too. You're not a Ninja, you're just a blood thirsty monster!"

I blink at that, not having expected such sincere hatred from the Grass Ninja. My brows furrow at her words, mouth pulling downwards. I'm not exactly hurt by her words, but they're ringing in my ears for some reason.

Is it bad that I am willing to kill under these circumstances? I thought those were the rules. It's not as if I just run around killing people.

"Do not speak as if you know Milady" Ace snarls, whirling around to bare his teeth in anger. "You are a lower being than her and I will not allow you to disrespect-"

"It's alright Ace" I interrupt, reaching into my weapons pouch, my face looking towards the ground now. "Peikirin thinks I'm a monster, so, we'll show her what monsters do to people."

"Oh boy!" Chi pipes up, jumping to his feet when he realises what I'm doing. "I'm ready Milady! I still have lots of chakra to use!"

"I'm glad to hear that" I reply, smirking to myself as I unravel a large scroll, "Because we're going to take the whole audience with us. We'll show them what monsters are too."

"The whole audience?" Chi repeats, looking doubtful as he tilts his head at the crowd. "That's alotta people....."

"You can do it" I assure the Wolf, biting my thumb and swiping my blood across the white parchment. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Once again, I am enshrouded in a cloud of white smoke, as three Wolves appear beside me. Chi and Ace walk over and sit beside the other Wolves, all of us watching Peikirin as the smoke disappears.

"All of us here" Kai asks disdainfully, "For one little brat? Hardly worth it......"

"She looks a bit afraid" Rei adds, seemingly unsure. "Are we really all here to take down one girl Milady?"

"Jet-chan" Chi barks, tilting his head right back to look up into the face of a black Wolf that towers above all of the others, "That girl was being really, really mean to Lady Ashley before. Can you help us make her be nice?"

Jet blinks his half lidded eyes as he looks from Peikirin to me, their bright, golden colour a stark contrast to his dark fur.

"Are we making her be nice Milady?" he asks in an incredibly deep voice. "Or are we killing her?"

"Tappaen hänet" I reply with a smirk, only for Jet to smirk right back, his sharp teeth visible. (Killing her)

"Miten turvota......" Jet replies, rising to his feet. (How swell......)

"Alright Chi, are you ready?" I ask, to which the caramel coloured Wolf nods enthusiastically. "Let's do it then."

Jumping forwards so that he is in front of all of the others, Chi throws his head back and lets out a loud howl, that echoes through the entire stadium. He releases a huge amount of chakra, that dispels from his body in a circular radius. My hair blows back as the chakra hits me, the blast travelling well past me and into the arena.

Members of the audience gasp and mutter amongst themselves as they are also hit by the chakra, though it doesn't cause them any pain.

"Wh-What's going on?" Peikirin asks in a whispered voice, eyes fixated on the sky as she notices dark clouds quickly moving in. They block out any possible sunlight, with thunder now rumbling above us.

"Huh?!" the Grass Ninja shrieks in fright, seeing four perfect copies of herself standing in a line to her right. They are all standing upright, though their wrists and ankles are anchored to the ground with chains, rendering them incapable of moving.

Chi stands before us with his eyes squeezed closed, struggling to focus on keeping such a large scale Genjutsu going. He'd never included so many people in this jutsu before, so I don't know how long his chakra will hold out.

Ace, Rei, Kai and Jet all slowly begin to circle me, their eyes turning a blood red, that glows brightly in the now dimly lit arena. Their fur darkens until they become nothing more than mere shadows, looking like something out of a nightmare.

The audience members have fallen silent, either too scared by the sudden ambience change or too confused by it to speak. They have nothing to be afraid of, I only wanted Chi to bring them into the Genjutsu so they can see what's happening.

Otherwise it'll just look like Chi howled and then Peikirin fell over or something. Not entertaining at all.

"What's going on?" Peikirin asks again, looking between her terrified copies and the Wolves slowly stalking around me.

"This is Chi's strongest Genjutsu" I oblige, smiling wickedly. "It's called the Multiple Wolf Nightmare. You get to watch yourself be killed, over and over again. Sounds fun, right?"

"Y-You're awful!" the scared Grass Ninja informs me, to which I scoff uncaringly.

"You're the one who decided I was a monster" I reply coolly. "I'd hate to disappoint you. Go!"

Ace, Rei, Kai and Jet all suddenly run forwards, with Rei easily taking the lead. While all of my Wolves take on the same form in this Genjutsu, their sizes do not change.

Electricity builds up around Rei's shadowy body as she runs, blue sparks dancing across her fur. As she reaches one of the Peikirin clones, she leaps up and crashes directly into it. The clone screams in pain as she is electrocuted, steam rising from her body.

Ace, not far behind Rei, suddenly bursts into flame as he runs. He rarely uses his Katsuryoku this way, but I guess Peikirin had made him mad earlier. With a savage growl, Ace throws himself at the nearest Peikirin, who shrieks in terror as he approaches.

Kai barrels towards his opponent like a battering ram, head down and teeth bared. His chakra focused into his muscles, Kai tackles the much smaller clone, ripping her free of her chains and sending her sprawling to the ground. He doesn't let up however, snatching the girl up in his jaws and tearing her to pieces with glee.

Jet slows down as he approaches the last Peikirin clone, peering down at her through half lidded eyes. She trembles as she looks up at the huge, hulking figure, tears forming in her eyes. Releasing a low growl of disdain, Jet reaches down and clamps his jaws around the chain securing the girl's right arm. He tugs backwards, easily ripping the chain out of the ground. He takes one step back and pulls on the chain again, this time tearing the other three chains free of the ground as well.

Not allowing the Peikirin clone any time to try and escape, Jet suddenly flings the chain downwards, slamming the girl onto her back. He then throws his head to the other side, causing Peikirin to fly over him and hit the ground again, this time on her stomach.

I watch on as my Wolves kill the Peikirin copies, with the real Grass Ninja gaping at them in horror, already having fallen to her knees. Ahead of me, Chi begins to tremble.

"L-Lady Ashley?" Chi asks, stuttering. "I can't......I'm gonna have to stop soon."

"That's okay Chi" I reply, strolling past the Wolf, my half lidded eyes focused on Peikirin. "We're almost done here anyway."

The real Peikirin flinches as I stop right in front of her, tears rolling down her cheeks. She looks up at me, shaking.

"Just kill me already!" she shouts, angry despite her fear. "You wanted to do it anyway, so hurry up and do it!"

"You're really pathetic" I inform the Grass Ninja coldly. "Look at you, so paralysed by fear that you can't even fight back. I should put you out of your misery."

Peikirin gasps as I suddenly reach down and grab her throat in a vice like grip, squeezing it tightly and lifting her into the air. She reaches up and grips my wrist with both hands, feet kicking feebly.

I stare into Peikirin's face as she glares at me, scared, yet unwilling to admit defeat. It seems she'd rather die. I tighten my grip around the Grass Ninja's neck, rendering her unable to breathe, before I close my eyes and let out a sigh.

"......Alright Chi" I say reluctantly, "That's enough..."

"...Bleghhh..." the small Wolf exhales tiredly, reopening his eyes and collapsing in a heap. "I'm so tired....."

Suddenly, the dark clouds disappear and the stadium is flooded with sunlight. My Wolves all revert back to their usual selves, sitting around me in a circle, except for Jet, who is standing over Chi.

"I'm so tired Jet-chan" Chi complains, panting heavily, his ears drooping. "That jutsu is hard....."

".....You did good kid" the larger Wolf says quietly, sitting down beside Chi.

"Yayyyy......" the caramel coloured Wolf smiles, his tail wagging tiredly at the praise.

My other Wolves watch the crowd in amusement, entertained by their bewildered expressions. I merely stare at Peikirin's unmoving body, not sure whether I'd made the right decision or not. Mercy is not something I'm used to giving....

"What....What just happened?" someone in the crowd asks, causing me to smirk.

"That girl is done for Milady" Jet informs me, looking over at Peikirin. "She may be alive, but her mind will be affected."

"Good job Chi" I compliment my youngest Pack member, which makes him raise his head and smile at me. "I'm proud of you. I know that wasn't easy."

"Thank you Milady!" the Wolf says joyfully. "I've been practising really hard, like I said! Didja hear that Jet-chan? Lady Ashley is proud of me!"

"I heard" Jet replies, vaguely amused by Chi's happiness.

"Don't worry Jet-chan" Chi continues sympathetically, placing one tiny paw on top of Jet's much larger one, "I'm sure Lady Ashley will be proud of you one day too, like she is of me. I can help you!"

".......Uh huh."

"Feh" Kai scoffs, wrinkling his nose, "She's not even dead. You were too soft Milady."

"What's wrong with being nice?" Rei inquires, looking concerned by Kai's want for death. "This was not a life or death battle, so I am glad that Lady Ashley chose this option."

"You made the right decision Milady" Ace adds, nudging my shoulder with his nose. "I was always proud of you, but I am even prouder of the person you are becoming."

I stare at Ace through wavering eyes, surprised by his sudden and honest affection. He didn't usually say things like that, especially not in front of others.

"Thanks Ace" I answer softly, placing one hand on his furry neck and stroking it.

"You were wonderful by the way dear" Rei says cheerfully, closing her eyes and smiling at Ace. "You did very well, very well indeed!"

"Thank you my mate" the navy Wolf responds in his emotionless voice, though he does allow Rei to snuggle into his side. "You were very impressive as well."

Rei giggles to herself, her fluffy tail wagging with happiness as her mate's praise.

"Hey human!" I hear Jet calling, the voice catching my attention. "Yes, you with the tiny stick in your mouth."

"His name's Genma" I inform the Wolf, who turns and gives me a deadpan expression.

"En välitä" the Wolf says, causing me to deadpan as well, as he turns back to an unimpressed Genma. Such attitude sometimes..... (I care not)

"What?" our proctor asks.

"This girl is unconscious" Jet tells him unnecessarily. "I would suggest calling this fight over......Unless you would like for us to finish her off?"

Kai's ears prick up at this suggestion, while Chi's droop.

"Nyaaah!" he whines. "But I'm too tired to keep fighting!"

".......Due to Peikirin Akarashi being unable to continue fighting" Genma calls out, raising one arm in my direction, "Ashley Minami is the winner of this match!"

The crowd immediately explodes into thunderous applause, screaming and clapping with excitement. I raise one eyebrow, a question mark appearing above my head.

I thought they'd all hate me after that fight, considering how they reacted to the Genjutsu.

'I guess these people are more bloodthirsty than I thought' I think dryly, smirking as I look to my Wolves.

"Alright!" Chi cheers, dancing around the arena. "We won! We won, we won, we won!"

"I thought he was tired?" I mention out loud, only for Rei to start laughing as she runs after the younger Wolf. She smiles prettily up at the crowd, soaking up their attention and adoration.

Kai rears up on his hind legs and howls victoriously, a mischievous glint in his red eyes. He charges after the others, not wanting to miss out on any of the attention himself. Ace merely shakes his head at their antics and stays by my side, just as Jet slides his head underneath me and lifts me onto his strong back.

"Shall we do a victory lap as well?" he asks calmly, to which I grin and nod.

Jet and Ace both break into a run to catch up to the rest of the Pack, with me beginning to laugh as I raise my hands and wave up at the still applauding crowd. I manage to spot a few of the other rookies, including Kiba, in amongst all of the people, cheering for me and waving like crazy.

I jump to my feet and raise both arms in the air, the wind blowing my hair back out of my face as Jet and Ace catch up with the other Wolves. I may have initially thought the Chunin Exams were stupid, but who would've thought that competing and winning in front of so many people could be so.....fun?

I soon jump down from Ace's back and perform a hand sign, grinning at all of my Wolves as they gather around me.

"Thanks for your help today guys" I say appreciatively. "You all did great!"

"You are most welcome Milady" Ace replies, nodding his head.

"Any time dear, that's why we're here" Rei smiles.

"Piece of cake" Kai brags, turning his head and baring his teeth in a sinister grin.

"Hyvä nähdä sinua" Jet answers, also dipping his head. (Good to see you)

"Please don't make me go back yet Milady!" Chi begs, running up to me and standing on his hind legs, front paws resting on my shoulders. "I wanna stay for a bit longer, pleeeaaase?!"

"Kid, have some respect" Jet reprimands, to which Chi gives me his puppy dog eyes and whines softly.

"Do not think that Milady will fall for your farce young one" Ace speaks up. "She is not so easily manipu-"

"Fine" I say with a laugh, to which Chi can't help barking happily.

"You were saying dear?" Rei prompts Ace teasingly, only for the navy Wolf to sigh.

"....Never mind....."

I wave good bye, as Rei, Ace, Kai and Jet all disappear in a puff of smoke, leaving Chi by my side.

"Alright Chi, we're going up those stairs" I instruct, pointing to the large staircase that leads to our balcony. "That's where all of the contestants sit."

"Oh boy, oh boy, okay!" Chi chirps, already running towards the stairs. "I'm going to beat you up there Milady!"

"I bet" I mutter under my breath, watching as two Medics load Peikirin onto a stretcher and carry her off to receive medical attention.

Not that it will do her much good. She's not too badly wounded physically, but Chi's Genjutsu is meant to attack the mind, not the body. She'll no doubt be affected by it even after she's physically recovered.

I turn back around and jog over to the staircase, only to see that Chi has already reached the top. I follow after him, taking my time climbing the stairs.

While that Genjutsu hadn't taken up any of my own chakra, I'm still a little tired from all of the jutsu I used earlier. Looks like I'm going to have to practise some more if I'm going to engage in fights where I plan on using lot's of jutsu.

"Oh boy, that was so, so fun!" Chi cries, spinning in a happy circle, only pausing when he sees Naruto running towards me.

"Ashley, you won!" the blonde exclaims, arms outstretched. I pause, unsure if Naruto is about to hug me, when Chi suddenly slides underneath Naruto, knocking him right over.

The blonde lands in a heap at my feet, causing both Chi and I to giggle, when Naruto quickly jumps back up and throws his arms around me. I freeze awkwardly, looking to Shikamaru for help. He merely smirks at me in amusement however, clearly enjoying my discomfort.

"You were awesome Ashley-chan!" Naruto shouts in my ear, the volume making me flinch.

"Hey!" Chi barks. "What about me?! I helped, I helped!"

"Oh, uh...." Naruto trails off, releasing me and scratching the back of his neck as he looks down at an indignant Chi. "You were awesome too little guy!"

Chi's tongue hangs out of his mouth as Naruto pets him carefully, enjoying the attention.

"What exactly did you do to that girl?" Shikamaru wonders out loud, looking genuinely interested. "I mean, what kind of jutsu was that?"

"It was mine!" Chi answers for me, turning to the Nara. "I made it up all by myself, so you can't steal it! I'll tell on you if you do!"

"Uh, I won't steal your idea" Shikamaru reassures Chi, though he gives the Wolf a strange look. "Don't worry about it."

"Good" Chi says matter of factly, lying down by my feet as I lean back against the balcony railing.

"It was a Genjutsu cast by Chi" I explain, as Shikamaru looks to me for a proper answer. "He created it himself, like he said, I just worked out a way to include my other Wolves in it as well. It's a jutsu that targets the enemy's mind rather than their body, though it's possible to kill the person caught in the Genjutsu if you choose to."

"The enemy gets caught in the Genjutsu and has to watch themselves get killed, over and over again. It really messes with your head and as you saw, it works pretty well."

"I'll say" Shikamaru agrees. "But if it was a Genjutsu, how come we could all see what happened? Normally only the person under the effect of the Genjutsu can see what's going on."

"Right, but Chi's Genjutsu is special" I continue, smiling down at the small Wolf. "He can pull as many people as he wants into his Genjutsu. When he howled, what was essentially a wave of chakra was expelled from all of his chakra points. Anyone who gets hit by that chakra is put under the effect of the Genjutsu."

"It was really, really hard to take that many people though" Chi sighs tiredly. "I don't wanna do that again. Nope. No thank you."

"It takes up a lot of Chi's chakra" I add, looking between Naruto and Shikamaru. "I wouldn't want him to strain himself, or have him run out of chakra and die."

"How come the Genjutsu stopped though?" Naruto asks, brows furrowing. "I mean, your Wolf's chakra didn't run out and you didn't kill that girl, so what happened?"

I hood my eyes and turn my head, avoiding eye contact with the boys, not wanting to admit to anything. I don't want them thinking I'm soft or anything.

"Lady Ashley didn't want to kill that girl" Chi grins cheekily, ignoring my warning look, "So she asked me to cut off the Genjutsu.......You really have gotten nicer Milady."

I scoff at that and roll my eyes, while Shikamaru and Naruto both grin at me mischievously. As if I'm going to agree with a statement like that.

I blink in surprise as Chi suddenly jumps up and licks my cheek, before he rolls onto his back and bursts out into giddy laughter.

I can't help half smiling down at the giggling Wolf, as I wipe my cheek with the back of my hand. He really is a happy Wolf and he always has been, despite whatever situations we've been involved in. I think he spends to much time with Rei, although he does call her Aiti......(Mother)

I turn my head while Shikamaru and Naruto join Chi in laughing at me, an evil smirk slowly spreading across my face as I notice something.

"Oh Shikamaru" I sing eerily, making the Nara pause. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you."

"Why not?" he asks suspiciously, looking down into the arena as I point at something. His eyes widen, when he sees Temari glaring up at him, impatiently waiting.

"Because now it's your turn to fight" I inform Shikamaru smartly, his shoulders drooping.

"Aw man...." he sighs. "What a drag....."