Will of Fire: Kakashi Hatake

Chapter 11

She was met by Yuhi, Maki and Kinui at the top of the stairs leading up to their observation room, all of them with big smiles on their faces.

"Akira, that was awesome! You totally showed that sand genin!" Yuhi said excitedly.

"Yeah, and after all that stuff he was saying to you, that was great!" Mahi agreed.

Kinui patted her on the shoulder. "Great job, kid!"

"Thanks guys!" Akira said. She couldn't help but notice the other sand genin glaring at her, or the way Somaru had not left the railing and refused to look at Akira.

The little group made their way over to the railing. They looked down at the floor, and watched as a few jonin did their best to dig Kirin out of the ground without hurting him too much. Maki and Yuhi laughed at their efforts, Kinui smiling along with them every once in a while. The girls made jokes about the sand genin's situation.

After the brief intermission, they had finally been able to get Kirin out of the ground and were calling for the next match.

"Take two!" Somaru said with a grin on his face.

Kinui rolled his shoulders back and sighed. "Here goes nothing."

"Hey, you got this, it'll be fine!" Maki chided him. He rolled her eyes, but smiled slightly. The two boys disappeared down the stairs.

"You know, this bye thing really sucks." Yuhi said. Akira looked at her teammate with an eyebrow raised. "It really gives the people who don't get a bye a disadvantage. They have to fight more."

Akira shrugged in response. "It also gives the people with a bye a disadvantage. They don't get as many chances to show off their skills as a shinobi."

Yuhi nodded. "Yes, that's true. I'm glad neither one of us had a bye."

"Me too," Akira agreed.

Somaru and Kinui had reached the center of the arena floor. The proctor gave them the safety speech, then announced the start of the match.

"Go Somaru!" Yuhi cheered.

Akira watched the two boys carefully, paying attention to their techniques. Their match went on for quite awhile, taijutsu exchanges followed by ninjutsu exchanges. Neither one of them seemed to have the upper hand for a long time. They went on for almost eight minutes. Then something changed.

Somaru had gotten a hit on Kinui's jaw, and Kinui had stumbled backward, dazed. Somaru followed quickly, ruthlessly attacking. He pulled a kunai and slashed and stabbed at Kinui.

Kinui did his best to protect his vital areas, but suffered multiple wounds to his legs, his arms, and even to one of his shoulders. He attacked back with gusto, and was able to land a hit on Somaru's cheek, followed by a slash to his forearm. Somaru jumped over Kinui's head and landed behind the other boy. He stabbed Kinui in the back of his left shoulder.

Kinui shuddered and fell to his knees, grabbing at his shoulder. He was panting, sweat dripping down his face and neck. Somaru grinned and kicked Kinui between his shoulder blades, sending him to the ground. He didn't try to get back up.

The proctor walked over to them. He crouched down and examined Kinui, checking for a pulse. He found one, so he stood and waved the awaiting medics over.

"The winner of this match is Somaru Yemin."

The crowd cheered. Somaru waved, ignoring the blood dripping off of his arm.

"When did Somaru get so ruthless?" Akira muttered under her breath. This wasn't the Somaru she was used to. Normally he wasn't this brutal towards his opponents. But it seemed like he was trying to kill, and was taking the easiest ways out of his matches.