AFTER DARK | naruto

13 | fight to leave a past behind

Once you had finally tuned back in, you managed to calm yourself. Leaning against the railing beside Neji - who took note of everyone's moves. Sasuke's battle had already ended, and it seemed Shino Aburames was at the end of his. You were glad you had missed out on it if the bugs coming out of the enemy's arms that had been blown off said anything - then Neji confirming with his Byakugan that the Shino guy had bugs living in his body did. A shiver went up your spine at the grossness, maybe you had no place to speak in the sense of having some sort of animal living in oneself, but Diaval was a different story! You hoped so, at least.

You were never one to question the matters of one's clans, but giving a babys body to bugs for a nest? "Talk about gross..." You groaned, leaning further into the railing. Watching those bugs made you feel antsy, as strong as the Shino guy was, knowing he was on your village's side was a relief. You'd never want to be on the receiving end of that - being so wrapped up in who would be fighting next made you miss the fact that Kakashi had pulled Guy aside. While he was sure the matter of his student being given a curse mark by none other than Orochimaru was a big and private deal between him and the Hokage; he figured Guy should be the first to know that his student was also under potential risk of Orochimaru's watchful eye.

You could almost feel your soul fly out of your slacked jaw at the name picked. "Kankuro...!?" You whispered-yelled, any hopes that the people of the sand weren't a group of siblings you knew flew out of your mind. "I'm done for...." You mumbled, lowering your head. You weren't sure why you were so eager to avoid them, if anything, you should've been excited to see them after so long - but it wouldn't be the same as it used to be. What if they thought you were lame? Because Kankuro sure looked like a mysterious cool guy down there, especially when he used his puppet to act as him and win easily despite getting his neck 'broken'. It was such an easy win - one that had your stomach churning again. Sakura and Ino's fight was interesting enough, you knew the two to be friends. At least, they were when you first met them. That was a while back now when you had first met them they were. But things always changed. The two of them ended in a well-fought draw.

You would have joined the others that gathered around the two to make sure they were okay, but you were frozen in your spot on the railing. Staring wide-eyed at the screen showing the two next competitors.

"Temari Vs [Firstname] [Lastname]. Please come up."  You could feel the frown on your face grow bigger, of course, you were pitted against one of the sand despite all of your pleas. You brought a hand up to your mouth to cover any curses that could mindlessly slip, watching as Temari made her way down.

Neji was silent beside you, Guy was missing, and Lee was distracted. You had considered forfeiting the match there, but you found yourself walking down into the arena. You were pitted against a complete mystery of a person, someone you once knew that was rendered a stranger now. The two of you stood face to face, your nerves evident while Temari stood tall, hands on her hips.

"Begin!" Hayate announced before jumping back. The two of you remained face to face.

"I almost can't believe it... A/an [Lastname], that I get the honors to fight. You won't blame me if I finished your clan off here, would you?" It was like her words didn't even process in your mind. "I can't believe the little girl I knew years ago turned out to be alive... And the last of her clan at that..."

"She's completely shocked into silence," Neji commented as Lee had quickly noticed your absence, returning to the railings to watch you from above. The two of them stared down at the scene. "I know she's not very talkative beyond those she's close with, but she's not shy, either." Lee nodded his head in agreement. Watching your still back as the blonde spoke of your clan so freely, he figured someone from the sand would show more respect toward a fallen clan.