Something to Fight For (Naruto)

Falling (Asleep at a Bad Time)

Haruka ran as fast as she could while leaving her weights on her legs. She would have taken them off, but she wanted to save as much energy as possible for Nii-san's fight. His opponent may end up getting the upper hand over him, and she would need all of her speed to save him.

It seemed like only seconds had passed when she arrived at the entrance to the stadium. It was shut, with two Chunin standing guard over it. When Haruka went to open the door and enter, they blocked her path.

"You can't go in while a match is in progress." The one on the left sighed, crossing his arms. He looked extremely bored.

Haruka nodded calmly, stationed in front of the gate. There was a very small probability that Nii-san was going first, so there was nothing to worry about... Right?

Seeing that she posed no threat, the men returned to their positions, one of them picking at his nails with a kunai and the other picking his nose. She adverted her eyes, keeping them trained on the door instead.

 Not ten minutes had passed when they swung open, indicating the end of the match. The guards didn't stir, but Haruka charged in anxiously. Being away from Nii-san for so long before his fight was really messing with her nerves. She hadn't even made it a few yards in when she halted suddenly.

 There was Nii-san, running around the arena with a huge smile on his face. He was covered in blood and cuts, and even looked as if he were limping, but that didn't stop him. A smile was stretched across his face, and he waved to the crowd as if he was their Kage.

She was too late. Her excursion with Iruka had made her miss his fight. Obviously, he wasn't in too bad shape, but still...

How could she have been so careless?

She had assumed that he would be fine, and look where she was now; watching him run around, beaten to a pulp. It was all her fault.

"Hey, Haruka!" Nii-san yelled, finally seeing her on his second victory lap. "You missed my match against Neji! Don't worry though, 'cuz I won! Believe it!" He crowed, jumping up and down in front of her.

"N-nii-san..." She whispered, looking at him with slightly damp eyes. "I am sorry." She wasn't able to look him in the eyes as she spoke, too ashamed.

"For what?" He asked, pausing from his celebrating.

Before she could answer though, the proctor interrupted. "You two need to get off the fighting area so we can start the next match." He drawled, speaking around the senbon in his mouth.

Nii-san nodded, heading to the stairs leading to the balcony for the contestants. When Haruka went to follow, she was blocked by the proctor.

"That's for contestants only. Spectators use those." He ordered, jerking his head to the stairs on the other side of the arena.

"But..." Haruka trailed off. How could she heal Nii-san from so far away? She had to be beside him, making sure he was okay, not on the other side of the stadium! Before she could protest, someone grabbed her arm, cutting her off.

Looking up, she saw her sensei, Kurenai. Bending down, she leaned towards Haruka's ear. "You'll get him disqualified if you help him in anyway." She murmured so the proctor couldn't hear. "The best thing to do is to sit in the bleachers with Kiba and Hinata."

Hesitating, Haruka nodded. If Nii-san were to be disqualified, his heart would break. Now that she was here though, she could definitely intervene on his next match.

Slowly, she followed Kurenai up the stairs and over to her other teammates. Every step she took made her heart clench, but there was nothing she could do about it. If the best thing for her Nii-san was her being so far away from him, then that's where she'll be, no matter how she felt.