3.16 – POVS

3.16 – POVS

“Yosha!” Rock Lee pumped his fist again. Excitement bubbled inside him after watching Sasuke’s fight. There were no two ways about it. He was the strongest genin in Konoha, even without ninjutsu or genjutsu. He would win this preliminaries, prove to Sakura-chan how strong he was, and ask her out again. The exuberance of youth would prevail!

Rock Lee looked around. Nearby, Gai-sensei and Kakashi-san watched the fights, commenting here and there. Rock Lee’s eyes found Hinata. The girl leaned against the railing, a massive smile on her face, bobbing like a kid. Even more after Kakashi-san patted her head. A trickle of fear bubbled in his gut, but Rock Lee squashed it. He hoped to fight her in the preliminaries; Neji said it was a talisman seal she used, but Lee wasn’t so sure.

Kurenai carried an unconscious Sakura back to the stands. A gentle smile on her face. She was proud of the girl. She had grown splendidly. Kurenai was sure Sakura could have won the match had she decided to use the new jutsu she learned over the last few months, but she also knew it was a matter of pride and friendship. Not just once, they talked about her crush on the Uchiha boy, which Sakura seemed to be growing out of, and her fight with Ino over that same crush, even if the girl was too proud to admit it.

Sakura's not being able to reach the finals was something she had expected. Kurenai entered her team because they needed the experience. Maybe sooner than predicted if international tensions kept escalating.

Kurenai was satisfied with the current results. Kiba was the only one from her squad still left to fight. He had a good chance of reaching the finals with Shino.

Gai shook his head, already ready to interfere with Tenten’s match. It was a shame the pairing was so unfortunate. Any other, and Tenten probably would have a better chance, but the Suna girl countered Tenten at every step. He carried his pupil to the hospital and returned to the arena after settling her there. Just in time to see Naruto defeat Kiba.

Then, the monster disappeared.

Neji’s eyes widened. The thing appeared by his side, a punch already approaching his head. Neji didn’t have time to dodge; he lashed out, aiming for a trade to hit the thing’s meridians. He could take one blow. He would win in the end, like always.

Stars exploded in his head. White dominated all his vision. Neji couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn't think. He gasped, pulling in a much-needed breath, and tried to move. A soft voice and a gentle hand held him down.

“It’s over. You are in the hospital, and you’re safe.”

Neji heard Gai-sensei’s voice, but still, it made no sense. What happened? His body hurt; he couldn’t open his eyes, move his arms, or move his legs.

Gaara, from the place where he fell after the attack, looked at the boy dressed in green across from him in the arena. Mother screamed in his head. She wanted blood. Gaara obliged. He wanted to kill them all. His fist closed in, and even through his jutsu, he felt the bones break and shatter. The agonized screaming joined with the joyful screams in his head. Yes, he would feed everyone’s blood to mother.

Soon.