Naruto was nearly out of his mind with worry. Please hit. Let it hit. It has to hit... The words kept running through his mind like a prayer.

Gemini took a sharp breath. This was a deciding move, she could tell. If it hit, the guy was finished. If not, Yugito was done. Flip a coin. Heads or tails... She thought, her eyes following the course of the attack.

'How does she have this much chakra left over?' Rai thought to himself as he growled lightly. He knew that if he was able to dodge this technique then Yugito would be finished and while she was unconscious, he could do what he always wanted to do to her, have his way with her body. All he had to do was to dodge this attack of hers. Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize just how quick the technique was...and that was the last mistake he ever made.

"It hit... thank goodness..." she muttered as she used all her willpower to stay on her two feet. Once the technique ended, she saw him charred to a crisp. After she was declared the winner, her knees buckled as she fell backwards and her vision dimmed.

Naruto didn't waste time cheering. He jumped over the railing and caught Yugito before she could hit the ground, just as she was being declared the winner. "You did great, Kitty-chan." He said, bringing her back up to the balcony with him. He looked up to see the next match, and almost groaned when he saw Gemini's name paired with the name of Yugito's other team mate. "You'll be out two team mates by the end of this one..."

Gemini jumped, pumping a fist in the air. "Yeah, damn straight! Bastard got what was coming to him!" She shouted vehemently, declaring open hatred for the charred remains of a human left on the floor. When she finally calmed down, she looked up to realize that her name had been called, and her opponent was already waiting in the arena. "Isn't that her other team mate? Perfect. I won't lose." She promised, launching herself over the railing and into the arena. She landed noiselessly on her feet in front of her opponent. "Get ready to join your scum of a team mate in death." She warned, her tail swaying behind her.

((*Deep breath* Here goes. Do you mind if Wolfie takes control of the second team mate, or would you rather do it?))

(you can take control of the second guy. I was going to have Kurama and Mata-chan talk to Yugito while she's passed out and give her a play by play of what's going on until she wakes up or have her wake up and have Naruto explain what happened after she passed out)

((Okay, works for Wolfie.))

Facing Shotaru, Gemini was painfully aware of her ears and tail, out in the open for everyone to see. Many of the people there had known her her whole life, and were just seeing her true form for the first time. She pushed these thoughts away and faced the other with determination. This is for Yugito-chan, and Naruto-kun, and Gaara-san.

Shotaru sneered at the demon girl. True, he had never been as openly aggressive as Rai, but when it came to demons and their vessels, he hated them just as much. "Don't expect me to lose so easily. Rai-san is a fool, and underestimated his opponent. I'm smarter than that." He warned, earning a glare from the kitsune girl. The proctor called for the match to start, and the two combatants jumped backwards. The fight was on.

Gemini watched the male with a keen gaze, taking in everything about him, observing how he moved to determine his style. She wanted him to make the first move, so that she could assess his skills, but he seemed too smart for that. "All right then, I guess I'll start." She muttered, pulling out the katana that was always strapped to her hip. With speed almost too fast to follow, she rushed forward, taking a swing that aimed directly for the other's neck.

Shotaru, though surprised by the girl's speed, recovered in just enough time to backflip out of the way of her blade. In retaliation, he pulled out a kunai and tossed it at her, trying to knock the sword from her grasp. Using that as a distraction, he took another kunai and wrapped an explosive tag around it, then threw it with great accuracy. It landed directly at her feet as she was dashing forward again.

Gemini easily blocked the first kunai, but didn't see the second. Since she was already running, she had less than a second to react before the explosion hit, tossing her backwards. She crashed into the wall with great force, but got back up instantly. "Clever. I wonder if you have any jutsu, or if you're just a weapons master."

"-en, -ten, Kitten!" Matatabi shouted as Yugito woke up, feeling extremely woozy. Granted that she just been in the fight of her life, she had no idea what had happened. "Ugh...what happened?" the jinchuuriki for the Nibi no Nekomata proclaimed as she slowly woke up within her mindscape. She knew that she had to be in there for two reasons: One, she wasn't hurting everywhere and two, she saw the cage that housed her friend. "Mata-chan? What happened?"

"You won your fight and passed out. That was very risky of you by the way Yugito-san, future mate of my container," Kurama said as he came into view. The only reason he was there right now because she was in close proximity to Naruto, who was currently watching his daughter fighting inside the ring. "Though I guess that's one reason why my container likes you so much. Also...my daughter is fighting your second teammate. I hate to inform you that by the end of this, he'll also be as dead as your other teammate" he continued with a cheeky grin as Yugito's cheeks turned the same color as his fur.

"Good. Those two despised me because of Mata-chan here, Kurama-san," she said, hoping that he didn't mind her using his true name. If he was, she would call him by his title. "I'm just glad I won...but how did the next fight start? I thought I blacked out," she replied as Matatabi nodded. "You did. But Kyu-kun's container grabbed you and placed you next to him. He even created a clone to watch over you~" the two-tailed Hellcat said with a teasing grin on her face. "It's also why Kyu-kun is here as well, I believe. So that he can check on you. Though I'm surprised he's not watching his daughter fight..." she added on, highly confused.

"I already know that my daughter will wipe the floor with him," he said with pride in his voice. "But if you want, while you recover Yugito-chan, I can give you a play by play of what's going on," he offered, to which Yugito nodded her head at. She also asked him not to let Naruto forget that they had a date after all of this was over.

Shotaru smirked. "Judging by your level of skill thus far, I won't need much more than weapons." He said confidently in reply to Gemini's jab.

Gemini snorted. "I thought you weren't going to underestimate me." She said with mock disappointment. "Oh well, no matter. I've already assessed your skill well enough to combat you at every turn." With that, she leapt forward again, sword at the ready. As she ran, the blade seemed to ignite, covering itself with chakra-fueled flames in seconds. Gemini swung her flaming blade in an arc towards him. He blocked, and she smirked. "Perfect." Using the momentum from the block, she swung around backwards, putting a good spin into her swing as she brought her blade around to the other side.

Shotaru swore as the girl seemed to become a flaming tornado, spinning around effectively. He managed to dodge the blade itself, but the flames scorched his arm. "Ouch. You'll pay for that, filthy demon bitch!" He sneered, forming several hand seals. As the girl ran at him again, seeming relentless in her attacks, he created a whip of water that he expertly controlled to strike out at her.

The flames on her sword sputtered and died, even chakra fire unable to stand up against the water whip. Gemini sighed dramatically and sheathed her blade, knowing that close range attacks would be futile from here on out. The whip struck out at her again, quick as thought, and she jumped and dodged, receiving several cuts along her arms and face while she bided her time. She didn't want to reveal her Nightmare Syndrome quite yet. What to do?

Naruto leaned forward, on the edge of his proverbial seat yet again. "Don't just run around, Gemini-chan! You can beat this guy easy, dattebayo!!" He yelled, enraged by the "filthy demon bitch" comment.

Kurama chuckled lightly inside of both Naruto's mindscape and of Yugito's. Before Yugito could ask what was going on, he explained that her other bastard of a teammate just called her a 'filthy demon bitch'.

"She's...she's fighting in her true form?" Yugito asked, surprised after hissing in displeasure as to what her teammate called Gemini. She just hoped that there wouldn't be any consequences towards her for doing such a thing. If there were, she was going to stand by both Naruto and Gemini. "Naruto-kun and Gemini-chan...they don't deserve this treatment..." she muttered softly. She also knew that she didnn't deserve it either.

"I agree, and I'm glad that you think so koneko-chan," Kurama said with a light chuckle. Oh he knew he was going to have fun teasing her. "Huh, that's a surprise. I didn't think the idiot knew any Suiton jutsus...this might have just gotten harder for my musume..." he muttered as he disappeared for a few seconds so that he could keep an eye on the match. He would return after making sure that she could handle the new development.

"Mata-chan, is it okay if I wake up?" Yugito asked as Matatabi thought about it for a few seconds before finally nodding. She did, however, warn her not to do anything that would use her chakra, at least not until she got that blasted seal off of her. Nodding lightly, she slowly started vanishing from her mindscape. Yawning lightly, she stretched like the cat that she was before wincing lightly. She forgot that she still had several wounds over her body from the fight with Rai.

Kyuubi returned to the mindscape one last time as he saw the human form of Matatabi and sighed lightly. "You let her go, didn't you? Even though she still isn't one hundred percent?" he asked.

"I did. She isn't going to be fighting anytime soon, and I think she'd rather see her bastard of a teammate's demise rather than hear about it. Now then...what's this about you having a daughter? and a hanyou one at that?" she asked as Kurama sighed lightly.

Still dodging the water whip, Gemini glanced up at Naruto and flashed a thumbs up. She had an idea, finally, and the smirk that appeared on her face was somewhat disconcerting. Jumping backwards out of the range of the whip, she started making hand signs. Get ready...Summoning Justsu!!" She shouted. With a bang and a puff of smoke, Gemini's summon appeared, teeth bared and ready to strike. It was a fox, about the size of a small pony, but instead of standard orange, it was light sky blue with white markings and golden eyes.

Shotaru paused a moment, taking in the summon. Of course it would be a fox. But why is it colored like that? He pushed away the thought. Summon animals were often colored strangely- it meant nothing. To accommodate the newcomer, Shotaru created a storm of water senbon, which he sent flying at the pair in front of him. "Take this!!"

Gemini smirked again. "That won't work anymore. Show him, Suichi!!" At her command, the fox jumped forward and spun, creating a whirlwind of subzero air that froze the needles, and sent them flying back at Shotaru, who found himself cut up pretty good. "Water plus wind equals ice, and Suichi here is a wind type summon." Gemini said with satisfaction.

Shotaru bit back a growl. This girl was way too cocky. "It doesn't matter, I can still beat you!" He yelled, using the water whip to strike at the fox.

Suichi dodged the whip easily, then darted forward and bit the end of it. From the point of the bite, the whip started to freeze, ice spreading up and back towards Shotaru at blistering speeds.

Shotaru saw the threat of the ice, and dropped the whip, the water reverting to it's regular shapeless form on the ground. He went to jump backwards, throwing several shuriken as he did, but slipped on something. Looking down, he saw that the water he had so carelessly discarded had been turned to ice under his feet- ice which was now creeping up his legs, effectively holding him down. Starting to panic, the boy pulled out a kunai and started trying to chip away at the ice.

Gemini grinned. "Too late." She said, rushing forward. Instead of pulling out a weapon, she brought her hand back- a closer look would reveal long, sharpened claws adorning her fingers- and, just as she reached the trapped boy, jabbed, her whole hand spearing through his chest and out his back. Now clutching his still beating heart, Gemini pulled her hand out of the gaping wound and smiled down at the boy. "For Yugito-chan. For Naruto-kun, and Gaara-san, and every jinchuuriki that has suffered. And for myself as well. Die." With that, she crushed his heart in her hand and tossed it to the fox waiting nearby, who ate it hungrily.

Naruto fell silent, unable to quite reconcile what he had just seen. He knew Gemini could be ruthless, but he had never seen her kill anyone. He knew as he watched that his friend was picturing her foster father as she committed the act. The proctor, looking a bit scared, called the match, and a team of medical ninja cleared away the body as Gemini's summon disappeared, and the red haired girl made her way back up to the balcony.

Kurama had promised to tell Matatabi as soon as he told Gemini himself, claiming that she of all people deserved to know first. Sighing lightly, he was glad that the Queen of the Hellcats nodded in agreement, for sure that he was going to have a battle on his hands because of his decision. Then again, Gemini was his daughter, not Matatabi’s…even if they did have a close relationship and a fling for each other every once in a while. What? A kitsune male had urges just as often as any other male. Though usually he didn’t forget to use contraception to make sure he didn’t get the female pregnant. How he had forgotten with Gemini’s mother he had no idea; not that he was ashamed of Gemini, not in the least.

Seeing her fighting, he couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face when she saw her summon Suichi, one of his former advisors and friends. He was also glad to see that his kitsune brother in all but blood had kept to his training, even after he had left. Granted he had a feeling that Suichi would win now if they were to spar. Shaking his head lightly, his smirk turned bloodthirsty as he saw how Gemini took care of Yugito’s ex-teammate. Hell, even the Kit was surprised as to how brutal she was being, though he probably did have a point in that thought of his…she probably was channeling her hatred towards her foster father, something that should have never happened in his opinion. It reminded him that he had to talk to the leader of this village, perhaps when his Kit and Matatabi’s Kitten went on that date of theirs; that would probably be for the best.

”Just make sure to hold onto that promise of yours Kyu-kun,” she said with a light smirk as Kurama vanished back into his own mindscape. Scowling lightly as she looked at the new seal that was placed on Yugito’s body thanks to that bastard of a teammate, she tried to see what she could do about it. Realizing that she would have to wait for a Seal Master to undo it, her scowl deepened. Until it vanished, her kitten would have the same shitty control that she had when they had first met all those years ago. ”I guess I’ll just have to wait…this sucks,” she muttered as she made herself comfortable before going to sleep. It was all she could do in her current predicament after all.

Yugito made her way towards the railing just as Gemini made the killing blow, a little surprised that the female hanyou had it in her if she was honest with herself. She wasn’t scared or frightened at what she did, especially since she knew that bastard deserved it as much as Rai did. Hearing her voice called, she turned her head towards the voice that called her name. Seeing that it was Naruto, who had concern in his eyes, she confirmed that she was okay before looking back towards Gemini, knowing that everyone now knew of her true nature. “Foxy-kun…this could get real ugly real quick,” she whispered lightly, hoping that he heard it.

(Phoenix apologizes for taking over Naruto like that and will change it if you have a problem with this.)

Gaara smirked lightly as he saw Gemini issue the killing blow, a strange feeling in his chest started rising as a thought came to him subconsciously. ’A girl after my own heart…wait, what?’ Gaara thought to himself as he turned his head sideways, wondering where that thought came from. Hearing the murmurs and restlessness starting to come from the crowd, he and his siblings were prepared to join her on the Arena floor to protect her from the consequences of her showing her true form. Whatever would follow, he’d protect Gemini. It was the least that he could do for her after everything that she had done for him.

((No, it's fine ^.^))

Gemini went back up to the balcony and took her place next to Gaara, licking the blood off of her hand as she did so. She didn't seem to realize she was doing it- her eyes had a distant look tot hem, as if she were lost in thought. She was oblivious to the murmurs of fear from people she had known all her life, and the outright glares from the people who didn't know her.

Naruto nodded, having heard what Yugito said. "I know. I don't think anyone from Konoha will turn against her- they've all known her as long as I have. They might be a bit wary of her for a while, but...it's those others I'm worried about." He said, concern for his friend evident in his voice. He hoped she wouldn't get hurt for showing her true nature.

Sakura gulped, feeling a mix of fear and awe for the hanyou girl. Sure, she had always known Gemini, though she had never paid the redhead too much attention. But never in all those years had she imagined that the girl had such killer intent in her. "All that rage...What happened to make her so angry? How did you hide this all these years, Gemini-san?" She wondered quietly.

Gaara kept an eye on the crowd, just in case someone, anyone tried anything. He was actually glad when she had come back to his side if he was honest with himself. However, the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi noticed that she still had a bloodlust look in her eyes. Unlike the others though, he wasn't scared of her...but scared for her.

"Then we make sure nothing happens to her. Hopefully Gaara and Shukaku can calm her down themselves...otherwise, I'd hate to see what happens," she replied. Even though Gemini wasn't a jinchuuriki like herself and Naruto, she was a hanyou. And that made her family, at least in her mind. Hearing Sakura next to her, she looked towards Naruto, wondering if he was going to tell the pink-haired girl that she was going to train what caused her to have so much anger.

Naruto glanced over at Yugito and Sakura, and shook his head slightly. He would probably tell Sakura eventually, but right then was not the time.

Gemini's ear twitched, and she seemed to come out of a daze. It was almost like she was just waking up. "Everyone is staring at me. Probably should have expected that." Was her first observation.

Yugito nodded in understanding, knowing that it was his decision to make, especially if he thought of her like a sister or something.

"No, you don't say," Temari deadpanned before shaking her head lightly. "Welcome back to the world of the living. Thanks for the chaos, as one of my younger brothers would say."

Gemini looked up sharply, glaring at the blonde. "There are some things that can't be helped. I don't regret it." She said, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Looks like Gaara-san is next."

Naruto, finally satisfied that Gemini was okay, glanced at the board for the next match-up. It was Gaara versus Rock Lee. "That guy has no chance against Bushy Brows."

(We'll just imagine that the Hyuuga vs. Hyuuga match already happened [sweat]))

(alright)

"I think that Yugito was happy to see her second tormentor killed. Maybe not in such a fashion, but dead all the same," Temari replied. Seeing the match between the two Hyuugas, she scowled lightly when Neji tried killing Hinata, if she remembered the names correctly. "I don't get it, what's his beef with her? They're related...right?" she asked before seeing Gaara's name show up on the board.

Yugito held her jealously in as Naruto, and several others, went to stop the Hyuuga male from killing the female. And then swearing on her blood that he would end the Hyuuga male, Neji if she remembered the name right, if they fought in the finals. Seeing that it was now Gaara's turn, she was curious as to who Gemini would root for, her boyfriend or a person she knew from her home village. "Why do you say that Foxy-kun?"

Gemini frowned. "It's a long story, but suffice it to say the whole thing is bullshit. I'll tell you about it some other time." She said. Truthfully, her mind was occupied with worrying about Lee. Sure, he was strong, but from what Gemini had seen, he wouldn't be able to beat Gaara.

After coming back up from helping Hinata, Naruto looked over at Yugito and grinned. "Because Bushy Brow is super strong. I don't know what that Gaara kid can do, but Lee will beat him no matter what, dattebayo. Just watch, Kitty-chan. Even if I'm wrong, it will at least be a good fight."

Temari frowned lightly at that but nodded all the same. "If you say so, though I'll hold you to that, she said as she stared down at the arena floor before a small smirk graced her features. "So...who you rooting for, your boyfriend or that Lee kid?" she asked innocently.

"If you say so Foxy-kun," Yugito said as she watched on, waiting for the match to start. She was curious as to what this Rock Lee person could do. And while she was glad of the silence from Nibi and her perverted comments, she also missed the hellcat.

Gemini sputtered and turned red. "For the last time, Gaara-san is not my boyfriend!" She said indignantly. "To answer your question, though...I'm not sure. Lee-san is a really nice guy, and he has an admirable goal. I don't want to see him get hurt. However, he is strong, and I don't want Gaara-san to get hurt, either. There is a strong possibility that both of them will end up hurt." She confided uneasily.

Naruto watched with rapt attention as Lee made his way into the arena to face the redhead from Suna. To be honest, he couldn't figure out why Gemini liked the guy so much. Naruto thought he seemed kind of mean.

"Whatever you say Gem-chan. Whatever you say," Temari said as she teased the vixen just a little more before hearing her response. Sighing lightly, she only had this to say as she offered her advice: "You really have it rough, don't you? Caught between a rock and a hard place...but whatever happens, I know that the loser will bounce back. Either brother or this Lee guy."

"Naruto-kun...before the fight starts, can I ask you a quick question?" Yugito asked. She had wondered how he knew about the seal that Rai used on her and wanted to get to the bottom of it. She had a feeling that if she waited until after the match, she would forget all about it.

Gemini paused for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. They're both strong, so everything should be okay." She said, staring down at the match that was about to begin.

Naruto turned to Yugito. "Yeah, sure Kitty-chan. Ask anything you want." He said, oblivious to whatever it was she could have to ask him. People didn't ask him questions very often, besides the usual "what is wrong with you?" he often received.

(Think Gemini should shout out when Gaara is about to kill Lee or should the ending of the match be different?)

Temari nodded, knowing that both would get through this fight just fine...or so she hoped.

"After Rai-teme put this seal on me...you shouted out what it was. How did you know?" she asked.

((Ending should be the same, since it comes into play later in the series. However, Gemini will also have a part in stopping Gaara's last attack.))

Naruto seemed confused for a second, then remembered the moment she was talking about. "Oh, I remember! It happened in the forest, this crazy grass ninja attacked us. He was all snakey and gross, dattebayo. Anyway, I went to block him from hurting Sasuke-no-baka, and he used that exact same seal on me. I don't remember much 'cause I fainted, but my chakra got pretty messed up after that." He explained.

Gemini kept her eyes forward, all her attention focused on the two combatants as the proctor called for the match to start.