(Gotcha. Would you like to skip to the end of the Lee vs. Gaara match or would you like to actually do the fight?)

"So...you also have the seal on you as well?" Yugito asked in a concerned voice before something else clicked. If he had that seal on him since the forest and still had it on him right now...that meant he fought with it active? and was still able to do those high powered techniques of his? Yugito just shook her head lightly at that. "If you fought with that seal on you...you're either very brave, or very foolish. I'm not sure which yet," she admitted as she heard the proctor signal the match to begin.

Temari kept her eyes peeled on her brother, silently hoping that he would win.

((Um...that's really up to you, since you're controlling Gaara. You could do a quick run through of the match like Wolfie did with Naruto maybe. Whatever you want.))

Naruto shrugged and grinned sheepishly, as if that had never occurred to him- which it hadn't. "I guess I never really thought about it, dattebayo." He said.

Gemini was torn between wanting to cheer for Gaara, and wanting to support Lee. She settled for watching silently, clutching the railing so tightly that the metal started to buckle under her grip.

(That works for me. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to drag it out like with what we did with the Yugito/Rai fight and the Gemini/Shotaro fight. But Phoenix-san sees Wolfie-chan’s point ^_^ and I wasn’t sure if we were switching roles with Gaara every so often like we have been doing with Temari, Kankuro no hentai and Naruto ((at times)). Sorry about the late post, Phoenix only got one hour of sleep last night so he crashed when he got home from work)

While Gaara knew that he had a ways to go when it came to Taijutsu, he silently cursed his luck. He had to have picked the one guy in Konoha that was a Taijutsu freak. Luckily, his sand shield was keeping up with the boy, but he had a feeling that this would only last for so long. Hearing the boy’s sensei say something about taking them off, Gaara cocked his head to the side in confusion before seeing Lee uttering a “Yosh!” as he removed what seemed to be a set of weights.

”Gem-chan…you do realize that a little bit of weights isn’t going to change…” Temari started to say before seeing the cloud of dust that the weights created and stopped talking. ”…never mind.” she muttered as she started to worry, not only for Gaara’s safety, but for that of the boy’s as well. She remembered what happened the last time someone caused Gaara to bleed…the guy was still eating food through a straw. ”Gaara…” she whispered with concern on her face and in her voice.

Yugito had to admit it, this Lee kid was pretty good. In fact, he could probably even give her a run for her money, and that was when she was using Mata-chan’s Bijuu cloak. ”Jeez Foxy-kun, you weren’t kidding when you said we were in for a good fight. This Lee guy…he’s definitely something else.” she admitted.

((It's fine, everyone is entitled to some time away. Lol, Wolfie almost didn't log on tonight, she was so tired.))

Gemini allwed herself just a second of satisfaction at Temari's obvious shock. "I told you he was strong." She said, making it clear she had known about the weights. However, her smirk disappeared when Lee started getting closer to Gaara. Too close, she thought. I don't like this. If anyone can penetrate that sand shield, it's Lee-san... She thought worriedly.

Naruto grinned widely. "Told ya. Bushy Brows is tough, no doubt. No matter how strong that sand guy is, Lee-san is better, dattebayo." He said, clearly proud that he was friends with someone like that.

(Well with the late posts, Phoenix understands)

Gaara felt something run down his face and into his lips.'What...what is this? Blood? But whose...wait, it's my blood,' Gaara thought for a few seconds before anger overtook him. Only one other person had made him bleed... At this, he urged his sand to move faster. He was going to make this Genin pay. After taking a technique he heard his opponent call the Primary Lotus he used a Suna Bunshin to take the damage. Seeing that his opponent was weakened, he moved his sand to capture the boy.

"I see..." Yugito said, clearly hearing the tone of pride in his voice for his friend. Though seeing Rock Lee being captured by Gaara's sand, she started to worry for her friend's friend...especially when she started hearing sounds of bones cracking.

((Sorry Wolfie wasn't on. Christmas decorations take more and more time and energy every year...Wolfie assumes this it the part where Gai-sensei interferes?))

(that, and where Gemini would try to snap Gaara out of his bloodlust.)

((Right. Just making sure ^.^))

No...no! Gemini hurled herself over the railing, blocking the oncoming rush of sand just as Gai-sensei did the same. Instead of going to Lee, however, she ran to Gaara and knelt beside him. "Stop, please. You won. It's not worth it. Please don't kill him, Gaara-san. You're better than that." She tried to reason with the redhead, not sure if she would be able to get through to him in his current state. Glancing back at Gai-sensei, she wondered how Gaara would react to his interference.

Naruto's eyes widened, seeing how badly Lee was being hurt. "Hey...Bushy Brow!" He cried, distressed at the sight of his friend in pain. The second he saw Gemini jump into the arena, he gasped. "What is she doing? That guy isn't safe. He'll kill her!"

((Right. Just making sure ^.^))

(Not a problem. ^_^)

Temari watched as Gemini didn't even think as she jumped over the railing. She, however, was rooted to her spot in fear of what her brother would do in his state. Seeing Gemini racing over to Gaara, she turned away, not wanting to see the horror that would happen next, not realizing Gaara's sand recognized her as someone that wouldn't hurt it's master.

'Gem-ini?' Gaara asked mentally as he heard Gemini's voice penetrate through his bloodlust rage, slowly calming him down.

"Your friend is stronger than you give her credit for," Yugito said, trying to calm Naruto down. She had seen how Gemini had interacted with Gaara during the break that they had, and had a feeling that no matter what was happening, he would never hurt Gemini.

Without ever thinking about it, Gemini reached forward and braced her hand against Gaara's back, helping him sit up. "Isn't it enough that you won? Lee-san lived to be a shinobi. He'll probably never be able to be on now. That should be enough, right? Are you okay?" She asked gently.

Naruto hesitated, then nodded. "You're right...Gemini-chan seems to be able to handle that guy. I'll just have to trust her judgement on this one, even if I don't like it, dattebayo." He agreed reluctantly. He knew Gemini was tough, but he couldn't figure out what it was she had with that redheaded guy that made her safe from him.

Gaara wasn't sure what she was doing but heard her all the same, curious as to why she was helping him, even after what he did to her friend. She was right; it was his fault that his opponent would never be a shinobi once again. "Why..." he asked, confused.

"From what I've seen, Gemini can take care of herself, especially with what she's told us," Yugito said softly, not wanting anyone else to overhear her. 'Plus...she's as strong as you are Foxy-kun,' Yugito thought to herself, not knowing if her tenant heard her or not.

Gemini wasn't sure if he was talking to her or Gai-sensei, but she was saved from having to answer when the green-clad man answered.

"Because he is...he is my student and precious to me!!" Gai-sensei announced.

Gemini sighed. Gaara wouldn't understand that sentiment- not yet, at least. "I just couldn't let you do that to yourself." She whispered to him.

Naruto sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that's true. She's stronger than almost anyone I've ever known. Almost." He added with a glance at Yugito.

"Do what to myself?" Gaara asked, still confused. Then again, the green man who saved him didn't make sense either.

Yugito blushed lightly at that, assuming he was referring to her. "T-thanks" she said lightly before hearing the proctor state for all the winners to come down to the floor.

Gemini shook her head. "Gaara-san...I know you can't see it, but every time you take a life, it destroys a little bit of who you are, until you're nothing but a monster. I won't sit by and let you become that." She said.

Naruto looked at her and gave his thousand-watt smile. "It's the truth, Kitty-chan. C'mon, let's go down and see what they want us to do now." He said, using the stairs to go down this time.

Gaara wasn't one hundred percent sure he understood what Gemini was saying, but had a feeling that she wouldn't want him to lose his humanity, whatever he had left of it that is.

Yugito's blush grew stronger before she nodded her head in agreement. "Good idea...and thanks," she said, silently glad that Mata-chan wasn't hearing this right now. If she was, Yugito knew that she'd never hear the end of it. Following Naruto down the steps, she was also curious as to what they were going to do next, now that the preliminaries were finished.

Helping her friend stand, Gemini lined up with the rest of the winners, waiting to hear what the Hokage had to say.

Standing in line with Sakura on one side of him and Yugito on the other, Naruto waited- quietly for once- for the Hokage to speak.

((About the final rounds. What if Yugito and Gemini ended up fighting each other?))

(I like this idea. Naruto wouldn't know whether to cheer for the person he thinks he has feelings for or for his childhood friend. I assume we'll do it like the anime/manga: 1 has to fight 2 etc?)

Yugito listened to the Hokage explain that the finals of the exam wouldn't happen until a month from now, due to the fact that Damiyos and Kages from around the world were going to show up. Sighing lightly, she did mentally nod at what the Hokage said next, how the month would be a good time to train and heal before the finals and that they would be picking their opponents randomly. After he was finished, the proctor that had refereed their matches held a wooden box in his hands.

((Yeah. As Wolfie recalls, there were nine winners, yes?))

Naruto waited impatiently as the proctor walked along the line with the box. When his turn came, he took a piece of paper and looked at it. The proctor asked what their papers said, and a smug look came over his face. "Mine's number one, of course." He said. He felt a certain amount of satisfaction once he saw that he would be fighting Neji in the first round. That would give him a chance to get revenge for the way he'd treated Hinata. Good. Bastard wont know what hit him

Gemini took her piece of paper and glanced at it. Number ten. It's an okay number, I guess... She thought. Whent he time came, she held up her paper. "I got ten." She said. She figured they were being paired up somehow. The proctor then held up a clipboard with a chart on it, showing all their names. It was explained that the next match would be tournament style, and that there was equal possibility that all of them could become Chunin, or none of them might.

(Let's see: Naruto, Neji, Shika, Temari, Shino, Kankuro, Gaara, Sasuke, Dosu then we add Yugito and Gemini so nine participants canon wise. Also, Phoenix is pulling these numbers from memory, so Phoenix apologizes if he is wrong. Also...before everyone leaves for training/whatnot, have Gemini pull Yugito aside to make a...friendly wager on their fight?)

"Number three," Gaara said passively when the proctor asked him what his number was, his thoughts still on what both Gemini and that man had said from earlier still going through his mind. He wasn't becoming a monster...was he? It was a thought that disturbed him. Once everyone was finished, he was intrigued to see that he would be fighting the Uchiha brat after tuning out the Hokage's speech.

Temari smirked when she pulled out her number. "Eight," she said when the proctor asked for her number. She had a feeling that they would be fighting each other in a tournament and knew she'd be fighting whoever either said seven or nine. Hearing the shadow user say seven, her smirk grew just a bit. If she were to fight him...that would be quite a challenge. Seeing the proctor holding up a clipboard, she was grinning from ear to ear after finding out she was right.

"Number Nine," she said with a chesire-like grin on her face before hearing Gemini saying Ten, which wiped the smirk right off her face. She just knew that this was going to get ugly after seeing that she was going to be fighting Naruto's friend. She also knew that if she didn't get this chakra leeching seal off of her, then she had no chance in hell of winning.

Seeing that she would be facing Yugito in the final rounds, Gemini felt the color drain from her face. Naruto's girlfriend. How was she supposed to fight her best friend's girlfriend? She knew one thing for sure: it was going to be one hell of a fight. As soon as everyone started to disperse, Gemini pulled the blonde kunoichi aside. "Yugito-san. I wanted to talk to you. Listen, I want you to promise you won't go easy on me in the finals. I won't be going easy on you. I would feel cheated if we didn't both give it our all." She said determinedly. "Also...how about a friendly wager? To make things interesting?"

Naruto was instantly nervous when it was revealed that Gemini and Yugito would be fighting each other. His best friend and his- whoa, wait! When did I start thinking of Yugito-chan as mine? He wondered, then shook the thought away. That didn't matter at the moment. Right then, what mattered was that two people he cared about greatly were supposed to fight each other. He spotted them talking and hoped it wasn't anything bad.

((Wolfie is fine with that. What kind of wager, exactly?))

(something along the lines of the fight being a test to see if Yugito is worthy of being with Naruto or something along those lines)

Yugito felt herself being pulled by Gemini after everyone had started to leave the tower. She had noticed that Naruto-kun's sensei and male teammate were still nowhere to be seen. Forcing herself back into the moment, Yugito heard Gemini ask for her to not pull her punches. "I understand, and I would feel cheated to if we didn't give it our all. Besides, we both have to make sure that fangirls don't give us kunoichi a bad name," she said with a light smirk. "A wager? What did you have in mind?" she asked. She might not have liked having to fight the best friend of her boyf...'wait, when did I consider him that?' she thought to herself.

"So we all made it to the finals, I think that deserves some celebration!" Kankuro shouted with a light grin, knowing that once they got back to the hotel room they were issued for their time here, they would be talking about plans for the invasion. He just wondered how his brother's girlfriend would take the news if/when she found out about it.

((Ooh, that's good!!))

Gemini smiled gratefully. At least that was one thing she didn't have to worry about. "Good. What I have in mind is really more of a test. As Naruto-kun's best female friend, it's my job to make sure any girl he chooses is good enough for him. So, if you can beat me in our fight, then I'll consider you good enough for Naruto-kun. If you can't, you'll have to prove it some other way." She said. One ear twitched to acknowledge Kankuro's words, but she wasn't leaving just yet.

Naruto waited anxiously by the exit, wanting to know what the two females were talking about but unwilling to butt in. He settled for watching their body language. Though he wasn't really very good at reading people, it didn't look like they were being hostile or anything.

((Wolfie has an idea for the outcome of that wager. PM her?))

Yugito was curious as to what she meant by another way, but didn't want to go that route if she didn't have to. "And if I refuse?" she asked. She really wasn't going to say no to the request, but was just just curious as to how Gemini would respond. The jinchuuriki of the Nibi understood why Gemini was doing this too. In fact, if they were in Kumo then Samui would be doing the same thing to Naruto as Gemini was doing to her now.

Gaara nodded in agreement and understanding. Not only that, but Gemini had also continued onwards as well. He just wondered what would happen during the month. He knew that they had to plan for the invasion that was to come...but at the same time, he wanted to tell Gemini about it as well. Though at the same time he was worried as to what she would do and say if he told her about it...

Gemini smirked. "If you refuse, then I'll simply make sure you can never see Naruto-kun again." She said coolly. She wasn't fully sure how she would accomplish that, but she had no doubt that she could if necessary. "I have to check you out, or you can't be with him. I'm very protective of Naruto-kun."

Naruto was having trouble figuring out what was going on. The two girls had seemed to be just talking, but now it looked like Gemini was threatening. But why would Gemini threaten Yugito? And of course, it didn't seem like a genuine threat. If the redhead were serious, there would be no mistaking it. So why was she trying to bluff? Man, girls are confusing, dattebayo...