The hallway connecting the stands to the temporary infirmary was not long, but Temari felt it was eternal. Each step she took reminded her that she had ribs protesting with every deep breath and a cut on her left arm that Tsunade had half closed, just enough to stop the bleeding.
At her side, Naruto walked with his hands behind his head, whistling a tune with an energy that should have irritated her. Instead, for some reason she preferred not to analyze too much, it did not.
"Shouldn't you be upstairs watching the other matches?" Temari asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "Your friends are still fighting."
"They will be fine," Naruto replied with carefree ease. "Besides, Shikamaru doesn't need anyone to cheer him on. That guy wins without moving too much."
"How do you know he hasn't lost already?"
"Because Shikamaru is the smartest guy I know, even if he pretends he isn't." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "And Choji has his techniques. Everything will turn out fine."
Temari let out a contained laugh. "You have a lot of faith in your people."
"It is what a team does."
He gave her a brief look before turning his eyes back to the corridor. In Suna, blind trust was a vulnerability, she thought. That was what I was taught since I was little.
"Are you always like this with everyone?" she asked, unable to help herself.
"Like what?"
"So..." she searched for the exact word. "Annoyingly positive."
Naruto looked at her with raised eyebrows and then let out a short laugh. "Hey! Was that an insult or a compliment?"
"I still haven't decided."
He smiled brilliantly and patted her on the shoulder.
"Ouch!"
Naruto withdrew his hand quickly. "Sorry, sorry! I forgot about the cut, my bad."
"I am fine," Temari said with a dignity slightly broken by the fact that her arm still stung.
"I am really sorry."
"Naruto."
"Yeah?"
"Shut up and walk."
He fell silent but continued forward with a half smile stuck on his face, and Temari decided that dealing with that was a reasonable price for not having to make the walk alone.
*****
The temporary infirmary was a wide room at the end of the second corridor, with beds separated by white linen curtains and a narrow window that let in a sliver of light. Tenten was lying in the bed closest to that window, her hair loose on the pillow and a paleness in her cheeks that made her look younger than she was.
In the chair beside her, Rock Lee had his elbows resting on his knees and his eyes were bright. Guy Sensei stood by the bed with his arms crossed, but anyone who knew him would understand that posture was only the calm before the inevitable shout.
"Naruto kun!" Lee stood up as soon as he saw them enter. "And Temari san! What a joy that you have arrived! Tenten is recovering with the flame of the warrior spirit intact!"
"Is she awake?" Naruto asked, peering over Lee's shoulder toward the bed.
"Not yet," Lee replied. "But she will be soon! Because her will is unbreakable!"
"Lee," Guy Sensei said, placing a hand on his shoulder with warmth, "true champions rest with the same intensity with which they fight."
"Yes, Sensei!"
Temari looked at the two of them with an expression of incredulity as she sat on the edge of an empty bed on the opposite side.
They are... quite loud, she commented in a low voice, more to herself than to anyone else.
"Yeah," Naruto confirmed, dragging a chair to sit next to Tenten's bed. "You get used to it."
"Really?"
"No. But you stop wanting them to stop."
Might Guy heard them and let out a laugh that echoed off the walls. "Young Naruto is right! Enthusiasm is contagious, Temari san! And today you have plenty of reasons to feel it! That battle was extraordinary!"
Temari raised her head in a defensive gesture. "I lost."
"You lost in a battle that left everyone in the stands breathless!" Guy Sensei insisted, and his voice had an overwhelming sincerity that was hard to ignore. "I watched every second! Your wind attacks were devastating! You showed the ferocity of an elite kunoichi, and that does not change with the result!"
Lee nodded with solemnity. "The power of youth does not distinguish between victors and the defeated! Both of you proved it today with all your heart!"
Temari studied them for a moment. In Suna, losing was losing. The analysis ended there and what followed was cold disappointment. These two were applauding a defeat with the same enthusiasm they would use to applaud a victory.
It is strange, she thought. But it is not unpleasant.
She said nothing. She turned her gaze toward the window and let the optimistic noise of Lee and Guy fill the room without fighting it.
******
The movement was slow, almost imperceptible at first. Tenten's fingers closed over the sheet. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Then, with a visible effort, her eyelids opened.
"Tenten!" Naruto's voice was immediate. "Hey! Hey, you are awake!"
Tenten's brown eyes blinked several times. The white ceiling. The window. The sliver of light. Naruto's face leaning over her with a huge smile.
"Naruto..." her voice came out raspy, barely formed. "What...?"
"You are in the infirmary. You won. You passed out from exhaustion right after, but you won."
You won.
The word took a second to fully land. And when it did, Tenten felt the euphoria in her chest expand in a way she could not contain.
"I won?" she repeated.
"Yes!"
"I really won?"
"Tenten! You launched a barrage of weapons with chakra over the entire arena! Of course you won!"
Tenten's composure broke in the most unreal way possible. She sat up faster than her body probably should have allowed and hugged Naruto tightly. The embrace lasted exactly three seconds before her brain reconnected with reality.
She pulled away.
She saw Lee, his eyes bright with tears of joy.
She saw Guy Sensei, with his hand on his chest and a smile that took up half his face.
She saw Temari, sitting on the next bed with her arms crossed, watching her with an expression that was not exactly judgment, but not indifference either.
Heat reached Tenten's cheeks in a way completely independent of her will. She looked down at Naruto's jacket and began to clumsily smooth it with her hands as if there were wrinkles to remove.
"I didn't know everyone was here," she said in a voice that came out too careful.
"We have been here for a while," Naruto confirmed, completely oblivious to the situation. "How do you feel?"
"Exhausted." Tenten settled against the pillow more calmly. "And with my chakra on the floor. That last technique emptied me."
"But it was glorious!" Lee could not take it anymore. He stood up from the chair with a muffled cry of emotion. "Tenten! Every weapon with its own chakra, perfect trajectory, the complete arsenal over the arena! It was the most impressive thing I have seen in my life!"
"Lee..."
"I mean it! Even Neji stayed quiet!"
Tenten let out a soft laugh. "Neji always stays quiet."
"This time it was different! He is impressed and doesn't want to admit it!"
Might Guy nodded with gravity. "Neji is a young man of few words, but those few words carry weight. And today he chose to remain silent because words were not enough."
Naruto leaned back in the chair with his hands resting on the armrests. "Hey, Tenten. Tell me something."
"What?"
"Temari." He pointed to her with a gesture of his head. "How strong is she, in your opinion?"
Tenten looked to the side, where Temari still had her arms crossed and a posture that clearly said she did not care about the answer but was, at the same time, paying attention. Tenten considered it for a moment with real honesty.
"She is the strongest girl I have ever fought," she said.
Temari let out a small snort. "You don't have to do that."
"Do what?"
"Say what you think I need to hear."
Tenten looked at her directly, without a filter of politeness. "I don't know you well enough to worry about your feelings, Temari san. I say it because it is true. If that battle had lasted another minute, I would not have won. I was at my limit since you did your summoning."
Temari looked down for a moment. Her jaw tightened a little.
"I didn't say it to comfort you," Tenten added more quietly. "I said it because it is fair to recognize it."
Naruto got up from the chair, took two steps toward Temari's bed, and sat on the edge. Temari looked at him with narrowed eyes, doubting his action. Naruto put a hand on her shoulder gently while looking into her eyes.
"Who was the one who fainted?" he asked.
Temari took a second to respond. "Tenten."
"Exactly." He did not say it with cruelty. "Tenten ran out of chakra. She might have won, but you pushed her to that limit. You didn't get there by being weak." He withdrew his hand and leaned back slightly. "To me, both of you won today. You both showed what you are made of."
Temari looked at him for a long moment. This boy, she thought, talks as if things were simple. And the worst part is that, when he says it, they almost seem to be.
"I guess you are right," she finally said.
"See? It is not that hard to admit." Naruto smiled, proud that his words had sunk in with Temari.
"Don't get used to it."
"Too late."
Lee leaned forward in his chair. "It is wonderful to see how two rivals can recognize each other's strength! That is what the true ninja spirit means!"
"Lee is right," Guy Sensei said. "Competition only makes us stronger when we respect our opponents."
Naruto stood up and walked to the center of the room, looking at everyone. "Hey. When the preliminaries are over, do you guys want to go for ramen?"
Temari blinked in confusion. "Ramen?"
"Ramen. You, me, Tenten if she has the strength." He made a broad gesture toward Lee and Guy. "And maybe Guy Sensei and Bushy Brows want to join us."
"It is true!" Lee confirmed with inexplicable pride.
"Ramen is the universal language of recovery," Guy Sensei added with total conviction.
Tenten sat up a bit more. "To Ichiraku?"
"Where else?" Naruto smiled. "It is the best ramen in all of Konoha."
"Naruto says that because he eats there every day," Tenten explained to Temari.
"Not every day."
"Five days a week, easily."
"That is not every day!"
"It is almost every day."
"But not every!"
Temari watched them go back and forth with the debate, feeling strangely comfortable.
"I don't know Konoha," Temari said slowly, as if testing the ground.
"That is why the tour guide exists," Naruto replied. "Me. Ichiraku Ramen is the first point on the tour and the only mandatory one. The rest is negotiable."
"What else is on the tour?" Temari asked, genuinely curious.
Naruto scratched his head, thinking. "Well, there is the Memorial Monument. It is important, but depressing. There is the training forest, though you probably don't want to go there after everything today. There is the Hokage tower, but they don't let you in without permission. And..." he made a dramatic pause, "there is my apartment, but that is definitely not on the tour."
"Why not?"
"Because it is messy and smells like instant ramen."
Tenten laughed. "That is surprisingly honest."
"I am many things, but I am not a liar."
Lee stood up with enthusiasm. "I also know places in Konoha! There is training ground number three where I practice every day! There is the dango stall that makes the best dessert! There is the martial arts bookstore with ancient manuals!"
"Lee, those are just places where you go," Tenten said with a smile.
"But they are good places!"
"I am not saying they aren't."
Temari observed the four of them. Lee vibrating with enthusiasm; Guy with an excessive smile; Tenten, still pale against the pillow, her lips curved in a small smile; Naruto, looking at her cheerfully.
There was something about this entire situation that did not fit any mold she had learned about how ninjas from rival villages should function. Konoha ninjas were supposedly the potential enemy, the exam rival, the competition. Not the person offering you ramen after you had been defeated.
"Alright," she finally said. "Ramen. After the preliminaries."
"Deal!" Naruto held out his hand.
Temari looked at it for a second and took it. The grip was firm, brief, as equals.
"But if the ramen is bad, I blame you," Temari added.
"It won't be. Teuchi san makes the best ramen in the world."
"That is a lot of confidence."
"Just wait and see."
Guy Sensei clapped once. "Excellent! A post battle meeting at Ichiraku! It is exactly what these young warriors need!"
"Are you coming too, Guy Sensei?" Lee asked.
"Of course! Someone has to make sure everyone gets there without getting lost!"
Tenten laughed softly. "Guy Sensei, we are from Konoha. No one is going to get lost."
"But the journey is part of the experience!"
Naruto was smiling happily. "Well, the more of us there are, the better. Teuchi san gets happy when large groups arrive."
"How many are we?" Tenten asked, counting mentally.
"You, me, Temari, Lee, Guy Sensei..." Naruto counted on his fingers. "The girls are also around. We will be several if Neji joins in."
"Neji is not going to go," Tenten said with certainty.
"Why not?"
"Because Neji doesn't do social things."
"We could invite him anyway."
"You can try. But he is going to tell you no."
Naruto shrugged. "I lose nothing by asking."
Temari watched the exchange with interest. These Konoha ninjas had a strange dynamic. They talked about their comrades with familiarity, joked without malice, and genuinely cared about including everyone.
Maybe they aren't so bad after all, she thought.
Outside, in the arena, the matches had continued without pause. The electronic board had spun twice more since they left. Shikamaru Nara had defeated Kin Tsuchi with a tactic that those who knew him described as ridiculously efficient and those who did not know him as inexplicable. Choji Akimichi had faced Dosu Kinuta; that match had been longer and had ended with Choji standing and Dosu out of the arena.
********
Hey everyone! Just a quick heads-up: due to some academic and health stuff going on, the update schedule is changing to Mondays only from here on out. I really appreciate your patience with me on this. If you want to read chapters early, you can get access before the public release over on Patreon.com/shurazero — plus you get to vote on where the story goes, which is always a good time. Thanks so much for all the support, and remember that likes and comments are the best way to keep the thread alive and the conversation going. Seriously, it means a lot. Thanks!