Water's Blessing (Part 2)

Feeling more excited than nervous, Hayase was on his way to start his second year at the academy. After refreshing his shuriken technique and preparing for a taijutsu spar as best he could, he resolved to no longer allow other students to walk all over him this year.

Arriving at the academy gates, Hayase eyed the returning students unsure if any of them actually knew his name or if he was just the civilian class's dead last to them. An unspoken hierarchy structured how families arranged themselves as they waited for the academy doors to open. Just inside the gate, Hayase could see the civilian families dropping off some of his classmates. Three, in particular, stood out to Hayase.

'Caito Suzuki' Hayase thought, 'he was a bit of an all-rounder. Nothing flashy, but he was in the top 3 for chakra control, taijutsu, and shuriken throwing. If I remember correctly, his parents owned one of the restaurants in the village so they were trying to get chummy with the Akimichis.' A bit closer to the door, Hayase saw Kojima. The tall boy was an orphan like Hayase, but his physical strength made Hayase wonder if Kojima wasn't secretly a clan orphan. Reminded of the one-sided beatdowns that Kojima dealt out, Hayase knew he would need some of the first aid techniques that he had picked up. 'I just hope I don't run into him in the first round', Hayase prayed. Lastly, 'Hana Aoki,' he thought, 'the only girl in the class to bruise Caito's ego in a spar.' If anyone in the civilian class expected to move up, it was one of these three.

After getting past the swarms of families, Hayase finally found himself closer to the kids from the smaller clans. Meanwhile, kids from the biggest clans and their parents were positioned closest to the door with the most impatient clans like the Uchiha practically knocking the door down. Just past the civilians, Hayase waited for doors to open.

With few minutes remaining, Hayase could see a small dust cloud off in the distance. Squinting, as it got closer, he was shocked to see Might Guy with his father, Might Duy, sprinting towards the academy! Passing through the gate, one leg extended far out in front of them before coming to a sudden stop. "YOSHA! Guy, I may have won that time, but you almost had me!" said Duy in classic green tights that Guy and Rock Lee sported.

"hah hah", panting Guy looked up at his father and gave him a thumbs up before saying, "I'll get you next time Tousan!"

"You're growing up so fast! Good luck today, I know you can do it!" Duy said, tears of pride streaming down his cheeks.

Nearby, Hayase thought to himself, 'It'll take some time to get used to seeing prominent characters." Stealing another glance at the duo, he continued, 'especially, the more unique ones...' Before getting more chances to observe the iconic green duo, the academy doors opened and each of the Chunin instructors stepped out. At the front, Hayase saw his first-year sensei Ichikawa-sensei. He was a more portly chunin with blond hair, but he was generally good at helping civilians transition into shinobi training.

"Prospective first-year students, please follow Ueno-sensei and me inside to start the admissions test," Ichikawa said gesturing to the muscular chunin next to him with a bright smile on his face.

Next, a pony-tailed male chunin shouted out, "Class 2B follow me to the clearing east of the academy. We'll begin checking your progress shortly. Additionally, for the parents here, say your goodbyes now. This is not an open house. Outsiders will not be allowed to watch."

Ignoring the words of the remaining chunin, Hayase made his way over to the clearing while other children were still saying goodbye to their parents. 'What is this? a kindergarten? The kids are training to be killers,' he thought bitterly, 'Even having memories of another life doesn't stop me from envying the other children...' Trying not to get caught up in his emotions, Hayase turned to his breathing. *Breathe-in* *Breath-out* and on and on.

"Hi there!" A voice next to him shook him from his focus. Opening his eyes, he saw Hana Aoki in front of him. Ignoring the look of confusion in his eyes, she followed up with a smile, "Hayase, right? Don't worry about the examination too much alright!"

"What makes you think I'm worried?" he said, internally questioning her motives. The few interactions that they had previously had were empty greetings and pleasantries that slowly faded as Hayase's grades painted a black mark on his reputation.

"Call it intuition, but you seemed tense. You'd been standing there for a few minutes stiff as a board with your eyes closed. Did you not realize that?" she questioned, tilting her head as if trying to get a new angle to see what was wrong with him.

"It's just a breathing exercise to prepare myself for the examination," he said, trying to explain away his absent-mindedness. "I find it helps me with my chakra control... so no, I'm not worried!"

"Hm it still sounds like you're worried, but- " she started, before another classmate interjected, "Hana-chan come sit with us, sensei is about to speak!"

"Alright," she replied, "good luck I guess Hayase-kun," before sprinting off.

'Why was she being so nice today? What's changed?' Hayase thought before focusing on what the sensei was saying.

"Students listen up!" he said grabbing their attention, "you may call Abe-sensei. Some of you may have already heard, but this year's initial examination will be a little special. As you all know, you were placed in the B-class track based on the results of your entrance exam. This year though, thanks to a genius deciding he had learned everything the academy had to offer, a spot in the second-year A-class group has opened up. This exam will be your opportunity to prove you can handle A-class."

A small bratty voice spoke up, "what's so different about A-class? Don't we all learn the same things"

"No, the A-classes learn on an accelerated track. More material will be covered and it will be more physically demanding. Not all students are ready to learn at the same speed, this is the solution that the Nidame Hokage developed when he founded the academy," Abe spoke more than a little annoyed at the interruption, "No more comments or questions, understood? This isn't the only reason that this year is special though. The fifteen of you will also be competing with another student that has petitioned to join the academy. He should be here in a few minutes."

'More competition huh? why are they joining in the second year?' thought Hayase, 'although if it's by petition... could it be?'

Sensing questions from the crowd, Abe, "This prospective student is a bit of a special case so he trained on his own for a year before the petition was accepted. Here he comes now, say hello to the group."

"Hello Everyone! My name is Might Guy! I'm here to prove that I can be a splendid shinobi with just taijutsu!" the young Guy shouted with more enthusiasm than anyone expected.

Of course, as soon as he finished his introductions, muttering could be heard, whispers of "only taijutsu?", "Who told this defective dumbass that he could do that", "pfft look at this weirdo"

One of the things that Hayase inherited in his memories was admiration for hard-working characters like Guy and Lee in the series. For him, it wasn't a matter of believing Guy could be strong. Hayase knew that Guy would one day earn the respect of Madara! Arguably, the biggest threat the shinobi world would ever face. 'I always hated scenes like this... this world is so full of rejection and mockery,' Hayase thought, but then his eyes met Guy's.

Guy had clearly heard the class's response to his words, but he held strong and looked at all of them with a smile. A smile that Hayase returned, but almost immediately regretted as Guy made his way to sit down by him. 'Ah, how could I forget? give an inch of sympathy in this world and these guys will take a mile,' Hayase thought while sighing.

Luckily before Guy could strike up a conversation, Abe-sensei spoke up, "Line up! We're going to be starting with the chakra control exercises." Falling into line, Hayase and the other students arranged themselves in two rows of 8. With Guy on his right, Hayase paused to think, 'If this is how Guy gets into the academy, then would I be screwing up the timeline by winning? If I can even win?', Shaking his head, he thought privately, 'let's worry about that later. Good luck Guy.'

Meanwhile, inside Guy's head, 'Yosha! Tousan warned me that chakra control would matter a lot! Time to give it my all!'

Momentarily seeing flames in Guy's eyes, Hayase laughed to himself, 'who am I kidding, he'll be fine. I'm the one who will need luck.'

Gesturing to everyone to sit, Abe-sensei instructed, "Pick up one of the leaves on the ground around you. After 5 minutes, those of you still holding on will grab another leaf. And so on, for every 5-minute interval. And, don't even think about trying to cheat! If you can't even follow basic instructions, then you don't deserve to be a shinobi."

"BEGIN" In sync, the sixteen students began.

1 minute...

Guy, trying his best, managed to make it this far. [AN: Given that Guy can use the summoning jutsu in the future, I decided that he ought to at least have some (even if dismal) chakra control at this stage.] Despite Guy's dropping the leaf, Hayase couldn't hear any frustration from the boy's breathing. 'His motivation is truly admirable,' Hayase commented inwardly. Little did he know, but Guy was internally congratulating himself on a new personal record, '66 seconds!! I can't wait to tell Tousan!'

2 minutes... All of the remaining students were still going strong.

3 minutes... 'Man I can't believe this was my previous record. It seems so easy now...' Hayase absent-mindedly reflected.

4 minutes... 5 minutes... With the addition of the second leaf, the remaining students finally dropped from 15 to 10. When the time came to add a third leaf, Hayase was beginning to sweat. A passing breeze threatened to disrupt his focus as he added the leaf, but Hayase caught himself and recentered his focus. Fortunately, the third leaf was too much for another 4 students, and, as time bore on, the only students remaining were Hana, Kojima, Caito, and Hayase. After two minutes with the third leaf, Kojima dropped out. Then, Caito and Hayase within a few seconds of each. 'Gah Caito just edged me out of third,' thought Hayase. The winner Hana didn't seem to be breaking a sweat yet. Watching her, Hayase couldn't help, but think, 'She really improved over the break, she must have been practicing hard.'

Looking around though, Hayase felt the stares of some of his classmates. From their perspective, his performance came out of nowhere. Kojima, in particular, even cast him an accusatory glance. He wasn't alone either, but no one dared directly accuse him of cheating after the Abe-sensei's threat.

'Third place though. Not bad,' Hayase, thought, ignoring the skeptical looks he received. Looking at Abe-sensei, Hayase saw him looking extremely bored.

"Alright, let's wrap up. Hana, you've won. No need to waste any more time," Abe-sensei said with a shrug, "Everyone make sure to grab a set of kunai and shuriken before you head to the targets!"

***At the throwing range***

The line was moving quickly as each student made their way to one of the four targets in the range when it was their turn. As is often the case, the student didn't take long to start socializing while in line since the sensei was focusing on the students throwing deadly weapons. While Hayase was waiting for his turn, one of his classmates in front of him commented, "I don't know how you did it, but don't think we don't know that you cheated."

The mouthy boy was one of his more forgettable classmates. 'Rei-something, I think that's his name,' thought Hayase, 'I shouldn't waste my energy on his nonsense. He was barely better than me before I improved. Probably just worried, he's going to be last now.'

"Yeah, there's no way that a dead last like you could improve so much over the break," another chimed in, agreeing with the other boy.

Trying his best to ignore them but failing, Hayase retorted, "What? Do you think you're smarter than the Sensei? You think he wouldn't have noticed?" Inwardly, he thought 'Kami, competition really brings out the worst in people. Take a breath, they're just kids. Don't get dragged into a childish squabble.'

Before they could counter though, Hayase felt a hand on his shoulder, and immediately thought, 'Of course, he's got to get involved...'

Guy, never one to keep to himself, chimed in, "I was right next to him! Don't trample on his hard work!"

"Whatever weirdo! Like a defective shinobi like you could even notice if he cheated!" the first boy spat.

"Enough! Focus on yourselves! I'm starting to get fed up with y'all," Hayase countered, his anger starting to bubble up. Turning to Guy, "Just ignore them, they wouldn't know hard work if it knocked them on their asses," Hayase said with a smirk. Fortunately, it was their turn to throw at the targets so the conflict had to be set aside.

Lining up in front of the target, Hayase guessed that it was around 30 feet away. The wooden target had a sloppily painted red bullseye. 'Heh, probably the product of some D-rank mission,' he thought, 'when they're not being cannon fodder, genin really are just the grunts of the village doing whatever freelance work comes along. Kami, what wouldn't I give to just paint fences or catch a stupid cat, instead of being thrown into the war..."

Shaking Hayase from his musings, Abe-sensei gestured to the target and indicated that he should start throwing, "Kunai first kid, stop wasting time," the gruff sensei called out.

Grabbing his set of kunai and taking his stance, Hayase prepared to throw. Given that he had only practiced for a couple of days over the break, he was just hoping to get a passable score and, at least, hit the target each time. Pulling back and releasing... *whoosh* with a soft thud, Hayase saw hit the target, but he had released too soon so it was embedded to the leftmost section of the outer ring. Using the remaining two throws, he manages to steadily get closer to the center, 'Dammit, I'd have liked at least one bullseye. Hopefully, my improvement is enough for them to still consider me,' he swore in his mind.

Nearby, he saw Guy hitting the bullseye two out of three times which given what Hayase had seen ought to be a better-than-average score.

Swapping out the kunai for shuriken, Hayase hoped he could replicate his earlier performance. With the ninja tool still not feeling comfortable in his hand, he threw the shuriken in quick succession. After the first hit to the right of the center, he overcorrected and the second shuriken embedded itself on the far left edge of the target board - outside of the target circle. On the last throw, however, as luck would have it, he got a bullseye. 'A mixed performance at best, better than my last exam on throwing technique, but it really will come down to the spars I guess. At least, I kept myself in the running,' he thought trying not to show the disappointment on his face.

"Yatta!" the familiar voice of Guy called out having hit three bullseyes with the shuriken. His enthusiasm earned him a groan from most of the class. 'I can see why he managed to get a spot in Class-A. Poor chakra control or not, his ability with the physical skills was nothing to laugh at,' thought Hayase. Following the lead of other students that had finished the second examination, Hayase and the others waited for the remaining couple of students to finish.

Before not long, Hayase's peace was disrupted once again by Hana. "Still feeling worried? You've definitely improved since last year," her calm voice questioned.

"I'm doing fine. Like everyone else, I just want to get into 2A," Hayase replied. Hearing his answer, Hana looked like she wanted to say something, but seemed to stop herself. Noting her odd behavior, Hayase questioned, "Is there something else you wanted to say?"

"No.. no sorry. It seems like you've grown up," she said oddly. Stirred by her reply, Hayase couldn't help, but think, 'why is she acting as if she knows me so well.' Searching his memories, Hayase remembers something that he had forgotten...

***Flashback: Graduation day (A few weeks early)***

On his way home after Shinji hit him with the water bullet jutsu, she tried to say something to him, didn't she? Drenched in water and bruises under his clothes, his heartbeat drowned out the world in his anger. As he left the academy gates, they bumped into each. Almost toppling over, he broke into a sprint to get home, ignoring the knocked-over Hana. Under his heartbeat, he could remember her muffled shout. 'What had she tried to say to him that day?' he wondered, 'she was probably mad I guess.'

***Exit Flashback***

"Er- by the way, sorry about that day, I didn't mean to knock you over," he said in a quiet voice while scratching the back of his head. Waiting for her reply, he thought, 'you idiot, was now really the time to bring this up? I need to focus...'

After pausing, Hana replied, "Um no worries, you seemed like you were really in a rush that day. Just don't make it a habit, okay?" Looking around awkwardly, she announced, "well I should probably go sit with my friends. They're about to announce the bracket for the spars."

With a nod, they parted. 'Alright focus on the competition Hayase, getting into Class-A puts you one step closer to being able to survive the war,' he thought, attempting to move past the recent cringy encounter.

"Gather up! This year, the taijutsu spars will consist of 4 rounds if you're lucky enough to make it to the final. Based on your previous performances, we have seeded you according. Additionally, typical academy sparring rules apply, but ninjutsu will be allowed after the first two rounds." said Abe-sensei, before summoning out a chalkboard. "We'll be starting in a few minutes. Take a look at the bracket and be ready for when your names are called."

'It seems like they're purposefully trying to make it difficult for Guy,' thought Hayase, considering the ninjutsu rule, 'We have rarely been allowed to spare with ninjutsu since it could easily become dangerous.' Given that most students had only grasped one of the three academy ninjutsu, the addition wouldn't change much of the combat, but it would place the taijutsu-reliant Guy at a disadvantage. 'Fortunately, for me,' Hayase thought, 'my water bending should give me a shot at winning.'

After the initial rush of students, Hayase made his way to the board to see the bracket. 'I'll need to beat Caito if I want to get into the semifinal. Assuming I can manage that... next up would be Kojima!' he thought optimistically, 'On the other side of the bracket, Guy would most likely face off against Hana in the semi-final. Assuming that he is as good as I expect, I'm looking forward to their fight.'

***Round 1***

In front of a crowd of students, Guy faced off against a brown-haired boy wearing floral patterned kimono. Following the traditional rules of shinobi sparing, each boy made the seal of confrontation before adopting their stance. The flamboyant student assumed the typical leaf kata stance, while Guy relaxed into the stance that he inherited from his father. Each was positioned close to the edge of the circle on the ground that defined the boundary of the ring.

"Start!" Abe-sensei shouted.

With speed approaching that of a genin, Guy closes the distance and swings his right leg out in a roundhouse kick. His opponent, barely raising his guard on time, is knocked off balance. Stumbling, he is unable to prepare for Guy's next kick which hits him square in the chest and sends him out of the ring.

"Winner: Might Guy!"

Caught off guard by the swift conclusion, most students were left stunned as Abe-sensei told the two boys to make the seal of reconciliation.

The next few fights went similarly. Reiji (which is the proper name of Rei-something), the mouthy boy, from earlier earned a victory. Then, Hana swiftly threw a meek boy out of the ring, earning herself a victory. Meanwhile, Kojima's opponent simply surrendered before the fight could begin. Then, Caito overwhelmed a slower lanky boy with a speed.

Finally, Hayase had to face off with Reiji's lackey. Having warmed up briefly, Hayase began mentally preparing. 'Alright, no easy mistakes. Let's do this,' he thought. Despite his recent improvements, this would be his first spar since he finally made progress on his taijutsu.

"Hayase-Kun and Itsuki-Kun! You're up! Enter the ring and make the seal of confrontation," Abe-sensei commanded.

"Yes Sensei!" they both replied.

Standing opposite of each other, Itsuki and Hayase each settle into the leaf kata stance. This fight would test Hayase's somewhat more relaxed version of the stance versus the traditional stance. Inwardly, Hayase calmed his nerves and listened to the fluctuations of his chakra, 'my smoother movements are more suited to countering. No need for me to waste any unnecessary energy.'

"Start!" Abe-sensei's voice echoed.

Not wasting any time, Itsuki rushed towards Hayase who had only moved a few feet to put some distance between himself and the edge of the ring. Seeing Itsuki approach, Hayase's heart began racing and his chakra agitated. However, just as Itsuki raised his fist to throw a telegraphed punch, Hayase felt his breath soften. Stepping towards Itsuki, he deflects the punch with his left arm, leaving Itsuki wide open for a punch from his right. Hitting Itsuki in the sternum, the blow knocks the boy's breath out of him. Stunning by his own smooth counter, Hayase takes a second to seize the opportunity before sweeping Itsuki's legs out from under him.

"Enough! Winner: Hayase!" shouted Abe-sensei, "Hayase-Kun, carry him out of the ring. I'll have someone bring him to the nurse later."

Picking up Itsuki as best as he could, Hayase half-dragged the wheezing boy out of the arena. Stunned by his own performance, Hayase replayed the events in his mind, 'that move was part of the kata, but I'd never thought of using it like that...' Looking around, he saw Reiji staring daggers his way.

***Round 2***

Similar to the previous round, Guy and Kojima each ended their fights quickly. Kojima's opponent didn't surrender immediately at least. Although, Kojima's punch that sent the poor girl flying probably made her regret that decision. Meanwhile, Guy got to showcase his punching this round. A flurry of punches quickly broke through his opponent's defense and likely left him with some nasty bruises.

More interesting though was the spar between Reiji and Hana Aoki. Weary of Hana's throws from the first round, Reiji circled the girl while looking for an opening. Tiring of the encirclement, Hana, finally, threw a punch at the boy. Unfortunately for her, Reiji dodged continuing his movement and connected a spinning kick with Hana's back. Sent to the ground, she swiftly tries to regain her stance while groaning from the impact.

From the sidelines, Hayase cringed at the blow, thinking 'Oof, those types of hits can be dangerous.'

Gritting her teeth, Hana hardened her guard just in time for Reiji's elbow to smash into it. Taking advantage of her lower position, she grips Reiji's collar and sleeves tightly before turning and throwing him over her shoulder (a classic seoi-nage judo throw)! Not one to show mercy, she swiftly follows the throw with a punch to the downed boy's face.

"Winner: Hana! Clear the ring! Hayase-kun and Caito-kun! You're up next!"

Although Caito and Hayase had only interacted rarely, watching Caito's spars left Hayase somewhat worried. 'Over the last year, Caito has shown that he knows how to leverage his comparative strengths and target his opponents' weaknesses,' thought Hayase, 'But, will he think that I got lucky last round or will he make me go on the offensive?'

While Hayase was trying to anticipate Caito's thoughts, his opponent was shadowboxing on his way to the ring. Sensing Hayase's unease, a smirk broke through Caito's serious demeanor and he called out "Let's make this quick Hayase, your lucky streak ends here!"

Little did he know, but his taunt ended up easing Hayase's mind. 'So he does think that I was just lucky... perfect,' thought Hayase before focusing on his breathing once more to prepare.

"Enough chit-chat kids! Ready!" Abe-sensei's authoritative voice rang out.

With one last breath out, Hayase assumed his stance and stared Caito in the eyes. He may not have replied to his taunt, but the look in his eyes made Caito itch.

"Start!"

Wasting no time, both boys rushed forward. Through Caito's aggressive approach, the leaf kata shifts into something more resembling kickboxing. Attempting to assert his dominance, Caito's left fist shot out in a swift jab. Transitioning from a more squared stance to a turned position, Hayase deflects the jab and braces his guard for the next punch which quickly follows. Continuing the assault, Caito lashes out with a front kick, colliding directly with his opponent's guard. Skidding back a couple of feet from the blow, Hayase searches for the feeling from his first match.'That feeling of being in the zone, how did I do that before? Gah! I'm thinking too much!' he thinks frustrated with his performance, 'just don't think... no thoughts...'

Never one to let up when victory is in sight, Caito closes in while looking to knock out Hayase.

With his mind finally clear, Hayase's breath eases into a steady rhythm. Half a second before Caito launches his would-be KO punch, Hayase raises his arms, imitating the form associated with the water whip that he practiced for so long. Snaking one arm around the incoming punch, he redirects and sidesteps the hit.

Quickly recovering, Caito reattempts a similar punch with his other hand still not sure quite what happened. This time, duplicating the defensive technique, Hayase follows up with a swift jab to Caito's jaw.

Unsteady from the blow, Caito assumes a defensive position. Taking advantage of the other boy's raised guard, Hayase throws a simple kick to Caito's body before sweeping his leg.

"Winner: Hayase! Everyone rest up for the next round. It'll be starting in 20 minutes to give the combatants some time to recover, " Abe said, "Remember! Although ninjutsu will be allowed in the next rounds, I expect each of our final four to exercise discretion! Understood?"

After receiving the nods that he expect, Abe relented. Sitting on the ground cross-legged, Hayase leaned back with his arms propping him up as he tried to recover from the fight. 'That was close,' he thought, 'if Caito hadn't gone on the defensive... no. no. Let's focus on what I did right. I managed to get into the right mindset and counterattack before it was too late.'

Looking around the clearing, most students - those that didn't make it as far - had grouped up and were talking about the tournament from the sounds of it. Listening in, Hayase could hear Reiji, Itsuki, and a few others making bets about how long Guy and I would last against Kojima. 'Despite my surprising performance, I guess they consider me losing to Kojima to be a foregone conclusion,' He thought bitterly. Rather than dwelling on the small-mindedness of children, Hayase decided to go refill his water gourd. It could contain around a gallon of water.

On the way to the water fountain, Hayase saw students of class 2A filing out of the academy. It seems that their Chunin instructor had invited them to see the fights that would determine who their new classmate would be. Their sensei, an older chunin with a receding hairline pulled back into a bun, led the group. Among the students, Hayase recognized the Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Rin Nohara, and Obito Uchiha. Asuma, looking as confident as any Hokage's child could be, followed closely behind their sensei with his hands comfortably in his pockets. Seemingly the meekest of the group, Kurenai was a few paces behind Asuma chatting with Rin. Obito was there as well, but he seemed unable to interject into the girls' conversation.

Realizing that he had stared too long at the incoming students, Hayase noticed some other familiar faces from the series, but he couldn't place their names at the moment: a shorter kid with round black sunglasses and a long-haired boy with a bandana around his head and a toothpick protruding from his mouth.

'Hmm, if they're familiar to me, then those two probably survived until Naruto's generation,' Hayase pondered. Quickly filling up his gourd, he made his way back to the ring. Gourd in hand, Hayase felt the weight of the water, 'Not more than ten pounds, but using this water is my best shot in these rounds. I'll need to be careful not to waste the water in the fight. It's still difficult for me to recover dropped water with my bending.' Although it wasn't much water, he had already familiarized himself with bending the water from the gourd.

***Flashback to the Previous Day***

Drawing the water from the gourd, Hayase attempted to find a comfortable resting position for his stance. He would need to keep his hand moving to continue bending. While moving through the leaf kata, the water largely followed his hand, behaving like a disembodied fist or arm. However, when his hands shot forward for a punch, the water shot forward as well leaving his range of control and splashing to the ground

*Groan* "Dammit, I've got to get this down," he said to himself. While he could use the water as a whip, this little water had little stopping power. Most of the bending that Hayase remembered was intended for medium-range combat. A few moves like coating your body in rocks or water were designed for close combat. With that in mind, he decided to try coating his hands in the water and treat his water bending more like an extension of his taijutsu.

Using his breathing, Hayase collected himself. Beginning the kata again, Hayase beckoned the water from the soil with his gentle and circular movements. Though the process was slow, his chakra was humming beautifully at his display. Slowing to a standstill, Hayase called the water to his hand resulting in it forming a blob of water around each hand. By willing the water to condense, the water functioned like a boxing glove protecting his hands. Moving to a defensive stance, Hayase moved his hands through the blobs forming what looked like a set of ill-formed wristguards in the process.

Ideally, Hayase had hoped to learn some of the ice-based bending moves. Given that the ice side of the water bending heavily increased its stopping power and its lethality, those techniques would take Hayase to the next level, potentially, giving him the ability to contend with genin. Unfortunately, while it appeared possible for him to lower the temperature of the water somewhat, he couldn't bring it much below his body temperature. Attempting to bring it any lower brought his body a deep chill that disrupted his focus and reminded him of his past life's demise. As his chakra resonated with the water, it seemed to transfer the cold feeling deep into his body.

Before spending the remainder of the day practicing his throwing technique, Hayase concluded by practicing his leaf-style water bending kata - as he had taken to calling it - until he was close to exhausting his chakra. While using water bending in this way is fairly chakra efficient compared to ninjutsu, it still passively drains his reserves whenever his chakra resonates with water, unfortunately.

***Exit Flashback***

Scanning the area for his next opponent, Hayase found Kojima. Compared to Hayase's disheveled appearance, the tall boy looked like he had gone for a light jog. Courtesy of his first opponent forfeiting, Kojima's condition was about as good as it could be. Bitterly, Hayase thought, 'I guess that's a benefit of having a reputation for being strong.'

Knowing that the next fight would be theirs, Guy and Hana warmed up near the ring. Guy rotated between doing push-ups and jumping jacks. Meanwhile, Hana looked to be trying to stretch out her back after the hit that she received in the last round. 'Given the chakra control that she demonstrated in the earlier challenge, I wouldn't be surprised if she's capable of a few jutsus,' thought Hayase, deciding to approach the duo.

More than anyone else, Hayase can understand the importance that this tournament must hold for them. From the few words that Guy shared and what Hayase remembers about him, the importance of becoming a splendid ninja to him is more than just a childish dream. Using only taijutsu to succeed also represents the legacy of his father, Might Duy the Eternal Genin. Comparatively, before the tournament, Hayase couldn't have guessed how strongly Hana wanted to succeed. However, reflecting on her successes in the previous year, it's clear that she's worked hard to compete with shinobi and kunoichi alike.

"Hana-san, Guy-kun. Good luck with your spar! I plan on facing one of you in the final round so be prepared," he declared with a smile.

"Haha so youthful! Good luck to you too!" Guy replied proudly with a shining smile and a thumbs up.

"Thank you Hayase-kun! You finally seem at ease. Good luck with your match!" she replied, the unease from their previous interaction having melted away.

Breaking the harmony of their interaction, their sensei makes his way to the ring. "It's good to see that you all are enjoying yourselves, but it's time to finish up," he commented.

"Attention! As you all can probably see now, we have gotten a little audience for our last fights. Class 2A has decided to observe. For one of you, these will be your future classmates. Take care to remember that!" Abe-sensei declared, "Guy-Kun and Hana-san, join me in the ring!"

With his standard enthusiasm disguising any nerves he might be feeling, Guy took his position. In contrast, Hana stiffly move across the ring and settled into her stance. As they prepared, Hayase could hear some of class 2A chattering: "Who's the dork in the green jumpsuit?", "Wasn't he the one that failed the entrance exam last year? What's he doing here?", and "Look at his opponent, seems like she can barely stand..." The latter comments quickly earned them some glares from Hana's friends.

***Round 3***

"Seal of Confrontation... and start!" said Abe wasting no time.

As Guy rushed toward his opponent, he saw her move forward before stopping. Undeterred by her freezing up, Guy tosses out a punch... To his surprise, his fist passes through her head. 'A clone,' he realizes too late to stop Hana's counter from connecting to his jaw. Still overextended from his punch, the hit knocks him to the ground. Unfortunately, if Hana's gritted teeth were anything to go off, she was in too much pain to follow up with another. "Just stay down," she could be heard saying under her breath.

With his head still ringing, Guy dragged himself to his feet. Wiping the dirt from his face with his sleeve, he comments, "You nearly got me Hana-san! But you get to see the power of YOUTH! Here I-"

"I surrender Abe-sensei. I think that was my one shot," Hana said with her voice breaking, "Good luck in the next round Guy!"

Shocked by the turn of events, Guy took a few moments to process his victory... "Winner: Might Guy!" Abe announced before moving to take Hana to the infirmary, "Kojima-kun and Hayase-kun! Be ready for your match when I return!"

Hana's admirable effort resonated with both Guy and Hayase. Hayase wondered where she found the strength to face an opponent in her condition and come so close to succeeding. Might Guy was an anomaly that he could understand. He inherited his grit from his father and honed it through harsh physical conditioning and taijutsu training. Hana Aoki, though... Hayase couldn't help, but think, 'If I had willpower like that, would I have been able to stand up to Shinji and other bullies? Would I have been strong enough to say no more to his treatment?'

She had earned the respect of others as well. No comments from class 2A rung out in the silence. With a small breeze entering the clearing, Hayase took up his position while still lost in his thoughts. Kojima likewise had entered the ring. Bouncing on his toes, his preparation contrasted starkly with Hayase's pre-match breathing exercises.

The lanky Kojima stated plainly, "You've gotten stronger over the break Hayase... but it won't be enough," as he rolled up his sleeves.

In Hayase's first year at the academy, Kojima had established sparring dominance quickly. Naturally strong, Kojima took to sparring like a fish to water. Early on some of the other students managed to land blows on him, but those hits became few and far between as the year progressed. By the end, sparring transitioned to what amounted to ritualized violence. Their sensei tried to rotate who faced Kojima as best as he could, but the injuries built up until the nurse got involved. Hayase and the rest of his classmates were more focused on minimizing their injuries than trying to win.

Gripping the water gourd, Hayase knew that Kojima might be right. 'Trying to beat him in a frontal attack would be idiotic,' thought Hayase. 'Kojima may be strong, but dominating in the taijutsu spars also means he isn't used to being on defense or being hurt,' he thought. If he was alone Hayase may not be able to take advantage of the weakness. However, with his water bending, he wasn't scared of going on the offensive. Feeling his chakra resonating with the water, Hayase met Kojima's gaze.

Despite Hayase's lack of response to his taunt, Kojima could tell that Hayase wasn't going to surrender. In his dominance, Kojima had started getting bored of sparring. His instincts told him that Hayase might just make this an interesting fight!

"Good to see you boys are behaving yourselves," Abe-sensei laughed as he returned in a swirl of leaves. "Ready yourselves!" he said commanding silence from the crowd.

Attempting a relaxed stance, Hayase positioned his hands to uncork the gourd when necessary. Across from him, Kojima threw a few practice jabs.

"Start!"

Immediately, Hayase drew the water from the gourd and launched a sharp water whip toward his opponent. To Kojima's credit, leaping to his right, he managed to dodge the bulk of the lash except for a small welt on his left arm. With the sting of the whip still fresh, Kojima quickly decided to close the distance.

Circling along the edge of the ring, Hayase prepared and launch a second water whip. Unable to shift directions this time, his lanky opponent blocked the blow with his arms raised across his chest. No longer just a glancing blow, the lash left a bright red abrasion across his arms. Despite the injury, Kojima continued his bull-like charge barely slowing down. Soon, he was close enough to use his taijutsu!

Throwing out a punch, all Kojima cared about was landing a blow on Hayase. For every hit that Kojima ever received, he always return the favor twofold and he didn't plan on breaking that pattern today.

Knowing the danger represented by his opponent's fists, Hayase formed his watery wristguards to absorb the hit. 'Shit I really hope this works,' he thinks before twisting his body to guide the force of the hit past his body. In the process, Hayase rolled to right, his water mixing with some dirt as he did. Guiding the water to his fists, Hayase planned his counterattack.

Pivoting to Hayase's new position, Kojima tried to continue his assault... only to be interrupted by Hayase! Launching the water attached to each fist at his opponent's face - one after the other, Hayase momentarily blinds Kojima before drop-kicking the boy out of the ring. 'Hell yeah!' he thought as he shook the dirt off of his clothes.

"Winner: Hayase!" Abe announced, interrupting an attempt by Kojima to re-enter the ring. Frustrated by the loss on a technical, Kojima moves to argue with Abe only to be silenced by Abe-sensei's stare.

A few stunned claps break out of the silence. It's clear that no one in his class anticipated this victory. 'I guess I should have tried betting on myself. I could have made a killing,' Hayase joked to himself. Of course, one voice stood out clear as day to Hayase. Might Guy seemed to barely be able to contain himself. "Yosh Hayase-kun! It's our turn now!" he shouted out.

Only one fight remained!