The red light on the big screen began crackling again.
The battered machine probably had aging wiring. Each flicker brought a whiff of scorched plastic.
Sen slouched on the stone steps of the second-floor stands, his eyelids as heavy as bricks.
He had grabbed the rusty iron railing earlier, and a sticky, stubborn smell of rust still clung to his palms.
He closed his eyes and buried his face in the crook of his elbow.
Bzzzt-
The names scrolled across the screen for a full half minute before finally stopping.
Two glaring names froze on it.
Hinata Hyuga.
Neji Hyuga.
In the stands.
Naruto, who had been picking dirt out from under his toenails, jerked his hand and nearly tore off a nail.
"H-Hinata?"
His eyes widened. He stuck a finger in his mouth, bit it, and shouted indistinctly.
"They're fighting each other? Aren't those two from the same clan?"
Sasuke sat beside him, brushing white lime dust off his trouser leg with a cold expression.
"The Main Family and the Branch Family."
He spat out the words, his voice slightly hoarse and his eyes gleaming with schadenfreude.
"Now the Hyuga Clan's little drama is about to begin."
Neji rose from the stands.
He adjusted the white bandage around his forehead, which bore a ring of yellow stains left by years of sweat.
He spat.
Then he walked down the moldy wooden stairs, one step at a time.
Hinata stood at the front of the group, her pure white eyes filled with panic.
Both hands clutched the hem of her pale jacket, wrinkling it all over.
Her palms were slick with cold sweat, and her bangs stuck to her forehead.
"Hinata!"
Naruto craned his neck and shouted.
"You can do it! Beat that stuck-up Byakugan jerk!"
At Naruto's shout, Hinata's