The boy known as Gaara of the Sand flicked an imperceptible glance at his surroundings. Mighty red woods and pines loomed overhead, imposing artificial night on the forest' under story. The gourd of sand on his back sagged hard, and shot pinpricks of pain through his spinal column.
The other boy on his right, Kankuro, was fully clad in black and hefted a humanoid figure on his back. It was wrapped in cerements and vaguely reminiscent of a mummified corpse–The Crow, he called this puppet.
The blonde young woman next to him had a disciplined gait. Sultry, collected, the impertinent gaze frozen in her features made her look like a calculating murderer. The three rookie ninja–genin, as they were colloquially known–looked like a band of assassins for hire. A closer inspection told a different story.
Not one of them was beyond fifteen.
The objective was simple: survive The Forest of Death, collect the heaven, earth, and (blank) scrolls, and reach the edifice in the heart of the wilderness. Gaara had heard the myths about the forest: ambitious genin never returning, tales of giant serpents, and man-eating beasts.
He wasn't afraid, and wondered if that made him less sentient. Self-preservation and fear of death only existed when one valued their own life. What he was interested in, though, was the competition.
Genin from the Konohagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, to the Sunagakure ninja villages had come to partake in the Chuunin exam. Rookie ninja to survive would earn a higher rank.
These three genin from Sunagakure–Village Hidden in the Sand–had their own reasons. The Forest of Death lay in the outskirts of The Village Hidden in the Leaves–Konoha. There were three particular genin they were interested in: Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Shikamaru Nara.
Their...targets, hailed from Konoha. Each one was a valuable asset for what Sunagakure's leader–the Kazekage–had in mind. Of course, Gaara knew there was more to it than a coup-de-tat.
Himself, his older brother and sister, were little more than pawns in the Kazegake's real intentions. And he wanted to find out, that's why he bared the insult of being tested among genin.
His pearlescent-blue eyes darted left. His older sister, Temari, pretended she didn't feel his cold gaze cut through her. Gaara wondered what she wanted. She kept everything privy, he didn't trust her. Kankuro sauntered on his right, absent minded. A fool, maybe. To call him harmless, though, was an understatement. He'd keep an eye on those two, betrayal was common practice among shinobi, and The Sand Siblings weren't a tight-knit family. The sinking feeling in his gut grew colder.
He felt the gourd of sand pulsate, nervous...and he was ready for a fight.